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Explora, runner-up as the favorite in the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar, kicks off her 3-year-old campaign Jan. 3 in the $100,000 Santa Ynez Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park.View the full article

By Jonny Turner  Craig Ferguson hopes playing chess rather than checkers with Wag Star will pay winning dividends in today’s Group 3 Central Otago Cup. Ferguson heads to Omakau knowing he has a horse to match it with any of his rivals in the 2000m feature. So the trainer-driver has been doing everything he can to encourage his stable star to show it to the big crowd that will be watching at Central Otago’s biggest annual race meeting. “He can be a moody horse and when he is on the job he can keep rolling at high speed and be very hard to get past.” “Other times he can be a bit casual about everything and he doesn’t give you the same feeling.” “We have been working on a few things lately to keep him happy and bring the best out in him.” “We had a few troubles with his feet but we seem to be on top of them now.” “We’ve changed his feed around and changed his work around and he seems to be in a good place at the moment.” “He is the sort of horse where it can depend what sort of mood he is in on the day but everything is looking pretty positive going into Omakau.” Wag Star brings the best possible form reference into the Central Otago Cup with his third behind Republican Party in the Group 1 Invercargill Cup. The six-year-old sat parked early before slotting into the one-one and going a nice race. “I was quite happy with his run it was his first run with the galloping hood on and he travelled well,” Ferguson said.  “If he could go as well from the good draw (3) he has on Friday he would have to be a pretty good chance.” Ferguson starts a strong team at the Omakau meeting including Turn N Burn who ran second on her debut on Invercargill Cup Day. While that looks strong form Ferguson wasn’t thrilled with the filly that he races himself. “On the sectionals she ran she was a little bit average.” “The occasion of her first start may have got to her a little bit because it wasn’t up to her trials.” “She has improved with the run and her work has been quite sharp so hopefully she will be harder to beat this time.” Babe On The Beach has been the big improver in the Ferguson camp this summer and she heads to Omakau in strong form. “I reckon she has improved about three seconds this year.” “She’s doing a bit of work and showing plenty of fight – she’s stepped up.” “This week it will be a bit hard from the draw (12) but hopefully she can get a bit of luck and go another nice race.” Ferguson also has Beluga and Franco Seb going head to head at Omakau. “Beluga has been consistent lately and his work has stepped up a bit.” “He’s got the draw and gate speed but he has made a mistake early so we will have to play it by ear.” “Franco Seb has been an improver his last run was handy enough.” “He probably just needs a bit of luck from his draw (12).” Ferguson drives most of his team with Mark Hurrell to partner Franco Seb and Riley Harrison to drive Babe On The Beach. Pinseeker looking to slingshot them late in Central Otago Cup  By Michael Guerin Jonny Cox is hoping his rivals go crazy in today’s $40,000 Ranfurly Transport Central Otago Cup. Because the Canterbury trainer-driver believes that could set the race up for his speedster Pinseeker in the signature race at Omakau’s popular annual meeting. Pinseeker is one of the best pacers in the 2000m mobile but had an interesting 2025, starting with a placing in this race last year, a Group 3 win in March, competing at the Inter Dominions and then choking down to finish last in the New Zealand Cup. One thing which isn’t in doubt is his speed and once he learns to control that he will sit comfortably in any elite class field in this country. That being the case he can win today but his fortunes may be dictated by what those drawn inside him do as he starts from the outside of the front line. “The draw obviously isn’t ideal but it could work out okay,” says Cox. “There is a lot of speed drawn inside him so we can’t go forward at the start so we will have to try and sneak into the running line somewhere. “Then his chances might depend on what the others do. “If they all get stuck into each other the we might get the chance to slingshot them late. “What we don’t want is a horse like Wag Star or Franco Sinatra to get an easy lead and enjoy an easy time in front.” Cox says he has had to put the dreadful New Zealand Cup experience behind Pinseeker and is looking forward. “I spoke to Mark Purdon after the race as I was following him and he said he could hear our horse’s breathing wasn’t right between the 1400m and the 1000m mark and then I felt him just stop. “So we are sure he choked down.” Pinseeker spent two weeks at the beach in the care of fellow trainer Bob Butt soon after and pleased Cox by bouncing back with a third in the Green Mile at Methven. “He has had his joints treated since then and has been working really well so he gets his chance here but so much will depend on how the race will be run. “Not only do you have those speedsters drawn inside us but a good horse in Alta Meteor drawing one on the second line by himself so he should be able to get away from the markers and into a nice spot pretty quickly.” Wag Star opened the $2.90 Cup favourite and was quickly backed in but while he has the best draw of the favourites it has been a long time since he won a race, albeit he has produced some smart performances in top class fields. While the Pacing Cup has a number of tempo-related scenarios the $40,000 Trotting Cup looks perfect for I Dream Of Jeannie (R11, No.5), who is in career-best form and finds herself in a field with plenty who are struggling to find their best at the moment. Earlier in the meeting Cox brings his talented trotter Prestigious (R8, No.9) to the lower grade trot and runs into a daunting rival in He Aint Fakin. The latter, a converted pacer, has won twice in three starts as a trotter and will be extremely hard to beat if his manners hold up in his first standing start.  “He will take some beating but we really like our trotter long term,” says Cox. “Our boy is still a work in progress the win two starts ago showed he has a good motor so he could be in for a good year.” Racing journalist Jonny Turner’s Five To Follow at Omakau. Turn N Burn – Race 3 This filly looks to hold a key tactical advantage over her key rivals. Every year it is vital that horses race close to the pace at Omakau as getting too far back can be disastrous. Draws are an essential part of the equation, with barrier 2 looking a perfect spot for Turn N Burn. While her key rival Cinderella Franco has also drawn well in barrier 3, Turn N Burn holds a clear advantage. If Turn N Burn can hold the lead it could prove too much of a task for Cinderella Franco to come from behind her or outside her to beat her. Sonofamistery – Race 4  He’s simply better than his rivals and it is going to take a big slice of bad luck for him to get beaten. Sonofamistery’s luck is surely due to turn after he had to be pulled up at his last start at Ascot Park due to a gear malfunction. The three-year-old was impressive in his prior outing at Addington, running to an easy win. At $1.14 he’s no win betting proposition but Sonofamistery’s race is part of the early quaddie, and there are Trifectas and First4s to consider. He Aint Fakin – Race 8 This pacer turned trotter will traverse Australasia to have his first standing start at Omakau. While the newcomer to the trotting gait brings all the right form, he hasn’t seen the standing start tapes once in his 51 starts. It is certainly something for punters to ponder and it would be bold to think he is going to ping away quickly and settle right up on the pace. But there is one man that tips the scales of probability into the positive – the old master Phil Williamson. Knowing Phil, he’s put the time into teaching He Aint Fakin the standing start ropes and will have him prepped to make a safe getaway if circumstances allow. While some of his rivals are handy types, the eight-year-old should take plenty of holding out if he trots safely. One Over Da Line – Race 10 There aren’t the same concerns over One Over Da Line’s standing start prowess, though there are some similarities between him and He Aint Fakin. Both trotters are out to secure penalty-free wins for their junior drivers. One clear advantage One Over Da Line has is that his driver Riley Harrison knows him well. The trotter brings strong form in stronger company than he meets at Omakau and looks one of the stronger winning threats on the card Palladium – Race 12  He’s another whose winning price isn’t inspiring but that’s beyond punters’ control. Palladium was excellent in his last-start second at Ascot Park among a quality field of two-year-olds. He hadn’t been sighted at the races since early October and that run is sure to have tightened him up for his Omakau mission. In that October win, Palladium handled older horses in style suggesting that stepping out of age-group company and back in amongst hardy types won’t be a problem. After being a touch unlucky in his last-start second, chances are he will be in front and out of trouble this time.         View the full article

Selections for Omakau today.         Head to www.tab.co.nz to place your bet!   Omakau            Jonny Turner Racing Journalist  Race 1  12.28pm 6 Mr Cash Man 8 Destiny’s Dream 7 Bettor Way 3 Nyla   Race 2 12.59pm 4 Kairo 8 Jaccka Jim 11 Fiery Adi 8 What’s The Whisper  Race 3 1.32pm 2 Turn N Burn 3 Cinderella Franco 10 Captain Christina 12 Mighty Flying Miki  Race 4 2.06pm 8 Sonofamistery 10 By Chance 6 Rise Up N Dance 9 Quinn   Race 5 2.42pm  8 Princess Sadie 7 Dreams Pat 3 Vertigo 4 Randel Huston P  Race 6 3.17pm 2 Beluga 5 Anita Mary 3 Rockoutray 11 Franco Seb      Race 7 3.50pm  4 Party Up Denario 3 Bannockburn 12 Babe On The Beach 10 Burnham Girl  Race 8 4.25pm 4 He Aint Fakin 9 Prestigious 8 Harriet’s Moment 7 Major Fear  Race 9 5.02pm 3 Wag Star 8 Pinseeker 9 Alta Meteor 7 Ruby Roe  Race 10 5.34pm 6 One Over Da Line 10 B D Hall 1 Kracka Looka 9 Royal Rock  Race 11 6.08pm 5 I Dream Of Jeannie 6 Midnight Dash 3 Jimmy Carter 1 Maui  Race 12 6.39pm 4 Palladium 2 Henry Winkler 6 Tua Lipa 8 Fitzthebill  View the full article

While Sovereignty reigned over North American racing as its earnings leader in 2025, Thoroughbred racing's winningest horse of last year, Sharp Warning, carved out his own distinction far from the spotlight.View the full article

That's uncalled for.  The forum system allows a few minutes after creating a post to go back and edit it.  I use that function often to correct spelling mistakes or reword somethimg that when reread doesn't convey rhw meaning intended.  

It is three years since Deep Impact's long reign as Japan's champion sire ended, and six years since his death at the age of 17, but his influence on the country's stallion ranks is still profound.  As well as being sire of the champion Kizuna, he is also sire of champion freshman Contrail, who, like his father, was a Triple Crown winner. And, it will doubtless come as no surprise that Deep Impact is also the champion broodmare sire for the second time. Gone but very much not forgotten. The Tokyo Yushun, or Japanese Derby, remains an important test in Japan and Kizuna added his name to that particular roll of honour back in 2013, some seven years before Contrail did the same. That they have both now been champion first-season sire speaks volumes, both for the way these horses are valued by breeders in the support they have received, but also for the structure of Japan's two-year-old programme. Back-loaded in the season, the juvenile contests are very much a springboard for a career at three and beyond, rather than the be-all and end-all for a young racehorse.  To nurture proper Classic horses, this is the way it should be, and it is also worth noting the enduring importance and influence of the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger), whose recent winners of course include the aforementioned Deep Impact and Contrail, as well as Kitasan Black – sire of the great Equinox and this year's Derby winner Croix Du Nord – as well as the revered Orfrevre, Epiphaneia, and World Premiere. From a small first crop of just 25 foals conceived at the Yushun Stallion Station, World Premiere is now the sire of Lovcen, breakthrough winner of last week's G1 Hopeful Stakes, a race won in the last two seasons by Croix Du Nord and 2024 Arima Kinen victrix Regaleira, a daughter of the Japan Cup winner Suave Richard.  World Premiere had three winners from his 11 starters, and his crops to come will be similarly small, with 32 yearlings about to turn two. He covered 24 mares in 2025 at a fee of ¥500,000 (approximately €2,700). It will be interesting to see if Lovcen is a fluke or the start of something bigger to come. World Premiere was after all a decent racehorse. He was a winner at two and the Kikuka Sho wasn't his sole top-level win as he also landed the Tenno Sho (Autumn) as a five-year-old as well as finishing third in the Arima Kinen. Furthermore, his Listed-winning dam Mandela (Acatenango) is a half-sister to Manduro (Monsun), Europe's Horse of the Year in 2007. But let's talk about Contrail. Much has been expected of the near-black stallion ever since he waltzed into the yard at Shadai Stallion Station. His first foals, then yearlings, sold like the proverbial hotcakes and with no shortage of representation in 2025 – 80 runners – he has notched 19 winners including the Listed winner Badrinath and Grade 3-placed duo of Gene King and Going To Sky. Expect him to click up a gear with his first three-year-olds in 2026. While Contrail was comfortably clear on progeny earnings, both Grade 3-winning sprinter Matera Sky and GI Carter Handicap winner Mischievous Alex were ahead of him by number of winners, with 24 and 27 respectively at an impressive strike-rate, while Chrysoberyl, a Grade I winner on the dirt in Japan's Champions Cup, was fourth in the table, and also had 19 winners.  From a European perspective, an honorary mention must go to the sixth-placed Benbatl. The son of Dubawi who won Group 1 races in Germany, Dubai and Australia, and has now made a decent start at Big Red Farm, with 13 winners from 49 first-crop runners.  The compromised fertility of the 2021 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes winner Poetic Flare means that he is relatively short on numbers, with just 38 foals from his first crop. However, 26 of those have run this year with eight of them winning, to put him in eighth place in the table.   Contrail, Japan's champion first-season sire of 2025 | Emma Berry   Back in the big league, Kizuna finished ahead of the perennial bridesmaid Lord Kanaloa, who has now been second in the table for six consecutive years. The admirable sprinter-miler, a multiple Grade 1 winner himself, has sired 12 Grade 1 winners including the 2025 scorers Bellagio Opera, Costa Nova and Satono Reve, who also finished a close second in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. As already noted, Kitasan Black produced this year's Derby winner, Croix Du Nord, and finished third in the table overall, ahead of the late Duramente, sire of the exciting three-year-old Masquerade Ball, the winner of the Tenno Sho (Autumn) who ran Calandagan to the wire in the Japan Cup. The 2016 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Drefong continues to hold his own in Japan and was represented by his second Grade 1 winner recently in Star Anise, who landed the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and is a potential Classic contender for 2026. Drefong's previous Grade 1 winner was his first-crop son Geoglyph, who struck in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas) of 2022. He is proving a reliable stallion and finished fifth in the table (as he did in 2024), narrowly ahead of Epiphaneia and Leontes, the sires respectively of Dubai Sheema Classic winner Danon Decile and Museum Mile, the winner of last weekend's Arima Kinen.  Real Steel, who is bred on the same Deep Impact-Storm Cat cross as Study Of Man and, like him, is from the family of Miesque, finished eighth in the table and was represented by the brilliant Forever Young, who became Japan's first winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic.    The post Kizuna and Contrail Add to Deep Impact’s Legacy in Japan’s Sire Championships 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

In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This holiday edition is highlighted by the victory of No Pressure in Florida. Florida Clime The Answer For No Pressure Lindy Farms' No Pressure (No Nay Never) rolled to a three-quarter length victory stretching out over the Gulfstream turf for Philip Antonacci on Boxing Day (video). The homebred debuted during the Belmont at the Big A meet and ran second by a neck over six furlongs in September. Baroda Stud consigned No Pressure to the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, and he caught the eye of Greathorse Racing at €65,000 in October of 2024. Out of Compression (First Defence), the bay is the third foal, runner and winner for his placed dam, whose latest foal is a yearling full-brother to No Pressure. From a deep Juddmonte family that brought you multiple Grade I winner Sightseek (Distant View), etc., No Pressure is also related to stakes winner and G1 Middle Park Stakes second Task Force (Frankel). Coolmore's No Nay Never, priced at €100,000 in 2026, is responsible for 71 winners from 121 runners in the U.S. (59%). His 11 stakes winners there include four at graded level, with GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Meditate his star performer. Repeat Winners No Show Sammy Jo (Lope De Vega) scampered home to win the Via Borghese Stakes at Gulfstream Park on New Year's Eve (video). Owned by Newstead Stables and trained by Graham Motion, the two-time graded placed mare is also a dual winner of the All Along Stakes. Klaravich Stables and Chad Brown's Risk Tolerance (Kingman) returned a winner at Tampa Bay on December 26 (video). A winner of an Aqueduct contest in April, the son of Loving Things (Pivotal) was winning for the second time in four starts. The post Making Waves: No Nay Never Colt Unwavering In Florida appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Friday, Meydan, Dubai, post time: 20:25, ZABEEL MILE SPONSORED BY PHI ADVERTISING-G2, AED850,000, 4yo/up & SH 3yo, 1600mT Field: Quddwah (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Holloway Boy (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}), Aomori City (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}), Keffaaf (GB) (Adlerflug {Ger}), Audience (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), Chicago Critic (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Asad Zabeel (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Vafortino (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Andrease Vesalius (Ire) (Caravaggio), Western Writer (Ire) (Shamardal). TDN Analysis: If Aomori City prevails in the Zabeel Mile, he would be the seventh winner for trainer Charlie Appleby. The gelding faces G1 Lockinge Stakes hero Audience, as well as Group 2 winner Quddwah. Friday, Meydan, Dubai, post time: 19:50, DUBAWI STAKES SPONSORED BY FRANCE GALOP-G3, AED700,000, 4yo/up & SH 3yo, 1200m Field: Dark Saffron (Flameaway), Mufasa (Chi) (Practical Joke), El Nasseeb (GB) (Profitable {Ire}), Colour Up (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), Apollo One (GB) (Equiano {Fr}), Ponntos (Ire) (Power {GB}). TDN Analysis: A quartet of runners faced off in the Listed Al Garhoud Sprint in December, with El Nasseeb beating Colour Up, Mufasa and Group 1 hero Dark Saffron. All four are back again, and this time, El Nasseeb isn't guaranteed a pace meltdown sustained by the vanquished trio last year. Click here for the complete fields. The post Black-Type Analysis: Aomori City Could Hand Appleby Seventh Zabeel Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article