Horse Racing

DARRS Inc.'s Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid), who recently passed the $1-million mark in career earnings, will make his next start in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200 meters on the straight) on the Dubai World Cup undercard at Meydan Racecourse Mar. 27, trainer Brendan Walsh confirmed Wednesday. A six-time stakes winner and second in the GI Highlander S. in 2019, the 8-year-old ran home gamely to be a close fourth off a very wide trip in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and has since rounded out the...

Inter Royal Lady (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), champion of her generation in Poland in 2019 and 2020, will continue her career in France under the care of Arc-winning conditioner Jean-Claude Rouget, according to information on the France Galop website. The daughter of Fearn Royal (Ire) (Ali-Royal {Ire}) was perfect and untested in six juvenile appearances and ran her overall winning streak to nine before tasting defeat for the first time when beaten a half-length by Night Thunder (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the Westminster Derby (2400 metres) at Sluzewiec Racecourse...

Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One (Majesticperfection), who became the first Grade I winner for trainer Neil Pessin in last year's Derby City Distaff ahead of a third-place effort to champion 'TDN Rising Star' Gamine (Into Mischief) in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 (9/36) at the Fair Grounds Feb. 28. Pessin confirmed that the GI Madison S. at Keeneland Apr. 4, in which his charge was a pace-compromised third in the coronavirus-delayed 2020 renewal last July, is the jumping-off spot for the mare's...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-Gulfstream, $55K, Msw, 3yo, 1m, post time: 1:24 p.m. ET Given his name, it might be more fitting if Peter Brant's BENNYFROMTHEBRONX (Tapit) were making his first trip to the races at the Jersey Shore, but instead, the half-brother to GISW 'TDN Rising Star' and recent Saudi Cup runner-up Charlatan (Speightstown) gets his career started at Gulfstream Park Saturday afternoon. The bay, a $300,000 Keeneland September acquisition, is the latest to the races from his dam, two-time graded winner and three-time Grade I-placed Authenticity (Quiet...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-Aqueduct, $80K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, post time: 3:25 p.m. ET ROYAL REALM (Empire Maker) gets his career underway for Centennial Farms and trainer Jimmy Jerkens. A $250,000 Keeneland September acquisiton, the Triple Crown-nominated dark bay is out of an unraced daughter of Golden Sheba (Coronado's Quest), the dam of Godolphin's two-time GISW Wedding Toast (Street Sense), whose son Ya Hayati (Dubawi {Ire}) won the Listed Zabeel Turf at Meydan last month. The colt's third dam includes the recently deceased MGISW Congaree (Arazi) and SW/GISP Sangaree...

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 Nakayama and Hanshin Racecourses: Saturday, February 27, 2021 3rd-NKY, ¥9,680,000 ($91k), Maiden, 3yo, 1200m SLAP SHOT (JPN) (c, 3, Air Force Blue--Laxfield Road, by Quality Road) was sent off at debut odds of 53-10 in a 1400-meter newcomers' event at...

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed a bill on Historical Horse Racing (Senate Bill 120) Monday, which would assure that betting on historical machines is legal. The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), Kentucky's equine economic advocate, released the following statement in response: "We thank Governor Beshear for signing Senate Bill 120 into law, which ensures the future of our equine industry while protecting thousands of local jobs. Kentuckians and the legislators who represent them have made clear that they support historical horse racing and the many benefits it brings to our...

Robert and Lawana Low's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf hero Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) breezed a half-mile in :48.40 for trainer Todd Pletcher at Palm Beach Downs Feb. 20 and is penciled in for his next start in the GII Muniz Memorial S. going nine furlongs over the Stall-Wilson turf course at the Fair Grounds Mar. 20, the Lowses bloodstock advisor and racing manager Jacob West said Monday. The $50,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $1.2-million OBS April breezer got about three weeks off following his neck defeat of stablemate Largent...

Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) and Furore (NZ) (Pierro {Aus}), winners of the BMW Hong Kong Derby in 2020 and 2019, respectively, treated racing fans to an epic final-furlong battle in Sunday's G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup, with the undisputed current king of the hill in the jurisdiction just clawing his way past Furore to take his current winning streak to 13 and his overall record to a spectacular 16 from 17. Golden Sixty is now within four victories of the record currently held by the legendary Silent Witness...

Sunday's live program at Tokyo Racecourse features the return of Group 1 action in the one-mile February S., but about 90 minutes earlier, the nation's 3-year-old set will compete for a Kentucky Derby points that are up for grabs in the $347,257 Listed Hyacinth S. over the same distance. Nobutaka Tada's La Perouse (Jpn) (Pelusa {Jpn}) is the only member of the 11-strong field that was given an entry into the Triple Crown series at its first closing stage in late January. The homebred was well beaten trying the turf...

by Alan Carasso One of three Japanese raiders, Copano Kicking (Spring At Last) came with a stinging final-furlong rally in Saturday's Saudi Arabian Airlines Riyadh Dirt Sprint and was up on the wire to defeat Matera Sky (Speightstown), who dropped a similarly gut-wrenching decision to New York Central (Tapit) in the inaugural running of the event in 2020. The locally based Faz Zae (KSA) (Mizzen Mast) finished best of the rest. The fleet-footed Matera Sky jumped straight into the bridle from gate one and led along the inside, as recent...

by Alan Carasso Making his first afternoon appearance on the dirt at career start number seven, Pink Kamehameha (Jpn) (Leontes {Jpn}) provided his home country and trainer Hideyuki Mori with a second victory in as many runnings in the Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Derby at King Abdulaziz Racecourse Saturday. Cowan (Kantharos) made up a stack of ground after blowing the break to just miss and won a photo for second from New Treasure (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}). Full Flat (Speightstown) won for Japan last year. When entries were taken Saturday,...