Del Mar

Sunday, Del Mar GREEN FLASH H.-GIII, $152,500, Del Mar, 9-4, 3yo/up, 5fT, :55.87, fm. 1--LIEUTENANT DAN, 125, g, 6, by Grazen 1st Dam: Excusabull, by Indian Charlie 2nd Dam: Otti, by Rahy 3rd Dam: Grifix, by Green Forest O/B-Nicholas B. Alexander (CA); T-Steven Miyadi; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 18-9-4-4, $923,740. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: F. 2--Lane Way, 120, g, 5, Into Mischief--Corderosa, by Aldebaran. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($550,000 2yo '19 OBSMAR). O-MyRacehorse; B-GWTW Horses...

Midnight Memories made her two-turn and stakes debut a winning one when resolutely holding off favored Desert Dawn to capture the GIII Torrey Pines S. Sunday at Del Mar. Scoring first out at 4-5 with a 95 Beyer going 6 1/2 furlongs Apr. 30 at Santa Anita, the homebred repeated by a neck after stumbling at the start in an allowance/optional claimer there June 5 before disappointing when a well-beaten third as the chalk with blinkers added here July 28. Taking the blinkers off for this test, the dark bay...

Trainer John Sadler said superstar Flightline (Tapit) came out of his devastating 19 1/4-length romp in Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic in good order. "We're literally talking 14 hours [since the race] but this early, he looks perfect," Sadler said. For Sadler, the most impressive aspect of Flightline's record rout was the way he opened up on the rest of the field. "Obviously, I was thrilled about him putting them away on the [far] turn," Sadler says. "That was really exciting, probably the most fun part. I was just so...

1st-Del Mar, $81,000, Msw, 9-4, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:03.59, ft, 6 3/4 lengths. HUNTINGCOCO (f, 2, Practical Joke--Sulis, by Maria's Mon) was dismissed at odds of 36-5, largely due to the presence of $950,000 Keeneland September grad and 1-2 chalk Carla (Medaglia d'Oro), slipped through inside entering the final eighth of a mile and kicked away to best her heavily favored stable companion by a convincing margin in Sunday's opener from Del Mar. Away without incident, Huntingcoco showed ample speed and chased from along the inside in second as...

The $1-million question heading into Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI TVG Pacific Classic was if unbeaten superstar Flightline (Tapit) could handle the 1 1/4-mile Classic distance. Here's a scary thought: he may be even better going longer. Stopping the timer just .17 seconds off Candy Ride (Arg)'s track record for 10 furlongs established in the 2003 renewal, the dominating last out GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. winner absolutely crushed his five rivals by a geared-down record margin of 19 1/4 lengths--yes, you read that correctly--in a performance for...

6th-Del Mar, $82,500, Msw, 9-3, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:16.62, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. NATIONAL TREASURE (c, 2, Quality Road--Treasure, by Medaglia d'Oro) dispatched at 3-1 in this debut, was hustled out of the gate by John Velazquez, hitting the front just before the first quarter went up in a lively :21.89. Hounded by Practical Move (Practical Joke) through a :44.37 half-mile, the $500,000 FTSAUG buy showed the way into the lane and held off a late bid from stablemate Massimo (Uncle Mo) to score by 1 1/2 lengths. Practical Move...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-DMR, $80K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, post time: 4:00 p.m. ET Michael Petersen and Willow Grace Farm, who campaign last year's GI Del Mar Debutante winner Grace Adler (Curlin) in partnership, team up for the Sunday opener at Del Mar with $950K Keeneland September acquisition CARLA (Medaglia d'Oro). The February foal is the first produce from Naples Princess (Distorted Humor), a full-sister to SW Banker's Buy and a half to SW City Dweller (Carson City) and SW Glacken's Gal (Smoke Glacken), the dam of...

This weekend the baton will be handed off from our traditional summer focal points of Del Mar and Saratoga to Franklin Kentucky and the Kentucky Downs meet. Full fields, big crowds, and a vibrant atmosphere made possible by Historic Horse Racing (HHR) machines, and an ownership group willing to invest in its potential. Kentucky Downs embodies great hope for Kentucky racing and our industry's future, and it was almost taken away Feb. 10, 2021. It was a cold, nasty February evening in Kentucky, when the Kentucky House of Representatives took...

Four years ago on the eve of the GI TVG Pacific Classic, the hunt for the heavy favorite amid the lettered labyrinth of Del Mar's backstretch ended at Barn J. The stall, of course, belonged to Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky), a sleek, shiny copper penny of a colt, who carried weighty expectations that this was the year his trainer, John Sadler, would finally shrug off the voodoo that had cursed his previous attempts at the coveted prize. It was also viewed as a new high altitude for a horse whose...

On this week's episode of Bettor Things with Joe Bianca, the host talks to handicapper, owner/breeder and former racetrack executive CJ Johnsen about betting, sports, music and more. Johnsen, who is currently the vice president at CJ Thoroughbreds, is best known for guiding the remarkable transformation of Kentucky Downs from an afterthought on the racing calendar to a marquee stand with what equates to paradise for horseplayers: big fields and low takeout. Then, in the latest installment of his Breeders' Cup handicapping series, Bianca lays out plays for Saratoga's GI...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 6th-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 2:51 p.m. EDT Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's $725,000 KEESEP acquisition MINDTAP (Tapit) makes his career bow in this spot for trainer Todd Pletcher. Hailing from the same breeding program that produced unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit), the gray is a half to MGISW Curalina (Curlin), who summoned $3 million from Shadai Farm at the 2016 FTKNOV Sale. Summer Wind Farm's Jane Lyon purchased their Grade II-winning dam Whatdreamsrmadeof for $1.65 million at that same auction carrying a full-sibling to...

There is no such thing as a sure thing in horse racing, but 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit) will be bet as if Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic--a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 5--is already the proverbial fait accompli. And why not, really? His four towering victories in as many trips to the races have come by an average winning margin of better than 13 lengths. His lowest Beyer Speed Figure is a downright pedestrian 105 earned for his debut just...