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A New York appellate court has thrown out a two-week suspension of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, but the case is probably far from over.View the full article

Sorghaghtani (NZ) (Mongolian Khan) will get a well-deserved tilt at black-type at Tauranga on Saturday but only if her trainers can find a suitable jockey. The daughter of Mongolian Khan is in a purple patch of form, placing first-up behind subsequent Group Three performer She’s A Dealer (Ace High) at Te Rapa in December before posting successive wins over a mile at Ellerslie in January, and trainers Graham Richardson and Rogan Norvall believe she is ready for a crack at stakes level. They identified the Gr.2 Ultimate Mazda Japan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga this weekend as her target, and while excited to give her a chance at attaining black-type, Sorghaghtani hasn’t been given any favours, drawing barrier 13. Adding to their woes, with two meetings in the North Island and jockeys light on numbers, Richardson and Norvall have also struggled to find a rider for their in form mare. “She deserves a crack at black-type,” Richardson said. “She has been working well, but there is a bit of a concern with the draw and there’s been a bit of a struggle with the riders.” Richardson has also been on the search for a jockey for stablemate Lodi Dodi (Blue Point) in the Craigs Investments Partners 1400 but said she will be saved for her home meeting on Sunday week if they can’t secure a rider. “We had George Rooke onboard and then he got suspended, so we are left without a rider. If we don’t run there we will run at Matamata,” Richardson said. Earlier on the card, Stay Frosty (NZ) (Preferment) and Absolutelyfabulous (NZ) (Sweynesse) will attempt to score an elusive victory in the Bayleys Bay Of Plenty Maiden 1400. Preferment gelding Stay Frosty has finished runner-up in all three of his career starts to date, while Sweynesse mare Absolutelyfabulous has posted the same result in her last two outings. “I don’t like clashing horses but sometimes you have to do it,” Richardson said. “Stay Frosty has had some bad draws, but his run last time was outstanding, and Absolutelyfabulous is going very well.” Stakes performer Romilly (So You Think) will round out Richardson’s representation in the Angela & Nick Fleet Bayleys Papamoa 1400. “Romilly is going really well, I am really happy with her,” Richardson said. “Her run at Matamata in that stakes race (Listed Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes, 1400m) was very good on a bottomless track. She tried really hard that day.” Meanwhile, Richardson was pleased with Lollapalooza’s (NZ) (El Roca) fifth placed run in the $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) and said she has gone for a spell following a successful three-year-old season that netted a win in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) and placings in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) and Gr.3 Sunline Vase (1400m). “It was a very good run (in the NZB Kiwi), she ran fifth and got held up,” Richardson said. “She has been very genuine and she is giving all the owners a big thrill, they are having a ball. “She pulled up pretty well and is out in the spelling paddock until probably June.” View the full article

Last start victor O’Riordan (NZ) (Proisir) will trek south to Wingatui from her Timaru base on Sunday in a bid to add to her winning haul in the Mosgiel Tavern Beaumont Publican’s Cup (1500m). The six-year-old daughter of Proisir was building towards that winning result last week, having finished runner-up at Riccarton at her previous start, and trainer Stephanie Faulkner said she has bounced through the run, which has given her the confidence to back her up this weekend. “I don’t normally back her up this quick, but she was messing around in the paddock like she had recovered really well from her last run,” Faulkner said. “She was out there bucking and carrying on so I thought it wouldn’t hurt her to go again.” O’Riordan will jump from barrier 10 with Central Districts jockey Leah Hemi aboard, and Faulkner said she will be ridden positively from her wide alley. “She will just roll forward and if something else wants to take the lead she is happy just to sit on its hindquarters,” Faulkner said. “On the other hand, if no one wants to go, she is happy to go to the front too.” Faulkner hasn’t made any set plans with O’Roirdan post her weekend run but said she will likely go out for a freshen-up. “She has been up a wee while, so she just may have a freshener and look for something else in another month or so,” she said. Meanwhile, Faulkner is looking forward to heading to Riverton next month with Smooth Operator (NZ) (Turn Me Loose) to line-up in the Riverton Cup (2147m). It is the final leg of the Southern Cups Bonus Series where a $50,000 winner takes all bonus is up for grabs. Smooth Operator currently sits in third position on five points behind Noble Knight (NZ) (Ghibellines) (eight points) and In Vegas (NZ) (Telperion) (seven points), with double points on the line in the Riverton Cup. The gelding won the second leg of the series, the Invercargill Gold Cup (2600m), and was a beaten favourite in the Listed Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m) last month when fifth, but Faulkner said a post-race examination found he had an infection. “He took half an hour to recover after the Dunedin Cup, and he is usually very clean-winded, so we knew something wasn’t quite right,” Faulkner said. “He had a bit of a respiratory tract infection, and we have treated him for that. “Outwardly you would think there is nothing wrong with him, but not until they race and get under that pressure you find out these things. “He is very well so I am looking forward to that Riverton final with him.” Faulkner is also excited about the stable’s top-rated horse Richard Stomper’s (NZ) (El Roca) return to the trials after undergoing surgery following a race fall last year. “He is going to trial at the next lot of trials,” she said. “He had that accident on the 27th of September, and he was operated on and he has had a long, slow build-up for his first trial. I am really happy with him.” View the full article

Gordon Elliott Racing snapped up debut winner Monster Truck (lot 29) for a record £530,000 to top the Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale after racing on Thursday. The four-year-old gelding is the highest-priced horse ever sold in the Tattersalls Cheltenham sale ring. The son of Goliath Du Berlais won his only start, a three-mile point-to-point at Lingstown on March 8. Consigned by Cormac Doyle's Monbeg Stables, he is out of the winning Carmen Lady (Authorized) and is a half-brother to the winning hurdler Le Yacht (Buck's Boum). Granddam Shining Sea (Anabaa Blue) was placed twice at listed level in France. He changed hands for €49,000 as a Goffs December NH Sale weanling when purchased by Tally-Ho Stud. Elliott said, “We saw him six to eight weeks ago at Cormac's. We did not think he would make that sort of money, but to get to the top, these are the horses you need. Mouse [O'Ryan] was at Lingstown when the horse ran, but the horse came highly recommended anyway. You won't see him on a racetrack until next season.” A trio of fellow three-mile point-to-point winners each made £400,000–lot 5, Palinca, also by Goliath Du Berlais, Jezebel Eyes (Motivator) (lot 17) and Monzon Sport (Goliath Berlais) (lot 24). Also offered by Monbeg, Palinca caught the eye of Coolmara Stables and was originally a €23,000 yearling out of the Arqana Autumn Mixed Sale to Brown Island Stables. She is a half-sister to the listed chase winner Shokdor (Seabhac) and the stakes-placed AQPS hurdler Heros (Voiladenuo). Jezebel Eyes was sold from Skehanagh Stables to Walters Plant Hire. The filly is a half to a pair of winners in the NH sphere and will visit Cracksman upon her retirement from racing. “We bought into the stallion [Cracksman] and I want to buy him some quality mares,” said Dai Walters. Monzon Sport, part of the Suirview Stables draft, went to Willie Mullins and Harold Kirk. The gelding is a half-brother to Grade 1-winning chaser Leader Sport (Nirvana Du Berlais) and Grade 3-scoring chaser Geelong Sport (No Risk At All). Kirk said of Monzon Sport, “He is by the best sire in France, he has a very good pedigree, he looks a quick horse and he has come highly recommended by Pat Doyle. He goes to Willie Mullins, and a lot of good horses come out of this sale.” Of the 28 horses offered, 25 sold (89%) for a gross of £4,385,000. The average was £175,400 and the median was £145,000. All three lots by rising sire star Goliath Du Berlais made £400,000 or more. Tattersalls Cheltenham sales manager Shirley Anderson-Jolag said, “The Tattersalls Cheltenham team have put together a fantastic catalogue, arguably the best we have had for the Festival Sale, and this record-breaking evening is a superb testament to those horses, this unique sale at this brilliant location and to the trust placed in us by these brilliant consignors, and we thank them for that. “To have two record Festival Sales in successive years, as well as a record-breaking top lot, is a brilliant achievement. We wish the new connections all the very best for the future. The post Monster Truck Sets New Tattersalls Cheltenham Record At £530k appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article