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West Point Thoroughbreds and Jimmy Kahig's Cugino impressed his Hall of Fame-trainer Shug McGaughey with a winning 4-year-old debut in an optional-claimer going 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf at Aqueduct June 19.View the full article

BTW an amendment to a rule is just a mechanism by which rules are either added or subtracted from a larger set of rules or changed.  Still rules and rules that are easily enforced have no ambiguity including clear definitions. Where is the definition of "flank"?  Surely it should be a clearly defined part of a horse anatomy. The NZTR rules attached - note including amendments!! RULES OF RACING Gender Revision - 17 June 2025.pdf

Just a great example of what a load of garbage it is! regards Huey Pronouns Gorgeous Fat Man / Gorgeous Fat Them / Gorgeous Fat They

Gary Carroll has admitted to still being on a high after landing the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot aboard Joe Murphy's Cercene (Australia) and revealed that the breakthrough success at the highest level was made even sweeter given it came for the Fethard-based trainer who has been one of the rider's biggest supporters down through the years.  No trainer has supported Carroll quite like Murphy. The pair are operating at a 10 per cent strike-rate since they first teamed up together back in 2009. There have been 1,077 rides and 104 winners domestically since then. But scarcely has there been a day quite like what unfolded at Royal Ascot last Friday.  “I'm still on a high and still getting messages about it,” Carroll shared. “It was absolutely magic. Going over there, I thought she'd run well and be in the first three or four anyway. The stiff mile at Ascot was always going to suit her and I'd a good draw so I was happy enough going there. To win it was a nice surprise.” Asked if breaking his Group 1 duck was made extra special by the fact that it came aboard one of Murphy's horses, he said, “Oh it does, definitely. As I said in one of the interviews after the race, if I ever was to ride a Group 1 winner, I am just delighted that it came for Joe because I have been riding for him since 2009. We've been working together for a long time now and he has been very good and very loyal to me. They put so much into the game so it's great to see them get a good horse. It's not a fluke, either. Every year, they seem to find one. They [Joe and his son Joe jnr] are well able to train them.” Cercene's Coronation Stakes was widely regarded as one of the feel good stories of the entire meeting. Here was a €50,000 yearling purchase [bought by Murphy himself from Baroda Stud at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale] out-performing some of the biggest stables and outfits in the business. It was a real triumph for the smaller operator and one that resonated widely. The success was not lost on the rider, either. Carroll explained, “There are so many good horses being sold abroad so it's nice that Joe was able to keep one of them. It's becoming harder and harder to hang onto the good ones because it's business at the end of the day. Trading horses is how most trainers make their money. But it's no secret that the trainers who shop the sales hard are the ones who get rewarded at the track. I think it was Noel Meade who said, to win at the races, you need to win at the sales. That's very true. You need to keep on re-stocking and getting new blood into your yard and the Murphys have done a brilliant job on that.” He added, “I was beaten a half-length on Lily's Angel in a Matron, third in a Tattersalls Gold Cup aboard Euphrasia and placed in a Phoenix Stakes aboard Mick Mulvany's good horse, Tough As Nails, so there were plenty of near-misses prior to Friday. It's hard to get the rides in these races, not to mention winning them.  “Ireland is a very tough country to be competitive in. There are a lot of jockeys competing in a very small circle and it's competitive to get the rides. There are very few big stables left and Gavin Cromwell is lucky to have a nice number to work with while Joe circles between 30 and 40 horses every year as well. I get my fair share out of Ger Lyons's as well. You have to work at it but days like Friday makes all of the hard work worthwhile.” Just 24 hours after teaming up to land that memorable Coronation Stakes success, Carroll and Murphy bagged the Ulster Derby at Down Royal, a prestigious contest in its own right, with the progressive Vorfreude. It capped a memorable couple of days for the trainer-jockey combination but the significance didn't end there as, like Cercene, Vorfreude was broken-in by Carroll. He said, “My wife [Joanne] and myself actually broke in Cercene for Joe. We did the same with Vorfreude (Bated Breath), who we won the Ulster Derby with together on Saturday as well, so it's great. It's something we've done over the winter in recent years so it's nice to see them go on and do well given they started out here. I mainly break in horses for Joe and Gavin but I've a couple of owners and small studs that send me horses as well. It's something I'd like to develop over the next few years. We're after building a new house just outside Summerhill in County Meath. We built a new barn so a gallop is the next thing to go in now. We've built it from the ground up.” Friday represented by far Carroll's most successful day in the saddle but lest we forget he has had something of the Midas Touch at the Royal meeting in recent seasons. After winning the Queen Mary in 2021 aboard Quick Suzy (Profitable), Carroll returned to the Royal Ascot winner's enclosure aboard Snellen (Expert Eye) after landing the Chesham Stakes in 2023. Both fillies were trained by Gavin Cromwell, who is second only to Murphy in the number of winners he has supplied Carroll [68 from 701 rides] with.  He said, “Between Gavin and Joe, I've had a brilliant time of things at Royal Ascot. Obviously Gavin has had a lot of success there between Quick Suzy and Snellen. Gavin is really making a name for himself and is growing as a Flat trainer so it has been great to be associated with him as well.” Carroll added on Cromwell's influence, “Gavin is one of the most ambitious men I have ever met. All he wants to do is grow and win, basically, and we're just trying to keep up with him. He's extremely on the ball and is always thinking. We're on and off the phone to each other most days talking about races and horses. He's always thinking and he has improved me as a rider because I have to be on the ball.  “He has a huge team of staff – the likes of Garvan Donnelly and Pat Martin are in there now and they were very good trainers in their own right. He has great help and support there and, while he's very good at delegating, he expects everyone to work as hard as he does. He improves people as well as horses. He's a great man to be associated with and I'm very lucky to have some brilliant people behind me.” The post Carroll: ‘Cercene Winning At Royal Ascot Was No Fluke – Joe Murphy Is Well Able To Train’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Ellis Park will launch its 25-day summer meet July 3, headlined by record stakes purses, top racing connections, fan-friendly wagering menus, and a full calendar of community events both on and off the track.View the full article