Lady Aurelia earned every style point April 15 in her first outing since last September when she whipped her way off the final turn to a 2 1/2-length victory in the $100,000 Giant's Causeway Stakes over the Keeneland lawn.
Each week BloodHorse.com looks forward to the weekend's biggest races. This week we have the final preps for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) at Oaklawn Park and Keeneland.
Not only will Stonestreet Stables, George Bolton, and Peter Leidel's group 1 winner face an overflow field in the $100,000 Giant's Causeway Stakes April 15 at Keeneland, but she'll also face older horses for the first time.
Trainer Wesley Ward said Keeneland's listed Giant's Causeway Stakes, at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf April 15, is scheduled to mark the 2017 debut of Stonestreet Farm, George Bolton, Peter Leidel's Lady Aurelia, Europe's 2016 champion 2-year-old filly.
Arnaud and Leigh Delacour have quietly built their stable, currently based at Tampa Bay Downs, into one of the most successful in the country with a focus on time and patience.
In her first trip down the Santa Anita Park hillside turf course, Prize Exhibit got a dream rail trip and held off a late-closing effort from defending winner Shrinking Violet to win the $200,000 Monrovia Stakes (gr. IIT).
Wesley Ward's well-traveled Shrinking Violet will look for a repeat score in the $200,000 Monrovia Stakes (gr. IIT) Jan. 3, after taking the 2015 edition of the race a year ago.
The Maryland Jockey Club announced Dec. 3 that the $350,000 Frank De Francis Memorial Dash has been upgraded to grade III for 2016 by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Lael Stables' Ageless will not run in next Saturday's $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT), trainer Arnaud Delacour said Oct. 23.
Although winner Ageless is continuing to recover from an injury sustained in her dramatic victory in the Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes, the 6-year-old mare was pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT)
Training Progeny of Hard Spun: Wicked Strong, Free as a Bird, Hard Aces and More! view slideshow
Training Progeny of Hard Spun: Wicked Strong, Free as a Bird, Hard Aces & More
Following her dramatic win in the Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes at Keeneland Oct. 9, Lael Stables' Ageless was treated at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute for a cut in her left hock sustained during the turf sprint.
Lael Stables' Ageless took down favored Lady Shipman with a late charge Oct. 9 in the $100,000 Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes at Keeneland, but was injured in the process.
Free as a Bird and Ageless, the one-two finishers in last year's Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf, will meet again at Keeneland Oct. 9.
Lael Stables' Ageless, who rarely fails to put forth an excellent effort, is scheduled to return to Presque Isle Downs & Casino Sept. 7 for another try in the $400,000 Presque Isle Masters Stakes (gr. II).
Lael Stables' Ageless ran down front-runner Leigh Court in the stretch and won the Royal North Stakes (Can-IIIT) in course-record time July 26 at Woodbine.
Lael Stables' Ageless will try to win the $150,000 Royal North Stakes (Can-IIIT) for a second straight year when she starts from the outside in the expected field of seven fillies and mares Sunday, July 26 at Woodbine.
Regis Racing's Zindaya earned her second straight stakes win when she pulled away from the pack to take the $150,000 Intercontinental Stakes at Belmont Park June 4.
The Sir Barton, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds, is one of four ungraded stakes scheduled for Saturday's Preakness Day card at Pimlico, along with the James W. Murphy, Chick Lang Stakes, and The Very One Stakes.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Bobby Kitten, a speed type who never had raced shorter than one mile, went from last to first with a dramatic run to capture the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT) Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park.
Trainer Arnaud Delacour will get his opportunity to see if the mare Ageless has an affinity for the Santa Anita Park downhill turf course in the Turf Sprint (gr. IT).
Magician, winner of the 2013 Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT), has been withdrawn from this year's race at Santa Anita Park, Breeders' Cup officials confirmed the morning of Oct. 29.
Claire Novak updates the news of the day, including the defections of Magician and Free as a Bird, and California Chrome schooling. Also, Shared Belief is now in the house. Watch Video
Free as a Bird was scratched from the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT) the morning of Oct. 29 after the 5-year-old mare refused to fly, according to trainer Ian Wilkes.
| Horse | Trainer | Breeder / Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Ageless | Arnaud Delacour |
|
| Allwewantforxmas | Michael J. Trombetta |
|
| Believe in Charlie | Thomas M. Bush |
|
| Free as a Bird | Ian R. Wilkes |
|
| Point to the Wild | Brad H. Cox |
|
| Prettyhotprincess | Eric R. Reed |
|
| Queen's Award | Eduardo Caramori |
|
| Run a Risk | George R. Arnold, II |
|
| Saturday Nthe Park | Tevis Q. McCauley |
|
| Sweet Cassiopeia | William R. Connelly |
|
| To My Valentine (FR) | Wesley A. Ward |
|
| Race | Track | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Prairie Rose S. | PRM | |
| Chariot Chaser H. | NP | |
| Wild Rose H. | NP | |
| Jack Bishop S. | PRM | |
| Arlington Classic S. (G3T) | AP |
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