GII Demoiselle Stakes

There is nothing unpredictable when it comes to trainer Todd Pletcher's record in the GII Demoiselle Stakes because he has had his share of top flight winners like Stopcharging Maria (Tale of the Cat), Malathaat (Curlin) and Nest (Curlin). On Saturday in the 104th edition of the race at Aqueduct, the Hall of Famer's count hit 10 when his Repole-owned filly Zany (American Pharoah--Mo' Green, by Uncle Mo) looked stout as she motored home to nab 10 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks. Zany's career started with...

Trainer Andy Simoff, who has been training Thoroughbreds since 1987, has won over 360 races while finding stakes success with horses like stakes winners Howgreatisnate (Speightster) and Alta Velocita (Il Postino). On Saturday, the Delaware-based trainer will saddle Jumping the Gun (Gun Runner), who will look to provide her conditioner with his first graded stakes victory in Aqueduct's GII Demoiselle, a nine-furlong test for juvenile fillies. "She's doing really well, and everything has gone perfect," Simoff said. "She hasn't missed a work and the track's been good at Delaware, so...

Shadwell Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Muhimma (Munnings), a jaw-dropping winner of her first two career starts sprinting at Churchill Downs, remained unbeaten in front-running fashion while making her two-turn debut in Saturday's GII Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct. The win, good for 10 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks, provided Coolmore stallion Munnings with a sweep of the juvenile graded stakes races at the Big A following Poster (Munnings)'s success in the GII Remsen Stakes contested one race earlier on the program. Muhimma stopped the clock for 1...

The Saturday graded stakes action across North America offers several options, but the Big A earns the spotlight as the venerable NYRA track plays host to some strong races. Even though the Cigar Mile Handicap was downgraded a tick from its top level status by the American Graded Stakes Committee in 2023, connections still consider the race to possess a certain cache and the rigor in this year's edition is evident. "It [Cigar Mile] came up pretty salty," said Book'em Danno's trainer Derek Ryan. "It is a Grade II now...

8th-Aqueduct, $95,000, Alw (NW2$X)/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 12-1, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:35.78, ft, 3 1/4 lengths. JULIA SHINING (f, 4, Curlin--Dreaming of Julia {Broodmare Of The Year, GISW, $874,500}, by A.P. Indy) was named a 'TDN Rising Star'--the fifth in her extended female family--after she broke her maiden at first asking over Keeneland's main track as a late juvenile. The well-bred filly won the GII Demoiselle Stakes that December, and the following spring she was third in both the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa in mid-February and in the GI Central Bank...