Florent Geroux

'TDN Rising Star' Jace's Road (Quality Road) took advantage of a bit of a stumbling start from favored Determinedly (Cairo Prince) to lead past every pole for a maiden stakes success in Monday's Gun Runner S. at the Fair Grounds. Sent off the 14-5 second favorite off a forgettable and forgivable eighth-place effort as the favorite in a sloppy renewal of the GIII Street Sense S. at Churchill Downs Oct. 30, the $510,000 Keeneland September graduate found his way to the front as Determinedly--off at 4-5--bobbled slightly and though pressured,...

Trainer Mike Maker racked up his 20th and 21st Claiming Crown victories on Saturday, extending his lifetime lead among conditioners in that annual series by saddling Keystone Field (Candy Ride {Arg}) to a determined half-length win in the featured $175,000 Jewel. But while Maker's familiar presence in the winner's circle underscored his resilience in the event often described as the "blue-collar Breeders' Cup," a trainer taking his first crack at the Claiming Crown, Tom Van Berg, also registered two series victories and added a third on the undercard for a...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency           8th-KEE, $110K, Alw, 3yo/up, 6f, 4:44 p.m. Dubbed a 'TDN Rising Star' for his 4 1/2-length gate-to-wire debut performance on Derby Day at Churchill Downs May 7, STROBE (Into Mischief) returns in the Godolphin royal blue Friday. Given a 99 Beyer Speed Figure for his defeat of Elite Power (Curlin), who has since won four-in-a-row including last weekend's GII Vosburgh S., Strobe enters off a five-furlong work in 1:00 4/5 Oct. 7 (2/19) for trainer Brad Cox. Out of GI Test...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Though an impressive win in the GI Haskell S. helped make Cyberknife (Gun Runner) the second choice on the morning line for Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S., trainer Brad Cox agreed with the question: Is your colt underappreciated? "I think he is a little bit, given the fact he's won two Grade Is," Cox said. Very quickly, Cox made it clear that he was not quibbling that the linemaker for the 153rd Travers figured that Epicenter (Not This Time) would have the lowest odds by his...

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...