Stronghold

Sent off as the 11-5 second choice, Rick and Sharon Waller's Stronghold (Ghostzapper) outbattled even-money favorite Imagination (Into Mischief) through the final eighth of a mile to take Saturday's GI Santa Anita Derby, earning 100 points towards the GI Kentucky Derby. The last-out winner of the GIII Sunland Derby, the homebred was beaten for speed and settled just off the pace in fourth as Tapalo (Tapiture) set the pace from Imagination and E J Won the Cup (Omaha Beach). Content to allow those up front to do the dirty work...

The GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, featuring a highly anticipated rematch between Dornoch (Good Magic) and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), is one of three GI Kentucky Derby prep races on tap on a fantastic day of racing Saturday. Dornoch dug back gamely to defeat Sierra Leone in a heart-stopping renewal of the GII Remsen S. at a rain-soaked Aqueduct Dec. 2, then took care of business in a scratched-down GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Mar. 2. Sierra Leone, meanwhile, returned with an...

Among the winners at the last Breeders' Cup, what was it that separated White Abarrio (Race Day), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}) from the rest? Answer: they were the only ones that had changed hands at an American yearling auction, respectively for $7,500, $170,000 and $3,500. Even that lavish investor in the yearling market, Mike Repole, won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a homebred. Except for a couple of European turf juveniles, the rest of the show was a parade of champions raised by "end users":...

Eric and Sharon Waller's homebred Stronghold (Ghostzapper) shipped from trainer Phil D'Amato's Southern California base to Sunland Park in New Mexico and will return home with 20 additional qualifying points to the GI Kentucky Derby after his two-length victory in the GIII Sunland Park Derby Sunday. Second behind Nysos (Nyquist) in the Nov. 19 GIII Bob Hope S., Stronghold earned five Derby points when he was last seen finishing second in his two-turn debut in the Dec. 16 GII Los Alamitos Futurity. Sent off the 6-5 favorite in his sophomore...

The Road to the Kentucky Derby heats up further still on Saturday, as the $400,000 GII Risen Star S. is the first of six prep races that will offer the winner 50 points, virtually locking up a berth in the field for the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on May 4. Track Phantom (Quality Road) will look to continue his domination among the local 3-year-olds as he looks to remain unbeaten around two turns in trying to add to his victories in the Dec. 23 Gun Runner S....

Wynstock (Solomini), campaigned in partnership by Los Alamitos track owner Ed Allred and one-time Hollywood Park president and current Los Al vice president Jack Liebau, provided his New York-based stallion with his second stakes winner of the afternoon and first at the graded level when narrowly outlasting Stronghold (Ghostzapper) in Saturday's GII Los Alamitos Futurity. It was the eighth victory in the 10 runnings of the Futurity since relocating to Orange County for trainer Bob Baffert and first since 2020. Ironically, Solomini crossed the wire best in the 2017 renewal,...

Trainer Bob Baffert won seven consecutive editions of the GII Los Alamitos Futurity until that streak ended two years ago. The Hall of Famer will have half the field when Wynstock (Solomini), Coach Prime (Quality Road) and GSP Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso) line up for his barn on Saturday. Coach Prime was a $1.7 million Keeneland September yearling, and began to pay back owner Zedan last out with a 7 1/4-length win at Del Mar Nov. 10, earning him the status of 'TDN Rising Star'. As for his stablemates,...