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While he is now considered an ''elder statesman'' of the Coolmore Australia stallion roster, there can be no doubt that Encosta de Lago (AUS) (TrueNicks,SRO) is one of the premier stallions standing in Australia this year. The son of Fairy King has amassed a sensational record at stud with 6.3% stakes winners to foals and 7.6% stakes winners to ...

Let’s try and get through this with as little pain as possible. If you think you can nail this year’s Belmont Stakes winner through conventional handicapping methods you’re most likely in for a rude awakening. But in our case the alternative is a blank space where the Friday column should be.You can decipher all this in whatever manner you choose, ...

We are ~48 hours out from the Belmont, and here's how I see the race. From the rail out...Frac Daddy’s best race remains his 9 ¾-length maiden win going 8.5f last Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs. His soft 2nd in a slowly run Arkansas Derby (G1) is the lone bright spot in his 3yo campaign, and he was a non-factor in the Derby.He’s by Scat Daddy, a ...

Happy almost Belmont weekend! While the following story of Nick Martinez isn't directly OTTB-related, this jockey-turned equine artist does donate a portion of the proceeds from his work to retired racehorse efforts. I hope you enjoy this story of Martinez' colorful journey in the Thoroughbred industry. ...

Here are some of the players in one of the most perplexing Belmont Stakes in years. Jennifer Patterson is happy with the way Orb has been training, as is trainer Shug McGaughey. The Kentucky Derby winner had a spirited gallop Thursday morning in which he was feeling good down the stretch. Trainer Wayne Lukas and Oxbow have become quite a ...

Now that the post positions for the Belmont Stakes have been drawn, we at least can make an educated guess on how the race might be run. But we still have track condition to consider, and at this point it looks as if we are going to have a wet track on Saturday. But to what degree, and if it is sloppy, what type of slop are we going to get? Those ...

The victory of Snow Bell in the Prix des Lilas at Chantilly on June 4 credited the young French sire Kendargent with his sixth individual stakes winner from his first two crops. Kendargent's start as a sire has been a lot more impressive than his early career as a runner. In fact, he started six times at 2 and 3 before he was able to gain his ...

It's no secret that the late German stallion Monsun, who died last September at the age 22, was an outstanding sire. However, even by his standards, he had exceptional day May 26, with 5-year-old Maxios taking the Prix d'Ispahan (Fr-I) and 3-year-old filly Silasol capturing the Prix Saint-Alary (Fr-I), both at Longchamp; and in Milan on the same ...