Tenma

The GIII Honeybee Stakes, rescheduled for Sunday at Oaklawn, looks like the toughest GI Kentucky Oaks prep race run so far this year. Led by 'TDN Rising Star' Muhimma (Munnings), the field of 12 includes five horses that are in our Top 10. In last week's action, the GII Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes, expected to have a powerhouse field of seven, was decimated by scratches. The defectors included the highly regarded Simply Joking (Practical Joke), who was scratched because her white blood cell count was below normal. Though she still...

Things are starting to heat up on the trail to the GI Kentucky Oaks, and this weekend will feature the most important race run so far this year. The GII Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes at the Fair Grounds drew just six horses, but the race does not lack quality. Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) was undefeated last year in four starts and will be the favorite. But Simply Joking (Practical Joke) is not a horse you can throw out. It will be a big test for Simply Joking, who has run...

There were no secrets heading into the GIII Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita Sunday afternoon. Carded early in the program, the short three-horse field was a headed by a pair of pricey Bob Baffert runners--GI Del Mar Debutante winner Tenma (Nyquist), campaigned by Boama Corp. and Speedway Stables' Cipriani (Bernardini), named a TDN Rising Star following an 8 1/4-length victory in Arcadia last October. When the dust had settled, it was the hotly-backed 2-5 choice Tenma that proved best on the day. The win earned Tenma 20 additional qualifying...

Last year's recently crowned 2-year-old champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) will kick off his 2025 season in the GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita, one of three GI Kentucky Derby preps on tap Saturday. The 2024 GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner will take on just four rivals, including a pair of Bob Baffert-trained stablemates and last-out maiden winners--'TDN Rising Star' Rodriguez (Authentic) and the rail-drawn Madaket Road (Quality Road). Rodriguez romped in his two-turn debut at second asking at Santa Anita Jan. 4, good for a field-best...

Among several notable workers for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday morning at Santa Anita was Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), who this week was named the 2024 champion 2-year-old male. With rain expected later in the day and continuing through the weekend, it was a busy training session on both the main track and training track as 229 horses recorded timed workouts ahead of the weather. Citizen Bull worked in company with older horse Pilot Commander (Justify), who most recently was fourth in the GI Malibu Dec. 26....

Getting blinkers off following an uninspired third in her most recent start in the GII Oak Leaf at Santa Anita in October, Baoma Corp.'s Tenma (Nyquist) went to the front and never looked back, rolling to a confident victory in Saturday's GII Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos. Hustled to the front by the new-on-board Juan Hernandez, the 5-2 second choice quickly encountered Look Forward (Bolt d'Oro), a debut winner at Del Mar last month, who pressed her from the inside through an opening quarter in :23.41. With the pair continuing...

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...

Nyquist will stand the 2025 season at Jonabell Farm for $175,000, Darley announced Sunday. The son of Uncle Mo, who stood last year for $85,000, sired his second GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Saturday when Immersive capped an undefeated four-for-four season. "When you speak of the best stallions right now in North America, Nyquist has to be in that conversation," said Darley America Sales Manager Darren Fox. "His progeny reflect amazing versatility: short, long, dirt and turf. It really doesn't matter the surface or distance. His best books are...

With 102 workers Friday at Santa Anita, a number of prospective Breeders' Cup horses were bound to be on display. Among them was 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Del Mar Futurity winner Prince of Monaco (Speightstown), runner-up in two Grade I events at Saratoga this summer, who worked five furlongs in :59 (2/28). The Bob Baffert trainee is pointing toward the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. It was announced this week that he will stand at Claiborne Farm at the conclusion of his racing career. Another Baffert-conditioned Breeders' Cup contender is...

With four of the six who went to post in the GII Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita Saturday, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert was guaranteed a placing or two in the 'Win and You're In' race for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 1. He did better than that, saddling the first three home. Even-money favorite and maiden winner Non Compliant (2, f, Tiz the Law--Sensitively, by Street Sense), the most modest auction purchase of the Baffert quartet, bested GIII Sorrento Stakes winner Nooni (Win Win Win) and...

Unless you've been under a rock recently, you are well aware Darley's Nyquist has been the buzz horse the last few weeks. It's for good reason. Just two Grade I races for 2-year-old fillies on dirt have been contested in North America so far this year, the Aug. 31 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga and the Sept. 7 Del Mar Debutante Stakes in California. Daughters of Nyquist--Immersive and Tenma--won both. Logically, success on the track should beget success in the sales ring. No where was that more evident than at the...

.      The lesser-preferred half of a Bob Baffert-trained pair, Baoma Corp's Tenma (Nyquist) was shoved across the wire first by jockey Kazushi Kimura to take out Saturday's GI Del Mar Debutante on the penultimate day of the summer meeting at the seaside oval. Vodka With a Twist (Thousand Words) carried a clear advantage into the final furlong, but was chinned on the wire while finishing a block ahead of longshot So There She Was (Munnings) in third. The disappointment of the race was 'TDN Rising Star' Nooni (Win Win...