G. Watts Humphrey
Second-time starter In Scope (Gun Runner), third behind the eye-popping 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Mashallah (Maxfield) with a 90 Beyer Speed Figure at Keeneland Apr. 23, went two better Friday over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs to earn the moniker herself. Drawn wide in a deep field, the 2-1 favorite kept her face clear in this stretch out from six furlongs to one mile, racing prominently several paths off the rail under Axel Concepcion. Poised just off the flank of leader Aegis (Essential Quality), In Scope had...
Just a Minute (Not This Time--Breaking Beauty, by Into Mischief), who debuted as a 9-2 shot here, set up shop midpack as the field was led by a longshot up the backstretch. The filly made steady progress by sticking to the fence around the far turn. With the rail lane wide open entering the straightaway, the 2-year-old fired her best shot, closed with alacrity when she shifted to the two path inside the final sixteenth and held off a late charge from Cynical Humor (Gun Runner) to leave the kids'...
With his win in Friday's sixth race at Keeneland with In the Stars (Into Mischief). Rusty Arnold became the winningest trainer in Keeneland history. It was his 308th winner at the Lexington track, one more than Bill Mott. An emotional Arnold was still savoring the victory when reached by phone Friday night. "I'm from here and started out here," Arnold said. "I came out here and started with my father. It means a lot to me. When I started out, I was just trying to win one race here. Now...
A concrete foundation is the bedrock of any structure. Building a successful Thoroughbred partnership needs that same footing. You need rock-hard determination, the right aggregate of experience and the liquidity to maintain elasticity. Without such a concrete foundation, the tallest of ambitions can crumble, but with one in place, you can find long-term success and come out smelling like a rose. For BBN Racing, the first scent of success came from the appropriately-named mare Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy) who won over $1.2 million and four graded stakes, including the Grade...
Good Lord Lorrie (Hard Spun) came back from a lengthy layoff to not only win his seasonal bow but also claim his first black-type in the Woodhaven S, When last seen, the chestnut broke his maiden in a turf dash at Saratoga last summer, defeating SP Smokey Smokey (Mendelssohn) and SP Ocean Mermaid (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Brushing with a rival after the jump, he was well-placed early in third and tracked the leading duo until late on the backstretch, where he took closer order. Called for a rally, he shifted...
2nd-Santa Anita, $67,500, Msw, 3-26, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:16.48, ft, 10 lengths. HIGH CONNECTION (c, 3, Connect--Forest Legend, by Forest Camp), sent off at 7-5, was hustled out of the gate from his rail post and took the early lead. Setting the pace through a quarter in :21.86 and a half in :44.96, he skipped away in upper stretch and powered home a 10-length winner. Pioneering Papa (Classic Empire) chased throughout and was second. High Connection was a $75,000 KEESEP yearling and a $290,000 OBS March juvenile (:10 flat). Forest...
Vicki Oliver has dreamed of making it to the starting gate on the first weekend of the Churchill Downs spring meet for her entire career, but the Kentucky Derby was never the race she had in mind. Vicki and Phil Oliver established their stable in 1999 and have since had several top graded winners go through their program including Grade I winners Personal Diary (City Zip) and Last Full Measure (Empire Maker). The majority of their stable's top performers have been fillies, and many of those pupils were supplied by...
1st-Ellis, $46,200, Msw, 8-21, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:06.71, fm. NAVRATILOVA (f, 2, Medaglia d'Oro--Centre Court {GISW, $961,048}, by Smart Strike), backed as the tepid 5-2 favorite with a standout pedigree among this group, flew home late to ace her maiden test. Far back early among a very strung-out field, the bay first caught the eye when rolling into fourth entering the stretch. She continued to gobble up ground down the center of the course and blew by the tiring leaders to prevail by a widening 2 1/4 lengths. Fellow...