Trotting Chat

An old article but still points to what I was saying https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/racing/racing-getting-races-your-living-room

I was at Reefton and the wifi was great for the the phone that’s for sure! there is no fibre at Reefton racecourse, I was talking to a trackside technician and he told me the pictures were transmitted by their mobile satellite and that only main venues have a fibre connection for broadcasting.

Juddmonte's Touch of Fire (Constitution) ran off to a convincing seven-length score to become his sire's newest TDN Rising Star, sponsored by Hagyard, in his career debut at the Fair Grounds on Thursday. The 4-1 chance broke from the outside and eased up into a forward stalking position as Robert Lee (Omaha Beach) led through initial fractions of :23.40 and :49.08. Starting to put the screws to that rival entering the home stretch, the Juddmonte homebred drew off late to score by seven lengths over the early leader. The winner's dam, Mexican Gold, is a Group 3 winner in France who also finished third in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas). In addition to Touch of Fire, the sister to Group 1 winner Announce (GB) (Selkirk) is also responsible for a juvenile filly by Tapit in addition to a yearling filly by Flightline. She was bred back to the Horse of the Year.   9th-Fair Grounds, $54,000, Msw, 1-8, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.85, fm, 7 lengths. TOUCH OF FIRE, c, 3, Constitution 1st Dam: Mexican Gold {GSW & G1SP-Fr, GSP-USA, $234,810}, by Medaglia d'Oro 2nd Dam: Hachita, by Gone West 3rd Dam: Choice Spirit, by Danzig Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $32,400. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. O/B-Juddmonte (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.   The post Constitution’s Touch of Fire Earns TDN Stardom in Career Debut at Fair Grounds appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

New Zealand is in the fortunate position of having an outstanding group of young stallions starting to make their mark, and the progeny of these exciting up-and-comers will be in demand at Karaka 2026.   ACE HIGH  Ace High Rich Hill Stud’s Ace High is the sire of 62 winners from 106 runners, with four individual stakes winners including Molly Bloom (NZ) in the Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m). Molly Bloom came from Ace High’s first crop and was bought for $150,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2022. The current season has seen She’s A Hustler (NZ) emerge as an exciting new flagbearer for the stallion. She was a $70,000 purchase by Phill Cataldo Bloodstock from Book 1 of Karaka 2022 and has had 11 starts for seven wins, four placings and A$842,456. She has won three of her four starts as a five-year-old this season including the Group Two Zipping Classic (2400m) and the Group Three Tesio Stakes (2040m). There could also be a bright future in store for the similarly named She’s A Dealer (NZ), who has made a big impression in a seven-start career that has so far produced four wins and a second placing. She won twice as an autumn three-year-old, earning a trip across the Tasman where she ran a close fifth in the Group One Queensland Oaks (2200m). She has come back even better at the age of four, winning both starts in impressive style and earning a shot at Group Two level in the Rich Hill Mile (1600m) at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day. Ace High’s results have led to a growing profile in the sale ring. His first crop of yearlings averaged $93,889 in Book 1 of Karaka 2022 and $41,882 in Book 2. By Karaka 2024, those numbers had risen to $163,750 in Book 1 and $49,000 in Book 2. His yearlings have sold for up to $280,000. Ace High has seven in Book 2 and eight in the inaugural Summer Sale. His progeny in Book 2 include Lot 719, a filly that is the first foal out of the multiple Group Two placegetter Contagious (NZ) (Proisir). ARDROSSAN  There was a hint of unfulfilled talent in the injury-curtailed racetrack career of Ardrossan, who won four of his nine starts including the Group Three Concorde Handicap (1200m) and also placed in the Group One Waikato Sprint (1400m) and Sydney’s Group Three Star Kingdom Handicap (1200m). But he is on track to make a far bigger name for himself as a member of Waikato Stud’s star-studded stallion roster. Retiring in 2019 at an introductory fee of $8,000, which dropped to $3,000 before his first progeny hit the racetrack, Ardrossan has very quickly turned that low profile on its head and now commands a $20,000 service fee. Ardrossan Ardrossan sired three stakes winners in his first crop of two-year-olds – Codigo (NZ), Saltcoats (NZ) and Loch Katrine (NZ). The son of Redoute’s Choice has now been represented by a total of 40 winners from 89 runners with seven individual stakes winners. Yaldi (NZ), Ardalio (NZ) and Beau Dazzler (NZ) have all scored at Group level. Among his most exciting progeny is De Armas (NZ), the winner of both starts to date including the Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m) and one of the favourites for the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). Ardrossan’s 2022 crop of foals – bred from that $3,000 service fee – averaged $182,500 in Book 1 of Karaka 2024 and $103,907 in Book 2. They sold for up to $390,000. Karaka 2026 will feature 29 yearlings by Ardrossan in Book 1, 24 in Book 2 and 10 in the Summer Sale. The filly catalogued as Lot 61 is now a full-sister to three stakes performers, with the recent Group Two Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) placegetter Butler Cabin (NZ) (Ardrossan) joining Beau Dazzler and Toretto (NZ) (Ardrossan). Lot 189 is out of The Real Beel (NZ) (Savabeel), who won the Group Two Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m), placed in the $1m Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) and has produced two Australian winners from two foals to race. Lot 200 is a half-sister to the Group One winner Aegon (NZ) (Sacred Falls). Lot 302 is a half-brother to the Karaka Millions 2YO contender Out Of The Blue (NZ) (Tivaci). Their dam Cornflower Blue (NZ) (Savabeel) won at Group Three level and placed in the Group One New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m). Lot 413 is a half-brother to the Group One Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) winner, five-time Group One placegetter and A$5m earner Icebath (NZ) (Sacred Falls) along with multiple Group One-placed Hong Kong sprinter Courier Wonder (NZ) (Sacred Falls). ARMORY  Armory A Group One performer in both hemispheres including a second placing in a Cox Plate (2040m), Armory stands at Mapperley Stud and has already had a winner in his first crop of two-year-olds with Silhouette (NZ) scoring at Trentham in October. Armory raised his profile sharply at the NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka in November, where his colt out of Cora Lynn (NZ) (Golan) sold to Cameron Booke and Busuttin Racing for $625,000 – the seventh highest price of the sale. It was the fifth highest price for a New Zealand-based sire, behind only the established guns Per Incanto (two) and Satono Aladdin and last season’s champion first-season sire Hello Youmzain. Armory’s first crop of yearlings averaged $34,545 at Karaka 2025, including an average price of $73,333 in Book 1. The catalogues for Karaka 2026 feature four Amory yearlings in Book 2 and 11 in the Summer Sale. Lot 598 is out of a half-sister to the Group One New Zealand Oaks (2400m) winner Miss Sentimental (NZ) (Reliable Man), whose three-year-old son Tagalomu (Tagaloa) won impressively on debut at Tauranga on December 12. Lot 768 is out of a half-sister to the Group One Australasian Oaks (2000m) winner Princess Jenni (NZ) (High Chaparral). CIRCUS MAXIMUS  Circus Maximus was a repeat performer on one of world racing’s biggest stages – Royal Ascot. He won the Group One St James’s Palace Stakes (1600m) there as a three-year-old, then returned a year later and took out the Group One Queen Anne Stakes (1600m). The son of breed-shaping stallion Galileo also won the Prix du Moulin (1600m) at Longchamp and placed in the Group One Sussex Stakes (1600m) twice, the Breeders’ Cup Mile (1600m), the Prix du Moulin and the Prix Jacques le Marois (1600m). He had a total of 17 starts for five wins and six placings. Circus Maximus Circus Maximus has shuttled to Windsor Park Stud since 2021, and his first southern hemisphere crop has already produced Listed winners Towering Vision (NZ) and Circus Dancer (NZ) and the Australian black-type placegetter Ha’penny Hatch (NZ). Considering his own best performances came at the ages of three and four, bigger and better things can be expected from his progeny at a similar stage of their careers. One to watch could be Road To Paris (NZ), who looked a certain winner of last month’s Group Three Wellington Stakes (1600m) before shying at the finish line and dislodging his rider. In the northern hemisphere, he has sired 16 winners including the Group One-placed Green Storm. Standing for a service fee of $17,500, Circus Maximus had progeny sell for up to $300,000 at the recent NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka. The catalogue for Book 1 of Karaka 2026 contains nine Circus Maximus yearlings, with one of his progeny in Book 2 and three in the Summer Sale. Lot 85 is a half-brother to the Australian Group Three winner Chabaud (Lookin At Lucky). Lots 337 and 460 are half-brothers to Group One placegetters Faraglioni (NZ) (El Roca) and Prince Mambo (NZ) (Thewayyouare) respectively. Lot 403 is a full-brother to Ha’penny Hatch. HELLO YOUMZAIN  Another emerging force on the New Zealand stallion scene who made his mark at Royal Ascot is Hello Youmzain. He carried the black and gold Cambridge Stud colours to a famous win in the Group One Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1200m), having previously also taken out the Haydock Sprint Cup (1200m) at the elite level. He had a total of 12 starts for five wins and three placings. Hello Youmzain The son of Kodiac has wasted little time in making an impact at stud. His first northern hemisphere crop produced three stakes winners, and he was New Zealand’s leading first-season sire in 2024-25 with black-type winners Platinum Diamond (NZ) and Lucy In The Sky (NZ). Platinum Diamond has in fact gone on to become a triple Listed winner, adding this spring’s Wanganui Guineas (1200m) to her two-year-old victories in the Castletown Stakes (1200m) and Ryder Stakes (1200m). Hello Youmzain’s first southern hemisphere crop now boasts 23 individual winners – 16 in New Zealand and seven in Australia. One to keep an eye on over the summer months is the Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained Drops Of God (NZ). The three-year-old filly is a half-sister to Group One winner Kahma Lass (NZ) (Darci Brahma) and won by five and a half lengths on debut at Te Aroha on December 7. Yearlings by Hello Youmzain have sold for up to $425,000 at Karaka. Buyers at Karaka 2026 will have access to 24 yearlings by Hello Youmzain in Book 1, 18 in Book 2 and two in the Summer Sale. Lot 46 is a half-sister to the multiple black-type winner All That Pizzazz (Spirit Of Boom). Lot 248 is a half-brother to the exciting stayer Campaldino (NZ) (Ghibellines), who has won six of his 14 starts including the Group Two Brisbane Cup (3200m). Lot 309 is a filly out of the multiple Group winner Belle Fascino (NZ) (Per Incanto). NOVERRE  Savabeel’s son Noverre (NZ) has been inextricably linked with the Karaka sale ring since he went through it himself as a yearling in 2020. He was bought by Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis for $800,000. Noverre In a career that was restricted to just seven starts due to injury, Noverre recorded three wins and three placings. The highlight came in the Group One New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton, where he produced a stunning finish from the back of the field to win going away. Noverre now stands alongside his champion father at Waikato Stud and his oldest progeny are two-year-olds. He has been represented by multiple trial winners. His first yearlings averaged $88,823 at Karaka 2025 at the beginning of this year, including a Book 1 average of $135,625 and a top price of $310,000. That buzz around Noverre carried over into the recent NZB Ready to Run Sale, where he had 10 progeny sell for an average of $135,500 and a top price of $320,000. Noverre has 17 yearlings catalogued for Book 1 of Karaka 2026, 23 for Book 2 and six for Book 3. Lot 91 is a half-sister to the Group One Telegraph (1200m) winner Mercurial (NZ) (Burgundy). Lot 155 is a three-quarter-sister to the Group Two Challenge Stakes (1000m) winner and A$1m earner Jedibeel (NZ) (Savabeel). Lots 197 and 206 are half-siblings to Group One winners Tiptronic (NZ) (O’Reilly) and Romancing The Moon (NZ) (El Roca) respectively. Lot 351 is a half-brother to the dams of Group One winners Orchestral (NZ) (Savabeel) and Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel). Lot 371 is a son of triple Group One winner Daffodil (NZ) (No Excuse Needed), who is the dam of three black-type performers and granddam of another two. SWORD OF STATE  The first few months of the 2025-26 season could hardly have gone any better for Cambridge Stud’s young gun stallion Sword Of State. Himself a Group One winner as a two-year-old and the champion juvenile of his year, he has sired a Melbourne stakes winner and a super-impressive Sydney winner from his first two runners in Australia. Sword Of State Sword Of State’s daughter Torture (NZ) got him on the board in October with a smart debut performance in the Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield to move to the top of the order of entry for the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie in late January. Not to be outdone, Warwoven followed suit with a victory at Randwick on December 20 that hinted at bigger and better things to come. Sword Of State’s first yearlings sold exceptionally well at Karaka 2025 last January. He averaged $154,810, with a Book 1 average of $201,500. Four of his progeny fetched $300,000 or more, with a top price of $540,000 – all from an introductory service fee of $15,000. That strong demand continued into the Ready to Run Sale at Karaka in November, where he had five two-year-olds sell for an average of $256,000 with a top price of $500,000. Sword Of State is the sire of 24 yearlings in Book 1 of Karaka 2026, another 25 in Book 2 and four in the Summer Sale. One of the most anticipated yearlings of the whole sale is Lot 513, the colt by Sword Of State out of Las Brisas (Shamardal). This colt is a half-brother to superstar Karaka graduate Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock), who has earned more than A$10m in Australia with Group One triumphs in the Epsom Handicap (1600m), Champions Mile (1600m) and two editions of the King Charles III Stakes (1600m). Lot 281 is a filly out of a half-sister to the Group One Golden Slipper (1200m) winner Kiamichi (Sidestep). Lot 438 is a full-sister to the colt that fetched $540,000 at Karaka 2025. Lot 567 is a half-brother to the Group One Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) winner Marky Mark (Makfi). Emerging Australian-based sires ALABAMA EXPRESS has made his presence strongly felt on both sides of the Tasman, siring the four-time Group One winner Treasurethe Moment in Australia and high-class sprinting mare Alabama Lass in New Zealand. He has sired 62 winners overall from 112 runners, with four individual stakes winners. His progeny have sold for up to $340,000 at the NZB National Yearling Sale and averaged $270,000 at the Ready to Run Sale in November. Karaka 2026 features six of his yearlings in Book 1. BIVOUAC was an elite racehorse with seven victories including the Group One Golden Rose (1400m), Newmarket Handicap (1200m) and Champions Sprint (1200m). He has quickly found success in his new career at Darley Stud, producing 19 winners from his first crop including Beiwacht, who set a new race record when he followed in his father’s footsteps to win the Golden Rose this spring. Intention (NZ), who was bought for $65,000 from Karaka 2024, won last season’s Group Two Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m). Bivouac’s yearlings have sold for up to $425,000 at Karaka. He has seven yearlings in Book 1 of Karaka 2026 and one in Book 2. GHAIYYATH was a four-time Group One winner in the UK and Europe and shuttled to Australia from 2021 to 2024. His first southern hemisphere crop has produced 13 winners from 36 runners, including this season’s Group One Victoria Derby (2500m) hero Observer and the emerging star Different Gravy. Those performances brought strong demand for his two lots at the NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka in November, which sold for $480,000 and $420,000. Ghaiyyath has two fillies in the catalogue for Book 1 of Karaka 2026. HOME AFFAIRS showed his star quality in Group One victories in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) and Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington, and he has passed some of that talent on to his first crop of two-year-olds. He has already been credited with three winners and three black-type placegetters – Harvey Wallbanger (NZ), I’m Ya Huckleberry and Internal Affairs. Progeny of Home Affairs sold for up to $340,000 at Karaka 2025 last January. He will be represented by 10 second-crop yearlings at Karaka 2026. ZOUSAIN has sired 88 winners from 175 runners, with three impressive stakes winners – Drifting, Amelita and Bellazaine. The only one of his progeny offered in the NZB Ready to Run Sale at Karaka last month sold to Hong Kong for $350,000. He has three yearlings catalogued for Book 1 of Karaka 2026 and one in Book 2. View the full article

French Blue (Gun Runner), off as the 3-5 favorite, showed good early speed from the outside gate, clearing down to sit just off the pace while pressuring the early lead through fractions of :22.77 and :45.82. Moving up under her own power to gain a narrow advantage by the quarter pole, she had no issue putting separation on stablemate Cherry Cider (Tiz the Law) and was in no danger of being caught by a closing Feisty Red Head (Curlin) who picked up second but was 2 1/4 lengths back of the winner on the line. French Blue is the first foal out of GSW and Three Chimneys homebred Twenty Carat. This is the family of Breeders' Cup winners Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect) and her daughter, Sharing (Speighstown). Twenty Carat has been married to Gun Runner for all four of her matings, producing a now 2-year-old colt picked up by M.V. Magnier and White Birch Farm for $1,550,000 at Keeneland September last year. She has a yearling colt still in the pipeline and is due back to the Three Chimneys stalwart this spring. 4th-Santa Anita, $72,500, Msw, 1-8, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:11.21, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. FRENCH BLUE (f, 3, Gun Runner–Twenty Carat {GSW, $118,850}, by Into Mischief) Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $42,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O/B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert.   The post Gun Runner’s French Blue An Easy Debut Winner At Santa Anita appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article