TDN Rising Star

Let go at odds just north of 9-1 for the customarily patient Bill Mott barn, Godolphin's Ragtime (Union Rags--Burmilla, by Storm Cat) went to hot favorite Endorse (Curlin) with less than a furlong to race in Friday's second race maiden at Saratoga and kicked home nicely to score by four lengths en route to a 'TDN Rising Star' badge. Drawn the rail for the Sovereignty connections, the homebred was away without incident beneath Junior Alvarado and made ground inside to sit just ahead of midfield and behind the four-strong leading...

Friday's G1 Betfred Coronation Cup turned out to be as pure a mile-and-a-half test as it gets and in the moment of truth it was Jan Brueghel who shed his playboy image to tough it out in an Epsom battle royal with Calandagan. Raw and green despite winning a St Leger during his unbeaten 3-year-old campaign, what could be Galileo's final Classic winner had to show his true mettle here with stablemate and fellow Doncaster Classic winner Continuous and Wayne Lordan putting everything into the red. Getting first run on...

Godolphin's£720,000 Goffs UK Breeze-Up graduate Maximized (Mehmas) delivered a TDN Rising Star display in his debut over six furlongs at Haydock last month and, burdened with a five-pound penalty for that initial victory, doubled his tally with a dominant performance in Friday's former stakes-level Betfred British EBF Woodcote Stakes at Epsom. The Cheveley Park Stud-bred lined up as the 6-5 favourite and was swiftly into stride to track the leaders in a share of third through the early fractions. Rowed along to gain an edge passing the quarter-mile marker, he...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features the return of a Mehmas 'TDN Rising Star'. 2.05 Epsom, Betfred British EBF Woodcote Stakes (Conditions), £75,000, 2yo, 6f 3yT MAXIMIZED (GB) (Mehmas {Ire}) earned TDN Rising Star status at Haydock on debut and is put the test in this downhill slalom for the Woodcote which...

Sassy C W put in a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy performance in her Churchill debut Apr. 30, going gate to wire with the race notes simply stating "rocket ship" to become the first winner for her freshman sire (by Uncle Mo). Just over a month later, the 2-5 favorite went a furlong further in similar style to give Yaupon his first stakes winner in Thursday's Astoria Stakes at Saratoga. Away the slowest of the quintet, Sassy C W wasted absolutely no time in rushing her way to the front and opened...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--The sting of missing the GI Kentucky Derby has faded. Ditto for the GI Preakness Stakes. Rodriguez (Authentic) is well rested, healthy and a ready to roll 'TDN Rising Star.' The colt, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, will make his Triple Crown debut in Saturday's GI $2 million Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan, Rodriguez turned heads earlier...

Tuesday's PricedUp Pushes EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes went the way of subsequent G2 Queen Mary Stakes heroine Leovanni (Kodi Bear) last term and that Karl Burke trainee's year-younger stablemate Zelaina (Mehmas) will also attempt to double up at Royal Ascot after delivering a performance of raw power in the latest renewal of Nottingham's five-furlong dash. Going some way along the road to justifying her £650,000 price tag at the recent Goffs UK Breeze-Up sale, she heads to Berkshire with a TDN Rising Star rosette in the bag after securing a...

Tuesday's Prix Chapeau Rouge at Saint-Cloud played host to the frontrunning TDN Rising Star performance of Andre Fabre trainee Alcantor (New Bay) back in 2023 and this year's renewal witnessed another pillar-to-post Rising Star display by a Fabre nominee, Segall (Sottsass), who put his rivals to the sword in the seven-furlong contest. He follows Ultrafragola and Safia in becoming his sire's third Rising Star. Former Coolmore resident Sottsass now stands at Shizunai Stallion Station in Japan. The 13-5 favourite was swiftly into stride from the inside stall and seized an...

In-form conditioner Francis Graffard continued on a winning roll at Saint-Cloud Tuesday afternoon and saddled Aga Khan Studs homebred Narissa (Siyouni) to become her sire's 15th TDN Rising Star after she delivered a stunning performance in the seven-furlong Prix Allee d'Amour. Siyouni, himself a Rising Star, boasts a roll of honour which also includes last month's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine  Zarigana. The 3-5 favourite, askew from the gates and careering left at the break, tracked the leaders in fourth before surging forward into a handy third approaching halfway....

GI Kentucky Derby third Baeza (McKinzie) arrived at Saratoga Race Course Thursday evening to prepare for his upcoming start in next weekend's GI Belmont Stakes. Trained by John Shirreffs, the half-brother to both Dornoch (Good Magic) and Mage (Good Magic) arrived at 8:45 p.m. from California along with the Doug O'Neill-trained Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief), who will likely enter the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap. "He looks pretty bright coming off the van," said Shirreffs on Thursday evening. Of the colt's Derby effort, Shirreffs added: "I thought he ran...

What drives someone to leave everything behind to follow a dream? And what happens when the dream is within reach, but one last obstacle stands in the way? Tomislav Mitrovski was watching from home when Color Comin' In (Rock Your World), the first horse he ever bred, overcame a troubled start and stormed home to a three-length victory in her debut at Churchill Downs. Over the moon with the result, Mitrovski immediately called his wife to celebrate a win that felt like the start of something bigger. When Mitrovski packed...

One of the spring's most exciting prospects, Godolphin's Opera Ballo had suffered a bump in the road when sixth in the Craven but bounced back in style in Thursday's Listed Heron Stakes at Sandown. Always travelling with gusto as William Buick tried to curb the enthusiasm, the son of Ghaiyyath who had impressed on his first two starts at Kempton to earn TDN Rising Star status moved to the front approaching the furlong pole. Strong at the line, the 5-4 favourite had registered an authoritative 2 1/2-length success from New...