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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Coolmore's John Magnier has donated approximately 14 acres of land to develop a new training facility for the Tipperary Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), RTE reported. The land is adjacent to the Tipperary GAA's current base. The expansion of the Tipperary GAA's Coolmore Morris Park in Thurles will allow for the creation of a new, “state-of-the-art centre of excellence”. In a statement, Tipperary GAA CEO Murtagh Brennan said, “This investment represents a watershed moment for Gaelic games in Tipperary and underscores our long-term commitment to nurturing athletic excellence and supporting the next generation of hurlers and footballers. “Crucially, this expansion will serve not only our elite teams but the thousands of young boys and girls who represent the future of Tipperary GAA. It will provide a safe, modern and inclusive environment for youth development, physical wellbeing, and personal growth. “The wider Tipperary community will also benefit, with this facility acting as a hub for participation, pride and connection across our county. “Tipperary GAA extends its sincere gratitude to Mr Magnier for his outstanding generosity and vision. “This development is not just an enhancement of facilities–it is an investment in the future of our county, our players, and our sporting community. It will ensure that Tipperary GAA continues to flourish and that our athletes have every opportunity to reach their full potential.” The post Magnier Donates Land To Tipperary GAA 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
Every year, about 17,000 Thoroughbreds are born in North America. Let's assume half of them are colts: 8,500 male horses bred with ambition in their blood. Of those, maybe 50–if we're being generous–will ever make it to stud. The fillies often retain value as broodmares, but even then the industry quietly accumulates thousands of horses every single year whose careers end without a clear path forward. And for far too many of them, that path ends at the slaughterhouse. We talk about racing fatalities in terms of breakdowns on the track. But what about the horses that vanish off it? The ones who served their purpose and then became too expensive, too inconvenient, too anonymous to keep around? That's not just a moral dilemma. It's a failure of our product life cycle. That's where Breeders' Cup Sunday Comes In This is a proposal for the Breeders' Cup to launch a national, multi-discipline competition circuit exclusively for off-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs). A series that spans the calendar year, beginning with the Pegasus World Cup in January and culminating in the Breeders' Cup in November. Events held on the biggest racing weekends: Derby Day, Travers, Pacific Classic, Blue Grass Stakes. A Sunday stage, built for second chances. This wouldn't be a showcase or a goodwill gesture. It would be real competition, with real stakes. Show jumping. Dressage. Eventing, and other disciplines uniquely suited to retired racehorses. Because when you put a Thoroughbred in front of a crowd, with purpose and spotlight, magic still happens. Not Charity, Market Correction Breeders' Cup Sunday wouldn't be about pity. It would be about potential. With enough prize money to matter, we flip the paradigm from “how do we find homes” to “how do we compete for one?” That's how markets work. When something has value, people protect it. They invest in it. They build stories around it. For decades, we've leaned on aftercare as a charitable afterthought. That model is noble, but it isn't scalable. What's scalable is value. And this one idea could solve three things at once. Economic Value A well-planned, well-funded, Thoroughbred-only show circuit can do what decades of fundraising haven't: make these horses desirable again. It would create a viable secondary market, where a horse that once struggled in the claiming ranks might shine in a jumper ring. Imagine a $7,500 gelding winning a championship on Travers weekend, and suddenly, everyone wants a horse just like him. This wouldn't just save lives. It would lift the entire value chain. Trainers would think twice before running horses into the ground. Auction houses could host alumni classes. Regional breeding programs could have incentives built in. Even stallions who missed the commercial mark might sire athletic, versatile OTTBs that thrive on these stages. This doesn't just help aftercare. It helps everyone who touches the sport. Fandom and Attendance These Sunday events would run parallel to the big racing Saturdays. They wouldn't compete with racing. They'd complete it. Families attending to cheer on their OTTB might stay to watch the stakes races. Dressage riders and jumper fans might stumble into the thrill of the paddock. New audiences. New owners. New storylines. This is also how we grow fractional ownership and micro-share models through easy customer acquisition. Storylines In today's world, attention is currency. Storytelling is economy. And we are sitting on the greatest untold stories in sport. Comebacks. Redemption arcs. Second acts. Imagine following a once-forgotten claimer now winning hearts in show jumping. Imagine an OTTB who ran dead last in the Derby returning to Churchill Downs five years later and winning a freestyle competition under the twin spires. We've seen it before. We just don't package it. Look at what “Welcome to Wrexham” did for a fifth-division football club. Look at how “Drive to Survive” doubled F1 viewership. We don't need to invent drama. We just need to shine a light on the ones already walking among us. Breeders' Cup Sunday could become the bridge between disciplines, between fan bases, between chapters of a horse's life. It could be the thing that carries over not just horses, but owners, breeders, and dreamers. It could scale globally with events accompanying the big days like the Dubai World Cup and the Saudi Cup. Because this sport isn't just built on speed. It's built on belief. We are a sport of dreams. Of what might be. Of what could be. We just need to extend that dream beyond the finish line and give these horses a chance to write one more chapter in their story. –Sobhy Sonbol, Nile Bloodstock The post Letter To The Editor: How Breeders’ Cup Sunday Can Be A Sustainable Solution To Racing Aftercare 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
Strong chance that Willie Browne leaves his Christmas shopping until the last minute. Why? The legendary breeze-up handler played a leading role at this week's Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale – one of the last yearling sales of the year – by spending €160,500 on four horses, which included the top lot by Sioux Nation at €88,000. Peter Nolan and Noel Meade, Spanish bloodstock agent Francisco Bernal along with BBA Ireland agents Mick Donohoe and Adam Potts could well be in a similar boat, as they also contributed to what turned out to be booming trade at Kildare Paddocks this week. Any softening to the horses-in-training market of late bore little or no consequence to the yearling section of this sale with a strong domestic and foreign buying bench contributing to a 15% rise in turnover to €4,372,900. The average and median also went north, with a 15% bump to €10,053 and 20% jump to €6,000 respectively. Meanwhile, an 82% clearance rate, which was up by 5% on last year's sale, illustrates just how high the demand was for untried horses at Goffs this week. The recent horses-in-training sales at Tattersalls and Goffs were by no means weak but the general consensus among consignors – and even bloodstock agents – is that yearlings are becoming a much easier sell than the form horses are. And when it comes to selling the dream of an unraced animal, few do it better than Browne, who had two different millionaire breezers through his hands in 2025. If the Old Carhue Stud-consigned Sioux Nation colt, who is the first produce out of an American Pharoah mare, can chart a similarly profitable path next spring, Browne might make a habit of playing his cards late at the yearling sales. He said, “Some of the Sioux Nations are quite coarse-looking but he looked sharp. He looks like he'll make up into a two-year-old whereas some of them can be a bit plain and timely. He vetted and x-rayed well. Listen, he cost maybe €15,000 more than I wanted to give for him, but I needed a few more numbers.” It's been a while since we've heard that buzzword 'polarisation'. The general consensus now is that the nicest horses have never been harder to buy and getting involved at the top end is becoming more and more difficult. This was something that was acknowledged by Tally-Ho Stud's Roger O'Callaghan a number of weeks ago at the Orby Sale when he simply said, 'it's getting harder and harder for people to compete'. O'Callaghan has a canny knack of summing up situations with just a sentance or two and it seems as though the proverbial nail hasn't just been hit on the head here, it's been smashed into oblivion. Don't forget that Browne came into this year's yearling sale market with more money than he has had to spend for many years as a result of that bountiful breeze-up season – remember he jokingly said that this would be the first year in many that he would have to give the tax man 'a few quid!' Yet, here we are in November, and the Mocklershill maestro admitted to being well down on numbers ahead of next year's breeze-up season. Browne continued, “We've been struggling all year and, even here this week, it has been very hard to buy the ones you want to buy. The competition for the good horses is unbelievable. We're going to be well down on numbers this year. Between buying a few and getting a few to breeze off people, we've got about a half a dozen added to the team, but we'll only have around 40 horses for the breeze-ups next year. That's the least I've ever had. There were some very nice horses here this week, to be fair to Goffs, but, as I said, anything that was half nice made a few quid.” Goffs chief Henry Beeby had ample reason to be chirpy as the curtain came down on the yearling sale season proper in Europe on Wednesday. The Autumn Yearling Sale came off the back of what was respectable Orby trade and Beeby took the opportunity in his closing statements on Wednesday to praise the high volume of foreign buyers who made the trip to Kildare Paddocks this week. He said, “Following record-breaking results at Orby Book 1 and Orby Book 2, we are pleased to have continued the positive trends with a vibrant renewal of the Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale. Whilst our Orby results may grab the headlines with seven-figure sale-toppers and Classic-winning graduates, this week is every bit as important to Irish breeders as the catalogue is truly commercial in nature. So it is crucial that we deliver the whole Goffs package over the three days and the team certainly views each lot to be as significant as any we offer in the year. “'Goffs is the gateway to the world for Irish Breeders,' is a phrase we use but it is more than a marketing line as Kildare Paddocks clearly showed with buyers from Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Libya, Mongolia, Morocco, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, and the UK descending in huge numbers from Sunday giving the sale a truly international flavour. Chief among them was the massive group of over 85 from Eastern Europe all organised by our agent Kishore Mirpuri, who continues to raise the bar each year with an ever-bigger team of enthusiastic participants who accounted for over 140 lots.” He added, “Our Italian friends are always a welcome and sometimes flamboyant addition to the crowd so another 50-plus added further colour to proceedings and take home in excess of 50 yearlings. In their regard we are indebted to Angelo Robiati, “Mr Goffs” in Italy for over a quarter of a century. Angelo steps down from his role with our supreme thanks and appreciation, and we were pleased to acknowledge his immeasurable contribution to our fortunes at a dinner last night. “Kishore and Angleo embody so much that is good about the Goffs service and it is to our enormous benefit that we also have the help and assistance of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing whose hard work is every bit as contributory to this sale as any other in the year. How blessed we are to have such an entity to work alongside our own excellent Purchaser Attraction Team and their importance should never be underestimated or taken for granted. For our part we will continue to be major contributors to ITM as our clients reap the dividend at each of our sales but none more than this week. “Whereas the overseas element of this sale is vital, it should also be noted that all bar one of the top 10 lots have been bought to stay in Ireland and continue to demonstrate the value and quality that is on offer at each Goffs sale. That gives us purpose and continues to drive us forward at each sale. And so on to the market-leading Goffs November Foal Sale which has catalogued a mouthwatering selection of the best Irish foals to be offered anywhere this year. There really is nothing like it and we can't wait.” Buy of the day A heavy dollop of bias is attached to this selection but there are many reasons to suggest that, at €58,000, the Sands Of Mali filly BBA Ireland bought on behalf of breeze-up handler Cormac Farrell could be deemed value in time. For starters, Sands Of Mali is arguably one of the most exciting young stallions in Europe, but he only has 24 yearlings on the ground. At a quick glance, only three other yearlings by Sands Of Mali were bought to go breezing next year, so straight away this filly has an opportunity to stand out. On top of that, she is out of a highly-rated Elusive Quality mare and from a good Aga Khan family. She was one of the bigger fish in what was a smaller pond this week but she could well hold her own in a Craven Sale, or possibly even at Arqana next spring. She looks well bought. Thought for the day Ciaran Murphy: has shopped all of the major yearling sales in Europe hard this year | Goffs There is a direct correlation between the trainers who shop the yearling sales hard and the ones who enjoy success on the track. Therefore, you can expect Ciaran Murphy to have a big year next year. He may have cut his teeth in the National Hunt sphere, and notably pre-trained the lion's share of the horses owned by Gigginstown House Stud for many years, but Murphy has proved himself a dab hand with his Flat runners in recent years. Don't forget Murphy sent out Dupont Law to win a Curragh maiden before selling the Le Havre gelding for an eye-watering sum to America earlier in the year. Off the back of that success, Murphy has reinvested heavily – bought 10 yearlings this year compared to only a couple last year – at all of the major yearling sales in Europe, and added a King Of Change colt to his team at €25,000 on Wednesday. That took his total spend this week to €84,000 on four yearlings, some of which were bought on spec. There is no doubt that Murphy is a man who is not content with standing still and chances are he could be in for a big year on the level in 2026. He's definitely one to watch. The post Sioux Nation Colt Heads Breeze-Up King Willie Browne’s Last-Minute Shopping Spree At Goffs 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
Jockey Clifford Lee, who has been hospitalised with a neck injury since a moterbike accident last month, is recovering, according to trainer Karl Burke. The jockey was on holiday while serving a suspension after winning his last four rides, and sustained a neck injury in Scotland. He is slated to be moved from Edinburgh to Middlesbrough in the coming days. Lee celebrated his first Group 1 win aboard Venetian Sun (Starman) in the G1 Prix Morny this year. There have also been several other notable wins this season aboard Royal Champion (Shamardal), Al Qareem (Awtaad) and Convergent (Fascinating Rock). Burke said, “I went to see him yesterday and he's still up in Edinburgh, but hopefully in the next day or two he's moving down to James Cook [University Hospital in Middlesbrough]. “He's in good spirits, but he's got a long way to go. He's restricted, but he is mobile and can walk – he's got full movement bar he can't move his neck. “We've still got to wait to see whether he'll be operated on or not, they'll make that decision at James Cook. There's a little bit of debate as to whether he needs it or not so he's going down to James Cook and they'll make the final decision. He's in a halo brace at the moment.” The post Clifford Lee ‘In Good Spirits’ According To Burke, As He Continues Recovery 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
Journalism (Curlin) who took three Grade I races during his 3-year-old season, will not be retired to stud at Coolmore America just yet, but will instead resume training for a 2026 campaign, according to co-owner Aron Wellman. Journalism won the GI Santa Anita Derby, Preakness, and Haskell Stakes in 2025. “Journalism will return to training with Michael McCarthy in 2026,” said Wellman. “He will go to Bridlewood Farm for a 30-60 day freshening.” The colt's ownership group, which included Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables Five, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, watched as the Michael McCarthy trainee finished fourth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar last Saturday. Stallion fees at Ashford Stud were announced on Tuesday, Nov. 4 and included new acquisitions Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) at $75,000, Fierceness (City of Light) at $50,000 and Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) at $35,000. A decision on whether Journalism would be joining these newly-minted sires was expected this week. The post Wellman: Journalism To Continue Racing In 2026 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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