Tamara

All five of the 'Future Stars Friday' winners at Santa Anita appeared to emerge from the efforts unscathed, with connections looking forward to their Classics campaigns in 2024. The very domination of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) will likely have put the colt at the head of the class for champion 2-year-old honors, and the Repole Stable homebred looked good Saturday morning. "We were extremely happy with the way Fierceness ran," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "The race kind of unfolded the...

ARCADIA, CA - For your information, George Krikorian's unbeaten homebred Just F Y I (Justify) is the best 2-year-old filly in the country. Given a 7-1 chance while drawn widest of all in post 12 in Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, she secured a beautiful spot from her outside draw and immediately took the race to 4-5 favorite and unbeaten GI Del Mar Debutante S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) from the start. Always traveling like a winner beneath Junior Alvarado from an outside second, she...

ARCADIA, CA - Forty looks good on you, Breeders' Cup. With defending winners Caravel (Mizzen Mast) (Turf Sprint), Cody's Wish (Curlin) (Dirt Mile), Elite Power (Curlin) (Sprint) and Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) (F/M Sprint) all back to defend their titles, the two-day Championships--consisting of 14 races with purses and awards totaling more than $31 million--gets underway for a record 11th time at Santa Anita Friday. Sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s--welcome back to Southern California!--will be on the menu as the weekend kicks off with a 10-race, 'Future Stars Friday'...

ARCADIA, CA - The imposing Bill Mott-trained duo of Just F Y I (Justify) (Juvenile Fillies) and champion Elite Power (Curlin) (Sprint) immediately caught the eye as the curtain was lifted at Santa Anita with a spectacular sunrise beneath the San Gabriel mountains on Breeders' Cup eve. Japanese superstar Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Mile, began her marathon training session, while the horse to catch in the Dirt equivalent 'Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings) left the pony raring to go. John Gosden, represented by potential race...

George Krikorian has been around the game of racing for a long time and has owned a lot of good horses. But a win in the Breeders' Cup has eluded him. He's 0-for-11. But he has two strong candidates this year in Just FYI (Justify) in the GI Juvenile Fillies and War Like Goddess (English Channel) in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, where she will tackle males for the second straight year. Will this be Krikorian's year? Those were among the questions our team asked Krikorian on this week's TDN...

ARCADIA, CA - As the unbeaten Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) looks to emulate her legendary dam Beholder (Henny Hughes) with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the duo have something else in common that you won't be able to find in Friday's program at Santa Anita. Before heading out to join Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella in Southern California, they were both broken and trained on behalf of Spendthrift Farm at Raul and Martha Reyes's King's Equine in Ocala, Florida. Like mother, like daughter? "Actually, Tamara was...

ARCADIA, CA -- After firing a five-furlong warning shot at Santa Anita Monday morning, Zedan Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) was installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite while drawing post 12 at the Rood & Riddle Post-Position Draw for Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The Bob Baffert-trained GI Pacific Classic hero and $2.3-million OBS April breezer will face 12 rivals in the $6-million centerpiece, including fellow sophomore and the rail-drawn GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. hero Arcangelo (Arrogate), GI Whitney S. winner White Abarrio (Race...

The five days between last Wednesday's pre-entries and Monday's official draw for the Breeders' Cup afford a brief window of opportunity to examine a few subtleties that emerged from the early version of the match-ups for this weekend's championships. The decision by the connections of Practical Move (Practical Joke) to aim for the GI Dirt Mile instead of the GI Classic tops the list. The Classic, which lost Mage (Good Magic) and Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) to illness and injury, respectively, over the weekend, lacks a standout favorite,...

Undefeated Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) worked six furlongs in 1:12.60 at Santa Anita Saturday morning in preparation for her next start in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies under Mike Smith, who has been aboard the two-year-old daughter of Beholder for each of her two wins. In the work Tamara hooked up with some company, reportedly an unraced two-year-old colt, whom she outworked. "I was actually kind of hoping to gain some company," Smith told Zoe Cadman, "and it worked out great. If I hadn't, she's a pretty good work horse if...

Godolphin homebred Proxy (Tapit) had his final serious drill Sunday for an expected start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The 5-year-old breezed 5 furlongs in 1:02 on the fast track with regular jockey Joel Rosario in the saddle. The plan was to go in company with Godolphin's unraced 2-year-old colt Surveyor (Medaglia d'Oro), but the duo was unexpectedly joined by workers from other trainers. Despite the surprise, trainer Mike Stidham, Godolphin Chief Operating Officer Dan Pride and Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan were all smiles watching from the Grandstand....

Celebrating 40 Years of the Breeders' Cup with Living Legends Each race--particularly a Breeders' Cup win--is special to the connections of the winner, but some races stand out more than others in all who are lucky enough to witness them. Some get embedded in the mind and take up permanent residence there. Just about everyone in racing can recall in vivid detail Arazi's scintillating 1991 Juvenile or Personal Ensign's electrifying 1988 Distaff or Tiznow's gripping 2001 Classic. Each of those are among the transcendent performances in our sport that stir...

Spendthrift Farm's Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), winner of the GI Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, returned to the Santa Anita work tab Wednesday for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. With fellow Hall of Famer Mike Smith in the irons, the homebred out of four-time champion Beholder went three furlongs in :36.0 seconds. "It was an easy three-eights," Smith said. "She went around there nice and happy." Tamara is expected to make her next start in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Nov. 3. Tamara earned TDN...