Christophe Clement

Senbei came out running from the rail and never looked back to beat a good-looking bunch of New York-bred juveniles Friday. A 4 3/4-length debut graduate in the mud here July 18, the chestnut got lost a bit in the wagering but made them pay. Hustled to the front by Manny Franco, Senbei posted strong fractions of :22 flat and :44.88 with Rick Violette S. winner Run Curtis Run (Summer Front) applying the pressure. He left his pursuer in the dust at the top of the lane, and was never...

2nd-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 8-22, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:49.45, yl, 1 1/2 lengths. FORTINENO (IRE) (f, 2, Frankel {GB}--Rubina {Ire} {SP-Ire}, by Invincible Spirit {Ire}), backed to 6-5 favoritism for this debut despite a modest-looking worktab, traveled in a clear fifth as Seduce (Into Mischief) dictated terms through pokey fractions of :26.06 and :51.81 over boggy ground. Picking up a bit three wide nearing the lane, the $400,000 Keeneland September buy found her best stride passing the eighth pole and wore down the pacesetter in the final sixteenth to score...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, post time: 1:05 p.m. ET A pair of half-sisters to Grade I winners line up for top trainers in the Sunday opener. Red Oak Stable homebred Goddess of Fire (Mineshaft) is out of speedy stakes winner Feel That Fire (Lightnin N Thunder), making her a half to Mind Control (Stay Thirsty), a debut winner at two who took the GI Hopeful S. in 2018 here, GI H. Allen Jerkens S. the following season and was last seen annexing...

On Wednesday, disgraced trainer Jorge Navarro pled guilty to one count of distribution of adulterated and misbranded drugs with the intent to defraud and mislead, a major development in the doping scandal that has rocked the sport since indictments were announced in March of 2020. Navarro will likely spend time in prison and has been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $25,860,514. His career is over and he may be deported to his native Panama. But was this good day or bad day for the sport?  And what...

5th-Saratoga, $100,000, Msw, 7-22, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:46.88, gd, 3/4 length. PIZZA BIANCA (f, 2, Fastnet Rock {Aus}--White Hot {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), sent off at 5-1, settled well back in last as Hope Over Fear (Cupid) took the field through fractions of :24.88 and :50.53. Expand the Map (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) made an eye-catching move on the far turn and Pizza Bianca shadowed the move of that favorite before unleashing a powerful rally to inhale that foe in deep stretch and graduate by three-quarter lengths. Pizza Bianca...

5th-Saratoga, $85,000, (S), Msw, 7-18, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:04.38, my, 4 3/4 lengths. SENBEI (c, 2, Candy Ride {Arg}--Sweet Aloha, by Western Cat), a $280,000 KEEJAN short yearling purchase in 2020, was sent off at 5-1. The chestnut colt was hustled out to the early lead and and was clear through a quarter in :22.38 and a half in :46.04. He extended his advantage down the lane and came home a 4 3/4-length winner. Longshot Gimmedamoney (Central Banker) chased throughout to finish second. Senbei is a half-brother to Filibustin (Bustin...

Bert Firestone, who along with his wife Diana, enjoyed international success at racing's top level for decades, passed away Monday at JFK Medical center in West Palm Beach. He was 89. Firestone, a successful industrial real estate developer, was a hands-on horseman--he spent a summer in the early 1950s galloping for trainer Charlie Whittingham--whose American racing successes led to seven Eclipse Awards. Honest Pleasure (What a Pleasure) earned the couple's first Eclipse statue as champion 2-year-old of 1971 and he was followed by 1977 champion sprinter What a Summer (What...

7th-BEL, $92K, Alw, N1X, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, post time: 3:47 p.m. ET The rail-drawn HARPER'S IN CHARGE (Malibu Moon) makes her first start since posting a runaway wire-to-wire 'TDN Rising Star' performance on debut at Aqueduct Nov. 15. The $220,000 KEESEP yearling purchase's unraced dam Azara (More Than Ready) is a half-sister to the brilliant Tepin (Bernstein) and MGSW Vyjack (Into Mischief). Harper's in Charge has a pair of bullets on her worktab for this at Christophe Clement's Saratoga base. Even-money morning-line favorite Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot), runner-up behind the...

West Point Thoroughbreds and Jimmy Kahig's Ready A.P. (More Than Ready) stormed to a dazzling 8 1/4-length debut win at Belmont Park Thursday to become the latest 'TDN Rising Star.' The dark bay filly, sent off the 3-5 favorite, was away slowly and trailed the field in the early going. She rushed up into contention entering the far turn and inhaled the leader nearing the stretch before striding home powerfully without ever being asked. One Track Mine (Mineshaft) was second. Ready A.P. was a $125,000 purchase at last year's Fasig-Tipton...

Bye Bye (Into Mischief) did it tough from her widest gate in a field of 11 for Saturday's GIII Soaring Softly S. at Belmont Park, but overcame a fair bit of ground loss to remain unbeaten in two turf starts while giving her all-conquering sire his second new graded winner on the afternoon. Away alertly, the $140,000 Keeneland September yearling raced five or six off the inside as longshot Lexinator (Fed Biz) set the early pace from 'TDN Rising Star' Star Devine (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Eric Cancel allowed Bye...

Kicking off its third season, the Empire Racing Club (ERC) will offer a reduced price of $400 through the official re-launch date of May 15. In a departure from the first two seasons, 2021 membership is open to both licensed and unlicensed racing enthusiasts looking to enjoy the social and educational benefits of the Club. The 2021 ERC season will be limited to 200 members. The ERC will once again be managed by famed race-caller Tom Durkin. Training the current team of runners for the 2021 season are Hall of...

Six racehorses, three trainers and one jockey account for the 10 finalists that will compose the National Museum of Racing's 2021 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the museum's Hall of Fame nominating committee. The finalists are racehorses American Pharoah (first year of eligibility), Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Havre de Grace, Kona Gold and Rags to Riches; trainers Christophe Clement, Doug O'Neill and Todd Pletcher (first year of eligibility); and jockey Corey Nakatani. Ballots will be mailed the first week in March and results of the voting will...