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Maryland's Fair Hill Training Center will replace its seven-furlong Tapeta Footings track this summer, an upgrade from one of the synthetic surface's earliest installations to the company's newest iteration Tapeta 13. Work is slated to begin in mid-July and take approximately six weeks, depending on weather and other factors. Fair Hill, home to approximately 700 Thoroughbred racehorses in 18 privately owned barns, was founded in 1983 with a seven-furlong wood-chip track and upgraded to include a one-mile dirt track shortly thereafter. The wood chips were replaced 19 years ago with Tapeta, a synthetic training surface consisting of silica sand, wax and fibers created by former trainer Michael Dickinson, who established Tapeta Footings in 2005. Funds acquired via condominium fees, state grants and a business loan will pay for the project. “It's been a 2 1/2-year project,” said Buddy Jones, co-owner of two barns on the property and spearheaded the funding effort. “A lot of people did a lot of work to get here, and we're excited about the future. Fair Hill has a big economic impact in Cecil County and the state, and that was an important point to keep in mind. We're grateful to the barn owners, the state of Maryland, Tapeta Footings and everyone who helped make this a reality.” Construction steps will include removal of the existing footing, a thorough examination of and repairs to the porous asphalt base, blending of the new material on site and finally installation of the new surface on the same footprint inside the dirt oval. Unlike the nearly black Tapeta 1, the new version is lighter in color and does not use rubber as part of the formula. “The Tapeta has held up well and we've been pleased with it, but we felt it was time to replace it,” said trainer Graham Motion, a Fair Hill barn owner and a member of the association board. “We breezed a lot of good horses on that track. We're excited about it. It will be one more piece to training at Fair Hill.” The Tapeta replacement also comes with the recent re-opening of the Fair Hill turf course for training on state-owned property adjacent to the training center. The one-mile course, rebuilt and redesigned in 2019-20. “I think it's spectacular,” Motion said of the turf. “It will be great to have it when we're replacing the Tapeta, but I think it's genuinely exciting for Fair Hill as a whole. To add access to that to everything else here is great. It's already a great place to train horses and it's getting better.” The post Fair Hill Training Center to Upgrade Tapeta Surface appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Kick Up team in Australia has launched a new Breeding Hub to tackle misinformation head-on, following the public backlash after the death of Black Caviar last year when much of what was shouted about the breeding industry was said to be incorrect. “We saw, very aggressively and loudly, possibly for the first time, that there was a lot of criticism towards the breeding industry, and a heck of a lot of misinformation came along with that,” said Nathan Skrivanic of Kick Collective, who is part of the Kick Up team that spearheaded the effort to put together the hub. “When the particularly controvsial ABC article came out, we had a lot of people calling asking Kick Up to help address the lies that were being told. However, all our work needs to be anchored with real information – stats and science – and we'd created that for racing only. It became clear that a resource to correctly communicate about the complexities of breeding, simplified in a way the public could understand, was also very urgently needed.” The Breeding Hub breaks down the information into four sections, focusing on foaling, broodmares, raising and weaning foals, and the process of conception itself. Each section contains several blogs that go more in-depth into relevant topics. Kick Up relies on sponsorships to put resources together, while Kick Collective doubles the impact by matching sponsors with in-kind resources. Skrivanic credits international thoroughbred owner Rick Gold, recipient of the 2024 Thoroughbred Owners of California's Ed Friendly Industry Service Award, for his regular contributions to the organisation. “Rick has fallen in love with the Australian industry, and despite actually being based in California, he is our biggest sponsor. His generosity has provided the base funds to ensure we can keep ticking over each year,” Skrivanic added. The project has also received widespread support from across the industry, including hefty donations from Godolphin Australia, Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association and OTI Racing, amongst others, and collaboration with the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Association. For more information about Kick Up's Breeding Hub, click here. The post New Breeding Hub Launched on Kick Up Platform appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 261 selected yearlings for The July Sale, to be held Tuesday, July 8, at Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, Kentucky. The sale will begin at 10 AM. To view the catalog, click here. “We are excited to lead off yearling sales season with a quality catalogue of precocious, selected yearlings,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “July continues to be at the top of all major North American yearling sales in a variety of performance statistics. It's a sale all yearling buyers need to focus on or risk missing major opportunities.” The sale's graduates include Chancer McPatrick, winner of last year's GI Hopeful S. and GI Champagne S. and Carson's Run, who captured last year's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational S.  The sale is also responsible for GSWs Black Forza, Chop Chop, Federal Judge, Maysam, Non Compliant, Shisospicy, Taking Candy and Three Technique. The sale opens with the Freshman Sire Showcase (Hips 1-94), highlighting the offspring of first-crop yearling sires. “This year's crop of Freshman sires is a very exciting group, and they are well represented by some outstanding individuals in July,” noted Browning. “There is also a great mix of proven sires as well, making this a very attractive catalogue.” Nominations are also now open for the July Selected Horses of Racing Age sale, which will be held immediately following the conclusion of the yearling sale, Tuesday, July 8. Fasig-Tipton will accept nominations up until sale time; however, to be included in the catalogue's initial release, entries should be finalized by June 13. The July Sale catalogue will also be available via the equineline sales catalogue app. Print catalogues will be available by June 9. The post 261 Yearlings on Offer, Catalogue for The July Sale Available Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Colloquial (Vekoma), the 6-1 fourth choice on the morning line for Saturday's Grade I $500,000 Woody Stephens at Saratoga, will be withdrawn from the race, according to his trainer, George Weaver. “Since his last breeze, he hasn't been moving on the track to our satisfaction,” said Weaver. “He's been jogging and galloping but just not moving one-hundred percent. He's not hitting the ground the way we would like. We don't have time to get really concrete diagnosis done (before the race). We're going to get it done, but we don't feel he should run this weekend.” Weaver was asked if he was disappointed in the turn of events. “He is one of the most talented horses I have ever had,” Weaver said. “We have been looking forward to this race for a long time. It's a disappointment, but I have been doing this long enough that I have been disappointed before and I can take it. He's one of the best horses I have ever trained. He reminds me a lot of his sire, Vekoma.” Owned by Harrell Ventures LLC and Starlight Racing, the three-year-old Colloquial has won both of his 2025 starts, an Aqueduct maiden special weight on February 7 , and Keeneland's Lafayette Stakes on April 7. He was second in his debut on June 15, 2024 at Aqueduct, before an eight-month absence from the races. The post Colloquial Out of Woody Stephens appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

For so long now we have been used to the Galileo factor at Epsom, and while none of his final small crop of 13 has made the line-up for the Derby or the Oaks, we still find his name all over the place on the pages of this year's runners, merely starting to shuffle back a bit in the generation game.  Galileo's sons Frankel, Australia and Circus Maximus each have at least one runner in the Derby, and Frankel and Australia also have Oaks runners. Eight of the 19 Derby runners and seven of the nine fillies in the Oaks have a dose of Galileo blood. The more significant influence is of course Galileo's dam, Urban Sea, who, through her other Derby-winning son Sea The Stars, can be found in the pedigrees of 19 of the 28 runners in the two Epsom Classics, and in the case of Nightime Dancer and Tuscan Hills she is there twice, top and bottom.  Sea The Stars has two Derby runners – Sea Scout and The Lion In Winter – both bred by his own breeder, the Tsui family's Sunderland Holding. His son Affinisea is the sire of Al Wasl Storm, and Sea The Stars is the broodmare sire of two runners in the Derby and Qilin Queen in the Oaks. What must be acknowledged is the increasing influence of Dubawi through a range of his sons. No fewer than four of those – New Bay, Too Darn Hot, Night Of Thunder, and Ghaiyyath – account for six Derby runners, while Dubawi is himself represented by Delacroix. It is a particularly noteworthy achievement for Ghaiyyath to have his first-crop sons Stanhope Gardens and Nightime Dancer in the Derby field, Ghaiyyath himself being out of Galileo's first ever Classic winner back in 2006, Nightime.  Dubawi of course provided last year's Oaks winner, Ezeliya, and is the broodmare sire of 2021 Derby winner Adayar. Of the Derby sires for this year's race, only Frankel, Sea The Stars and Justify have sired a previous winner: Adayar, Harzand and City Of Troy respectively. Frankel has also supplied two Oaks winners in Anapurna and Soul Sister, while one of the early top-liners for Sea The Stars was his Oaks-winning daughter Taghrooda. The late Deep Impact has been represented at Epsom by Derby winner Auguste Rodin and Oaks winner Snowfall, and Deep Impact's son Study Of Man has a runner in each Classic this weekend: Rogue Impact and Revoir. Aside from Coolmore and Godolphin, the only other breeder to be represented in the Derby and the Oaks is Annemarie O'Brien, with Tennessee Stud and Wemightakedlongway. Both are trained by her son Joseph, and in the case of the latter, the filly's sire Australia was also ridden by Joseph O'Brien to win the Derby, trained of course by his father and Annemarie's husband, Aidan. Some family. BETFRED DERBY Al Wasl Storm Affinisea – Dearborn (Martaline) Breeder: Gavin Wallace Yes, on the face of it, Affinisea, who ran only twice at four and five, and whose best winner to date is the Grade 2-winning hurdler Hollygrove Cha Cha, shouldn't really have a runner in the Derby. But when you frame it differently, and consider that the stallion is by Derby winner Sea The Stars and a half-brother to Irish Derby winner Soldier Of Fortune (by Galileo) then it starts to look a lot less unusual. Al Wasl Storm, a €7,000 purchase at the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Foal Sale, is his unraced dam's first offspring. The mare's family is pretty short on black type, but he will certainly see out the trip while others may fall short. He coped readily with the tight turns of Chester when making all to win his maiden there in May, and he had a spin around Epsom in last week's gallops morning, but will need to show significant progress.   Al Wasl Storm is one of two runners for Ahmad Al Shaikh | John Hoy   Damysus Frankel – Legerete (Rahy) Breeder: Newsells Park Stud & Merry Fox Stud The Dante runner-up was also present for Epsom's Derby gallops morning last week and looked right at home on the track at a click below racing pace. We know Frankel can get a good one at just about any distance, and Legerete was herself a Group 2 winner over 1m4f who has produced two Listed winners over a mile among her eight winners. The extended family also includes Arc runner-up Aventure and Prix Saint-Alary second Audubon Park. Legerete is now 21 but has a colt on the ground this year by Classic sire Nathaniel, and is back in foal to him. This colt is at least named to succeed as, in Greek mythology, Damysus was said to be the fastest giant, and his name translates to 'conqueror'. Delacroix Dubawi – Tepin (Bernstein) Breeder: Tepin Syndicate  Tepin, an $8 million purchase at Fasig-Tipton's November Sale, and a winner at the Breeders' Cup and Royal Ascot among her 13 triumphs, died two years ago at the age of 12 and her loss is looking increasingly lamentable. Her third foal, Grateful, a daughter of Galileo, won last season's G1 Prix de Royallieu and now her final foal Delacroix is co-favourite for the Derby. He has romped through two Derby trials in Ireland over 10f and while the extra two furlongs are a step into the unknown, there is cause for hope that he will take it in his stride. Green Storm Circus Maximus – Banimpire (Holy Roman Emperor) Breeder: Banimpire Syndicate  Ahmad Al Shaikh has pulled off the feat of having two Derby runners bought collectively for €19,000, for this colt was a €12,000 Goffs Orby purchase and is now rated 107, having won at Yarmouth last September before placing at G1 and G2 level. Admittedly, the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud featured only three runners, the winner being Tennessee Stud, and those first two home will line up for the Derby. Green Storm is from the first crop of Circus Maximus, who now resides solely in New Zealand at Windsor Park Stud after three seasons of shuttling between there and Coolmore in Ireland. His dam Banimpire was a classy racemare, winning the G2 Ribblesdale and being beaten a short-head by Blue Bunting to finish second in the Irish Oaks. She's a half-sister to the dam of Melbourne Cup winner Twilight Payment and is out of the 1m4f Listed winner My Renee. Lambourn Australia – Gossamer Wings (Scat Daddy) Breeder: Coolmore His dam was beaten a short-head when second in the G2 Queen Mary Stakes and appeared averse to racing beyond 5f, but Australia has done plenty of lifting here when it comes to stamina and Lambourn is already proven at the trip, having beaten Lazy Griff in the Chester Vase.  Gossamer Wings is one of 10 winners for her dam Lavender Baby, four of which earned black type in America, including her full-sister, the Zia Park Oaks (9f) winner Lavender Chrissie. Lazy Griff Protectionist – Linarda (Rock Of Gibraltar) Breeder: Gestut Westerberg If Lazy Griff defies his long odds to win, he would be the first Derby winner since 1906 to be sired by a Melbourne Cup winner after Spearmint, by Carbine. Bred at Gestut Westerberg, outside Frankfurt, by Peter and Aline Rodde, he was bought as a yearling at BBAG for €75,000 and is a full-brother to the G3 Bavarian Classic winner Lambo. Their Danish-bred dam won the Swiss 1,000 Guineas. This trip will be no problem.  Midak Footstepsinthesand – Minya (Sinndar) Breeder: Aga Khan Studs In a year in which the late Aga Khan is honoured at Epsom, it is not only good to see his operation with a Derby runner in the supplemented Midak, but also fitting that the G2 Prix Greffulhe winner is out of a mare by Sinndar, the Derby hero of 2000. Minya had plenty of stamina herself, twice winning over 1m6f, and her dam Minatlya, is a sister to the high-class stayer Manighar, a treble Group 1 winner in Australia. This unbeaten colt is an intriguing addition to the race and certainly should not be overlooked, especially when considering the excellent form of his trainer Francis Graffard. New Ground New Bay – Gaining (American Post) Breeder: Juddmonte Farms The second of the French supplementary entries, New Ground is the second foal of his dam, who won the G3 Prix Fille de l'Air before earning further black type in America. Stamina doesn't appear to be a concern, as the colt was pitched straight in over 1m2f for his juvenile debut, which he won. He may well appreciate the rain which is likely to fall over the next few days at Epsom. Nightime Dancer Ghaiyyath – Stella d'Italia (Sea The Stars) Breeder: GCE Farm Not only inbred to Urban Sea 4×3 through Galileo and Sea The Stars, Nightime Dancer also has the same repetition of Colorado Dancer in his pedigree through the colt's paternal great grandsire Dubai Millennium and his half-sister Ragsah, the dam of Stella d'Italia. Proven over the distance but will need to take another big step forward.    Nightwalker and Damysus at the Epsom gallops morning | John Hoy   Nightwalker Frankel – Sleep Walk (Oasis Dream) Breeder: Juddmonte Farms  As discussed in this week's Seven Days, this is a family in the news of late, with Sleep Walk's half-sisters Suffused and Alienate appearing over the weekend as the dams of group winners Sunly and Estrange. Another half-sibling of Sleep Walk is Logician, the winner of the St Leger in 2019 and also by Frankel, making him a close relation of this colt. Bated Breath and Cityscape also feature in the family. Pride Of Arras New Bay – Parnell's Dream (Oasis Dream) Breeder: Mr & Mrs David Aykroyd The Dante winner impressed many on only his second start and another furlong and a half should be within his grasp. His dam won over a mile and a half, and her dam is a sister to  the St Leger winner Brian Boru (Sadler's Wells), while Derby and Arc winner Workforce is also a family member.  Rogue Impact Study Of Man – Just So (Galileo) Breeder: Eric Chen Yet another winner of the St Leger pops up in this family as Rogue Impact's dam Just So is a once-raced half-sister to Mukhadram, their dam Magic Tree being a half-sister to Godolphin's 2009 winner of the final Classic, Mastery. Rogue Impact beat Al Wasl Storm when breaking his maiden over this trip at Lingfield in April but was later last of the six runners in the Derby Trial back at that track. He clearly has ability and stamina, and he is bred along very similar lines to 2023 winner Auguste Rodin, but this is likely to overface him at the stage of his career. Ruling Court Justify – Inchargeofme (High Chaparral) Breeder: Nursery Place, Manfuso & Wilhite The 2,000 Guineas winner is by the sire of last year's Derby winner out of a mare by the 2002 winner and hails from the same Inchmurrin family as The Lion In Winter. Grade III-placed in America, Inchargeofme is a sister to G1 Racing Post Trophy runner-up Johann Strauss and is a granddaughter of the Listed Ballymacoll Stud Stakes winner Incheni. Sea Scout Sea The Stars – We Do Xin (Shamardal) Breeder: Sunderland Holding Already a winner over course and distance in the Blue Riband Trial, Sea Scout's pedigree holds further Epsom claims in that his granddam Moonshadow is a full-sister to Lordship Stud's Oaks winner Love Divine, later the dam of St Leger winner Sixties Icon. His dam was unraced but has already produced an Australian Listed winner from an earlier mating to Sea The Stars. Stanhope Gardens Ghaiyyath – Pure Art (Dutch Art) Breeder: Tulpark Ltd He's yet to go beyond a mile but there is reason to hope that Stanhope Gardens will cope with the step up. His Barnett-bred dam Pure Art may be by a sprinter but she won over 1m2f herself and is a half-sister to Godolphin's Romsdal, who was third in the Derby and runner-up in the St Leger. Their granddam is the Irish and Yorkshire Oaks winner Pure Grain. Tennessee Stud Wootton Bassett – In My Dreams (Sadler's Wells) Breeder: Mrs Annemarie O'Brien Could Wootton Bassett collect a third Classic of the season? Tennessee Stud was a Group 1 winner over 1m2f on heavy ground last year and has been in action just once this year when third to Delacroix in the Leopardstown Derby Trial. His dam made no impact in two starts but is a Sadler's Wells half-sister to the great Rock Of Gibraltar. The Lion In Winter Sea The Stars – What A Home (Lope De Vega) Breeder: Sunderland Holding Like Ruling Court, he is from the family of Inchinor, and his dam was a 94-rated mile-and-half winner and half-sister to the Irish Oaks runner-up Venus De Milo. He'll need to settle better than he did at York but stamina shouldn't be an issue. Tornado Alert Too Darn Hot – Bint Almatar (Kingmambo) Breeder: Godolphin Fourth in the 2,000 Guineas behind Ruling Court, he's a half-brother to the G1 Metropolitan winner Just Fine (Sea The Stars). His dam won over a mile and is a half-sister to the classy Master Of The Seas, who was just touched off in the Guineas and later won the Breeders' Cup Mile. Bit of a stamina question mark. Tuscan Hills Night Of Thunder – Taqleed (Sea The Stars) Breeder: John Richard Wheeler Oaks winners as his second and third dams should help his cause, as does having the Derby-winning half-brothers Sea The Stars and Galileo in the second and third generations of his pedigree. Taqleed was unraced but her first foal was a Listed-winning juvenile in Italy. The stiff mile of Pontefract was within his range when winning the Listed Silver Tankard Stakes at two but he'll need to improve on his comeback run when seventh in the Dante. BETFRED OAKS Desert Flower Night Of Thunder – Promising Run (Hard Spun) Breeder: Godolphin Stamina will be the only question mark for this champion two-year-old who is already a Classic winner. She certainly has the physique of a middle-distance filly even if her page doesn't guarantee that she will be. Her Brazilian Grade 1-winning granddam Aviacion may come to her rescue here as she is by a son of Shirley Heights and won over the distance herself, as well as producing the Lillie Langtry Stakes runner-up Arabian Comet and a couple of National Hunt winners.  Elwateen Dubawi – Tawkeel (Teofilo) Breeder: Shadwell Estate Company A supplementary entry after finishing fourth in the 1,000 Guineas, Elwateen is the first foal of the G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner Tawkeel who is herself a granddaughter of the G2 Prix de Sandringham winner and G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest runner-up Joanna, by High Chaparral. Has to be respected for her gritty run at Newmarket on only the second start of her life but not guaranteed to stay. Giselle Frankel – Newspaperofrecord (Lope De Vega) Breeder: Coolmore & White Birch Farm The Lingfield Oaks Trial winner is the first foal of the very smart miler Newspaperofrecord,  herself a daughter of the G3 Sceptre Stakes winner Sunday Times. The latter's half-sister Question Times is the dam of the Irish Derby winner Latrobe and Oaks runner-up Pink Dogwood, both of whom are by Camelot.  Go Go Boots Night Of Thunder – Hertford Dancer (Foxwedge) Breeder: Highclere Stud & Mrs Michelle Morris Her fourth dam Rafha certainly made her mark, both as a Classic winner herself in the Prix de Diane, and as the dam of Invincible Spirit and Kodiac. The Prix du Jockey Club winner Mishriff is also from the same family, through Rafha's daughter Acts Of Grace, but it is another daughter, the Empress Stakes winner Massarra, whose line leads to Go Go Boots. Her dam Hertford Dancer won the Lingfield Oaks Trial for John Gosden but missed Epsom for Ascot and a third-placed finish in the Ribblesdale. Go Go Boots has some improvement to find but looks progressive.  Minnie Hauk Frankel – Multilingual (Dansili) Breeder: B V Sangster A granddaughter of the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Zenda, Minnie Hauk's dam is a half-sister to Kingman and has already produced the G2 Summer Mile winner Tilsit (First Defence). A €1.85 million yearling from the Goffs Orby Sale, she bids to become the second winner of the Oaks bred by Ben Sangster after Dancing Rain. Oasis Dream also features in this signature Juddmonte family. Qilin Queen Pinatubo – Seagull (Sea The Stars) Breeder: Mrs T Mahon It is only six years since Pinatubo was tearing down the Epsom straight lickety-split to win the Woodcote en route to becoming champion juvenile, and now here he is with his very first Oaks runner. He never quite managed to win at a mile, but his daughter has already coped admirably with the 1m2f of the Childwickbury Stud Sillies' trial at Newbury, in which she beat Revoir by a short-head. That stamina doubtless comes from her dam, a 1m4f maiden winner for Lady Rothschild and a half-sister to the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Nightime (dam of Ghaiyyath). She is representing the red-hot stable of Ed Walker.    Qilin Queen, right, and Revoir, centre | Racingfotos   Revoir Study Of Man – Regardez (Champs Elysees) Breeder: Lawn Stud From the second crop of Study Of Man, Revoir represents a family which has been nurtured by former TBA chairman Julian Richmond-Watson for generations, a member of which had already graced the winner's circle after the Oaks. That was Look Here (Hernando) in 2008, who became the first Classic winner for Revoir's trainer Ralph Beckett. Look Here's sister Look So (Efisio) was a four-time winner and though she accrued no black type herself has been the better broodmare. Her son Scope won the G1 Prix Royal-Oak while Revoir's dam Regardez was a Listed winner and has produced the G3 Fred Darling winner Remarquee (Kingman).  Wemightakedlongway Australia – Dont Ask Me At All (No Nay Never) Breeder: Mrs Annemarie O'Brien It perhaps bodes well that she is by a Derby winner, who was himself by a Derby winner out of an Oaks winner. Annemarie O'Brien has a long history with this family as Wemightakedlongway's third dam Queen Titi was owned and bred by her and trained at Ballydoyle to win at Listed level. The mare later produced the Dewhurst winner Beethoven along with this filly's grandam Ask Me Nicely (Fastnet Rock), a moderate maiden. The dam Dont Ask Me At All was unraced but as this is her first foal she is well on her way to atoning for that. Wemightakedlongway looked smart and straightforward in her all-the-way win in the Salsabil Stakes, giving the impression that another two furlongs would be within her scope. Whirl Wootton Bassett – Salsa (Galileo) Breeder: Coolmore The first foal of Salsa, a mile maiden winner who is out of the speedy and classy Beauty Is Truth (Pivotal) and thus a sister to three Group 1 winners in Hydrangea, Hermosa and The United States. Whirl looked impressive in winning the Musidora easily, a performance which should help to allay some doubts as to her reserves of stamina.    The post Page Impressions: Examining the Derby and Oaks Pedigrees  appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article