GIII Greenwood Cup S.

Fifty days since his last mount, when he was suspended by HISA for striking a horse in a malicious manner following a race at Parx, Paco Lopez will return Saturday at Laurel, where he will have three rides. They include the mount on Hawkstone (Catalina Cruiser) in the Spectacular Bid Stakes. "I'm feeling good and I've been working very hard to be ready for my comeback," he said. Lopez was aboard National Law (Constitution) in a maiden special weight race at Parx for trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. The horse bore...

Marathon specialist Next (Not This Time) worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 Wednesday morning at Turfway Park and, as long as things stay on track, he will start in a Breeders' Cup race, reports trainer Doug Cowans. It was Next's first work since his 10-length romp in the Sept. 21 Greenwood Cup at Parx. "The update is that he breezed well this morning," Cowans said. "We'll see how he comes out of the work and if all goes well he'll be nominated to both the [GI Longines Breeders' Cup] Turf and...

Whatever Next? It's as big a question for the throwback gelding of that name as for his sire, both standing at an exciting crossroads in their respective careers. Next's domination of a niche division of the American Turf is now such that he may now try to adapt to a more competitive, mainstream discipline at the Breeders' Cup. But whether this switch concerns distance or surface, in the Classic or Turf respectively, nobody should be surprised if the gray proves equal to the challenge. For his sire Not This Time...

BENSALEM, PA -- The winning margin wasn't close to the 25 lengths he finished in front of his outclassed rivals last September, but it was just another day at the office for America's premier dirt stayer Next (Not This Time), who took over when jockey Luan Machado gave him his cue entering the last of three turns and the 6-year-old lengthened clear in the final furlong to take the GIII Greenwood Cup Stakes by a comparatively 'measly' 10 lengths. Hammered down to odds of 1-20, Next broke alertly from a...

After missing an intended start in the GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Santa Anita on Breeders' Cup Saturday due to a fever, the streaking marathon specialist Next (Not This Time) is currently being turned out for 45-60 days, according to trainer Doug Cowans. "This fall, we were planning on going to California, but the Sunday before he was supposed to get on the plane, he got a little temperature," Cowans said of Next missing the 1 5/8-miles event, a race he won at Keeneland in 2022. "He was fine...

Next (Not This Time) isn't just winning races. He is destroying the competition. A marathon-race specialist, he did it again last week at Parx, when he won the GIII Greenwood Cup S. by an astounding 25 lengths. It's been quite a ride for his trainer, Doug Cowans, who claimed the now 5-year-old last year for $62,500. To talk about Next and to discuss his future plans, Cowans joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. He was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week. Despite his horse's...