Practical Joke

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but for the reigning queen of the GII Bed O' Roses Stakes, it proved to be figurative weight she could valiantly bear en route to her title defense. Ways and Means (Practical Joke) looked to be beaten at the head of affairs, but gamely re-rallied in the final yards to nail a wildly unlucky Grand Job (Justify) by a nose in an exciting 2026 running at Saratoga. The Chad Brown trainee has had a very short career the last two seasons--her 2025...

TIMONIUM, MD - The under-tack preview of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded its two-day stint at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Wednesday under increasing winds and threatening skies, but dodged the rain that was expected to hit the Timonium area later in the evening. Buyers and consignors alike continued to make adjustments to the preview's new format, which limits use of the whip and for which no workout times are provided by the sales company. "It's very strange," admitted consignor Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables. "It's probably...

The 51st Sovereign Awards were held by the Jockey Club of Canada Thursday, and among a list of venerable champions to be crowned, 2025 King's Plate hero Mansetti (Collected) topped the lot as Canada's Horse of the Year. Owned by Al & Bill Ulwelling, the son of Collected also claimed the GIII HPIBet Marine Stakes and the Woodstock Stakes as well as placing second in the GIII Ontario Derby and Prince of Wales Stakes. Mansetti garnered 81 votes while champion Caitlinhergrtness (Omaha Beach) came in a close second with 74....

With 17 juveniles sharing the fastest furlong breeze of :9 4/5, a filly by Omaha Beach (hip 74) separated herself from the pack with a nifty pedigree update and a bullet quarter-mile work in :20 4/5 during Monday's first under-tack preview session for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Hip 74 is consigned by Tom McCrocklin, who signed the ticket to acquire the filly for $400,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale. "She's a very nice filly, always has been," McCrocklin said Monday. "She's a big,...

Rome was not built in a day. So at a time when Derby dreams can only be maintained by one horse dashing those of several others, let's celebrate a revival that should give hope to any now finding themselves obliged to retreat and regroup. This time last year Built (Hard Spun) was slithering down the sophomore pyramid. He had started out thrashing a smart horse in the Gun Runner Stakes, but each of the three subsequent Fair Grounds trials went worse. He did make Churchill on the first Saturday in...

Several notable sophomores were out on track Saturday morning at Santa Anita Park, including Grade I winner Intrepido (Maximus Mischief) and fellow GIII Robert B. Lewis alumnus Secured Freedom (Practical Joke)--both of whom put in their first moves since the aforementioned race. The former finished closest to GISP Plutarch (Into Mischief) in the Lewis, that one claimed top prize by three-quarters of a length, and took a spin over the main track for trainer Jeff Mullins in an easy four-panel move. Clocked in :48.80 with jockey Hector Berrios in the...

And so we reach the apex of the fee pyramid we've scaled in stages all the way up from the basement. In reality, this final ascent is too extensive to be coherent: we're clearly not comparing like with like, between stallions available at $60,000 and la crème de la crème at $250,000. But since we can hardly reveal to an unsuspecting world that Into Mischief is a pretty good stallion, let's establish our parameters straightaway. Our purpose today is to seek the residual value that lurks even at this rarefied...

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 Chukyo and Hanshin and Nakayama Racecourses: Saturday, December 20, 2025 4th-NKY, ¥14,250,000 ($92k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m EXMOUTH (f, 2, Practical Joke--Lighthouse Bay, by Speightstown) looks to become the fifth winner from as many starters from her dam, winner of four...

St Elias Stable's Captain Cook (Practical Joke), a heartbreaking second at 20-1 in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. at Saratoga Aug. 23, will be favored to register a first career graded success in Saturday's GIII Perryville S. at Keeneland. Winner of the Withers S. in February, the 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' was making his first start for Todd Pletcher in the Allen Jerkens. The field of six for the Perryville also includes GII San Vicente S. winner and Allen Jerkens third Barnes (Into Mischief) and GIII...

Whisper Hill Farm homebred JUST ALOOF (f, 2, Justify--Aloof {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) came running late down the center of the Aqueduct turf course to take her debut Thursday. The 8-1 shot, who spent much of the race in a mid-pack fifth, had to fan out wide with a quarter-mile left but rallied to get by race favorite and stablemate Market Hours (Practical Joke) in the final yards for the win. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O/B-Whisper Hill Farm; T-Chad Brown.

In its annual Report of Mares Bred (RMBs) released Thursday, The Jockey Club estimates that the 2026 foal crop will be 17,000. That represents a slight decline of 300 from the 2025 crop. The foal crop projection is computed by using RMBs received to date for the 2025 breeding season. RMBs are to be filed by August 1 of each breeding season. The number of mares bred has fallen every year since 2015, when 34,122 mares were bred. Over that ten-year period, the foal crop has dropped by 28%. During...

2nd-Horseshoe Indianapolis, $32,000, Msw, 10-1, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:05.85, ft, 4 3/4 lengths. HOLLEN DRIVE (f, 2, Practical Joke--Indian Miss {Broodmare Of The Year}, by Indian Charlie), installed the 4-5 favorite, rushed to the front from post 5, but allowed Street Twirl (Street Boss) to lead the affair through a :23.17 quarter. Inching ahead turning for home, Hollen Drive ran clear, and despite Legit Chick's (Authentic) best effort late, it was the favorite who proved best on the day, winning by 4 3/4 lengths. Legit Chick was well clear...