Golden Tempo

Dark Angel’s Battaash Leaves King George Rivals In His Dust

In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...

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Classic Empire Claiming Crown Handle Tops $10M

The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...

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Emerging Market Just Bests Pavlovian In Louisiana Derby Thriller

And you thought a March Madness-esque upset would be limited to basketball. A proverbial 16 seed nearly took down the favorite in the Louisiana Region when maiden winner and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Emerging Market (Candy Ride {Arg}), the narrow 2-1 favorite, had to gut out a win over 21-1 longshot Pavlovian (Pavel) to win Saturday's GII Louisiana Derby by a head. Named a 'Rising Star' for his debut win at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 7 that netted him an eye-catching 97 Beyer Speed Figure, Triple Crown-nominated Emerging...

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View From the Deck with Barry Eisaman

The sales season looks a lot different these days for Dr. Barry Eisaman and his wife Shari. The husband-and-wife duo's Eisaman Equine was a fixture at the OBS sales for decades, but their shingle has been notably absent since 2023. With the pinhooking and consigning chapter closed, the Eisamans are now focusing on the other aspect of their business: breaking and training two-year-olds and rehabilitating older horses for some of the country's leading ownership groups. One morning earlier this month, as the breeze show was just getting started some 20...

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Golden Tempo Adding Blinkers ‘to Get Focused’ for Louisiana Derby

Golden Tempo (Curlin), third in the GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star S. Feb. 14, will race with first-time blinkers in Saturday's GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. The Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable homebred and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' was an eye-catching, come-from-behind winner of his first two career starts, including the GIII Lecomte S. Jan. 17. He rallied from seventh to complete the trifecta in the Risen Star, finishing six lengths behind Paladin (Gun Runner). "He made a really nice run in the Risen Star and...

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McKinzie’s Fancy Fairlane Green, but Talented, En Route to ‘Rising Star’ Honors

He was green, and a bit lost in the lane, but Fancy Fairlane (McKinzie) showed more than enough talent to put his rivals away and sail home to 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' honors at Oaklawn Park. Unveiled Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds in a six-furlong maiden special weight, he was run down late thanks in part to a sensational effort by fellow 'Rising Star' Golden Tempo (Curlin) when that one closed from a different zip code to win going away. Clocked producing a final quarter-mile in :23.57 in...

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