Stronghold

The English polymath John Ruskin, who was always hard at work scribbling a well-timed observation for some future generation to co-opt, said when it came to the weather, "Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." Well, bully for you Mr. Ruskin! Send him a going stick and put him to work on the nearest turf course. Some might care to offer quite a different observation after recent events. What...

Hallandale, FL--The Gulfstream Park backstretch on Thursday morning was not for the faint of heart. After a healthy dose of rain in addition to a transient cold snap, the going was less-than-welcoming to both horse and human alike. However, one wasn't likely to hear anybody complain about it. With temperatures falling dreadfully low in the Northeast (think single digits) and snow crippling much of the South causing countless travel delays, temps in the 50s and some rain didn't really seem like a big deal in the bigger scheme of things....

Reigning GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) breezed five furlongs in :59.98 on his own over a 'good' Gulfstream Park main track Saturday morning, his final serious piece of work ahead of next Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes. Robby Albarado was aboard for the move. "What I'd call a happy five-eighths," trainer Ken McPeek said. "It was just a maintenance breeze. I didn't have a horse I really felt good about him being in company with, and I don't think he needed the company. But he took...

Despite live racing for the weekend cancelled at Santa Anita due to the Los Angeles fires, training continued with GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational contenders Mixto (Good Magic) and Stronghold (Ghostzapper) among Sunday's workers. Both worked five furlongs with Mixto covering the distance in 1:02.60 and Stronghold going in 1:01.40. Mixto won the 2024 GI Pacific Classic for trainer Doug O'Neill, while Stronghold, trained by Phil D'Amato, won the 2024 GI Santa Anita Derby. The $3-million Pegasus will be held Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park. An alternate for the Pegasus,...

Firming into 13-5 favoritism in the final few clicks of the tote, Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief) found his best stride well off the inside entering the final eighth of a mile and staved off a late challenge from 2024 GI Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold (Ghostzapper) to win Thursday's GI Malibu Stakes, the traditional opening-day feature at the Great Race Place. Drawn widest in a field reduced to six with the early scratchings of Senior Officer (Into Mischief) and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up Bentornato (Valiant Minister) due to a...

BENSALEM, PA -- Consider it a belated birthday present, Coach. Having turned 89 less than three weeks ago, the legendary Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas pulled yet another rabbit out of his hat, saddling GI Preakness Stakes hero Seize the Grey (Arrogate) to a victory in Saturday's GI Pennsylvania Derby, a result arguably more surprising than his off odds of 4.30-1 might suggest. The $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga purchase was only seventh to 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) in the GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes in April,...

'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) drew gate six in a field of eight and was made the 4-5 morning-line favorite when post positions were drawn Monday for Saturday's GI Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing in suburban Philadelphia. Trainer Ken McPeek will once again give Brian Hernandez, Jr. a leg up on Thorpedo Anna, whose victories in the GI Kentucky Oaks, GI Acorn Stakes and GI CCA Oaks have virtually clinched the 3-year-old filly championship with better than two months of racing left in 2024. She covered herself in...

Making his first start around two turns and looking for a third straight victory in succession, Juddmonte homebred Dragoon Guard (Arrogate) was sent for the lead from his outside draw and made every pole a winning one in Saturday's GIII Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Pegged at 7-2 on the morning line and sharing the grey/roan coloring that runs rampant in his pedigree (sire, dam, grandsire, damsire and damsire's sire), Dragoon Guard--off as the 19-10 second-elect--was given a positive ride from Florent Geroux and led his rivals into the first...

Winner of three of his four starts on the grass last season, including two at the Grade III level, Amerman Racing's Endlessly (Oscar Performance) returns to the grass for the first time as a 3-year-old as the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's $750,000 GI Belmont Derby. Typically contested over 10 furlongs at Belmont Park, this year's renewal takes place over a mile and three-sixteenths at Aqueduct. Victorious in the GIII Del Mar Juvenile Turf and GIII Zuma Beach Stakes, Endlessly was a wide-trip eighth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile...

California-based GI Kentucky Derby runners Stronghold (Ghostzapper) and Endlessly (Oscar Performance) have returned to Santa Anita after their respective seventh- and ninth-place finishes at Churchill Downs, according to Santa Anita's track notes Thursday. Each was back in his own stall Tuesday. Stronghold jogged Thursday in his first time back to the track. "He came out of the race in good shape," trainer Phil D'Amato said Thursday morning of the Eric and Sharon Waller homebred. D'Amato continued: "I thought he got a good stalking trip behind the speed. He made a...

The field for the GI Kentucky Derby, ranked in "likeliest winner" order. 1) FOREVER YOUNG (JPN) (c, Real Steel {Jpn}--Forever Darling, by Congrats). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Northern Racing (Jpn); T-Yoshito Yahagi. Sales History: ¥98,000,000 Ylg '22 JRHAJUL. Lifetime Record: 5-5-0-0, $2,049,451. Last start: WON Mar. 30 G2 UAE Derby. The 5-for-5 Forever Young resonates as the most legitimate threat a foreign-based horse has had to win the Derby since the internationalization of the race over the past several decades. I'd hesitate to compare this colt's presence to the electrifying pre-race aura...

Jockey Antonio Fresu watched the 2023 GI Kentucky Derby on television. Though from Italy, he understood the importance of the race and knew that everybody, be it a jockey, trainer, owner, aspires to win it. But he had no reason to believe that he'd ever win the Derby, let alone ride in it. In late April of last year, just eight days before the Derby, he had started riding in the U.S. at Santa Anita. He was unknown and unproven to the trainers in the U.S. "I came here to...