Authentic

I've never understood this business of Dry January--the one month when those of us who take a glass of cheer are most grateful for a little respite from the dark and cold. Okay, maybe not a problem in California, but those of you battling all that snow and ice will surely see the merit of Dry February instead. It's shorter, for a start; and ends with the days lengthening and spring tangibly in the air. It's perfectly natural, however, for stallions to have a dry January. Certainly nobody will be...

Salloom (Authentic), withdrawn after misbehaving and flipping in the stalls on Festive Friday in December, proved worth the wait, drubbing his foes by 6 3/4 lengths in a 1600m main track maiden at Meydan on Friday and was named a 'TDN Rising Star', presented by Hagyard. The final time was 1:37.79. Godolphin's well-regarded National History (Maxfield) could only manage second, however he was 4 1/4 lengths in front of Sary Shayan (Constitution) in third. Part of the early pace discussion, the eventual winner took command with over 1200 metres to...

In this series, we will have a look predominantly at American-bred first-time juvenile starters (through the end of 2025) and debuting 3-year-olds in maiden races at Meydan Racecourse, with a specific focus on pedigree and/or performance in a sales ring. The flagship venue for racing in the United Arab Emirates is Meydan Racecourse, which will host racing on Fridays through the end of March, with the exception of Super Saturday on Feb. 28 and Dubai World Cup night Mar. 28, 2026. Here are the horses of note for this Friday's...

2nd-SA, $70K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 2:31 p.m. ET. NEWTON (Munnings) went through the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling sale ring and brought $975,000. Sent to Bob Baffert, the colt is out of $1.2-million buy Secret Jewel (Bernardini), whose other progeny include GSW Twenty Carat (Into Mischief) and SW Point Proven (Gun Runner). Secret Jewel's half-sisters include Canadian GSW Colonial Flag (Pleasant Tap), MGSW Sparkle Blue (Hard Spun) and last but not least GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf victress Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect)--herself the dam of GI Breeders' Cup...

While the GI Breeders' Cup Classic may have turned out to be a jump too high for him, Nevada Beach (Omaha Beach) bounced back from that effort with a workman-like victory in the GIII Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar. Despite only starting his career in mid-April this year, the son of Omaha Beach has cobbled together a respectable 2025 campaign with wins in the Los Alamitos Derby in late June and the 'WAYI' GI Goodwood Stakes two back Sept. 27 at Santa Anita. The lattermost effort guaranteed him a...

2nd-Churchill Downs, $124,813, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 10-26, 2yo, 1m, 1:36.70, ft, 9 lengths. SOLDIER N DIPLOMAT (c, 2, Army Mule--Diplomatic Miss, by Violence) debuted at Saratoga July 26 and held off a late charge to break his maiden by a neck. His grit impressed his connections so much that they opted for a try at the GI Hopeful Stakes in his next jump Sept. 1, and he faded to fourth behind a trio of 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard'--namely MGISW Ted Noffey (Into Mischief), Buetane (Tiz the Law),...

Sponsored by Pedigrees360. According to Oscar Wilde, the one thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about at all. Nothing to worry the Spendthrift team there! This is one of the two farms that have done the most to drive up stallion books, duly able to pitch fees accessibly to smaller breeders but embracing major responsibility in their footprint on the gene pool. But if some people remain uncomfortable with the business model, everyone can acknowledge the caliber of the horsemen making it function. And certainly those...

Spendthrift Farm homebred Brave Deb (Authentic) completed a big weekend for the historic farm--while adding a second graded win in two days for her sire--with an authoritative victory in the GIII Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita Sunday. Spendthrift's colors were carried to victory at Keeneland by Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) in the GI Darley Alicibiades Stakes Friday and by Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) in the GI Claiborne Futurity Saturday. The farm's homebred Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), a daughter of champion Beholder, returned with a victory of her own in the...

1st-Kentucky Downs, $162,080, Msw, 8-28, 2yo, f, 1mT, 1:35.90, fm, 4 lengths. AGGRESSIVE LIME (f, 2, Authentic--Cool Beans {MGSP, $262,650}, by Candy Ride {Arg}) broke from the middle of the gate as the 9-5 favorite and set a hotly-contested pace push every step by Riotous (Charlatan) through the opening half in :47.30. Those two traded the lead back and forth around the far turn but Aggressive Lime found the long Kentucky Downs straight to her liking and powered clear through the final furlong to graduate first out by four lengths....

4th-ELP, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 2:16 p.m. ET. Peter Blum homebred ELITE (Into Mischief) makes her first start for trainer Rodolphe Brisset. Out of Flawless (Mr. Greeley), the 2-year-old is a full-sister to current sire Authentic. Also drawn in the same race is Gary & Mary West homebred Fashion Designer (Into Mischief), who is trained by Brad Cox. Her dam Beach Walk produced current sire Life Is Good and GSW Most Wanted (Candy Ride {Arg}). Woodslane bred Sister Troienne (Munnings) is a Brian Lynch trainee whose own dam is...

6th-Gulfstream, $40,000, Msw, 8-15, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.51, ft, 9 3/4 lengths. EPIGRAM (f, 2, Code of Honor--Rockin, by Hard Spun) ran her rivals off their feet to become her late freshman sire's third winner at 7-2 odds. Breaking in at the start but recovering well to lead the pack, they were never given a second opinion as she put up an opening quarter in :22.95 and was on a clear advantage entering the stretch. From there it was how much she wanted to win by and the answer was...

6th-ELP, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 3:12 p.m. ET. Robert Clay's Grandview Equine went to a cool $1-million to acquire VALIANT (Into Mischief) at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. Partnering with LNJ Foxwoods and Hubert Vester, the ownership group sent the colt to trainer Brad Cox. The debuting bay is the first foal out of unraced Validest (Medaglia d'Oro)--a Vester purchase for $350,000 from the 2021 Keeneland November Sale while she was in foal to Authentic. Validest is a half-sister to GII American Turf Stakes hero Global View (Galileo {Ire})...