Daredevil

As we all know, especially right now, life will sometimes present challenges so terrible that the racetrack can be made to seem a pretty frivolous place. Yet there are also times when only a horse can kindle consolation from the embers of disaster. Clay Murdock was 58 when he died in his sleep last September. The general manager of Rancho San Miguel in California had just sealed a deal for the Northern Hemisphere breeding rights to Sir Prancealot (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), and was buzzing for the future. His loss, out...

With so few options immediately available for 3-year-old fillies, trainer Ken McPeek may get adventurous with Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), the winner of Friday's GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn. McPeek told the TDN that he is considering running his filly next in the G1 1,000 Guineas in Newmarket, England. "We're going to nominate her to the 1,000 Guineas and do our due diligence," McPeek said. "She might be at a competitive advantage because she has been running.  It would be a historic trip. I don't think anybody has ever done it....

Let go at an overlaid 16-1 exiting a front-running victory in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks Mar. 28, Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) locked up with heavily favored Venetian Harbor (Munnings) in upper stretch and proved the superior stayer on the afternoon, reporting home a 2 1/2-length winner of Friday's GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn Park. Shedaresthedevil, victorious in the GIII Honeybee S. earlier in the meet, completed a 1-3 finish for her expatriated sire while never a menace to the top two. Venetian Harbor was exiting a towering 9...

Swiss Skydiver sprung a mild upset Saturday with a wire-to-wire victory in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, earning points towards a start in the GI Kentucky Oaks in September. Seizing the early advantage, the 9-1 shot cruised through opening splits of :24.33 and :49.12, shadowed by Lucrezia. Showing the way into the lane, the chestnut kept on finding in the lane, pulling clear of her competition to win as she pleased. Lucrezia gamely fended off a late challenge from Lake Avenue to be second. Previously unbeaten favorite Tonalist's Shape (Tonalist) finished...

A Daredevil colt (Hip 640) breezed the fastest quarter at the third and final day of the OBS March Breeze show Saturday, covering the distance in :20 3/5. Two others tied for the fastest furlong at :9 4/5. Hip 640 is consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables, which also sent out Friday's fastest quarter-mile worker in Hip 237, a daughter of American Pharoah, who went in :20 2/5. Dunne purchased the Daredevil colt for $30,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale. The fastest furlong workers were Hip 477 (video) and...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - The two-day Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale couldn't match up to its record-setting 2018 renewal, but when the dust settled Monday evening at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, the auction had seen its fourth straight record-priced yearling. The record bid came from Larry Best, who said he had only seen the filly two hours before he spent $775,000 to acquire the daughter of Malibu Moon from the Winter Quarter Farm consignment. In all, 186 yearlings sold during the 2019 New York sale for a total of...

As the TDN Rising Star Amalfi Sunrise drew off for an easy six-length success in the GII Sorrento S., I was reminded of a commission I received in the fall of 2015. With the Breeders' Cup bandwagon due to roll into Lexington and Keeneland, WinStar wanted to promote its extensive team of stallions. I was asked to write 250-word summaries for each of them, including three which were scheduled to be added to the roster in 2016. Strangely, those three--Constitution, Commissioner and Daredevil--were respectively responsible for Amalfi Sunrise, Powerfulattraction and...