Gary and Mary West

Gary and Mary West homebred Slumber Party (Malibu Moon) showed off a high cruising speed Sunday to easily best a well-bred group of fillies at Gulfstream and earn the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction. With an upbeat worktab at Palm Meadows on display, the 5-1 shot broke on top and quickly opened up on her competition down the backside. She posted splits of :22.50 and :45.33, and rounded the bend five or six lengths clear. Showing no signs of stopping from there, the chestnut cantered home a geared-down 7 1/2-length winner,...

Concert Tour (c, 3, Street Sense--Purse Strings, by Tapit) rolled home to an ultra-impressive debut score for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert for 'TDN Rising Star' honors at Santa Anita Friday. The Gary and Mary West homebred's worktab included a six-furlong bullet in 1:13 (1/11) in Arcadia Jan. 1 and was backed accordingly as the the even-money favorite while debuting with blinkers and Lasix. He sat a looming presence in second in the early stages and tugged his way to the front under an absolute hammer lock three furlongs from...

7th-Aqueduct, $79,540, Alw, 11-13, (NW1$X), 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:17.20, sy, 4 1/2 lengths. FULL IMPACT (c, 3, Street Sense--Four Gifts {MGSW, $640,068}, by Even the Score) was a front-running winner going six panels at Monmouth Oct. 14 and was installed the 3-2 choice to remain undefeated. Up to prompt 9-2 chance War Tocsin (Violence) through a :22.59 opening quarter, the grey was at the pacesetter's throat latch following a :46.47 half. Moving into a clear advantage leaving the quarter-pole, he left the tiring rival behind and drew off to an...

Eclipse Champion Maximum Security (New Year's Day--Lil Indy, by Anasheed) has been retired from racing and will stand as Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Central Kentucky for the 2021 breeding season. His fee will be $20,000. "Maximum Security was an exceptional racehorse and I have no doubt that he will prove very popular with breeders once they see him," said Ashford's Director of Sales Charlie O'Connor. "He's an extremely impressive-looking individual." Named champion 3-year-old colt in 2019, Maximum Security retires with an official record of four Grade I scores, including the...

A three-judge panel of a federal appeals court Friday upheld a district court's decision from last November to dismiss a lawsuit by Gary and Mary West, the owners of Maximum Security (New Year's Day), which sought to overturn the colt's controversial disqualification from first place in the 2019 GI Kentucky Derby. "What should have been the fastest two minutes in sports turned into over a year of litigation," wrote Judge John K. Bush in the opinion accompanying the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit....

Two days after the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) announced that it was withholding payment of the winner's share of the purse for the $20-million Saudi Cup won by Maximum Security (New Year's Day), the colt's owners issued a statement which called the Saudi's actions something that was unprecedented in the annals of racing. The statement was signed by Gary West and Coolmore. Just nine days after Maximum Security won the Saudi Cup, his trainer Jason Servis was indicted on federal charges involving horse doping. The Servis indictment led...

The matter of whether or not Maximum Security (New Year's Day) should be disqualified from his victory in the $20-million Saudi Cup has been made out to be much more complicated than it is. Did any illegal substances show up in any of the battery of tests conducted on Maximum Security before and after the Saudi Cup? If the answer is no, there is no justification for not paying owners Gary and Mary West and partners the $10 million due to the winner. If the answer is yes, then disqualify...

Lightly raced Fighting Mad (New Year's Day) zipped away early and held sway late to take Sunday evening's GI Clement L. Hirsch S. at Del Mar and stamp her ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. Looking to add to another productive weekend for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert that included Saturday scores in the GI Whitney S. and Shared Belief S., the Gary and Mary West homebred was backed down to 9-5 favoritism from a 4-1 morning line quote and wasted little time seizing command. Under a tight...

Eclipse Award winner Maximum Security (New Year's Day) makes his first start for trainer Bob Baffert and first since the federal indictment of former trainer Jason Servis in Saturday's rescheduled GII San Diego H. at Del Mar. The homebred was a two-time Grade I winner during his championship campaign in 2019, taking the GI Florida Derby and GI Haskell Invitational S. around his disqualification from an apparent victory in the GI Kentucky Derby. He proved his versatility and did what no other horse of his generation could at the tail...

7th-Churchill Downs, $78,268, Msw, 5-25, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:16.56, ft. OCEAN BREEZE (f, 3, Curlin--Oceanwave {MGSP, $245,449}, by Harlan's Holiday) the actual post-time favorite at 9-5 over Union Maiden (Union Rags), powered away from her rivals to graduate by 8 1/4 lengths Monday at Churchill. Quickly into stride from her high draw, Ocean Breeze settled in an early fifth and got under way in earnest three wide at the half-mile. Cruising up while traveling well nearing the stretch, she was cut loose by Martin Garcia to take over three-sixteenths...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. In this edition, Pit Boss (Union Rags) is highlighted following a second-place finish on debut for trainer Wayne Catalano at Oaklawn Park last weekend. Previous runners featured in this column include: MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), MSW and 'TDN Rising Star' Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), the highly regarded GII San Felipe S. runner-up Honor A. P. (Honor Code) and GII...

Admitting that the charges that trainer Jason Servis drugged Maximum Security (New Year's Day) threaten the integrity of Thoroughbred racing, his owner, Gary West, has announced that he has hired veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage to examine the horse "from hoof to tail." When asked by the TDN in a follow-up email that if further testing revealed that Maximum Security had illegal drugs in his systems in any races if he would advocate that the horse be disqualified, he replied: "I am not an authority on medications and SGF-1000 (the drug...