Practical Joke

Closing relentlessly after a slow start, Hill Road (Quality Road) ran down the Rick Dutrow Jr. pair on the lead to win the GIII Peter Pan Stakes and stamp his ticket for a date with the final jewel of the Triple Crown in June. First profiled by our colleagues in TDN Europe after a sparkling debut in Ireland for trainer Adrian Murray last year, which snagged him 'TDN Rising Star' honors, the connections stepped him up into elite company in mid-September when his next start came in the G1 Vincent...

As first reported by DRF's Nicole Russo, Take Charge Milady (Take Charge Indy) is a question mark for next week's GI Kentucky Oaks after she developed a foot abscess and the team continues to try to get it squared away before the looming deadline. Entries for the Kentucky Oaks, set for May 2, were taken Saturday morning with post position being drawn later in the day. According to trainer Kenny McPeek, the entry was submitted, and the plan will be to wait and see what kind of week it turns...

With paddock buzz in his corner and looks to match, Big Truzz (Justify) did not disappoint his backers as he strolled home to confidently break his maiden at Keeneland and earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors in the process. Coming into this unveiling, the striking son of Triple Crown winner Justify had a bullet work at Palm Meadows Mar. 28 [four furlongs in :47 flat, fastest of 52] and a work locally Apr. 9 to his credit. That most recent breeze was another four panel work clocked in :49.80 (67/121), and...

9th-Oaklawn, $131,000, Alw (NW1$6MX)/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 4-11, 4yo/up, 6f, 1:09.27, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. SKELLY (g, 6, Practical Joke--Adande, by Bwana Charlie) ran a hole in the wind--much to the delight of the local crowd--en route to a supremely confident seasonal bow here against outclassed optional claiming rivals. Leaving the blocks like a rocket and immediately establishing control, Skelly rolled through splits of :21.96 and a half in :44.75 as he built up a sizeable margin entering the homestretch. In a position where the rest would need to produce a...

Linda Rice led all trainers and owners at the Aqueduct winter meet, which began Jan. 1, and Manny Franco topped the leading riders list as the circuit swaps over to the spring meeting starting Thursday, NYRA announced Sunday afternoon. Rice claimed 51 wins as a trainer to capture the title for the third consecutive year since the 2023 meet, and secured her fifth winter title overall. Her record of 217-51-38-29 was good for a win rate of 23.5% and an in-the-money strike rate of 54.38%. Meet highlights included Sand Devil...

St. Elias Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Captain Cook (Practical Joke) breezed a half-mile in :49 (14/79) Wednesday over the Belmont Park dirt training track as he prepares for the GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct Apr. 5. Trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr., the bay was completing his sixth workout since capturing the nine-furlong Listed Withers Feb. 1. "It was mostly maintenance," said Blake Dutrow, Dutrow Jr.'s nephew and Belmont-based assistant. "He's ready so we are just trying to keep him happy and stay out of his way, because we feel...

5th-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 3-16, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:11.00, ft, neck. DRY POWDER (f, 3, Gun Runner--Tell All, by Broken Vow) came into this debut with a sparkling price tag and a three-strong string of bullet works at Palm Meadows. Showing the way under pressure through :22.52 and a half in :45.75, she locked horns with Practical Lov (Practical Joke) as they swung into the lane and briefly lost the advantage as they got to mid-stretch. Battling back gamely, Dry Powder would not be denied and she came back on the...

I have come to really enjoy sharing this aspect of our farm. Last year after I finished describing some of the matings and crazy ways we had found certain mares, I had myself in stitches laughing so much remembering all of the fun stories. So, once again, I will try to keep you all entertained while also sharing why and how we came up with the pairings for some of our 117 (OMG) mares. We breed solely for the physical athlete; we do not use nicks, Goldmine, x-factor, measurements, linebreeding,...

4th-Turfway, $78,125, Msw, 3-6, 3yo, f, 6f (AWT), 1:12.25, ft, 4 3/4 lengths. FAMILY (f, 3, Sharp Azteca--Heidi Maria {MSW, $220,764}, by Rockport Harbor) was let go on this unveiling at a chilly 27-1 but ran like the favorite en route to her graduation. Employing her early foot to get out and lead, she was challenged by Maclean's Lullaby (Maclean's Music) entering the bend after splits of :23.01 and :46.45, but managed to repel that rival coming into the lane. Giving the field the slip, she strode out to a...

Only briefly giving her backers worry, Good Cheer (f, 3, Medgalia d'Oro--Wedding Toast, by Street Sense) rolled home the easiest of winners in the GII Rachel Alexandra Stakes and claimed 25 points toward the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. On a four-race win streak which started last August in her debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis, the Godolphin homebred followed that effort up with a 17-length victory against allowance runners at Churchill Downs and never slowed down from there. Claiming the Listed Rags to Riches Stakes Oct. 27 and the GII Golden...

32 offerings complete the catalogue for the 2025 Inglis Digital USA February Sale which opened Friday and goes through Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Offerings include Suga Steve (Goldencents), a 4-year-old colt who enters on a three-race winning streak by a combined 16 1/2 lengths. Suga Steve most recently won a six-furlong allowance race on Jan. 24 at Laurel Park. Also available as a racing prospect is a 2-year-old Complexity filly being offered out of the Tapizar mare Caroline County and from the family of multiple Peruvian champion Ole...

In this new series for 2025, we'll take a monthly look at trends and notable items from the nation's graded races and present them in quick, easy-to-digest bullet points. The month of January saw 16 graded races in the U.S.: two Grade Is, four Grade IIs, and 10 Grade IIIs, with 11 on dirt and five on turf. While they ranged from six furlongs to 12 furlongs, the most popular distance, by far, was 1 1/16 miles with six graded races contested over that distance. Gulfstream hosted the most graded...