Steve Asmussen

by Bill Finley & Patrycja Szpyra On paper, Saturday's seventh race at Saratoga looked wide open and loaded with talent. All the major players had horses in the race, Wayne Lukas, Chad Brown, Steve Asmussen, Brad Cox , Bill Mott and Todd Pletcher, who had two starters in the six furlong maiden special weight event. The race figured to be fought all the way to the wire. Instead it was the Asmussen horse, Valentine Candy (Justify), who ran them off their feet right out of the gate. Sent off at...

Trainer Jamie Ness earned the 4,000th win of his career when Sing Scat (Irish War Cry), a 3-year-old filly he co-owns, captured the first race at Laurel Park Sunday. The victory was the 27th in the month of July for Ness and extended his win streak to 17 calendar days between Laurel, Delaware Park and Parx that dates back to June 30. It was also the second career milestone Ness has reached at Laurel where he earned his 2,000th win with Caylee's Song on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2013. "Luckily,...

How's your Saratoga opening weekend stakes knowledge? You probably already knew that the Sanford S. is the only race that the legendary Man o' War ever lost. Or that over a five-year span in the '60s, the great Kelso amassed a staggering record of 63-39-12-2. You also knew that the late '80s warrior Quick Call, who lived to the ripe old age of 35, was denied a third consecutive GII Forego H. by a nose to Lay Down. And if you are pretty sharp, then you have it down pat...

Clarence and Dorothy Scharbauer built Valor Farm outside of Dallas 30 years ago after Dorothy and their daughter Pam campaigned Hall of Famer Alysheba in the late 1980s. Their son Doug continues the blue-and-white silk tradition as his unbeaten homebred Closing Act (Munnings) takes on 10 other 2-year-old fillies in Thursday's GIII Schuylerville S. on opening day at Saratoga. The Steve Asmussen trainee, listed at 10-1 on the morning line, is coming off her first stakes win in the Astoria S. June 11 at Belmont Park after breaking her maiden...

10th-Ellis, $120,000, Msw, 7-2, 3yo/up, 7f, 1:23.02, sy, 2 1/4 lengths. BRAMITO (c, 3, Gun Runner--R Gypsy Gold {MSW & GISP, $271,417}, by Bernardini) trailed early as the 5-2 shot here in his debut. The dark bay colt took aim from fourth at a pair of leaders up the backstretch which included favorite Wild Thinker (Lord Nelson). Around the far turn, Bramito steadily began to reel in the pacesetters and with a rail ride down the lane, he surged ahead of the chalk at the sixteenth pole to go on...

A $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, Edified (c, 2, Tapit--For Royalty, by Not For Love) became his superstar sire's 53rd 'TDN Rising Star' Saturday with a commanding performance to graduate at Ellis Park. Facing a salty field of mostly first-time starters, the dark bay was given only a 9-1 chance but more than outran his odds. Under the hands of jockey Joel Rosario, Edified broke alertly from an inside gate and raced in the top flight inside of race-time favorite Normandy Hero (Omaha Beach). Joined up front by Liberal Arts...

Few horses in training could have matched motors Saturday with Peter Blum's Society (Gun Runner), who took the GIII Chicago S. by the scruff of the neck a few strides away from the gates and never gave any of her five rivals a chance, streaking home to score in new track-record time. Drawn one from the outside, the 2-1 second favorite hit the ground running and led narrowly through the opening stages from Drifaros (Kantharos) as odds-on Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) was content enough to sit third behind the speed....

2nd-ELP, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:14 p.m. Two high-priced maidens will kick off their careers at Ellis Park Thursday. BC Stables paid $1.35 million for DAILY GRIND (Medaglia d'Oro) at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling sale. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, the bay colt is out of SW Walk Close (Tapit), who also produced his full-brother Anneau d'Or, second-place finisher in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Lambo (Uncle Mo), trained by Steve Asmussen, brought $950,000 from the Heiligbrodts and Jackpot Farm at OBS March after posting a :10 flat...

7th-Ellis, $115,500, Msw, 6-17, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.28, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. ZEITLOS (f, 3, Curlin--Thyme For Roses {Aus} {GSW-Aus, $104,310}, by Redoute's Choice {Aus}), bet down to 1-4, broke with the second draft and settled in a pursuing second behind Uncorked (Uncle Mo), who zipped through a :21.92 quarter. Breathing down the pacesetter's neck leaving the far turn, the chestnut gained command at the quarter pole and drew off to score by 3 3/4 lengths over Uncorked. It's Magic (Good Magic) rounded out the trifecta. A non-starter after losing...

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Disarm (Gun Runner), last seen finishing fourth in the GI Kentucky Derby, surged past Verifying (Justify) in the final strides to win the relocated GIII Matt Winn S. at Ellis Park Sunday. Sent off the even-money favorite in the race originally scheduled to be run at Churchill Downs, Disarm rated along the rail within striking distance in third as the lightly raced Bo Cruz (Creative Cause) took the field through fractions of :24.46 and :48.73 over the sloppy going. Verifying, who was tracking the pacesetter throughout, took charge...

Steve Asmussen made it a 'sweep' for the 2-year-old stakes wins at Belmont Sunday with a dominating performance by Gold Sweep to not only break his maiden but stamp himself a contender for upcoming summer races. Despite missing by a just a neck when unveiled at Churchill Downs May 18, the son of Speightstown was running late and still earned a 75 Beyer Speed Figure for his losing effort.  Bet down to 4-5 breaking from an outside gate, Gold Sweep came away in good order and raced widest of the...

Closing Act (Munnings) put it all together here to secure the first black-type victory of her young career in the Astoria S. as the 3-5 favorite. A step slow on debut May 11 beneath the Twin Spires, she showed a good turn of foot in the lane to run down rivals for a neck win over an experienced rival. Brushing with Living Magic after leaving the blocks, she was urged along to keep pace from the outside of rivals and went as far as four wide into the final bend. Gaining...