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Cy Fair is Back! Breeders’ Cup Winner Takes the Mamzelle

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‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’ Cy Fair (f, 3, Not This Time–Remarqued, by Arch) is a big fan of showing her best during the sport’s biggest weeks. Following a scintillating win in last fall’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint over the boys, the bay filly signaled her return as a headliner with a commanding win Thursday of Derby Week at Churchill Downs in the GIII Mamzelle Stakes. In winning, she beat the reopposing Slay the Day (Into Mischief), who spoiled Cy Fair’s sophomore campaign kickoff nearly three weeks ago at Keeneland in the GIII FanDuel Limestone Stakes. Cy Fair yielded to third that day, beaten less than a length, after leading as the even-money favorite. It was a different story at Churchill on “Thurby.”

The 4-5 choice to return to the winner’s circle in the Mamzelle, Cy Fair bided her time early in fifth as Midnight Martini (Yaupon) and Thank You Amy (Street Boss) battled up front through :22.11 and :45.12 fractions. Slay the Day loomed on the turn with her sights set on the leaders as Cy Fair tracked her intently. The George Weaver trainee hooked up with Slay the Day in the lane, giving the Limestone winner all she could handle in a ding-dong battle before pulling away by a length late to cruise under the wire in 1:01.90 for the 5 1/2 furlongs on the lawn. Slay the Day held second while Turfway’s Serena’s Song Stakes winner Hen Party (Into Mischief) closed for third.

“George [Weaver] said, ‘Don’t be on the lead,’” said winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. “Last time I went to the front and we got beat. This time I took a hold on her out of the gate. She was pulling hard but I had her. Then I cut her loose and she went just like she was supposed to.”

Swinbank Stables picked up Cy Fair for $185,000 at last year’s OBS Spring sale, unveiling her in a driving finish and ‘TDN Rising Star’ performance on debut July 10 at Saratoga. Medallion Racing, Joey Platts, and Mark Stanton came on board just in time for Cy Fair to finish second by a neck to Snow Face Princess (Midshipman)–who was fifth in the Mamzelle–in the Bolton Landing Stakes a month later. Cy Fair regrouped, adding the Bet365 Algonquin Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup in quick succession to close out her year. An Eclipse finalist, Cy Fair got run down late in the Limestone in her first start in nearly 5 1/2 months. In hindsight, that race efficiently knocked any rust off and set her up nicely for the Mamzelle.

Cy Fair gets a celebratory pat from Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Renee Torbit/Coady Media

Pedigree Notes:

Going into the Kentucky Derby and Oaks weekend, Taylor Made’s Not This Time holds a significant lead–strengthened by Magnitude’s G1 Dubai World Cup score–atop the current list of leading North American sires by earnings. Much could change over the next few days of racing, as his two biggest rivals on the sires list have major players over the weekend, but so does Not This Time. The son of Giant’s Causeway, who sends his seventh crop of 2-year-olds to the races this year, has 39 graded winners and 73 black-type winners.

Marc Keller bought Remarqued, Cy Fair’s dam, at the 2015 OBS yearling sale for $320,000. When Cy Fair was a freshly minted 2-year-old, he sold the mare at the 2025 Keeneland January sale for $225,000 to Hickory Grove Farm, who capitalized on Cy Fair’s success later in the year by selling the mare again 10 months later at Keeneland’s November sale. Steven W. Young bought her for $1.2 million and also bought her Omaha Beach yearling filly, now named Channel Crossing, for $400,000 at Keeneland September, while MWG bought her Nyquist weanling filly at the Keeneland November sale for $750,000. Remarqued, who foaled a Nyquist colt Apr. 17, is a half-sister to multiple Royal Ascot winner Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) from the same family as 2017 champion 2-year-old filly Caledonia Road (Quality Road).

CY FAIR turned onto the stretch and found the way to the finish with @iradortiz. #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/scFITpvXfn

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) April 30, 2026

Thursday, Churchill Downs
MAMZELLE S. PRESENTED BY KENTUCKY PROUD-GIII, $299,250, Churchill Downs, 4-30, 3yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:01.90, fm.
1–CY FAIR, 122, f, 3, by Not This Time
            1st Dam: Remarqued, by Arch
            2nd Dam: Citizen Advocate, by Proud Citizen
            3rd Dam: Twilight Service, by Horse Chestnut (Saf)
‘TDN Rising Star‘. ($185,000 2yo ’25 OBSAPR). O-Medallion
Racing, Swinbank Stables LLC, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton;
B-Marc Keller (KY); T-George Weaver; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.
$178,800. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-4-1-1, $892,255. Werk Nick
Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Slay the Day, 122, f, 3, Into Mischief–Mind Out, by Tapit.
($170,000 Ylg ’24 KEESEP). O-Flying Dutchmen Breeding and
Racing LLC; B-Pin Oak Stud, LLC (KY); T-Brian A. Lynch. $58,000.
3–Hen Party, 118, f, 3, Into Mischief–Fair Maiden, by Street
Boss. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Eoin G.
Harty. $29,000.
Margins: 1, 2 1/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 0.99, 2.16, 7.19.
Also Ran: Final Accord, Snow Face Princess, Snappy Comeback, Ifyousaidso, Midnight Martini, Thank You Amy. Scratched: Blushing Justice, Gigabit. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Cy Fair is Back! Breeders’ Cup Winner Takes the Mamzelle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Friday Night Lights: Kentucky Oaks Takes Centerstage in Primetime

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Welcome to primetime, ladies.

A fantastic renewal of the GI Kentucky Oaks is on tap, and, for the first time, will be held beneath the lights with an 8:40 p.m. ET post time at Churchill Downs Friday evening.

Trainer Brad Cox will be shooting for a fourth Kentucky Oaks trophy with the very promising GII Gulfstream Park Oaks heroine and ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’ Prom Queen (Quality Road).

The legendary and much-missed duo of Woody Stephens and D. Wayne Lukas share the record for most Kentucky Oaks victories with five.

“I’m O.K. with the Oaks being run at night,” the Louisville native Cox said. “I don’t think it matters a whole lot and it shouldn’t affect the horses.”

As for Prom Queen, Cox added, “She’s training really well and doing everything the right way.”

From the female family of G1 Dubai World Cup winner Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), the Gary and Mary West homebred should certainly appreciate this 1 1/8-mile distance. Her sire Quality Road is responsible for 2017 Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman.

Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trainer Michael McCarthy are no strangers to the bright lights in Louisville this weekend.

The team behind last year’s valiant GI Kentucky Derby runner-up and GI Preakness S. winner Journalism (Curlin) are back with the talented GII Santa Anita Oaks heroine Meaning (Gun Runner).

“It’s a lot quieter than it was last year, that’s for sure,” Eclipse President & Founder Aron Wellman said with a laugh. “Even though she’s the second choice on the morning line, she’s quietly flying in a bit under the radar.”

What are your thoughts on this new time slot?

“I’m a huge proponent of the innovation and the courage to take a chance by moving the Oaks into primetime,” Wellman said. “It’s clear that the industry needs to adjust our ways in some fashion, and, if this is a starting point, then I’m in favor of it.”

He continued, “That being said, I certainly have my concerns as a horseman, specifically as it relates to fillies. This arguably the biggest moment of their careers and to take them into a unique environment under the lights where there’s gonna be 100,000+ fans, it is any horseman’s concern how they might react. I think the intent is positive though and therefore I’m largely supportive.”

The top two finishers from the GI Central Bank Ashland S. will look to settle the score with a highly anticipated rematch.

Repole Stable’s Zany (American Pharoah) suffered her first career defeat that day chasing home Hat Creek Racing’s ‘Rising Star’ Percy’s Bar (Upstart) into the short stretch at Keeneland. The 4-1 morning-line favorite romped by 8 1/2 lengths in last fall’s GII Demoiselle S. at this same distance.

“We’ve been training her early to get her used to being under the lights,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “With the race so late, we want her to be ready for that environment.”

Percy’s Bar, meanwhile, returns to the site of her five-length score in last spring’s Debutante S. She closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a troubled third in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar.

The deep Kentucky Oaks field also includes the two-for-two GIII Gazelle S. winner and ‘Rising Star’ Always a Runner (Gun Runner); the rail-drawn GIII Honeybee S. winner and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up ‘Rising Star’ Explora (Blame); and GII Fantasy S. winner Counting Stars (Honor A. P.).

With the early scratches of My Miss Mo (Uncle Mo), Bottle of Rouge (Vino Rosso) and Bella Ballerina (Street Sense), all three also eligibles–Lovely Grey (Vekoma), Nycon (Nyquist) and Resist (Maclean’s Music)–are now in.

Live coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN, leading into the first-ever Kentucky Oaks broadcast in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Friday’s forecast in the Louisville area is a pleasant one, with partly cloudy skies and a high of 63 degrees expected.

“By moving the Kentucky Oaks to primetime, we’re giving one of horse racing’s most treasured traditions the national stage it deserves,” said CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen. “This decision is rooted in our commitment to growing the sport, reaching new audiences and creating unforgettable experiences for our fans.”

The post Friday Night Lights: Kentucky Oaks Takes Centerstage in Primetime appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Cy Fair is Back! Breeders’ Cup Winner Takes the Mamzelle

---

‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’ Cy Fair (f, 3, Not This Time–Remarqued, by Arch) is a big fan of showing her best during the sport’s biggest weeks. Following a scintillating win in last fall’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint over the boys, the bay filly signaled her return as a headliner with a commanding win Thursday of Derby Week at Churchill Downs in the GIII Mamzelle Stakes. In winning, she beat the reopposing Slay the Day (Into Mischief), who spoiled Cy Fair’s sophomore campaign kickoff nearly three weeks ago at Keeneland in the GIII FanDuel Limestone Stakes. Cy Fair yielded to third that day, beaten less than a length, after leading as the even-money favorite. It was a different story at Churchill on “Thurby.”

The 4-5 choice to return to the winner’s circle in the Mamzelle, Cy Fair bided her time early in fifth as Midnight Martini (Yaupon) and Thank You Amy (Street Boss) battled up front through :22.11 and :45.12 fractions. Slay the Day loomed on the turn with her sights set on the leaders as Cy Fair tracked her intently. The George Weaver trainee hooked up with Slay the Day in the lane, giving the Limestone winner all she could handle in a ding-dong battle before pulling away by a length late to cruise under the wire in 1:01.90 for the 5 1/2 furlongs on the lawn. Slay the Day held second while Turfway’s Serena’s Song Stakes winner Hen Party (Into Mischief) closed for third.

“George [Weaver] said, ‘Don’t be on the lead,’” said winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. “Last time I went to the front and we got beat. This time I took a hold on her out of the gate. She was pulling hard but I had her. Then I cut her loose and she went just like she was supposed to.”

Swinbank Stables picked up Cy Fair for $185,000 at last year’s OBS Spring sale, unveiling her in a driving finish and ‘TDN Rising Star’ performance on debut July 10 at Saratoga. Medallion Racing, Joey Platts, and Mark Stanton came on board just in time for Cy Fair to finish second by a neck to Snow Face Princess (Midshipman)–who was fifth in the Mamzelle–in the Bolton Landing Stakes a month later. Cy Fair regrouped, adding the Bet365 Algonquin Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup in quick succession to close out her year. An Eclipse finalist, Cy Fair got run down late in the Limestone in her first start in nearly 5 1/2 months. In hindsight, that race efficiently knocked any rust off and set her up nicely for the Mamzelle.

Cy Fair gets a celebratory pat from Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Renee Torbit/Coady Media

Pedigree Notes:

Going into the Kentucky Derby and Oaks weekend, Taylor Made’s Not This Time holds a significant lead–strengthened by Magnitude’s G1 Dubai World Cup score–atop the current list of leading North American sires by earnings. Much could change over the next few days of racing, as his two biggest rivals on the sires list have major players over the weekend, but so does Not This Time. The son of Giant’s Causeway, who sends his seventh crop of 2-year-olds to the races this year, has 39 graded winners and 73 black-type winners.

Marc Keller bought Remarqued, Cy Fair’s dam, at the 2015 OBS yearling sale for $320,000. When Cy Fair was a freshly minted 2-year-old, he sold the mare at the 2025 Keeneland January sale for $225,000 to Hickory Grove Farm, who capitalized on Cy Fair’s success later in the year by selling the mare again 10 months later at Keeneland’s November sale. Steven W. Young bought her for $1.2 million and also bought her Omaha Beach yearling filly, now named Channel Crossing, for $400,000 at Keeneland September, while MWG bought her Nyquist weanling filly at the Keeneland November sale for $750,000. Remarqued, who foaled a Nyquist colt Apr. 17, is a half-sister to multiple Royal Ascot winner Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) from the same family as 2017 champion 2-year-old filly Caledonia Road (Quality Road).

CY FAIR turned onto the stretch and found the way to the finish with @iradortiz. #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/scFITpvXfn

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) April 30, 2026

Thursday, Churchill Downs
MAMZELLE S. PRESENTED BY KENTUCKY PROUD-GIII, $299,250, Churchill Downs, 4-30, 3yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:01.90, fm.
1–CY FAIR, 122, f, 3, by Not This Time
            1st Dam: Remarqued, by Arch
            2nd Dam: Citizen Advocate, by Proud Citizen
            3rd Dam: Twilight Service, by Horse Chestnut (Saf)
‘TDN Rising Star‘. ($185,000 2yo ’25 OBSAPR). O-Medallion
Racing, Swinbank Stables LLC, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton;
B-Marc Keller (KY); T-George Weaver; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.
$178,800. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-4-1-1, $892,255. Werk Nick
Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Slay the Day, 122, f, 3, Into Mischief–Mind Out, by Tapit.
($170,000 Ylg ’24 KEESEP). O-Flying Dutchmen Breeding and
Racing LLC; B-Pin Oak Stud, LLC (KY); T-Brian A. Lynch. $58,000.
3–Hen Party, 118, f, 3, Into Mischief–Fair Maiden, by Street
Boss. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Eoin G.
Harty. $29,000.
Margins: 1, 2 1/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 0.99, 2.16, 7.19.
Also Ran: Final Accord, Snow Face Princess, Snappy Comeback, Ifyousaidso, Midnight Martini, Thank You Amy. Scratched: Blushing Justice, Gigabit. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Cy Fair is Back! Breeders’ Cup Winner Takes the Mamzelle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Friday Night Lights: Kentucky Oaks Takes Centerstage in Primetime

---

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Welcome to primetime, ladies.

A fantastic renewal of the GI Kentucky Oaks is on tap, and, for the first time, will be held beneath the lights with an 8:40 p.m. ET post time at Churchill Downs Friday evening.

Trainer Brad Cox will be shooting for a fourth Kentucky Oaks trophy with the very promising GII Gulfstream Park Oaks heroine and ‘TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard’ Prom Queen (Quality Road).

The legendary and much-missed duo of Woody Stephens and D. Wayne Lukas share the record for most Kentucky Oaks victories with five.

“I’m O.K. with the Oaks being run at night,” the Louisville native Cox said. “I don’t think it matters a whole lot and it shouldn’t affect the horses.”

As for Prom Queen, Cox added, “She’s training really well and doing everything the right way.”

From the female family of G1 Dubai World Cup winner Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), the Gary and Mary West homebred should certainly appreciate this 1 1/8-mile distance. Her sire Quality Road is responsible for 2017 Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman.

Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trainer Michael McCarthy are no strangers to the bright lights in Louisville this weekend.

The team behind last year’s valiant GI Kentucky Derby runner-up and GI Preakness S. winner Journalism (Curlin) are back with the talented GII Santa Anita Oaks heroine Meaning (Gun Runner).

“It’s a lot quieter than it was last year, that’s for sure,” Eclipse President & Founder Aron Wellman said with a laugh. “Even though she’s the second choice on the morning line, she’s quietly flying in a bit under the radar.”

What are your thoughts on this new time slot?

“I’m a huge proponent of the innovation and the courage to take a chance by moving the Oaks into primetime,” Wellman said. “It’s clear that the industry needs to adjust our ways in some fashion, and, if this is a starting point, then I’m in favor of it.”

He continued, “That being said, I certainly have my concerns as a horseman, specifically as it relates to fillies. This arguably the biggest moment of their careers and to take them into a unique environment under the lights where there’s gonna be 100,000+ fans, it is any horseman’s concern how they might react. I think the intent is positive though and therefore I’m largely supportive.”

The top two finishers from the GI Central Bank Ashland S. will look to settle the score with a highly anticipated rematch.

Repole Stable’s Zany (American Pharoah) suffered her first career defeat that day chasing home Hat Creek Racing’s ‘Rising Star’ Percy’s Bar (Upstart) into the short stretch at Keeneland. The 4-1 morning-line favorite romped by 8 1/2 lengths in last fall’s GII Demoiselle S. at this same distance.

“We’ve been training her early to get her used to being under the lights,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “With the race so late, we want her to be ready for that environment.”

Percy’s Bar, meanwhile, returns to the site of her five-length score in last spring’s Debutante S. She closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a troubled third in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar.

The deep Kentucky Oaks field also includes the two-for-two GIII Gazelle S. winner and ‘Rising Star’ Always a Runner (Gun Runner); the rail-drawn GIII Honeybee S. winner and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up ‘Rising Star’ Explora (Blame); and GII Fantasy S. winner Counting Stars (Honor A. P.).

With the early scratches of My Miss Mo (Uncle Mo), Bottle of Rouge (Vino Rosso) and Bella Ballerina (Street Sense), all three also eligibles–Lovely Grey (Vekoma), Nycon (Nyquist) and Resist (Maclean’s Music)–are now in.

Live coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN, leading into the first-ever Kentucky Oaks broadcast in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Friday’s forecast in the Louisville area is a pleasant one, with partly cloudy skies and a high of 63 degrees expected.

“By moving the Kentucky Oaks to primetime, we’re giving one of horse racing’s most treasured traditions the national stage it deserves,” said CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen. “This decision is rooted in our commitment to growing the sport, reaching new audiences and creating unforgettable experiences for our fans.”

The post Friday Night Lights: Kentucky Oaks Takes Centerstage in Primetime appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.