Demian

All those so avid to see how Flightline will fare in his second career should surely be gratified if he can prove as effective as the last champion to enter stud with anything approaching his freakish reputation. Two new stakes winners last Saturday, one on either coast, took Justify past 50 from four crops. (His fifth, at this point, having barely entered the fray.) One, GIII Summertime Oaks winner Mizumi, became his 24th graded stakes scorer in the Northern Hemisphere; among which 10 have scored at the highest level, including...

Since Bob Baffert made the shift from Quarter Horse racing to Thoroughbred racing in the early eighties, no one has been more loyal to Southern California racing. Especially when it came to stakes races, he filled the entry box like no other trainer. Consistency and quality were his trademarks. He has his critics and some have bristled at his dominance, but California racing has been lucky to have him. But with things being what they are in California, even Baffert had to make what must have been a tough decision...

Naohiro Sakakuchi's Demian (c, 2, Flightline--Mira Alta, by Curlin) was produced by the visiting Damian Lane with a bit less than a furlong to race and quickened up nicely to become the first winner from the much-anticipated initial crop of his freshman sire (by Tapit) in Saturday's sixth race for unraced 2-year-olds going 1400 meters on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse. Favored at odds-on in ante-post wagering, the $1.7-million Keeneland September acquisition was ultimately away as the 19-10 second pick, but jumped only fairly and raced near the back of...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Saturday running at Hanshin and Tokyo Racecourses. Sunday's horses of note will appear in the Saturday edition of the TDN: Saturday, June 13, 2026 6th-TOK, ¥14,880,000 ($92k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400mT DEMIAN (c, 2, Flightline--Mira Alta, by Curlin) continues the coming-out party for his...