Aaron Sones

The coach strikes again. Before seeing any past performances, if one was asked to guess Saturday morning before the day's races which trainer might break a maiden in a graded Kentucky Oaks points race while at the same time helping a young jockey get his first career graded score, odds are the first name off of most everyone's lips would be D. Wayne Lukas. The Hall of Famer, with his usual flair for the unconventional, sent out 28-1 Lemon Muffin (f, 3, Collected--Pelt, by Canadian Frontier) under Keith Asmussen to...

A colt by Tapit (hip 42) attracted the highest bid of $225,000 during Tuesday's open session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Winter Mixed and Horses of Racing Age Sale when New York conditioner Dave Cannizzo outlasted trainer Mark Casse for the short yearling, who was consigned by Stuart Morris. "He's the only horse I bid on today," Cannizzo said Tuesday afternoon. "He was a standout. It's what we came here to do and we did it. We got in a little dogfight with Mark Casse, but we won the...

When longtime owner and breeder Paul Pompa, Jr., who campaigned the likes of dual Classic winner Big Brown, passed away suddenly in October of 2020, it was a big blow to many in the industry. Some 19 months after his passing, the owner of Truck-Rite Corp.'s legacy has reached new heights. In the past two months alone, four former Pompa horses have won stakes, topped by Grade I winners Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) and Country Grammer (Tonalist). "Mr. Pompa was a gentleman and a great sport to work for," said...

by Jessica Martini, Brian DiDonato & Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland September Yearling Sale, led by a trio of million-dollar yearlings, opened with a day of steady trade in Lexington Monday. A total of 95 yearlings sold during the session for $38,172,000, at an average of $401,811 and a median of $325,000. "I think the trade was really strong," Keeneland's new vice president of sales Tony Lacy said at the close of business Monday. "The numbers may have stacked very comparably to last year, but I think there...

The summer season in Japan customarily sees that country's heaviest turf hitters awaiting major late summer and early fall, and a pair of American-bred runners should have a say in the outcome of this weekend's two major races at group level on the turf. Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah), winner of this year's G1 February S. going a mile over the Tokyo dirt track (video) and one of 14 winners from 18 Japanese starters for his sire, switches to the grass for Sunday's $709,167 G3 Hakodate Kinen over the metric mile...