BOAY Racing News

Wildfires propelled by unusually strong Santa Ana winds swept across Los Angeles Tuesday and into the night, breaking out near several densely populated neighborhoods including Altadena, Pasadena and portions of the San Gabriel Mountains that serve as a backdrop to Santa Anita Park. According to Cal Fire, that particular fire–coined the Eaton Fire–had spread to more then 2,200 acres by 7:20 a.m. PT on Wednesday. On Wednesday morning, the track itself was immediately unaffected by the fires. But severe smoke in the area meant that training was curtailed Wednesday morning. The winds have also caused some damage to the backstretch property. Santa Ana wind damage to barn area | Leonard Powell Track management told the horsemen and women Wednesday that it, if anyone chose to, it would pay for the cost of evacuating horses from the backstretch, and that it was offering food and beverages to those impacted in the racing community. Santa Anita's backstretch community comprises many who live in or near the neighborhoods threatened by the fires, including those where mandatory evacuation notices have been issued. “The air is extremely smokey and we've got ashes coming down,” said trainer Leonard Powell, from Santa Anita on Wednesday morning. “The wind has done some damage. It took the roof off my barn.” Powell lives in Sierra Madre, one of the neighborhoods threatened by the fire and which underwent mandatory evacuations. Powell said that while his family evacuated, he stayed behind Tuesday night. Trainer Jay Nehf was also evacuated from his home in Sierra Madre late Tuesday night. “The horses are out of risk. There's no talk of evacuating them, but it's dramatic,” Nehf added. “We got [to the barn] last night about 11 p.m. last night. We're on the side of the mountain, so you really couldn't see anything but once we got down here, we looked back and it was like `wow.'” “We're okay. We spent the night in a tack room and we have no news. Our house is right in the middle of where the fire was. As far as the track goes, the horses are safe. The winds have died way down right now, and there haven't been any gusts since 4-5 this morning, but it kind of feels like it might be picking up now,” said Nehf. Trainer Bob Baffert lives in the fire impacted community of La Canada. In a text to the TDN Wednesday morning, Baffert wrote: “Track and horses fine. We evacuated from my house but hopefully winds don't change direction or else we are in trouble.” The story will be updated… The post Los Angeles Wildfires: Santa Anita Safe, Nearby Communities Devastated appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Unless there is a rational explanation forthcoming, it just shows how disconnected NZTR are from reality. 

by Kristen Manning/Dane McLeod/Thomas Baddock/TTR AusNZ On the second day of the 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, five exceptional yearlings surpassed the million-dollar mark, as eager buyers vied for their next star runner, fiercely competing to secure the finest offerings in the market.   Lot 353 – I Am Invincible (Aus) x Eloping (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}), filly – A$2,300,000 Ian Moses (Laguna Partnership) and John Sargent stepped into lot 353 in a big way, outmuscling Chris Waller and Guy Mulcaster to acquire the full-sister to Godolphin's dual Group 1 mare In Secret (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) for A$2.3 million, the highest price of the sale thus far. There was an air of expectation about the daughter of Eloping (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}), especially considering her 2-year-old sister named Kerber (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) made A$1.15 million at the sale last year and trialled up impressively in a recent Warwick Farm barrier trial. However, Peter O'Brien, the Manager of Segenhoe Stud, never expected the filly to reach her final sale price of A$2.3 million in his wildest dreams. “I thought she'd make between A$700,000 and A$1 million, in and around there, so it was an incredible surprise,” O'Brien said. “The mare's thrown a champion by 'Vinnie', she's a full-sister to In Secret, the 2-year-old with Ciaron Maher, who is a full-sister again, thinks she's his best 2-year-old called Kerber, who trialled brilliantly last week. She's heading for the Slipper. “I think everybody saw her trial last week, so we know the mare is not a one-hit wonder. “She was unique in some way as she had the looks, the pedigree and I think her sister trialling last week was a big help.” Eloping was again covered by Yarraman's champion sire I Am Invincible while In Secret was retired last year by Godolphin and is now in foal to Widden's champion sire Zoustar (Aus).   Lot 387 – Snitzel (Aus) x Fashion Faux Pas (Flatter), colt – A$1,700,000 Following the recent flood of success by Coolmore with sons of Snitzel (Aus) it was no surprise to see Tom Magnier blow his rivals out of the water to secure lot 387 for A$1.7 million. Coolmore has had an incredible run of success from the sire line with Shinzo (Aus) winning the 2023 G1 Golden Slipper and Switzerland (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) triumphing in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes this season. On Wednesday, Magnier took the chance to secure another outstanding colt by the sire. Purchased from the draft of Newgate Farm, this colt is the second foal of imported US stakes winner Fashion Faux Pas  (Flatter). Speaking after the purchase, Magnier gave the bay colt the ultimate compliment, likening him to Switzerland– highlighting that both are out of US-bred mares and will be both trained by Chris Waller. “We're very happy to get that horse, Snitzels work very well for us with an American mare and Switzerland was a very nice horse,” Magnier said. “All the team liked him and we're very lucky that the people who have raced the colts with us in the past–Home Affairs (Aus), Shinzo and those kind of horses–they are all going well. “Chris thought that he could be a horse along the lines of Switzerland. Very athletic, plenty of scope.” Fashion Faux Pas was bought for $310,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale by James Harron Bloodstock and Byron Rogers. Her first foal, a 2-year-old filly by King's Legacy (Aus), was sold for A$110,000 to Peachester Lodge at last year's Magic Millions. She foaled a filly by Extreme Choice (Aus) this season and visited Snitzel once again in October. Lot 387, Wednesday's top-priced colt | Magic Millions     At A Glance Five horses sold for seven figures on Day 2, bringing the sale total so far to nine. Laguna Partnership and trainer John Sargent splashed out A$2.3 million for the day's top lot, lot 353, a full-sister to dual Group 1 winner In Secret (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}).   The average stayed essentially static from Day 1's A$278,549 shifting to A$277,145 on Day 2, slightly below the A$290,951 average at the same point last year. The median remained at A$200,000, the same as Day 1, and down on the A$220,000 at this stage in 2024.   With 352 lots sold over the first two days, the gross sits at A$97,555,000, down from 2024's record gross of A$101,833,000 for the same stage.   With the clearance rate at the end of Day 1 being 74.65%, by the close of Day 2 it had risen to 81.29%.   The battle for top vendor is tight with Newgate Farm leapfrogging Segenhoe Stud to the top of the vendor table. Newgate Farm has now sold 24 yearlings for A$9.375 million. Segenhoe Stud sits second by gross and average, with Milburn Creek leading the vendors by average.   I Am Invincible leads the way at the close of play on Day 2, having sold 16 lots for a gross of A$11.8 million at an average of A$739,688. He has sired three of the nine seven-figure lots so far. Snitzel sits in second place with an almost identical average, A$738,462, for his 13 yearlings sold.   Coolmore's first-season sire Home Affairs recorded a landmark result on Day 2 when the filly from Champagne Cuddles (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) sold to the Waterhouse/Bott/Kestrel team for A$1.05 million. He leads the first season sires on gross, with 22 yearlings sold for A$7.37 million at an average of A$335,227. Stay Inside is close behind with an average of A$325,000 for his 15 yearlings sold.   Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing have teamed up with Kestrel Thoroughbreds to be the leading buyers by close of Day 2 with 12 lots bought for A$4.48 million, while Resolute Bloodstock has purchased 10 yearlings for A$4.2 million. Tom Magnier of Coolmore Stud sits in third for A$2.85 million.   Lot 396 – I Am Invincible (Aus) x Fiera Vista (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), colt – A$1,150,000 Segenhoe Stud celebrated their second million-dollar yearling at the 2025 Magic Millions with lot 396, an I Am Invincible half-brother to the promising yet unraced colt Wodeton (Aus) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), being sold to Coolmore's Tom Magnier for A$1.15 million. Bred by Fairway Thoroughbreds, this colt is the third foal from stakes-winning mare Fiera Vista (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), who is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Empress Rock (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and hails from the lineage of the renowned World Champion Sprinter Silent Witness (Aus) and Group 2-winning speedster Sister Madly (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}). Last year Segenhoe presented a half-brother by Wootton Bassett (GB) which also sold to Magnier for A$1.6 million. Now named, Wodeton, the Chris Waller-trained colt has garnered significant interest despite never having a start. Wodeton secured second place in a trial behind the promising West of Swindon (Aus) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) last October and repeated that performance in a recent trial at Warwick Farm. His strong showings have attracted the attention of bookmakers, positioning him favourably in the Golden Slipper market, something that clearly has Magnier excited. “We're very happy to get that horse from Segenhoe. They do a great job,” Magnier said. “They have an opinion of the brother by Wootton Bassett and this is a lovely horse. “He will be trained by Chris Waller.” Having missed in 2023 to Dundeel (NZ), Fiera Vista was subsequently sent to the Northern Hemisphere and is currently in foal to Too Darn Hot (GB) for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season. Tom Magnier | Magic Millions Lot 256 – Home Affairs (Aus) x Champagne Cuddles (Aus) (Not a Single Doubt {Aus}), filly – A$1,050,000 Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott jumped straight back into action on Day 2, following their successful acquisition of 11 yearlings on the first day of the sale, buying lot 256 from the draft of Coolmore Stud. On this occasion, they partnered with Kestrel Thoroughbreds to acquire the third foal of bonny Group 2-winning mare Champagne Cuddles (Aus) (Not a Single Doubt {Aus}), by exciting freshman sire Home Affairs (Aus), for a sum of A$1,050,000. “They say, breed the best to the best and that is certainly what they have been able to do here,” Bott said. “We saw a lot of similar characteristics in her mother, who was obviously a top-class racehorse in her own right. We work hard to try and secure these fillies and we've been fortunate enough to be able to get some support to be strong on her. “There's great results coming off the farm and we love to be able to support Coolmore in that regard. Over the last two years they have obviously made a conscious effort to go out and source some of the best bloodstock in the world and source some of the best racehorses off the track, with both their stallions and their mares. She was top-class and has produced a beautiful filly here.” Champagne Cuddles, a daughter of Group 1 winner Sky Cuddle (Aus) (Snippets {Aus}), was acquired by Tom Magnier for A$2 million at the 2020 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. Her first foal by Justify, named French Empire (Aus), has had three starts with Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald for three placings. Her second foal, a filly by Wootton Bassett (GB), was sold to John Singleton at last year's sale for A$800,000 and was also sent to Waterhouse and Bott to be trained. Recently named, Bottles Of Shells (Aus), the filly is showing plenty of early promise according to Bott. “We've got the first foal in the stable as well and she has been quite precocious given some good indications early so that is always a good push in itself,” Bott said. Gai and Adrian were also very impressed with what they had seen from Home Affairs, who led Day 1 by gross with 12 yearlings sold for A$4,165,000 at an average of A$347,083. “He's throwing some beautiful types,” Bott said. “They look strong individuals, they look forward, they look to have great constitution and obviously we want to be trying to get these horses back here next year for the race or targeting those Golden Slippers or those important 2-year-old races. “They are the types that we try and identify, and a number of his progeny look to have that sort of constitution to be able to handle that type of preparation.” Champagne Cuddles slipped in 2024 and was sent to Kentucky by Coolmore to be covered by Justify to Southern Hemisphere time.   Lot 335 – Snitzel (Aus) x Dream Date (Aus) (Starcraft {NZ}), colt – A$1,000,000 Lot 335, an impressive Snitzel colt out of Dream Date (Aus) (Starcraft {NZ}), attracted a flurry of bids, before ultimately being knocked down for A$1 million to China Horse Club, Newgate Bloodstock and Kia Ora Stud, marking Arrowfield Stud's first million-dollar offering for the week. The Arrowfield Pastoral and Planette Thoroughbred-bred bay colt is the fifth foal from Dream Date, a half-sister to successful sire Not A Single Doubt and from an extended family which includes Group 1 winners Oohood (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) and King's Legacy. The colt is also a full-brother to Redford (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), who sold for A$1,050,000 at this sale in 2022. Redford has won five out of seven races, including his latest victory in the A$250,000 Magic Millions Rising Stars last Saturday. “He was a Snitzel colt we liked very much,” Newgate Farm's Managing Director Henry Field said. “He's from a great Not A Single Doubt family, he had so much of both in them. If he can run that is priceless from a stud farm's point-of-view. “Physically he has the best of Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt. Hopefully he can do the job. We bought Invader (Aus) off Arrowfield a few years ago. Hopefully this horse can be the next.” Dream Date foaled a colt by Dundee last year and was subsequently bred to Maurice (Jpn).   Lot 248 – The Autumn Sun (Aus) x Carry On Alice (SAf) (Captain Al {SAf}), filly – A$900,000 Michael Hickmott secured his second yearling at the Gold Coast on Day 2 of the sale, forking out A$900,000 for an impeccably bred filly by The Autumn Sun (Aus) from South African Champion Sprinter Carry On Alice (SAf) (Captain Al {Saf}). Bred by Arrowfield Stud in partnership with Klawervlei Stud in South Africa, Hickmott says he was enticed by the filly's incredible female lines, coupled with the breeding to The Autumn Sun and her residual value in the breeding barn. “She's a lovely filly, we just absolutely adored her,” Hickmott said. “She's from a great family and was born on a great farm, out of a multiple Group 1-winning mare that has proven she can throw a runner to the Redoute's Choice line. “She's just a queen who is not only going to be very well looked after as a racehorse, but she has a huge future as a broodmare. “I've got a really good backer who supported me to purchase the horse, and we will probably invite a couple of other investors into her as well.” The bay filly is the fifth foal from Carry On Alice, who has produced two winners by Snitzel, including the recently stakes-placed Manos (Aus), who was purchased for A$1.1 million at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale by a syndicate which included China Horse Club, Newgate Farm, Go Bloodstock and Trilogy but unfortunately died in early December. Hickmott was a big fan of The Autumn Sun during his racing career and is confident he can continue to pass on some of that ability into his progeny. “I think anyone who is purchasing an The Autumn Sun is thinking about late 2-year-olds, early 3-year-olds,” he said. “He was a champion horse himself and I'm sure if he raced on, he probably would have gone all around the world and dominated as well.” Lot 272 – Frankel (GB) x Cleanup (Aus) (Dehere), colt – A$900,000 First Light Racing were understandably on top of the world when successfully landing one of only two colts by international superstar Frankel (GB) available at the 2025 Magic Millions, purchasing Lot 272 for A$900,000. “It's unreal, we thought he was the nicest colt here,” First Light Racing's Director Tim Wilson said. “I've been lucky enough the last two years to travel the world and see all the European Frankels as well and what I love about him is he's got that Australian physique to him. “He looks forward, he looks early, he's so strong but he's not overly heavy. He's just a lovely moving, Australian type of colt and he's by the best sire in the world.” While siring 35 Group 1 winners worldwide and striking at an incredible 18% black type winners to runners, Frankel has sired just three Group 1 winners in Australia via Converge (Aus), Hungry Heart (Aus) and Mirage Dancer (GB). However, Wilson can only see the upside. “He's [Frankel] yet to have a Group 1-winning colt in Australia, he's obviously had Converge who was a gelding and he's had his fillies, but if you can get the first Group 1-winning colt by Frankel then A$900,000 is going to look cheap,” Wilson said. Bred by Arrowleave Joint Venture and offered by Vinery Stud, lot 272 is the ninth foal from the winning Dehere mare Cleanup (Aus), who is a half-sister to G3 Tibbie Stakes winner She's Clean (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) and is already the producer of dual Group 1 winner Nettoyer (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}). “He probably throws a bit to that Dehere side of the family as well, which I think gives him that chance to hopefully get him going early and stay a colt,” Wilson said. “He's just a little bit different to the European Frankels that take time and he does look early to us.” Wilson indicated the colt would be trained by Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald. “Annabel and Rob just love him as well and we've been on the phone ringing some of our best owners the last 24 hours to whet the appetite and get us in the position to buy,” Wilson said. The post In Secret Full-Sister Tops Magics At A$2.3 Million appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Through an international exchange program, Cody Watkins, a steward of the British Horseracing Authority, will serve as The Jockey Club-appointed steward at the New York Racing Association racetracks beginning in early January 2025.View the full article