Seize the Grey

Baltimore, MD--The stage may have changed but the show remains the same. Two weeks ago, the Triple Crown train ran through Louisville, where all were treated to a sensory assault that can only be understood when experienced first-hand. With the tour moving on to Pimlico this week, there is an undeniable adjustment. It's something like comparing Taylor Swift to Courtney Love. No further explanation required. However, despite all of its shortcomings (and no, the elevator is still not working), Pimlico and the GI Preakness S. offer a charm that many...

With the scratch of GISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) from Saturday's GI Preakness S. due to a temperature, Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing, Daniel Hamby III, and Valley View Farm LLC's Mystik Dan (Goldencents) is expected to be the favorite. The GI Kentucky Derby winner galloped 1 3/16 miles on a sloppy, sealed surface Wednesday morning under retired jockey Robby Albarado at Pimlico after the renovation break. "I'm doing a rain dance all this week," said Albarado. "I'm not saying he has to take a racetrack with...

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) continued his preparation ahead of Saturday's GI Preakness S. with a leg-stretching trip around the Pimlico surface Tuesday morning under Robby Albarado. The pair jogged seven furlongs before Albarado let the colt gallop through 1 1/2 miles. "I let him clip along today, and he's not even blowing," Albarado told Pimlico media following the work. "I thought every day would be a better day for him. He's getting comfortable with his surroundings. He knows where he's at now. I couldn't be more pleased...

In the few days after Mystik Dan (Goldencents) pulled an 18-1 upset in the GI Kentucky Derby, there was the real possibility that none of the 20 horses that competed in the first leg of the Triple Crown would press on to Saturday's GI Preakness S. By Sunday afternoon, any such concerns had abated--the Derby winner had been confirmed by trainer Ken McPeek and Derby fourth Catching Freedom (Constitution) was also given the green light by Brad Cox, joining a field that had already included two each from Hall of...

Before anything else, first and foremost we need to acknowledge the unfathomable legacy of Darling My Darling (Deputy Minister) as second dam of both colts denied in an agonizing three-way finish to the GI Kentucky Derby. The odds of that coincidence, for all her elite blood and performance, are best be left to an actuary. In the meantime, however, we should salvage the contrasting narratives aptly condensed, in what remains the definitive test of the American Thoroughbred, by her two grandsons. For our collective obsession with first place is such...

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed both Seize the Grey (Arrogate) and Just Steel (Justify) would go on to Baltimore with an eye on the GI Preakness S. after runs this past Saturday at Churchill Downs, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Monday. Seize the Grey won the GII Pat Day Mile S. while Just Steel wound up 17th in the GI Kentucky Derby. "We'll bring both of ours," Lukas confirmed to the Maryland Jockey Club media Monday. "We will be there Monday." Meanwhile, Derby hero Mystik Dan (Goldencents),...

To say that the connections of Seize the Grey (Arrogate) were disappointed that the 3-year-old wouldn't be making it into the starting gate for the GI Kentucky Derby is an understatement. D. Wayne Lukas, who had Just Steel (Justify) tabbed to run later in the day, felt that the MyRacehorse runner could also have also been competitive in the Run For the Roses. While things didn't pan out for the grey to make it into the big dance, he still came away a winner Saturday, taking the GII Pat Day...

While they may not have received the end result they were hoping for, nearly 300 owners enjoyed a memorable weekend at Keeneland as their horse Seize the Grey (Arrogate) ran in the GI Blue Grass S. A $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga purchase for MyRacehorse trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Seize the Grey was coming into his Grade I debut off a third-place performance in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. The colt's connections were hoping that he would be able to run in the money in order to acquire enough points...

We all know how hard it is to stand a turf horse in Kentucky today. For the minority of breeders sufficiently enlightened to offer such sires some commercial viability, moreover, the reel snapped a couple of years ago with the loss of Kitten's Joy and English Channel within months of each other. Happily, it has not taken long to cast a new leading man. Oscar Performance has delivered his lines confidently from the first take. In fact, he has even improved on the script--his leading earner, to this point, being...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In an atypical move, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said that GIII Saratoga Special S. runner-up Market Street (Street Sense) will likely make his next start on grass in the Aug. 31 GIII With Anticipation S. Lukas, 87, built his exceptional career with dirt horses and most years saddles far fewer horses on the grass. So far in 2023, just six of his 193 starters (3%) have run on turf. Since the beginning of 2019, 11.9% of his starters have been on turf. His...