WinStar Farm

2nd-Thistledown, $33,400, Msw, 6-26, 2yo, 5f, 1:00.24, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. COASTLAND (c, 2, Promises Fulfilled--Mother Nature, by Winslow Homer) debuted as a 5-2 shot here. The homebred was second last up the backstretch, but he was under a drive to the outside around the far turn. Utilizing a full-head of steam, the 2-year-old secured the front at the sixteenth marker and won by 1 1/2 lengths over Freedom Stance (American Freedom). A half-sister to SW Faction Cat (Wildcat Heir), the winner's unraced dam is responsible for a yearling filly...

MGISW Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) broke her maiden at first asking under the Twin Spires by just over three lengths and that is how her younger 3-year-old half-brother Star of Wonder (Uncle Mo--Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats) tackled a sloppy Sunday afternoon at Churchill Downs. For his efforts, the homebred rose into the 'TDN Rising Star' heavens. Well-backed as the 2-1 second choice here, he bided his time toward the back as the frontrunners set a hot pace of :22.65 for the first quarter mile and :45.35 for the initial half-mile. Keeping off...

8th-CD, $120k, Msw, 3yo/up, 1m, 4:22p.m. ET Debuting from the outside and underneath a set of spires where his half-sister won the nation's greatest race for fillies, STAR OF WONDER (Uncle Mo) will go to post for the WinStar and Siena Farm partnership. A half to the aforementioned GI Kentucky Oaks victress Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), the colt is also a half-sibling to GSP Mojovation (Quality Road). This is the extended family of multiple Grade I-placed Crafty C. T. Brad Cox will send Star of Wonder out for the mile on the...

Beaten just a neck into third while earning a competitive 75 Beyer Speed Figure on six-furlong debut at Keeneland Apr. 26, Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC's World Record (c, 3, Gun Runner--Marwa {GB}, by Exceed and Excel {Aus}) added an eighth of a mile for this second go and turned it into a one-horse show in the stretch, becoming the newest 'TDN Rising Star' for his boom sire. Drawn the fence as the 8-5 chalk, the $410,000 Keeneland November weanling--the most expensive of his sire's 23 foals reported...

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Often seen jumping up and winning a race on a big day a square price, trainer Mike Maker did just that, taking the GII Eight Belles S. with William Butler and WinStar Farm's My Mane Squeeze (Audible). Sent off at odds of 6-1, My Mane Squeeze broke well and was a two-wide fifth as longshot Asternia (Astern {Aus}) cut out an opening quarter in :22.46. Urged forward by Luis Saez, she responded quickly and in a flash was on even terms with the pacesetter leaving the quarter...

In the latest detour in the exhaustive legal saga stemming from Justify's 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby win, the connections of the horse during his racing career filed a notice last week with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) requesting that the agency entertain an appeal of a recent board of stewards decision disqualifying the horse from the race and to stay the purse distribution. In response, the CHRB have denied a stay of the stewards' decision but stated that it will "assign a Hearing Officer in this matter where...

Fresh off a yet another win in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, trainer Chad Brown joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to offer up insight on Sierra Leone's definitive victory and share how he hopes to see the $2.3-million son of Gun Runner progress from here. Brown was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week. While Sierra Leone's come-from-behind Blue Grass win was one of the more visually impressive Kentucky Derby preps of the year, the race left plenty of room for improvement...

At Keeneland, they take the safety of the horses and the jockeys very seriously, the reason why Dr. Stuart Brown was brought on board in 2020. As Keeneland's Vice President of Equine Safety, it is Brown's job to do whatever is necessary to protect the sport's competitors. Brown was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN Writers' Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland and he gave our team a tutorial on all Keeneland is doing to promote safety. The effort includes the usage of StrideSAFE, which uses...

Stable Recovery is a rehabilitation program in Lexington, Kentucky that provides a safe living environment and a peer-driven, therapeutic community for men in the early stages of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Along with going to 12-step meetings and support groups, residents attend the School of Horsemanship at Taylor Made Farm to learn a new vocation in the Thoroughbred industry. The School of Horsemanship is a project that was created by Taylor Made two years ago and has since seen over 100 men go through the program. Many of...

Brad Cox won four stakes races over the weekend, including the GII Louisiana Derby and the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. But such a run of success has almost come to be expected from a trainer who never seems to have a bad week. Cox will arrive at Churchill Downs with an army of stakes-caliber horses, including threats for the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks. The multiple Eclipse Award winning conditioner was our special guest on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. He was this...

WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Timberlake (Into Mischief), winner of the Feb. 24 GII Rebel S., will return to Oaklawn Park for the Mar. 30 GI Arkansas Derby, trainer Brad Cox confirmed Wednesday. "I like the timing," Cox said. "Obviously, he has the experience there now, that one run under him. I kind of thought the Rebel was the spot when we were getting started. At the beginning of the winter, we thought the Rebel was the spot. It worked out." Timberlake worked five furlongs in 1:02.00 (18/30) at Cox's...

WinStar Farm stallion Improbable (City Zip), the champion older male of 2020 and a 'TDN Rising Star', was euthanized late last night at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington after suffering from ataxia behind, a condition which causes poor voluntary muscle control, the farm said in a release early Sunday. "He was sent to Rood and Riddle yesterday morning to determine the exact cause of the ataxia," said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. "He was responding well to treatment, but went to lie down...