Steve Asmussen

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 8th-CD, $81K, Alw/Opt. Clm ($75K), 7f, 3yo, f, 4:40 p.m. ET Two well-regarded sophomore fillies who earned lofty Beyer numbers in first-out victories will knock heads in this seven-furlong first-level allowance under the Twin Spires Friday. OXO Equine's CENTER AISLE (Into Mischief) was the third-highest lot to sell at last year's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale when hammering for $1.5 million, and backed that price up with a strong debut success Mar. 29 at Gulfstream, stalking the speed and edging clear to score by 3 3/4 lengths...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-CD, $79K, Msw, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, post time: 1:00 p.m. ET Trainer Wesley Ward will look to get his juvenile mojo back when he saddles Magic Cap Stable's firster TEQUILA QUEEN (AMERICAN PHAROAH). The daughter of graded stakes winner Agave Kiss (Lion Heart) was a $325,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah will also be represented in the race by Winchell Thoroughbreds' Mad Maddy. The first foal out of the unraced Tiger Tale (Tale of the Cat), the Steve Asmussen trainee was...

The juvenile sales calendar, interrupted by the coronavirus epidemic, is scheduled to resume in three weeks with the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-year-Olds in Training and the OBS board met Monday to discuss the implementation of safety protocols ahead of the four-day auction. OBS held the only 2-year-olds in training sale of the year so far in March, just as the pandemic was starting to cause mass cancellations. Precautions for the Spring Sale will continue on from protocols put in place prior to the March sale, according...

Bloom Racing Stable LLC, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing LLC's Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), last seen finishing a bang-up second in the inaugural $20-million Saudi Cup in Riyadh Feb. 29, is tentatively scheduled to resume the American portion of her career in the GII Fleur de Lis S. at Churchill Downs June 27. The 5-year-old mare worked five furlongs in a leisurely 1:02.80 at Keeneland Friday, May 15, before vanning to Churchill Downs over the weekend. "All of her breezes up until the other day were designed to get some...

The Churchill Downs main track was opened for training Wednesday morning for the first time since last fall, with horses such as the Greg Foley-trained Major Fed (Ghostzapper) and others conditioned by Steve Asmussen, Phil Bauer, Buff Bradley, Bret Calhoun, Mark Casse, Brad Cox, Neil Howard, Michelle Lovell and Dallas Stewart all stepping onto the surface just after 5:30 a.m. (video) "It's a relief to be home," said Lovell, who shipped her horses from the Fair Grounds to Ashbrook Farm in Lexington and made the trip across Interstate 64 each...

Hailing from the same shedrow of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen isn't the only thing that recent, ultra-impressive Oaklawn Park winners Casual (f, 3, by Curlin) and Volatile (c, 4, by Violence) have in common. The promising duo--both bred in Kentucky by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. and Stretch Run Ventures, LLC--trace their lineage back to the millionaire and brilliant two-time Saratoga Grade I winner and the Asmussen-trained Lady Tak (Mutakddim). After acquiring an interest privately in the GI Test S. and GI Ballerina H. heroine from owners...

Scolding (f, 3, Carpe Diem--Rebuke, by Carson City), a $475,000 OBSAPR breezer (:20 3/5), lived up to the billing with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance on debut on the GI Arkansas Derby undercard at Oaklawn Park. The even-money favorite broke well from her five draw and secured a perfect spot to sit a pressing second from the outside through an opening quarter in :21.77. Under a snug hold approaching the quarter pole with Ricardo Santana Jr. taking a look around for the competition, Scolding gained command without being asked, turned...

1st-GP, $45K, Msw, 3yo, 8fT, 12:45 p.m. ET HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud's HERO D'ORO (Medaglia d'Oro) gets a chance at redemption while trying the turf for the first time. A disinterested 10th in his career debut on the main track here Feb. 29, the $1.2-million Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream graduate gets the services of Irad Ortiz Jr. for this return. Out of After Thought (Fusaichi Pegasus), the Chad Brown trainee is a half-brother to a pair of stakes winners on the turf--Annulment and Youngest Daughter. This is the family...

6th-OP, $60K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 4:36 p.m. ET Phoenix Thoroughbred III Ltd's INIS GLUAIRE (Bernardini) debuts for trainer Steve Asmussen. The dark bay, who realized an $825,000 final bid at last year's OBSMAR sale after completing an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5, is a son of Inish Glora (Regal Classic), a two-time Sovereign Award-winning turf female in Canada and dam of five winners from seven to race, including MSW Roan Inish (Elusive Quality) and GSP In Equality (Quality Road). The Apr. 6 foal, bred by Robert Costigan in...

Graded stakes winner Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby), previously trained by the now-indicted Jorge Navarro, will be joining the Steve Asmussen barn in May, according to a report in Paulick Report. The 4-year-old blitzed to a 12 1/2-length victory in last year's GII Amsterdam S. in just his third career start. He was narrowly beaten when third in the GI H. Allen Jerkens S. and second in the GI Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. and hasn't started since finishing second behind champion Mitole (Eskendereya) in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint last November....

Mia Mischief (Into Mischief), purchased by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stable for $2.4 million at Fasig-Tipton November last fall, stayed unbeaten in the gold and burgundy after a convincing performance in her return to stakes company Saturday in Oaklawn's Carousel S. The 2018 GII Eight Belles S. winner and 2019 GI Humana Distaff S. heroine took two more stakes last season including, a five-length romp in the Dream Supreme S. at Churchill for Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, Heider Family Stables and Madaket Stables just days before garnering the fourth-highest price in...

9th-Oaklawn, $62,000, Alw (NW2$X)/Opt. Clm ($40,000), 4-24, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:08.48, ft. VOLATILE (c, 4, Violence--Melody Lady {SW}, by Unbridled's Song), a first-out winner at Ellis last July, came up 1 1/4-lengths short at Churchill Downs in September before rebounding to win by three lengths back at that venue Nov. 3. Sent off the 6-5 choice this time, the grey prompted Strike That (Biondetti) through crisp opening splits, assumed control turning for home and ran off to score by an eye-opening 7 1/2-length margin. Strike That finished 1 ½ lengths ahead...