Mike Pegram

A lightly raced, once-pricey juvenile trained by Bob Baffert won the GIII Palos Verdes S., but it wasn't chalk, the $3.65-million Fasig-Tipton 2-year-old Cezanne (Curlin). Instead it was the year-younger, $300,000 OBS April 2-year-old Essential Wager (Honor Code), who was making his stakes debut after riding a two-race win streak. Essential Wager left the gate smartly and came up on the inside to emerge from the early fray with the lead, marking the first quarter in :22.21 with Team Merchants (Nyquist) pressing from the outside. The two held position with...

When Bob Baffert won a record seventh GI Kentucky Derby May 1 with Medina Spirit (Protonico), I couldn't help but think back to the first time I met the conditioner. Walking through the Keeneland barn area one mid-April morning in 1990, Baffert asked if I knew where the clockers were located at the track. We introduced ourselves to each other and I offered to show him the route to the press box, where the clockers were situated during training hours. Baffert was in the process of switching from Quarter Horses...

A colt by Curlin has no shortage of new owners after Gainesway's Alex Solis signed the ticket on hip 282 at $1.2 million Monday at Keeneland. The new partnership includes Mike Repole, Vinnie Viola's St. Elias, Gainesway, John Oxley and Robert Clay's Grandview. "We've been talking about all the colts we liked and I really liked this colt," Solis said after signing the lengthy ticket. "I thought his mother was a pretty special filly. All week long I kept seeing him and thought I'd like to find a way to...

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton Four-time Grade I-winning 4-year-old McKinzie (Street Sense) has always been saddled with high expectations, while 3-year-old Mr. Money (Goldencents) has now achieved millionaire status by grinding out four consecutive Grade III victories. Convincing wins on Saturday gave each horse a divisional foothold, with McKinzie establishing himself as the top two-turn older dirt horse who might finally be getting comfortable with kingpin status, and Mr. Money carving out a niche as the late-blooming sophomore who appears primed to punch above his weight thanks to...

Saturday's GI Whitney S. lost some of its appeal when two-time G1 Dubai World Cup hero Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) was scratched sick, depriving fans of a battle with 'TDN Rising Star' McKinzie (Street Sense) in the 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita the first weekend in November. Though that clash is on hold for the next eight weeks, McKinzie upheld his end of the bargain, getting a thinking-man's ride from Hall of Famer Mike Smith before holding off a late...