Wandering Eyes

Kelvin Tyler is excited about the future with Freddie Time after he came within a nose of victory in last Saturday’s Gr.3 Manawatu Cup (2300m) at Trentham. The four-year-old son of Time Test showed plenty of ability last season, winning on debut at Riverton on New Year’s Day before placing in the Listed Dunedin Guineas (1600m) and running fourth in the Gr.3 Manawatu Classic (2100m). The Riverton horseman thought enough of his gelding to campaign him in Australia over winter, and while he was unplaced in his sole start across the Tasman, he took plenty of benefit from the trip. Freddie Time has continued to impress Tyler this season, winning two races while based out of Howie Mathews’ Otaki barn, and he was rapt to see his strong finish on Saturday where he came close to pipping runaway leader Sagunto on the line. “It was really exciting,” Tyler said. “He has really come forward a long way and he is going to go to the top, I am pretty sure about that. He has done really well for a young horse, he’s only four.” Tyler said Freddie Time has come through the run well and he will now likely target the Listed Vernon & Vazey Truck Parts LTD Marton Cup (2200m) at Trentham on January 3. “He had a trot and canter this (Monday) morning and he is perfect. He is eating everything and he has bounced out of it and is ready to go again,” Tyler said. “The obvious one would be the Marton Cup. I thought about going up north for something like the Queen Elizabeth (Gr.3, 2400m, at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day), but it is coming up a bit quick with the trip away, right-handed and you never know how the track is going to play up there, it might not suit him. We will be patient, run him in the Marton Cup and go from there.” Closer to home, Tyler finished the weekend in pleasing fashion when recording a winning double at Gore on Sunday, courtesy of Fourofus and Mamaea. “Gore is always a nice track,” he said. “We had some nice chances going into it, so it was nice to get a couple of wins.” Tyler is now looking forward to heading to Wingatui on Boxing Day where he will line-up a quintet of runners. “I am going there with five high-quality horses, I am quite excited going into Friday,” he said. Indie Ardie heads into the Property Brokers – Ray Kean R65 2200 in a purple patch of form, having won one and placed in three of her four starts this preparation, and Tyler is hoping she can extend that sequence on Friday. “Indie Ardie is flying at the moment,” he said. “She probably should have won on both days at Cromwell. “She has had a bit of a freshen since then, she doesn’t take a lot of work, and her gallop on Saturday morning was probably as good as I have seen. I am quite excited for her, especially getting over a bit of ground.” Stable veteran Prince Alby will contest the Grand Casino Open 2200, with his fresh-up run readying him for next month’s Gr.3 NZ Campus Of Innivation & Sport Wellington Cup (3200m) at Trentham. “He is really mature now and probably looks the best he has ever looked,” Tyler said. “It is a good starting point for him and all going well he will go up for the Wellington Cup. “He is in really good order and he will go a good race. With a bit of rain about, the track is going to be off, so that should suit him, and he comes into the race really well in the weights.” Stablemate Ripa Time will be seeking black-type when she lines-up in the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m), and Tyler believes she is up to the task. “She is a really nice filly,” he said. “I know she is still a maiden, but she has certainly got ability. If the rain comes it might slow a few down and she won’t be out of it. It is a bit of an ask for her but hopefully she can perform.” Tyler will also be represented by last-start runner-up performers Flash Roca and Sight To See in the ODT Southern Mile Heat (1600m). “Both of them are really good horses and rain won’t bother either of them,” he said. “They have really come forward and I can see both of them going really good races.” View the full article

No-one knows better than Lance O’Sullivan what it takes to win the Gr.1 TAB Telegraph (1200m), which is as good a recommendation as any around the engagement of James McDonald for Tomodachi in the Trentham Group One sprint. During O’Sullivan’s storied jockey career, encompassing 12 premierships and 62 Group One wins in his homeland as well as international majors for a career tally of 2,479, the Telegraph stands like a beacon. O’Sullivan rode the winner of the famous Trentham sprint a record six times and last January he joined his father Dave and brother Paul on the trainers’ honour roll with Grail Seeker. On January 3 he and Wexford Stables partner Andrew Scott will be double-handed in the 2026 edition of the Telegraph with Grail Seeker set to be joined by Tomodachi. The latter firmed to $3.80 favouritism following the weekend announcement that McDonald will make a special trip to Trentham to ride her in the $550,000 feature, while Grail Seeker shares the second line with Crocetti at $5. Coming up 14 years ago, McDonald added the Telegraph to his growing list of big wins when he combined with Guiseppina to down the Australian raiders Atomic Force and Nash Rawiller, who three weeks earlier had won the Gr.1 Railway Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie. Like all others trained by Stephen Ramsay and Julia Ritchie, Guiseppina raced in the royal blue and white hooped colours of her breeder Sir Peter Vela, which is the common thread leading to McDonald’s engagement for Tomodachi. “The booking was made by Sir Peter’s racing manager Gary Cossey and we were very happy to receive confirmation,” O’Sullivan said on Monday. “James is obviously a world class jockey, he knows how to win the Telegraph, and for our part Tomodachi is right on target, so hopefully it will all come together with the right result.” Tomodachi and Grail Seeker were both ridden in the most recent phase of near-identical preparations by Joe Doyle, who has been confirmed for the defending Telegraph title-holder. They were placed in separate 1100m trials at the start of last Friday’s Matamata race meeting, satisfying their connections that all is well ahead of their Trentham mission. “We’re happy with both mares and even though their work patterns are a lot different, we’re confident that they’re on target,” O’Sullivan said. McDonald last rode in New Zealand almost two years ago, when he claimed the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and 3YO (1600m) double on Velocious and Orchestral. More recently before another Hong Kong stint, he signed off a productive Australian spring carnival on the final day of Melbourne Cup week when completing a Melbourne Group One double on Via Sistina. Having already claimed his fourth consecutive Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) and his second on the Chris Waller-trained mare, he and the champion expat trainer combined for their 50th Group One together with Via Sistina in the Gr.1 Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington. McDonald’s Hong Kong stint ended on Saturday with a double at Sha Tin, taking his tally there for the season to date to 13 wins from 84 rides, with his mounts’ combined earnings of HK$47 million placing him second on that metric to resident champion Zac Purton. Having been awarded his third World’s Best Jockey trophy at the start of the Longines Hong Kong International Meeting, McDonald combined with local champion Romantic Warrior for a record fourth consecutive victory in the Gr.1 Hong Kong Cup (2000m). A commitment to the world record stake-earner for his next Hong Kong start will prevent McDonald from attending the Karaka Millions meeting at Ellerslie, however, his single-race cameo appearance at Trentham on January 3 is bound to draw an audience befitting the occasion. View the full article

Young Cambridge Stud stallion Sword Of State has landed another timely winning blow across the Tasman. The son of Snitzel is two for two in Australia, with his first representative Torture claiming the Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) for Lindsay Park and at Randwick on Saturday his second runner Warwoven scored on debut. Not to be outdone, associate sire Almanzor is also on a hot run, with Argo and Rambling On combining for a Te Rapa double, Touchdown and Roadcone scored at Caulfield and Lux Libertas was an impressive winner at Trentham. She was triumphant in the Listed Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) at Trentham to add to Almanzor’s recent black type victories courtesy of Qali Al Farrasha (Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes, 1400m), Mary Shan (Gr.3 Great Northern Challenge Stakes, 1600m) and First Five (Gr.3, J Swap Sprint, 1400m). Sword Of State’s son Warwoven is prepared at Warwick Farm by Bjorn Baker and is now headed toward the A$3 million Magic Millions (1200m) at the Gold Coast on January 17. “We don’t want to get too carried away, but when you look at how many eyes are on those races it was an awesome result,” Cambridge Stud’s Sales and Nominations Manager Scott Calder said. “The manner in which the horse won, and the significance of this time of the year as a pre-Christmas two-year-old leading into the Magic Millions, was terrific. “With all the expectation on the stallion with the way they have sold (up to $540,000) and having already had a stakes winner with his other runner in Australia, it’s very exciting.” Warwoven was bred by Kia Ora Stud and sold out of their draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $380,000 to Ridgmont, Bjorn Baker Racing, S & J Gosling and Clarke Bloodstock. He is the first foal of the Makfi mare Needle And Thread, winner of the Gr.2 Royal Stakes (2000m). “Kia Ora came in as a shareholder in Sword Of State and they purchased Needle And Thread through the Valachi dispersal,” Calder said. Sword Of State will be well-represented in Cambridge Stud’s draft to New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale, including a half-brother (Lot 513) to the farm’s multiple Group One-winning graduate Ceolwulf. “The favourite for many reasons is the colt out of Las Brisas, he’s the one the Guerin Report has been following,” Calder said. “When he was born, Ceolwulf wasn’t a stakes winner and he’s now won four Group Ones and Sword Of State is on everyone’s radar. “He has the pedigree and is a really nice colt, we think he’s one who will really stand out. “Ceolwulf was a really nice athletic horse and a Tavistock that looked like he would be a staying three-year-old, whereas this colt has a more precocious look and an early maturing, faster type.” View the full article

Cranbourne-based trainer Gavin Bedggood has travelled to New Zealand in preparation to saddle his first international runner. Bedggood and Kingswood (Roaring Lion) departed Melbourne on Saturday night to prepare for the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day. The trip to New Zealand is two-fold, an attempt to land an elusive Group One win which in turn may secure the entire a home at stud. “He’s a stallion with a good pedigree page, but he’s not a sexy horse in Australia,” Bedggood said. “I think he would be commercial in that environment, so if he was able to go over there and jag one, that would be good. “There are races over there in the autumn for him too, but we’ll reassess after Boxing Day.” Kingswood is a son of Roaring Lion who raced in Ireland before coming to Australia, firstly with Maddie Raymond ahead of joining the Bedggood team. The six-year-old won the 2024 Gr.3 Coongy Cup (2000m) while his most recent victory was in the Listed Cup Day Plate (1800m) at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day. Kingswood’s latest outing was when fourth in the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m) on December 6. “Ballarat was too wet, so you can put a pen through that,” Bedggood said. “He was great the start before at Flemington and if he gets the ground that he needs, he’ll be right amongst the action.” Bedggood said Kingswood’s last piece of work on Saturday morning was as good as any he seen from the entire. He said with a flight back to Australia not scheduled until January 12, Kingswood would have some time in the paddock in New Zealand as plans are reassessed for the entire. Rory Hutchings has been booked to ride Kingswood on Friday. “He was riding a lot for Chris Waller in Brisbane for the last few years and he’s ridden Group One winners previously,” Bedggood said. “Jamie Bates, Logan Bates’ father, rides trackwork for me and he thought he would be a rider that would be a good fit for him, so that was the theory behind that.” View the full article

Hollie Doyle will chase some extra Christmas presents in the form of winners to take back home with her to the UK as she finishes up her six-week Hong Kong stint at Happy Valley on Tuesday night. The 10-time Group One-winning rider has enjoyed a huge amount of support in her short time in the city, which is evidenced by her final night at the Valley seeing her engaged in all nine races. Heading into Tuesday, Doyle has ridden five winners and was just half a length away from Group Two glory when...View the full article

If the My Charmer Stakes proves to be Caitlinhergrtness' curtain call, she went out in style, displaying her class with a masterful late rally orchestrated by jockey Flavien Prat. View the full article

If the My Charmer Stakes proves to be Caitlinhergrtness's curtain call, she went out in style, displaying her class with a masterful late rally orchestrated by jockey Flavien Prat. View the full article

Having a clear trip on the lead, the speedy Joe Shiesty outlasted a bid from defending winner Howard Wolowitz in the $247,835 Holiday Cheer Stakes during the Turfway Park Synthetic Championships Dec. 21.View the full article

Mr. A. P., who announced his arrival as one worth watching in the upcoming 3-year-old season, will be out of action until March, effectively taking him off the Kentucky Derby trail.View the full article

Holly and David Wilson's Mr. A. P. (American Pharoah), last seen finishing second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, has been sidelined and will not be on the GI Kentucky Derby trail, according to a report in Daily Racing Form. “He had a little setback,” trainer Vladimir Cerin told DRF's Brad Free. “I'm hoping he'll be ready at the end of March, which makes everything difficult.” Cerin declined to reveal the ridgling's diagnosis, but told Free the issue had been diagnosed and resolved. “He needs a little more time,” Cerin said. The Wilsons claimed Mr. A. P. for $150,000 out of a runner-up effort in his debut at Del Mar in July. He graduated in his third trip to the post Oct. 13 at Santa Anita and was one length short of Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) at the Breeders' Cup Oct. 31. The post Report: Mr. A. P. Sidelined, Off Derby Trail appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) and Wolfie's Dynaghost (Ghostzapper) are on target for assignments on Jan. 24 Pegasus Day following stakes wins at Gulfstream Park Saturday. Skippylongstocking rebounded from a pair of off-the-board efforts to win the GIII Harlan's Holiday Stakes, a prep for the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, and should improve for the effort, according to trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. “We didn't know if he was fit enough to be back to his best. He showed he was training well. [Saturday] he had to come and do it. Thank God, he did it,” Joseph said Sunday after reporting that 6-year-old came out of his game performance in good order. Skippylongstocking entered Saturday's Harlan's Holiday off a seventh-place effort in the Aug. 2 GI Whitney Stakes at Saratoga and an eighth in the Aug. 22 GII Charles Town Classic, in which he experienced the thumps. “I think he's just as good, training-wise. I don't think he could have been at his optimum fitness going into the race. He was coming off the layoff,” Joseph said. “There's no reason to say that was at his best. He should move forward in his next race, if everything goes well.” Woodslane Farm's Wolfie's Dynaghost, who set a North American record while winning Saturday's GIII Fort Lauderdale Stakes, exited his 10th career stakes victory in good order. “He looks great this morning,” trainer Brian Lynch said. “Everything appears to be how we like it.” The 7-year-old gelding will now be pointed to the $1-million GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. Wolfie's Dynaghost boosted his career earnings to $1.35 million Saturday while making only his second start since joining Lynch's stable. He was coming off a 2 3/4-length win in the Nov. 8 GIII River City Stakes at Churchill Downs. “He came over in really good order. There were no changes made. We just tried to keep him happy and slide him into our program. He's adjusted well, not that there was a lot of adjustment,” Lynch said. “He's just a classy horse that still has a lot of run on his mind.” The post Skippylongstocking, Wolfie’s Dynaghost on Track for Pegasus Assignments appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The opening day of Santa Anita Park's Classic Meet, traditionally held Dec. 26, will be postponed for two days until Dec. 28 ahead of this week's declining weather forecast.View the full article

Flying Mohawk, soundly beaten in a pair of races following his runner-up finish in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) in March at Turfway Park, will attempt to bounce back with a change in equipment in the $100,000 Woodchopper Stakes Dec. 27 at Fair Grounds.View the full article

Cavallerizzo found a late turn of foot and ran by pacesetter Diamond Knot in the late going to win the Asahi Hai Futurity (G1) Dec. 21 at Hanshin Racecourse.View the full article

The Australian Turf Club won an important interim ruling in its high-stakes standoff with Racing NSW, after the Supreme Court found no compelling evidence that the club was on the brink of insolvency or unable to continue trading in the short term.View the full article