Tag: Christophe Clement

Coming out of her victory in the Giant's Causeway Stakes earlier this month, Wesley Ward's Campanelle is one of the top American horses set to invade Royal Ascot in June. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Ward’s Decorated Duo Lead an American Invasion of Royal Ascot

- 3 min read

Wesley Ward’s decorated duo of Golden Pal and Campanelle headline a 16-horse American contingent of nominees for this year’s Royal Ascot Group 1 races. A customary presence at the mid-June meet, Ward is one of four American trainers nominating horses to one of the eight Group 1 races. Graham Motion, […]

Pizza Bianca, seen here winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, returns for her 3-year-old season Sunday in Aqueduct's Memory of Silver. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Bobby Flay Delivers Pizza Bianca to Aqueduct’s Memories of Silver

- 2 min read

Even with celebrity chef Bobby Flay as an owner, Pizza Bianca doesn’t have the highest profile for a Breeders’ Cup winner. But, the winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf remains formidable in Sunday’s Memories of Silver on Aqueduct’s closing day. Pizza Bianca’s low profile has nothing to […]

Gufo (right) held off a surging Japan to win August's Grade 1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga. The two turf rivals tangle again in Saturday's Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park. (Image: Sarah Andrew)

Consistent Casher Gufo Goes for Third Grade 1 Win in Joe Hirsch

- 3 min read

There’s Gufo, who hasn’t missed the board in 12 career starts. There’s Japan, one of his rivals, who ships in from Europe for another crack at Gufo. And there’s Arklow and Channel Maker, who combined to win the last three editions of the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. It’s […]

Jolie Olimpica's last victory came 14 months ago in the Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes at Santa Anita. She is one of the favorites in the opening leg of Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5: the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Cross Country Pick 5 Features Familiar Names, International Flavor

- 3 min read

Familiar names such as Jolie Olimpica, Split Then Double and Merveilleux, along with promising newcomers like Chileno, Watasha and Volcanic play their parts in Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 wager. This week’s New York Racing Association’s Cross Country Pick 5 comes with international flavor. The wager encompasses races from Saratoga, […]

Mutamakina (4) edged Traipsing to win the Long Island Stakes. Both horses are trained by Christophe Clement, who won the Aqueduct training title. (Image: Chelsea Durand/Coglianese Photo)

Aqueduct Records Daily Handle Increase During Shortened Fall Meet

- 2 min read

Aqueduct continued the trend of spectator-free racetracks racking up handle increases, reporting a 12.8% increase in average daily, all-sources handle for its just-completed fall meet. The New York Racing Association announced Aqueduct checked in with an average daily handle of $9,261,276. This daily increase came despite a drop in overall […]

Domestic Spending beat Gufo, Decorated Invader and Get Smokin in August's Saratoga Derby. He comes west and faces all three foes again in Saturday's Hollywood Derby at Del Mar. (Image: Coglianese Photos/NYRA)

Del Mar’s Hollywood Derby Provides a Good, Old-Fashioned Turf War

- 4 min read

The first thing savvy racing fans notice about Saturday’s Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar is the clash between East and West horses, trainers and jockeys. If there was ever a turf war over where North America’s best turf runners reside, well, the Hollywood Derby should provide the answer. […]

Decorated Invader owns four stakes victories on four different tracks. He leads the field in the Grade 2 Hill Prince Sunday at Belmont Park. (Image: West Point Thoroughbreds)

Decorated Invader Looking for More Wins at Less Distance in Hill Prince

- 3 min read

Those extra three-sixteenths of a mile Decorated Invader tackled in his last race apparently did what few other horses could do to the standout 3-year-old — slow down the son of noted sire Declaration of War. This explains why Decorated Invader cuts back to a mile for Sunday’s Grade 2 […]