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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Godolphin LLC, who campaigned 13 North American graded stakes winners during 2025, including dual classic winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief), set a single-season record in earnings as the leading owner for the fifth consecutive year, and Irad Ortiz, Jr., established a single-season record as the leading jockey by earnings according to final year-end statistics released by Equibase Company on Friday. Godolphin–with 104 North American wins from 448 starts–amassed record earnings of $22,395,556, surpassing their previous mark of $20.2 million set in 2024. When including earnings from the Dubai and Saudi Cup days, Godolphin's earnings for the year were $23,355,556. In a tight battle between Ortiz and Flavien Prat, the former maintained the narrowest of margin in the final days to finish the year on top with earnings of $40,497,847, less than $2,000 ahead of Prat's total of $40,496,178. Both riders became the first to surpass $40 million in earnings. Ortiz reached the winner's circle 351 times from 1,631 mounts in 2025, while Prat won 310 races from 1,256 mounts. Brad Cox ended the year on top as the leading trainer by earnings, which was his first title since 2023 and marked the conditioner's third overall. Cox sent out the winners of 277 races from 394 starters with 1,068 starts for earnings of $30,255,435. Some of the leading horses also were the top earners from their respective foal crops. The leading earners by foaling year from the past five years were Ted Noffey (Into Mischief, 2023 foal crop), Sovereignty (2022 foal crop), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner, 2021 foal crop), National Treasure (Quality Road, 2020 foal crop) and White Abarrio (Race Day, 2019 foal crop). The post Owner Godolphin, Jockey Ortiz Jr., Set Single-Season Earnings Records appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
Will there be much of a a crowd at Trentham today ? Isn't this the Marton date moved from Awapuni, and if so when would the main race be if Awapuni was on today? -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
As another Santa Anita Opening Day is in the books, it's with a heavy heart that I write to the TDN about the extraordinary life and times of Vic Carlson. Vic died a couple days ago peacefully with his wife Seira and family by his side, but the legacy he leaves in Thoroughbred racing is far reaching. As a reminder, Vic reached the pinnacle of the racing game when a little $15,000 horse named Musket Man ran third in the 2009 GI Kentucky Derby. More on that in a minute. To say Vic's life was extraordinary would be an understatement. Vic grew up in Boise, Idaho where, at a young age, it became apparent he would become an outstanding football player. He played linebacker in college and then turned his education degree into a coaching career. Later, in Portland, Oregon, Vic became the athletic director at Jefferson High, an inner city school located in North Portland. That is where I met Vic. In 1987, he hired me as Jefferson's head baseball coach. Vic and I became fast friends. Not too long after I met him, he introduced me to horse racing. I can't tell you how many afternoons we snuck out to go to Portland Meadows. That is where I fell in love with the game and that is where Vic bought his first horse, a $2,500 claimer named Colt Called Sue. As we messed around with cheap horses, we both had aspirations to reach higher. As such, 1995 was the first year we attended the Kentucky Derby together. By the time that trip was over, we both decided we wanted a chance at the big-time. Vic was an imposing figure. At the age of 40, he still looked like he could start at linebacker. Those who got to know him recognized he was a fierce competitor. Besides football, he had two passions in life–horse racing and golf. I remember like it was yesterday when we won the Rosauers Spokane Open Pro-Am back in 1991. The team was me, Vic, college baseball star Fred Lea, hockey phenom Pat Schmautz of the famous hockey family and baseball star Ron Sloy. After two days, our team was on track to set a tournament record. As is often the case in golf, the other teams were skeptical we were playing that good. So, the tournament director, Dale Johnson, and some of his staff started following us around on the front nine the last day. Vic was steamed they were checking on us, so he gave us a pep talk for the ages. On hole number 8 from about 80 yards, Vic holed his third shot on that Par 5. While the rest of his team was celebrating, Vic walked over to Mr. Johnson and said, “Yes sir, this team is that good.” After Vic's first trip to the Kentucky Derby, he made the decision to spend more money buying nicer horses. That decision led Vic to Kieran Dunne of Ocala pinhooking fame. Vic and Kieran became close friends, with Kieran traveling to Oregon to play golf and Vic often traveling to Florida to join Kieran for his member-guest golf tournament. That relationship led to a lifelong friendship, many pinhooks and eventually led to Musket Man. Vic, his wife Seira, and Kieran are responsible for one of the most hilarious horse racing stories of all-time. Vic decided to sell Musket Man in the 2008 Fasig-Tipton 2-year-old sale. When the horse didn't reach his reserve, the team retreated to the bar to decide what to do next. With Kieran and other friends hanging out, they decided to race the horse. The rest of the story goes something like this: Seira and Vic were a fairly new couple. After hanging out for awhile, Seira suggests to Vic that they go back to their hotel to “have a little fun.” Vic looks her in the eye and says in front of everyone: “Honey, we had a little fun this morning. I'm not a Gatling gun and I'm not a six-shooter. I'm a one-time a day musket man.” Thus, the name and the rest is history. Musket Man won the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, the GII Illinois Derby, then ran third in the Kentucky Derby and the GI Preakness. Later, as a 4-year-old, the horse ran second in the GI Metropolitan Handicap and third in the GI Whitney Handicap. I have not seen Vic for a few years. The last time was at Santa Anita four years ago. Vic's health was declining because of a bad back, so he moved to Mesquite, Nevada with his wife. A few weeks ago, I saw Vic's Carlson Family Racing had a horse entered at Del Mar. I called a friend of ours, Steve Anderson, to see if he had talked to Vic lately. He too hadn't heard back from him. Now, he is gone, and what we have are extraordinary memories of an extraordinary life. There are a lot of things you can say about Vic Carlson. How he loved his sons; how he loved the kids at Jefferson High School; how he loved golf; how much he loved and admired Seira; how he often times seemed bigger than life. But, know this to be true too. Vic loved horse racing, he loved the people on the backside and ultimately he made horse racing fun for everyone his life touched. His legacy in horse racing runs from Oregon to Florida and from California to Kentucky. I promise you I am only one of many who will keep Vic's legacy alive. –Steve McPherson Irvine, CA The post Letter To The Editor: Vic Carlson’s Legacy Will Live On appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Ian Balding has been remembered by his daughter Clare as “fearless, funny and charming” as those around the world of racing paid tribute to the former champion trainer, whose death, at the age of 87, was announced by his family on Friday. On her Instagram account, the BBC broadcaster said, “My Dad was one of a kind. Fearless, funny and charming, he was an all-round sportsman, a great trainer and a beautiful horseman. He loved his dogs, his horses, and his family – probably in that order. “He shared with me his passion for sport and taught me to be brave enough to chase a dream, even if it seemed impossible. We'll miss him so much.” Balding's brother-in-law and fellow former trainer Lord Huntingdon also spoke fondly of him, recalling that, “I don't think we ever had a cross word.” He added, “Ian was very competitive and, unfortunately, he was a marginally better sportsman. I beat him once or twice at squash, but only once or twice. “As well as the sports that he loved playing, he was a director of Southampton Football Club. It sort of all stemmed from the family relationship because when he came here [to Kingsclere] as assistant, he'd been with Herbert Blagrave, who was my great uncle, married to my grandmother's sister, and Herbert was at that point chairman of Southampton. “Ian joined the board, and he was very enthusiastic about supporting Southampton and Andrew has followed suit. Herbert Blagrave was also the man who got Mick Channon away from just betting and into breeding, and then becoming a trainer when he retired.” Martin Dwyer, who rode Casual Look to win the Oaks for Andrew Balding in his first season as a trainer, was originally apprenticed to Ian Balding from the age of 16. He said, “It is very sad, Ian was a great man. He loved sport and he was a great horseman. I owe Ian and his family a debt of gratitude for what they did for me and for many other people, not just jockeys. “He helped a lot of people along and helped them in their careers, I'm eternally grateful to have been included in that. He took me in as a snotty-nosed kid from Liverpool and shaped me into who I am today. I was a bit rough around the edges when I first came but he taught me a lot about riding, about racing and about life in general. “I was apprenticed to Ian and had my first winners for him, we had a lot of success and that continued when Andrew took over. The Balding family were like a second family. I'm not sure it happens these days as racing has changed and is so fast-paced, but Ian always had so much time for people.” Brant Dunshea, acting CEO of the British Horseracing Authority, said, “Ian Balding leaves a towering legacy for our sport. Such is his significance that no telling of the history of racing would be complete without recognition of the enormous contribution he made. “From his legendary Kingsclere base, he nurtured generations of equine and human talent, enjoying tremendous success along the way with unforgettable stars like Mill Reef. “He is a man who will be remembered with tremendous affection and respect across our industry, and one whose impact will continue to be felt for many years to come. “On this sad day, all of us at the BHA extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ian Balding.” In a post on X, Frankie Dettori joined those paying tribute, saying, “I woke up this morning to the sad news of the passing of Ian Balding, a man who was a tremendous supporter of mine in my early days. We shared some wonderful moments together, notably with Lochsong and Lochangel, and it was through Ian that I was first given the opportunity to ride for Her Majesty The Queen, something I will always be deeply grateful for. “My heartfelt condolences go out to the Balding family and to everyone associated with Park House at this very difficult time.” Paul Johnson, CEO of the National Trainers Federation, said, “We are extremely sad to hear that legendary trainer Ian Balding has passed away. He was an outstanding trainer, an engaging character, a great family man and a real supporter of young, aspiring jockeys. “Ian first took out a training licence in 1964 and, along with his brother Toby, was a passionate advocate of the National Trainers Federation, becoming a longstanding chairman of the NTF Flat Committee. Our thoughts are with his family.” The post ‘Fearless, Funny and Charming’: Tributes Paid to Ian Balding appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Ian Balding, who has died at the age of 87, made an indelible impression on the turf, not only as the trainer of some wonderful horses including Mill Reef, but also as mentor to many young people who subsequently graduated to success in the sport. Most notable is his son Andrew, who succeeded him at the helm of Kingsclere in 2002 and who has subsequently ensured that Kingsclere remains synonymous with both success and class. Ian Balding and his elder brother Toby were born in the USA where their father Gerald, a professional polo player, was living at the time. The family returned to Britain after the war and Gerald started training at Weyhill. It soon became clear that the boys were destined to follow their father into the sport. Toby, a keen point-to-point rider, took over his father's stable when he turned 21 in 1957; while Ian's progress towards holding a licence was only slightly more gradual. Ian's first major sporting achievements came when he was an undergraduate at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he earned a blue for rugby (a sport in which he was to make 92 appearances for Bath). He was never far from the turf, however, and rode out whenever he could at Royston for Willie Stephenson, who at the time was one of the leading dual-purpose trainers in the country. Ian was a natural athlete, very good at many sports including riding, ending up with over 70 wins over jumps as an amateur to his credit. Training was always his aim, though, and on leaving Cambridge he spent a year at The Grange, Beckhampton, as a pupil under Herbert Blagrave, who achieved conspicuous success over an extended period training only his own and his wife's (mostly home-bred) horses. A position followed as assistant to Captain Peter Hastings-Bass at Kingsclere but sadly tragedy struck after only a year. Peter Hastings-Bass was the son of a great trainer (the Hon Aubrey Hastings, who trained four Grand National winners including one, Ascetic Silver in 1906, whom he rode to victory himself) and in the late '50s and early '60s, training at Kingsclere which he had bought in 1953, he looked set to build a similarly imposing record. The icing on the cake came in the autumn of 1963 when he received eight yearlings from the Queen, who thus supplanted the popular American sportsman and philanthropist Paul Mellon as the stable's most distinguished patron. Tragically, Peter Hastings-Bass succumbed to a terminal illness the following summer. There was no possibility of his widow Priscilla taking over the licence at Kingsclere because the Jockey Club at the time did not grant licences to women; while their son most likely to follow in his father's footsteps, William (later Lord Huntingdon), who did in time become a successful trainer, was aged only 16 at the time. Consequently, Ian became the trainer at Kingsclere, aged 25. The link between the Hastings and Balding families was further strengthened in 1969 when Ian married Peter and Priscilla Hastings' daughter Emma. The two-year-olds at Kingsclere that summer included the Queen's Planta Genista, who had won at Lingfield in April. The best of the bunch, though, seemed to be Mr Mellon's home-bred American colt Silly Season (Tom Fool) who was beaten on debut at Salisbury before heading to Royal Ascot shortly after Ian Balding had officially become his trainer. Fairytales do occasionally come true and Silly Season duly broke his maiden by winning the Coventry Stakes, giving a heartening endorsement that it would remain a case of business as usual at Kingsclere. Silly Season ended his first season by winning the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. At three he won the Greenham Stakes at Newbury, the St. James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Champion Stakes at Newmarket; at four he landed both the Lockinge Stakes and the Hungerford Stakes at Newbury. He became a successful stallion at New England Stud with many of his best progeny trained by Ian Balding, including 1972 Greenham Stakes winner Martinmas and 1973 Cambridgeshire heroine Siliciana. Silly Season, for all that his seven wins included some of Britain's greatest races, was almost as notable for a string of narrow defeats as he was for his triumphs. In later years Ian Balding would recount a discussion which he had with Mellon after the horse's retirement, a conversation which spoke well of both men. Thanking Mellon for having entrusted so talented a horse to an inexperienced trainer, he suggested that Silly Season might have been the best horse they would ever have and that he perhaps had not got the best out of him. Mellon, with typical kindness, assured him that he had trained the horse very well before adding, “And don't worry: I'll soon find a better one to send to you anyway”. As ever, he was as good as his word and a better one did indeed soon arrive: Mill Reef. Mill Reef is led in by Paul Mellon after the Derby | Getty Images Ian Balding will be remembered as the trainer of some very special horses but the one who will always be at the top of anyone's list is Mill Reef (Never Bend). Bred by Paul Mellon at Rokeby Stud in Virginia, the little colt headed across the Atlantic to Kingsclere as a yearling in the autumn of 1969. Over the next three years Mill Reef proved himself one of the greatest horses ever to have graced the British turf. The story is beautifully told in Lord Oaksey's book The Story of Mill Reef and in Brough Scott's film Something to Brighten the Morning which, narrated by Albert Finney, has helped to ensure that the names Mill Reef, Paul Mellon, Ian Balding, Geoff Lewis (the stable jockey) and John Hallum (who looked after the horse) will forever loom large in the romance of the turf. A champion at two, three and four, Mill Reef was beaten only once (by Brigadier Gerard in the 2,000 Guineas) and won some of the greatest races including the Coventry, Gimcrack and Dewhurst Stakes at two, the Derby, Eclipse Stakes, King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at three (in a season which Ian Balding ended as champion trainer); and the Prix Ganay and Coronation Cup at four. He retired to the National Stud, from which he twice became Champion Sire (in 1978 and 1987) thanks to his Derby-winning sons Shirley Heights (who in turn sired the 1985 Derby winner Slip Anchor) and Reference Point. While Ian Balding trained some notable horses for the Queen, including the 1970 Doncaster Cup winner Magna Carta (Charlottesville), Mellon's 'black, gold cross front and back; black cap, gold stripe' stands as the livery most synonymous with the trainer, and not solely thanks to Mill Reef. Several sons of Mill Reef carried them with great distinction including the multiple Group 1-winning full-brothers Glint Of Gold and Diamond Shoal, as well as King Of Clubs. Over jumps Crystal Spirit (Kris), a half-brother to Glint Of Gold and Diamond Shoal won the Cleeve Hurdle and the Sun Alliance Hurdle at Cheltenham in 1991; while another Mellon home-bred who ranked up with Glint Of Gold and Diamond Shoal was Gold And Ivory (Key To The Mint). Other top-class colts for the stable included George Strawbridge's Selkirk (Sharpen Up), Jeff Smith's Dashing Blade (Elegant Air) and Mr and Mrs Robert Hitchens' Tagula (Taufan), all of whom went on to make a significant mark at stud. Classic-winning fillies for Ian Balding were Eric Kronfeld's 1980 Prix de Diane heroine Mrs Penny (Great Nephew) and Paul Mellon's tiny home-bred tigress Forest Flower (Green Forest). The latter's dam Leap Lively (Nijinsky) had been a good filly for owner and trainer, winning the Fillies' Mile at Ascot in 1980 before finishing third to Blue Wind in the following year's Oaks. Forest Flower belied her lack of size by doing even better, landing the Queen Mary Stakes, Cherry Hinton Stakes and, fittingly, Mill Reef Stakes as a two-year-old in 1986 before taking the Irish 1,000 Guineas the following year. It is lovely that those famous Mellon colours are now carried by the Kingsclere Stud horses produced by Emma Balding, whose proteges include the Andrew Balding-trained Group 1 winners Side Glance and Elm Park, both of whose sires (Passing Glance and Phoenix Reach) had been trained at Kingsclere. Ian Balding, right, with long-term Kingsclere supporter Jeff Smith | Racingfotos It turned out that Forest Flower was not the mightiest amazon trained by Ian Balding because she was followed by Jeff Smith's home-bred Lochsong (Song), whose career provided arguably the greatest tribute to Ian Balding's skill. She spent most of her two- and three-year-old seasons proving nothing other than that she was a very hard-puller who was difficult to keep sound. Unraced at two in 1990, she won a maiden race at Redcar and an apprentice handicap at Newbury towards the end of a three-race campaign in 1991, suggesting that perhaps it was worth persevering with her. Over the next three seasons Lochsong was sublime (bar in the 1994 July Cup, when she reminded us that she was still very much a handful, doing her best of her running on the way to post). She raced 24 times over those three seasons, winning 13 times and being placed six. At four she completed the Stewards' Cup, Portland and Ayr Gold Cup treble. At five her wins included the King George Stakes, Nunthorpe Stakes and Prix de l'Abbaye. At six she won consecutively the Palace House Stakes, Temple Stakes and King's Stand Stakes (by five lengths) before landing repeat wins in the King George Stakes and Prix de l'Abbaye. She was voted Cartier Champion Sprinter in both 1993 and '94 and Cartier Horse of the Year in 1994. Throughout his career, Ian Balding showed himself equally good at educating both horses and jockeys. The first of his apprentices to be champion was Ernie Johnson (in 1967) who had started his apprenticeship under Peter Hastings. Next came Philip Waldron in 1970. Subsequently stable jockey to Henry Candy, Philip Waldron served his time alongside John Matthias, who became the Kingsclere jockey for several years, most notably riding Glint Of Gold in most of his races. The tradition of promoting the stable's apprentices again shone brightly when Francis Arrowsmith won the Ayr Gold Cup on Lochsong after Willie Carson had been on her in the first two legs of her great treble. It has continued under Andrew Balding, with William Buick and David Probert sharing the apprentices' title in 2008, Oisin Murphy taking it in 2014 (before going on to be, to date, champion jockey five times) and Jason Watson doing so in 2018. Ian Balding will deservedly be remembered as one of the great trainers of the modern era, notable for training his horses kindly and being adept at nurturing them for long careers, even those who started out as precocious two-year-olds. Aside from the horses' many great victories, further sources of pride for the family have been the outstanding careers developed by his and Emma's children Clare (whose broadcasting achievements need no introduction) and Andrew. The latter succeeded his father at the end of the 2002 season and has fully maintained Kingsclere's position as one of the world's greatest and most successful stables. The tone was set on a magical afternoon in June 2003 when Will Farish's Casual Look (Red Ransom) won the Oaks for first-season trainer Andrew Balding, ridden by former Ian Balding apprentice Martin Dwyer, with the BBC broadcast of the race presented by Clare Balding. Two very proud parents could rest easy that the future was in safe hands. Ian Balding is survived by Emma, their children Clare and Andrew, and by their grandchildren Jonno, Toby and Flora. We join the entire racing world in offering this very popular family our condolences. The post Ian Balding: A Sporting Great Remembered appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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