Horse Racing
Staton Flurry is set to be represented over the next couple of weekends in major graded stakes in the Midwest, but the Arkansas native is also not one to shy away from his Mid-South roots. On June 20, an otherwise sleepy and uneventful Monday afternoon on the American racing scene, Flurry homebred Lady Flurry (Lord Nelson) raised more than a few eyebrows, streaking home to best fellow Louisiana-breds by some nine lengths in a time that nearly lowered a track record that had been around for nearly four decades. "I...
Saturday's GIII Ohio Derby--the lone graded event carded annually in the Buckeye State--attracted three runners who made their last start on the first Saturday in May beneath the Twin Spires in neighboring Kentucky. The trio, sent off the first, second and fourth wagering choices in the $500,000 test, would go on to combine for a trifecta that returned a chalky 14-1, as Peachtree Stable's 13-10 favorite Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile), a respectable seventh in the Derby, gathered up 3-2 second-elect White Abarrio (Race Day)--16th at Churchill--in the waning stages...
A week ahead of their expected clash in the $750,000 GII Stephen Foster H. at Churchill Downs, 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief) and fellow Grade I winner Americanrevolution (Constitution) each breezed five furlongs beneath the Twin Spires Saturday morning. The adjudicated winner of the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby, Mandaloun hit the track at 5:30 a.m. and covered the five furlongs while working on his own in 1:00.80 under the watchful eye of trainer Brad Cox. His previous moves had come in the company of his GIII Oaklawn Mile-winning stablemate...
Following a quiet few days in the aftermath of Ascot and Chantilly, things get moving again on Saturday with The Curragh staging one of the most interesting renewals of the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby for some time. A race that has from time to time in recent years been under the shadow of the European Pattern Committee's guillotine has pulled a trick out of the hat this year to ensure it keeps its exalted status for the immediate future at least. Aidan O'Brien has come to tick off...
Hanshin Racecourse is the site of Sunday's fan-voted G1 Takarazuka Kinen over the metric 11-furlong trip, with the winner earning a fees-paid berth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland Race Course the first weekend of November. And with scarcely an exception, 18 of Japan's best middle-distance horses--with formlines from all over the world--are set to face the starter. A logical case can be made for perhaps as many as nine runners Sunday afternoon, including reigning Horse of the Year Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), who looks to bounce...
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 Saturday at Tokyo and Sunday at Hanshin. The latter venue plays host to Sunday's G1 Takarazuka Kinen, the final top-level event in Japan for three months and offering the winner a spot in the field for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf...
After a brief hiatus during Royal Ascot, TDN Europe's weekly Q&A series is back with Real Madrid and Spanish football star Alvaro Odriozola telling Brian Sheerin all about his endeavours in racing so far, his friendship with Joseph O'Brien and his ambitions to own a "horse of a lifetime." At just 25 years of age, Odriozola has already enjoyed a hugely successful career as a footballer and revealed how he adopts a similar mindset to racehorse ownership and breeding by saying "you have to dream big in order to get...
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, post time: 6:56 p.m. ET ARMAN (Bolt d'Oro) has drawn widest in what appears a very salty field of 12 as he looks to become a seventh first-crop winner for his Spendthrift-based stallion. Bought back on a bid of $52K at the 2021 OBS October sale, the Jan. 25 foal one of just four horses to breeze a furlong in :9 4/5 at this year's OBS March sale and was hammered down to Kaleem Shah for $600K, one of seven...
4th-Louisiana Downs, $23,000, (S), Msw, 6-20, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, :51.63, ft, 9 lengths. LADY FLURRY (f, 2, Lord Nelson--Patchofbadweather {SW}, by Storm and a Half) blew out three furlongs from the gate in a bullet :35 4/5 (1/36) over this strip June 14 and was the 1-2 mortal to kick her career off on a winning note. Showing good speed to race widest in a line of four early, the Flurry homebred poked her red blinkers in front entering the turn and from there, it was lights out. Firmly...
Rafael Bejarano became just the 15th jockey to record as many at 500 victories at historic Churchill Downs when the debuting juvenile filly Just Cindy (Justify) validated 6-5 favoritism for trainer Eddie Kenneally Friday afternoon. A native of Peru who will celebrate his 40th birthday June 23, Bejarano began riding at the Louisville oval in 2003 and earned three riding titles (Spring, 2004-5, Fall 2005) before shifting his tack to California in 2008. Arguably Bejarano's finest hour in the saddle came beneath the Twin Spires in 2010, when he shoved...
Jockey Evin Roman, trainer Jonathan Wong and Tommy Town Thoroughbreds were the leading jockey, trainer and owner, respectively, at the Golden Gate Fields winter/spring meet that wrapped up Sunday, June 12. The 24-year-old native of Puerto Rico, Roman rode 87 winners over the course of the meet, four better than Pedro Terro, with purse earnings of $1.745,152. Earlier in his career, Roman won five riding titles in Southern California and was the Eclipse champion apprentice of 2017. Wong won his fifth consecutive training title, with 71 winners from 349 starters...