Woodbine

'TDN Rising Star' Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) is no longer being pointed to the GI Kentucky Derby after developing a cough Saturday. "Unfortunately, Shirl's Speight has come up with a minor cough today and he will not be going to the Kentucky Derby," owner/breeder Fipke Stable tweeted. "His health is our number one concern, and we'll look forward to his next race." "He's coughing and full of mucus so we've had to put him on antibiotics," trainer Roger Attfield said. "I've had four or five of them [get sick] these last...

NYRA will host a Cross Country Pick 5 that will offer three graded stakes, featuring action from Saratoga as well as Monmouth Park and Woodbine Racetrack Saturday. Live coverage will be available with Saratoga Live on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. The first leg is a juvenile maiden special weight at Saratoga, carded as Race 6. Action will shift to Monmouth in Race 9 with a 4:14 p.m. post for the 1 1/2-mile turf route for older horses. Woodbine will commence the stakes portion of the Cross Country Pick 5...

'TDN Rising Star' Alda got up in the shadow of the wire to take Sunday's Catch a Glimpse S. narrowly over a fellow granddaughter of Speightstown in Dreaming of Drew (Speightster). A fast-finishing third against the boys going five grassy furlongs at Belmont June 12, the chestnut broke through convincingly over an extra eighth of a mile there July 9. Drifting up to 5-2 at the off after vying for favoritism early with big-figure second-out graduate Dreaming of Drew, the Wertheimer homebred dropped out the back early and a snug...

Gretzky the Great earned the first black-type win for his first-crop sire (by Uncle Mo) as he eventually wore down frontrunner Into the Sunrise to prevail in Woodbine's Soaring Free S. Sunday afternoon. Second to favored Ready to Repeat going five panels over the local lawn July 12, the bay broke through by daylight over a rained-off six furlongs Aug. 2. Away well from the outside five hole, Gretzky the Great skated along out in the clear in second as Into the Sunrise enjoyed a clear lead and Ready to...

Debutante Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown) followed in the hoofsteps of close relative and stablemate Shirl's Speight (Speighstown) Saturday to garner the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction off of a sharp unveiling over the Woodbine turf. Given a 4-1 chance off a steady, but unassuming series of drills over the Tapeta, the chestnut broke a half-step slowly but was rushed up in between rivals by Emma-Jayne Wilson to take over. She doled out and opening quarter of :22.65 with pressure to her inside, but was asked for a bit more rounding the bend...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency EXPENSIVE DAUGHTER OF JACARANDA DEBUTS AT THE SPA 3rd-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 2:20 p.m. Peter Brant went to $925,000 at KEESEP for AMERICAN WEST (Curlin), the second foal and first to make the races out of GSW Jacaranda (Congrats), who makes her career bow in this test. Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stable went to $2 million to acquire Jacaranda, in foal to Candy Ride (Arg), at the 2016 FTKNOV sale. The Grade III winner is a half-sister to MGISW and hot young sire...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency HALF TO LEA DEBUTS AT THE SPA 1st-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:10 p.m. Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider homebred FOLIAGE (Speightstown), a half-brother to Grade I winner Lea (First Samurai), makes his career bow in this spot for Al Stall. In addition to his top-level victory on the dirt, Lea was GISP on turf and earned over $2.35-million before retiring to Claiborne's stud barn. Their MSP dam Greenery (Galileo {Ire}) is also the dam of SW Acre (Blame) and GSP Heath (Pulpit)....

One day after Bill Finley wrote about inconsistencies in timing at a handful of racetracks in the U.S.--both big and small--in Wednesday's TDN, Pat Cummings, the Executive Director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, has penned a piece of his own, explaining why accuracy in timing is paramount to the game and offering a framework for how to move forward. "The state of race timing in America is not improving as the years pass. It is getting worse," writes Cummings, who served as the director of racing information for Trakus for...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--When it comes to the "what-if" questions, Blue Heaven Farm's 7-year-old champion mare Starship Jubilee (Indy Wind), who is headed to the GI Diana S. Sunday, is in a league of her own. There are so many possibilities for the Florida-bred, who has won eight graded stakes, including the 2019 GI E.P. Taylor on her home track at Woodbine. For example: - What if trainer Kevin Attard and his partner Soli Mehta had not won the three-way shake when they claimed the then-undistinguished 4-year-old for $16,000 in February...

1st-Woodbine, C$74,660, Msw, 8-16, 2yo, f, 5f (AWT), :57.96, ft. DIRTY DANGLE (f, 2, Not This Time--Chambray, by Alphabet Soup) showed a few upbeat local breezes in preparation for this unveiling, highlighted by a three-furlong gate move in :35 3/5 (5/33) July 19, and took some play to be the distant 9-2 second choice behind even-money firster Souper Munnings (Munnings). Breaking on top, the $25,000 OBS March purchase backed off to track dueling leaders from third through a :22.28 quarter. Quickly moving to the fore nearing the lane, she drifted...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency DAUGHTER OF WINTER MEMORIES DEBUTS AT THE SPA 2nd-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:44 p.m. Jimmy Toner unveils the latest daughter out of his MGISW pupil Winter Memories (El Prado {Ire}) Sunday in SEASONS (Tapit). A dual Grade I winner in New York, including this venue's Diana S., millionaire Winter Memories is a daughter of MGISW Memories of Silver (Silver Hawk) and a half-sister to GSW La Cloche (Ghostzapper), who in turn produced GSW Bellavais (Tapit). Winter Memories is also the dam of...

Woodbine Entertainment, in conjunction with Kraft-Heinz Canada, have announced the launch of the Heinz Challenge, six-week series during which a Thoroughbred jockey from Woodbine will be paired with a harness driver from Woodbine Mohawk Park to compete for a charitable donation of $5,000 from Woodbine. The series will be broadcast live during 'Racing Night Live' on TSN. The four competing jockeys are Rafael Hernandez, Kazushi Kimura, Justin Stein and Emma-Jayne Wilson, while the participating drivers are Jody Jamieson, Bob McClure, Doug McNair and Louis-Philippe Roy, who replaces the injured James...