Munnings

All the buzz was on the highly-anticipated debut of the Flightline colt Greenwell, but it was Balloteer (Early Voting) who sped to the lead and never looked back to earn 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' honors at Churchill. Catching a flier out of the gate, the juvenile sped out to control the tempo through :22.43 and four panels in :45.06 coming off the bend, and entered the stretch with a clear advantage over even-money favorite Greenwell. Racing greenly on his left lead through the lane, Balloteer managed to keep...

Those of us most despondent to see the winner of the first leg sitting out the second can console ourselves, precisely on grounds of tradition, that an abbreviated GI Belmont Stakes would never have allowed a "proper" Triple Crown anyway. Even so, with Curlin obviously deploying a rather more important son at Saratoga this weekend, we can be indulged in neglecting his contribution to one of the more intriguing winners of a relatively quiet week. Original Sin is a slower burn than Golden Tempo, but appears to be thriving with...

1st-SA, $65K, Msw, 3-5yo, 6f, 4:00 p.m. ET. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has an uncoupled entry with 3-year-old Sir Davis (Justify) and 4-year-old Pecos River (McKinzie). The former was a $450,000 Keeneland September grad, while the latter went for $750,000 at the 2024 OBS March sale. Out of MSW Lovely Syn (Freud), Sir Davis is a half-brother to MSW Love in the Air, who was purchased by Japan's Dr. Masatake Iida for $425,000 during the 2023 Keeneland November sale while in foal to Life Is Good. As for...

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 94 entries for its May Digital Sale, which opened for bidding Thursday. Amongst the full catalogue, which may be viewed online here, is the five-strong consignment of Tessa Walden's Evergreen Equine, including an exciting 2-year-old maiden special weight winner from Keeneland in Blessed Flyer (Dialed In) (hip 1). "It's hard to get them to races this early and he did it very effortlessly," Walden said. "There were some bullet works in there and some other flashy moves but the best move he made was when he won....

Ruiva, a debuting homebred for Three Chimneys Farm, picked up a never-in-doubt win over a sloppy Churchill Downs track Wednesday. Catching a flyer from the outside of the gate, the 2-1 second choice had a clear advantage by the time most of the field was just getting into stride. Only Barometric (Frosted) made an attempt to run with her and that pair quickly opened up several lengths by the time Ruiva hit the far turn. Barometric made one last run at her nearing the furlong pole but this Wesley Ward-trainee...

4th-GP, $68k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 2:25p.m. ET Drawn on the rail and the 9-5 morning line choice for his unveiling, No Compromise (Into Mischief) goes to post for trainer George Weaver and the partnership of Spendthrift Farm and Bregman Family Racing. Hailing from the female line which yielded Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Leigh Court (Grand Slam), this $800,000 KEESEP procurement in 2024 has been posting noteworthy works in the morning--three of his last five moves were quick enough to top the tabs at Palm Beach Downs. His dam Beckles Road...

A pair of 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard', are part of this week's fastest maidens hit parade. 5) LA RASCASSE, KEE, 4/11-8th, 7f VIDEO Beyer Speed Figure- 84 (f, 3, by Authentic-Hallawallah, by Candy Ride (Arg)) O-Resolute Racing. B-Bill Klisit (Ky). T-Will Walden. J-Axel Concepcion. Champion Maryfield (Elusive Quality), who won the 2007 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, was disappointing as a producer, but her top earner Hallawallah (Candy Ride {Arg}) has a chance to burnish the family resume. Hallawallah earned $188,789 with no black type and Beyer...

Novogratz Racing Stable LLC's Munnings Challenge (c, 3, Munnings--Amy's Challenge, by Artie Schiller) pulled away from his rivals in the final furlong of a six-furlong maiden Saturday at Oaklawn, improving on a debut runner-up effort to become the afternoon's second 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard. The 2-5 jolly nearly beat the bell from the outside stall, exhibiting his dam's speedy tendencies, but he switched off nicely enough in transit to rate in a three-wide third down the back of the track, with the opening quarter posted in a strong...

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.--Trainer Jimmy DiVito celebrated with his longtime clients at Doubledown Stables in the special winner's circle reserved for graded heroes at Oaklawn Park after Nu What's New (Munnings--Heavenly Scat, by Scat Daddy) went gate to wire in the GIII Oaklawn Mile Stakes on Saturday. It was the gelding's first higher-level score. The $300,000 OBS April buy who was picked out by DiVito two years ago at the sale took his time to break his maiden, but when it happened it was in-style over the local strip--by 7 1/2...

MAD HOUSE (g, 4, Vekoma--Stifled Heiress, by Munnings) was last seen fading to the back in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar last November, but before that he'd strung together a respectable tally of four consecutive victories which culminated with him taking home the hardware in the Sept. 20 GII Gallant Bob Stakes at Parx. Made the 3-5 heavy favorite here for his seasonal bow, Mad House went right to the front and never looked back after :21.94 and :44.42 sectionals, rolling home by 3 3/4 lengths in...

He was green, and a bit lost in the lane, but Fancy Fairlane (McKinzie) showed more than enough talent to put his rivals away and sail home to 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' honors at Oaklawn Park. Unveiled Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds in a six-furlong maiden special weight, he was run down late thanks in part to a sensational effort by fellow 'Rising Star' Golden Tempo (Curlin) when that one closed from a different zip code to win going away. Clocked producing a final quarter-mile in :23.57 in...

8th-OP, $110K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 4:39 p.m. ET. Novogratz Racing Stables Inc. homebred Munnings Challenge (Munnings) kicks off his career for Brad Cox. The dark bay was produced by the talented and overachieving $20,000 FTKOCT yearling buy Amy's Challenge (Artie Schiller), a five-time stakes winner and narrow runner-up in the 2019 GI Madison S. at Keeneland and third-place finisher in the GI Humana Distaff S. at Churchill Downs. He is the 2-1 morning-line favorite. TJCIS PPS 2nd-SA, $70K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1m, 4:03 p.m. ET. Mass (Not This Time), a...