GII Remsen Stakes

You'd think the nine-furlong GII Remsen S. might be a good measuring stick for GI Kentucky Derby potential because it's the only top-level, 1 1/8-miles American dirt race for juveniles before they turn three. But only three horses in the last 61 years-Thunder Gulch, Go For Gin and Pleasant Colony-have parlayed wins in the Remsen into a blanket of roses at Churchill Downs. Instead, in recent runnings, the Remsen has evolved into a pipeline for progress deeper into the 3-year-old season. Remsen winners have captured two of the last three...

After upsetting last weekend's GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs with First Resort (Uncle Mo), Godolphin and trainer Eoin Harty doubled up in dramatic fashion with fellow 2-year-old homebred Poster (Munnings) in Saturday's GII Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct. The victory, good for 10 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby, also provided jockey Flavien Prat with his record-setting 80th stakes win of the season and his 55th graded stakes win of the year, tying Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey. Making his dirt and stakes debut after...

The Saturday graded stakes action across North America offers several options, but the Big A earns the spotlight as the venerable NYRA track plays host to some strong races. Even though the Cigar Mile Handicap was downgraded a tick from its top level status by the American Graded Stakes Committee in 2023, connections still consider the race to possess a certain cache and the rigor in this year's edition is evident. "It [Cigar Mile] came up pretty salty," said Book'em Danno's trainer Derek Ryan. "It is a Grade II now...

Conditioner Linda Rice reports that Garland of Roses victress Hot Fudge (Liam's Map) has come out of her first stakes victory 'feeling great' after taking the listed eight days removed from visiting the winner's circle in an optional claimer. She is unbeaten since her return from a near six-month layoff, and her 2023 campaign has seen the filly take home five wins in seven starts. "That filly, we've had a few strange things happen with her when she was young, and then she had such a nice winter. We elected...