Jackie's Warrior

LEXINGTON, KY - DL689 wasn't the only flight taking off shortly after 6:00 a.m. in Lexington on a brisk Wednesday morning. Just as that Atlanta-bound, Delta aircraft loudly announced its presence across the way at Blue Grass Airport--you really couldn't have scripted it any better--unbeaten superstar Flightline (Tapit) was one of the first horses to train as the Keeneland main track opened for business beneath the lights. Under a snug hold and plenty eager to do more, the 3-5 GI Breeders' Cup Classic morning-line favorite was every bit as advertised,...

LEXINGTON, KY -- With University of Kentucky men's basketball head coach John Calipari pulling the pills, unbeaten superstar Flightline (Tapit) drew post four for Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Classic to a round of applause during Monday's Rood & Riddle Post Position Draw held at the home of the Wildcats at Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington. The 3-5 morning-line favorite will meet seven rivals in the $6-million centerpiece at Keeneland, including the talented Life Is Good (Into Mischief) (post two) and top 3-year-olds Epicenter (Not This Time) (post six), Taiba (Gun...

With unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit) leading the way, 205 horses, including 45 from overseas, and seven former or returning Breeders' Cup champions, have been pre-entered for the 39th Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Nov. 4 & 5. The Breeders' Cup will be televised live domestically on NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV. Click here to view all of the 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships Pre-Entered Fields. Nine horses were pre-entered for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. In addition to the record-setting GI Pacific Classic winner Flightline, the $6-million...

Reigning GI Kentucky Derby hero Rich Strike (Keen Ice) tuned up for his appearance in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Nov. 5 with a five-furlong drill over the Keeneland main track early Tuesday morning. With Gabriel Lagunes in the irons for trainer Eric Reed, the chestnut broke off in :26.20 and completed his work in 1:02.60 before galloping out three-quarters of a mile in 1:15.60. "Slow and steady," Reed said of Rich Strike, a latest near-miss second to Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) in the GII Lukas Classic at Churchill...

Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music-Manki, by Arch), a G1-winning sprinter will enter stud at Gainesway for the 2023 breeding season, the farm announced Oct. 21. The 4-year-old broke his maiden by six lengths as a juvenile at Gulfstream Park and won four of his first five starts going into his 3-year-old season, culminating with a 6 1/4-length score in the GIII Swale S. He also added a victory in the GIII Bay Shore S. before defeating Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) in the GI Woody Stephens S. at Belmont Park. Drain...

Into Mischief once again leads Spendthrift Farm's roster for 2023 with his stud fee remaining at $250,000 S&N, the operation announced Thursday. Spendthrift has added four new stallions including MGISWs Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) and Cyberknife (Gun Runner), who are both pointing for the Breeders' Cup. The other new additions are GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and GSW Greatest Honour (Tapit), who are both available for inspection at the farm. Champion Jackie's Warrior, the likely favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, will command a fee of...

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Epicenter (Not This Time) was in fine shape Sunday morning, a day after his emphatic victory in the GI Runhappy Travers S. at Saratoga. "He's doing beautifully. He's very proud of himself," trainer Steve Asmussen said. "The race went beautifully and it was everything we hoped for. We're very proud of his win and excited about who he is." The Travers was the first Grade I win for Epicenter, who was runner-up in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. "We wanted it for him and for...

Previously unbeaten at Saratoga and for the season, champion Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) became the latest victim of the "Graveyard of Champions" Saturday when run down late by the ever-improving Cody's Wish (Curlin). The 1-9 favorite hustled up to dictate terms and was pressed by longshot Pipeline (Speightstown) through a :22.75 opening quarter and :45.10 half-mile while 8-1 shot Cody's Wish raced in a joint last. Jackie's Warrior turned for home in front with a stubborn Pipeline breathing down his neck and Cody's Wish winding up out in the center...

The GI Runhappy Travers S. is one of the summer's most highly anticipated events and for the past several years it has been the centerpiece of a Super Saturday card at Saratoga that serves as a Breeders' Cup preview. The Travers is one of five star-studded Grade Is on the 14-race card, which also includes the GII Ballston Spa S. for turf fillies. Intriguing storylines abound in this year's eight-horse renewal of the summer centerpiece for sophomore colts, which is topped by GII Jim Dandy S. winner Epicenter (Not This...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - It's not your imagination that jockey Joel Rosario is having a big summer at Saratoga. Rosario, 37, is very much in the hunt for the overall title, a competition led by Irad Ortiz, Jr. Through Thursday's program, Ortiz had 37 wins, eight more than Rosario. However, in graded stakes races, Rosario is far and away the leader with 10 victories from 19 starts, a remarkable 53% win rate. Ortiz is next with five. With the 10, Rosario is in position to smash the current record of...

Shadwell's Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) remains the world's top-rated racehorse according to the most recent edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings which were published Thursday. The homebred colt, trained by William Haggas, has built on a perfect six-race 3-year-old campaign with a trio of additional victories on the trot this term, including the G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury in May, the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot in June and a facile defeat of Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Qatar Sussex S....

To twist an old saying so it best describes rock-steady GII Jim Dandy S. winner Epicenter (Not This Time), "The more things stay the same, the more they change." This is annually the time of the season when we start hearing from trainers of Triple Crown contenders how markedly their sophomores have improved and matured over the past couple of months. So it was a bit of a surprise when Steve Asmussen told DRF.com last week that he hasn't seen much change in the colt who ran second as the...