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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Ted Noffey prevailed in the battle of East vs. West, keeping his unbeaten record intact with a victory in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Oct. 31 at Del Mar.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Irish training legend Aidan O'Brien surpassed late Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas by notching his 21st Breeders' Cup victory when Gstaad scored under Christophe Soumillon in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T). View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
DEL MAR, USA — As Balantina was led back to the winner's circle after her victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, one man was smiling more broadly than any other, and it wasn't her trainer or any of her owners. For Aidan O'Brien, watching his son Donnacha win his first Breeders' Cup race would probably have been enough to make his day – and it was a day that had started with the disappointment of having to scratch his own red-hot favourite for that same race, Precise. But O'Brien Sr still had an ace up his sleeve and he played it latest of all, to dramatic effect. In so doing he became the most successful trainer in Breeders' Cup history. The win for Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) in the Juvenile Turf was the 21st at America's most prestigious meeting for O'Brien, taking him past the record of D Wayne Lukas, who died in June at the age of 89 and had been something of a mentor to him in his early years of training. “We came over here and we didn't know anything about American racing,” O'Brien said, recalling the trip to Churchill Downs with Giant's Causeway 25 years earlier. “He told us everything we wanted to know about from shoeing him, to the right way to take him to the track. He came down with his own horse and took him to the track himself for us to make sure that we got it all right.” O'Brien knows a thing or two now, and he and his wife Annemarie have clearly imparted plenty of their own horsemanship to their children. Between Aidan and sons Joseph and Donnacha, the O'Brien family accounted for a travelling party of 13 horses at this year's Breeders' Cup. With two winners on the board, more is clearly expected on Saturday. On the favoured horses from Ballydoyle is Christophe Soumillon, for whom it has been a long time between drinks at the Breeders' Cup – 20 years to be precise, from Shirocco to Gstaad. Looking at the jockey's gaunt cheeks at the press conference after Gstaad's victory, it has clearly also been a while between meals for him as he deprives himself in a bid to reach 8st 7lbs for the ride on Minnie Hauk in the Turf. “Minnie Hauk, everyone knows she's a big favourite,” he said, before adding to the sentence the name of one of the all-time greats. “She's by far, since Zarkava, the best filly I've ridden.” Soumillon continued, “We're not coming here to lose, but we're always respecting our opponents. You never know how things will happen in a race. I need to concentrate. I still have to lose a kilo for her tomorrow, and I'm fine because Gstaad gave me a nice meal for tonight.” Soumillon earlier had to settle for second on the slow-breaking Brussels (Wootton Bassett), who tried in vain to peg back Cy Fair (Not This Time) in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Though Gstaad wasn't quickest on the draw himself, Soumillon wasted no time in making up his mind for him and sending the colt on to battle. “My job is to ride in the present moment,” he said. “Seeing how the horse jumps, and from there I knew which horses to follow in the race. But unfortunately, he jumped a fraction slow, but I was quite happy to see after a few strides he was able to kick in there and get close from the pace. “I knew he would probably win when I arrived at the last corner because he was travelling so well. I was seeing everybody around me start to go to action, and I was just cruising with him. I think he's still a quite immature horse. He was playing around going to the start, enjoying his time with the pony. I think he's getting more professional after each run, and I think traveling here is going to make him a great horse for next season.” The Guineas will presumably loom large in Gstaad's future and that Classic quest will fuel another winter of dreams for breeder Kelly Thomas, who had flown in to California from Wales with her father Andrew Matthews and was remarkably calm as she watched the horse she had foaled become, after Vandeek, the second Group/Grade 1 winner for her increasingly special broodmare Mosa Mine (Exceed And Excel). “I'm just a bit gobsmacked,” Thomas said. “I'm in shock. I've been waiting for this. He's taken us around the world, he's taken us on some ride, but to do that now, that's the icing on the cake. “[The mare] has been fantastic. I can't believe she has bred two on the trot. I am lost for words.” Strike One for O'Brien Junior As Porta Fortuna exits stage left to fulfil an engagement as one of the stars of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, into her place for the same trainer and ownership group steps Balantina (Ten Sovereigns), winner of the Juvenile Fillies Turf under Oisin Murphy. While it will be hard to fill the shoes of that four-time Group 1 winner, in a sense Balantina is already one step ahead, as Porta Fortuna's own appearance in the same Breeders' Cup race two years ago resulted in a second-place finish behind Hard To Justify. Balantina has now fulfilled a long-held dream for one of her owners, Steve Weston. “Our goal every year, or my goal every year, is to make it to the Breeders' Cup with a two-year-old,” Weston said. “And we're fortunate enough to have Donnacha, and Mark McStay, who picked Balantina out at the Arqana Sale. They both liked her. “Donnacha said when I was in Ireland earlier in the year that he thought she was going to be early. And she was, and she did well. She broke poorly in her first start. Then Oisin got on her, and she broke really well when she won her second start. She went to Ascot [for the Albany Stakes]. She broke poorly. She broke 17th out of 17 but she ended up running third. So that told everybody that she had a lot of talent, and Oisin brought the talent out in her.” Weston races Balantina in partnership with Dean Reeves, Medallion Racing and Parkland Thoroughbreds, most of whom were also involved with Porta Fortuna, who provided a first taste of Royal Ascot success. He continued, “I bred another horse, Jody's Pride. She came close. She lost to Just FYI a couple years ago. And this was just a dream of a lifetime. I got into this business about ten years ago. And, you know, we've come a long way. “I have to thank my partner, Dean Reeves. Recently, we sold part of Balantina to Medallion. They're lucky. And maybe they helped bring the luck to both Dean and myself. “I thought it was exciting being with Donnacha when we won at Royal Ascot, but this might have topped the cake, being 25 or 30/1. It's just amazing.” The American-based Weston also explained his reasoning behind having horses trained in Ireland. “I believe that we are better off, the Americans, buying our horses, leaving them in Europe for a time, and letting them grow, having the advantage to compete against possibly the best turf horses in the world,” he said. “There's no reason to rush them to the States if they're able to compete in Europe under group conditions. We didn't feel right now that Balantina was at that highest level, so we thought, well, maybe we'll bring her to the States and maybe we could be fortunate enough to see if the Breeders' Cup would let us in. And they let us in. And the horse did the rest.” He added of Porta Fortuna's impending appearance in the Sceptre Sessions on December 2, “It will be sad when we do sell Porta. She's something that we'll never find again – a horse of her calibre. I'm happy to be with Donnacha, our first Ascot win was with Donnacha and now our first Breeders' Cup win is with Donnacha. And we hope to have many more in the future. “In Ireland, the horses and the people are just wonderful, and I enjoy it immensely.” For Donnacha O'Brien, though this is a first, it is on a stomping ground he has come to know well. “It feels incredible,” he said. “We've been coming here a long time, since we were babies, really. So, to watch Dad do it, year in, year out, and Joseph get winners, it's nice to be on the board. “Steve wanted to come here. Fair play to him. He made the shout to come to Breeders' Cup. So, we just walked back from here, and she'd been training exceptionally in the last few weeks. We came here thinking that we were overpriced and that we had a live shot.” Aspect Island Delights Owen Of the European raiders bidding to emulate the success last year of Magnum Force in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, it was a case of close, no cigar, but plenty to look forward to for next season. Having fluffed the break, Brussels sprouted wings to run the winner Cy Fair to three-quarters of a length, and the Wootton Bassett colt, one of three runners for Aidan O'Brien in the race, was chased home hard by Aspect Island (Showcasing), who gave trainer James Owen a memorable first run at the Breeders' Cup. “When I managed to bring him close to the rail halfway around the turn, I felt very well balanced,” said Soumillon of his game second on Brussels. “After entering the home straight, I saw Frankie move out, so I didn't have any room to manoeuvre. We were a bit close to the rail, but it was a very good performance.” Frankie is of course Dettori, who guided Aspect Island, a full-brother to multiple group-winning sprinter Tasleet, to a spot on the podium to the delight of his trainer. “Oh, fantastic run,” said Owen as he watched the replay on the big screen with owner Tim Gredley. “He's improving all the time and he's come a long way since [his maiden win at] Yarmouth. Tasleet improved, he got quicker. He's a big horse but he handled this well. We've learned a bit and he's learned a good bit as well, so we'll be looking forward to next year with him.” Owen will also saddle Wimbledon Hawkeye for the Breeders' Cup Turf, with the three-year-old son of Kameko also set to be ridden by Dettori, who is set to bring the curtain down on his stint in North America at Del Mar on Saturday. He added, “That's amazing. Frankie's a very close friend of the Gredley family and that's taken the pressure off now, but Frankie's Frankie and you don't need to give him orders.” The post Aidan O’Brien On High As Most Successful Trainer in Breeders’ Cup History appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Special Agent · Posted
It was a race over 2500m. One year it was the Saab. 2023 Ladies Man raced in the Lexus Archer Stakes it may have been called. Not sure if it ran last year. -
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