maiden special weight

Jackson Hole (c, 2, Nyquist), a $385,000 Keeneland November weanling turned $1.3 million Keeneland September yearling, kicked off his career with a debut victory for Todd Pletcher at Gulfstream Park Saturday. Drawn widest of all in post seven, the 4-5 favorite was fourth through an opening quarter in :23.06. He was ridden into third heading into the far turn, revved up three deep in the stretch and took care of business from there to graduate by a length over Ramajay (Knicks Go). Jackson Hole was produced by the winning Broman...

For the Ladies (f, 2, Upstart--Lovely Marissa, by Proud Citizen) served as the favorite on debut during the Belmont At The Big A meet Oct. 5 and missed by a nose. The 6-5 choice here fired out of the rail gate and immediately set the tone up the backstretch. Making every pole a winning one through the far turn, the filly poured on the speed entering the lane and ran up the score to graduate by 7 1/4 lengths over It's Carol's Way (McKinzie). A half-sister to SW Nasty, (Street...

Clairita (Gun Runner) broke last but finished a respectable third beaten 2 1/2 lengths in her Keeneland debut going this distance on a fast main track Oct. 17. Meant for the turf Friday but rained onto the slop under the Twin Spires, the 6-5 favorite got off to a smoother beginning and found herself fourth in the leading pack around the clubhouse turn as Lady Iva (Uncle Mo), who drew in off the also-eligible list, set a tempo of :24.07 and :48.79. Making steady progress towards the front on the...

Whisper Hill Farm homebred JUST ALOOF (f, 2, Justify--Aloof {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) came running late down the center of the Aqueduct turf course to take her debut Thursday. The 8-1 shot, who spent much of the race in a mid-pack fifth, had to fan out wide with a quarter-mile left but rallied to get by race favorite and stablemate Market Hours (Practical Joke) in the final yards for the win. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O/B-Whisper Hill Farm; T-Chad Brown.

3rd-Keeneland, $110,000, Msw, 10-16, 2yo, 7f, 1:23.84, ft, 3 lengths. CONFESSIONAL (c, 2, Essential Quality--Speedy Vanessa, by American Pharoah) outran his 12-1 odds to graduate first out Thursday and become the 10th winner for his freshman sire (by Tapit). Wide of the speed from his outer draw, he stalked just off frontrunning Grand Slam Sam (American Pharoah) past the half-mile pole. Pushing past that rival into the stretch, he opened up three lengths to the wire. 'Insight' runners Colossus (Constitution) and Our Forefathers (Constitution) finished sixth and eighth respectively. Speedy...

Two months out from the Dec. 3 start to its 65-date winter/spring season, Turfway Park is projecting maiden special weight (MSW) purses to be $90,000. That's an increase of $10,000 per race from the $80,000 MSW purse level that Turfway paid at the 2024-25 meet. But that figure also falls $10,000 short of the work-in-progress goal stated earlier this year by Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), Turfway's parent company, of having MSW races of at least $100,000 at all five Thoroughbred tracks in Kentucky. Back in May, Gary Palmisano, Jr., the...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. Neither Delightful Claire (Thousand Words) or Two Sharp (Twirling Candy) won on debut as the favorite for Rigney Racing and trainer Phil Bauer before romping at second asking for 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Bauer drew some comparisons between the talented duo and the promising Tam Tam (f, 2, by Medaglia d'Oro), a debut third as the 8-5 choice going 6 1/2 furlongs on the Travers undercard at...

2nd-Del Mar, $81,000, Msw, 8-9, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:16.91, ft, 6 3/4 lengths. BOTTLE OF ROUGE (f, 2, Vino Rosso--Blues Corner, by Bluegrass Cat), a well-beaten second behind her Bob Baffert-trained stablemate and Sunday's GIII Sorrento S. morning-line favorite 'TDN Rising Star' Himika (Curlin) on debut at Santa Anita June 12, was favored at even-money to go one better at Del Mar Saturday. She forced the issue from an inside second and led narrowly through an opening quarter in :22.18. Continuing to exchange blows with Super Corredora (Gun Runner)...

Golden Tornado (c, 2, McKinzie--Ruby Trust, by Smart Strike), a half-brother to three-for-three Maxfield S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Verifire (Authentic), earned a 'Rising Star' badge of his own with a good-looking debut victory for trainer Danny Gargan at the Spa Saturday. The $475,000 KEESEP yearling graduate secured a perfect spot in a tracking second behind favored Oscar's Hope (Twirling Candy) through an opening quarter in :22.76. He turned up the heat approaching the quarter pole and leveled off beautifully in the stretch to win going away with powerful...

Brant (c, 2, Gun Runner--Tynan, by Liam's Map), the record-setting $3-million OBS March breezer, lived up to the hype for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert with a spectacular 'TDN Rising Star' performance on debut at Del Mar Saturday. The 4-5 choice sat the trip in third through an opening quarter in :21.56, revved up three deep at the top of the stretch and leveled off with powerful strides to win going away by 5 1/4 lengths. Civil Liberty (Independence Hall) was second. The final time for 5 1/2 furlongs was...

Tommy Jo (f, 2, Into Mischief--Mother Mother, by Pioneerof the Nile) became the 53rd 'TDN Rising Star' for her out-of-this-world stallion Into Mischief with a powerful performance on debut at Saratoga Saturday. Off as the 2-1 second choice, the Spendthrift Farm homebred was ridden along in fifth, hit the gas with a flashy, sweeping move on the far turn, opened daylight in the stretch and was hand ridden by John Velazquez to a facile 3 3/4-length victory over Tennesse Belle (Yaupon). Tommy Jo's final time of 1:11.24 for six furlongs...

Z Z'S (f, 2, McKinzie--Zarmant, by Tapizar), off at 5-2 in her debut run sprinting over the Ellis Park turf, sped out to the front and never gave them a chance. After blazing through early fractions in :21.04 and :43.92 from the inside, she aired by five lengths as favored Second City Saint (Raging Bull {Fr}) nosed out Triskelion (Leinster). The final time for the 5 1/2 furlongs was 1:01.87. Z Z's unraced dam is a daughter of MGISW Tout Charmant (Slewvescent) and has a yearling colt by Corniche, who...