Bayern

7th-Churchill Downs, $116,774, Msw, 10-31, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:24.23, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. PAIGE TURNER (f, 2, Army Mule--Sophia Mia, by Pioneerof the Nile) drew in from the also-eligible list and made the most of the chance here as the 8-5 favorite. Stalking the dueling leaders as Raspberry (Medaglia d'Oro) pushed the tempo through :22.63 and four furlongs in :46.32, Paige Turner was the looming danger via the grandstand side as she swooped in to take command passing the furlong marker. In hand in the final sixteenth, she strolled home...

GISW Sweet Azteca (Sharp Azteca), now in the barn of trainer Richard Baltas, was out Saturday morning to post her second workout at the Great Race Place as she continues progressing toward a racing return. Gone since finishing fourth in the GIII Chillingworth Stakes for trainer Michael McCarthy, the grey worked five furlongs in 1:00 flat after going four furlongs last Saturday Apr. 19 in :47.60. The GI Beholder Mile victress was spotted back in mid-March when she resurfaced at San Luis Rey Training Center with a three-furlong breeze as...

In a vote by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association board of directors, Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) has been crowned the 2023 Florida-bred Horse of the Year. The result was announced Monday night at the FTBOA Awards Gala. Bred by Richard Heysek's Caperlane Farm, who was also presented with the Needles Award recognizing the Small Thoroughbred Breeder of the Year in Florida, the Bob Baffert runner also took home the awards for champion 3-year-old colt and champion male sprinter. In 2023, Speed Boat Beach won the GI Malibu S....

Favored Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) led home a one-two finish for Bob Baffert in the GI Malibu S. at Santa Anita Tuesday, putting away stablemate Hejazi (Bernardini) down the lane to give the trainer his record-tying sixth win in the race--and third in the last four years--and longtime owners Mike Pegram, Paul Weitman and Karl Watson their first victory in the Arcadia track's traditional opening-day feature. "Turning for home I knew I was going to win it," Baffert said. "I wasn't sure which one it was going to be, I...

GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) was first onto the main track Monday morning when he worked a bullet five furlongs in :59 flat, will walk at the barn Tuesday, and then is planned to return to the track Wednesday. "He's healthy, he's working well. There have been no hiccups," Baffert said. "He's ready. I know this is going to be a tough race, but if he brings his 'A' game, I don't really care who's running against us. That's my focus with him." The colt made...

In a battle of raw speed, Dr. Schivel (Violence) proved to be too much to beat as he outlasted a returning Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) to take the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship S. Last seen running a close-up third in the GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar over the summer, Dr. Schivel had plenty of back class to call on here: third last year at Meydan in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen for his only start of the season, second to Aloha West (Hard Spun) in the 2021...

Stretching out on the grass for the first time, Pegram, Watson and Weitman's Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) gave the Bob Baffert barn a rare graded stakes victory on turf in Sunday's GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. at Del Mar. Off at 17-10 after touching 6-5 late in the wagering, Speed Boat Beach showed good early speed, but Game Time (Not This Time) speared through at the fence to take up the running into the first turn. Speed Boat Beach settled nicely for this first go at a route of ground...

Pegram, Watson and Weitman's Speed Boat Beach (Bayern), owner of a gaudy 104 Beyer Speed Figure for his Sept. 10 debut score on the Del Mar dirt over $3.55-million stablemate Hejazi (Bernardini) after blazing a furlong in a bullet :9.3 at OBSMAR, took to the turf with aplomb in Sunday's Speakeasy S. at Santa Anita, earning an automatic berth into the starting gate for the Nov. 4 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Backed like a lock at 2-5 making a rare dirt-to-turf move for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert,...

6th-Del Mar, $82,500, Msw, 9-10, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:01.86, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. SPEED BOAT BEACH (c, 2, Bayern--Sophia Mia, by Pioneerof the Nile) stepped out in sharp fashion on unveiling here, taking a field of 10 gate to wire and establishing a new track record of 1:01.86 in the process as the 2-1 second choice behind even-money Hejazi (Bernardini). The latter was the $3.55 million EASMAY topper this season, purchased by Zedan Racing. The $700,000 FTKOCT firster Fort Bragg (Tapit) picked up the final place spot, and completed Bob...

The action at the OBS sale's grounds proved boisterous Friday with many horses making up for a missed engagements after weather prematurely ended Thursday's initial breeze session. However, spectators were given something to talk about right from the onset, courtesy of Hip 213, a filly by Adios Charlie, who negotiated a quarter mile in a swift :20 2/5, the fastest time posted at the distance over the first two days of breeze action. Consigned by Ocala Stud, agent, the Feb. 6 foal is out of MSW Travelator (A P Jet)....

A colt by Good Samaritan (Hip 177) worked the fastest quarter-mile in :20 3/5 on the opening day of the OBS March 2-Year-Old in Training Sale's three-day breeze show Thursday. "He has done things on the racetrack that only a few horses have done that we had our hands on," said Joe Pickerrell of consignor Pick View. "We were going to be very disappointed if he didn't work like that." Bred by St. Elias Stable, the gray is out of Sweat and Saddle (Speightstown), a daughter of GSW & MGISP...

This is the second half of the latest instalment in our ongoing series examining stallion options for the new breeding season, featuring sires about to launch their third crop of juveniles. The first part, dealing with the likes of American Pharoah and Constitution, can be read here.  We wrapped up yesterday with the first two of three horses retired to Lane's End after filling the frame in an epic race for the GI Whitney S. in 2015. The third, Tonalist (Tapit--Settling Mist, by Pleasant Colony), has somehow always seemed to...