Deterministic

Trainer Miguel Clement all but guaranteed that 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Deterministic (h, 5, Liam's Map--Giulio's Jewel, by Speightstown) would be on the lead in defense of his title in Saturday's GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Saratoga. It didn't work out exactly how the coach drew it up, but the results were satisfying all the same, as the $625,000 Keeneland September yearling stalked the pace of second choice Rhetorical (Not This Time) and grabbed that one inside the final sixteenth of a mile to become the...

Saturday's Belmont Stakes is the last of nine top-level events on the weekend and the final of the six highly anticipated Grade I contests scheduled for a bumper card at Saratoga, short, medium and long on both the turf and the main track. A top-quality field of seven is set to face the starter in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap, for which 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Nysos (Nyquist) is the 9-5 morning-line favorite and 126-pound topweight in the 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders'...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When it's a big race day, you'll find Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Saturday is a big race day at Saratoga Race Course. Seven graded stakes--six of them Grade Is worth $5.9 million. Of course, Baffert is going to be here. He doesn't have a horse in the $2-million GI Belmont Stakes, but he has an impressive trio--Nysos (Nyquist), Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) and Imagination (Into Mischief)--running on the undercard. Nysos and Crude Velocity are both 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard.' "It's a big...

Two years ago and on the heels of a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile, Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) returned to American shores for his seasonal debut in the GI Maker's Mark Mile and ran out a ready 2 1/4-length winner. Eclipse Award-winning 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) will jump a warm favorite in an attempt to repeat the dose Friday afternoon at Keeneland, with William Buick--the only rider the 5-year-old has known in his career--in for the steer. It...

The air is getting thinner now, as we explore those stallions standing between $30,000 and $59,999, but this penultimate instalment of our series does open access to genuine elite quality. Several in this range have a proven ability to sire horses who go on, in turn, to take a lucrative place at stud; and a number, within that group, have reached a stage in their careers where their fees have been cut temptingly within reach. Take MACLEAN'S MUSIC. Doubling his fee to $50,000 for 2022--after two sons contested the finish...

Miguel Clement has many memories of the conversations he had with his father about Deterministic (Liam's Map). In Christophe's book, a good horse could perform well across different surfaces and distances, and he always believed Deterministic fit that description. Over the past two years, Deterministic has proven him right, checking both those boxes for the Clement racing stable and serving as a steady presence through a poignant period of change following Christophe's passing in May. "My dad and I both loved him from the get-go and he has been a...

Trainer Miguel Clement joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to recap his GI Fourstardave win with Deterministic. He also opens up about taking over the Clement stable from his father and talks about how American trainers are judged by their number of wins rather than their overall resume.

There was a brief window of time about 15 months ago when 'TDN Rising Stars' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and Fierceness (City of Light) were well established sophomores on the Triple Crown trail, and they were joined by an intriguing new shooter, Deterministic (Liam's Map), who suddenly had "wiseguy" appeal for the 2024 GI Kentucky Derby based on just two well-spaced lifetime starts. Deterministic, too, had been named a 'Rising Star' as a juvenile off an Aug. 12, 2023, debut dirt sprint victory at Saratoga for trainer Christophe Clement. But...

Looking to earn a trip to the Breeders' Cup just like his sire did, 'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic (Liam's Map--Giulio's Jewel, by Speightstown) found his footing down the lane and won the GI FanDuel Fourstardave Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday afternoon. A mark of consistency for the Clement barn while patriarch Christophe was alive, the dark bay has continued to deliver for young Miguel. To cap his 3-year-old season, Deterministic nabbed the GIII Hill Prince Stakes at the Big A in early November. Taking to the main track at Keeneland...

Miguel Clement, the 34-year-old son of the late Christophe Clement, is sure to win many major races during his career, but the one he will surely never forget was when Deterministic (Liam's Map) took the GI Manhattan Stakes June 8. The win came just 13 days after his father passed away from cancer. But for this one race and one moment in time it was as if nothing had changed. Christophe Clement collected three Manhattans over the course of his career and Miguel almost pulled off a one-two finish as...

Okay, so the top price at Fasig-Tipton last week was paid for a mare by Frankel (GB), followed by daughters of Justify and his damsire Ghostzapper. But next, at $3.6 million, came a daughter of Flintshire (GB), Surge Capacity, while her own dam Strong Incentive made $2.75 million, despite also being by a Kentucky reject in Warrior's Reward. Other seven-figure sales included mares by Speightster, Frac Daddy and Marking, while the first such transactions at Keeneland next day concerned daughters of Mastery and Bird Song. It's the same every year....

Impressive winner of the GIII Gotham Stakes over the local main track to begin the season, 'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic  (Liam's Map) has found his footing on the grass during the second half of the campaign and won for second time at the graded level over the surface, validating 7-4 favoritism in Saturday's GIII Hill Prince Stakes at Aqueduct. Victorious in the GIII Virginia Derby ahead of a game runner-up effort in the GIII Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes over a mile and three furlongs last time, the $625,000 Keeneland...