WinStar Farm

WinStar Farm's first-year stallions Cogburn (Not This Time), 'TDN Rising Star' Timberlake (Into Mischief), and 'TDN Rising Star' Heartland (Justify) have each had their first mares checked in foal, the farm announced Friday. For more information on Cogburn ($30,000 S&N), Timberlake ($20,000 S&N), and Heartland ($10,000 S&N), visit the WinStar Farm website here.  

Watch out for the "Little Guy." Sold for just $70,000 at a yearling sale in Texas, owned by a grocery store owner from Alabama who has had just a few horses and trained by a veteran who had never won a graded stakes race before last weekend, Coal Battle (Coal Front) isn't exactly your typical GI Kentucky Derby horse. But the son Coal Front did it again last week, winning the GII Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn. Having also won the Smarty Jones Stakes, he is obviously for real. To talk...

With breeding sheds opening last week across North America, farms have been quietly preparing stallions for the demanding months ahead of them. All jokes about them having the best jobs aside, stallions have to be ready for a marathon during breeding season. It's not simply a matter of bringing stallions up from fields and expecting them to be ready to cover a full book of mares over the ensuing months. Perhaps that may work for small operations where a stallion covers a handful of mares all season, but for the...

Multiple Group/Grade I-winner Country Grammer (Tonalist) was represented by his first reported foal, a colt born in early February, at River Valley Stock Farm in New York, WinStar Farm announced via press release. Out of Bernarda (Bernardini), an unplaced daughter of Listed winner and Grade I-placed Nakano (First Samurai), the colt was bred by Scott and Debbie Pierce, who also bred Country Grammer. The dam's most recent to the races is a placed 2-year-old named Low Key (Bolt d'Oro). Bernarda is the distant female family of MGSW Carson City (My....

CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's John Hancock (Constitution), winner of last weekend's Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa, is unlikely to return for the oval's GIII Lambholm Tampa Bay Derby on Mar. 8, trainer Brad Cox told DRF Sunday. Cox, who indicated that the 8 1/2-furlong race comes up a bit too quickly following the sophomore's latest win, indicated a bevy of options remain, including the Mar. 22 GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, the GI Arkansas Derby or the GI Curlin Florida Derby on Mar. 29. On Apr. 5, the GI...

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is in the process of making plans for a trio of stable stars which includes the Florida-based River Thames (Maclean's Music), Gate to Wire (Munnings) and Locked (Gun Runner). WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s undefeated 3-year-old colt and 'TDN Rising Star' River Thames bounced out of his Feb. 1 optional claiming allowance victory in good order and will have plenty of options moving forward said Pletcher. The New York-bred bay romped by 6 1/2 lengths as the favorite going one mile in 1:36.34 on...

7th-Gulfstream, $73,260, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 2-1, 3yo, 1m, 1:36.34, ft, 6 1/2 lengths. RIVER THAMES (c, 3, Maclean's Music--Proportionality, by Discreet Cat), tabbed as a 'TDN Rising Star' with a 94 Beyer Speed Figure on debut going six furlongs at Gulfstream Jan. 11, stayed perfect in style, stretching to a mile here. The rail-drawn, 3-5 favorite forced the issue from an inside second through an opening quarter in :23.89. He appeared to bobble slightly, but recovered quickly to challenge for command entering the far turn. The New York-bred enjoyed...

Saffie Joseph, Jr. has had some big days since he came to the U.S. from his native Barbados in 2011, but perhaps none bigger than last Saturday at Gulfstream Park. He had three stakes wins, including a score with Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhahaarar ({GB}) in the GII Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes and a win with Mystic Lake (Mo Town) in the GII Inside Information Stakes. But the one that really mattered was the victory by White Abarrio (Race Day) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes....

Eoin Harty's world is chock full right now. For starters, his home is situated in the midst of one of the worst wildfires in California history, but somehow it has survived the nightmarish ordeal. Then, there is his role as the president of the California Thoroughbred Trainers, a position he has held since 2019. What that means is he is at the forefront of trying to turn around the declining fortunes of racing in the state, which he admits is no easy task. The good news is that he has...

Vanderbilt (Into Mischief) took the lion's share of the pari-mutuel action in Saturday's fourth race from Gulfstream Park and jumped as the 4-5 chalk, but New York-bred River Thames (c, 3, Maclean's Music--Proportionality, by Discreet Cat) proved the fly in the ointment, turning in a flawless debut performance to be named the newest 'TDN Rising Star' The clearest betting alternative to Vanderbilt at odds of 29-10, the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton NY-Bred Sale graduate was under a busy ride early from John Velazquez, but had gained a forward position three-wide from third...

MGSW and GI Kentucky Derby runner up Two Phil's (Hard Spun) was represented by his first foal Friday. The filly, bred by Meredith Krupp and Phillip Sagan Racing LLC, is out of the mare Makin' Sense (Street Sense). "She has great bone and really good size," said co-breeder Meredith Krupp who owns Pine Branch Farm where the filly was born. "Very happy with her and thrilled for the Sagan family." Two Phil's retired to stud with five wins from 10 career starts, having amassed earnings of $1,583,450. Bred in Kentucky...

With 50 horses stabled at Payson Park Training Center this winter for the first time in his two-decade career, the 2020 and '21 Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox now has a geographically easier time targeting Florida races. On Wednesday, Cox won with his first Tampa Bay Downs starter since 2019. And since Nov. 30, he's compiled a 1-3-0 record from six starts at Gulfstream Park, where he started only 50 runners over the past five years, generally by shipping in from his customary bases at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn Park,...