Dornoch

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - At 4 a.m. Thursday morning, trainer Kenny McPeek changed the game. With the prospect of stormy weather on the horizon courtesy of the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby, McPeek decided to move up the work of his star filly, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). So, instead of a Saturday breeze for Thorpedo Anna, she went five furlongs in :59.59 (1/4) on the Oklahoma Training Track with exercise rider Danny Ramsey at 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Thorpedo Anna is being pointed to the $1.25-million GI Travers Stakes at...

Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), who won the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, has received a mark of 125, good for second in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. Leading the list is G1 Dubai World Cup hero Laurel River (Into Mischief) at 128, while G1 Derby and G1 Eclipse Stakes victor City Of Troy (Justify) and UAE and Hong Kong Group 1 winner Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) are both tied for third on a mark of 123. In a five-way tie for fifth, Group 1 winner...

Off a strong performance in Saturday's GI Whitney Stakes, Arthur's Ride (Tapit) jumped to sixth in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. He currently ranks behind G1 Saudi Cup winner Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), top filly and the top-ranked 3-year-old Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), National Treasure (Quality Road), Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) and Idiomatic (Curlin). GI Belmont Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes winner Dornoch (Good Magic) is the top 3-year-old colt in seventh.  Rounding out the top 10 are Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo), The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) and Master of the Seas...

For many people, their passion for racing started with a horse. They watched Zenyatta dance to two Breeders' Cup victories, they had a strong opinion in the rivalry between Affirmed and Alydar or maybe they cheered American Pharoah on to a Grand Slam score when he won the 2015 Classic. For Priscilla Schaefer, her love of racing all started with a backstretch. She was in high school when she attended her first horse race at Emerald Downs outside of Seattle, Washington. Watching as the horses entered the starting gate, Schaefer...

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...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In her days as a Thoroughbred horse trainer, Keri Brion has been associated mainly with steeplechase runners. And she has no problem with that. The jump game has been good to her. Since opening her own stable, the former assistant to the late Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard has trained an Eclipse Award Steeplechase horse in The Mean Queen (Ire) (Doyen {Ire}), who won it in 2021, her first year. But there is more to her training game, and she made people take notice. On Thursday,...

If there has ever been a quintessential Saturday afternoon sire--as well as Breeders' Cup sire and champion sire--Curlin would have to be at the top of the list. He tends to churn out top-level horses at a dizzying rate. "Not to take anything away from other great stallions, but I don't believe Curlin is second to anybody when you speak of Grade I performers and accomplishments," said John Sikura, who stands the 2007-08 Horse of the Year at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa. "If you think of the Breeders' Cup,...

Retired MLB star and GI Belmont Stakes-winning co-owner Jayson Werth will be the luncheon keynote speaker at the Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga (RGCS), taking place from Aug. 12-14 at the Saratoga Hilton, the organizers said in a release on Thursday. "I am humbled to be welcomed into the racing community alongside experts passionate about addressing the challenges and opportunities in racing and gaming," said Werth. "It's an honor to share my own journey with such a remarkable group at the Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga." The RGCS...

If you didn't know the sophisticated people behind the mating, you might imagine that Puca went to Good Magic on no better premise than to double down on the alchemy implicit in both names. Because a puca (or pooka) in folklore is a shape-changing sprite, capable of bringing good or bad fortune. Shakespeare named Puck accordingly in A Midsummer Night's Dream, but my favourite example is Elwood P. Dowd's invisible drinking buddy Harvey, a rabbit standing just under six feet four inches. Perhaps you've noticed his silhouette at Harvey's Bar...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - A final decision on whether or not 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) will run against the boys in the $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes will be made on Saturday. That's the deadline trainer Kenny McPeek put on himself Sunday morning, the day after his 3-year-old filly dominated the GI Coaching Club American Oaks, winning by 4 1/2 lengths. "We are going to take the week, get her back on the track Wednesday, and I will make a decision Saturday," McPeek said, sitting in his...

It was announced during the telecast of the GI Haskell Stakes that Dornoch (Good Magic) will stand at stud at Spendthrift Farm. Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey addresses another big move by his team. TDN: What is it about Dornoch that makes him a good stallion candidate? NT: He's obviously got a great pedigree and he's a very talented horse. We always thought he was a really talented horse. They tried to rate him in the Blue Grass and he got wiped out from the one hole in the Derby....

'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) breezed a solo four furlongs Sunday in :49.73 over the Oklahoma training track for trainer Chad Brown in his final work before Saturday's GII Jim Dandy Stakes. NYRA clockers noted an opening quarter-mile in :25.25 and a gallop out in 1:02.68, 1:14.93 and 1:28.92. "He did super. He's in a nice rhythm," said Brown. "He's been working solo on the training track - I'm liking it. He galloped out with good energy. That's just what I'm looking for six days out." Sierra Leone...