City of Light

First things first, because this was not just a proxy war. Congratulations, then, to Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) for carving his name on the GI Champagne S. roll of honor, one of the most storied on the American Turf. John and Carla Capek of Rodeo Creek Racing have only owned racehorses for a couple of years, but here they are with the winner of a race once won in three consecutive runnings by Seattle Slew, Alydar and Spectacular Bid. They must be tremendously excited as Chad Brown prepares their colt...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency               7th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 3:50 p.m. Debuting in the royal blue Friday, METHODOLOGY (Uncle Mo) is the third foal out of GSW Innovative Idea (Bernardini), making her a half-sister to GI Acorn S. winner Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile). Further back in her family is GISW & sire Sky Mesa (Pulpit) and MGISW & Darley stallion Maxfield (Street Sense). In training with Brad Cox, Methodology has made her two most recent works over the Churchill main track and...

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 three-day weekend running at Nakayama Racecourse: Saturday, September 17, 2022 4th-NKY, ¥13,400,000 ($94k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m EIGHT WAN (c, 2, City of Light--Banree, by Macho Uno) fetched a solid $150,000 as a short yearling at last year's Keeneland January Sale and improved over...

Don and Donna Adam's Courtlandt Farm went to an even $1 million to acquire a son of young sire City of Light (Hip 73) Monday. Bred by Betz/B&K Canetti/J. Betz/CoCo Equine/D.J. Stables, the bay is out of MSW Tea Time (Pulpit). He was consigned by Betz Thoroughbreds.

Sendero became the second stakes winner and seventh winner overall for his freshman sire City of Light (Quality Road) with a maiden-breaking victory in the Jamestown S. at Colonial Downs Wednesday. Sent off the 1-5 favorite, the bay colt was hustled out of the gate and rushed up to press the pace four wide down the backstretch through a quarter in :22.66. He stuck his head in front nearing the stretch and bound clear while Bee Mountain chased him home in second. Sendero missed by just a neck when second...

No wind, no rain, no summer storm was stopping Chop Chop from securing a first career stakes victory for herself and her freshman sire (by Quality Road) in the Aristocrat Gaming Juvenile Fillies S. She was also the second winner on the card for City of Light, following in the hoofsteps of impressive graduate Gaslight Dancer. A stalk-and-pounce winner on debut at Ellis Park Aug. 14, Chop Chop rated kindly from third here and drafted into the turn behind a pair of dueling leaders through :24.11 and :49.99 splits. Shifting...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Here we are on the final weekend of the Saratoga season and--no surprise--D. Wayne Lukas is ready to take swings in both of the historic Grade I races for 2-year-olds. The Hall of Fame trainer, who turned 87 Friday, will saddle Holy Cow Stable's Naughty Gal (Into Mischief) Sunday in the GI Spinaway S. The next afternoon, Lukas will send out BC Stable's Bourbon Bash (City of Light) and Western Ghent (American Pharoah) in the GI Hopeful, the final stake of the 154th season of Saratoga...

The final week of the Saratoga meet kicks off Wednesday with a 10-race card highlighted by the GIII With Anticipation S. for juvenile turf colts. With the majority of the 10-horse field coming off maiden wins, horseplayers have a variety of ways to go in the betting. Freshman sire City of Light could get his first black-type winner with Battle of Normandy in this event. The $500,000 FTSAUG buy captured his course-and-distance debut Aug. 6 by 2 1/4 lengths after a wide trip. His dam Adorable Miss (Kitten's Joy) was...

by Chris McGrath & Stefanie Grimm It's all the trees I feel guilty about. That, and the postman's lumbago. But while many people nowadays complacently compress the world's biggest yearling auction onto a digital device, a stubborn few of us will always prefer scribbling notes on the dog-eared pages of a paper catalog. Whichever your preference, of course, you will do well to avoid wearing out the soles of your shoes during the Keeneland September Sale--not to mention other reserves, in morale or finances. Before you start appraising individual hips,...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - This has been a turn-back-the-clock, very D. Wayne Lukas-like, summer at Saratoga for the Hall of Fame trainer. As he approaches his 87th birthday on Sept. 2, the racing legend has won a graded stake, finished second in two others, and made his presence felt at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale with the purchase of five yearlings for $2.725 million, led by of a son of Medaglia d'Oro for $1.35 million. After skipping the past two Saratoga seasons due to a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and...

3rd-Ellis, $59,065, Msw, 8-14, 2yo, f, 1mT, 1:38.62, fm, 1 1/2 lengths. CHOP CHOP (f, 2, City of Light--Grand Sofia, by Giant's Causeway), a $230,000 FTKJUL yearling purchase and the 2-1 favorite in this spot, was never far out of it early, stalking in third close to the pace of Guns n' Lilies (Gun Runner) through mild fractions. Moved off the rail for her stretch run, she came with a three-wide bid down the lane, out-kicking Bel Rosso (Free Drop Billy) and Don't Go Changing (Candy Ride {Arg}) and drawing...

7th-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 8-13, 2yo, 6f, 1:11.77, ft, 8 lengths. BOURBON BASH (c, 2, City of Light--Buy Sell Hold {SW & GSP, $125,520}, by Violence) made it a hat trick for jockey Flavien Prat, breaking from the inside gate and wasting no time in flashing his early speed to quickly open up a length on the field in the first furlong. Under a stoic ride a path off the rail, Bourbon Bash put six lengths on a quartet of chasers passing the quarter pole and never gave them a chance...