City of Light

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Kokura, Niigata and Sapporo Racecourses: Saturday, August 12, 2023 2nd-NII, ¥10,480,000 ($72k), Maiden, 2yo, 1800mT ROCK CITY BOY (c, 2, City of Light--Mississippi Coast, by Super Saver) was acquired in utero for $125,000 at the 2021 Keeneland January Sale and...

by Jessica Martini and Christina Bossinakis SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - With bids ricocheting from all directions both inside and outside the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale of Selected Yearlings opened with a strong session topped by a pair of million-dollar babies Monday night in upstate New York. "I thought it was a tremendous start to the 2023 Saratoga Yearling Sale," Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. said at the close of business Monday. "The numbers are essentially on par with last year's opening session, which was a remarkable,...

Benedetta (f, 2, City of Light--Tessie Flip, by Grand Slam), a $750,000 OBS March purchase by Kaleem Shah, kicked off her career in style with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance at Los Alamitos Saturday afternoon. The 3-5 favorite bumped with a rival at the start and recovered nicely to flash good speed through an opening quarter in :21.94. Traveling powerfully while about four wide on the turn for home, she switched over to her right lead in the stretch and was under cruise control down the lane to win by...

1st-Belmont, $90,000, Msw, 6-17, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:08.74, fm, 3/4 length. MISCHIEVOUS ANGEL (g, 3, Into Mischief--Sabrina's Angel, by Scat Daddy), the only first-time starter in the field and the 2-1 selection with a $600,000 purchase price, spotted the field a step at the break and had only a single rival behind him through a half mile in :45.26. He began to make up ground as the leaders hit the far turn and tipped out to be five wide with room to run at the top of the stretch. Pacesetter Beer...

A colt by City of Light (hip 570) worked the week's co-fastest furlong of :9 4/5, while a son of First Samurai (hip 588) and a filly by Violence (hip 703) shared the day's fastest quarter-mile work of :21 flat during the fourth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Thursday in Ocala. Headwinds increased throughout the session and all three bullet workers were on the track during the day's first set. Working shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, hip 570...

11th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 5:58 p.m. Consigned by Denali Stud at the '21 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling sale, CUSP (City of Light) went to OXO Equine for $725,000. Trained by Paulo Lobo, the bay colt's dam Swingit (Victory Gallop) also produced MGSW Travel Column (Frosted) and MGISP Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday). He lines up opposite the widely-drawn WinStar homebred and Brad Cox trainee Paddington (Curlin), whose GISP dam Sea Island (Pulpit)--out of GISP Resort (Pleasant Colony)--counts GII Peter Pan S. hero Sightseeing as a full-brother. TJCIS PPS 5th-BEL, $90K, Msw,...

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Kyoto, Niigata and Tokyo Racecourses: Saturday, May 13, 2023 2nd-TOK, ¥10,480,000 ($78k), Maiden, 3yo, 1600m LAND OF SAND (c, 3, American Pharoah--Slow Sand, by Dixieland Band) looks to continue a purple patch of form for Godolphin with Christophe Lemaire...

Taking to the Haggin Turf Course once again, 6-1 shot Gaslight Dancer recorded his first stakes victory of his career with a solid performance in the Palisades S. on Sunday afternoon. Winning on the grass at Kentucky Downs Sept. 3 in his second career start, Gaslight Dancer was the favorite Oct. 9 in the GIII Futurity S. during the BAQ meet, only to lose by a neck to Nagirroc (Lea). With a tough test Nov. 4 in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, he drew the fourteenth hole, but still...

Minor ailments held her back from a juvenile campaign, but Shootoutthelights (City of Light) showed she was worth the wait as she lit up the clock with an electrifying cruising speed, and dominated her rivals to become her sire's first 'TDN Rising Star' as a brilliant cap to Gulfstream's Championship meet. The race was almost over from the jump as the filly rocketed out of the stalls as the 6-5 favorite and out-kicked Queen Karima for the lead. With an opening split posting at a wicked :20.89 and a half...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 11th-GP, $84K, Msw, 3yo, f, 5fT, post time: 5:51 p.m. ET The post-Derby program at Gulfstream concludes with this turf dash for sophomore fillies headed by 7-2 morning-line chance SHOOTOUTTHELIGHTS (City of Light) from the barn of Wesley Ward. A $525,000 purchase by the Breeze Easy braintrust at Keeneland September in 2021, the April foal looks to become the second winner for her stakes-placed dam, a half-sister to turf MGSW Clearly a Queen (Lucky North), who is also responsible for Bison City S. victress Mizzen...

Debuted against New York breds at Belmont's Aqueduct meeting last fall, Eye Witness caught the losing end of the three-horse photo finish, winding up third by a head in a six-furlong grass sprint. Sidelined for the next three months, he started his New Year strong by breaking his maiden at a mile over the synthetic track at Turfway Jan. 1 over a pair of next-out winners. A $650,000 Keeneland September yearling, Eye Witness shortened back up to six panels Saturday and went off the popular 3-5 choice in the scratched-down...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale opened its three-day run Monday with a session which gained strength throughout the day, ultimately ending with increases in both average and median over the first session of last year's two-day auction. During Monday's session, 131 horses sold for $20,192,500 for an average of $154,141--up 10.1% from a year ago--and a median of $90,000--up 16.1% from 2022. Without the inclusion of post-sales transactions, the buy-back rate was 32.1%, up from 18.6%...