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  • Blog Entries

         15 comments
      Today we have seen the only remaining truly independent racing industry publication "hang the bridle on the wall."  The Informant has ceased to publish.
      Why?
      In my opinion the blame lies firmly at the feet of the NZRB.  Over the next few days BOAY will be asking some very pertinent questions to those in charge.
      For example:
      How much is the NZRB funded Best Bets costing the industry?  Does it make a profit?  What is its circulation?  800?  Or more?  Does the Best Bets pay for its form feeds?  Was The Informant given the same deal?
      How much does the industry fund the NZ Racing Desk for its banal follow the corporate line journalism?
      Why were the "manager's at the door" when Dennis Ryan was talking to Peter Early?
      Where are the NZ TAB turnover figures?
      The Informant may be gone for the moment but the industry must continue to ask the hard questions.
       
         0 comments
      Duplicate to remove spam.

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    • This information has been available for years in other jurisdictions and there is no sign that wagering has dropped off because of it.   I know a number of individuals who download the data and process it themselves.  I also know that the top trainers have software programmes that analyse race videos for individual horse performance.  The days of stopwatches are disappearing. Do you seriously think that bookies analyse every single horse in every single race to set their opening markets?  They biggest edge they have is the real time market  information. How do you assess value if you don't review race performance?   You're kidding?  You'd rely on a quote from a Trainer?  The better option would be up to date videos with sectionals of jumpouts and trials like they do in Australia - particularly Victoria.  Trackwork watching is only useful if sectional times are provided not that I've ever seen a reliable correlation between that and raceday performance. 
    • Sponsored by Pedigrees 360 Into Mischief and a Bernardini mare: on the face of it, “the Sovereign remedy” for a sophomore round Churchill Downs in 2025. It produced the GI Kentucky Derby winner, and has now given us a filly moving rapidly through the ranks in Shred the Gnar, winner of the GIII Chilukki Stakes after a six-month layoff. If anything, however, it feels overdue for the dominant stallion of our times to come up with one or two stars from daughters of such an outstanding broodmare sire. Interestingly, the combination had previously clicked best with the ill-fated Owendale, winner of three graded stakes in 2019. And Shred the Gnar just happens to be his full sister. Those of us who distrust anything as conveniently formulaic as “nicks” must be as flexible as we expect others to be. We must acknowledge, for instance, that Into Mischief does seem to have something going with Distorted Humor mares. But his profile with Bernardini reminds us that horses deal more often in exceptions than rules, and permit few short cuts in observation or imagination. One of few “rules” to which I would personally never make an “exception” is that the first filter for a potential cover is always the physical match. But however far that consideration may have animated the exemplary breeders of Owendale and Shred the Gnar, and indeed Sovereignty, our brief here is to consider bloodlines. And Into Mischief has certainly stoked up some interesting genetic embers in this particular Bernardini mare. Aspen Light's family reached America with Sunstep, imported from Britain in the 1920s to become a Claiborne foundation mare, albeit her dynasty's principal distinction concerned a colt making the reverse journey: Never Say Die, foaled at Jonabell before a historic success in the 1954 Epsom Derby. Sunstep's daughter by Omar Khayyam (GB) (who conversely made history as first imported winner of the Kentucky Derby) had meanwhile found her way into the Brookmeade Stable then being pioneered by Isabel Dodge Sloan. The automobile heiress seeded the line impeccably, having this mare covered by Sir Gallahad (Fr); her daughter, by War Admiral; and her granddaughter, by Mahmoud (Fr). The result of this last mating, Indian Nurse, eventually became granddam of dual GI Beldame S. winner Love Sign and European Classic winner Melodist, and additionally unites their pedigrees with those of Star of Cozzene and Matty G., among others. But in the meantime Indian Nurse was among 38 Brookmeade broodmares sold to John W. Galbreath, following her breeder's death, and had again changed hands by the time she had the 17th of her 18 named foals in 1976. Brilliant Touch (Gleaming) showed nothing in her only start but was subsequently given a chance by various breeders, crucially including Keswick Farm, not far from her dam's native pastures in Virginia. It was evidently to support the launch of a Keswick-bred stallion, Northern Fashion, that Peggy Augustus briefly enlisted Brilliant Touch for her broodmare band. And it would turn out that Brilliant Touch's contribution to his debut book, a filly named Sequins, would prove much the most significant legacy of this otherwise forgotten son of Northern Dancer (whose dam Natalma, incidentally, had been co-bred by Augustus' mother Elizabeth). For Sequins had three daughters that have since required attention. Her first foal, of all things named Im Out First (Allen's Prospect), won four black-type prizes; and her daughters include the stakes-winning dam of dual Grade I winner Mor Spirit (Eskendereya), plus the mother of Speed King (Volatile), winner of the GIII Southwest Stakes earlier this year. The final foal out of Sequins, with equal aptness, and rather more poetry, named Evening Star (Malibu Moon), flares still more luminously from the page. For this is the dam of champion Stellar Wind (Curlin)–co-bred by Keswick Stables and Stonestreet; cheapest yearling in the Saratoga sale, at $40,000; but eventually sold to Coolmore for $6 million with six Grade Is. (That investment has not yet paid off, but Stellar Wind's juvenile son by Into Mischief came within a length of breaking his maiden in a Grade I last month, when third in the American Pharoah Stakes.) In between, Sequins had a filly by Roy named Zenith. Though she had won a stakes, and had barely started her second career, Zenith couldn't raise more than $30,000 at the 2006 Keeneland January Sale–exactly the sum that had sufficed for her yearling by Aptitude in the same ring the previous September. Within months, however, that colt had won the GI Breeders' Futurity as Great Hunter. His dam, meanwhile dignified with a cover by Bernardini, duly returned to Keeneland for the November Sale the following year to be cashed out to Stonestreet for $750,000. Stonestreet welcomed Zenith's Bernardini filly the following March, naming her Aspen Light, but she never made the track and had bred only minor winners when culled to Korea for just $25,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale. Once again, however, timing was everything. At the preceding September Sale, her son by the emerging Into Mischief had been sold for $200,000. He turned out to be Owendale, and Aspen Light's Korean purchasers alertly returned her to Kentucky, had her covered by Quality Road, and sold her back at Keeneland for $360,000 to Eaton Sales, agent. The colt she was carrying that day, registered as co-bred by two of the shrewdest brands around, brought $550,000 as a yearling, and then Camas Park Stud and Lynch Bages sent Aspen Light back to Owendale's sire. Into Mischief cost rather more by this stage, but the resulting filly achieved an ample yield when sold to Boardshorts Stables, again through Eaton Sales, for $610,000. And this, of course, is Shred the Gnar. If you want to reduce her talent to Into Mischief over Bernardini, good luck. But a lot of extremely patient, thoughtful breeders have contributed to her page over the past century. Some have been luckier with their timing than others, but that just confirms how this is a long game with few easy answers. Fionn Sweetens Candy's Vintage Year If you took a similarly archaeological approach to one of the year's top sprinters, you would eventually reach the same foundation mare, Sunstep. But the Grade I breakthrough of Ag Bullet has proved of more immediate significance for her sire Twirling Candy–another of whose flourishing daughters, Fionn, last weekend resumed her progress in the GIII Jockey Club Oaks. As ever, Fionn also owes much to her family. It has been wonderfully seeded, for one thing: first five dams by Giant's Causeway, Unbridled's Song, Dehere, Mr. Prospector and Nijinsky. The second and third and fifth of those, moreover, won graded stakes, while the granddam is additionally half-sister to Beau Liam, who's now recycling his speed so effectively at stud. Fionn | Susie Raisher But we really must celebrate a remarkable year for Twirling Candy, with his three elite scorers Ag Bullet, Kilwin and Fionn herself (won the GI Belmont Oaks in the summer) elevating him to fourth in the general sires' table. He has earned only a mild increment to $75,000 for 2026, from $60,000, and you'll pay at least three times as much to reach the superheroes above him in the table. That doubtless reflects his strong orientation to chlorophyll this year, standing behind only Not This Time in turf earnings. But just as we keep rebuking the top European programs for failing to try that horse, Twirling Candy similarly awaits meaningful opportunity over the water. Besides, the last time I checked, the Test Stakes won by Kilwin was, as usual, run on dirt. Among Twirling Candy's numerous other stars on the main track, by the way, note that Pinehurst was bred on the same cross as Fionn. A Grade I-winning juvenile and a turf stayer: another highly “flexible” nick, then! All That Glisters… The fact that the single older resident at Old Friends was Silver Charm would seem to confirm the resilience of the gang whose deeds were evoked by the loss last week, aged 31, of Touch Gold. Others plying their trade around the same time included Skip Away, Swain (Ire), Awesome Again, Real Quiet and Victory Gallop, names that will warm many a heart. Yet almost all proved disappointing stallions, with Ghostzapper earning exemption only for Awesome Again among that lot. Perhaps the most influential horse of that time turned out to be Arch, a relatively peripheral talent, albeit he beat Touch Gold in the GIII Fayette Stakes. Arch is guaranteed an enduring legacy as sire of Blame and damsire of Uncle Mo. Given that he was by Deputy Minister, it's unsurprising that Touch Gold will have made his principal mark through one of his daughters, Party Silks, the dam of Upstart. Already an excellent stallion, Upstart's upgrading mares will soon be cycling through. (Touch Gold, by the way, was key to the ingenious naming of this son of Flatter). But given that Touch Gold came up with two Grade I winners in his very first crop, an overall record of 29 stakes scorers from 16 crops must be counted disappointing. Touch Gold's paddock at Old Friends adjoined that of Silver Charm and, if they could read newspapers, one wonders what memories they might have shared over the fence. Most obviously, the day Touch Gold cost Silver Charm a Triple Crown–but they might also ask why they and their peers, having manifested constitution as well as class, have generally proved so meek in their second careers. The post Breeding Digest: Shred Sheds Light on Role of Mares appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • Harness has that info and the system used at Ellerslie has the distance run by each horse.
    • Really?  Well each to their own.  So how do you assess individual performance?  Surely not reading the Stewards notes!!!
    • Yes I agree.  Provides a lot of information when reviewing a race.  For example I saved the replay of the Canterbury Breeders Stakes and watched a few times.   The winner wasn't actually 3 or 4 wide without cover the entrie trip like it looked and as the presenters and commentator observed.  The horse actually got cover 1 out and relaxed over some softish sections for 400m or 500m of the first part of the bend.  She steadily increased the pace from 500m out (observing the sectionals on screen) which put those behind her in time trouble.  Then put in an elite sectional for the last 200m that gave nothing a chance.  Observing the sectional times while watching specific horses position gives a better assessment of their performance than post race reviewing the sectionals alone.
    • The Goffs November Foal Sale is considered by many to be the jewel in the crown for Goffs – certainly from an Irish perspective – and Tuesday's trade, which followed on from a strong curtain-raiser on Monday, went some way to confirming that opinion.  Despite some of the best foals not being due into the ring until Wednesday, trade at the Kildare venue this week has been robust at every level. It's not exactly a secret at this stage that the foal sales at Goffs are popular among buyers but, when some of the leading pinhookers compared the auditorium at Kildare Paddocks to the coliseum in Rome, it went some way in illustrating just how competitive trade was throughout the opening two days this week. At €220,000, a Palace Pier half-sister to recent Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf runner-up Pacific Mission, rightly stood out when selling to Paul McCartan online. The filly represented an astute piece of business from the Irish National Stud who, at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale last year, purchased the dam Big Break (Dansili) while she was carrying what would become the Tuesday sale-topper at Goffs for just 30,000gns. “It was a great bit of luck really,” Irish National Stud boss Cathal Beale said in an effort to deflect any praise for sourcing the filly who hails from a deep Juddmonte family for what is now proving to be a snip.  “Ninety nine times out of 100 you buy these mares and nothing bounces your way, but on this occasion, everything that could've gone right, went right. We're extraordinarily lucky that Palace Pier has had such a good season.” He added, “The mare herself always had lots of residual value – she's a lovely Dansili mare, but the two-year-old and the three-year-old have turned out to be very good. The Frankel horse [the 96-rated Gran Descans] has been good all season and then the two-year-old, by Lope De Vega, is Pacific Mission, and she's got her black-type and was unlucky at the Breeders' Cup. There's a helluva lot of luck attached to it, more than anything else though.  “It's a family we know well with Famous Name and it's a deep Juddmonte pedigree. And when you buy out of the Juddmonte draft, you always have a chance. We knew we had a Frankel, a Lope De Vega and a Kingman yearling coming through, so it didn't take a lot of imagination from that point of view. Plus, she's a nice mare by Dansili, who's a very good broodmare sire. We were delighted to get her on the day and she's been very lucky since. She was covered by Shouldvebeenaring earlier this year.” McCartan, the master of Ballyphilip Stud, has been active all week under that guise, but signed for the Palace Pier filly under the banner of CBS Bloodstock.  He said, “She has a beautiful Juddmonte pedigree, and the update with Pacific Mission was a big factor. We will hopefully get more black-type there. A beautifully-balanced filly, all quality, and we all liked her. These are the ones that you need to be buying.” He added, “As I said about a filly I bought last year, if the pinhook didn't work out, I'd be very, very happy to keep her and race her. Palace Pier has made a great start and that was a big factor, too. He is a very admired stallion now – and sought after. The whole package was great. The dam's full-brother Famous Name was as tough a horse as you could imagine.” 'It's Easy To Sell A Horse Like Him – He Will Fill Most People's Eye' One of the more interesting purchases on the day came when brothers Shane and Alex Power of Tradewinds Stud went to €100,000 to secure a Make Believe colt from Highpark. The Make Believe is out of a Montjeu mare who has produced two black-type performers in Pivoine (Redoute's Choice) and Soldanelle (Siyouni).  “Physically, you don't see too many like him,” Alex Power commented after the purchase. “Sometimes you have to forget about fashion and go with what's in front of you and he fitted that bill. He was too expensive but we'll enjoy feeding him every day over the next year or so. I'd say he's a horse you could bring to Book 1 or 2 at Newmarket or possibly back here for the Orby. We'd be fairly open that way. Hopefully the two-year-old [Havana Flower (Havana Grey] can give us an update. She looks potentially quite nice.” Speaking on the market, he added, “It's hard and, at the end of the day, he cost more than you'd like to be giving for horses by the unfashionable stallions. However, it is easy to sell a horse like him – I think you could pull him out to anyone and he will fill most people's eye. Whether they want to buy a Make Believe or not is up to them but he will be one of the better-looking horses they look at.” Let's not forget that plenty of people were happy to buy the progeny of the Ballylinch Stud-based resident at the recent horses-in-training sales at Tattersalls. In fact, one gelding by the sire, Fantasy World, who reached a rating of 103 after landing the Listed Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot, sold for 600,000gns. “Exactly, and I think there is plenty of potential left in that horse still,” said Power of Fantasy World. “There are a couple of horses in Australia by Make Believe that are quite smart and, you'd never know, our fella might capture someone's imagination Down Under next year.” He continued, “We've gone back to what we did before, which is concentrating on buying the nice horse with a good pedigree rather than chasing the horses by the right sires. If we made a mistake this year, that could have been it. And look, it was a very hard year for pinhookers. This year's yearlings were bought off the back of roaring trade last year so maybe it was a combination of things that led to pinhookers not having it straightforward this year. But this sale has been very good again with great crowds around the place. The Irish breeder is very good at what they do and there are plenty of nice horses around the place. We've bought five so far and we're where we expect to be.” Tradewinds spent €251,000 on those five foals. That spend included a €75,000 Awtaad filly from Stanley Lodge.  Subplots Figures: Of the 246 lots offered on Tuesday, 203 were sold at clearance rate of 83% [down 1% on last year]. The €8,720,500 turnover climbed by 4% while the €42,959 average was up by 4% and the €35,000 median up by 6%. Havana Grey: It's never a grey day when the progeny of Havana Grey go under the hammer and a filly, bred by Amo Racing, proved to be one of the most expensive lots on the day when selling to Abacus Investments for €190,000. She is out of Irish Steps, a Giant's Causeway mare that Amo Racing bought in foal to the Whitsbury Manor stallion at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale for 180,000gns. It was Alex Elliott who signed for the filly who, according to the agent, is most likely to be reoffered as a yearling.  Oakleigh Bloodstock: Brigitte Murphy and Basil Brindley have enjoyed a good start at Goffs with their debut consignment. Operating under Oakleigh Bloodstock, the couple has sold nine foals for a combined sum of €337,000. That haul included a €115,000 Mehmas colt to Camas Park Stud on Tuesday.  Bayside Boy: Lot 375, the Ballinacurra Stud-consigned Bayside Boy half-sister to Ten Bob Tony (Night Of Thunder), found a suitable home at €140,000 given it was Ed Sackville who purchased the filly by the young stallion. Sackville manages the interests of TBT Racing, whose white, orange and blue silks it is that Ten Bob Tony races in and, while the agent did not confirm whose colours the filly will sport in the future, he did reveal that she was purchased with view towards being a race filly. He said, “She's had a good pedigree update this year with Ten Bob Tony and she's been bought to race. Being by Bayside Boy, another Dubawi line stallion, makes her closely related to Ten Bob Tony. I've bought a few yearlings by the sire this year too.” Jamie Railton: A buying team of Jamie Railton, Peter Moloney and more went to €135,000 for a Dark Angel colt from Ballinacurra Stud. Railton confirmed the colt would be offered for resale next year. He said, “He is a very smart-looking colt by Dark Angel. A three-parts brother to a Group 2 winner [Albehayeb], he's out of a full-sister to a good horse in Humidor (Camacho).” More Magic From Mehmas Leaves Tally-Ho Stud In Clover Anything you can do, I can do better. Certainly, that was the theme from the Tally-Ho Stud roster when, 24 hours on from Starman lighting up Monday's session, Mehmas took over the mantle with six individual six-figure lots through the ring on the day.  All told, 11 foals by Mehmas sold for an average of €103,750. The most expensive of which was a €150,000 colt consigned by Clare Manning's Boherguy Stud that went the way of Peter and Ross Doyle on behalf of Pier House Stud.  Brendan Morrin of Pier House Stud commented, “I thought he was one of the best by Mehmas in the sale. He is out of a Pivotal mare, and I don't have to tell you about Pivotal mares. We have had success with them. He was a great mover, and to be honest it was more than I wanted to give for him, but that's the way the market is. He is a nice horse and came recommended from Clare [Manning]. I can't really say much more, but I am happy to get him.” He added, “We have been very lucky with Mehmas. He is a top sire, and I actually think he will have a big year next year. He is a very, very good sire. We have had a lot of Acclamations, and [the Mehmas horses] are like Acclamation's. They try – when you see them in races their head is right down and they give their best.” This week's sale has already confirmed what many breeders were fully aware of; Tally-Ho Stud is in a pretty enviable position to play home to two of the most exciting stallions in Ireland. Not only has Mehmas already made it, but some of the best judges in the business are backing the progeny of Starman – who we all know has made an outstanding start with his juveniles – training on next year and going to an even higher level judging by the price tags that some of his foals have made. Factor that into the fact there has been plenty of love for young guns Good Guess and Persian Force along with the Daddy of them all, Kodiac, proving he still has a lot to offer when one of his foals – the last lot into the ring – made €100,000 to Michael Fitzpatrick, things are looking pretty rosey in the garden in County Westmeath.  Thought for the Day One of the sharpest pinhookers in the business made some interesting observations about the psyche behind the art of his craft and compared it to being a National Hunt jockey. In his own words, he took a few falls this year at the yearling sales and, while he wears the scars of one or two of the more punishing tumbles, he was back on the horse at Goffs this week. Turns out the National Hunt jockey and the pinhooker have more in common than you would think. Two of the bravest animals in the game. The post Powerful Trade At Goffs Headlined By Irish National Stud’s 220k Palace Pier Filly appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • Part time breeders can still put a good horse together if they do their research. The Crofskey's did so with Leica Lucy, for the cost of a service fee to Derryn at $5K
    • According to Chatgpt that is correct He was bought at a Wanganui Hunt Club mixed sale, for $1000 where they mostly sold hacks and farm horses. Snow Lupton always joked he “wasn’t sure if he’d bought a racehorse or a ride-on.”
    • I thought that was the first meeting on the revamped track, I thought it had been flipped an re grassed, but do stand to be corrected, also like you I didn't stay for the after party, was the first of a few cancellations, club these days certainly must feel abit anxious come race day.
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