Risen Star

GI Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire (Classic Empire--Armony's Angel, by To Honor And Serve) sired his first reported foal Saturday, Jan. 17, when a filly bred by Brooks Taylor was born at Taylor Made, the farm announced Tuesday. She is out of Love Ava Love, a daughter of the stakes-winning Storm Cat mare Hidden Cat--her second dam is multiple Canadian champion and Horse of the Year Alywow--and she is a half-sister to stakes winners Global Power and Pegasusbystorm. Angel of Empire, racing for Albaugh Family Stables and trained by...

'TDN Rising Star' and GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro) has a chance to set things right as the Derby circus rolls into New Orleans Saturday in the GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes, the first race on the 2025 Road to the Kentucky Derby to award 50 points to the winner. "We had a plan after the Breeders' Cup to give him six works into the Risen Star," trainer Brendan Walsh said of his Godolphin homebred. "His breeze (on Jan. 17) was really good. I had him...

Trainer Chad Brown has been down this road a time or two. In 2013, Normandy Invasion (Tapit) made his 3-year-old debut in the GII Risen Star S., having dropped a nose decision in Aqueduct's GII Remsen S. three months previously. Sent off the 3-2 favorite, the Fox Hill runner ran on nicely to finish fifth. Just two years ago, Zandon (Upstart)--also beaten by the barest margin in the Remsen--shipped up from Florida and also came with a stretch rally to round out the trifecta as a 7-2 chance. 'TDN Rising...

The world we share with these amazing animals may be an ever-changing one, but its mysteries abide. We consider ourselves ever more knowledgeable, ever more certain, riding the slipstream of science. Yet how much do we truly know, when Afternoon Deelites holds out for all those years and then waits just six days before following his owner to whatever shore may (or may not) lie beyond the horizon of life? The same journey was made this week by the trainer of Alydar. John Veitch laid the ground for the greatest...

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Epicenter (Not This Time) made up for his close call in the GIII Lecomte S. with a front-running score in the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds, moving him up in the GI Kentucky Derby points rankings. Winchell Thoroughbreds and winning trainer Steve Asmussen also teamed up to take this event in 2016 with future Horse of the Year Gun Runner. Away a breath slower than the rest, Epicenter quickly got his hooves beneath him and tugged his way up to the front under Joel Rosario....

For its 150th anniversary racing season, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will boast 59 stakes worth a combined $7.795 million--up more than $600,000 from last season--during its 80-day, 2021-22 Thoroughbred meet, which is set to begin Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 25. "Fair Grounds Race Track is embedded in the history of New Orleans," said Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots president Doug Shipley. "We have always been very proud to be part of such a great city and this year marks the 150th anniversary of our inaugural season. We...

Mandaloun added yet another feather to his superstar sire Into Mischief's cap with a victory in Saturday's GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds. Adding blinkers after a third-place finish in the GIII Lecomte S. last time, the Juddmonte Farms homebred was away alertly from stall 10 and rushed up to stalk from a two-wide third as Rightandjust (Awesome Again) was pressed along by Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) through early fractions of :23.65 and :48.45. Midnight Bourbon stuck hi head in front entering the bend with Mandaloun roaring up on...

This Saturday, Calumet Farm looks to pull off a bit of an upset in the GII Risen Star with their homebred Santa Cruiser (Dialed In), who broke his maiden last November and ran fourth in his most recent start in the GIII Lecomte S.    Santa Cruiser may go off as one of the longer shots on the board, but if he were to win, it wouldn't be the farm's first upset in the same race. Three years ago, Calumet's homebred Bravazo (Awesome Again-Tiz O'Gold, by Cee's Tizzy) won the...

Climax Stallions LLC has obtained a majority interest in graded stakes winner Mr. Monomoy (Palace Malice--Drumette, by Henny Hughes) and he will stand at Dr. Jerry Bilinski's Waldorf Farm in North Chatham, NY. His initial stud fee has been announced at $5,000 Stands & Nurses. Mr. Monomoy is a half-brother to seven-time Grade I-winning champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) and hails from the family of champion Heavenly Cause (Grey Dawn {Fr}). "We bought Mr. Monomoy specifically for the New York breeding program" said Sean Feld, managing partner of Climax Stallions "It...

Fifty-one stakes worth a combined $7.055 million will be offered during Fair Grounds's upcoming 76-day 2020-21 Thoroughbred racing season, which is set to begin Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 26, the track announced Monday. "We are proud to once again continue our growth and support of the Thoroughbred racing industry with our purse allocations and this diverse and dynamic stakes schedule" said Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots president Doug Shipley. "We look forward to our 149th racing season and the continuation of bringing many of the best horsemen and jockeys...

Mr. Monomoy (Palace Malice), whose win in the GII Risen Star S. signaled that he was a major threat for the GI Kentucky Derby, has suffered a mild injury and won't return to the races until this summer. "He came out of a gallop two days ago with some heat in his ankle," trainer Brad Cox said. "We took some x-rays and found that there was some roughening in the P1 (first phalanx) area. He'll need 60 days off and is on his way to WinStar to recuperate. He is...

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton When you think of the Fair Grounds and its series of GI Kentucky Derby preps, it's easy to conjure up images of stamina-centric closers who can stay all day. The track's imposing 1,346-foot home stretch--for decades billed as the longest in North America, until the reconfigured Los Alamitos surpassed it by 34 feet in 2014--is the primary reason. The other, which is new this year, is the elongated change in distance for the three races in the Fair Grounds' January-March prep series. Most...