The Rest

Rodrigo Goncalves has been associated with some high-class horses from his time working with Joseph O'Brien and Robson Aguiar. The Brazilian-born Irishman was also involved in the initial ownership group that sourced Group 1 winner Power Blue as well. Goncalves has embarked on an exciting new chapter and, after sourcing a number of yearlings at the sales this year, plans on offering “nine or 10” horses at the breeze-up sales next year. The youngster expands on that and a lot more in this edition of the Hot Seat Q&A.  What was your defining memory/highlight of 2025?   I think helping source and being a part-owner of Power Blue was the highlight. Watching him progress and turn into a Group 1 winner for his new connections was a serious thrill.  You signed for a number of yearlings to go breezing under your own name this year. Tell us a little bit about that project and how exciting it is?  I managed to buy and partner up with a couple of friends to invest in yearlings to go breezing next year. I have around nine or 10 to breeze and I'm enjoying the process. I'm very excited to see how they progress and develop in the next couple of months – hopefully they can be very lucky. You seemed to target higher-end horses at the yearling sales…. I go to the sales with the intention to try and find good horses at value prices but, with the market being so strong lately and the game being so competitive, sometimes you have to stretch a bit more than you expect for the horses you want. That's what we had to do this year. Tell us something people don't know about Rodrigo Goncalves…. I was born in Brazil and came over to Ireland when I was nine years old and, at the time, I was fully sure I would become a soccer player and had no love for horses whatsoever. How wrong was I!? What motivates you? Finding and producing good horses. Give us an underrated sire to keep the right side of next year…. I believe Space Blues could surprise a lot of people next year. He has already done it with Power Blue and I think there is a lot more to come from the stallion. He possibly deserves a bit more credit for what he has achieved. Biggest regret? I don't really have any regrets. I think everything happens for a reason and that it's very important to try to learn from your mistakes and keep trying no matter how hard it gets. You've built up a pretty impressive CV working with Joseph O'Brien and Robson Aguiar. What has been the best horse you have sat on or been associated with?  I've been very lucky to have worked for some fantastic people in the industry over the last few years. I spent around seven years in Joseph's in between school and college and later working for him full-time. Being able to see first-hand how his operation has grown into one of the biggest yards in the country is amazing and I managed to work with a lot of good horses in my time there. I think Iridessa was a very talented filly and, also, State of Rest was a fantastic globetrotting horse from that time. Robson has always been so talented with his judgement of two-year-olds. I've never seen anyone as talented and, in my time there, I believe Arizona Blaze was probably the toughest horse I've seen. He always showed up and ran his heart out. Your favourite sale and why? Probably the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale at Doncaster and Book 3 of the October Yearling Sale at Newmarket. Those sales have been very lucky for me and I'd like to think good horses come out of those sales for a bit of value. What's your go-to karaoke song? I'm definitely not a great singer but with a drink in my hand I could try to sing a bit of Zach Bryan or Morgan Wallen. Who is your inspiration? Robson has been my mentor and idol so he is the person who I always admired and tried to be like. He has taught me so much and has given me so many opportunities since I was a kid starting off and I'm very grateful for that. Watching him come from nothing and turn into one of the most respected and successful people in our industry through his talent and hard work is very inspiring to me. Your guilty pleasure? Jellies! I can't stay away from them for too long. I'm a bit like Stevie Byrne in that I have a massive sweet tooth! Give us one horse to look out for in 2026… Diamond Necklace looks to be a very special filly with huge potential. The post In The Hot Seat: Rodrigo Goncalves appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Few will forget the moment that Sea The Stars entered the history books as one of the true greats when adding the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe to his list of Group 1 successes through a faultless three-year-old season. It is therefore appropriate that his son Daryz should prevail in that same race, sealing the French sires' championship for his sire, whose 20th birthday is looming.  In netting just over €3m, the Aga Khan Studs homebred Daryz was the highest earner for Sea The Stars in 2025 but he was not his sole Group 1 winner in France. Sosie had set the ball rolling as early as April by winning the Prix Ganay, followed the next month by his victory in the Prix d'Isapahan. The Wertheimers' pride and joy was also third in the Arc before capping a tremendous season in the Hong Kong Vase. For the same owner-breeder, Aventure gained her deserved Group 1 win in the Prix Vermeille, as well as winning the G2 Prix Corrida and G3 Prix Allez France. That both Daryz and Sosie will remain in training in 2026 give Sea The Stars another strong hand in the older-horse division. Multiple group winner Map Of Stars can also be counted among that number.  Such is the value of the Arc pot that it so often decides the championship in France, but Wootton Bassett was a strong contender for so much of the season, providing the winners of both colts' Classics in Henri Matisse and Camille Pissarro, both of whom have now entered stud at Coolmore. Maranoa Charlie went out on a high in the G1 Prix de la Foret before joining Tally-Ho Stud, and Wootton Bassett ultimately finished a little over €1.2m in progeny earnings behind Sea The Stars to be second in the table.  Arc runner-up Minnie Hauk helped to put her sire Frankel in third place in France in a year in which his son Diego Velazquez provided an emotional victory in the Prix Jacques Le Marois. Candelari, winner of the upgraded Prix Vicomtesse Vigier, was another Group 1 winner for Frankel in France during a memorable year for new champion trainer Francis Graffard and the Aga Khan Studs. Lope De Vega may be one of Ireland's best stallions but he spent all his racing days in France and has enjoyed notable success in that country with his runners, having enjoyed top-four finishes in three of the last five years. He is in fourth place for 2025, with his regally-bred son Cualificar (who is out of the Oaks winner Qualify) his leading earner, having won the G2 Prix Niel and two Group 3s as well as finishing runner-up to Camille Pissarro in the Prix du Jockey Club. He's another exciting four-year-old to follow in 2026. Also adding to Lope De Vega's Group 1 ledger in France was the Prix de Royallieu victrix Consent. It is almost four years since the death of Le Havre, but his presence was still very much felt in his former home country during 2025 with Group 1 victories for three-year-old Leffard, a member of his final crop, in the Grand Prix de Paris, and for Quisisana in the Prix Jean Romanet. Le Havre duly finished in fifth, narrowly ahead of the dual French champion sire Siyouni, who provided the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Zarigana. Haras de Colleville's Goken and the Aga Khan Studs' Zarak were also top-ten finishers in France along with Almanzor, who is now a permanent resident at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand and sired the Prix de Diane and Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Gezora. Completing that top ten with some pleasing symmetry is Sea The Stars's son Zelzal, a resident of Haras de Bouquetot. Soldier Hollow Takes Fourth German Title A year after his death and six since he won his third sires' championship, Soldier Hollow's name appeared for the fourth time as the head of the table in Germany in 2025. Appropriately, his leading earner of the year, Santagada, races in the colours once carried by his sire, representing owner Helmut von Finck of Gestut Park Wiedingen. The three-year-old Santagada took four Group 3 contests at four different tracks in 2025, and was beaten less than two lengths when sixth in the G1 Preis der Diana behind Nicoreni.  At sales around the world, Soldier Hollow's Group 1-winning daughter Tamfana was sold for 2.6m gns to Coolmore, while Paraiba was bought for €810,000 by Wertheimer et Frere. Gestut Etzean's Amaron was second in the German table and was the leading performer among all active sires in Germany for the third year running. The late Adlerflug was third, thanks largely to the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden win of Goliath. Polish Vulcano has scant representation on the track but his five winners from only nine runners in 2025 included the G1 Deutsches Derby winner Hochkonig. The Gestut Idee resident thus finished in fourth place, ahead of Best Solution.   Ballylinch Stud's Make Believe | Racingfotos Make Believe Champion Again in Italy For the second year running, Make Believe is the champion sire in Italy after his daughter Klaynn delivered on her juvenile promise to win the G3 Premio Regina Elena (Italian 1,000 Guineas) and the G2 Oaks d'Italia by six and seven lengths respectively. Bought by Teruya Yoshida prior to her Oaks success, she was also fourth in the G2 Derby Italiano, finishing a length and a half behind the winner Molveno (Almanzor). Elsewhere, Make Believe's season included victory for Sajir in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and for Royal Supremacy in Randwick's G1 Metropolitan Handicap. The first five stallions in the Italian table were all based in Ireland, though runner-up Cotai Glory has recently been sold to stand for the Turkish Jockey Club in Turkey.  Dark Angel is the sire of the Ed Dunlop-trained G2 Premio Dormello winner Just Call Me Angel, an interesting Cayton Park Stud homebred to follow in 2026, while Ten Sovereigns supplied the dual Classic-placed filly Mystery Of Love, and Kodiac was represented by the G3 Premio Parioli (Italian 2,000 Guineas) winner and Derby Italiano third Lao Tzu.   The post Sea The Stars Tops the French Sire Rankings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

BloodHorse has reprised its online year-end survey to ask some of the sport's leading individuals for their opinions on pertinent issues facing the sport.View the full article

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Mikey, have you ever heard of the NZ TAB actually restricting punters that are losing ? Personally have never heard of this and highly doubt it would happen, they love the losing punters! In fact they totally encourage it by giving them free bets to keep them going.