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    • Woodbine Entertainment announced a partnership with 1/ST Racing that will see the Dance Smartly Stakes (G2T) become a qualifying race for the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational Stakes (G2T). View the full article
    • Oaklawn Park recently announced a key leadership transition within its racing and wagering operations.View the full article
    • Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features a full-brother to a modern-day great. 2.20 Ascot, Mdn, 2yo, 7fT RAAHEEB (IRE) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is the day's big news, as the ninth foal out of Shadwell's elite broodmare Aghareed (Kingmambo) responsible so far for one of the best to grace the silks in Baaeed and also the King George hero Hukum. Both were by this colt's sire, with the latter's trainer Owen Burrows entrusted with the care of the latest highly promising homebred. In against him are Al Shaqab and Amo Racing's 500,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase Behike (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), a George Scott-trained relative of Dutch Art, and TBT Racing's Norman Invasion (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), an Ed Walker-trained €480,000 Arqana May Breeze-Up graduate whose family features Legatissimo, and Fame And Glory. 5.47 Kempton, Novice, 2yo, 7f (AWT) JOULANY (IRE) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is another by the sire to take the eye, being an 800,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase who is a full-brother to the evergreen multiple Group winner and Group 1-placed Al Aasy. Al Shaqab Racing, Amo Racing and Valmont share the Ralph Beckett-trained colt, whose peers include Shadwell's similarly-unraced Yazin (GB) (New Bay {GB}), a John and Thady Gosden-trained relative of the Group 1 winner Tawkeel. The post Baaeed’s Brother Raaheeb Debuts at Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • By Michael Guerin Akuta is on a hiding to nothing in homecoming at Addington tonight. But trainer-driver Mark Purdon says he won’t be the one piling the pressure on his exceptional pacer. The former Auckland Cup winner has returned to Canterbury, where he was born and trained for most of his career, to start his run at the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup on November 11. That next step is in the $40,000 Avon City Ford New Brighton Cup tonight and after returning to winning form last start and then drawing barrier 1 for tonight’s 2600m standing start, Akuta opened odds-on with the TAB bookies. That is understandable. He is, after all, a millionaire pacer and if he returns to the absolute best form he showed before a career-threatening injury last year you could make a case Akuta would be the most talented horse in the country. Purdon doesn’t disagree. He just isn’t sure THAT Akuta will be at Addington tonight. “He has done really well since he came back and we are thrilled how sound he has been,” he says. “But he is still working his way back to his peak fitness and he isn’t there yet. “He can win but I’m a touch worried if they go really hard over 2600m he could be found just a bit short of fitness.” Another slight concern for punters who see Akuta, Purdon and barrier 1 and think “good thing”  is it would be a shock to see the muscular pacer try to lead throughout as it is a quick front line and it has been a long time since he as put under any pressure in a standing start race. Purdon admits he wouldn’t be stunned, or worried, if Akuta ends up three back on the markers. In some ways that could be the best thing at this stage of his comeback and with an economical trip he could still blast past rivals who simply aren’t as good as him. But those taking the $2 fixed odds quote won’t feel all that comfortable if he has four or five rivals ahead of him starting the last 800m. Summary: If he leads or trails on an average speed Akuta probably wins. If he gets further back and either Alta Meteor or We Walk By Faith get an easier run then they could outsprint him. Purdon and training partner/son Nathan have taken six horses south for the spring with more to possibly join the team later in the region they trained in for more than half Mark’s career. Purdon remarkably hasn’t driven a winner at Addington since Oscar Bonavena won the NZ Trotting Free-For-All in December 2023 and he will be back behind Oscar in tonight’s ITM Ordeal Trotting Cup. He and arch rival Muscle Mountain both start off a 10m handicap and while they are probably past their best the only real threat to emerge to them, Bet N Win, isn’t starting  tonight so one of the old boys should win. “Oscar trialed well last week, I let him have his head as he needed a blowout and he has worked well this week,” says Purdon. “I was impressed with how Muscle Mountain won last start though so he will be hard to beat. It might come down to luck in the running.” Confessional could be the blowout chance of the front markers. The stable also have Rubira fresh up after winning the Queensland Derby in July in a sharp three-year-old race tonight and while he has barrier 9 over the 1980m Purdon says he can still win. “He is getting better all the time and has turned into a really good three-year-old.” He is up against the very in-form pair of Bar Louie and Always Dreaming as well as the returning Got The Chocolates. Earlier in the star-studded 13-race programme Treacherous Baby (R6, No.6) takes on the boys in a strong Rating 60-70 with Purdon warning she has missed some work since her last win so could be vulnerable. View the full article
    • By Michael Guerin On paper the small but select main pace at Alexandra Park tonight looks one of the great ratings certainties ever. But things often aren’t that simple where Sooner The Bettor is involved. The five-year-old finds himself as a Miracle Mile runner-up, to Leap To Fame of all horses, and starting from the ace in a mid-grade mobile 1700m, the Breckon Farms Mobile Pace (5.50pm) tonight . Add to that he has gate speed, the two next most favoured pacers in the race are his stablemates Better Knuckle Up and Jeremiah and the likelihood the five runners should quickly fall into single file, and this looks the perfect comeback race for Sooner The Bettor. And so it may prove to be. After all he was heavily backed after opening a surprising $4.20 second favourite and for all the reasons listed above he should win. But while the best version of Sooner The Bettor has beaten superstars and pushed stablemate Merlin close on plenty of occasions, the less ambitious version of Sooner The Bettor has also been beaten in fields not much better than tonight. He has won just seven races from 44 starts, albeit many in elite company but has also run 15 seconds, as mentioned many to vastly superior horses to those he meets tonight.  But the man who knows him and his key rivals best thinks we will see the winning version tonight. “It looks the perfect race for him to come back in,” says co-trainer Scott Phelan. “With his gate speed he should lead and you wouldn’t think it would be a race with a lot of pressure. “We have put Harrison [Orange] on him as that would make it a penalty free win if he gets the job done so there are a lot of positives.” So while Jeremiah, Better Knuckle Up and even The Surfer, who was good returning last start, will be fitter than Sooner The Bettor, after his recent workout run behind Merlin he really should be winning tonight. Phelan says plenty of other members of the team he trains with Barry Purdon faces tough tasks tonight. “Confederate has ended up in a tough race considering his rating but we would rather race here for $17,000 than take an easier option for $8000, I don’t see the sense in that. “We have some nice two-year-olds in both the boys and fillies races but they have all got terrible draws so they are really up against it. “But I thought a horse who could go close was Miki Doo in the last race. He has a better draw that our other horse The Night Agent and is back in maiden grade after being beaten by race winners in 2:41 fresh up last Friday.” Tonight’s meeting also sees some good trot races with Pretty In Pink (R1) and Bolt For The Hill (R7) both winning well enough last start to suggest they could do so again, with the latter opening a very tempting $7 with the bookies. View the full article
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