Richard Mandella

Stablemates Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) and Kopion (Omaha Beach) were among several Breeders' Cup hopefuls to make an appearance Monday morning on the worktab at Santa Anita ahead of a multi-day rainstorm that's expected to arrive in the area later in the evening. Trained by Richard Mandella, Grade I winners Tamara and Kopion both worked three furlongs with the former being clocked in :37.40 (7/19) on the main track while the latter went to the synthetic training track and was timed in :39.80 (4/4). Kopion wears glue-on shoes, according to Mandella,...

Spendthrift Farm homebred Brave Deb (Authentic) completed a big weekend for the historic farm--while adding a second graded win in two days for her sire--with an authoritative victory in the GIII Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita Sunday. Spendthrift's colors were carried to victory at Keeneland by Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) in the GI Darley Alicibiades Stakes Friday and by Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) in the GI Claiborne Futurity Saturday. The farm's homebred Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), a daughter of champion Beholder, returned with a victory of her own in the...

All five stakes winners on Saturday's card at Santa Anita--GI American Pharoah Stakes winner Intrepido (Maximus Mischief), GII Oak Leaf Stakes winner Explora (Blame), GII Rodeo Drive Stakes winner Mission of Joy (Kitten's Joy), GIII Chillingworth Stakes winner Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) and Speakeasy Stakes winner Later Than Planned (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB})--were reported to be doing well Sunday and will move on to the Breeders' Cup. "He's got a lot of class," trainer Jeff Mullins said of Intrepido, who earned an automatic berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with...

1st-Niigata, ¥10,600,000 ($71,603), Maiden, 2yo, 1200m, 1:10.8, ft. SATONO VOYAGE (JPN) (c, 2, Into Mischief--Jolie Olimpica {Brz} {Horse of the Year, Ch. 2yo Filly & G1SW-Brz, Ch. Turf Female-Can, MGSW & GISP-US, GSW-Can, $460,507}, by Drosselmeyer) was beaten 1 1/2 lengths into second when trying 1200 meters on the turf at Hanshin June 14 and was the 9-10 chalk to go one better with a move to the dirt track at Niigata. Drawn gate one, Satono Voyage was driven along by Keita Tosaki and made the lead before the end...

Before Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and Journalism (Curlin), there was Fierceness (City of Light) and Sierra Leone (Gun Runner). While we patiently wait for round three between the top two 3-year-olds in the country, last year's two standout sophomores and 'TDN Rising Stars' Fierceness and Sierra Leone will meet for the fifth time and first this year in Saturday's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga, a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Fierceness defeated Sierra Leone in both the GII Jim Dandy S. and GI Travers S. at...

Jockey Flavien Prat had himself a year in 2024 on the way to his first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. How good was he? He set records for Stakes wins (82) and Graded Stakes wins (56). He won the Breeders' Cup Classic. He won 16 Grade I races. The list could go on, but he has turned the page. He will make no predictions for 2025. The 32-year-old French native just wants to keep on riding. He sat down with Tim Wilkin to talk about life as a top jockey...

5th-CD, $120k, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 1mT, 2:46p.m. ET OLYMPIC DAME (Medaglia d'Oro) will break from the rail here wearing the colors of Qatar Racing for trainer Brendan Walsh. A $385,000 FTSAUG purchase in 2023, the price looked like a steal three months later when her half-brother Honor Marie (Honor Code) brought home the trophy for the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes in late November, and kept himself in the headlines from there, running through the 2024 Kentucky Derby trail by route of Louisiana and eventually finishing eighth in the big...

Leading into the first Saturday in May, the Beyer Speed Figure benchmark for the year hadn't been set by one of the star 3-year-olds in the nation, but by the 4-year-old California campaigner Kopion (f, 4, Omaha Beach--Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop), who closed out her 2024 season as a surprise 37-1 victress in the GI La Brea Stakes on Santa Anita's opening day in December. Saturday she made it three in a row and proved her last-out, year-topping 110 Beyer Speed Figure was no fluke as she made the...

Kazushi Kimura is set to make his return and will begin riding horses during morning training toward the end of next week, Santa Anita revealed via press release Sunday afternoon. Sidelined for more than two months after suffering a lower leg injury in a starting gate incident back in mid-January, his agent Brian Beach said Kimura will begin getting on horses for morning works next week and will return for the new condition book that runs through the end of the Classic Meet Apr. 6. "He's a really hard worker...

5th-Santa Anita, $67,000, Msw, 3-1, 4/5yo, f/m, 6fT, 1:08.78, fm, 1 3/4 lengths. QUICK BROWN FOX (f, 4, Justify--Bast {MGISW, $852,200}, by Uncle Mo), the first foal out of MGISW Bast (Uncle Mo), came in off nearly a year-long layoff to break her maiden on the turf. Debuted on the main track last April, she was beaten just a neck as the favorite before going to the sidelines for owner/breeder Spendthrift Farm who took their time bringing her back to the Richard Mandella operation. Favored at even money Saturday, Quick...

Among several notable workers for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday morning at Santa Anita was Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), who this week was named the 2024 champion 2-year-old male. With rain expected later in the day and continuing through the weekend, it was a busy training session on both the main track and training track as 229 horses recorded timed workouts ahead of the weather. Citizen Bull worked in company with older horse Pilot Commander (Justify), who most recently was fourth in the GI Malibu Dec. 26....

Spendthrift Farm, forced to scratch Grade I winner Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) with an elevated temperature Thursday morning, had a more than suitable understudy in the afternoon's GI La Brea Stakes when Kopion (Omaha Beach) romped home a geared-down 2 3/4-length winner at Santa Anita. Returning from nine months on the sidelines and dismissed at 35-1, the chestnut filly chased pacesetting Sandy Bottom (Omaha Beach) through an opening quarter in :22.17. Kopion easily moved up to engage the pacesetter as the half went up in :44.32 and she grabbed command out...