Kentucky Derby

Sent away the 3-1 joint-second favorite for the Wednesday lidlifter at Del Mar, Hronis Racing's ENCODER (c, 2, English Channel--Nono Rose, by Hard Spun) sat a midfield trip while saving ground for the opening three furlongs, caught the eye when traveling ominously well at the quarter pole, switched off heels and into the four path at the furlong grounds and was punched out hands and heels by Flavien Prat to record an authoritative two-length victory. Fellow firster K P Indy (Competitive Edge) tracked the eventual winner into the stretch and...

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...

Lack of clarity isn't the same as lack of quality. A crop that produces a standout sophomore will sometimes be weaker than those, like the current one, that rotate the laurels. Either way, however, we should as usual have a better sense of where we stand after the GI Runhappy Travers S.--where the Classic veterans will either prove themselves to have been too faintly praised, or allow a later developer to come along and pick up the pieces. Certainly the Aug. 24 showdown should help to identify who bears the...

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton Four-time Grade I-winning 4-year-old McKinzie (Street Sense) has always been saddled with high expectations, while 3-year-old Mr. Money (Goldencents) has now achieved millionaire status by grinding out four consecutive Grade III victories. Convincing wins on Saturday gave each horse a divisional foothold, with McKinzie establishing himself as the top two-turn older dirt horse who might finally be getting comfortable with kingpin status, and Mr. Money carving out a niche as the late-blooming sophomore who appears primed to punch above his weight thanks to...

Mr. Money has proven more or less unbeatable since a breakout romp in the GIII Pat Day Mile on GI Kentucky Derby Day May 4, and the progressive colt strung together his fourth consecutive win Saturday while becoming a millionaire. Breaking well from a high draw, the heavy favorite locked on to Plus Que Parfait early and traveled under stout restraint through opening splits of :24.42 and :49.10. He poked a head in front turning for home, and was clearly going much better than his rivals as he hit the...

Saturday's prestigious GI Whitney S. at Saratoga has drawn top-class runners from around the world for what is sure to be a memorable renewal. MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' McKinzie (Street Sense) ships in from the West Coast for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Winner of the GI Pennsylvania Derby and GI Malibu S. last term, the bay came up just a half-length short of the late Breeders' Cup winner Battle of Midway (Smart Strike) in the GII San Pasqual S. Feb. 2 and was just a nose shy of...

Mr. Money (Goldencents) looks to score his fourth straight victory in graded company Saturday in the GIII West Virginia Derby. Scoring his first black-type victory when romping by 5 1/4 lengths in the GIII Pat Day Mile on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard May 4, the bay blitzed the GIII Matt Winn S. field back beneath the Twin Spires June 15. He enters off another decisive score in the GIII Indiana Derby July 13. Indiana Derby third-place finisher Math Wizard (Algorithms) also returns in this spot. Claimed by these connections...

Oaklawn Park has announced significant purse increases to a number of its 2020 stakes as the Arkansas oval will for the second year host a meet that stretches into May. Four stakes at meet, which runs from Jan. 24 to May 2, will feature $1-million purses: the Mar 14 GII Rebel S., Apr. 11 GI Arkansas Derby, Apr. 18 GI Oaklawn H. and Apr. 18 GI Apple Blossom H. Both the Oaklawn H. and Apple Blossom have been pushed back on the calendar and given $250,000 purse bumps. The purse...

One week from tomorrow Fasig-Tipton kicks off the 2015 North American yearling market with the Kentucky July yearling sale, in which 40 years ago this year, Seattle Slew sold as a yearling for $17,500 to Karen and Mickey Taylor, and it's been producing good horses ever since. This year 332 yearlings are catalogued--a 25% increase on last year's 265--to be followed by around 100 horses of racing age, minus withdrawals, plus 'wild cards'. Fasig catalogued 258 yearlings in 2013, significantly down from the 338 catalogued in 2012. That year 189...

Churchill Downs has released the stakes schedule for its September meet, which will include the renamed $175,000 Lukas Classic--named in honor of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, designed to be a prep for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, was introduced in 2013 and was previously named the Homecoming Classic. "Along with the enormity of the numbers of his total victories, the stakes races he has won and earnings by his stable's horses throughout his Hall of Fame career, D. Wayne...