Wandering Eyes

Can Little Paradise follow in the footsteps of some of the best Classic Mile winners and progress to superstardom? On the strength of his explosive victory on Sunday, when he overcame a horrific run in the first half of the straight to dispose of what many rated as a strong crop of four-year-olds with ease, it’s hard to say no. Stepping up to the mile for the first time, Jimmy Ting Koon-ho’s stable star was in danger of being the hard luck story of the race when he was second last on the turn...View the full article

Last year’s Australian Guineas winner Feroce (NZ) (Super Seth) is set return to racing this Saturday at Caulfield, where his trainer Dom Sutton is hopeful he can re-affirm his Group One form of 12 months ago. Sutton explained on Saturday that Feroce was likely to run first-up in the Gr.3 Kevin Heffernan (1400m) in a race that is likely to dictate which path the four-year-old takes this autumn. “He trialled on Friday (at Flemington) so we want to make sure he’s come through that trial,” Sutton said. “We haven’t made any set plans whether we go back to Group One level or stay in Group Two or Group Three level. “He’s come back really well, and he did show us plenty in the spring so we’re hopeful. The beginning of the spring was really good for him as he ran a personal best when third in the Group One (Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes) and then we got things wrong tactically in the Toorak. “After that, we went to Sydney (for the Golden Eagle) and it rained the morning of and the ground was horrific and he never went a yard in it. “But he’s shown that he is up to that level and if he runs well on Saturday then he’d probably go to the (G1) Futurity Stakes two weeks later.” Sutton said he carried some confidence that Feroce can compete successfully at Group One level this autumn as the subsequent record of Australian Guineas winners suggest. Subsequent Group One record of Australian Guineas winners (past 10 years): 2024 – Southport Tycoon (went on to win the Gr.1 Manikato Stakes) 2023 – Legarto (won Gr.1 Herbie Dike Stakes) 2022 – Hitotsu (win Gr.1 ATC Derby) 2021 – Lunar Fox – no more Group One wins 2020 – Alligator Blood (won six more Group Ones) 2019 – Mystic Journey (won inaugural $5 million All-Star Mile) 2018 – Grunt (won Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes) 2017 – Hey Doc (Won Gr.1 Manikato Stakes and Gr.1 Winterbottom Stakes) 2016 – Palentino (won Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes) 2015 – Wandjina (ran 2nd Gr.1 All Aged Stakes) View the full article

Ciaron Maher says 2024 All-Star Mile champion Pride Of Jenni could tackle the race first-up in 2026 after continuing to impress him in her work at Cranbourne. Maher told Racing.com on Monday all signs were positive with last spring’s G1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) winner, confirming the $2 million All-Star Mile over the same course at Flemington on March 7 made appeal as a starting point. “She’s in very good order actually,” Maher said of the autumn progress of the winner of more than $11 million in stakes. “Galloped this morning and she is going to jumpout next week, all going well. “Very happy with her condition. She looks fantastic. Her demeanour is good and just the way she is applying herself to her work is just the same as normal. “The All-Star Mile might be an option, but we will see how she jumps out.” Fellow eight-year-old star mare Via Sistina failed to come up this campaign and was retired from racing, but Maher said Pride Of Jenni was showing no such signs. Maher takes us through a few of his autumn G1 chances… Benedetta: “She trialled a bit casual the first one, but we put the shades on her this morning and trialed very sharp. Jamie (Melham) was pretty happy with her. Looks a treat. Very sound and she is going to work towards the Lightning as her kick-off.” Jimmysstar: “He’s going to kick-off in the William Reid to the TJ (Smith) and into the All Aged all going well. He’s just ticking over. He had a pretty busy time (in the spring) so we’ve just program the three races for him.” Observer: “He came back a little bit more causal. He’d just grown up a little bit and was a lot more relaxed, which was good because he was sort of quite on-it in the spring. I needed to see a sharper piece of work from him before racing and he did that this morning. It was quite sharp so he’ll kick-off in the Autumn Stakes.” Tempted: “Her aim will be the Surround and she probably kicks-off in the Eskimo Prince (Randwick on Saturday). She worked this morning as well at Bong Bong and I think she’s a little bit more forward than what we had her last time. She’s a pretty exciting horse.” Unit Five: “He’ll do a piece of work tomorrow and he trials next week before his next start in the Blue Diamond. Traveling young colts brings them on and it (travel from the Gold Coast) certainly has with him.” Gilded Water: “I just wanted to give him a decent break (post spring) so he probably ends up in Queensland in the winter as that’s quite a proven path (to the Melbourne spring).” View the full article

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Frankie Dettori brought the curtain down on his career in the saddle by claiming Group 1 glory in Brazil on Sunday. His final appearance in the saddle at Gavea racecourse could not have begun any better when Dettori came from the rear to score aboard Speak Alpha on the undercard, a success that prompted his trademark flying dismount celebration. The fairytale finish was completed when Dettori partnered Bet You Can to victory in the Grande Prêmio Estado do Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian 2,000 Guineas, securing the first leg of Brazil's Triple Crown. “I can rest now, whatever else happens today,” Dettori told Racing Post after his opening win. “I couldn't have asked for a better way to finish. From the minute I got on the horse, it felt phenomenal. It's a great place to finish – trust me. I'm very happy.” The post Dettori Bows Out From The Saddle With Classic Glory In Brazil appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Frankie Lor Fu-chuen is confident Regal Gem can capitalise on his light weight and clinch the DBS x Manulife Million Challenge crown in the series finale at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. Leading the Million Challenge on 42 points, Regal Gem will carry only 116lb when he faces several leading series rivals in the Class Two Blue Pool Handicap (1,200m). The annual Million Challenge is for runners of all races Class Three and above from September 10 until Wednesday night, with points awarded to...View the full article

Another chapter in the career of one of Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay’s most treasured broodmares was written at Ellerslie on Saturday when Liguria won the Gr.3 Colin Jillings 2YO Classic (1200m). The Lance Noble-trained filly is a grand-daughter of Zonza, who was bred by the Lindsays nearly 20 years ago and has since established her own dynasty. In 2007 they sent their Gold Brose mare Sonet to champion Cambridge Stud stallion Zabeel, producing the filly who was to become Zonza. Trained by Roger James, she carried the Lindsay colours to five wins headed by the Gr.3 Ladies Day Vase (1600m) at the 2013 Caulfield Cup meeting. Zonza has surpassed those racetrack achievements by producing three stakes winners – Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) winner Pinarello, Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) winner Vernazza and Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m) winner Bavella. Vernazza, who followed her Matamata Breeders’ Stakes win with second place to Karaka Million winner Cool Aza Beel in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m), is now the dam of Saturday’s Colin Jillings 2YO Classic winner Liguria, the result of her maiden mating with champion Australian sire Snitzel. After finishing fourth on debut at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, the member of Noble’s Karaka-based racing string stepped up to stakes company. That win capped a memorable week for the Lindsays after their Cambridge Stud draft had topped vendor standings at the 100th National Yearling Sale. “Zonza and J’Adane were the two standouts in Brendan and Jo’s early foray into bloodstock, so both mares will always hold a special place,” Cambridge Sud spokesman Scott Calder said. “Unfortunately we lost Vernazza after she had produced just two fillies, but the stud has retained Liguria as well as her yearling by Proisir. “Zonza is 17 and still breeding, and has a lovely Chaldean filly at foot, while we also have Bavella and Zonza’s unraced Tavistock daughter Zazon in the broodmare band.” Noble, the Lindsays’ private trainer, claimed a notable result early in his tenure when he returned to his former home track to win the 2020 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes with Vernazza and he hopes to follow the same path with Liguria on Saturday week. “It’s a credit to Lance and the whole team on the Karaka farm to win another feature race,” Calder said. “She ran well in her first start on Boxing Day and showed huge improvement the way she hit the line on Saturday. “The Matamata Breeders’ Stakes is a race that Lance has a genuine attachment to given he trained on the track and was also on the club committee. It’s great to think that he now has the chance to write another chapter in what is already a wonderful story.” View the full article

Bill Thurlow endured his share of trials and tribulations with Whangaehu before the stayer’s latest show of form at Ellerslie. The Waverley trainer, who operates in partnership with Sam O’Malley, was delighted with the son of Proisir’s effort on Saturday to finish third over 2200m. Whangaehu came from the back of the field with a stout run under 61kg, conceding seven kilos to the Stephen Marsh pair of Sinhaman and Kiwi Skyhawk. “Hopefully, we’ve got him back where he should be and it hasn’t been easy, so we were very happy with him,” Thurlow said. That performance elevated the seven-year-old to an $8 second favourite for next month’s Gr.2 Auckland Cup (3200m). “It’s working out well and we’ll be trying to get him to the Cup. He’ll go to the Avondale Cup (Gr.3, 2400m) next, so he’s going to have to go to Ellerslie three times,” Thurlow said. “It’s a lot of travelling from where we’re based, but there’s no good lead-up races down here. It’s just the way the calendar is.” It will be Whangaehu’s second crack at the Cup after he finished seventh in the 2024 edition. “He went quite a good race, but he was a bit sharper and keener then and he’s got more dour since,” Thurlow said. Whangaehu was second-up in his preparation on Saturday after two unplaced efforts during the spring. “We thought we had him not far away, but he wasn’t quite clicking and not clearing the gates very well,” Thurlow said. “When we looked back at his races, they were over a mile and he’s never been a horse that’s been able to jump and sprint away from the gates. “He needs time to get into his rhythm and when you get up in grade in those mile races on good tracks they do jump and run but then put the brakes on and a horse like him gets flat-footed and makes it quite difficult.” Whangaehu’s return to form was encouraging on a bittersweet day for the stable after Field Of Gold was pulled up in the Douro Cup (1600m) at Trentham and subsequently humanely euthanised. “It was very said, he was just an absolute gem of a horse,” Thurlow said. “He was another one we thought we had got right. He was really working so well and then that happened, it was a great shame for everyone.” Field Of Gold was successful on four occasions, including victory in the Gr.2 Waikato Guineas (2000m) and placed in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1600m) and Gr.3 War Decree Stakes (1600m) when trained by Tony Pike. He subsequently joined Thurlow as an older horse to add to his winning record and more recently finished in behind the major players in the Gr.2 Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) and Gr.3 Phar Lap Trophy (1600m). View the full article

Luigi Muollo has been involved with the family of his foundation mare Explosive for more than two decades, and it continues to produce for the Novara Park principal. On Saturday, Special Sakura, a fourth generation of a branch of that family, secured black-type when taking care of a handy field to win the Listed Fulton Family Stakes (1500m) at Ellerslie. Bred and raced by Muollo, Special Sakura’s victory was a great result for his Waikato farm, with the four-year-old mare becoming the third individual stakes winner for Novara Park resident stallion Staphanos, joining Group One winner Pignan and Basilinna. Entrusted to the care of New Plymouth trainer Janelle Millar, Muollo said Special Sakura has shown plenty of ability in her prior nine starts and he wasn’t surprised by her 1-3/4 length victory on the weekend. “She has always shown a huge amount of ability and has been well placed by Janelle,” Muollo said. “She finished second to Hinekaha a few starts back and look at what she has gone on to do (win the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes, 1600m, and finish runner-up in the Gr.3 Aotearoa Classic, 1600m). The form has stood up around her and we knew she had run times very fast before. “She probably could have gone for stakes races a bit earlier, but we have shown a bit of patience to get her right and now she has got it all ahead of her.” Special Sakura’s victory has not only increased her value as a broodmare prospect, but also her immediate family, with Muollo still breeding from her dam, Mia Mamma, and he owns several of her siblings. “It is valuable for me owning Special Sakura, her mum, Mia Mamma, another half-sister called Speedy Swey and another two-year-old in Janelle’s stable who I have leased to Janelle that is a full-sister to Special Sakura,” Muollo said. Special Sakura is also a half-sister to Special Swey, who went on to win the Gr.3 Rough Habit Plate (2000m) for trainer Chris Waller. “Special Swey was a very smart horse and I sold him to my brother after he won a race here by four lengths,” Muollo said. “He ended up winning the Rough Habit Plate impressively. “There are not many mares around who have had three foals to race for two black-type winners. “Mia Mamma is in-foal to Sweynesse to get a full-sibling to Special Swey.” Special Sakura’s victory comes quickly off the back of New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sales, and while Muollo only offered a couple of yearlings himself, preferring to retain some to race, it was a pleasing one for Staphanos, with his colt out of Group One winner Quintessential selling to Australian trainer Mick Price for $140,000 in the Book 1 session. “It was a very good result,” Muollo said. “I have kept a number of fillies myself and not enter them in the sale because the fillies have got a very good strike-rate, especially on Group One winners and performers to runners. He (Staphanos) is tracking well.” View the full article

Like many young athletes, Holy Bull Stakes (G3) winner Nearly's introduction to sports was playing soccer in his field at Wind Hill Farm, adding to the agility and athleticism that has placed him on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail.View the full article

Frankie Dettori notched an emotional winner on his final day as a jockey in Rio de Janeiro Feb. 1—and then made a great day even better by claiming the first leg of Brazil's Triple Crown.View the full article

Jockey Junior Alvarado, regular rider for 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty, is expected to return to action Feb. 5 at Gulfstream Park after being shaken up late on Saturday's Holy Bull (G3) program.View the full article

As we crest the three-month mark to the GI Kentucky Derby, the breakthrough performance by Nearly (Not This Time) in the Jan. 31 GIII Holy Bull Stakes raises several questions related to timing, taking into account both macro and micro perspectives. The first relates to the timing of Nearly's 5 3/4-length score over five rivals barely 48 hours after the news that juvenile champ and TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) had been diagnosed with bone bruising and was declared off the Kentucky Derby trail. Both Ted Noffey (owned by Spendthrift Farm) and Nearly (owned by Centennial Farms) are stablemates in Todd Pletcher's barn, and both colts have been regularly ridden by John Velazquez. Considering the lack of dominant, standout contenders in the sophomore ranks at this stage of the season, is it reasonable to install Nearly as the new No. 1, with his three-race win streak and best-in-2026 divisional Beyer Speed Figure of 98 good enough to leapfrog other highly heralded horses, several of whom are still awaiting their first starts as 3-year-olds? A second timing question projects forwardly: With Nearly tasked with only one more Kentucky Derby prep between now and May 2 (and with Pletcher indicating that single prep is likely to be the Mar. 28 GI Curlin Florida Derby), will a five-race base (with just two starts around two turns) be enough to establish this colt's credentials in a chaotic 20-horse race over 10 furlongs? Yet another timing question relates to the in-race clocking of Nearly's victory in the Holy Bull, which was the product of an exaggerated fast early/slow late pace. Nearly and 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard' Cannoneer (Into Mischief), respectively, broke inward and outward leaving the gate, coming together for a mild “Ya wanna go?” bump before tearing off together into a sprint for the first turn of the 1 1/16-miles stakes. With both Velazquez and Irad Ortiz Jr. avoiding the rail like it was strung with barbed wire, the outermost Nearly (the 1.7-1 second choice) and inside-running Cannoneer (the 3-2 fave) dueled four paths off the fence through a first quarter in :22.82 before fanning out to lane six on the backstretch. After a high-octane second-quarter split in :23.14, the two dropped down closer to the fence for the far-turn run. Nearly began to edge away from Cannoneer at the 3 1/2- furlong marker, which under Gulfstream's short-stretch configuration for 1 1/16 miles (finish line at the sixteenth pole) means just three furlongs to the wire. By the 2 1/2 furlong pole, Nearly was pulling away in hand with Cannoneer being asked but not responding. By the quarter pole, Nearly was clearly in front and again shifting back out while bracing for the anticipated late move by the 5.9-1 Bravaro (Upstart). Bravaro had enjoyed a primo stalking trip, and as the torrid tempo slackened (third-quarter split of :24.36), the 2-for-2 New York-bred looked primed to pounce, with Tyler Gaffalione taking aim on what appeared to be a softened-up speedster who had survived a demanding duel. But Nearly would have none of that scenario. He required only mild urging from Velazquez to dig in for the drive, and although it helped that Bravaro's stretch bid never truly materialized, Nearly cracked the race wide open under his own power, padding a 1 1/2-length mid-stretch lead (fourth-quarter split of :27.10) into a 5 3/4-length winning margin, cruising home through a last sixteenth in a leisurely :7.10 for a final clocking of 1:44.52. The loss by Cannoneer, who faded to fourth behind Bravaro and the 40-1 Project Ace (War of Will), extended a decade-long rough go for favorites in the Holy Bull, who have now gone down in defeat in nine of the last 10 runnings. “We rode like a match race,” Ortiz conceded after getting off Cannoneer. Velazquez added that he didn't expect Nearly “to be that aggressive.” But, the Hall-of-Famer rationalized, “that's what good horses do.” Visually, Nearly scored style points and credibility for being directly involved in an intemperate pace and having enough oomph left late to seal the deal. But from a raw numbers perspective, you do have to wonder whether Nearly could get away with enduring such a fast clip at longer distances when faced with more robust competition and larger fields. Consider that the fractions for the first six furlongs of the of the two-turn, 1 1/16-miles Holy Bull (:22.82, :45.96, 1:10.32) eclipsed those set in the one-turn, seven-furlong Swale Stakes (:23.30, :46.52, 1:10.92) earlier on Saturday's card. You don't often encounter a same-day route stakes whose internal pace is that much faster than a sprint stakes for horses of the same age and sex. It's also interesting to note that in the Swale, the riders' roles were tactically reversed from what would occur two hours later in the Holy Bull: In the sprint stakes for sophomores, it was Velazquez who got pinned down on the rail by Ortiz, losing both the internal duel and the overall race. Recent history of 1 1/16-miles Derby prep races also suggests the Holy Bull pace was aberrational. Since 2022, there have been 65 points-awarding Kentucky Derby qualifying stakes at that distance. In only three of them was a first quarter-mile contested faster than the :22.82 in the Holy Bull. In none of them was the fourth quarter-mile split slower than the :27.10 in the Holy Bull. And in only one out of those 65 most recent 1 1/16-miles Derby prep races was the final sixteenth slower than Nearly's last half-furlong in :7.10. The Beyer team's assessment of 98 for Nearly's win in the Holy Bull means this colt now owns the top two speed figures for any 3-year-old so far in 2026. Nearly had earned a 97 Beyer when winning a scratch-depleted allowance/optional claimer over seven furlongs at Gulfstream Jan. 2. One caveat is that number-assigning in dirt routes can be tricky at Gulfstream-for the Beyer team or any other entity that produces figures-because there are often so few main-track races there for comparison, with turf and Tapeta now comprising the bulk of cards. Besides the Holy Bull, on Jan. 31 there were only three other dirt races at Gulfstream, and none of them were routes. Nearly's 97 Beyer from Jan. 2 had been earned on a day when there was only one other Gulfstream dirt race. It had been preliminarily been reported as a 96, but subsequently got revised upward one tick prior to Saturday's Holy Bull. For comparison, the best Beyers put up by any Derby contender in the 2-year-old portion of the 2025-26 campaign were the run of 98-97-97 earned by Ted Noffey when he swept the Grade I trio of the Hopeful Stakes, Breeders' Futurity Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The post For Nearly, Timing Is Everything, In More Ways Than One appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Multiple graded stakes winner Magnitude will not travel to Saudi Arabia to participate in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) Feb. 14 after developing an illness.View the full article

The Jimmy Ting-trained Little Paradise ran out an impressive winner of Sunday's HK$13-million Hong Kong Classic Mile at Sha Tin, emphatically defying stamina doubts as he forged clear in the final furlong to land the spoils by two lengths. Infinite Resolve (Snitzel) finished second, with another half a length back to the former Joseph O'Brien trainee, Beauty Bolt (Night Of Thunder), in third. “Today, he relaxed very well,” said winning rider Vincent Ho. “Once I pressed the button, he just kicked it. He finished off very well, so he can definitely handle a mile without a problem. I told Jimmy, even for 1,800 metres, he will also produce that sort of kick as long as we relax him early. So, I'm looking forward to the [Hong Kong] Classic Cup and the [BMW Hong Kong] Derby. I'm very grateful for the support I've had in coming back from injury and to win the [Hong Kong] Classic Mile is encouraging. I'm always grateful for everything.” The second leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, the HK$13-million Hong Kong Classic Cup, which takes place over 1,800 metres on March 1, is next on the cards for the son of Toronado. That contest is followed by the HK$26-million BMW Hong Kong Derby, which takes place over 2,000 metres on March 22. Ting, who won this race as a jockey on Industrialist in 2000 when it was known as the Hong Kong Classic Trial, added, “This is my dream and it's come true. I'm so happy for the owner [Ko Kam Piu] – he's a very lucky owner. What a perfect win. I didn't think before the race he would win so easily. In the last 300 metres, I was thinking, 'Oh no, can he get a run?' But when he got clear it was all over.” Pedigree Notes Little Paradise was offered at the 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale by Wayne and Pauline Alchin's Carramar Park on behalf of their son Tim, who bred him. He was purchased by the combination of Chris McAnulty (Dullingham) and Bond Li (Legends Bloodstock) for A$270,000. It was a dream result for Tim Alchin, who had bought his dam, Devil In Her Heart (Star Witness), when she was carrying Little Paradise for just A$27,500 on Inglis Digital in February 2021. The unraced Devil In Her Heart is herself a half-sister to eight winners, including the G2 Emancipation Stakes scorer Olentia (Zoustar), G3 Newcastle Newmarket Handicap heroine Wandabaa (Wandjina) and multiple Listed winner Malkovich (Choisir). The post Little Paradise Much the Best in Hong Kong Classic Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article