Hejazi

The nominees for the Mar. 4 GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct include four horses that have been under the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, but were nominated under the names of new trainers. Baffert is banned from running in this year's GI Kentucky Derby and any horse under the care of a trainer suspended by Churchill Downs must be moved to a new barn by Feb. 28 in order to earn Derby qualifying points. On Friday, a U.S. District Judge ruled against Baffert as he sought a...

Several contenders at the top of this week's rankings solidified their status, but one new shooter debuted at No. 4 to add some intrigue as we edge past the 90-day mark to the GI Kentucky Derby. 1) ARABIAN KNIGHT (c, Uncle Mo--Borealis Night, by Astrology) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $2,300,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $544.275 Last start: 1st GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park, Jan. 28. KY Derby Points: 0. Arabian Knight's thorough...

6th-Del Mar, $82,500, Msw, 9-10, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:01.86, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. SPEED BOAT BEACH (c, 2, Bayern--Sophia Mia, by Pioneerof the Nile) stepped out in sharp fashion on unveiling here, taking a field of 10 gate to wire and establishing a new track record of 1:01.86 in the process as the 2-1 second choice behind even-money Hejazi (Bernardini). The latter was the $3.55 million EASMAY topper this season, purchased by Zedan Racing. The $700,000 FTKOCT firster Fort Bragg (Tapit) picked up the final place spot, and completed Bob...

5th-Del Mar, $81,500, Msw, 8-20, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:03.95, ft, 2 1/2 lengths. CLASSICAL CAT (c, 2, Mendelssohn--Conquest Strate Up {SW, $192,984}, by Not Bourbon), away as the second choice at odds of 5-1 for his career bow, broke a bit to his right from the widest post before settling in to stalk the pace while racing five wide up the backstretch. Tucked in to save ground along the rail as they raced around the turn, he inched up on the dueling leaders and was tipped out three deep to...

7th-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 3:52 p.m. ET Winchell homebred ECHO AGAIN (Gun Runner) gets his career started for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Produced by a stakes-placed half-sister to GISW Pyro (Pulpit), the 9-5 morning-line favorite is a half-brother to SW & GSP Pneumatic (Uncle Mo) and a full to SP Costa Terra, both winners at first asking. This same Gun Runner x Tapit cross is responsible for recent 'Rising Star' Disarm as well as last term's GII Adirondack S. heroine Wicked Halo, Monomoy Girl S. winner Society...