Malibu Moon

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale opened with the first of its three sessions Monday and figures at the end of the day were well ahead of the pace set during the opening session of its four-day 2024 renewal. "It was a good, solid day," said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. "I think it was a continuation of November in large part. We saw good, solid trade for quality horses." For the session, 200 horses sold for...

6th-Gulfstream, $85,900, Msw, 1-12, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:40.02, ft, 1/2 length. PURE BEAUTY (f, 3, Malibu Moon--Madam Aamoura {SP, $191,120}, by Zensational) was a distant sixth behind subsequent Grade I-placed Quickick (McKinzie) and Snowyte (Good Magic), in addition to GI Frizette scorer Scottish Lassie (McKinzie) in her debut going seven panels at Saratoga last summer. Let go at 14-1 while getting blinkers on for her first start back, the Florida bred was near the back early as longshot United Forever (Unified) cut out a :23.72 opening quarter. Making some headway...

It's well-known around the racetrack that a good horse can come from anywhere. Saturday's eighth race at Saratoga, a seven-furlong maiden special weight race run on the dirt, featured a field of nine. No surprise that eight of the starters were bred in Kentucky. The only one that wasn't was Dapper Moon (Malibu Moon), a Louisiana-bred. But he had no problem conquering his fashionably-bred rivals from the Blue Grass State, winning the race by five lengths for trainer Dallas Stewart and owner Murray Valene. "He doesn't know where he was...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.   Sea Vista (c, 2, Street Sense--Sara Louise, by Malibu Moon) gained valuable racing experience in his unveiling, finishing second over a muddy, sealed track at Saratoga Aug. 3. The Godolphin homebred got the better of his Brad Cox-trained stablemate Immersive (f, 2, by Nyquist)--a smart debut winner earlier in the meet July 21--going four furlongs in :48 4/5 (40/118) at Churchill Downs July 27 and was one...

Clearly ready for her unveiling, it was Quietside (Malibu Moon--Benner Island, by Speightstown) who used her breakaway ability to envelop a field of juveniles and garner 'TDN Rising Star' honors after the opener at Saratoga on Sunday. Sent on her way as a 7-2 shot here, the homebred initially vied for the lead up the backstretch between Insight runner First Class Lady (Uncle Mo) and Ivory and Ebony (Spun to Run). Well-handled by Luis Saez, Quietside backed off and allowed the pacesetters to trade blows. The dark bay was then...

It was announced during the telecast of the GI Haskell Stakes that Dornoch (Good Magic) will stand at stud at Spendthrift Farm. Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey addresses another big move by his team. TDN: What is it about Dornoch that makes him a good stallion candidate? NT: He's obviously got a great pedigree and he's a very talented horse. We always thought he was a really talented horse. They tried to rate him in the Blue Grass and he got wiped out from the one hole in the Derby....

So what happens when you keep pursuing the dream, keep persevering, only to find that it's taken you right to the cliff's edge? At some point you quit, right? Not if you're Ramon "R.J." Rangel, you don't. He was still working with yearlings at Dixiana when he leased his first 10 acres. His wife at the time had quit her own job at Dixiana to care for their little farm and he would come back in the afternoons to put in a second shift on the heavier work. Gradually they...

In an event billed almost as a match race between California star fillies Kinza (Carpe Diem), a MGSW and 'TDN Rising Star' for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, and Kopion (Omaha Beach), a GSW for Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, it was Baffert's other entrant, Nothing Like You (f, 3, Malibu Moon--Miss Derek, by Brother Derek) who upended the GII Santa Anita Oaks in Arcadia and reported home an eased-up 7 1/2-length victress. Kinza was second, giving Baffert the exacta but suffering her first career loss, and last-out maiden winner...

4th-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:38 p.m. ET. Bred by Stonehaven Steadings & Leah O'Meara, LESLIE'S HUMOR (Kantharos) makes the races for LSU Stables. Initially sold for $125,000 at the Keeneland September Sale, the chestnut RNA'd for $110,000 at OBS April before going for $500,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale in June. The second to race for La Titina (Distorted Humor), the 3-year-old filly's younger half-brother by Not This Time was purchased for $310,000 last September at Keeneland by Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds. Granddam and MGISW Ask the Moon (Malibu...

Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon) gave Hall of Famer Bob Baffert a seventh straight victory in the GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Saturday evening. Drawn on the rail in the field of six, the last-out Desi Arnaz S. winner was sent to the front by Juan Hernandez and was pressed through an opening quarter in :23.24. She gained some separation through a half mile in :47.40, let it out a notch on the far turn and ran up the score in the stretch to win by 5 1/4 lengths...

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will have two opportunities to win his seventh straight GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Saturday. The 1 1/16-mile feature has attracted a field of six. The rail-drawn, 9-5 morning-line favorite Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon) enters for Baffert riding a two-race winning streak, including a nose victory in the seven-furlong Desi Arnaz S. at Del Mar last time out Nov. 18. She previously graduated by 6 1/2 lengths over next-out winner Great Forty Eight (Constitution) going a two-turn mile at Santa Anita Oct....

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Sunday running at Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses. The weekend feature takes place at the former venue, which hosts the final leg of the colts' Triple Crown, the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger). Click here for our preview: Sunday, October 22, 2023 4th-TOK,...