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One Horse Show in California as Early Encore Dazzles on Debut, Earns ‘Rising Star’ Nod

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If you want a fast and precocious winning juvenile to add to the stable, a son or daughter of Early Voting seems to be the most expedient method to get one this year.

In the stretch of less than a month, the stallion has had five starters, three winners, one runner-up, and a third-place finisher. And now he tallies his second ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’, this time in the form of sensational maiden winner Early Encore at Santa Anita Park.

A week removed from He Is No Lie’s ‘Rising Star’ debut where he sailed home by eight lengths and posted a final time of :51.88 against open maiden company, a second son of the Preakness 147 hero was all the buzz on a Sunday afternoon at the Great Race Place. In the barn of John Sadler since mid-March, he had posted three bullets from seven public works and the betting public was all over him at 1-2 favoritism.

There was a brief moment in the paddock when Early Encore seemed to spook at something, knocking over his groom, but by the time he arrived at the track, he was all business.

Rocketing out of the gate and immediately out to control the pace, the race was more or less over from the jump as the field never seriously threatened him. Sailing through an opening quarter of :22.11 as easily as he pleased, Early Encore came into the lane under a hand ride and the question from there was how big the margin would be…with 6 3/4 lengths being the answer. He stopped the clock in a brisk final time of :51.76 with his ears pricked and hardly breaking a sweat. Scam Alert (Mo Forza) rallied well to claim second in a photo by a nose.

The victor is Early Voting‘s second ‘Rising Star’ in the last two weeks to debut at Santa Anita Park and is the stallion’s third winner overall. He was one of two Early Voting yearlings to go through the ring during last year’s Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings sale, bringing $90,000 from John Sadler as agent.

Early Encore is the first foal for Lute Player, an unplaced daughter of Into Mischief. The mare, whose most recent offspring is a yearling filly by Shaaz, hails from the female line of Group 1 winner Sleepytime (Ire) (Royal Academy). That dam was herself a full and half-sister to a pair of Group 1 winners, and went on in her broodcareer to produce a fleet of accomplished racehorses, including the third dam, Listed winner Dame Ellen (Elusive Quality). The aforementioned mare’s half-siblings include track record-setter SW Ry’s the Guy (Distorted Humor) and group winners Gentleman’s Deal (Ire) (Danehill) and Hathal (Speightstown).

EARLY ENCORE ($3.00) delivers an impressive debut performance at @SantaAnitaPark as @J_RosarioJockey gears him down in the final strides. Congratulations to the @johnwsadler team, @uracingstables and all of the connections with this 2YO colt by @TMStallions Early Voting. pic.twitter.com/jC4ayXJbWl

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) May 24, 2026

“In the nick of time” horsemanship from @JRosarioJockey -quickly grabbing @uracingstables & @SoSRacingStable colt who spooked in the paddock, knocking over his groom. Joel saved horse & our chances to run huge…and Early Encore did! @FanDuel_Racing @sadlerracing @santaanitapark pic.twitter.com/JG6QIksz03

— Jeff Lifson (@LifsonJeff) May 25, 2026

4th-Santa Anita, $66,500, (S), Msw, 5-24, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :51.76, ft, 6 3/4 lengths.
EARLY ENCORE, c, 2, by Early Voting
                1st Dam: Lute Player, by Into Mischief
                2nd Dam: Jazz Flute, by Unbridled’s Song
                3rd Dam: Dame Ellen, by Elusive Quality
Sales history: $90,000 Ylg ’25 FTCAYR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $39,000. O-Desert Sun Stables, Saints or Sinners, Tier Racing LLC, U Racing Stables LLC, Edwin S. Barker, John Haines, Christopher & Monica Kostoff, and Jeffrey Levinson; B-Richard Barton Enterprises (CA); T-John W. Sadler.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.

The post One Horse Show in California as Early Encore Dazzles on Debut, Earns ‘Rising Star’ Nod appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Week in Review: ‘Off the Fence’ Angle Favors Renegade in Belmont Stakes

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The historically unrewarding inside post position–now winless in 41 years–kept Renegade from being favored in the GI Kentucky Derby. But the adverse gate draw and some jostling both after the break and in the final stages didn’t keep this hard-charging Into Mischief colt from barreling home with a tenacious late run that, in many years, would have been good enough to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.

The connections of Renegade (like 15 other Derby participants) predictably bypassed the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes. After breezing a half-mile in company in :49.80 (8/22) over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Race Course May 23, trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed that Renegade has rebounded from his rock ’em-sock ’em Derby with good energy and is on target for the June 6 GI Belmont Stakes.

Four other A-list sophomores who similarly ran in the Derby and opted out of the Preakness also worked last Friday or Saturday-the 23-1 Derby upsetter Golden Tempo (Curlin), plus Commandment (Into Mischief) and two ‘TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard’, Emerging Market (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Chief Wallabee (Constitution).

But despite the presence of those heavy hitters (and at least six others under consideration), it will be Renegade who draws the most support from the betting public in the Belmont Stakes.

“It’s kind of the trend of American racing now-lighter-raced horses running in bigger races,” Pletcher said Saturday.

The Hall-of-Fame conditioner was referring specifically to Renegade. Yet the comment obliquely summed up the general circumstances that could yield one of the deepest, most intriguing renewals of the third jewel of the Triple Crown in years.

Another trend that could favor Renegade: In every other year since 2022, the Belmont Stakes has been won by a colt who drew the rail and had a tough trip in the Derby, then skipped the Preakness.

In 2022, the Pletcher-trained Mo Donegal came out of post one awkwardly in the Derby and was relegated to the back of the pack.

By the time this 10-1 athletic closer was asked for run at the five-sixteenths pole, he was trapped behind a blockade of contenders, necessitating a journey out to the 13 path. He eventually accelerated with interest, but the lateral loss of ground was too much for Mo Donegal to overcome. He finished fifth.

Five weeks later in the Belmont Stakes, Mo Donegal responded with a 5-2 favored win over 12 furlongs (in what would turn out to be his final career race before a September retirement).

The “off the fence” pattern repeated in 2024, when the rail-drawn Dornoch got bumped and brushed early in the Derby, never settling while hemmed inside.

Free from cover on the far turn, the 22-1 Dornoch launched a decent bid. But he had to slam on the brakes when a hole he was aiming for closed. Despite the momentum loss, this big, strapping colt re-rallied, but a mid-stretch traffic snarl cost him any chance of finishing better than tenth.

Dornoch’s trainer, Danny Gargan, also wanted no part of the Preakness. Five weeks later, the 17-1 colt forced the pace to win the 10-furlong Belmont at its temporary home of Saratoga.

Dornoch beat the Derby winner (Mystik Dan), the Preakness winner (Seize the Grey), and the eventual Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and subsequent sophomore champion, Sierra Leone. He then won the GI Haskell Stakes in his next start.

Unlike Mo Donegal and Dornoch, Renegade was largely able to overcome his disadvantageous rail draw in the Derby. Considering what he went through, this colt gets high marks for getting beaten by only a neck as the 5.65-1 second choice.

Renegade actually broke pretty well from gate one at Churchill. But after absorbing an initial modest bump from an outer rival, he then took the brunt of some serious secondary chain-reaction crowding. Despite the roughhousing, Renegade seemed unfazed by getting banged around, and he settled well while fourth from last under Irad Ortiz, Jr., the first time under the finish wire.

Renegade remained patient near the back of the 18-horse field for the middle stages of the Derby, riding the rail until three furlongs out when Ortiz nudged him outward.

Renegade clicked into a quicker cadence, but Ortiz had to keep him “on hold” approaching the head of the lane while continuously floating wider behind a wall of tiring frontrunners in an effort to pick a clear launch point for the drive.

Ten wide but full of run in upper stretch, Renegade went shoulder to shoulder with Incredibolt (Bolt d’Oro) between the three-sixteenths and eighth poles before being able to disengage from that foe and focus on the horses ahead of him.

Ortiz switched to left-handed stick work and Renegade torqued into a higher gear to meet the onrushing challenge of Golden Tempo in the final half-furlong.

Those two jointly got the jump on the upset-minded 70-1 maiden Ocelli (Connect), and although Renegade initially seemed emboldened by deep-stretch contact with Golden Tempo, he was out-kicked in the closing strides and had to settle for second.

Now Renegade looms as the horse to beat in the third and final 10-furlong version of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga before the race reverts to its traditional home and 1 ½-miles distance next year at the rebuilt Belmont Park.

Since 2000, the third leg of the Triple Crown has been won by 13 horses that ran in the Derby then passed on the Preakness.

During that same time frame, eight horses won the Belmont after not having run in either the Derby or Preakness.

Of course, we had two Triple Crown winners in that era (Justify in 2018 and American Pharoah in 2015) who competed in and won all three Classics.

Two others-Afleet Alex in 2005 and Point Given in 2001-ran in the Derby, won the Preakness, then also won the Belmont.

Not counted in that tally is the pandemic-altered 2020 Triple Crown season, when the Belmont was conducted at nine furlongs in June and the Derby was moved to September.

The post Week in Review: ‘Off the Fence’ Angle Favors Renegade in Belmont Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

One Horse Show in California as Early Encore Dazzles on Debut, Earns ‘Rising Star’ Nod

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If you want a fast and precocious winning juvenile to add to the stable, a son or daughter of Early Voting seems to be the most expedient method to get one this year.

In the stretch of less than a month, the stallion has had five starters, three winners, one runner-up, and a third-place finisher. And now he tallies his second ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’, this time in the form of sensational maiden winner Early Encore at Santa Anita Park.

A week removed from He Is No Lie’s ‘Rising Star’ debut where he sailed home by eight lengths and posted a final time of :51.88 against open maiden company, a second son of the Preakness 147 hero was all the buzz on a Sunday afternoon at the Great Race Place. In the barn of John Sadler since mid-March, he had posted three bullets from seven public works and the betting public was all over him at 1-2 favoritism.

There was a brief moment in the paddock when Early Encore seemed to spook at something, knocking over his groom, but by the time he arrived at the track, he was all business.

Rocketing out of the gate and immediately out to control the pace, the race was more or less over from the jump as the field never seriously threatened him. Sailing through an opening quarter of :22.11 as easily as he pleased, Early Encore came into the lane under a hand ride and the question from there was how big the margin would be…with 6 3/4 lengths being the answer. He stopped the clock in a brisk final time of :51.76 with his ears pricked and hardly breaking a sweat. Scam Alert (Mo Forza) rallied well to claim second in a photo by a nose.

The victor is Early Voting‘s second ‘Rising Star’ in the last two weeks to debut at Santa Anita Park and is the stallion’s third winner overall. He was one of two Early Voting yearlings to go through the ring during last year’s Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings sale, bringing $90,000 from John Sadler as agent.

Early Encore is the first foal for Lute Player, an unplaced daughter of Into Mischief. The mare, whose most recent offspring is a yearling filly by Shaaz, hails from the female line of Group 1 winner Sleepytime (Ire) (Royal Academy). That dam was herself a full and half-sister to a pair of Group 1 winners, and went on in her broodcareer to produce a fleet of accomplished racehorses, including the third dam, Listed winner Dame Ellen (Elusive Quality). The aforementioned mare’s half-siblings include track record-setter SW Ry’s the Guy (Distorted Humor) and group winners Gentleman’s Deal (Ire) (Danehill) and Hathal (Speightstown).

EARLY ENCORE ($3.00) delivers an impressive debut performance at @SantaAnitaPark as @J_RosarioJockey gears him down in the final strides. Congratulations to the @johnwsadler team, @uracingstables and all of the connections with this 2YO colt by @TMStallions Early Voting. pic.twitter.com/jC4ayXJbWl

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) May 24, 2026

“In the nick of time” horsemanship from @JRosarioJockey -quickly grabbing @uracingstables & @SoSRacingStable colt who spooked in the paddock, knocking over his groom. Joel saved horse & our chances to run huge…and Early Encore did! @FanDuel_Racing @sadlerracing @santaanitapark pic.twitter.com/JG6QIksz03

— Jeff Lifson (@LifsonJeff) May 25, 2026

4th-Santa Anita, $66,500, (S), Msw, 5-24, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :51.76, ft, 6 3/4 lengths.
EARLY ENCORE, c, 2, by Early Voting
                1st Dam: Lute Player, by Into Mischief
                2nd Dam: Jazz Flute, by Unbridled’s Song
                3rd Dam: Dame Ellen, by Elusive Quality
Sales history: $90,000 Ylg ’25 FTCAYR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $39,000. O-Desert Sun Stables, Saints or Sinners, Tier Racing LLC, U Racing Stables LLC, Edwin S. Barker, John Haines, Christopher & Monica Kostoff, and Jeffrey Levinson; B-Richard Barton Enterprises (CA); T-John W. Sadler.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.

The post One Horse Show in California as Early Encore Dazzles on Debut, Earns ‘Rising Star’ Nod appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Week in Review: ‘Off the Fence’ Angle Favors Renegade in Belmont Stakes

---

The historically unrewarding inside post position–now winless in 41 years–kept Renegade from being favored in the GI Kentucky Derby. But the adverse gate draw and some jostling both after the break and in the final stages didn’t keep this hard-charging Into Mischief colt from barreling home with a tenacious late run that, in many years, would have been good enough to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.

The connections of Renegade (like 15 other Derby participants) predictably bypassed the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes. After breezing a half-mile in company in :49.80 (8/22) over the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga Race Course May 23, trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed that Renegade has rebounded from his rock ’em-sock ’em Derby with good energy and is on target for the June 6 GI Belmont Stakes.

Four other A-list sophomores who similarly ran in the Derby and opted out of the Preakness also worked last Friday or Saturday-the 23-1 Derby upsetter Golden Tempo (Curlin), plus Commandment (Into Mischief) and two ‘TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard’, Emerging Market (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Chief Wallabee (Constitution).

But despite the presence of those heavy hitters (and at least six others under consideration), it will be Renegade who draws the most support from the betting public in the Belmont Stakes.

“It’s kind of the trend of American racing now-lighter-raced horses running in bigger races,” Pletcher said Saturday.

The Hall-of-Fame conditioner was referring specifically to Renegade. Yet the comment obliquely summed up the general circumstances that could yield one of the deepest, most intriguing renewals of the third jewel of the Triple Crown in years.

Another trend that could favor Renegade: In every other year since 2022, the Belmont Stakes has been won by a colt who drew the rail and had a tough trip in the Derby, then skipped the Preakness.

In 2022, the Pletcher-trained Mo Donegal came out of post one awkwardly in the Derby and was relegated to the back of the pack.

By the time this 10-1 athletic closer was asked for run at the five-sixteenths pole, he was trapped behind a blockade of contenders, necessitating a journey out to the 13 path. He eventually accelerated with interest, but the lateral loss of ground was too much for Mo Donegal to overcome. He finished fifth.

Five weeks later in the Belmont Stakes, Mo Donegal responded with a 5-2 favored win over 12 furlongs (in what would turn out to be his final career race before a September retirement).

The “off the fence” pattern repeated in 2024, when the rail-drawn Dornoch got bumped and brushed early in the Derby, never settling while hemmed inside.

Free from cover on the far turn, the 22-1 Dornoch launched a decent bid. But he had to slam on the brakes when a hole he was aiming for closed. Despite the momentum loss, this big, strapping colt re-rallied, but a mid-stretch traffic snarl cost him any chance of finishing better than tenth.

Dornoch’s trainer, Danny Gargan, also wanted no part of the Preakness. Five weeks later, the 17-1 colt forced the pace to win the 10-furlong Belmont at its temporary home of Saratoga.

Dornoch beat the Derby winner (Mystik Dan), the Preakness winner (Seize the Grey), and the eventual Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and subsequent sophomore champion, Sierra Leone. He then won the GI Haskell Stakes in his next start.

Unlike Mo Donegal and Dornoch, Renegade was largely able to overcome his disadvantageous rail draw in the Derby. Considering what he went through, this colt gets high marks for getting beaten by only a neck as the 5.65-1 second choice.

Renegade actually broke pretty well from gate one at Churchill. But after absorbing an initial modest bump from an outer rival, he then took the brunt of some serious secondary chain-reaction crowding. Despite the roughhousing, Renegade seemed unfazed by getting banged around, and he settled well while fourth from last under Irad Ortiz, Jr., the first time under the finish wire.

Renegade remained patient near the back of the 18-horse field for the middle stages of the Derby, riding the rail until three furlongs out when Ortiz nudged him outward.

Renegade clicked into a quicker cadence, but Ortiz had to keep him “on hold” approaching the head of the lane while continuously floating wider behind a wall of tiring frontrunners in an effort to pick a clear launch point for the drive.

Ten wide but full of run in upper stretch, Renegade went shoulder to shoulder with Incredibolt (Bolt d’Oro) between the three-sixteenths and eighth poles before being able to disengage from that foe and focus on the horses ahead of him.

Ortiz switched to left-handed stick work and Renegade torqued into a higher gear to meet the onrushing challenge of Golden Tempo in the final half-furlong.

Those two jointly got the jump on the upset-minded 70-1 maiden Ocelli (Connect), and although Renegade initially seemed emboldened by deep-stretch contact with Golden Tempo, he was out-kicked in the closing strides and had to settle for second.

Now Renegade looms as the horse to beat in the third and final 10-furlong version of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga before the race reverts to its traditional home and 1 ½-miles distance next year at the rebuilt Belmont Park.

Since 2000, the third leg of the Triple Crown has been won by 13 horses that ran in the Derby then passed on the Preakness.

During that same time frame, eight horses won the Belmont after not having run in either the Derby or Preakness.

Of course, we had two Triple Crown winners in that era (Justify in 2018 and American Pharoah in 2015) who competed in and won all three Classics.

Two others-Afleet Alex in 2005 and Point Given in 2001-ran in the Derby, won the Preakness, then also won the Belmont.

Not counted in that tally is the pandemic-altered 2020 Triple Crown season, when the Belmont was conducted at nine furlongs in June and the Derby was moved to September.

The post Week in Review: ‘Off the Fence’ Angle Favors Renegade in Belmont Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.