Wandering Eyes

Northern targets await promising juvenile I Am Belle (NZ) (I Am Invincible) following her debut victory in the Elmwood Trading Co. Two-Year-Old Premier (1000m) at Riccarton on Wednesday. The daughter of I Am Invincible jumped away well under Central Districts hoop Bruno Queiroz and raced three-wide throughout. Race favourite Zaharias looked the obvious danger at the top of the straight, but I Am Belle showed her grit to get her nose in front at the 200m and maintained her advantage, running out a half neck victor. I Am Belle placed in both of her trials prior to her debut performance and trainer Andrew Carston was pleased with her natural progression. “I don’t like to rush them in trials, I like them to learn something, and I felt she had improved from her first trial to her second trial,” he said. “She has taken a little bit and she is a very unassuming filly, she just does what she has to do, but there is something about her I really like.” I Am Belle was purchased by Carston out of Woburn Farm’s New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft earlier this year for stable client Glenn Ritchie for $260,000. Ritchie’s familiar silks featured prominently in this year’s $1 million Karaka Millions 2YO (1200) when the Carston-trained Miss Ziggy placed behind La Dorada, and I Am Belle has put herself in good stead for qualifying for next year’s edition with Wednesday’s $37,375 winner’s cheque. Carston has a high opinion of I Am Belle and said a northern campaign is inevitable. “She has taken everything in her stride and I imagine she will continue to do so,” he said. “We might have to venture north at some stage, work our way up the Island and see where we end up.” Meanwhile, Carston was happy enough with stable and ownership-mate Miss Twinkle’s debut run for fifth in the same race, and he said she will take plenty of improvement from the run. “She is still learning,” Carston said. “She had a sticky gate and I asked Matt (Cameron, jockey) to get her organised across the junction and she just lost touch, but she is still a filly to follow.” View the full article

Manawatu dairy farmers Mark and Tania Stratford had a result to savour on the opening day of the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale when their homebred colt by Harry Angel out of Ocean Spray fetched $425,000 to the bid of Hong Kong trainer Mark Newnham and Sweetbriar Equine. The attractive bay was sold from the draft of Curraghmore and after breezing in an easy 10.75, drew plenty of interest. The Stratfords purchased Fastnet Rock mare Ocean Spray for just $4,250 and after seeking the advice of Regan Donnison, formerly of New Zealand Bloodstock and now General Manager of Matamata Racing Club. “I’m a bit emotional,” Mark Stratford said. “We milk 220 cows on 80 hectares near Palmerston North. Mark and Tania Stratford with Regan Donnison (right) Photo: Angelique Bridson “My grandfather always used to talk about Ian Bradbury and the Bradburys who used to train at Woodville. But we were brought up quite poor, so we never had the money to get involved in breeding thoroughbreds. “And we had ups and downs in our lives, so once we had some money, I thought, ‘you know, we can do it’ and I’ve been wanting to do it for years.” Stratford purchased the mare online and turned to Donnison for advice. “I pick out what I like and he will say OK or no. With her, he said to me, ‘you could be on to something here because she’d won twice in Sydney, so give her a go’. We got her cheap,” Stratford said. “Regan suggested Harry Angel.” The Stratfords also sought guidance from Curraghmore’s Gordon Cunningham who recommended the Ready To Run Sale for the November foal. “The thing I think about Gordon is, I just respect how honest he is and he works for you. He’s not in there for glory. He’s just in there to help you out,” Stratford said. “The colt had to mature because his birthday’s actually tomorrow and Gordon looked at him and said, ‘let’s Ready to Run him’. “I’m so proud that he’s going to Hong Kong to a great trainer in Mark Newnham and we’ll watch him with a lot of eagerness.” View the full article

Marketplace has gained the early advantage over Got The Chocolates in Friday’s $500,000 slot race at Addington Raceway. The two star three-year-olds have forged quite the rivalry of late and the next installment will come in Race 11, the Hill, Lee and Scott THE VELOCITY on Show day (7.33pm). Got The Chocolates has got the better of recent clashes but on Friday Marketplace has drawn handier at 2, with the Robert and Jenna Dunn-trained star at 6. In the early markets Marketplace is a $1.85 favourite, with Got The Chocolates at $2.50. Captains Mistress, who has drawn the ace, is next at $11. In the trotting equivalent, the Majestic Horsefloats THE ASCENT highly-rated Australian Tracy The Jet has drawn 3 and will start an equal $3.20 favourite with Meant To Be (unruly). The day features four Group 1s. Among them is Race 10, the $100,000 Azap Electrical New Zealand Trotting Free For All which features Tuesday’s Dominion Trot winner Gus, fellow Australian Jilliby Ballerini, three time champion Oscar Bonavena and 2022 champion Muscle Mountain. It is timed to go at 7.04pm In the $200,000 Allied Security Pacing Free For All (8.07pm) there will be no IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup winner Kingman but superstar Aussie Leap To Fame will be looking to improve on his second placing in the Cup against the likes of Merlin, Republican Party and Akuta. “Larry” has drawn eight with Merlin on the second row, following out Franco Sinatra. The Group 1 $120,00 IRT Sires’ Stakes 2YO Trotting Championship (3.17pm), the Bob McArdle Sires’ Stakes Southern Mares Classic (6.08pm) and the $200,000 Group 1 Dunstan Sires’ Stakes 2YO Fillies Final are other features on what is a stellar 13-race card. To see Friday’s Addington fields click here View the full article

The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which continued straight on from the strength of the company's record-setting September Yearling Sale, concluded its eight-day run Tuesday with new highwater marks for average and median and the auction's highest gross since 2007. “This year marked a watershed moment for Keeneland Sales,” said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin. “From a record-shattering September Yearling Sale that topped $500 million in gross sales to the continued momentum into an outstanding November Breeding Stock Sale, the confidence in this marketplace has never been stronger. These successes speak to Keeneland's position as the world's marketplace, but more importantly, they highlight the strength of our customers. These are the achievements of the breeders, sellers and buyers who place their trust in Keeneland year after year.” Through nine sessions, 1,891 horses grossed $237,456,400. The cumulative average of $125,572 was up 37.25% from the 2024 November sale, which saw 2,050 horses sell for $187,557,400 and a then-record average of $91,491. The median of $60,000 rose 50.00% from the 2024 previous record figure of $40,000. The buy-back rate was 20.45%, on par with last year's figure of 20.67%. With the addition of 85 post-sale transactions, the November sale gross rose to $245,901,400 for an average of $124,444 and a median of $60,000. In 2024, an additional 109 post sales, brought the gross to $196,492,900 for an average of $91,011 and median of $40,000. The 2007 November Breeding Stock Sale grossed $340,877,220 over 15 sessions and included horses in training. “It's been remarkable,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “To be very frank, we were hoping this would be a good, solid sale. We felt the quality was here and we had a good group of horses that would fit a large group of people. We were very pleased with the number of buyers that showed up–especially the international contingent–and we saw a lot of people here that we haven't seen in a number of years. It was very encouraging to see people energized to come back. “But what was really encouraging was to see the domestic market so strong when it came to retaining a lot of these higher-end mares and retaining the gene pool,” Lacy added. “The weanling market was also exceptional, and I think that allowed breeders to feel motivated and positive as they plan to breed mares into the next season and into the near future.” A total of 18 horses sold for seven figures during the November sale. That is double the figure from 2024 and the most at the auction since 2017. Three topped $3 million, while eight sold for $2 million or more. Leading the way was recent GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner Lush Lips (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}), who sold for $3.7 million to Bill Shively's Dixiana Farm from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. Dixiana Farm, which purchased two mares at the auction, was part of a deep and competitive domestic buying bench. Cormac Breathnach and Tony Lacy | Keeneland “The domestic buyers were definitely very, very strong,” Lacy said. “The Japanese buyers are historically very strong, but even they were finding it very competitive and probably not getting as many as they might have expected. It was just really good to see established breeders that were looking to upgrade some of their mares and complement their portfolio with some new mares and some new bloodlines. And we had some new people coming into the game. It was very encouraging overall. It's a good sign for the next few years.” John Sikura, whose Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa consignment sold 72 horses for $13,943,000 (including post sales), was gratified by, not just the record-setting results of the November sale, but also the strength of the domestic buying bench. “There was an expectation that we'd have a strong Breeding Stock Sale based upon the success of the September Yearling Sale and the entire yearling market,” said Sikura. “But there is a difference between expectation and reality. The fact that it happened is a very positive sign because the cycle for breeders is a long one. It expresses market confidence that people were buying high-end mares and the clearance rate was high on quality. “It was also encouraging that in more cases than one, I saw an American breeder outbid their international counterpart,” Sikura continued. “That's good, because we've sort of been running second around all these big mares, and there were so many instances at this sale where the U.S. breeders were the winners. That's very healthy, because over time we can kind of denigrate the quality of what we have when we keep selling our best mares into private hands or abroad.” The weanling market was particularly strong, with a pair of foals bringing seven figures. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of Saudi businessman Amr Zedan, went to $2.2 million to acquire a son of Gun Runner from the Denali Stud consignment, while trainer Wesley Ward, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed new racing client–went to $1.25 million to acquire a filly by Curlin from the Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa consignment. Ward ultimately signed for 18 weanlings–including some with Louis Dubois and Charles Shanahan as agents–for $6,030,000. $2.2-Million Gun Runner weanling | Keeneland In all, 808 weanlings sold through the ring at the 2025 Keeneland November sale for a gross of $91,630,300. The average price of $110,564 rose 46.50% from 2024 and the median rose 66.67% to $70,000. Twenty-three weanlings sold for $400,000 or more during the auction, up from 11 a year ago. During the 2024 November sale, 801 weanlings sold through the ring for a gross of $60,454,700 for an average of $75,474 and a median of $42,000. The top-priced foal was a $900,000 son of Into Mischief. The strength of the November market had its origins in the record-setting Keeneland September Yearling Sale, which set highwater marks for gross, average, median, as well as total number of million-dollar sales. “The September market was remarkable with a jump of about 25% on last year, which was also a record,” Keeneland Senior Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “That has spurred reinvestment. Pinhookers have been aggressive in restocking for next year's yearling market, and breeders are seeing a lot of value in mares with attractive commercial covers. The September Sale drove a lot of the gains at the November sale, which is encouraging because it's how you want the industry to work: People continue the cycle and make money along the way. Thankfully, 2025 has been a good year in that regard.” Some buyers sought to get ahead of another potentially strong yearling market in 2026 by buying weanlings in November. Zedan, traditionally a high-end buyer at the yearling and 2-year-old sales, was making his first weanling purchase through Lanni when he acquired the $2.2-million top-priced foal. “That end-user market was very active searching for the quality stock because they know those horses were probably going to cost them potentially more in September or at least as much,” Lacy said. “So they were trying to safeguard their position and gaining the quality that was here.” The competitive bidding also had buyers looking outside of their traditional roles to find value in the market. “There were some weanling buyers here who talked about diversifying into the broodmare sector as well, just getting pushed back,” Breathnach said. “So you had some yearling purchasers and end-users looking to buying weanlings and you have some weanling pinhookers looking to try to pinhook in uteros. That's another factor of a vibrant market.” Taylor Made Tops Consignors List, Raging Torrent Syndicate is Leading Buyer Taylor Made Sales Agency repeated as the leading consignor at the 2025 Keeneland November sale, with 258 horses sold for a gross of $42,172,400. It was the 28th time since 1987 that the Taylor family's operation was the auction's leading seller. The Raging Torrent Syndicate, which opened the week at Fasig-Tipton with the $5-million purchase of Puca (Big Brown) and $1.5-million purchase of Violent Wave (Violence), was the leading buyer at the Keeneland November sale. The operation purchased five broodmares at Keeneland for a gross of $5,225,000. Leading the way was the $2-million purchase of Chatalas (Gun Runner). Paul Curran, representing the English-based Ace Stud, signed for the mares who are expected to support the operation's new stallions Raging Torrent and Carl Spackler. The two stallions will begin their stud careers next season at Lane's End. Judicial Ethics Tops November Finale The unraced 3-year-old broodmare prospect Judicial Ethics (Constitution) (hip 2852) brought the top price of the final day at the Keeneland November sale, selling for $180,000 to Sylvie Racing Ltd. The filly, a daughter of stakes winner Midnight Soiree (Include), was consigned by Lane's End, agent. During the eighth session of the November sale, 164 head sold for a gross of $2,290,000. The average was $13,963 and the median was $9,750. During the auction's ninth session, which immediately followed the eighth on Tuesday, 76 horses sold for $913,400 for an average of $12,018 and a median of $7,000. Horses of Racing Age Sale Wednesday The action will switch from bloodstock to racehorse offerings with the Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age Sale Wednesday. The one-session auction will offer roughly 130 ready-to-run horses and begins at noon. “We are very encouraged by the depth of quality within the sale,” said Breathnach. “There are a lot of very lightly raced horses. There are 30-odd black-type performers in the group. There are some fillies with pedigree. It's a nice group of horses.” Among the horses on offer Wednesday are 5-year-old multiple graded stakes winner Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo) (hip 4014), who is coming off a win in the GIII Forty Niner Stakes at Aqueduct Nov. 2; 4-year-old graded stakes winner World Record (Gun Runner) (hip 4184); and 3-year-old Divine Justice (Justify) (hip 4190), who broke his maiden at the Keeneland meeting Oct. 3. “We are definitely seeing the catalogue books fly off the shelf and credit applications are coming in,” Breathnach said. “The horses of racing age are here and we saw a lot of people, end-users, agents and trainers, that are actively shopping all day today, looking through the barns. So we are very encouraged and optimistic about tomorrow's sale as well.” The post ‘It’s Been Remarkable’: Keeneland November Sale Concludes with Record Average, Median appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A voided claim kept Pinfire under the care of trainer Michael Tomlinson, giving the trainer and his team time to turn the gelding's career around and bring him to the stage of the Claiming Crown at Churchill Downs Nov. 15.View the full article

5. DYNAMITE TONIGHT, DED, 11/7, 5 furlongs (VIDEO). Beyer Speed Figure-82 (g, 2, by Independence Hall–Shop for Gold, by Speightstown) O-Roger Smith and Keiber Rengifo. B-DocAtty Stables (La). T-Sam Breaux. J-Elio Barrera. Having brought $127,000 in June at OBS–a decent price for a Louisiana-bred–he debuted by demolishing state-bred maidens by 8 3/4 lengths in solid time. His pedigree traces to Jack Dreyfus' old Hobeau Farm breeding operation, and New Iberia-based veteran Breaux, 71, has won 2,063 races and more than five dozen stakes. 4. ROTHKO, CD, 11/8, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO). Beyer Speed Figure-86 (2nd) (c, 3, by Tapit–Covfefe, by Into Mischief) O/B-LNJ Foxwoods (Ky). T-Brad Cox. J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. Much was expected of the second foal from the Roth family's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Covfefe, and after a training setback he might be getting there. Away from racing for 15 1/2 months after a lackluster 2-year-old debut, he was a solid second here in a race that earned good speed-figure grades. 3. HOMETOWN BOUND, LRL, 11/8, 6 furlongs (VIDEO). Beyer Speed Figure-86 (c, 2, by Mitole–Youngest Daughter, by The Factor) O-Colts Neck Stables. B-G. Watts Humphrey, Jr., Vickie Oliver and G. Watts Humphrey III (Ky). T-Jorge Duarte. J-Victor Carrasco. In a maiden sprint that appeared modest on paper but became much tougher in action, first-timers Hometown Bound and runnerup Crossingthechannel left the field–including a 1-to-2 favorite–strung out 20 lengths behind them from first to fifth. Owners Richard and Stephen Santulli went to $350k to buy the winner at OBS March, but bettors underestimated him at 7-1 odds. 2. RIPPED, CD, 11/8, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO). Beyer Speed Figure-88 (1st) (c, 3, by City of Light–Fly Time, by Mr Speaker) O-BC Stables. B-Gage Hill Stable II, W.S. Farish and Ken Langone. T-Steve Asmussen. J-Keith Asmussen. Following the death of D. Wayne Lukas, BC Stables owners John Bellinger and Brian Coelho transferred this $650k yearling to Asmussen in July, and the 12-race maiden is showing signs of life with back-to-back improved efforts. First, he was a good fourth at Keeneland at 61-1 odds last month, and here he took a further step forward to score at 8-1. His dam is a half-sister to GI Preakness winner Rombauer. 1. BARB, CD, 11/5, 1 mile (VIDEO). Beyer Speed Figure-91 (g, 3, Candy Ride (Arg)–Classic Point, by Flatter) O-Flying P Stable. B-Marc Keller. T-Mike Maker. J-Jose Ortiz. In June, owner Jay Provenzano spent $100k to claim Ole Crazy Bone, who 10 weeks later won the $2.5 million GII Kentucky Turf Cup. A month before that claim, Provenzano took this gelding–out of a two-time graded winner–for $75k. He immediately reeled off Beyers of 86 and 87 in losing efforts, regressed in two subsequent outings, then rebounded in a big way last Wednesday (and went untaken) when dropped back into a $100k claiming spot. The post Five Fastest Maidens, Presented By Taylor Made: Nov. 3-10 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Maiden Watch: Week of Nov. 3-9View the full article

A colt foal by Walk In The Park brought a top price of €145,000 from Gerry Aherne during the second session of the Tattersalls Ireland November NH Sale on Tuesday. Consigned by Oliver Loughlin, lot 433 is out of the Stowaway mare Posh Trish, who won at listed level at Cheltenham and Newbury. Two other lots exceeded the six-figure mark–a Yellowford and Drumlin-consigned son of Crystal Ocean and Park The Jet (Walk In The Park) (lot 428) who caught the eyes of Charles Shanahan and Ian Ferguson for €135,000; and lot 318, another son of Walk In The Park who made €130,000 on the bid of Richard Frisby. The latter, part of the Ballyreddin Stud draft, is out of the listed hurdler En Vedette (Astarabad) and a half-brother to a pair of black-type horses. Overall, 191 lots sold from 242 offered (79%) for a gross of €4,903,950 (+60%). The average was €25,675 and the median was €18,500. The post Walk In The Park Colt Leads The Way At Fairyhouse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Zelzal, who will stand for an unchanged fee of €10,000, anchors Al Shaqab Racing's Haras de Bouquetot roster next year. Jour de Galop first reported the news. The 12-year-old son of Sea The Stars has sired 11 stakes winners to date and has a trio of Group/Grade 3 winners to his credit in Dolce Zel, Short Final and Ouraika. Wooded, who sired G1 Prix Jean Prat hero Woodshauna this season, will also stand for his 2025 price at €7,000. Priced at €5,000 in his first year at stud, Al Hakeem remains at that amount for 2026. Both Armor–three winners from his first 12 runners including G3 Prix des Chenes third Canalejas–and Lusail, who has his first foals this year, have received slight trims to €4,000 each. The post Zelzal Remains At €10k At Haras De Bouquetot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Racing returns to Fair Grounds Nov. 20, launching its 154th Thoroughbred racing season. The nation's second-oldest racetrack will unveil a series of venue improvements, including the completion of its paddock renovation. View the full article

Horses with past ties in the claiming ranks will have their annual day in the spotlight Nov. 15 when the 27th Claiming Crown returns to Churchill Downs. View the full article

Finger Lakes cancelled the entirety of its card due to adverse weather in the region on Tuesday. “Please be advised due to adverse weather conditions and out of an overabundance of caution, today's races have been cancelled. The entire card has been rescheduled to this Thursday, November 13th, with a 12:20p.m. first post,” read a Finger Lakes Gaming post on X Tuesday afternoon. The post Finger Lakes Cancels Due to Adverse Weather Tuesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sponsored by Pedigrees360. Sorry to do this yet again, but the very fact that the exercise can be repeated every November shows that we're not looking at anything freakish; in other words, that there are valid lessons to learn. Because with daughters of Old Fashioned, Mitole, Big Brown, Ten Sovereigns (Ire) and Outwork among the 10 most valuable mares changing hands at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland last week, why would anyone trying to seed a breeding program start by spending fortunes on fillies by glamor sires? For most of us, who can't play at the elite level, there's obvious comfort in the fact that market values play out so haphazardly. And, by the same token, those returning from Lexington with mares culled by other programs have just been offered plenty of encouragement from the racetrack. Because both the late developers who last weekend made significant ground towards the apex of the sophomore crop, Disco Time (Not This Time) and Fully Subscribed (Tiz the Law), in the process transformed the value of mares discarded at the 2022 Keeneland November Sale, when each was but a weanling. There's another, somewhat more tenuous link between the pair, in that Fully Subscribed won the GII Mother Goose Stakes–honoring one whose legacy has now been marginally increased by none other than Disco Time. True, she only surfaces as his 10th dam. Devoted as I am to depth of family, not even I could pretend that Mother Goose had contributed meaningfully to his talent! Mother Goose, one of the top juveniles of 1924, owes her principal legacy to her legendary granddaughter Almahmoud. The line to Disco Time instead comes through a daughter who left no such mark until the emergence, four generations on, of 1972 champion sprinter Chou Croute (Lt. Stevens). The line then lapsed again, so that Chou Croute remained the highlight on a sparse catalogue page for her Pennsylvania-bred great-great-granddaughter Disco Chick (Jump Start) at the 2018 Keeneland January Sale. Disco Chick's genetic functionality, however, was not in question: she had won 10 of 42 starts across five seasons, including four black-type sprints. That blend of speed and hardiness earned her a $180,000 transfer, through Nicoma Bloodstock, to no less a program than Juddmonte. She was evidently recruited to support its new stallion, Arrogate, by whom she produced consecutive foals: a son who ended up winning under a $5,000 tag, and an unraced daughter culled to KingFisher Farm for just $8,000 as a 2-year-old deep in the 2022 Keeneland November Sale. Disco Chick had herself been sold earlier in the same auction, for $35,000 to RPM Thoroughbreds, but Juddmonte elected not to offer her weanling colt by the emerging Not This Time. That has proved just as well, as we're of course talking about Disco Time, whose near 10-length romp in the Dwyer Stakes extends his unbeaten start to five. Disco Chick's purchasers did not at first gain due reward for their astute judgement, the Kantharos foal she was carrying at the sale having died. But they have since reiterated their shrewdness by sending her to the hot youngster Yaupon, who gave her a filly; and meanwhile by pushing the boat out for Justify. We must give a nod to Disco Time's late damsire, Jump Start having proved a consistently effective conduit for his excellent genes. He was out of a Storm Cat mare, so Juddmonte's choice of Storm Cat's grandson Not This Time for Disco Chick compounded his influence on the resulting foal. True to his sire and grandsire, both outstanding transatlantic influences, Not This Time is proving remarkably versatile. If anything, his astonishing recent spree on grass had almost threatened to become an embarrassment, given the commercial market's orientation. But Disco Time (107 Beyer) looks eligible to prove his best dirt performer since Epicenter, and to reiterate his sheer versatility. Even on grass, remember, Not This Time's spectrum ranges from Cogburn to Next. And Disco Time's performance was complemented by a runaway stakes winner on the main track at Laurel, in Balboa; while Jack's Time transferred his dominant form at Prairie Meadows to Churchill for a fourth consecutive dirt success. Admittedly Not This Time's third Grade I scorer of 2025, like his previous two, had come on grass at the Breeders' Cup the previous weekend. Turf Sprint winner Cy Fair was another to show how quickly you can hit a home run with the right mare at the breeding stock sales. His dam Remarqued (Arch) was moved on by his breeders, with the bonus of a Nyquist cover, for $225,000 to Hickory Grove Farm at Keeneland only in January. Last week, back in the same ring and again in foal to Nyquist, she was cashed out for $1.2 million. Fully Subscribed | Susie Raisher Another Piece Of Sweet Timing It still feels wrong to see a Mother Goose Stakes–once middle leg of the Triple Tiara, and won by the likes of Chris Evert and Ruffian–run in November. But it may have produced a winner equal to its heritage in Fully Subscribed, who gave the GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up a decisive beating. Her dam Sweetbaby (Candy Ride {Arg}) was offloaded for even less than Disco Chick at the same 2022 November Sale, for $25,000 to Rusty Roberts. She did not have anything like as good a racetrack record, albeit having won three modest races on turf/synthetics, but did offer a far superior pedigree. In fact Payson Stud had retained her at $650,000 as a yearling, being out of the its homebred turf star Rutherienne (Pulpit), whose eight graded stakes included the GI Del Mar Oaks. Rutherienne's record as a producer is not so impressive, and even this very timely update couldn't get her weanling daughter by Up to the Mark past $85,000 at Keeneland on Monday. (Incidentally, another daughter, the 13-year-old Simple Elegance (Street Cry {Ire}), sells with a Sea The Stars (Ire) cover at the upcoming Tattersalls December Sale.) Rutherienne had won both her juvenile starts when her dam Ruthian (Rahy) was sent back to Pulpit, producing GIII Violet Stakes winner Ruthenia; and the latter's two best foals, both stakes winners, were by Sweetbaby's sire Candy Ride (Arg). Evidently there was some interest in replicating the flavors behind his damsire Candy Stripes, who was by Blushing Groom (Fr) out of a Lyphard mare: Ruthian was by Blushing Groom's son Rahy, while the next dam Adoryphar was by Lyphard. It was Adoryphar's purchase as a yearling that brought this family into Virginia Kraft Payson's program, presumably with an eye on her third dam, the 1959 champion handicap mare Tempted. Adoryphar started her career in France before migrating to set a Saratoga track record over 1 mile 3/16ths on grass, but it was decided to give up on her great-granddaughter Sweetbaby just a few weeks before Payson's death in January 2023. Her first foal by Nyquist had made only $25,000 at the September Sale. Fully Subscribed herself followed her dam directly into the ring, but was retained at $65,000–only to be let go for $35,000 the following September. Pinhooked through Caliente Thoroughbreds, she began to revive her fortunes when her breeze at OBS the following April prompted Klaravich Stable to give $300,000. The way she is progressing now will delight those who picked up her dam so cheaply, though Jose d'Angelo was ahead of the curve when landing Sweetbaby's yearling daughter by Highly Motivated for $40,000 at Fasig-Tipton only last month. Sweetbaby has since produced a brother to Fully Subscribed, and been sent to the promising Maxfield. A regular tale of winners and losers, then, but there's no doubt into which category we can put the sire of Fully Subscribed. Tiz the Law had notched his fifth graded stakes winner only an hour previously, on the same Aqueduct card, when Tiz Dashing won the GIII Hill Prince Stakes. Too late for a fee increase! He remains at $30,000 next spring, even though his third crop of yearlings are averaging $134,321, up from $58,200 last year. Tiz the Law's ratios of graded stakes winners and performers (2.6/5.6 percent of named foals) hold up extremely well against the more expensive pair with whom he contested the freshman title last year: Vekoma stands on 3.0/4.4 percent; McKinzie, whose good ones have tended to be very good, on 1.5/2.9 percent. Vekoma | Autry Graham Not A Vintage Crop…Yet Vekoma won that three-way battle by bare cents, and Yaupon again looks like keeping the freshman title at Spendthrift. The same farm had dominated the 2023 race, with the top four, while Bolt d'Oro had edged out Good Magic and Justify in 2022. That year's freshmen accumulated 13 graded stakes winners from their first juveniles; while last year's managed a dozen. In between, the class of 2023 mustered just three–and the present mob are on course for another debacle, only Knicks Go and Rock Your World having so far eked out a graded stakes win. But it is every bit as hasty to judge new stallions too quickly as to give them so much opportunity in the first place. Plenty, after all, themselves thrived only round a second turn with maturity. Oh, well: he who lives by the sword, and all that. The reality, for most stallions, is that their first book will also be their biggest and best. Unfortunately that creates a self-fulfilling demand for unproven sires. On the other hand, it also creates wonderful opportunities for those willing to form their own conclusions, and perhaps even to take a little time doing so. The post Breeding Digest: Disco Confirms Timing Is Everything When Buying Mares appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Unbeaten listed winner Pintara (Pinatubo) (lot 1760A) and Group 1 producer Wouldntitbelovely (Kodiac) (lot 1760B) have been added as wildcards to the Tattersalls December Mares Sale which takes place from December 1-3. They will both sell during the Sceptre Sessions on December 1-2. A winner of the Montrose Fillies' Stakes at Newmarket, Pintara is out of a half-sister to G1 Prix du Moulin runner-up Akatea (Shamardal) and is a half-sister to G2 Italian Derby second Juan De Montalban (Lope De Vega). Wouldntitbelovely is the dam of G1 British Champions Sprint hero Powerful Glory (Cotai Glory) and is rated 120 by Timeform. She is in foal to Big Evs. This is the family of Group 1 scorer Maarek (Pivotal). Other wildcards added to the sale include Adrift (New Bay) (lot 1464A), a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Balantina (Ten Sovereigns); Threshold (Nathaniel) (lot 1464D), who won at Kempton last week and is from the family of G1 Nassau stakes heroine Lady Bowthorpe; listed winner and group-placed Traisha (Invincible Spirit) (lot 1464B) in foal to King Of Steel; and Komedy Kicks (Churchill) (lot 1464C), a half-sister to G2 Ribblesdale Stakes heroine Garden Of Eden (Saxon Warrior), who was third in the G1 Yorkshire Oaks. To view the full catalogue, please visit the Tattersalls website. The post Pintara And Wouldntitbelovely Added To Tattersalls December appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) registration fees will be going up as of Jan. 1, 2026. The increase is the first since 2022. Registrations for foals will go from $75 to $95; yearling rates from $100 to $140; racing-age rates from $350 to $700. Only Kentucky-sired and Kentucky-foaled horses that are registered with KTDF prior to the close of entries will receive KTDF purse supplements. The registration rates for stallions will stay at current levels, based on a $400-$850 sliding scale related to stud fee, with higher-priced stallions paying the most. Stallions must be registered annually by Mar. 1 for each breeding season. See the complete range here. Chauncey Morris, the executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders, told TDN that the money raised by the last two KTDF registration fee increases, which took effect in 2017 and 2022, was solely directed to fund two special projects, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Promotional Fund and the J. David Richardson Research Fund for Reproductive Disease. Other than those two special-project fee increases, Morris explained that the KTDF's operating budget has been funded by the same underlying fee structure for 21 years. “The two previous price increases were to promote the industry and to fund research for the breeding industry, two missions that have been accomplished. This one is for administrative terms,” Morris said. “The registration sum that we've been operating on, administratively, has been the same since 2004,” Morris said. “And we actually waited, [knowing that] the trajectory of KTDF was going to increase, and things were going to be very stable and on an upswing before we sought any administrative increase, and that's what this is. “Not only that, it's really important for end-users to realize that we, including the trainer colony here in Kentucky, really want to encourage total registration of the foal crop,” Morris said. “We're running high 80's [percent], which is fantastic. But we'd like to get [it up] a bit more, and the cheapest way to do that is [by incentivizing people to register] at the foal level, which we purposely kept under $100.” Morris said that Kentucky racing has grown since 2020 in field size, average purse, and increases in graded stakes thanks to the KTDF, which, along with funding from each track, goes to pay purses in the state. The KTDF supplements that bolster purses are funded by three-quarters of 1% of all wagers in the state on both live Thoroughbred races and historical horse race gaming, plus 1% of all money bet on Thoroughbred races via inter-track wagering and whole-card simulcasting. “You get a lot of bang for your buck here in Kentucky, and the KTDF has been a fantastic program that has grown since 1978, along with every iteration of pari-mutuel wagering here in Kentucky that's legal,” Morris said. “And we see what it's done for the year-round racing circuit here. It's helped create, arguably, the best racing circuit in the country.” The post KTDF Registration Fees To Go Up In ’26, First Increase In Four Years appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Irish National Stud has announced the Thoroughbred Breeding Management Class of 2026, comprising a diverse cohort of 26 students representing countries including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, India, France, UK and Ireland. The six-month programme provides students with knowledge and skills in all aspects of Thoroughbred breeding and management, covering key areas such as equine breeding, mare and stallion management, foaling procedures, pedigree analysis and equine welfare. “We are once again delighted by the outstanding quality of applicants this year and the Class of 2026 truly stands out,” said Anne Channon, education manager at the Irish National Stud. “With the bloodstock industry constantly advancing, preparing future leaders with the expertise and insight to shape its future is more important than ever. We are excited to welcome the new class to the INS in January.” Class of 2026 Martin Bozo (France) Niamh Carr (Ireland) Dylan Cassidy (Ireland) Libby Coster (New Zealand) Maxime De Chambord (France) Catherine Donworth (Ireland) Jackson Gwynne (Australia) Hannah Kelley (Australia) Caithlin Kenneally (Ireland) Senan MacRedmond (Ireland) Millie Malbon (UK) Chance McKeever (USA) Abhinav Mitra (India) Joe Moore (New Zealand) Ninga Ntshangase (South Africa) Xavier Pegum (Australia) Mackenzie Porter (Australia) Bobby Ring (Ireland) Tom Rokuronda (Japan) Joey Ryan (Ireland) Mark Schrenger (USA) Jack Sherwin (UK) Zania Slabber (New Zealand) Ophelie Stroumza (France) Harvey Williams (UK) Katie Williams (Northern Ireland) The post Irish National Stud Announces the Thoroughbred Breeding Management Class of 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The transition from racehorse to stallion oftentimes seems to happen overnight, and in the case of Coolmore America's new additions for 2026, the trio appears to have taken to the first chapter of their new careers in stride. After turning in memorable performances in Del Mar at the Breeders' Cup, Sierra Leone, Fierceness and Citizen Bull touched down in Lexington last Sunday. In the week since, the group has hit the ground running at Ashford Stud. “They've settled in really well and they look great,” said Coolmore's Adrian Wallace. “They've been available for breeders, they've been on the underwater treadmill in the mornings for a bit of exercise and they're ready to go.” Each member of the trio joining Ashford's roster is already a champion, making this one of the most decorated groups of new stallions Coolmore America has ever assembled. “It's immensely gratifying,” Wallace noted. “These three horses are all Eclipse Award winners. Now their racing careers stand behind them and it's up to us to get as many good mares as we can to them from some of the best breeders in the business. It's up to us to make sure that we cement their legacy going forward.” SIERRA LEONE (Gun Runner – Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon). Standing for $75,000 in 2026 2024 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt and three time Grade I winner Sierra Leone leads the charge of newcomers with an introductory fee of $75,000. As a yearling, the dark bay son of Gun Runner topped the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale when he sold to White Birch Farm and M. V. Magnier for $2.3 million. The Chad Brown trainee made a memorable winning debut on Breeders' Cup weekend the following year at Aqueduct, earning 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard' honors after he broke a touch slow but then unleashed what would become his trademark come-from-behind kick. From there it was strictly graded stakes company for Sierra Leone, and he never finished off the board in 14 career starts. Sierra Leone claims the 2025 GI Whitney Stakes | Sarah Andrew Over the past two years, Sierra Leone has shared a unique rivalry with his future studmate Fierceness and the Japanese star Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), who shares the same second dam as Sierra Leone in MGISP Darling My Darling (Deputy Minister). After Sierra Leone claimed last year's GII Risen Star Stakes and GI Blue Grass Stakes, he beat out Forever Young for the runner-up position in the GI Kentucky Derby. Later that summer, Fierceness bested Sierra Leone in the GII Jim Dandy and GI Travers Stakes, but Sierra Leone had the final word when he defeated both rivals in the Classic. In 2025, Sierra Leone continued to show consistency at the top level by finishing first or second in four Grade I races, including a win in the GI Whitney Stakes and a runner-up effort in the Classic—a race that once again featured the trifecta of Sierra Leone, Forever Young and Fierceness. “He has been nothing short of a wonder horse for us,” said Wallace. “He's the first horse we've ever had win the Breeders' Cup Classic in the Coolmore colors. We've had some narrow misses with the likes of Giant's Causeway, Henrythenavigator and Declaration of War, so this horse holds a really special place in our hearts. He's been a model of consistency and brilliant determination throughout his career.” Retiring with earnings of just under $8.2 million, Sierra Leone joins Ashford as the second son of leading sire Gun Runner on the Coolmore roster following Gunite, whose has been well represented by his first foals at the recent breeding stock sales. “Sierra Leone comes from a wonderful family cultivated so very well by John and Debby Oxley, out of a mare by Malibu Moon who was a Grade I winner herself here at Keeneland winning the Darley Alcibiades Stakes,” said Wallace. “He will get some of the best mare that Coolmore, Peter Brant and the other Coolmore partners have and I believe he will get some of the very best mares available in the American market today.” FIERCENESS (City of Light – Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty). Standing for $50,000 in 2026. Four-time Grade I winner Fierceness takes in the sights at Ashford Stud | Sara Gordon Yet another TDN Rising Star-turned-champion, four-time Grade I winner Fierceness will stand for $50,000 in 2026. A second-generation homebred for Repole Stable, Fierceness put on a show in his 11 1/4-length Saratoga debut win and again in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile where he romped by more than six length. As a 3-year-old, the Todd Pletcher-trained chestnut dominated in the GI Florida Derby with a 13 ½ length gate-to-wire victory, marking the largest winning margin in the race's 73-year history at 1 1/8 miles. He earned back-to-back wins that summer in Saratoga, out-dueling future Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in a dramatic Travers Stakes. This year at four, Fierceness set a course record in the GII Alysheba S. at Churchill Downs, stopping the clock in 1:40.66 for 1 1/16 miles, and later captured his fourth Grade I victory in the GI Pacific Classic. “Fierceness is as Fierceness does,” said Wallace. “He ran with such heart, consistency and brilliance throughout his three-year campaign. His figures are amazing. He ran ten 100-plus Beyer Speed Figures throughout his career.” With earnings of over $5.7 million, Fierceness retires to stud as City of Light's all-time leading earner. He is a full-brother to last year's GIII Futurity Stakes victor Mentee and their pedigree also includes stallions Outwork and Cairo Prince. “He showed immense speed in his races and ran against the best of not only his own generation, but also the generation before him,” noted Wallace. “I think he's a horse that breeders are really going to want to get behind once they see him.” CITIZEN BULL (Into Mischief – No Joke, by Distorted Humor). Standing for $45,000 in 2026. Citizen Bull at Ashford Stud | Sara Gordon In the lineup of Eclipse-winning juveniles destined for Ashford Stud, Fierceness claimed the ninth spot, with Citizen Bull close behind as the tenth just a year later. Citizen Bull also holds the distinction of being Into Mischief's only Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old Colt, though he will likely have to share the title soon after Ted Noffey (Into Mischief)'s undefeated juvenile campaign this year. Bred by Robert and Lawana Low, Citizen Bull was a $675,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by the partnership of SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables. Like his two new studmates, the Bob Baffert trainee was a winner on debut. Citizen Bull bookended his Breeders' Cup Juvenile victory with wins in the GI American Pharoah Stakes and GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes. Following a score in the Shared Belief Stakes later in his sophomore season this year, Citizen Bull turned in perhaps his most memorable performance in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. After taking the lead early and zipping through opening fractions of 21.74 and :44.96, Citizen Bull battled every step of the way against Nysos (Nyquist) in the stretch before settling for second by a head. “He set a blazing pace and ran one of the greatest races of the Breeders' Cup,” said Wallace. “He's a horse that when breeders see him, he will undoubtedly be very popular. A son of Into Mischief out of a mare by Distorted Humor, he's bred on the same cross as Practical Joke and Life Is Good. He's from the family of juvenile champion Favorite Trick and Eclipse Award winner Tiz the Law, so he comes from a stallion's pedigree.” Wallace added that Citizen Bull's standout physical also enhances his appeal. “He's 16'1,” noted Wallace. “He's got great balance and he's a good mover. He's got the pedigree, he's got the power, he's got the performance on the racetrack, and when breeders see him, they'll want to send him a mare.” The post Eclipse-Worthy Talent New To Ashford Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The United States's Jockey Club and Europe's Weatherbys have partnered to launch 'Racehorse Naming,' the organizations announced in a joint statement Tuesday. The website enables users to check the potential availability of a Thoroughbred name in Great Britain, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. According to the statement, 'Racehorse Naming' “streamlines the naming process for owners and breeders and will be especially useful for unnamed Thoroughbreds bred or purchased in one country and imported to another, which requires name approval by the exporting and importing authorities.” “We're proud to partner with Weatherbys to launch Racehorse Naming, and we hope that owners and breeders find it easy to use and helpful in streamlining the naming process,” said Andrew Chesser, director of Registration Services and director of Business Development for The Jockey Club. “Given the scale of trade between Britain, Ireland, and North America, it made perfect sense to create a shared tool that supports those naming horses bred in one jurisdiction and racing in another.” Mike Butts, Head of Equine Services at Weatherbys, said, “Working with our partners at The Jockey Club U.S., we have created a new service designed to help anyone looking to check the availability of horse names across multiple jurisdictions–not just in Britain and Ireland but now also in the USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico–all through a single, convenient website. It has been a great pleasure to work alongside our long-standing partners at The Jockey Club U.S. to deliver a tool that will be of real assistance to our many mutual customers.” The Jockey Club oversees naming in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, and Weatherbys covers Great Britain and Ireland. The results of a name search on Racehorse Naming indicate if the name is potentially available in both jurisdictions, only one jurisdiction, or neither jurisdiction. The post Jockey Club And Weatherbys Partner On Racehorse Naming Site appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sam Agars LOOKS OUTSTANDING - R6 (5) Was enormous on seasonal return and can salute again Jay Rooney AMAZING GAZE - R3 (4) Has impressed on his two starts and looks poised to strike tonight Owen Goulding AMAZING GAZE - R3 (4) Has gone close in both his starts and has no excuses from barrier one Phillip Woo STAR FIGURE - R5 (7) Can salute after an unlucky second when first up this term Shannon (Vincent Wong) AMAZING GAZE - R3 (4) Ran well when second to Sturdy Ruby and looks the one to...View the full article

Dollars & Sense with Frank AngstView the full article

Golden Horn, the sire of this year's dual Group 1-winning stayer Trawlerman and Champion Hurdle heroine Golden Ace, will stand for the unchanged fee of £10,000 at Overbury Stud in 2026. “Golden Horn has had an impressive year under both codes. To sire winners of the Champion Hurdle, Triumph Hurdle and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot within a few months is simply exceptional, and his 15% stakes horses to runners ratio on the Flat is outstanding,” said the stallion's owner, Jayne McGivern. “Golden Horn has every right to command a higher fee next year, especially as he is consistently over-subscribed, but I am mindful of the choices breeders have and would rather support breeders by continuing to offer him as the best value available. I am so pleased to be able to thank all of his supporters by holding his fee for a further year at £10,000. It is especially gratifying to note that he already has many mares already booked for 2026 and that Flat breeders are returning in significant numbers.” Elsewhere on the Overbury Stud roster, Ardad has had his fee reduced to £7,500 (from £12,500), having sired 36 individual two-year-old winners in 2025, more than any other stallion in Britain and behind only Wootton Bassett and Mehmas in Europe. “Ardad is getting exactly what so many breeders, trainers and owners want: horses that get going early and provide lots of terrific sport,” said Overbury manager Simon Sweeting. “His best price for a yearling in 2025 was 180,000gns and he's a very reliable sire of £35k-£40k yearlings. It's a competitive market and we think he's several lengths ahead of his field, especially at his new fee.” Meanwhile, Caturra, who will be represented by his first juvenile runners in 2026, will stand at £5,000 for the third consecutive year, while the fees for the three National Hunt stallions on the roster also remain unchanged. Jack Hobbs will once again command a fee of £4,000, with Frontiersman and Schiaparelli both at £2,000. The post Overbury Stud’s Golden Horn Remains Steady at £10,000 after Banner Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin It turns out fortune really does favour the brave. Well, the brave who happen to own a Victoria Cup winner and have $25,000 lying around a week or two out from the IRT New Zealand Cup, which was won in physics-defying fashion by Kingman at Addington. The New South Wales pacer continued Australia’s recent domination of the 3200m thriller by sitting three wide for the last 1400m and still proving too good for favourite and fellow Aussie raider Leap To Fame. It was the second occasion Kingman has beaten Leap To Fame in a month and the first time made the second time possible. Before reaching a new career peak winning the Victoria Cup at Melton on October 18, Kingman wasn’t in the New Zealand Cup conversation, or more importantly the entries. He came off a sub-par Leap To Fame’s back that night to beat him and animated owner-breeder Mick Harvey started to dream. For that dream to become reality he had to dig deep, like $25,000 plus GST deep, the late entry fee to get Kingman into today’s race. While it might have come out of the Victoria Cup stake it is still not small change and a hell of a risk to take with a four-year-old pacer just starting his open class journey and one who had never had a standing start. Harvey gambled and won. Although it didn’t quite look that simple when Kingman was near last at the half away stage of the 3200m Cup with the two favourites first and second. Trainer-driver Luke McCarthy, the polished prince of harness racing, had no choice but to ask Kingman to do it the hard way three wide, which got even harder when the muscular stallion started to hang at the 1000m mark. That should have been his chances extinguished, $25,000 plus the same in expenses down the drain. Clearly, Kingman can’t count. He covered the most ground, did the most wrong but took a deep breath at the 250 mark and went again, an equine boxer throwing his knockout punch in the championship rounds. It was so brutal it bordered on rude. You aren’t supposed to come to other’s houses and play the bully. McCarthy had gone into the Cup full of belief in his horse but realistic about the challenges for their after-thought bonus race. Icing on a cake never tasted so good. “He is wonderful horse but I’ll admit I didn’t think he could sit three wide and win,” he said. “I had to move to get closer even though I knew I wouldn’t get the breeze off Leap To Fame because I knew if I waited much longer he’d get pushed out when I did go. “He did the rest and he is just a special horse and I’m so proud to win this for Mick.” This New Zealand Cup also provides a new zenith in the storied career of McCarthy, who has won Miracle Miles and Inter Dominion and drove the first two winners of the world’s richest harness race, the Eureka on his home track of Menangle. “I have been lucky enough to go all over the world, to races like the Elitlopp in Sweden and the Little Brown Jug in the States but this is the best race day in harness racing and I have always wanted to win the Cup.” It was the second year running a horse trained at Menangle has won the Victoria Cup, paid the late entry fee, come to New Zealand and returned home with the Cup, after Swayzee did it last season. Leap To Fame was magnificent in second after sitting parked throughout while Merlin ducked into a gap looking the winner for a few seconds at the 150m before finishing third. That was just ahead of stablemate Better Knuckle Up, who came from last for fourth and had “NZ Cup 2026” written all over him. That is, of course, if they ban Victoria Cup winners, or horses making late payments getting into the Cup next year. Or maybe Australian horses all together Because the way things are going the New Zealand Cup is going to need a name change soon. View the full article

By Michael Guerin Harness racing had its “Cool Runnings” moment in the $400,000 Renwick Farms Dominion Trot at Addington. You might remember the 1993 movie based on the true story about the first Jamaican Bobsled team to go to the Winter Olympics. Well, that was kind of what Queensland trotter Gus did in New Zealand’s greatest trot race on Tuesday. Except unlike the lads from Jamaica, Gus won. The former rogue whose brain has often struggled to keep up with his legs smashed many of Australasia’s best trotters after a surging mid-race run that carried him from near last to first and ultimately an effortless victory. This is not supposed to be how it works. Queensland does a lot of things well, producing great trotters isn’t one of them. Actually producing trotters at all isn’t one of them. The Sunshine State’s harness racing industry is very much pacing based and trotting plays a minor role there, more substantial than a decade or two ago when it was pure novelty value, but small time stuff nevertheless. Queensland had a really good trotter called Our Overanova a few years ago but the state has never had a real Grand Circuit trotting regular and never a conqueror. Not until today and nothing like today. Gus was actually bred and educated in New Zealand by Southland trainer Nathan Williamson, for who he had two starts for one huge win before being sold to Queensland. He has given husband and wife team Chantal Turpin and Pete McMullen plenty of headaches since but he has now also given them the greatest win of their careers. “We brought him over here thinking if he paid for himself it would be great,” said McMullen, one of the stars of Queensland harness racing driving where he is known as “Leader Peter” for his freewheeling style. “We knew how fast he was but we also realised how big the challenge was. “When I let him go he got around them quickly but he never came off the bit and was very strong to the line. “It is a huge thrill for us, you don’t realise how big today is until you come here and it is something special to pull off a win like this.” McMullen says Gus is likely to back up in the $100,000 Azap New Zealand Trotting Free-For-All on Friday providing he comes through today’s win well, and it is hard to believe he won’t because he simply won so easily. Mr Love added a Dominion second to his Rowe Cup rununer-up prize and was very brave while Oscar Bonavena and favourite Jilliby Ballerini headlined the hard luck stories alongside Mighty Logan. Oscar got trapped back in the field, always a risk for a horse usually driven for one run, and locked wheels at the top of the straight before storming into third. For all the concerns about her manners favourite Jilliby Ballerini was majestic early and got the perfect trail behind fellow Victorian in Arcee Phoenix but he surprisingly punctured when Gus strode past him at the 600m and took Jilliby Ballerini’s hopes with him. She made good ground and confirmed she is well and truly up to this grade and her future looks bright even if today will feel like the one that got away. Mighty Logan suffered a similar fate while most of those involved in the early burns paid the price in another brutal race on harness racing’s glamour day. But this Dominion belonged to Gus on the biggest day in Queensland trotting history. Almost sounds like a movie. View the full article

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk Canadian James MacDonald has today claimed his second World Driving Championship title, with Kiwi Blair Orange finishing fourth. The 20th and final heat of the WDC was held as part of IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup day at Addington this afternoon. With a 15 point lead going into today MacDonald could only be pipped for the title if he finished last and nearest challenger, Australian Gary Hall junior won. As it turned out neither of those scenarios played out in the Mitre 10 World Driving Championship Heat 20 (Mobile Trot) over 2600 metres. Both finished down the field with MacDonald eighth with Alotoftrouble and Gary Hall junior was last with Peaknmonkey. That was enough for MacDonald to clinch his second WDC title, adding to the one he won in Canada in 2017. He totaled 168 points to beat Hall by 17 (151). In the final heat He Aint Fakin for Italian Giampaolo Minnucci was the hot favourite at $1.75. It was just the horse’s second start as a trotter for trainer Phil Williamson after excelling as a pacer across the Tasman. And his performance was impressive. He sat parked outside Donna’s Boy, driven by American Brett Beckwith, and still had too much in reserve to show he has a real future as a square-gaiter. New Zealand’s Blair Orange had no luck with Yosemite, who broke in the running, and finished sixth. He finished the WDC with 136 points. Final leaderboard (after 20 heats) : James MacDonald (Canada) 168 Gary Hall junior (Australia) 151 Jaap van Rijn (Netherlands) 141 Blair Orange (New Zealand) 136 Matts Djuse (Sweden) 132 Pierre Vercruysse (France) 120 Michael Nimczyk (Germany) 119 Brett Beckwith (USA) 115 Giampaolo Minnucci (Italy) 112 Sanntu Raitala (Finland) 104 Ten drivers from all over the world have been involved in the WDC. It’s the first time New Zealand has been the sole host of the WDC with the heats being held at Kaikoura, Cambridge, Winton and Addington over the past nine days. Jaap van Rijn (The Netherlands) had the most individual wins of the WDC with 4, ahead of James MacDonald (Canada) and Mats Djuse (Sweden) with 3, Gary Hall Junior (Australia), Blair Orange (New Zealand), Giampaolo Minnucci (Italy) and Pieree Vecruysse (France) all 2 and Brett Beckwith (USA), and Michael Nimczyk (Germany) one each. To add to a great day for the land of the Maple Leaf, Canada was announced as the host of the next WDC in 2027. View the full article

Shadwell has announced the fees for its five-strong roster of stallions, with the six-time Group 1 winner Baaeed standing for the reduced sum of £55,000 in 2026 – when he will be represented by his first two-year-old runners. “The roster is headed by Baaeed, the highest-rated racehorse in Europe for over a decade and who stands as a fitting tribute to Shadwell's dedication to the Thoroughbred,” read a statement from Shadwell. “Supported by many of the world's leading breeders, Baaeed has already covered three outstanding books of mares. His first yearlings were offered this year and included sales of €800,000 and 625,000gns etc., reaffirming his status as one of the most exciting stallion prospects of the modern era. At his fee of £55,000, Baaeed offers breeders the opportunity to be part of something truly special.” This season, Baaeed covered 165 mares at a fee of £65,000 at Beech House Stud in Newmarket, where he is joined by Mohaather and Mostahdaf. Mohaather will stand for £10,000 (from £15,000) next year, after first-crop son Big Mojo provided him with a breakthrough Group 1 success when winning September's Haydock Sprint Cup, while Mostahdaf's fee has been dropped to £9,000 (from £12,500) ahead of his first foals being sold in the coming weeks. At Derrinstown Stud In Ireland, Minzaal remains unchanged at €12,500, while Awtaad has had his fee increased slightly to €8,500 (from €7,500). “Minzaal's first yearlings were also offered this year and they generated some exceptional prices, including soaring up to 550,000gns and 450,000gns etc., at an average of almost 6-times his first-season fee,” the Shadwell statement said of the former Owen Burrows trainee. “Having captured the Group 1 Sprint Cup as a four-year-old and the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes as a juvenile, Minzaal combines speed, precocity and Group 1 consistency across three seasons. With all the boxes ticked for an Irish commercial stallion, Minzaal looks to follow in the footsteps of his sire Mehmas and grandsire Acclamation at his unchanged 2026 fee of €12,500.” It continued, “Awtaad has enjoyed a remarkable year. Ethical Diamond's track record breaking success in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf builds on the multiple Group 1 successes of Anmaat and Anisette. “His 2025 roll of honour also includes new stakes scorers Waterford, Naomi Lapaglia and Thalara, as well as two stakes performing two-year-olds and a Royal Ascot double. He continues to prove himself a consistent source of top-class performers at a value fee.” The post Baaeed Heads Shadwell Roster for 2026 at Reduced Fee of £55,000 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article