Potente

There might be a touch of malaise come Sunday, but the GIII Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs for 3-year-olds is the way to revive any Belmont Stakes reveler with the proper racing tonic. Add in a pair of competitive graded grass races at the Spa for good measure and Sunday's higher level slate should make things right as rain. In the Matt Winn, a trio of GI Kentucky Derby entrants will get another crack at the surface that was less than kind to them on the first Saturday in...

The June 6 GI Belmont Stakes has lost two potential starters as the trainers of Potente (Into Mischief) and Chip Honcho (Connect) have declared their horses out of the race. The news was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's David Grening. Trainer Steve Asmussen told Grening he is not sure where Chip Honcho will run next. Trained by Bob Baffert, Potente will run next in the GIII Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 7. Potente, winner of the GII San Felipe earlier this season, was last seen...

The field for the GI Kentucky Derby, ranked in "likeliest winner" order followed by program number. On Wednesday #13 Silent Tactic (Tacitus) scratched with a foot bruise, allowing #21 Great White (Volatile) to draw in off the also-eligible list. 1) #6 COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief--Sippican Harbor, by Orb) O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $500,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: GISW, 5-4-0-0, $1,017,339. Last start: WON Mar. 28 GI Florida Derby. Commandment rides a four-race win...

On a cloudy Sunday morning at Churchill Downs, six entrants put in their final breezes over a fast track, led by Chief Wallabee (Constitution). Mike and Kay Ball's Chief Wallabee worked a half-mile in :49.20 in company with the 3-year-old maiden winner Steel (Tapit). Junior Alvarado was aboard for trainer Bill Mott. The TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard produced splits of :13.20, :25.40, :49.20 and out five-eighths in 1:01.80 and six furlongs in 1:15.20. "We did what we wanted to do and if it doesn't work out, then that's...

Several horses clustered near the bottom of the "Road to the GI Kentucky Derby" are eligible for the race based on points, but their connections have not committed to the Derby. So this list differs slightly from the official qualifying rankings with respect to a few horses who are currently outside the top 20 points leaders and looking to get in. 1) COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief--Sippican Harbor, by Orb). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $500,000...

When So Happy (c, 3, Runhappy--So Cunning, by Blame) won his first two starts--both sprints--impressively, then yielded when stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in the GII San Felipe Stakes Mar. 7, it could be assumed he had distance limitations. After all, his sire was the 2015 champion sprinter and So Happy had kicked off his own career with a 6 1/2-furlong maiden win Nov. 22 and a GII San Vicente Stakes win at seven furlongs Jan 10 . So Happy ignored both the PPs and his sire's aptitude Saturday,...

Further Ado (Gun Runner) announced his presence with a jaw-dropping 20-length maiden win at Keeneland last fall. The 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' returns to Lexington as the horse to beat in Saturday's GI Toyota Blue Grass S., good for 100-50-25-15-10 points to the top five finishers on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The Spendthrift Farm colorbearer was a workmanlike winner of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs Nov. 29, then kicked off his 3-year-old campaign with a solid second-place finish behind The Puma (Essential...

Well, he's not going to give it up without a fight. Yes, of course the whole narrative is random: he can hardly sit the boys down, tell them to get out there and remind everyone who's boss. But however unwittingly, Into Mischief has certainly obliged us with a dramatic and immediate response to the first serious test of his monopoly since claiming a first general sires' title in 2019. It has been clear for a while that the eventual succession was likely to concern Not This Time and Gun Runner,...

by T.D. Thornton-Last Saturday's news that the No. 1-ranked Paladin (Gun Runner) will miss the GI Kentucky Derby with a non-displaced condylar fracture of his right front ankle created a vacancy atop this list. Any set of Derby rankings abhors a vacuum, but it wasn't easy deciding which of several worthy candidates out of the GI Florida Derby and GI Arkansas Derby would take over the kingpin slot.   1) COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief-Sippican Harbor, by Orb) O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg...

The two new names on the GI Kentucky Derby trail each exemplify one of the principal alternatives to what nowadays feels like the ideal route, namely to exploit the imbalances of the commercial market with a breed-to-race program. Nobody having ever operated one of those on a scale as lavish as the one that produced Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the choice between these other models is strictly practical. If you can run to $2.4 million for a Saratoga yearling, as did Speedway Stable for the Into Mischief colt we now know...

Trainer Bob Baffert had a two-strong chance to earn a record-extending 10th win in Saturday's GII San Felipe Stakes. His best shot looked to be with the 4-5 favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Brant (Gun Runner) who was making his first start back since running third to Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar last November. But it was his other runner, 8-1 shot and $2.4-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale graduate Potente (Into Mischief) who secured the win and 50 Kentucky Derby points for the...

So Happy (Runhappy), Brant (Gun Runner) and Potente (Into Mischief) all worked Sunday in preparation for expected starts in the Mar. 7 GII San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. So Happy, winner of the GII San Vicente Stakes going seven furlongs Jan. 10, blazed four furlongs in :46.8 for trainer Mark Glatt. Hall of Famer Mike Smith was aboard for the work. "Dynamite," Smith said. "He's never been a flashy work horse in the morning, a bit lazy actually, but this was one of his best works if not the...