Breeders' Cup Classic

Group 1 racing action returns to Japan with Tokyo's G1 February S., a 'Win and You're In' event for the Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be held at Del Mar this fall. Heading the 16-horse field is Café Pharoah (Jpn) (American Pharoah), who aired by 10 lengths in an 1800-meter maiden race at Nakayama in December 2019 before reeling off three consecutive wins, including Tokyo's G3 Unicorn S. (1600m) last June. Favored in the 2000-meter G1 Japan Dirt Derby at NAR-Oi in July, he finished an even seventh over the...

We watched him grow up before our eyes. Authentic (Into Mischief), freakishly talented, but prone to--well--mischievous behavior during the early part of 2020, was a finished product by year's end and his on-track accomplishments landed him Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old honors at Thursday's Eclipse Awards. The ceremonies were held virtually, fittingly enough and among other locations, at Spendthrift Farm, who campaigned the Peter Blum-bred son of Flawless (Mr. Greeley) in partnership with the 5300-some micro-share holders of MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables LLC and Starlight Racing. And Authentic...

Spendthrift Farm's Vino Rosso (Curlin--Mythical Bride, by Street Cry {Ire}), the champion older dirt male and winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in 2019, was represented by his first foal Jan. 5 when the 6-year-old mare Shine Time (Malibu Moon) produced a filly at Jim and Pam Robinson's Brandywine Farm in Paris, Kentucky. "I tell you what, you could not ask for a better foal. She is just beautiful and very smart," Pam Robinson said. "Physically, she is a strong filly with good bone. I cannot say enough positive...

Breeders' Cup Classic winner and top sire Awesome Again (Deputy Minister--Primal Force, by Blushing Groom {Fr}) died suddenly Tuesday at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. He was 26. (Click here for video feature 'The House That Awesome Again Built')  The exact cause of death is unknown. A full necropsy is pending and a full veterinary report will follow. The Canadian-bred had an exemplary resume as both a racehorse and a stallion. He broke his maiden at Hollywood Park in just his second start as a 3-year-old in...

Presumptive Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) has been voted the Secretariat Vox Populi Award winner by horse racing fans. Created by Secretariat's owner Penny Chenery, the award annually recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing. Winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic, Authentic bested nominees Monomoy Girl, Swiss Skydiver, Tiz the Law and Whitmore. All five nominees were selected by the Vox Populi committee and presented to thousands of voters in...

'TDN Rising Star' Global Campaign (Curlin--Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy), an excellent third when last seen in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, will not resume training and has been retired from racing. He will enter stud for the 2021 breeding season at WinStar Farm. "We considered bringing him back for a final start in the [GI] Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. because he ran so well in the Breeders' Cup," said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. "He shed his frog in that race and the timing of...

Confirming a report from Bill Finley in the Nov. 11 edition of the TDN, Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (Constitution) will train on in 2021 as a 4-year-old, with the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 23 as his target. In a release pushed across its social media channels Thursday afternoon, Sackatoga announced that Manny Franco, who had ridden Tiz the Law to victories in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. and to a runner-up effort to Authentic (Into...

Prior to the running of the Nov. 7 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland, a photo eye at the start of the race was inadvertently tripped, which resulted in an error when attempting to operate the timing system manually causing inaccurate timing for all fractions and the final time of the race. A final time of 1:59.19 was initially provided by Equibase using the available video replay. After subsequent and more detailed review and timing of the race from multiple sources and camera angles, Keeneland and Equibase have determined...

Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic (Into MIschief--Flawless, by Mr. Greeley) has been retired to Spendthrift Farm, where he will stand for a fee of $75,000 S&N, the farm announced Monday morning, two days after his Classic win. He arrived at Spendthrift at around 10 a.m. Monday, led off the van by his trainer Bob Baffert, who proclaimed, "There he is. The best horse in America." "Authentic is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of horse, and Mr. Hughes is very proud that we are able to share him with 5,300-plus...

LEXINGTON,KY-- Just over 12 hours after the trio's contention for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, Improbable (City Zip), Global Campaign (Curlin) and Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike) made the short trip from Keeneland to WinStar Farm, where they will soon take up stud duty for the 2021 breeding season. "We're really excited with Improbable, Global Campaign and Tom's d'Etat coming to the stallion barn," said WinStar's Elliott Walden. "They all look good-their color was good, they didn't look too drawn up and they got off the van and acted like they'd...

With his victory in Saturday's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, Authentic (Into Mischief) earned a $1-million bonus for his connections from Australian-based racing technology group BetMakers. In conjunction with Monmouth Park's Dennis Drazin, BetMakers created the 'BetMakers Bonanza' for any horse that could win the 2020 renewals of the GI Haskell Invitational, the GI Kentucky Derby and then finish it off with the Breeders' Cup Classic. Authentic went wire to wire to score in the 10-furlong test by 2 1/4 lengths. "With all the winners of the majors competing in...

Flawless, the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief), will be offered at Sunday night's Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Catalogued as Hip 288, she will be consigned by Bridie Harrison, agent for Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds. A daughter of Mr. Greeley, Flawless is in foal to Into Mischief on a February 18 cover carrying a full sibling to Authentic. Authentic has captured six of eight career starts to date at two and three, including three Grade 1 wins in 2020--the Haskell S., the Kentucky Derby, and Saturday's Breeders'...