Saratoga
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - So far, a colt named Mindframe (Constitution) has been nothing short of mind blowing. Two starts. Two wins. By a combined margin of 21 1/4 lengths. His connections think so much of him that start No. 3 will be the GI Belmont S. Saturday at Saratoga. Trainer Todd Pletcher and co-owner Mike Repole are confident the lightly raced horse will make a credible showing in the 1 1/4-mile Belmont. Despite having little experience, Mindframe was made the 7-2 second choice by New York Racing Association linemaker...
1st-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 6-7, 3yo/up, 7f, 1:22.56, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. ILLUMINARE (c, 3, City of Light--I Still Miss You {MSW, $276,737}, by Majestic Warrior) jumped as the 9-2 third choice and flashed early speed up front before yielding the lead to 27-1 shot Call Bob (Central Banker). Poised right off that rival's flank up the backstretch, the $500,000 Keeneland September grad made his move off the turn, striking the front at the furlong marker and holding a steady advantage to the line to finish 1 3/4 lengths ahead of...
7th-Saratoga, $110,000, Alw, 6-6, (NW1$X), 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:35.90, ft, 8 1/4 lengths. WAYS AND MEANS (f, 3, Practical Joke--Strong Incentive {SW, $123,568}, by Warrior's Reward) was given an entry for Friday's GI Acorn S., but took in this race in its stead and duly stamped her authority on it as the 1-5 mortal. Drawn two from the outside going the Wilton Chute config and adding Lasix for the first time, last year's GI Spinaway S. runner-up was trapped out wide as they angled towards the backstretch and raced out...
In a race that is longer than the vast majority of Thoroughbred races in the U.S., Thursday's two-mile GII Belmont Gold Cup S. was won in high style by Eclipse Thoroughbreds and The Estate of Albert Frassetto's The Grey Wizard (Ire) (g, 5, Caravaggio--Fancy {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), who waited until the final moments to close with a rush and nab the narrow victory from Champagne Juan (Justify). With the victory, The Grey Wizard annexed the Golden Ticket for the G1 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Nov. 5. Sent off at...
In a race that changed with the early-morning scratch of 'TDN Rising Star' Long Neck Paula (Uncle Mo), it was Whatintheliteral for trainer Jena Antonucci who was able to take the field gate to wire and break her maiden at odds of 13-1 in the Astoria S. Thursday. Run twice at Keeneland over 4 1/2 furlongs, the daughter of Lord Nelson ran into both The Queens M G (Thousand Words) and West Memorial (Caracaro) in her debut start Apr. 7. Up for third beaten just three-quarters of a length Apr....
Part of a Todd Pletcher-trained and Ramona Bass-owned entry favored at 45 cents on the dollar, with each filly making her first trip to the races, Audacious (f, 3, Into Mischief--Veracity, by Distorted Humor) turned in a professional racetrack debut, and although things appeared to get a bit dicey in the final 30 yards, had done enough to become a 'TDN Rising Star'. Drawn one to the outside of her homebred stablemate Chanteuse (Into Mischief) in the six hole, the $700,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase actually won the break, but...
Almostgone Rocket (Into Mischief) made good on a promise of 1-2, leading home a 'TDN Rising Star' exacta as a much-the-best winner of Thursday's Jersey Girl S. at Saratoga. A $250,000 Keeneland September purchase, Almostgone Rocket decimated a field of Oaklawn maidens by nearly a dozen lengths on debut Apr. 5 to become a 'TDN Rising Star', but instead of going for a race like the GII Eight Belles S., for which she would have been well-fancied, opted for a first-level Churchill allowance May 3, and she duly obliged by...
The wagering public had their money on a son of Nyquist, it just happened to be the wrong one. The "other Nyquist", 13-1 longshot Studlydoright, kept his perfect record intact and picked up his first stakes win Thursday taking the Tremont S. on the opening day of the Belmont at Saratoga Racing Festival. A come-from-behind winner in the slop at first asking at Laurel Park, the Maryland-bred Studydoright added an extra furlong of distance Thursday and was one of only three runners in the 8-horse field with any prior experience....
1st-SAR, $100K, Msw, 3yo/up, 7f, 12:20 p.m. The second day of the Belmont at Saratoga festival continues with a strong opening race featuring China Horse Club homebred TRULLI WARRIOR (Curlin). Dam Alberobello, who CHC purchased as a yearling for $475,000, is related to a trio of 'TDN Rising Stars' in half-sisters MGSW/GISP Jojo Warrior (Pioneerof the Nile) and MSW/GSP J Z Warrior (Harlan's Holiday) along with full-sister GISW A Z Warrior. The 'Rising Star'-quality continues through the family with Jojo Warrior's son Under Oath (Speightstown) and A Z Warrior's daughter...
With entrants ranging from a $2.3-million sales-topping yearling to a homebred, the $2-million GI Belmont S. turns a new page in 2024 with its first running at Saratoga Race Course. Here we take a look at the origins of all 10 entrants in the Classic, including the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. winners. 1). Seize the Grey (Arrogate--Smart Shopping, by Smart Strike) Mill Ridge's Headley Bell purchased Shop Again, second dam of Seize the Grey, for $450,000 at the 2007 Keeneland November sale on behalf of Tolie Otto,...
It was a first-of-its-kind TDN Writers' Room this week as the crew gathered to discuss the first GI Belmont S. to run at Saratoga Race Course. To get started on their handicapping ahead of a jam-packed weekend of racing at the Spa, the team brought in Green Group Guest of the Week Richard Migliore, an on-air racing analyst for NYRA who will be part of the FOX Sports coverage of the Belmont on Saturday. Calling into the show--which is presented by Keeneland--from the famed picnic tables of Saratoga, Migliore said...
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY-Five weeks ago, Mystik Dan (Goldencents) took down the GI Kentucky Derby in thrilling fashion, garnering the Run for the Roses by a mere nose. Also landing in Churchill's winner's circle that day, albeit in an entirely different race, Seize the Grey (Arrogate) recorded a confident win over 'TDN Rising Star' and SW Nash (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GII Pat Day Mile. Two weeks later, the duo faced off, and it was the grey horse who proved best on a grey day to take the GI Preakness at...