Churchill Downs

Spendthrift Farm's Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) earned an automatic berth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic with a dominant victory in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday. The 2-1 shot rated just off the pace as First Mission (Street Sense) and Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) took the field through a moderate opening quarter in :24.13. First Mission, the 4-5 favorite, took charge as the half went up in :48.38, but Kingsbarns was rolling up three wide to grab control into the stretch. The favorite attempted to fight back, but...

Just a week after her younger brother Batten Down took the GIII Ohio Derby, 'TDN Rising Star' Scylla (Tapit) kept the family's good fortune going with a strong win in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday. The 4-5 favorite stutter-stepped slightly coming out of the gate and was at the tail of the field behind fractions of :24.07 and :48.83. Still last into the far turn, the bay filly made rapid progress while five wide approaching the stretch. She drifted in slightly in upper stretch,...

4th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 2:15 p.m. ET. Rigney Racing made TWO SHARP (Twirling Candy) her sire's top priced offspring in 2022 when the outfit went to $925,000 during Keeneland September. Trained by Phil Bauer, the filly is the lone foal out of Double Sharp (Distorted). Woods Edge Farm acquired this dam at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale for $255,000 and she is out of MGSW/MGISP Bsharpsonata (Pulpit). Also making her first start is Greg Foley trainee Cathcart (Quality Road). The 3-year-old filly was purchased for $800,000 at the...

With the Breeders' Cup a little over four months away, the 'Win and You're In' tickets to the signature event, the GI Longines Classic, are definitely numbered. The road to Del Mar currently goes through Churchill Downs on Saturday as Classic hopefuls enter the starting gate for the GI Stephen Foster Stakes. Looking to punch his ticket to the seaside oval is Godolphin homebred First Mission (Street Sense). The 'TDN Rising Star' certainly burned brightest when he took home the GIII Essex Handicap by five lengths at Oaklawn Park in...

4th-CD, $120k, Msw, 2yo, f, 4 1/2, post time: 2:13 p.m. EDT Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation paid $750,000 for AND ONE MORE TIME (Omaha Beach) at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, the priciest filly from her sire's second crop and second-dearest overall from 95 yearlings reported as sold last season. The pedigree has taken off all around it, as, subsequent to the purchase, the filly's half-sister Simply in Front (Summer Front) finished second in Woodbine's GI Natalma S., while Honor D Lady (Honor Code) scooped the GIII Remington Park...

The wagering public knew they wanted a daughter of Gun Runner to win the GIII Chicago Stakes. In one corner was Vahva, the 2-5 favorite, coming off a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure when in control of the Derby City Distaff Stakes on Derby Day at Churchill May 4. Opposite her was the rail-drawn speed of 2-1 shot Society, the defending Chicago Stakes winner but unraced since a tiring fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita last November. Ultimately it was Vahva for trainer...

7th-LRC, $41K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 7:04 p.m. ET. The members of Three Amigos--Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman--went to $500,000 during Keeneland September to acquire RELATABLE (Arrogate), who is part of her sire's final 3-year-old crop. The filly is out of the Canadian bred GSP Aunt Els (Consolidator)--dam to a 2-year-old filly by Higher Power and a yearling filly by Silver State. The Bob Baffert trainee sports a strong set of works under her belt, which includes a final six panel drill (1:12.80, 1/4) alongside stablemate Normandy...

9th-Churchill Downs, $122,102, Msw, 6-21, 3yo/up, 7f, 1:22.63, ft, neck. MOST WANTED (c, 3, Candy Ride {Arg}--Beach Walk, by Distorted Humor), a half-brother to young WinStar stallion Life Is Good (Into Mischief), Hwt. Older Horse-UAE at 9 1/2-11f, MGISW, $4,541,700, wasn't much of a secret here and was sent off as the 4-5 favorite for this unveiling. Not off to the cleanest of beginnings from his outside draw, Most Wanted broke inward and bumped into a rival at the start. He raced in fifth through fractions of :22.58 and :45.56...

A veteran of two-thirds of this year's Triple Crown series, Albaugh Family Stables' Catching Freedom (Constitution) gets a fair bit of class relief while facing nine others in Saturday's $500,000 GIII Ohio Derby at Thistledown outside of Cleveland. Winner of the GII Louisiana Derby to earn his spot in the field for the GI Kentucky Derby, the $575,000 Keeneland September acquisition gave an excellent account of himself on the first Saturday in May, delivering a rails rally in the stretch to round out the superfecta, a length and three-quarters behind...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Tax Implications in the Eatontown Stakes last weekend. Mehmas's Tax Implications Lands Eatontown The duo of Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables combined to send out Tax Implications (GB) (Mehmas {Ire}) to win the GIII Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth Park last Saturday (video). Bred by Aoife Kent, the chestnut filly was originally a 75,000gns foal when put the Tattersalls December Foal Sale by Mickley...

Iowa Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg will deliver the keynote address at the 2024 National HBPA Conference set for July 23-26 at Iowa's Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack and Hotel, the association said in a release early Friday morning. Lt. Gov. Gregg will make his remarks on Wednesday, July 24, the conference's first of three days of panel discussions and presentations. Coinciding with the conference will be a starter-allowance race carrying a $50,000 purse. The top three finishers receive automatic entry into the 1 1/16-mile Kent Stirling Memorial Iron Horse, part of...

4th-CD, $120,000, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, post time: 2:13 p.m. ET YOU'LL BE BACK (Practical Joke), the second priciest filly by the sire in 2023, is unveiled for Gregory Tramontin by trainer Tom Amoss. A daughter of Advance Party (Empire Maker), the $575,000 KEESEP purchase is a granddaughter of the prolific Helen Alexander - Helen Groves's Aurora, a daughter of the stalwart champion juvenile filly Althea. A full-sister to Japanese champion 2yo filly Yamanin Paradise, Advance Party is a half-sister to UAE Horse of the Year Festival of Light (A.P....