Ted Noffey

Further Ado Tops Loaded Hand for Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kentucky Derby 152 goes through Spendthrift Farm. Further Ado (Gun Runner) will carry Spendthrift's famed orange-and-purple silks seeking a second Kentucky Derby victory for the operation off the heels of a daylight win with a field-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. Spendthrift Farm's flagship sire Into Mischief, meanwhile, will have three chances at a fourth Kentucky Derby victory. He will be very well-represented by 4-1 morning-line favorite and GI Arkansas Derby winner Renegade (Into Mischief), GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Commandment...

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Sovereignty, Godolphin Honored In 2025 Kentucky-Bred Awards

Last year's Eclipse-winning 3-year-old male Sovereignty (Into Mischief) led the Kentucky-bred merits for 2025 along with his owner/breeder, Godolphin who were honored as KTOB Breeder of the Year. The full list of awards is: Broodmare of the Year: Crowned (Bernardini) (Owner: Godolphin) Horse of the Year, 3-Year-Old Male: Sovereignty (Godolphin) 2-Year-Old Male: Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) (Aaron & Marie Jones LLC) 2-Year-Old Filly: Super Corredora (Gun Runner) (Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC) 3-Year-Old Female: Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) (D. J. Stable) Older Dirt Male: Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) (Debby Oxley) Older Dirt Female:...

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Letter To The Editor: The (Real) Elephant In The Room

I read with optimism HISA's 2025 fatality rate report showing a gradual but steady decline in the rate since 2009. However, I feel that it still doesn't address a major issue affecting U.S. horse racing (as touched upon by Mr. Sonbol in his letter), namely the extremely high level of short-term and long-term injuries suffered by US racehorses. There have been widespread commentaries (and potential solutions) recently by industry leaders regarding the major concerns affecting our industry, including the fatality rate, the rapid decline in the horse population, the extensive...

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Breeding Digest: Time Not Yet Up For Mischief

Well, he's not going to give it up without a fight. Yes, of course the whole narrative is random: he can hardly sit the boys down, tell them to get out there and remind everyone who's boss. But however unwittingly, Into Mischief has certainly obliged us with a dramatic and immediate response to the first serious test of his monopoly since claiming a first general sires' title in 2019. It has been clear for a while that the eventual succession was likely to concern Not This Time and Gun Runner,...

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Todd Pletcher Joins The TDN Writers' Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland

Only Todd Pletcher could lose the prohibitive early favorite for the GI Kentucky Derby and the 2-year-old champion in Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) and still be stocked with talented horses that are on the road to the first leg of the Triple Crown. Pletcher has GIII Holy Bull Stakes winner Nearly, Sam F. Davis Stakes winner Renegade (Into Mischief) and recent allowance winner Jackson Hole (Nyquist), who will be among the favorites for Saturday's GII Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. To discuss his plethora of talented colts, their...

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Blackout Time Targeting Rebel for Sophomore Debut

GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity runner-up Blackout Time (Not This Time) is on track to kick off his 3-year-old season in the GII Rebel Stakes Mar. 1 at Oaklawn Park, according to co-owner Lance Gasaway Saturday morning. Unraced since that second-place finish behind juvenile champion MGISW Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) at Keeneland, he had been entered in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile but was scratched by the regulatory vet because of an alleged soundness issue. Blackout Time returned to the worktab Jan. 23 at Fair Grounds and after a couple works...

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Pletcher's Route To The Derby And Oaks Will Make A Stop At Tampa On Saturday

Neither the Suncoast Stakes nor the Sam F. Davis Stakes, both run at Tampa Bay Downs, are graded stakes races, but that doesn't seem to bother trainer Todd Pletcher. He has made it no secret that he loves to put some of his best 3-year-old candidates on the Tampa route to Churchill Downs, and he will be doing so again on Saturday. Zany (American Pharoah), currently ranked No. 1 in the TDN's Top 10 poll for the GI Kentucky Oaks, will make her 3-year-old debut in the Suncoast, where she...

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Despite Florida Series Opening, Plans Unchanged For Further Ado

The Spendthrift Farm team never wanted to run its pair of 3-year-old male 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard', against one another during the lead-up to the GI Kentucky Derby. But that was no longer a problem when Ted Noffey (Into Mischief)--who was being pointed for the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes and the GI Florida Derby--was taken off the Trail due to bone bruising. So, that created a situation where Spendthrift's other 3-year-old star, Further Ado (Gun Runner), who is based in South Florida at Payson Park, might be...

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For Nearly, Timing Is Everything, In More Ways Than One

As we crest the three-month mark to the GI Kentucky Derby, the breakthrough performance by Nearly (Not This Time) in the Jan. 31 GIII Holy Bull Stakes raises several questions related to timing, taking into account both macro and micro perspectives. The first relates to the timing of Nearly's 5 3/4-length score over five rivals barely 48 hours after the news that juvenile champ and TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) had been diagnosed with bone bruising and was declared off the Kentucky Derby trail. Both...

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Unbeaten Champion Ted Noffey Taken Off Kentucky Derby Trail With Bone Bruising

Recently crowned champion 2-year-old and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) has been diagnosed with bone bruising and will be taken off the Kentucky Derby trail, owner Spendthrift Farm announced via press release Thursday. Trainer Todd Pletcher reported that Ted Noffey showed signs of discomfort following a recent breeze, prompting further evaluation. Ted Noffey worked four furlongs in :50.81 (24/27) at Palm Beach Downs Jan. 23. "Since his last breeze, he hasn't been moving as well as he normally does," Pletcher said. "Out of an abundance...

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Juvenile Champ Ted Noffey Works, Tommy Jo Sidelined

DEL RAY BEACH, FL--Newly-minted Eclipse Juvenile champion Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) drew a small crowd when registering a workmanlike four-furlong move at Palm Beach Downs Friday morning. Campaigned by Spendthrift Farm, the undefeated colt worked in tandem with the farm's Authentic Chance (Authentic). The pair completed the task in :50.81, with the roan finishing slightly ahead of his workmate. The work was the first half-mile move for the 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' since his victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile victory at Del Mar in November. He...

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Sovereignty team at Eclipse Awards
Respect and Admiration for the Horse Carries the Evening at the Eclipse Awards

The podium at the 55th annual Eclipse Awards ceremony was awash in Godolphin blue Thursday, with a homebred from that global bloodstock powerhouse, Sovereignty (Into Mischief), running away with both Horse of the Year and 3-year-old male championship honors. Sovereignty's on-track tour de force included emphatic Grade I victories in the 2025 Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes, and those headline-grabbing wins helped to trigger a cascade of accolades for the colt's human connections. Godolphin took home its sixth straight Eclipse recognition as outstanding owner and its fifth consecutive...

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