TDN Rising Star

Guns Loaded (Gun Runner), second behind GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and GIII Street Sense Stakes fourth Dapper Moon (Malibu Moon) at Saratoga in August, fired back Saturday to become a new 'TDN Rising Star' at Churchill Downs. The 3-1 shot, who shortened from seven furlongs to six here for trainer Jose D'Angelo in his second try since bringing $800,000 as a Keeneland September yearling last year, exploded from an outside gate and shot clear of drama to his inside as first-time starter Shadow Coast (West Coast) clipped heels in the...

The field for Sunday's GIII Bob Hope Stakes, a seven-furlong event for 2-year-olds at Del Mar, features a small and somewhat eclectic group of six. Take, for example, MGISP McKinzie Street (McKinzie). The Tim Yakteen trainee impressed in his sprint debut earlier in the summer but has had the misfortune of running second and third in a pair of Grade I's including a last-out third to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) in the GI American Pharoah Stakes Oct. 5. He breaks from the rail and...

Named a 'TDN Rising Star' for her 7 1/2-length romp at Keeneland in April, Shoot It True then took on the boys as the heavy favorite in the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes at Churchill Downs May 2 but weakened off the lead after fast fractions to finish fourth behind another classy filly in West Memorial (Caracaro). Unraced since that effort, she lined up again Saturday against the boys in her longest distance to date for Wesley Ward who opted to remove the blinkers for his 5-2 third choice. Sharp from the...

A 3-year-old filly bred by Spendthrift Farm and sired by one of the nursery's top stallions gutted out the victory in Friday's seventh race at Del Mar. That in itself was unremarkable and not unexpected, but the result was, as 21-5 third choice Sandy Bottom (Omaha Beach)--making her first start since running her record to two-for-two in the Anoakia Stakes some 390 days ago--was quickly into stride from the outside gate in a field of six and made every yard of the running to just hold an equally game effort...

Rojo Rita (Volatile) gave her connections something to celebrate here as she cruised home the easiest of winners in this unveiling, and secured her nod as the newest 'TDN Rising Star' in the process. An $80,000 Keeneland September purchase in 2023, Rojo Rita has been working steadily at Palm Meadows before this debut, with her Nov. 1 five-furlong work over that main track in :59.35 being rated as the fastest of five on the morning. Her Nov. 8 four-panel breeze went in :48.25, and she was rated fourth fastest of...

Princess Zahra Aga Khan's triple group 1 winner Mandesha (Fr) (Desert Style {Ire}) has so far failed to produce anything of major note as a broodmare, but the performance of her debutante daughter Mandanaba (Fr) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}) at Chantilly on Tuesday suggests there could be a long-overdue change in the conversation. Introduced in the 9 1/2-furlong Prix de la Voie du Garde on the Polytrack by Francis-Henri Graffard, the homebred who is the first TDN Rising Star of her sire's first crop was allowed to coast to the front from...

Spendthrift's Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), injured in the Breeders' Cup last fall and unraced in 2024, is expected to make her return at Del Mar Friday. She is entered in the seventh race on the card, a six-furlong optional claiming test. "She's doing good," Mandella said. "She's ready to race." A daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes), the multiple champion defeated colts in the GI Pacific Classic in 2015 and annexed the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff in both 2013 and 2016. The Spendthrift homebred was tabbed a TDN Rising...

When you spend €1,400,000 on a yearling at Arqana Deauville's August Yearling Sale, there are expectations. Safe to say, Earhart (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) met those and then some to become a new 'TDN Rising Star' in her Saturday unveiling over the synthetic surface at Woodbine for LNJ Foxwoods and trainer Josie Carroll. The grey daughter of leading French stallion Siyouni, slammed into the 6-5 favorite's roll in what seemed even on paper to be an overmatched group, never let this field have a shot. Breaking from the middle of the...

Impressive winner of the GIII Gotham Stakes over the local main track to begin the season, 'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic  (Liam's Map) has found his footing on the grass during the second half of the campaign and won for second time at the graded level over the surface, validating 7-4 favoritism in Saturday's GIII Hill Prince Stakes at Aqueduct. Victorious in the GIII Virginia Derby ahead of a game runner-up effort in the GIII Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes over a mile and three furlongs last time, the $625,000 Keeneland...

Sunday's G1 Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern, the final Group 1 event of the season in Europe, has attracted a field of 11. The 12-furlong heat marks the return of Charlie Appleby trainee Ancient Wisdom (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), who comes back off a win in July's G3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket. Last term's G1 Futurity Trophy hero finished a well-beaten eighth in Epsom's G1 Derby in his penultimate start. "We had this race pencilled in for Ancient Wisdom for some time, hoping that the ground would be on the soft...

If only those walls could talk. There's a room from a bygone era within the press box at Aqueduct Racetrack where members of the media congregated between races. The space's counter is still there, but you have to use your imagination when it comes to what the scene looked like in the old days. The latches on the windows that are now worn with time would be thrown open to let in the sounds of the oval below, while the crisp white shades from the fixtures would have adequately illuminated...

Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brook T. Smith's Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), a $2.3-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling sale topper turned 'TDN Rising Star' turned $7-million GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner, will return to the races for a 4-year-old campaign, according to a post on X by Coolmore America Thursday afternoon. Sierra Leone arrived at Coolmore's Ashford Stud near Versailles, Kentucky from Del Mar--site of the 2024 Breeders' Cup last weekend--on Monday and will be freshened for 2025. The full text of Coolmore's post appears...