Volatile

5. DISCLAIMER, BAQ, 9/20, 1 mile (turf) (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 82 (3rd) (c, 3, by Caracaro--Tara Road, by Quality Road) O-Curragh Stables. B-Joe Jr., John and Karen Mulholland (Ky). T-John Terranova. J-Luis Rivera. As the slight 5/2 favorite after his solid 3rd at Saratoga, he ran his race on numbers but may be better than this. He and runnerup Wicked Improbable (see below) exchanged a bump at the start that appeared minor, yet both wound up farther back than expected. Next-last by 8 lengths down the backstretch, he followed...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. Igniter (c, 2, Volatile)'s wide-trip, third-place finish behind 'TDN Rising Star' Golden Tornado (McKinzie) in a live maiden special weight at the Spa Aug. 9 on debut continues to look better every day. The runner-up Oscar's Hope (Twirling Candy) returned with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance on Saratoga's closing day program Sept. 1. Golden Tornado, meanwhile, is being aimed at the GI Champagne S. at Aqueduct Oct....

8th-Chukyo, ¥29,890,000 ($202,594), Allowance, 8-2, 3yo/up, 1200m, 1:11.2, ft. T O ELVIS (c, 3, Volatile--Stopshoppingdebbie {MSW, $294,728}, by Curlin) savaged the line to win for the third time in six starts while stamping himself as one to watch as a potential overseas candidate in 2026. Third to the talented and once-beaten Natural Rise (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) in the Cattleya Stakes (allowance), a 1600-meter contest that serves as the first leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, the dark bay was having his first start since thrashing a one-win...

In winning the $300,000 GIII Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis Saturday, James Bakke and Gerald Isbister's Tip Top Thomas (c, 3, Volatile--Attempt to Name, by Consolidator) may have gotten a little redemption. Last summer and fall, the sky looked like the limit for Tip Top Thomas, who was named a 'TDN Rising Star' in a hard-fought head debut in an August maiden special weight at Saratoga, then came back for a runner-up finish to another 'Rising Star', Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie), in the GI Champagne Stakes. Fourth in his maiden win...

1st-Churchill Downs, $117,975, Msw, 6-29, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:34.03, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. LEMON ZEST (f, 3, Nyquist--Larkin, by Bernardini) came into this second jump out of a live maiden on debut May 17 beneath these Twin Spires. The winner of that contest, Me and Molly McGee (Vekoma), won a first-level allowance at this venue June 22 after a prolonged duel and earned an 85 Beyer for the effort. The runner-up Spun Candy (Hard Spun) broke her maiden June 28--also at Churchill--and earned an 86 for her troubles while High...

Travel plans for the GI Arkansas Derby runners are taking shape as top two Sandman (Tapit) and Publisher (American Pharoah) are scheduled to make the move to Churchill Monday. Positive prognoses abound Sunday as trainers prepared their charges for the haul to Churchill Downs ahead of the final preparations for the first Saturday in May. Sandman relished not only the added distance, as his dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse predicted, but also the meteoric pace up front courtesy of Cornucopian (Into Mischief) and Speed King (Volatile). His preliminary...

5th-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 1:26p.m. ET Though not the most expensive in the field, TOTAL SENSATION (Speightstown) comes into this race with perhaps the best-known family as the son of Eblouissante (Bernardini), the half-sister to Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}). A $300,000 yearling from KEESEP in 2023, and racing for the partnership of Qatar Racing, CHC, Inc., and Trilogy USA, the colt is a half-brother to GSW Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}) and GSP The Process (More Than Ready) from the family of the aforementioned Horse of...

Bob Baffert has found himself in a familiar position as he once again brings a well-met runner into Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby with all the buzz behind him, this time in the form of 'TDN Rising Star' Cornucopian (Into Mischief), who has been made the 7-5 morning line favorite from the nine hole. Fresh off an unveiling which garnered the stamp of approval from the TDN, and stopped the clock in a six-furlong maiden special in an eye-catching 1:09.02--the fastest by a 3-year-old in Oaklawn history--the son of Into Mischief...

Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister's 'TDN Rising Star' Tip Top Thomas (c, 3, Volatile--Attempt to Name, by Consolidator), last seen finishing a very solid second going a one-turn mile in the GI Champagne S. at Aqueduct Oct. 5, is nearing a return to the races. The Travers day debut maiden winner has posted seven workouts at Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher's Palm Beach Downs base in 2025, most recently drilling a bullet five furlongs in 1:01.73 (1/5) Mar. 13. He is targeting a six-furlong allowance race at Keeneland Apr. 5,...

Ted Bowman of Hot Springs' Speed King (Volatile) is being pointed to the GI Arkansas Derby at 1 1/8 miles Mar 29, trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs said Sunday morning. The grey will be looking to rebound from a 10th-place finish in the GII Rebel Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 23. Speed King, who broke from post 10, was beaten 15 lengths by Coal Battle after chasing a hot pace. "I think there were a lot of variables in it," Moquett said. "My main thing is the horse...

4th-FG, $55K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 2:30 p.m. ET. A $1.15 million buy for Mike Rutherford during Keeneland September, BUNDLE (Volatile) makes her debut for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. Bred by Three Chimneys, the gray is out of MGISW Love and Pride (A.P. Indy), who is responsible for a pair of stakes winners in Princesinha Julia (Pioneerof the Nile) and Bella Runner (Gun Runner). Bundle's third dam, GISW Cara Rafaela (Quiet American), produced generational sire Bernardini (A.P. Indy). TJCIS PPS 4th-GP, $94K, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 1:47 p.m. ET....

In this new series for 2025, we'll take a monthly look at trends and notable items from the nation's graded races and present them in quick, easy-to-digest bullet points. The month of January saw 16 graded races in the U.S.: two Grade Is, four Grade IIs, and 10 Grade IIIs, with 11 on dirt and five on turf. While they ranged from six furlongs to 12 furlongs, the most popular distance, by far, was 1 1/16 miles with six graded races contested over that distance. Gulfstream hosted the most graded...