Wandering Eyes

Irad Ortiz Jr. is Jockey of the Week for Nov. 24-30. In addition to winning six stakes races and 16 races overall, the five-time Eclipse Award winner earned his first leading rider title at Churchill Downs. View the full article

A rare chance to be tested around two turns at a 1 1/8-mile distance awaits a large field of a dozen 2-year-olds in the Dec. 6 Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

Widely regarded as one of the most gifted and entertaining auctioneers in the business, John O'Kelly brought the curtain down on his time on the rostrum at Tattersalls during the Sceptre Sessions on Tuesday evening. And what a way to do it. O'Kelly brought the hammer down at 4.5 million gns to MV Magnier on Donnacha O'Brien's multiple Group 1 winner Porta Fortuna. It was a moment in time for the throngs of people packed into the auditorium as, for many in attendance, they had grown up listening to O'Kelly's dulcet tones – often spoken in many different languages. If the standing that he was held in was ever in doubt, the warm round of applause followed by a standing ovation shortly after Porta Fortuna left the building speaks volumes as to what the loyal cohort of buyers and general bloodstock nuts felt about O'Kelly's departure. Speaking ahead of that momentous night, O'Kelly commented, “I am stepping down from the rostrum at Tattersalls, I am not retiring as an auctioneer. There will hopefully be opportunities that present themselves and we will go forward from there. “I have always told my kids to find out what they want to do in life and then find someone who is prepared to pay you to do it. I have had a job that is not a job, it's a way of life. You get up every morning with a smile on your face. You are selling horses and you're selling dreams. It really is dream stuff. The sales ring here at Tattersalls is magnificent.” He added, “I started here in December 1993. I worked at Goffs from 1980 until 1990 and then between 1990 and 1993 I was freelance. It was in 1993 when Tattersalls asked me to come on board. I have been associated with the company so long that it's very easy to say, 'oh, poor me, I'm not selling here anymore, I'll go elsewhere.' But really, it's a good firm. But it's a tough one having to stop auctioneering. They've asked me to stay on to inspect yearlings and be an ambassador.” It is Tattersalls policy that auctioneers do not continue beyond their 65th year. By that metric, the company's chairman Edmond Mahony, will also bid adieu to the rostrum this week. However, while O'Kelly will officially be retired from the auctioneering at Tattersalls from Wednesday, he revealed that he will continue to be an auctioneer at BBAG, in South Africa and perhaps elsewhere. “I'm maturing like an old wine! People become presidents of countries much older than 65 but I can understand why theispolicy is in place at Tattersalls. But listen, it was discussed. I put my argument forward but ultimately it was the board's call. I'd love to carry on, as I'm doing with a heavy heart, but I fully appreciate their policy and I wish them the best in the world. I'll still miss it. “All good things come to an end. Edmond and I work tremendously well together. What the guy has done for this company is just incredible. He's a great man to encourage people to just get out there and do it. Edmond has always placed trust in his people. I tip my hat to him, what a great job he has done. I wish him well in his retirement also. But look, I have had a wonderful time here and I have no regrets. Yes, I am sorry that it's coming to an end. Would I like to continue? Absolutely. But hey, that's life. “I live in Belgium and I'll still be an auctioneer at BBAG and I'll do South Africa as well. The rest is sort of up in the air. But, do you know what,” O'Kelly says before clearing his throat, “quite honestly, I have just been trying to get through this week. I want to give it my all, finish on a high, and then I can sit back and think. I have a decent filly to sell tonight – I hope I don't mess it up as it's a nice parting gift.” O'Kelly handled the selling of four-time Group 1 winner Porta Fortuna as only someone as professional and assured as he could. Shortly after the applause had died down, he thanked those in attendance at Park Paddocks by saying, “I have enjoyed every minute of it. But can I just say that your support and participation has made this all such fun and a pleasure. The memories we have are phenomenal. Thank you all so much indeed. Have a very good Christmas Day. O'Kelly, out.” The post “All Good Things Come To An End” – O’Kelly Retires From The Rostrum At Tattersalls appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

James McDonald has won the Longines World's Best Jockey title for the second consecutive year and third time overall. The New Zealand-born, Australian-based jockey also won the Longines World's Best Jockey Award in 2022. The awarding of the Longines World's Best Jockey title is based upon performances in the 100 highest-rated Group and Grade 1 races as established for the year by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee. The scoring incorporates races from December 1 of the previous year until November 30 of the current year. Jockeys accrue 12 points for a win, 6 points for placing second and 4 points for placing third. McDonald held a sizeable lead throughout much of the 2025 competition, partnering the winner of no fewer than 12 of the 100 qualifying races, including the Longines Hong Kong Cup (Romantic Warrior), the Longines Hong Kong Mile (Voyage Bubble) and the Ladbrokes Cox Plate (Via Sistina). He finished with a total of 184 points, ahead of Mickael Barzalona with 132 points and William Buick with 114 points. Ryan Moore was the inaugural recipient of the Longines World's Best Jockey Award in 2014. He also claimed the title in 2016, 2021 and 2023, with his four triumphs being matched by Frankie Dettori, who was successful in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Completing the list of winners is Hugh Bowman, who topped the table in 2017. A ceremony will be held during the gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races on Friday, December 12 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre to honour McDonald. The full and final standings for the 2025 Longines World's Best Jockey competition can be found at www.ifhaonline.org. The post James McDonald Named Longines World’s Best Jockey for Third Time in Four Years appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Brett Crawford continued his strong start to life in Hong Kong with his first Happy Valley double, while Caspar Fownes shot up to second in the trainers’ championship with a brace of his own on Wednesday evening. Ninja Derby was Crawford’s first winner in Hong Kong on a day where he secured a double at Sha Tin in September and he struck again for the South African trainer in the Class Five Tai Lam Chung Handicap (1,800m). There was never a moment's worry for his backers, with Lyle Hewitson...View the full article

James McDonald has won the Longines World's Best Jockey title for the second consecutive year and third time in the last four years.View the full article

The past few days have been a case of pinch me once, pinch me twice as Glen Massey couple Ian and Shelley Wright have celebrated Farag’s second consecutive win in Australasia’s longest flat race, the A$300,000 Jericho Cup. First run in 2018 to commemorate the Australian and New Zealand light horse involvement in World War l, the Jericho Cup is restricted to Australian and New Zealand-bred horses. Farag, by Sacred Falls out of a Yamanin Vital mare from the South Island’s famous ‘Flight’ family, won last year’s race by 20 lengths, and while the margin on Sunday was much less at a length and a half, it was yet another New Zealand-bred benefit. Last year four of the first five were bred on this side of the Tasman, on Sunday they were even more dominant with seven of the first eight across the line, while seven of the eight Jericho Cup winners have been Kiwi-breds. “It’s a race that we were keen to get involved in from day one and when Farag won last year and another of our horses, Glen Massey, finished third, it was a massive thrill,” Ian Wright said after he and his wife arrived home in the early hours of Wednesday morning. “Going back and doing it all again was absolutely huge, something that we’re still getting our heads around.” Farag is yet another of racing’s rags-to-riches stories, having cost the Wrights just $1,000 when they bought him as an unraced gelding on Gavelhouse. He earned $11,000 in 14 starts under the Wrights’ training before he was transferred to Warrnambool trainer Aaron Purcell in early 2024. Another 28 starts and 10 wins later, his stake-earnings now stand at more than A$600,000. “We’ve always liked those staying types; people like us find it hard to compete over the shorter distances, but when it comes to horse with stamina we like to think we’ve got a chance. “Once Farag began to develop we knew he fitted that mould and when he ran third as a maiden in a Rating 65 2400m race at Te Rapa, he had a future, but unfortunately not here. “The problem is there are so few true staying races in New Zealand, so when we were contacted by a racing enthusiast from Melbourne by the name of Peter Groidis, we struck a deal. “He wanted to buy the horse outright but we thought he was worth more than he was offering, so we said we’ll give you half if you pay the airfare and training fees. “It’s worked out well for everyone and when we think back on how it’s all played out, it’s really been a dream come true.” Farag has been ridden in both of his Jericho Cup wins by 29-year-old Englishman Will Gordon, who rode 28 winners in two seasons in New Zealand before heading to Victoria in 2018 and has since become one of the state’s most successful jumps and highweight jockeys, now with a total of three Jericho Cups. “Between Aaron, Will and everyone else, they’ve done a fantastic job with the horse,” Wright said. “He had qualified for the race when he won his previous start at Geelong and when we saw him at the stables before the weekend, we’ve never seen him look better. “He’s a big, long horse and since last year he’s got stronger, even though not necessarily heavier as he still weighed in at only 470 kilograms. “After there was a fall in an earlier race, things got a bit anxious when they changed the race from the more testing steeplechase course to the main track and reduced the distance (from 4600 to 4415m). “We thought that would reduce our advantage, but it didn’t matter. Will rode him perfectly and he ended up winning comfortably.” Back on their north-west Waikato farm, where they farm 500 bulls, the Wrights also have 15 horses in work as they develop further staying prospects. “We’re still keen on our jumpers and it would be good to think there might be another Farag there as well, but horses like him are never easy to find.” View the full article

Allan Sharrock is balancing stronger opposition against the prospect of a rain-affected track as he weighs up Ladies Man’s chances of claiming back-to-back Gr.1 TAB Mufhasa Classics (1600m) on Saturday. Ladies Man won last year’s Trentham weight-for-age feature with a brilliant final burst to claim La Crique by a neck and will take a similar last-start formline into the race after finishing fourth in the Gr.2 Gartshore Construction Tauranga Stakes (1600m) three weeks ago. “He was good at Tauranga, I gave him a pass mark for that, but more importantly he’s gone the right way since, his work on Tuesday was very good,” Sharrock said after the release of the TAB Classic field on Wednesday. “It’s probably a stronger field this year, what with Waitak at the top of his form, La Crique there again and with that other very good mare Legarto as well, so it’s not going to be easy. “In our favour is the weather they’ve had in Wellington this week; I think a bit of precipitation and with the track currently rated Heavy8, that could swing things our way.” The three Waikato-trained horses identified by Sharrock dominate the TAB’s final field market, with Waitak, chasing a Group One hat-trick, at $3.30, Legarto $3.60 and La Crique $4.50. Ladies Man shares the next line with another northerner, Captured By Love, at $8.50, while Provence is next quoted at $11. Captured By Love will be ridden on Saturday by Opie Bosson, who is still seeking his 100th Group One after taking his tally to 99 on Ladies Man 12 months ago. However, Sharrock is more than comfortable to have engaged Rory Hutchings, who has returned from Australia for another summer stint. “I’m very happy to have Rory on, we know how well he rides in these races and after all he’s a redhead like me,” Sharrock said. View the full article

Saturday’s Gr.3 Concorde Stakes (1200m) at Pukekohe will be missing one of its headline acts after a temperature spike forced Crocetti to be withdrawn. The dual Group One winner has been off the scene since being unplaced in The Quokka (1200m) in Perth in late April, and he had been due to step out for his first start of the season in this season’s $120,000 sprint feature. A brilliant exhibition gallop at Ellerslie last Saturday stamped him as the one to beat. But Wednesday morning’s setback has put Crocetti’s racetrack return on hold. “We just found this morning that he had a bit of an elevated temperature,” co-trainer Danny Walker explained. “So we had no choice but to pull the pin. It’s always a bit frustrating and disappointing when things like that happen, but that’s the way it goes.” Walker and training partner Arron Tata still intend for Crocetti to take his place in the starting gate for the Gr.1 TAB Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham on January 3, for which the TAB rates him a $6 equal favourite alongside Tomodachi. “All going well, we’re still hoping to get him down to Wellington for the Telegraph, but we’ll just have to play it by ear in terms of what we do between now and then,” Walker said. “We’ll get him through this first and then take it from there.” Crocetti’s defection leaves a field of just eight for the Concorde on Saturday – Twain, Sacred Satono, Tardelli, Master Fay, Midnight Edition, Imprevu, Moving Melody and Bak Da Angel View the full article

5 – TEAM PLAYER, DMR, 11/30-2nd, 5 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-83 (g, 3, by Majestic Harbor-Team Decision, by Huddle Up) O-Susan and William Boyd, Kelly and Edwin Gredvig, and Michelle Hanson. B-Harris Farms and Double D Farms (Cal). T-Ryan Hanson. J-Kazushi Kimura. His six siblings to race–all California-breds like him–made a combined 41 starts and none reached the performance level of an 80 Beyer Speed Figure, which Team Player exceeded quite nicely in his second lifetime outing. 4 – VITAL MIND, CD, 11/28-12th, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-83 (c, 3, by Into Mischief-She's a Julie, by Elusive Quality) O-CHC and WinStar Farm. B-Spendthrift Farm (Ky). T-Steve Asmussen. J-Jose Ortiz. One of Asmussen's all-time favorite horses, She's a Julie was named for his now-recovered wife as she was battling throat cancer–and aside from those obvious emotions, it didn't hurt that the namesake won two Grade Is, $1.6 million, and was sold to Spendthrift for $3 million after her career. So who better than Asmussen to train She's a Julie's first foal? This was the second start for the $600k yearling buy, who was second at Oaklawn on debut. 3 – GLOBAL AVIATOR, GP, 11/29-3rd, 6 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 84 (c, 3, by Global Campaign-Frisco Girl, by Quality Road) O-Special Aviators. B-Robert M. Evans (Ky). T-Rohan Crichton. J-Joe Bravo. Two storylines here: first, Global Aviator makes this list despite hesitating at the break to drop 8 lengths last and winning anyway after a 4- to 5-wide move around the turn. And secondly, he was a $12k yearling out of an ex-claimer dam whose first foal sold for $8k, which at this point matters solely as an example of the vagaries of the sport. 2 – AEOLIAN, CD, 11/27-8th, 1 mile (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 84 (f, 3, by Tapit-Danzatrice, by Dunkirk) O-Gainesway Stable. B-Gainesway Thoroughbreds (Ky). T-Chad Brown. J-Jose Ortiz. Aeolian didn't get far in her 2-year-old training and was sidelined again this spring in Florida but now has progressed steadily in three starts this summer and fall. She's a full-sister to Grade I winner and stallion Tapit Trice, purchased for $1.3 million as a yearling by Mandy Pope, who went back in for $1.1 million a year later for another filly full-sibling. Gainesway's Antony Beck kept this one. 1 – CANNONEER, CD, 11/29-12th, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 89 (c, 2, by Into Mischief-Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon) O-St. Elias Stables and Stonestreet Stable. B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings (Ky). T-Brad Cox. J-Irad Ortiz Jr. Visually and by numbers, the most impressive winner of Saturday's Stars of Tomorrow card at Churchill. Not only did the $1.75 million yearling win by 7 ¼ lengths in fast time, he kept his composure despite a loose horse getting in his way down the backstretch. Into Mischief gives his pedigree an upgrade on paper over half-siblings Midnight Bourbon ($3.6 million-earning son of Tiznow), Girvin (Haskell winner of $1.6 million, son of Tale of Ekati) and graded winners Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John) and Pirate's Punch (Shanghai Bobby). The post Five Fastest Maidens, Presented by Taylor Made, for the Week of Nov. 23-30 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Final Return has raced creditably in strong company at Ellerslie without major success and will be back there on New Year’s Day in a bid to break through. The New Plymouth-based stayer has regularly tripped north and collected four placings on the course, including a third in the Gr.3 Avondale Cup (2400m) earlier this year. Final Return has another visit on his immediate program for a crack at the Gr.3 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2400m) on January 1 after finishing fourth in the 2025 edition of the event. “He hits himself on his left hind hock, so we have to be careful where we race him,” trainer Janelle Millar said. “He’s better going the Ellerslie way and doesn’t hit himself that way around, it’s just his conformation really.” Final Return emphasised that right-handed suitability at his latest appearance with a gallant victory in the Gr.3 Counties Cup (2100m) at Pukekohe. “He pulled up really well after that, I was quite surprised and thought it may have knocked him, but it didn’t at all,” Millar said. “He was running around the paddock like a two-year-old and he never does that so he’s obviously going very well. “He’s probably the highest-rated three-win horse in New Zealand, he’s very consistent, always tries and will stay all day.” Millar also has another pair of last-start winners ready for action this week, although she’s on weather watch with one of them. She has Tiny Diamond in the Grangewilliam Stud R75 (1600m) at New Plymouth on Thursday following his most recent course and distance victory last month. “He’s trained on super but if the track gets too heavy he probably won’t run, he’s got too good a turn of foot for that,” Millar said. Meanwhile, Ocean Park filly Laura’s Legacy was untroubled to win on debut on her home course and will run in Saturday’s Graham’s Painters 3YO (1400m) at Trentham with a view to returning for a sterner test. “She has also trained on well since her last start and we want to aim for some of the fillies’ races with her,” Millar said. “It was no surprise what she did last time, she had plenty left in the tank and was one of the last to pull up. “She can have a look around Wellington and then go back for the Eulogy Stakes (Gr.3, 1600m).” View the full article

Danny Gargan will send out Champagne Stakes (G1) runner-up Talkin to face Chad Brown's $1.9 million debut winner Paladin in the Remsen Stakes (G2), a battle among juveniles traveling a two-turn, 1 1/8-mile distance on dirt for the first time. View the full article

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin NEWMARKET, UK — As the sun went down, the ring filled up and, after the odd false start, the sale-watchers got what they came for: Porta Fortuna, followed by Tamfana, Barnavara, Saqqara Sands and then some as an array of equine jewels combined to bring the highest gross ever recorded in a single day in European auction history. If many had predicted that Porta Fortuna (Caravaggio) would top the sale then they were almost right, and for about an hour she held the record as the most expensive filly in training sold in the world this year at 4.5 million gns. Ultimately, though, her thunder was stolen by another Irish-trained filly, Barnavara (Calyx), who pushed the record to 4.8 million gns. The G1 Prix de l'Opera winner was bought online by Sugar Whiskey Trading, believed to be an associate of Ace Stud. “Some buzz! I promise you, that was more than my wildest dreams,” said Barnavara's trainer Jessica Harrington standing among a delighted throng of Alpha Racing members. They included Valerie, Juliet and Diana Cooper, the mother, wife and sister respectively of Patrick Cooper, who had bought Barnavara as a yearling at the Goffs Orby Sale for €70,000. Some buzz indeed. Harrington continued, “We all got excited and said, 'Oh, she might make three [million]. But what did she even make? 4.8 million? It was stuck at 1.5 million and then it went on and on and on and on. I promise you, it's amazing. Best of luck to her new owners. Yulong usually bid online – I better try to keep her! There's a lot in the tank still. We thought that she was only just growing into herself because she went on improving all year. She's a very big filly – she's an amazing filly, she really is. “The Alpha Racing Syndicate was set up by my son-in-law Richie Galway, Patrick Cooper and Legs [Elaine] Lawlor. We set it up to buy yearlings, race them and have fun and hopefully wash our faces every year. But it has been incredibly lucky. We've had Kinesiology, Cadillac and a lot of good horses. Everyone has had fun doing it and a lot of the syndicate members are here today. Even three people came from America. It's amazing.” Last year there were 10 seven-figure lots sold during the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, and this time around a record-equalling 11 fillies or mares made a million gns or more. The record turnover of 57,695,415gns for 201 horses sold was an improvement of 5%, while the average rose by 4% to 287,042gns. The clearance rate dropped from 82% to 78%, while the median was down by 8% on last year at 110,000gns. Porta Fortuna's 'Unbelievable Journey' Porta Fortuna's appearance in the ring prompted auctioneer John O'Kelly to draw on a surprising source of inspiration to describe her, but he had a point. “To borrow a line from Mary Poppins, 'She's practically perfect in every way',” he said. The potential buyers agreed. Round and round the four-time Group 1 winner went until the hammer fell at 4.5 million gns in the direction of Coolmore's MV Magnier. No little amount of emotion accompanied her passing from an amalgamated syndicate of American owners who have been on the ride of their life to one of the world's leading breeding operations. Before the tributes were paid to horse and trainer Donnacha O'Brien by those connections, however, there was a lengthy standing ovation for John O'Kelly as he completed his last stint on the rostrum during the Sceptre Sessions. After Wednesday's final session of the December Sale, O'Kelly and Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony, two of the most respected and admired auctioneers in the thoroughbred world, will depart the Tattersalls rostrum for good. Truly the end of an era. For owners Medallion Racing, Steve Weston, Reeves Thoroughbreds and Barry Fowler, the four-year-old Porta Fortuna has been the horse of a lifetime. “This is why everybody tries to be in the game, for horses like this,” said Medallion Racing's Philip Shelton. “I can remember Mark Taylor kind of had soured on us owning European racehorses, and then she won. And now we've just had a recent Breeders' Cup winner Balantina, but for our partnership and for me personally, [Porta Fortuna] has taken us to a stratosphere we never could have dreamed about. And it's a huge honour and a privilege to me to have been part of the journey.” He continued, “It's not often you have this unbelievable race record and then you pull the filly out of the stall and they're as nice as her. She's just got an unbelievable presence and an unbelievable mind. And I think that's part of the reason she was so successful on the track. “This was the end of our chapter of our story. It's been the most unbelievable journey, and we just wanted this to go well, really more for her. We are so far ahead financially that we just wanted her to have this moment.” Having won her Curragh maiden on debut in the colours of Annemarie O'Brien, Porta Fortuna was next seen winning the G3 Coolmore Stud Sprint Stakes for her present owners, and thereafter made the first of two successful appearances at Royal Ascot when winning the G3 Albany Stakes. Her four top-level wins came in the Cheveley Park Stakes, Coronation Stakes, Falmouth Stakes and Matron Stakes. Shelton added, “These horses can bring you to places and experiences that you could never even dream about. And when you look back, you just realise how fortunate you are. She was owned [and bred] by Aidan and Annemarie O'Brien. We got lucky enough that we bought in and it's been a great start of a journey with Donnacha. We have a bunch more horses with him now. “We're just along for the ride. All we do is pay the bills. You know, I bust out my top hat and I put it on just to reminisce before I came here. We're so appreciative to all of our partners Dean, Steve and Barry.” Porta Fortuna is the most high-profile horse that O'Brien has trained and he took a huge amount of pleasure that she would be returning to familiar surroundings after the sale. He said, “It was a great result all round. She's happy and healthy and we got a great price. I am happy that MV and Coolmore have bought her. She will go back, presumably somewhere close to where she has been trained, which is nice. To be honest, once she got off the box here looking well, that was my job over. Obviously the Taylor Made guys had their job here and they produced her looking amazing. It went great, thankfully.” Tamfana To Visit Justify After Coolmore Spends 2.6m Tamfana has been pencilled in to visit Justify in the new year after Coolmore spent 2.6 million gns on David Menuisier's Group 1 heroine. Bought for just €20,000 by Jeremy Brummitt, the daughter of Soldier Hollow has provided her owners Quantum Leap Racing with a journey that they will never forget, with the highlight coming in last year's Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket. Of course, Coolmore is already heavily-invested in the family given the powerful owners spent €1.4 million on Tamfana's dam, Tres Magnifique (Zoffany), at Arqana last year. Magnier said, “Listen, she's a very good filly and we bought her mother in Deauville last year. David Menuisier did a very good job with her and I'd say we will send her to Justify. We won't race on with her – we will get a few babies out of her and I'd say a visit to Justify is most likely what we'll do.” Menuisier sent Tamfana out to win four of her 14 starts as well as to finish a luckless fourth in the 1,000 Guineas last year. Speaking about the curtain coming down on his stable star's career, he said, “She's a fantastic filly. I think this year she couldn't really do herself justice for one thing or another. She was bought for €20,000 by Jeremy Brummitt, if she had made 20,000gns today we would have been in profit! I think her racing career does not really reflect how good she was. Why should we be disappointed with 2,600,000gns – we shouldn't be, it's an incredible amount of money. “I'm delighted she's gone to Coolmore because she will have a perfect life. They bought the mare so they have the full-brother as well. I'm sure I will have a few boxes available if they were wanting a nice new venture!” He added, “I was a bit worried at the start when she stalled at 950,000gns. I think you have to be delighted. You buy horses to have a bit of fun, you don't expect a return, you don't expect to win the Guineas that she could have, or the Diane. She's taken us on a magical journey. You can only be proud of what she's done.” Meanwhile, Eamonn O'Connor of Quantum Leap Racing toasted the syndicate's poster girl by simply saying, “She's been a star. There are no two ways about that. It has been a tremendous journey over the last three years. She has taken us to all the top races and two Classics. We were travelling in hope in the first Classic [1,000 Guineas] and she almost pulled it off.” He concluded, “We love the BBAG Sale. It's the first one in the season and there's tremendous value. We have to give credit to Jeremy Brummitt. He works the sales very hard for us. She was quite a find. She was €20,000 and everybody who saw her up here this week, without fail, loved her. She's an extremely good-looking horse.” Hillen Secures US-Bound Saqqara Sands For Coolmore Group 2-placed Saqqara Sands (Oasis Dream) will continue her career in America after Stephen Hillen, bidding on behalf of Coolmore, secured the three-year-old filly for 2.1 million gns. The three-time winner, who scored at Group 3 level, was a no-brainer, according to Hillen, who explained he only put one horse to Magnier at that upper level. Hillen explained, “[I] really liked her run at Goodwood. I think she will go to America and she could be good on a turning track. There are plenty of races out there for her. She's run to a Timeform rating of 110 and that's usually good enough to win Group 1s in America. There is a lot of money on offer over there and she's young.” He added, “She was bought on behalf of MV Magnier and Michael Tabor – she's a bit out of my league! Very lucky to have been entrusted to buy her. She was the only one for me at that level. I thought she was pretty obvious. It was plenty of money for her but she's got a good shot, I think.” Stroud Closes The Deal On Choisya At 2m Gns The GI Jenny Wiley Stakes winner Choisya (Night Of Thunder) went the way of Anthony Stroud for 2,000,000gns, bought on behalf of an undisclosed breeder. “She is a lovely racemare and her owner, Mr Nabouda, has been delighted with the progress she has shown throughout her career,” said co-trainer Ed Crisford. “As a five-year-old, now is the time to sell and we are delighted with the result. She sold very well and we are very happy. “She started out at a low level and worked her way up. It wasn't until she was four and even earlier this year during her five-year-old campaign when she started to really turn on the taps and look like a proper filly. It took a while for her to come to hand, really. It wasn't until we took her out to Dubai and America that she took off. The quick ground and the turns and the bends, that was the key to her.” Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock, Choisya is a half-sister to three black-type earners in Pelerin, Base Note and Masarah, and she won eight of her races for Simon and Ed Crisford, adding two Meydan Group 2 victories to her top-level win at Keeneland. Survie Helps Push Coolmore's Spend Beyond 11m Gns MV Magnier may as well have been walking around the back ring as, along with his Coolmore partners, he mopped up some of the best fillies and mares that were on offer at this year's Sceptre Sessions. The Nicolas Clement and Frauke Hermans-trained Survie, who is by Coolmore's own stallion Churchill and finished third in this year's Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh, was just another high-rated runner that went Magnier's way, this time at 1.9 million gns. “She's a very good filly and Nicolas Clement has done a great job with her,” said Magnier. “We're going to talk to Michael and Doreen [Tabor] and see what they want to do, but she might stay in training. We'll make a plan in the next couple of days. Churchill has had another great year. He's a good stallion and is probably the most value horse we have at home now.” It was David Redvers who filled the role as underbidder on the three-time winner who raced in a partnership between the China Horse Club and Gerard Augustin-Normand. Clement said, “She's been a terrific filly and we have mixed feelings as we are losing our top flagbearer. She's had three seasons at the top level but she is going to a very good home and we are delighted for them. Let's hope she breeds a good one for them. She had the heart of a tiger and she was very consistent at Group 1 level.” All told, Coolmore spent 11.1 million gns on four fillies – Porta Fortuna, Tamfana, Saqqara Sands and Survie. Redvers Resolute in Quest for Pintara David Redvers had played the role of underbidder on Survie but he ended up as the successful bidder for wildcard entry Pintara (lot 1760A) at 1.8 million gns on behalf of John Stewart's Resolute Bloodstock. The two-year-old daughter of Pinatubo, who was bred by Ballylinch Stud and raced by that operation with partners, is unbeaten in her two starts to date, including an easy win in the Listed Montrose Fillies' Stakes at Newmarket. At last year's December Sale, Stewart spent more than 6 million gns on five smart race fillies who have been transferred to America to continue their racing careers, including G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Vertical Blue (Mehmas). Arrowfield Hits The Target On Too Darn Hot's Sister Arrowfield Stud's John Freyer said that he stretched the budget in order to secure Chere Darmoiselle, an unraced daughter of Kingman out of the brilliant Dar Re Mi, making the four-year-old a sister to sire sensation Too Darn Hot. Offered by Watership Down Stud, Chere Darmoiselle was sold for 1.3 million gns in foal to Zarak. Freyer said, “We will leave her here to foal and then we will bring her home in the autumn, which will be our spring. She will go to The Autumn Sun. We are big fans of Too Darn Hot and are sending him half a dozen mares this year in Australia. A filly out of that family was just too hard to resist.” He added, “We really had to stretch but we were delighted to get her. We were hoping to buy her for a fraction less than that but the ones with the good pedigrees like her, you are going to have to stretch. I am pleased that we did because it's such a magnificent family and we're all about getting these mares from big families. We'll probably keep all of the daughters and hopefully develop them in the future.” Juddmonte Draft Gets Figures Rolling The first of the day to reach seven figures came early in the Juddmonte draft when Charlie Budgett and Henry Lascelles went toe to toe for Star Magnolia (Kingman), a four-year-old half-sister to the G1 Phoenix Stakes winner Babouche (Kodiac), who was offered in foal to Frankel. It was Lascelles who had the final say at 1,300,000gns, for the young winning mare (lot 1664) whose immediate relatives also include the G2 Minstrel Stakes winner Zarinsk (Kodiac) and the Listed-placed Derevo (Dansili). Hugo Lascelles, father of Henry, said, “What a great and young family to get into. She has two daughters working for you and I like Kingman very much as a broodmare sire. She is in foal to Frankel, so what more can you say? The chat is that she had ability and she is a very handsome lady, too. That is why she is so exciting. She has been bought for a British owner-breeder.” Loading up on Gewan clan The team at Ace Stud will rightly have Classic dreams for G1 Dewhurst Stakes winner Gewan, who was bought privately after the colt had won the G3 Acomb Stakes, and they have been busily accruing further family members at the December Sale. Last week, Ace Stud's Paul Curran signed for Gewan's weanling half-brother at 500,000gns from Overbury Stud, and on Tuesday he added three-year-old half-sister Darn Hot Mystery (Too Darn Hot) to the list at 180,000gns. With two placings from nine starts, the filly (lot 1605) is rated 55 and was offered by her trainer Henry Candy. Ace Stud now has the full set of the first three foals for their Listed-placed dam Grey Mystere (Lethal Force) and have signed for eight fillies and mares under their own name over the last two days for 2,772,000gns. The post ‘Some Buzz!’ Barnavara Tops Record Tattersalls Session at 4.8m Gns appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Alpha Racing's Barnavara (Calyx) became the new sale topper at Tattersalls December's Sceptre Sessions at 4.8 million gns. She was bought online by Sugar Whiskey Trading, believed to be an associate of Ace Stud. Henry Lascelles, on the phone, was a determined underbidder on the Baroda Stud-consigned filly. Sold as lot 1753, the three-year-old daughter of Calyx captured the G1 Prix de l'Opera this autumn, after taking the G2 Blandford stakes in September for trainer Jessica Harrington. The daughter of Alfea (Kentucky Dynamite) was bred by Andriy Milovonov and V. Tymoshenko. BBA Ireland picked her out of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale Book 1 for €70,000. Also a winner of the G3 Jannah Rose Stakes and the Listed Kooyonga Stakes this season, Barnavara is from the same family as Lope De Vega. Said Harrington, “Some buzz! I promise you, that was more than my wildest dreams. We all get excited and said, 'oh, she might make three [million]. But what did she even make? 4.8 million? It was stuck at 1.5 million and then it went on and on and on and on. I promise you, it's amazing. Best of luck. Yulong usually bid online – I better try to keep her! There's a lot in the tank still. We thought that she was only just growing into herself because she went on improving all year. She's a very big filly – she's an amazing filly, she really is. “The Alpha Racing Syndicate was set up by my son-in-law Richie Galway, Patrick Cooper and Legs [Elaine] Lawlor. We set it up to buy yearlings, race them and have fun and hopefully wash our faces every year. But it has been incredibly lucky. We've had Kinesiology, Cadillac and a lot of good horses. Everyone has had fun doing it and a lot of the syndicate members are here today. Even three people came from America. It's amazing.” 4,800,000gns makes Barnavara the highest priced filly in training in the world this year, going the way of Sugar Whiskey Trading. Last seen winning the Gr.1 Prix de l'Opera for @Jessica_Racing, she was consigned by @BarodaStudIre at the #TattsDecember Mares Sale. pic.twitter.com/nCus6egqAI — Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) December 2, 2025 The post Harrington Team In Clover As Barnavara Sets Sceptre Sessions Alight At 4.8 Million appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

For the fifth straight year, Horseshoe Indianapolis set a new record for all-time highest handle wagered on live racing. The 123-day meet concluded with total handle surging past $287 million in 2025.View the full article