Lecomte S.

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Epicenter (Not This Time--Silent Candy, by Candy Ride {Arg}), a leading candidate for champion 3-year-old honors, will enter stud in 2023 at Ashford Stud. He will stand for $45,000. Bred at Mike, Brent and Kevin Harrises' Westwind Farms in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Epicenter was hammered down to the Winchell team for $260,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale and was ultimately turned over to the operation's Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. A maiden winner at second asking going the one-turn mile at Churchill Downs, the bay romped...

With so much background noise over the tragic Medina Spirit (Protonico), few have given due attention to another poignant context for the potential elevation of Mandaloun (Into Mischief) as official winner of the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. If the next name on the roll of honor happens to be Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute), however, then perhaps more of us will renew our gratitude to the late Prince Khalid Abdullah for a legacy well measured by the performance of both horses at Fair Grounds last Saturday. The founder of Juddmonte...

Let go at 28-1 and apparently overmatched on paper, the well-tried Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute) stormed down the center of the long Fair Grounds stretch to just nose out narrow second choice Epicenter (Not This Time) in Saturday's GIII Lecomte S., the first of three local preps on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. A maiden winner at fifth asking going Churchill's one-turn mile last Nov. 13, the $80,000 OBS March grad raced well back in the field as Surfer Dude (Curlin) and last-out Gun Runner S. hero Epicenter...

Fastest two minutes in sport? You'll excuse us a bitter laugh here. By the time Mandaloun (Into Mischief) leaves the gate Saturday for the GIII Louisiana S., he'll be 382,968 minutes into a GI Kentucky Derby without end. And, with no sign of anyone putting their attorneys back in the holster, it's plainly going to be a while yet before we know whether Mandaloun will finally be anointed the 147th winner of a race that drives so many millions of dollars of investment in our industry. (Listen to this column...

Much to the delight of owner/breeder Rustlewood Farm and trainer Mark Casse, Pappacap (Gun Runner) will face nothing of the quality of the likes of 'TDN Rising Star' and likely Eclipse Award winner Corniche (Quality Road) when he makes his sophomore debut in Saturday's GIII Lecomte S. at the Fair Grounds. The homebred was off the board just once from five runs in 2021, winning the GII Best Pal S. by open lengths at second asking before completing the exacta underneath the OBS April topper when beaten 3 1/4 lengths...

Juddmonte Farms' TDN Rising Star Mandaloun (Into Mischief) attempts to follow up on a professional last-out score in the GII Risen Star S. in Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. Earning Rising Star status first time out going six panels at Keeneland last October, the bay followed up with another solid win while adding an additional furlong in a Churchill Downs optional claimer the following month. Heavily supported for his seasonal reappearance in the Jan. 16 GIII Lecomte S. in New Orleans, he had to settle for third,...

Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) put himself on the GI Kentucky Derby trail with a tenacious, one-length front-running score in Saturday's GIII Lecomte S. at Fair Grounds. Proxy (Tapit) was second; 4-5 favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief) was third after a wide trip in his two-turn debut. The 7-2 shot left the gate running from his rail draw and led the scratched-down field of eight into the clubhouse turn. Midnight Bourbon cruised along on the front end beneath Joe Talamo through fractions of :24.68 and :48.99, while Proxy, a...

The same week that Juddmonte Farms' owner and founder Khalid Abdullah passed away, the legendary outfit has a chance to take a step toward its long-sought first GI Kentucky Derby win when undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief) goes postward as a likely favorite in the GIII Lecomte S. Saturday at Fair Grounds. The race kicks off the Louisiana oval's three-race Derby prep schedule, to be followed by the GII Risen Star S. and GII Louisiana Derby. Hammered down to 11-10 favoritism debuting Oct. 24 at Keeneland, the homebred...