Cheltenham Festival 2026, explained: Dates, race times, course guide and where to watch
The jump racing season builds towards the Cheltenham Festival when the very best horses and one of the most knowledgeable crowds in sport gather for four days of revelry and drama.
The cream of the crop from Ireland, led by Willie Mullins’ ever-strong team, will do battle against the best of British with trainer Dan Skelton likely to provide most resistance from the home team.
Each day features a championship race: the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday, the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday, the Stayers’ Hurdle on Thursday and of course Friday’s Gold Cup.
Champion Hurdle favourite Sir Gino will not be at the meeting after the Nick Henderson six-year-old sustained a fractured pelvis on Cheltenham trials day.
Here, Telegraph Sport gives you the run-down on the entire meeting.
- Dates
- Race schedule
- Guide to the big races
- Where to watch
- Where is the racecourse?
- Racecourse guide
- Hospitality
- Ticket prices
When is the 2026 Cheltenham Festival? Start and end dates
The Cheltenham Festival begins on Tuesday March 10 and ends on Friday March 13. The Festival was extended from three to four days in 2005. There have been tentative proposals to add a fifth day, but the idea is unpopular among racing’s core audience. Moving Gold Cup day to the Saturday has been mooted as a compromise, but for now we stick to the same format.
How many races are there?
There are 28 races across the week, seven each day.
Race schedule: Times for every race in the 2026 Festival
Tuesday
1.20: Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £150,000 | 2m 87y | eight hurdles | Old Course
2.00: Arkle Chase (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £200,000 | 2m | 13 fences | Old Course
2.40: Fred Winter (Hallgarten and Novum Wines) Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)
Race conditions: £80,000 | 2m 87y | eight hurdles | Old Course
3.20: Ultima Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
Race conditions: £150,000 | 3m 1f | 20 fences | Old Course
4.00: Champion Hurdle (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £450,000 | 2m 87y | eight hurdles | Old Course
4.40: Festival Plate Handicap (Grade 3)
Race conditions: £150,000 | 2m 4f 87y | 17 fences | Old Course
5.20: National Hunt Chase (Grade 2)
Race conditions: £100,00 | 3m 5f | 23 fences | Old Course
Wednesday
1.20: Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £150,000 | 2m5f | 10 hurdles | Old Course
2.00: Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £200,000 | 3m½f | 20 fences | Old Course
2.40: Coral Cup (Grade 3. handicap)
Race conditions: £100,000 | 2m5f | 10 hurdles | Old Course
3.20: Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (Listed)
Race conditions: £75,000 | 3m6f | 32 obstacles | Old Course
4.00: Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £400,000 | 2m | 13 fences | Old Course
4.40: Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (Grade 3)
Race conditions: £150,000 | 2m½f | 14 fences | Old Course
5.20: Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £80,000 | 2m½f | 14 fences | Old Course
Thursday
1.20: Ryanair Mares Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2)
Race conditions: £105,000 | 2m1f | 8 hurdles | New Course
2.00: Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase (Grade 2)
Race conditions: £125,000 | 2m4f | 17 fences | New Course
2.40: Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £120,000 | 2m4f | 10 hurdles | New Course
3.20: Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £325,000 | 3m | 12 hurdles | New course
4.00: Ryanair Chase (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £375,000 | 2m4½f | 17 fences | New Course
4.40: Pertemps Final (Grade 3, handicap)
Race conditions: £100,000 | 3m | 12 hurdles | New course
5.20: Kim Muir Challenge Cup (Listed, handicap)
Race conditions: £75,000 | 3m2f | 21 fences | New Course
Friday
1.20: JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £150,000 | 2m1f | 8 hurdles | New Course
2.00: William Hill County Hurdle (Grade 3, handicap)
Race conditions: £98,370 (2024) | 2m1f| 8 hurdles | New Course
2.40: Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Grade 2)
Race conditions: £120,000 | 2m4½f | 17 fences | New Course
3.20: Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £150,000 | 3m | 12 hurdles | New course
4.00: Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1)
Race conditions: £625,000 | 3m2½f | 22 fences | New Course
4.40: St James’s Place Hunter Chase (Listed)
Race conditions: £50 | 3m 2½f | 22 fences | New Course
5.20: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
Race conditions: £75,000 | 2m4½f | 10 hurdles | New Course
Telegraph Sport’s guide to the championship races
Champion Hurdle (Tuesday)
What could have been a stellar renewal of the race has fallen apart somewhat owing to Sir Gino’s injury and Constitution Hill’s continued struggles with the obstacles. The former champion has fallen on four of his last six starts, most recently in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle in December. Nicky Henderson plans to run Constitution Hill on the flat at Southwell in February as a prep race.
The door appears open then for Willie Mullins mare Lossiemouth, beaten by Brighterdaysahead at the Dublin Racing Festival (DRF), providing connections do not take the easy option of going for another Mares’ Hurdle. The New Lion is a major contender, with Dan Skelton confident he is quick enough for the two-mile trip despite appearing to relish two-and-a-half at last year’s Festival. Golden Ace was regarded as a fortuitous winner of last year’s race, but the Jeremy Scott mare is a reliable performer and could hit the frame again.
Champion Chase (Wednesday)
The Irish have a strong hand in this two-mile chase. Marine Nationale, two-time Festival winner including this race last year, has the course form but was well beaten by an impressive Majborough performance in the Irish Arkle at the DRF. Majborough, owned by JP McManus, was well-fancied for last year’s Arkle when he a bad mistake at the second-last fence, but at the age of six there is scope to iron out those jumping flaws. Il Etait Temps got the better of Jonbon in the Tingle Creek at Sandown in December, but came unstuck in the Clarence House at Ascot in January (with Jonbon going on to win).
Jonbon would be a very popular winner for Nicky Henderson having been the bridesmaid so many times at previous Festivals. Jonbon was also second to Skelton’s L’Eau du Sud over this course and distance in the Shloer Chase in November. Henderson has trained some Champion Chase legends, including Altior and Sprinter Sacre.
Stayers’ Hurdle (Thursday)
Teahupoo reversed the result of last year’s Stayers’ Hurdle when romping to a seven-length victory over Bob Olinger at Leopardstown in December. Both horses run in the same Robcour colours, for owner Brian Acheson and his family,and it is hard to look beyond one of them adding a second Stayers’ Hurdle to their CV. JP McManus-owned Honesty Policy is the improver in the race at just six years old, and another runner in the famous green and gold is Impose Toi, winner of the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot in December. Ma Shantou won at Cheltenham over this trip on soft ground on trials day, beating Impose Toi, and is trained by Emma Lavelle. She trained the 2019 winner of this race with Paisley Park.
Gold Cup (Friday)
One of the most open betting markets for this famous steeplechase in recent memory. Fact To File won the Irish Gold Cup at the DRF, barely touching a twig with his jumping, and as a result is the new antepost favourite. He could run in the shorter Ryanair Chase though, and owner JP McManus will need to supplement him (pay £25,000) to place him in this race.
Galopin Des Champs made a valiant attempt to match Arkle and Best Mate by winning a third consecutive Gold Cup last year, finishing second to Gavin Cromwell-trained Inothewayurthinkin. It would be a monumental effort to regain the crown on his fourth go in the race; no 10-year-old has won the Gold Cup since Cool Dawn in 1998. Finished behind Fact To File and Gaelic Warrior in the Irish Gold Cup, but Willie Mullins said a hard race at Christmas left a mark.
Galopin Des Champs has his day spoiled ❌
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 14, 2025
Inothewayurthinkin is a Gold Cup winner! 🏆#ITVRacing | #CheltenhamFestival | @gavincromwell1pic.twitter.com/PZG6L2ycjm
Inothewayurthinkin has looked a shadow of last year’s horse so far this season. King George winner The Jukebox Man will be popular with the punters, and his jumping arguably suits Cheltenham more than Kempton. Two of the horses who finished just behind him on Boxing Day – Gaelic Warrior and Jango Baie – have strong claims, with the latter the winner of last year’s Arkle. Either horse could opt for the shorter Ryanair Chase, though (Banbridge, second in the King George, certainly will).
On trials day, Skelton’s Grey Dawning was hampered by a bad jumping mistake and was beaten by Spillane’s Tower.
How to watch the Cheltenham Festival on TV and streaming
The first six races of each day will be broadcast live on ITV1. For full coverage of the entire meeting, including the final race of each day, you will need to subscribe to Racing TV.
ITV and Racing TV also offer streaming services via their respective apps and websites, as well as traditional television broadcast.
Where is Cheltenham racecourse?
The racecourse is located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The setting is spectacular, set in a natural amphitheatre with he towering Cleeve Hill offering a bucolic backdrop to the top-class action on the track
The town is about a two and a half hours from London by car, with trains from the capital taking just over two hours.
The town has a large train station that is serviced by lines from the north of England via Birmingham, from the south by Bristol and south Wales.
Cheltenham racecourse: A short guide
Contrary to other top racecourses, Cheltenham features two distinct courses that present different challenges.
Old Course
The first two days of the festival are run over the Old Course. Simplistically, this track presents a much sterner test of speed, being sharper with very few sections where horse and jockey will be going in a straight line.
Balance and pace are therefore key attributes for success on the Old Course, especially on the tricky downhill section just before the turn for home. This is particularly the case on chase track, where the tricky second-last comes up immediately after the turn.
It is also a tricky jumping test with one mistake often proving terminal to a horses chances. Owing to the speed and relative shortness of the run-in up the hill, the track tends to suit front-runners who can get in good rhythm out in front. Horses rarely come from the rear to win races on the Old Course.
New Course
It is stamina, not speed, that comes to the fore on the New Course.
A much longer straight means a sapping test up the hill in the closing stages, opening the door for more horses to come from oiff the pace if those in front get their tactics wrong.
Jumping is always vital but it is slightly less important on the Old Course as there is more time to recover. This is especially the case on the hurdles track, where just one hurdle is jumped between the top of the hill and the turn for home.
Front-runners do have a good record on this track – over both hurdles and jumps – but those in mid-division or even held up well off the pace are not penalised in the way they are in the Old Course.
Cross-country Course
Used for just one race over the week, the cross-country course presents a unique test of jumping. Horses will need to complete three laps of a course that is roughly the shape of a figure of eight.
The jumps themselves are a collection of distinct test, featuring cheese wedges, railed hedges, ditches, banks and even an Grand National-style fence.
Cheltenham Festival hospitality
There are a variety of dining options at Cheltenham if you want your ticket to include lunch, starting with a two-course meal for £385 in the Moscow Flyer Restaurant (named after the two-time Champion Chase winner) all the way up to £1,365 to spend Gold Cup day in the Panoramic Restaurant which offers a five-course à la carte menu. There are a host of other options in between, and you can click here to find out more. Enquires are also open for private box options.
Ticket prices and how to get them
Ticket prices vary according to enclosure and the day you wish to attend (Gold Cup Friday is always the most expensive). The cheapest admission ticket of the week is £54 for entry to the Best Mate Enclosure on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Tickets in the Club Enclosure will cost £109 on the first three days and £127 on Friday (there is a 10 per cent discount for bookings of 25 tickets or more). For an extra £110 you can include a reserved seat in the Grandstand with your Club Enclosure ticket. Tickets in Tattersalls are in the middle ground. Click here to see the full price range.
Cheltenham Festival parking
There is a park and ride from Arle Court, just off junction 11 of the M5, to the racecourse which will cost you £15. Parking at the course costs £20 and for larger vehicles £25.
read moreMeaning Upstages Champion Super Corredora, Favorite Explora In Las Virgenes
Meaning edged away late from odds-on favorite Explora to win Sunday’s $100,000 Las Virgenes Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going one mile at Santa Anita. Super Corredora, last year’s champion 2-year-old filly, weakened to finish last of four in her sophomore bow after being involved in a heated pace duel with Explora.
Meaning (5-2), ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Michael McCarthy, beat Explora (4-5) by 1 1/2 lengths. It was another three lengths back to longshot Bank Shot (28-1) in third with Super Corredora bringing up the rear.
Explora and Super Corredora dueled through sharp opening fractions of :22.57 and :45.98 second as Meaning tracked the leaders while saving ground. On the backstretch, Prat made an early move on Meaning and engaged the two leaders on their outside. After six furlongs reached in 1:10.59, Super Corredora began to lose ground. Meaning and Explora continued to battle to the wire with Meaning inching away late for the victory.
“The first quarter mile was quite fast and I couldn’t keep up with them,” Prat said. “When we got to the backside, she came underneath me nicely and I had a chance to get out. I felt like the two fillies in front of me were going to take a little bit of a breather. Since I was doing it so easily, I wanted to keep her involved. She did the job from there.”
Meaning, by Gun Runner out of the Into Mischief mare Figure of Speech, won in a time of 1:38.39.
For McCarthy, the Las Virgenes was his third straight win on Sunday’s program. One race earlier he won the Clockers’ Corner Stakes with Yellow Card ($8.40) and the race prior scored in a $20,000 maiden claimer with Thatsalrightmama ($11.40).
Meaning is owned by Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. She was purchased for $440,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. In two prior starts, Meaning broke her maiden going 6 1/2 furlongs in her career debut at Los Alamitos in September and then was a solid fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) when stretched to 1 1/16 miles on Oct. 31 at Del Mar.
“She’s a stronger filly, more mature now,” McCarthy said. “She’s put on a lot of weight here in the last couple of months. It was a big ask going from a maiden at Los Alamitos to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. I gave her some time after the Breeders’ Cup to kind of get her feet underneath her and prepare for something like this.
“The way she did it today was pretty impressive, to come back against a Breeders’ Cup winner and another Breeders’ Cup runner and perform like that. It will be interesting to see how they all progress here in the next couple of months.”
Meaning paid $7.80.
The Las Virgenes is a Kentucky Oaks qualifier and award points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to the top five finishers. Meaning earned six points for her fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and brought her total points to 26 with Sunday’s triumph.
For the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard, click here.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read more'Nice Run At The End': Roll On Big Joe Denies Tejano Twist In King Cotton
Heavily favored Roll On Big Joe carried his razor-sharp form into 2026, scoring a half-length victory over Tejano Twist in the $150,000 King Cotton (L) for older sprinters Sunday afternoon at Oaklawn.
The King Cotton was the fifth career stakes victory and third consecutive for Roll On Big Joe, who was ridden by Julien Leparoux. All five stakes victories have come in the last year, including the Ring the Bell Dec. 13 at Oaklawn to conclude his 2025 campaign.
Tejano Twist, a late-running millionaire who won the 2025 King Cotton, finished 1½ lengths ahead of third-place finisher and stablemate Wendelssohn. Bourbon Bash and Lips Say Bliss completed the order of finish. Durante, Frost Free, Gold Sweep and Tough Catch were scratched, reducing the starting field to five.
Roll On Big Joe, on the outside, stalked Wendelssohn and Bourbon Bash through a half-mile in :45.70. Roll On Big Joe grabbed the lead in midstretch and held Tejano Twist safe in the final yards. The winning time over a fast track was 1:09.44.
Bet down to 3-5, Roll On Big Joe paid $3.40 for the win.
In addition to the Ring the Bell, the well-traveled Roll On Big Joe won the Palos Verdes Stakes (G3) last February at Santa Anita, Kelly’s Landing Stakes (G3) in June at Churchill Downs, and the Bet On Sunshine Stakes Nov. 1 at Churchill Downs.
Trained by Bob Hess Jr., Roll On Big Joe raised his career earnings to $841,925 following his 10th victory from 23 starts. The 6-year-old gelded son of Prospective was purchased by Southern California-based owner Tim Cohen (Rancho Temescal) for $90,000 at the 2022 OBS June Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale. Cohen now races Roll On Big Joe in partnership.
Oaklawn’s stakes series for older sprinters continues with the $250,000 Whitmore (G3) March 14 and the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 11.
King Cotton Quotes
Winning Jockey Julien Leparoux (Roll On Big Joe): “Razor sharp. Actually, he broke a step slower than usually he does. Nothing bad, just kind of not standing properly. He’s a pro. He does whatever you want him to. Just wanted to make sure there was a good enough pace in front, so I pushed him a little bit early on. But then he sat right back and had a nice run at the end.”
Winning Trainer Bob Hess Jr. (Roll On Big Joe): “Big heart. He broke, maybe, a little awkwardly and maybe wasn’t as keen today. Could have been the layoff and no works for, like, almost 20 days, but he’s got heart. I might need to give him a little extra time for his next race, but we’ll try to make the Count Fleet.”
Winning Co-Owner Tim Cohen (Roll On Big Joe): “It’s awesome. Joe’s doing a great job. Bob, Julien, it’s a great team. Of course, the horse, he’s awesome. We’ll give him a little bit of a break and hopefully be here in April.”
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreDazzling Move To Seek Royal Delta Repeat
Saturday’s $175,000 Royal Delta (G3) for fillies and mares drew a field of eight, including graded winners Shred the Gnar, Nothing Like You, Alpine Princess, and defending champion Dazzling Move.
The 1 1/16-mile event, on the main track, is part of Saturday’s 12-race program. First race post is 12:20 p.m. (ET).
Shred the Gnar, who will be saddled by Brian Lynch and ridden by Mario Gutierrez, has raced only four times but has won three of those races and enters the Royal Delta off a victory Nov. 15 at Churchill Downs in the Chilukki (G3) at a mile.
Nothing Like You enters the race for trainer Brendan Walsh off a victory in September at Los Alamitos in the Dark Mirage while trained by Bob Baffert. The 5-year-old was sold in November for $700,000. The mare won the Santa Anita Oaks (G2) in 2024 and the Starlet (G2) in 2023. Jorge Ruiz rides.
After winning the Royal Delta last winter, Dazzling Move failed to win another race in 2025 but finished second in the Phipps (G1) and Shuvee (G2). The Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained mare enters off two consecutive fifth-place finishes, including Jan. 24 in the Inside Information (G2). Tyler Gaffalione is named to ride.
Trainer Chad Brown has entered Senza Parole, a 4-year-old Gun Runner filly who steps up into graded company after victories against allowance company Jan. 15 at Gulfstream and November at Aqueduct. Miguel Vasquez is named.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreMark Casse Circles Azeri As Next For Champion Nitrogen
Traveling several days ago from his Florida base to Oaklawn, dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said he debated whether to scratch champion Nitrogen from the Bayakoa (G3) at Oaklawn Park
Casse decided to run in Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile race for older fillies and mares and was rewarded when Nitrogen, under regular rider Jose Ortiz, delivered an easy 2¾-length victory, which marked her 4-year-old debut for owners-breeders Jon and Leonard Green of D. J. Stable.
“I almost think yesterday was the best race she’s ever run,” Casse said Sunday morning. “When I flew out here, I was 50-50 whether we were going to run her or not. When we came out, I’d always said we were going to run in the Azeri. I told the Greens she’s doing so well that if everything goes right, we’ll run in the Bayakoa. Well, nothing went right there.”
After arriving Jan. 11 from Florida, Nitrogen posted a five-furlong bullet workout (1:00) Jan. 17. But a winter storm subsequently closed the track for training for nine days (Jan. 24-Feb. 1).
“We got the one good work in her and then we sat in the barn for 10 days,” Casse said. “I struggled with that, big time, because you’ve got a champion. She’s my girl and I don’t want to do anything to tarnish her record. So, I did a lot of talking to myself. But when I saw her and I saw her fitness, I was good.”
Nitrogen ($2.60), a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, was making her first start since a runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar. She won the Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion 2-year-old filly of 2024 and the Eclipse Award as the United States’ champion 3-year-old filly of 2025.
Casse said Nitrogen will make her next start in the $400,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) March 7. The Azeri is the final major local prep for the $1.25-million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 11. Both races are 1 1/16 miles.
Casse said he also plans to start multiple Grade 1 winner La Cara in the Azeri.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreChunk Of Gold Nearing Return To Training For 4-Year-Old Campaign
Chunk of Gold, the gate-to-wire winner of last year’s West Virginia Derby (G3), will return to training in the next few weeks to prepare for his 4-year-old campaign, Daily Racing Form reports.
After capping last season with a third to Magnitude in the Clark (G2) Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs, Chunk of Gold breezed twice at Turfway Park on Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 for a potential start in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park, but trainer Ethan West decided to extend the Preservationist colt’s winter break.
“We just figured instead of shipping down to Florida, going through that, we’d just give him some time off, and first of March, we’ll start getting him legged back up and get him ready for a 4-year-old campaign,” West told the Form.
West added that Chunk of Gold has matured physically and that it will be up to the colt to let the connections know when he’s ready to “rock and roll.”
Chunk of Gold, a $2,500 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale purchase in 2023, gained popularity leading up to last year’s Kentucky Derby (G1) because of his modest purchase price. He finished ninth in the classic, the only time he has been off the board. He found the winner’s circle two starts later in the West Virginia Derby Aug. 3 at Mountaineer and concluded the year against older runners in the Clark.
Chunk of Gold is owned by Terry L. Stephens. He was bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones from Cairo Prince mare Play For Gold. The gray/roan has three wins, five seconds, and one third-place finish from 10 career starts and has $893,311 in purse earnings
Read more at DRF.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreDan Blacker Mulls Kilroe Mile For El Potente, San Felipe For Cal-Bred Start The Ride
El Potente was in good order after his dominating win in the GIII Thunder Road on Saturday and is a candidate to return in the GII Frank E. Kilroe Mile on March 7 at Santa Anita, trainer Dan Blacker said Sunday morning. Additionally, Blacker reported recent California Cup Derby winner Start the Ride is possible to try open company in the GII San Felipe for 3-year-olds, also on March 7.
“El Potente jumped up great this morning,” Blacker said. “The Kilroe is a likely spot, but we always let him dictate when he’s ready.”
El Potente, who also won last year’s Thunder Road, is a 7-year-old horse by Temple City owned by My Way Racing. He earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure for Saturday’s win.
Start the Ride won the 1 1/16-mile California Cup Derby by 1¾ lengths on Jan. 17. It was just the second start for the colt by Upstart, who races as a homebred for Harris Farms.
“We’re looking at the San Felipe,” Blacker said. “He’s still eligible for a non-winners of one, but we could try something a little more ambitious.”
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreIntrepido To Remain On Santa Anita's Road To Kentucky Derby
Trainer Jeff Mullins reported Intrepido was doing well after his game second-place finish behind Plutarch in Saturday’s Robert B. Lewis (G3) for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita. He added Intrepido could return in the San Felipe (G2) on March 7 at Santa Anita to help accrue enough qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby (G1), although his current preference would be to wait for the Santa Anita Derby (G1), which also awards Kentucky Derby points, on April 4.
With his runner-up finish in the Robert B. Lewis, Intrepido earned 10 points toward starting eligibility in the May 2 classic at Churchill Downs; winner Plutarch was awarded 20 points. Owned by Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures, Intrepido has 23 Kentucky Derby overall. The San Felipe provides 50 points to the winner while the Santa Anita Derby victor earns 100 points.
“If we could have won [the Robert B. Lewis], then we could have coasted and wait for the Santa Anita Derby,” Mullins said. “The question is, are you going to dance every dance before you really get down to business (in the Triple Crown)? You don’t want to chase, chase, chase, those (Kentucky Derby qualifying) points. Then you get to the Derby and you’re done.”
Intrepido, a Maximus Michief colt ridden by Hector Berrios, finished three-quarters of a length behind winner Plutarch in the one-mile Lewis. Intrepido and Plutarch dueled on the front-end for most of the race before a stirring stretch duel.
“Hector said if he was on the outside, he probably could have gone by him,” Mullins said.
According to Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free, Plutarch earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure for his first dirt victory. Trainer Bob Baffert reported both Plutarch and Splendora, winner of Saturday’s D. Wayne Lukas (G2), were “doing great” Sunday morning.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreBrad Cox To Bid For First Saudi Cup Win With Bishops Bay
Trainer, Brad Cox is set to take another shot at the $20-million Saudi Cup (G1) when he sends out King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Sons’ recent acquisition, Bishops Bay.
Cox has amassed 240 graded/group stakes victories, 59 at the top level, and has had three previous attempts at the Saudi Cup.
He came closest with the Faisal AlKhatani-owned Saudi Crown, who was third in 2024. The conditioner also was fourth in 2021 with Knicks Go and ninth in 2022 with Mandaloun.
This year, however, Cox feels he is that much closer to cracking the code of Saudi Cup success.
“This is our fourth time going over there,” he said. “I think there is definitely some advantage to having been there. Dustin (Dugas, assistant trainer) is representing the team this year before I arrive and he has plenty of experience.
“If you go over there, you roll on with it. You’re making a commitment to run if the horse is healthy and doing well and that’s why having someone like Dustin is so important.”
Fresh off a victory in Aqueduct’s Cigar Mile Handicap (G2) on December 6, Bishops Bay was purchased a couple of weeks prior to that by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Sons for $1.3 million at Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age Sale. That purchase came mere days after winning the Forty Niner (G3) over the same one-turn mile at Aqueduct.
“Anytime these horses leave their environment like he had to, going to the Keeneland sale (Kentucky), then on a van the next day right back to Belmont [in] New York before shipping like he did over to Aqueduct and winning a big race – that just shows us already that he’s able to overcome things,” Cox said.
“He should be able to handle the ship over to the Middle East and settle in over the next week or so and to be honest, I loved his last breeze going into this race. It was all we could ask for in regards to the way he did it and I feel like it was a ‘Grade 1 breeze.’
“We are hoping we can transfer his form and then get another eighth of a mile, because he has proven to be really good at the one-turn mile. When they’re doing as well as he is, in my experience, you can ship them anywhere in the world and get them to perform. Obviously Hit Show did that last year.”
Cox also has a big chance in the $1.5-million Saudi Derby (G3) with My World, who comes off a pair of New York stakes wins, having taken the Nashua (L)and Jerome in two most recent efforts.
“He’s working well, he’s fit and he’s ready,” Cox said. “He’s proven at the distance, which is key, and I think he likes the one-turn. I’m not scared to run him two turns (beyond 1,600 meters), but this is a nice race with a nice purse. I also think the timing works really well off his last run. Saying all that, it just makes a lot of sense, so here we are.”
For the first time, the Saudi Derby will be a points qualifier for the Kentucky Derby (G1) in May and offers a new avenue to Louisville, especially for deep benches like Cox’s, as well as runners from Japan, the Gulf nations, and Europe.
“Just by traveling to the Middle East gives us options and doesn’t mean we are off the Derby trail at all,” Cox said.
“I just thought the way we spaced out the Jerome to this race made a lot of sense and it’s going to be a good race. He’s going to have to step up and move forward and I think, if he does that, he’ll be in the mix.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride My World, while 2024 Saudi Cup winning jockey Junior Alvarado takes the reins on Bishops Bay.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreBob Baffert Eager To Secure First Saudi Cup Victory
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will return to King Abdulaziz Racecourse next week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on a mission to secure a first win in the $20-million Saudi Cup (G1), a race in which he is determined to add to his huge portfolio of major international successes.
Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Nysos will join Goodwood (G1) winner Nevada Beach in the feature race on Saturday, and Baffert is relishing the challenge of taking on last year’s winner, Forever Young (JPN).
“I thought I could win it before, but the thing about the Saudi Cup, every time I watch it you think you are home free, but all of a sudden they show the 100-meter mark and boy, I lost so much money after that 100-meter mark!” Baffert said.
“That 100-meter mark is a killer for me. We are always ahead at the 100 meters and then I just think, ‘Uh-oh, this is not good, we’ve still got 100 meters to go.’ We’ve come agonizingly close.”
Baffert’s three runners on the night include Imagination in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2) and all have arrived in Riyadh and pleased Baffert’s longtime wingman, Jimmy Barnes.
“It was a long trip but they handled it well and my assistant has told me they all look healthy and happy,” said Baffert. “They had a jog on the track on Thursday morning and all felt good. It’s amazing how resilient these horses are after going through that long journey but they’re in good shape.”
Baffert’s recollection of agony in the closing stages of the Saudi Cup is understandable having gone so close so often since the race was first run in 2020.
He watched with admiration without a runner 12 months ago as Forever Young and Romantic Warrior (IRE) served up a race for the ages, but in 2024 he saddled National Treasure to finish fourth. Country Grammer was second in 2023 and 2022, while Charlatan filled the same spot in 2021 and Mucho Gusto led them up the straight in the first renewal to place third.
“The Saudi Cup is new and it’s different and all these big races are different. You need a good horse in the Saudi Cup and you look at last year’s race with Romantic Warrior and Forever Young and it was fantastic,” Baffert said.
“We’ve thought about this a while back for Nysos. The fact he wasn’t going to be able to make the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) when we got a little bit behind on him, we gave him time off and ran him in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. After that we decided to run him an extra year as he didn’t get to run all that much, so the Saudi Cup has always been on the radar for him since then.
“And as for Nevada Beach, I sort of thought of it after the Breeders’ Cup that he’s the type of horse that is a big, long-jumping horse that gets over the ground well. He wants to go a mile and a quarter, the track there can be demanding and he is a horse that reminds me a little bit of Country Grammer, who ran well there.”
Baffert will be on hand to oversee preparations this week and hopes both horses will be suited by the race.
“The prize money is very important and the challenge of it all for me as a trainer, that’s the one race I haven’t won so it would be nice to win it,” he said.
“It’s a tough race but all those big races like that are all tough. We’re looking forward to it and hope everything goes well all week. At least we don’t have to worry about the weather!”
Baffert confirmed Flavien Prat rides Imagination in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint and Nysos in the big race, while Irad Ortiz Jr. will partner Nevada Beach.
“Imagination worked well leaving here,” added Baffert. “He is the kind of horse that takes off a little slow, it takes him a while to get going but the further the better. He should be very competitive, it’s hard to know how the form will compare, but he’s doing well.”
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreGolden Rod Winner Bella Ballerina Set For Rachel Alexandra
Making her first start as a 3-year-old, Golden Rod Stakes (G2) winner Bella Ballerina headlines Saturday’s $300,000 Rachel Alexandra (G2) on Louisiana Derby Preview Day at Fair Grounds.
One of six stakes races on the card, totaling a combined $1.425 million in purses, the 1 1/16-mile Rachel Alexandra is the third of four local prep races for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) and is the first Oaks prep of the season to award 50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points to the top five finishers.
The Rachel Alexandra attracted eight 3-year-old fillies and is scheduled as Race 11 on the 12-race Louisiana Derby Preview Day program. First post is noon CT.
Perfect in two starts for trainer Brendan Walsh, Bella Ballerina pressed the pace and fended off late challengers to capture November’s Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs. The Godolphin homebred is a Street Sense half sister to Pretty Mischievous, winner of the 2023 Rachel Alexandra and Kentucky Oaks (G1), also trained by Walsh. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione has the call.
Rallying late but unable to reach Bella Ballerina in the Golden Rod, Whisper Hill Farm’s Just Singing ships in from Florida for another chance, as the Kent Sweezey-trained filly will make her first start as a 3-year-old in the Rachel Alexandra. Proven at the distance, Just Singing broke her maiden at 1 1/16 miles in late October at Churchill Downs. Drawn on the rail, the Justify filly will have Hall of Famer John Velazquez in the irons.
Also entered is Lael Stables’ Luv Your Neighbor, runner-up in both local Oaks preps for trainer Mike Stidham. With 15 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points, Luv Your Neighbor will have a new rider, as Luis Saez takes the call.
Following is the complete field for the Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra (G2) from the rail out with (jockey, trainer):
- Just Singing (Velazquez, Sweezey)
- Classic Glide (Brian Hernandez Jr., Robert Medina)
- Bella Ballerina (Gaffalione, Walsh)
- Dancin in Old Town (James Graham, Keith Desormeaux)
- Powered by Family (Jose Ortiz, Cherie DeVaux)
- Luv Your Neighbor (Luis Saez , Mike Stidham)
- Majestical (Ben Curtis, Peter Eurton)
- Agrippina (Paco Lopez, Lindsay Schultz)
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreTouchuponastar Overpowers Rivals In Louisiana Premier Night Championship
Delta Downs hosted the 23rd edition of Louisiana Premier Night on Saturday and fans were treated to an 11-race program that featured six stakes and more than $900,000 in total purse money for horses bred in the Bayou State.
The featured race on the card was the $150,000 Louisiana Premier Night Championship for 4-year-olds and up competing at 1 1/16 miles. The overwhelming favorite for the event was Touchuponastar, who was attempting to win his fourth straight Championship win under jockey Tim Thornton. He is trained by Jeff Delhomme for owner Jake Delhomme’s Set-Hut LLC.
Touchuponastar broke from the outside post in a field of five and was sent toward the front where he is accustomed to running, but he did not lead in the initial strides. Instead, it was longshot A Million Moons who set the early fractions of 23.38 seconds for the quarter mile and 46.88 for the half mile while being pressed by Touchuponastar.
When the field reached the far turn, Touchuponastar took over the lead with ease and began to build his advantage stride by stride for the rest of the trip while stopping the timer in 1:11.58 for three quarters of a mile. In the homestretch, Thornton looked over his shoulder but there was no competition, as he reported home in front of stablemate Mangum by 11 1/2 lengths. Tdzshininluckystar rounded out the top three, finishing 1 1/2 lengths behind the runner-up in third.
Touchuponastar covered the distance in 1:44.03 on a fast track.
The win by Touchuponastar was his 2oth from 27 overall starts. He added another $90,000 to his bankroll which now stands at $1,760,000. That total surpassed his sire, Star Guitar, who deposited $1,749,862 during his illustrious career. Star Guitar’s total stood as a record for a Louisiana-bred for several years before the mare Free Like a Girl posted a mark of $2,565,628, which is the current record.
Touchuponastar was bred in Louisiana by Coteau Grove Farms. He is a 7-year-old bay gelding out of the Lion Heart mare Touch Magic. He was purchased for $15,000 at the 2020 Texas Summer Sale.
Sent off at odds of 1-9, Touchuponastar paid $2.10 to win.
This year’s $125,000 Distaff featured a field of just two fillies and one mare, after four other entrants were scratched before race time. The eventual winner, Nodah, was the longest shot on the board at 10-1 odds as she sat just behind the front-runners, Secret Faith and Supa Speed. In the homestretch jockey Edward Santiago asked Nodah for her best and she rallied past her rivals to score the win for trainer Benard Chatters and owner Kenneth Roberts Racing Stables, Inc.
The win by Nodah was the sixth of her 24-race career and it was her first in stakes company. Bred in Louisiana by J. Adcock and Nathan Granger, Nodah is a 6-year-old bay mare by Mor Spirit out of the El Corredor mare Forest Path.
Scar Ship proved best in the $125,000 Night Prince under the track’s leading jockey, Vicente Del-Cid. The Ricky Courville trainee helped set the pace in the seven-furlong affair for 3-year-olds before gaining a clear lead turning for home. In the final furlong he held race favorite Mor Force at bay to win decisively. Scar Ship now has two wins from six career starts and his victory on Saturday night was his first in stakes company.
Bred in Louisiana by his owner, Rebecca Farms LLC, Scar Ship is a colt by Midshipman out of the Dixie Union mare Hopeful Union.
Whisper Me a Smile was victorious in the $125,000 Starlet under jockey Julio Ramirez, Jr. for owner/trainer Benard Chatters. It was her first win in stakes company while making her fifth overall career start.
Bred in Louisiana, Whisper Me a Smile is a 3-year-old chestnut filly by Carpe Diem out of the Whywhywhy mare Bold Question.
The $125,000 Matron came down to a two-horse race in the final strides between Sassi Strutter and Six String. The pair squared off in the final furlong of the five-furlong sprint and dueled to the wire where Sassi Strutter prevailed under journeyman jockey Thomas Pompell. Six String finished a hard luck second.
Sassi Strutter won for the eighth time in 20 career starts on Saturday. She is owned by Elite Thoroughbred Racing LLC and is trained by Lee Thomas. The 5-year-old chestnut mare was bred in Louisiana by her owner. She is by Sassicaia out of the Screen Idol mare She’s Prado’s Idol.
Strong Promise lived up to his name in the $125,000 Sprint as he overpowered his competition late to storm home in front under jockey Jansen Melancon in the five-furlong affair. The win was his eighth from 24 career trips to the starting gate. Strong Promise covered the distance in an impressive 58.14 seconds.
The gray runner is trained by Allen Landry and is owned by Baronne Farms LLC.
Strong Promise is a 5-year-old gray or roan gelding by Broken Vow out of the Macho Uno mare St. Jean. He was bred in Louisiana by J. Adcock & Hume Wornall.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreCoco Connect Caps Turfway Stakes Double For John Ennis, Edgar Morales
SF Equine Athlete’s 3-year-old filly Coco Connect notched her first career stakes victory when she scored by a half-length in Saturday’s 39th running of the $125,000 Valdale Stakes at Turfway Park.
Trained by John Ennis and ridden by Edgar Morales, Coco Connect completed 6½ furlongs in 1:18.82. It was the second stakes victory in two days for Morales and Ennis, who teamed to win Friday’s $125,000 Wishing Well with Mulholland Springs and Judy Pryor’s Ms. Tart.
Coco Connect traveled third during the early stages of the Valdale while tracking pacesetter The Town Tempter, who was pressured to her outside by 3-5 favorite Believe in Magic. Following an opening quarter mile in :23.09, Coco Connect began to move closer to the leaders while making a three-wide move. At the quarter pole, Coco Connect reached the front and began to draw clear in the stretch but had to hold off a late bid by Hollybygolly. In deep stretch, Coco Connect was able to dig down deep to repel the 13-1 longshot’s late charge.
The Town Tempter completed the trifecta. She was followed by Believe in Magic, American Summer, and Spastic Bid.
Coco Connect was sent off at 3-1 and rewarded her backers by returning $8.94 for the win.
The Valdale Stakes was Coco Connect’s third career win from five career starts. She earned $76,380 for her victory while boosting her career earnings to $206,197.
Coco Connect is a daughter of Connect out of the Commissioner mare Miss Chanel. She was bred in Kentucky by Woods Edge Farm. She was an 2025 OBS March Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase by agent Jeremiah O’Dwyer.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreMy Three Sons: Darley America Triples Down On Street Sense Sire Line In 2026
There is no debating the effect that champion juvenile and Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense has had on the trajectory of the Darley America stallion roster over the past nearly two decades.
Street Sense retired to the Lexington, Ky., operation in 2008, a year after winning the Kentucky Derby and two years after zipping up the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and champion 2-year-old male honors, as part of a generational class of incoming Darley sires that also included Derby runner-up Hard Spun and Grade 1 winners Any Given Saturday and Discreet Cat. However, Street Sense set himself apart as the standard-bearer of the group, siring 13 Grade/Group 1 winners, many of them racing in the Godolphin blue.
With the pensioning of cornerstone sire Medaglia d’Oro at the end of 2025, Street Sense joins Hard Spun as the elder statesmen of the stud barn at Darley’s Jonabell Farm, and his stall isn’t the only door with his name on the front plate.
Darley America will stand three sons of Street Sense in 2026, along with the patriarch himself. While Street Sense will stand for an advertised fee of $40,000, Grade 1-winning third-crop sire Maxfield will stand for $50,000, Grade 1-winning freshman sire Speaker’s Corner will command $10,000, and incoming multiple Grade 2 winner First Mission will also stand for $10,000.
While the four stallions obviously have plenty in common from a pedigree standpoint, each one brings something unique to the table for breeders with different needs on the page, the physical, and the bank account. We asked Darley America’s Darren Fox to help explain what makes each of them stand out.
Question: If I have a mare I want to breed to the Street Sense line and money is no object, how do I parse these four stallions apart?
Darren Fox, Darley America: Street Sense is the proven sire in the bunch. He’s the one with 13 Grade 1 winners, the proven track record. You know what you get with him. I think he’s a great stallion to get a young mare started, and he’s just so reliable. He’s good in the sales ring. He’s two turns on the main track, and he’s quickly established himself as a sire of sires.
Next, we have Maxfield. Maxfield is really an Adonis, as evidenced by his sales results and him getting five million-plus sales horses in his first crop – two as yearlings, three as 2-year-olds. He is big, beautiful, athletic, great walk, great demeanor, classy, amazing temperament. Nine furlongs, I feel like was his optimum trip. I think as his progeny stretch out and go from two to three, there should be a lot of improvement in them. He is a horse who I think has a pretty high ceiling right now.
Speaker’s Corner, they’re a slightly different type. Not quite as big, a little typier, speedier body type. Pretty consistent. I think they’re sharp, they’re speedy. Obviously his 114 Beyer (in the G1 Carter Handicap) sets him apart as Street Sense’s fastest son. I’m anticipating a lot of them showing up in Ocala this spring and hopefully making some noise. I think he is that profile of horse, and we should see some of them going fast down the lane at OBS.
Then, you come to First Mission. His race aptitude was more in line with Maxfield. He’s not quite as big as Maxfield, but he is another drop-dead gorgeous son of Street Sense. I absolutely love him physically. He was a high-class horse, ran a 109 Beyer in the Oaklawn Handicap, a 106 in the Alysheba, and he was a couple of lengths behind Mindframe and Sierra Leone in the Stephen Foster. He’s got a great walk, his shoulder and hip are awesome. He’s just a pretty Street Sense.
What I love about him is that he’s free of A.P. Indy, which Maxfield and Speaker’s Corner were not. So, this frees up all the A.P. Indy, very clean matings, and I’m excited to put as much A.P. Indy as possible under this horse. For $10,000, this guy is going to be a commercial star because if he replicates himself, which all the other Street Sense sons have done, I think breeders are going to have a lot of fun with $10,000 in the belly on this guy.
With both Maxfield and Speaker’s Corner being out of Bernardini mares (Bernardini is a son of A.P. Indy), can you go into a bit more detail on how those two separate themselves beyond the price point?
Fox: Like I said, Maxfield is an absolute Adonis. Speaker’s Corner, even though he’s a different type, I think he’s a very good-looking horse, too.
He and Nyquist are physically, both about 16.1 1/2 hands, very similar shapes, similar sizes. When they’re both on deck to come out, I find it increasingly hard to tell them apart. What that means, I don’t know, but I think that one of Nyquist’s strengths is he fits a wide range of mares physically, given his size and shape, and I think that will also apply to Speaker’s Corner. I just think the A.P. Indy, the Bernardini, gives them an extra push physically. I think it also adds more to their potential as stallions, given what Bernardini has done as a broodmare sire. I think having Bernardini in your stallion’s pedigree is an asset going forward for any stallion.
Going back to Street Sense himself, what are the pedigrees and physical matches that you’ve found have been most effective in producing quality runners?
Fox: Bernardini is probably number one. One of his strengths is that he is such a friendly stallion to mate as long as your mare’s not by Street Cry (Street Sense’s sire). He takes returns of Mr. Prospector. He’s really worked with everything and physically being 16.3, he’s big and correct. He fits a wide range of mares physically, so from a stallion manager’s perspective, so many mares are in play when it comes to Street Sense from a physical and pedigree standpoint. I think that’s been one of his strengths.
Street Sense is two turns on the main track, all day long. That’s what the market wants, and that’s what he gets. It’s been one of his strengths. The effect he is predicted and is already having on our stallion barn is profound. Typically, we’ve only ever bred eight to 10 mares a year to him throughout his career, and he’s had this type of success. The last couple of years, we’ve doubled down, and really gone beyond that, so I am predicting more Street Sense good luck for our stable down the road.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreBob Baffert thrilled to win Santa Anita race honoring D. Wayne Lukas
It’s always special for Bob Baffert to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, since the race is named after the late owner of Silver Charm, one of the trainer’s six Kentucky Derby champions.
Winning the Lewis also is as familiar to Baffert as looking in the mirror and seeing white hair. Saturday’s victory by Plutarch was the eighth straight for Baffert in the $100,000 race for 3-year-olds, and his 14th in the race known until 2007 as the Santa Catalina Stakes.
What made Baffert a little emotional Saturday was his other victory, with Splendora in a $200,000 Grade 2 race that used to be known as the Santa Monica Stakes. The name was changed this year in honor of a friend and fellow Hall of Fame trainer who died last summer.
“When I saw that this race was renamed for D. Wayne Lukas, I wanted to win this one,” Baffert told reporters at Santa Anita. “I miss him. I miss talking to him. He would have loved this.”
Read more:D. Wayne Lukas, Hall of Fame trainer who shaped horse racing, dies
It would be easy for anyone to love training or just watching Splendora, a 5-year-old daughter of Audible who won her fourth straight start and her first since last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. The 2-5 favorite cruised to a 2¾-length victory over Me and Molly McGee in 1:22.09 for seven furlongs.
“She is such a good filly. She just gives me chills,” Baffert said. “She missed the break and got behind, but Juan [Hernandez] rode her with a lot of confidence.”
It was the eighth win in the race for Baffert, who now leads Lukas by two. Lukas’ last victory in the race came in 1996 with the Hall of Famer Serena’s Song, owned by Lewis and his wife, Beverly. It was the next year that Baffert and the Lewises combined to win their first Derby with Silver Charm.
Whether Baffert has another Derby winner in Plutarch won’t be known for 12 weeks, but the colt certainly has the bloodlines. Into Mischief has been the leading sire in North America (by earnings) for the last seven years, including Derby winners Authentic (for Baffert), Mandaloun and Sovereignty, while Plutarch’s dam, Stellar Wind, was the 3-year-old champion filly in 2015.
“This horse reminds me of Authentic,” Baffert said. “He keeps getting better every week. I don’t think distance will be a problem with him. This is very exciting. He’s legit.”
Plutarch lost his first four starts, including three in stakes races, before winning a maiden race on the final day of Del Mar’s fall meeting. That race and two others were on grass; Baffert said he did that because he wanted to get the colt in some races.
The surprise Saturday was how close Plutarch was to the lead, tracking the equally surprising pacesetter Intrepido through solid fractions of 47.65 for a half-mile and 1:11.35 for six furlongs. Baffert expected his 6-5 favorite, Desert Gate, to be on the lead, but the horse broke slowly and had to settle about a length and a half off the lead in the bunched field of seven.
Plutarch pushed ahead of Intrepido entering the stretch and the two dueled for most of the last quarter-mile, with Plutarch winning by three-quarters of a length in 1:37.02. He paid $10.20 as the co-third choice with the runner-up. Secured Freedom (3-1) edged Desert Gate for third.
Read more:Bob Baffert’s horses dominate on opening day at Santa Anita
“The longer the better,” said winning rider Florent Geroux, who just this week relocated to California from the Louisiana and Kentucky circuit. “He is a colt who has finally put it together this year. I watched some of his replays from last year and from what Bob told me, it looked like the horse was still a little bit green, trying to figure out what was going on during the race. But today, I felt he broke very alertly for me and put me in a great spot. When I asked him to move along the lane he responded really well.”
Intrepido defeated Desert Gate and Plutarch last October at Santa Anita in the Grade 1 American Pharoah, but finished a disappointing fifth later that month in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Trainer Jeff Mullins said he was pleased with the bounce-back.
“I really didn’t expect him to be on the lead … but he breaks [fast] like that, you’ve got to go with it,” Mullins said. “To be off that long, I’m happy with his race.”
Plutarch earned 20 Kentucky Derby points, giving him 23, tied with Intrepido for third in the standings. Silent Tactic, who won Friday’s Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn in Arkansas, and Renegade, winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs, lead with 25. It usually takes about 40 points to get into the Derby.
One of Baffert’s recent Lewis winners captured the Derby, though Medina Spirit (2021) later was disqualified. Newgate (2023) went on to win the Santa Anita Handicap as a 4-year-old, while Nysos (2024) and Citizen Bull (2025) ran one-two in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
The next race for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita is the San Felipe Stakes on March 7, followed by the Santa Anita Derby on April 4.
Sunday’s race
The Las Virgenes Stakes brought together three of the top four finishers from last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and it was Meaning, the fourth-place filly, who prevailed in the one-mile race. Explora again was second while the Breeders’ Cup winner (and 2-year-old champion filly), Super Corredora, was fourth and last. Meaning, who paid $7.80 as the third choice, was ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Michael McCarthy.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
read morePlutarch wins Robert Lewis Stakes to give Baffert 8th straight victory in the race for 3-year-olds
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Plutarch defeated Intrepido by three-quarters of a length in the Robert Lewis Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his eighth straight win in the race for 3-year-olds and 14th overall.
Ridden by Florent Geroux, Plutarch ran one mile in 1:37.02 for his first stakes victory and first win on dirt. He paid $10.20 to win.
“I felt he broke very alertly for me and put me in a great spot,” Geroux said. ”When I asked him to move along in the lane, he responded really well. But he waited for the horse on the inside a little bit. As soon as he came by me, my horse gave me another gear.”
Intrepido was second and Secured Freedom was third.
Baffert said Plutarch reminds him of Authentic, who won the 2020 Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“He keeps getting better every week,” Baffert said. “I don’t think distance will be a problem with him. This is very exciting. He’s legit.”
Plutarch moved into a tie with Intrepido for third on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 23 qualifying points. It determines the 20-horse field for the May 2 race.
Desert Gate, the 6-5 favorite also trained by Baffert, was fourth. Cherokee Nation, Baffert’s third entry, finished fifth.
“Desert Gate missed the break and I knew the one-hole would hurt us,” Baffert said. “I knew we were in trouble then because he is so one-dimensional.”
Plutarch has two wins in six career starts and over $190,000 in earnings. Two of his starts have been on turf, including his first career victory on Nov. 30 at Del Mar.
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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
read moreChampion Nitrogen Easy Winner Of Bayakoa In First Start Of Year
As expected, Nitrogen made it look easy.
A champion at 2 and 3, Nitrogen launched her 4-year-old campaign with a victory over stablemate Nerazurri in the $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) for older fillies and mares Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn.
Nitrogen, under confident handling from regular rider Jose Ortiz, finished 2¾ lengths ahead Nerazurri in what was a match race for the final three furlongs of the 1 1/16-mile Bayakoa. Quietside, a multiple Oaklawn stakes winner, finished another 6¼ lengths farther back in third. Completing the order of finish were In Just My Heels, Miss Authentic and Rose Palace, the early leader. Peignoir was scratched, reducing the starting field to six.
Nitrogen, the 1-5 favorite, paid $2.60 for the win.
The Bayakoa was the seventh stakes victory of the 2025-2026 Oaklawn meeting for dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.
A homebred for D J Stable (Jon and Leonard Green), Nitrogen won a Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion 2-year-old filly and an Eclipse Award as North America’s champion 3-year-old filly of 2025. She was making her first start since a runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at 1 1/8 miles Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Nitrogen broke sharply from post 6 in the Bayakoa and stalked Rose Palace and Nerazurri on the outside through a :48.33 half-mile. Approaching the three-eighths pole, Nerazurri and Nitrogen inhaled a tiring Rose Palace and turned for home as a team.
Nitrogen stuck a head in front on the outside passing the eighth pole and pulled away late, stopping the clock in 1:43.53. The track was fast.
Nitrogen, by Medaglia d’Oro out of the Uncle Mo mare Tiffany Case, raised her career earnings to $2,192,854 after winning for the seventh time in 13 starts. Nitrogen is a seven-time stakes winner, breaking her maiden in the Ginger Brew in January 2025 at Gulfstream Park. Nitrogen also won the prestigious Alabama Stakes (G1) last August at Saratoga.
Casse was using the Bayakoa as Nitrogen’s bridge to the $400,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) March 7 and the $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 11. Both 1 1/16-mile races are at Oaklawn.
Saturday’s estimated attendance at the Hot Springs, Ark. track was 27,500, with total mutuel handle $11,034,480.50.
Bayakoa Quotes
Winning Jockey Jose Ortiz (Nitrogen): “She’s brilliant. What more can you say about (Mark) Casse and his team, bringing her back ready. They’re having a great meet here. It’s great to have won for him today. She, obviously, kept form. She wasn’t off that long. She ran in November and was breezing in December. Now, it’s February. I guess she got like a 30-day break. But Casse’s in the Hall of Fame for a reason. Today, she broke clean. That’s what I wanted. I saw the two horses (Rose Palace and Nerazurri under Cristian Torres) going it on the first turn and Cristian took back and sat second. I didn’t want to put any pressure on him early. I knew we were going a decent pace. Being her first race back, I rode her carefully, but I rode her like the best horse. I put her three-wide and let her do her thing. Just kind of waited for the right moment to ask her to go and when I did she was there for me. Passing the three-sixteenths (pole), she switched leads and I asked her a little bit and she gave me some. I hit her one time left-handed. She drifted out a little. I hit her right-handed and when I did, she switched to her left lead (leg), so I decided to leave her alone and she kept grinding it out nicely. I liked the way she finished. Very happy with her performance.”
Winning & Second-Place Trainer Mark Casse (Nitrogen/Nerazurri): “She amazes me. She makes me look good. They say she truly breathes different air. It amazes me. I was really nervous today because here I have this champion and if I let her down, it would have been hard for me. So, it was tough because we’d had the winter (the track was closed nine days, Jan. 24-Feb. 1, following a winter storm). When I came here, I said if everything goes right we’ll run in the Bayakoa. Well, nothing really went right and we still ran in the Bayakoa. What can I say? Cristian Torres said maybe we should buy a house here. It’s hard. They’re both our kids, right? The other filly ran hard, too. She’s a good horse as well. But there’s only one Nitrogen.”
Second-Place Jockey Cristian Torres (Nerazurri): “She was trying. But Nitrogen, she’s a Grade 1 winner, dirt, turf, second in the Breeders’ Cup. She’s an unbelievable filly. I’m really proud of my filly, too. She’s been stepping up little by little. She’s showing up every time she goes out there, so I’m really proud of her.”
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read more'He's Legit': Plutarch Outgames Intrepido In Robert B. Lewis
Plutarch became trainer Bob Baffert’s latest winner of the Robert B. Lewis (G3) Saturday when edging away late from a game Intrepido in the one-mile race for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita. It was Baffert’s eight straight win in the Lewis and 14th overall.
Intrepido (4-1), last year’s Grade 1 American Pharoah winner, went to the lead under Hector Berrios but had a host of close-up pursuers including Plutarch (4-1) and jockey Florent Geroux. Down the backstretch and around the second turn, Plutarch and Intrepido raced side-by-side on the front-end. Then at the top of the stretch, Plutarch began pull clear of Intrepido, but it wasn’t quite over yet. Intrepido battled back along the inside until Plutarch again inched away to prevail by three-quarters of a length.
“I felt he broke very alertly for me and put me in a great spot,” said Geroux, who just this week relocated to Santa Anita from Fair Grounds in New Orleans. “When I asked him to move along in the lane he responded really well. But he waited for the horse on the inside a little bit. As soon as he came by me, my horse gave me another gear”.
A colt by Into Mischief out of 2015 champion 3-year-old filly Stellar Wind, by Curlin, Plutarch won in a time of 1:37.02. It was his first stakes victory and first win on dirt. Last year, Plutarch finished third behind Intrepido in the American Pharoah on dirt prior to breaking his maiden on turf going 1 1/8 miles on Nov. 30 at Del Mar.
The Robert B. Lewis is a Kentucky Derby qualifier and award points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to the top five finishers.
“This horse reminds me of Authentic. He keeps getting better every week,” Baffert said of Plutarch, who earned the race’s lion’s share of 20 Kentucky Derby points. “I don’t think distance will be a problem with him. This is very exciting. He’s legit.”
Secured Freedom (3-1), making his two-turn debut for trainer Tim Yakteen, finished third under Kazushi Kimura. Desert Gate, the 6-5 favorite also trained by Baffert, checked in fourth after a slow beginning. He was followed by his Baffert-trained stablemate Cherokee Nation in fifth.
“Desert Gate missed the break, and I knew the one hole would hurt us,” Baffert said. “I knew we were in trouble then because he is so one dimensional.”
Runner-up Intrepido was making his first start since a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Oct. 31 at Del Mar. Trainer Jeff Mullins was satisfied with the performance.by the Maximus Mischief colt.
“I really didn’t expect him to be on the lead, I thought he’d be sitting in the pocket, maybe third. But, he breaks like that, you’ve got to go with it,” Mullins said. “To be off that long, I’m happy with his race.”
The win by Plutarch improved his record to 6: 2-2-2 with more than $190,000 in earnings He is owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith of the international powerhouse Coolmore operation.
“I’m so happy for Coolmore, who has supported me for all these years,” Baffert said. “We’ve spent so much time with Plutarch.”
For Geroux, the Lewis proved to be a perfect welcome gift to Santa Anita.
“When I came here that was what I was expecting, to be honest, to find a Derby horse,” Geroux said. “Bob is an amazing trainer, and he has won the Derby six times, so the record book speaks for itself. To have the opportunity to ride for him is just a big honor.”
Plutarch paid $10.20. He was bred in Kentucky by Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt, a partnership closely associated with Coolmore.
For the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard, click here.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreRenegade Rolls To Sam F. Davis Victory
From where Tampa Bay Downs jockey Marcos Meneses was sitting, the 46th running of the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes was shaping up as one of the biggest upsets in the history of the race.
“I expected to stay behind the speed early,” said Meneses, who saw nothing but daylight aboard 48-1 shot Wayne’s Law, the only Florida-bred in the nine-horse field, at the top of the stretch. “He was doing it so easy and was very relaxed and I was feeling so comfortable, I thought he had it.”
Then out of the corner of his eye, or perhaps his eye and ears, Meneses felt the presence of 6-5 favorite Renegade and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., bearing down on him and Wayne’s Law – and in a relative whoosh, second-place money was looking kind of good for Meneses and his courageous longshot.
“He passed me like a monster in the stretch. I knew I had horse left, but not like him,” Meneses said.
Renegade, who entered the race as a maiden (he had been disqualified after crossing the finish line first last October in a race at Belmont at the Big A), rolled through the stretch to dash the Cinderella dreams of Meneses, owner Herbert Sternlieb’s Baalbek Corporation and trainer Amador Merei Sanchez by 3¾ lengths. The Puma, making only his second career start, ran well to finish third, with Game for It fourth in the nine-horse field.
In the process, Renegade picked up 20 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” qualifying points while carrying Ortiz to the jockey’s fourth winner on the card, including the Suncoast Stakes earlier on sensational sophomore filly Zany.
Mike Repole, the owner of Zany under his Repole Stable banner, owns Renegade in partnership with the colt’s breeders Robert and Lawana Low. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Renegade is a son of Into Mischief out of the Curlin mare Spice Is Nice.
“It wasn’t an easy race,” Repole said of Renegade’s victory, achieved in a time of 1:43.54 for the 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track. “But he got a nice pace up front. He was wide, but I think Irad knew he had the best horse. It is better sometimes to be wide and not caught in traffic than to get caught in traffic and be the best horse.
“Todd has done a great job with this horse and we think he can get better with age and more distance. If this is any indication, I am pretty excited,” Repole said.
Ortiz was content to keep Renegade near the rear of the field early. He unleashed a powerful move on the turn for home and was clearly best.
“It looked like there was a lot of speed in the race, so I thought maybe today I would have the option to come from way back,” Ortiz said. “The plan worked out beautifully. I really felt like he was going to win coming home, and when I asked him he really came on strong.”
Pletcher, reached by telephone afterward, has had high hopes for Renegade right along and this victory – his first official” triumph in four starts – justified them.
“I was very pleased with his race,” Pletcher said. “I thought it was impressive considering he got shuffled back a little bit and was then pretty far back. … on a track that seemed like it was playing kindly to horses up close. He had to put in a pretty wide move, but I thought he really leveled off the last part (of the race) and finished up strongly.
“I thought it was a perfect start to his 3-year-old campaign.”
First-place money of $120,000 raised his career earnings to $199,000.
In the $125,000, 6-furlong Pelican Stakes for older horses, Big Frank Stable’s 7-year-old gelding Concrete Glory broke well under Ortiz, assumed the lead early and turned back all challenges, staying resolute through the stretch for a 2-length victory from Track Mate. Silver Slugger ran well to finish third.
The victory was the first in stakes competition for Concrete Glory, who was claimed in 2022 for a meager $6,250 by winning trainer Saffie A. Joseph, Jr., for Big Frank Stable out of a Gulfstream Park victory. Concrete Glory improved to 18-for-41 lifetime, and the winner’s share of $60,000 raised his career earnings to $583,249.
Concrete Glory’s time was 1:09.74. He paid $14.40 to win.
Joseph couldn’t help but get a little emotional about the Pennsylvania-bred son of Bodemeister’s effort. “He’s such a cool horse to be around. I have a lot better ones than him, but he is my favorite horse in the barn,” Joseph said.
“He gives you his all every time, and when you hang around him he understands you. He’s so smart. He knows me and he knows he’s my favorite, and every Tuesday when I see him, my guys know if he doesn’t get his bath I get really pissed off.”
Ortiz shares that joy by riding Concrete Glory. He has won on him numerous times, including in November at Churchill Downs and last summer at Saratoga.
“He always runs so good for me, and I guess I do good for him,” Ortiz said. “I think he likes the way I ride him. He likes to be free and I don’t get in his way. When there are horses around him, I let him be him, and he’s been showing up for me.”
For the Road to the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard, click here.
In the $125,000, six-furlong Pelican Stakes for older horses, Big Frank Stable’s 7-year-old gelding Concrete Glory broke well under Ortiz, assumed the lead early and turned back all challenges, staying resolute through the stretch for a two-length victory from Track Mate. Silver Slugger ran well to finish third.
The victory was the first in stakes competition for Concrete Glory, who was claimed in 2022 for $6,250 by winning trainer Saffie A. Joseph Jr., for Big Frank Stable out of a Gulfstream Park victory. Concrete Glory improved to 18-for-41 lifetime, and the winner’s share of $60,000 raised his career earnings to $583,249.
Concrete Glory’s time was 1:09.74. He paid $14.40 to win.
Joseph couldn’t help but get a little emotional about the Pennsylvania-bred son of Bodemeister’s effort. “He’s such a cool horse to be around. I have a lot better ones than him, but he is my favorite horse in the barn,” Joseph said.
“He gives you his all every time, and when you hang around him he understands you. He’s so smart. He knows me and he knows he’s my favorite, and every Tuesday when I see him, my guys know if he doesn’t get his bath I get really pissed off.”
Ortiz shares that joy by riding Concrete Glory. He has won on him numerous times, including in November at Churchill Downs and last summer at Saratoga.
“He always runs so good for me, and I guess I do good for him,” Ortiz said. “I think he likes the way I ride him. He likes to be free and I don’t get in his way. When there are horses around him, I let him be him, and he’s been showing up for me.”
Lynne Snierson contributed to this report
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
read moreBreeders' Cup Winner Splendora Takes D. Wayne Lukas In Season Bow
In her first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) on Nov. 1 at Del Mar, Splendora returned a winner for trainer Bob Baffert Saturday with a comfortable 1 3/4-length victory in the $200,000 D. Wayne Lukas (G2) for fillies and mares going seven furlongs at Santa Anita.
After breaking near the rear of the field, Splendora (2-5) and jockey Juan Hernandez ranged up toward the leaders on the backstretch and settled in behind horses. Setting the pace up front was Me and Molly McGee (10-1), who posted opening fractions of :22.78 and :45.63 seconds under Hector Berrios. At the top of the stretch, Splendora drew on even terms with Me and Molly McGee and gradually inched away from the pacesetter to earn her second graded victory and third stakes win overall.
“All the credit is for my filly because she did everything,” Hernandez said. “She kind of broke a step slow, but after that she recovered very well. She got in position, and at around the three-eighths pole, she started to run. She just ran on her own today. I was just happy to be aboard her.”
Splendora’s winning time was 1:22.09.
“She is such a good filly. She just gives me chills,” Baffert said. “She missed the break and got behind, but Juan rode her with a lot of confidence.”
Me and Molly McGee, trained by Peter Eurton, finished 2 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Formula Rossa (5-2). Lemon Muffin, a former pupil of the late D. Wayne Lukas, completed the superfecta at odds of 38-1.
This race was formerly known as the Santa Monica Stakes. It was renamed this year in honor of legendary trainer who died last summer at the age 89.
“When I saw that this race was renamed for D. Wayne Lukas, I wanted to win this one,” Baffert said. “I miss him. I miss talking to him. He would have loved this.”
Splendora is a 5-year-old mare by Audible out of the Frost Giant mare MIss Freeze. She owned by By Talla Racing. In last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint going seven furlongs, Splendora rolled to a 4 3/4-length victory.
“It’s just too bad she didn’t get the championship at the Breeders’ Cup. She is really that good,” Baffert said.
Splendora improved to 6-4-0 from 11 career starts and more than $980,000 in earnings.
Splendora paid $2.80 for the win.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on Feb 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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