Just F Y I

Trainer Bill Mott's barn sent out a pair of Classic aspirants Thursday morning, including Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman's GII Wood Memorial winner Resilience (Into Mischief) along with George Krikorian's GI Ashland S. runner-up Just F Y I (Justify). The two returned to the work tab to continue their preparations for the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks, respectively. The duo began their work together at 7:30 a.m. ET after galloping about one mile. The defending champion juvenile filly Just F Y I worked to the outside of Resilience...

Billed as a showdown between the top three finishers of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Keeneland's opening day GI Central Bank Ashland S.--worth not just $600,000 in purse money but also GI Kentucky Oaks points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale--instead featured the blossoming of Whisper Hill Farm's 'TDN Rising Star' Leslie's Rose (f, 3, Into Mischief--Wildwood Rose {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), who left no doubt about the top filly on the day with a three-length tour de force. George Krikorian's Breeders' Cup winner and Eclipse champion Just F Y I...

Kentucky Senator Henry Clay might be considered one of the premier American politicians pre-Lincoln, but what is not up for debate was his fervent commitment to breeding equine athletes and attending the races. You cannot actually visit his home--Ashland--because the structure that stands on the Clay Estate just south of downtown Lexington is not original to "The Great Compromiser" and his time. However, interpretations of Clay-related objects enliven the tour. Ashland in name was imported as a stakes race when Keeneland opened in 1936. Some familiar female runners who graced...

Things are heating up and the prospective field for the GI Kentucky Oaks is starting to take shape. Tarifa (Bernardini) won the GII Fair Grounds Oaks last Saturday and is very much looking like the horse to beat in the Kentucky Oaks. At Turfway Park, the former claimer Everland (Arrogate) earned her way into the Oaks with a win in the Bourbonette Oaks. Two huge preps will be run this Saturday--the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and the GIII Fantasy at Oaklawn. Here's a look at the latest installment of our...

After a nationwide vote among his peers, Junior Alvarado has won the 2024 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, Santa Anita Park announced via press release Friday. Presented annually at the Great Race Place since 1950, the award honors riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem individually as well as for the sport. Alvarado garnered national attention in 2023 as the regular rider of Horse of the Year Cody's Wish and more recently spoiled Japan's hopes in the world's richest race, the G1 Saudi Cup, aboard G1SW-KSA & MGISP Senor...

Jody's Pride (f, 3, American Pharoah--Jody's Song, by Scat Daddy) opened her 2024 with style here as she outgamed Carmelina (Maximus Mischief) to claim her first stakes win of the season in the Busher S. A dirt horse by accident after her maiden turf dash debut Aug. 9 at Saratoga was brought off the grass and she dominated by 10 1/2 lengths, it was a similar story for the Matron S. in her second start Oct. 8 when that six-panel sprint also came off the turf and again sending Jody's...

Stonehedge LLC's homebred Fiona's Magic (f, 3, St Patrick's Day--Mollie's Magic, by Factum) was catapulted into the spotlight on a Saturday reeling from several pre-race scratches of major players in significant graded events. Gulfstream Park's GII Davona Dale S. presented by FanDuel TV, a Road to the Kentucky Oaks race worth $200,000 as well as points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale, was not immune as Eclipse champion and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Just F Y I (Justify) developed a fever Saturday morning after shipping to Gulfstream from Payson Park....

Things are starting to heat up. Saturday's Busher S. at Aqueduct and Saturday's GII Davona Dale S. at Gulfstream both have the potential to shake things up. The Davona Dale will feature the return of 2-year-old champion filly Just FYI (Justify) and what looks to be an up-and-coming star in Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief). The Busher will feature Jody's Pride (American Pharoah), who was the runner-up behind Just FYI in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Here's a look at the fourth installment of our Kentucky Oaks Top 10. 1)...

Undefeated champion juvenile filly MGISW Just F Y I (Justify) and GSW Dornoch (Good Magic) are both slated to make their seasonal debuts in Florida Mar. 2, the former in the GII Davona Dale S. and the latter in the GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park. Conditioner Bill Mott hopes to use South Florida as his springboard to the GI Kentucky Oaks May 3, saying, "I've gone back and forth just deciding should I have two races or one [for Just F YI]. If I put two races...

We have a new No. 1. Tarifa (Bernardini) beat a stellar field in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. at the Fair Grounds to soar up the list to the top spot. We've dropped Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}), who has only had two three furlongs works so far this year, raising the possibility that she won't be ready for the GI Kentucky Oaks. We've also dropped Alpine Princess (Classic Empire) after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Rachel Alexandra and Life Talk (Gun Runner), who was a disappointing sixth in the...

George Krikorian's champion homebred Just F Y I (Justify) leads a cast of 104 3-year-old fillies that were nominated to compete in the 150th running of the $1.5-million GI Longines Kentucky Oaks Friday, May 3 at Churchill Downs. Just F Y I joins 23 other stakes winners based across North America that were nominated to the Kentucky Oaks, including recent GII Rachel Alexandra S. winner Tarifa (Bernardini); GI Alcibiades S. winner Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}); and GII Golden Rod S. winner Intricate (Gun Runner). The 104 fillies became eligible to...

It was an evening to remember for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's Godolphin team, as the worldwide operation accumulated no fewer than five statuettes over the course of the evening at Thursday's 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards Presented by FanDuel TV, John Deere, Keeneland and The Jockey Club, honoring and recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing. And they saved the best for last, as Cody's Wish (Curlin), whose story resonated with nearly every fan of Thoroughbred racing and beyond, was named Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male for...