War Like Goddess

The parade of graded stakes races this Saturday is like a Christmas tree laden with presents. Towards the end of the celebration, as the wadded paper congregates, there will be a customary wistfulness that slowly sets in. We never want it to end. With 17, yes 17, graded races on the docket--nine of those have Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' status--it is going to be a splendid day to receive as Belmont at the Big A, Keeneland Race Course, Woodbine Racetrack, Gulfstream Park, Hastings Racecourse and Santa Anita Park...

Just over 100 years ago, the Jockey Club's resident New York handicapper, William Vosburgh, knew the value of history and understood how it could be applied when he penned his magnum opus, Racing In America, 1866-1921. The turf wordsmith revealed his intent in the Preface when he said, "I shall show that, owing to want of popular support, racing had fallen so low, and so infrequent, as to excite little or no interest." What he was talking about was a sport in crisis, as progressive forces in America drove racing...

The thoughtfully named McKulick (GB) (f, 4, Frankel {GB}--Astrelle {Ire}, by Makfi {GB}), who has always been special to the Chad Brown team, added another feather to her cap with a late-flying victory in Thursday's GII Glens Falls S. at Saratoga, denying defending two-time Glens Falls victress--as well as MGISW and 1-2 favorite--War Like Goddess (English Channel) an historic three-peat in the process. When the gates flew in the Glens Falls, 45-1 Elegant Taste (Oxbow) emerged from the early fray with the lead. McKulick raced midpack in a good spot as...

The influence of Champion grass horse and MGISW English Channel both on the racetrack and in the breeding shed cannot be overstated. After stints at Hurricane Hall, Lane's End and finally, Calumet, we sadly lost him late in 2021, but he still has an active group that continues to carry home his legacy. Who is his most successful offspring? Maybe it's Chicago's own, MGISW The Pizza Man? Or how about MGISW Channel Maker, who just added another graded trophy to his collection last weekend at the ripe old age of...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When three veteran turf writers approached him at his Saratoga barn last week, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott impishly decided to reverse roles. Before the journalists were able to offer more than a hello, Mott started asking pretty much the same questions he knew were coming his way. For several seconds, the interviewee was the light-hearted interviewer. Mott knows the drill. He has been training horses since he was a teenager in Mobridge, South Dakota, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of...

Klaravich Stable's Marketsegmentation (American Pharoah), loose on an easy lead, went wire-to-wire to earn her first top-level success in the GI New York S. at Belmont Park Friday. Sent off at 6-1, the lightly raced 4-year-old was looking to stretch her speed to 10 furlongs following a pair of stakes wins over 1 1/16 miles. She broke alertly and was soon at the head of affairs, setting moderate fractions of :24.56, :50.26 and 1:15.29 while kept well in hand by jockey Jose Ortiz. Finally let loose at the top of...

ELMONT, NY - After canceling Thursday's card at Belmont Park amid poor air quality issues, there is optimism that live racing will return with Friday's 11-race program featuring a trio of Grade I events. Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), last seen pulling off a dramatic 10-1 upset with first-time blinkers in the GI Kentucky Oaks, will take on seven rivals in the GI Acorn S. "She's doing great and hasn't missed a beat since she came out of the Oaks," trainer Brendan Walsh said. "This was the obvious next step for...

Racegoers can be forgiven a bit of deju vu when War Like Goddess (m, 6, English Channel--Misty North, by North Light {Ire}) won the GIII Bewitch S. at Keeneland Friday as it was, indeed, the third straight year she won the race. She is only the third horse in Keeneland history--and first in nearly 50 years--to win the same race at the storied Central Kentucky track three consecutive times. The five-horse field broke with recent GIII La Prevoyante S. winner Personal Best (Tapit) tumbling out of the stalls, but the...

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA) and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders (KTOB) awards dinner Apr. 5 in Lexington named Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy), dam of Grade I winner Malathaat (Curlin) and Grade II winner Julia Shining (Curlin), the 2022 Broodmare of the Year. Summer Wind Equine was awarded a bronze mare and foal as the breeder of Flightline (Tapit), who was crowned Champion Kentucky-Bred Horse of the Year and Champion Kentucky-Bred Older Dirt Male. Godolphin received multiple bronzes as the recipient of the P.A.B. Widener Trophy, best known...

The tone was so casual that Donato Lanni couldn't be sure quite how earnest the words had been. If he saw something interesting at a yearling sale, he was to let George Krikorian know. Still in his 20s, Lanni had first connected with the movie theater magnate when cold calling on behalf of John T.L. Jones Jr. after a Corwyn Bay (Ire) filly won a maiden in his silks. Might Krikorian breed the dam back to the Walmac stallion? He did just that and, when he came to visit the...

In a tightly-contested race for the year-end female turf championship, Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) looks to land the year's final blow and defend her title in the GI Matriarch S. at Del Mar Sunday. With both War Like Goddess (English Channel) and stablemate In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), her two main rivals for the Eclipse, done for the season, Regal Glory, winner of this race last term, enters off a 10th-place finish in the GI Fanduel Breeders' Cup Mile behind Europe's best males, including winner Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire})....

LEXINGTON, KY--The industry action moves back to Keeneland Monday, just two days after the Lexington oval hosted the Breeders' Cup, for the 10-day Keeneland November Sale, which runs through Nov. 16. The auction opens at 1 p.m. Monday with a single session Book 1, containing 240 head. Thirty minutes prior to that however, Keeneland offers the chance of a lifetime, a 2.5% fractional interest in the undefeated and sensational GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Flightline (Tapit). It will be part of their first metaverse experience. (Click here for full story)....