Travers S.

Birdstone (Grindstone--Dear Birdie, by Storm Bird), who sired the winners of two-thirds of the 2009 Triple Crown with runners from his first crop to race, has been retired from stud duties at Gainesway. He will live out his days at Old Friends Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY. Bred by the late Marylou Whitney and trained by Nick Zito, the year-older half-brother to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Bird Town (Cape Town) won two of his three starts as a juvenile, including a 2 1/2-length success in the GI Champagne S. Eighth...

Confidently handled by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, last year's comebacking GI Runhappy Travers S. hero Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) kicked off his 4-year-old campaign with a well-timed decision in Saturday's GIII Westchester at Belmont. Drawn widest in the field of nine, the Farish homebred settled slightly worse than midfield and was kept in the clear as Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro) made an aggressive mid-race move beneath Joel Rosario to assume command at halfway. Code of Honor began to hit his best stride three furlongs from home and had...

So that's why they had to split the GI Arkansas Derby. One division apiece for Kipling's "twin imposters,"--Triumph and Disaster. Though we've all felt otherwise, from time to time, Lady Luck is as proportionate as she is indiscriminate in her dealings with Thoroughbreds. If Bob Baffert is better placed to absorb the loss of a servant as talented as Nadal (Blame), only a barn of such depth could have achieved the level of Triumph, in the first place, to have meanwhile registered a commensurate sequel of Disaster. It's not the...