Speightstown

Continuing the powerful run during Del Mar's closing weekend of racing, trainer Chad Brown and Juddmonte once again held the winning card in the day's feature, taking Sunday's GI Matriarch Stakes with Segesta (Ghostzapper), a half-sister to Saturday's GI Hollywood Derby winner, Salamis (Speightstown). In Our Time (Not This Time) and Ag Bullet (Twirling Candy) went to the front early as 8-5 choice Segesta was allowed to settle in fourth through :23.65 and :48.06 initial splits. With the 25-1 still cruising along up front through a half in :48.06, the...

Six hopefuls pre-entered into their respective Breeders' Cup races turned in final works Saturday morning at Keeneland, and connections are reporting positive prognoses ahead of shipping dates. On the dirt track went Bentornato (Valiant Minister), breezing four furlongs in :49.40 (34/89). Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. was in the irons. The 4-year-old is pre-entered into the GI Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint and is looking to improve a placing from last year as the runner-up in the 2024 edition. "[I was] looking for a nice, easy workout," trainer Jose D'Angelo said. "We...

Uptown Rythem (Speightstown--Listen to My Song, by Unbridled's Song), who previously stood at Harris Farms, has been relocated to stand at Rancho San Miguel in Central California for the 2026 breeding season. He will stand for $1,500, live foal guarantee. From extremely modest crops, Uptown Rythem's Average Earnings Index of 1.19 is among the best in California. His unraced dam is a half-sister to the dam of 2017 GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes winner La Coronel (Colonel John) from the extended family of 2025 GI Blue Grass Stakes...

3rd-KEE, $120k, Alw (N2L), 2yo, 6f, post time: 2:04 p.m. ET Amo Racing USA, Wesley Ward and Two Eight Racing's OUTFIELDER (Speightstown) was scratched out of Friday's GIII Futurity Stakes in favor of trying the main track for the first time in a two-lifetime allowance at Keeneland. The $850,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga graduate was named a 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard at first asking when streaking away by better than a half-dozen lengths sprinting on the grass at Churchill in May, but was forced to skip Royal Ascot and was...

Disco Time (Not This Time) remained perfect via a tour de force performance in the St. Louis Derby at Fairmount. Last seen Jan. 18 when winning the GII Lecomte Stakes at the Fair Grounds, his prior two victories came at Churchill Downs when he broke his maiden last November and then beat optional claiming company 29 days later Nov. 30 from the front end. The even-money favorite here, Disco Time left the blocks on top and never gave the field a chance. Never in any danger after an opening quarter...

5. NU WHAT'S NEW, CD, 9/13, 6 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 84 (2nd) (c, 3, by Munnings--Heavenly Scat, by Scat Daddy) O-Doubledown Stables. B-BlackRidge Stables (Ky). T-James Divito. J-Walter Rodriguez. On paper and in mutuels, this former Taylor Made-sold weanling was in a different hemisphere than Subito (below) and some others Saturday, and it looked that way at the quarter pole when he was still 7 lengths behind and seemingly going nowhere. Then something ignited, and he stormed up the inside to barely miss catching Subito while blowing past...

Offered midway during the single-session CTHS Canadian Premier Yearling Sale at Woodbine Race Track on Aug. 27, a colt by the late and influential Speightstown was hammered down for C$400,000 to easily rate as the dearest lot on offer during the auction. Hip 109, bred in Ontario by Mario Forgione, was consigned to the sale by Huntington Stud Farm as agent and is the third foal out of the 10-year-old Travieza (Into Mischief), upset winner of the 2018 Unzip Me Stakes and sold for $80,000 in foal to Munnings at...

There aren't many American trainers who win a two-year-old grass maiden at Churchill Downs and immediately think that the obvious next stop is the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville at the end of August. But Wesley Ward isn't like most American trainers. For one thing, he's tried it four times. Won three. Finished second the other time. He'll take his fifth tilt at the Morny on August 24 when he sends Outfielder (Speightstown) over to Deauville for just his second lifetime start. Ward is known for thinking outside the...

Jupiter Stable's Phileas Fogg (g, 5, Astern {Aus}--Merino, by More Than Ready), runner-up in the GIII Pimlico Special S. May 16, was sent to the front from his rail draw, enjoyed a clear advantage throughout and just held off Antiquarian (Preservationist) by a head to pull off a 6-1 upset in Saturday's GII Suburban S. at Saratoga. Favored 'TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner) was a well-beaten third. Sent straight to the front by Kendrick Carmouche, Phileas Fogg showed the way through fractions of :23.72 and :47.83, led by three...

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 a trio of debuting 2-year-olds of interest for this Saturday running at Hanshin and Tokyo Racecourses: Saturday, June 14, 2025 5th-HSN, ¥14,250,000 ($99k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200mT SATONO VOYAGE (JPN) (c, 2, Into Mischief--Jolie Olimpica {Brz}, by Drosselmeyer) is the first foal for her dam, the 2019 Horse of the...

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...

Trainer Wesley Ward swung for the fences when bidding to $850,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale last year to acquire Outfielder (Speightstown) and was rewarded for his efforts Friday when the colt delivered a grand slam at Churchill to become the newest 'TDN Rising Star'. No secret at the window off of two straight bullet works and thus heavily bet at 1-5, the outside draw endured a rush of early speed to his inside in the opening yards of this five-furlong contest but quickly cleared the crowd and...