In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...
The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...
In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes 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 is one horse of interest for this Saturday running at Hanshin Racecourse: 5th-HSN, ¥11,280,000 ($71k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m AIR ALCINA (f, 3, Gun Runner--Nokaze, by Empire Maker) is a half- or full-sister to six winners including Group 2 scorer Air Almas (Majestic Warrior), three-time listed winner and Group 3-placed...
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 weekend running at Hanshin and Nakayama Racecourses: Saturday, March 7, 2026 5th-HSN, ¥11,280,000 ($72k), Maiden, 3yo, 1600mT AMERICAN SAKURA (c, 3, Liam's Map--Schon, by Harlan's Holiday) was effectively distanced when debuting over 1800 meters on dirt at Nakayma Dec. 7, but switches to...