Florent Geroux

6th-Del Mar, $81,500, Msw, 8-7, 2yo, f, 5f, :58.69, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. FAST AND SHINY (f, 2, Bernardini--Spotted Heart {SW, $167,692}, by Lion Hearted) got the better of a final-furlong tussle with the better-fancied and commonly owned Doinitthehardway (Street Sense) under a cerebral ride from Florent Geroux. They lined up three across the track early on, Fast and Shiny, Doinitthehardway and favored Getthemoney (Midnight Lute) from the rail out, but Geroux elected to take a tug of Fast and Shiny and allow the other two to set the table...

Florent Geroux, who currently sits seventh in the national earnings rankings for jockeys in 2022, will ride in California full-time for the first time this summer at Del Mar, according to a report in Blood-Horse. Geroux, perennially one of the leading rider in Kentucky in the spring and fall, used to spend summers in Saratoga, but had moved his tack to Ellis the past few years. Geroux's agent, Doug Bredar, told Blood-Horse his client will ride for "almost everybody at the top of the standings" at Del Mar and that...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. California Track: Los Alamitos Date: 06/24/2022 Licensee: Peter Miller, owner Penalty: $5,000 fine Violation: Disorderly conduct Explainer: Pursuant to a Stipulated Agreement and Mutual Release with the California Horse Racing Board, Owner Peter Miller is fined $5,000.00 for violation of California Horse...

Cyberknife, who earned a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby with his win in the Apr. 2 GI Arkansas Derby, never factored on the First Saturday in May, but got a graded win under the Twin Spires with a dramatic victory in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill Downs Sunday. Sent off the 1-2 favorite, the chestnut colt tucked in behind the early leaders to save ground on the first turn, but rushed up to press pacesetting Howling Time while racing keenly down the backstretch through moderate splits. Cyberknife...

Heading into Friday's GII George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan, much of the attention centered around GIII Las Virgenes S. winner Adare Manor (Uncle Mo). However, when the dust had settled, it was Flurry Racing Stables' Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) who had scampered away to victory, heading a 1-2 finish for Coolmore stallions. Sent off at 6-1, Interstatedaydream shadowed 11-1 chance Beguine (Gun Runner) through :23.34 and :46.65 splits as favored Adare Manor, the sole graded winner in the bunch, tracked in third. Inching closer to her front-running rival before drawing even...

With two weeks remaining until the first weekend of May, several chief protagonists for the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Kentucky Oaks turned in some key breezes in Kentucky and California. Jeff Drown's Zandon (Upstart), who cemented his spot in the Derby field with an eye-catching victory in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 9, has remained in Lexington to train up to the big race and went a half-mile in :48.60 (see below). The $170,000 Keeneland September graduate covered his opening furlong in :12.80, then...

'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings), most recently runner-up to Epicenter (Not This Time) in the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 26, continued his preparations for the May 7 GI Kentucky Derby with a five-furlongs work that was timed in 1:00.20 Friday morning at Churchill Downs. Breezing in the company of his GI Longines Kentucky Oaks-bound stablemate Turnerloose (Nyquist), the Barry and Joni Butzow homebred was out at 5:30 a.m. and broke off about a length behind the GII Rachel Alexandra S. heroine before galloping along through fractions of :24 flat and...

Saturday's GII Azeri S. at Oaklawn Park features several of the most prominent figures in the Distaff division each lining up to get their first graded stakes win of the 2022 season. The reigning champion sprinter and winner of the 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) returns to the two-turn distance after spending much of her 2021 season at seven-furlongs. She's been plenty successful at this distance before, including a win the 2020 GI Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park and two third-place efforts in...

Jockeys Florent Geroux and E. T. Baird were fined $5,000 each by the stewards at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club for exceeding the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB)'s six-strikes-per-race limit on their mounts in Breeders' Cup races. In addition, jockey Tom Eaves got fined $1,000 for raising his whip above shoulder level prior to a strike. All of those actions were deemed to be in violation of CHRB Rule 1688, which mandates six-strike, underhand-only, no-more-than-two-hits-in succession whipping with crops that are designed to deliver lower-impact blows. The two $5,000 fines are...

Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) sat off a quick early pace, pounced at the five-sixteenths pole and edged clear in the lane to capture the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. Sunday at Del Mar, punching her ticket to the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff in the "Win and You're In" qualifier with her third Grade I victory. Bought into by Qatar Racing out of a debut victory for Norm Casse in June of 2019 and transferred to Simon Callaghan, the bay went winless in three subsequent starts as a juvenile, but still hammered...

Four weeks after the commonly owned 'TDN Rising Star' and stablemate Mandaloun (Into Mischief) crossed the line second in the GI Kentucky Derby, Juddmonte's Fulsome (Into Mischief) was afforded his own chance to shine and made the most of the opportunity in Saturday's GIII Matt Winn S., overcoming a sluggish break to defeat Derby fifth O Besos (Orb) and that race's eighth-place finisher Helium (Ironicus) in convincing fashion. Sent off the 17-10 chalk to remain perfect in three tries on the main track, the impeccably bred bay walked out of...

With just two weeks remaining to the running of the GI Kentucky Derby, the Saturday worktab at Churchill Downs was dotted with the names of top sophomores headed towards the first jewel of racing's Triple Crown. Godolphin's reigning Eclipse Award-winning juvenile colt and 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit) took to the Churchill main track at 5:15 a.m. with big-race rider Luis Saez in from Keeneland to put the colt through his paces. The homebred went five furlongs in :59.60 after breaking off about a length behind 4-year-old stablemate Spa...