Midnight Bourbon

The runners-up in all three Triple Crown races—though one of them may be promoted to winner at a later date—will clash along with a very intriguing stretch-out sprinter Saturday at Monmouth in a quality renewal of the GI TVG.com Haskell S., a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Pegged as the 6-5 morning-line favorite is Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), who ran the best race of the three Triple Crown returnees when finishing a hard-luck second to division leader Essential Quality (Tapit) in the GI...

After a few hours of sleep, trainer Michael McCarthy was back at Pimlico Race Course Sunday morning, quietly talking about Rombauer (Twirling Candy)'s emphatic victory in the 146th GI Preakness S. Saturday and looking ahead to the June 5GI Belmont Stakes. Bred and raced by John and Diane Fradkin, Rombauer rallied to a convincing 3 1/2-length score Saturday and stopped the clock in 1:53.62, the eighth-fastest time since the race distance was changed to 1 3/16 miles in 1925. While McCarthy, 50, acquired plenty of experience in Triple Crown races...

The vast majority of the headlines leading up to the 146th renewal of the GI Preakness S. had to do with one horse, one trainer and one subject. But when the dust had settled at Pimlico at approximately 7 p.m. Saturday, the narrative had suddenly changed. In the span of 1 3/16 miles, the story was no longer one of rumors and speculation. It became a story about an improving horse, John and Diane Fradkin's Rombauer (Twirling Candy), that finally had his chance to prove his mettle on the big...

BALTIMORE, MD--Immediately after the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby, it appeared that the GI Preakness S. two weeks hence would be a routine affair. Trainer Bob Baffert would be heading to Pimlico with a record seventh Derby victory under his belt and he would be in the enviable position of trying to collect his eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. And then the unthinkable happened. The Derby winner, Medina Spirit (Protonico), tested positive for Betamethasone, a substance banned on race day. That single event sparked a...

Baltimore, MD--The leadup to this year's GI Preakness S. has proven anything but routine with news of the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for Betamethasone following his GI Kentucky Derby win two weeks ago. However, just two days before the second jewel in the Triple Crown, the vibe around the Stakes Barns on Pimlico's back side had a decidedly more business-as-usual feel rather than a Classic-week electric charge. El Camino Real Derby winner Rombauer (Twirling Candy), third in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S., and Keepmeinmind (Laoban), last...

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) tuned up for Saturday's GI Preakness S. Monday morning at Churchill Downs, working an easy half-mile in :50.20. A $525,000 Keeneland September yearling, Midnight Bourbon won the GIII Lecomte S. in January and earned additional points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a third in the GII Risen Star S. and a runner-up effort in the GII Louisiana Derby. Unable to go forward after taking a bump at the start of the GI Kentucky Derby May 1, the strapping bay colt raced...

LOUISVILLE, KY - Despite heavy overnight rain leaving the Churchill Downs main track a sloppy mess, there was still plenty to take in during Thursday's GI Kentucky Derby/Oaks training session, including an appearance by the horse that has the big bulls-eye on his back. Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}), Soup and Sandwich (Into Mischief) and Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) drew a nice crowd of admirers by the Lukas gap as the track was being sealed beneath ominous skies and humid conditions just a tick before 7:30 a.m. With his...

Barbara Banke has a lofty goal heading into this year's GI Kentucky Oaks. "I would love for there to be a Stonestreet trifecta," she said. "That would be my dream." It sounds like quite the feat, but a trio of sophomore fillies foaled and raised at Stonestreet Farm are shaking out to be some of the strongest contenders expected to be vying for the garland of stargazer lilies on the last Friday of April. GII Rachel Alexandra S. victress Clairiere (Curlin) and GIII Fantasy S. winner Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) both...

After a big win in last weekend's GI Arkansas Derby, trainer Steve Asmussen joins this weeks' TDN Writers' Room to talk on his two Kentucky Derby hopefuls and the biggest stars of his career.

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,...

Derby dreams at this time of year can prove as ephemeral as the vapours rising into the glacial air of Hot Springs. But the owner of the champion juvenile knows perfectly well that plans, with Thoroughbreds, can only ever be provisional--and that the postponement of Monday's Oaklawn card is a relatively trivial inconvenience to Essential Quality (Tapit). To recall the graver vexations that can unravel a Derby colt, Sheikh Mohammed needs only rewind to the last cycle, and the last colt that offered to requite perhaps the greatest single ambition...

The top four finishers from the GIII Lecomte S. Jan. 16 take their next steps down the GI Kentucky Derby trail Saturday in the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds. A $525,000 KEESEP buy, Lecomte winner Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) was second in the GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill in September and was third in Belmont's GI Champagne S. in October. The bay took the field wire-to-wire in the Lecomte, besting Proxy (Tapit) by a length. "I think the distance is right in his wheelhouse and we're excited about running...