Goldencents

Nothing wrong with planning ahead, and trainer Kenny McPeek is doing just so after the 2024 Horse of the Year came out of her GI Apple Blossom tour-de-force in fine shape, with the GI La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs next on the list for 'Rising Star' MGISW Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). After receiving a preliminary Beyer of 93 for the romp, McPeek is already eyeballing a seventh victory at the elite level for 'the grizzly bear' and the May 2 Kentucky Oaks undercard feature is circled on the calendar....

Rail-drawn Positano Sunset (Goldencents) slipped through a gap at the top of the stretch and joined a four-wide calvary charge to the line, out-lasting the race favorite to upset the GI Resolute Racing Madison Stakes at odds of 14-1 for trainer Ian Wilkes. After finishing out her 4-year-old season off the board in the one-mile GIII Chilukki Stakes at Churchill Downs in late November, Positano Sunset got some time off, resurfacing at Tampa Bay Downs to win a $50k handicap race at seven furlongs March 9. Clearly a fan of...

Bob Baffert has found himself in a familiar position as he once again brings a well-met runner into Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby with all the buzz behind him, this time in the form of 'TDN Rising Star' Cornucopian (Into Mischief), who has been made the 7-5 morning line favorite from the nine hole. Fresh off an unveiling which garnered the stamp of approval from the TDN, and stopped the clock in a six-furlong maiden special in an eye-catching 1:09.02--the fastest by a 3-year-old in Oaklawn history--the son of Into Mischief...

Later this week, breeding sheds across the Lexington region will open their doors to mares, but in the lead-up to the start of the 2025 mating season, there is an underlying feeling of unease in the Bluegrass. Several farms have already--and quite publicly--announced discounts off their initially posted stud fees, while others are either fighting hard to attract mares, or shopping private deals or fee reductions. The fear among many in town is that in 2025, the industry has reached some sort of tipping point--either due to the economy, a...

32 offerings complete the catalogue for the 2025 Inglis Digital USA February Sale which opened Friday and goes through Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Offerings include Suga Steve (Goldencents), a 4-year-old colt who enters on a three-race winning streak by a combined 16 1/2 lengths. Suga Steve most recently won a six-furlong allowance race on Jan. 24 at Laurel Park. Also available as a racing prospect is a 2-year-old Complexity filly being offered out of the Tapizar mare Caroline County and from the family of multiple Peruvian champion Ole...

After considering several options, trainer Kenny McPeek said Monday that newly minted Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) will make her four-year-old debut in the GII Azeri S. on March 8 at Oaklawn Park. That would give her time to make the April 5 G1 Dubai World Cup, but McPeek said he has all but ruled out a trip to the Middle East in order to run in the April 12 GI Apple Blossom S., also at Oaklawn. "The Azeri will be a good first step back for...

The number that best sums up this year's Breeders' Cup is :44.96. That's the sizzling opening half-mile split for the GI Classic, and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) utilized it to the utmost advantage on Saturday, propelling himself to the winner's circle with one of his customary, locomotive-like late kicks that had come up just shy of victory in three previous attempts at 10 furlongs. As a relentless long-strider with a penchant for leaning in and being a magnet for trip trouble during his stretch runs, Sierra Leone...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Jockey Manny Franco was on Honor Marie's (Honor Code) back when the colt hit the Oklahoma Training Track at 7:30 Saturday morning. That doesn't mean Franco will be there when Honor Marie runs in the GI Travers Stakes on Aug. 24. Honor Marie worked four furlongs in :48.75 with 2-year-old stablemate Fiddling Felix (Mendelssohn) as he continues to train up to the Midsummer Derby. Franco answered the call to work the horse because trainer Whit Beckman doesn't have an abundance of exercise riders at his disposal...

A pair of noteworthy names were spotted on the work tab over the weekend at Saratoga, GISW Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) on Sunday and MGISW Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) on Saturday, both cruising over the Oklahoma dirt training track for the first time since their respective efforts during the Belmont at Saratoga festival. From the Chad Brown barn, the 'TDN Rising Star' put in a solo half-mile move with blinkers on in :49.66 (6/30) and galloped out into the backstretch while being encouraged by the exercise rider. When asked, Brown...

It was inevitable Into Mischief would be featured early on in our 'Saturday Sires' series, as his picture would probably be next to the phrase in the dictionary if the term appeared there. The five-time leading sire has now surpassed the remarkable threshold of 150 stakes winners with yet another graded winner this past weekend. Maybe it's a coincidence the phrase 'Saturday afternoon horses' came in vogue around the rise of Into Mischief, but maybe it isn't. After all, he practically invented the term. More than any other horse in...

GI Kentucky Derby winner and GI Preakness S. runner up Mystik Dan (Goldencents) will ship to Saratoga but trainer Kenny McPeek has yet to make a decision on whether the colt will contest the third leg of the Triple Crown, the GI Belmont S. "It's impossible to be disappointed about being involved with these kind of races and be competitive," McPeek told assembled media at Pimlico Sunday morning. "One, they are hard races to get into, but to be competitive in them is a big deal. You just do your...

Baltimore, MD--The naysayers said it couldn't be done. Seize the Grey (Arrogate) wasn't fast enough, was unlikely to go that far and simply put, was just being thrown into the deep end. D. Wayne Lukas, however, blocked out the noise. The Hall of Famer has been quoted countless times over the years that he has built a career running where he didn't belong. And the 88-year-old proved once again that he not only belongs, but gave yet another master class in winning a Classic in Saturday's GI Preakness S. at...