TDN Rising Star
Devil Made Me Doit (Daredevil) put on a show with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance in the lid lifter on Santa Anita's opening day program back on Dec. 28--feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it--but where has he been since? "He came out of his race with a little P1 [ankle chip]," said Ciaran Dunne, who campaigns the 3-year-old colt in partnership with Reddam Racing. "We took it out and he went to Ocean Breeze-Mr. Reddam's farm in California--to recuperate. We gave him a little extra time because all that...
7th-Oaklawn, $61,000, Alw (C), Opt. Clm ($100,000), 5-2, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:41.91, ft. GAMINE (f, 3, Into Mischief--Peggy Jane {SP, $102,050}, by Kafwain) a jaw-dropping front-running debut winner for Bob Baffert to become a 'TDN Rising Star' at first asking at Santa Anita Mar. 7, dug in gamely to stay perfect at Oaklawn Park Saturday. Taking on two turns for the first time here, the 3-5 favorite established early command passing the empty grandstand for the first time and was on the engine through fractions of :23.29 and :46.54....
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...
Before the coronavirus pandemic struck America and shook up horse racing along with it, things seemed to be falling, as they often do, in Bob Baffert's favor. The Hall of Fame trainer, no stranger to coming into Louisville with the horse or horses to beat, had a trio of colts who looked like they could be the first three choices in the GI Kentucky Derby. Even with the Run for the Roses now postponed four months, Baffert still appears to have a stronghold over a marquee 3-year-old race on the...
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...
10th-Oaklawn, $61,000, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 4-24, 3yo, 6f, 1:09.34, ft. NO PAROLE (c, 3, Violence--Plus One {SW, $168,847}, by Bluegrass Cat) dominated Louisiana-breds by a combined 27 1/2 lengths in his first two starts at the Fair Grounds, earning 'Rising Star' status Jan. 11. Next time, he rolled home a 6 1/2-length winner of the state-bred restricted Premier Night Prince S. at Delta Feb. 8 and was installed the even-money choice to get back on track following an off-the-board finish in the GII Rebel S. Mar. 14. To the...
2nd-GP, $65K, Msw, 2yo, 4 1/2f, 1:34 p.m. GOLDEN PAL (Uncle Mo), the first foal out of talented turf sprinter and 'TDN Rising Star' Lady Shipman (Midshipman), debuts for Wesley Ward. The Randy Lowe homebred RNA'd for $325,000 as a KEESEP yearling last year. Golden Pal worked four furlongs in :48 around the dogs over the Palm Meadows lawn in :48 (2/51) Apr. 11. "He's very fast," Ward said of the 7-5 morning-line favorite. Jacks or Better Farm homebred First Navy Admiral (Fort Loudon), a half-brother to champion Awesome Feather...
Owner and breeder John Kerber estimates that he purchased his first broodmare in 1960, three years into his tenure as a junior high school science teacher. Some six decades later, undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Ain't No Elmers (Goldencents) is the filly the affable octogenarian calls "the one I've been waiting for my whole life." "At my age, how many more like this can I expect?" wondered Kerber, 83, who resides in the small town of Emmetsburg, Iowa, in the northwest quadrant of the state. Kerber acquired the filly's dam, Voussoir...
Dispatched as the 6-5 favorite to remain unbeaten and build on a debut success sprinting six furlongs over this main track Feb. 15, Winchell Thoroughbreds' homebred Pneumatic (Uncle Mo) handled a stretch out to two turns with aplomb to become the newest 'TDN Rising Star' Saturday in Hot Springs. Pneumatic bounced well from gate seven and was four wide entering the first turn before tucking in a path or two while tugging eagerly for his head. Settled a bit better when steered out into the clear midway down the backstretch,...
When Sheikh Mohammed purchased Stonerside back in 2008, trainers previously employed by Bob McNair's massive operation, such as Mike Stidham, were kept on board provisionally as the acquired stable of runners transitioned to carry the famed maroon-and-white silks of Darley. "The deal was that we were able to stay in with the horses that we had at the time," said Stidham, who saddled the Stonerside-bred Tizaqueena (Tiznow) to a pair of graded tallies as well as Grade I placing at Keeneland for Darley. "And once those horses were retired, we...
7th-OP, $61K, Alw, NW1X, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 5:06 p.m. ET Maryanorginger (Strong Mandate) makes her first start since debuting with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance after stumbling at the start in the Astoria S. at Belmont Park last June. The second-place finisher that day Perfect Alibi (Sky Mesa) followed up with victories in Saratoga's GII Adirondack S. and GI Spinaway S., respectively. The Gold Square colorbearer, a $190,000 FTKJUL yearling purchase, is trained by Jeremiah Englehart. TJCIS PPs 11th-GP, $46K, OC 75k/N1X, 3yo, 7f, 5:52 p.m. ET I'll Fight Dempsey...
Since its inaugural running in 1952, the GI Curlin Florida Derby has always been a stop along the journey for GI Kentucky Derby hopefuls--a chance for fine-tuning and finishing touches before horses take their best shots to Louisville. But this year, due to the postponement of the Run for the Roses and general uncertainty about what the rest of the racing calendar will look like as the world grapples with the coronavirus crisis, the Florida Derby is now a point of disembarkation for 3-year-olds, and it fittingly drew a stacked...