Julia Shining

2nd-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 1mT, 1:40 p.m. ET. JUSTICE JULIA (Medaglia d'Oro) debuted a well-beaten fifth sprinting six panels at Saratoga last summer behind top two finishers Emery (More Than Ready), also a Stonestreet homebred, and eventual GIII Florida Oaks heroine Waskesiu (American Pharoah). On the work tab since late January at trainer Todd Pletcher's Palm Beach Downs base, the 3-year-old is out of broodmare of the year Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy), who also produced champion 3-year-old Malathaat (Curlin) and her full-sister GSW Julia Shining. Also entered, but...

In a battle featuring a pair of Curlin daughters, it was Raging Sea (Curlin) who just held on over a hard-charging Julia Shining (Curlin) to pick up her first graded-stakes win Saturday in Aqueduct's GIII Comely S. Talented as a juvenile, the Alpha Delta Stables homebred earned a pair of Grade I placings behind champion 2-year-old Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) last Fall in the GI Darley Alcibiades and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Dropped back into the allowance ranks when she finally resurfaced as a 3-year-old in August, Raging...

2nd-SAR, $136k, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 1:46 p.m. Stonestreet Stables' JUSTICE JULIA (Medaglia d'Oro) becomes the latest daughter of Grade I winner Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy) to be saddled by trainer Todd Pletcher, following in the large hoofprints left by two-time champion and multiple Grade I winner Malathaat (Curlin) and graded winner and Grade I placed Julia Shining (Curlin). Stonestreet will also be represented by the debuting in this affair by Emery (More Than Ready) from the Brad Cox barn. The dark bay filly was a $235,000 Keeneland November purchase...

"What's in a name?" Spurning Master Shakespeare and embracing anecdotal evidence, consider the tale of how Saratoga's Oklahoma Training Track got its name. Horsemen complained that the distance across Union Avenue to the main course was such a hike that it might as well be in Boomer Sooner land. Another piece from the past concerns the name of the Alabama S. Dating to 1872, the race was given that moniker after the Derby-winning owner William Cottrell of Mobile asked if it could be dubbed after his home state, instead of...

GSWs Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) breezed five furlongs in company over Saratoga's Oklahoma dirt training track Saturday as both horses prepare for the July 29 GII Jim Dandy S. at the Spa. Under clear skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, the Brad Cox-trained pair stepped onto the fast track right at 5:30 a.m. with Flavien Prat aboard Angel of Empire and Luis Saez on Hit Show. The two walked in tandem midway up the stretch before turning back around to assume their starting...

Compared to an exquisite painting by her owner Barbara Banke, Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy) has been regarded as racing royalty from the very beginning. Now 13 years old, the Grade I winner reigns as monarch of Stonestreet's world-class broodmare band, and this spring, she was crowned 2022 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. Thanks to the efforts of her two Curlin daughters Malathaat and Julia Shining, Dreaming of Julia has already put together a produce record for the books, yet Banke and her team at Stonestreet are hopeful that their...

Defining Purpose (Cross Traffic), upset winner of the GI Central Bank Ashland S. at Keeneland Apr. 7, will ship to Churchill Downs either this coming Monday or Tuesday to prepare for a start in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks May 5. "Defining Purpose came to us in late spring last year," said trainer Ken McPeek, who was unsaddling an Ashland winner for the third time in his career. "She is the first horse I have received from Collete Vanmatre. She told me to see what I thought of her and...

Defining Purpose (f, 3, Cross Traffic--Defining Hope, by Strong Hope) lit up the tote board at 20-1 to upset Friday's GI Central Bank Ashland S. on opening day at Keeneland. The gray sat a dream trip in a stalking second behind a longshot leader through fractions of :23.62 and :47.25. She turned up the heat rounding the far turn, gained command at the top of the stretch, and, after enjoying a clear lead down the lane, held the rallying duo of previously unbeaten and favored Punchbowl (Uncle Mo) and 'TDN...

Everyone's invited, as 2023 Opening Day at Keeneland has arrived. Certainly, there are swollen pools for wagering, the canorous voice of track announcer Kurt Becker, the fine warp and weft of Sunday's best worn mid-week and enough to feast on, even if you don't have the foggiest what's in burgoo. We already know that the Spring meet at the old Keene Farm, hosted by the Association will card its share of tough, competitive fields. Before the 86th running of the $600,000 GI Central Bank Ashland S., spring has not officially...

Throughout prep season for the GI Kentucky Oaks no filly seemed capable of putting in the type of performance that stamped them as the clear leader of the division. It has been a rather uninspiring three months. As for the Oaks itself, it kept looking like the race would be a crap shoot that just about anybody could win. But, thankfully, that changed last week. The win by Wet Paint (Blame) in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn was decisive and stamped her as the clear leader of the division....

D J Stable's Eclipse Award and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) is the marquee name among 103 sophomore fillies that were nominated at the first entry stage for the $1.25-million GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, to be run beneath the Twin Spires Friday, May 5, 2023. The first stage of nominations closed Feb. 18, with a $200 payment. Any 3-year-old filly not among the original entries can become eligible with a fee of $1,500 due no later than Saturday, Apr. 15. Wonder Wheel was four-for-five during...

All eyes last week were on the Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs, where 38-1 shot Dreaming of Snow (Jess's Dream) scored a huge upset over 2-year-old filly champion Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) and the highly regarded Julia Shining (Curlin). That wasn't enough for Dreaming of Snow to make this week's Top 10 for the GI Kentucky Oaks, but it was certainly a herculean effort to defeat two such highly regarded horses. The spotlight this week will be on the Fair Grounds, where the mega-talented Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) will...