First Captain

by Stefanie Grimm & Patrycja Szpyra With the Fourth of July holiday weekend in the rear-view mirror, the summer turf season kicks into high gear starting with a pair of Grade I's at Belmont Park Saturday. The home team takes on a new wave of European challengers in the 1 1/4-mile GI Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational S., the first leg of the Caesars Turf Triple Series. Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), last seen finishing ninth behind longshot GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice), finally gets back...

'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin) looked to have it all to do with a quarter-mile to go in Friday's GIII Pimlico Special S., but he called on his class in the final 50 yards to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Adding blinkers for the first time off a disappointing seventh in the GI Carter H. Apr. 9, the $1.5-million joint-topper at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale was off alertly and settled in fifth position passing under the wire for the first time as recent Excelsior S. runner-up...

Todd Pletcher saddles a pair of strong contenders in Friday's GIII Pimlico Special S. in Vindictive (Uncle Mo) and Untreated (Nyquist). A two-time winner at Saratoga last year, the well-related Vindictive closed 2021 with a third in Aqueduct's Discovery S. Nov. 27. He kicked off this season with an optional claimer win at that venue Mar. 25. His stablemate Untreated captured an Aqueduct allowance in November and won a muddy optional claimer at that venue a month later. Sixth behind recent GII Alysheba S. romper Olympiad (Speightstown) in the GIII...

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), a perfect two-for-two to start the year, led by a dominating victory with a 106 Beyer over next-out GIII Ghostzapper S. winner Fearless (Ghostzapper) in the GII WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile S. Mar. 5, headlines Saturday's GI Carter H. at the Big A. Always held in high regard by his connections, the Godolphin homebred has found his calling around one turn this year after concluding his sophomore season with a drifting second in the 1 1/8-mile Discovery S. here Nov. 27. Drawn widest of all in...

Godolphin's Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) and First Captain (Curlin), owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Woodford Racing and celebrity chef Bobby Flay, appear on course for a tilt at the seven-furlong GI Carter H. Apr. 9 at Aqueduct. This term, the former, trained by Bill Mott, has posted a pair of one-turn victories at Gulfstream Park--the GIII Fred Hooper S. Jan. 29 followed by the Mar. 5 GII Gulfstream Park Mile. Last year, he won three starts in New York, including a 6 3/4-length triumph in a Belmont optional...

A pair of highly touted sophomores returned to make their 4-year-old debuts with mixed results Sunday. First Captain (Curlin), sent off the 4-5 favorite in a seven-furlong allowance at Gulfstream Sunday, looked to have left himself too much to do before making a furious late rally to win by a head in his first start since finishing third in the Curlin S. last summer. The 'TDN Rising Star' and $1.5-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling won last year's GIII Dwyer S. for West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Bobby Flay and Woodford Racing...

10th-Gulfstream, $56,000, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 2-27, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:22.19, ft, head. FIRST CAPTAIN (c, 4, Curlin--America {GSW & MGISP, $580,532}, by A.P. Indy) faced a small but competitive field for his 4-year-old debut, including GSWs Trophy Chaser (Twirling Candy) and Dennis' Moment (Tiznow)--the latter also a 'TDN Rising Star'--as well as black-type winners Real Talk (Gemologist) and Hello Hot Rod (Mosler). A 'TDN Rising Star' himself, First Captain was slowest of all out of the stalls, yet kept in touch with the tightly packed field from the back. Nearly...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 10th-GP, $63K, Alw/OC, 4yo/up, 7f, 5:14 p.m. ET 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin) makes his 4-year-old debut against a relatively accomplished field here. The $1.5-million FTSAUG yearling kicked off his career three-for-three, annexing the one-turn-mile GIII Dwyer S. at Belmont in July. He has been off since finishing third as the favorite in Saratoga's restricted nine-panel Curlin S. later that month, and trainer Shug McGaughey told TDN's Steve Sherack recently that the son of MGSW and MGISP America (A.P. Indy) was given a freshening...

A pair of highly regarded sophomores of 2021 are on the comeback trail for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. Courtlandt Farm's homebred Greatest Honour (Tapit--Tiffany's Honour, by  Street Cry {Ire}) was a serious early contender for the GI Kentucky Derby following flashy wins in Gulfstream's GIII Holy Bull S. and GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. last winter. After finishing a flat third as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Curlin Florida Derby Mar. 27, however, McGaughey decided to hit the reset button on the bay. "I wasn't really pleased...

GSW Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) heads the early nominations for the Sept 25 GI Pennsylvania Derby. The nine-furlong marquee race for 3-year-olds highlights a stacked card which features eight stakes races, including five at the graded level. The Pennsylvania Derby was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. "We're still a few works away, but we're real optimistic about Charlie's next stop, the Pennsylvania Derby," said trainer Doug O'Neill. "The race looks to be coming up tough, which one would expect with a million dollars on the line." Winner...

   Lynn Hancock breezed through the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds early Tuesday morning last week, heading for Barn 1 wearing a baseball cap and a smile. After a long stretch of days running a successful consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale, Stone Farm's Director of Racing and Sales had enjoyed a night of celebration when her consignment sold the highest-priced yearling of the auction's first session. "I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but the horses needed fed," she said with a grin, nodding toward the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--Four-time GI Runhappy Travers S.-winning trainer Shug McGaughey said Thursday that First Captain (Curlin) will not run in Saratoga's signature race Aug. 28. Godoplphin's Essential Quality (Tapit), the winner of seven of eight career starts, including the GI Belmont S., is the headliner for the 152nd running of the $1.25 million Travers. Though the chestnut colt is fine following his third-place finish in the Curlin S. July 30, McGaughey decided to pass on the Travers and point to the GI Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 25. "I just don't think...