St Elias Stable

5th-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 3-12, 3yo, 7 1/2fT, 1:29.34, fm, 2 1/2 lengths. FEARLESS SOLDIER (c, 3, City of Light--Hessie's Girl, by Giant's Causeway) had something of a rough debut Feb. 16 when he tossed his head at the jump and hopped coming out of the stall. Racing all over the synthetic track from there, as far as seven wide in the stretch before lugging in through the final furlong, he finished a very green fourth but producing a field-best Beyer Speed Figure of 74. Cutting back from that 1m70 contest...

The champ is back and possibly better than ever. Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old colt 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) returned to the races in style with a powerful performance in Saturday's GII Fountain of Youth S., good for 50 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby. "We kind of carefully laid it out and put him in a program that would put him in the condition to be ready to run and still having room for improvement and room to continue to...

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte (Violence) breezed five furlongs in 1:01.58 Saturday morning at Palm Beach Downs in preparation for a planned start in the GII Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 4 at Gulfstream Park. "He finished up very strongly and galloped out great. We're very, very happy with him," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. Saturday's breeze was the fifth in a series of workouts following Forte's Eclipse Award-clinching victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland. Irad Ortiz Jr., the only race rider Forte...

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher is on fire, unveiling one promising colt or filly after another in maiden, allowance, and stakes races it seems. Last month, Pletcher won his eighth Eclipse Award as North America's leading trainer. Not only that, but three horses trained by Pletcher also won Eclipses: Forte (Violence), champion 2-year-old colt; Nest (Curlin), champion 3-year-old filly; and Malathaat (Curlin), champion older female. Like Pletcher, Curlin shone at the Eclipses. Aside from Nest and Malathaat, his Elite Power was named champion sprinter of 2022, giving the Hill 'n'...

The first week of January doesn't have much in common with the first Saturday in May--with the exception that the inaugural TDN Top 12 has arrived to herald the coming of the seemingly far-off GI Kentucky Derby season. Get tied on and enjoy the ride. 1) ARABIAN KNIGHT (c, Uncle Mo--Borealis Night, by Astrology) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Corser Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $250,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $2,300,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $86,025. Last start: 1st Keeneland Maiden Special Weight, Nov. 5....

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 12th-CD, $120k, Msw, 3yo/up, 7 1/2f, 6:24p.m. ET Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable, and Woodford Racing LLC partner-up on this $500,000 KEESEP procurement in PATOU ROAD (Quality Road), who will be getting a late start to the races for his powerhouse connections. In the barn of Pletcher, who has had a notably great year with the ownership group, the colt is out of Patou (Ghostzapper), herself a half-sister to GSW Moulin de Mougin (Curlin)--the dam of GSP Spicer (Quality Road); GISP Vionnet (Street Sense)--dam of...

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Forte (Violence) was made the 10-1 individual betting favorite while the pari-mutuel field of "All Other Colts and Geldings" from the 2020 foal crop not listed within the 38 individual betting interests was tabbed as the heavy 3-5 choice. The four-day pool, which features $2 Win and Exacta wagering, will open Thursday at noon (all times Eastern) and close Sunday at 6 p.m. Pool 2 will run concurrent with the lone Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, where fans can...

It might feel a touch trite to repeat it, but the timeworn observation is such for a reason: the stallion market is one packed to the brim with tough customers and salty competition. And it turns out, both literally and metaphorically as evidenced by the recently released Report of Mares Bred. Breeders gravitate to quality and are more frequently turning to tried-and-true sources to find it, or are becoming more demanding of first-year sires before taking the chance. In an economy where connections are forced to steadily tighten their belts,...

A host of juveniles from the Todd Pletcher barn gearing up for engagements on Friday of Breeders' Cup championship weekend worked at Keeneland Thursday. Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Forte (Violence) and Harrell Ventures' Lost Ark (Violence), the respective winner and sixth-place finisher in the Oct. 8 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, breezed a half-mile together in :49.20 immediately after the track's second renovation break at 9 a.m. Both are candidates for the $2-million GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Keeneland clockers caught the two in fractions of :13.40, :25, and...

2nd-KEE, $100k, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:31p.m. ET Conditioner Brendan Walsh sends out a blue-blooded filly here in HUMBLING (Quality Road), who lays claim to a stellar female family which includes 'TDN Rising Star', GISW (and eventual producer of 'Rising Stars') Hot Dixie Chick (Dixie Union) and GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister). The former has a pair of talented offspring to her credit when counting GISW Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) and GSP Union Jackson (Curlin). Humbling, a $1 million FTSAUG purchase by Jeff Drown and Michael Ryan in 2021,...

A filly by the late Lord Nelson brought $125,000 from agent Michael Wallace, acting on behalf of St. Elias Stables, to top Friday's 11th of 12 sessions of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Vinnie Viola's operation has purchased a total of 48 head throughout the sale, either alone or in partnership, for gross receipts of $18,815,000 and an average of $391,979. Consigned by Legacy Bloodstock, agent for breeder Spendthrift Farm, as Hip 3709, Friday's topper is a full sister to 2022 GII Saratoga Special S. third-place finisher and recent runaway...

Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's Forte (Violence), the beaten favorite in the GIII Sanford S. on opening weekend, rebounded with an emphatic victory through the rain drops in the GI Hopeful S. on closing day at Saratoga Monday. Sent off at 6-1, the dark bay colt was squeezed back at the break and rated near the back of the field as favored Gulfport (Uncle Mo), looking to rebound from his own defeat as a Spa favorite in the Aug. 13 GII Saratoga Special, jumped out to the early lead...