Ron Moquett

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY-Some 15 hours after he suffered a career-ending injury, Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) was being Whitmore Sunday morning. Acting like he was quite ready to run in another Grade I at Saratoga Race Course, the 8-year-old was positioned in the front of this stall, alert, active and on the prowl for a carrot or a piece of candy. During the gallop-out past the wire of the GI Forego S. Saturday afternoon, jockey Joel Rosario noticed something didn't feel right and pulled the champion up. As a precaution, he was...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--To illustrate his point about Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), trainer Ron Moquett stepped into the Eclipse Award winner's stall Sunday morning saying, "This is not the time to do this," and rubbed his star's coat with a small towel. Showing his displeasure, Whitmore promptly kicked the wall. Hard. "He is as consistent as the day is long," Moquett said, smiling. "He will do everything the exact same way. Our job is to get done, working with him, knowing his idiosyncrasies." Moquett and his staff live in Whitmore's world, ruled...

Reigning champion sprinter Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), third in his latest start in the May 1 GI Churchill Downs S., recorded his final serious breeze Friday in preparation for the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. July 31 at Saratoga. The 8-year-old, who won the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint in November at Keeneland, went a half-mile in :48.78 seconds over a fast main track, 12 days after completing the same distance in a swift :47.21 seconds. Trained by Ron Moquett, the gelding has amassed more than $4.4 million in lifetime earnings through...

For the first time in its 117-year history, Oaklawn Park will add December dates to its racing calendar and will host 66 days of live racing beginning Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 through Sunday, May 8, 2022. The season will be conducted on a largely Friday-through-Sunday schedule with some exceptions. The track will be dark over the Christmas holiday Dec. 24-26 and there will be no racing on Easter Sunday, Apr. 17. As is their custom, Oaklawn will host a holiday program on Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 21. "For many years,...

If you are an owner and trainer who plays by the rules, the last several years should have been hard to swallow. Racing, with its broken system, has proven unable to police itself and the result has been that cheaters have prospered and have done so at the expense of the vast majority of horsemen who do things right. Armed with syringes, the bad guys have been stealing money from the good guys. Lots of it. Which is exactly why every honest horseman should be 100% behind the Horseracing Integrity...

The freshly-minted Eclipse Award winning sprinter Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) will try to add to his seven Oaklawn stakes wins this winter, according to part-owner--along with Bob LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners--and trainer Rron Moquett. Whitmore punctuated his 2020 campaign with a dominating victory in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland. "I think the reaction that we get from the rest of the people kind of mimics how we feel all the time about him," Moquett said Friday morning. "It's like everybody's giving him credit, loving him...

Making his fourth consecutive appearance in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, the 7-year-old gelding Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) did what few have done over the course of the weekend--rally from far back on the main track to score an 18-1 upset in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint Saturday at Keeneland. The $4.2-million earner lagged in the latter third of the field early as Japanese raider Jasper Prince (Violence) ensured a fast pace, chased along by fellow longshot Empire of Gold (Goldencents). Traveling nicely within himself on the turn, Whitmore crept into...

The final chapters have yet to be penned in Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect)'s book, but it's safe to say the 7-year-old sprinter is in the autumn of his career. He's a closer who has excelled in a division where out-and-out front-end speed often dominates, he's run in three consecutive GI Breeders' Cup Sprints that have each drawn as "loaded" affairs won by the eventual Eclipse Award champ, and he'll seek his first Breeders' Cup win in start number four over a host track (Keeneland) whose main-track profile has been tilted toward...

6th-Ellis, $46,200, Msw, 8-30, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:16.52, ft. UPSTRIKER (c, 2, Upstart--Casanova Striker, by Smart Strike) opened with the money on but drifted up to a generous 11-1 at the off while looking to become his first-crop sire's fifth winner and second in as many days after the impressive unveiling Saturday at Saratoga of pricey Founder. Showing good speed to chase in second, the dark bay confronted pacesetter Bluegrass Pharoah (American Pharoah) after a :45.98 half. He went by willingly at the top of the lane, and widened at...

The hard-knocking Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) captured the 2018 GI Forego S. and, after missing last year's Saratoga meet, he looks to take home the trophy again in this year's renewal Saturday. Runner-up in the King Cotton S. at the start of this term Feb. 8, the chestnut captured the Hot Springs S. Mar. 7 and followed suit with a win in the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. Apr. 18. He completed the exacta behind Volatile (Violence) in this venue's GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt S. last time July 25. "Pace makes...

Nick Cosato, who has made a habit of hitting the winner's circle with graded stakes victors from his Slam Dunk Racing partnership, will aim for big-time success in the sales ring when he offers a colt from the first crop of champion Arrogate during the second session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Sept. 14. Consigned by War Horse Place, the gray yearling (hip 280) is a half-brother to Grade I winner Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect). The hard-trying speedster Whitmore has become a fan favorite with six graded stakes wins over...

The seven-year itch, in the current racing herd, represents the best kind of mid-life crisis: reinventing yourself as a champion. An Eclipse Award would certainly be a credible aspiration for Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) should he derail the Volatile (Violence) express in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga Saturday. Next weekend, another flourishing 7-year-old, Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike), will seek to consolidate his ascent to the top of his own division in the GI Whitney S. Over the past two weeks, meanwhile, their contemporaries Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire})...