Maximum Security

Graded stakes winner Stormcast (Mitole) is among 19 additional entries to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale, which will be held Feb. 9 in Lexington. The latest group of supplements to the auction are catalogued as hip 386-404 and include several stakes winners and a half-sibling to a recent Grade I winner. The 5-year-old mare Stormcast, winner of the 2024 GIII Bessarabian Stakes, will be offered as hip 395 and will be consigned as a racing or broodmare prospect by Taylor Made Sales Agency. Other supplemental entries include: Athena's War...

Champion 3-year-old Maximum Security (New Year's Day--Lil Indy, by Anasheed) will relocate to Breakway Farm in Dillsboro, Indiana in 2026, the farm announced via X Saturday. Previously standing at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, the 9-year-old colt accounted for a quartet of Grade I victories--the Xpressbet Florida Derby, TVG.com Haskell Invitational, Cigar Mile and TVG Pacific Classic. During his racing career, the bay also crossed the wire first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby and the 2020 Saudi Cup and was subsequently disqualified. After 14 career starts, the Gary and Mary West-bred...

The horse giveth, the horse taketh away. How typical that Mopotism (Uncle Mo), one of those rare commercial diamonds that oblige with a champion at the first attempt, succumbed to her animal frailty in the very week that Journalism (Curlin) excavated new depths of the toughness she had given him. At least the cruelty of her premature loss has been matched by a proportionately outsized legacy. For while we can't yet be certain that even a prowess measured as persuasively as that of Journalism will be competently replicated, surely his...

Too much of a good thing? Not when it comes to maintaining the gold standard. For if we have only recently celebrated the way Medaglia d'Oro is confounding the self-fulfilling prejudice against aging stallions by continuing to produce runners like Good Cheer and East Avenue, then he now demands a sequel addressing his equal prowess in the kind of role more conventionally reserved for a stallion of 26--namely, as broodmare sire. Last weekend, daughters of Medaglia d'Oro gave us GI Gamely Stakes winner Be Your Best (Muhaarar {GB}); GII Santa...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $127,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($125,000), 5-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42.83, sy, 3/4 length. GOAL ORIENTED (c, 3, Not This Time--Bizzy Caroline {MGSW, $347,935}, by Afleet Alex) topped a 'Rising Star' trifecta in this third contest on Derby Day. Racing three wide along the first bend, and clear of Sorcerer's Silver (Good Magic) as that one was pulled up and vanned off the track, the Baffert-trainee clicked off :23.63, :47.15, and 1:11.36 fractions over the sealed sloppy track. Maintaining his advantage as they swung for home, a pair of...

Instant Replay (c, 3, Maximum Security--Academy Gal, by Medaglia d'Oro), a very good closing third in the GII Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Mar. 22, became the first stakes winner for his second-crop sire in Saturday's Bathhouse Row S. at Oaklawn Park, a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Preakness Stakes. Favored at 3-5, the Gary and Mary West homebred raced much closer to the front this time around, chasing in fifth through fractions of :23.54 and :49.42. He began to launch while four wide on the far turn...

The 2025 Inglis Digital USA April Sale catalogue is now online and showcases a diverse group of 20 individuals ranging from Claiming Crown qualifiers to Keeneland debuters with their maiden conditions still available to yearlings from active families, the online auction house announced via press release Friday afternoon. A slate of racing age horses includes Sitka (Speightstown), eligible for the aforementioned Claiming Crown and who holds his N2X condition, hailing from the shed row of trainer Matt Williams. His career-best Beyer figure is an 88, which he matched in his...

The only rule is that there are no rules. Some of our most expensive freshmen are entering precisely the end game that drove their purchase: Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) and Muth (Good Magic) cost $2.3 million and $2 million respectively, as juveniles; Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) was a $950,000 yearling. Yet the GI Kentucky Derby remains as likely to be won by a $30,000 claim like Rich Strike (Keen Ice) or, most recently, a son of the $10,000 cover Goldencents. Last week, we saluted the advent of a $2,500 yearling...

Tiz Secure (c, 3, Maximum Security--Tough Tiz's Sis, by Tiznow) became the first 'TDN Rising Star' for his sophomore sire with an ultra-impressive debut victory at Santa Anita Saturday evening. Off as the 7-2 second-choice with his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Voldemort (Good Magic) taking the bulk of the action at 8-5, Tiz Secure broke like a shot from his outside draw, but was content to drop back to fourth as they sped through an opening quarter in :22.34. The Karl Watson and Paul Weitman homebred began to roll while three...

8th-SA, 60K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 7:02 p.m. Drawn side by side are a pair of Baffert stablemates led by $700,000 KEESEP grad VOLDEMORT (Good Magic) who counts MGISW and late leading sire Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker) as an extended family member. The Triple Crown-nominated colt comes in off an extended work tab including a last-out four furlong drill in :47 2/5 (11/87). He draws inside of Tiz Secure (Maximum Security), a Watson/Weitman homebred out of MGISW Tough Tiz's Sis who has already produced GSW/GISP Tiz Midnight, herself responsible for...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Chukyo and Nakayama Racecourses: Saturday, January 25, 2025 3rd-CKO, ¥11,850,000 ($76k), Newcomers, 3yo, 1400m BLUE AROMA (f, 3, American Pharoah--Comical, by Into Mischief) is the first foal from her dam, winner of the 2019 GIII Schuylerville Stakes, second in the...

In this series, we will have a look at American-bred first-time juvenile starters (through the end of 2024) and debuting 3-year-olds in maiden races at the tracks of the Emirates Racing Authority, with a specific focus on pedigree and/or performance in a sales ring. The flagship venue for racing in the United Arab Emirates is Meydan Racecourse, which will host racing predominantly on Fridays, with the exception of Super Saturday Mar. 1 and Dubai World Cup night Apr. 5, 2025. Here are the horses of interest for the Saturday card...