Practical Joke

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Kentucky Downs, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Thursday at Saratoga and for the first of six days of racing...

However obvious it may now appear that the "real" Fierceness didn't show up for the GIII Holy Bull Stakes back in February, he was keeping tougher company than many assumed at the time. Of the pair, in fact, things went rather more blatantly wrong for Domestic Product, bumped early before wasting energy against a slow pace and coming home wide. Domestic Product still managed to get closer to the winner than did the juvenile champion, and even in scrambling home in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby next time left a...

The Lone Star Park Sales Pavilion in Grand Prairie will once again host the Texas Thoroughbred Association's (TTA) single-session Texas Yearling Sale Monday beginning at 10 a.m. CT. The TTA catalogue includes 207 head from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, plus a special dispersal of 10 horses consigned by CS Sales, agent for Three Feathers Farm. By the numbers, the 2023 edition, which showcased one of the largest catalogs in sale history with 271 yearlings, reported 175 sold for $3,240,000. The average was $18,542 and the median was $11,000, while...

7th-Ellis, $71,000, Msw, 8-5, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:04.84, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. SEXAGENARIAN (c, 2, Practical Joke--Whats Yur Story, by Liaison), given a 6-1 chance facing seven rivals, had to stay wide behind pacesetter Correlation (Complexity) up the backstretch through fractions of :21.79 and :45.60. Looming large off the turn, he hit the front past the furlong marker with a wide bid and stayed away down the stretch to defeat a hard closing Zandvoort (Good Magic) by 3 3/4 lengths. Out of a half-sister to MGSW Sara Louise (Malibu Moon),...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. To follow is the lone such horse entered for Sunday at Saratoga: Sunday, July 14, 2024 Saratoga 1, $100k, 2yo,...

Domestic Product (Practical Joke), a forgettable 13th after getting pinched at the start in the GI Kentucky Derby, showed no mercy on his three rivals in Saturday's GIII Dwyer Stakes at the Big A. Turning back to a one-turn mile, the 3-5 favorite stalked the early leaders from an outside third. He launched while three deep entering the far turn, hit the front as they straightened for home and blasted off to score by 7 1/2 lengths over Hades (Awesome Slew). The pacesetter Billal (Street Sense) was third. "He was...

4th-CD, $120,000, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, post time: 2:13 p.m. ET YOU'LL BE BACK (Practical Joke), the second priciest filly by the sire in 2023, is unveiled for Gregory Tramontin by trainer Tom Amoss. A daughter of Advance Party (Empire Maker), the $575,000 KEESEP purchase is a granddaughter of the prolific Helen Alexander - Helen Groves's Aurora, a daughter of the stalwart champion juvenile filly Althea. A full-sister to Japanese champion 2yo filly Yamanin Paradise, Advance Party is a half-sister to UAE Horse of the Year Festival of Light (A.P....

2nd-Monmouth, $51,675, Msw, 6-1, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, :51.92, ft, 4 lengths. OBLIGING (f, 2, Munnings--Humor Me Colonel, by Colonel John) was well-backed at the windows for this debut as the 1-10 choice. The filly sat just to the outside of longshot Apocalyptic (Cairo Prince) up the backstretch. Putting away the speed around the far turn, the 2-year-old galloped home under a hand ride to get her picture taken by four lengths over Teca (Improbable). The winner is a half-sister to Beautiful Empire (Classic Empire), SW-Can, SP-USA, $157,494. A half-sister...

Sent off the 9-5 choice to collect his first graded win of his career, Frost Free went to the front and was never headed, registering a 1 1/2-length victory in Pimlico's GIII Chick Lang S. Mr Skylight missed the break and dropped to last from his inside draw as Frost Free jumped to the front from stall six. In the clear as Sweet Soddy J (Bee Jersey) and Cats by Five surveyed the issue following a :23.24 quarter, the grey continued to show the way through a :46.66 half. Comfortably...

His contentious prohibition from Churchill penalizes many others besides Bob Baffert and his loyal patrons. A shot at the GI Kentucky Derby, once-in-a-lifetime for most, is also being denied to everyone else with a stake in his horses' development, from those on duty at the foaling shed to the pre-trainer to the feed company. And, of course, there's nothing like a Derby winner to market a stallion. As things have turned out, a setback means that Nyquist would have lost the services of Nysos even had he moved to another...

After emerging in good form from his GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. victory, MGSW Skelly (Practical Joke) will look to climb the class ladder with future targets including the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. and the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, announced trainer Steve Asmussen Sunday morning. Having posted the meet's best time for six furlongs at 1:08.82 in that Count Fleet effort, beating the prior mark of 1:09.38, which he also set in his 2024 debut, the Oaklawn star will be setting his sights on bigger prizes this summer and...

8th-Oaklawn, $115,000, Msw, 3-29, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.55, ft, 6 1/4 lengths. TWEETSTER (f, 3, Practical Joke--Tweeterdini, by Bernardini) debuted with Lasix as the heavily backed 3-2 choice here. The homebred started slowly, but with the rail open she was able to lead the second pack up the backstretch. Rolling around the turn, the filly chased longshot Hurricane Fire (Can the Man), who appeared to be getting away. Moving from the rail towards the center of the course at the eighth pole, Tweetster closed like a freight train and won...