Keeneland

Defying the rain-softened ground and a trio from Ballydoyle, Khalid Abdullah's Siskin (First Defence) kept his unbeaten record intact as he prevailed from TDN Rising Star Monarch of Egypt (American Pharoah) in Friday's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. at The Curragh. Held up in fourth early by Colin Keane, the 10-11 favourite cruised into a challenging position on the far side heading to two out where battle was joined with Monarch of Egypt who he had beaten in the course-and-distance G2 Railway S. Looking to be losing out in that tussle...

Champion and win machine Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) looms large as she looks to defend her title in an expected seven-horse renewal of Saturday's GI Beverly D. S., the first of three Grade Is at Arlington. A winner of three of four to start her career in France, the bay earned a trip to America with a second at 12-1 in the G1 Prix de Diane Longines two summers ago. Since then, she's a neck and a head from being undefeated in seven U.S. starts, all except one coming at...

Trainer Chad Brown brings a three-pronged attack in the latest renewal of the GI Fourstardave H., headed by a pair of Grade I winners--Uni (More Than Ready), winner of the GI Matriarch at Del Mar last December and GI Hollywood Derby victor Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) on the same weekend. Since those victories, Uni has added another victory to her resume in Belmont's June 29 Perfect Sting S., while Raging Bull finished fourth in both Keeneland's Apr. 12 GI Maker's 46 Mile S. and the nine-furlong GI Turf...

Late last month Pat Keogh, chief executive officer at Leopardstown since 2011, took up the same position at The Curragh upon the resignation of Derek McGrath. The fast nature of that change over means that Keogh will slowly phase out of his Leopardstown role, presiding over both racecourses until the conclusion of Longines Irish Champions Weekend on Sept. 14 and 15. It is no secret that the redeveloped Curragh Racecourse, unveiled after three years of construction this spring, has undergone some growing pains which have already been addressed by racecourse...

G2 Coventry S. winner Arizona (Ire) (No Nay Never) was not among the final entries for Friday's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. when the field for the six-furlong contest at the The Curragh was drawn on Wednesday. The quintet standing their ground is headed by Juddmonte's unbeaten homebred Siskin (First Defence). The Ger Lyons trainee won the Listed Marble Hill S. at second asking over this course and distance on May 24 before adding the G2 Railway S. over the same on June 29. He is reopposed by the Railway second...

As the TDN Rising Star Amalfi Sunrise drew off for an easy six-length success in the GII Sorrento S., I was reminded of a commission I received in the fall of 2015. With the Breeders' Cup bandwagon due to roll into Lexington and Keeneland, WinStar wanted to promote its extensive team of stallions. I was asked to write 250-word summaries for each of them, including three which were scheduled to be added to the roster in 2016. Strangely, those three--Constitution, Commissioner and Daredevil--were respectively responsible for Amalfi Sunrise, Powerfulattraction and...

Fans at Monmouth Park for Saturday's GI TVG.com Haskell Invitational will be treated to a look at a multiple Grade I winner on the undercard, as Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing's Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) towers over seven rivals in the GIII Molly Pitcher S. Never out of the trifecta in 15 outings, the dark bay captured the GI Santa Anita Oaks before running third in last spring's GI Kentucky Oaks. Romping in the GII Mother Goose S., she rebounded from a dull third in the GI...

Marcus Stables' Stillwater Cove (Quality Road) has made her bones as a sprinter thus far in her young career, but the Wesley Ward trainee ships across the country and stretches out as a lukewarm morning-line favorite in a wide-open renewal of Saturday's GII San Clemente S. at Del Mar. A first-out victress last spring at Keeneland, the bay faded to 13th in Royal Ascot's G3 Albany S., then returned to the States to post a 10-1 upset of the Bolton Landing S. last August at Saratoga. Tenth against males in...

When the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit opens Wednesday at the Keeneland Association sales pavilion in Lexington, it will mark the first time that the summit will be held in consecutive years since the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club began the event in 2006. Considering the expanded emphasis on equine safety within the racing industry over the past decade, the switch seems both appropriate and warranted. "When you turn, it's like turning the Titanic," said Jamie Haydon, the manager of industry initiatives for The Jockey...