GI Hopeful S.

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.--While it wasn't the scenario he expected at the beginning of the month, trainer John Ortiz will be busy late Saturday afternoon saddling the fillies Brightwork (Outwork) and 'TDN Rising Star' Quietside (Malibu Moon) in consecutive stakes at Saratoga Race Course. First up will be WSS Racing's Brightwork in the GIII $200,000 Prioress Stakes, scheduled for 5:04 p.m. ET. Immediately after the six-furlong Prioress, Ortiz will scoot back to the paddock to prepare Shortleaf Stable's Quietside in the $300,000 GI Spinaway Stakes, which Brightwork won last year. When...

Mentee (City of Light), the two-year-old full-brother to GI Travers Stakes winner Fierceness (City of Light), came down with laminitis after his winning debut on June 15 at Aqueduct. According to owner Mike Repole, who revealed the news on the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland, the situation was so severe that the colt is "lucky to be alive." However, Mentee recovered so well and so quickly that he is set to start in Monday's GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga. Mentee broke his maiden by a nose, defeating another...

2nd-KEE, $110K, OC/N1X, 3yo, 6f, 1:32 p.m. ET. PIRATE (Omaha Beach) begins his 3-year-old campaign after he broke his maiden at first asking and secured 'TDN Rising Star' honors last July at Saratoga. The dark bay then ran third to Nutella Fella (Runhappy) and fellow 'Rising Star' Timberlake in the GI Hopeful S. just before the meet upstate closed for the summer. A $350,000 purchase by Starlight Racing and Harrell Ventures at the Keeneland September Sale, the Todd Pletcher trainee is a half-brother to GI Preakness S. and GI Pegasus...

The Schenectady Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order Thursday that put a halt on the New York Gaming Commission's efforts to disqualify Forte (Violence) from his win in the 2022 GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga and suspend trainer Todd Pletcher. Acting on behalf of Pletcher and owners Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, attorney Drew Mollica filed an Article 78 appeal. Article 78 appeals are lawsuits mainly used to challenge an action, or inaction, by agencies of New York State and local governments. The New York Gaming Commission has alleged...

Members of the New York Gaming Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to uphold a recommendation from a hearing officer that Forte (Violence) be disqualified from his victory in the 2022 GI Hopeful S. In the Hopeful, Forte tested positive for the prohibited substance meloxicam, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication. The case has moved slowly since the Sept. 2022 race. It took a eight months for the New York Gaming Commission to make the finding public and when it did the stewards disqualified Forte, fined Pletcher $1,000 and suspended him for ten days....

Perhaps it is called the Hopeful Stakes because that's the most anyone can ever be with a Thoroughbred. But if nearly any purchaser at Keeneland over the next couple of weeks would like to be contesting that race, a year from now, then one consignor might give them not just hope but something closer to confidence. Okay, so a trifecta for Eaton Sales graduates in the Saratoga Grade I last year featured only the winner, Forte (Violence), from the 2021 Keeneland September Sale. Runner-up Gulfport (Uncle Mo) and third Blazing...

Pura Vida Investments' Rhyme Schemes (Ghostzapper), winner of Saturday's GII Saratoga Special S., exited his easy victory in good form Sunday, according to trainer Norm Casse, who charted a fall campaign for the colt. "Everything looks good [Sunday] morning and he seems happy; no complaints," said Casse, who celebrated his fifth career graded victory. "Overall, it's so rewarding. I've been doing this for a long time and Saratoga is an iconic place--the Saratoga Special is an iconic race. Just to be involved is humbling, and to win it is something...

LEXINGTON, KY - Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola bought 43 yearlings for more than $16 million to top the sheets for the first of two straight years at the 2021 Keeneland September sale. 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence), a $110,000 purchase out of that auction, made good on the duo's significant investment in the industry by capping his 2-year-old season with a championship-worthy performance for trainer Todd Pletcher in Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Repole Stable, Viola's St. Elias Stable and Pletcher previously teamed up to capture the 2019 GI...

Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's Forte (Violence), the beaten favorite in the GIII Sanford S. on opening weekend, rebounded with an emphatic victory through the rain drops in the GI Hopeful S. on closing day at Saratoga Monday. Sent off at 6-1, the dark bay colt was squeezed back at the break and rated near the back of the field as favored Gulfport (Uncle Mo), looking to rebound from his own defeat as a Spa favorite in the Aug. 13 GII Saratoga Special, jumped out to the early lead...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Here we are on the final weekend of the Saratoga season and--no surprise--D. Wayne Lukas is ready to take swings in both of the historic Grade I races for 2-year-olds. The Hall of Fame trainer, who turned 87 Friday, will saddle Holy Cow Stable's Naughty Gal (Into Mischief) Sunday in the GI Spinaway S. The next afternoon, Lukas will send out BC Stable's Bourbon Bash (City of Light) and Western Ghent (American Pharoah) in the GI Hopeful, the final stake of the 154th season of Saratoga...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - This has been a turn-back-the-clock, very D. Wayne Lukas-like, summer at Saratoga for the Hall of Fame trainer. As he approaches his 87th birthday on Sept. 2, the racing legend has won a graded stake, finished second in two others, and made his presence felt at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale with the purchase of five yearlings for $2.725 million, led by of a son of Medaglia d'Oro for $1.35 million. After skipping the past two Saratoga seasons due to a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and...

GISW Basin (Liam's Map-Appenzell, by Johannesburg) has been retired from racing and will stand at Spendthrift Farm in 2022. Standing for a fee of $7,500 S&N, the 4-year-old will participate in the farm's "Share The Upside" program. "We are excited to add Basin to the Spendthrift stallion ranks and to be able to offer breeders a horse of his caliber through our Share The Upside program," said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift General Manager. "We pride ourselves on being able to offer quality at all levels, and we believe there's a lot...