Blood-Horse

St Patrick's Day, a 2-year-old Pioneerof the Nile colt out of the Yankee Gentleman mare Littleprincessemma, has already gone by a number of names early in his life.

Hours after La Coronel finished fourth in the Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course, Dream Dancing got the best of a blanket finish in the 1 1/8-mile Del Mar Oaks (G1T).

Michael House's Irish-bred Hunt, victorious in the 1 1/8-mile Eddie Read Stakes (G2T) a month ago, confirmed his quality Aug. 19 in the $250,000 Del Mar Handicap Presented by The Japan Racing Association (G2T) at Del Mar.

The final furlong of the 10-furlong Classic was a battle of Bob Baffert stablemates. Arrogate kicked in late, as he's done plenty in the past, but he could not get past the determined Collected

After battling with two rivals in the stretch of the $150,000 Canadian Derby (G3), Chief Know It All managed to get a minor advantage and held on to win Aug. 19.

Conquest Panthera, trained by Mark Casse, wore down pacesetter Dowse's Beach to capture the Play the King Stakes (G2T) at Woodbine Aug. 19, earning his first graded stakes score. The race was marred by the death of Calgary Cat.

Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's Elate ran down pacesetter It Tiz Well and drew off to a dominant victory in the $600,000 Alabama Stakes (G1) Aug. 19 at Saratoga Race Course.

Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) winner Girvin made his final work for the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) a swift one Aug. 19 at Saratoga Race Course, where he earned the bullet for five furlongs on the day.

Thriving on the Spa's lawn, Proctor's Ledge circled her rivals and unleashed a solid turn of foot to win the $300,000 Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) by three-quarters of a length Aug. 19. 

There will be plenty of quality on the track in the afternoon Aug. 19 at Del Mar, the biggest day of racing during the summer at the seaside racetrack every year, but the runners in the morning weren't too shabby, either.

After missing the break, Winx went last to first in the Bob Ingham Warwick Stakes (G2) Aug. 19 at Royal Randwick to notch her 18th consecutive win.

Consider this your weekly guide to the best stakes races in North America. This week we have a pair of grade 1 races on Del Mar's biggest weekend, the Alabama (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, and the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

Tribalist didn't exactly take a conventional path to his first stakes win—both on the racetrack Aug. 18 at Del Mar and throughout his career.

It's Alabama Day at Saratoga Race Course and TVG Pacific Classic Day at Del Mar.

Multiple grade 1 winner Mind Your Biscuits is officially on track for the Aug. 26 Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course following his half-mile breeze over the Oklahoma training track the morning of Aug. 18.

Trainer Todd Pletcher saw three of his possible starters in the Travers Stakes (G1) breeze early the morning of Aug. 18, with Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming going four furlongs in company with Outplay, and Tapwrit also working a half-mile.

Trainer John Sadler wasn't present when Accelerate was purchased for $380,000 at the Keeneland September sale in 2014 for his major client, Hronis Racing. But he had an idea that it might prove to be a good buy.

Multiple graded stakes winner Gunnevera tuned up for a scheduled start in the Aug. 26 Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) with a sharp five-furlong breeze in 1:00 at Gulfstream Park West Aug. 18.

Fan favorite The Pizza Man, the only Illinois-bred to win the Arlington Million, has officially been retired, Richard Papiese of Midwest Thoroughbreds said Aug. 18.

The hypothesis here is that there has never been a horse bred in North America that has achieved greater influence as a broodmare sire of line-founding stallions than the son of Bold Ruler (Nasrullah—Miss Disco, by Discovery).