Wells Bayou

LEINANI (f, 3, Omaha Beach--Romy, by Karakontie {Jpn}) debuted Jan. 24 over this main track in a six-furlong maiden dash, closing from the back of the field to run fourth. Well supported to the tune of even-money favoritism for this second jump, she was away alertly this time and moving well behind fractions of :23.93 and four panels in :47.30. In hand from four off the rail and clearing those early pacesetters coming off the bend, Leinani drew away from Slow Kara (Medaglia d'Oro) to win by 8 1/4 lengths....

Horses seem to always be at the center of Brent and Sharilyn Gasaway's life. As the story goes, the day Brent proposed he ran late because, of course, he was at the racetrack. Even though she was none too pleased, Sharilyn confirmed the end result was an affirmative one. By now you have probably heard how their ownership group 4 G Racing--which includes the couple and their twin son and daughter, Brent's cousin Lance Gasaway, and Daniel Hamby III--paired with Valley View Farm to reach one of the apogees in...

Looking at the morning-line and past performances, the GIII Mineshaft S. looks like a one-horse race and that horse is the undefeated Maxfield (Street Sense), who towers over the rest of the field. A debut winner at Churchill in September 2019, the Godolphin homebred romped in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. a month later. The early favorite heading into that year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, he was forced to withdraw from contention just days before the race due to an ankle chip. Returning to action with a late-rallying score...

On the same day the GI Kentucky Derby lost top contender Maxfield (Street Sense) to a condylar fracture, another hopeful, Wells Bayou (Lookin At Lucky), was also declared from the Derby trail with bone bruising, according to trainer Brad Cox. The story was first reported by Daily Racing Form. "We sent him over to the clinic, I just wasn't happy with the way he was moving the past week," Cox told TDN. "We sent him for a bone scan and he has some bone bruising. Obviously it's a step back...

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins. DeRosa - Curlin Florida Derby Results - Independence Hall finished fifth. Bankroll: $2275. GI Arkansas Derby (1st Div.) - For the purposes of a contest like this, it's hard to stomach taking $20 profit on our mythical wager,...

In a Classic season blighted by the coronavirus pandemic, Oaklawn rounds out its winter meet with not one but two renewals of the GI Arkansas Derby. Facing a tough group of contenders in Saturday's second division of the Classic prep, including undefeated Nadal (Blame), winner of the GII San Vicente S. and GII Rebel S., and GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby hero King Guillermo (Uncle Mo), defending juvenile champion Storm the Court (Court Vision) will try to recover some of the sparkle from his 2-year-old season. This year, he...

Wells Bayou (Lookin at Lucky) returned to the work tab for the first time since his Mar. 21 GII Louisiana Derby victory with a four-furlong drill in :49.80 (32/56) at Oaklawn Park Monday. With the GI Kentucky Derby postponed until September and no new date yet released for the GI Preakness S., the bay colt could make his next start in the May 2 GI Arkansas Derby. "We'd love to win the Arkansas Derby," co-owner Lance Gasaway told the Oaklawn Park media team after watching Wells Bayou train Saturday morning....

The docket was signed, in the name of Windylea Farm, and handed back to the Keeneland rep. Kip O'Neill and his father looked at each other, their expressions registering mutual bafflement. "What are we missing here?" Unaccountably, their bid of $3,000 had not been answered. They had set a budget of $30,000 or so, and even that gave them limited confidence they could bring this young Hard Spun mare back to Hoosick Falls, New York. Yet the vendors, having been obliged to write off a Kitten's Joy covering fee after...

No matter what he does, Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike) seems condemned always to be the short guy in the back row of the team photo. In the private duel that defines his stud career, moreover, he has to endure Munnings (Speightstown) moving ever closer, year by year, to front and center. These two splendid sires, who started out together at Ashford in 2011, experienced rather typical fortunes last Saturday when dividing the big sophomore tests in New Orleans between them (along with those skilled gentlemen, Brad Cox and Florent...

Given the clamor across social media through the week, one thing was certain heading into Saturday's GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby--there was absolutely no chance that Wells Bayou (Lookin At Lucky) was going to go off at anything approaching his morning line of 8-1. Those that backed him were instead forced to swallow a price in the vicinity of 3-1, but the bay did not let them down, treating his 13 rivals to a front-running, 1 1/2-length beating. Exiting the Feb. 17 GIII Southwest S. in which he laid down swift...