Wandering Eyes

There are four horse racing meetings set for Australia on Friday, June 21. Our racing analysts here at horsebetting.com.au have found you the best bets and the quaddie numbers for Geelong and Royal Ascot (UK). Friday’s Free Horse Racing Tips – June 21, 2024 Geelong Racing Tips Royal Ascot (UK) Racing Tips As always, there are plenty of promotions available for Australian racing fans. Check out all the top online bookmakers to see what daily promotions they have. If you are looking for a new bookmaker for the horse racing taking place on June 21, 2024 check out our guide to the best online racing betting sites. Neds Code GETON 1 Take It To The Neds Level Neds Only orange bookie! Check Out Neds Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you prepared to lose today? Full terms. 2 It Pays To Play PlayUp Aussie-owned horse racing specialists! Check Out PlayUp Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Full terms. Dabble Signup Code AUSRACING 3 Say Hey to the social bet! Dabble Have a Dabble with friends! Join Dabble Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. THINK. IS THIS A BET YOU REALLY WANT TO PLACE? Full terms. Recommended! Bet365 Signup Code GETON 4 Never Ordinary Bet365 World Favourite! Visit Bet365 Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. GETON is not a bonus code. bet365 does not offer bonus codes in Australia and this referral code does not grant access to offers. What’s gambling really costing you? Full terms. 5 Next Gen Racing Betting PickleBet Top 4 Betting. Extra Place. Every Race. Join Picklebet Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you really gambling with? Full terms. 6 Bet With A Boom BoomBet Daily Racing Promotions – Login to view! Join Boombet Review 18+ Gamble responsibly. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place. Full terms. Horse racing tips View the full article

What Royal Ascot 2024 – Day 3 Where Ascot Racecourse – High St, Ascot SL5 7JX, United Kingdom When Friday, June 21, 2024 First Race 2:30pm BST (11:30pm AEST) Visit Dabble The Group 1 Coronation Stakes (1600m) and Group 1 Commonwealth Cup (1200m) share top billing for Day 4 of the Royal Ascot carnival, with a competitive seven-race program set for decision. The track continues to maintain its Good 4 rating from the start of the week, with the course playing slightly in favour of on-speed runners on the turning circuit. The opening event is scheduled to get underway at 2:30pm local time. Coronation Stakes Tip: Opera Singer Opera Singer will look to bounce back after a moderate performance first-up in the Group 1 Irish 1,000 Guineas (1600m) at Curragh on May 26. The daughter of Justify was unable to dictate terms like she had previously in her Group 1 success in France at the end of last year, taking a sit back in third in a slowly run affair. She’s drawn awkwardly out in barrier nine, but with Ryan Moore likely to storm across and take up the running, it shouldn’t be an issue as Opera Singer attempts to add the Group 1 Coronation Stakes to the resume. Coronation Stakes Race 3 – #5 Opera Singer (9) 3yo Filly | T: Aiden O’Brien | J: Ryan Moore (58kg) +170 with Picklebet Commonwealth Cup: Jasour Jasour made a mess of his rivals in the Group 3 Commonwealth Cup Trial Stakes (1200m) at this course and distance on May 1, going on to score an eye-catching two-length victory. The three-year-old had to do it the hard way after missing the kick to sit last throughout the journey, slowly building through his gears under Jim Crowley before exploding in the final 400m. He draws to get a lovely suck run behind the leading pair from barrier five, and if he can show a similar turn-of-foot, the $6.00 on offer with online bookmakers will look a big price. Commonwealth Cup Race 2 – #5 Jasour (5) 3yo Colt | T: Clive Cox | J: Jim Crowley (58kg) +500 with Playup Best Bet at Royal Ascot: Mountain Breeze The Charlie Appleby-trained Mountain Breeze attempts to remain undefeated heading into the Group 3 Albany Stakes (1200m) after two impressive victories. The daughter of Lope De Vega faces her toughest challenge to date, however, after doing it with relative ease in Class 2 company, going on to score by a combined five lengths across both performances. William Buck will look to take charge from barrier 12, and provided Mountain Breeze is up to this level, a third-straight win looks within her grasp. Best Bet Race 1 – #11 Mountain Breeze (12) 2yo Filly | T: Charlie Appleby | J: William Buick (58kg) +270 with Neds Next Best at Royal Ascot: Diego Valazquez The Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes (2000m) is for the three-year-olds, where the Harry & Roger Charlton-trained King’s Gambit should prove highly competitive. He smashed his rivals in his latest effort at Newbury on May 18, holding a prominent position throughout before exploding clear in the concluding stages. Many of his key rivals are yet to achieve the same kind of success, and provided William Buick can slot into a forward position from gate seven, King’s Gambit should justify favouritism with top horse racing bookmakers. Next Best Race 6 – #5 Diego Valazquez (5) 3yo Colt | T: Aiden O’Brien | J: Ryan Moore (58kg) +400 with Bet365 Horse racing tips View the full article

It was déjà vu all over again at June's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting. Three months after a contentious meeting that saw board members vote unanimously to give race dates to Pleasanton Racetrack for a Thoroughbred meet this fall (in opposition to the wishes of Southern California track operators), the CHRB wrestled with another weighty conundrum: How to fund horse racing in California for the next fiscal year. Ultimately, the board approved what was termed a “compromise” funding model that will see each racing association cover the “direct costs” of drug testing, and the salaries of stewards and regulatory veterinarians, along with the everyday “indirect” expenses of running a government agency. The new funding system is a blended model based on a percentage (60%) of licensing fees in place prior to 2009, and a percentage (40%) of ADW wagering. CHRB vice chairman Oscar Gonzalez was the only board member to vote “no” on the new funding model, having previously shown support for a more gradual phased approach. For the next fiscal year, Santa Anita is expected to pay some $7.9 million, a decrease from $8.9 million, while Del Mar is expected to pay just under $5 million, a slight increase for the track. Golden State Racing, the Northern California entity replacing Golden Gate Fields, will pay roughly $1.6 million. Dr. Greg Ferraro | courtesy of the CHRB There appeared to be a difference in perspective within the board as to the likely fiscal impacts from the funding switch. CHRB chairman Greg Ferraro indicated that the new funding model would be a “small change” from the status quo. CHRB executive director, Scott Chaney, pushed back on that assessment, saying that the new model will “not be a small change” for Californian tracks that card Harness and Quarter Horse racing. “It's still a major change-just paying your direct costs is a major imposition. Though not so much for the Thoroughbred [tracks],” said Chaney. Reached after the meeting, attorney Drew Couto, who represents Los Alamitos, said that the agreed upon model will see the track pay “more than double” what it currently pays annually based on current projections. “Nobody else works on a fiscal year, only the board,” said Couto. “Los Alamitos is in the middle of a one-year meet and they're told a significant cost to them just doubled.” Larry Swartzlander, California Association of Racing Fairs (CARF) executive director, told the TDN that the extra costs to the organization's tracks will be a “major additional expense,” but it won't affect day-to-day operations. “Business as usual,” he said. Traditionally, Southern California tracks have shouldered most of the financial costs associated with key parts of the sport's infrastructure, including agency staff, steward and regulatory veterinarian salaries, as well as drug testing operations at the Maddy Lab at UC Davis. These costs total just over $18 million, with about $8 million in so called “direct” cost earmarks for stewards, veterinarians and drug testing costs, and about $10 million funneled towards the everyday “indirect” expenses of running a government agency. Scott Chaney | CHRB For years, this funding schedule has been prefaced upon handle generated at each track. According to a CHRB analysis, Santa Anita and Del Mar covered about 75% of these costs, at 49.2% and 25.8% respectively. Golden Gate Fields covered nearly 12% of the costs. In the tectonic landscape left in the wake of The Stronach Group's abruptly announced closure of Golden Gate Fields, Southern California interests have pushed for a revision to that funding model, requiring smaller tracks to increase their overall share of the financial costs-a scenario that smaller cash-strapped venues argue could put them out of business. Indeed, prior to the meeting, David Neumeister, president of the California Harness Horsemen's Association, wrote a letter to the board stating that there was “no way” the harness industry “could survive” under some of the proposed models. A key legal conundrum for the board to wrestle with was whether tracks are mandated to pay for laboratory testing as a part of their “direct cost” obligations. Los Alamitos and CARF among others argued that provisions in state statute preclude that requirement. The CHRB, as well as the state's larger track operators, disagreed. “When looking at the canons of statutory construction, one of the things that courts have said repeatedly is, 'we look to the plain language of the statute,'” said Robert Browning, a state attorney representing the CHRB, at Thursday's meeting. “Well, the plain langue of the statutes includes laboratory testing, stewards and vets, and indicates that it's an obligation of the racing associations.” California law provides no hard guidance as to a funding formula. The CHRB largely left it to industry stakeholders to thrash it out. Several meetings over the past few weeks proved fruitless, however. Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory | ARCI In another letter submitted to the board prior to the meeting, Los Alamitos owner Ed Allred, writing on behalf of the Los Alamitos Quarter Horse Racing Association (LAQHRA), pushed for a phased in approach “so that we may collectively solve the funding problem without a figurative piano hanging over our heads.” Representatives from Santa Anita and Del Mar objected to the phased approach presented by Los Alamitos, arguing that the two tracks would end up shouldering 94% of the indirect costs the next fiscal year. Santa Anita and Del Mar's joint proposal would have seen all tracks pay their proportionate share of the “direct” costs, and the two facilities combined pay around 66% of all indirect costs. In discussion prior to the vote, commission members stressed how the funding model will likely prove a temporary measure amid the moving furniture of California racing. Chaney also addressed the need to trim expenses within the CHRB, especially with a state budget deficit looming large. “I think going down is going to be possible in the future-I think there's going to be some contraction with employees, simply because HISA repeats (roles),” said Chaney. “And to be fair, with contraction of race days we just need less personnel.” Computer Assisted Wagering The prior agenda item was a discussion on computer assisted wagering (CAW), a thorny topic due to the major edge that a small number of deep-pocketed punters wield over regular gamblers thanks to their use of sophisticated wagering technologies and the attractive rates and rebates offered to them-inducements not available to the average punter. There have always been gamblers more skilled than others, said Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) president, Bill Nader. “This is taking it to another level,” he added. “The market share of CAW, let's say it's more like 25% in California, and they're winning at a rate of 90-92%, it is going to impact the other segments. There's no doubt about that,” said Nader. “What we're trying to do is make sure the core customers and the retail market is not feeling too much of a pinch. Because if they are, and their money dries up too quickly, or their experience is not up to their expectations, then we do run the risk they will go away,” he added. Scott Daruty, president of both The Stronach Group's Monarch Content Management and of the Elite Turf Club (majority owned by TSG), spoke first, mainly giving a broad overview of the issue. For a summary on the basic mechanics of the subject, read this TDN piece breaking the topic down into its essential parts. A TDN investigation from earlier in the year provided a rare glimpse into the tremendous sway these individual players can wield over track and racing officials, the potentially lopsided economic ramifications of such deals, and the tremendous pressures that California executives are under with competing jurisdictions that enjoy purse subsidies not available in the Golden State. The TDN found that last year, Del Mar continued a deal with a player identified as Elite 17 that saw them enjoy a significantly more favorable rate of play than other high-volume players that wager through the CAW platform, Elite Turf Club. At the enormous volumes CAW gamblers play, such deals can give individual players a significant financial edge. Bill Nader | Horsephotos The result was that this one player constituted nearly 47% of Elite Turf Club's total handle on Del Mar last year. Two years prior, Elite 17's play had constituted just over 36% of Elite Turf Club's total handle on Del Mar. At the same time, the amount of money another major Elite Turf Club player (Elite 2) wagered on the track dropped off by over $32 million between 2021 and 2023-from around $45 million in 2021 to around $13 million last year. In 2021, Elite 2's play came to just over 27% of Elite Turf Club's total handle on Del Mar. Last year, that number had dropped to around 12%. Nader indicated that the TOC has made progress in correcting the imbalance of CAW play in California. “Over the past year, I'd say the TOC has taken a real hard look at CAW, and we've had long discussions with the track partners, and we've agreed to make pricing adjustments… that will be implemented at the start of the summer meet at Del Mar,” said Nader. “I think we've got a good outcome here, for the start of the Del Mar summer meet.” In raising the issue of CAW play potentially having a negative impact on the state's dwindling purse accounts, Gonzalez brought up an offer by 1/ST Racing CEO Craig Fravel at prior meetings, that the company would open its books up to the regulators. “Mr. Fravel sat here a couple meetings ago and really just said we could look at the books,” said Gonzalez. “Does that offer hold true to your operation, if we really wanted to take a look at what you guys are pulling in profit wise, certain negations, the impacts on purse accounts etcetera?” “Are we willing to open our books for the CHRB? There's a caveat here, which is, our players are private individuals and their wagers are their own private information. So, we wouldn't be comfortable sharing individual player data,” said Daruty. “What is Elite [Turf Club]. Elite is no different than TVG or TwinSpires or Xpressbet. So, again under the regulatory authority of this agency, would we be open with you on that? Yes, we would be. But would I then wonder whether the same diligence would take place on TVG or TwinSpires or Xpressbet? I guess it would be affair question to ask, if you're going to look at them,” said Daruty. “But then, let me preface that by saying yes, we will cooperate in any way you want. There are no secrets here,” he added. “We're not hiding anything.” The post CHRB June Meeting: Funding Fight Resolved, CAW Discussed, Elite Turf Club To Open Fiscal Books For Scrutiny appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. 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Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features the return of Rhetorical (Ire). 19.45 Newmarket, Nov, £10,000, 3yo, 10fT Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase RHETORICAL (IRE) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), a William Haggas trainee who shed maiden status over this trip at Newbury last month, is a half-brother to GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic victor Rockemperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}). His half-dozen rivals include George Strawbridge's Burrito (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who is a homebred half-brother to two Group 3 winners out of G1 Pretty Polly Stakes heroine Thistle Bird (GB) (Selkirk), from the John and Thady Gosden stable. 17.05 Ascot, Hcp, £110,000, 3yo, f, 8fT Tim Porter's KITTY ROSE (GB) (Invincible Army {Ire}) encounters 29 opponents in this Sandringham Handicap coming back off a head second to subsequent G1 Irish 1000 Guineas runner-up A Lilac Rolla (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}) in April's G3 Priory Belle Stakes at Leopardstown. Rivals include Juddmonte's recent Doncaster winner Indelible (Ire) (Shamardal), who is a homebred half-sister to three black-type performers out of six-time elite-level winner Midday (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), representing Ralph Beckett. The post Half-Brother To Rockemperor Returns At HQ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

During its monthly meeting June 20 at Cal Expo in Sacramento, Calif., the California Horse Racing Board reluctantly passed a compromised split that will fund the CHRB before the regulator's fiscal year begins July 1.View the full article

Billed as an intensive, premier forum for industry insiders and stakeholders, but also for patrons of sport, the 2024 Racing and Gaming Conference in Saratoga Springs, New York is set for Aug. 12-14. Once again, session master Patrick Brown, who possesses a diverse background in government, the law and gaming, has put together an ambitious slate, and he spoke with the TDN to discuss how this year's conference is rounding into form. TDN: Pat, what is different about this year's Racing and Gaming Conference? I always think that each time around you are able to expertly raise the level when it comes to sessions and presenters. Patrick Brown: This year we have expanded the conference to 12 panels spread over three days. I've tried to not only broaden the subject matter of the conference, but also its geographic reach. TDN: Right, this conference began some years ago at the Albany Law School when it was called the Saratoga Institute. PB: Yes, the conference started as a symposium for New York lawyers. Over the last several years, we have been lucky to include academics, lawyers and gaming executives from around the country, and now we are expanding to include an international perspective. This year at least three of the panels have representation from either Europe or Asia. Gambling and horse racing issues are not purely legal, and they are certainly not confined to New York. We are trying to reflect that reality in the topics and panelists we choose. Patrick Brown | Brown and Weintraub TDN: Looking through the set of sessions, the role of government and how it interacts with gaming/racing is so prevalent. Or should we say the way politics plays a role? What sessions are you looking forward to that deal with government and politics? What can people expect from the presentations? PB: In all walks of life you will find rogues and conmen and grifters; and the gambling industry certainly has its share. Lest we forger, Detroit's floating crap game has morphed into off-shore online sites and 'skill' machines. And of course in horse racing, it is not only the human consumer that needs protection, but the equine athlete as well. Overlay government's insatiable need for gambling revenue, and you have a complicated and dynamic relationship between all levels of the government and the industry. We try to explore aspects of that relationship at the conference. TDN: Can you give is some examples, please? PB: Sure, we begin with a panel of gaming commissioners from around the country discussing how they are adapting to the new HISA world. Later on that Monday, we will present a panel that focuses on the tension between government regulation and innovation and how that tension plays out in the private capital markets. On Tuesday, we will focus on how state-sponsored gambling in the form of lotteries and racinos can adapt to the explosion of other gambling opportunities. Finally, our last panel on Wednesday will explore whether government ought to regulate the use of data collected on gambling sites and if so, how they should go about it. TDN: Let's delve a bit deeper into the racing and gaming sectors. Where do those two entities have the most opportunities for growth in your opinion? Does the conference have areas where you are trying to highlight topics under this umbrella? PB: The growth opportunities in racing and gaming abound and we intend to focus on several of them. Of course, one of the single largest expansions of bricks and mortar casino gambling is underway in New York City and its suburbs. We are going to tackle a unique feature of the New York selection process–the significant role played by local governments in choosing which of these mega projects is going to advance. NY State Senator Addabbo and Assemblyman Pretlow | courtesy of RGC In most, if not all, of the bidding processes around the country it's local governments who have a say, but they do not have the power to shut down a bid. Under the New York structure, the Community Advisory Committees can do just that. One of the panels I am most looking forward to will showcase the immense investment in racetracks around the nation. In New York, Maryland, Kentucky and Nebraska, public and private capital have come together to say there is a bright future for horse racing in the U.S. The largest area of expansion is online gambling. Whether it is sports betting, iGaming, iLottery or horse racing, betting online is the future. A panel that I think will interest the horseplayer and the traditional sports bettor will explore where horse racing fits into the larger platforms. TDN: You are offering one of the most unique experiences for attendees. Are there any other points that we have not discussed that you want to bring to the forefront? PB: This is a serious conference where lawyers, academics and business executives discuss serious topics. But the success of the conference is only due in part to its content. Truth be told, the draw is Saratoga in August. I have said many times that it is rare in life to experience the very best of something. Thoroughbred racing at Saratoga in August has no peer, it is simply the best. Couple that with the beautiful and historic city of Saratoga Springs and the venue sells the conference. We will capitalize on the city's charm and racing excitement by offering a reception at the Adelphi Hotel on Monday evening and a day at the race course on Wednesday afternoon. Much has been written about the Adelphi; I can only add the personal thrill for me to belly up to the bar where Mark Twain held court. Truly an unsurpassed experience in elegance. And this year we have a big surprise for the participants who want to attend the races. We have reserved the Rachael Alexandra suite on the third floor of the 1863 Club, a spot of distinctive luxury. TDN: Finally, what do you have up your sleeve for the luncheon talk? Any clues? It is normally a rousing sermon meant to enliven the mood. PB: Our receptions, networking breaks and the luncheon are designed to be respites from the dense topics of the panels. So, yes, we ask our lunch speakers to keep it light. I can't announce our keynote just yet, but this year will be no different–inspirational, I hope, and light for sure. Click here for complete conference details and how to register. The post Patrick Brown Q And A: Racing And Gaming Conference Sets High Bar In 2024 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Stud El Tri's Alexandrina leads a field of 17 fillies and mares in the June 23 1 1/4-mile Gran Premio Pamplona (G1) at Hipódromo de Monterrico in Peru.View the full article

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will host the next virtual webinar in its Town Hall series July 8 at 2:00 p.m. ET to discuss the updated Racetrack Safety Rules recently approved by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which will take effect that day, the organization said in a release late Thursday. The one-hour, live webinar will include an overview of some of the major rule changes, along with a Q&A session, and will be open to racing participants and the general public. HISA will also be hosting veterinary and trainer specific webinars June 27 and July 1, respectively. A webinar tailored to stewards was already presented June 17. “We look forward to having an insightful session on the updates to the Racetrack Safety Rules,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “Protecting the health and wellbeing of every horse and jockey is paramount to our mission at HISA, and these updates continue our collective journey towards a safer sport. We thank the many stakeholders whose constructive feedback helped us develop these rule modifications and greatly appreciate the industry's continued support and collaboration.” In addition to Lazarus, speakers include: Jennifer Durenberger, HISA Director of Equine Safety & Welfare Marc A. Guilfoil, HISA Director of Stewarding & State Racing Commission Relations Ann McGovern, HISA Director of Racetrack Safety As previously announced, the changes include: Updated void claim rule A second waiver claiming option Changes to certain intra-articular injection standdown times Updates to prohibited practices Updates to qualifications for placement on and removal from the vets' list Enhanced safety protocols required at race meets The recently approved updates to the Racetrack Safety Rules are available in full here. Click here to register. For those unable to attend the live session, a recording of the town hall will be available on www.hisaus.org shortly after the event's conclusion. The post HISA To Host Town Hall Covering Racetrack Safety Rule Updates July 8 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

One Thousand Guineas (G1) Elmalka needs to defeat Opera Singer, Ramatuelle, and Porta Fortuna in the June 21 Coronation Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot in order to top a salty division of sophomore fillies.View the full article

An hour after leaving the operating room following kidney transplant surgery, Ken Ramsey's attention turned to the June 20 program at Gulfstream Park, where Clearly Copper raced under his familiar white and red colors in race 6.View the full article

An hour after leaving the operating room following kidney transplant surgery, Ken Ramsey's attention turned to Thursday's program at Gulfstream Park, where Clearly Copper (Copper Bullet) raced and won under his familiar white and red colors in the sixth race on the card, the racetrack said in a release Thursday afternoon. “My mother's up there with him. She texted that he was asking if the horse had run yet,” said grandson Nolan Ramsey in the Gulfstream Park winner's circle after saddling Clearly Copper for a 4 1/2-length maiden-breaking triumph. “An hour out of surgery, and he's already asking about the horses, so you know he's feeling good. To be able to win a race for him today is special.” Ramsey said his 88-year-old grandfather's surgery went smoothly at New York Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. “He was pretty excited to be the oldest kidney transplant ever done,” Ramsey said. Ken Ramsey, who won the owner's title at the 2023-2024 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park, took home the Eclipse Award as outstanding owner with his late wife Sarah four times. The post Shortly After Transplant, Ramsey’s Attention Turned To Gulfstream Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Hudson River Farms' 7-year-old gelding wins his first grade 1 stakes in the Beverly R. Steinman Hurdle Handicap (NSA-1) during the Belmont at the Big A meet at Aqueduct Racetrack.View the full article

Needless to say, all four tried to reject their billing. Between them, after all, they have spent the better part of three centuries dealing with that vehicle of humility, the Thoroughbred. To everyone else present, however, the opportunity to tap into the experience of four such sages as Bill Landes, Frank Penn, Tom Thornbury and John Williams fully justified the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club in promoting their latest meeting in Lexington as “An Evening with Legends.” Each, moreover, could be consoled that one of the first tasks addressed–an acknowledgement of their mentors–confirmed them to be merely conduits for a collective lore forged long before they came on the scene. For these veterans are a living link not just to the masters who taught them, but to forgotten predecessors who tutored generations past. True, perhaps the most profound lesson of all did not actually relate to horses. “My parents didn't have much in the way of soft living,” Williams noted early in proceedings. “My dad was a second-generation Italian barber trying to make a few bucks until Daily Double time. My mother was a second-generation Irish seamstress. So we didn't have a lot. But they taught me the importance of ethical behavior: you only have one chance to mess up. Once you break from that, it will follow you the rest of your days.” One or two of his earliest racetrack bosses evidently set a rather contrasting example. But from an adjacent barn Wilmont D. Haun saw how a young man from Ellicott City, Maryland, was redressing his employer's deficiencies, rubbing four and walking three. “You need to come and work for me,” Haun said. “I can't leave these horses,” replied Williams. “All they've got is me.” And, really, we could have stopped the evening right there. There's not a great deal else anyone needs to know. Bill Landes (far left) and John Williams (second from right) | KTOA When Williams eventually called, Haun told him to report at 4.45 next morning. “From that moment on, I started to learn horsemanship,” Williams recalled. “He would say to me, 'You cannot do enough for a horse. Ever.' He was so demanding. But those lessons stayed with me to this day. And some people that have worked for me, over these many years, might say that I wasn't the easiest guy–because there was a little bit of Bill Haun in me!” But if our legend quartet uniformly stressed integrity and industry, there was nothing standard about their own paths. Landes, indeed, presented himself as having “made a living in the horse business without getting manure stains on my breeches.” Though reverent of his peers on the panel, he assured younger listeners that there was more than one way to make a career with horses. This “failed lawyer” has of course become one of the exemplary figures of our community, still giving generously of his time and expertise to its overall prosperity as well as to that of Hermitage, where he has worked these past 47 years. “I lost a jury trial in Henry County. It was a layup and I should have won,” Landes said. “That night I was on the front porch looking up at the stars and saying, 'This is not for me.' I was young and dumb and I walked into Warner Jones's office, I was a boarder at Hermitage Farm, and I said, 'Mr. Jones, I'm going to be with you for one year. Then I'll go back and practice law.'” An hour with Landes would suffice for anyone to do as Jones did after the year, and ask him to stay indefinitely. No prizes for guessing his first mentor, then, albeit Landes was required to paraphrase one or two Jones axioms that will stay with the audience just as long. Penn, similarly, has given much to community service–his commitment being rooted in an uncommon breadth of experience. Certainly he made sure that he would graduate from Georgetown College when the alternative was Vietnam, and has gratefully served his alma mater in various roles since. He even had a stint as a deputy sheriff, and found himself as spokesman for tobacco when it suddenly became a dirty word. “Tobacco supported our horse habit for a long time,” he said of his upbringing. “We had tobacco, we had horses, we had cattle. I learned three things. One: don't be afraid to fail. Two: you don't know you can't do something till you try. Three: love the animals. I never got to love a cow or a steer! But I sure love a horse and always have.” He remembered the Penn Brothers consignment processing 72 yearlings in a single afternoon at Keeneland. “Every third horse into the ring was ours,” he said. “I'll tell you what, I learned a lot about how not to do things.” He started his own program the following year with neighborly advice from Lee Eaton, a name that recurred all evening, though ultimately Penn's best call was not just to process horses for sale but to board them for people–above all the Whitham family–who could afford to raise and retain higher quality. That enabled Penn to bring up horses the way he felt right. “Lee told me all the time that it was because of the Elkhorn Creek,” Penn said. “I thought he was full of it, but I'm telling you, I absolutely believe it.” Above all his other services, Penn's 17 years on the Land Commission preserved Fayette County from disintegration into “piano-key” development, while 34,000 acres have been secured through the Purchase Development Right program. That work was here recognized with a standing ovation. His summary was succinct: “I don't care whether it's your land, or your neighbor's land: it's a finite resource and you better take care of it.” Penn also cherished an unusual relationship with John Gaines, who would come to him for lessons in Kentucky agriculture but in turn “taught me to be a lifetime learner.” But for a pithy takeaway, none beats Bob Courtney when the 16-year-old Penn confessed to spending a couple of grand more than intended on his first mare. “Always remember,” Courtney said, “the higher the monkey climbs, the more its butt is exposed.” Thornbury also shared an axiom from the same source. “Hard times,” Courtney would say, “will make a monkey eat red peppers.” Though probably more obviously born to the business than the other three, Thornbury was also the one who would end up diversifying into 20 years with Keeneland. Having managed the Georgia farm of none other than Horatio Luro, his father moved the family to Kentucky for what became a 52-year partnership with Dr. Robert Copelan. Its principal business, between Copelan's pioneering surgery and his father's breaking and training, was racehorse rehab. “We had all Bunker Hunt's horses for two or three years,” he recalled. “We broke Dahlia, for goodness' sake. But when Bunker decided to go to Texas with all his yearlings, we had to start over with an empty 40-stall training barn.” Ted Bassett | Equisport Thornbury was another to invoke the inevitable Lee Eaton, having worked for him before joining Brereton C. Jones. “I went to Airdrie in 1977,” he recalled. “We had four stallions and about 400 acres fenced for horses. And when I left about 10 years later, we had 27 stallions and 3,200 acres. It was like tying your wagon to a shooting star. Brery was the greatest salesman and motivator that I ever met.” But it was his Keeneland career that causes Thornbury to “bleed green,” above all through the inspiration of Ted Bassett, who could make anyone instinctively stand up straighter. “He was always slapping you on the back, grabbing your arm, shaking you,” Thornbury said. “He pushed me to promote Keeneland in South America, South Africa, Canada. What a joy, to work with all these people. My job was real easy. All I had to do was make everybody happy! Seller and consignor and buyer. Nothing to it.” That remark prompted due laughter, never in short supply through a memorable evening. Williams, for instance, remembered going to his employers at Spendthrift about rotten planks in a yearling barn. “That Fleet Nasrullah colt kicked right through the wall.” “Majestic Prince was in that stall,” retorted Brownell Combs. “If it was good enough for him, it's good enough for that colt.” Williams was quite clear that Brownell had no idea where Majestic Prince might have been stabled. Once Brownell left the room, to prepare for a trip to Florida, his wife Linda said: “As soon as you see those tail-lights go between those eagles, you do whatever you need to do.” As for the great horses encountered by these great horsemen, Williams considered one stallion at Spendthrift such a paragon that even his license plate salutes Nashua. Nashua with Eddie Arcaro, 1955 | Horsephotos “The greatest horse I ever touched,” Williams said. “Nashua made 30 starts and won 22. He earned $1,288,000 in 1955 and '56. The biggest pot he ever ran for was $100,000. And I could not find a flaw. Physically, he was just a phenotype.” Landes reminded us of the other part of the equation: the broodmare. “The horse that had most influence on me, that I respect most, was a little pony mare by the name of My Charmer,” he said. “She was owned by Ben Castleman who had a small farm out on Newtown Pike, and in 1976 she happened to have a 2-year-old running a hole in the wind by the name of Seattle Slew.” Phil and Norman Owens came to see Jones: they could get My Charmer, in foal to Best Turn, for $200,000. Jones jumped out of his chair. “He wants how much!? Two hundred! You kidding me!?” “So he danced around, the price was firm, and then Norm and Phil pulled the ace card,” Landes recalled. “If he didn't come up with that $200,000, they didn't know how, but Norm and Phil were going to get it. Well, being the competitor that Mr. Jones always was–football player, polo player, a competitor in life–he called up Mr. Farish, and Mr. Farish brought Bill Kilroy, and they put My Charmer into the Hermitage Farm broodmare band.” In 1980 she had a little Northern Dancer colt. One November afternoon a helicopter landed at Hermitage and out stepped Vincent O'Brien, John Magnier, Robert Sangster and their team. They picked My Charmer's son out of the field and did a deal with Jones for $500,000. As Lomond, he won the 2,000 Guineas. Four years later, My Charmer delivered a Nijinsky colt. Landes remembers Tom Shartle going out at 3 a.m. to bring him in during a thunderstorm: the only time in all their years together he ever did that for a foal. The following July, they were wrapping up at the sale, at 4 p.m., when told to stand by for a special visitor. “And I can assure you that Vincent O'Brien made that horse stand–occasionally walk, but mainly stand–for 45 minutes,” Landes said. “He was assessing that horse's temperament. And of course the rest is history.” Frank Penn | Keeneland Next day that colt became the $13.1 million record-breaker, Seattle Dancer. Thornbury and Penn shared an awe for Forego. “He was a big, handsome dude,” Thornbury said. “Seventy-one inches from his withers to the point of his shoulders. And 17.1 or 17.2. Just huge. And he had ankle trouble. That's why they gelded him, they wanted to keep him light. On September 28, 1974, he won the GI Woodward at a mile and a half. On October 19, he drops back to win the GII Vosburgh over seven. On November 9, he wins the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, then run at two miles.” And the greatest changes these guys have witnessed? To Penn, as important as anything has been the involvement of the University of Kentucky in equine research. “It was caterpillars made farmers out of horsemen,” he said. “Before caterpillars came along, you couldn't get a horseman to admit they were a farmer. The caterpillars really shook us all up: foals slipping, mares slipping, it was terrible. And the university entomologists figured out what it was.” Williams lamented the decline of the breed-to-race programs, plus the incestuous nature of modern pedigrees. He is also dismayed by physical dilution of the breed: cannon-bone, knee, foot. But he stressed positive changes, too, above all in veterinary medicine and female employment. When he came to Spendthrift, there were nine women on the payroll: “all in the office, wearing dresses.” But he concurred that veterinary improvements have been transformative. He remembers when Walter Zent had the first ultrasound, and would take a weekly “puddle-jumper” to Chesapeake City to check on Northern Dancer's mates. Or when Gary Lavin had to perform arthroscopic surgery with the equivalent of “hammer and chisel.” Having himself done much for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, he could not deny that “we now have, not even arguably anymore, the best racing in America.” In 2019, Ellis Park had $1 million in KTDF funds. This year, they will supplement their purses with $6 million. Kentucky Downs, in the same period, have moved up from $5 million to $16 million. Thornbury highlighted another side of the coin, with racetracks nationally under pressure. The loss of Golden Gate has reduced the total to 79, compared with 106 in 1976, with Hialeah, Hollywood Park and Arlington meanwhile consigned to history. More optimistically, he celebrated the rise of syndicates, new horizons through air transport, and above all the impact of Hispanic labor. “As much opposition as there is to immigration these days, these people are steeped in Catholic family values, and they're hard workers,” he said. “A lot of them are living on nothing, sending money home to take care of their families. I don't know what we'd do without them.” Tom Thornbury (center) | Keeneland So much for the past. What counsel could our sages offer looking forwards? “Be aware politically,” Landes urged. “Become involved. You say, 'Oh, my legislator doesn't know me.' Believe me, I've learned the hard way, through some of our issues at the KTOB and KTA: yes, they do. Reach out and you'd be shocked how many email you back. You just have to let them know the issue that affects you, and what you want help for.” But, yes, more broadly it was just as Williams had suggested at the outset. “Your reputation is your brand,” Penn said. “The toughest thing you'll ever have to do is reconstruct a tarnished brand. And with social media today, it can take a lifetime to build a brand, 15 minutes to blow it.” Williams himself made another valuable recommendation. How many today cut their teeth the way he did at Pimlico and Bowie? “Those of you that like being near the horse: you like what a horse smells like, like seeing that foal run around his mother,” he said. “I encourage you to spend some time working for a talented, ethical trainer on a racetrack. You will learn what this animal is, what we're trying to raise, what the final end is.” But finally, above all for the younger audience, he condensed the message repeatedly endorsed since his first remarks: the value of trust and probity. “You must have an uncompromising commitment to ethical behavior in every aspect of your life,” he declared. “It will serve you well. You'll never have to look over your shoulder. Always do right. It'll please some–and surprise others!” The post Lessons From The Legends appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Remington Park Thoroughbred stakes schedule for the upcoming season that begins Aug. 16 will feature the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (G3) Sept. 29. The schedule of races carries more than $3 million in stakes purse money.View the full article

Even as summer's official start is heralded by a major heatwave passing through the Mid-Atlantic region, the season is only just catching up with trainer Graham Motion.View the full article

It had been a bit of a tough run for Skyfall Thoroughbreds' Geoffrey Von Honste, truth be told, and he was thinking that it was time to call it quits. Covid had been hard on business, there were a couple of bad breaks with the horses, and things just didn't seem to be working out for him in the Thoroughbred game. But they say that life is what happens when you're making other plans, and on Thursday, the thing that happened was that he became a Royal Ascot-winning breeder when Shareholder (Not This Time) won the G2 Norfolk Stakes by a length. That result came just 20 days after another success, when First World War won his second graded stakes in a three-month period in the Grade III Penn Mile. Suddenly, Von Honste has some decisions to make. “We were planning to step out of it, to be honest,” he said. “Then First World War became a graded stakes winner, and then this horse wins at Royal Ascot.” A native of Belgium, Von Honste lives in South Africa, where he owns a cattle farm and plans to launch a medical cannabis business. He has raced horses in England and America, and, he said, “I have always been a big fan of dirt racing, much more so than racing in the U.K.” Von Honste owns Shareholder's dam, an Invincible Spirit (Ire) mare named Cloudy Dancer (GB), and while she was unraced, he liked her pedigree and didn't want to sell her. He sent her to Brendan and Olive Gallagher's Frankfort Park Farm in Lexington, where he bred her to Street Sense. She produced a colt, Who Said Go, who was fourth in his only start at Kempton as a two-year-old. Her next–and to date her only other foal-is Shareholder. Cloudy Dancer was not covered in 2023, and aborted a Street Sense foal this spring. Von Honste chose Not This Time for her mating, “because I think the Giant's Causeway line works well on the Green Desert line,” he said. “It was going to be really good mating.” Gallagher, who raised and sold the colt, said he loved Shareholder from the time he was a young horse, and entered him in the Keeneland September Sale with reasonably good expectations. “He was always a beautiful horse and he had some veterinary issues as a yearling, but they obviously haven't stopped him,” he said. “But it's typical. It's all about the veterinary these days. We always loved the yearling.” He brought $62,000. “I was very disappointed as to what he made as a yearling,” said Gallagher. “There was so much interest in the horse from the agents and all the buyers, but we sold him for what we sold him for. Jim McCartan and Willie Brown were the two people there that bought him on the day and they were the two people that were willing to take the chance on the horse.” McCartan brought Shareholder to the 2024 Arqana Breeze-Up sale, where he had high expectations for him. “He's one of those natural talents,” he told the TDN's Brian Sheerin before the sale. “Not This Time is top of the pops-he's a sire on the up. I actually rang a couple of pals of mine in America and they told me that Not This Time is the horse who really is on the way up. The stock from his better mares are coming through now and his stud fee has gone up to $150,000. He's getting into that bracket of Into Mischief, Curlin, and those sorts of horses.” Shareholder sold for €460,000. Like Gallagher, Von Honste said he was also disappointed in the September sale price. “I was not happy with the price,” he said. “It was a great breeding. The dam has a very deep pedigree, and but I was disappointed in the selling price. Not This Time had gone from $40,000 to $135,000, and the people who bought Shareholder had better luck with him, but that's the way it goes.” Earlier this year, when Cloudy Dancer aborted her Street Sense foal, Von Honste considered bringing her to South Africa and getting out of racing altogether. Now, he has had several calls from buyers interested in buying Cloudy Dancer from him. Will he go through with it? “I honestly don't know,” he admitted. “I was planning to step out of the Thoroughbred business. After Covid, we had a few financial setbacks. It's very expensive, so we decided we're going to stop, we're going to quit. Then we had another Group win with First World War and then we just had this horse winning a group race as well. Now we have to rethink it.” The post Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Shareholder’s Royal Ascot Win Raises Questions For Breeder appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

4th-CD, $120,000, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, post time: 2:13 p.m. ET YOU'LL BE BACK (Practical Joke), the second priciest filly by the sire in 2023, is unveiled for Gregory Tramontin by trainer Tom Amoss. A daughter of Advance Party (Empire Maker), the $575,000 KEESEP purchase is a granddaughter of the prolific Helen Alexander – Helen Groves's Aurora, a daughter of the stalwart champion juvenile filly Althea. A full-sister to Japanese champion 2yo filly Yamanin Paradise, Advance Party is a half-sister to UAE Horse of the Year Festival of Light (A.P. Indy), in addition to Grade I winners Acoma (Empire Maker) and Arch (Kris S.). This also represents the family of dual champion Covfefe (Into Mischief). Also marking her debut, Hereforagoodtime (Justify) gets her start for Boardshorts Stables, who purchased the daughter of First Hour (Speightstown) for $400,000 at Keeneland last September. The WinStar Farm-bred filly is trained by Brendan Walsh. Stonestreet Stables homebred Eclatant (Into Mischief) is rolled out by the Brad Cox team. The full-sister to GSW and GISP Mutasaabeq will be accompanied by Florent Geroux. Appearing on the also eligible list, Live Oak Plantation's and One More Time (Omaha Beach) kicks off for trainer Mark Casse. Bred by William Harrigan and Mike Pietrangelo, the Indian Creek consigned filly realized a $750,000 final bid at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga sale last summer. The price represented the top price for a filly by the sire last season, while also weighing in as the second-highest price overall by the Spendthrift stallion in 2023. Fresh off a four-furlong move in :46 3/5 at Churchill June 14, the dark bay will be accompanied by Jose Ortiz. TJCIS PPS The post Friday’s Insights: Practical Joke’s You’ll Be Back Heads Salty Churchill Test appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin When you have trained the army of open class trotting stars that Paul Nairn has you don’t get carried away. So the fact Nairn thinks Tectonic can win his way to the big time makes him stand out in The Crossing Line Handicap Trot at Addington on a cold winter’s night. Nairn is widely regarded as the master of New Zealand trotting training even though he rarely has big numbers in work. It is a title that means something considering the trotting deeds over the last 20 years of, to name a few: The All Stars, Phil Williamson, Tim Butt, Team Dunn, John Dickie, Greg and Nina Hope and the Wallis/Hackett team. That is a lot of very, very good trainers of trotters but Nairn commands an almost mystical respect, as somebody who does things differently. He is not predicting that Tectonic, who chases his fourth straight win at Addington tonight, is going to be like former Nairn superstars Call Me Now or Stig, but he knows he has a trotter better than winter class. Tectonic was one of our better three-year-olds last season but was sidelined for almost a year with a tendon issue that required an operation where the sheath around the tendon is cut to enable it to heal better. It obviously worked as Tectonic has looked right back to his best in his recent wins and still on the improve. “He is a nice horse so it is good to see him back racing so well,” says Nairn. “Obviously the best trotters aren’t racing this time of the year but he can work his way toward open class. “Most horses need to improve once they get there to be competitive but he has good manners and ability.” Tectonic is also only a four-year-old so potentially has a lot of racing ahead of him and could others coming through like Bet N Win and Sunny’s Sister who will be welcome additions to our flagging open class ranks when they get there. He faces an interesting challenge tonight off a 10m handicap over 2000m, which can leave horses vulnerable to the front markers stepping and running hard, but with only five rivals and two of those also on the 10m mark he should be able to keep winning with average luck. Another who can win again for Nairn is Forgiveness (R2, No.2) who bolted away with her maiden race last week and looks to be strengthening up. She does go up in grade tonight in the Continental Event Hire Trot and comes up against some handy enough horses to make this an in stern test. Nairn has another last-start winner in Luvavici (R9) in the The Peninsular Beachfront Resort Mooloolaba Trot. It’s a good form race and he gives the popular trainer a shot at a treble with what would make up about half of his winter racing team. View the full article

2nd-Belmont The Big A, $75,000, (S), Msw, 6-20, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:05.05, ft, 10 lengths. MO PLEX (c, 2, Complexity–Mo Joy, by Uncle Mo), sent off at even money from his high draw, was hustled into contention as Man From Malta (Honest Mischief) cut out an opening quarter in :22.16. Narrowly in front approaching the quarter pole, the favorite was given his cue by Irad Ortiz Jr. straightening for home, and the New York bred shot clear late, scoring by 10 lengths over fellow firster Chasing Colton (Leofric). With the victory, Mo Plex becomes the fifth winner for Airdrie Stud's Freshman sire by Maclean's Music. Unraced dam Mo Joy is also responsible for a yearling colt by Maximus Mischief and a colt by Improbable foaled this season. Sales history: $27,000 RNA Ylg '23 SARAUG; $45,000 2yo '24 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $41,250. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-R and H Stable; B-Everythings Cricket Racing (NY); T-Jeremiah C. Englehart. The post Complexity’s Mo Plex Romps in Big A Unveiling appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

This fall, the lone name change on the upcoming Remington Park stakes schedule is the former Trapeze Stakes will now be called the Toby Keith Stakes, in honor of the late Oklahoma country singer/songwriter and horseman, the track said in a Thursday release. Keith, a horse owner and breeder who raced primarily under his stable name of Dream Walkin Farms, earned more than $18 million on the racetrack, according to Equibase statistics. The star passed away in February at the age of 62 after a battle with stomach cancer. The newly-christened $75,000 stakes race for 2-year-olds will be run on Springboard Mile Night Dec. 13. The post Late Horseman And Country Music Star Toby Keith Has Stakes Race At Remington appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

When Aidan O'Brien resurrected City Of Troy (Justify) to win the Derby, he was rightly hailed as a genius. Sadly, it didn't take long for that piece of brilliance to be overshadowed by an expose-style documentary carried out by Ireland's national broadcaster [RTE] which concentrated on horses being sent to slaughter. Admittedly, the documentary featured mostly non-thoroughbreds but the build-up and reaction to the programme has dominated the mainstream coverage of this sport in recent times. Not O'Brien's moment of magic that arguably should have been celebrated more than it was. Then we had the regrettable situation where National Hunt trainer John 'Shark' Hanlon blew up on social media for transporting an uncovered dead horse in the back of a trailer in broad daylight for which he has since apologised for. Not a good look for the sport at all. They say you never really appreciate what you have until it's gone, and hopefully O'Brien will be operating at Ballydoyle for many, many more years to come. But one can't help but feel his latest piece of magic has provided Irish racing with a much-needed shot in the arm. Seeing O'Brien do O'Brien things with Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), City Of Troy and now the Gold Cup winner Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) serves to remind how Ireland punches above its weight as a nation time and time again. Thursday was a day to be proud of-not just as an Irish person but a lover of this sport-after what has been an unsavoury couple of weeks. Hopefully such exploits will get the coverage it so richly deserves. Moore Mows Down Dettori A Gold Cup day double aboard Kyprios and Port Fairy (Ire) (Australia {GB}) propelled Ryan Moore to being the most successful active rider at Royal Ascot. Moore only trails Lester Piggott [116 winners] in the all-time standings and, at the close of play on Thursday, had 83 wins at the royal meeting under his belt. Dettori, who is at Royal Ascot this year only as a spectator after calling time on his career in the saddle in Britain in order to continue in America, partnered 81 winners at the meeting. From Humble Beginnings When you delve into Port Fairy's pedigree, you might be surprised to learn that the daughter of Australia hails from the 35-rated Fabulae (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Yes, you read that correctly. 35! Fabulae amounted to pretty much nothing in six starts for Joseph O'Brien, with the best she managed being a ninth-placed effort at Dundalk. Connections rightly decided to draw stumps after that but Annemare and Aidan O'Brien's decision to hang onto the sister of two black-type performers proved a fruitful one. There can't be many horses out of mares rated lower than Fabulae that have made it through the gates at Ballydoyle. This one happens to be a Royal Ascot winner. Amazing. McCartan On The Money Again To be fair to Jim McCartan, he called it. It was McCartan, who operates under the banner of Gaybrook Lodge, who pinhooked Shareholder [a $62,000 yearling purchase] and, on the eve of selling Thursday's Norfolk Stakes winner Shareholder to Wathnan Racing at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale, heaped praise on the colt's sire. “Not This Time is top of the pops-he's a sire on the up,” McCartan told TDN Europe. “I actually rang a couple of pals of mine in America and they told me that Not This Time is the horse who really is on the way up. The stock from his better mares are coming through now and his stud fee has gone up to $150,000. He's getting into that bracket of Into Mischief, Curlin and those sorts of horses.” McCartan has had his share of good horses through his hands, with California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) being the most noteworthy. He doesn't go bandying around praise like it's confetti and his high opinion of Shareholder-who was knocked down to Wathnan Racing for €460,000 at Arqana-was vindicated in the ring and on the track. He's a horse with a big future. Washbourn Overcome With Emotion Clive Washbourn is infamous for how he celebrates his victories but the effervescent owner was even overcome by emotion even before the Gold Cup took place. Homebred Caius Chorister (Fr) (Golden Horn {GB}) could only manage sixth for Washbourn, who endeared himself to viewers by welling up and professing how much he loves the mare before the feature race. King's Gambit An Unlucky Loser Time might prove King's Gambit (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) to be the best horse to emerge from the Hampton Court. He endured a troubled passage when coming from the rear to finish a never-dangerous second to Jayarebe (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}) but he remains a colt of considerable promise. Bethell's Bargain Buys Given the scores of Royal Ascot-bound horses who were sold for a premium in the build-up to this week, it's worth highlighting what trainer Ed Bethell has achieved with relatively inexpensive types. It has been well documented that Bethell's Group 1-winning sprinter Regional (GB) (Territories {Ire}), who ran a stormer when second in Tuesday's King Charles III Stakes, was bought for a song at just 3,500gns. Britannia winner Mickley (Ire) (Soldier's Call {GB}) was similarly cheap at 20,000gns at Tattersalls Book 3 while Kensington Palace Stakes sixth Elim (Ire) (Make Believe {Ire}) is worth a lot more than the €22,000 she fetched at the Goffs Sportsman's Sale in 2021. All three of those Ascot runners were bought alongside Tom Biggs of Blandford Bloodstock. Impressive stuff. The post Talking Points: O’Brien Provides Irish Racing With Morale-Booster At Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

ASCOT, UK — It takes a good one to overcome adversity, and there can be no argument brooked when it comes to the talent of Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). It is writ large in form figures which predominantly feature the figure 1. But those bare statistics frame a year-long gap in which the horse was missing in action, with those around him fearing the worst as he battled to overcome an infection in a hind joint which nearly claimed his life. “I saw him all the way through it and I didn't think he wouldn't be here now,” said Fiona Craig, bloodstock adviser to Kyprios's breeder and co-owner Eva Maria Bucher-Haefner of Moyglare Stud. “That was down to Aidan [O'Brien] and the horse,” she added after collecting the Gold Cup from the King and Queen in company with the horse's co-owners in the Coolmore partnership. “The horse has a heart the size of a house and he battled to live. And Aidan never lost confidence. He said, 'Just give him time'.” There is a school of thought that a mare's early foals are often her better ones, but Kyprios is the tenth offspring of Moyglare's great matriarch Polished Gem (Ire) (Danehill), who earned her foal-share to Galileo by producing the likes of Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), a brilliant winner of the Prince of Wales's Stakes here nine years ago under the late Pat Smullen, and the Qipco British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes winner Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}). All told, Polished Gem's brood features eight black-type horses, including Kyprios's full-sister, the dual Irish St Leger winner Search For A Song (Ire). “It wasn't a genius [idea] to send the mare to Galileo all those years ago,” Craig said. “This is what's meant to happen, they are meant to end up doing this, but so many times they don't. Ever so rarely you get one who comes up with the goods.” On the track or off it, Kyprios has that quality that ranks highest of all: he's a battler. And it is easy to believe that his record, which reads 11 wins from 15 starts, still has chapters to be written. “He doesn't have that much mileage on the clock,” Craig added of the six-year-old. “He wasn't ridden until the beginning of July last year [after his injury] and then he ran [second] in the Irish St Leger, but he will always try. In October here last year the ground was horrible, and I think Trawlerman was just that bit fitter and he got the slip on him.” Places were reversed back at Ascot on proper summer ground, with the admirable Trawlerman (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), the winner of last year's Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, eventually having to bow down to Kyprios as he reclaimed the most important stayers' prize of them all. Craig added, “There are lots of other people involved – all the guys on the farms and all the guys at the yard – and they actually deserve the most congratulations, particularly with Kyprios. They got him back.” She also divulged that the Moyglare paddocks have recently welcomed the next generation of the family. “The best thing of all is that 'Search' had a Baaeed filly this year – her first foal and it's a filly, so now we have a filly to go on with. Sapphire's gone now and obviously Polished Gem has gone, and there are bits and pieces in there, but it was great for her to have a filly.” She continued, “[Search For A Song] was a bit of a head case. I saw Baaeed here at Ascot in the paddock and, while he was beautiful, and the most beautiful mover, he also seemed to have a very equable temperament, and I thought that whatever we started her with we had to send her something to mellow her.” She added, “A filly out of 'Search' is a big deal, and now we go on, and we can dream about them in the future.” This was another major win in what is transpiring to be a glorious week for the partners at Coolmore and Ballydoyle. A Gold Cup to add to Wednesday's Prince of Wales's Stakes victory from Auguste Rodin (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), which had followed the emergence of a potential St Leger contender in the Queen's Vase. Illinois (Ire) could just be the one to tip his illustrious late sire Galileo into a century of individual Group 1 winners later in the year. Meanwhile new benchmarks continue to be set by this formidable team. With Auguste Rodin, Aidan O'Brien notched his 400th Group or Grade 1 winners on the Flat. Kyprios began the next century. Ryan Moore started the week on 79 Royal Ascot winners. The gutsy victory of Port Fairy (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the Ribblesdale pushed him past the record of Frankie Dettori, and before long the counter clicked round to 83. Moore's story, too, is far from fully written, particularly when he can count on a horse with the heart of Kyprios. The post ‘He Battled to Live’: Craig Hails Gold Cup Hero Kyprios appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kyprios became the third horse to win nonconsecutive editions of the Gold Cup (G1) when a game winner over the front-running Trawlerman June 20 at the Royal Ascot meeting.View the full article

The star of his two-horse stable, a 5-year-old Pennsylvania-bred mare named Shoshanah, has been cross-entered in two upcoming turf sprints.View the full article

If Tuesday's St James's Palace Stakes was a blockbuster, Friday's G1 Coronation Stakes offers just as much intrigue with the 1,000 Guineas winner Elmalka (GB) (Kingman {GB}) joined by the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Rouhiya (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and one who just might have won either had the fates not intervened. Following her scintillating display in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc day, Ballydoyle's Opera Singer (Justify) looked the one to beat in the Newmarket Classic but a training setback meant that she missed the date and by all accounts was not ready to shine when third in the Curragh version. Aidan O'Brien is looking forward to making up for lost time with Opera Singer. “She was only in work four weeks before the Curragh and really if she had finished mid-div we would have been happy,” he said. “We knew if we were thinking of coming to Ascot she would have to have a run and I was surprised with how well she ran really. She could do anything and she could get much further than a mile. Ryan will probably be a little bit more confident in her fitness this time and she is a big, straightforward filly.” More to Come from the Guineas Winners While Opera Singer is fully expected to come forward significantly from her comeback effort, Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's Guineas heroine Elmalka is also open to improvement as a lightly-raced daughter of Nahrain (GB) (Selkirk) who herself needed more time to get to this level. She did a lot wrong at Newmarket and still managed to surge by Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) and Ramatuelle (Justify), both of whom had shown prowess in some of the big sprints of 2023. “We weren't tempted to go to Ireland, as she'd had two fairly quick runs and she's training lovely,” Roger Varian said. “She looks great and she seems to be getting stronger. She's not a flashy worker, but I don't mind that. She was a bit green at Newbury and arguably at Newmarket too, but she's looking a bit more complete now and there's no reason to think Ascot's round mile won't suit.” The Aga Khan's Rouhiya is in the same boat as Elmalka, in that she was an unexpected and unexposed winner of the one of the big three mile Classics and is big on tactical speed and determination which will take her far here. Ballydoyle's Content (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Scuderia Sagam's Folgaria (Ire) (Due Diligence) were behind her at ParisLongchamp, as was a certain Sparkling Plenty, so it would be churlish to write off the form as below the standard of the 1,000 Guineas just yet. Murphy's Musings Alongside Rouhiya, TDN Rising Star Ramatuelle is here to attempt to prize one of these for France and while she raced over sprint trips at two and seemed to run out of steam late in the Guineas, Oisin Murphy believes that there is hope she can turn things around. “The Coronation is a climbing mile the whole way, but there is a bend,” he said. “Alcohol Free was a very fast filly, like Ramatuelle, and she won the race on slow ground. It's very competitive, but Ramatuelle was very good at two and she's had a great preparation since the Guineas.” On To Inisherin Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's Inisherin (GB) (Shamardal) was an exciting colt even before he made the transition from promising type to gold-standard sprinter in Haydock's G2 Sandy Lane Stakes last month. Chanced in the 2,000 Guineas after a sensational effort on the clock in a Newcastle novice, he was one of those that forced a generous pace, was marginally in front two out at Newmarket and refused to cave in even when it was getting tough in the closing stages. Out three weeks later to turn the Sandy Lane into a procession, the grandson of the incredible Reem Three (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}) lines up for Friday's G1 Commonwealth Cup one of the most exciting 3-year-olds in his category since Caravaggio in 2017. Trainer Kevin Ryan has a rare commodity on his hands. “We were confident he'd run a big race in the Sandy Lane and he was very, very impressive. That was on soft ground and it will be different at Ascot by the looks of things, but he's a great-moving horse and I was more concerned about it being soft at Haydock. There's only one way to find out, but a lot of these good horses can handle both.” Doubts About The Elite Karl Burke has proven time and again–including this week-that he is capable to turning out big names season-by-season and in Elite Status (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) he had a prime candidate for this, but he revealed on Thursday that the Listed Carnarvon Stakes winner would probably miss the race having suffered a familiar setback. “Elite Status is an unlikely runner unfortunately,” he said. “I'm just waiting to see him when he gets off the lorry, he's on his way down now. He's just given that joint a little bang again. He keeps knocking it and we've got to get to the bottom of it. I'll have a look at it when he gets here this evening, but I'd say he's unlikely.” Another Coup For Cox? It always feels that a big sprint winner for the Clive Cox stable is never far away and it could easily come here with Al Mohamediya Racing's Jasour (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}). Impressive in the course-and-distance G3 Commonwealth Cup Trial Stakes in April, he has the faster surface on which he excelled at two when capturing the G2 July S. “We're very pleased with Jasour, he did really well in the Pavilion and then missed the Sandy Lane because of the very soft ground but we've been very happy with his training at home and we're looking forward to it,” his trainer said. “His form is pretty solid and he's proven on the track, which is nice, plus he'll be very much at home on the drying surface.” Calling on the Fairy Godmother Ballydoyle is flying this week, but their juveniles have not made the expected impact so far and the baton is passed to the G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes winner Fairy Godmother (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) on Friday. Having recorded notably impressive sectionals at Naas, she is likely to challenge for favouritism for the G3 Albany Stakes which is fast becoming a key early Guineas pointer and is as deep as ever. Her stablemate Heavens Gate (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) beat another from the yard in January (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) in convincing fashion at The Curragh last month and that runner-up has since boosted the form. Godolphin's TDN Rising Star Mountain Breeze (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), a half-sister to Pinatubo (Ire) who first sprung to prominence in the Chesham here, is put to the test by Charlie Appleby while Sheikh Hamed Dalmook Al Maktoum's Twafeeg (Ire) (Far Above {Ire}) joined the TDN Rising Star ranks with her dazzling debut at Doncaster at the start of the month. Charlie Appleby said of Mountain Breeze, “She's a half-sister to Pinatubo and was more impressive I felt on her second start when she stepped up to six furlongs and she goes there as a live player. It's billed to be a competitive race, as it always is, but she's a filly that we've been very pleased with since the spring and she's not disappointed us to date.” The Moore the Merrier Ryan Moore has got it spot-on each time Aidan O'Brien has run a few this week and with the trainer again exercising his usual numerical dominance in the G2 King Edward VII Stakes, it is TDN Rising Star Diego Velazquez (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) that gets the nod from the premier jockey. He sets the standard on his G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains fourth, but fellow TDN Rising Star Agenda (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was second to the stricken Hidden Law (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G3 Chester Vase and is a fresh horse with abundant promise. Even Wayne Lordan's pick Chief Little Rock (Ire) looks very smart, having given a Galileo special from the front in The Curragh's G3 Gallinule Stakes. “Chief Little Rock was very good from the front over a mile and a quarter at the Curragh last time and he steps up in trip along with my mount Diego Velazquez, who was possibly a bit below-par in the French Derby last time after finishing an excellent fourth in their Guineas,” Moore said as he reflected on another tough choice. “Things didn't go his way there and hopefully he can show his true worth here. It's obviously a very open race and Agenda put up a big performance at Chester last time, so I wouldn't ignore his claims.” Outside of the Ballydoyle contingent, The Aga Khan's G3 Prix Noailles and G3 Prix Hocquart winner Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) is fascinating on fast ground for the first time. He won by 10 lengths on Chantilly's Polytrack in October and is probably one of those who is as versatile as he is obviously classy. Fellow French raider Mondo Man (GB) (Mondialiste {Ire}) was in front of Diego Velazquez when fifth in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and was by far the fastest of all runners over the last three furlongs, so he is no back-number here. Spencer Picks Mitbaahy Over Khaadem in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Saturday's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot will see a field of 14 sprinters line up in an open-looking renewal which includes last year's surprise winner Khaadem (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Jamie Spencer, who partnered that Charles Hills-trained 80-1 shot 12 months ago, will instead be on Fitri Hay's other runner Mitbaahy (Ire) (Profitable {Ire}) from the same stable following his success in The Curragh's G2 Greenlands Stakes last month. Peter Harris's G2 1895 Duke of York Stakes winner Mill Stream (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) represents the Jane Chapple-Hyam stable, while Marc Chan's 2022 G1 Prix de la Foret and G1 British Champions Sprint Stakes-winning TDN Rising Star Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is back at Ascot with Ralph Beckett handing Rossa Ryan the ride in the absence of Frankie Dettori. Wathnan Racing's acquisition Shartash (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) drops back from seven furlongs for the Archie Watson stable, while Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's filly Believing (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) is backed up by George Boughey having finished fourth in Tuesday's G1 King Charles III Stakes. In the G2 Hardwicke Stakes, Ballydoyle's St Leger hero Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) begins his 4-year-old campaign taking on Qatar Bloodstock and Ciaron Maher's Doncaster Classic also-ran and subsequent G3 Aston Park Stakes winner Middle Earth (GB) (Roaring Lion) from Clarehaven and The King and The Queen's William Haggas-trained Leger third Desert Hero (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Aidan O'Brien saddles another big gun in the 20-runner G3 Jersey Stakes in the G2 Coventry S.-winning TDN Rising Star River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who was third in the Irish 2,000 Guineas last time. He renews rivalry with that Curragh Classic's runner-up Haatem (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}), who is another of Wathnan Racing's recent purchases and who bids to add to Richard Hannon's big week. Others to note in the seven-furlong contest are Clipper Logistics' Karl Burke-trained TDN Rising Star Night Raider (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who is back in trip having failed to stay the mile of the 2,000 Guineas, and another TDN Rising Star who trailed in the Newmarket Classic in Juddmonte's Ralph Beckett-trained Task Force (GB) (Frankel {GB}). The Listed Chesham Stakes sees the Rosegreen stable represented by this month's Leopardstown maiden-winning TDN Rising Star Bedtime Story (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). She encounters 17 juveniles, including Godolphin's impressive Yarmouth novice scorer Age Of Gold (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) from the Charlie Appleby stable. The post ‘She Could Do Anything’: O’Brien Eager For Opera Singer’s Coronation Ceremony appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article