Pennine Ridge Stakes

Getting a 3-year-old to peak precisely on the first Saturday of May is an over-arching goal in our sport. But even for the very upper crust of colts, a brush with GI Kentucky Derby aspirations ends up being nothing more than an early diversion on a much longer development arc. It's always intriguing to watch how one-time Derby hopefuls progress over months and even years, and two of them from Todd Pletcher's barn signaled Saturday that they might be A-level factors in the second half of this season. Within the...

'TDN Rising Star' Emmanuel (More Than Ready), at one point considered a leading Triple Crown contender, looks to have found a new home on the lawn after leading at all calls Saturday to justify 19-10 odds in Belmont Park's nine-furlong GII Pennine Ridge S. A 6 3/4-length debut winner at Gulfstream going a mile in December followed by an easy Tampa optional claiming tally in January, the WinStar Farm and Siena Farm representative was fourth in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 5 and third after showing the...