Paladin

Paladin (Gun Runner) needed the length of the stretch to get there, but surged late to reel in pacesetter Chip Honcho (Connect) by a half-length in the GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star S. over a speed-favoring course at Fair Grounds Saturday. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Golden Tempo (Curlin), a last-to-first winner of the GIII Lecomte S., was third. Making his sophomore debut after defeating subsequent Sam F. Davis S. winner Renegade (Into Mischief) in the GII Remsen S. at the Big A Dec. 6, the 3-5 chalk raced in...

Stop us if you've heard this before: a seven-figure son of Gun Runner from the barn of Chad Brown has been sent to New Orleans to make his sophomore debut in Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes. Two years ago it was Sierra Leone who made the trip up from South Florida off a narrow defeat in the GII Remsen Stakes in the second of his two juvenile appearances. With Tyler Gafflione at the controls, the lanky colt took full advantage of the long straight in the Big Easy to...

IGNITER (c, 3, Volatile--Malibu Prayer {GISW, $618,026}, by Malibu Moon), after being featured in TDN's Second Chances series, broke his maiden by a length during the Belmont At The Big A meet in late September. The homebred was off for two months, then was entered in the GII Remsen Stakes at the Big A Dec. 6 where he posted a sixth-place finish behind GII Risen Star Stakes entrant Paladin (Gun Runner) and recent Sam F. Davis Stake hero Renegade (Into Mischief). Well-backed at a shade over even-money here, the colt...

Following the defection of juvenile champion Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) from Kentucky Derby contention, GII Remsen Stakes winner Paladin (Gun Runner) has risen to the fore in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which launches Pool 4 on Friday, Feb. 13 and closes on Feb. 15. Installed the 8-1 individual favorite in the latest pool, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, Brook T. Smith and Summer Wind Equine's representative is entered in Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. "All Other 3-Year-Olds" not named within the...

Neither the Suncoast Stakes nor the Sam F. Davis Stakes, both run at Tampa Bay Downs, are graded stakes races, but that doesn't seem to bother trainer Todd Pletcher. He has made it no secret that he loves to put some of his best 3-year-old candidates on the Tampa route to Churchill Downs, and he will be doing so again on Saturday. Zany (American Pharoah), currently ranked No. 1 in the TDN's Top 10 poll for the GI Kentucky Oaks, will make her 3-year-old debut in the Suncoast, where she...

A total of 367 of the world's top 3-year-old Thoroughbreds became eligible to compete in the 2026 Triple Crown series during the early nomination phase, which closed Monday, Jan. 26, Churchill Downs said in a press release on Tuesday. This year's early nominees span the globe and include several horses that have already made an impact on the 'Road to the Kentucky Derby', led by graded stakes winners 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Further Ado (Gun Runner), 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Golden Tempo (Curlin), 'TDN Rising Star,...

Last week's news that juvenile champ and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) was off the GI Kentucky Derby trail because of bone bruising resulted in a No. 1 vacancy. I went right down to deadline trying to figure out which of the top three listed below should be the new kingpin. I felt I could have made a cogent case for any of them being No. 1. However, I also feel that from No. 4 on down right now it's a kaleidoscopic free-for-all to round...

The pari-mutuel field of "All other 3-year olds" closed as the 7-2 favorite in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) while unbeaten GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) was the 6-1 second choice, announced Churchill Downs via press release. The GI Kentucky Derby is 15 weeks away, and others who attracted interest include GSW Paladin (Gun Runner) at 14-1 and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Chief Wallabee (Constitution) at 17-1 odds. The former is trained by Chad Brown while the latter is in...

Paladin (Gun Runner), the winner of the GII Remsen Stakes at the Big A Dec. 6, will according to his trainer Chad Brown point to the Feb. 14 running of the GII Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds, which is tabbed as a GI Kentucky Derby qualifier offering 50-25-15-10-5 points to the top five finishers. The $1.9-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling purchase, owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, Brook T. Smith and Summer Wind Equine, broke his maiden on debut in Ozone Park Oct....

Needless to say, some people are always going to chase the fast buck. In the main, however, we all know this to be the longest of games. You can't drive the green from every tee; nor should you panic if your first drive lands in the water. There are 17 more holes to go. For Jane Lyon and her late husband Frank, one of the least fulfilling days in their Turf journey must have been the GI Matron Stakes of 2005. They had just made an expensive gamble to restore...

Despite losing a shoe in Saturday's GII Remsen Stakes, Paladin (Gun Runner) came out of his win no worse for wear, according to trainer Chad Brown on Sunday. "He looks good," confirmed Brown. "He lost his right front shoe in the race, so we'll give him a few days and get him down to Payson Park next week." "Overall, he looks like he's in good shape. It's nice to see that he got a lot of experience that will help him down the road. This horse is for real. He's...

The GI Kentucky Derby aspirants Paladin (Gun Runner) and Renegade (Into Mischief) have a nice little rivalry going after facing each other twice in the span of seven weeks at Aqueduct. Even though the Chad Brown-trained Paladin ($1.9 million FTSAUG) has bested the Todd Pletcher-trained Renegade ($975,000 KEESEP) both times-once via DQ on Oct. 17, and an outright win Saturday in the GII Remsen Stakes-the two colts might not be as far apart as their records indicate. Paladin (owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Brook Smith, Peter...