Speaker's Corner

Speaker's Corner Dominates Carter

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) took his 2022 record to a perfect three-for-three with a sensational victory in the GI Carter H. on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct. Hammered down to 3-5 favoritism, the Godolphin homebred was quickest away from the outside stall, but was quickly joined on the front end by a trio of rivals to his inside. Speaker's Corner spurted away to gain a clear lead after the first quarter went up in :23.17 with Reinvestment Risk (Upstart) tracking from second to his inside. That foe backed up...

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Speaker's Corner Seeks First Grade I in Deep Carter

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), a perfect two-for-two to start the year, led by a dominating victory with a 106 Beyer over next-out GIII Ghostzapper S. winner Fearless (Ghostzapper) in the GII WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile S. Mar. 5, headlines Saturday's GI Carter H. at the Big A. Always held in high regard by his connections, the Godolphin homebred has found his calling around one turn this year after concluding his sophomore season with a drifting second in the 1 1/8-mile Discovery S. here Nov. 27. Drawn widest of all in...

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Carter Field Takes Shape

Godolphin's Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) and First Captain (Curlin), owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Woodford Racing and celebrity chef Bobby Flay, appear on course for a tilt at the seven-furlong GI Carter H. Apr. 9 at Aqueduct. This term, the former, trained by Bill Mott, has posted a pair of one-turn victories at Gulfstream Park--the GIII Fred Hooper S. Jan. 29 followed by the Mar. 5 GII Gulfstream Park Mile. Last year, he won three starts in New York, including a 6 3/4-length triumph in a Belmont optional...

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Fred Hooper Rematch in Gulfstream Park Mile

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) and Fearless (Ghostzapper), one-two across the line in the GIII Fred W. Hooper S. Jan. 29, face off again in Saturday's GII WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile S. The highly regarded Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner, second after setting the pace in the 1 1/8-mile Discovery S. at Aqueduct Nov. 27, turned back to a mile with a sharp, wire-to-wire tally under an aggressive ride from Junior Alvarado in the Hooper. Fearless, four of six with two seconds in Hallandale, rallied from last of eight to finish a...

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Speedy Speaker's Corner Scores Breakout Victory in Fred Hooper

Lightly raced Speaker's Corner had earned some strong speed figures up to this point for a horse without a stakes win, and he kicked off his 4-year-old campaign auspiciously with a breakthrough tally in Florida. A second-out graduate in New York as a fall juvenile over a very salty bunch of future stakes runners (Caddo River, Greatest Honour, Miles D, Bourbonic and Original), Speaker's Corner resurfaced off the long lay-off to crush Saratoga allowance foes by open lengths. The GI Pennsylvania Derby next out perhaps proved too much too soon,...

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'Spirit'-less PA Derby Weekend's Main Event

The decision to withdraw GI Kentucky Derby first-past-the-post Medina Spirit (Protonico) from Saturday's $1-million GI Pennsylvania Derby is certainly a disappointing development, but eight of the nine remaining entrants already have at least one stakes win to their credit, six of those at the graded-stakes level, with a couple of new shooters that have earned their chance to contest a race of this magnitude. Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) is a deserving favorite based on his body of work, one that could look dramatically more sparkling with a few different bounces...

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After Missing Remsen, Key Race Winner Speaker's Corner Back in Training

Now that's a key race. Subsequent runaway Smarty Jones S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Caddo River (Hard Spun) and authoritative GIII Holy Bull S. hero Greatest Honour (Tapit) were both defeated in second and third, respectively, in a salty, seven-furlong maiden special weight at Belmont Park last fall Oct. 11 (video). But what happened to the impressive winner that day, the highly regarded Godolphin homebred Speaker's Corner (Street Sense--Tyburn Brook, by Bernardini)? "After a minor setback, he is back jogging and hacking at Payson Park with Bill Mott," Godolphin...

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Sunday Insights: Juveniles from Prominent Families Have a Lot to Live Up To

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency COLTS FROM FLAMBOYANT FAMILIES READY TO SHINE  8th-BEL, 63K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, post time: 4:47 p.m. EDT A $470,000 Keeneland September yearling for the partnership of Peter Brant and Robert LaPenta, Chad Brown's MILES D (Curlin) is the first foal of an unraced Bernardini mare who hails from the exceptional Personal Ensign (Private Account)'s immediate family. That Broodmare of the Year's Breeders' Cup-winning and -producing daughter My Flag (Easy Goer) is Miles D's granddam. The depth of this family seems limitless, but the graded winners...

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Second Chances: Speaker's Corner

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. How much buzz was there ahead of Speaker's Corner (c, 2, Street Sense-Tyburn Brook, by Bernardini)'s debut run on closing day at Saratoga? Considering patient Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's two-for-48 record with debuting juvenile runners sprinting in dirt maiden special weights at the Spa the past five seasons (stat courtesy DRF Formulator), the Godolphin homebred was nonetheless hammered down as the 3-5 favorite facing eight rivals...

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