Eclipse Champion

John Stewart, who owns Resolute Racing and founded MiddleGround Capital, will sponsor two Keeneland dirt sprint stakes which will be run opening weekend of the Spring Meet, the track said in a release on Thursday. Resolute Racing will add its name to the $600,000 GI Madison S. which will run on Saturday, Apr. 6, while MiddleGround Capital will sponsor the $400,000 GII Beaumont S. on Sunday, April 7. "My partner Scot Duncan and I have always enjoyed taking our family, friends, co-workers and investors to the races at Keeneland," Stewart...

Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), winner of the GII Risen Star S., was the 7-1 favorite when Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday evening. Last year's 2-year-old champion Fierceness (City of Light) was second choice at 9-1. "All Other 3-Year-Olds" closed as the 11-1 third betting option. Japan's G3 Saudi Derby winner Forever Young (Jpn) (Reel Steel {Jpn}) (12-1); GII Rebel S. winner Timberlake (Into Mischief) (12-1); GII Fountain of the Youth S. winner Dornoch (Good Magic) (13-1); GIII Gotham S. winner Deterministic (Liam's Map) (16-1); allowance...

Last year's Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly Pretty Mischievous (f, 4, Into Mischief-Pretty City Dancer, by Tapit) recorded her first work since her championship campaign Thursday morning at Palm Meadows in Florida. The three furlongs she covered in :37.65 was her first breeze in nearly four months. "She went nice, just an easy three-eighths and galloped out a half-mile," said trainer Brendan Walsh. "It went good and we are glad to get her back on the work tab. "We've done plenty of galloping with her the last few weeks at Palm...

2-year-old champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence), whose retirement was announced earlier this week, has arrived at Spendthrift Farm where he will take up stud duty in 2024. His introductory fee will be $50,000 S&N and he is available for inspection by appointment. "The first thing I think about Forte is just how much of an honor it is for us to bring a horse like him to Spendthrift. He's the fifth champion we've been fortunate enough to add to our stallion ranks since 2020, and that's a testament...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - By his measured standard, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher--rarely one to over-hype his horses-- practically gushes when he talks about Nest (Curlin). "She's just pure class in everything she does," Pletcher said. "If they were all like her, it'd be a much easier game than it actually is." Co-owner Mike Repole, an enthusiastic promoter of his horses, talks about the 4-year-old in almost reverential terms. "I've been blessed to have so many special, great horses, but she has a brilliance about her," Repole said. "The...

L and N Racing LLC and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), Eclipse champion 2-year-old filly of 2021, turned in her first recorded workout since finishing second in last year's GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint with a leisurely four-furlong work in :52.80 (11/11) at Fair Grounds Monday for trainer Steve Asmussen. "Echo Zulu is traveling well, looking great, and ships to Kentucky this week," said Winchell Thoroughbreds' general manager David Fiske. Asked if any potential races had been picked out for the filly's return, Fiske said, "No real schedule or...

In a horse otherwise so well equipped for the Triple Crown trail, it's a major concern still to be quoting Milton every time the gates open: "They also serve who only stand and wait." As such, Tapit Trice (Tapit) looks like proving quite a test of the GI Kentucky Derby preparation favored by modern trainers. For all the thrilling power and fluency of his action, he's still all thumbs in terms of his professionalism. The way he got himself out of trouble in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby...

It continues to be a strange year on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks. It's been a division where no one seemed ready to step to the front and become a clear leader of the group. That, sort of, changed Sunday in the GIII Santa Ysabel S. Sunday at Santa Anita. Faiza (Girvin) stayed undefeated in four starts with a 2 1/4-length win and, under normal circumstances, would have gone to No. 1 on this list. But the filly, who is trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Michael...

Is the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) good for horsemen and, by extension, good for racing? Representing the National HBPA, lawyer Peter Ecabert doesn't think that it is, and he was invited to join the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to explain why. Ecabert was one of two guests on this week's podcast as Len Green, the founder and chairman of the Green Group, came on to share some tax advice and to talk about his soon-to-be-named champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief). When asked...

Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine (Into Mischief) has been booked to Lane's End stallion Quality Road for 2022, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni confirmed Sunday. "We had a meeting with Michael to decided what to do and we all agreed that Quality Road was the right horse to start off her broodmare career," Lanni said. "You really can't go wrong with Quality Road--he's a very good sire." Acquired for $1.8 million at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, Gamine won nine of 11 starts, including the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup...

Two-time Breeders' Cup Champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar--Drumette, by Henny Hughes) arrived at Spendthrift Farm on Monday, shortly after noon, from Churchill Downs, and the farm announced "unofficially" that she will be bred to perennial leading sire Into Mischief in 2022. The six-year-old mare was retired from racing last week after she was discovered to have sustained an injury during training. Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey was on site for the arrival and spoke on their decision to send her to Into Mischief. "It's not a tremendous amount of pedigree research...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY-Some 15 hours after he suffered a career-ending injury, Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) was being Whitmore Sunday morning. Acting like he was quite ready to run in another Grade I at Saratoga Race Course, the 8-year-old was positioned in the front of this stall, alert, active and on the prowl for a carrot or a piece of candy. During the gallop-out past the wire of the GI Forego S. Saturday afternoon, jockey Joel Rosario noticed something didn't feel right and pulled the champion up. As a precaution, he was...