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Colonial Downs has revealed a new brand, logo, and digital presence ahead of the track's first Virginia Derby spring meet, which will be held Mar. 12-14. The Virginia Derby will be contested Mar. 14 and will offer Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the first time. “With a record number of race days, growing crowds and purses, a Kentucky Derby qualifier race, and some of the most passionate fans around, Virginia is stepping into the sport's global spotlight,” said Frank Hopf, Senior Director of Racing Operations at Colonial Downs. “This exciting new identity for Colonial Downs honors Virginia's rich history of Thoroughbred racing, while inviting new fans and longtime enthusiasts to come experience the thrill of live racing at Virginia's premier Thoroughbred racetrack. It's a new look for a new era, and we invite you to be a part of it.” Colonial Downs' new logo features a striding Thoroughbred whose shape mirrors that of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The five strands of the horse's mane represent five regions of the state: Southwest Virginia, Northern Virginia, Central Virginia, Hampton Roads, and the Shenandoah Valley. The track's new signature colors also carry significance. Colonial Downs Copper represents the sport's enduring connections to the earth and the dirt of the racing surface, while Regal Navy represents the noble history of horse racing and the steady strength of both horse and jockey. Colonial Downs has also unveiled an updated website, featuring race schedules, promotions, and track information, as well as updated Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts. The post Colonial Downs Announces Brand Reboot Ahead of Spring Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Martin Heydon, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, turned the sod on the new Tipperary all-weather track on Thursday, marking the beginning of the redevelopment project which is scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2027. Minister Heydon was joined by Nicky Hartery, chairman of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI); Maurice Moloney, Tipperary Racecourse committee chairman; Andrew Hogan, Tipperary Racecourse manager; Sinead Carr, CEO of Tipperary County Council; and Paul Dermody, CEO of HRI Racecourses, along with local representatives, community leaders, the Tipperary Racecourse committee and project partners for the sod turning ceremony. Work will now commence on the new all-weather track, with a view to staging a full winter race programme in 2027/28. The main contract has been awarded to Atlantic Golf Construction (AGC Ventures Limited), based in Ballybunion, County Kerry. Martin Collins Enterprises Ltd will develop the polytrack racing surface, while the floodlights at the venue will be provided by McSherry Electrical Limited, based in Mallow, County Cork. Minister Heydon said, “I am delighted to be here in Tipperary today to turn the sod on the new all-weather track project. It's an ambitious, exciting project and I wish Andrew Hogan, Maurice Moloney and the team in Horse Racing Ireland all the best. “The project is a major stimulus, creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and enhancing the horse racing and breeding industry that already generates €329 million in expenditure and approximately 3,000 jobs in Tipperary alone – contributing to the national figure of €2.46 billion and over 30,000 jobs, and will be hugely beneficial for the continued development of this world-class industry.” Hogan added, “Today is a hugely exciting day for Tipperary Racecourse and the broader county. The new all-weather track is a crucial piece of infrastructure for the racing and breeding industry in Munster and beyond, and we are thrilled to see the redevelopment work get underway. “On behalf of the entire Tipperary Racecourse team, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has supported this project and helped to get us to this point today. We look forward to hosting stakeholder engagement events over the summer, as the project develops and we have more updates to share.” Tipperary will become the second all-weather track in Ireland, along with Dundalk, which is located roughly 270 kilometres further north. “Today marks an important moment not only for Tipperary Racecourse but for our vibrant racing and breeding industry,” said Hartery. “The new all-weather track reflects Horse Racing Ireland's strategic goal to create opportunities at all levels, and the project will bring huge positives for the industry, creating significant economic and social benefits for Tipperary and the broader region. It will provide a major boost to racing throughout the south of the country, offering accessible racing and training facilities all year round. “I would like to thank the Minister and his Department colleagues, Tipperary County Council and all stakeholders for their ongoing support.” The post Minister Martin Heydon Turns Sod on Tipperary All-Weather Track appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

It's been three weeks since our last GI Kentucky Oaks Top 10, and a lot has happened. But no one stepped up with the type of explosive performance that would have shaken up the standings. We've dropped four horses from our original poll. Mythical (St. Patrick's Day) just wasn't good enough in the GIII Forward Gal Stakes. Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) has been injured and has been taken off the Oaks trail. Percy's Bar (Upstart) hasn't had a workout since Jan. 6, which doesn't bode well for her making the Oaks. Hit Parade (Street Sense) was a disappointing fifth in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn. Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes at the Fair Grounds should provide a bit more clarity to the picture. So, here goes, your latest Top 10: 1) ZANY (American Pharoah–Mo' Green, by Uncle Mo) O-Repole Stable; B-D.J. Stable (Ky); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $350,000 yrl '24 FTSAR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-3-0-0, $221,500. Last Start: Won Feb. 7 Suncoast Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 30. She didn't exactly burn up the racetrack in her 3-year-old debut, last Saturday's Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, but I can't see dropping a horse from the No. 1 spot off of a win. Though she won by 2 3/4 lengths, her running time for the mile and 40 yards was 1:40.56. In the very next race, run at the same distance, the maiden Emerging Market (Candy Ride {Arg}) crossed the wire in 1:39.11 for trainer Chad Brown. That left Zany with an 81 Beyer figure, eight points slower than she ran in her impressive victory in the GII Demoiselle Stakes. She also ducked in sharply in the stretch. So why is she still No. 1? Because no one did enough to knock her off the top spot and I have all the confidence in the world in Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. Likely, this was a starting place for Zany, and we will see a better filly when she returns in the Apr. 3 GI Ashland at Keeneland. 2) MEANING (Gun Runner–Figure of Speech, by Into Mischief) O-Bridlewood Farm & Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners; B-Stonehaven Steadings (Ky); T-Michael McCarthy. Sales history: $440,000 yrl '24 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: SW, 3-2-0-0, $187,000. Last Start: Won Feb. 8 Las Virgenes Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 26. Unranked in the first edition of the Oaks Top 10, she roared into the No. 2 spot with a win in the Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita, where she beat two pretty tough customers in Explora (Blame) and Super Corredora (Gun Runner). It was her first start since she was a non-threatening fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. “She's a stronger filly, more mature,” winning trainer Michael McCarthy told reporters after the race. The knock on Meaning is that she got a perfect trip. She sat third behind Explora and Super Corredora, who battled it out in testing fractions of :22.57 and :45.98. When those two started to tire, the race fell into Meaning's lap. McCarthy has said that the Apr. 4 GII Santa Anita Oaks will be next for his filly. Meaning | Benoit 3) TAKEN BY THE WIND (Rock Your World–Up for Grabs, by First Samurai) O-Magdalena Racing, Terry Bradshaw, Graham Leveston, Raasi Stable; B-Courtney L. Meagher (Fl); T-Kenneth G McPeek. Sales History: $70,000 yrl '24 FTKJUL; $20,000 yrl '24 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-3-0-0, $270,710. Last Start: Won Jan. 17 Silverbulletday Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 30. Taken by the Wind has not raced since the first poll came out, but moves up because, well, someone had to, with so many disappointing performances from some of the more highly regarded horses. After his filly won the Silverbulletday Stakes, trainer Kenny McPeek expressed how high he is on her, and that means something from a trainer who has had so much success with star fillies. She only won the Silverbulletday by a neck, but there's no knocking her record–she's 3 for 3. McPeek reports that Taken by the Wind will have her next start in the Mar. 1 GIII Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn. 4) LIFE OF JOY (Gun Runner–Jordayn's Leo, by Malibu Moon) O-Will Stroud, Andrew Farm, Mountmellick Farm & For the People Racing Stable LLC; B-Springhouse Farm (Ky); T-Brad H Cox. Sales history: $375,000 yrl '24 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: SW, 4-2-1-0, $180,260. Last Start: Second in Feb. 7 Suncoast Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 22. You know that Brad Cox is going to have a say when it comes to the road to the Kentucky Oaks. He always does. And Life of Joy might be his best hope. Her race in the Suncoast, where she was second behind Zany, is better than it looks on paper. She broke a step slow, which cost her position. Sensing that there was a slow pace (:24.89, :49.55), Flavien Prat rushed her up into contention midway down the backstretch in what may have been a premature move. Still, she held her own against Zany. Other than a fourth-place finish in the GII Golden Rod Stakes, she's never been worse than second and seems to be peaking at the right time. 5) EXPLORA (Blame–Collections Choice, by Bernardini) O-Michael Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman; B-Mesingw Farm (Ky); T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $22,000 yrl '24 KEESEP; $350,000 2yo '25 FTMMAY. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard.' Lifetime Record: GSW & MGISP, 5-3-2-0, $628,000. Last Start: Second Feb. 8 Las Virgenes Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 45. The Bob Baffert-trained filly made her 3-year-old debut in the Las Virgenes and probably didn't deliver the type of performance her Hall of Fame trainer was expecting. She's shown the ability to rate in the past, which she did in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, where she was fourth early before closing for second. But in the Las Virgenes, she got caught up in a speed duel with rival Super Corredora and didn't have enough left in the tank to hold off Meaning, who wasn't necessarily flying at the end. They went the final quarter in :27 4/5 seconds. The positive is that she held in there a lot better than Super Corredora, who finished last. She far from embarrassed herself and could easily rebound next out with a better trip. 6) DAZZLING DAME (Girvin–Awesome Dama, by Corinthian) O-Respect the Valleys LLC; B-Maria M Haire (Md); T-Brittany T Russell. Sales History: $50,000 RNA wnlg '23 KEENOV: $65,000 yrl '24 OBSWIN; $45,000 2yo '25 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: MSW, 5-4-0-0, $240,525. Last Start: Won Jan. 3 Busanda Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 22. Might be overrating a filly whose claim to fame is that she won the Busanda Stakes on Jan. 3 at Aqueduct, but that was a powerful performance. She won by 11 1/2 lengths and earned a 91 Beyer. That's the best Beyer number turned in by any 3-year-old filly so far this year. Trainer Brittany Russell reports that Dazzling Dame may go next in the Mar. 14 Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs. If so, she may need to find a tougher spot to prove that her filly belongs among the best of her division. It's worth noting that she might have missed a work since she has not had a published workout since Jan. 23. 7) BELLA BALLERINA (Street Sense–Pretty City Dancer, by Tapit) O/B-Godolphin (Ky); T-Brendan P Walsh. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $301,525. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard.' Last Start: Won Nov. 29 GII Golden Rod Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 10. The Godolphin-homebred will make her 3-year-old debut in Saturday's Rachel Alexandra at the Fair Grounds, where she'll likely be favored over seven others. She was last seen winning the Golden Rod on Nov. 29 at Churchill. She took a 3 1/2-length lead into the stretch of that race and held on to win by a half-length while earning an 80 Beyer. Her rivals in the Rachel Alexandra will include Just Singing (Justify), who finished a fast-closing third behind her in the Golden Rod. There's very little speed in this race and Bella Ballerina will either set the pace or stay close to what is sure to be a slow pace. Either way, she should get a good trip. This will be an important test for her. 8) SUPER CORREDORA (Gun Runner–Super Simple, by Super Saver) O-Spartan Equine Racing LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, Robert Gardiner & Michael Olszewki; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds (Ky); T-John Sadler. Sales History: $400,000 yrl '24 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo filly, GISW, 5-2-1-0, $1,099,600. Last Start: Fourth Feb. 8 Las Virgenes Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 34. It was not a good 3-year-old debut for last year's juvenile filly champion. Yes, she got caught up in a speed duel in the Las Virgenes, but she should have had more fight than she did. She finished last in the four-horse field, 6 3/4 lengths behind the winner, Meaning. It was nothing like her winning performance in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, where she hung on gamely after setting fractions of :22 2/5 and :45 3/5. “We will stay the course and go to the next one [Mar. 1 GIII Santa Ysabel Stakes],” said Terry Finley, whose West Point Thoroughbreds is a co-owner of the filly. “This was a tough race. The hope is our filly needed the race. She'll have to improve to stay in the top echelon.” On Time Girl | Coglianese 9) ON TIME GIRL (Not This Time–Girl Daddy, by Uncle Mo) O/B-Albaugh Farmily Stables, LLC (Ky); T-Brad H Cox. Sales history: $375,000 RNA yrl '24 KEESEP. 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard.' Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0, $405,735. Last Start: Won Jan. 31 GIII Forward Gal Stakes. Kentucky Oaks Points: 20. Another Brad Cox filly, she jumped into the picture with a convincing win in the GIII Forward Gal Stakes at seven furlongs. She's now four for five during her career. The problem is that she's never gone beyond seven furlongs. She is by Not This Time, which suggests she should be able to handle a distance, but until she proves it, the jury is out. Cox is looking at the Feb. 28 GII Davona Dale at Gulfstream, a one-mile race. But it, too, will be run around one turn, meaning it may not answer all the questions. 10) POWERED BY FAMILY (Quality Road–Icon Project, by Empire Maker) O/B-St Elias Stables & West Point Thoroughbreds (Ky); T-Cherie DeVaux. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $38,400. Last Start: Won MSW at Fair Grounds Jan. 10. Kentucky Oaks Points: 0. While this might be an outside-the-box pick, the Quality Road filly has a lot of upside. She looked terrific breaking her maiden at the Fair Grounds on Jan. 10. She broke terribly and spotted the field several lengths, but made up a ton of ground and drew away to a four-length win while earning an 84 Beyer. The problem is she also broke poorly in her career debut and could do no better than fourth. She steps way up in class for the Rachel Alexandra and can contend. It all depends on the break. She'll have no chance against this caliber if she again breaks poorly. The post The Kentucky Oaks TDN Top 10 For Feb. 12: Zany Stays on Top appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — Bob Baffert may have won two Triple Crowns, six Kentucky Derbys, 21 Breeders' Cup races, and four Dubai World Cups but there is an itch that still needs to be scratched: the Saudi Cup. “We've gotten pretty close,” he said Thursday morning from King Abdulaziz Racecourse, and he's not wrong. Baffert has been represented in five of the six runnings of the world's richest race and has finished second twice, with Charlatan (Speightstown) then Country Grammer (Tonalist). Last year was his sole omission, and to make up for that, this year he will saddle two horses, with the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Nysos (Nyquist) being joined by his stablemate and runner-up in the GII Laffit Pincay Jr Stakes, Nevada Beach (Omaha Beach). In any other year, he'd be sitting pretty, but there is the small matter of the defending champion and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) in the field. Baffert conceded that this will be no easy mission, and he was full of praise for the odds-on favorite and his trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who had exited the press conference suite just moments before. “That was a fantastic race,” Baffert said of the thrilling stretch-long tussle between Forever Young and Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) 12 months ago. “I was watching that race in my office at Santa Anita, and Romantic Warrior, he looked so good going to the gate, and all of a sudden he took off, he got bold, and it looked like the race was over, and then Forever Young, he's just–he's a unicorn. Bob Baffert during a Thursday press conference at King Abdulaziz | Emma Berry “I'm telling you, he's unbelievable, and I have so much respect for that horse. He just put his head down, and what he did as a 3-year-old, to win in Saudi, Dubai, come to the Derby, and come so close, that is just unheard of, you know, a horse shipping that much. Credit to his trainer and his staff, and his jockey, riding with so much confidence, but that horse is an incredible horse, and he's a good-looking horse. I saw him the other day, he looks healthy, and he's going to be tough.” Of Yahagi, who is arguably Japan's most internationally recognized trainer with a haul of victories which stretches beyond Saudi and America to Dubai–with Forever Young's sire among his five winners there–Australia and Hong Kong. He has also won Japan's Triple Crown with Contrail (Jpn). “He's like the Charlie Whittingham of Japan,” Baffert added. “He's tough, and he looks like he's having fun, that's what I love about him. And when he says his horse is ready, they're ready. He said last night his horse is ready, and I didn't like to hear that, but that's what makes these races great. These races are supposed to be tough, and bring the best horses here. It's like that baseball movie, if they put up the money, they'll come, and so, we're here.” Yahagi is himself a big baseball fan. He was proudly sporting his L.A. Dodgers shirt along with a self-confessed hangover the morning after last year's Breeders' Cup Classic, which happened to clash with the final game of a tense World Series in which the Dodgers, with their smattering of Japanese imports, proved as tough to beat as Forever Young. But Baffert will be doing his level best to ensure that Riyadh does not remain a field of dreams solely for his rival. He will also take on the Yahagi-trained American Stage with 5-year-old Imagination–both of them sons of Into Mischief–in the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, but in Nysos, he says that he has his strongest chance yet to add the Saudi Cup to his portfolio. “I think Nysos is a brilliant racehorse,” he said. “He's got his work cut out, but he's got a good draw position, he's outside, he can just stalk, he's smart. He can go to the lead, he can come off the pace, whereas the horses I brought here before were one-dimensional, and they had horses hook them early and then got tired at the end.” The long stretch at Riyadh, on a dirt track modelled on the easy, sweeping turns of Belmont Park, is famously attritional, as Baffert knows to his cost. He continued, “We won a little Derby here [with Pinehurst in 2022] and stuff, but we've fallen short. I always tell everybody, I'm watching at home, it looks like I'm home free and I'm looking for the wire, and all of a sudden they show the 100-meter mark and I've lost millions of dollars just to make that last 100 meters. They just come get you there at the end. It's sort of a deep racetrack, it's a soft, very forgiving, safe racetrack, but it gets tough: that stretch is just so long. I prefer shorter stretches.” Nevada Beach | Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia Following a dominant victory in the GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February 2024, Nysos was not seen in action for the remainder of his 3-year-old season. Injury niggles kept him off the track until May 2025, when he ran Mindframe (Constitution) to a neck on comeback to finish second in the GI Churchill Downs Stakes. Thereafter he has remained faultless in four starts, including his first Grade I success at the Breeders' Cup. On that same day at Del Mar, Nevada Beach, then three, finished seventh in a Breeders' Cup Classic for the ages, in which Forever Young was chased home by Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), Fierceness (City of Light), Journalism (Curlin) and Mindframe. “He wants to go a mile and a quarter, and you need a horse that can go a mile and a quarter to run here,” Baffert said of GI Goodwood Stakes winner Nevada Beach. “I feel pretty good about both my chances. I think the Breeders' Cup [Classic] was a weird-run race, he was on the inside, and he was sort of tight in the inside there and the track that day was just really speed. But he won after that, he's come back and run two big races, so I feel he's more mature now. He gets over this track really well. He's big, he reminds me a lot of Country Grammer–a big, long-striding horse that gets over this track.” The second-place finishes for Charlatan and Country Grammer came in the two years following a disappointing effort in the inaugural running from McKinzie, who, like Nevada Beach, was owned by the triumvirate of Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. “I thought McKinzie was going to run really big, and he didn't pick up his speed at all, so, you're just hoping that when they turn for home, that they're running, and hopefully it's going to be Nysos, and I hope that Nevada Beach is right there too, but Nysos and Forever Young–it's King Kong versus Godzilla,” Baffert said. While Nevada Beach is likely to go on to next month's Dubai World Cup from Riyadh, Nysos will return to California. “We'll take him back home, and just freshen him up and point for the Breeders' Cup Classic,” he added. “I've brought good horses here, and I think Nysos, hopefully, is the best one I've brought here. It's one of those things where I just felt like I wanted to come back, and if we were to win, I want to be here, I want to enjoy it. “All I can hope for is when they turn for home, that Nevada Beach and Nysos, they're there in contention. It would be great to see my horses hook up with Forever Young. Last year, it was really fun to watch that race. It was incredible–that's what the Saudi Cup is supposed to be about: two great horses just going at it. “I think Nysos is a great horse. Forever Young is a great horse, maybe there's another. I've come here and I got beat by [80-1 shot] Emblem Road, so you never know. Crazy things happen in this race. I just hope that the horses show up–that's all you can ask for. “I like challenges, and this is a race I've never won, so it's on my bucket list, and we're going to keep coming until we win this thing. We're not going to give up.” The post ‘It’s King Kong Versus Godzilla’: Baffert Relishing Saudi Cup Battle Between Forever Young and Nysos appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Letters to the Editor for the Feb. 12 edition of BloodHorse Daily includes a submission from the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association requesting changes from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.View the full article

Francis Graffard targeted Thursday's debutantes event at Chantilly with two potentially smart fillies and it was The Aga Khan Studs representative Edaja (Siyouni) who enjoyed the stable bragging rights. Sent off the 12-5 favourite for the mile contest on Polytrack, the daughter of the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational winner and G2 Prix de Malleret and G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris runner-up Edisa (Kitten's Joy) was restrained early in mid-division by Clement Lecoeuvre. Reeling in stablemate Morgana Gold (Too Darn Hot) with 50 metres remaining, the homebred asserted to score by 1 1/2 lengths. Smart debut at Chantilly! Edaja could be a filly with a nice future after coming home strongly to score at the first time of asking for @GraffardRacing and @AgaKhanStuds… pic.twitter.com/WDhmoyrZNj — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) February 12, 2026 The post Siyouni Filly Edaja Another Bright Graffard Prospect appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

John Size will unleash a bumper squad of 11 horses at Sha Tin on Saturday as he looks to continue his strong run of recent form, with Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) entrant Enthusium one of his most fascinating runners. The champion trainer has designs on running the British import – who won once at Carlisle from four starts in the UK when owned by King Charles – in next month’s Derby and his overseas form suggests that is not a fanciful idea. His victory came over 1,800m and his pedigree is all...View the full article

Geez @bono you are sounding more like @Thomass every post you make!!!

No official confirmation has there, though I may have missed it? Yes, where did you see that or is it gossip?

Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock) is a four-time Group 1-winning miler, but can he extend his brilliance to a longer journey at the top level? Joe Pride has one burning question he wants Ceolwulf to answer this autumn – is he a Group One horse over 2000 metres? The gelding’s record offers conflicting data. His four majors have come over a mile, but he does have an Australian Derby placing at three, and a narrow win at Group 2 level over a middle-distance as an older horse. He has also been soundly beaten in the past two renewals of the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m). So as the backmarker with a booming finish readies to launch his five-start campaign at Randwick on Saturday, Pride is already plotting how to solve the distance conundrum. “This preparation, I am about once and for all establishing if he can run 2000 metres as well as what he runs a mile,” Pride said. “There’s no doubt he runs 2000 metres, but is he as effective? “And does he get the right set-up for 2000? He never seems to get speed on, and that might be the defining factor for him. He might get in a 2000 metre race that is run a bit different and be a different horse.” Ceolwulf will be given two chances to prove his middle-distance mettle – at his fourth run in the Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington and his campaign swansong in the Queen Elizabeth. But first he has to get through Saturday’s Apollo Stakes (1400m) and a clash with undefeated mare Autumn Glow, along with her high-class stablemate, Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio). Ceolwulf has never won first-up, but he has run some cheeky races, including an eye-catching fourth to Fangirl in the corresponding event 12 months ago during a period when he wasn’t racing at his best. Pride felt there were a few reasons the gelding didn’t perform as expected last autumn, and has taken steps to rectify the main one. “I’m convinced one of them was that I had him too big,” he said. “I had him up around 530 kilos for his first-up run last time and he’s 510 now. I’m not a believer in a fighting weight for a horse so much, but with this horse, there is just a weight he runs well at and it’s around that (510 kilos).” As for Saturday, Ceolwulf is expected to be doing his best work late and Pride will be satisfied with a finish “in the first four or five”. He will then race every fortnight with the end goal of having him at his peak for his final two campaign runs, performances set to shape the remainder of his career. “It is always my aim to find out what the one perfect formula is for each horse, and I’ll repeat it all day long,” Pride said. “That’s why I want to work it out with Ceolwulf. I don’t want to waste any more time running him in 2000 metre races if he can’t perform at his best at that distance. “I’ll keep him a miler for the rest of his life if I have to. I’ve just got to find that out.” View the full article

Group One performer Hezashocka (NZ) (Shocking) has gone full-circle, returning to where his racing career began, with part-owners Shaun and Emma Clotworthy at Byerley Park. The now eight-year-old was purchased by Shaun Clotworthy out of Grangewilliam Stud’s 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 3 Yearling Sale draft for $18,000 and went on to have three starts as a three-year-old for the Clotworthys, culminating in his victory in the Gr.2 Trelawney Stud Championship Stakes (2100m). Trans-Tasman syndicator OTI Racing purchased into the gelding and he continued his racing career in Australia for Melbourne trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, for whom he won a further four races, with his career earnings surpassing $1.65 million. His victories included the Gr.3 Premier’s Cup (2400m) and Listed Gosford Gold Cup (2200m), while he also placed in the Gr.1 Champions Stakes (2000m), two editions of the Gr.3 JRA Plate (2000m), and Listed Mornington Cup (2400m). “It was five years ago that we sent him over to Aussie and he has done a great job for us. He raced with some distinction against some quality horses,” Shaun Clotworthy said. “It is just nice to have a quality horse like him back in the stable.” Hezashocka made his first public appearance since arriving back in New Zealand in an 1100m trial at Te Aroha on Wednesday, and Clotworthy was happy enough with the hit-out over a distance well short of his best. “He is a horse that wants to get over 2000m-plus,” Clotworthy said. “They went pretty quick. We weren’t quite sure how much residual fitness he was going to retain from his Australian campaign. He hasn’t done too much work here so we will just build his work up and see where he gets to. “He is a sound horse and looks like he is ready to work. We can’t fault him, so we will press on a little bit further and see whether he has a desire to be a racehorse. If he does, and he brings any of his best Australian form, he will be competitive in New Zealand.” The stable is having a quiet week, with no runners this weekend, but Clotworthy is looking forward to heading to Ellerslie the following weekend to line-up last-start winner Espadas in a rating 75 1400m. The five-year-old son of Ace High has been a test of patience for his handlers, but it looks to be paying off, with Espadas putting in a convincing performance to win by 1-1/2 lengths over 1200m last month, bringing his record to two wins and a placing from six starts. “He has been a frustrating horse, he is quite a difficult horse to train,” Clotworthy said. “We do a lot of his work at the beach in a straight line because he has had a few maturity problems. “It was a nice win the other day. He has shown us a lot of potential, but it has been hard to get it out of him sometimes. He is back on track now and hopefully we can keep going. “He likes Ellerslie, so we will try and stretch him out to 1400m on the 21st (of February).” View the full article

Many stories are being shared this week centred on one of the true characters of racing, Stuart Dromgool, who passed away at age 90 at his Cambridge home last Sunday. As a young adult Dromgool mixed farming with horsemanship, riding successfully as an amateur and joining the training ranks in the 1960s under one of the best of the time, Cambridge trainer Wallace Townsend. “They were different times back then, and the way he operated was something you don’t see now,” said Dromgool’s son Mike. “He was an old pioneer and I suppose one of a kind.” Before embarking on his racing journey, Dromgool was a talented sportsman. As an axeman he won numerous titles up to national level and was also a successful athlete, especially over extreme distances. “He was a sub three-hour marathon runner, which got him selected for the Commonwealth Games trials, but then he was disqualified when the selectors found out he had been competing for money,” Mike said. “As he recalled later when talking about those days, why wouldn’t you take the money when you could earn two quid for running a road race? “Wood-chopping was his first love back then though, he loved that sport and was very good at it.” Becoming licensed in the racing industry led to numerous successes from his Cambridge stables, Waitful Lodge, named after the horse he rode to victory in jumps and flat races on the amateur and picnic circuit. As a trainer, Dromgool enjoyed his biggest successes in the 1970s, with stars from that era the Auckland and New Zealand Cup winner Royal Cadenza, noted mudlark Cattle King, whose wins included the Cornwall Handicap and Mitchelson Cup at Ellerslie and the Parliamentary Handicap at the Trentham winter meeting, and Reklaw, whose most notable of 19 wins was the Mitchelson Cup. “He was a great conditioner of a horse,” his son said. “Royal Cadenza won the Auckland Cup leading for most of the race for Bob Skelton, Cattle King just loved heavy ground and Reklaw began racing as a two-year-old and was still racing as a 13-year-old – you just don’t see that these days.” One member of Dromgool’s wide circle of friends was commentator George Simon, a neighbour for five years and one of many with memories of Dromgool’s laconic, dry wit. “The hard-case yarns we had over the fence, so many and all with the same Stuey touch where you had to follow that monotone and stay sharp for the hidden joke,” Simon said. “He was such a clever storyteller. “I remember one morning down at the track talking to him about this horse he was leading. ‘Yeah, I really like him, I reckon he’ll go a long way. We’ll start at Wairoa and then go to Gisborne, and after that we might even head up to Dargaville.’ “He was such a dry bugger, and a great guy with it.” Dromgool’s long training career ended just over a decade ago, but he remained with Daphne, his wife of nearly 70 years, in Cambridge to the day he died. “He had a stroke maybe six years ago and he was told he had three months to live,” his son Mike recalled. “He had smoked roll-your-owns all his life, so he went cold turkey and gave them up. “He was such a determined sort of bloke, he did things his way at the same time as being devoted to our mother and all the rest of us. He was a wonderful family man. “He turned 90 last year, he had a good life with no complaints and when his time came, he went out on his own terms. “One of his last instructions to me was to say a few words at his farewell but keep it short and sweet to save wasting any of the boys’ drinking time.” Stu Dromgool’s ‘final race’ will take place at 12 noon this Friday at Cambridge Raceway. View the full article

Wingatui filly Bobby Mcgee (NZ) (Ancient Spirit) will trek south to Invercargill on Saturday where she will bid to double her stakes tally in the Listed ILT Ascot Park Hotel Southland Guineas (1400m). She chalked up White Robe Lodge stallion Ancient Spirit’s first stakes win as a sire when taking out the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m) at her home track on Boxing Day and she will head into the Southland Guineas in a fresh state. “She had a week on the walker and has progressed well,” trainer Terry Kennedy said. “She is a nice filly and will get better the further she goes, she has done everything right since she has raced.” Bobby Mcgee has drawn the ace barrier on Saturday and Kennedy said she should get an ideal trip from that alley. “She seems well, has a good barrier draw, so I think she should go well,” he said. “She will get in behind them. At Invercargill you have got to be on speed, so a good draw does help.” Bobby Mcgee is rated a $6 third favourite with TAB bookmakers behind Canterbury raiders Miss Starlight ($3.10) and Luna Capella ($5.50). Following Saturday, the Listed Property Brokers – Ray Kean Dunedin Guineas (1600m) at Wingatui in a fortnight looms as her next target, with further black-type assignments in the offing if she continues on her current trajectory. “There is plenty for her as long as she keeps going ahead,” he said. Kennedy will head to Ascot Park with four other runners this weekend, including last-start winner Ray’s Awake, who will step up to rating 65 grade in the Shares Available Robert Dennis Racing Handicap (2200m). “He won well last start and from a maiden to a 65 is not a really big jump over 2200m,” Kennedy said. “He has done well since he last raced and he will be competitive.” Stablemate Tandia ran third first-up at Invercargill last month following a 12-month absence from the track, and Kennedy his confident she can break through for her maiden win in the Heineken Maiden (1600m). “Tandia was super last start and is probably my better runner of the day,” Kennedy said. The Otago horseman will also line-up Kingfisher in the More FM Racing To I Do Handicap (1400m) and Manfred in the McCallums Group Maiden (1200m). “Manfred went a good race last-start, he was in front with 100m to go and then weakened in the last little bit,” Kennedy said. “He has done well since he has raced so I expect him to go a good race from the good barrier draw. “Kingfisher went alright out here (Wingatui last week), his sectionals were good, I am just hoping the 1400m is going to help him.” View the full article

Stephen Marsh can’t take a trick with Ardalio (NZ) (Ardrossan) and the frustration has continued with the talented mare drawing poorly again at Matamata on Saturday. His daughter of Ardrossan finished midfield in the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) and Gr.1 Railway (1200m) from wide barriers and will jump from 12 in a 13-horse field in the Listed Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes (1400m). “She ran well in both races, and you just wonder how a horse can draw so many bad gates,” Marsh said. “If she had drawn a good gate on a Dead 4 on Saturday then I would be really confident. “She is very smart but it also concerns me what the weather will do, she’s a real Good track horse.” Marsh is keen to start Ardalio regardless, as the timing is ideal ahead of the lucrative Champions Day meeting at Ellerslie on March 7. “We’ll either run her in the mares’ 1400m (Gr.2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Classic) or the 1200m (Gr.3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate) there,” he said. Three of Ardalio’s victories have been at Group Three level, including the Almanzor Trophy (1200m) at Ellerslie before she finished a close sixth behind Legarto in last season’s Lisa Chittick from the outside barrier. She ran bravely again for seventh after being caught three deep without cover from another wide alley in last year’s The NZB Kiwi (1500m). Marsh will also have black-type hopes on Saturday with juvenile King Of The Air in the Gr.3 Fairview Matamata Slipper (1200m) and Doddle in the Listed Matamata Veterinary Services Kaimai Stakes (2000m). King Of The Air hasn’t raced since his debut victory on a heavily rain-affected track at New Plymouth last month. “He won it well, he was very professional and jumped to put himself up on the pace,” Marsh said. “I don’t think he loves a wet track, but he certainly gets through it so any rain around isn’t going to worry him like it might affect a few of the others. “He’s done nothing wrong since then and is a nice horse and it’s big help to run on the speed.” Doddle accompanied him south but was all at sea in the ground when unplaced in the Gr.3 Taranaki Cup (1800m). Prior to that, she had finished runner-up at Tauranga on a dry deck where she gave the winner and stablemate Kiwi Skyhawk a kilo and a-half. “It was far too heavy for her at New Plymouth, and she was very good late before that,” Marsh said. “She’s a mare that deserves to get some black-type and I’m sure she will, she just hasn’t had the rub of the green when we’ve had a crack.” Of his other Matamata runners, Marsh liked the chances of Super Legacy in the Price Racing (1400m) following his breakthrough victory at Te Rapa. “He won very well last start, and he’s gone the right way since then,” he said. View the full article

Jen Campin Bloodstock confirms the passing of Group One winner Wyndspelle. The son of Iffraaj was best known for his victory in the Gr.1 Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) and multiple elite G1 level performances that established him as one of New Zealand’s toughest and most genuine milers of his generation. Following his racing career, Wyndspelle commenced stud duties, where he was building momentum as a sire. View the full article

Online

Where?

Ok. I thought that was published.

Colgan & Weatherley

NOOOOOOO, not VINNY?? Oh blessed is the moderator for keeping up an exemplary moderation for moi Hes too old to be doing youguns stuff ain't he? Mind you the recent case, in that den of iniquity WESTMARE ( didn't keys in an ash tray end in the 70's?) where somebody walked (allegedly) into a broken champers glass and not only spilt their Dom but split their jugular, anyway long story short, these days the bleddin' glitter bleddin' arty get offered a line of the best Mexican instead of a toad in the hole as a starter! No wonder societal norms are busting at the seams!

Whatever @Thomass

First up many thanks for being put on moderation Yes it works very well in old blighty Max 6 allowed and 4 over is a DQ Let's face it, it should be 3 If you can't count to 6, then cheat like J Mac did in doing 4 over He and the horse should be gonnnne It would soon stop don't you think?

To cut the speculation and stop old men acting like old women gossips knitting on the fence. Colgan and Weatherly were stood down for allegedly returning drug positives. Oooohhhhh!!!! Shock horror.

more than likely! on the net!!! some will start to act like those Apes in 2001, they will start beating their chest!!!! some will get so excited they will start frothing at the mouth.. And like old Pavlov's Dog, they will start salivating!!

Tell us more. Otherwise you are just gossiping and causing unnecessary speculation. Name names.