Chance It

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It (Currency Swap) tuned up for the Feb. 29 GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. with a five-furlong breeze in company in :59.74 (3/43) at Gulfstream Park Sunday. "It was a good work. I'm happy with where we're at," trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said. "He'll have two more works and we should be ready to go in the Fountain of Youth." Chance It is coming off a win in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man S. Sole Volante (Karakontie {Jpn}), who finished third that day, returned...

Saffie Joseph Jr. lived what many might call an idyllic life in his native Barbados. Since relocating his family and bourgeoning racing stable to Southern Florida in 2011, however, the third-generation horseman has seen his own American dream given wings as he begins to realize his childhood ambitions. After arriving in the U.S. with only two horses, the 33-year-old's operation has expanded to a team 65-strong, including Grade I winner Math Wizard (Algorithms), GI Kentucky Derby hopeful Chance It (Currency Swap) and undefeated Tonalist's Shape (Tonalist). And while Joseph points...

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton So which 3-year-old ran the more impressive GI Kentucky Derby prep race last week? You're forgiven if you want to grade two of the three stakes as "incomplete" because they more or less equated to public workouts won by heavy favorites who had short fields at their mercy. But there were enough nuggets of intrigue to spark decent debate, even at this early stage of the season. Authentic Goes Green The 7 3/4-length beatdown administered by Authentic (Into Mischief) in Saturday's GIII Sham...

An idea at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale among the Lightner family members and colleagues blossomed into a 20-owner racing syndicate that's about to have its first- ever stakes starter in Saturday's Dr. Fager S. at Gulfstream Park. The fledgling syndicate was formed by Mary Lightner, a trainer of over nine years and the daughter of bloodstock agent and trainer Mike Lightner. On June 1, 2019, Shooting Star sent its debut runner Chance It (Currency Swap), trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., to the races and the colt finished a...