General Yarn

Grade 1 winner Troubleshooting will look for this third consecutive win to end the 2025 season in the $300,000 Commonwealth Turf Stakes (G3T) Nov. 22 at Churchill Downs. He will take on 10 sophomore rivals in the 1 1/16-mile race.View the full article

Last time I was there too. Only time I was persuaded to race a horse of mine on the coast and after walking the track a couple of times, we were back on the the float and home for tea. It was two helicopters I think and from memory, there had been no major renovation but they had spread coal dust on the track to improve it. Unperturbed, the party was still on with the crowd in good spirits when we left, racing or not.

Yeah, the Reefton turn out of the straight certainly caught a rider out in the case you mention.  Had been negotiated safely for decades.   Definitely rider error, with disastrous consequences.  Similar with Hokitika, when a few ran off at tbe turn out of the straight....always a possibility with new riders but not an issue with a bit of nous.  Unfortunately the combination of very, very heavy ground on one particular day,  along with so many riders now not up to standard, led NZTR to decide that the circuit was not needed,  not 'the look' that was required going forward.   

Be good if they'd include that graphic on the published replays.

Courage Mon Ami, the winner of the 2023 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, has been retired from racing after failing to recover sufficiently from a tibia injury. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Courage Mon Ami sported the now-familiar silks of Wathnan Racing when defeating Coltrane and Subjectivist in the Gold Cup, having been bought privately by the Emir of Qatar's burgeoning operation after his victory in a Goodwood handicap the previous month, his third win from as many starts for owner-breeder Anthony Oppenheimer. As well as becoming Wathnan's first Group 1 winner when enjoying his career high at Royal Ascot, the son of Frankel was also providing Frankie Dettori with a landmark success in his final season riding in Britain. Sadly, Courage Mon Ami himself has been an infrequent visitor to British racecourses since his Gold Cup win, having been sidelined by injury after his runner-up finish in that season's Lonsdale Cup at York. John Gosden said, “What a day Courage Mon Ami gave us all at Royal Ascot. It was a cool ride by Frankie, but Courage Mon Ami was so determined and he simply wasn't going to be beaten. “For Wathnan to land the Group 1 with just their third runner and be presented with the Gold Cup by the King – what a story! It was a dream start and surely helped ignite a real passion for racing and for Royal Ascot. “Courage Mon Ami is an enormous horse and, though he was so willing in all of his exercise, and we got close a couple of times, he just isn't going to be able to return to racing.” The six-year-old Courage Mon Ami will now move to the Emir of Qatar's Wathnan Stud just outside Doha. Gosden added, “He's a real yard favourite and it's wonderful that he's going to have a splendid retirement where the Emir can visit him. He richly deserves it.” The post Wathnan Racing’s Gold Cup Winner Courage Mon Ami Retired appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article