Jump to content
Bit Of A Yarn

The Rest of the World


78,282 topics in this forum

      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 133 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 185 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 138 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 161 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 125 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 125 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 134 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 107 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 5.5k views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 154 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 98 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 85 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 94 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 85 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 123 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 89 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 118 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 85 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 91 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 88 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 80 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 160 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 79 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 83 views
      • Journalists
    • 0 replies
    • 98 views

Announcements



  • Posts

    • Three Group 1 winners this year have emanated from the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, with their wins coming across four glorious days on the biggest stage of all: Royal Ascot. From the opening-day thrill of Docklands (Massaat) holding off Rosallion (Blue Point) in the Queen Anne Stakes came a dual top-level strike on the Friday of the meeting for Cercene (Australia) in the Coronation Stakes and Time For Sandals (Sands Of Mali) in the Commonwealth Cup. To have bought all three of these horses at Fairyhouse as yearlings would have cost €101,000. It is easy to imagine that their trainers, Harry Eustace and Joe Murphy, will be back shopping at Tattersalls Ireland when this year's sale gets underway on September 23. Across Europe, the hunt is already on, but at Fairyhouse, perhaps more than anywhere, you can expect to find a vast array of trainers on the beat.  “You have to go to the sales and find your horse, don't you?” A rhetorical question from Simon Kerins, CEO of Tattersalls Ireland.  “They get a bit of value, you know. Someone said once that you need a type and I thought 'Well, do we?' You can find the sharp, speedy types, but I know people that have come and bought a big backward type of horse there and they've gone on well.” Wicklow Brave would fall into the category, and what a star he became. An €11,000 yearling bought by Bobby O'Ryan, the son of Beat Hollow returned to Fairyhouse two years later for the Derby Sale in Luke Barry's Manister House Stud draft, with Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins going to €43,000 to ensure he went home with them to Co Carlow. From 59 starts and 17 wins, Wicklow Brave proved to be the ultimate dual-purpose hero, winning the G1 Irish St Leger and the G1 Punchestown Champion Hurdle, and running at Ascot, Flemington, Cheltenham, York, Belmont and beyond. An appropriate flagbearer, then, as a horse who had graduated from Tattersalls Ireland's two flagship sales for each code.  “Then there's Pether's Moon,” Kerins adds. “He won the Coronation Cup. He was a huge horse, and he was gorgeous. So I suppose there's all types.”   Cercene, pride and joy of the Murphy family | Brian Sheerin   Indeed there are, and on Sunday at the Curragh we witnessed those of a more precocious leaning line up in the Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes, run as part of the Irish Champions Festival. The 16-runner contest went the way of Alparslan (Dandy Man), who was bought by Federico Barberini on behalf of Mohammed Saeed Al Shehhi for €75,000 and contributed to a memorable weekend in Ireland for his trainer Karl Burke.  Kerins says, “Karl Burke will turn up perennially and he's a great supporter of the sale. Our sales race is the longest-running race of its kind in Europe. “The likes of Clive Cox has always done well at that sale too, as have some of the breeze-up guys. I've always thought we could compete with any sale at a level.” Kerins, who is now in his 26th year with Tattersalls Ireland and also pops up regularly on the rostrum at Tattersalls in Newmarket, is encouraged by the pan-European support the yearling sale at Fairyhouse receives. This year's catalogue has been trimmed back to the numbers seen in 2023, with 50 fewer horses catalogued for Part 1 (505) compared to last year. Part II, which takes place in one session, has been reduced by 110 lots. He says, “It's a small team at Tattersalls Ireland but they're all passionate about the sale doing well, and they really put their shoulder to the wheel. “Charles [O'Neill] and his team at ITM, again, they're really passionate about the Irish sales doing well and the Irish suffix being the flag that's flown. Having them behind us is really important. We work closely with ITM and they do a great job.” Kerins continues,  “Italian buyers bought a huge number last year. They turn up in their droves to the September sale and the breeze-up and they do a lot of business.” It is not just the buyers who count, however. There is something of a paradox in the growing fears of falling foal crops around the world while breeders can still struggle to find a suitable sales spot for their yearlings. The latter is a situation of which Kerins is all too conscious, particularly when he regularly witnesses first-hand the dedication of those breeders. “It's their love of the horse and it's a love of racing,” he says. “For me, what's most satisfying as an auctioneer is seeing someone who has a smile on their face after you sell a horse. Sometimes, when you're out looking at horses, people can be hyper-sensitive in discussions about their horse, because they've either bought the horse or they've sent the mare to the stallion. They've seen this foal gallop across the field. Now it's a yearling and you're not going to take it for the sale that they thought was suitable. So it is tough.” One potential upside to the drop in the number of foals being bred could be that this scenario is played out less frequently. “I suppose in the long run, like anything, it comes down to supply and demand, and if you've a smaller supply of horses, there's good demand,” he admits. “That seems to be the case at the moment, that we're seeing greater demand for horses. And that will help from a breeder or vendor perspective when it comes to getting into a sale, and it helps us as well.  “Like I always say, I'm privileged to work in a sales company and go out to see these amazing farms and meet some really fantastic people – small breeders, big breeders, whatever. And we always try to put the horses where we feel they will make the most money.” He adds, “I think numbers contracting will help to a certain degree. It'll bring demand to every level of the market. And that's a good thing.” There is also plenty of encouragement to be drawn from the manner in which the yearling sales season has started this year, with seemingly plentiful demand throughout the middle market at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale and Tattersalls Somerville Sale.  “That's a good sign,” Kerins notes. “And there seems to be really good, solid trade. I'd be more hopeful than normal before a yearling sale. I suppose with the year we've had as well, that helps.”   The post The ‘Ascot Three’ Sprinkling Extra Stardust on Tattersalls Ireland  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • The Cary Grant Stakes, which has been run 11 times during the fall stand starting in 2014, will now be called The Chosen Vron Stakes, according to a Del Mar Thoroughbred Club release Wednesday. The Chosen Vron Stakes will be run on Saturday, Nov. 8 as part of Del Mar's 20 stakes Bing Crosby Season schedule. It will carry a $100,000 purse and be for California-bred runners aged 3 and up. The gelding by the late sire Vronsky was owned by the partnership of Sondereker Racing, J. Eric Kruljac, Robert Fetkin and Richard Thornburg. Kruljac also trained the chestnut who finished his career with $1,709,678 in purses won. He retired last year after a sparkling five-year career that saw him win 19 of 25 starts. Among his major scores were twice winning the GI Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar in addition to the seven-furlong Cary Grant in both 2022 and 2023. He was named Cal-Bred Horse of the Year in both 2023 and 2024.   “He was an exceptional racehorse and it was always an exciting day when he came out to run,” said Tom Robbins, Del Mar's executive vice president for racing. “We think it is very fitting that one of our Cal-bred stakes has been renamed in his honor.” The Bing Crosby Season opens on Thursday, Oct. 30 and runs through to Sunday, Nov. 30. The post Del Mar’s Cary Grant Stakes Renamed The Chosen Vron appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • This week's racing on radio and television schedule, compiled by America's Best Racing.View the full article
    • Wasdell Properties and Martin Tedham's Lifeplan will be given the rest of the season off, with his long-term goal the G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket next season, according to trainer Declan Carroll. The son of Kodi Bear ran out a length winner of the G2 Gimcrack Stakes at York last month after a Thirsk novice victory in July. Undefeated, the €165,000 Goffs Orby yearling was under consideration for the G1 Middle Park Stakes on September 27. He is currently a 25-1 shot for next year's Classic on May 2. Carroll said, “Lifeplan is fine but myself and the owner had a chat and decided we would leave him for the year now and we will put him away and train him for the Guineas next year. “He's definitely one to look forward to. He'll stay [here] over the winter and keep him ticking over. We're looking at him as a Guineas horse and that's what we'll aim for. We'll start him off in one of the trials and go from there. “It gives us something to look forward to and he's a very exciting horse. We've been very pleased with what he has done in his two runs and we'd be hopeful there is more to come next year.” The post Lifeplan Headed To Winter Quarters With An Eye To The Guineas appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • The 59th International Conference of Horseracing Authorities (ICHA) will be held at Le Meridien Paris Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France on October 6, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) announced on Wednesday. This year's Conference will highlight the IFHA's achievements over the past 12 months and look ahead to future initiatives. Sports television presenter Rishi Persad will moderate the event. Ben Cleminson, CEO of Square in the Air, an award-winning creative marketing consulting agency for racing and other sports across Europe and Asia, will give the keynote address. The first session will be Racing Wagering & Marketing – What Today's Customers Want and What the Future Holds. Speakers scheduled to take part include Tony Allevato, chief revenue officer and president, NYRA Bets; Felicity Barnard, CEO, Ascot Racecourse; Drew Fleming, president and CEO, Breeders' Cup Ltd; Pablo Kavulakian, president, American Racing Channel; and Atsushi Kikuta, director of International Affairs, Japan Racing Association (JRA). The afternoon session will be Growth of the Illegal Betting Market and Tackling Challenges in Betting Regulation. Speakers scheduled to take part include Tom Chignell, consultant on Integrity Projects, The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Brant Dunshea, acting CEO, British Horseracing Authority; Luca Esposito, executive director, World Lottery Association; Martin Purbrick, chair of the IFHA Council on Anti-illegal Betting and Related Crime; and Vincent Ven, head of Anti-Match-Fixing, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). A representative from the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia will also present an overview of the 41st Asian Racing Conference, which is set to take place in Riyadh in February 2026. A live video stream of the 59th ICHA will be available on the IFHA's website. A replay of the live video stream and presentations will be available in the days following the event. “I am looking forward to welcoming IFHA members and key stakeholders to our annual Conference,” said IFHA Chair Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, who will deliver the welcoming address. “Racing is facing a number of both challenges and opportunities in regards to engaging with current and future customers, the evolution of betting markets and the regulation of them, and of course, the welfare of our equine athletes. It is important that we stay on the forefront of such key topics.” The post IFHA Conference To Examine Betting Markets And The Customer Experience appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
  • Topics

×
×
  • Create New...