Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Saturday is one of those 'burn the candle at both ends' kind of days for horseplayers, as no fewer than 17 graded stakes take place within a six-hour window. Eight of those events serve as 'Win and You're In' qualifying events for various Breeders' Cup races, and even those races that don't offer a free pass are liable to toss up a runner or two or three at Del Mar in four weeks' time. Keeneland Race Course brands its opening three days of racing as 'Fall Stars Weekend' and who's...

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner--Luna Rosa, by Malibu Moon), one of the early-book favorites for this spring's GI Kentucky Derby following an impressive win in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and third-place finish as the favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile last fall, could return to action in the GIII Perryville Stakes at Keeneland Oct. 19. Locked missed a pair of intended starts earlier this spring, including the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park Mar. 2, and was subsequently...

When Storm the Court (Court Vision) won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 2019, trainer and co-owner Peter Eurton tried to be realistic. The horse went off at 45-1 and that year's race was considered one of the weakest runnings of the Juvenile ever. He knew he didn't have a superstar on his hands, but he had every reason to believe that Storm the Court would at least be competitive in stakes company. Maybe he'd be a GIII Ohio Derby-type horse. It's just that it didn't turn out that way....

Even though he won the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, no one was ready to declare that Storm the Court (Court Vision) was a star in the making.  After all, he was 45-1 that day at Santa Anita and the field for that year's Juvenile was one of the weakest in the history of the race.  But nobody could have predicted what was to become for that year's 2-year-old male champion, an epic losing streak that has lasted now for more than four years and 20 races. Storm the Court...

Repole Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), newly honored as 2023 champion 2-year-old, breezed at Palm Beach Downs Saturday morning in advance of next Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, he was timed in :49.55 (20/29) for a half-mile. "I was very pleased. He had a serious work last week--fifty-nine-and-change [for five furlongs]. We were just looking for a maintenance work today," Pletcher said. Fierceness is coming off a 6 1/4-length romp in the Nov. 3 GI Breeders' Cup...

Repole Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), who is expected to be named champion of his generation at Thursday's Eclipse Awards ceremonies, worked five furlongs in :59.48 Saturday morning at Palm Beach Downs, the fastest of 12 moves at the distance. It was the sixth timed workout for Fierceness since taking the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 3. The homebred is expected to make his sophomore debut in the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park Feb. 3. "Fierceness has trained super. He's such a terrific workhorse. He...

Repole Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), the favorite to be named champion 2-year-old male of 2023 following his dominant victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, remains on track to make his sophomore debut in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park. He posted his second work of the new year Saturday at Palm Beach Downs, breezing five furlongs in 1:01.17 (8/12). "He worked super this morning and everything is going according to plan, so far," Hall of Fame trainer Todd...

Zedan Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic), winner of the GI American Pharoah S. and runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, will take on five rivals in Saturday's seven-furlong GII San Vicente S. at Santa Anita. Regular rider Juan J. Hernandez will be aboard the 4-5 morning-line favorite. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will also saddle front-running Del Mar debut winner and 5-2 second-choice Pilot Commander (Justify). Baffert is seeking his record 13th win in the San Vicente, which was previously held in early February. "They changed...

Noted rebounded from a disappointing ninth-place showing in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile last month to score his second stakes victory of the season in the Pulpit S. Victorious in Monmouth's Sapling S. in August after breaking his maiden at Saratoga, he missed graded victory by a nose Oct. 8 in Keeneland's GII Bourbon S. and finished way back in the field last month at the Breeders' Cup. Breaking as the 6-5 favorite and bumping with the outside runner, Noted settled in seventh for the lion's share of the race...

ARCADIA, CA - The comparisons to the brilliant Uncle Mo began for 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) following a spectacular, double-digit debut win a day before the GI Travers S. at Saratoga-Uncle Mo's, of course, took place on the undercard--but came to an abrupt halt following a dismal seventh at .55 cents on the dollar in a sloppy renewal of the GI Champagne S. They can safely return now. Just like Uncle Mo did for Repole Stable and Todd Pletcher at third asking beneath John Velazquez at the...

As the wide-reaching Godolphin operation has used the names of different arms throughout the years--for example, 2001 Juvenile Fillies winner Tempera (A.P. Indy) was bred by Darley Stud Management, LLC but raced for Godolphin, LLC--it may be a surprise to learn Essential Quality was the first official Godolphin homebred to win the Breeders' Cup. Remarkably, in the two renewals since his win, another seven Godolphin homebreds have added to that number. Undefeated at two, Essential Quality was a Belmont and Travers winner at three. His first foals were born this...

Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse was coming off his first two Breeders' Cup wins just the year before when he entered Classic Empire in the Juvenile. Second choice on the board, Classic Empire made back-to-back Grade Is look easy following a powerful victory in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity. Casse indicated looks can be deceiving. "Any hair I had left, he made sure it was gone," said Casse recently with a laugh. "He was a pistol. A lot of people didn't know this, but six days before the...