Graham Motion

The GI Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes winner Test Score (Lookin At Lucky) returned to his winning ways with a sharp victory in the GII Twilight Derby at Santa Anita Park. Facing elite company in three straight races starting May 3 at Churchill Downs, where he ran second to Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}), Test Score rebounded to secure the aforementioned Belmont Derby, and again hit the board two back Aug. 2 at Saratoga in the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational as World Beater (Oscar Performance) turned the tables on him...

There likely aren't many, if anyone for that matter, involved in any meaningful way in the steeplechase industry in the U.S. that has not heard of Keri Brion. However, the 34-year-old is quickly making a name for herself with her flat stable as well, largely helped by a quintet of winners at Saratoga last summer, including Miztertonic (Mission Impazible), victorious at the Spa the past two seasons. On full display and getting to flex both muscles at Far Hills in New Jersey Saturday, Brion will saddle horses in five of...

Newstead Stables LLC's Laurelin (Ire) (Zarak {Fr}) looks to take her career mark to a perfect six wins from as many starts when she faces a maximum of eight fellow sophomore fillies in Saturday's GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, the year's most prestigious race for the division. Graham Motion sent out Film Maker (Dynaformer) to take the 2003 QE II and Laurelin figures a strong chance to double that tally. An €160,000 purchase out of the 2023 Goffs Orby Sale, the chestnut has built on a two-for-two...

Luke Lillingston will not want 2025 to end. The magical year for Mount Coote Stud has consisted of 42 individual winners, including headline acts like Santorini Star and Laurelin, who is one of the poster girls for the Goffs Orby Sale.  And rightly so. Under the care of Graham Motion, the Orby graduate has won all five of her starts in America and is understood to be on course for the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland next month. "You never want to toot the horn too...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, trainer Marcus Vitali has been suspended seven days and fined $1,000 after the Vitali-trained Freedom Empire tested positive for the class C controlled substances Ibuprofen and Flunixin after winning at Turf Paradise on April 24 this year. The suspension started Sept....

Renowned international bloodstock agent Michael G. Motion, who was an innovator in his field, passed away peacefully with his family by his side at his home in Middleburg, Virginia Aug. 14, 2025. He was 95. Although he grew up involved in pony club and foxhunting in England, Motion's interests initially were in cattle and farming. He attended the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester before migrating to Canada where took a job working with pedigreed livestock. The position led him to a two-year stint in South America running a receiving center...

Filling out her RSVP card in advance and well-handled throughout, the budding turf star Laurelin (Zarak (Fr)--Bari (Ire), by Cape Cross {Ire}) kept her perfect record intact by sweeping down the Spa lane to earn a trip to the winner's circle in the GII Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational on Saturday. Spotlighted by TDN Europe's Heather Anderson in her series Making Waves after the Graham Motion trainee broke her maiden at first asking during the Belmont At The Big A meet last October, the bay continued her winning ways in the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse needed a very good reason to miss next weekend's prestigious $1-million Listed King's Plate at Woodbine. Actually, he has two of them. Casse will miss Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race--one has won three times--because he's staying in Saratoga to try and win the $600,000 GI Alabama Stakes for the first time. He will be well represented by La Cara (Street Sense) and Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) in Saratoga's premier race for 3-year-old fillies. The King's Plate at Woodbine and Alabama are both...

The 13th edition of the Riders Up! East vs. West Jockey Karaoke contest kicked off to great success in Saratoga, and raised over $100,000 at the conclusion of the festivities, announced the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF). Leading a competition reportedly as fierce as anything on the track, Michael and Matthew Straight commanded the crowd with their performance of "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers. They had the crowd on their feet and singing along, and the brothers left their competition in their wake as they secured a double by...

4th-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 2:52 p.m. ET. John Stewart's Resolute outfit went to $500,000 during Keeneland September to acquire BLUE MADAME (Dubawi {Ire}). The Chad Brown trainee is the first foal out of English & French Group 1 stakes winner Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Ire}), who is a half-sister to French MSW Casterton (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and is herself out of the full-sister of dual U.S. champion grass horse High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). Making the races is Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale grad Scratch...

Amerman homebred Test Score (c, 3, Lookin At Lucky--Joy of Learning, by Kitten's Joy), second to Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) in the GI American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs May 3, got his own Grade I day in the sun Friday, winning Saratoga's $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes in convincing style. For his part, Zulu Kingdom won the GIII Manila Stakes at the Spa one race prior to Test Score's Belmont Derby win. The Amermans won the Belmont Derby for the second consecutive year---they had Trikari (Oscar Performance)...

Executing a well-timed turn of foot like a seasoned professional, Laurelin (Zarak {Fr}) ran to her odds and in the process swept up the Penn Oaks at dusk. The chestnut came in as a deserving favorite, since her record was without blemish. After breaking her maiden at first asking during the Belmont At The Big A meet last October, the filly picked up the Tepin Stakes at the Big A in mid-November. Turned out for the winter, Laurelin returned to Ozone Park and promptly took home the Memories of Silver...