Hope Road

Leading into the first Saturday in May, the Beyer Speed Figure benchmark for the year hadn't been set by one of the star 3-year-olds in the nation, but by the 4-year-old California campaigner Kopion (f, 4, Omaha Beach--Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop), who closed out her 2024 season as a surprise 37-1 victress in the GI La Brea Stakes on Santa Anita's opening day in December. Saturday she made it three in a row and proved her last-out, year-topping 110 Beyer Speed Figure was no fluke as she made the...

Cicero Farms homebred Hope Road (Quality Road) rolled in the GIII Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday afternoon and proved her two prior five-length wins for trainer Bob Baffert were no fluke. Beginning in the care of John Sadler, last summer at the seaside oval the then-juvenile was the runner-up twice against maiden special weights before being well-beaten in the GI Del Mar Derby. Making the barn switch in September, the filly broke through with a strong performance at Santa Anita in mid-June to start her 3-year-old season...

7th-DMR, $82K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 8:15 p.m. A filly whose pedigree needs no introduction, TAMARA (Bolt d'Oro) is the latest foal out of MGISW Beholder to make the races for Spendthrift Farm and trainer Richard Mandella. Beholder, now a graded-stakes producer with Teena Ella (War Front), saw her youngest foal by Curlin bring a sale-topping $4,000,000 at last week's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. Out of blue hen Leslie's Lady, she is of course a half-sister to GISW Mendelssohn and leading general sire Into Mischief. Drawn on the...

1st-SAR, $136k, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, post time: 1:10 p.m. ET His full-brother Mage is about three hours south at Monmouth Park to contest Saturday's GI TVG.com Haskell S., but DORNOCH (Good Magic) could still represent the family should the Saratoga opener be transferred to the main track. Whereas Mage cost $235,000 at Keeneland September in 2021 (before fetching $290,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale last year), Dornoch was a $325,000 acquisition in Lexington. The pair's dam SW & GSP Puca (Big Brown), a 'TDN Rising Star' and also responsible...