Curlin

7th-KEE, $100K, Msw, 3yof, 1/16th, 4:12 p.m. Trainer Ben Colebrook has a dossier of 'firsts' at Keeneland over the years and he will look to get QUEEN OF THE RODEO (Curlin) home on Thursday afternoon against a field of 11 more experienced runners. A $575,000 '21 KEESEP graduate, the dark bay filly is her stakes-winning mare Berned (Bernardini)'s first to make the races, but she also has a yearling colt by Uncle Mo and just reported a new filly on the ground by Into Mischief. Second dam GSW First Passage...

A new kingpin graces the No. 1 slot after a wild, final weekend of 100-point preps. The rankings below are independent from the "Road to the Derby" leaderboard Churchill Downs uses to determine starting berths, with several horses included here who are currently below the cut.   1) PRACTICAL MOVE (c, Practical Joke--Ack Naughty, by Afleet Alex) O-Leslie & Pierre Jean Amestoy & Roger Beasley; B-Chad Brown & Head of Plains Partners (KY); T-Tim Yakteen. Sales history: $90,000 RNA yrl '21 KEESEP; $230,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-4-1-2,...

Lord Miles (c, 3, Curlin--Lady Esme, by Majestic Warrior) outslugged the top two choices on the board to spring a massive upset in a roughly run renewal of Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S. at the Big A. Disregarded at 59-1 following a sixth-place finish in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 4 and a fifth-place finish in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 11, the Peter Vegso homebred was hustled early by Paco Lopez and raced in second rounding the clubhouse turn. Ridden along in an outside fourth down the...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL-The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which had four million-dollar juveniles a year ago, has matched that mark with another day to go as a colt by Good Magic topped Tuesday's trade with a sale co-record final price of $2 million. Bob Baffert, sitting in the press box alongside Donato Lanni while on the phone with Amr Zedan, made the winning bid, which matched the $2-million price tag of Chestertown (Tapit), who sold at the auction in 2019. "It...

5th-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 3-12, 3yo, 7 1/2fT, 1:29.34, fm, 2 1/2 lengths. FEARLESS SOLDIER (c, 3, City of Light--Hessie's Girl, by Giant's Causeway) had something of a rough debut Feb. 16 when he tossed his head at the jump and hopped coming out of the stall. Racing all over the synthetic track from there, as far as seven wide in the stretch before lugging in through the final furlong, he finished a very green fourth but producing a field-best Beyer Speed Figure of 74. Cutting back from that 1m70 contest...

Cody's Wish (Curlin), last seen capturing the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in dramatic fashion at Keeneland Nov. 5, is targeting the GI Churchill Downs S. on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard for his 2023 lidlifter. The Godolphin homebred returned to the worktab with a three-furlong breeze in :38.80 (2/3) at Hall of Famer Bill Mott's Payson Park base Mar. 1. He breezed four furlongs in :51.80 (32/33) Friday. "He is doing very well," Godolphin USA Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan said. "He looks in fantastic shape. After the Breeders'...

Named the 2022 Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter, Juddmonte's Elite Power (Curlin) picked up right where he left off with an easy 3 1/4-length score in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint Presented By Sports Boulevard. The favorite held fellow American-bred challenger and GI Hopeful S. hero Gunite (Gun Runner) in second in the $1.5-million 1200-meter race. In between horses as Meraas (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) showed the way, the $900,0000 Keeneland September yearling raced in the last third of the field away from the kickback in the center of the track....

Since 2004, we've shined the spotlight on over 1,500 'TDN Rising Stars' worldwide, recognition given to a horse early on its career who has done something so impressive on the racetrack that our team believes they will go on to become graded stakes winners.  A horse is designated as a 'Rising Star' by the TDN staff after a careful and comprehensive review of many factors--including the quality of the field, margin and time of victory, pedigree, sales price and more. Over the years, it has become a badge of honor...

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher is on fire, unveiling one promising colt or filly after another in maiden, allowance, and stakes races it seems. Last month, Pletcher won his eighth Eclipse Award as North America's leading trainer. Not only that, but three horses trained by Pletcher also won Eclipses: Forte (Violence), champion 2-year-old colt; Nest (Curlin), champion 3-year-old filly; and Malathaat (Curlin), champion older female. Like Pletcher, Curlin shone at the Eclipses. Aside from Nest and Malathaat, his Elite Power was named champion sprinter of 2022, giving the Hill 'n'...

Recently crowned champion sprinter Elite Power (Curlin) will launch his 5-year-old campaign in the $1.5-million G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint on the Saudi Cup undercard Feb. 25. The Juddmonte colorbearer capped a five-race winning streak with a powerful, come-from-behind victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland last out Nov. 5. Elite Power, a $900,000 Keeneland September graduate, has posted five workouts for Hall of Famer Bill Mott since the beginning of the new year at Payson Park, including a five-furlong breeze in 1:02.80 (4/8) Feb. 2. "He had his...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-GP, $84K, Msw, 4yo/up, 6f, 1:38 p.m. Though making a belated debut as a 4-year-old, LAKOTA TERRITORY (Quality Road), bred in a partnership by Whisper Hill Farm, Three Chimneys, and JSM Equine, gets his chance to add to his family's legacy Friday out of the Todd Pletcher barn. Out of the Malibu Moon mare Akron Moon, the bay is a full-brother to MGISW Bellafina who brought a final bid of $4,000,000 from Coolmore's M V Magnier in foal to Tiz the Law at last fall's...

Flightline was clearly the star among stars at the Eclipse Awards ceremonies held Jan. 26 in Palm Beach, Florida, but a trio of stallions that call the rustic environs of John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa home stole the show from a sires' perspective, accounting for half of the evening's 10 winners among the Flat divisions. Success at the Eclipse Awards is obviously directly correlated with horse racing on its biggest stages, and the results from the first weekend of November, not far away from Xalapa at Keeneland Race...