Wandering Eyes

By Michael Guerin A remarkable stat for one of harness racing’s most surprising careers could get another boost in the national junior driver’s champs at Addington tonight. The series brings together 12 of our best young drivers for six heats, two at Cambridge last night, two at Addington tonight and the final two at Methven on Sunday. The series was for years casually referred to as “the boys’ champs” because until about 20 years ago most of those competing in it were male. That name clearly doesn’t suit any more as the last seven championships have been won by female drivers, Sarah O’Reilly with a remarkable four as well as Kerryn Tomlinson, Alicia Harrison and last year, Crystal Hackett. One of the six females competing this season is northerner Monika Ranger, who admits she only got into driving “because I had nothing to lose” and has earned the respect of leading northern drivers for the way horses respond to her. After Cambridge last night she has a two point lead heading into tonight’s third and fourth heats at Addington after a win with Melton Mogul and a second placing with Patrick Mahomes. She has 29 points, with closest rival Carter Dalgety on 27. Horses are assigned to drivers by random draw and Ranger has two decent chances in Major Happy (R6, No.5) and Donna’s Boy (R7, No.5) at Addington tonight, the latter a smart trotter for trainer Bob Butt. While Ranger is having a career-best season with 20 wins, she has really excelled partnering trotters, which account for 11 of those victories, which can only be a confidence boost for those considering backing Donna’s Boy tonight. “I love driving trotters, even more than pacers,” says Ranger, whose previous personal best was 16 last term. “It has been a really good season and I am lucky to have a loyal bunch of trainers who put me on so often. “When I started driving I didn’t think it would get to the level it has now, it was more or less because I had nothing to lose. “So I am looking forward to being part of the series again but I might be the boring one. I am 30 now so I might be the Nana of the group,” she laughs. While junior drivers love being part of the series Ranger admits it comes with a little more work. “When I drive up here I tend to know the horses quite well but for something like this series, and this is my third time competing, I will do a bit more video work on the website. “I liked the look of Major Happy, she looks really nice and consistent and Donna’s Boy was really good on Cup Day when he showed good gate speed.” It took a wonderful performance from a race rival tonight in He Aint Fakin (Emily Johnson) to beat Donna’s Boy on Cup Day and the two northern female juniors look set for good points in at least that heat as they try to make it eight straight years that a female wins the series. The series has set up beautifully, completely by fluke, with the random draw of drives seeing a very even spread of talent, with many of those participating being Friday night regulars at one of our two biggest tracks. Both tonight’s heats failed to attract the capacity 12 runners so the drivers who miss out on a drive in any heat get seven points added to their overall tally. While the best version of former pacer He Aint Fakin may well win tonight’s second heat (and fourth overall) for Johnson the pacing heat looks more open, with Ellie Barron on favourite Classie Linc while Wilson House gets his chance to continue a massive season with a good chance drawn the pole in Sandy Shore. Sam Thornley, no stranger to winning Drivers Series, partners last start Addington winner Brandi Snapp. View the full article

By Michael Guerin Todd Mitchell is looking forward to getting back on two speedy trotting stablemates at Alexandra Park even though he knows he might just be keeping the seat warm on one of them. The four-time New Zealand Cup- winning driver partners two winning chances from the Wallis/Hackett stable including one of the big movers of the northern trotting spring in Belle Neige (R6, No.10). Belle Neige won three races in a month in August-September and while Mitchell has driven her before he gets on tonight as regular driver Crystal Hackett will be at Addington for the New Zealand Junior Drivers Champs. “She is a really nice mare so it will be good to get back on her but it isn’t an easy assignment,” admits Mitchell. “She is off a decent handicap and it is a good field for this grade. “I am sure she is being aimed at the mares Group 1 trot in a few weeks so she should improve with the run and I actually thought her stablemate Hillbilly Blues would be hard to beat off the front.” The latter has always looked an open class trotter in waiting as he can peel off 57-second last 800m sectionals and is developing the strength to compliment that speed. It is a deep field though and a rarity being an 11-horse race at Alexandra Park in which any one of them could win without surprising. Earlier in the night Mitchell partners Shesgold (R4, No.4) in a far easier race and she is back doing what she loves best. Shesgold has had five career wins and all have been in 2200m standing starts, four at The Park and two with Mitchell in the sulky. “You can forgive her last run because she got parked out on a strong speed which doesn’t suit her but this looks more her race,” says Mitchell. “And I think she is best with two weeks between her runs so she gets her chance on Friday.” Shesgold meets a progressive trotter in Stone Cold and a horse showing talent in Hill Billie Bundy as well as the once-promising Levi in a tricky little field. While other trotters like Look To Da Stars (R2, No.10) will attract plenty of punter attention tonight the class race of the meeting is the handicap pace in which Captain Sampson (R7, No.4) takes on smart old pacers in the $30,000 Thames Goldfields Cup. Captain Sampson is a lovely three-year-old on his way to the top but was nutted on the line last start by a race rival tonight in Little Spike at Cambridge. They start off the same 20m handicaps tonight as they did last start so Little Spike is an obvious danger for trainer Arna Donnelly, who also has The Surfer and Jolimont (30m) in the standing start 2200m. View the full article

A breeding right to Mehmas topped Thursday's Arqana November Online Sale when going the way of Hugo Merry Bloodstock for €180,000. The sire of nine individual Group winners and 48 stakes winners from his first five crops, the Tally-Ho Stud stallion's leading performers in 2025 include the top-level winners Believing and Wise Approach. A share in the unbeaten Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Ace Impact was another highlight of the sale when knocked down to Horse France for €152,000. Based at Haras de Beaumont, Ace Impact's first foals have sold for up to €220,000. The National Hunt stallions Goliath du Berlais and Nirvana du Berlais also proved popular, with a breeding right to the first-named horse selling to Christophe Bridault of Espace Trot for €84,000. Meanwhile, a share in Nirvana du Berlais, the sire of the Grade 1-winning hurdler Lulamba, was bought by Highflyer Bloodstock for €80,000. Of the 24 lots offered, 18 sold for a total of €871,500. The post Breeding Right to Mehmas Tops Arqana November Online Sale at €180,000 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After a lightning strike threatened his life, Thanksgiving would not only recover; he would thrive.View the full article

Representatives from Europe's breeding nations gathered to discuss the key challenges and potential threats facing the European Bloodstock Industry at the EFTBA 2025 autumn meeting in Newmarket. New members included Cathy Grassick, representing Ireland, and Naomi Mellor, who is the CEO of the TBA. Dr. Des Leadon led the report from the EFTBA Veterinary Advisors Committee Animal welfare in transportation was widely discussed and the EU discussions are now at a trilogue stage (EU Commission, DG Sante and MEPs). EFTBA Chairman Joe Hernon felt that a good case had been made and a fact sheet was presented. A new threat to animal health is in the form of a mosquito born virus called Western Nile Virus. France Galop are taking precautions as they could threaten the racing and sales during the summer months. Chairman of the TBA Philip Newton also commented on the global reduction of the thoroughbred breeding numbers, especially in the UK. If this continues, it will and has already impacted in field sizes, which will have a major impact on betting turnover and this will impact the Levy. The bloodstock sales revealed startling statistics, such as the gross spend in the UK, £85M, of which 40% of total gross sales was spent on 5% of yearlings offered and 25 buyers were responsible for 60% of total purchases, with three-quarters of the yearlings sold failing to recover costs. There is notable concern that an increasing number of geldings are winning major Group 1 Races, denying many colts their opportunity to stand as stallions. This compounds further the tightening of the gene pool. The TBA reported that it is working towards a solution to this. The post European Federation Of Thoroughbred Breeders Meet In Newmarket appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

As updates go, being a half-sister to the Cartier Horse of the Year is not a bad one, especially when the mare in question is carrying to Calandagan's sire, Gleneagles. Caliyza has plenty more in her favour to boot. She's a dual winner by the late Le Havre and, only five, she is in foal for the first time. Offered as lot 1452 by Overbury Stud on Monday during the first of two Sceptre Sessions, the Aga Khan Studs-bred mare is returning to Tattersalls just 12 months after being bought in the same ring for 155,000gns by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock. Since then, her year-younger half-brother has won three consecutive Group 1s and could even deliver yet another update on Sunday in the Japan Cup. “I would stress that anything that looks clever that happens at Overbury Stud has been organised by Richard Brown,” says Overbury's Simon Sweeting modestly. “There's no point in saying otherwise. We're incredibly lucky that he can be bothered because he's got far more important things to do than to be buying horses for Charlie and me. So it's not me that's being clever.” The Charlie in question is Charlie Wyatt of Dukes Stud, with whom Sweeting has had a 25-year business partnership and a friendship that stretches back even farther to his days working in Newmarket for Luca Cumani and Henry Cecil. Traditionally, Overbury Stud and Dukes Stud combine forces to sell as foals, and this year is no exception, aside from the fact that this year they are selling a half-brother to this year's G1 Dewhurst Stakes winner Gewan (Night Of Thunder), which does make the Overbury draft a little exceptional. The colt (lot 747) is from the first crop of another Dewhurst winner in Native Trail, whose 35 foals sold last week at Goffs returned an average of €40,772, including a top price of €150,000. It has been quite the year for the Overbury Stud and Dukes Stud partnership, as not only did the Yuesheng Zhang-owned Gewan win the Dewhurst and G3 Acomb Stakes among his three victories for Andrew Balding but Havana Anna (Havana Grey) – a Tattersalls December Foal Sale graduate at 42,000gns – won twice, including the Listed Marwell Stakes, as well as finishing runner-up to True Love in the G1 Cheveley Park Stakes. “We've got some nice foals,” Sweeting says. “A half-sister to the second in the Cheveley Park and a half-brother to the winner of the Dewhurst. So I'm excited – well, nervous, but excited. “Havana Anna's sister we've actually put in on Saturday. She's a lovely foal. She's by Caturra and she'll just stand out there,” he adds of the daughter of the Danehill Dancer mare Miss Villefranche. “I would definitely rather sell on a lesser day. I always feel that a horse might make a bit more than it deserves. If it was going to make below the average of Friday, it'd sell better on Wednesday. “The Miss Villefranche foal should be a Friday horse, but she'll still make her money on the Saturday, I'm sure. There'll be some people who haven't bought what they want, and we might get lucky. I spend a lot of time trying to work out what days to put them on, and I always try and undersell them a little bit rather than over.” He continues, “We've been lucky selling on Saturday, and that's where we sell most of our stock. We've been at it for 25-odd years together now. We were both getting started in our respective farms at the same time, and we thought if we combined our forces, we could get a slightly better mare. And it's gone on from there. “And, yes, we've produced something decent this year. I mean, there have been some lovely horses along the way, as well as some bad luck, and it just seems to have come together this time, which is wonderful. But, as Charlie said, we've chucked an awful lot of money against the wall.” Some of it has clearly stuck, however, and this is not the first twirl in the spotlight for Sweeting, a successful dual-purpose breeder who is in an elite group to have produced top-level winners on the Flat and over jumps. On the National Hunt side he has bred the Grade 1-winning hurdlers Thyme Hill and Cornerstone Lad, by the late Overbury stallions Kayf Tara and Delegator. So does having the Dewhurst winner and a live Classic prospect top that? “Of course. It's wonderful. And you just have to pinch yourself to believe it really has happened, ” he says. “And, of course, we've got the winter now to dream about it all again. The great thing is [Gewan] is in the best place. There might be trainers as good as Andrew, but there's none better. He's trained the Guineas winner twice in the last few years, so the horse has got the best possible chance to go on and do that. “The whole thing is really exciting. But we've had 25 years of knowing what the flip side is, so it helps keep you very grounded.” Simon Sweeting and Charlie Wyatt | Tattersalls There was indeed a time when it looked as though events were conspiring against Sweeting and Wyatt when it came to Gewan's dam Grey Mystere (Lethal Force), another Blandford purchase, this time from Arqana four years ago. “We thought we'd had terrible luck with the mare in that she lost her foal last year. That was dreadful but it happens. And last year we were kicking ourselves because we got 100,000gns for Gewan. It might sound like a lot of money, but actually it was a slap in the face for a Night Of Thunder colt but it was because his x-rays weren't great. “Rob Dallas, who's our vet, said he was absolutely fine for racing. And we sold him to Mick [Murphy, Longways Stables], who is one of Rob's clients, so he was able to reassure him. But if he had had good x-rays, that horse would have been bought by Mick Kinane and he'd be in Hong Kong now and we wouldn't have had the Dewhurst winner. So it can work out. When it seems like a bad result at the time, it can actually work out in your favour, and it has done in this case.” The eight-year-old Grey Mystere is now booked in for a return visit to the soon-to-be-crowned champion sire Night Of Thunder. Sweeting of course has his own team of stallions to manage at Overbury in Gloucestershire, where the roster is led by Jayne McGivern's popular dual-purpose stallion Golden Horn, whose son Trawlerman was last week named Cartier Stayer of the Year. “Jayne limits the number he can cover. We could sell 250 nominations but we're restricted to 175 or thereabouts,” says Sweeting, who added that Golden Horn's 2026 book will contain more Flat mares than in his three previous seasons at Overbury. “It's straightforward for him to get through a book like that. He's very fertile and he's a pretty straightforward animal to work with. “And he rewards us. He's had an absolute marquee year. Everything that you thought could come together for him has done all at the same time. To have Cheltenham winners and Royal Ascot winners is beyond dreams.” “We've booked a lot of really nice Flat mares for next year – ones that I'd be excited about.” With his mix of six Flat and National Hunt stallions, Sweeting is well in tune with the changing fortunes of the bloodstock sector as breeders exercise more caution and foal crop numbers reduce. “As long as you get the [stallion fees] right and you're sensible about it, then we are in a position with these stallions to get the mares. But the problem is that there isn't the breadth anymore,” he says. “At Overbury, we're very lucky with the horses we've got. They do seem to be popular. Yes, a horse in his fourth year, like Caturra last year, is always going to be a little bit more difficult. But when you've got Golden Horn, when you've got Ardad, who this year has had 37 two-year-old winners, more than any other UK-based stallion, he's absolutely bang up there. But there aren't enough stallions about to give a chance to some of those to pop up that nobody would have expected necessarily to be the successful ones. There has always been some of those around, and we're going to start missing those now because only the commercial, attractive-looking horses are the ones that are actually going to be given the chance in the first place. Thank goodness there are some fairly attractive horses coming to stud for the first time this year.” The covering season can be a concern for another day, however. In Sweeting's immediate future, he has some select foals to sell, along with potentially one of the jewels of the Sceptre Sessions in Caliyza. “Everything that could have fallen into place has fallen into place for her,” he says. “Calandagan has done what we hoped that he might. His half-sister Calamandra is Group 3-placed now. Their dam is in foal to Siyouni. “Caliyza is a great outcross. She's very easy to mate. There's no Northern Dancer blood in there, and it's Clodovil's family.” Sweeting adds, “I hope people will appreciate the mating. When we sat down and we were thinking about it, we weren't sure that we were going to sell at that stage and we wanted to breed a racehorse rather than something that would draw attention at the sales, and I think Gleneagles has had a good year. He's popular. And I hope what is inside can go on and be a great racehorse.” The post A Big December Sale in Store for Overbury with Siblings to Calandagan and Gewan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The first edition of the Emirates Racing Authority Online Sale, hosted by Tattersalls Online, was topped by the lightly-raced three-year-old Daayyem at AED58,000 [roughly £12,000] to Khalifa Alneyadi. Leading vendor of the day was Jebel Ali-based trainer Michael Costa. who consigned a draft of four lots on behalf of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which all sold for an aggregate of AED138,500 [£28,500]. The draft was highlighted by lightly-raced three-year-old Daayyem (Bolt D'Oro), who holds a ERA rating of 67. As the first online auction to be held by the Emirates Racing Authority, the sale marked a milestone for the region's racing industry and represents a significant evolution in the world of digital bloodstock trading. At the conclusion of the sale, Tattersalls Online Sales Manager Katherine Sheridan commented, “Today's sale marks an important advance in the global thoroughbred online market. We were honoured to have been entrusted with staging the inaugural Emirates Racing Authority Online Sale. “The initial support from vendors together with the international depth of bidders underlined the potential of this initiative. Our thanks go to the Emirates Racing Authority for their confidence in the Tattersalls Online platform and to our consignors and purchasers for their enthusiastic participation. We look forward to building on this concept in the future, broadening its reach and continuing to set the standard for innovation in our industry.” Unsold lots remain available and offers can be made through the Make An Offer facility on the Tattersalls Online website. Enquiries are also welcome by phone or via email to the Tattersalls Online team to tattersallsonline@tattersalls.com. The final sale of the year to take place on the Tattersalls Online platform will be the Online December Sale on 10th – 11th December with entries closing on Friday 28th November. All entries can be submitted through the Tattersalls Online website at www.tattersallsonline.com. The post Daayyem Tops Inaugural Tattersalls Online Emirates Racing Authority Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sunday’s Sha Tin race meeting will be held behind closed doors as a mark of respect for the victims of this week’s tragic Tai Po fire. All gross income from the meeting, which the Jockey Club estimates to be around HK$70 million, will be donated to support those affected by the tragedy, while Saturday’s Mark Six draw has been postponed to next Tuesday. “The Hong Kong Jockey Club is deeply saddened by the loss of so many lives during the tragic fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, as well as the...View the full article

St Jean (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), sire of G1 Caulfield Cup and G1 Melbourne Cup winner Half Yours, died in a paddock accident at Brackley Park on Nov. 25. Stud manager Grant Dwyer said the 15-year-old had covered the mare Memory Lane on Nov. 24 and was returned to his usual paddock. “For reasons unknown, St Jean ran into a fence post overnight, breaking it off at ground level and shattering his near-side front leg,” Dwyer said. “His death was very untimely, just as breeders were beginning to appreciate his pedigree.” A Group 3 winner by Teofilo (Ire), St Jean sired 35 named foals, 22 runners and 12 winners, with Half Yours his lone stakes winner. The post St Jean, Sire of Melbourne Cup Hero Half Yours, Dies at 15 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Watching big-name Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) runners fall away is nothing new, however the speed at which Calandagan went from in the fields to not coming was quite something. In a turn of events that sparked memories of the time Aidan O’Brien’s Magical was in the Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) field for little more than 12 hours – but never actually coming to Hong Kong – Calandagan was listed in the Cup field by the Jockey Club on Wednesday afternoon before being ruled out...View the full article

TOKYO, Japan — Under the vast, silent stand of Tokyo racecourse the best horse in the world enjoys a saunter around the turf track which will become his stage for the final act of a tremendous season. Calandagan (Gleneagles) will encounter an altogether different atmosphere on Sunday when that same grandstand will sing with the anticipation of around 100,000 racegoers come to bear witness to one of the world's great horse races. The passion with which the Japanese fans approach racing means that the Japan Cup is more pilgrimage than sports event and an 18-strong field which boasts the last three winners of the Japanese Derby means that the home team will have plenty to absorb them beyond this sole international visitor. But it is a compliment to the race and of vital importance to its global standing to have attracted the Aga Khan Studs' representative, who will bid for a fourth consecutive Group/Grade 1 victory after winning the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and then emulating Brigadier Gerard by taking both the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Champion Stakes in the same season. Just think, this time last year Calandagan was branded a bridesmaid horse. Now, after a racing year which began in Dubai and has continued through three trips to England as well as one performance on home turf in Paris, here he is in Japan, looking perky of mind and a bit more substantial of body. It would be a stretch to call Calandagan physically imposing, but in his talent he has imposed himself on the racing scene to a degree which makes it now impossible not to barrack for him. That his trainer Francis Graffard is similarly talented is beyond dispute to even casual racing observers these days. There's barely been a major meeting this year where he hasn't popped up and made his presence felt. Such is the strength in depth of Graffard's Chantilly yard that Calandagan has to battle internally to be labelled as stable star. But even in a season in which Zarigana and Gezora handed him French Classic victories before the latter delivered Graffard a longed-for first Breeders' Cup success, and Daryz capped the domestic season with his Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe win, it is Calandagan who stands out, and the very nature of his gelded status means that his trainer can take a different approach to his racing season. “My only focus for him is winning races,” Graffard says after watching Calandagan and his travelling companion Le Nomade complete half a lap of the Tokyo turf in a swinging canter. “I don't have to plan what will happen after racing, and what distance he should be racing over to be commercially interesting for a stallion career, or things like that. You only do it for the horse and for the sport, and I think that's why I like these geldings – I think they are great for the sport.” He's been here before of course, just last year, with Goliath (Adlerflug), who will be heading instead for Hong Kong next month. Goliath finished a creditable sixth last year behind Do Deuce (Heart's Cry), but the fact that he too is a gelded King George winner is where the comparison ends with Calandangan, according to their trainer. “The two horses are very different, so I have had to prepare them completely differently,” he says of the challenge of keeping a horse at his peak this late in the year. “I do it according to the horse, not to the race, and I know how to get Calandagan to his best. So that's what we are focused on, and the preparation has been right for Calandagan but different to last year.” Having settled upon the Japan Cup as a target with Princess Zahra Aga Khan after Calandagan's King George victory, Graffard said that the pressure was off when using the Champion Stakes – a revered Group 1 in its own right – almost as a prep race for Tokyo. “We said that this was where we wanted to go over the autumn and I was looking for a race to get him ready for the Japan Cup. The only suitable race for that was at Ascot in the Champion Stakes. It sounds a little bit silly because it was a very, very strong race, and the horse would need to be a champion that day. And obviously, winning the Champion Stakes, he proved to be the best horse in Europe anyway. It was a risk to prep for the Japan Cup in the Champion Stakes in England but I didn't have much pressure, because if he was beaten, it's okay. You take a risk, and I think it's very good for the sport, and I'm lucky because my owners have complete trust in me.” Nemone Routh and Francis Graffard at the Japan Cup press conference | Emma Berry Graffard is clearly relishing the luxury of knowing that, soundness and willingness permitting, Calandagan will be in his stable for some seasons to come. “We have got to know him well,” he says of the four-year-old. “But horses change, they mature, and we have to adapt all the time, but that's why this job is so interesting, because they're all different, and you have to go with their way. And with a colt, as they get more mature, they get heavier, and there is a line where they start to think more with their body, thinking about another job. So with a horse like Calandagan, it's much easier, and you can really train him as an athlete.” An athlete is exactly what Calandagan looks this unusually warm autumnal morning in the Tokyo sunshine, pointing his toe under his regular rider Jeremy Lobel. The only trace of the well reported former antics of his days as an enfant terrible is in the wearing of a hood – more familiarity perhaps than necessity these days. Nemone Routh, racing manager for the Aga Khan Studs, is in Tokyo already along with her colleague Pierre Gasnier ahead of the arrival of Princess Zahra Aga Khan for the big race. Success breeds success has long been the simple catchphrase of the operation's marketing division, and in a year in which it lost its figurehead with the death of His Highness Aga Khan IV in February, it can also now be said that the succession is breeding success. Princess Zahra Aga Khan, who has long played a key role in the development of the Aga Khan Studs, doubtless wishes that no such official changing of the guard had been necessary, but in the inevitable passing of familial duties from one generation to the next the horses – and those charged with their care – have not let her down. “Really, we couldn't dream of a year like this,” Routh says. “For the year to finish with us having the world's best horse, trained by Francis – and also a quick shout out to Daryz, who is the third-best-rated horse in the world and who won the Arc – and for it to fall in this difficult year at the beginning, and for the horses to perform at the top level throughout, it's indescribable, really. “We're very proud of the year that we've had. And it's wonderful to come here with such a good horse who's at the top of his game and who seems to have travelled very well. We're under no illusions that it will be difficult. It's a hard trip for a horse to take at the end of the year but he seems very well and we're very confident in his abilities.” During the press conference, Graffard referred to the things over which he had no control – the post position draw and a race start which takes place right in front of what will by Sunday be a grandstand humming with excitement. “I'll be happy with any number less than 10,” he said of a starting position, and by the afternoon another bounce of the ball had gone his way with a draw in stall eight. The rest now is up to Calandagan, to keep calm and carry on winning. The post ‘We Couldn’t Dream of a Year Like This’: Calandagan Team on One Last Push for the Japan Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kingsclere Stables will have representation in all three three-year-old stakes races this weekend, and trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood are hopeful they can get their hands on some of the spoils. Circus Maximus gelding Road To Paris (NZ) (Circus Maximus) has made quite the impression on the Cambridge horsemen, which was enhanced by his last start victory over 1400m at Avondale. They have taken a patient approach with the gelding to date, and they are looking forward to testing him over a mile for the first time when they head to Otaki on Sunday in the Gr.3 Jennian Homes Wellington Stakes (1600m), with his performance dictating future plans. “He is guy with a real future,” James said. “We have taken the slow road a little bit. He is a later maturing three-year-old and we are going to find out a little more about him on Sunday. “We don’t really know what his best distance is. At the end of his two-year-old year we thought he was our Derby horse for next year. He has got a bit of sharpness about him, and does he need to go a mile-and-a-half? We are going to learn that the deeper we go into his preparation. “With three-year-olds that can hopefully run a sharp mile, which we will find out on Sunday, there are a lot of options open to them. He is a very interesting runner.” James is also excited about the prospects of unbeaten filly Fairy Dream (NZ) (Proisir) in the Listed The O’Learys Fillies Stakes (1340m) at Wanganui on Saturday. The daughter of Proisir won on debut on the synthetic at Cambridge in September, and while she is untested on the grass on raceday, James believes she will be better suited on that surface. “I don’t think the turf will be of any concern as long as it is in good order,” James said. “I think she will be better on the turf than on the poly. “She is a light-framed filly who we have purposefully given good time to given that we hope there are a lot of options ahead of her this season. “She had a quiet trial the other day and I thought for a one-win horse the trial was very good. “It is not the easiest field, there are three or four there with good credentials and she is going to have to live up to what we think of her to win it. She is back to three-year-old fillies company and we do like her.” The stable will also be chasing age group success at Ellerslie on Saturday with three-year-old Per Incanto gelding To The Max (NZ) (Per Incanto) in the Listed Trevor & Corallie Eagle Memorial 3YO (1500m). To The Max is another last-start winner, having been victorious over 1230m at Arawa Park earlier this month, and James believes he will lap up the extra distance this weekend. “He was very impressive last start, albeit he covered no ground,” James said. “He did sprint quickly when he was asked. “This race has come up quick enough, but we are happy to be there. I think the 1500m will really suit him. He was a bit outpaced early the other day and I think the greater distance will really play into his hands.” View the full article

Massive Sovereign will skip Sunday’s Class Two Chevalier Cup (1,600m) and head straight to next month’s Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) with Hugh Bowman in the frame to take the ride. Trainer David Eustace’s preference to space Massive Sovereign’s runs prompted the move to bypass Sunday’s feature at Sha Tin, with the 2024 Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) winner set for a huge challenge against Romantic Warrior on December 14. The Irish import has produced three solid runs since transferring from Dennis...View the full article

Hit Show, Rattle N Roll, and Gosger face a rematch Nov. 28 in the $600,000 Clark Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.View the full article

Named a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard,' after a sparkling second-out performance during the summer of Amoss at the Spa Sept. 1 when the colt scored by 5 3/4 lengths, Oscar's Hope (Twirling Candy) rolled into Delta Downs on low-takeout day for the Jean Lafitte Stakes Wednesday. The 2-year-old was bet down to 30 cents on the dollar here after finishing as the runner-up to fellow 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Outfielder (Speightstown) in an allowance race at Keeneland Oct. 4 and as a last-out winner facing optional claimers at Churchill Downs Nov. 1. The chalk took the lead from the inside as the field followed him into the first turn. Under control and continuing to carve out the fractions on the engine, the juvenile held the advantage up the backstretch and through the far turn. The favorite was asked for more down the lane and responded in-kind to net his first stakes trophy for the cargo hold. Randemonium (Cloud Computing) was the runner-up. The first foal for his dam, Oscar's Hope has a half-brother named Major Ray (Nyquist), who was purchased for $725,000 by B-4 Farms at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling sale. The 'Rising Star' also has a weanling half-sister by Curlin. Hopeful Princess visited Twirling Candy for next spring. Of note, under the winner's third dam we find GSW Street Magician (Street Cry {Ire}), and Oscar's Hope is bred on a similar cross to Twirling Candy's Grade I winners Pinehurst, Fionn and Rombauer. JEAN LAFITTE S., $100,000, Delta Downs, 11-26, 2yo, 7 1/2f, 1:32.83, ft. 1–OSCAR'S HOPE, 120, c, 2, by Twirling Candy 1st Dam: Hopeful Princess (GSP), by Not This Time 2nd Dam: More Than Magic, by More Than Ready 3rd Dam: Magical Meadow, by Meadowlake ($150,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'. O-Michael McLoughlin; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Thomas M. Amoss; J-Vicente Del-Cid. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-2-0, $231,684. 2–Randemonium, 122, c, 2, Cloud Computing–Galileos Ballerina, by Magician (Ire). ($20,000 Ylg '24 TTAYRL). O-Rand Metoyer; B-J. E. Jumonville Jr. & Bunny Jumonville (LA); T-Benard Chatters. $20,000. 3–Wayne's Law, 122, c, 2, Tiz the Law–Mollie Merisa, by Harlan's Holiday. ($22,000 RNA Ylg '24 OBSWIN; $25,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR). O-Baalbek Corp.; B-Margaret McFarland (FL); T-Amador Merei Sanchez. $10,000. Margins: 2 3/4, 1 1/4, 2HF. Odds: 0.30, 26.70, 5.20. Also Ran: Way Beyond, Casa Cielo, Duke de Vere, Missing Brian. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. #2 OSCAR'S HOPE ($2.60) was much the best going gate-to-wire to win the $100,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs. The son of Twirling Candy (@LanesEndFarms) was ridden by Vincente Del-Cid and is trained by @TomAmossRacing. pic.twitter.com/uPXqEihmE9 — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) November 26, 2025 The post Swashbuckling ‘Rising Star’ Oscar’s Hope Nets Jean Lafitte Stakes At Delta Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article