TDN Rising Star

Team Ballydoyle's crack colt City Of Troy (Justify) has 10 peers to overcome in Saturday's G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in his quest to follow the hoofprints of the wonderhorse with which he has drawn early comparison. With the stable removing all of his understudies including the similarly-unbeaten Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) on Thursday morning, the assembled cast will be the smallest for the time-honoured Rowley Mile Classic since 2017 when Ryan Moore enjoyed his last winning ride on Churchill (Ire). Three of the colts dispatched by Coolmore's...

The field for the GI Kentucky Derby, ranked in "likeliest winner" order. 1) FOREVER YOUNG (JPN) (c, Real Steel {Jpn}--Forever Darling, by Congrats). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Northern Racing (Jpn); T-Yoshito Yahagi. Sales History: ¥98,000,000 Ylg '22 JRHAJUL. Lifetime Record: 5-5-0-0, $2,049,451. Last start: WON Mar. 30 G2 UAE Derby. The 5-for-5 Forever Young resonates as the most legitimate threat a foreign-based horse has had to win the Derby since the internationalization of the race over the past several decades. I'd hesitate to compare this colt's presence to the electrifying pre-race aura...

Sweet Rebecca, dubbed a 'TDN Rising Star' off her Gulfstream debut March 10, made her first start for John Stewart's Resolute Racing Sunday in the Memories of Silver S. at Aqueduct. Moved from Brendan Walsh to Chad Brown following her private sale, the full-sister to Sweet Melania stepped into stakes company and was well-backed, jumping at odds of 1-2 with Tyler Gaffalione in the saddle as he was on her debut. Kept in mid-pack fourth while clearly eager to be closer to the front, Sweet Rebecca stayed covered up behind...

Aidan O'Brien annexed the two latest editions of Saturday's Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Navan with subsequent Group 2 winners Aesop's Fables (Ire) (No Nay Never) and River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and he secured the hattrick after 1.25-million guineas Tattersalls Book 1 graduate Camille Pissarro (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) produced a 'TDN Rising Star' display in the extended five-furlong contest. Aesop's Fables and River Tiber also earned Rising Stars in this event and Camille Pissarro becomes Wootton Bassett's seventh Rising Star. Camille Pissarro dwelt slightly as the...

'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), the likely favorite for next Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, completed his final breeze for the first leg of the Triple Crown with a half-mile work Friday in :48.80 (43/68). Working under jockey John Velazquez and in company with fellow 'Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road), the Repole Stables homebred and runaway GI Curlin Florida Derby winner worked through fractions of :12.80, :24.80, :36.80 and :48.80 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.60, six furlongs in 1:12.60 and seven-eighths in 1:26. "I'm very, very...

7th-Aqueduct, $84,000, Alw (NW2$X)/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 4-20, 4yo/up, 1m, 1:34.55, ft, 1 length. BLAZING SEVENS (c, 4, Good Magic--Trophy Girl, by Warrior's Reward) made a name for himself in his juvenile season through the spring of his sophomore one, earning 'TDN Rising Star'-dom, winning the GI Champagne S., and hitting the board in three other Grade I events, including coming a head short of claiming the second jewel of the Triple Crown--the GI Preakness S. to MGISW National Treasure (Quality Road)--before going on the shelf after an even third-place finish...

Gary and Mary West homebred Flashy Dancer (f, 3, Curlin--Actress, by Tapit) came from out of the clouds to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors for trainer Brad Cox at second asking at Oaklawn Park Saturday. The 3-1 chance was off to a slow start and trailed the field of eight through fractions of :23.03 and :46.97 in the 1 1/16-mile affair. Flashy Dancer finally entered the picture rounding the far turn and continued to roll approaching the quarter pole. She still had her work cut out for her, however, as...

GI Florida Derby champ Fierceness (City of Light) breezed at Palm Beach Downs on Friday morning in preparation for the GI Kentucky Derby. The Eclipse Award winner covered five furlongs in 1:00.35 under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, while working in company with fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road). "I thought he worked super--a solid five-eighths with a good gallop-out, exactly what we were targeting," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. "I think he is doing every bit as good, if not better, than he was...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features a 'TDN Rising Star'. 16.45 Newmarket, Novice, £20,000, 3yo, 10fT ENDLESS VICTORY (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) earned TDN Rising Star status at Wolverhampton in February and is the Charlie Appleby first string in a race he likes to target with his potential Classic prospects. A full-brother to...

Glen Bromagen II and Michael Dahir's Neon Icon (Arrogate) was given a 5-1 chance for an operation not typically known for its firsters, however, that price seemed like an overlay after the sophomore rattled across the wire an uncontested 4 1/4-length winner at Keeneland Wednesday, earning TDN Rising Star distinction in the process. Breaking from the inside stall, the $220,000 Keeneland September grad settled in a ground-saving fourth as a pair of 4-year-olds--Kara and Colleen (Bolt d'Oro) and Dynamism (Uncle Mo)--led through a :23.55 opening quarter. Finding herself behind a...

Ready for Shirl (More Than Ready), a daughter of GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf upsetter Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire}) from a wildly productive female family beautifully nurtured over the last 20 years by Charles Fipke and his team, jumped at odds of nearly 8-1 in a two-turn maiden over the Keeneland turf course Saturday afternoon. 8-1? 'Shirl'-y you must be joking, but the March-foaled bay rewarded her backers in becoming the second 'TDN Rising Star' out of the mare and the fourth from the first two dams...

Spendthrift Farm homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), sidelined with a fractured splint bone in her left hind leg after fading to seventh as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, has begun to gear up for her sophomore campaign. The talented daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes) has posted a pair of two-furlong breezes for trainer Richard Mandella over Santa Anita's all-weather surface this month, most recently stopping the timer in :23.80 (1/1) Apr. 10. How are the initial reports so far?...