Lexington Stakes

Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), fresh off an Eclipse Award-winning season in 2025, opened her 4-year-old campaign with a win in the Feb. 7 GIII Bayakoa Stakes--a victory trainer Mark Casse called "the best race she's ever run." Things didn't go quite as well when the filly faded to third in the Mar. 7 over a sloppy Oaklawn surface in the GII Azeri Stakes, but she will look to get back on track when she returns in the GI Apple Blossom Handicap Saturday at Oaklawn Park. She is the 9-5 morning-line favorite...

Harvey A. Clarke Racing Stables' Gosger (Nyquist), who won last year's GIII Stonestreet Lexington Stakes before taking a pair of heartbreaking defeats behind Journalism (Curlin) in Grade I company, makes his 4-year-old debut in a two-turn allowance with an option to enter for a $125,000 claiming tag Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream Park. The homebred son of Gloria S. (Tapit), a half-brother to Grade I winner Harvey's Lil Goil (American Pharoah), won the Lexington in just his third career start for Brendan Walsh and looked every bit a winner of the...

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Disarm (Gun Runner) completed his major preparations for Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby with a half-mile work in :49.20 (15/30) at Churchill Downs Monday. With exercise rider Wilson Fabian in the saddle, Disarm was accompanied to the track by assistant trainer Scott Blasi aboard one pony, while trainer Steve Asmussen followed close behind on another. Disarm completed an opening quarter-mile of :25 and was not asked to gallop out past the wire, which is typical in Asmussen's works less than one week out of a race. "We've been behind...

Winchell Thoroughbreds' GII Louisiana Derby runner-up Disarm (Gun Runner), who most recently finished third in the Apr. 15 GIII Lexington S. at Keeneland, worked five furlongs in 1:00 with jockey Joel Rosario aboard for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen at Churchill Downs on Monday morning. The bay colt broke off about a length behind stablemate Gigante (Not This Time) with Churchill clocker John Nichols catching him in splits of :13.20, :35.40, :36.60 and :48.40 before galloping out the six furlongs in 1:13.20. "I thought he worked really well this...

Godolphin homebred First Mission, coming off an impressive maiden-breaking score at Fair Grounds last month, made the jump to graded company with aplomb, striding home a determined victor of the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland Saturday. Sent off at 2-1, the dark bay colt sat just off pacesetting Arabian Lion through fractions of :24.12 and :48.01. He cut the corner into the stretch as the pacesetter drifted out into the lane and gamely persevered as that foe drifted back in on him and he was inching clear late. "This...