Obliteration

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced juveniles from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes, sponsored by OBS, highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, including links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga and Ellis Park. Saturday, July 5, 2025...

Saratoga's opening weekend kicks off with a trio of graded stakes Friday--the GI Belmont Derby, GII Suburban Stakes and GIII Manila Stakes. Saturday's card features three additional graded tests, including the GI Belmont Oaks. The day's undercard is highlighted by the GIII Sandford and GIII Kelso. The Belmont Derby offers a salty assembly of turf horses, including European invader Luther (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who is trained by Charlie Fellowes. In three starts this term, Luther was runner-up on the synthetic at Chelmsford in April before finishing fourth behind winner Henri...

Obliteration (c, 2, Violence--I'mclassyandsassy, by Master Command), one of a debuting pair available at double digits for the reliable Steve Asmussen stable, ran away from a very promising group of 2-year-old males to become the afternoon's second 'TDN Rising Star', this one at Churchill Downs. A $200,000 purchase at this year's OBS March Sale--one of four horses bought out of the auction by the re-engaging Leland Ackerley--the bay colt was in front not long after the start and led for just short of a furlong before being displaced on the...