In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...
The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...
Turf mares sure know how to put on a show. It came down to a blanket finish in the GII Hillsborough Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, but Destino d'Oro (Bolt d'Oro) showed her heart with an ultra-game performance to win the photo. Crowned the 2026 queen of the GII Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational Stakes in her most recent performance, via an equally exciting finish no less, the Brad Cox filly has now strung together three consecutive wins. The first of the group was a head decision...
MAD HOUSE (g, 4, Vekoma--Stifled Heiress, by Munnings) was last seen fading to the back in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar last November, but before that he'd strung together a respectable tally of four consecutive victories which culminated with him taking home the hardware in the Sept. 20 GII Gallant Bob Stakes at Parx. Made the 3-5 heavy favorite here for his seasonal bow, Mad House went right to the front and never looked back after :21.94 and :44.42 sectionals, rolling home by 3 3/4 lengths in...
INSTABILITY (IRE) (c, 3, Lope de Vega {Ire}--Miss Katie Mae {Ire} {SW-Can, GSP-Ire, MSP-USA, $166,139}, by Dark Angel {Ire}) was made the 6-5 favorite for this unveiling and did not disappoint his supporters with a strong performance over the Tampa lawn. A 440,000gns ($591,663) purchase at the Tattersalls October yearling sale in 2024, the son of leading sire Lope de Vega (Ire) set up comfortably in mid-pack as the frontrunners posted opening splits of :23.14 and a half-mile in :47.67. He steadily improved his position from there behind six panels...