Wandering Eyes

Wagering on U.S. races during the month of January experienced just over a six percent downswing from a year ago, but the number of race days was roughly 12 percent lower, according to information released by Equibase on Thursday. Total wagering of $753,930,913 on races during the month represented a 6.09% decrease over the same period from 2025, while available purses of over $73-million were lower by almost 13%. The figure of over $68.5-million for paid purses in January was also down by 13.69%. As for the total number of race days, they decreased from 233 to 205 (-12.02%) and the number of U.S. races was lower from 1,995 in January 2025 to last month's tally of 1,724 (-13.58%). Average field size in January was down a touch from over a year ago when it was 8.14, and checked in at an average of 7.92 runners, a decrease of 2.67%. However, the average daily wagering metric increased by 6.74% to $3,677,712, and the average available purse number per race day was down 1.03% to $356,718 from the figure of $360,437 in 2025. The post January Year-Over Wagering Numbers Swing Down With Lost Race Days appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin The queen of trotting may have two impressive last-start winners heading to Alexandra Park tonight but she thinks her rep with the worst form line might end up being the punter’s friend. Michelle Wallis and husband Bernie Hackett had a career-best season last year when training 57 winners capped by Hillbilly Blues capturing the Group 1 National Trot on New Year’s Eve. Remarkably of those 57 wins, 55 came in trotting races with the majority at Alexandra Park where it feels like the stable wins a trotting race almost every Friday. That could well be the case again tonight though Wallis and Hackett only have starters in two races on the small seven-race card. Both Magic Dash (No 1) and Confessional (No 5) were impressive last-start winners and they clash in tonight’s feature trot, with Magic Dash having the advantage of a front line mark and 20m start over his stablemate. “Both of them have to be good chances but it is a good little field and could be a really interesting race,” says Wallis. “Magic Dash has only had two starts back since needing surgery for colic last year but won really well last start and has good manners. “And Confessional came to us from Paul Nairn because his connections thought he was better right-handed and he handled the track here really well winning last start. “Magic Dash might have more speed and Confessional’s strength might be his stamina but these small fields can be really hard to predict.” Also hard to predict has been Final Approach (R2, No 3) who resumes as one of the three stable reps in his race tonight, with the couple’s daughter Crystal Hackett doing the driving. “We have always really liked him but he lost his way manners-wise last season,” explains Wallis. “But he has had two workouts this time in and done everything right. “I’d say if he trots all the way and produces his best on Friday he will be hard to beat.” Tonight’s meeting also sees the first juvenile pacing fillies race of the northern season and with early favourite As One Wishes scratched with a minor issue the race looks wide open, with manners the likely key. Another favourite scratched tonight is Sammy Lincoln, who comes out of Race 3 leaving impressive recent workouts winner Ms Collins only needing to do things right to be the one to beat after a promising debut last year as a two-year-old. View the full article

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Craig Thornley is literally hoping to go one better at Rangiora’s annual Waitangi Day meeting today. And that’s because three of the horses he’ll drive (Ma Belle Amie Franco, Waikaka and Moa Mojito) all finished second for him in their most recent starts. One of them in particular Ma Belle Amie Franco is heavily backed to get her maiden win. Trained by Steven McRae, Ma Belle Amie Franco is at $2 following her last start second at Wyndham on January 6. “She is getting better every time she’s away from the place and looks a good each way chance,” says Thornley. The Always B Miki four-year-old has drawn the ace over 1950 metres in Race 5, the HSW Accounts – The Tyre General Amberley Mobile Pace (5.14pm). “I’m unsure just how much gate speed she has .. I’d like to be lead or trail but three back the fence isn’t the worst place to be at Rangiora,” says Thornley. “She’s had a wee freshen up .. and anything she does she will improve on.” In Race 3, the Aurora Storm Handicap Pace (4.18pm) Thornley links up with another McRae-trained runner in Waikaka. A winner of two races he was second last start at Oamaru last Sunday and will be off 10 metres today. “He’s a good beginner so he should get handy and is an each way chance.” He opened at $5.50 with Lavra Rose (also 10m) a $3 favouirte. After driving those two stablemates Thornley will drive three for Ashburton trainer Ben Waldron. Moa Mojito will line up in Race 6, the G K Fyffe Painting “Making It Happen” Trot after finishing second to Go Home Denise at Methven on January 25. “I thought I had that too – just got caught in the last stride,” Thornley says. With a safe beginning she’s rated a decent each way chance, paying $7 and $2.40. Waldron’s second runner is Penny Weight in Race 8, the Valley Inn Tavern Mobile Pace (6.40pm). The five race winner will line up one the second line and Thornley says that makes his tactics pretty straight forward. “I’ll be following the number one (Kushite Warrior). Wherever she goes I’ll be going too,” says Thornley. Kushite Warrior is a $3.60 favourite for trainer Malcolm Shinn. In her latest runs Penny Weight finished third and fourth at Blenheim last month. Thornley’s final drive is the out of form Franco Chaplin in Race 10, the Dawe Contracting Ltd – Shore Accounting Solutions Mobile Pace (7.42pm). “It’s a confidence issue with him,” says Thornley, “he has some ability and if he’s running home well I’ll be happy.” The day’s pacing feature is the Rangiora Equine Services Amberley Cup (6.09pm) Audacity is the favourite after a fast finishing third last start. He’s drawn one in a small field that also has quality performers in Bazooka, Vessem and Smoke On The Water, who’s vying for his fourth win in a row though he will have to overcome a 40 metre handicap. View the full article

The Spendthrift Farm team never wanted to run its pair of 3-year-old male 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard', against one another during the lead-up to the GI Kentucky Derby. But that was no longer a problem when Ted Noffey (Into Mischief)–who was being pointed for the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes and the GI Florida Derby–was taken off the Trail due to bone bruising. So, that created a situation where Spendthrift's other 3-year-old star, Further Ado (Gun Runner), who is based in South Florida at Payson Park, might be asked to fill the void and be rerouted to the Florida series. Apparently, it's not going to happen. “[Trainer] Brad [Cox] is leaning toward the original schedule that he had mapped out,” said Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey. “It goes without saying that with horse racing everything is extremely tentative, but he is looking at the [Mar. 7] Tampa Bay Derby, followed by the [Apr. 4] Blue Grass. I haven't talked to Brad a ton about this, but I think he just felt the timing going into the Tampa race made a little more sense.” Toffey said the reports out of Payson Park on Further Ado have been nothing but positive. “Everything has been positive, and they are happy with how his breezes have gone,” Toffey said. “He's had a couple of works and will have his third work this weekend. Brad is pleased, and he was really happy with his fitness level. He felt like he was ready to move forward. Once he got the Tampa race in mind, I think he didn't want to adjust and feel rushed into anything.” In his third career start, Further Ado put in an explosive performance, winning a Keeneland maiden race by 20 lengths. He backed that effort up with a 1 3/4-length win in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs. Ted Noffey shipped to the training center at Stonestreet Farms. “We've used a couple of different people for layups in Ocala,” Toffey said. “They've got some really good bells and whistles at Stonestreet as far as the rehab process goes. It starts with time, and then it's a process of easing him back into exercise. They have an Aquaciser. It's not the submerged treadmill, but the round one. That will be a good thing for a horse easing his way back into things as we get closer to that 90-day mark. “Maybe I should have been more disappointed than I was when we learned that Ted Noffey would be sidelined, but, you know what, he owes us nothing,” he said. “He's an undefeated 2-year-old champion. You just have to do the right thing by the horses, and I feel pretty confident that there's nothing there that will prevent him from coming back very strong. It's just a matter of us giving him the time.” FURTHER ADO earns 10 points on the Road to the @KentuckyDerby with his 1 3/4 length victory in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes with @iradortiz aboard! This was trainer @bradcoxracing's 500th career win at @ChurchillDowns! Congratulations to all connections! pic.twitter.com/sFDPWRqNX1 — Equibase (@Equibase) November 29, 2025 The post Despite Florida Series Opening, Plans Unchanged For Further Ado appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Promising 3-year-olds Confessional and Renegade square off against seven other rivals in the Feb. 7 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.View the full article

Iberian, a group-winning son of Lope De Vega, has been retired and will stand at Haras du Mazet in France, according to published reports. The G2 Champagne Stakes hero's opening fee is €3,000. Bred by Ballylinch Stud, the five-year-old won the 2023 edition of the Champagne, and was also placed in that year's G2 Vintage Stakes. A winner of three of 13 lifetime starts, the Ballylinch and Teme Valley-campaigned Iberian was also second in last year's Listed Cammidge Trophy Stakes. Out of the stakes-winning High Chaparral mare Bella Estrella, the Charlie Hills trainee sold for 200,000gns as a Tattersalls October Book 2 yearling before being picked up for 55,000gns out of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale by Durcan Bloodstock last autumn. His granddam Uncharted Haven (Turtle Island) won the GII San Clemente Handicap and the GII San Gorgonio Handicap and also foaled G3 St. Simon Stakes heroine High Heeled (High Chaparral), who was third in both the G1 Oaks and G1 Coronation Cup. Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Just The Judge (Lawman) is also a member of Iberian's extended family. The post Champagne Stakes Hero Iberian To Stand In France appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Unbeaten Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map), unraced since a powerhouse, front-running victory in the GI Champagne S. at the Big A Oct. 4, is gearing up for his sophomore debut. The Gold Square colorbearer has posted four workouts for Chad Summers at Palm Meadows this winter, including a four-furlong bullet in :48 (1/19) Thursday. “He's doing well,” owner Al Gold said. “The plan is either the (GII Coolmore) Fountain of Youth (at Gulfstream) or the (GIII) Gotham (at Aqueduct) on Feb. 28 or the (GIII) Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 7.” The talented Cyberknife (Gun Runner) punched his ticket to the 2022 GI Kentucky Derby for Gold and trainer Brad Cox with a win in the GI Arkansas Derby. He also carried Gold's black-and-gold silks to a dramatic victory in the GI TVG.com Haskell S., a near-miss in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland and a runner-up finish in the GI Runhappy Travers S. The Spendthrift Farm stallion's first-crop 2-year-olds race in 2026. “Surprisingly, that was four years ago already,” Gold said. “Time goes by fast. It's great to be back having quality horses. We had a nice Gun Runner 3-year-old filly last year Dry Powder, who just missed by a neck in a Grade I (Cotillion S.). We had a lot of fun with her. It's great to have a colt. This is the exciting time, it's why you get in the game trying to win the Derby. So, we'll see how it plays out.” Gold and Summers decided to bypass the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar with Napoleon Solo following his 6 1/2-length victory going a one-turn mile in the 'Win and You're In' Champagne, which produced a gaudy 95 Beyer Speed Figure. The $40,000 Keeneland September steal previously broke his maiden in similar fashion at first asking in an auction-restricted maiden special weight at Saratoga Aug. 8. NAPOLEON SOLO dominates in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes under @JRosarioJockey for trainer @horsesummers, punching his ticket to the @BreedersCup Juvenile! pic.twitter.com/afe73Kw7Yn — NYRA () (@TheNYRA) October 4, 2025 One of seven Grade I winners for Liam's Map, the John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock-bred Napoleon Solo was produced by Atomic Blonde (Scat Daddy), a stakes-winning homebred for the Gunthers. He is bred on the same Liam's Map x Scat Daddy cross as GI Blue Grass S. winner Burnham Square and also the dam of GISW and 'Rising Star' Brant (Gun Runner). Napoleon Solo is named for a fictional character from the TV spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. “We've had four or five horses that made the last races of their career as 2-year-olds,” Gold said. “They got hurt, so I'm very skeptical about going forward with a horse after they race that fast as a 2-year-old. I lost (2006 GII Saratoga Special Breeders' Cup S. winner) Chace City years ago, one with Brad Cox and another one with Jeremiah Englehart–they all ran really fast.” Gold continued, “I figured it was a good time to stop. I had a 2-year-old last year Two Out Hero (War Front), who won a stakes and lost by a length (third) in the GI Summer Stakes in Canada. I stopped on him also. I didn't want to go forward and risk being vulnerable and losing their 3-year-old years. We wanted to be able to have fresh horses as 3-year-olds.” Gold will have another 'fresh horse' for Saturday's Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs, good for 20-10-6-4-2 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Game For It (Know Agenda), a debut winner at Aqueduct Dec. 10, is campaigned by Gold in partnership with breeder Wynnstay, Inc. and trainer Chad Summers. The post Unbeaten Champagne Winner Napoleon Solo Gearing Up at Palm Meadows appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

3rd-TAM, $55K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1m 40yds, 1:36 p.m. ET. Three Chimneys bred ALWAYS A RUNNER (Gun Runner) as the first foal out of GSP Always Carina (Malibu Moon) who is the half-sister to Jeff Drown and Don Rachel's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Structor (Palace Malice). The farm bought Always Carina's dam, Miss Always Ready (More Than Ready), for $400,000 at the 2014 Keeneland April 2-Year-Old Sale. Her full-sister is Bobby Flay's GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf victress More Than Real. During the 2024 Keeneland September Sale, Valor Farm's tall Texan Douglas Scharbauer went to $1.05-million to acquire Always a Runner, then Three Chimneys stayed in for a piece before she was sent to trainer Chad Brown. As for Always Carina, she has visited Gun Runner consecutively which so far has yielded a March filly in 2024–who RNA'd for $850,000 at Keeneland September–and a April colt last year. TJCIS PPS The post Friday Insights: Always A Runner Done With Target Practice, Now Sights Tampa Maiden appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

This wasn't the plan. Jon Green, the general manager of D.J. Stable, and trainer Mark Casse were ready to give 3-year-old filly champion Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) a nice break after her second-place finish in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff. But just 67 days after her last race, she will go in Saturday's GIII Bayakoa Stakes at Oaklawn, where she is the 4-5 morning-line favorite. Why? Because Nitrogen was telling Casse that she had had enough of taking it easy. “The game plan, initially, was that when she was done with her championship campaign in 2025, we were going to give her two to three months off,” Green said. “Not only did she hit the board in every single one of the nine races she ran in last year, but she shipped around a lot to Florida, Kentucky, New York, back to Kentucky, and then all the way out to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup. “Our full intention was to give her time off, let her relax and regroup for her 4-year-old campaign,” he said. “Like everything else in life, man plans and God laughs, and in this case Nitrogen had the last laugh. She is such a professional and loves training and loves what she's doing. We basically gave her three, three-and-a-half weeks off. Then Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse called me and he said, 'I know the game plan was to give her time off. She doesn't want it. She wants to train and is sound and is doing well.' He said that his concern was that if he didn't train her, mentally, she might get a little sour on us and that's not what you want to do, especially with a filly. “So we put her back in light training because she didn't lose a lot of fitness and she picked it up very quickly,” said Green. “Our original intention was to focus on the Mar. 7 [GII] Azeri [Stakes] as a stepping stone to the [Apr. 11] [GI] Apple Blossom [Handicap], but she's ready to run. Is she 100 percent tuned up all the way for the Bayakoa? No. But she's probably 80 percent there and we feel like rather than give her another five weeks off, we would run her in this race.” Though he said his filly will be only 80 percent for the race, Green has no problem predicting that this will be the start of a big year for Nitrogen. “I'm not concerned about whether she'll take a step forward because I genuinely think she ranks atop that division right now,” he said. “Now, she has to fulfill her destiny.” Green added that the plan is to run in the Azeri, as well. After the Apple Blossom, he's not sure what path his Eclipse Award winner will be taking. Jon and Len Green after Nitorgen's Alabama win | Sarah Andrew “We're trying to take it the way Bill Parcells used to look at the NFL schedule back when it was 16 games,” Green said. “He would say there are four quarters to the season and I'm going to look at it one quarter at a time. That's really the way we are managing Nitrogen. We'll look at it every three or four months and try to work backwards from a signature race. For this quarter, it's the Apple Blossom.” D.J. Stable has never been afraid to sell a mare when she has reached peak value. Green said that the idea was discussed, but ultimately Nitrogen was just one they couldn't send to auction. “We did look at it from a business standpoint so far as whether we should cash in on her,” Green said. “We also had to take in the fact that my father [Len] is almost 90-years-old. Not that this is his last hurrah. But when you have a homebred like this and you want to keep the family, it's difficult to entertain offers. “We did, however, sell Tiffany Case, her mother, in foal to Not This Time,” he said. “She topped the January Sale for $3.2 million, so I feel like we cashed in on the family and we still have Nitrogen and Nitrogen's half-sister, a Gun Runner 2-year-old named Sniper that we're going to keep and race as well. We're fundamentally treating this as a business. We sold off some of the assets that we had because of Nitrogen's great year and her Eclipse win. But for right now, we are really enjoying campaigning the big mare.” It will be a busy Saturday at Oaklawn for the Casse-D.J. team, which will also send out 2025 GI Arkansas Derby winner Sandman (Tapit). He'll go in a $126,000 allowance race run at a mile-and-a-sixteenth. Unlike Nitrogen, he did not have the strongest of finishes to his season. After a fifth-place effort in the GII Jim Dandy at Saratoga in late July, the colt turned in a ninth-place showing when trying the grass for the first time in the GIII DK Horse Nashville Derby Invitational Stakes at Kentucky Downs in late August. “We ran him in the Jim Dandy and he ran a very tepid fifth place,” Green said. “In the Jim Dandy, we tried to put the blinkers on him to induce him to be a little closer to the lead and that didn't necessarily come to fruition. We tried him on the turf because the family had succeeded on the grass before and we thought maybe his going almost a mile-and-a-half would be a good distance for him, and he never really picked up his feet. At that time, he was telling us, 'I need a break.' He had been campaigning at a top level, really, from the moment we bought him. He never got a chance to get a mental break. We opted to pull the plug on him after the Kentucky Downs race and then did a minor surgery on an ankle.” Green said that he is also hearing good reports from Casse regarding Sandman's comeback. “Just like with Nitrogen, he's been moving forward by leaps and bounds,” he said. “We did not anticipate running him in February. We thought it might be a little later, maybe once at Oaklawn, once at Churchill, and then have a tough campaign for him going forward. The special ones, the ones with talent, they leap over your expectations. That's why we have Sandman in this race. He's ready to go.” The post Back Sooner Than Expected, Champion Nitrogen Will Kick Off Year In Saturday’s Bayakoa At Oaklawn appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

NEWMARKET, UK — A sale ring as full as any for the Sceptre Sessions greeted first the Retraining of Racehorses showcase and then the British EBF stallion parade for sires yet to have runners. Included in the 10-strong line-up for the latter was Eldar Eldarov, the winner of the St Leger in both Britain and Ireland whose family was back in the spotlight several hours later when his Lope De Vega half-brother Naval Command changed hands during the first day of Tattersalls February Sale. Sold as lot 105 for 80,000gns from the Godolphin draft, the four-year-old gelding was bought by Alex Elliott and Ralph Beckett for a “group of partners”. Elliott, who noted that shares are available in the four-year-old, said, “The partners were keen to get a horse to go to war with. He's not run for a while but the Godolphin notes said that not a lot had gone wrong, he just had some time off since he ran on some fast ground. “He has got a mark, we think we could stretch him out in distance, go for softer ground, and he will suit Ralph's programme very well. He is a bit of a blank canvas, still a maiden, and has potential. If we get a bit more uplift, he could be worth a bit more come October.” Out of the Listed winner All At Sea, the 85-rated Naval Command was bred by Kirsten Rausing and the Lope De Vega Syndicate from the Listed winner All At Sea (Sea The Stars), herself a daughter of treble Group 1 winner Albanova (Alzao). He finished runner-up on his most recent of three starts for Charlie Appleby. Naval Command's price was beaten by only one horse on the day, with Sovereign Wealth (Frankel), formerly trained by George Boughey for Forz Europe, becoming the sole six-figure lot of the session. The three-year-old was signed for by Ted Durcan on behalf of Blue Blood Racing, the original owner of G3 UAE Guineas winner Six Speed. “They did extremely well with Six Speed and sold him on,” said Durcan. “They were very anxious to reinvest and this horse will be going out to Bhupat Seemar. “The lads had him earmarked, I had him earmarked, he vetted out extremely well.” Those who had remained in their seats following the stallion parade didn't have to wait long for day's top-priced broodmare when Tally-Ho Stud bought the third horse through the ring for 75,000gns. Elshaadin, the 15-year-old daughter of Dalakhani and Distinctive Look (Danehill), is not in foal after being covered by Kingman, the sire of her Listed-winning son Moqtarreb, but she has three Night Of Thunder fillies still to race for her and will have a range of stallions at her disposal when she arrives in Mullingar. A grand-daughter of the stellar producer Magnificient Style (Silver Hawk), she was offered by Houghton Bloodstock. Walter Buick signed up the lightly-raced Porter, a son of Too Darn Hot whose profile had risen significantly since the catalogue was printed. A winner on his second start on January 28 for Joseph O'Brien, he was sold through the Castlebridge Consignment for owner Al Shaqab Racing and will continue his career in Norway, where a Classic campaign will be on the cards. “He will be supplemented for the Norwegian Derby,” said Buick after buying Porter for trainer Are Hyldmo for 75,000gns. “They have changed the rules and previously horses had to be supplemented before the end of the two-year-old year, but now we have until the end of February so it works out really well for this sale.” A grandson of Dubawi, the three-year-old is also related to the Darley sire through his maternal line, with his fourth dam being Zomaradah. Buick added, “He will definitely stay the trip, he is the right shape and not overly big, and as some of the tracks are tight we don't want them too big. “He is to be trained by Are Hyldmo, who is with me, and he has won the Derby five times already. We have been trying for the last few years to buy another one and it has not quite worked out, but hopefully this horse will do the job.” Hamad Al Jehani, who has a stable for Wathnan Racing in Newmarket as well as being one of the leading trainers in Qatar, will be the recipient of three horses from the sale bought for a total of 113,000gns on his behalf by JD Moore and led by the 70,000-guinea purchase Leonetto. The three-year-old Frankel colt is a half-brother to the Group 1 winner Lady Bowthorpe (Nathaniel) and has posted four consecutive runner-up finishes for Juddmonte and Harry Charlton. “He's the type to go well in the Middle East and will ship straightaway,” Moore said. From a strong renewal last year when 88% of the lots offered were sold, the first day of the February Sale was down a little on that marker, with the clearance rate of 79% being achieved through the sale of 105 horses from 133 to pass through the ring. Turnover was down by 26% at 1,863,000gns, with the average of 17,743gns representing a drop of 19% and the median being down by 17% to 12,000gns. Stallion Parade Proves a Great Draw For many years the February Sale has been immediately proceeded by a stallion parade which lures breeders and interested parties from far and wide. The 10 young sires on show this year are yet to have runners, and of the group the stallion closest to being given that important racecourse test is Stradivarius, who has appeared at Tattersalls annually since being retired to the National Stud. He likes to make his presence felt and tends to act as if the many people who had turned out in the cold were there solely to see him. Maybe they were, but there was plenty of interest in the whole line-up, with Stradivarius having been joined by stud-mates Bradsell and Diego Velazquez. The latter was not the only new recruit on show, as Genesis Green Stud was represented by the powerful Royal Scotsman. Vandeek, whose first foals are appearing now, has had a pedigree update since retiring to stud thanks to his Grade 1-winning half-brother Gstaad (Starspangledbanner), and he had previously played a starring role at Tattersalls when topping the Craven Breeze-up Sale of 2023. His fellow parader Eldar Eldarov was also a star of the breeze-up scene and he too has his first foals on the ground after joining Roisin Close's Chapel Stud last year. He arrived in Newmarket from Gloucestershire along with stable-mate Subjectivist, who has first-crop yearlings and is a contemporary in that regard of El Caballo, who is based with Sophie Buckley at Culworth Grounds. Mostahdaf, another with first yearlings for sale later this year, made the short trip down the road from Shadwell's Beech House Stud. Connolly's Promising Debut There was a new face – and voice – on the Tattersalls rostrum late in the day when Irishman Thomas Connolly took to the ring for the final batch of horses to come under the hammer. Thomas Connolly flanked by colleagues Max Mcloughlin and Freddie McKibbin A native of Carlow, Connolly said he had done “a small bit” of auctioneering at home but we think he was being modest as his Tattersalls debut was an extremely polished affair. “It's an immense pleasure and a privilege to do that here,” he said as he brought the curtain down on the first day of trade. “It flew by.” The post Sovereign Wealth Leads Opening Session of Tattersalls February Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Due to frigid temperatures and windy conditions, Aqueduct Racetrack, Laurel Park, and Charles Town have preemptively canceled racing Feb. 7. Aqueduct also canceled racing Feb. 8View the full article

After two runaway wins in ungraded stakes, Strategic Risk steps into graded company and a $1 million spotlight Feb. 6 in the Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park.View the full article

D'code (Speightstown), a jaw-dropping 8 1/4-length debut winner sprinting at Oaklawn Park Dec. 14, will make his highly anticipated two-turn debut in Friday's postponed $1-million GIII Southwest S. in Hot Springs. The Tom Durant homebred and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' earned a field-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure while defeating 10 rivals that day. He recorded the fastest six-furlong time in Oaklawn history for a 2-year-old stopping the clock in 1:09.57. D'code exits from post two with Luis Saez at the controls in the 1 1/16-mile affair, good for 20-10-6-4-2 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. “It's a tall order, but the horse really seems to be doing good,” trainer H. Ray Ashford Jr. said. “He acts like he can run that far. Getting the right fractions, obviously, will help a lot, too. I would think he will be forwardly placed. That looks like his running style. There are unknowns, but we think he's good enough to try.” With 5-2 morning-line favorite and GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Litmus Test (Nyquist) instead awaiting the GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita Mar. 7, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will still be represented by 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Buetane (Tiz the Law). The runner-up in last summer's GI Spendthrift Farm Hopeful S. and the GII San Vicente S. Jan. 10 was scratched out of last weekend's GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park in favor of this spot, his first attempt around two turns. “Going two turns, we'll see what he does,” Baffert said. “He's doing really well. He's worked well. We'll see how he fits in with those.” Liberty National (Maxfield), named a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' following an impressive maiden win around two turns at second asking at Churchill Downs Nov. 29, could be coming in under the radar for Ken McPeek. The $525,000 Keeneland September graduate was a better-than-it-looked second as the favorite in the Gun Runner S. at Fair Grounds last time Dec. 20. “If you watch the gallop out on the Gun Runner, he's three (lengths) in front another sixteenth past the wire,” McPeek said. “He was probably five lengths the best horse.” Florida-bred Strategic Risk (Noble Bird) won his last two starts by a combined 13 1/2 lengths for Hall of Famer Mark Casse, including the local prep Smarty Jones S. Jan. 3. The Southwest was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, but Oaklawn moved its Jan. 30, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 programs to this week following a winter storm that closed the track for training for nine days. Kentucky Derby points (20-10-6-4-2) will also be on the line in Friday's rescheduled Listed $200,000 Withers S. at Aqueduct, headed by the Chad Brown-trained duo of Ottinho (Quality Road) and Schoolyardsuperman (Practical Joke). The post D’code Heads Straight to the Big Leagues in Rescheduled Southwest appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) canceled live racing on Saturday and Sunday at Aqueduct Racetrack due to arctic temperatures that will range from 23 degrees to as low as six degrees in Ozone Park and extremely low wind chill values forecast to impact the New York metropolitan area throughout the weekend, the track said in a press release on Thursday afternoon. NYRA is working with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (NYTHA) and New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB), to schedule and apply for added race days from the New York State Gaming Commission. The East View Stakes and Damon Runyon Stakes, originally scheduled for Saturday, will be brought back Saturday, Feb. 14 with entries to be taken Sunday, Feb. 8. Overnight races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday will be offered Feb. 19-20 as described in the updated Aqueduct winter condition book, which can be accessed here. Aqueduct Racetrack will remain open for simulcast operations throughout the weekend. Charles Town Races has also canceled its live program on Saturday due to the cold blast. The post NYRA Puts Weekend Racing At Aqueduct On Ice appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Saturday, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, post time: 20:00, ABU DHABI GOLD CUP-Listed, $1,000,000, 4yo/up, SH 3yo, 1600mT Field: Maljoom (Ire) (Caravaggio), Jonquil (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Quddwah (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Comanche Brave (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Aomori City (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}), Witness Stand (GB) (Expert Eye {GB}), Chicago Critic (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Strauss (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), Dark Trooper (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), Tumbler (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), Crown Board (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Vafortino (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Andreas Vesalius (Ire) (Caravaggio), Folk Festival (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}), Dioptase (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Western Writer (Ire) (Shamadal). TDN Analysis: Multiple group winner Jonquil appears a likely sort for this contest after victories in the G2 Celebration Mile and G3 Greenham Stakes. G2 Lennox Stakes hero Witness Stand also tests his mettle in the UAE. G2 Zabeel Mile scorer Quddwah is third on ratings in the 16-strong field, while his fellow Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum colourbearer Maljoom is coming in off a third-place run in the G1 Dubai Turf from last April. Click here for the complete field. The post Black-Type Analysis: Can Jonquil Bloom In The UAE? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article