Doug O'Neill

Unbeaten sensation and guaranteed GI Breeders' Cup Classic favorite Flightline (Tapit) put in his final prep for the World Championships at Keeneland Saturday. The 'TDN Rising Star' covered five furlongs solo in 1:00.60 (4/62) shortly after 7:30 a.m. under assistant trainer Juan Leyva. "I told Juan to go in a minute and change and out [seven-eighths] in 1:26, and that's what he did," trainer John Sadler said. "Juan's a great work rider. It was not about going fast today, just getting around there happy today." Flightline arrived at Keeneland Sunday...

   The gutsy Hot Rod Charlie clawed his way back late to deny a late rally from GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike in the GII Lukas Classic S. Saturday beneath the Twin Spires. Favored at 6-5, the bay hustled up to press Art Collector (Bernardini) through opening splits of :23.55 and :47.94. Turning up the heat as three-quarters went in 1:11.77, the bay took control entering the far turn and had his nose in front at the top of the stretch. Rich Strike rallied up the outside and briefly...

When Gary Gullo retired from training in September of 2020 after 40 years on the Belmont backside, it was with big goals in mind. Gullo teamed up with longtime owner Anthony Melfi to start GMP Stable, an operation focused on breeding, selling, racing and now an equine rehabilitation farm. Gullo and Melfi's main goal has always been to acquire and breed top- quality horses and the first member of their new-and-improved breeding program will be offered at the prestigious Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale next week. "It's our first time upgrading our...

SHARP AZA TACK (c, 2, Sharp Azteca--Que Chulo, by Bernardini) took his show across the country Saturday and couldn't have been any more impressive while becoming the second stakes winner for his fast-starting freshman sire (by Freud) in Monmouth's Tyro S. Having belied 12-1 odds when scoring first out on the Santa Anita sod June 10, the :10 flat OBSMAR breezer was no secret this time around as the even-money chalk. Briefly challenged to his inside by second choice Power Attack (War Dancer), Sharp Aza Tack shook free of that...

Absolutely Zero ran to public's confidence, defeating the boys in Saturday's $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Futurity S. at Santa Anita. The Reddam homebred raced under pressure from the get-go and held a narrow advantage as four of them lined up approaching the top of the stretch. She clearly had something left as they straightened for home and dug down gamely in the stretch to defeat stablemate Tahoma, the first winner for Triple Crown winner Justify, by a measured length. First-time starter Pure Fire, a $315,000 OBSMAR breezer, ran well to finish third....

OCEANPORT, NJ--It was an unseasonably cool and windy June day at the Jersey Shore for Monmouth Park's GIII Salvator Mile S. and the match up on display for Saturday's marquee race was just as unusual as the weather. It is not often the Salvator Mile attracts a pair of Grade I winners, but that is exactly what the Monmouth Park fans were treated to Saturday with Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) meeting Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) for the first time. And what a treat it was! GI Pennsylvania Derby hero Hot...

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), a strong second when last seen in the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 26, will begin his road to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in Saturday's GIII Salvator Mile S. on Monmouth Park's inaugural GI TVG.com Haskell S. preview day. He'll face six rivals with Hall of Famer Mike Smith booked to ride. The half-brother to champion Mitole (Eskendereya) returns to the Jersey Shore for the first time since being disqualified from first and placed seventh for interference in a roughly run edition of last year's...

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), runner-up in this year's G1 Dubai World Cup, will return to the starting gate on Saturday in the GIII Salvator Mile S. The winner of last year's GI Pennsylvania Derby and GII Louisiana Derby has put in five works over the past month in preparation for his next start. "He came back from Dubai in great shape and we intentionally gave him a little extended time between then and now," said the 4-year-old colt's trainer Doug O'Neill. "He's training with great energy and good stamina. I'm...

Jack Sisterson, who has trained privately for Calumet Farm since 2018, is going public. Calumet will remain as a client and will keep a number of horses with Sisterson, but significantly fewer than he has typically had. Sisterson said he is making the move in the hopes that expanding and taking on other owners will lead to more opportunities. "This is something we have been discussing for a few months," he said. "I give all the credit to Calumet. If it weren't for them I wouldn't be where I am...

West Coast Stables' Tahoma (c, 2, Justify--Madera Dancer, by Rahy) became the first winner for his Triple Crown-winning sire with a two-length victory at Santa Anita Sunday. The chestnut colt, sent off the 4-5 favorite, tracked the pacesetters four wide through an opening quarter in :22.21. Still four wide, he rolled up to take a narrow advantage at the top of the lane, completed the half-mile in :47.01 and drew away inside the final sixteenth for a facile victory. Salta (Carpe Diem) was second and Eagles Landing (Competitive Edge) was...

BALTIMORE, MD--Every year, a new batch of sophomores converges upon Pimlico Race Course. And while the names of the contenders is ever changing, the people behind them are remain fairly consistent. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas casts a very long shadow in the second jewel in the Triple Crown, having won it on six prior occasions. From his first Preakness victory with Codex in 1980, Lukas has gone on to add wins with Tank's Prospect (1985), Tabasco Cat (1994), Timber Country (1995), Charismatic (1999) and Oxbow (2013). One...

After the connections of GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) opted to skip the GI Preakness S. and instead prepare for the GI Belmont S., the structure of the Triple Crown races has been a subject of debate leading up to the second leg of the historic series. Should the timing between the races be adjusted? We asked a few veteran trainers here.     Mark Casse: I think it has to stay the same. I think it's nonsense to talk any different. This is history, this is...