Loved

It's been 17 years now that we've been treated to 2-year-olds by Medaglia d'Oro. From his first GII Golden Rod Stakes winner in his first crop--Rachel Alexandra, a filly who went on to beat the boys more than once and was eventually named Horse of the Year--to his latest this past weekend in perfect four-for-four Good Cheer, the Darley mainstay and ageless wonder continues to amaze and delight. "It's so gratifying for him in the autumn of his career to be hitting these heights," said Darley's Darren Fox. "He's been...

All of us involved in this game tend to be exposed to its ups and downs on a scale proportionate to our means. That being so, there have unsurprisingly been some pretty wild extremes--for better and worse--in the story of the most lavishly funded program in its history. Just think back, for instance, to the last days of April 2001. Sheikh Mohammed had sent Street Cry (Ire) back to the United States, where he had been skillfully developed as a juvenile by Eoin Harty, with the mission of winning the...

The lesser-fancied and less-heralded of an uncoupled Godolphin-owned entry in Thursday's GIII Falls City Stakes at Churchill Downs, the beautifully bred Loved (Medaglia d'Oro) went through her gears in the final three-sixteenths of a mile to cause a mild upset. 'TDN Rising Star' Tarifa (Bernardini), the 7-4 favorite exiting a tough victory in the GII Mother Goose Stakes Oct. 26, boxed on for an alibi-free second while no match for the winner. Having earned her first black-type success in the Mari Hulman George Memorial Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis this past...

Given a cozy inside trip from gate one by Flavien Prat, Alpha Delta Stables' Raging Sea (Curlin) went on the offensive in the stretch and powered clear to make a victorious seasonal return in Friday's GIII Baird Doubledogdare S. at Keeneland. Sent off as the 5-2 second choice while making her first start since annexing last year's GIII Comely S. in November at Aqueduct, the homebred fell into the box seat in the early going as Loved (Medaglia d'Oro) cut out even fractions while tracked along by Hidden Connection (Connect)...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-GP, $60k, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 2:01p.m. ET Beautifully bred and sporting the royal Godolphin blue, LOVED (Medaglia d'Oro) will be unveiled by Brendan Walsh, a conditioner well-versed with her family as the trainer of the filly's half-brother, MGISW and new Darley sire Maxfield (Street Sense). Out of a daughter of Caress (Storm Cat), Loved hails from the female family of leading sires Bernstein (Storm Cat) and Sky Mesa (Pulpit), as well as MGSW & GISP Golden Velvet (Seeking the Gold), the dam of two...