Keeneland September

Part of a favored Klaravich Stable entry favored at 70 cents on the dollar, Strategic Focus (c, 3, Gun Runner--Curlin's Mistress, by Curlin) turned in a highly polished debut effort, outfinishing a pair of older rivals to become the newest 'TDN Rising Star' for his boom sire. Drawn widest in a field of eight, the $500,000 Keeneland September purchase broke fractionally to his right and was taken in hand by Dylan Davis to race in the second half of the field behind fractions of :23.38 for the opening quarter and...

This week, we debut a new feature: who were the five fastest maidens to race in North America last week, as measured by the Beyer Speed figures? We count them down. 5. TROUBLESHOOTING, KEE 4/10 - 5 1/2f (turf) Beyer Speed Figure: 86 (c, 3, Not This Time--Into Trouble, by Into Mischief) O/B-Donamire Farm; T-Greg Foley; J-Edgar Morales. Video Replay. After three losses as a 2-year-old, Foley did a little "troubleshooting" and switched this colt to grass--with immediate results. Morales positioned him in the rail pocket behind the Bill Mott-trained 5-2...

A colt by leading sire Tapit (hip 249) was the first to top seven figures when selling for $1,000,000 to Gayle Van Leer during Tuesday's session of the OBS Spring Sale. Consigned by Top Line Sales, the colt worked an eighth in :10. A $300,000 Keeneland September grad, he is out of MGISP Palacio de Amor and a half to MGSP Threefiveindia (Street Hero) and MSW Hero's Amor (Street Horo) who produced GSP Apprehend (Arrogate).

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 Hanshin and Fukushima Racecourses: Saturday, April 12, 2025 4th-HSN, ¥10,600,000 ($73k), Maiden, 3yo, 1600mT AMERICAN POLICE (c, 3, Into Mischief--Theyskens' Theory, by Bernardini), a $350,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by owner Katsumi Yoshizawa, is the latest to the races for...

7th-KEE, 110K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 4:12 p.m. The second-highest priced yearling sold at Keeneland September in 2023, LADY SCUDERIA (Uncle Mo) went the way of John Stewart's Resolute Racing for $2,500,000. A daughter of Starship Warpspeed, the filly is a half-sister to GI Kentucky Derby winner (amongst other Grade I's) Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) who last sold to Whisper Hill Farm for $5,000,000 at FTKNOV in 2022. The mare has also produced GSP Mojovation (Quality Road) and strikes a perfect six-for-six record of runners to winners. TJCIS PPS

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- There's that age-old saying in the Thoroughbred business that a good horse can come from anywhere. Perhaps no equine athlete in training anywhere in the world embodies that axiom more than Tuz (Oxbow). At the ripe old age of eight, the burly dark bay gelding--he stands 16.3hh--is in career form, arguably even better than when he won the 2024 G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, and that's really saying something, as he kicked away from his rivals late on that occasion to dominate by a towering 6...

When he has the right horse to do so, California-based conditioner Doug O'Neill isn't the smallest bit hesitant to showcase them on the foreign stage. On Apr. 5, the 56-year-old will send out Grade I winner Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) in an attempt to win the G2 Godolphin Mile for the third time in his career and the second time in succession. "It's a real honor to have a horse that's classy enough to travel to meetings like this," said O'Neill, a two-time winner of the GI Kentucky Derby whose...

Making the journey from his Payson base in South Florida, Lion of Justice (Into Mischief--Ever So Clever, by Medaglia d'Oro) did not mind the new digs one iota as he graduated on debut over the blazing main strip at Colonial Downs on Saturday. Owned by St. Elias Stable, Talla Racing, West Point and C J Stable, the colt represented the pride well and took home a 'TDN Rising Star' for his effort. Bred by Clearsky Farms, the $1.1 million Keeneland September purchase was slammed at the windows to the tune...

9th-Gulfstream, $77,000, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 3-9, 3yo, 1m, 1:36.59, ft, 7 1/2 lengths. PRAETOR (c, 3, Into Mischief--Curlin's Approval {MGSW, $654,725}, by Curlin) ran a well-beaten third on debut in the mud at the Spa last August, but he was able to graduate by a neck over the highly-regarded GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth hero Sovereignty (Into Mischief) at the Big A Sept. 27. Given time after a minor injury, the bay returned to work at Chad Brown's Payson base in late January. Slammed at the windows for his...

Friday's second of three under-tack previews ahead of next week's OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training witnessed no fewer than two dozen horses that broke the 10-second threshold among those who worked an eighth of a mile over the synthetic track. But it was hip 446, a filly by young Crestwood Farm stallion Caracaro (Uncle Mo) from the draft of On The Run Sales, agent, who was the fleetest of them all when stopping the clock in a slick :9 3/5 about three hours into the session. A Feb....

Since the last installment of this column, the No. 1-ranked contender, First Resort (Uncle Mo), has been declared off the Triple Crown trail because of a hairline fracture, and no fewer than four other top 12 horses were bet down to favoritism but lost points-awarding graded stakes. Even after this past Saturday's trio of preps for the GI Kentucky Derby, trying to figure out a new pecking order remains challenging, like trying to coax clarity out of chaos. 1) CITIZEN BULL (c, Into Mischief--No Joke, by Distorted Humor) O-SF Racing...

11th-Gulfstream, $70,840, Msw, 3-2, 3yo, 1 1/8mT, 1:47.55, fm, neck. BULLDOZE (c, 3, Nyquist--Riley's Choice {SW, $172,838}, by Distorted Humor), fourth going a furlong shorter in his Jan. 25 unveiling, was sent off the 3-2 favorite in this second outing. The chestnut colt angled to the rail and settled well off the pace. He inched closer down the backstretch and, shadowing the move of Fateful Lightning (Tapit), tipped to the center of course at the top of the lane. That first-time starter surged to the lead with a sixteenth to...