Saratoga

It was overcast and foggy, but weather was not going to stop her as Daisy Flyer (Mshawish) flew home in the final yards to take the GIII Lake George Stakes at Saratoga. Sent to George 'Rusty' Arnold as a juvenile, she ran a flat eighth last summer on unveiling July 21 at Ellis Park, but produced her first inkling of the dramatic final kick in her Sept. 5 graduation at Kentucky Downs when she won the photo by a head. When her connections stepped her up into the GII Miss...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - As the 2-year-old colt Soldier N Diplomat (Army Mule) was charging down the stretch at Saratoga Race Course Saturday afternoon, his owner, Vinnie Viola, up in his clubhouse box, was eyeballing him and the finish line at the same time. "I was holding my breath the whole way down," Viola said. Soldier N Diplomat had to hold off a late charge by Accost (MacLean's Music) to win the second race, a $100,000 maiden special event weight for 2-year-olds. At the end of the six furlongs, Soldier...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.-'TDN Rising Stars' Fierceness (City of Light) or Mindframe (Constitution) in the GI $1 million Whitney Stakes? Will one of them be running or will it be both? Those questions got definitive answers Saturday morning outside Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher's barn on the Oklahoma Training Track. When entries are taken for the meet's marquee race for older horses on Sunday, both horses names will be front and center, but it will be Fierceness who carries the flag for Pletcher and the ownership group of Mike Repole's...

Ninety-five years ago, a horse named Jim Dandy upset Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox at odds of 100-1 in the GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Saturday, with the traditional Travers prep race now named in honor of that monumental beating, the team behind GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) reminded everyone why their colt is the top of the class, avoiding any drama to take the GII Jim Dandy Stakes. Not that there was ever any doubt. With GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) 3,000...

Reigning champion 3-year-old colt and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), second last out in the GI Stephen Foster on June 28 at Churchill Downs, worked a half-mile in :48.80 (52/167) Saturday to the inside of Secured Lender over the Spa main track. The Chad Brown runner is expected to start in next Saturday's GI Whitney Stakes, a 'Win and You're In' race for the GI Breeders' Classic in November at Del Mar. "He worked super. It was just maintenance," Brown said. "He's bounced out of the Stephen Foster...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In the first race of her career Friday, Time to Dream (Not This Time) showed that she could very well have been given a fitting name. After overcoming trouble under jockey Jose Ortiz, the Repole Stable bay stormed from off the pace in the stretch to win the seventh race, a $100,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds by 2 1/4 lengths over pacesetter Maiora (Speightstown). Time to Dream completed the one mile on the inner turf course in 1:36.58 and paid $9.90 to win. Pan Pan...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - So far, trainer Joe Sharp has done little wrong at the Thoroughbred meet at Saratoga. If you've been following along, you know he has won six races with his first 15 starters. You might not know that he is also doing ok across the street at the harness track. Sharp has been moonlighting as a harness owner at night--along with former jockey Taylor Rice, the wife of jockey Jose Ortiz. They own a pair of pacers named Virgin Honor and Legal Bettor and they will both...

Smoken Wicked (Bobby's Wicked One), a two-time stakes winner versus fellow Louisiana-breds, broke through at the graded level with a dominant performance in Friday's GII Amsterdam S. at the Spa. The 5-2 chance pressed favored Macho Music (Maclean's Music) through an opening quarter in :22.09, took over approaching the quarter pole and blasted off for home to win impressively by 5 3/4 lengths. Sixth behind the aforementioned Macho Music in the GII Pat Day Mile S. May 3, Smoken Wicked entered off a second-place finish in the Maxfield S. June...

The aptly-named Time to Dream (Not This Time) impressed in her career unveiling Friday to become the newest 'TDN Rising Star' at Saratoga for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole. Racing as part of a coupled entry with stablemate Flighttown (Practical Joke), the 7-2 shot was drawn nearly widest of the field in this one-mile turf event and despite a clean beginning, was outrun was a host of rivals to her inside. Jose Ortiz guided his filly down to race a path off the hedge just outside of Curly...

4th-DMR, 100K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 6:33 p.m. Amr Zedan went to an eye-watering OBS record $3,000,000 to acquire BRANT (Gun Runner) from consigner Eddie Woods back in March and the colt makes his debut at Del Mar for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Working in an impressive time of :9 3/5, he was a huge pinhook for St. Clair Stables who picked him up for just $200,000 as a yearling at Keeneland last September. Brant is out of a winning Liam's Map half-sister to GSW/GISP and young stallion Pappacap...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced juveniles from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes, sponsored by OBS Sales, highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, including links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga, Ellis Park and Del Mar. Saturday,...

Fresh off a victory in the GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, Journalism (Curlin) went to the track at Del Mar Thursday morning to stretch his legs following his return to the seaside oval Tuesday evening. "Looks like he's doing very well," trainer Michael McCarthy said. "No plans yet. Just keeping everything on the table." When asked if the 3-year-old's next race might be facing older horses in the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar, McCarthy said, "At some stage you're going to have to run against older...