TrueNicks the Trifecta

While it may not have been rocket science to pick out the winner, you could have had yourself the Trifecta in the Preakness Stakes if you had merely (More…)

Handicap the Preakness with TrueNicks

Twelve contenders will go to the post for the May 17 Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Let’s see how they’re rated by TrueNicks. (More…)

Kentucky Derby Contenders Seen Through TrueNicks

With the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands mere days away, we thought it was worth giving TrueNicks a tryout on the leading contenders. TrueNicks came through its Derby Trial with flying colors. Of the top 24 contenders at time of writing, nine (37.5%) were A++; 17 (71%) were A or above; 21 (87.5%) were B+ or higher. Of the remaining three, two are D; one, a non-stakes winner, does not achieve a rating. (More…)

You Heard It Here First!

This is a blog, and indeed TrueNicks is not supposed to be a handicapping service — but we are seriously going to have to reconsider this after the win of Sebring in the Golden Slipper Stakes (Aus-I) on the weekend!

It was back on the 20th of January, some 13 weeks ago, that (More…)

Giant’s Riches

Yesterday brought the news that champion 3-year-old filly Rags to Riches was to be retired and bred to Giant’s Causeway.

The match of the history-making Belmont Stakes (gr. I) heroine with Storm Cat’s leading son is one that should create a tough runner, and a horse that will have no problems with classic distances.

Of course, we couldn’t resist running it through the TrueNicks program. This came up with the mating as a C based on the Storm Cat / A. P. Indy cross. That cross has produced only three stakes winners, albeit a couple of notable names, headed by the Haskell (gr. I) winner and Kentucky Derby (gr. I) runner-up Bluegrass Cat (TrueNicks, SRO), and graded stakes winner Untouched Talent. Storm Cat himself sired Bluegrass Cat and Untouched Talent from seven starters out of A.P. Indy mares, but so far there are 42 starters by sons of Storm Cat out of A.P. Indy mares, and only one stakes winner. (More…)

A New Look for TrueNicks Reports

As part of the TrueNicks commitment to ongoing improvement of our product line, we are pleased to unveil a new look for the basic Hypothetical Mating and Named Foal reports (click on the report names to see samples).

The new presentation is designed to be easier to read and interpret, and includes all the same features that users have found on the reports previously.

So, what has changed? (More…)

Aiming for a Derby Double

While most second-season colts with classic hopes are just taking their first steps on the Triple Crown Trail, one possible candidate is already a Derby winner. That horse is the remarkable Tomcito. A $7,500 Keeneland September yearling purchase, Tomcito was shipped to Peru where, despite being up to six months younger than his Southern Hemisphere rivals, he was an immediate hit.

Tomcito took his first two races, one at 5 1/2 furlongs and the other at 6 1/2 , by a total of 26 lengths. Second in his stakes debut, he then captured the Clasico Ricardo Ortiz de Zevallos (Per-I) at 1 1/4 miles, and Derby Nacional (Per-I) at 1 1/2 miles, despite not yet being a 3-year-old by Northern Hemisphere terms. (More…)