Spendthrift Farm

10th-Churchill Downs, $120,000, Msw, 5-20, 3yo/up, f/m, 5 1/2f, 1:04.98, ft, head. LADY IRENE (f, 3, Kantharos--Leslie's Lady {Broodmare Of The Year, SW, $187,014}, by Tricky Creek), racing in her second start but under Lasix for the first time, was a debut third last fall at Churchill Downs before being turned out for the winter. Sent on her way here as the 6-5 heavy favorite, the bay filly dueled early with Little Hot Mess (Army Mule), then backed off before the far turn. Saving her strength, the homebred began to...

She'd been the buzz horse among the Churchill locals all day and V V's Dream (Mitole) took the first baby steps to making quite a few come true while securing 'TDN Rising Star'-dom in this stylish unveiling. Breaking slowly and asked to race in seventh from two off the rail going into the turn, the grey bided her time as the field watched the other Mitole Cheetah Miss put up all the fractions as :21.90 and :45.59 flashed across the board. Rolling under a full head of steam and splitting...

TIMONIUM, MD - Four juveniles shared the fastest furlong time of :10 flat, while a colt by Triple Crown winner Justify (hip 322) zipped a bullet quarter-mile in :21 2/5 during the second session of the under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Wednesday. The first of seven sets opened around 8 a.m. with a brisk tailwind--which prevailed throughout the day--and a bevy of :10 1/5 works before a colt by Bolt d'Oro (hip 287) became the first of the session...

2nd-Horseshoe Indianapolis, $34,000, Msw, 5-15, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :52.90, ft, 2 lengths. LAUGH NOW (c, 2, Vino Rosso--Little Pao, by Tiznow) had the last laugh here, and broke his maiden as well as tallied the first victory as a sire for Vino Rosso (by Curlin). The stallion also had  the third place finisher Zaino in the Royal Palm Juvenile S., a qualifier for Royal Ascot. Eighth last out at Keeneland Apr. 27 after breaking inward and tiring on that unveiling, conditioner John Ennis armed his colt with a pair of...

1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5fT, 3:05 p.m. Belmont Park opens the week with a maiden sprint over the grass which includes $700,000 FTSAUG buy SAM'S TREASURE (Munnings). The Wesley Ward trainee with Irad Ortiz in the irons, counts second dam MSW Treasured Up (Medaglia d'Oro) and her half-sister GSW Choctaw Nation (Louis Quatorze) in her family. Out of Ward's stable also comes a daughter out of Freshman Sire Advertise (GB), who was a multiple Group 1 turf sprinter in Europe. Chitarra (Ire), hammered down for 300,000 guineas at the...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The late B. Wayne Hughes will be smiling somewhere on this first Saturday in May. Unbeaten GII Louisiana Derby winner Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo), an $800,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream breezer, will carry the famed orange-and-purple colors of Spendthrift Farm while making just his fourth career start in the 149th GI Kentucky Derby. "Our primary business really is standing stallions, but when we can go to a sale and get a horse that has a shot to make it to the stud barn, that's what we're trying to do," Spendthrift's...

Champion Monomoy Girl displayed many admirable traits during her four years on the racetrack, but those closest to her would be quick to say that she has never exactly been known for her easygoing nature. Independent, tenacious and self-assured would be much better adjectives to describe the GI Kentucky Oaks victress and two-time GI Breeders' Cup Distaff heroine. "She's very sassy, that's for sure," said Florent Geroux, who teamed up with the chestnut daughter of Tapizar for 16 of her 17 lifetime starts. "She's not really a 'people horse' who...

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) returned to training Friday morning for his last local work before shipping to Louisville to begin final preparations for the GI Kentucky Derby. Working in company with Bright Future, a 4-year-old son of Curlin, the Derby favorite went a half-mile in :50.28 at Palm Beach Downs for trainer Todd Pletcher, according to Mike Welsch of DRF. "With Forte we were just looking for a nice, easy first work back. He ran in the Florida Derby 13 days ago and...

With a valiant re-rally in deep stretch, Corona Bolt (Bolt d'Oro) for Stonestreet Stables, dug down deep to declare victory in the Lafayette S. on Opening Day at Keeneland. A winner on debut Nov. 19 at Churchill Downs, the juvenile next won the Sugar Bowl S. at the Fair Grounds in wire-to-wire fashion by 6 3/4-lengths Dec. 26. In the new year, the bay colt was a well-beaten sixth over the slop in Hot Springs Jan. 28 against Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) in the GIII Southwest S. Staying put Mar....

2nd-KEE, $100K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 1:05 p.m. At the end of last year, it was Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) that reigned supreme over Good Magic (Curlin) and Justify (Scat Daddy) in the first-crop sire race when Spendthrift's own sewed up the title by more than $275,000 in world-wide earnings. Now second-croppers, they come together in Race 2 at Keeneland for another battle on Saturday. Bred by WinStar Farm and trained by Todd Pletcher, LE BAR (Bolt d'Oro) carries the flag for the 2022 first-crop leader and is part of a...

We're approaching the edge of the GI Kentucky Derby abyss. Three final 100-points prep races Saturday, followed by four weeks of microscopic analysis and animated speculation. Bring it on! 1) FORTE (c, Violence--Queen Caroline, by Blame) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable; B-South Gate Farm (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $110,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt, MGISW, 7-6-0-0, $1,833,230. Last start: 1st GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Apr. 1. Kentucky Derby Points: 190. 'TDN Rising Star' Forte has made...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. A little racing experience may be, ahem, just what Ocasek (c, 3, Candy Ride {Arg}--Shananies Song, by Eltish) needed. Carrying the name of Ric Ocasek, the late frontman for The Cars, the Spendthrift Farm colorbearer wasn't off to the sharpest of beginnings from his rail draw and was forced to steady in the early stages traveling 6 1/2 furlongs on debut for Chad Brown in the opener...