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‘If You Are Willing to Learn, it Keeps You Young’: Valfredo Valiani on the Switch From Trainer to Agent
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Skellet TDN Rising Star Number 32 For Kingman
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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Museum Mile eased the pain of last year's agonising defeat for jockey Cristian Demuro when producing an irresistible late burst to win Sunday's Arima Kinen, the fan-voted 'Grand Prix' of Japan. Returning to Nakayama Racecourse, the scene of his Classic victory in April's Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas), Museum Mile was settled towards the rear of the 16-strong field in the early stages. Shadowing Danon Decile (Epiphaneia) for much of the race, the son of Leontes swung wide around the final two corners and began to pick off his rivals one by one. Moving alongside Danon Decile with 100 metres to run, he proceeded to reel in longshot Cosmo Kuranda (Al Ain) to become only the fourth three-year-old winner of the Arima Kinen this century, emulating Deep Impact (2005), Vodka (2007) and Efforia (2021). The official winning margin at the line was a half-length, with Danon Decile finishing just a neck behind Cosmo Kuranda as he occupied the final podium position for the second consecutive year. The hard-luck story of the race was the defending champion, Regaleira, who did very well under the circumstances to be beaten just 1 1/4 lengths into fourth. The daughter of Suave Richard recorded an identical time to the winner for the final three furlongs, but simply had too much ground to make up following a sluggish exit from the stalls. “It was revenge from last year,” an elated Demuro said of his reversal in fortunes, having partnered Shahryar (Deep Impact) when he was beaten just a nose by Regaleira 12 months ago. “Last year, Regaleira cut my dream and, this year, I brought it back. I just followed Danon Decile all the way. He opened the way for us in the last stretch and, when we came outside, I knew we could beat him. The horse likes the Nakayama track, so it was a big advantage for us. I'm very happy to win the Arima Kinen on its 70th anniversary.” Proving well suited by the step up to 2,500 metres when winning the Arima Kinen, Museum Mile has been beaten just once in four career starts at Nakayama, with his other win coming in September's G2 Asahi Hai St Lite Kinen. Away from his favourite stomping ground, the Daisuke Takayanagi trainee was also third in last year's G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes at Kyoto, while his first start against older horses resulted in a runner-up finish behind Masquerade Ball (Duramente) in last month's G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) at Tokyo. Pedigree Notes Museum Mile features among a pair of top-level winners for Leontes, who is based at the Breeders Stallion Station in Hokkaido. The Japanese champion two-year-old colt of 2015, before posting one of his best efforts as a three-year-old when finishing fifth in the Satsuki Sho, Leontes is also responsible for last year's Tenno Sho (Spring) winner T O Royal. This colt is the first foal out of the Listed Sweet Pea Stakes second Museum Hill (Heart's Cry) who, in turn, is out of a half-sister to the G3 Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap hero King's Trail (Sunday Silence) and the Listed-placed Santa Fe Soleil (Agnes Tachyon). His third dam, the winning Northern Taste mare Santa Fe Trail, is a half-sister to Shinko Lovely (Caerleon), the one-time champion older mare in Japan. Museum Hill's second foal, Festival Hill (Saturnalia), looked a filly with Classic potential for 2026 when winning last month's G3 Fantasy Stakes at Kyoto. Sunday, Nakayama, Japan ARIMA KINEN (GRAND PRIX)-G1, ¥960,040,000, Nakayama, 12-28, 3yo/up, 2500mT, 2:31.50, fm. 1–MUSEUM MILE (JPN), 126, c, 3, by Leontes (Jpn) 1st Dam: Museum Hill (Jpn) (SP-Jpn, $772,865), by Heart's Cry (Jpn) 2nd Dam: Loretto Chapel (Jpn), by French Deputy 3rd Dam: Santa Fe Trail (Jpn), by Northern Taste O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Daisuke Takayanagi; J-Cristian Demuro; ¥503,528,000. Lifetime Record: 10-5-2-1, ¥961,799,000. *1/2 to Festival Hill (Jpn) (Saturnalia {Jpn}), GSW-Jpn, $295,888. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–Cosmo Kuranda (Jpn), 128, c, 4, Al Ain (Jpn)–Southern Speed (Aus), by Southern Image. O/B-Big Red Farm; ¥201,008,000. 3–Danon Decile (Jpn), 128, c, 4, Epiphaneia (Jpn)–Top Decile, by Congrats. (¥135,000,000 Ylg '22 JRHJUL). O-Danox Inc.; B-Shadai Farm; ¥130,540,000. Margins: HF, NK, HF. Odds: 2.80, 110.50, 2.80. Also Ran: Regaleira (Jpn), Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn), Tastiera (Jpn), Justin Palace (Jpn), Exicite Bio (Jpn), Meiner Emperor (Jpn), Chevalier Rose (Jpn), Admire Terra (Jpn), Elton Rose (Jpn), Meisho Tabaru (Jpn), Shin Emperor (Fr), Arata (Jpn), Mystery Way (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video. The post Demuro Gains Arima Kinen “Revenge” Aboard Dominant Museum Mile 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
Leading commentator Jerry Hannon, widely regarded as the voice of Irish racing, is next in the hot seat. The Kerry native took over from Des Scahill in his role as the leading racecourse commentator in Ireland in 2008 and his voice has been associated with some of the best and most memorable races in the country in recent years. What is your defining memory of 2025? It's always special commentating at my local racecourse in Listowel and, for Eoin McCarthy to end the week as the leading trainer there, that was an achievement that stands out above all else for me in 2025. Is there a race or a commentary that sticks out above all else? Galopin Des Champs at Leopardstown. Racing fans have a deep appreciation for him so any one of his big-race wins at Leopardstown sticks out for different reasons. He spoils for choice. Tell us something that people don't know about Jerry Hannon? That joining the priesthood was a genuine CAO option for me after I completed the Leaving Certificate in 1998! You have one of the most recognisable voices in racing. But tell us this, how did you become a commentator in the first place? It became my party piece! I enjoyed impersonating commentators' calls on many of the big races when I was younger. Michael O'Hehir's Foinavon Grand National call from 1967 was a particular favourite. What keeps you awake at night? The thoughts of sitting on the M50 motorway the following morning! If you were not a racing commentator, what career path would you have taken? Forgetting the priesthood, becoming a TV newsreader was a fallback plan. Who has been your biggest inspiration/mentor? Pat Keane, who worked with the Irish Examiner, was always a wise counsel when I was starting out in the game. Your favourite racecourse/festival and why? It has to be Galway. The mixed cards at the Festival there provide an amazing atmosphere. It is the best commentary box in Ireland. Your go-to karaoke song? Being a big Liverpool fan, I'll have to go with You'll Never Walk Alone. And finally, a trade secret to end on; do commentators have favourites? Ie, is there one trainer or jockey you shout for a little louder than others? I am impartial in the main but I love seeing young people, especially the apprentice jockeys, enjoying success. The post In The Hot Seat: Jerry Hannon 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
Bloodstock agent Jason Kelly reflects on a memorable year highlighted by Group 1 scorer Maranoa Charlie There will be people who won't want 2025 to end. Bloodstock agent Jason Kelly is one of those people. A slew of big-races success this year was highlighted by Maranoa Charlie (Wootton Bassett), an inspired mid-summer buy who delivered a breakthrough Group 1 victory for Bond Thoroughbreds in the Prix de la Foret before being snapped up by Tally-Ho Stud, where he will stand for an opening fee of €20,000 next year. There was also Group 3 glory for Bond's Black Caviar Gold while long-standing clients like Akela Thoroughbreds enjoyed a beano with some well-bred fillies trained by David O'Meara, with whom Kelly cut his teeth with and enjoys a close working relationship to this day. Put simply, there has been a lot to toot one's horn about, if one was that way inclined. But Kelly isn't. Instead, he prefers to let the horses do the talking. “I just try to get on with my work,” he says openly. “Even when the sales are on in Newmarket, I'd always stay away in Cambridge. I wouldn't be a massive talker. I don't hate it [speaking to the press] but sometimes I think a lot of it can be hot air. I mean, everyone likes the horse that they buy. We'll find out in six months' time if you were right or wrong so maybe it's better to let the horses do the talking sometimes.” Kelly revealed that, when striking a deal for Maranoa Charlie, he felt the three-year-old had the capabilities of winning a Group 1 within the next 18 months. To that extent, the Christopher Head-trained colt delivered his side of the bargain much earlier than expected when storming to that memorable triumph at ParisLongchamp. “Charlie Bond was looking to buy a high-end horse,” Kelly remembers about how Maranoa Charlie first appeared on his radar. “He had obviously invested a lot of money into the game and Maranoa Charlie had won his Group 3 and looked to be set up to run well in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat so it was there in front of us really. You were buying into a horse who could potentially run in a Group 1 on his next start so it made a lot of sense. He is a horse who has always been blessed with a lot of natural speed. The only question was whether he would conserve enough energy to be able to finish off and win one of those Group 1s. Thankfully, it all came together when he showed his speed as well as how tough he can be when he won his Group 1 in the Prix de la Foret.” He added, “In fairness, we did think that he had stallion potential – he did win a Group 3 carrying a penalty before we bought him – but, for it to work out as it did, it was a dream. We were thinking of an 18-month plan in trying to gain that Group 1 success with him so it happened quicker than we imagined it could. He was obviously based with a fantastic trainer who could deliver the goods.” Maranoa Charlie | Scoop Dyga No trainer has played an integral role in Kelly's career than O'Meara. It was on Roger O'Callaghan's advice that Kelly, who abandoned a career in finance in favour of pursuing his passion within the bloodstock industry, gained some experience with the Irishman based in Yorkshire. That was in the summer of 2013 and the relationship has endured to this day, where Kelly remains a key cog in the wheel of the operation in his role as race planner and racing manager. He explained, “My granddad bred a few horses so I was always around them from a young age. Growing up in Kildare, it was either Gaelic Football or horses, and I suppose I gravitated a bit more towards the GAA. After I went to college in UCD, I got a job in finance but quickly learned that an office job wasn't for me. So I left that and went to America, where I worked with Archie St George before I came back to Ireland and spent some time with Tally-Ho Stud. It was actually Roger who put me in contact with David. I went there in 2013 and have been associated with him ever since. Roger was keen for me to go and get some experience in a racing yard – he thought I'd learn a lot doing that – so he introduced me to David on a Friday and I was working for him by the following Monday. I didn't go over there with any great plan but it is a place where you get back what you put in. I just worked as hard as I could and, like I said, David is the type of fella who will give you the opportunities to progress.” He added, “I always loved going to the sales but David preferred to be in the yard and to be working hands-on with the horses, so there was an opportunity there. In fairness, a trainer cannot do everything either. Between watching horses working in the morning, doing entries and meeting owners, there are only so many hours in the day so you need to be delegating.” Lord Glitters, who Kelly sourced in 2017 for €270,000, put the young bloodstock agent's name in lights with a string of high-profile victories, including the Group 1 Jebel Hatta in Meydan back in 2021. The gorgeous grey earned himself a loyal fan group and amassed over £2 million in prize-money before being retired in 2022. He will forever be remembered as the horse who put Kelly on the map, yet, a horse few will remember, First Bombardment, could be credited for getting the ball rolling on Kelly's career. He explained, “The first time David let me out at a sale, I came home with a horse called First Bombardment [from the yearling sales at £18,000]. He wasn't a superstar or anything but he was beaten just a short head in the Brocklesby. It wasn't a big order but everyone was happy with him. They can't all be Group 1 horses and, when you are spending 20 grand, you've got to be realistic – you're trying to find a fun horse that will get people racing.” Kelly was a major force at all of the European yearling sales this year with business being done on behalf of a range of different clients. Along with Bond Thoroughbreds, Akela Thoroughbreds, Brighton footballer Georginio Rutter and Jinky Farms, have also enjoyed a fruitful year and remain important clients going forward into 2026. He said, “Akela Thoroughbreds are big supporters. Nighteyes (Night Of Thunder) has been brilliant for them and Mark Markey of Akela Thoroughbreds keeps his mares in Ireland. They are actually building a farm on the Curragh and that will be amazing when it is built. They have some exciting mares to retire there – Obviously Nighteyes but also Tundra Rose (Tamayuz), who is a very quick filly and was third in the Listed Montrose Stakes at Newmarket last year. Akela Thoroughbreds have had horses like Epic Poet (Lope De Vega) and Get Shirty (Teofilo) in the past but they were horses-in-training purchases. It has become harder and harder to find those types of horses at the sales so we have changed tack and bought fillies with pedigrees and it seems to be going well. Nighteyes is obviously the flag-bearer given she was second in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes. She actually fractured her fetlock in that race. Thankfully, she has completed her rehab and is out in the field, so the plan will be for her to visit Blue Point in the new year. “Another Night Of Thunder filly, Ryka, has improved a huge amount for David this year, culminating with an impressive performance to win a Listed race in France in October. She's only a three-year-old so we're hoping there might be even more improvement and she is a good advertisement for David's capabilities as a trainer given she has progressed through the ranks this season from a filly that was rated 77 to winning her Listed race. Hopefully she can pick up a Group race next year and then retire back to the stud.” He added, “Georginio Rutter and Jinky Farms have also done quite well this year. They bought Orion's Belt (Starman), who was second in the Dick Poole, and have a number of other nice horses in training. Georginio still has horses with David O'Meara but, when he transferred to Brighton and moved south, he wanted to be close to some horses there. So we teamed up with Ross Doyle and bought three yearlings and they've all worked out. It's a good partnership and hopefully they have a lot of luck going forward.” Kelly's outlook on the game is a refreshing one. Despite closing in on his most successful year as a bloodstock agent, he is not comfortable about hogging the limelight and prefers to emphasise the important role that owners play in the whole ecosystem. He concluded, “Good trainers make a massive difference and I have been fortunate to be able to buy for David, Paddy Twomey and Richard Hannon, so that has been a massive help. As a bloodstock agent, you are only as good as the orders that you have. There's no point being able to pick the horses if you are not able to buy them. Owners are everything and I am lucky to have some great people on board.” The post ‘For Maranoa Charlie To Work Out As Well As He Has Is A Dream’ 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
BloodHorse has reprised its online year-end survey to ask some of the sport's leading individuals for their opinions on pertinent issues facing the sport.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Timaru trainer Stephanie Faulkner has always dreamed of winning her home cup, and that turned into a reality at Phar Lap Raceway on Sunday courtesy of Shaking Stevens (NZ) (American Pharoah). The five-year-old gelding had an army of supporters on course, and the local crowd got right in behind the son of American Pharoah, backing him from $8 into a $3.20 favourite for the Craigmore Sustainable Holdings Timaru Cup (1600m). He rocketed out of the gates from his ace barrier and took an early lead under jockey Tina Comignaghi, but soon handed up to an improving Tumuch. Comignaghi put her charge to sleep in the trail before waking him up at the top of the straight when asking him to chase down the leader and he duly responded, slowly eating into Tumuch’s advantage before hitting the front and holding out a fast-finishing Sir Albert to win by a nose. Faulkner was rapt to finally get her hands on her home Cup. “It wasn’t in my wildest dreams that I would win the big race at Timaru, but we have done it,” she said. “I had a horse years ago, when I trained back in the nineties, called Petrify and he ran second, so it was great to win it today.” Faulkner was pleased with Shaking Stevens’ condition heading into the race and was quietly confident after he jumped away so well. “He won it at the start, he jumped out that well and she (Comignaghi) could dictate what she wanted to do then,” Faulkner said. “It was a nice, cool ride by Tina, and when the pace was slapped on she let them go and relaxed him, he is a pretty easy horse.” His large group of owners were trackside on Sunday, and they were in full voice as they cheered home their charge. “The guys that own this horse are so excited, I don’t think they will be sleeping tonight,” Faulkner said. “I don’t think they have seen so many people in the birdcage to get into the photo. All the owners were there with their kids and it was really cool. There were a lot of friends and family there today which made it even more special.” Bred and formerly raced by The Oaks Stud in Cambridge, Shaking Stevens had 14 starts for Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh before being offered on gavelhouse.com earlier this year where he was purchased for $8,000. Faulkner has taken a patient approach with Shaking Stevens since he arrived in her care in March and he has turned a corner since she changed his shoeing at the start of spring and he has gone on to win four of his last five starts. “Before he started winning for us, he was hanging and carry on a little bit and doing a few things wrong,” Faulkner said. “He had a bit of trouble with his feet, so we got the shoes fixed up and balanced a bit better and got that all ironed out and he turned the corner after we gave him that treatment. “He is looking better-and-better. He looked magnificent out there today. He had a real glimmer and he walked out there like he owned the place.” While Shaking Stevens has been in work for a long time, Faulkner said he hasn’t been overtaxed and he benefited from a change of scenery a couple of weeks ago. “We have had him since March, so he has basically been in work since then,” Faulkner said. “A couple of weeks ago he had a week up at Brian Court’s place on the water walker, just for a change of scenery, and I think that really freshened him up after Cromwell (last-start win).” With Shaking Stevens’ $46,000 winning cheque in-hand, Faulkner is now eyeing loftier targets, and will likely press on to next months $350,000 Life Direct Remutaka Classic (2100m) at Trentham. “At the start of the season we planned to get him into the Remutaka Classic,” she said. “He will have a bit of weight to carry in that but there will be a couple of others on the same weight. “While you have got them in good form like him, you have got to have a crack.” View the full article
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