Keeneland

The GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. offers the last round of qualifying points for the GI Kentucky Derby on May 7 and the connections of GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth runner-up In Due Time (Not This Time) are still Derby dreaming. Their 3-year-old chestnut colt has never been off the board in his four career starts and has already earned 20 qualifying points from his second-place finish in the Fountain of Youth. He would still need the 20 points awarded to the Lexington S. winner in order to get a chance...

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 Nakayama Racecourses. While the 3-year-old filly set was front and center for last weekend's G1 Oka Sho, their male counterparts get their chance in Sunday's G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas), and though there are no American-bred runners...

Keeneland has cataloged 73 horses for its April Horses of Racing Age Sale, to be held Friday, Apr. 29 following the races on closing day of the Spring Meet. The sale, which will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET and be livestreamed on Keeneland.com, will be conducted as an integrated event, with live auctioneers at Keeneland and with horses presented for sale both physically at Keeneland and at off-site locations. Keeneland also will provide online and phone bidding for buyers who wish to participate remotely. "We're really excited about hosting...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-KEE, $100K, MSW, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 3:08 p.m. Trainer Chad Brown brings NABOKOV (Uncle Mo) to Keeneland on Thursday for his career debut. The chestnut son of Peppy Rafaela (Bernardini) is a full-brother to GSW & MGSP Mopotism who earned over $876k in her career. Purchased for $775,000 by Peter Brant from the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Nabokov has been working consistently in preparation for his debut including four-furlongs in :49 2/5 Mar. 26 (12/63) and a more recent four-furlongs on the track at...

1st-Keeneland, $75,320, Msw, 4-13, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :53.09, gd, 1 3/4 lengths. MR. GORDY (c, 2, Mo Town--Sky Trail, by Congrats), dismissed at odds of 21-1 for his career bow, broke straight to the lead from the rail and raced just off the inside path around the turn. His lead increased turning for home and he had something left in reserve to hold off a fast-closing Ryvit (Competitive Edge) and win by 1 3/4 lengths to become the first winner for his freshman sire (by Uncle Mo), who stands at...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency WELL-RELATED DUO DEBUT AT KEENELAND 1st-KEE, $80K, Msw, 2yo, 4 1/2f, 1:00 p.m. Wesley Ward season is upon us with early 2-year-old races being carded at Keeneland and he is represented here by a well-bred colt in ALIBI IKE (Munnings). The chestnut is out of GSP Dragic (Broken Vow), who is a daughter of GSW Letgomyecho (Menifee). That mare also produced champion and GI Kentucky Oaks prospect Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), GISW and Coolmore stallion Echo Town (Speightstown), GSW J Boys Echo (Mineshaft) and GSP...

On an action-packed stakes weekend, insights were relatively light, featuring an upset of perennial 2-year-old powerhouse Wesley Ward in the Keeneland meet opener Friday and the unveiling of a $1.25-million purchase on the Aqueduct turf Saturday. Friday's Insights: Laoban Full-Sister Debuts at Keeneland 1st-Keeneland, $60,904, Msw, 4-8, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :53.16, ft, 5 lengths. The annual tradition of Wesley Ward dominating Keeneland's April 2-year-old races early and often was immediately interrupted by emerging California juvenile trainer Luis Mendez--starting his first-ever horse at Keeneland--and Flavien Prat thanks to five-length winner KING...

Godolphin's Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile), bet hard throughout, ran to the money in Sunday's GIII Beaumont S. at Keeneland, picking up her first stakes win with a daylight romp against six overmatched rivals. Debuting with a smooth 4 1/2-length wire-to-wire score while geared down late Aug. 20 at Ellis, the homebred disappointed a bit when flattening out to fifth in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. on this strip Oct. 8. Finishing second as the favorite in the Fern Creek S. Nov. 27 at Churchill, the bay was a distant runner-up...

Slipstream (More Than Ready) could do no better than sixth in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar, but closed furiously up the rail to best favored Stonestreet filly Twilight Gleaming (Ire) (National Defense {GB}) in Sunday's Listed Palisades S. at Keeneland. Quickly into stride from an outside alley, 'TDN Rising Star' Twilight Gleaming outsprinted her male rivals and galloped them along on a drying-out turf course as Slipstream, last year's GIII Futurity S. hero, bided his time at the tail of the field. As her stablemate...

3rd-Keeneland, $100,000, Msw, 4-10, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:45.99, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. DISTINCTLYPOSSIBLE (f, 3, Curlin--Funny Proposition {GSW, $230,295}, by Medaglia d'Oro) closed off nicely to be second on her six-furlong debut at Saratoga last August and was last seen finishing runner-up to Juju's Map (Liam's Map) when last seen in this track's GI Darley Alcibiades S. in October. A slight drift in the markets saw the bay jump at a fairly generous even money Sunday and she hit the ground running before being securing a rail-skimming spot by...

hiSure, horses like Go For Gin and Thunder Gulch parlayed victories in the GII Remsen S. at two into GI Kentucky Derby glory in 1994 and 1995, respectively, but there are few races over the last 30 years that have taken more of a beating than that late-season Aqueduct feature as a pointer to success in Louisville. Perhaps that theory is due for a rethink. In the space of about 30 minutes Saturday afternoon, 2021 Remsen winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) clawed his way past Early Voting (Gun Runner) to...

Wesley Ward has trained his fair share of fast horses in his career, but where it comes to Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), "this is the fastest of the fast." That is some compliment, and few would quibble with him after watching the two-time Breeders' Cup winner treat nine fellow turf sprinters to a spectacular front-running tour-de-force in Saturday's GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland. Sent off the prohibitive 3-5 chalk in his seasonal debut, Golden Pal--who overcame the 13 hole in a field of 14 to win the 2020 GII Juvenile...