Michael McCarthy

8th-Churchill Downs, $117,975, Msw, 11-22, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:19.17, sy, 3/4 length. MARJORAM (f, 2, Quality Road--Cardamon, by Pioneerof the Nile), a Juddmonte homebred and full-sibling to this summer's GIII Mahony Stakes winner Spiced Up, debuted Saturday at 3-1 under Louisville's twin spires. The bay juvenile was a joint and distant last through the :22.68 first quarter, rushed up to fourth going into the far turn, continued to advance as the clock stopped in :46.25 for the half, and swung wide to take command down the lane. Frontrunner Kayla's...

Appearing to relish the muddy going at Churchill Downs on Thursday, Theodore George (Curlin—Sweet Tapper, by Tapit) came from off the pace to graduate with a confident 2 ¼-length victory over Cant Stop Munnings (Munnings). Theodore George was seventh in his career debut going 8 1/2 furlongs on the turf here on Nov. 1, was given an 8-1 chance while getting blinkers on for this off-the-turf return. Pinched back at the start, the chestnut settled in a stalking fifth going around the first turn as Bessamay (Oscar Performance) led through...

Journalism (Curlin) who took three Grade I races during his 3-year-old season, will not be retired to stud at Coolmore America just yet, but will instead resume training for a 2026 campaign, according to co-owner Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbreds. "We are thrilled to announce that Journalism will be returning to race next season," said Wellman in an email. "Coolmore have been wonderful partners and sportsmen as it relates to arriving at this collective decision on Journalism's future and we all share in the belief that Journalism is bred, built...

The World Championships concluded Saturday with sterling efforts and drama abound, and the connections of the newly crowned took Sunday morning to provide updates on their charges as they look ahead. Trainer Michael McCarthy reported that all six of his Breeders' Cup horses came out of their races in good order, and plans for MGISW Journalism (Curlin)--whether to continue racing or retirement--will be finalized in the coming week. The colt finished fourth in the Classic under new rider Jose Ortiz. "This is more or less what we've seen from him...

It looked like a close contest on paper, and in the end, the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile turned into one of those events where it deserved no loser, but there had to be one. The juvenile champion of 2024, Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) set 'supersonic' splits early (as Larry Collmus called them at one point), and ran the race of his life, but it was stablemate Nysos (Nyquist) who ultimately played the spoiler as he nailed the photo to win the Dirt Mile in one of the closest finishes...

DEL MAR, Calif. - All of the heavy lifting has been done and Breeders' Cup 42 is finally here. Who has looked the best during training hours this week at Del Mar? Starting at the top with the Classic. Journalism (Curlin) (Michael McCarthy) has been training like he owns the place in the pre-dawn hours while the Classic's defending winner and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) (Chad Brown) has served notice after the break. Both cover a ton of ground and have been getting over...

DEL MAR, CA - A swing through the course of American Thoroughbred history yields the widely-accepted conclusion that dirt plays the king in these parts, while turf is the patient understudy offstage left--turns are configured in that direction over here. It was not all that long ago that droves of U.S. tracks debated whether putting in a bladed surface and acquiring something called a going stick made any sense. Progressive places like Del Mar's Thoroughbred Club damned the salt in the marine layer and forged ahead with its first course...

Hoping that his start in Saturday's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be a memorable one, MGISW Journalism (Curlin) worked five furlongs in 1:01.40 at Del Mar Sunday morning. With Jose Ortiz in the irons and working with stablemate Legitimate (Authentic), the three-time Grade I winner was last seen finishing second in the GI Pacific Classic on Aug. 30. Both colts are trained by Michael McCarthy. "We were just looking for a maintenance work this morning," said McCarthy. "I think we got that accomplished. I loved the way he galloped...

Approaching the threshold of the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar, MGISW Journalism (Curlin) had his penultimate workout for the big race at Santa Anita Park on Friday, but according to a report in the Daily Racing Form that same day, the colt's regular rider Umberto Rispoli will be replaced by Jose Ortiz for the Classic. In all but one of Journalism's 10 career races (his maiden win at Del Mar in Nov. '24), Rispoli has ridden the son of Curlin. This includes three GI victories this year...

The last Amerman Racing homebred by Oscar Performance to carry the colors home in the GIII Zuma Beach Stakes was Endlessly, who captured the race as the 80 cents on the dollar favorite in 2023. Stark Contrast, a horse with a pair of races under his belt, duplicated the feat at Santa Anita Sunday. Like Endlessly, Stark Contrast is also from the Michael McCarthy shedrow. The colt tried turf for his conditioner at second asking over the seaside oval grass course and he won by a length Sept. 6. Set...

1st-Los Alamitos, $46,000, Msw, 9-20, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:15.88, ft, 3 1/2 lengths. MEANING (f, 2, Gun Runner--Figure of Speech {GISP}, by Into Mischief) worked a sharp half-mile out of the gate in :47 1/5 (2/60) at Santa Anita Sept. 13 and was hammered into 1-5 favoritism for this debut run. Fourth in the very early stages, she rushed up to grab the lead following an opening quarter in :22.34. She was put to the test by GIII Sorrento S. third-place finisher Thank You India (Practical Joke) on the...

Formidable Man continues to be a formidable horse when it comes to his turf at the seaside oval. With his win in the GII Del Mar Mile on Saturday, the 4-year-old is now perfect in all six of his attempts over the local course. The bay burst on the graded scene when he finished as the runner-up as a 3-year-old 24-1 shot in the GII American Turf Stakes on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs. Coming back to Del Mar last summer--the site of his juvenile maiden-breaking debut--Formidable Man rattled...