Horse Racing
Champion 2-year-old male Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile) was purchased by the Korea Racing Authority and arrived Dec. 18 to continue his stud career for the 2024 breeding season, as first reported by The Paulick Report and confirmed by Ashford Stud. The 9-year-old stood at the farm in Versailles, Kentucky, where he was shuttled to Chile on multiple occasions. As of 2023, his oldest foals are 4-year-olds, and his progeny have won 113 races with earnings of more than $13.5 million. Angel of Empire is his most successful offspring, who...
Today we'll consider some of the sires standing between $10,001 and $19,999. For a long time, I called this the Lookin At Lucky zone. But don't worry, we won't be deploring his neglect yet again: he's staying in Chile, where they evidently appreciate him rather more. Plenty of horses in this bracket have recently relinquished their brief window of commercial opportunity, and are now hanging around to discover whether they might join the very small group whose first runners generate a fresh vogue. Even with the newcomers out of the...
While the final of the roughly two dozen Group 1 races on the Japan Racing Association was scheduled for Thursday, the Tokyo Daishoten--the only recognized international Group 1 event and pattern race of any variety on the National Association of Racing circuit--takes place Friday afternoon at Ohi Racecourse in the Japanese capital. Under normal circumstances, the discussion of the 2000-metre dirt affair would begin and end with Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), whose victory here 12 months ago catapulted him to future success on the world stage in the G1...
In a battle of Cal-bred fillies, it was Jethorse, Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber's Daddysruby (Frac Daddy) who just got the bob over the late-closing Big Pond (Mr. Big) in a thrilling finish to the GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita Tuesday. Though not the quickest into stride from her inside post, Daddysruby rushed up along the rail to take the early lead. She was pressed by favored Howl (Practical Joke) through a quarter in :22.21, but opened a clear lead as the favorite--unbeaten in a pair of lifetime...
Favored Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) led home a one-two finish for Bob Baffert in the GI Malibu S. at Santa Anita Tuesday, putting away stablemate Hejazi (Bernardini) down the lane to give the trainer his record-tying sixth win in the race--and third in the last four years--and longtime owners Mike Pegram, Paul Weitman and Karl Watson their first victory in the Arcadia track's traditional opening-day feature. "Turning for home I knew I was going to win it," Baffert said. "I wasn't sure which one it was going to be, I...
Crunched into 3-5 favoritism to complete the Southern California turf Oaks double, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Anisette (GB) (Awtaad {Ire}) sat the perfect trip just behind the pace and quickened up decisively in the final eighth of a mile to stamp her authority on Tuesday's GI American Oaks at Santa Anita. The dark bay, who swept the GII San Clemente S. and GI Del Mar Oaks over the summer, was content to lay third against the rails as Irad Ortiz, Jr. tried to make all the running aboard 'TDN Rising Star'...
The second betting choice to--finally--build on a championship season in 2021 and a Classic-winning campaign last season, Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) was produced wide into the Nakayama straight by the ageless Yutaka Take and outbattled the positively ridden 4-year-old filly Stars on Earth (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) to take out Sunday's G1 Arima Kinen, the fan-voted 'Grand Prix' of Japan. Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) made the majority of the running, but where he weakened out to finish down the field 12 months ago, held courageously for third in his...
Alpine Princess (Classic Empire) did not disappoint her backers as she lived up to favoritism and won Saturday's Untapable S. in New Orleans. The bay broke her maiden at second asking by a head at Saratoga Sept. 3, but was well-beaten in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. at Keeneland Oct. 6. Returning to her winning ways against allowance company after her race was taken off the grass at Churchill Downs Nov. 26, the filly went off at 8-5 here. The Brad Cox trainee was in-tight along the rail before the...
As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to suefinley@thetdn.com After all summer fighting in Saratoga with so much competition there, I think my biggest win was the GIII Virginia Derby with Integration for Shug McGaughey. That brightened up my summer and he got to come do it again at Aqueduct [in the GII Hill Prince S.] and I'm looking forward to staying on that horse in the future. --Kendrick Carmouche, jockey
A pair of graded stakes races will signal that the Gulfstream Park Championship season is officially underway on Saturday. First, the GIII Sugar Swirl S. for older females going six furlongs on the main track includes veteran mare Bluefield (Field Commission), who won by a neck against state-breds in a Tampa black-type race Dec. 9. "She went up to Tampa and it was nice to get a stakes win on her resume at this age," said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. "She came to us late but she just keeps getting...
As part of a larger $32 million improvement plan, Santa Anita's training track should re-open in mid-January after it was closed for construction Nov. 12, as it changes from a sand-based surface to an all-weather synthetic one, the track said in a release Friday afternoon. Constructed by Tapeta Footings, the new surface is designed to improve safety while also helping to limit weather-related training disruptions. "The main thing is having synthetic will alleviate a complete stoppage of training because of weather," said Jason Egan, Santa Anita Director of Racing and...
The final leg of the $1,000,000 Pennsylvania-Sired/Bred Stallion Series is set for Wednesday, Dec. 27th at Parx Racing with the Miss Behaviour S. and the Wait for It S.--both purses are $200,000. Initially, four races were carded for the inaugural series in 2022, while this year saw the expansion to six. Following the conclusion of the Stallion Series, a $50,000 trainer's bonus will be split among the conditioners of the horses who accumulated the first, second and third highest number of points over the six series races. The first leg...