Bob Baffert

Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}) gave another vote of confidence to the bargain shoppers when the $25,000 yearling made a splash on the Derby trail last weekend in the GII Rebel S. The week before, Angel of Empire (Classic Empire)--a $70,000 Keeneland September buy--proved best in the GII Risen Star S. This weekend there is potential for another big win by the underdog in the GII San Felipe S., but there is also the likely possibility that the owner of one of those sensational seven-figure purchases will be rewarded. The...

The training and next-race status of sophomore 'TDN Rising Stars' Cave Rock (Arrogate) and Faustin (Curlin) remained unclear Thursday, with trainer Bob Baffert texting a "Don't Know" emoji when asked to outline the game plans for the colts respectively slotted at Nos. 5 and 6 on the most recent TDN Top 12 rankings for the GI Kentucky Derby. The two were apparently not among a contingent of at least 11 other 3-year-old colts transferred out of Baffert's care prior to a Feb. 28 deadline that would have enabled them to...

As the managing partner of Starlight Racing, Jack Wolf is a part of a team that can always be counted on to have several prospects for the GI Kentucky Derby. That's the case again this year as the trio of Starlight, SF Racing and Madaket Stables will have horses in Saturday's GII San Felipe S., the GIII Gotham S. and the John Battaglia Memorial. To discuss those runners and Starlight's philosophies when it comes to trying to acquire Derby candidates Wolf was the Green Group Guest of the Week on...

The tone was so casual that Donato Lanni couldn't be sure quite how earnest the words had been. If he saw something interesting at a yearling sale, he was to let George Krikorian know. Still in his 20s, Lanni had first connected with the movie theater magnate when cold calling on behalf of John T.L. Jones Jr. after a Corwyn Bay (Ire) filly won a maiden in his silks. Might Krikorian breed the dam back to the Walmac stallion? He did just that and, when he came to visit the...

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, four more possible GI Kentucky Derby starters made the move Sunday from the Bob Baffert barn to the stable of Tim Yakteen. The four are possible Derby favorite Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo), National Treasure (Quality Road), Fort Bragg (Tapit) and Mr. Fisk (Arrogate). They join Arabian Lion (Justify), Carmel Road (Quality Road), Hejazi (Bernardini) and Reincarnate (Good Magic) who landed in the Yakteen barn earlier this month. Reincarnate finished a troubled third in Saturday's GII Rebel S. for Yakteen, Baffert's former...

Bob Baffert has issued an upbeat bulletin on his Saudi Cup contenders and said that, if for whatever reason his short-priced favourite Taiba (Gun Runner) does not get the job done, then stablemate and last year's runner-up Country Grammer (Tonalist) should be there to pick up the pieces in the world's richest race on Saturday.  The Saudi Cup is one of the only big dirt races that has eluded Baffert and, along with Country Grammer, the American handler has sent out Charlatan to fill the runner-up spot to Mishriff (Ire)...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA--Country Grammer (Tonalist) brings rock-solid credentials to the G1 Saudi Cup at Riyadh, according to his legendary rider Frankie Dettori, who says the Bob Baffert-trained 6-year-old can go one better than last year in Saturday's showpiece. Dettori also described Baffert's other runner in the race, the unexposed Taiba (Gun Runner), as a force to be reckoned with as the 52-year-old spoke alongside fellow luminary in the saddle, Joao Moreira, in the build-up to the world's richest race. "Country Grammer is very solid and never runs a bad race--touch...

A field of 13 was drawn Wednesday evening in Riyadh for the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup, to be contested over 1800 meters under the lights Saturday at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in the Saudi capital. Commonwealth Thoroughbreds, WinStar Farm and Zedan Racing's Country Grammer (Tonalist) is back for another tour of the Middle East, having missed by a half-length in this event 12 months ago before landing the G1 Dubai World Cup some 600 miles to the east in Dubai. In stark contrast to 2022, the 6-year-old, who will carry the...

There's been a mid-season reshuffling at the back of the pack within this week's rankings. The next significant target date on the GI Kentucky Derby trail that could shake up the Top 12 leaders will be the trio of preps in Florida, California and New York Mar. 4. 1) ARABIAN KNIGHT (c, Uncle Mo--Borealis Night, by Astrology) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $2,300,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $544.275 Last start: 1st GIII Southwest...

The nominees for the Mar. 4 GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct include four horses that have been under the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, but were nominated under the names of new trainers. Baffert is banned from running in this year's GI Kentucky Derby and any horse under the care of a trainer suspended by Churchill Downs must be moved to a new barn by Feb. 28 in order to earn Derby qualifying points. On Friday, a U.S. District Judge ruled against Baffert as he sought a...

Saturday's running of the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds seems unlikely to produce a colt of the caliber of the race's namesake. In 1988, Risen Star captivated New Orleans as the hometown horse owned by charismatic connections, parlaying a win in the then-GIII Louisiana Derby to Grade I scores in both the Preakness S. and Belmont S. before being voted 3-year-old champion colt at year's end. But $29.40 upset winner Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) at least fits the bill as a hard-trying underdog you can root for....

A federal judge on Friday denied Bob Baffert a preliminary injunction that the Hall of Fame trainer had sought to be eligible to race in this year's GI Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), the defendant in Baffert's year-old lawsuit, also scored a legal victory when Judge Rebecca Jennings of United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky) granted the gaming corporation's motion to dismiss the case on five of the six counts that CDI had argued. Baffert was attempting to reverse the second year of a two-year ban by...