Charlatan

A pair of Speightstown 'TDN Rising Stars'--Nashville and Charlatan--looked to have their four rivals over a barrel in Saturday's GI Runhappy Malibu S., the traditional post-Christmas opening day feature at Santa Anita Park. The former had the benefit of recency, his three wins from as many starts coming by 24 3/4 lengths combined, while the latter was resurfacing for the first time since crossing the line best in the slightly slower of the two divisions of the GI Arkansas Derby May 2. Nashville was sent off the 13-10 favorite to...

Unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Nashville (Speightstown) has been nothing, but sensational in his three racetrack appearances thus far and he looks to take his career to the next level in the GI Runhappy Malibu S. at Santa Anita Saturday. Romping by 11 1/2 lengths in the slop in his Saratoga unveiling Sept. 2, the $460,000 KEESEP purchase demolished a Keeneland allowance by 9 3/4 lengths next out Oct. 10. His Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen decided to take a more sensible route with his pupil and bypassed the GI...

The GI Runhappy Malibu S. on Santa Anita's opening day program could potentially feature a clash between two of the more exciting sophomores in training. The immensely talented duo of Charlatan and Nashville, both 'TDN Rising Stars' and by leading sire Speightstown, are currently being aimed at the prestigious Dec. 26 seven-furlong contest. The Bob Baffert-trained Charlatan most recently crossed the wire a dominating six-length, wire-to-wire winner in the split-division GI Arkansas Derby May 2, but was subsequently stripped of the victory and demoted to ninth after testing positive for...

In a statement circulated to the media Wednesday morning, Bob Baffert pledged to do everything possible to ensure that he receives no further medication positives, saying that he wanted to be a positive influence on horse racing. Baffert, who has seen medication positives over overages three times in the last six months, outlined several steps his barn was taking. The statement in full reads: "2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. It has been no exception for my family, my barn, and me. I am very aware of the...

TDN Rising Star Charlatan (Speightstown), a Triple Crown candidate earlier in the season before being sidelined by injury, is expected to return to training soon, according to Starlight Racing's Jack Wolf, who campaigns the sophomore in partnership with SF Racing, Madaket Stables and Stonestreet Stables. After detecting some filling to the front ankle following a June 1 workout [five furlongs in 1:00.80] at Santa Anita, Bob Baffert confirmed that the colt would get 45 days off after an MRI revealed chips which required minor surgery. "He's doing really well," said...

Until horses live in a laboratory environment, environmental contamination will occur...hich means zero tolerance is impossible. "Zero Tolerance" is a great soundbite, but unrealistic. The recent final disqualifications of Charlatan and Gamine from their Oaklawn victories for minute levels of lidocaine are ridiculous. A lidocaine backpatch could easily be the source of such a tiny amount, as could a simple caslick procedure on a filly or a "no itch" topical ointment. Let's also consider the amount of the banned substance in their systems. Charlatan tested positive with 46 picograms of...

Guys. Come on. What was the one thing we were told, right from the outset? Wash your hands. Obsessively, wash your hands. Yet here's our most accomplished trainer, explaining that his assistant transferred a trace from a medicinal patch on his own back to the tongue-ties of their two most charismatic sophomores. Somebody seems to have been no more vigilant in the jocks' room at Los Alamitos, creating a fresh headache for Bob Baffert in the postponement of a barn debut, scheduled for Del Mar this weekend, for Maximum Security...

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert has been suspended 15 days for previously announced lidocaine positives found in post-race samples from two runners on Oaklawn Park's May 2 card, GI Arkansas Derby division winner Charlatan (Speightstown) and allowance winner Gamine (Into Mischief). The Oaklawn Park Board of Stewards has also disqualified both horses from their wins and ordered purse monies to be redistributed in rulings dated July 14 and made public Wednesday. News of the positives first surfaced in late May, and it was revealed last week that split samples taken...

Split samples taken from Charlatan (Speightstown) and Gamine (Into Mischief) after wins on the Arkansas Derby Day card at Oaklawn Park May 2 confirmed positive results for the local numbing agent Lidocaine, according to a report in New York Times Monday evening. Both horses are trained by Bob Baffert. Charlatan was a six-length victor in a division of the GI Arkansas Derby, while Gamine won an allowance race on the card and has since gone on to a romping victory in the GI Acorn S. A statement released by attorney...

Undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Charlatan (Speightstown) will be forced to miss the June 20 GI Belmont S.--and likely the rest of the Triple Crown--due to a minor ankle injury, per trainer Bob Baffert. The story was first reported by the Paulick Report. "I feel like I just went a few rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson," Baffert told the TDN just after watching one of his other top sophomores, the previously unbeaten Authentic (Into Mischief), finished second in the GI Santa Anita Derby. "It was tough and I'm sad...

After giving some thought to passing the race, trainer Bob Baffert said he is leaning toward starting Charlatan (Speightstown) in the GI Belmont S. June 20. Baffert had been considering running Charlatan the GI seven-furlong Woody Stephens S., also June 20, and Nadal (Blame) in the Belmont. But Nadal was injured last week and retired. "I was thinking about running Charlatan in the Woody Stephens and then the Haskell because I had Nadal for the Belmont. Now that has changed," he said. Charlatan is scheduled to breeze Monday morning. Baffert...

So that's why they had to split the GI Arkansas Derby. One division apiece for Kipling's "twin imposters,"--Triumph and Disaster. Though we've all felt otherwise, from time to time, Lady Luck is as proportionate as she is indiscriminate in her dealings with Thoroughbreds. If Bob Baffert is better placed to absorb the loss of a servant as talented as Nadal (Blame), only a barn of such depth could have achieved the level of Triumph, in the first place, to have meanwhile registered a commensurate sequel of Disaster. It's not the...