Chief Stipe

Ruis Racing's Medaglia d'Oro colt drew on even terms with a workmate in mid-stretch after he tracked about two lengths behind early, hit the wire in 1:01 1/5 in front by a neck, and surged into his gallop out with powerful strides. View the full article

A strong six-furlong move in 1:13 1/5 by Justify April 2 at Santa Anita Park proved enough for trainer Bob Baffert to fully commit to having the son of Scat Daddy make his stakes debut in the $1 million Santa Anita Derby (G1) April 7. View the full article

Trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Luis Saez successfully defended their respective titles, easily outdistancing their peers during the 2017-2018 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park. View the full article

Trainer Brad Cox and jockey Shaun Bridgmohan added another Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots championship title to their accomplished resumes for the 2017-18 meet. View the full article

William Lawrence's undefeated Analyze It heads a field of 12 3-year-olds entered Monday for Friday's 30th running of the $150,000 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (G3). View the full article

Monomoy Girl stands as the 4-5 morning-line choice in the field of seven entered for the 1 1/16-miles Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland April 7. View the full article

Starting April 7, horseplayers cashing a winning ticket through a self-service terminal will be prompted with a pop-up interface developed by AmTote International, allowing them to make a donation to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. View the full article

Good Magic heads into the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) with 2-1 morning-line favoritism and more on the line than just needing to add to his 34 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. View the full article

Credit: Racenet.com.au Doncaster Mile 2018 – The field and barrier draw Happy Clapper will attempt to go one better in the Doncaster Mile after running second in the race the past two years. Photo: Steve Hart. Article Author Clinton Payne 03 April 2018 26 Comments The field has been declared and the barriers allocated for the Group I Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday. A total of 16 have accepted to contest the time-honoured Randwick mile worth $3m. Below is the final field and barrier draw for the 2018 Doncaster Mile. It will be run as Race 9 at 4.30pm. No Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 HUMIDOR Darren Weir Mark Zahra 4 58kg 2 TOSEN STARDOM Darren Weir Craig Williams 8 57.5kg 3 HAPPY CLAPPER Patrick Webster Blake Shinn 1 57kg 4 ENDLESS DRAMA Chris Waller Glyn Schofield 3 53.5kg 5 PRIZED ICON Kris Lees Ben Melham 5 53.5kg 6 CRACK ME UP Bjorn Baker Jason Collett 11 53kg 7 INVINCIBLE GEM Kris Lees Michael Walker 12 52kg 8 TOM MELBOURNE Chris Waller Kerrin McEvoy 14 52kg 9 KEMENTARI James Cummings Brenton Avdulla 2 51.5kg 10 COMIN' THROUGH Chris Waller Tim Clark 7 51.5kg 11 LANCIATO Mark Newnham Rachel King (a) 13 51kg 12 EGG TART Chris Waller Craig Newitt 9 50.5kg 13 ARBEITSAM Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Michael Dee 10 50kg 14 MISTER SEA WOLF Chris Waller Jay Ford 16 50kg 15 COOL CHAP David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Corey Parish 6 50kg 16 D'ARGENTO Chris Waller Corey Brown 15 49kg

Larry Wolken, who headed Turf Catering for decades and was a Thoroughbred owner, died Mar. 30 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was 87. Wolken took over operations of Turf Catering from his father in the mid-1960s. The Wolken family had operated concessions at Keeneland from the track’s opening in 1936 until 2015. Turf Catering also ran the concessions at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs from 1934 until 2000. In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be made to Old Friends Retirement Farm and/or the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. Wolken is survived by his wife, Sue, sons Brad, Mike and Chris Rains, daughter Karyn Shuler, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. View the full article

Horseplayers cashing winning tickets at New York Racing Association tracks can now share their good fortune with retired Thoroughbreds by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at self-service AmTote betting terminals. Beginning Saturday, Apr. 7 at Aqueduct, horseplayers cashing a winning ticket through a self-service terminal will be prompted with a pop-up interface allowing them to make a donation to the TAA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. If the bettor chooses to donate, the terminal will issue a receipt indicating both the donation amount as well as the TAA’s 501(c)(3) identification number. The remaining balance will then be issued in the form of a voucher. “NYRA is committed to supporting Thoroughbred aftercare, and we’re pleased to provide horseplayers with a way to quickly and easily donate to the TAA,” said NYRA Chief Revenue Officer David O’Rourke. “The work done by the TAA, and all accredited aftercare organizations, is critical to the health and well-being of our great sport. That’s why we are so pleased to launch an initiative to raise funds for responsible aftercare.” View the full article

Thoroughbred owner/breeder James Coulter passed away Mar. 20 at the age of 71. Coulter’s greatest success came with Sugar Shock (Candy Ride {Arg}), winner of the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn Park in 2014. Born in 1946 in Maryville, Tennessee, Coulter ultimately moved to Gurnee, Illinois in 1979 and operated Coulter’s Construction Company. He is survived by Helen Coulter, his wife of 50 years, as well as his son, Thomas James Coulter; granddaughter, Ellen Schroth; and siblings, Mile Coulter, Terri Larson and Chuck Miller. View the full article

Metro Meteor, a Pennsylvania-based retired racehorse who gained significant attention for Thoroughbred aftercare charities through his paintings, was humanely euthanized Mar. 28 at the age of 15 due to chronic health issues. The son of City Zip, who won eight times from 27 career starts, was given a year to live in 2012, but remained active after learning to hold a paintbrush and creating equine artwork for years to come. He ultimately became an ambassador for racehorse adoption, and the money generated from his paintings financed an experimental treatment from a drug imported from Europe that added five years to his life. “Metro” made appearances on the Today Show, Good Morning America, The BBC, People Magazine, the New York Times, NPR and countless other news organizations. The gelding’s artwork raised over $80,000 for New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program. View the full article

DEL MAR, Ca – The Barretts Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, an amalgamation of the company’s traditional two juvenile auctions, will be held Wednesday at Del Mar with bidding scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. PT. Last year’s March select sale attracted a catalogue of 135 head–of whom 68 went through the ring and 45 sold–while the May sale catalogue included 95 juveniles, 70 of whom went through the ring and 46 sold. This year’s combined sale has a catalogue of 170. There were 43 outs listed as of Tuesday afternoon. “I wanted to get a larger catalogue put together,” Barretts General Manager Kim Lloyd explained about the shift. “It was too difficult to make them both big enough. It turns out we got the same horses from both sales in this one sale, so it has worked out well. I was worried that the later sales horses and the regional people who get those horses ready might be hard-pressed for an earlier sale. But now that we are in April, it makes more sense.” Consignors seemed pleased with the scheduling change, as well. “It was necessary and I’m glad they moved it a couple weeks to help some of these local guys have the time to prepare,” said Andy Havens of the locally based Havens Bloodstock Agency. “But I think it’s a good idea. We were having trouble scheduling that second sale, so it works out better this way.” Raul Reyes’s Kings Equine was one of only a few Ocala-based operations to make the return trip to Southern California for the May sale last year. Reyes, who agreed eliminating the double travel was a plus, is expecting a good market Wednesday. “I think combining the sales was a great idea and it is working out well,” Reyes said. “There is so much need for horses in California and there will be buyers for all markets. It looks that way–I can already feel it that way. It helps to have buyers from all levels.” Kings Equine, which sold subsequent GII San Vicente S. winner Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) at last year’s March sale, sent out 22 juveniles to work during Monday’s under-tack preview. “They had twice as many people watching the horses breeze as they did last year, so that’s a good sign,” Reyes said. “The activity has been great. It’s still early in the morning and a lot of serious buyers are here already. They are all here. And they look like they are looking for horses.” Among Havens Bloodstock’s 15 workers Monday was a Smiling Tiger colt (hip 63) who shared the fastest furlong breeze of :10 flat. “I had a good preview and I was very happy with how it went,” Havens said. “You always want everything to go faster, but it was pretty even. They liked the track, the track here is fantastic. It made the whole thing a lot easier. I think, even if it was a little slower, they looked good going over it. We had a good preview and a good return the next day.” Indications from the activity at the breeze show, to the barn area and to the sales office point to a wide-range of buyers looking for horses, according to Havens. “I heard the grandstand was pretty full,” he said. “And we’ve been busy here [at the barns] since eight this morning. I’ve got a lot of Cal-breds who performed well and I think these guys are going to respond well to them. So far, I’ve heard the credit requests are including guys that are coming to look for mid-range horses. The question will be, will they show up? But I think they well.” The trio of bullet furlong workers also included: hip 58, a filly by Mineshaft (:10 flat); and hip 167, a colt by Into Mischief (:10 flat). The fastest quarter-mile work of :21 flat was turned in by hip 121, a colt by Graydar. In addition to Kanthaka, graduates of last year’s Barretts juvenile sales include graded winner and Grade I placed Run Away (Run Away And Hide) and stakes winner Surrender Now (Morning Line). “Barretts has always produced runners,” Lloyd said. “In order to do well in California, you’ve got to be able to run. The horses who sell here can run here, they can run anywhere.” View the full article

Karl Watson, Michael Pegram and Paul Weitman’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ McKinzie (Street Sense), sidelined from training with a hock issue, scanned clean in a set of x-rays taken this week, but will be forced to miss the GI Kentucky Derby, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert confirmed on an NTRA teleconference Tuesday. Baffert, who also called a potential start in the May 19 GI Preakness S. “a longshot,” said the colt’s injury is manageable, but significant enough to necessitate rest. “He’s fine,” Baffert said. “The x-rays were all clean. He did something in his hock. I think he jammed it. He was just a little off one morning when we were going to the track. There was no swelling or anything. He was fine the next day, but the nuke scan showed a little something in the hock. We’re just being cautious. With the Derby–every day he doesn’t go to the track, it’s not in his favor. Whatever is going on, we’re just going to let it heal on its own.” McKinzie was expected to make his next start in Saturday’s GI Santa Anita Derby, but his defection has set in motion a game of musical chairs within the Baffert barn, with ‘TDN Rising Star’ Justify (Scat Daddy) being redirected from the Apr. 14 GI Arkansas Derby to Santa Anita’s final prep. Meanwhile, Baffert confirmed that Zayat Stables’s Solomini (Curlin), second in the GII Rebel S. Mar. 17, will return to Oaklawn Park to contest the Arkansas Derby, while impressive maiden winner Restoring Hope (Giant’s Causeway) will take the colt’s place in the GII Wood Memorial S. starting gate this Saturday. “It was either [Restoring Hope] or Solomini [in the Wood], but I think with Solomini, I want to give him an extra week and go back to Arkansas,” Baffert said. View the full article

The catalogue for the Inglis HTBA Scone Yearling Sale is now available. Scheduled for May 13-14, 292 yearlings will go under the hammer at White Park in Scone. Approximately 90% of the catalogue is BOBS Eligible, while all yearlings are eligible for the A$100,000 Scone Inglis Challenge and the A$8-million Inglis Race Series. Past graduates include MGSW & MG1SP Voodoo Lad (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}), two-time Group 2 victor Time For War (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), and G2 BRC Sires Produce S. scorer Look to the Stars (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}). Ninety-three sires are represented over the two-day stand, among them stand outs Hinchinbrook (Aus), Foxwedge (Aus), Choisir (Aus), All Too Hard (Aus), Medaglia d’Oro, More Than Ready, Not A Single Doubt (Aus), Dream Ahead, Savabeel (Aus), and Star Witness (Aus). View the full article

Jockey James McDonald, who was banned for 18 months for betting A$1,000 on Astern (Aus) (Medaglia d’Oro), a colt he rode in his maiden win for Godolphin, has returned to the saddle, reported Racing.com. His ban lasts until May 15, when he can officially resume riding in races, but McDonald’s ban has been downgraded to a suspension, allowing him to ride work in the mornings. Riding at Randwick on Tuesday morning, McDonald told Racing.com, “I rode 12, and there weren’t any slow ones to just get my eye in. I feel good now, but we will judge that tomorrow morning to see how I’m feeling then. The time away has gone very quickly to be honest. I spent some time in Europe, I went back home to New Zealand, I spent a fair bit of time in Melbourne with Katelyn [Mallyon] and I’ve been back in Sydney for about the last two months.” The former retained jockey for Godolphin has spent some time improving his fitness in advance of riding again, and he will be a free agent on May 15. Added McDonald, “I’ve put a bit of work in to the past six weeks, conditioning my body to get ready for today. I feel like I’m pretty fit, I’ve put in the hard yards but getting back on the horse is what will help me the most. I’ll be riding freelance, which is exciting for me. I was out at Randwick this morning; I’ll get to Rosehill and Warwick Farm. John O’Shea has been a big supporter, so too Chris Waller and a number of other trainers.” View the full article

Nice story about the colt by Lava Boy, the teaser, who finished third in a MSW at Gulfstream on Good Friday (click here for Bill Finley’s Week in Review). As you say, he’s got some way to go to match the achievements of Tiberius Caesar–the almost legendary Caesar The Teaser of the Haras du Logis in France. His first foal, sired at the age of 12, is the high-class Tiberian, Group 2 winner of the Grand Prix de Deauville and two-time conqueror of GI Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Talismanic. Tiberius Caesar’s second ‘crop’–one sole foal–is the capable four-time winner of a shade under €100,000, Magnentius. And his third foal is the filly Yellow Storm, a classy maiden winner who ran in the G1 Prix de Diane last year; she’ll be back chasing Black Type this year and is considered superior to the Timeform 119-rated Tiberian by trainer, Alain Couetil. Tiberius Caesar was too busy with the day job (performed for the likes of Derby hero Authorized and world Champion Manduro) to have any 3- or 2-year-olds this year; but he does have nine yearlings and some 20 mares due to foal to him this spring, and a book–a proper, grown-up stallion book–of around 30 mares in 2018. His fee has been subjected to wild inflation: a case of rosé was all it took back in the day, but it’ll cost you €2,000 a pop this year. In fact, times have so changed for Tiberius Caesar that he now has his own teaser to do all that tiresome work of charm and seduction: a 12hh pony called Polly. Jocelyn Targett Black Type Ltd. View the full article

Trainer Ciaron Maher, who was suspended for six months for conduct prejudicial to racing’s image regarding a notorious criminal involved in the ownership of five horses including G1SW Azkadellia (NZ) (Shinko King {Ire}), has resumed training responsibilities as of Tuesday morning, Racing.com reported. Maher spent his first day back in Sydney, preparing for the first Saturday of The Championships at Randwick. Aaron Purcell took over the stable in Maher’s absence, and Not A Single Cent (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}), who won the 1400-metre G2 VRC Sires’ Produce S., will represent the stable in the G1 ATC Sires Produce S. on Saturday. “It’s good to be back–it’s a bit like riding a bike–I handled it [first day of trackwork] no problem at all,” Mayer, who also has a large string of horses at Caulfield, told Racing.com. “I thought he [Not A Single Cent] worked well. He drew the car park [barrier 15], but he’s a quality horse on the up. He’ll improve with racing. It’s only his third start and he’s hit the line well at his first two.” View the full article

For more than 30 years, the Thoroughbred racing industry has had various starts and stops in addressing the racehorse aftercare issue on a comprehensive basis. Charitable organizations were hard at work and raised awareness but it wasn’t until after the filly Eight Belles broke down that leaders in the racing industry started putting forth industry-wide efforts. Thoroughbred trainer Rick Violette, Jr., then president of the New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association (NYTHA) advanced an effective two-pronged approach (TAKE THE LEAD and TAKE2), funded by NYTHA to create a safety net for New York’s racehorses. TAKE THE LEAD and TAKE2 address two basic elements of the issue. TAKE THE LEAD is an expedient way for owners and trainers to retire a horse from racing and TAKE2 established thoroughbred-only hunter and jumper classes at existing shows with prize money and a league awarding a grand prize at the end of the season. Proud of the progress TAKE2 has made over its first five years, Violette said he sees an even better future for off-track thoroughbreds as he plans to diversify the strategy of the pioneering program. In year five, TAKE2 has made major inroads going from integration in eight horse shows to 350 shows across the US. But, in keeping with Violette’s philosophy on all issues in the racing business, it will be honed and tweaked to keep it fresh and growing. Violette’s approach is refreshingly horse-centric yet focused on the big picture. He was a show rider, trainer and riding teacher before becoming a successful racehorse trainer and he said that the characteristics we admire in thoroughbreds may be more attractive to serious young riders like those participating in U.S. Pony Club than to the average hunter rider. Diana Pikulski, former Executive Director of the TRF, now a non-profit consultant and Editor of the Thoroughbred Adoption Network caught up with Rick at the Palm Meadows Training Center to talk about the right market to launch the second phase of TAKE2 and the overall picture for Violette’s vision of a multifaceted approach to providing second careers and aftercare for off-track thoroughbreds. TAN: It has been five years since you launched TAKE2. Are you satisfied with its progress to date? RV: To date, TAKE2 has accomplished our initial intent which was to revive awareness of the value of Thoroughbreds in the show ring. We started with eight shows and we are now in the mid-300s from coast to coast. While we are pleased, as there is a lot of competition in the shows these days, we do feel that we have plateaued a bit. So we are evaluating to see what we can tweak to keep progressing. TAN: Where do you see the focus being put in the next phase? RV: We won’t necessarily be looking to get into more shows. But where we are represented, we need to fill the classes better to keep it interesting and keep emphasizing the value of Thoroughbreds. We did create a league that has a serious $30,000 prize for the most points at the end of the season. Going forward, in TAKE2 leadership, all hands are on deck to keep it fresh and keep fulfilling our need to keep the thoroughbred in the forefront by highlighting those positive characteristics that people are missing in thoroughbreds over the last number of decades. It might take a generation to get Thoroughbreds back to stature that we want. TAN: With the success of TAKE2 in the hunter jumper shows, will you take a similar formula to other disciplines? RV: The 16.2 and larger horses have lots of options. So now, we need a place for the smaller Thoroughbred. The beautiful 15-15.2 horse could have a significant place in the pony club world where young people who are learning dressage as well as jumping, are attracted to a flashy and forward moving horse who is consistently in the bridle. Thoroughbreds are very receptive to subtle commands which is not always so attractive to the hunters but would be to the pony club riders. We’ll be looking to sit down with the leaders and principals at U.S. Pony Club to see if we can fill a mutual need. TAN: NYTHA launched TAKE THE LEAD in concert with TAKE2. TAKE THE LEAD is a program where trainers can contact NYTHA about a horse they are seeking to retire and basically turn the lead over to Rick Schosberg and Andy Belfiore, who oversee the process. The horse is vetted and transferred to a TAA- accredited organization with a donation. When the horse needs long-term or lifetime retirement, TAKE THE LEAD continues to support the organization which accepts the horse. The intent was to create a safety net for NYRA horses and give owners an easy way to do the right thing. This is an important part of the desired program outcomes. Is the two-pronged approach, TAKE THE LEAD and TAKE2, working as you envisioned? RV: It is working as planned. Racehorse aftercare is a multifaceted issue. Giving them a safe haven in New York, through TAKE THE LEAD was our first priority. Then creating a second job for them was Priority 1A. The vast majority of these horses do better with a job. They rally to a task. The programs go hand in hand. TAN: Have the racehorse owners responded to the process as you hoped? RV: Without question, they are stepping up. More horses are being retired while they can still easily go on to a second career– early, rather than a day late. While many owners, for as long as there has been racing, have done the right thing for their horses with no recognition or fanfare, it was important for us to make it easy for all owners to do it. TAN: Things are moving in the right direction for Thoroughbred aftercare. But it is not perfect. What do you think of recent incidents of thoroughbreds needing to be purchased from the kill pens in Louisiana and Texas, and how do you stop the cycle of Thoroughbreds ending up at the kill pens? RV: Racetracks need to hold their trainers and owners accountable. When one horse falls through the cracks, that is one too many. A lot needs to be done to stop these horses from going over the border and we cannot expect the federal government to do it. Right now, all tracks need to make examples of anyone who has direct contact in sending horses to slaughter by revoking all of their privileges. TAN: You have had marked success with the New York efforts. On a national level, how do you see the partnerships with other organizations working out? RV: What is clear is that there is no one answer out there. It takes many efforts and a combination of all the successful programs out there from RRP, to TRF to TAA and all the retraining groups. All organizations are necessary. It is a work in progress and like all of the issues facing racing, it will always be changing and progressing to meet the ever changing business. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wednesday’s Insights features a full-sister to G1 Fillies Mile winner Together Forever (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). 3.30 Leopardstown, Mdn, €13,000, 3yo, c/g, 10fT GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is one of three Ballydoyle representatives who was last seen finishing second to stable companion Flag of Honour (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in this track’s G3 Eyrefield S. in October. In opposition is Calumet Farm’s Bandua (The Factor), a Dermot Weld-trained half-brother to three GSWs in Ilusora (Tale of the Cat), Mr. Roary (Scat Daddy) and Tale of a Champion (Tale of the Cat). 4.00 Leopardstown, Mdn, €16,000, 2yo, f, 10fT BROADWAY (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) makes her belated reappearance after a promising debut fourth over six furlongs at Naas in June, a trip which is certain to be entirely inadequate for this half-sister to the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S. heroine Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {Ger}). One of a trio representing Aidan O’Brien, the bay whose full-sibling Venice Beach (Ire) captured last year’s G3 Chester Vase is joined by Forever Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a €900,000 GOFORB full-sister to the G1 Fillies Mile winner Together Forever (Ire) and half to the G1SW sire Lord Shanakill (Speightstown). View the full article

Last Saturday saw two important GI Kentucky Derby trials, each carrying 100 points for the winner. The big difference between the two was that they were staged roughly 12,600 kilometres apart, in Dubai and Miami, yet both were won very decisively by progressive colts on a winning roll. And–remarkably–there are some strong similarities between the pedigrees of the two winners. Of course the GI Florida Derby fell to the very progressive Audible (Into Mischief) (pedigree), now a winner of the last four of his five starts, while the Group 2 UAE equivalent was won even more decisively by the well-traveled Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) (pedigree), who was securing his third consecutive win. Mendelssohn, with the distinction of being the highest-priced American yearling of 2016, was sired by a Storm Cat line stallion from 2016’s Broodmare of the Year, Leslie’s Lady (Tricky Creek). Needless to say, this makes him a slightly-more-than-half-brother to Into Mischief, the great-grandson of Storm Cat responsible for Audible. I have to admit that the UAE Derby is a race I learned to mistrust, especially as a Kentucky Derby trial. Of the winners which attempted the double, the 2000 winner China Visit finished a respectable sixth at Churchill Downs, but since then Express Tour could finish only eighth in 2001, Essence of Dubai was ninth in 2002, Regal Ransom (Distorted Humor) was eighth in 2009, Daddy Long Legs (Scat Daddy) failed to finish in 2012, Lines of Battle (War Front) was seventh in 2013, Mubtaahij (Dubawi {Ire}) was eighth a year later and then the Japanese-trained Lani (Tapit) was ninth in 2016. This string of substantial defeats hardly gives confidence that a UAE Derby winner will be able to reproduce his best form thousands of miles away just a few weeks later, but there are reasons for thinking that Mendelssohn will be a serious contender at Churchill Downs. For a start, he has already made a triumphant trip to the U.S., when he won the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, and he is bred for dirt. There’s also a good chance that the relatively new dirt track at Meydan is much more similar to the Churchill Downs surface than the Tapeta which it replaced. Last year’s UAE Derby winner Thunder Snow (Helmet {Aus}) threw his chance away with his bucking bronco display on leaving the stalls in the Kentucky Derby, but this admirably versatile colt has since been in fine form on the Meydan dirt and his nearly-six-length defeat of West Coast (Flatter) in the G1 Dubai World Cup makes me wonder what might have been at Churchill Downs. On the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2017, Thunder Snow was rated just 2lb inferior to Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister). Remember too that the 2014 UAE Derby winner Toast of New York (Thewayyouare) went very close to defeating Bayern (Offlee Wild) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic and that Mubtaahij won the GI Awesome Again S. last year and once went close to winning the GI Woodward S. Lani’s third in the GI Belmont S. was another indication that UAE Derby winners can hold their own in the U.S. Chances are, though, that people will prefer Audible to Mendelssohn simply because his story is more conventional. Whereas Aidan O’Brien has little to show from his previous Kentucky Derby raids, Audible will be bidding to provide Todd Pletcher with his third winner, following Super Saver and Always Dreaming. Always Dreaming also prepped for the Triple Crown with a victory in the Florida Derby, as have so many Kentucky Derby winners, such as Nyquist, Orb, Big Brown, Barbaro, Monarchos, Thunder Gulch, Unbridled, Swale and Spectacular Bid. In winning the Florida Derby, Audible also followed in the footprints of his grandsire Harlan’s Holiday, who went on to land the GI Blue Grass S. and to earn the position of favorite for the 2002 Kentucky Derby. Although Harlan’s Holiday finished only seventh, he later showed that he just about stayed a mile and a quarter, notably finishing second in the G1 Dubai World Cup and the GI Hollywood Gold Cup. I should own up to wondering whether a son of Into Mischief would stay well enough to win a Kentucky Derby. However, Audible’s performance at Gulfstream Park offered plenty of encouragement, even though his pedigree doesn’t guarantee that he’ll stay. Audible’s first two dams, the sprinter Blue Devil Bel and the once-raced Fahamore, were respectively sired by Gilded Time, a champion two-year-old who contested the Breeders’ Cup Sprint as a three-year-old, and Gulch, a winner of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Don’t forget, though, that Gulch won the Wood Memorial before contesting all three legs of the Triple Crown, and he sired a Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner in Thunder Gulch. If Audible proves suits by a mile and a quarter he can probably thank his third dam, Cathy’s Gal. Her only win came over a sprint distance but she was bred to stay very well by American standards. Her sire Easy Goer won the GI Belmont S. and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup over a mile and a half, in addition to the GI Travers S. and the Woodward over a mile and a quarter. Audible’s fourth dam, the GI Alabama S. winner Classy Cathy, also stayed pretty well, as might be expected of a filly sired by Private Account from a Tom Rolfe mare. When Classy Cathy was mated to Mr Prospector, the resultant foal was Placerville, who stayed a mile and a quarter under more demanding European conditions. His finest hour came when he defeated Urban Sea, the future Arc winner, in the G2 Price of Wales’s S. at Royal Ascot. It is going to be fascinating to see what happens when Audible eventually meets the likes of Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) and McKinzie (Street Sense), two colts with pedigrees which look ideal for the Triple Crown. View the full article

The reserve was 50,000gns. And so was the opening bid. At 180,000 gns, a friend turned to Ambrose O’Mullane and said, “How are you so calm?” “Because it’s money for jam,” he shrugged. He remembered how he had never even wanted to inspect the colt, at Deauville the previous summer. Le Havre (Ire) was all the rage. No way would they ever be able to afford one of those. But his partner Mary Reynolds insisted Ambrose come and take a look. There was a cut on one of his hocks, an innocuous blemish. That was all it took for the colt to be led out unsold for €15,000. They ran straight down to the Coulonces boxes, offered €10,000. No, they wanted €15,000. A bit of haggling ensued, but other people were heading across. Twelve grand, then; and here, we have a pen. They could easily have sold him on for a profit the same day. As it was, here they were at Tattersalls the following May, crushed in the gangway as everyone watched agog. Even Mary had admitted that the horse breezed well. As a rule, she would be reliably despondent when ringing Ambrose back in Co Tipperary. Their Ardglas Stable outside Emly is so literally homespun–until this year they have never had any help, and Ambrose was spending half the morning riding out over at Con Marnane’s–that only one of them can be spared to accompany horses to a sale. But this time, unprecedentedly, Ambrose had made the journey as well. This was a tall colt, too tall for little Mary to be showing. Though he had proved a most obliging animal, all the way through breaking and his prep, after his breeze the pressure was beginning to tell. There were nine vettings. The night before, someone wanted an X-ray, and the colt was nearing the end of his fuse. Ambrose, in fact, acquired the scars to prove it: two, on his forearm. Nearly two years on, they have only recently faded. Ambrose himself was composed as ever. That morning he stretched out in the tack room, fast asleep. It had been the same in his riding days, as an amateur over jumps. Even if he had a fancied mount, he’d always be dozing beforehand. And they knew he could handle a hothead, too. In the end, that counted against him. “This horse is bloody mad,” trainers would say. “He’s one for O’Mullane.” For every one that submitted, the next would deck him. Between riding out and organising the handful of horses they were starting to take in themselves–breaking jumpers, that kind of thing–it wasn’t hard to quit the racing. But this now, this was a game-changer. When the gavel came down at last, at 300,000 gns, Ardglas had consigned the top lot of the Guineas Breeze-Up Sale. Friends, other consignors, agents, trainers, everyone went wild. They knew what it meant; knew how these two had grafted, seeking a diamond in the rough. Anyone who has ever viewed the breezing of a cheap yearling as a bet to nothing should ask Ambrose and Mary. Throw in keep and feed, from September maybe to May; never mind whatever value they might put on their own time, dawn until dusk. “We’ve had piles of those horses, bought them for two grand and sold them for 1500,” Ambrose says. “Very few of them make money. To get the 20 grand horse into 40 is probably easier than getting the five grand horse into 20.” The first horse they ever breezed, in their hobby days, they had been given for nothing: a Bertolini filly. She made €4,000 at Goresbridge, and they had to borrow a fiver to get a cup of tea on the way home. So Mary, watching at the rope, had none of Ambrose’s sangfroid. A month earlier she had taken three horses to the Ascot sale. “Two belonged to a client, the other we owned half with a friend,” she recalls. “There was no bid for him and the other two sold for little or nothing. And I said: we’ve had it.” A dead end, then? After all the groundwork she had put in with horses: the apprentice school, the few rides during her years with Dermot Weld, the gallops fall that put her in hospital for five months, the sales work for Willie Browne. But no, it was not a dead end. As the hammer came down, she exploited her diminutive build to duck and weave her way through the bedlam. “I was bawling,” she admits. “The place was like an All-Ireland final.” Ambrose wanted to follow the colt over for his wind-test, but he was stuck. “They went crazy,” he remembers now, looking from their kitchen window to the streaks of snow clinging to the brooding Galtee Mountains. “People who’d been going there for years said they’d never seen the like of it. With all the millions horses have made in that ring, and loads of small people having a touch. Somebody pulled the hat off my head, people were shouting. God help the people with the next horse in because there was no-one left in the ring.” Over the following months, he could point to the two scars. “There’s 150,000gns,” he’d say. “And there’s 150,000gns.” But he might sooner point to the new horsewalker; to the new sand canter, two furlongs round. Before they had just been hacking round the fields, or boxing the horses one by one down to a neighbour’s gallop. And then there are the four new stalls, extending their capacity to 18. They have even had to take on an extra pair of hands in the morning, those of Pa Farrell. They are so busy now that Ambrose has had to stop riding out for Marnane. “Thanks for all your help over the few years,” Ambrose told him. “Let me tell you this,” Marnane replied. “The only thing that got the two of you where you are is hard work.” That, for sure, is the way people think of these two. “But we did have luck, too,” Ambrose stresses. “There’s loads of people out there work very hard and don’t get the luck.” And they know how tenuously luck holds. Yes, they had another home run that same spring: a Spirit One (Fr) filly Ambrose bought at Arqana October, on one bid of €4,000, who made €66,000 at Goresbridge. Of the other eight they sold in 2016, however, all the others galloped into the red. “If you go into the pub and want to hit the bull’s eye you’re going to take six darts, not one, aren’t you?” says Ambrose. But the raising of stakes also means raising the pressure. Next week they take the first five youngsters–sons of Fast Company (Ire) (lot 10) and Zebedee (GB) (lot 96) and fillies by Compton Place (GB) (lot 12), Oasis Dream (GB) (lot 116), and Coach House (Ire) (lot 34)–over to Ascot for the start of the European breeze-up season. Then they have five more for Doncaster, and four apiece for the Guineas Sale and for Goresbridge. All they can do is stick to the principles that have worked for them so far. That, above all else, means producing a horse on a sustainable curve of improvement. Certainly they want no part of the growing tendency among consignors to blitz horses against the stopwatch. “Of course they need a certain level of fitness,” Mary says. “But we never gallop the brains out of them at home. Some might have two or three bits of work, but they don’t need any more for breezing. And they might then be racing five or six weeks after the sale, they can go straight into training. They don’t need their heads rewinding again, don’t have to be left off and let down.” “We only prep a horse for a trainer,” Ambrose explains. “If he clocks well on the day, we haven’t a clue. It’s not that long ago, when I was a young fella riding breezes the first time, they’d go up in pairs, green cap and white cap; they’d carry each other along, boot to boot. Look, it’s grand, the clock can work to your advantage. But when our horses clock well, it’s the horse that’s done it. “Look out there and you’ll see a horse, 16.2, that most people wouldn’t even dream of having for the breezes. But that horse–compared with the ones going to Ascot–might have three or four feet more of a stride. I guarantee he’ll come up the track and, on the video, he’ll look slow; and then they’ll look at the clock and it’ll be: ‘Jeez, he’s after clocking the same as a five-furlong sprinter’.” He feels that forcing horses out of their comfort zone to clock a time will only give a misleading impression, anyway. If a horse is only up to winning in Italy, say, then that is the sector of the market where it belongs. “There’s a place for every horse, because they’re only going to race against their equals anyway,” he says. “If they go there and win their races, then people will be happy to come back again.” At the level they can operate, after all, their options at the yearling sales are necessarily limited. On the basis that their customers are astute enough to see beyond one-dimensional bullets, then, they will not just seek sharp, early sorts (of the type going to Ascot) but also horses likely to get a mile and more in time. “They have to have a good walk,” Mary says. “You want an athletic horse; a natural horse.” “And a bit of size,” adds Ambrose. “Then there’s potential; they can progress. You might have to pay more for a big horse, as a yearling, but if you can get him to gallop he’ll get more as a breeze-up horse, too. If you have a handy-sized horse, and he doesn’t breeze great, not many fellas will come down to look at him. But one that might just look a bit backward, someone will usually come down and see that it’s a fine horse.” And, since none are mercilessly drilled, all the Ardglas horses–whatever their ability or type–can share the same dividend. As one of Ireland’s leading trainers put it to Mary, “I love getting horses out of Ardglas: they have good manners.” The horses are on so even a keel, in fact, that they will be doing essentially the same in March as they were in December–certainly in terms of distance; and the speed might be the same, too, albeit they will be achieving it with greater ease by this stage. They are taken away for a canter in January and, in gradually becoming stronger, they actually become fresher. Even with the numbers up, the tour of the little barn behind the bungalow does not take long. The sense of intimacy is heightened by nicknames for all the horses: a No Nay Never colt, for instance, is “Floyd”–named after the boxer, Mayweather, who treated Conor McGregor much as this horse did his work. “McGregor came out boxing,” Ambrose explains. “Floyd just took his time–and this horse was the same, the next thing he unleashes power and speed, but not in a mad way. And he just goes on improving in his work.” Sure enough, Mary likes No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) among the rookie sires; Ambrose, Coach House (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}). They have a colt by the latter selling at Ascot, and have given their 15-year-old son a stake. This is the coalface of the breeze-ups: hands-on, hardscrabble stuff. No matter how fast your horse, you need to talk that bit faster when you go and see that bank manager. Mary stresses their gratitude to the work of the Breeze-Up Consignors’ Association, putting its shoulder to the wheel for David as well as Goliath. One way or another, anyhow, they are making a name for themselves. Someone asked them to break some National Hunt stores this spring. When they apologised that their hands were full already, and offered to send the horses on, they were told just to call back when their breezers were out of the way. Better to have to wait for a spot here than get one elsewhere now. “There must be some good reports going along somewhere,” admits Ambrose. “Look, it’s very hit-and-miss, there’s no science to it. You learn more from your mistakes than your successes. Well I do, anyway. The saying is that if you don’t make mistakes, you’re not doing it right. And a lot goes wrong. Sure you could be out of business next year. You can easily come a cropper.” “So it’s about building your reputation,” he says. “That way, if it doesn’t quite go to plan on the day, a person can still come to you and ask: ‘Is that horse all right?’ That takes a lot of time and you might suffer at the start, which we did, because our horses maybe didn’t look as sharp as the horse next door. But now people are beginning to realise. They are coming back to us, knowing our horses aren’t driven bananas.” Mary and Ambrose have gone into battle only with a sling, but that keeps the eye keen and the stamina strong. “And actually it’s probably harder to get everything handed to you than to start out with nothing,” says Ambrose. “Because if you start with nothing, you can only go up.” View the full article

York’s 1 3/4-mile Ebor H., already the richest Flat handicap in Britain, will be sponsored by Sky Bet and has received a purse boost to £1 million in 2019. The British bookmaker and York Racecourse have agreed to a five-year deal, with the 2018 Ebor purse increasing by 75% to £500,000. First conducted in 1843, the Sky Bet Ebor’s conditions have also been amended, making the race available for 4-year-olds and up, with the runners allocated by weight rather than rating. Sky Bet will also sponsor the 1 3/4-mile G3 Melrose S., raising its purse by 20% to £125,000; and the £170,000 G2 Great Voltigeur S., won in 2017 by Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}). In addition to the above trio, Sky Bet will continue to back the 7-furlong £180,000 G3 City of York S. and has also added the £100,000 1 1/8-mile G3 Strensall S. and two handicaps on Aug. 25 to its sponsorship umbrella. “The Ebor has been a feature of my racing life and I think these plans set it on a firm course for future success,” said Lord Grimthorpe. “This great race encapsulates ambition, innovation and heritage, all of which are very much a part of York’s ethos.” Added Sky Bet Chief Executive Richard Flint, “Sky Bet is proud to be based in Yorkshire and we are excited to be part of the future of such a great race. Today is only the first phase of an exciting partnership which I hope will mean fantastic things for Yorkshire racing.” “British racing has made its commitment to the continued production of quality staying horses well known, and this sizeable investment is another boost for owners, breeders and trainers of staying horses,” said British Horseracing Authority Chief Executive Nick Rust. View the full article

A three-year agreement has been reached between The Tote and Galway Races, with the former becoming the title sponsor of the €250,000 The Tote.com Galway Plate, slated for 7:20 p.m. local time on Aug. 1. The Tote first sponsored the race in 2010, and with the sponsorship renewal, this will take the company’s association with the Galway Plate into its 11th year in 2020. Won in 2017 by Balko Des Flos (Fr) (Balko {Fr}), the Galway Plate is part of Ireland’s largest racing festival, the Galway Races, and the race celebrates its 150th running in 2019. “We are delighted to continue this mutually beneficial partnership with the Galway Races team,” said The Tote CEO Tim Higgins. “TheTote.com Galway Plate is a real high point of the year for all of our team and the week itself is eagerly anticipated every summer.” “As an integral part of Irish racing, The Tote are a natural partner for us to work with and we are delighted to continue this agreement,” said Galway Racecourse General Manager Michael Moloney. View the full article