Winning Colors Stakes

We know that the majority of stallions, in this day and age, get their biggest and best books precisely when we know least about their competence. But the other side of the same coin is that very few breeders stick around should a stallion fail to seize that first, fleeting opportunity. Just as well, then, that a historically underachieving group of rookies has got its act together with its maturing first crop, to the extent that four have managed to get a son into the GI Kentucky Derby gate. Collectively,...

After striking gold beyond the boundaries of the Golden State with Journalism (Curlin) in the GI Preakness Stakes a little more than a week ago, jockey Umberto Rispoli and trainer Michael McCarthy are liable to find themselves front and center on the special Memorial Day program at Santa Anita with Formidable Man (City of Light) in the GI Shoemaker Mile Stakes. And if statistics are anything to go by, they should prove tough to handle, as the duo has combined to win at something around 27% at the Great Race...

Santa Anita will play host to three Grade I races, while Grade III action features the return of a champion at Churchill Downs and a talented Louisiana-bred attempting to make the grade at Lone Star Park during holiday stakes action Monday. The GI Shoemaker Mile S. at Santa Anita is set to be the first of 41 Breeders' Cup Challenge series races in North America this year. A field of 11 goes postward seeking the winner's share of the $500,000, as well as an automatic berth in the GI Breeders'...

Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) sprung the upset in the GIII Winning Colors S. Saturday at Churchill Downs with Grade I-winning 4-5 favorite Mia Mischief (Into Mischief) finishing third. The 13-1 shot sat well back off the pace in sixth as the speedy Break Even (Country Day) zipped through an opening quarter in :21.28 with Mia Mischief stalking from second. Bell's the One launched a four-wide bid turning for home as Mia Mischief did her best to keep up with the pacesetter. The chalk began to falter and Break Even valiantly...