Street Sense

Tracy Farmer's homebred La Cara (f, 3, Street Sense--Cara Caterina, by Bernardini) closed out the Road to the Kentucky Oaks the same way she started it: with a win. Victorious in the first GI Kentucky Oaks points race of the season--the GIII Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs last September--and the last, Monday's rescheduled GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes at Keeneland, La Cara heads to the Oaks with 151.75 points, second on the leaderboard behind Mar. 29 GII Fantasy Stakes winner Quietside (Malibu Moon). The Ashland awarded Oaks points on a...

In racing, the advent of spring doesn't just mean delightful weather and foals capering through fields. It also means a multiplication of the number of graded events across the nation. The month of March boasted more graded races in the U.S. than January and February combined. With GI Kentucky Derby and Oaks preps in full swing, top older campaigners returning from winter breaks, and 2-year-old racing just around the corner, it's an exciting time in the sport. We took a look at trends and notable items from the country's graded...

5th-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 1:26p.m. ET Though not the most expensive in the field, TOTAL SENSATION (Speightstown) comes into this race with perhaps the best-known family as the son of Eblouissante (Bernardini), the half-sister to Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}). A $300,000 yearling from KEESEP in 2023, and racing for the partnership of Qatar Racing, CHC, Inc., and Trilogy USA, the colt is a half-brother to GSW Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}) and GSP The Process (More Than Ready) from the family of the aforementioned Horse of...

Founded by Josephine Abercrombie in 1952, Pin Oak Stud has entered a new era under the ownership of Jim and Dana Bernhard. The Bernhards purchased Pin Oak Stud in November of 2022 and acquired an additional 465 acres from Adena Springs in September of 2023. "Pin Oak has always strived to breed horses that can compete at the pinnacle of our sport, this vision begins with the decisions that we make when selecting our matings each year," Pin Oak's Michael Hardy said. "Our team works in close collaboration, carefully selecting...

As racing across the nation heats up with spring nearly upon us, we take a look at trends and notable items from the country's graded races in February.  February featured 20 graded races from coast to coast. Five tracks hosted graded events during the month: Fair Grounds (4), Gulfstream Park (3), Oaklawn Park (4), Santa Anita Park (7), and Tampa Bay Downs (2). Four were Grade II events, while 16 were Grade III. Six were contested on turf, with 14 on dirt. Eight of the graded contests were for sophomores,...

If you're going to make your stakes debut in graded company, may as well go big, right? Alexander Helios (Cairo Prince) certainly thought so as he took his grudge match with Banishing (Ghostzapper) down to the wire in the GIII Razorback Handicap. It took him eight tries to break his maiden, and a new trainer, but that 2 1/4-length victory beneath the Twin Spires in November 2023 yielded him a 93 Beyer in his first attempt at 1 1/8-miles for the barn of Saffie Joseph Jr.. It took three attempts...

Bidding is now open for the Fasig-Tipton February Digital Sale, which includes among its 240 offerings a 'no guarantee' season to sire Street Sense with a portion of the proceeds going to recent Special Eclipse Award winner Stable Recovery, the auction company said via a release Thursday. The online sale will close Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The catalogue offers horses of racing age, breeding stock--including mares with foals at foot, 2-year-olds in training, yearlings, a stallion prospect, and a no guarantee stallion season. "We are heating things...

Reverting to front-running tactics for the first time since winning her maiden in impressive fashion at Saratoga last August, Tracy Farmer homebred La Cara made every pole a winning one in Saturday's Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, besting favored Her Laugh, who lost her race at the break but ran on courageously in the final stages. As opposed to Her Laugh, who was playing up in stall six and missed the kick by a good four lengths, La Cara hit the ground running and took the field into the...

MGSW and GI Kentucky Derby runner up Two Phil's (Hard Spun) was represented by his first foal Friday. The filly, bred by Meredith Krupp and Phillip Sagan Racing LLC, is out of the mare Makin' Sense (Street Sense). "She has great bone and really good size," said co-breeder Meredith Krupp who owns Pine Branch Farm where the filly was born. "Very happy with her and thrilled for the Sagan family." Two Phil's retired to stud with five wins from 10 career starts, having amassed earnings of $1,583,450. Bred in Kentucky...

All of us involved in this game tend to be exposed to its ups and downs on a scale proportionate to our means. That being so, there have unsurprisingly been some pretty wild extremes--for better and worse--in the story of the most lavishly funded program in its history. Just think back, for instance, to the last days of April 2001. Sheikh Mohammed had sent Street Cry (Ire) back to the United States, where he had been skillfully developed as a juvenile by Eoin Harty, with the mission of winning the...

If it stays like this, a single maiden winner might settle it. Because all that separates McKinzie ($2,294,679) from current leader Tiz the Law ($2,339,575) in the freshman table is $44,896. But wait, there's more. McKinzie isn't even second. Between the pair lurks Vekoma ($2,306,457), ensuring a desperate three-way contest for the prized laurels of champion first-season sire. It's even closer than this time last year, when four stallions were divided by barely $200,000. In the end, Mitole actually extended his lead down the stretch. But the fact that the...

2nd-Meydan, AED165,000, Mdn., 11-8, NH 2yo & SH 3yo, 1400m, 1:24.72, ft. AWAB (c, 2, Street Sense--Impossible Tale, by Tale Of Ekati), making his first start, was a touch green out in the centre of the track, but soon settled in a tracking third. Still punching the breeze on the bend, the colt was set to his task by jockey Daniel Tudhope, and soon surged up into contention with 500 metres remaining. Setting sail for leader Diamond Dealer (Lord Nelson), he steamed past early in the home straight and poured...