First Mission | Horse Racing Free Tips

First Mission Works Ahead of Preakness

Godolphin's First Mission (Street Sense), the runaway winner of the GIII Lexington S., completed his final major work Saturday ahead of next Saturday's GI Preakness S. at Pimlico. The colt covered five furlongs in :59.20 early yesterday morning at Churchill Downs.

“He's lightly raced, but I liked what I saw of him all winter and into the Lexington,” said trainer Brad Cox. “He bounced out of it in good shape and he's got a lot of talent. I'm looking forward to giving him a swing at a Grade I.”

Runner up in his career debut at the Fair Grounds in February, the dark bay followed up with an impressive 6 3/4-length victory going a route of ground for the first time the following month.

“He came into our barn last spring and just needed some extra time to develop,” added Cox. “It was nothing major why we gave him time off. We just thought he was a later developing horse. Ever since we brought him back he's impressed us and been very consistent in his training.”

To view First Mission's work and Brad Cox discussing the colt's move afterward, click here.

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‘TDN Rising Star’ First Mission Wins Lexington

Godolphin homebred First Mission, coming off an impressive maiden-breaking score at Fair Grounds last month, made the jump to graded company with aplomb, striding home a determined victor of the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland Saturday. Sent off at 2-1, the dark bay colt sat just off pacesetting Arabian Lion through fractions of :24.12 and :48.01. He cut the corner into the stretch as the pacesetter drifted out into the lane and gamely persevered as that foe drifted back in on him and he was inching clear late.

“This was a tough Lexington S.,” said Godolphin director of bloodstock Michael Banahan. “There were some nice horses in there. So we were very hopeful and confident that if he showed the talent that we thought he had, we had a big, big chance. It's exceptionally nice to see that happen, and especially the experience he needed to get, coming down [the stretch] in tight on the rail. For an inexperienced horse, I think that will hold well for the future with us.”

A debut second behind well-regarded stablemate Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo) while sprinting six furlongs at Fair Grounds Feb. 18, First Mission romped home by 6 3/4 lengths in a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy performance when stretched to 1 1/16 miles in New Orleans last time out Mar. 18.

“[Trainer] Brad [Cox] just got this guy in after Christmas time and had never seen him before, so he wasn't sure where we were going to stable him for the winter time,” Banahan said. “He saw him work one time up at Churchill and he said, 'This horse is going down to Fair Grounds,' where he put all his good horses.

“We've always held him in high regard. He had a few juvenile issues last year, but we were very high on him. He ran a tremendous race first time out, when Brad's other horse beat him going six furlongs, knowing he wanted to stretch out. He won very easily last time.”

Asked if First Mission may make his next start in the GI Preakness S. in five weeks' time, Banahan said, “I think it will be ideal, really. When he ran in his maiden race, we thought, 'OK, let's come back a little quicker in the maiden, a little bit quicker back in here' from what Brad would normally do, to see if he had enough talent to do that. I think he answered a lot of questions today, so we'd certainly look hard at that. I think we have a nice horse for down the road even if he doesn't make one of the Classics.”

With his third-place finish, Winchell Thoroughbreds' Disarm earned enough points to qualify for a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby.

“It looks like he got enough points to go, so we have the option to go,” Ron Winchell said. “We'll see how he comes out of this race. We've always thought a mile and a quarter [of the Derby] would be fine for him.”

Pedigree Notes:

First Mission is the 39th worldwide graded winner for his sire, Street Sense. His dam Etude produced a full-brother last year and was bred back to Protonico. His second dam is Argentinian champion Forty Marchanta (Arg) (Roar).

Saturday, Keeneland
STONESTREET LEXINGTON S.-GIII, $398,750, Keeneland, 4-15, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.74, ft.
1–FIRST MISSION, 118, c, 3, by Street Sense
                1st Dam: Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Forty Marchanta (Arg), by Roar
                3rd Dam: Marcha Toss (Arg), by Egg Toss
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Luis
Saez. $232,500. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $276,500.
Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Arabian Lion, 118, c, 3, Justify–Unbound, by Distorted
Humor. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($600,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Zedan Racing
Stables, Inc.; B-Bonne Chance Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
$75,000.
3–Disarm, 118, c, 3, Gun Runner–Easy Tap, by Tapit.
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen. $37,500.
Margins: HF, 4 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 2.19, 3.89, 3.46.
Also Ran: Denington, Demolition Duke, Prairie Hawk, Empirestrikesfast, Baseline Beater, Reinvest, Curly Larry and Mo. Scratched: Transect.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Street Sense Colt Romps to ‘TDN Rising Star’ Performance at Fair Grounds

First Mission (c, 3, Street Sense–Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro), a strong second on debut behind his highly regarded Brad Cox-trained stablemate Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo) with a gaudy 96 Beyer sprinting at Fair Grounds Feb. 18, ran to the money as the 1-5 favorite with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance in his two-turn debut in New Orleans Saturday.

Fractious in the gate, the Godolphin homebred shot out to front and bobbled slightly shortly after the start. The blinkered dark bay recovered nicely and tracked in the garden spot in second. He struck the front 2 1/2 furlongs from home and ran up the score in the stretch to win under a hand ride by 6 3/4 impressive lengths over St. John's (Hard Spun).

First Mission becomes the 15th 'Rising Star' for Street Sense. He was produced by the winning Medaglia d'Oro mare Elude, a daughter of Argentinian champion 3-year-old filly and MG1SW Forty Marchanta (Arg) (Roar). Elude, purchased by International Equities Holding for $105,000 at the 2022 KEEJAN sale, produced a full-brother to First Mission in 2022 and was bred back to Protonico.

The aforementioned Bishops Bay returns in an optional claimer going two turns at Fair Grounds Sunday.

Featured earlier this week in Steve Sherack's 'Second Chances' series, click here for more on First Mission, including comments from Godolphin's Michael Banahan.

7th-Fair Grounds, $50,000, Msw, 3-18, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.55, ft, 6 3/4 lengths.
FIRST MISSION, c, 3, by Street Sense
                1st Dam: Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Forty Marchanta (Arg), by Roar
                3rd Dam: Marcha Toss (Arg), by Egg Toss
Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $44,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.

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Second Chances: Street Sense 3yo Colt on a ‘Mission’

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

First Mission (c, 3, Street Sense–Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro) earned a gaudy 96 Beyer Speed Figure sprinting on debut on the GII Risen Star S. undercard at Fair Grounds Feb. 18. And he didn't even get his picture taken.

The Triple Crown-nominated Godolphin homebred fell three-quarters of a length short to his highly touted and Brad Cox-trained stablemate Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo) in a very live-looking, six-furlong maiden special weight that day.

Given a 9-2 chance on debut as part of a commonly owned entry, the blinkered First Mission chased in fifth as the heavily favored Bishops Bay sat in the garden spot in second through an opening quarter in a sharp :22.14.

Up a couple of slots into third while racing in between rivals on the far turn, First Mission revved up three wide while ridden leaving the quarter pole and loomed boldly while hanging on his left lead as the very confidently handled Bishops Bay enjoyed first run and spun them in.

First Mission reached even terms and looked to have a big shot despite drifting some in the stretch, but Bishops Bay was going just a little bit better and responded nicely once finally sat down by Florent Geroux to earn his diploma at first asking in a race that didn't deserve a loser. It was a long way back to Bettera (Blame) in third.

“He was always a horse that we liked from when he was down in Florida last year being pre-trained,” Godolphin USA Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan said. “He had a few little juvenile issues and (Godolphin rehab trainer) Johnny Burke rehabbed him and got him going again. When he arrived in Brad's barn, he was pretty enthusiastic about him and always held him in high regard.”

First Mission's GI Kentucky Derby-winning sire Street Sense is responsible for 12 Grade I winners. First Mission was produced by the winning Medaglia d'Oro mare Elude, a daughter of Argentinian champion 3-year-old filly and MG1SW Forty Marchanta (Arg) (Roar).

First Mission worked five furlongs in 1:02.80 (42/52) Mar. 11 and will stretch out to two turns for his second career start going 1 1/16 miles against 10 rivals in New Orleans on Saturday. The aforementioned Bishops Bay returns in an optional claimer going two turns at Fair Grounds Sunday.

“Running over three-quarters down at the Fair Grounds, we were very impressed with how he did that knowing that he wants to stretch out,” Banahan said.

“We're really looking forward to seeing him in his next start. If he can perform as well as we anticipate off his debut, we'll have a nice spring-summer with him.”

The 'Second Chances' honor roll is headed by two-time Breeders' Cup winner and Ashford Stud stallion Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner and Lane's End stallion Honor A. P. (Honor Code), GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner and GI Forego S. winner Cody's Wish (Curlin), GI Carter H. winner and Darley stallion Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) and MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags).

Other standouts appearing in the series include: last Saturday's GI Beholder Mile S. winner A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo); GI Preakness S. third-place finisher Creative Minister (Creative Cause); GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity and GII San Felipe S. third-place finisher Skinner (Curlin); GSW & MGISP Spielberg (Union Rags); GSW Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro); GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway); MSW & 'TDN Rising Star' Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}); SW & GSP War At Sea (War Front); and SW & 'TDN Rising Star' Artorius (Arrogate).

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