Graham Motion

3rd-Laurel, $52,520, Msw, 7-1, 2yo, f, 5f, :58.39, ft, 8 lengths. TOUPIE (f, 2, Uncle Mo--Amertume {GSP}, by Tapit) was a deserving even-money favorite in this unveiling, jumping up to strike the front from the early jumps to set the pace just outside of Remember Me (Imagining). The pair stayed in close quarters through fractions of :22.93 and :45.79 before Toupie eagerly shook off her shadow past the quarter pole and spurted clear, opening up a dominant advantage that was eight lengths on the wire. Remember Me held on for...

Trainer Graham Motion claimed the top prize of $50,000 in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 trainer bonus, which was offered to horsemen for participation in stakes races over GI Preakness S. weekend at Pimlico. To be eligible for the bonus, trainers had to start a minimum of five horses in the 15 Thoroughbred stakes races. Points were assigned based on finish position--first (10), second (seven), third (five), fourth (three) and fifth through last (one). The trainer with the most points earned $50,000, followed by $25,000 for second, $12,000 for third,...

Continuing on the heels of a stacked card Friday, Pimlico offers a robust eight-stakes offering Saturday, led by the $1.5 million GI Preakness S. With GI Kentucky Derby winning Mage (Good Magic) looming as the one to beat, the race suffered a notable blow Friday with the defection of Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense), shaving the field back to seven. Having not only showed a recency in form but also the ability to win at the highest level, none of the chestnut's rivals can really make the...

GI Kentucky Derby entrant Raise Cain (Violence), trained by Ben Colebrook, and GI Kentucky Oaks entrant Affirmative Lady (Arrogate), trained by Graham Motion, worked at Keeneland on Thursday morning, the track said in a release. Raise Cain covered a half-mile in company with the unraced 3-year-old filly Merrily Rush (Cross Traffic) in :49 on a fast track. Clockers caught him galloping out 5 furlongs in 1:02.80. "I just wanted him to have something to run at: a horse 5 lengths in front of him because that's something he'll be doing...

The last of the prep races for the GI Kentucky Oaks have been run, which means we have a pretty good idea who will be in the starting gate come May 5 in a race that is limited to 14 starters. As of now, you need 50 points to make the field, which is not good news for a handful of fillies who once looked like locks to make the race. Last year's 2-year-old filly champion, Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief), who held the top spot in this poll for several...

12th-Santa Anita, $75,888, Alw, 4-8, (NW1$X), 3yo/up, f/m, 1m (off turf), 1:37.10, ft, 6 lengths. ANCIENT PEACE (f, 3, War Front--Deceptive Vision {GSW & GISP-Can, GSW-USA, $501,441}, by A.P. Indy), off the board in her one-mile turf debut at Del Mar last December, graduated by a front-running 4 1/4 lengths going that same distance over the Santa Anita lawn Dec. 30 for Mike Ryan and trainer Graham Motion, just days before selling for $650,000 to Travis Boersma's Boardshorts Stables at this year's Keeneland January sale. Ryan had purchased the well-bred...

The GII Gulfstream Park Oaks brought a new contestant into the GI Kentucky Oaks picture in victress Affirmative Lady. The connections of the blossoming daughter of Arrogate are newcomers not only to the Oaks trail, but to racing in the U.S. After launching its American stable two years ago, AMO Racing celebrated its first graded stakes win in the States with Affirmative Lady's score on Saturday. Founded by football agent and businessman Kia Joorabchian, AMO Racing has proven to be a force on the other side of the Atlantic in...

A year after Secret Oath gave her late sire Arrogate a first winner of the GI Kentucky Oaks, the stallion looks to have a legitimate chance to add to that total posthumously in the form of Affirmative Lady (Arrogate), who made multiple runs to cause an 8-1 upset in Saturday's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks. A breakthrough maiden winner with first-time blinkers over track and trip at first asking Feb. 26, the AMO Racing USA colorbearer got a good spot at the fence through the early exchanges as Flakes (Frosted) took...

North America's richest horse Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) is among the nine equine finalists for the 2023 National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame class. Additionally, six trainers and one jockey account for the 16 total individuals who will make up the ballot, which will be chosen by the Museum's Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. The other finalists are Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision), California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), Game On Dude (Awesome Again), Havre de Grace (Saint Liam), Kona Gold (Java Gold), Lady Eli (Divine Park), Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy), and...

The passing of Burt Bacharach last week evokes a couple of complementary tales that reflect instructively not only on the great man himself, but also on the different ways that different farms go about their business. Back in the early 1980s Bacharach was staying in downtown Lexington, having been driven down from a concert in Cincinnati the night before so that he could visit his mares and foals before flying on to his next show. Catherine Parke was still in her twenties, having barely established Valkyre Stud on a parcel...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack tracks down top horses on the sidelines. Gainesway homebred Spendarella (f, 3, Karakontie {Jpn}--Spanish Bunny, by Unusual Heat)--sidelined since posting a dominating 4 1/2-length victory for trainer Graham Motion in the GI Del Mar Oaks in August--will return for a 4-year-old campaign with an early-season target of the GI Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland. "She came out of that last race with a couple of little issues and we gave her some time," said Alex Solis II, Gainesway's Director of Bloodstock...

Speaking Scout came running late to upset the GI Hollywood Derby Saturday at Del Mar. Cold on the board at 8-1, the gelding broke well from the 10-hole, but was content to race near the back as longshot Evan Harlan (Temple City) carved out opening splits of :24.51 and :49.86. Asked for more approaching the far turn, the bay launched a powerful four-wide rally in the lane, forging clear late to score. Spycatcher held second over Wit. Fourth in both the GIII Kent S. and Bald Eagle Derby this summer,...