World Beater

Not a day goes by when Dana Bernhard doesn't think of her late husband, Jim, and his passing at age 71 in November after a brief illness. "It's still an extremely profound loss," she said. But something has come along to lift her spirits: the recent success of Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) and Albus (Yaupon). Incredibolt won the Virginia Derby and Albus captured the GII Wood Memorial Stakes, giving both enough points to make it into the field for the GI Kentucky Derby. It is a remarkable achievement for Pin Oak...

Riley Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, has come a long way in the 3 1/2 years he has been training on his own. He's already won more than 100 races and collected a pair of Grade I wins, including World Beater (Oscar Performance)'s score in last year's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes. And now it looks like he'll have a starter in this year's GI Kentucky Derby. In winning the Virginia Derby, the Mott-trained Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) earned enough points to guarantee himself a spot in...

From his earliest lessons at Pin Oak Stud, Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) has handled everything asked of him with ease. Now, his team is hoping that trend continues in the GIII Holy Bull Stakes. Pin Oak's Director of Farm Operations and Property Michael Hardy said that the GIII Street Sense Stakes winner has not missed a beat since his win at Churchill Downs. Following a brief layoff on the farm, the Riley Mott trainee moved to Palm Meadows and has put in a series of six weekly drills, including a bullet...

Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy--Devine Actress, by Theatrical {Ire}) will stand for $60,000 in 2026, up from $45,000 this season, according to a Mill Ridge Farm release Wednesday. The 11-year-old stallion is expected to serve a limited book of approximately 170 mares (140 foals) in 2026. "Oscar Performance had another exceptional year led by Grade I winner World Beater, owned by Pin Oak Stud, trained by Riley Mott and bred by Dr. John Chandler," said Mill Ridge's Price Bell. "Remarkably, he is ranked #2 on the General Sire List with GSH...

A few hours after winning this year's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes with World Beater (Oscar Performance), Riley Mott was home with his family eating takeout pizza. He shared a beer with his father, Bill, and was in bed by 9 p.m. The celebration was quiet, almost ordinary, but the milestone was anything but. Less than three years after going out on his own, Mott, age 33, had claimed his first Grade I win at the track that he had once called his playground and the town where he had...

Delayed several minutes because of the storms sweeping through the area Saturday afternoon, recent GI Saratoga Derby Invitational winner World Beater made it two straight with a victory in the GIII Old Dominion Derby at Colonial Downs. Sent off the hot 2-5 choice for a distance he clearly relishes, the Pin Oak-bred colt entered this contest off a pair of Grade Is at the Spa--a second-place finish in the nine-furlong Belmont Derby on July 4 and a narrow score in the Saratoga Derby over 1 mile and three-sixteenths Aug. 2....

A cool $15.6 million in prize money is up for grabs Saturday afternoon at Kentucky Downs, as a 12-race program features no fewer than five graded events each worth at least $2 million at distances from 6 1/2 to 12 furlongs. The GII Kentucky Turf Cup wraps up the main events on the afternoon, and a field of 11 will head to the post for a circuit of the undulating turf course, with a berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf on the line. Fort Washington (War Front) is arguably...

Anyone kindly persevering with this column as it gropes through the pedigree maze will by now be familiar, perhaps wearily so, with my proclivity for broodmare sires. From all that tremendous sport at Saratoga last Saturday, then, you won't be surprised that I'm going to focus on the fact that two of four Grade I winners--Kilwin (Twirling Candy) and World Beater (Oscar Performance)--were out of Blame mares. Though approaching the evening of his career at 19, the Claiborne stallion remains highly precocious in this slow-burning sphere. His daughters have not...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- There have been some days for trainer Chad Brown. Some real big days. Remember Arlington Million day in 2019? He won all four graded stakes races, including all three GI races. He has won a bushel full of Breeders' Cup races in his career; more than once he has had multiple winners. Brown has a pair of GI Preakness Stakes on his resume. What happened Saturday might just trump them all. At his hometown track, Brown blitzed his competition, winning four races, capped off by the...

Pin Oak Stud's World Beater (c, 3, Oscar Performance--Dabinett, by Blame), second last out behind Test Score (Lookin At Lucky) in the July 4 GI Belmont Derby, turned the tables on that rival to give his young trainer Riley Mott the first graded stakes win of his career in Saratoga's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes Saturday. The son of and former assistant to Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Riley Mott is no stranger to racing's biggest stage. It will perhaps be more of a surprise to learn this is the...

Amerman homebred Test Score (c, 3, Lookin At Lucky--Joy of Learning, by Kitten's Joy), second to Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) in the GI American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs May 3, got his own Grade I day in the sun Friday, winning Saratoga's $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes in convincing style. For his part, Zulu Kingdom won the GIII Manila Stakes at the Spa one race prior to Test Score's Belmont Derby win. The Amermans won the Belmont Derby for the second consecutive year---they had Trikari (Oscar Performance)...