Horse Racing

ARCADIA, CA - Babe! After spending 10 years in exile with a very well-documented suspension, trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. is officially all the way back. C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable's White Abarrio (Race Day), a powerhouse last out winner of this summer's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga, ran to the money as the 5-2 favorite with a one-length victory for Dutrow in Saturday's $6-million GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita. The 64-year-old's three prior wins at the Championships were headed by future Horse of the Year Saint...

Announced as a season-ending target long before such announcements are typically made, the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf proved fertile ground for the Coolmore partners' Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who enjoyed what turned out to be a dream trip beneath Ryan Moore, got through when the real running commenced at the head of the lane and charged to the wire to defeat top U.S. hope Up to the Mark (Not This Time). It was a sixth victory in the mile-and-a-half second-richest race on the card for trainer Aidan...

Under normal circumstances, drawing the outside gate in a one-mile race, on turf, going two turns is a kiss of death. At Santa Anita, well, maybe not so much. Sent off as the 33-10 second betting favorite behind Japan's superstar miler Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Godolphin's Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) produced a stunning late burst of speed to run down the commonly owned Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), whose half-brother Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was victorious in last year's Mile at Keeneland and in that...

ARCADIA, CA - You've got company Groupie Doll. Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) successfully defended her title at Santa Anita on Saturday and joined the 2012-13 champion female sprinter as the only repeat winners of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Longshots Yuugiri (Shackleford) and Three Witches (Into Mischief) collected the minors. Favored at even-money, Goodnight Olive broke nicely from her rail draw and found a good spot beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. in a joint third behind the first-time blinkered Eda (Munnings) and second-choice Society (Gun Runner) through an opening...

Susumu Fujita's Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), the full-brother to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) and €2.1-million topper at the 2022 Arqana August sale, made a successful racecourse debut Saturday, bursting through with 400 metres to travel en route to a three-length success at Tokyo Racecourse. Trying an 1800-metre trip for this first go, the son of Starlet's Sister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was first to break the line and could have led had they chosen, but Takeshi Yokoyama elected to allow the colt to find his...

Courtesy of years in the sport of horse racing, Team Coolmore is as well versed as anyone with many of racing's highs and lows. Hitting one of those lulls when GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf morning-line favorite River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) was a vet scratch earlier Friday, the team--in concert with Al Shaqab Racing--ended Day 1 of the World Championships with a rousing coup, taking the final Breeders' Cup race of the day with Unquestionable (Fr), a colt by Coolmore stallion Wootton Bassett {GB}). Coolmore completed the Exacta...

ARCADIA, CA - The comparisons to the brilliant Uncle Mo began for 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) following a spectacular, double-digit debut win a day before the GI Travers S. at Saratoga-Uncle Mo's, of course, took place on the undercard--but came to an abrupt halt following a dismal seventh at .55 cents on the dollar in a sloppy renewal of the GI Champagne S. They can safely return now. Just like Uncle Mo did for Repole Stable and Todd Pletcher at third asking beneath John Velazquez at the...

Having sired five Northern Hemisphere Grade I/Group 1 winners since June, Coolmore America's outstanding second-crop stallion Justify registered a 'Future Stars Friday' double when Wise Racing LLC's Hard to Justify stuck on grimly to deny game Irish raider Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. The $190,000 Keeneland September yearling made it a half-dozen elite-level scorers for the 2018 Triple Crown winner, whose daughter Just F Y I locked up an Eclipse Award with her hard-fought success in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies not 45...

ARCADIA, CA - For your information, George Krikorian's unbeaten homebred Just F Y I (Justify) is the best 2-year-old filly in the country. Given a 7-1 chance while drawn widest of all in post 12 in Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, she secured a beautiful spot from her outside draw and immediately took the race to 4-5 favorite and unbeaten GI Del Mar Debutante S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) from the start. Always traveling like a winner beneath Junior Alvarado from an outside second, she...

RP Racing's Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) came into Friday's GI Breeders' Juvenile Turf Sprint carrying great expectation. The 2-year-old's trainer, Mick Appleby, was making his Breeders' Cup debut, as was jockey Tom Marquand. Far from newcomers in their respective bases in the UK, the duo had to travel a long way for this year's World Championships at Santa Anita, but the voyage proved worth their while as the Irish-bred proved best in a blistering renewal of the five-furlong turf test. "I'm still gobsmacked," said a visibly moved Appleby...

Whether digital or the old school paper variety, it is safe to say that most of the forms will be turned to the World Championship races. However, it should be noted that Saturday does sport some graded stakes action that you will not want to miss from both Santa Anita Park and Woodbine Racetrack. 'The Great Race Place' card gets the Breeders' Cup engines warmed with the GII Twilight Derby for 3-year-olds over the turf. If you are interested in how the course sets up for what's to come, then...

7th-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, post time: 3:20 p.m. While the focus of the Thoroughbred world Saturday afternoon will rightly be on Santa Anita, SIERRA LEONE (Gun Runner), the $2.3-million topper out of the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, provides ample reason to click over to the Aqueduct feed between the running of the Filly and Mare Turf and Filly and Mare Sprint. The Mar. 31 foal was bred by Debby Oxley and is a son of her homebred 2017 GI Darley Alcibiades S. romper Heavenly Love (Malibu Moon). There was...