Ian Balding, trainer of the great Mill Reef among of a host of top-class horses to have passed through his Kingsclere stable, has died at the age of 87. Balding was champion trainer in 1971, the year in which Paul Mellon's homebred Mill Reef won the Derby, Eclipse, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.  His father Gerald and brother Toby were both trainers, and in 2002 Balding handed over the licence at Park House Stables to his son, Andrew, who has continued to expand the powerful yard and is now a multiple Classic-winning trainer in his own right.  An accomplished sportsman, Balding was a Cambridge Blue in rugby and rode successfully over jumps as an amateur. He was married to Emma, a successful breeder and owner of Kingsclere Stud whose father Peter Hastings-Bass trained at Kingsclere prior to Balding. Their daughter Clare is the celebrated BBC broadcaster and author. This story is being updated. The post Classic-Winning Trainer Ian Balding Dies at 87 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

BloodHorse has reprised its online year-end survey to ask some of the sport's leading individuals for their opinions on pertinent issues facing the sport.View the full article

The Telegraph has been a true handicap race from its inception in 1890 through till 2014, then in 2015 run as set weights and penalties then from 2016 on as a WFA. As you know, with WFA, horses carry weight based on age and sex, not race record. The theory is it attracts the top horses.  A horse like Crocetti would be carrying more weight under handicap conditions as would Grail Seeker, whereas a horse like First Five is poorly off at the same weight as Crocetti.  I guess it also encourages 3-year-olds like To Cap It All to have a go  

You've lost me?

John Size will be hoping to continue his march up the trainers’ premiership standings when he unleashes a two-pronged assault on Sunday’s Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (1,000m) at Sha Tin. As is customary with the 13-time champion, he made a slow start to the season and after a few months to get his well-oiled machine up and running, his stable has certainly arrived to the party. Victories for Endued and Raging Rapids on New Year’s Day ticked off another brace for Size, with the 71-year-old...View the full article

Possibly the exotics at the Mot especially the 10000 guaranteed first 4 that were carried over in some races probably boost the Mot over Omakau but the win pool in the main race today is only beaten strangely by the race before, Kaikoura, Westport,The Mot and Omakau and possibly Richmond, once use too, top the turnovers for racedays away from Addington and probably beats most of them too.

Does this work as a WFA?

1 3120X Crocetti(5g Zacinto (GB) - Gracehill) 2 91616 Spencer(6g Derryn (AUS) - Darcistar) 3 0X600 Sacred Satono(6h Satono Aladdin (JPN) - Belle Joie) 4 86X0X Navigator(6g El Roca (AUS) - Joiya (AUS)) 5 50X97 Our Echo(9g Echoes Of Heaven (AUS) - Sakura Cluden) 6 26284 Lhasa (AUS)(6g Hellbent (AUS) - Rupavari (AUS)) 7 X0X12 Master Fay (AUS)(8g Deep Field (AUS) - Keeping Score) 8 26X12 Platinum Attack (AUS)(5g Santos (AUS) - Conchita (AUS)) 9 X1373 Tardelli (AUS)(4h I Am Invincible (AUS) - Pierro Moss (AUS)) 10 2X421 First Five(5g Almanzor (FR) - Payette (AUS)) 11 X5447 Slipper Island (AUS)(6g No Nay Never (USA) - Pedicel (AUS)) 12 28591 Party Rocking(5g Belardo (IRE) - Party Lights) 13 60X06 Grail Seeker(5m Iffraaj (GB) - Starwish (AUS)) 14 31X3X Tomodachi(5m Tarzino - Quintessentially) 15 71X41 Ardalio(4m Ardrossan (AUS) - Bridgewater (AUS)) 16 42022 To Cap It All (AUS)(3f Capitalist (AUS) - Oh My Mimi (AUS)) Fields Quick Trials Gear Barrier Stats ›Download PDF ›   Draw RTG WGT Jockey Trainer Win Place 9 107 58.5 Warren Kennedy Danny Walker & Arron Tata - - 13 103 58.5 Elen Nicholas (a) Peter & Shaun McKay - - 1 100 58.5 Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley - - 4 95 58.5 Ryan Elliot Cody Cole - - 2 94 58.5 Kate Hercock Danny Frye - - 10 93 58.5 Tayla Mitchell (a) Mark Treweek - - 14 92 58.5 Opie Bosson Chad Ormsby - - 16 92 58.5 Craig Grylls Lisa Latta - - 8 92 58.5 Matt Cartwright Stephen Marsh - - 6 89 58.5 Wiremu Pinn David Greene - - 12 87 58.5 Sam Weatherley Tony Pike - - 7 74 58.5 Jim Chung (a) John Bary - - 3 104 56.5 Joe Doyle Lance O'Sullivan & Andrew Scott - - 15 98 56.5 James McDonald Lance O'Sullivan & Andrew Scott - - 11 94 56.5 Daniel Stackhouse Stephen Marsh - - 5 74 53.0 Masa Hashizume Stephen Marsh -

Matamata trainer Pam Gererad will head south to Trentham on Saturday with a quality team of three runners engaged for the day’s feature meeting. Spearheading the attack will be last start Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) winner Romanoff who will be stepping out on raceday for the first time since defeating stablemate Affirmative Action in the Riccarton blue riband classic. His mission on the weekend is the Gr.2 Levin Track Supporters Levin Classic (1400m) with Gerard keen to see him perform to expectations as she prepares the son of Belardo for a pair of major assignments at Ellerslie. “He had a nice freshen-up after returning from Christchurch and this was the race we felt would be best to kick him off in,” Gerard said. “He has been working along nicely at home and we want to see him perform to expectations, albeit knowing this isn’t his main aim and that the 1400m might be a little on the short side for him. “He is a real character and loves a trip away as he just puts his head down and eats everything you put in front of him, so the whole journey to Wellington and back, along with the race will be perfect for him.” Safely through Saturday, Gerard is eying the $1.5million TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) at Ellerslie on 24 January followed by the $4million NZB Kiwi (1500m) on 7 March where Romanoff will take up the Canterbury Jockey Club slot he secured with his 2000 Guines victory. “As long as he pulls up well on Saturday he will then go straight to the Karaka Million and then into the NZB Kiwi,” Gerard said. “The key will be to keep him fresh enough while also getting the miles into his legs that he needs, so it is likely he will have an exhibition gallop or similar between those two races. “He has earned his chance at those races and having a runner with a decent chance is what racing is all about.” The second member of Gerard’s Trentham team is last season’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) runner-up Dubai Gold who will tackle the Gr.3 Ron Stanley Memorial Phar Lap Stakes (1600m). Gerard admitted she has been struggling to find appropriate races for the four-year-old mare after the first two starts in her current campaign. “She (Dubai Gold) trialled really well before her first-up run at Counties back in November but then everything went wrong during the race where she got trapped wide throughout,” she said. “We really wanted to see where she stood at weight-for-age against the best fillies and mares so we rolled the dice and ran her second up at Te Rapa in the Cal Isuzu (Gr.2, 1600m) where she just got outsprinted in the closing stages, while she was also feeling the hard track a little. “That has convinced me she really is a better mare in the autumn as that was where she excelled last season when there was some cut in the tracks. “It has been tough to find a suitable race for her, but the pieces have fallen into place for Trentham as they have had a bit of rain, she loves the track and she really impressed me this week with her work. “She has dappled up nicely so we decided on Friday morning to send her south and I’m hoping that is the right decision. “If she goes well we can go back for the Remutaka Classic ($350,000, 2100m) on the 31st (of January) and then look again at what is available after that. “She is still on her learning curve and we know if she comes up like she did last year then there is always Brisbane in the Winter as an option.” Last start maiden winner Dragon Blossom rounds out Gerard’s Trentham team and her trainer believes she is a strong chance in the Blue Star Group 1600. “She (Dragon Blossom) is flying and while she took a long time to win a maiden she had been running in very strong fields without much luck,” she said. “She is only small but she is tough and has been to Trentham before and gone a cracker, so I’m hoping she can do the same again on Saturday.” View the full article