Michael Pegram

5th-SA, $70K, Msw, 3yo, f, 5 1/2f, 6:07 p.m. ET. The 'Three Amigos' of Pegram, Watson and Weitman send out for the first time WEEKEND PRINCESS (Vekoma), who will sport the trio's red and yellow colors. The Bob Baffert trainee was initially a $235,000 Keeneland November buy, then the filly went through the same ring the following September for $625,000. Dam Alemia (Congrats) is a half-sister to GSW Stays in Vegas (City Zip) and SW Miss Technicality (Gio Ponti). Weekend Princess's extended female family includes GISW Persistently (Smoke Glacken) and...

FORCED ENTRY (f, 3, Charlatan--Violent Times {SW, $228,701}, by Violence) contested the pace before fading to last in her six-furlong debut over the lawn Jan. 11. Moving to the main track and stretching out to a mile in this second start, the 7-2 shot sprinted out to the early lead and was shadowed by favored Wolf Hill (Upstart) down the backstretch through a quarter in :23.05 and a half in :47.07. She skipped clear nearing the stretch and sailed home unchallenged to graduate by 7 1/4 lengths. Wolf Hill trailed...

Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman's lightly raced 3-year-old Nevada Beach (Omaha Beach), last seen capturing the Los Alamitos Derby June 28, fired fresh off the bench to punch his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with an 8-1 upset victory for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert against older horses in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Goodwood S. at Santa Anita. Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile upsetter Full Serrano (Arg) (Full Mast) was second as the 1-2 favorite. Privman (Justify) was third. Fourth beneath Mike...

2nd-Santa Anita, $58,800, Msw, 6-13, 2yo, 5f, :57.35, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. DESERT GATE (c, 2, Omaha Beach--Theogony {SW-Can, SW & MGSP-USA, $404,544}, by Curlin), who was facing three others for this debut, tracked pacesetter Acknowledgemeplz (Bucchero) up the backstretch. Moving rather effortlessly to the outside, the colt collared his rival around the far turn as the pair separated themselves from the other two entries. Desert Gate suddenly hit the accelerator entering the lane and powered away nicely to graduate by 2 1/4 lengths. The winner's dam is responsible for...

A light work tab Thursday included the return of Grade I winner Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The dark bay, who was last seen winning the 2023 edition of the GI Malibu at Santa Anita, drilled three furlongs on the main track in :36.40 seconds (1/4). It was his first work since Sept. 21. Owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman--the so-called 'Three Amigos'--Speed Boat Beach has four wins over seven starts and $498,000 in earnings. The Baffert trainee was a two-time...

Some people only look for difficulties. Others seek solutions. Between those categories, it's not hard to place Joe Pickerrell and his wife Courtney. Having attended a couple of family weddings in South Africa, and been blown away by the venue each time, they struggled to find anywhere remotely comparable when planning their own nuptials back in Florida. Well, they thought, that was not just frustrating. Might it also be a business opportunity? So they found this amazing 1850 barn in Canada, dismantled it, and had it shipped and reassembled, beam...

Freshman sire Caracaro collected the first 'TDN Rising Star' trophy for his case when Casalu (f, 2, Caracaro--Key d'Oro, by Medaglia d'Oro) sailed home a debut winner on Sunday afternoon at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Spotlighted in the Sunday edition of TDN's Summer Breezes and Racing Insights, the Three Amigos-owned juvenile who went off at sixty cents on the dollar here was looking to make good on a bullet workout she posted at Santa Anita July 8 when she went four furlongs in :46.40 (1/54). The heavy favorite blazed...

7th-Los Alamitos, $41,500, Msw, 6-23, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:15.90, ft, neck. RELATABLE (f, 3, Arrogate--Aunt Els {SW & GSP, $387,378}, by Consolidator) took to the same track where her much-missed late sire also made his 3-year-old first start--a third-place finish in 2016. Highlighted in TDN's Sunday Insights and backed to the hilt at the windows at 50 cents on the dollar here, the $500,000 Keeneland September grad was shuffled back towards the rear of the field up the backstretch. Not out of the mix around the far turn, the...

In a battle of raw speed, Dr. Schivel (Violence) proved to be too much to beat as he outlasted a returning Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) to take the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. Last seen running a close-up third in the GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar over the summer, Dr. Schivel had plenty of back class to call on here: third last year at Meydan in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen for his only start of the season, second to Aloha West (Hard Spun) in the 2021...

3rd-Del Mar, $84,500, Msw, 9-2, 2yo, 6f, 1:11.43, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. WINE ME UP (c, 2, Vino Rosso--Deanaallen'skitten {SW, $374,246}, by Kitten's Joy) found his feet after bobbling a touch at the jump and took no time getting to the front, speeding through :22.01, and :45.44 early splits as D'Oro Dash (Bolt d'Oro) hounded him from second as part of the lead trio. Vying with challengers through the turn, Wine Me Up had to dig, but found more in the stretch to kick away from his longtime shadow and...