Kentucky Derby
Cash is King and LC Racing's Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief) exited his two-length victory in Saturday's GIII Gotham S. in fine shape and will now target the Apr. 4 GII Wood Memorial. "I think the Wood is the logical spot on the radar," said trainer John Servis. "I'll sit down with Mr. Zacney [Cash is King] and Mr. Bennett [LC Racing] and decide where we're going to go next." Cash is King and LC Racing and Servis also teamed up to win Saturday's Stymie S. with Diamond King (Quality Road)...
An undefeated Grade I winner heading into last fall's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, Godolphin's Maxfield (Street Sense) appeared well on his way to claiming the 1 1/16-mile championship race and a juvenile title to boot. However, fate intervened. Scratched in the days leading up to the event because of an ankle chip, Maxfield underwent surgery to remove the chip and was subsequently given some down time in Ocala before joining Brendan Walsh's Florida-based string at Palm Meadows earlier this winter. "Since we gave him the break, he's...
Flashy Authentic (Into Mischief) emerged from Saturday's GII San Felipe S. as the still-unbeaten Bob Baffert trainee with a stylish performance as part of another big day for his superstar sire. Well-regarded Honor A. P. (Honor Code) and champion 2-year-old Storm the Court (Court Vision) were second and third, respectively, while Authentic's stablemate Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) came under a ride early and checked in fourth. Into Mischief was also responsible for Saturday's GIII Gotham S. winner Mischievious Alex at Aqueduct, and an exciting 'TDN Rising Star' in the...
Hustled from his wide draw to get over and press the pace early, King Guillermo forced the issue while out in the clear through splits of :23.89, :48.16 and 1:12 flat. He took over from longshot Relentless Dancer (Midshipman) nearing the straight, and soon found himself several lengths in front with nobody near him. Sole Volante kicked on up the rail into second, but never came close to threatening the upset winner. "I'm so happy, I say thank you to God and all the team--Mr. Juan Carlos Avila, the trainer,...
He's out there right now, hiding in plain sight. Very possibly running today; otherwise, last weekend or the next one. Yet even from the few animals retaining real credibility--by now perhaps no more than three or four dozen--not many of us would feel terribly confident about naming the 146th winner of the Kentucky Derby. So let's just take a moment to reflect again how extraordinary was the man who was able to sieve the 142nd and 143rd winners from crops of 11,000-12,000 (and that's just colts) foaled in North America...
Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins. DeRosa - GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Results - Country Grammer ran well enough last week to sneak into my Kentucky Derby rankings, but not well enough to win any points, so I'm looking to bust out...
Hall of Famer Bob Baffert sends out two of his (at least) four serious GI Kentucky Derby contenders in a short but stacked running of the GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita Saturday. Favored at 6-5 on the morning line, Authentic (Into Mischief) was last seen greenly taking the GIII Sham S. here by 7 3/4 lengths over stablemate Azul Coast (Super Saver), who came back to snag the El Camino Real Derby. A $350,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by the powerhouse, stallion-making syndicate of SF Racing, Starlight, Madaket, et...
Mischevious Alex (Into Mischief) looks for his third straight stakes score in a loaded renewal of Saturday's GIII Gotham S. going a one-turn mile at the Big A. The speedy bay, favored at 3-1 on the morning line for the Gotham, ran away by 9 3/4 lengths in his first attempt with blinkers added in the Parx Juvenile S. Nov. 5, then returned from the bench with another dazzling front-running performance in Gulfstream's GIII Swale S. Feb. 1. Both races were contested at seven furlongs. "If he runs good in...
TVG will continue its "Chasing the Derby" series Saturday with expanded coverage of the GII Tampa Bay Derby and the GII San Felipe S. TVG's Matt Carothers and Gabby Gaudet will be on site at Tampa Bay Downs with coverage and analysis of the key Kentucky Derby prep race as well as the full card from Tampa Bay Downs, which includes four additional stakes races. On the West Coast, Todd Schrupp, Simon Bray, Christina Blacker, Britney Eurton and Mike Joyce will lead the coverage of the San Felipe from Santa...
Patrick Biancone pulled off the improbable last Saturday in the GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream, winning a major prep for the GI Kentucky Derby with a horse who cost relatively little at the sales and appeared headed for a career on the grass. Now, can he do it all over again? A week after Ete Indien (Summer Front) won the Fountain of Youth, Sole Volante (Karakontie {Jpn}) will look to emulate his stablemate with a win in the GII Tampa Bay Derby. The similarities with the two are...
The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton The Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon famously got shut out five centuries ago while searching for Florida's mythical Fountain of Youth. He was the heavy favorite to find it, but missing out presumably didn't affect his plans for the first Saturday in May. In more recent times, well-backed horses on the GI Kentucky Derby trail have been similarly luckless trying to find the winner's circle in the elusive Gulfstream Park stakes that shares the same name. Ete Indien (Summer Front)'s wire-to-wire shredding of...
Ete Indien (Summer Front), who produced a breakout performance when dominating Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. by 8 1/2 lengths at Gulfstream, came out of his effort well Sunday morning, according to trainer Patrick Biancone. "Very good," Biancone told the Gulfstream notes team of how his colt looked. "He ate all his dinner and he's happy and sound this morning, which is what you want to see. We're good." Starting his career on turf, Ete Indien switched to the dirt for an upset allowance victory Dec. 20 in...