Two Sharp

Coming out of the chute at Churchill Downs in the GIII Chilukki Stakes, Two Sharp (Twirling Candy--Double Sharp, by Distorted Humor) had a singular mission ahead as she stretched her legs on the one-turn mile dirt course--make the front. The 3-year-old accomplished that task in spectacular fashion and cruised home for her first black-type and graded stakes score amid what continues to be a promising career at the races. The $925,000 Keeneland September grad taken home by Richard Rigney was named a 'TDN Rising Star' at second asking when she...

Sophomore turfers will enjoy the spotlight in the GIII Commonwealth Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs, one of three graded stakes races on tap Saturday. Frankly Speaking homebred Dashman (Oscar Performance) won two straight in Kentucky this summer, then was a solid fourth with trouble behind MGISW Carson's Run (Cupid) and next-out GIII Hill Prince Stakes winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic (Liams' Map) in the GIII Jockey Club Derby Invitational going 1 3/8 miles at Aqueduct Oct. 5. The 5-2 morning-line favorite turns back to 1 1/16 miles here. "He...

Bill and Tammy Simon's WSS Racing celebrated with trainer John Ortiz and his team after Brightwork's (Outwork) hard-fought win in the 77th running of the GIII Prioress Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday. The 3-year-old filly may have scratched after flipping in the paddock before the kickoff of her 3-year-old campaign in the GI Test Stakes this summer, but she bounced back and proved her affinity for the Spa's main track. Last summer as a juvenile, the filly scooped up the GIII Adirondack Stakes and then grabbed the GI Spinaway Stakes....

It doesn't take long for the Kentucky Downs meeting to hit full gear, as Saturday's program features three graded contests, including the GIII DK Horse Nashville Derby Invitational Stakes, with prize money that could reach $3.1 million. The purse remains intact should one of the 10 Kentucky-breds--eight in the main body of the field and two also-eligibles--is home first over the mile and five-sixteenths journey along the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The four foreign raiders are ineligible for the KTDF money, but the base purse of $2.5 million already makes it one...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--The easy thing would be to blame the racetrack. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert wasn't going to do that the day after his National Treasure (Quality Road) finished a non-threatening sixth in Saturday's $1 million GI Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. National Treasure, who had been at the top of most lists as the best older horse in the nation, laid an egg as the 4-5 favorite. "He just didn't show up," Baffert said on the Saratoga backstretch Sunday morning. "Once he didn't get into the...

Junior Alvarado wasn't among this year's class of inductees over the weekend at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. But the 38-year-old veteran put on a mini-clinic across the street at Saratoga Race Course that underscored his versatility as an unheralded rider on an ultra-competitive circuit who consistently coaxes the best out of his mounts, regardless of surface, distance, running style or odds. Although the headline-grabber among his trio of victories was Saturday's decisive wiring of the GI Whitney Stakes aboard the older-horse division's newest phenom, Arthur's...

Coming in with the benefit of a race under her belt, Two Sharp (Twirling Candy) was just too good for the field of maiden fillies at Saratoga Friday to became a new 'TDN Rising Star'. Favored in her six-furlong debut at Churchill June 29 after bringing a cool $925,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September in 2022, the Rigney Racing runner spotted the field a step at the field and, while ultimately no match for the race winner, did well to get up into second. With the addition of experience...

4th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 2:15 p.m. ET. Rigney Racing made TWO SHARP (Twirling Candy) her sire's top priced offspring in 2022 when the outfit went to $925,000 during Keeneland September. Trained by Phil Bauer, the filly is the lone foal out of Double Sharp (Distorted). Woods Edge Farm acquired this dam at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale for $255,000 and she is out of MGSW/MGISP Bsharpsonata (Pulpit). Also making her first start is Greg Foley trainee Cathcart (Quality Road). The 3-year-old filly was purchased for $800,000 at the...