Santa Anita

6th-Santa Anita, $61,000, Msw, 5-10, 3, 4,/5yo, 6 1/2f, 1:14.98, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN (r, 3, Mitole--Midnight Magic, by Midnight Lute), a $250,000 yearling turned $750,000 2-year-old, faced older rivals Saturday on debut for Bob Baffert including well-met stablemate Sierra Silver (Game Winner) who was last third behind 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Preakness Stakes entrant Goal Oriented (Not This TIme). Showing speed from an outside draw, the 7-2 second choice led from the first jump, rationing his speed ahead of his stablemate through fractions of :22.08 and...

Bob Baffert notified Pimlico Race Course officials Thursday of his intention to enter undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Goal Oriented (Not This Time), as well as GII Wood Memorial Stakes hero Rodriguez (Authentic) in the GI Preakness Stakes. Goal Oriented debuted at Santa Anita Apr. 6 with an off-the-pace 3 1/4-length victory in a six-furlong maiden special weight event, which earned him a 'Rising Star' badge. The 3-year-old cleared an optional claimer in front-running fashion on the Derby undercard. A $425,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale, Goal Oriented is...

Who were the five fastest maiden winners based on the Beyer Speed Figures this week? We count them down. 5. PAHOEHOE D'ORO, OP 5/2 - 6 furlongs Beyer Speed Figure: 86 Video Replay (f, 4, Medaglia d'Oro-Miss Exclusive, by Unbridled's Song) B-Mt Brilliant Broodmares LLC, O-Old Bones Racing Stable LLC, Volcanic Racing LLC and Joey Platts, T-Phil D'Amato, J-Ramon Vazquez. Back-class pedigree pages don't look much better than this. Her third dam, Juddmonte blue hen Hasili, produced in sequence: Dansili (3rd in Breeders' Cup Mile), Banks Hill (won Breeders' Cup...

With Derby weekend in the books, we take a look back at the graded races in April that led us there. The month did not disappoint with great racing from coast to coast, although Keeneland, as per usual, was the star of the show. If the top of the sport is measured by graded races, few race weeks are as packed with quality or as anticipated as the boutique meets at Keeneland. With an inevitable focus on the Lexington track, we look at trends and notable items from the country's...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Princess Attitude in Lexington. Frankel Filly Graduates At Keeneland Watts Humphrey, Jr.'s Princess Attitude (Frankel {GB}) ran out a one-length winner at Keeneland for trainer Victoria Oliver on April 24 (video). Making her fifth start, the filly was bred by Bryant H. Pursuit of Success III in Kentucky. Out of multiple graded winner and multiple Grade I-placed Keertana, herself by GI Breeders' Cup...

AUBURN, Wash.--The headline in the local edition of The Seattle Times on Wednesday, June 19, 1996 was full of elan as it fired off a bold prediction the day before the opening, "Racetrack Will Help Put Auburn On The Map." The building of Emerald Downs, which replaced the venerable and beloved oval at Longacres, was set to anchor development in the region and usher in a new era for the city which the paper said would attract "gamblers, shoppers and spectators." Some folks quoted were optimistic about the wiping away...

Jungle Peace (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) hadn't been winning by a lot since arriving stateside, winning each of her last two starts by a mere half length. In Sunday's GIII Senorita, jockey Umberto Rispoli once again timed it just right to get the filly home a head in front of 4-1 shot Amorita (Liam's Map) while giving the Irish-bred filly her first taste of black-type. Breaking alertly from the two-hole, Jungle Peace exchanged blows with the rail-riding favorite Cloe (Tiz the Law), but soon moved ahead of that rival, carving...

1st-SA, 60K, Msw, 3-5yo, 1mT, 4:00 p.m. Zedan Racing Stable went to $550,000 to secure MUTAZ (Nyquist) as a 2-year-old at OBS April last year. Debuting Saturday on the grass for trainer Bob Baffert, the colt is out of GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes winner Acoma (Empire Maker) who has produced four winners from six to race including the dam of GII Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes runner up Golden Afternoon (Goldencents). Acoma herself is a half-sister to GISW and sire Arch (Kris S.) along with UAE Horse of the Year...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Sugaree at Keeneland over 1 1/2 miles. Camelot Mare Thrives Over Classic Distance At Keeneland Blue Devil Racing Stable (Holliday)'s Sugaree (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) earned her first American win in her third start there, winning by a half-length at Keeneland on April 23 (video). Trained by Arnaud Delacour, the grey won once in six starts in Ireland. Bred by Pier House Stud, Sugaree...

The Southern California-based duo of Rodriguez (Authentic) and Baeza (McKinzie) turned in their final local works before shipping to Churchill Downs for the May 3 GI Kentucky Derby Sunday at Santa Anita. Baeza worked in company with stablemate Atitlan (The Factor), a multiple graded stakes winner on turf, for trainer John Shirreffs. Working under jockey Hector Berrios, the GI Santa Anita Derby runner-up was officially credited with a seven-furlong work in 1:28.00 (3/4). Shirreffs clocked the colt in 1:28.20. "Because his morning gallops have been a little on the easy...

Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), last year's champion juvenile, will give jockey Martin Garcia his first Derby mount since 2015. "It's a dream come true," said Garcia, a 40-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico. "It's what every jockey wants." Garcia has ridden in the Kentucky Derby four times, all between 2010 and 2015. His best finish came in 2015 when Dortmund, also trained by Bob Baffert, finished third behind subsequent Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. "I'm excited to get back, most of all because I know I have a very good horse...

Edited Press Release Professor Gordon Jones passed only four days after his 95th birthday. Jones was a pioneer of speed and pace handicapping. His best-selling book, "Gordon Jones to Win" (1976), inspired his popular pre-race handicapping seminars that were attended by legions of race goers. He brought his numbers to the track at a time when people would laugh at him, and he would hide his spiral notebook. Speed numbers are now a common barometer. He graduated from Whittier College, where his father had been president for several years. He...