Curlin

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...

6th-ELP, $120K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 4:14 p.m. An $800,000 yearling purchase out of Keeneland September, LADY MOSCATO (Quality Road) makes her afternoon debut for owner BC Stables and Hall of Fame trainer D Wayne Lukas. Out of a stakes-placed dam, she is a full-sister to GI La Troienne S. winner Salty, herself a $3 million dollar broodmare prospect out of the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Luis Saez gets the mount. Opposing her is Beautiful Dancer (Gun Runner), the first foal to make the races out of GI Del...

With a new cycle of yearling sales nearly upon us, nearly everyone will once again be deciding where they are most prepared to compromise. Would you prefer an athlete low on pedigree, or will you trust the genes to come through even if you're not wowed by the specimen in front of you? Well, there's no mistaking which strategy is recommended by the story of the GI Belmont S. winner. Though from one of America's most aristocratic families, Arcangelo (Arrogate) lurked in the September Sale as Hip 1182 and was...

Godolphin homebred Cody's Wish (Curlin) became the third graded winner on the day for his magnificent stallion, overcoming an imperfect passage to stamp his authority on Saturday's GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. at Belmont Park and in so doing, punching his ticket to defense of his title in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Nov. 4. Fidgety pre-start in gate one, the bay missed the break slightly--as many drawn the inside going Belmont's one-turn mile are wont to do--and found himself near the back of the...

4th-Santa Anita, $62,000, Msw, 6-4, 3, 4,/5yo, f/m, 6f, 1:11.29, ft, 3/4 length. HALOSNHEAVEN (f, 3, Curlin--Indian Blessing {Ch. 2-year-old Filly, Ch. Female Sprinter, MGISW-USA, G1SP-UAE, $2,995,420}, by Indian Charlie) shrugged off nearly 10 months on the bench to post a sharp even-money maiden victory at Santa Anita. The Earnhardt homebred wasn't overly quick out of the gate, but was quick to establish position, angling up to third on the outside by the :22.31 first quarter mark. Halosnheaven challenged for the lead while three across at the :44.95 half-mile, swapped...

Call it going with his gut. Literally. They cut out a whole stretch of it, and with it went much of the caution, the aversion to risk, that seems to stifle so much of the adventure in other trainers. "The truth is that when I was younger, I was probably real conservative," Kenny McPeek admits. "Early in my career, I was mostly dealing with claiming horses, with the odd allowance or stake horse here and there. Then I had a misdiagnosed ruptured appendix. It walled off and they did emergency...

Compared to an exquisite painting by her owner Barbara Banke, Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy) has been regarded as racing royalty from the very beginning. Now 13 years old, the Grade I winner reigns as monarch of Stonestreet's world-class broodmare band, and this spring, she was crowned 2022 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. Thanks to the efforts of her two Curlin daughters Malathaat and Julia Shining, Dreaming of Julia has already put together a produce record for the books, yet Banke and her team at Stonestreet are hopeful that their...

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,...

As has been said many times about the Thoroughbred industry: it is a business with highs and lows; more lows than highs; the highs are very high and the lows are very low. It was an emotional weekend of racing for me. The highs have been the results of two races. The lows, the thoughts of those not here to celebrate with me. First, Dazzling Blue ran her record to three-for-three Friday with a, well, dazzling performance at Churchill Downs. Then, Sunday, Weehawken broke her maiden by three lengths at...

8th-Pimlico, $62,700, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($50,000-$62,500), 5-19, 3yo, 6f, 1:09.94, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. FORT WARREN (c, 3, Curlin--La Appassionata {SW & GSP, $162,920}, by Bernardini) became a 'TDN Rising Star' when debuted in gate-to-wire fashion for then-trainer Bob Baffert at Santa Anita Oct. 30. A far-beaten third next time out in the GII San Vincente S. Jan. 29, he went to the sidelines for much of the spring, changing barns to return on the east coast for Brittany Russell. Bet down to even money and with Lasix in his...

Some kind of wand has been waved here. Of eight starters in the GI Preakness S., three represent the first crop of Good Magic--including GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage. Just weeks after their program received what felt like the ultimate accolade, in Broodmare of the Year honors for Dreaming Of Julia (A.P. Indy), Barbara Banke and her Stonestreet team duly have still further cause for gratification. Because just like Dreaming Of Julia, Good Magic is out of a daughter of one of the foundation mares bought by Banke's late husband,...

2nd-Horseshoe Indianapolis, $34,000, Msw, 5-15, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :52.90, ft, 2 lengths. LAUGH NOW (c, 2, Vino Rosso--Little Pao, by Tiznow) had the last laugh here, and broke his maiden as well as tallied the first victory as a sire for Vino Rosso (by Curlin). The stallion also had  the third place finisher Zaino in the Royal Palm Juvenile S., a qualifier for Royal Ascot. Eighth last out at Keeneland Apr. 27 after breaking inward and tiring on that unveiling, conditioner John Ennis armed his colt with a pair of...