Keeneland September

2nd-Belmont, $90,000, Msw, 6-12, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:36.94, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. MILES D (c, 3, Curlin--Sound the Trumpets, by Bernardini) made a single visit to the races last season, a well-bet and close-up fourth at Aqueduct Oct. 11, in an event that has turned out to be no ordinary maiden. Next-out 'TDN Rising Star' and Smarty Jones S. winner Caddo River (Hard Spun) was runner-up to Godophin's Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) and a half-length better than Greatest Honour (Tapit), who would go on to annex the GIII Holy Bull S....

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 11:35 a.m. Juvenile colts kick off the festivities on GI Belmont S. day. Trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle three for the big one, and two members of the next generation in here. Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Gainesway Stable's Wit (Practical Joke) was a $575,000 Keeneland September buy. He is a half brother to the talented Washington-based GSW Barkley (Munnings). Wit's stablemate Keepcalmcarryon (Union Rags) cost $75,000 at the same auction. His dam Lavender Chrissie (Scat Daddy) was...

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Chukyo and Tokyo Racecourses, which stage the first juvenile races of the season on the JRA circuit, featuring the first-crop progeny of former US-based American Patriot (War Front) and Drefong (Gio Ponti) in addition members of the lone crop...

Yuji Inaida's France Go de Ina (Will Take Charge) visited Belmont's main track for the first time Friday to begin preparations for a start in the June 5 GI Belmont S. Trained by Hideyuki Mori said the Kentucky-bred was settling in well to his new surroundings after arriving at Belmont last Monday following his seventh-place finish in the GI Preakness S. "It's been 15 years since I've been here," said the 62-year-old with a laugh Saturday morning on the Belmont backstretch via translator Kate Hunter.  "I forgot how big it...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Chukyo and Tokyo Racecourses. This week's Group 1 feature is the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), in which the popular white filly Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) will attempt to protect her perfect five-for-five record while attempting the 2400-meter trip for the first...

Successful California-based stallion Vronsky (Danzig--Words of War, by Lord at War {Arg}), the sire of Grade I winner What A View, passed away from an apparent heart attack after successfully covering a mare at Harris Farms, according the farm's General Manager Jonny Hilvers. Vronsky was 22 years old. Bred by Arthur Hancock and Stonerside Ltd., Vronsky was a $1-million purchase out of the 2000 Keeneland September Sale and was a three-time winner at the races before entering stud in 2005 at E. W. 'Buddy' Johnston's Old English Rancho in Sanger,...

1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 1:00p.m. Trainer Shug McGaughey unveils West Point, Siena Farm, Bobby Flay and Woodford Racing's FIRST CAPTAIN (Curlin), a $1.5 million purchase at the Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Select sale last summer. The colt is the first foal out of GSW & GISP America (A.P. Indy), a homebred for the Iron Chef. The 3-year-old sports a bullet four-furlong work in :48 1/5 at Payson Apr. 10, and most recently, registered a :48 4/5 (28/63) for the same distance at Belmont Apr. 17. Also suiting up for the first...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Saturday running at Tokyo Racecourse. Group 1 racing in Japan resumes next weekend with the two-mile Tenno Sho (Spring) at Hanshin: Saturday, April 24, 2021 6th-TOK, ¥13,830,000 ($128k), Allowance, 3yo, 1600m ANNUNCIATION (c, 3, Union Rags--Acquant, by Giant's Causeway) made up a ton...

'TDN Rising Star' Gamine (Into Mischief), the reigning Eclipse Award-winning female sprinter, kicks off her 4-year-old season in Sunday's GIII Las Flores S. at Santa Anita, where she faces just three other rivals. Not among the original nominees to the race, Michael Lund's speedster was supplemented to the six-furlong test for $2,000, and the owner of the fastest five speed figures should make light work of it. The $220,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $1.8-million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic topper was devastating going one turn last season, winning those four races by a...

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Nakayama Racecourse. The weekend's other meetings take place at Hanshin, which on Sunday stages the G1 Osaka Hai, featuring a mouth-watering clash between Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Imact {Jpn}) and Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Sunday running at Hanshin, Nakayama and Chukyo Racecourses, the last of which hosts the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen and its defending champion US-bred 6-year-old mare Mozu Superflare (Speightstown): Sunday, March 28, 2021 3rd-CKO, ¥9,680,000 ($89k), Maiden, 3yo, 1900m MOZU TREASURE (f, 3, California Chrome--Somethinaboutbetty,...

Jan Vandebos and her late husband Robert Naify paid a visit to Coolmore on a trip to Ireland several years ago, fueling a desire to seed her high-quality broodmare band with a mare by the world's most dominant stallion. That rendezvous set in motion a chain of events that will see the RanJan Racing-bred Congratulation (American Pharoah), the former 'TDN Rising Star' Monarch of Egypt, take part in one of the world's richest age-restricted events, the HK$24-million (US$ 3.09 million) BMW Hong Kong Derby (NH/SH 4-year-olds only, 2000mT) Sunday afternoon...