League

Trainer Joe Pride will likely keep stable star Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock) to a mile as he looks to round off his spring campaign with a first trip away. The five-year-old son of Tavistock ran out a ready winner of the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1609m), defending his crown, despite having gone winless in the ensuing 12 months. “It has been good to us that day. Over the last three years we have won two King Charles and an Everest (Think About It), but our luck will run out eventually on that day. It’s been a good run,” Pride said. “It’s 12 months ago now that he won that race and, in the period in between, for two preparations, he’s put in some runs that have had me scratching my head and thinking was there a chance that that was just him at his absolute best. “To see him do it again last Saturday gives me great confidence that going forward, we’re still working with the same horse, and a horse that is going to win most races that he competes in when he performs to that level.” Pride will now set his sights on the Gr.1 Champions Mile (1600m) on the final day of the Flemington carnival. “It is unusual for one of mine to have had this many starts (24) and not had a trip away, but I’d love to bring him down to Flemington,” Pride said. “I’d say we’ll stick to the mile. He’s won three Group Ones at a mile now, and although I do need to see him at 2000m again at some stage, I don’t think it needs to be straight away. I’d say we’ll be down to Melbourne for the Champions Mile.” Pride would dearly love to set the gelding for the 2026 Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) but given there is only seven days between the King Charles and the Cox Plate, it is a case of one or the other. “To have a crack at the Cox plate, I’m going to have to forgo the chance to run for a third King Charles,” he said.  “I’m going to have to be convinced in the autumn that he runs a strong 2000m to set him for the Cox Plate, because I’m not going to sacrifice that chance to win that race again for an outside chance of winning a Cox Plate.” “It will probably be in the Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) in the autumn, but, if he shows me that he’s really strong at 2000m, I’ll give it a go.” Ceolwulf was bred by Cambridge Stud owners Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay and is a son of the Shamardal mare Las Brisas. The gelding is a graduate of the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, where Pride and part-owner Leighton Howl went to $170,000 to secure him from Riversley Park’s draft. Ceolwulf has now had 24 starts for six wins, seven placings and A$9.13 million in stakes, plus a one-off $750.000 Emerald bonus for winning both the Gr.1 Epsom Handicap and King Charles last spring. View the full article

Ten years on from the first of their four Cox Plates together, the band of Chris Waller and Hugh Bowman is getting back together. Bowman will jet in from Hong Kong to ride ATC Derby winner Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio) in Saturday’s weight-for-age championship, which will be the first time that he’s ridden the four-year-old mare. “Obviously, I have a wonderful history in the race with Chris Waller of course,” Bowman said from Hong Kong. “Aeliana herself has been ultra impressive, I think, certainly at the back end of her three-year-old career and I think there’s been a lot of merit in all her runs this time in. “Obviously, Damian Lane being committed to Treasurethe Moment has had Chris Waller in the position where he’s needed a jockey, I’m really grateful and proud that he gave me the opportunity to come back and ride her. “There’s a great feeling about it and let’s hope that Aeliana puts her best foot forward. If she does, I certainly think she can be competitive.” Bowman’s previous experience with Waller has also given him extra confidence heading into Saturday’s $6 million contest. Aeliana is one of three Cox Plate runners from the Kiwi expat’s stable, with his attack on the race headlined by defending champion Via Sistina. “Although I’ve had nothing to do physically with Aeliana, it’s quite obvious to me looking back on her races that she appears to be going every bit as good as Via Sistina,” Bowman said. “She obviously lacks the maturity and the strength of her, her opposition but she’s a horse on the rise and having worked so closely with Chris and his stable for so many years, I do know one thing; he wouldn’t be taking her to the races unless she was a genuine, competitive, winning chance and in a physical and mental state to run to a premium, so that in itself gives me a great deal of confidence.” Saturday’s meeting at The Valley will be the last at the track in its current configuration, a venue where Bowman has ridden 14 winners, including his four Cox Plates on Winx. “It’s interesting; of all of the metropolitan tracks in Sydney and Melbourne, it’s probably my least acquainted because I probably go there once, maybe twice, maximum three times a year, so I haven’t ridden there much to be honest!” Bowman said. “It’s been a beautiful hunting ground, I do really love it, it’s got a great feel about it for obvious reasons. When I go to Moonee Valley, or walk onto the track, it brings back an abundance of emotions that are really good and positive. Let’s hope we can add to them this weekend.” Sportsbet has Aeliana at $8.50 in its Cox Plate market. View the full article

3k at $3 was the stated big bet

Northern Farm hosted its mixed sale at the Northern Horse Park on Tuesday which featured a 100 per cent clearance rate for the 66 weanlings offered. These were led by the Kitasan Black colt out of the Listed winner and G1 British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes runner-up Delphinia (Galileo), who was bought by Louisville Racing for ¥460m (approximately €2.6m). The same buyer had also signed up the first foal through the ring, a colt by Epiphaneia from the champion Argentinean two-year-old filly Carta Embrujada (Storm Embrujada) for ¥220m (€1.25m). The demand for youngsters by Kitasan Black remains strong, and the Shadai stallion's four weanlings sold throughout the session returned an average of ¥205m (€1.16m). Iridessa (Ruler Of The World), the G1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner of 2019, was represented in the catalogue by her colt foal by world champion Equinox, who was sold for ¥92m (€522,928) to Tsuyoshi Suzuki. Equinox is also the sire of a grey colt out of the G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner Incarville (Wootton Bassett), who brought the hammer down at ¥170m (€966,450) in favour of Masahide Abe. The turnover for foals amounted to ¥43bn (approximately €25m) at an average price of ¥65.79m (€373,884), a decrease of 3.8 per cent, and median of ¥49m (€278,418), which was up by 16.7 per cent. Of the 43 fillies and mares offered, eight failed to reach their reserve and the session was topped by the 10-year-old Danon Grace, a daughter of Deep Impact and the G1 Oaks d'Italia winner Cherry Collect (Oratorio) who was Grade 3-placed and a four-time winner. She was sold in foal to the young Frankel stallion Grenadier Guards for ¥40m (€263,560). The average for the broodmare session fell slightly by one per cent to ¥11.5m (€65,343) and the median was up by 22.5 per cent at ¥9.5m (€53,979).   The post Northern Farm Mixed Sale Sees 66 Foals Sold for Equivalent of €25m appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

happy to go with that. Fabulous with a horse is Luke McCarthy. Kingman did it well the other night. and for the NZ Cup trifecta > Akuta is a great horse and Mark has prepared a lot of Cup winners. and Republican Party for the trifecta. Carter really got him pinging , and he went great over 2 miles in it last year and Auckland Cup too.   Left 'Leap To Fame' out of my Vic Cup trifecta altogether as well lol 😆 think he's won enough for one lifetime 😎 . I had HiMynameisJeff - Kingman for Quinella  with Catch A Wave for 3rd from the pole draw. thought was gunna get it in the run too , but Catch A Wave had pulled a bit,  so stopped late after trailing leader the weak Wally 😅.