John Shirreffs

The list of potential runners for Del Mar's 33rd running of the G1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Sept. 2 has grown to 10, so far. Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) won last month's GII San Diego H., the local prep for the Pacific Classic. Todd Fincher is not afraid to put the 5-year-old homebred owned by Joey Peacock in after he rewarded the New Mexico-based trainer with the second Grade II stakes win of his career. Senor Buscador worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 (6/38) at Del Mar Thursday morning. "It's a Grade...

C R K Stable's Skinner (Curlin) will be scratched from Sunday's $100,000 Affirmed S. at Santa Anita, trainer John Shirreffs told the Santa Anita notes team Saturday. The decision was made following a Saturday morning gallop over the Santa Anita main track. "I just wasn't happy with the way he jogged," the conditioner said. Skinner, a $40,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $510,000 OBS April juvenile, broke his maiden in his 3-year-old debut in February and finished third to Practical Move (Practical Joke) in both the GII San Felipe S. and...

C R K Racing's Skinner (Curlin) is out of the GI Kentucky Derby because of an elevated temperature, Churchill Downs said in a release early Friday morning. The horse was scratched by trainer John Shirreffs, according to Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards. Skinner had galloped a mile Friday morning during the special 7:45 to 8 a.m. Derby/Oaks training period and all looked well. But then, back at Barn 41, several temperature checks did not come back right, forcing his conditioner to alert track officials that it would not be right...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One of the more buzzed about workouts leading up to the first Saturday in May has been Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg})'s eye-catching, five-furlong bullet in :59 for trainer Keith Desormeaux at Churchill Downs last weekend. The steam behind the last-out Feb. 25 GII Rebel S. winner continued to build on a very lively backstretch as he led out the GI Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses with authority at 7:30 a.m. on another chilly and breezy Wednesday morning. 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit) is certainly another...

'TDN Rising Star' Justique (Justify), the morning-line favorite in Sunday's GIII Santa Ynez S., will not run after spiking a fever this week. "I'm going to scratch," trainer John Shirreffs said Saturday morning. "She had a little temperature." Justique will now await the GIII Las Virgenes S. going a mile Jan. 28, Shirreffs added. The expected scratch of Justique leaves a five-horse field in the Santa Ynez. "She only had a temperature for a day (on Thursday) and she seems pretty good, but I don't know how she'll run under...

Richard Mandella's Ice Dancing (Frosted), the only filly in a scratched-down field of five with a graded-stakes placing already to her name, will seek her first win since breaking her maiden in Sunday's rescheduled Santa Ynez S. at 'The Great Race Place.' The Grade III event, which was originally scheduled for last Sunday's New Year's Eve program, carries Kentucky Oaks points to the tune of 20-8-6-4-2, which will go to the top five finishers that are not associated with Bob Baffert. A homebred for Bass Stables LLC, the newly minted...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. A week before unveiling Justique (Justify) to a jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' performance at Del Mar--more on her in a bit--Lee Searing's C R K Stable and John Shirreffs debuted another 2-year-old with plenty of upside at the seaside track. Skinner (c, 2, Curlin--Winding Way, by Malibu Moon), a $40,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $510,000 OBS April breezer (:10 1/5), came rolling home to finish an encouraging fifth...

In the same way which astronomical stars largely form in groups, so too did the 'TDN Rising Stars' this past Sunday. Not one, not two, but three leading ladies emerged from the nebulae of Del Mar and Saratoga, each with her own brand of brilliance. Chief among the splendor, and the last to show her shine, was Justique (Justify), whose brilliant turn of foot and effortless dismissal of rivals summoned forth comparisons to another glorious 'Rising Star' in her hayday--a John Shirreffs masterpiece, Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire})....

Despite her $725,000 Keeneland September price tag, C R K Stable's Justique (Justify--Grazie Mille, by Bernardini) snuck a bit under the radar Sunday evening as Bob Baffert-trained Home Cooking (Honor Code) took virtually every dollar of tote support in a salty looking Del Mar maiden special weight. But there was no missing Justique in the stretch, as she inhaled her competition super impressively to become her freshman sire (by Scat Daddy)'s sixth individual winner and second 'TDN Rising Star'. Bidding to become the first debut winner for trainer John Shirreffs...

In this new TDN column, Christie DeBernardis will tell the stories of popular and/or accomplished former racehorses who are now enjoying second careers as show horses, track ponies, etc. The first two foals out of the mighty Zenyatta, Cozmic One (Bernardini) and Ziconic (Tapit), never reached the winner's circle during their brief careers on the racetrack, but they are both thriving in their second careers as jumpers and ambassadors for off-track Thoroughbreds. The elder brother, Cozmic One's second career has been well documented in these pages (Cozmic One: Shining New...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency PRICEY UNCLE MO DEBUTS IN ARCADIA 9th-SA, $67K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 8:12 p.m. John Shirreffs unveils C R K Stable's $950,000 KEESEP acquisition CLUTCH HITTER (Uncle Mo) in this event. His unraced dam Bella Rafaela (Smart Strike) is a half-sister to GISW Twirling Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) and GSWs Dubai Sky (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Ethnic Dance (Tribal Rule). TJCIS PPs

   The youngest progeny from Hall of Fame superstar Zenyatta recently arrived at John Shirreffs's barn at Santa Anita. The 2-year-old chestnut filly by Candy Ride (Arg) named Zilkha is already well on her way to making her debut this year. Zilkha's big personality became abundantly clear during my interview with Shirreffs. The juvenile was front and center, peering over Shirreffs's shoulder as she was hamming for the camera, and at one point put her nose right in it. Perhaps she is more like Zenyatta than we know? When I...