Michael McCarthy

Approaching the threshold of the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar, MGISW Journalism (Curlin) had his penultimate workout for the big race at Santa Anita Park on Friday, but according to a report in the Daily Racing Form that same day, the colt's regular rider Umberto Rispoli will be replaced by Jose Ortiz for the Classic. In all but one of Journalism's 10 career races (his maiden win at Del Mar in Nov. '24), Rispoli has ridden the son of Curlin. This includes three GI victories this year...

The last Amerman Racing homebred by Oscar Performance to carry the colors home in the GIII Zuma Beach Stakes was Endlessly, who captured the race as the 80 cents on the dollar favorite in 2023. Stark Contrast, a horse with a pair of races under his belt, duplicated the feat at Santa Anita Sunday. Like Endlessly, Stark Contrast is also from the Michael McCarthy shedrow. The colt tried turf for his conditioner at second asking over the seaside oval grass course and he won by a length Sept. 6. Set...

1st-Los Alamitos, $46,000, Msw, 9-20, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:15.88, ft, 3 1/2 lengths. MEANING (f, 2, Gun Runner--Figure of Speech {GISP}, by Into Mischief) worked a sharp half-mile out of the gate in :47 1/5 (2/60) at Santa Anita Sept. 13 and was hammered into 1-5 favoritism for this debut run. Fourth in the very early stages, she rushed up to grab the lead following an opening quarter in :22.34. She was put to the test by GIII Sorrento S. third-place finisher Thank You India (Practical Joke) on the...

Formidable Man continues to be a formidable horse when it comes to his turf at the seaside oval. With his win in the GII Del Mar Mile on Saturday, the 4-year-old is now perfect in all six of his attempts over the local course. The bay burst on the graded scene when he finished as the runner-up as a 3-year-old 24-1 shot in the GII American Turf Stakes on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs. Coming back to Del Mar last summer--the site of his juvenile maiden-breaking debut--Formidable Man rattled...

Should we call him The California Kid? It trips off the tongue, certainly. Like The Great Gambino. Or The Iceman. If Journalism's nickname needs more than just a nice phonetic ring to it, then The California Kid seems fitting for a horse who appears to embody the sun- bleached Pacific Coast ideal. The surfer dude, never happier than out on the waves or cracking a beer on the beach, unfazed by all of life's other meaningless clutter. Just ask the horse's tightknit coterie of coaches, fitness gurus, therapists and (unofficial)...

Multiple Grade I hero Journalism (Curlin) was out over the Del Mar racetrack Saturday morning for his latest move as his connections continue talks about entering in the GI Pacific Classic. Out on an overcast day, the son of Curlin put in a five-furlong breeze in 1-minute flat, the 30th fastest of 69 that morning at the distance, with regular rider Umberto Rispoli in the irons. The pair went in company with SP Phosphorescence (Fr) (City of Light). It was the longest of his three works at the track in...

MGISW Journalism (Curlin) put in his first work since arriving back from the Jersey Shore following his victory in the G1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park last month. The GI Preakness Stakes winner, who was the runner-up in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes, returned to trainer Michael McCarthy's barn on the Del Mar backside a few days after the Haskell. On Saturday, it was back to work for Journalism who went four furlongs in :48.40 with rider Tony Gutierrez in the saddle. McCarthy clocked his colt with...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--The cell phone rang, and, on the other end, Mike Repole was rolling. "I've won the Alabama twice, I've won the Jim Dandy three times ... I have to pinch myself," Repole, his rat-a-tat-tat all-Queens accent working in overdrive, said from his summer home in New England. "I've won the Coaching Club (American Oaks) twice. I've won the Hopeful ... to win the Travers once in your life is one in a million. I've won it twice, so it's one in a billion!" And a pause. In the...

Heavily favored Formidable Man found clear sailing along the rail in the lane and bound to the lead before drawing clear to a one-length victory in the GII Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar Sunday night. The 4-year-old is now five-for-five at the seaside oval which will host Breeders' Cup championship weekend in November. Sent off at 4-5, Formidable Man sat just off pacesetting Cabo Spirit in third while saving ground behind fractions of :24.97 and :49.00. He bided his time with nowhere to run on the far turn, but...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It was a low-key celebration for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott Saturday night after Sovereignty (Into Mischief) continued his stampede through the 3-year-old male division. "Put a couple hamburgers on the grill," Mott said, sitting at his desk in his office at the Oklahoma Training Track on a soggy Sunday morning at Saratoga. "Good hamburgers, by the way. They were from Fresh Market. That was it. Then early to bed." When Mott got his barn Sunday morning, he looked down his shedrow and saw the...

Even though Nysos (Nyquist) was 1-10 on the board, Saturday's GII San Diego Handicap was a race he didn't have to win. He sprinted in his last two starts and had never been the distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth. He also has a couple of large gaps in his form, suggesting that trainer Bob Baffert was having a hard time keeping him together. None of that mattered in the San Diego. Flavin Prat, who flew in from Saratoga for the ride, rode a patient race and saved ground into the second...

Fresh off a victory in the GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, Journalism (Curlin) went to the track at Del Mar Thursday morning to stretch his legs following his return to the seaside oval Tuesday evening. "Looks like he's doing very well," trainer Michael McCarthy said. "No plans yet. Just keeping everything on the table." When asked if the 3-year-old's next race might be facing older horses in the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar, McCarthy said, "At some stage you're going to have to run against older...