Bob Baffert

Several horses pre-entered in next weekend's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita turned in their final preparations Saturday morning. At Keeneland, these horses each worked a half-mile over a fast track: Brightwork (Outwork) (Juvenile Fillies/Juvenile Turf Sprint) breezed in :47.80 (14/106) for trainer John Ortiz. Gina Romantica (Into Mischief) (FanDuel Mile/Maker's Mark Filly and Mare Turf) went in :47.20 (3/106) in company with Liguria (War Front) for trainer Chad Brown. And Proxy (Tapit) (Classic) worked in :48.40 (29/106) for trainer Mike Stidham. Working on the turf course labeled good...

It was a tale of two Breeders' Cup preps Monday morning at Santa Anita for Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) and White Abarrio (Race Day), the former putting in an eye-catching six furlong work in 1:11.54 and then galloping out a mile in 1:37.57 without any pressing encouragement, as reported by the DRF in the Breeders' Cup Clocker Report, and the latter having it tentatively postponed until Wednesday. When asked for a reason, conditioner Rick Dutrow only said: "We weren't able to work [White Abarrio] this morning. Hopefully we'll get to...

Godolphin homebred Proxy (Tapit) had his final serious drill Sunday for an expected start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The 5-year-old breezed 5 furlongs in 1:02 on the fast track with regular jockey Joel Rosario in the saddle. The plan was to go in company with Godolphin's unraced 2-year-old colt Surveyor (Medaglia d'Oro), but the duo was unexpectedly joined by workers from other trainers. Despite the surprise, trainer Mike Stidham, Godolphin Chief Operating Officer Dan Pride and Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan were all smiles watching from the Grandstand....

Cherie DeVaux had just left a job as an assistant with Chad Brown, where the assembly line churned out one graded winner after another. After nearly eight years with Brown, she was ready to go out on her own and cobbled together a small stable that made its debut in the spring of 2018. Her first starter was Take Charge Tina (Take Charge Indy), who finished a distant fifth in a Belmont allowance race on May 18, 2018. The year would get no better as she went winless in 18...

Nysos (c, 2, Nyquist--Zetta Z, by Bernardini), a $550,000 OBS April breezer (:9 4/5*), made that pricetag look like a bargain with a jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' performance on debut in the Santa Anita nightcap Saturday evening. One of three entered for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the 6-1 chance had a pair of bullets on the worktab, including a four-furlong move in :47 1/5 (1/16) Oct. 12. He was hustled away from his inside draw by Kyle Frey and slugged it out from the outside with his rail-drawn stablemate...

'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Lion (Justify--Unbound, by Distorted Humor), who became the first Grade I winner for his boom sire in this year's Woody Stephens S. on the Belmont Stakes undercard, has been retired from racing and will enter stud in 2024 at Spendthrift Farm. He will stand for $30,000, stands-and-nurses terms. Bred in Kentucky by Bonne Chance Farm LLC, the chestnut was purchased by Amr Zedan's Zedan Racing Stable for $600,000 out of the 2022 OBS April Sale and made a big impression at first asking, graduating by three...

9th-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 8:11 p.m. ET. The rail-drawn URBAN LEGEND (Into Mischief) is one of three Bob Baffert trainees to debut in the Santa Anita finale. Out of MSW Singing Kitty (Ministers Wild Cat), the bay colt went for $300,000 at Keeneland September before bringing $1.3 million at the OBS April Sale. He is campaigned by Morplay Racing LLC, Rosedown Racing Stables, LLC and Kerri Radcliffe. The Hall of Fame conditioner will also saddle Nysos (Nyquist), who was purchased by Baoma Corp. for $550,000 at OBS April, and...

Frankie is coming back to America. The Italian-born superstar jockey Frankie Dettori, 52, had planned to retire at the end of the year, but pulled a U-turn Wednesday night when he told racing commentator Nick Luck that not only will he ride in 2024 but he plans to ride full-time in the U.S., beginning with the traditional opening day at Santa Anita, Dec. 26. "I want to carry on a little bit longer in California, where I had such a lovely winter," Dettori told Luck. "The dynamic of my year...

Two contenders for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic worked Monday but, due to foggy conditions at Santa Anita, only one received an official time. With trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. in from New York to observe, White Abarrio (Race Day) worked five furlongs in 1:00.20. About an hour later, Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) went to the track to work with Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith up. Due to the fog, Equibase clockers were unable to determine a final time and distance. Geaux Rocket Ride's trainer, Richard Mandella, said...

My wife and I recently started working on our travel plans for next year's Triple Crown races. Unfortunately, that will likely not include the 2024 Kentucky Derby as our trainer, Mr. Bob Baffert, for the 3rd year in a row still won't be allowed to race our horses at Churchill Downs, should our horses be so qualified. We have had to deal with this for the past few years with multiple horses, where Churchill Downs, a public entity, has deemed itself to be a higher power than the various state...

Zedan Racing Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (c, 2, Good Magic--Hoppa, by Uncle Mo), second as the heavy favorite after pressing a blistering pace in the GIII Best Pal S. Aug. 13, showed a new dimension by coming off the pace while making his two-turn debut in style in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita. It was 3 3/4 lengths back to his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso) in second. Be You (Curlin) was third. Muth becomes a record-extending 12th American...

Clairiere (Curlin) and stablemate Gunite (Gun Runner) each had their first works at Santa Anita Saturday for trainer Steve Asmussen while Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) fired a bullet towards the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for trainer Bob Baffert.   Work of the Day from @santaanitapark—Arabian Knight worked 6 Furlongs in 1:12.60 on October 7th, 2023, for trainer Bob Baffert. pic.twitter.com/z1CDb3I55x — XBTV (@WatchXBTV) October 7, 2023 Also on Saturday, GI Breeders' Cup Sprint hopefuls Anarchist (Distorted Humor) and The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) each worked and Arcangelo (Arrogate), another contender for...