Flower Bowl Stakes
Moyglare Stud Farm's homebred Bellezza (Ire) (f, 4, Siyouni {Fr}--Terrific {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) wore down a loose-on-the lead 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Gamely Stakes winner Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) late in Saturday's GII Flower Bowl Stakes at Saratoga, a 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Her trainer, the young Miguel Clement, has had a magical Saratoga meet in his first months as head trainer. The Flower Bowl marked his sixth stakes win on the lawn since opening day...
When 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) went wire-to-wire to take out the 2023 GI Pacific Classic, it made trainer Bob Baffert the winningest trainer in the relatively short history of the event with seven winners, surpassing the late Bobby Frankel. The Hall of Fame conditioner will have every chance to extend that record when he sends out fellow 'Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) in a compelling renewal of the 10-furlong feature Saturday afternoon, with an all-expenses-paid trip to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic over the same course and distance...
Saratoga works for many reasons. The combination of great racing, a historic venue, iconic races like the GI Whitney S. and the GI Travers are reasons why more than one million fans file through the turnstiles every meet and the handle for the season now tops $800 million. But Saratoga's success also has a lot to do with its exclusivity. It's only open for eight weeks and there are just 40 racing days. That, as much as anything else, is what makes it special. There's an opening day and there...
Loose on the lead and identified as a rabbit for fellow Klaravich Stables runner and Chad Brown stablemate McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Seth Klarman's Idea Generation (Ire) (f, 4, Dubawi {Ire}--Knocknagree {Ire}), by Galileo {Ire}) stole Saturday's GII Flower Bowl Stakes at the Spa, a 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The longest shot on the board at 31-1, Idea Generation put them all to sleep while surprising everyone to notch her first career black-type win. MGISW and 6-5 favorite War Like...
It doesn't take long for the Kentucky Downs meeting to hit full gear, as Saturday's program features three graded contests, including the GIII DK Horse Nashville Derby Invitational Stakes, with prize money that could reach $3.1 million. The purse remains intact should one of the 10 Kentucky-breds--eight in the main body of the field and two also-eligibles--is home first over the mile and five-sixteenths journey along the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The four foreign raiders are ineligible for the KTDF money, but the base purse of $2.5 million already makes it one...
NYRA's Turf Triple series for fillies will be incentivized by a pair of lucrative bonus opportunities at the upcoming Belmont Park and Saratoga meets. The Turf Triple series for fillies kicks off July 10 at Belmont with the $700,000 GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. The series continues with the $700,000 GIII Saratoga Oaks Invitational Aug. 8 and is completed by the Jockey Club Oaks at the Belmont fall meet. The "New York Stakes Turf Bonus" will provide $315,000 to the owner and $35,000 to the trainer of any previous winner...
The New York Racing Association unveiled the stakes schedule for the Saratoga meet, which will feature 76 stakes worth $21.5 million in total purses, including the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup and GI Flower Bowl S., both of which were previously run at Belmont. Both races will be run Sept. 4 and, to accommodate this change, the GI Woodward S. and GIII Fasig-Tipton Waya S. will be moved to the Belmont fall meet. The Jockey Club Gold Cup will be worth a $1 million for the first time since 2016,...