Cugino

Impressive winner of the GIII Gotham Stakes over the local main track to begin the season, 'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic  (Liam's Map) has found his footing on the grass during the second half of the campaign and won for second time at the graded level over the surface, validating 7-4 favoritism in Saturday's GIII Hill Prince Stakes at Aqueduct. Victorious in the GIII Virginia Derby ahead of a game runner-up effort in the GIII Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes over a mile and three furlongs last time, the $625,000 Keeneland...

It doesn't take long for the Kentucky Downs meeting to hit full gear, as Saturday's program features three graded contests, including the GIII DK Horse Nashville Derby Invitational Stakes, with prize money that could reach $3.1 million. The purse remains intact should one of the 10 Kentucky-breds--eight in the main body of the field and two also-eligibles--is home first over the mile and five-sixteenths journey along the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The four foreign raiders are ineligible for the KTDF money, but the base purse of $2.5 million already makes it one...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--After the impressive win in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course last weekend, the chances of the winner, Fierceness (City of Light) showing up in the $1.25, GI Travers Stakes were--take your pick--slim and none. Much has changed in the last few days and now Fierceness may very well be on his way to a date with the likes of Dornoch (Good Magic), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and the filly, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). "That is what we are thinking about," Hall of Fame trainer...

Cugino has been knocking on the door of a stakes win for Shug McGaughey since breaking his maiden at first asking at Aqueduct last November. In three starts earlier this year, he's been beaten by a length, a neck and a nose to take second in the Colonel Liam S. at Gulfstream in March and the GIII Transylvania S. at Keeneland in April. Caught way back last time out, he still rallied in first-time blinkers to be fourth in the GII American Turf S. on Derby Day last month. Adding...

The temperature may be cooler in Lexington this week, but things heated up quickly on opening day at Keeneland with the first graded event of the spring at the Lexington oval coming down to a head bob. It took a photo to determine Red White and Blue Racing LLC's Neat (c, 3, Constitution--Orabella, by More Than Ready) had outpunched Mar. 2 Colonel Liam S. runner-up Cugino (Twirling Candy) by the slimmest of margins in the $400,000 GIII Transylvania S. for 3-year-olds going 1 1 1/16 miles on the lawn. Lagynos...