Bright Future

With 'TDN Rising Stars' Sierre Leone (Gun Runner) and Fierceness (City of Light) extending their rivalry into 2025, and the GI Kentucky Derby winner also persevering to a third campaign, there's no denying that the new intake of Bluegrass sires has a fairly bunched look. A cluster of second-tier names can duly compete for mares that might otherwise have favored one of the sophomore leaders, with eight of the 23 newcomers targeting broadly similar budgets between $40,000 and $30,000. Whether that qualifies any of them as "value" can only be...

Claiborne Farm has announced the advertised fees for its 2025 stallion roster, led once again by the venerable War Front. War Front, a son of the mighty Danzig, will stand for an advertised fee of $75,000. He is North America's leading sire by lifetime percentage of stakes winners and graded stakes winners. This year, he added to his impressive list of top runners with GI E. P. Taylor Stakes winner Full Count Felicia, and Grade III winners Fort Washington, First World War, and Goliad, winner of the $2,000,000 Mint Millions...

Bright Future (Curlin), the winner of the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at the Spa, has been retired to Claiborne Farm with a stud fee of $12,500 LFSN for the 2025 breeding season, the farm said via a press release on Wednesday. Currently available for inspection at Claiborne, the 5-year-old son of Curlin won five of 11 career starts and earned $947,940 for owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables. The Todd Pletcher trainee won the Gold Cup at four and took home the GIII Salvator Mile Stakes at Monmouth...

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...

It's a Grade I bonanza Saturday afternoon at Saratoga Race Course, as the track plays host to a trio of elite-level races--short and long, turf and dirt. The richest of the three events is the $1-million Whitney Stakes, offering the winner a fees-paid berth into the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on the first Saturday of November. National Treasure (Quality Road) is the 9-5 favorite on David Aragona's morning line and can further tighten his grip on the handicap division with a victory. The $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the GI Travers Stakes three times, could be going for No. 4 in this year's Midsummer Derby Baffert, speaking from his summer base at Del Mar in California, said that one of his 3-year-olds--Parenting (Justify) or Muth (Good Magic) who were both tabbed as 'TDN Rising Stars'--could represent him in the $1.25 million race at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 24. "Potentially," he said. Parenting, owned by Wathnan Racing, was a $750,000 purchase at the 2023 Ocala 2-year-olds in training...

Bright Future (Curlin), a last out winner of the Salvator Mile Stakes at Monmouth June 15, posted his final work in preparation for next Saturday's GI Whitney, covering a half-mile in :48.75 (32/104) Saturday over the Saratoga Race Course main track. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, last year's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes winner went in company with MGSW and Whitney possible Charge It (Tapit). "He worked well and I'm happy with him," Pletcher said. "Charge It also went well. I think Bright Future is training great and...

Champion 2-year-old colt and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) worked a half-mile in :51 flat Friday for trainer Todd Pletcher over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga in preparation for a start in the GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes July 20 at Monmouth Park. Joining the GI Curlin Florida Derby winner on the work tab Friday was Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables recent GII Suburban Stakes winner Crupi (Curlin), who covered a half-mile in :52.85 in company with Talk of the Nation (Quality Road). "Both works were...

With two Grade I winners and two 'TDN Rising Stars' comprising half the GIII Salvator Mile S. field at Monmouth Park Saturday, it was Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC's Bright Future (h, 5, Curlin--Sophia's Song, by Bellamy Road)--one of the former Grade I winners who was also coming off a seven-month layoff--who got the win after a tight trip on the rail. Fellow GISW Shirl's Speight (Speightstown), who has done his best running on the lawn but was third in this race in 2022, tired to sixth. The...

A trio of Grade III winners and the second-best New Jersey-bred 3-year-old in training are among a field of eight set to head to the post for Saturday's NYRABets Pegasus S., the final local prep for the GI NYRABets GI Haskell Invitational S. in five weeks' time. The locally co-owned Hades (Awesome Slew) ran his record to a perfect three-for-three in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 3, defeating the running-on Domestic Product (Practical Joke) and Eclipse Award-winning 'Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light). After skipping what turned out to...

Trainer Todd Pletcher sent out a total of 12 horses, all of whom are pre-entered in next weekend's Breeders' Cup races, for half-mile works at Keeneland Friday morning in advance of their Saturday departure to Santa Anita. GII Pilgrim S. winner Agate Road (Quality Road) (Juvenile Turf) worked in company with Haul (Army Mule) in :49 flat (32/63). GI Darley Alcibiades winner Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}) (NetJets Juvenile Filles) went in company with GII Chandelier runner-up Scalable (Speightstown) (Juvenile Fillies) in :49.20 (37/63). About Candied, Pletcher said, "She worked very...

Trainer Todd Pletcher breezed a remarkable 12 of his intended Breeders' Cup starters at Keeneland on Thursday morning over the main track.  Heading the dozen was GI Breeders' Cup Classic hopeful Bright Future (Curlin), who arrived in Kentucky this week from Saratoga. He worked five furlongs in 1:01.40. Also working five furlongs for a possible Breeders' Cup start was Charge It (Tapit), who covered the distance in 1:01.20.  "We originally were going to work all of our Saturday (Nov. 4) horses tomorrow but with rain in the forecast for tomorrow,...