Bill Mott

4th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 7:26 p.m. ET. Well-bred MISCHIEVOUS TIME (Not This Time) makes his first start for trainer Steve Asmussen. The Whisper Hill homebred is from unraced dam Daisy Mason (Orientate), who Mandy Pope and Gainesway acquired for $475,000 during the Keeneland November Sale while Mischievous Time was in-utero. This dam is herself out of Broodmare of the Year Leslie's Lady (Tricky Creek) who prolifically produced all-conquering sire Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday), current sire Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) and the multiple Eclipse winning Beholder (Henny Hughes). Also set for...

8th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 4:22 p.m. ET. Juddmonte homebred BURNING GLORY (Into Mischief) makes his first start for trainer Bill Mott. The 2-year-old colt is out of SP Hail (Tapit). This dam is a half-sister to 'TDN Rising Star' and champion older mare Close Hatches (First Defence), who herself produced offspring by Tapit such as current sire Tacitus, 'TDN Rising Star' Scylla and GSW Batten Down. Hail's other prominent sibling is MGISP Lockdown (First Defence), the dam of champion older dirt female Idiomatic (Curlin). From the same shedrow as...

   The long-awaited U.S. debut of Chilean superstar Kay Army (Chi) (Katmai {Chi}) will have to wait. His current trainer Bill Mott confirmed Monday that the 4-year-old colt will be scratched from Saturday's GII Woodward Stakes at the Belmont at the Big A meet. When asked where the horse may start next, Mott said he did not know. He also declined to elaborate when asked why he was passing the Woodward, which will now have only four starters. Mott revealed his plans on the same day that Kay Army worked...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. How stacked exactly was this year's Travers day 2-year-old maiden? Even the fourth-place finisher should be on your radar. In a race completely dominated on the front end, Godolphin homebred Sovereignty (c, 2, Into Mischief--Crowned, by Bernardini) kicked home impressively from last of 10 on debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott to stamp himself as one to watch. The 11-1 chance broke on top from...

Unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Knightsbridge (c, 3, Nyquist--Tyburn Brook, by Bernardini), a jaw-dropping winner of his first two starts by a combined 19 1/2 lengths, has begun gearing up for a potential return to action this fall at Keeneland. The Godolphin homebred posted a double-digit victory going seven furlongs on debut at Churchill Downs Nov. 4, then fired fresh off the bench with another dominating decision in an optional claimer going a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park last out Mar. 28. The latter performance earned him a 96 Beyer Speed...

8th-Churchill Downs, $134,000, Alw (NW2X), Opt. Clm ($125,000), 9-18, 3yo, 6f, 1:08.98, ft, 3/4 length. BILLAL (c, 3, Street Sense--Bambalina, by Bernardini), third in a June 8 Saratoga allowance that produced three next-out winners, filled the same spot, but was well-beaten behind future GI H. Allen Jerkens Stakes hero Domestic Product (Practical Joke) in the July 6 GIII Dwyer Stakes. Most recently runner-up in Spa allowance company Aug. 4, Billal was nominated to this Saturday's GII Gallant Bob Stakes, but connections opted for this softer test and he was sent...

'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...

Al Khali (Medaglia d'Oro--Maya, by Capote) succumbed to a bout of colic this past Saturday, Rockridge Stud announced in a release Tuesday evening. The millionaire multiple graded stakes winner had been standing at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, New York, for the past three seasons. The $15,000 KEESEP yearling carried the colors of owners Brous Stable and Wachtel Stable and was trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott. Al Khali retired to Keane Stud in 2016 with a record of 41-8-5-5 and earnings of $1,019,510. Owner Adam Wachtel said, "We are...

Godolphin's Highland Falls (Curlin) outdueled favored Arthur's Ride (Tapit) and strode home an easy winner of the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Sunday at Saratoga. The 4-year-old earned his first top-level victory, as well as an automatic berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, and gave jockey Flavien Prat his record-setting 13 graded win of the meeting. Arthur's Ride, coming off a win in the GI Whitney Stakes, rushed up and over from his outside post and had a clear advantage heading into the first turn through an opening quarter...

Loose on the lead and identified as a rabbit for fellow Klaravich Stables runner and Chad Brown stablemate McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Seth Klarman's Idea Generation (Ire) (f, 4, Dubawi {Ire}--Knocknagree {Ire}), by Galileo {Ire}) stole Saturday's GII Flower Bowl Stakes at the Spa, a 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The longest shot on the board at 31-1, Idea Generation put them all to sleep while surprising everyone to notch her first career black-type win. MGISW and 6-5 favorite War Like...

You know how the quote reads directly from the handicapper's Bible, "Behold the pale horse with controlling speed." Heeding that warning arrives once again on Sunday. Halfway through the three-day holiday weekend of Thoroughbred racing, Saratoga and Del Mar card graded races. The Spa's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, the penultimate 'Win and You're In' pass to the Breeders' Cup Classic, sets the tone with a myriad of intriguing storylines woven into this fleece as a half dozen entries will try to catch that aforementioned 'pale horse' Arthur's Ride...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.: The GI Whitney Stakes turned into a perfect prep for Arthur's Ride (Tapit) for the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sunday. The Glassman Family 4-year-old colt showed that he had legit speed in his first try in a stakes race. With regular rider Junior Alvarado as his pilot, he confirmed that that his resounding 12-length victory in his two-turn debut on June 7 was no fluke. He stayed and won at 6-1, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his first victory in one of Saratoga's...