Steve Asmussen

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 7th-ELP, $51K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 6f, post time: 2:02 p.m. ET Some particularly well-bred and expensive sophomore fillies are set to debut Saturday at Ellis Park. Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, Madaket Stables and Spendthrift Farm's confidently named Upandcomingstar (Into Mischief) has been prepped for this by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. The $500,000 KEESEP yearling is out of 2010 GIII Azeri S. winner Freedom Star (Street Cry {Ire}). Larry Best's OXO Equine, meanwhile, will be represented by Brad Cox-trained Palm Cottage (American Pharoah). A $575,000...

6th-Ellis, $51,000, Msw, 7-1, 2yo, 5f, :57.41, sy, nose. COSTA TERRA (c, 2, Gun Runner--Teardrop {SP}, by Tapit), the 9-5 favorite, was hustled out of the gate, but could not keep pace with the early leaders who separated themselves from the field as the favorite fell well off the pace in a strung-out field. Buckingham Prince (Klimt) battled on the front end through an opening quarter in :22.37, had sole command of the lead after a quarter in :45.35 and looked home free, but Costa Terra was finding his best...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 3rd-CD, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, post time: 1:43 p.m. ET A Winchell Thoroughbreds/Steve Asmussen coupled entry receive a tepid 3-1 morning line nod in this salty looking special weight. Totalizer (Candy Ride {Arg}) is out of GSP Taxable (Tapit) from the family of GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Summerly (Summer Squall). Chileno (Gun Runner), co-owned with co-breeder Three Chimneys, was a $375,000 Keeneland September yearling. His MG1SW dam Wapi (Chi) (Scat Daddy) was Chile's champion 3-year-old filly of 2016. Wapi's now 3-year-old Curlin colt, who remains...

Eagle Express became the first winner and stakes winner in one fell swoop from just eight first-crop foals for 2016 GIII Ben Ali S. winner Eagle (Candy Ride {Arg}). Second on debut here May 14, the 2-1 favorite broke on top before chasing Texas Thunder through a :22.67 opening quarter. Forced to go wide into the stretch when floated by the pacesetter, Eagle Express soared home from there much the best. The winner has a yearling ful-brother and a foal half-brother by Moonshine Mullin. TEXAS STALLION PAN ZARETA DIVISION S.,...

3rd-Belmont, $78,300, Msw, 6-10, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:06.47, ft, 9 3/4 lengths. VELVET SISTER (f, 2, Bernardini--Backslash, by Sharp Humor), bought for $500,000 after breezing a :10 1/5 furlong at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream, debuted a sharp maiden winner Thursday at Belmont for Stonestreet Stables and Steve Asmussen. Showing a quartet of half-mile works at Keeneland, highlighted by a :47 2/5 (5/99) spin from the gate May 8, and a pair of maintenance spins over the local training track, the New York-bred was made a distant 12-5 second choice in a three-horse...

It is now a decade since John Sikura was walking through a Lexington steakhouse and glimpsed, on a screen over the bar, a bay colt coasting clear of his pursuers with sparks coming from his heels: :21.24, :43.48, 1:07.44. He was puzzled: it wasn't yet the weekend, and he wasn't aware of any stakes being run that day. Seven lengths in a hand ride. Then they told him that this was just a maiden race out at Santa Anita. Sikura couldn't believe his ears. He wasn't alone: a 114 Beyer...

3rd-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, post time: 4:09 p.m. ET VELVET SISTER (Bernardini) brought $500,000 from Stonestreet Stables after breezing an eighth in a powerful :10 1/5 at Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the bay is a half-sister to the tough-as-nails 7-year-old gelding MSW My Boy Tate (Boys At Tosconova). Stonestreet has enjoyed top- level success with Bernardini's Cavorting and Rachel's Valentina. Gerrymander (Into Mischief), a half-sister to last Saturday's runaway GII Brooklyn S. winner Lone Rock (Majestic Warrior), is the 2-1 morning-line favorite. The Klaravich Stables...

For the first time in its 117-year history, Oaklawn Park will add December dates to its racing calendar and will host 66 days of live racing beginning Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 through Sunday, May 8, 2022. The season will be conducted on a largely Friday-through-Sunday schedule with some exceptions. The track will be dark over the Christmas holiday Dec. 24-26 and there will be no racing on Easter Sunday, Apr. 17. As is their custom, Oaklawn will host a holiday program on Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 21. "For many years,...

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Silver State (Hard Spun) upped his win streak to six while providing trainer Steve Asmussen with a third GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. in the last four years. The historic Met Mile also gave Silver State an automatic spot in the starting gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile should his connections choose that event over the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. By My Standards (Goldencents) rallied to cut the winning margin to a length after missing the break, while stretching-out GI Carter...

Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter) will try to return to his winning ways Saturday in Belmont's GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan H., a 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar this fall. Riding a four-race unbeaten streak, including the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Mile in November and the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Jan. 23, the grey finished fourth most recently behind Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) in the Feb. 20 GI Saudi Cup. "We had to contend with...

Beau Liam (c, 3, Liam's Map--Belle of Perintown, by Dehere) stamped himself as a sophomore to watch for the second half of the season with an eye-catching 'TDN Rising Star' performance over older horses on debut at Churchill Downs Saturday. The 5-1 chance broke well from his outside draw and sat just off the leaders in third through a sharp opening quarter in :21.73. The Stonestreet homebred, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, revved up three deep at the quarter pole and took off in the stretch like a...

3rd-CD, $100K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:43p.m. Godolphin's CASUAL AFFAIR (Into Mischief) returns to action following a close-up second in his unveiling at Keeneland Apr. 23. Trained by Brendan Walsh, the homebred is out of Ashado (Saint Ballado), Champion 3-year-old Filly and Older Female in 2004 and 2005, and subsequently inducted in racing's Hall of Fame in 2014. Stonestreet's BEAU LIAM (Liam's Map) kicks off for trainer Steve Asmussen off a steady string of works, including a bullet four-furlong move (:47, 1/57) two back May 16. Out of graded winner Belle...