Breaking through the starting gate early did not stop Phoenix Thoroughbred’s Tiz the Bomb from being first to the finish line in the $200,000 Castle & Key Bourbon Stakes (G2T).

For a horse like Royal Flag that tends to take back before being asked for run later in the race, breaking from the outside post of seven in a 1 1/8-mile race is hardly cause for concern.

Top older female Letruska looks like she will roll into the Breeders’ Cup after the daughter of Super Saver posted a fifth straight victory Oct. 10, this time putting away five rivals in the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

Although ostensibly a rung below the level of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, this week’s Book 2 has a rich history of showcasing future talent, with graduates making further entries on the top-level roll of honor this year.

Acacia Courtney and Jonathon Kinchen look back at the results of the G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and G2 Vosburgh.

Following Sea earned a berth in the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) with a victory in the Vosburgh Stakes (G2) Oct. 9, but trainer Todd Pletcher said the following morning that no decision had been made regarding a start in the World Championships.

Trainer Kenny McPeek said Oct. 10 that Lucky Seven Stable’s Rattle N Roll, winner of the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland a day earlier, might bypass the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) in favor of a race at his Churchill Downs base.

Galilean, a multiple stakes-winning son of successful sire Uncle Mo, has been retired from racing and will stand at Hidden Lake Farm in New York.

History was made at the Curragh Oct. 10 as Colin Keane smashed Joseph O’Brien’s all-time record for winners in a season in Ireland with three weeks to spare, and Ireland’s champion jockey admitted he might never have another year like it. 

David Raim’s The Sky Is Falling delivered freshman stallion Cupid his first black-type winner when she rallied from mid-pack for a 1 1/2-length score in the $67,500 West Virginia Triple Crown Nutrition Breeders’ Classic Stakes Oct. 9 at Charles Town.