Practical Joke

5th-Turfway, $68,250, Msw, 1-1, 3yo, f, 6f (AWT), 1:11.30, ft, 5 lengths. DEVIOUS STARES (f, 3, Practical Joke--Yankee Bright, by Elusive Quality), sent away as the 7-2 third choice behind favored Juddmonte homebred Friction (Into Mischief), endured a wide trip from her outside gate, racing in fifth as Lanetta (Mastery) paced the field through a quarter in :22.64. Ridden hard by jockey Kent Desormeaux into the far turn while four wide, she powered to the front with all the momentum, stormed by late leader and eventual runner up, 21-1 shot...

In each of his four previous trips to the post, Practical Move (Practical Joke) had finished behind Bob Baffert-trained runners, but the bay colt--conditioned by former Baffert assistant Tim Yakteen--exacted his revenge in a big spot Saturday afternoon, outfinishing pacesetting Carmel Road (Quality Road) to upset the GII Los Alamitos Futurity as the 10-1 second-longest price on the board. Fort Bragg (Tapit), who was demoted from an apparent victory over Practical Move two starts back, completed the trifecta, while hot favorite 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Lion (Justify) was a spent...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $125,785, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 11-26, 2yo, 6f, 1:09.52, ft, neck. VICTORY FORMATION (c, 2, Tapwrit--Smart N Soft, by Smart Strike) sailed home to 'TDN Rising Star'-dom last out Oct. 21 against a deep Keeneland maiden special field, going coast-to-coast by 4 3/4 lengths to become the first for his sire to garner the accolade. Hammered down to 6-5 favoritism here on the step up into the allowance ranks, he vied with a rival early from the rail through :21.44 and :45.11 splits. After briefly leading and then...

An unraced 2-year-old colt by record-setting sire Into Mischief brought $1 million from Mick Wallace, agent, on behalf of Gandharvi Racing, to dissolve a partnership very late in the day to top Keeneland's single-session November Horses of Racing Age Sale Thursday. Produced by Gaudete (Distorted Humor)--an unraced half-sister to leading young sire Munnings (Speightstown)--Hip 5352 was consigned by Highgate Sales, Agent XXXV. The topper previously brought $350,000 from China Horse Club/Gandharvi Racing at last year's Keeneland September Sale. His yearling half-brother by Violence brought $300,000 from Repole Stable and St....

Uncle Mo will once again top the Coolmore America roster at $150,000 for the 2023 breeding season, the same fee at which he stood in 2022, according to a press release from Coolmore Wednesday morning. The 14-year-old stallion was the sire of 10 black-type winners in 2022, including the GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal. Justify, who had four black-type winners from his first crop in 2022, will stand for the farm's second highest-fee, at $100,000, the same as in 2022. He is currently the third-leading first-crop sire by earnings....

The Jockey Club has released its Report of Mares Bred (RMB) statistics for the 2022 breeding season. Through Oct. 18, 2022 and based on the RMBs received, a total of 925 stallions covered 27,163 mares in North America this year, a decrease of the reported 27,829 mares from 2021. In Kentucky, the state's 196 reported stallions served 16,689 mares, a number which translates to 61.4% of all breeding activity in North America. That number reflects a decrease of 0.2% from last year when 16,727 mares were reported as bred in...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Tokyo and Hanshin Racecourses. The 3-year-old fillies' Classics concluded with last Sunday's running of the G1 Shuka Sho and the colts' division finishes up this weekend with the running of the G1 Kikuka Sho, the Japanese St. Leger over a...

The Jockey Club (TJC) announced Wednesday that breedings in 2021 have resulted in 18,609 live foals of 2022. At this same time last year, The Jockey Club reported that the breedings had resulted in 19,021 live foals, which marks a year-over-year decline of 2.2%. The foal crop has declined every year since 2015 and was at 35,274 as recently as 2008. The Jockey Club estimated that the number of live foals reported so far is 85-90% complete. In total, 1,303 stallions covered 29,065 mares, according to statistics compiled through Oct....

Repole Stable's CHOCOLATE GELATO (f, 2, Practical Joke--Special Treat, by Candy Ride {Arg}) put in a strong turn run and wore down game pacesetter You're My Girl (Overanalyze) to prevail in Sunday's GI Frizette S. at Belmont at the Big A. The 8-5 favorite settled for third at 55-100 in her Saratoga opening day unveiling July 14, but returned a month later to atone and romp by 8 1/2 lengths, good for a 92 Beyer Speed Figure. She stopped the clock in 1:38.57 in the slop Sunday. Sales history: $165,000...

9th-Belmont The Big A, $77,000, (S), Msw, 9-29, 2yo, 6f, 1:13.75, ft, 3/4 length. SHADOW DRAGON (c, 2, Army Mule--Fire Assay {GSP, $127,946}, by Medaglia d'Oro), dispatched at a tepid 7-1 in his first start since bringing $375,000 at OBSAPR off a :21 1/5 breeze, was forced towards the rail at the break and quickly found himself trailing the field with only one rival beat. Kept just off the rail into the far turn, he angled out at the top of the stretch and began picking off horses under a...

6th-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 8-14, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:10.30, ft, 8 1/2 lengths. CHOCOLATE GELATO (f, 2, Practical Joke--Special Treat, by Candy Ride {Arg}) was backed down to 1-2 favoritism in her Spa debut July 14 yet had to settle for third, beaten 1 1/2 lengths. Sent off the 2-1 choice to make amends this time, the $475,000 Fasig-Tipton Florida juvenile graduate broke sharply and quickly assumed command, rolling through an opening quarter in :22.93. Still running comfortably following a :46.33 half, she was given her cue, accelerated with ease and...

Over 200 yearlings made the catalog for the 2022 Texas Summer Yearling Sale, presented by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park. The sale will be held on Aug. 29 at the sales pavilion at Lone Star. The catalog lists yearlings by Kentucky stallions such as Justify, Good Magic, Sharp Azteca, Mendelssohn, Bernardini, Practical Joke, Goldencents, Kantharos, Mitole, Vino Rosso and more. Texas stallions such as Too Much Bling, Bradester, My Golden Song and Competitive Edge are also represented. The interactive catalog is available now at www.ttasales.com or on...