George Krikorian

The Kentucky Oaks Top 10 for Mar. 8

The GII Davona Dale S., run last Saturday at Gulfstream, was all about the return of Eclipse Award winner Just F Y I (Justify). But she was scratched with a fever, delaying her 3-year-old debut. At Aqueduct, Jody's Pride (American Pharoah) won the Busher S., picking up enough points to guarantee her a spot in the GI Kentucky Oaks. It will be a relatively quiet weekend for the horses on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks. The GIII Santa Ysabel at Santa Anita will be headlined by Kinza (Carpe...

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California Stallion Mr. Big Dies

Mr. Big (Dynaformer--Fashion Delight, by Fappiano) died Tuesday due to complications from laminitis. Sire of 12 black-type winners, including California-bred champions Big Fish and Ceiling Crusher, Mr. Big was 21. Mr. Big was campaigned by George Krikorian, who purchased the bay as a weanling for $220,000 at the 2003 Keeneland November sale. Krikorian then developed him into one of California's leading sires. "I'm heartbroken--Mr. Big was a very special horse," Krikorian said. Mr. Big had stood the past two seasons at Pete and Evelyn Parrella's Legacy Ranch in Clements, California,...

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Just F Y I, Dornoch to Launch Season on Fountain of Youth Saturday

Undefeated champion juvenile filly MGISW Just F Y I (Justify) and GSW Dornoch (Good Magic) are both slated to make their seasonal debuts in Florida Mar. 2, the former in the GII Davona Dale S. and the latter in the GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park. Conditioner Bill Mott hopes to use South Florida as his springboard to the GI Kentucky Oaks May 3, saying, "I've gone back and forth just deciding should I have two races or one [for Just F YI]. If I put two races...

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Champion Filly Just F Y I Leads 104 Nominations to Kentucky Oaks

George Krikorian's champion homebred Just F Y I (Justify) leads a cast of 104 3-year-old fillies that were nominated to compete in the 150th running of the $1.5-million GI Longines Kentucky Oaks Friday, May 3 at Churchill Downs. Just F Y I joins 23 other stakes winners based across North America that were nominated to the Kentucky Oaks, including recent GII Rachel Alexandra S. winner Tarifa (Bernardini); GI Alcibiades S. winner Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}); and GII Golden Rod S. winner Intricate (Gun Runner). The 104 fillies became eligible to...

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Fierceness, Just F Y I Named Juvenile Champions

Breeders' Cup-winning 2-year-olds Fierceness (City of Light) and Just F Y I (Justify) have been named Eclipse champion 2-year-old colt and filly, respectively. Repole Stable's homebred Fierceness was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his 11 1/4-length debut victory at Saratoga Aug. 25. Following a dull effort in the GI Champagne S., the bay colt was let go at 16-1 in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but he sealed the championship with an easy 6 1/4-length win. Fierceness became the second straight juvenile champion for Mike Repole, who accepted an...

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Sikura, Dorman Team Up for Star Act

The Keeneland January sale got its third seven-figure horse when Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa's John Sikura and Determined Stud's Matt Dorman partnered up to purchase Star Act (Street Cry {Ire}) (hip 144) for $1.2 million. The 13-year-old mare, dam of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Just F Y I (Justify), was originally led out unsold at $950,000 during the auction's first session Monday. "She is a class mare," Dorman said Wednesday. "She's a Grade I producer. She has a phenomenal horse who is three-for-three and primed for next...

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Breeders' Spotlight: 'Just' Like the Movies, Krikorian Gets a Breeders' Cup Champ

It seems like almost too good of a plot line to believe it now, but Just F Y I (Justify) was never meant to race in George Krikorian's silks. The filly made it all the way to the Keeneland sales grounds before a puncture wound in her shoulder kept her from going through the ring. While it was nothing serious, the minor abrasion became inflamed enough to make walking back and forth for buyers impossible. So she was scratched from the September Sale, sent to Margaux Farm and eventually joined...

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Just F Y I a First BC Winner for Justify In the Juvenile Fillies; Tamara Seventh

ARCADIA, CA - For your information, George Krikorian's unbeaten homebred Just F Y I (Justify) is the best 2-year-old filly in the country. Given a 7-1 chance while drawn widest of all in post 12 in Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, she secured a beautiful spot from her outside draw and immediately took the race to 4-5 favorite and unbeaten GI Del Mar Debutante S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) from the start. Always traveling like a winner beneath Junior Alvarado from an outside second, she...

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George Krikorian Joins TDN Writers' Room Podcast Breeders' Cup Preview Show

George Krikorian has been around the game of racing for a long time and has owned a lot of good horses. But a win in the Breeders' Cup has eluded him. He's 0-for-11. But he has two strong candidates this year in Just FYI (Justify) in the GI Juvenile Fillies and War Like Goddess (English Channel) in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, where she will tackle males for the second straight year. Will this be Krikorian's year? Those were among the questions our team asked Krikorian on this week's TDN...

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George Krikorian Joins the TDN Writers' Room

George Krikorian, owner of War Like Goddess and Just FYI, joins the Breeders' Cup edition of the TDN Writers' Room.

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Breeders' Cup Monday Bulletin: Locals, International Challengers On Track

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...

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'Just' on Fire: Just F Y I Rolls in Sloppy Frizette for Red-Hot Justify

Just F Y I (f, 2, Justify--Star Act, by Street Cry {Ire}), up in time by a head sprinting on debut at a well-backed 7-2 at the Spa Aug. 26, provided a rolling Grade I double for owner George Krikorian and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott with a powerful performance in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Frizette S. at a rainy Aqueduct Racetrack. "[The track] was the big question and we didn't know," Mott said after saddling his first Frizette winner since Confessional in 1998. "You don't know...

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