Keeneland

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, jockey Luan Machado appeared to misjudge the finish line in Wednesday's eighth race at Keeneland, costing his mount Ultimate Strike (Mineshaft) the win in the maiden claimer. Depending on the distance of its races, Keeneland uses two finish lines and in this mile-and-a-sixteenth dirt race, the race was to end at the second of the two finish lines. Ultimate Strike took command on the far turn and was, according to track announcer Kurt Becker, five lengths in front at the sixteenth pole or...

Keeneland has catalogued 209 horses to the November Horses of Racing Age Sale to be held Nov. 14, the day after the conclusion of the November Breeding Stock Sale, the auction company said in a Wednesday press release. The sale will start at noon ET., which will enable trainers and racing entities to complete their morning activities. The majority of horses in the catalogue will be stabled at Keeneland in Barns 18-26 with some horses offered remotely from their training locations. The catalogue comprises 42 juveniles, 106 3-year-olds and 59...

The Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, now in its ninth year in the United States, concluded Oct. 15 with a ceremony in the sales pavilion at Keeneland, said primary sponsor Godolphin in a release late Tuesday. A total of $122,000 in prize money was awarded across seven cateogries, and FanDuel TV host Todd Schrupp served as the master of ceremonies. This year's awards received additional support from category sponsors NYRA, 1/ST Racing, Keeneland, Hallway Feeds, NTRA, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and Churchill Downs. The TDN served as one of several media...

Sunday's GII Franklin Stakes was a tale of two trips. On one hand, Larry Johnson's Future Is Now (Great Notion), exiting post 5, benefitted from a rail-hugging trip that blossomed into a well-timed opening that propelled her to the front in early stretch and on to victory. On the other end, Godolphin's Star Of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) didn't appear a touch sluggish while leaving post 1 and gradually got shuffled to the back of the 12-horse field, necessitating a giant run if there was any hope to even get...

Irad Ortiz, Jr., a five-time Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Jockey, captured his 4,000th career win aboard Good Temper in Sunday's first race at Keeneland. Trained by Will Walden for owner Mark Stanley, Good Temper showed the way in the 1 1/16-mile dirt route for juvenile fillies, drawing off to win by 1 3/4-lengths as the odds-on favorite. "I just have to thank God first. I started in New York in 2011, and they opened their home for me, supported me big time every day," said Ortiz, Jr. to Keeneland...

Trainer Cherie DeVaux achieved Saturday what many trainers work a lifetime to attain when taking Keeneland's GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup with Lael Stables' She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}). After having a day to digest the watershed moment, she summed up the experience succinctly. "Awesome ... amazing." According to DeVaux, a couple of changes factored in the filly's second Grade I win and DeVaux's first at the Lexington oval. "We expected her to run a good race," DeVaux said. "She was training well... she always trains well. She has...

by Stefanie Grimm and Jill Williams Godolphin homebred Poster (Munnings) stepped from maiden winner to allowance winner in a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy performance Saturday to close out the card at Keeneland. Debuted going one mile on the grass at Ellis Park Aug. 19, he cruised home in gate-to-wire fashion by 1 3/4 lengths as the 5-1 fourth choice. Kept to that distance Saturday but bet down to 9-5, the Eoin Harty trainee was shuffled back by speedier rivals to his outside and wound up fourth along the rail as Enterdadragon...

After a pair of near-misses in graded company this summer, Lael Stables' She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) left nothing to chance Saturday at Keeneland, skipping home the easiest of winners in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes. The King's Plate winner Caitlinhergrtness (Omaha Beach) broke sharply and went right to the lead in the nine-furlong event, while She Feels Pretty, adding blinkers for this effort, sat just off the pacesetter and in cover along the rail. Caitlinhergrtness was clear through a quarter in :23.45 and a half in...

6th-Keeneland, $130,000, Alw (NW3$X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 10-12, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:16.16, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. GIANT MISCHIEF (c, 4, Into Mischief--Vertical Oak {MGSW, $773,095}, by Giant Oak), a returning 'TDN Rising Star' made his first start Saturday since coming third in the GI Malibu Stakes to end the year Dec. 26. Off the board only once in seven prior starts, the Brad Cox runner rebounded here off nearly the year-long layoff as the 4-5 favorite by jumping straight to the front under Tyler Gaffalione. Chased throughout by a determined but...

4th-KEE, 100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 2:36 p.m. WINTER'S LEGACY (Mendelssohn), the last foal out of MGISW Winter Memories, arrives to the races Sunday for owner/breeder Phillips Racing Partnership and trainer James Toner. Winter Memories, who passed in 2023, took both the GI Diana Stakes and the GI Garden City Stakes during her racing career before retiring with earnings of over $1.2m. As a broodmare, she produced eight foals of which seven have made the races and three are winners led by MSW/MGSP Winter Sunset (Tapit) and GISP Seasons...

Godolphin's Star of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) leads an oversubscribed renewal of the GII Franklin Stakes at Keeneland Sunday. With 12 listed in the body of the field and an additional four waiting on the A/E list, the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint offers contenders an opportunity to earn their way into one of a few options during next month's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar. The Charlie Appleby runner certainly hasn't been ducking anyone since embarking on her 3-year-old campaign, having made all six prior starts this season against...

In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of La Mehana in the GIII Waya Stakes in New York. Al Wukair Mare Takes Waya LSU Stables' La Mehana (Fr) (Al Wukair {Ire}) broke her American duck in the GIII Waya Stakes during the Belmont at the Big A meeting last week (video). Trained by Christophe Clement, the bay was third in both the GIII Orchid Stakes and GIII Sheepshead Bay Stakes earlier this...