Kentucky Derby
Saturday's GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby was billed mainly as a match-up of back-to-back Grade II winner Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) and 15-length GIII Robert B. Lewis S. romper and 'TDN Rising Star' Messier (Empire Maker), but the former dropped out of it in the lane after setting the pace, and $1.7-million FTFMAR buy Taiba (Gun Runner) ran by fellow Tim Yakteen trainee Messier to post the 4-1 upset and stamp his ticket to the GI Kentucky Derby. Having earned 'Rising Star' status himself and a gaudy 103 Beyer Speed...
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...
Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) returned to the scene of his previous career best score to stamp his ticket to the Run for the Roses with a late-rallying score over Early Voting (Gun Runner) in the GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct Saturday. It was the seventh Wood Memorial victory for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, tying Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons record. His previous winners were Eskendereya (2010), Gemologist (2012), Verrazano (2013), Outwork (2016), Vino Rosso (2018) and Bourbonic (2021). Verrazano went on to win the GI Haskell Invitational and Vino Rosso...
They call it "pilot error." It's just that you have all the correction of perspective, right there, that anyone could possibly require. If a jockey makes a mistake, the consequences obviously tend to be a good deal less drastic than for a guy flying a plane.
'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings) returned to the work tab for the first time since his runner-up effort in the GII Louisiana Derby with a half-mile move in :48 flat (17/76) early Friday morning at Churchill Downs. With exercise rider Kelvin Perez in the saddle, Zozos clocked an opening quarter-mile of :25 and completed the final quarter in :23, galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.80, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. "It was a good first work back after the Louisiana Derby," trainer Brad Cox said. "He came out...
They call it "pilot error." It's just that you have all the correction of perspective, right there, that anyone could possibly require. If a jockey makes a mistake, the consequences obviously tend to be a good deal less drastic than for a guy flying a plane. Besides, I have never liked the kind of blame culture that unites handicappers and horsemen in casting jockeys as the villains of their woulda-coulda-shoulda world. To be fair, perhaps that's rather more common in my native environment, racing on turf in Europe, where the...
'TDN Rising Stars' Smile Happy (Runhappy) and Emmanuel (More Than Ready) face off Saturday as they try to secure their spots in the GI Kentucky Derby starting gate at Keeneland in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. Smile Happy rallied past rivals with ease to take his career bow in style going two turns at Keeneland Oct. 29 and followed suit with a decisive victory in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Nov. 27. Splitting foes, the dark bay closed from well back to be second to next-out GII Louisiana...
The New York road to the GI Kentucky Derby concludes with Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S., featuring the winners of Aqueduct's GII Remsen S., GIII Withers S. and GIII Gotham S., respectively. Morello (Classic Empire) brings a perfect three-for-three record to the table for Steve Asmussen following sharp, press-and-pounce victories in the Jimmy Winkfield S. Feb. 6 and one-turn mile Gotham Mar. 5. He is the 8-5 morning-line favorite for this first test around two turns. "We're excited. The horse is doing well, he's super sharp and we think we...
There's nothing like giving up on a stallion, and offloading him overseas, to guarantee a sudden transformation in his fortunes. The latest exile to rebuke his vendors is Race Day, who was exported to Korea 18 months ago but last Saturday turned out to have left behind not only GI Florida Derby winner White Abarrio but also GI Arkansas Derby runner-up Barber Road. But if this industry is too unpredictable for even a team as alert as Spendthrift to win every time, their program will reliably even things out. And...
Housing as many as three GI Kentucky Derby starters in his barn, trainer Kenny McPeek joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week Tuesday to discuss Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb)'s dirt prospects and potential summer European campaign, his plan for likely GI Toyota Blue Grass S. favorite Smile Happy (Runhappy) to run in all three Triple Crown races, his thoughts on the continuing phase-out of Lasix in American racing and more. Tiz the Bomb, a dual stakes winner and...
The Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy will host their 20th annual Race for Grace, a dinner and fundraising event to support the ongoing work of the chaplaincy, on Monday, May 2 at 6:00pm. As a kickoff to Kentucky Derby week, the event will be held on Millionaires' Row in the clubhouse at Churchill Downs. Nationally-recognized pastor Bob Russell will be the keynote speaker of the event and Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day will be the Master of Ceremonies. "20 years ago, we said let's do this thing called the Race...
No matter how talented a horse might be, going from a maiden win into a race like the GI Curlin Florida Derby is supposed to be too much to ask. You're not seasoned, experienced or battle tested, and those things matter. That's why I thought 3-1 was a ridiculous price on Charge It (Tapit) in Saturday's Florida Derby. Was I ever wrong. After finishing second in his debut in January, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt returned Feb. 12 to win a Gulfstream maiden by 8 1/2 lengths. It was a big...