Horse Racing

2nd-DMR, $61K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 4:00 p.m. A couple of pricey colts will lineup for their Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday at Del Mar. IMAGINATION (Into Mischief) was purchased for $1,050,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September by SF Bloodstock/Starlight Racing/Madaket before adding investors Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovon and Tom Ryan. The bay colt out of GSW Magical Feeling (Empire Maker) counts Oaklawn Mile S. hero Exulting (Tapit) as a half-brother and GIII Monmouth Oaks heroine Occult as a full-sister....

Making his first start on the main track after finishing a sneaky-good third when trying the turf on his Santa Anita debut Oct. 7. Zedan Racing Stables' Coach Prime (c, 2, Quality Road--Act Now, by Street Sense) was let off the leash with a furlong and a half to go Friday at Del Mar and powered away from his rivals to become the afternoon's second 'TDN Rising Star'. The joint third-priciest offering at last year's Keeneland September sale when hammering to bloodstock agent Donato Lanni for $1.7 million, was roughed...

Sailing into the weekend fresh off the Breeders' Cup might sound like a bit of a letdown, but there is some graded racing scheduled that will cure any hangover of the purple and white variety. Across a triad of tracks, including Aqueduct, Woodbine and Churchill Downs, we find both Grade II and Grade III races over the turf and the Tapeta which should come as a welcome dose. First on Saturday, the Big A cards the GIII Pebbles S., which is a one mile battle on the Inner Turf. If...

3rd-Del Mar, $63,500, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 11-10, 2yo, f, 5fT, :57.39, fm, neck. JULIAS DREAM (f, 2, Flameaway--Cinnamon Girl, by Meadowlake) earned the title 'TDN Rising Star' at first asking Aug. 6 by the seaside oval when she won pillar to post by 5 1/2 lengths for her top five first-crop sire while sprinting over the turf. Switching to the main track in the GI Del Mar Debutante, she was a well-beaten eighth to fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro). Back on the grass as the 3-5 choice...

Brookdale Racing and Mark Edwards's Thorpedo Anna (f, 2, Fast Anna--Sataves, by Uncle Mo) proved that her wide-margin debut success in a sales price-restricted Keeneland maiden Oct. 26 was no fluke, backing up that performance with an even bigger one Friday at Churchill en route to 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Tightening from even money to jump at exactly 2-5, the $40,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling switched off beautifully and settled in a three-wide third behind fractions of :23.22 and :46.74. Slipped a bit of rein at the three-eighths, Thorpedo Anna loomed...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses: Saturday, November 11, 2023 5th-KYO, ¥13,720,000 ($91k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800mT OSCAR BRAVE (c, 2, Oscar Performance--Russian Symbol {Ire}, by Danehill Dancer {Ire}), a $17,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $240,00 OBS April juvenile, is the latest foal...

Pleasant Acres Stallions welcomed 2021 Virginia Horse of the Year and GSW Chess Chief (Into Mischief) who will stand his inaugural season in Florida for a $5,000 fee, the farm said in press release on Friday. Bred by Morgan's Ford Farm, Chess Chief comes to the 220-acre breeding operation northwest of Ocala after finishing his racing career last January. The 7-year-old owned by the estate of James J. Coleman and trained by Dallas Stewart, earned $931,319 over the course of his career with his best effort coming when he won...

Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Horse: A Novel, Nov. 9 was awarded first prize in Castleton Lyons's 17th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, the sponsor of the prize said in a release Friday. The work of fiction tells the story of 19th century racehorse and sire Lexington by moving back and forth through time and space from the antebellum South to modern day New York and Washington D. C. At a reception held at Castleton Lyons outside of Lexington, Brooks received a check for $10,000 and a Tipperary...

GISW Red Knight (Pure Prize) arrived safely at his new home on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky, the retirement farm said in a release Friday morning. Bred, raced and donated by owner Tom Egan of Trinity Farm, the 9-year-old Red Knight was a stalwart campaigner over 38 races in which he was 12-9-2 with total earnings tallying at $1,886,338. The highlight of his lengthy career came this year when he won the GI Man o' War S. at Belmont Park May 13, becoming just the third...

WinStar's Grade I-winning millionaire Paynter, whose story of perseverance captivated the racing world in 2012, had to be euthanized on Friday, Nov. 10, due to lameness, the farm said in a release Friday morning. The 2009 son of Awesome Again captured the 2012 GI Haskell Invitational S. and finished a close second in that year's GI Belmont S. en route to career earnings of $1,101,924 for owner Zayat Stables and trainer Bob Baffert. After nearly wiring the field in the 2012 GI Belmont S. and winning the GI Haskell Invitational,...

Gainesway stallion and GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Karakontie (Jpn) (Bernstein) will stand for $15,000 LFSN, the farm said in a release Friday morning. Bred and raced by the Niarchos Family, Karakontie campaigned in France, where he won a pair of group races at 2-year-old, including the G1 Qatar Prix Jean Luc Lagardere Grand Criterium. The future sire trained on as a 3-year-old to capture the classic G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains-French 2000 Guineas before traveling to Santa Anita for that Breeders' Cup win. Karakontie continues to serve as one...

Pin Oak Stud LLC's Parchment Party (Constitution), who overcame a bit of traffic and a tight spot inside at a crucial stage when belying debut odds of 16-1 over this track and distance Sept. 15, doubled up with an equally eye-catching performance in a Thursday allowance at Churchill Downs, becoming a new 'TDN Rising Star' in the process. He is the eighth 'Rising Star' for his WinStar-based stallion. Drawn widest in a field of 10 and only lightly regarded in the wagering at just north of 11-2, the $450,000 Keeneland...