McKinzie

"Come on now, attention at the back!" But let's make a plea for indulgence, should any of the law lecturers at University College, Dublin, happen to find one student uncharacteristically distracted on resuming his course in September. Because whatever broad principles of contract may yet require elucidation, there are extremely good reasons why Freddie Duignan could find his thoughts straying to the value of a signature even then being scrawled on a document, 4,000 miles away in Kentucky. "My first day back in class is the first day of the...

5. DEEP LEARNING, SAR, 8/8, 1 1/16m (turf) 'TDN RISING STAR' (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-84 (f, 2, by Cairo Prince--Dovima, by Union Rags) O-Klaravich Stables. B-Tony Dardis, Dell Ridge Farm, Ken Donworth and Desmond Ryan (Ky). T-Chad Brown. J-Flavien Prat. Deep Learning's debut generated the highest Beyer so far this year among 2-year-old turf fillies, and stacks up well with some of Brown's past stars. Five of his six GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winners also launched their careers in Saratoga 1 1/16-mile turf maiden races--and her 84 Beyer...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Competing much like he trained, Golden Tornado (McKinzie) showed Saturday that he is a 2-year-old colt to pay attention to. While his connections were confident of his ability level, Golden Tornado made it clear that he was indeed ready for the prime time of a $100,000 maiden special weight test at the Spa with a 3 1/4-length triumph. Under Hall of Fame jockey Joel Rosario, the bay colt owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Antony Beck's Gainesway Stable and Legendary Thoroughbreds, stalked pacesetter Oscar's Hope (Twirling Candy),...

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...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When the question came out on the rail at the Oklahoma Training Track Thursday morning, trainer Miguel Clement smiled. But he was not about to give an answer to who is his favorite horse in his barn. That will stay with him. When the name of 'TDN Rising Star' Far Bridge (English Channel) was suggested, Clement smiled some more. "He is definitely up there," Clement said. As well he should. Far Bridge, owned by LSU Stables, shows up whenever Clement puts the saddle on the 5-year-old....

Mike Pegram, a horse owner and racing executive on the national scene for more than three decades, has been named the 21st recipient of the Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award, according to a press release from Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on Friday morning. Pegram will be honored at the track on Sunday, Aug. 10, which is the same afternoon as the 57th running of the GIII Sorrento Stakes. The race launched the Hall of Fame career of Pegram's filly Silverbulletday (Silver Deputy). A Kentucky native who first got into horses in...

A total of 47 sires will be represented at next week's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. Here's a breakdown of how many yearlings each stallion has cataloged, along with a closer look at some of the individuals boasting Grade I pedigrees.     First-Crop Yearling Sires: 29% of Catalogue Corniche: 2 Cyberknife: 3 Drain The Clock: 1 Epicenter: 4 Flightline: 9 Golden Pal: 8 Idol: 1 Jack Christopher: 3 Jackie's Warrior: 7 Life Is Good: 9 Mandaloun: 2 Mystic Guide: 1 Olympiad: 5 All eyes will be on the first crop of...

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...

'TDN Rising Star' and MGISW Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie), winless in three prior runs this season, got back on track with a hard-fought win in Thursday's Curlin S. at Saratoga. The rail-drawn, 4-1 chance raced in an inside fourth through an opening quarter in :24.27. He was under a ride on the far turn, began to fire in the stretch and fought on gamely while bumping between rivals to outbattle longshot So Sandy (Omaha Beach) by a head. It was another half-length back to his favored Chad Brown-trained stablemate and 'Rising Star'...

Scottish Lassie (McKinzie), winless in three attempts since breaking her maiden in style by nine lengths in last fall's GI Frizette S., got back on track in a big way with a daylight decision in Saturday's GI Coaching Club American Oaks Invitational at Saratoga. The 2-1 shot vied for early command and took over control from champion Immersive (Nyquist) on the clubhouse turn and made her way to the rail in the scratched-down field of four. And it was pretty much over from there. Scottish Lassie showed the way through...

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Before this year, the last time Victor Espinoza rode at Saratoga was the summer of 2015, the year of American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). "That was not a great memory," Espinoza said, recalling when the Triple Crown winner was upset in the Travers by Keen Ice (Curlin). The 53-year-old Hall of Fame jockey is hoping to make a better impression 10 years later as he is spending the summer at the Spa for the first ever. Espinoza, who owns 3,520 career victories, has been working the Saratoga...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- While the rematch between GI Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) has received top billing, the camp surrounding the blue-blooded Baeza (McKinzie) sees a slightly different storyline ahead of Saturday's GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga. "They talk about the challenge of the two of them. I think it's more the challenge of the three of us," said Lee Searing of C R K Stable, who campaigns Baeza in partnership with the colt's breeder Robert Clay of Grandview Equine. "This...