Clairiere

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- Never shy about being a promoter, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas did not have to use his best pitch as he looked ahead to the GI Personal Ensign S. on Aug. 25 where he will saddle Secret Oath (Arrogate). Always an important race that draws the top older dirt fillies and mares, the $500,000 Personal Ensign will once again have a strong lineup on Friday. Champion Nest (Curlin) and Clairiere (Curlin), who ran 1-2 in the GII Shuvee S. on July 23 are the...

Last year's champion 3-year-old filly Nest (Curlin) will make her next start in the GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga Aug. 25. Part-owner Mike Repole of Repole Stables announced the news via social media Friday morning. Not seen since an off-the-board finish as the favorite in last Fall's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, Nest made a triumphant return to the races with a 2 1/4-length win over MGISW Clairiere (Curlin) in last Sunday's GII Shuvee S. [embed]https://twitter.com/RepoleStable/status/1684987486802784256?s=20[/embed]

Nest (Curlin), off since finishing fourth in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, was second in the betting to Clairiere (Curlin)--who already had a pair of Grade I victories to her credit this termr--but it was the returning champion who sailed under the wire first in the GII Shuvee S. at Saratoga Sunday. Sent off at 4-5, Nest broke on top, but allowed Pistol Liz Ablazen (Daredevil) to take over and spurt to a clear lead on the first turn. That longshot took the field through fractions of :24.82 and...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - While Clairiere (Curlin) and Nest (Curlin) are in the spotlight, attracting most of the attention in the runup to the GII Shuvee S. on Sunday, Played Hard (Into Mischief) is, well, lurking. Stonestreet Stable's Clairiere has won consecutive Grade Is to climb to the top of the older dirt filly division. Nest, last year's 3-year-old filly champ co-owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, will make her first start of 2023. Meanwhile, Played Hard, trained by Phillip Bauer for Rigney Racing, has been...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Though Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas rarely passes on big stakes opportunities, he is skipping the GII Shuvee S. Sunday with Secret Oath (Arrogate). After she turned in an uncharacteristic dull performance in the June 10 GI Ogden Phipps S., Lukas and the 4-year-old filly's breeder-owners Robert and Stacy Mitchell are using a little-bit-less-is-more approach at Saratoga Race Course. "She's really, really doing well," Lukas said Wednesday morning, "but we have made a decision to run here only once. We're trying to space her...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There will be no easing back into competition for champion Nest (Curlin). Certainly not on a Sunday in July at Saratoga Race Course. In the first start of her 4-year-old season--which was delayed by illness--in the GII Shuvee S., Nest is likely to face Clairiere (Curlin), the leader of the older female dirt division, and GI La Troienne winner Played Hard (Into Mischief). "It's not the position we set out to be on at the beginning of this year, but it's kind of where we are,"...

Well, Triple Crown, now that the book has been closed on your 2023 campaign, it's time for your annual performance review. Yes, I realize you're not a tangible, actual entity, and that your entire being is really just a concept based around the sequence of three historic horse races conducted over a five-week span every spring. As such, perhaps you think you're above a little constructive criticism. But we're living in a new era of accountability and I know you want to do your part to remain the focal point...

ELMONT, NY - Stonestreet homebred Clairiere (Curlin) successfully defended her title with a late surge to nail Search Results (Flatter) in dramatic fashion by a half-length in Saturday's GI Ogden Phipps S. at Belmont Park. Played Hard (Into Mischief) finished third. Clairiere joins Take D' Tour (2006-07), Sightseek (2003-04) and Heatherten (1984-85) as back-to-back winners of the prestigious 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. "I'm unbelievably proud of her," said winning trainer Steve Asmussen after registering his fourth Phipps victory in five years. "What a...

Currently on the GI Kentucky Derby bubble with 40 points, rallying GII Louisiana Derby runner-up and 'TDN Rising Star' Disarm (Gun Runner) will look to punch his ticket to the big dance in Saturday's GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland. The Stonestreet Lexington is the final race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and carries 40 points that will be awarded on a 20-8-6-4-2 basis. A top-three finish by Disarm would secure the Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. The...

Trainer Todd Pletcher has unsaddled the winner of the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby a record five times--no one else has more than two to their credit--and he stands a fair chance to make it a half-dozen Saturday afternoon when he sends out the two favorites on the morning line. Pegged at odds of 8-5 is Whisper Hill Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit), who will attempt to provide his sire with a fourth winner of the race since in its last 10 runnings (Ring Weekend, 2014; the...

Flightline was clearly the star among stars at the Eclipse Awards ceremonies held Jan. 26 in Palm Beach, Florida, but a trio of stallions that call the rustic environs of John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa home stole the show from a sires' perspective, accounting for half of the evening's 10 winners among the Flat divisions. Success at the Eclipse Awards is obviously directly correlated with horse racing on its biggest stages, and the results from the first weekend of November, not far away from Xalapa at Keeneland Race...

Trainer Steve Asmussen sent five Breeders' Cup contenders out to work Sunday at Keeneland. Grade I-winning fillies Clairiere (Curlin) and Society (Gun Runner), working in company, went five furlongs in a bullet :59.80 (1/34) in preparation for the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. The duo worked through fractions of :11.80, :23.80, :35.60, :47.60, :59.80 and out six furlongs in 1:13.20. Epicenter (Not This Time), off since winning the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 27, worked five furlongs in company in 1:00.20 (3/34) in preparation for the Nov. 5 GI...