Rodolphe Brisset

Meringue (Frosted) proved her talents could be applied to the turf and dirt as she successfully picked up her first stakes win in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies Stakes. The grey debuted June 19 at Churchill Downs, where she closed from eighth in that five-panel baby dash to win at first-asking on the grass by a neck. From there, her connections moved her to the main track for a tilt at the GIII Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga, and she ran headlong into Florida-bred titan Mythical (St Patrick's Day), who dominated...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. - A year ago, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) buzzed through her season, winning six of seven starts--five of them Grade Is--on her way to Horse of the Year honors. Kenny McPeek, Thorpedo Anna's trainer, says his stable star is just as good, if not better, than she was a year ago. The 4-year-old filly, still as popular as ever, will get the chance to prove it on Saturday when she runs in the GI, $500,000 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. "Every bit," McPeek said...

Queen Azteca (Sharp Azteca), winner of the G3 UAE Oaks in February at Meydan Racecourse, arrived in Saratoga Aug. 8 and cleared quarantine to gallop over the Oklahoma training track Sunday morning. Trained by Niels Petersen, the bay was purchased privately by Team Valor International and is expected to make her North American debut in Saturday's GI Alabama Stakes. Queen Azteca was accompanied to the training track by her exercise rider Carlos Toro Montecinos and a pony, calmly taking in her surroundings before jogging a half-mile and galloping once around...

Mystik Dan (Goldencents), the 2024 GI Kentucky Derby winner, breezed on the grass for the first time in his career Friday morning, going an easy five furlongs in 1:02 flat over the Oklahoma course with Luis Rivera, Jr. in the saddle. "Really pleased," trainer Ken McPeek said at his Saratoga barn. "I always wanted to try him on the turf, and he looked like he loved it. We're contemplating some options and this is a horse that's done everything we've ever asked him to do. I think he'll relish it;...

SARATOGA SPRINGS - There are several reasons trainer Miguel Clement has special feelings for the 5-year-old horse Far Bridge (English Channel), who runs in Saturday's $200,000 GII Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The record Far Bridge has put together makes his trainer proud. Eight wins in 17 career starts, three second- and three third-place finishes. Career earnings of $2,262,980. He is a multiple Grade I winner. "He is very consistent," Clement said outside his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track Thursday morning. "He is a hard tryer; as...

Facing a field where nearly the entire group was making just their second career start, Kingsolver stepped up to break her maiden in style with a two-length win in the Schuylerville Stakes Friday. Fifth on debut at Churchill Downs going just a half-furlong shorter June 11, the $95,000 OBS March grad arguably outran her odds that day when beaten just 2 3/4 lengths while posting a 68 Beyer Speed Figure. Drawn just off the rail, Friday's 3-1 shot was keen to go and briefly held the top spot through the...

Appearing to lose all chance after a super-awkward start from the inside post, Meringue (Frosted) slowly reeled in her rivals over the course of Churchill's five-furlong turf test and was up just in time to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors Thursday afternoon. Breaking from post 1, the grey was eased to the back of the field as 3-2 favorite Delightful Darling (Flameaway) went to the front, cutting out an opening quarter of :22.19 as Vibora (Hootenanny) pressed the issue in a close-up second. With those two fillies turned for home...

9th-CD, $141K, OC100K/N3X, 3yo/up, 6f, 5:13 p.m. ET. WORLD RECORD (Gun Runner) in his second start for WinStar and BBN Racing going seven over Churchill's main track last May was certainly impressive when he won by 6 1/4 lengths. That effort garnered the colt 'TDN Rising Star' honors and the Rodolphe Brisset trainee proceeded to run third in the Maxfield Stakes over course and distance, and then he checked off the GII Amsterdam Stakes at the Spa in late July. Despite finishing sixth in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial...

The Saturday graded stakes action across North America offers several options, but the Big A earns the spotlight as the venerable NYRA track plays host to some strong races. Even though the Cigar Mile Handicap was downgraded a tick from its top level status by the American Graded Stakes Committee in 2023, connections still consider the race to possess a certain cache and the rigor in this year's edition is evident. "It [Cigar Mile] came up pretty salty," said Book'em Danno's trainer Derek Ryan. "It is a Grade II now...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. This week's rulings include three lengthy suspensions. Trainer Francisco Ramos has been banned for two years and fined $25,000 after his trainee You're a Dandy (Mizzen Mast) who finished second at Hawthorne Feb. 14, tested positive for the bronchodilator Clenbuterol. According to a final decision by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), Ramos apparently requested a B sample analysis but did not pay for it, which meant...

DEL MAR, California--History can be a sprint from one anachronism to the next, but every now and then it hands us spectators something unique across generations. You know, one of those full circle moments where we can witness a learner transforming into a future master. A little over 40 years ago at the inaugural Breeders' Cup World Championships hosted by Hollywood Park, Monsieur Alain de Royer-Dupre saddled Lashkari (GB) (Mill Reef) for His Highness The Aga Khan. The 3-year-old took home the very first Breeders' Cup Turf, which was one...

Siena Farm and WinStar Farm's Mullikin (Violence), perfect in four starts this term and one of the favorites for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, went a half-mile in :47.60 in the company of GII Amsterdam Stakes-winning 'TDN Rising Star' World Record (Gun Runner, :47.80) over the Keeneland main track Friday morning (see below). The 4-year-old colt, who demolished his rivals by 5 3/4 lengths in the GI Forego Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 24, was timed in fractions of :24.40 and :36.20 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.60. "That is...