John Shirreffs

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...

After four Grade I placings in addition to four graded wins, C R K Stable's Express Train (Union Rags) finally got a Grade I to call his own when he captured the Santa Anita H. presented by Yaamava' Resort & Casino in dramatic fashion Saturday. He was also rectifying another overdue omission in giving trainer John Shirreffs, who was nominated to the Hall of Fame this week, his first Big 'Cap win. The victory didn't come easily though, as Express Train had to battle the length of the stretch with...

It stands to reason, I guess, that the fountain of youth--the quest for which supposedly brought the first conquistadores to the shores of Florida--should instead turn out to be in Hot Springs. Certainly it seems as though there must indeed be something in those celebrated Arkansas waters, judging from the eternal vigor of an 86-year-old trainer based at Oaklawn this winter. For a moment last Saturday, D. Wayne Lukas was going to sweep both Classic trials, Ethereal Road (Quality Road) just losing focus in the final strides of the GII...

Placed no fewer than four times at the top level, C R K Stable LLC's Express Train (Union Rags) looks to get over the hump in Saturday's GI Santa Anita H., the last of six graded events on a blockbuster program at the Great Race Place. Runner-up to Charlatan (Speightstown) in the 2020 GI Malibu S., the $500,000 Keeneland September acquisition filled the same spot behind Idol (Curlin) in this event 12 months ago. Third to recent G1 Saudi Cup second Country Grammer (Tonalist) in the GI Hollywood Gold Cup...