John Sadler
A debut winner for John Sadler out at Santa Anita in gate-to-wire fashion June 1, Hey Nay Nay shipped in from California to Monmouth Park and outclassed this field from the first jump to take the Tyro Stakes. A rocket from the gate, the 1-5 favorite was in charge of the tempo from the start and played catch me if you can with this field who was run off their feet. Sir Newtons Laws (Accelerate) stuck around early but quickly faded as Hey Nay Nay turned for home and began...
Full Serrano (Arg) (Full Mast), unraced since springing a 13-1 upset in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar Nov. 2, is nearing a return. "We're hoping we see him at Del Mar," owner Kosta Hronis said. "If there's a race for him there that he fits in, that's what we're gonna shoot for. We'll see how he does and go from there. The focus is Breeders' Cup. If he can handle the Classic, that would be the ultimate goal." Full Serrano has posted four workouts for trainer...
Trainer Christophe Clement sadly passed away without being inducted into the National Museum of Racing's 2025 Hall of Fame class, and I freely admit that I did not cast a ballot for him again. Something is amiss because it feels like a failure on my part, the voters and by the system. When the envelope has arrived in the mail these past few years and I look down at the list of trainers it always fills my cup full of dread. Take your medicine, I tell myself, but it's so...
Umberto Rispoli, the second-leading rider at the Hollywood Meet at Santa Anita, is off all his Saturday mounts due to his connecting flight from Kentucky being canceled, 1S/T Racing announced Saturday afternoon. Rispoli flew in to Churchill Downs overnight to partner with likely Kentucky Derby favorite GISW Journalism (Curlin) in his final pre-Derby work, but those plans were scrubbed when the work was postponed to Sunday due to the rain. The jockey was named on six rides for the Saturday card, including on 'TDN Rising Star' Eagles Flight (Curlin), the...
A filly who failed to find a bidder as a yearling and landed a Gowran Park maiden on 3-year-old debut at 40-1 became a new 'TDN Rising Star' at Santa Anita on St. Patrick's Day, fittingly enough, as Raw Ability (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) ran her stateside record to two wins from as many starts and won for the third time in three career appearances. Friendless in the markets when unveiled by Limerick trainer Eric McNamara over a mile at the Irish venue last June 3, the bay--who was bought back...
10th-Santa Anita, $68,000, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($50,000), 3-8, 4yo/up, 1m, 1:35.14, ft, 4 1/2 lengths. EAGLES FLIGHT (c, 4, Curlin--Feathered {GSW & MGISP, $577,474}, by Indian Charlie), a half-brother to the once-in-a-lifetime Flightline (Tapit), Horse Of The Year, Ch. Older Dirt Male, MGISW, $4,514,800, cleared his first allowance condition with a dominating victory as the even-money favorite at Santa Anita Saturday evening. Placed in a tracking second on the clubhouse turn, he stuck his head in front on the backstretch, let it out a notch through a half mile in...
According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, a self-fulfilling prophecy is the "process through which an originally false expectation leads to its own confirmation." Horse racing's self-fulfilling prophesy appears to be the belief that only a select few trainers are capable of eliciting from the sport's finest Thoroughbred athletes their optimum talent. This notion reached an absurd low last month when a commentator for the UK's Racing Post argued that owners in possession of the best steeplechasers in England and Ireland should essentially have their heads examined for sending their horses to...
Groupie Doll, Smarty Jones, and Ken McPeek have been nominated to the Hall of Fame as finalists for the first time, according to a press release Thursday morning from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. They were among the eight racehorses, seven trainers, and one jockey who accounted for the 16 finalists that will comprise the National Museum of Racing's 2025 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the Museum's Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. The finalists are racehorses Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Groupie Doll, Havre...
A light work tab Thursday included the return of Grade I winner Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The dark bay, who was last seen winning the 2023 edition of the GI Malibu at Santa Anita, drilled three furlongs on the main track in :36.40 seconds (1/4). It was his first work since Sept. 21. Owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman--the so-called 'Three Amigos'--Speed Boat Beach has four wins over seven starts and $498,000 in earnings. The Baffert trainee was a two-time...
Look Forward (Bolt d'Oro) was a nice first-out winner for the late Ben Cecil at Del Mar when she took she took her competition gate to wire while posting an 82 Beyer Speed Figure Nov. 8. Transferred to Michael McCarthy's care, she was then tested for class in the GII Starlet Stakes, stretching out to 1 1/16 miles at Los Alamitos Dec. 7. She dueled late into the race with GISW and eventual winner Tenma (Nyquist) and just yielded close to home when second by 1 3/4 lengths. Cutting back...
Last year, the Santa Ynez Stakes was issued a downgrade from its grade III status and tabbed as a listed race for 3-year-old fillies in 2025. However, Kentucky Oaks points remain on the table--10 will be deposited in the winner's account--when the bell rings at Santa Anita on Sunday. The Santa Ynez is now part of 1/ST Racing's 3-Year-Old Filly Series, which is sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. Made the morning-line favorite at 5-2 is Hronis Racing's A.Z. Wildcat (Munnings). The chestnut stalked the pace nicely and ended up breaking her maiden...
7th-SA, 61K, O/C, 4yo/up, 1m, 5:36 p.m. 'TDN Rising Star' EAGLES FLIGHT (Curlin), the 4-year-old half-brother to Horse of the Year Flightline (Tapit), returns to action Saturday off a lengthy layoff. Debuted in a six-furlong maiden special weight event at Santa Anita May 27, the John Sadler trainee earned his 'Rising Star' stamp with a 2 3/4-length come-from-behind win which garnered an 89 Beyer Speed Figure. Unraced since that unveiling, Eagles Flight was mentioned as a possible runner for opening weekend's GI Malibu Stakes but was never officially entered there....