La Cara

The Queens M G (Thousand Words), winner of last summer's GIII Adirondack S. and Schuylerville S. at Saratoga, rode the rail to a decisive victory in Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Davona Dale S. at Gulfstream Park, good for 37.5 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks. Drawn on the fence and off as the 9-5 second-choice, she traveled nicely on the inside through an opening quarter in :24.24, slipped through along the inside beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. at the top of the stretch and took off nicely from there...

The GIII Honeybee S., rescheduled for one day due to cold weather at Oaklawn, figured to be the key GI Kentucky Oaks prep run so far this year. And it was. Our No. 1 in previous polls Muhimma (Munnings) ran well to finish third, but it was not enough for her to keep her top spot. Take Charge Milady (Take Charge Indy) was 10th and Look Forward (Bolt d'Oro) was seventh. Off those performances both have dropped out of the Top 10. This will be a big weekend for Oaks-bound...

The GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth, the final prep for the GI Curlin Florida Derby held March 29, will headline a program laden with nine stakes, of which eight are graded, worth $2.15 million in purses next Saturday. The 79th running of the Fountain of Youth offers qualifying points for the GI Kentucky Derby on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale. Burnham Square, the GIII Holy Bull winner, is scheduled to clash with seven other 3-year-olds entered for next Saturday's feature. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is represented in the Fountain of...

The GIII Honeybee Stakes, rescheduled for Sunday at Oaklawn, looks like the toughest GI Kentucky Oaks prep race run so far this year. Led by 'TDN Rising Star' Muhimma (Munnings), the field of 12 includes five horses that are in our Top 10. In last week's action, the GII Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes, expected to have a powerhouse field of seven, was decimated by scratches. The defectors included the highly regarded Simply Joking (Practical Joke), who was scratched because her white blood cell count was below normal. Though she still...

Things are starting to heat up on the trail to the GI Kentucky Oaks, and this weekend will feature the most important race run so far this year. The GII Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes at the Fair Grounds drew just six horses, but the race does not lack quality. Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) was undefeated last year in four starts and will be the favorite. But Simply Joking (Practical Joke) is not a horse you can throw out. It will be a big test for Simply Joking, who has run...

Reverting to front-running tactics for the first time since winning her maiden in impressive fashion at Saratoga last August, Tracy Farmer homebred La Cara made every pole a winning one in Saturday's Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, besting favored Her Laugh, who lost her race at the break but ran on courageously in the final stages. As opposed to Her Laugh, who was playing up in stall six and missed the kick by a good four lengths, La Cara hit the ground running and took the field into the...

6th-GP, $65K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 2:47 p.m. ET. Poised for her unveiling under the care of trainer Todd Pletcher, GHANAAYEM (Uncle Mo) is a $750,000 Shadwell purchase during Keeneland September. Bred by Don Alberto on the same Uncle Mo-Bernardini cross as current sires Mo Town and Modernist, the filly is out of GI Chandelier Stakes heroine Angela Renee. This dam is also responsible for GSP Gilded Age (Medaglia d'Oro) and Thielen (Curlin), a $1.75 million buy from the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. Angela Renee is a full-sister to MGISW...

Who do you like? TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack makes his picks for Breeders' Cup Friday at Del Mar. Race 7: GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies--#4 La Cara (12-1) Pocahontas winner La Cara continues to improve with experience for trainer Mark Casse, and if her pedigree is any indicator (she's bred on the same Street Sense x Bernardini cross as Maxfield), another move forward could be coming in this two-turn debut. Her versatile running style adds to her appeal. Will also be using the maiden of two starts Snowyte,...

To many, no doubt, her genetic contribution is by now too attenuated to merit attention. At the very least, however, it must be acknowledged an impressive coincidence that the winners of both the GIII Iroquois Stakes and GIII Pocahontas Stakes--whose shared value, as reconnaissance for the Classics over the same track next May, is recognized by allocation of the first starting points--should share as sixth dam the Darby Dan foundation mare Golden Trail. The Golden Trail dynasty entwines such productive lines as those branded by Memories of Silver, Sunshine Forever...

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse won 15 races out of 53 starts during the tough as nails Saratoga meet this season, which amounted to a 28% clip. One of those runners who got her picture taken was La Cara (Street Sense--Cara Caterina, by Bernardini). Off that performance, she rolled into Louisville for the GIII Pocahontas Stakes and won, which earned her 10 points on the path to next May's running of the GI Kentucky Oaks. In the first two starts of her career under the Twin Spires earlier this...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--The baby train continues to chug along for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse at Saratoga Race Course this summer. The latest stop came Sunday and 2-year-old filly La Cara (Street Sense) hopped on board as she pulverized the field in the eighth race maiden special weight. Ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., La Cara went to the lead at the start of the seven-furlong race and stayed there. She won by eight lengths, and it could have been more as Santana Jr. brought her home with a hand...

1st-BAQ, $90k, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, post time: 1:05 p.m. ET SHINY LURE (Catalina Cruiser) was hammered down to Jonathan Thorne's Thorndale Farm for $320,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, making her the most expensive of her sire's 68 youngsters reported as sold that season (86 through the ring). Debuting with Lasix for the usually patient Danny Gargan barn, the chestnut is out of 2009 GII Forward Gal S. winner Frolic's Dream (Smoke Glacken), whose daughter Bode's Dream (Bodemeister) was a dual stakes winner as a juvenile. Frolic's Dream...