Wandering Eyes

Fukuryu Stakes winner T O Password has accepted the Japanese invite to the Kentucky Derby. The news was reported on X by Kevin Kerstein of Churchill Downs.View the full article

Two 1 1/2-mile stakes races on Florida Derby Day on the Gulfstream Park turf course—the $200,000 Pan American Stakes (G2T) for older male runners and the $150,000 Orchid Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares—have a French flavor.View the full article

We all know how hard it is to stand a turf horse in Kentucky today. For the minority of breeders sufficiently enlightened to offer such sires some commercial viability, moreover, the reel snapped a couple of years ago with the loss of Kitten's Joy and English Channel within months of each other. Happily, it has not taken long to cast a new leading man. Oscar Performance has delivered his lines confidently from the first take. In fact, he has even improved on the script–his leading earner, to this point, being Red Carpet Ready, a triple graded stakes scorer on dirt. Another from his debut crop to have excelled on the main track is Tumbarumba, who recently failed only by a nose to add a Grade II prize to the Grade III he won at Gulfstream in January. It seems rather a pity, then, that Endlessly (Oscar Performance)–in the silks of his sire's owner-breeders–is declining the GI Kentucky Derby gate he secured with that dashing display in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks on Saturday. After all, this is the trial that produced the Derby winner and runner-up in the last two years, perhaps partly because the synthetic surface at Turfway is so much less demanding. Obviously it has a comforting kinship with grass, perceived as the natural metier of Endlessly. But ours is an era that urgently needs to reconcile gene pools too long divided, not just by an ocean, but by a failure of imagination. It was the international exchange of bloodlines that invigorated the breed in the last century–and it's primarily our own inflexibility that has stifled the versatility our predecessors discovered in Nasrullah, Northern Dancer and Sunday Silence. Perhaps the sensational impact of Justify in Europe can renew that kind of traffic. In the meantime, however, Oscar Performance is certainly well placed to profit from the expanding turf and synthetic programs in his own backyard. In fact, Endlessly was only one of three sophomore winners for the Mill Ridge sire on the Turfway card (the others included Rushaway S. winner Trikari) while another member of the same crop broke his maiden on grass at Santa Anita later that day. One way or another, Oscar Performance must be counted a wholesome influence as a Grade I winner at two, three and four. He covered 160 mares last spring, much his biggest book after suffering the habitual slide to 63 in his fourth season, and his fee (nudged to $25,000 this year) will surely keep advancing with the traction he's achieving. But we can safely leave such decisions to those standing him, not least a farm that had been out of the stallion game for a generation but is proving admirably alert to 21 st Century needs and opportunities. On the same basis, the remarkable program that produced him, and has now also come up with Endlessly, can plainly manage perfectly well without any impertinent musings about the kind of priceless marketing opportunity they're now passing up. Endlessly's immediate family admittedly has chlorophyll flavors: second dam Society Dream (Fr) (Akarad {Fr}) was a stakes performer in Europe before being imported by the Amermans, who duly kept her on the “weeds” to get her graded stakes-placed. Three of her daughters have produced stakes winners on turf: one, by Royal Academy, notably came up with GI Just A Game S. winner Coffee Clique (Medaglia d'Oro); another, by Quality Road, gave Oscar Performance a first-crop headliner in Hawthorne Derby winner Act a Fool; and a third, an unraced daughter of Langfuhr, is responsible for Endlessly himself. But remember that Langfuhr is by one of the great diversifiers in Danzig, and won iconic showcases of dirt speed like the Met Mile, Forego, Carter and Vosburgh. As sire of Lawyer Ron, and damsire of Proud Spell and Firenze Fire, Langfuhr is certainly every bit as eligible to help a daughter draw out any dirt aptitude in Oscar Performance as, say, Street Sense–himself, of course, by the turf-bred Street Cry (Ire)–who happens to be damsire of both Red Carpet Ready and Tumbarumba. In fairness, the second dam of both those horses (who are bred with remarkable symmetry) is by A.P. Indy, while Red Carpet Ready actually traces to Yarn/Narrate. But Endlessly's own family, besides its single-generation detour to France, has similarly indigenous roots: ultimately, indeed, it is the dynasty of Bull Lea. Not even I can pretend that Oscar Performance's own sire was a versatile influence, while his dam (synthetic stakes winner) was by Theatrical. But the seeding of all the next dams is straight down the middle of Main Street: Mr. Prospector, Slew o' Gold, Danzig (Langfuhr's sire again), Bold Reason, Buckpasser (this last mare, moreover, out of matriarch Lady Pitt). Bottom line is that none of us ever knows exactly which strands of a pedigree will shape the flesh-and-blood animal in front of us. The people around Endlessly naturally have a more intimate grasp of his adaptability, but as a wider principle I think we all need to be less prescriptive and remember that no race is ever run on paper. Another One That Got Away… With 100 starting points evidently going down one black hole at Turfway, and so many others disappearing into a deeper one in California, there may be some credibility issues about a few that eventually find themselves with a Derby gate. Yet missing second by a head in the Jeff Ruby may yet prevent this messy situation containing seeds of its own redemption through a fairytale Derby bid for Seize The Grey (Arrogate). Arrogate | Horsephotos He's improving with experience, much as we might expect of a horse being brought along by the evergreen genius–and priceless advocate for our sport–who trains him. He also belongs to the final crop of Arrogate, who from tragically curtailed opportunity bequeathed Classic winners in each of the last two years: first Secret Oath, for D. Wayne Lukas himself, and then champion Arcangelo. The latter's profile matched that of his sire, in that he developed too late to make the Derby, so Seize The Grey is ahead of the game. And likewise Liberal Arts, who can build on a really promising comeback when lining up for the GI Arkansas Derby this weekend. He will carry fervent support from the many friends made in the business by Evan Ferraro of Fasig-Tipton, who co-bred (and co-owns) this colt with his father Stephen. Moreover Arrogate's final crop now has an additional Classic shot through Everland, who banked 50 GI Kentucky Oaks points with her own stakes success on the Turfway synthetic last Saturday. Her rise was chronicled in Monday's TDN by colleague T.D. Thornton, and there's no reason why she shouldn't prove equally effective on dirt. She was certainly an alert claim, with her residual value seemingly guaranteed: she was bred by previous owner George Strawbridge Jr. from a daughter of Tapit and Rainbow View (Dynaformer), who won him Group 1 prizes at two and three when trained in Europe. It was only last week that we had occasion to celebrate this family, Rainbow View's Grade I- winning dam No Matter What (Nureyev) having been a half-sister to Vronsky (Danzig), sire of Californian sprint idol The Chosen Vron. The dam of Vronsky and No Matter What additionally produced GI Travers runner-up E Dubai (Mr Prospector), while her full sister gave us Raven's Pass (Elusive Quality) to win the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in 2008–a race won four years later by E Dubai's standout son Fort Larned. Quite a family, then, and the program that risked Everland in a claimer suffered another cruel twist at Turfway on Saturday, as a result of discarding another female at Fasig-Tipton's February Sale in 2021. The fact that the 13-year-old Dynamic Holiday (Harlan's Holiday) made only $14,000, as a well-bred graded stakes winner in foal to Oscar Performance, tells you that it was a pretty logical cull. Despite some good covers, her breeding record had been abysmal. Yet the foal she was carrying has now turned out to be Turfway stakes winner Trikari. (As if the Amermans weren't adequately committed to Oscar performance, they actually bought this fellow as an OBS October yearling for $27,500.) Still, the team that lost both Everland and the dam of Trikari might not be the only ones kicking themselves. The mare appears to have been moved on again since, in a Fasig digital sale in October, for $3,500. Extending the GII Louisiana Derby since 2020 has worked out extremely well, the second such running having produced four of the first six past the post at Churchill, and then Epicenter the following year. Perhaps the reluctance of trainers today to give sophomores an old-fashioned grounding is favoring those that have redressed the resulting deficiency at least by running a distance of ground. Catching a Rising Tide… As such we need to respect the prospects of Catching Freedom (Constitution), who is palpably beginning to figure things out. He's by no means the finished article, but is certainly vindicating his selection by Albaugh Family Stables as a $575,000 Book I yearling at the Keeneland September Sale. Constitution | Sarah Andrew However he proceeds from here, there's certainly no anomaly about a Derby colt for Constitution, who's just entering the next big cycle of his career. With his current 4-year-olds conceived at just $15,000, Catching Freedom belongs to his first crop sired even at $40,000–and it's a very big one, too, the breeders of 187 live foals having responded to his freshman breakout in 2019 (runner-up to American Pharoah). But the upgrade really kicks in with his incoming juveniles, sired at $85,000 after first-crop star Tiz The Law had proved himself an elite 3-year-old. Catching Freedom raised the curtain on what was always going to be a big year for his sire by winning the Smart Jones S. on its very first day, and his progress must be creating plenty of excitement at WinStar–not only as the farm that stands Constitution himself, but also as the breeders of this colt out of the Grade I-placed stakes winner Catch My Drift (Pioneerof The Nile). Purchased at the end of her career for $400,000, at Fasig-Tipton in November 2015, she has since divided her favors between the home farm roster and assignations elsewhere. Uncle Mo, for instance, gave her Bishops Bay, who showed plenty of talent in a light sophomore campaign last year. Sold as a yearling for $450,000, he beat last weekend's GIII Essex H. scorer First Mission (Street Sense) on debut and also ran nascent champion Arcangelo to a head in the GIII Peter Pan. Catch My Drift also has a stakes-placed daughter by Into Mischief. It must be acknowledged that her family offers finite explanation for the quality she has shown, first on the track and now as a producer. Nor would first four dams by Yonaguska, Tabasco Cat, Crafty Prospector and Baldski shout “a blanket of roses” for her son. On the other hand, he entwines sire-lines of 'unbridled' Classic branding: his damsire is by Unbridled's son Empire Maker; and his grandsire Tapit is out of an Unbridled mare. The length of his rehearsal certainly drew on that well, and will again leave the Louisiana Derby winner as one of the few copper-bottomed stayers on the first Saturday in May. The post Breeding Digest: No Oscar Nominations for Typecasting appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Byron King's Top 12 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, presented by Spendthrift Farm.View the full article

The flooded fields that line the approach to Spigot Lodge might suggest differently, but spring has finally arrived in Middleham and that can only mean one thing in these parts. On Good Friday, as tradition dictates, a handful of the town's racing stables will invite the public in for a look behind the scenes as part of the annual Middleham Open Day, organised by Racing Welfare. Spigot Lodge promises to be the first port of call for many visitors, with trainer Karl Burke expecting to welcome between 200-300 people during the course of the morning. Hoping to beat the rush, the TDN descends on Spigot Lodge the week before the Middleham Open Day, but already Burke is a man in high demand. Having welcomed David Craig and the Sky Sports Racing cameras to film a feature the previous morning, today our visit clashes with that of Derek 'Tommo' Thompson, the veteran broadcaster and commentator who warmly greets all comers in the now-customary fashion, “Are you well?” Allowing Tommo first crack at Burke provides the opportunity for a quick tour of the stable yard, giving just a taste of why Spigot Lodge is proving such a popular destination with us media folk as the start of the Flat season proper looms on the horizon. In every corner you look there's a familiar name, from the hard-knocking older sprinter that is Spycatcher (Ire) (Vadamos {Fr}) to the exciting three-year-old Classic contender that is Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}). Put simply, Burke has never assembled a stronger team of horses, across all departments, than the one in his care right now, certainly on the evidence of last year when he celebrated career-best figures in Britain, with 119 winners and £3,130,725 in total earnings. “And if you count the European money earnings it was close to £4 million,” Burke points out as he pulls up a stool in the kitchen after bidding farewell to Tommo, ready to reflect on a record-breaking year for the team in 2023 and to look ahead to what 2024 might have in store. “I never ever thought we'd get to those sorts of figures,” he adds. “I think the only blank month we had last year was March. We didn't have a winner in March, but apart from that we had a great all-weather season and it just followed on through the year.” Already this year Burke is ahead of where he was at the same stage in 2023, with 12 winners on the board–including a first of the season on turf when Liamarty Dreams (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) scored at Doncaster on Sunday–compared to 10 in the first three months of last year. The big cards are all still to be played, of course, but the omens are certainly good ahead of what promises to be another successful year for the team. Happily, Burke can also look forward to taking a front row seat in the coming months having returned to familiar surroundings in recent days, making his first appearances on a racecourse since last summer. In a year when Burke's powerful string rose to virtually every challenge thrown at them in 2023, their trainer was forced to watch on from afar as he fought his own battle with illness, out of the public eye as the likes of Fallen Angel did their bit to keep his name in lights. “Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with cancer just before Royal Ascot last year,” Burke recalls. “I didn't have any symptoms or anything. I had a routine test and they found it, luckily. They were able to get me in and operated on in early-July, so I haven't been racing since then really. “I was just getting over the operation, which was fairly severe, and then they wanted me to have a course of chemo as a belts-and-braces job. That took me up to Christmas time, so it hasn't been easy, but we've got a great team here and things ticked along nicely.” When he felt up to it, the day-to-day routine of a trainer's existence was a huge comfort to Burke during his illness, simply being around the animals to which he's devoted over 30 years of his life in this profession. Burke's soft spot for Fallen Angel is certainly clear for all to see, with the smile coming easily to him when he's asked to pose for a picture with the grey filly who ended the stable's four-year wait for a Group 1 winner when landing the Moyglare Stud S. at the Curragh last September. A second in the space of six weeks then came along when Poptronic (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) caused a 22/1 upset in the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot. That proved to be Poptronic's swansong for the stable, later being sold for 1.4 million gns at the Tattersalls December Mares' Sale, but Burke need look no further for a flagbearer this year than Fallen Angel, who is quickly having to get used to all the media attention that comes with being one of the best fillies of her generation. Leading 1,000 Guineas contender Fallen Angel at Spigot Lodge this morning. Look out for a @theTDN feature with @karl_burke next week, with less than seven weeks to go until the first Classics of the season. pic.twitter.com/rJAcEewRnd — Adam Houghton (@hought94) March 20, 2024 “There were always high hopes for her and she was a lovely stamp of a filly,” Burke says of Steve Parkin's homebred. “And she's out of a good mare, Agnes Stewart, who was a Group 2 winner. You never can say you're definitely going to win a Group 1, but she just improved all the way through.” Expressing his belief that Fallen Angel should still be unbeaten, Burke adds, “Even when she got beat at Sandown, Danny [Tudhope, jockey] came in and was kicking himself that he didn't make more use of her because she stays very well. She'd always been quite a strong traveller and he was just trying to teach her by holding on to her a little bit, but I think she probably would have won that day as well if we'd kicked her in the belly a bit earlier.” Fallen Angel made no mistake on her next two starts, first winning the G3 Sweet Solera S. at Newmarket and then following up in very similar fashion when making the breakthrough at the top level at the Curragh, still appearing full of running at the line as she fought off the speedy Verpertilio (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) to win by a length and a quarter. Sure to be suited by stepping up to a mile, Fallen Angel now has the G1 Qipco 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday, May 5, firmly in her sights, attempting to provide her trainer with a first British Classic success in a race that looks a whole lot more winnable following the news of the likely defection of Aidan O'Brien's Opera Singer (Justify)–not that Burke was afraid of going head-to-head with the winter favourite for the race. “I was looking forward to taking on Opera Singer,” he reveals. “Darnation ran against her on fast ground in France, which Darnation wouldn't want, and we were still upsides her a furlong and a half out. I know where Fallen Angel is with her [Darnation] on fast ground. Darnation is very much a soft-ground filly, so I didn't think for a minute that Opera Singer was unbeatable. “There will be plenty of horses that pop their heads up above the parapet from now until Guineas day. I'm sure there are a few horses lurking around that are going to show improved form and will be challenging us. My main aim is to get her there in one piece and, hopefully, that's what we'll do.” Fallen Angel is set for a racecourse gallop at the Craven Meeting which Burke hopes will put her spot on for the 1,000 Guineas, while Darnation (Too Darn Hot {GB}) could also come into the reckoning for that race if conditions fall in her favour. According to her trainer, she isn't one to underestimate, either, in the event that that happens. “I'm sure that on soft or heavy ground, she's going to be a handful for any horse,” Burke says of the filly who counted the G2 May Hill S. at Doncaster amongst her three wins last season. “A lot of horses just can't manage that ground, but she seems to thrive on it. “She carried a little niggle all of last season and I think that's one of the reasons why she didn't perform on firmer ground. But she's come through that and she's working nicely. I'm not sure what the plan is–it will be dictated by the ground really. It was in my mind to go for one of the trials if it came up heavy, but there's not a mile trial for fillies without going up to France and I don't really want to do that with her first-time-out.” One exciting three-year-old at Spigot Lodge who has already been in action in 2024 is the 'TDN Rising Star' Night Raider (Ire). In fact, the quick circuit of the stable yard on this particular morning involves only a brief stop at his empty box, the son of Dark Angel (Ire) already having departed ahead of his run at Southwell that evening. “It's a big day for him,” says Burke, who later follows Night Raider on the 230-mile round trip to Southwell for his first racecourse visit of the year. “I've just seen him on the horsebox and he's roaring away. He's got that little immaturity still about him, so another day out won't do him any harm. Today, whether he wins easily or is in a battle, the idea is to give him a little squeeze and make him go and stretch in that last furlong.” As it turns out, Night Raider has absolutely no difficulty dismissing a 93-rated rival from the Charlie Hills stable in that novice event, responding quickly when that little squeeze is applied as he powers clear to win by five lengths. Unbeaten in two starts, by a cumulative margin of 14 lengths, the feeling remains that we've only scratched the surface of Night Raider's potential. He's clearly held in high regard by Burke, too, with the only uncertainty in his mind being about what to do next ahead of a possible tilt at the G1 Qipco 2,000 Guineas on Saturday, May 4. “We'll make a decision whether we go for a trial or a racecourse gallop,” he sums up. “The trial is more likely to be the seven-furlong conditions race at Newmarket, for horses that haven't run more than twice. I don't want to try him in the Craven over a mile where there could be cut in the ground and it could turn into a slog. And if we wait for Newbury, it's literally two weeks before the Guineas which is getting close. “We've got decisions to make, but he's a beautiful horse and the Guineas and the start of the season is not the be-all and end-all for him–he's going to get better and better as the season goes on.” Burke's Southwell trip might have resembled a return to some sort of normality for the trainer, but he's still finding his feet in certain aspects at home, notably when it comes to getting to grips with the latest intake of juveniles in his care. “There are a few nice horses out there,” he says of the class of 2024. “I was away for a month in the winter, which I've never done before, and obviously before Christmas I wasn't as on it as I usually would be with having the chemo. But I'm recognising the horses now and seeing how they've developed. I'm just catching up with that and I must admit now that, when I see the string, we've got some lovely fillies out there.” It was the two-year-olds which underpinned Burke's success last season, making up 68 of the yard's 119 winners in Britain, whilst pocketing nearly £1 million in prize-money. This year the team of juveniles won't be quite so numerically strong, according to Burke, but he still expects to have plenty of early runners despite a less-than-ideal preparation, chiefly because of the exceptionally wet weather the whole country has endured in recent weeks and months. “We won't have quite as many two-year-olds this time around because we've kept a lot of the nice two-year-olds from last year,” Burke explains. “We have 139 boxes here and we're pretty limited above that, so we had to cut back somewhere and it ended up being the two-year-olds. But we seem to have a nice bunch and still good numbers. “I've been saying to a few people that I felt the three-year-olds and older horses were probably a week or two ahead of where we'd usually be with them, but we're probably a week or two behind with the two-year-olds. We're probably better off having it that way round, because there are loads of races for the two-year-olds and they've got plenty of time.” Pinatubo (Ire) is a first-season sire expected to waste no time in having two-year-old winners in 2024 and Burke is excited to see what his half-brother to Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) can do having been sent to Spigot Lodge by Parkin. “He looks a lovely colt,” says the trainer. “There's a lot of scope about him–a lot more scope than Dramatised had.” Burke also puts in a positive word for a filly by Sergei Prokofiev, but it's another Whitsbury Manor Stud resident who is the main subject of his affections, namely Havana Grey (GB), whom he trained to win the G1 Flying Five S. back in 2018. “It's been unbelievable really,” Burke says of the success Havana Grey has enjoyed at stud, notably with the dual Group 1-winning two-year-old Vandeek (GB), the star of his second crop. “And fair play to Ed Harper from Whitsbury. When we were looking to try and sell him, we had a price in our heads, us and the owners. All the big studs came over to see him and liked him, but they didn't want to pay the price that we had in mind. We stuck to our guns and fair play to Ed. He said, 'I think I'm paying plenty for him, but I want him.' “His constitution was brilliant,” Burke adds of Havana Grey. “All he did was eat and sleep and he was a very sound, tough horse. I think he's passing on that toughness to his progeny.” As for the current inmates at Spigot Lodge, there is arguably no finer embodiment of toughness than the six-year-old Spycatcher, who did his trainer proud in 2023 when winning the G3 Prix de Ris-Orangis at Deauville before being beaten just a short head when bidding for a first Group 1 success in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at the same venue. Spycatcher, who occupies the box that was once home to Burke's multiple Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), will be back for more in 2024 with the aim of breaking his top-level duck, so too the four-year-olds Flight Plan (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and Royal Rhyme (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), both of whom acquitted themselves well in good company last season. There's certainly plenty to be excited about if you're planning a visit to Spigot Lodge during the Middleham Open Day, albeit Burke's own enjoyment of the event isn't necessarily what it once was since the introduction of racing on Good Friday. “We've got three meetings, so we're going to be stretched to the limit,” he explains. “We've had to limit our opening window to two and a half hours, because we just can't do it any other way. We're going to have lads everywhere and horses travelling. You can't be loading horses up when you've got 200-300 people walking around. “It's unfortunate because it does have a place. It's a good selling point to try and get new blood into the game, but it certainly hasn't made it easier with so much racing on Good Friday.” It's a message that rings especially true at a time when the fixture list seems to grow year-on-year, despite a general decline in foal crops in Britain, not to mention the increase in the number of horses being bought to race overseas. It provides an interesting talking point on which to end the chat with Burke, who clearly remains as passionate as ever about a sport which means everything to him and his family, ably assisted at Spigot Lodge by wife Elaine and daughters Kelly and Lucy. “I think that's a big problem [the loss of horses overseas] and I don't know how you halt that,” he says. “Obviously, prize-money comes into it, but we're so far behind as a country on prize-money compared to a lot of the other major racing nations that we're never going to catch them up. “Any increase in prize-money will help, but how do you go about persuading people not to sell their horses? I think in a perverse sort of way, the Middle East programme that's there doesn't really help British racing, but there's a case for owners keeping those good middle-distance horses and high-class sprinters and going out in the winter to the Middle East to compete for that prize-money. “That's probably as good a selling point as any. The likes of Richard Fahey have obviously had great success, so the more that they build their programme, it will probably help to a degree to persuade owners in Britain to keep those horses.” The post Burke Looking Forward With Fallen Angel After Cancer Fight appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Charity Racing Welfare has won a silver award at the Smiley Film Awards on Mar. 20. The honour was given for the racing charity's 2023 Mental Health Awareness Week film, which depicts anxiety building up for a racehorse trainer. It was created in conjunction with Equine Productions and shows regular day-to-day scenarios that can adversely affect mental health in racing's participants. Held at Leicester Square's ODEON Luxe cinema, the awards celebrated several categories, with the finalists decided by public vote. Then the judging panel selected the winners. Racing Welfare's head of communications and marketing, Nicki Strong, said, “It was a huge honour for our film to be recognised by an expert panel comprising high-profile and influential people from the worlds of fundraising, business, entertainment and media. We are extremely proud of the film and the role it played in spearheading our mental health campaign, and that it resonated with both those within and outside of the racing community. We'd like to say a huge thank you to Equine Productions for expertly bringing our vision to life, our actor Charlie Smith for giving his time and to Warren Greatrex and his team for allowing us to film at Rhonehurst.” The post Racing Welfare Wins Silver At Smiley Charity Film Awards appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Headed by the first appearance from the seven World Cup night horses from the yard of Aidan O'Brien, there was a buzz of activity on both the dirt track and turf course Thursday morning at Meydan proper as well as back on the Tapeta track a couple of furlongs down the road. The Ballydoyle septet slowly ambled out of the tunnel near the 1600-metre starting point on the the dirt surface, led by G3 Red Sea Turf H. hero Tower of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}, G2 Dubai Gold Cup), with dual Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}, G1 Dubai Sheema Classic ) and Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}, G1 Dubai Turf) close in tow. They were followed next in line by Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}, Sheema Classic), the G2 UAE Derby-bound Henry Adams (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Navy Seal (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), and Cairo (Ire) (Quality Road, Dubai Turf) caboosing the group. The seven made their way down the chute in front of the international press and did one circuit of the main tack in the wrong direction before then turning around to canter a lap. As can be the case on their first visit to the track, a few–including Auguste Rodin–appeared a bit warm under their saddle cloths on a morning that was equal parts muggy and breezy, with 'widespread dust' headlining the weather conditions at the time. “They arrived early on Sunday and they're all in great form,” said Pat Keating, ever at the fore on foreign soil. “They just trotted a lap, then cantered for seven furlongs or so. They might go a little bit further as the week goes on but they're here healthy and well and that's the main thing.” About the same time the Ballydoyle contingent was spotted, the three Andre Fabre participants jumped onto the turf course at about the 1400-metre marker. Junko (GB) (Intello {Ger}), the somewhat surprising winner of the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase and bound for the Sheema Classic led his longer-winded stable companions Sober (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) and Sevenna's Knight (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in a light gallop. The latter pair go in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup over two miles. Runners representing John and Thady Gosden did their Tuesday morning trackwork over the Tapeta track. Four-peat Dubai Turf seeker Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) had steady canters, as did the Sheema Classic-bound Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Gold Cup entrant Trawlerman (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}). Thady Gosden said: “”They all got here about 2am on Sunday. They just had an easy day and we might bring them over to the main track on Thursday. “Lord North is in good form, this is the fifth year–he's actually been over here, he also came in 2020–and he's won the race three times. He's travelled over well, he's an older horse and he's in good order. “Nashwa had a great season and has done well during the winter. She seems in good form in what will be a competitive race.” The post Euros Here, There and Everywhere Tuesday At Meydan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

While tickets go on sale to the general public Apr. 22, fans can register for pre-sale access to tickets for this year's Breeders' Cup championship weekend at Del Mar at BreedersCup.com/2024. A broad range of seating options for the event were unveiled Tuesday at BreedersCup.com/Tickets. The Breeders' Cup returns to Del Mar for the third time Nov. 1-2. Ahead of championship weekend, Breeders' Cup and Del Mar will invest more than $5 million to create new seating areas and expanded hospitality offerings, including construction of a luxury chalet that will provide approximately 700 premium dining seats, the addition of more than 1,000 temporary box seats, and enhanced culinary activations. “Del Mar is a fantastic partner in hosting the World Championships, showcasing the highest levels of international Thoroughbred racing while providing a tremendous hospitality experience,” said Drew Fleming, President & CEO of Breeders' Cup Limited. “We look forward to our domestic and international fans returning to the San Diego area to enjoy everything the local community and World Championships have to offer.” The post Pre-Sale Breeders’ Cup Ticket Registration Opens appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Off his victory in the Louisiana Derby (G2) March 23 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Catching Freedom has moved into fifth place in the NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.View the full article

First Ambition (GB), a colt by Invincible Spirit (Ire) and the first foal of the six-time Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), is among a sizeable number of horses owned by John Dance's Coverdale Stud to be catalogued within the Castlebridge Consignment draft for an extended Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-up and Horses-in-Training Sale. A record number of 195 lots in the horses-in-training section means that the auction will now start with an evening session on Wednesday, May 1 at 5pm. The sale continues on Thursday morning at 9.30am with the breeze-up section to follow. Around 50 horses from the Castlebridge draft are from Dance's operation, with some of them having raced last year under the names of Coverdale Stud or Titanium Racing Club and others still unraced. Andrew Mead, a director of the Castlebridge Consignment, said, “The Castlebridge Consignment have 71 entries in the Tattersalls Guineas Horses-in-Training Sale, now scheduled for the 1st and 2nd May, a number of which are being sold by Coverdale Stud. Whilst several of the horses are proven high-class performers, none of the horses have raced recently due to the personal circumstances of the owner. The majority are well-bred, unraced or lightly-raced horses with considerable untapped potential and all from this owner will be sold as 'out of training'. Castlebridge will be consigning from the Highflyer barns at Tattersalls and welcomes inspections and vettings at the sales.” Owner and breeder John Dance was arrested last April and is involved in an ongoing Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigation into allegations of fraud and money laundering involving his company WealthTek LLP. Under the name of an associated company, Vertem Asset Management, Dance sponsored the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster between 2018 and 2022. Following his arrest and the subsequent freezing of his assets, Dance's horses were initially not allowed to be entered for races, but in May the British Horseracing Authority granted permission for them to run under the name of Coverdale Stud or Titanium Racing. First Ambition is among the unraced three-year-olds for sale at Tattersalls, while Tribal Rhythm (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}), a half-brother to Group 1-winning sprinter Bradsell (GB), was placed twice in three starts for Dance's former trainer James Horton last year and is also entered for the sale. Among the 202 juveniles catalogued for the breeze-up section is a Mocklershill-consigned colt by Wootton Bassett (GB) out of the former champion three-year-old filly Peeping Fawn (Danehill). The mare's four winning offspring include September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who was beaten a nose by Laurens when runner-up in the G1 Fillies Mile. Willie Browne's Mocklershill operation will also offer a Quality Road colt out of treble Group 1 winner Alice Springs (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Among the leading graduates of the Guineas Breeze-up Sale is the top-class stayer Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}), who was bought by Highfleyer Bloodstock for 31,000gns and went on to win three Group 1 races for Alan King. The catalogues for the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-up and Horses-in-Training Sale are now available online. The post Unraced Laurens Colt Among John Dance’s Horses to be Sold at Tattersalls appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Off his victory in the Louisiana Derby (G2) March 24 at Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots, Catching Freedom has moved into fifth place in the NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll.View the full article

It was only a matter of time before Andre Fabre unveiled a new bright prospect among his 2024 crop of 3-year-old Classic aspirants and it was during Tuesday's meeting at Saint-Cloud that the Chantilly maestro delivered one of the first. Producing a power-packed performance in testing conditions, Nurlan Bizakov's homebred colt Narkez (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}–Nazym {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) earned TDN Rising Star status in the card's often-informative mile conditions event, the Prix Comrade, to prompt Prix du Jockey Club talk. Sent off the 3-1 second favourite behind stablemate Supercooled (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), the half-brother to the G3 Musidora S. winner Nausha (GB) (Kingman {GB}) who had got off the mark in impressive fashion at Clairefontaine in October was held up in third early by Mickael Barzalona. In front from the turn for home, the chestnut proved relentless as Supercooled arrived for a friendly tussle that was quickly settled. At the line, his margin was 6 1/2 lengths and going ever outwards, with the well-regarded Henri-Alex Pantall-trained course-and-distance winner Kiaro (Fr) (Guignol {Ger}) beaten 15 lengths in total in third. Narkez, who becomes the 11th TDN Rising Star for Siyouni, represents the same cross as the heavyweights St Mark's Basilica (Fr) and Sottsass (Fr) and adds to the tally of the sire's former Rising Stars which include St Mark's Basilica himself, Paddington (GB) and Tahiyra (Ire). He is currently the last known foal out of the unraced dam, who alongside the aforementioned Nausha has also produced the strong-staying G3 March S. runner-up Nagano (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). She is a daughter of Brigid (Irish River {Fr}), whose line of top-class descendants include Sadler's Wells's group 1-winning juveniles Listen (Ire) and Sequoyah (Ire), as well as the sire Henrythenavigator and Galileo's Cliffs Of Moher (Ire) and Magician (Ire). Rentrée victorieuse pour 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘇 (@mickaelbarzalon) ! Il remporte le Prix Comrade (Classe 2) devant son compagnon d'écurie 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗱. Les 2⃣ élèves d'André Fabre devraient être en vue dans les plus belles épreuves printanières pic.twitter.com/bNDSHwVR6z — Equidia (@equidia) March 26, 2024 The post Siyouni’s Narkez A New TDN Rising Star appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Enhanced medication policies will be in effect at all the major auctions in the U.S. beginning July 1, leading North American sales companies Keeneland Association, Fasig-Tipton Company and Ocala Breeders' Sales Company jointly announced Tuesday morning. The changes were made in an effort “to safeguard the welfare of the horse while creating greater clarity and consistency among the nation's three major U.S. Thoroughbred auction houses,” according to the release, and are the result of meetings between the three companies begun last October at the behest of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. The new rules enhance current medication policies, reducing the number of permitted therapeutic medications while increasing the number of prohibited medications to include all substances currently banned under HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control program. The penalties for violation of rules will also be increased. Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin, Fasig-Tipton President Boyd T. Browning Jr. and OBS President Tom Ventura said in a joint statement: “We continue to refine our policies with the goals of protecting the well-being of the horse and providing our customers with transparency and the best opportunity for success at the race track. Horse safety and welfare must be a collaborative effort across our sport, which includes the sales ring. We take our leadership roles toward that mission seriously and remain united in our advocacy to serve the best interest of the horse.” Among the listed highlights of the new medication reforms: no non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be administered to a horse within 48 hours of an under-tack performance; no NSAID may be administered to a horse after 6 p.m. the day prior to sale; NSAIDs permitted for use on the sales grounds are Phenylbutazone (Bute), Flunixin Meglumine (Banamine) and Ketoprofen (Ketofen), at or below manufacturer's recommended dosage (MRD). Only one such NSAID can be administered at any one time (stacking is prohibited). No corticosteroid may be administered to a horse within 48 hours of an under-tack performance. No corticosteroid may be administered to a horse within 24 hours of the start of the session in which that horse is scheduled to sell. The post Sales Companies Jointly Announce Strengthened Medication Policies appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Wednesday's top tips from the Post's racing teamView the full article

The fifth running of the valuable Irish EBF Ballyhane S., which is to be held at Naas on August 5, has attracted 322 entries. Worth a total of €300,000, with €150,000 to the winner and prize-money down to tenth place, the race is for EBF-eligible two-year-olds by sires with a median auction sale price of €75,000 or less. Hugo Palmer was the winning trainer in 2023 with Golden Trick (Ire) (Galileo Gold {Ire}) for the Bronte Collection, which also owned the runner-up Jungle Mate (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}). The Bronte Collection syndicate has 18 horses entered for this year's race. Arizona Blaze (GB) (Sergei Prokofiev), who won the opening juvenile race of the Irish season, features among the entries, as does his runner-up Rowdy Yeats (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and the third-placed Monotone (Ire) (Verbal Dexterity {Ire}). Arizona Blaze is one of 14 entries for Amo Racing. British-based Irishman Richard Fahey trains 13 of the 119 entries from the UK. He said: “The Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes is a fantastic initiative but a bloody hard one to win. We've put 13 horses in it this year and even though it is early in the year it is a no-brainer to make these entries. The €250 entry for a €300,000 race is a massive incentive for owners and lets us all dream a little. “We haven't managed to win the Ballyhane Stakes yet but we'll be trying desperately hard again this year to run a few in it because it is great prize-money and at a good time of the year for these juveniles.” Joe Foley, who owns Ballyhane Stud and is chairman of the Irish EBF, added, “The race is now in its fifth year and it's fantastic to see such a strong number of entries from both home and abroad, and a big thank you to everyone who entered a horse. “With a massive pot of €300,000 on offer and prize-money down to tenth place it gives connections the chance to dream big at this time of year. We are looking forward to watching the upcoming juvenile races and seeing which horses come onto the radar for the Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes in August.” The post Bumper Entry for Ballyhane Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In 2009, when Andrew Offerman worked as an intern for the New York Racing Association, little did anyone know that 15 years later he would be running its racing department.View the full article

Roger James and Robert Wellwood are sending their stayer Mark Twain (NZ) (Shocking) to Melbourne to get an idea of where the emerging stayer sits. The four-year-old son of Melbourne Cup winner Shocking runs in the Listed The Roy Higgins, (2600m) at Flemington on Saturday. On offer for the victor is a ballot exemption into this year’s Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful,” James told RSN. Mark Twain has raced 11 times, registering three wins. As a three-year-old, Mark Twain finished fourth in the New Zealand Derby (2400m) behind Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ) (Redwood) who had run second in the Victoria Derby prior to that victory, following up to run fourth in the Australian Derby at Randwick. A New Zealand summer campaign saw Mark Twain score over 2100m at Te Rapa last month while at his most recent outing the gelding finished third in the Auckland Cup (3200m) on March 9. James said Mark Twain had continued to work well and said the stable was using Saturday’s race to get a line on the gelding, while at the same time conceding it will be a tougher contest than what he has been racing against. “For an emerging stayer, you could not have wanted him to work any better,” James said. “He’s in wonderful order. He’s a beautifully athletic horse. He doesn’t carry any extra. He goes in a lovely, relaxed manner and I think the Flemington straight will really suit him. “We’re going to get a line on him. “It’s about three rungs up on what he has been meeting, but he does have the ability and at the end of a staying race to quicken markedly and that can put a lot of horses in trouble. “It’s a learning curve, but if it works out it will be wildly exciting for everybody concerned.” View the full article

The Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) and Pride Of Jenni (Pride of Dubai) rivalry has dominated discussions ahead of Saturday’s A$3 million Gr.1 Australian Cup (2000m), but Kiwi trainer Ken Kelso thinks the race has another crucial element. His star mare Legarto (NZ) (Proisir), who will arrive in Melbourne on Wednesday, is the only horse of the 12 nominations in the Australian Cup to boast current 2000-metre form following her G1 Herbie Dyke Stakes victory, which was followed by a second placing on a leader’s track over the same trip at Ellerslie at her most recent start. Importantly, Kelso rates last year’s Australian Guineas winner as being good enough to beat any of her potential rivals on Saturday. “Yes, I think she is,” Kelso said. “I just hope she performs to what she did in the Australian Guineas and we’ll see where that takes us. “I couldn’t take a line through her in that last race at Ellerslie. She’s better left-handed and better on a big, roomy track. Ellerslie is very on-pace since the new track went down. “She’ll appreciate the big, roomy track and we’re back at Flemington. “As long as she travels good, we’ll go in thinking she can go very well. “She had some work Saturday and today was her final gallop and we are very happy. It’s all systems go. It’s going to be a good race. “It will suit us with the pace on. Michael (Dee) knows the form and we haven’t discussed tactics with him yet, but we couldn’t be more pleased.” View the full article

The Gr.3 Victoria Handicap (1400m) on Saturday week has been identified as the kick-off point this campaign for Globe (NZ) (Charm Spirit) following a second jumpout on Monday morning. Globe has returned with two impressive jumpout performances this campaign following an aborted spring preparation which saw him suffer from cardiac arrhythmia in the Feehan Stakes. Toorak Handicap winner Attrition (Churchill) and Buffalo River (Noble Mission) are also possibilities of lining up in the 1400-metre contest, where Globe will carry 54 kilograms with Jye McNeil in the saddle for the first time. Globe clocked 1:00.96 for the 1000m on Monday, winning by 2.5 lengths. “He had plenty up his sleeve and Jye said he thought he had plenty more to give,” said co-trainer Mick Price of Monday’s hit-out. “It is a bit hard to get a gauge on his race fitness, he had a long time out, he’s a bit round in condition but did not have a blow. “He looks really well and he’s had nothing go wrong and sailed straight through and week by week he’s improved.” Price said he hoped to have the opportunity to give Globe his first look at the Caulfield circuit next week but isn’t sure what the campaign beyond the Victoria Handicap looks like for the 90-rater. He said it is possible Globe could head to Brisbane for the Winter Carnival. “The short, fast 1400 metres will be too quick for him but a nice mile up there at Eagle Farm would be good,” said Price, who trains the horse in partnership with Michael Kent Jnr. “But we still need to find out his best distance too, 1400 metres on a Soft track against average horses is fine, mile will be fine but you’d love him to get 2000 metres wouldn’t you?” View the full article

Ciaron Maher concedes he is stepping into unchartered waters with star mare Pride Of Jenni (Pride of Dubai) when she heads to the Australian Cup at Flemington. It will be the Trelawney Stud-bred mare’s second run at 2000m in a career spanning 27 starts when she tackles the final Group One race of Melbourne’s Autumn Carnival on Saturday. Pride Of Jenni finished eighth in the JRA Plate at Randwick last April after setting a frantic early speed which earned jockey Regan Bayliss a Racing NSW stewards’ suspension. Now Pride Of Jenni is a different horse, not as free going, having turned the corner with two Group 1 wins and an All-Star Mile victory. “She’s had one crack at it before,” Maher said of the 2000m journey. “She was on the back-up and is clearly in much better form now. “She ran reasonably well considering how hard she went in that race, but I think she’ll run well in anything you put her in the form she is in now. “It is a bit of a risk, but if you’re going to do it, now is the time to do it.” Maher said The All-Star Mile was the autumn target for Pride Of Jenni and anything else would be a bonus on top. But if Pride Of Jenni was to take that next step to 2000m on Saturday and be successful then the Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick could be on the agenda. Pride Of Jenni came through her All-Star Mile victory in excellent order and quickly recovered the weight lost, a really good sign Maher explained. Mahar said Pride Of Jenni had a gallop on Monday and was likely to have a lighter piece of work later in the week after spending the majority of last week in recovery mode. He said Pride Of Jenni’s ability to run at a high speed and sustain it was what made her so good. “When you’re trying to build a race against her, it’s quite difficult,” Maher said. “She’s a phenomenal horse really and when you see them race, those types of horses really make the race interesting.” View the full article

There has been a slight change in plans for Group One-winning filly Molly Bloom (NZ) (Ace High). The Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) winner was set to tackle this Saturday’s Gr.1 NZEA New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie but will now head straight to Queensland for a three-race campaign. “She had a busy time over the spring and summer, so we thought this was a good opportunity to take a deep breath with her,” said Andrew Scott, who trains in the filly in partnership with Lance O’Sullivan. Initially purchased out of Seaton Park’s 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft by Wexford for $150,000, Molly Bloom went on to win three races for her syndicate of owners, including the NZ 1000 Guineas and Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m), before a deal was brokered with well-known Australian owner Ozzie Kheir after the Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m) in January, where she ran seventh. She immediately struck for her new connections with victory in the Gr.2 David and Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2000m) at Te Rapa last month. While another Group One victory in her homeland would have been a great addition to her pedigree page, her connections felt focussing on the Queensland Winter Carnival was the best option. “There are some good opportunities for her in Brisbane,” Scott said. “We are hoping to trial her on the ninth of April and hopefully she puts in a nice trial, and it can give us the confidence to go. “We may even look to trial her again through May with the idea of running her on the 11th of May in the Bracelet (Listed, 1800m) on the Gold Coast. There is The Roses (Gr.2, 2100m) and the Oaks (Gr.1, 2200m) as well, providing her form continues to improve.” It will be a farewell tour of sorts for Wexford Stables and their gun filly, who is set to remain in Australia in the care of another trainer following her campaign. “For our team to have a horse like her and have the opportunity to take her over and compete in races like that is what we strive to do,” Scott said. “It will be exciting for the team to have a good chance like her. She is a staying three-year-old filly and we think she is up to the grade. “She will head over and have her campaign and then most likely continue to race as a four-year-old in Australia.” She is not the only stable runner heading across the Tasman, with Group One-winning sprinter Waitak (NZ) (Proisir) set to head to Perth next month to take his place in the A$4 million The Quokka (1200m) for slot holders Trackside Media. “It’s incredibly exciting for our team to take on the Quokka,” Scott said. “He had a very quiet trial down at Taupo and will have another trial on Thursday. That should top him off nicely and then he looks to fly out on the 7th (April) to Sydney, and then from Sydney to Perth on the 8th. He has got nearly 10 days in Perth to settle in before the race on the 20th. “We think he is best kept fresh and we are taking him over there in that form. We haven’t quite settled on a jockey, but we are looking to get that finalised within the next couple of days. “The horse is at the top of his game and we know he has to be as he will run in an incredibly strong field.” Meanwhile, Wexford will have strong representation at their home meeting on Wednesday, with the Matamata operation set to line-up eight runners. “The horses having a home track advantage, it is certainly going to aid them,” Scott said. The Sir Peter Vela-bred and owned Tomodachi (NZ) (Tarzino) will contest the Kilgravin Lodge 1400 and Scott believes the three-year-old filly can make it back-to-back wins under jockey Warren Kennedy. “She is quite a progressive filly. She steps up to 1400m and she is genetically bred to run a staying trip. We think that she is capable with the step up to 65 grade, she has got a good amount of improvement in her.” The stable also has plenty of time for three-year-old filly Miss Bo Peep (NZ) (Astern), who will make her debut in the Broadway Motel 1200. “We really like Miss Bo Peep as a potential racehorse,” Scott said. “While she lacks a little in experience, we think that she has got a good load of ability. She is out of a Group One winner (Miss Raggedy Anne) and she is going to get through a good few grades. She is a really nice filly.” Scott is also confident of bold showings from Baggio (NZ) (War Decree) in the Gregory Equine 1400 and Cash Treasure in the Entain – NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race (1400m). “Baggio doesn’t need to do much to improve to win a race after his promising debut,” he said. “Cash Treasure ran a good race on debut down in Taupo in a strong field. She has taken a good amount of improvement with that run under her belt and we are hoping she can finish in the mix tomorrow.” View the full article

Gavin Sharrock is confident his young protégé Sergeant Major (NZ) (Proisir) can sign off his New Zealand career in perfect style. The Stratford trainer’s well-related two-year-old son of champion sire Proisir will take aim at the Gr.1 Courtesy Ford Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Trentham on Saturday week. “He has been sold, but the new owner Ozzie Kheir wants me to carry on with him until after the Sires’ and then he’ll go to either Chris Waller or Ciaron Maher,” Sharrock said. Sergeant Major ran second on debut at Otaki behind Full Force (Cosmic Force), who had previously placed in the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), before he impressively went one better at Trentham to attract Kheir’s attention. His maiden success was all the more meritorious as he had reared at the start and hung throughout before unleashing a powerful finishing burst wide out on the track. “He had never run crooked in his life and then I saw the replay and he got his tongue over the bit so he (Sam Weatherley, jockey) wouldn’t have been able to steer him,” Sharrock said. “That’s probably why he went up when he jumped, the bit’s hit him under the tongue. “I’ve put a tongue control bit on him and he’s worked every day in that and accepted it and everything should be fine. “He is a freak and he’s from a staying family and he will be far better at 1400m than 1200m. He hasn’t missed a beat and is jumping out of his skin.” Sergeant Major was bred and raced by Gavin O’Dea, with the seven-figure deal brokered by bloodstock agent Melissa Robinson. Hawera accountant O’Dea has enjoyed a successful association with Sharrock through Sergeant Major’s multiple stakes winning brother Soldier Boy (NZ) and their sister Vancooga (NZ), runner-up in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m). Another sister is currently being broken in and the mare is in foal to Vanbrugh while Vancooga has a yearling filly by Vadamos. Sharrock and O’Dea are looking forward to a big day out at Trentham on April 6. “It would nice if we could get a family double with Soldier Boy, running in the Awapuni Gold Cup (Gr.2, 2000m),” Sharrock said. The five-year-old is expected to be a major improver off the back of a pair of lead-up outings. “He’s going well and he’s just taken a couple of runs to get him back because I put him out on dairy land for six weeks and he came back as big as a bull,” Sharrock said. Soldier Boy has won on four occasions, including Listed successes in the Marton Cup (2200m) and the Wanganui Guineas (1340m). He also has a runner-up finish to his credit in the Gr.3 Taranaki Cup (1800m) and ran fourth in the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) and Gr.3 Wellington Stakes (1600m). View the full article

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — To coin a phrase uttered by the actor John Houseman from the Smith Barney television commercials of the mid-1980s, Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) has really 'earned it' as he approaches his second straight appearance in an eight-figure horse race, Saturday's $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse. “Yeah. I mean, it's been pretty crazy,” admits owner and breeder Joey Peacock, Jr. Peacock, a resident of San Antonio, and his family have been in the horse business for the better part of 5 1/2 decades, but never has there been one like Senor Buscador to grace their New Mexico-based barn. And it all starts with a daughter of a virtually unknown son of Fappiano who won no fewer than seven black-type races at Zia Park and Sunland Park for Peacock's father and trainer Todd Fincher. She has managed to one-up herself in the breeding shed, with five winners from five to race, four of those full stakes winners and two graded winners. Not bad for a mare by….checks notes…Desert God? The Pride of New Mexico and 'Mining' For Gold “I think that early on, people look down their noses at her being a 'New Mexico-bred,'” he said of Rose's Desert. “But if you really look at the pedigree, I mean, she's by a horse who was an unraced son of Fappiano out of a mare that won the [GI] Kentucky Oaks. I mean, let's be real, that's a pretty solid pedigree.” That Kentucky Oaks winner is the 1982 victress Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}), whose daughter Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister) was broodmare of the year in 2007. More on how this part of the pedigree fits in below. “There's a lot of times that you have great racemares who don't end up being great broodmares, but we were just always confident in her. And she's a big mare, so it wasn't like we had limitations when we were talking about stallions, like we were trying to overcome anything,” Peacock explained. He continued, “She had speed. She had size. She didn't have anything that we had to try to breed to improve, which really opened us up to really go to anybody that we wanted to stallion-wise. Right or wrong, we are 100% all in on that pedigree and that bloodline. We haven't sold any of Roses Desert's offspring and don't intend to. I just think it's something that we can take and build on and look back 20 years from now and say, 'Oh my God. Look what happened starting with Rose's Desert.' I tell you, I wouldn't trade our broodmare with anybody else's broodmare.” The decision to send Rose's Desert to Mineshaft, on the surface at least, is an interesting one. The Peacocks successfully mated the mare to the likes of Ghostzapper (Grade III winner Runaway Ghost and SW Our Iris Rose) and Curlin (MSW Sheriff Brown). A four-time Grade I winner and Horse of the Year in 2003, Mineshaft has been a reliable sire of racehorses, if not perhaps in the same league as a Ghostzapper or Curlin. “My dad was still alive when we bred to Mineshaft, and so he would get the stallion book every year and go through it, and what he really liked to see–he liked to see horses that had a decent amount of races in their career, which to him indicated soundness,” Peacock explained. “He liked to see horses all through the pedigree that made money, which to him was a proxy for ability at the racetrack. And then to see a horse that had the stamina to go the classic distances, and Mineshaft fit all those, checked all those boxes. So he wasn't a big stud fee, $10,000, but you know what? So what? “We were not handcuffed by the fact that we were breeding to market to the sales, which I think drives most breeding decisions. So we were sort of free of that obligation of trying to get a sales horse. We just wanted to breed a good, sound, solid race horse, and as you can see, we got fortunate and that's what turned out to be.” The cross of A.P. Indy over the Blush With Pride family needs little introduction, as it has resulted in the likes of Belmont winner Rags to Riches–by A.P. Indy himself; GSW & G1SP Casino Drive (Mineshaft); MGSW/GISP Greatest Honour (Tapit); Canadian SW Cascading (A.P. Indy); and Modeling (Tapit), the dam of champion MGISW Arcangelo (Arrogate). And Mineshaft himself is out of Prospectors Delite, a mare by….well, does anyone know how Senor Buscador translates into English? If you didn't, you do now. An Immediate Hit Peacock, who boards his mares at Shawhan Place in Kentucky, reports there was nothing remarkable about Senor Buscador's upbringing, but the same couldn't be said about the year 2020, the colt's juvenile season. The Coronavirus was on the lips and minds of everybody, and in its own way, it wreaked havoc on the Thoroughbred industry. Among the types of decisions it impacted were the otherwise-inane discussions of just where to run one's horses. “New Mexico shut down and we were trying to find a race for him because he's ready to go, and so Todd took him to Remington Park and after that first race, Todd said, 'This horse is–you don't get horses like this very often. This horse is special'”, Peacock said. “So when he said that, I started paying a lot more attention. Not that I don't pay attention to our horses, but I mean, I started getting excited because he doesn't ever really offer any kind of glowing remarks like that.” Senor Buscador and Rose's Desert | Courtesy Shawhan Place Having rallied from last to debut a 2 1/2-length winner in November 2020, Senor Buscador romped by 5 3/4 lengths in the Springboard Mile the following month, but the colt was a flat fifth at 5-2 behind Mandaloun (Into Mischief) in the GII Risen Star S. “We had the fastest two-turn dirt Beyer for any 2-year-old when he won the Springboard, so my phone started ringing off the hook first thing in the morning after that race, and then we decided we weren't interested in selling the horse, so we were headed to the Risen Star,” Peacock said. “We thought the horse was going to run well. Didn't have his patented late kick. We ended up sending him to Dr. Tommy Hays in Elgin, Texas, and turns out he had chipped an ankle. So Dr. Hays took the chip out, said, 'Good news. We got it early. It hadn't been floating around. It didn't do a bunch of other soft tissue damage, so let's just give him time off,' which we did.” Dashed Derby Dreams Having also been forced to miss the 2018 Triple Crown trail with Senor Buscador's GIII Sunland Derby-winning half-brother Runaway Ghost, Peacock was compelled to regroup and was pointing Senor Buscador to a fall campaign in 2021. “I think we gave him four months off, and then we were training him to come back for the Zia Park Derby in New Mexico, and then Todd gets to the barn one morning and his right rear hock is just…he can't even put his foot on the ground,” Peacock said. “It's swollen beyond belief. I mean, he got injured in the stall and then that thing got infected and there's very little blood flow to that part of the hock. “So we had to have another surgery, go in and clean out the infection, try to get the antibiotics to where they needed to be. It ended up being a long, drawn-out affair. I mean, the veterinarians were like, 'We don't know how this is going to go.' We weren't not talking about [being] a racehorse anymore. We're just talking about survival.” But survive he did, finishing third to fellow World Cup entrant Laurel River (Into Mischief) in the GII Pat O'Brien S. at Del Mar before winning the 2022 GIII Ack Ack S. at Churchill Downs. He reportedly bled when eighth to Cody's Wish (Curlin) in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Connections continued on undeterred into a 5-year-old season, confidence still well intact, and Senor Buscador backed up their opinion with a 13-1 upset in the GII San Diego H. ahead of a sound fourth in the GI TVG Pacific Classic in early September. A respectable third in the GI Awesome Again S., Senor Buscador made up a fair bit of ground in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic to be seventh. Some might have called time on the season after a seventh start in eight months, but they pressed on to the GI Cigar Mile H., where Senor Buscador finished an anti-bias runner-up. “We were thinking about the Pegasus all along and hoping that based on that Cigar effort, we'd get the invitation and sure enough we did and we felt good about our chances there,” Peacock said. With the nine-furlong race run to suit his relentless closing style, Senor Buscador rallied past all the competition bar National Treasure (Quality Road) and not long after the race crossed the finish line, Fincher's phone was ringing. “The Saudi people had been talking to us after the Cigar, and of course Todd gets the call, shoot, five minutes after the Pegasus,” said Peacock. We're standing together after the race and he got the invitation.” Riyadh Riches A decided outsider in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup, consistent form and all, Senor Buscador was so far out of it in the early stages that Peacock and team were struggling to find him. “I'll be honest with you. We had no idea where he was,” Peacock admitted. “We watched it from the paddock because we couldn't get back to our seats. There were so many people at the track that we couldn't get back to where we were sitting, so we just decided we'd watch it from the paddock and we watched it on the Jumbotron. “They've got the chase car inside the rail videoing the front- runners. But when they came into the stretch, of course anytime he's running, I'm looking at the middle of the racetrack to try to find something that's closing and we could see him coming down the middle of the stretch. So yeah, we didn't get the opportunity to get excited until it was almost over. Our goal for the year was to get Senior Buscador a Grade I win and never dreamed it'd be the Saudi Cup, but heck, if you have to pick one to win, he picked a good one.” And now it's on to the World Cup, the second of a two-race lease with Saudi owner Sharaf Mohammed S Al Hariri. “He's doing great,” Peacock confirmed. “It was funny. When he went to Saudi, the first few days he was a little lethargic, and I guess it's just jet lag, just like us. But he started really picking it up after he was there, I think on the third day, and then continued through the race. Oscar, who is Todd Fincher's right-hand man who's there with him and gallops him every day said he's doing great. Galloping great. He's happy. He's eating well. He's training good. I mean, we couldn't ask for things to be going better at this point.” Peacock said he has engaged informally with a handful of individuals regarding a potential stud deal. “I want to see him in Kentucky,”he said. “I mean, I think he deserves that opportunity. Again, right or wrong, we 100% believe in the pedigree and I just think he deserves that opportunity, so we'll see if we can make it happen or not.” And what would his dad think of what Senor Buscador has accomplished? “Oh, wow. Well, first of all, I'm not sure he would've ever let Todd take the horse to Saudi,” Peacock chuckled. “I think that's the first thing. But no, he would be tickled to know that we have a horse that's running on the world stage that can compete on the world stage and arguably one of the biggest races on the world stage. So yeah, I would have to say he would be very excited about that. And the fact that we own the mare and we own every one of his brothers and sisters, it just really makes it that much more special for our family.” The post Long And Winding Road Lands Senor Buscador On World Stage appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Australian will partner the star sprinter in next Sunday’s Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m), becoming the galloper’s third rider in as many startsView the full article

What Alice Springs Races Where Pioneer Park Racecourse – Stuart Highway, Connellan NT 0870 When Wednesday, March 27, 2024 First Race 1:04pm ACST Visit Dabble It’s Day 2 of the Alice Springs Cup Carnival on Wednesday, with the three-year-olds featuring in the $50,000 NT Guineas (1600m). A total of 59 runners have accepted for the seven-race program with Pioneer Sprint aspirants appearing in The Soldier Lightning (1000m) and Alice Springs Cup aspirants lining up in an open 1900m handicap. Racing is set to commence at 1:04pm ACST. BEST BET: Marimenko Marimenko returns to the Red Centre after his 2023 Alice Springs Cup Carnival campaign was cut short because of injury. Returning to action for Richard and Chantelle Jolly in Adelaide at the start of the year, the son of Zoffany was fourth over 1200m (BM70) at Murray Bridge before three starts at Morphettville that produced a win and two minor placings. The Alice Springs Cup (2000m) on April 7 is the target, and if he brings his Adelaide form to the table, he’ll be tough to beat. Best Bet Race 6 – #3 Marimenko (6) 3yo Gelding | T: Gary Clarke | J: Jarrod Todd (56kg) -142.86 with Bet365 NEXT BEST: Don’t Be Dramatic Don’t Be Dramatic will take some stopping if his three length win over fellow three-year-olds over 1400m (BM68) is any guide. Don’t Be Dramatic has done little wrong after five starts at Pioneer Park, which has resulted in three wins and two runner-up performances. Only three other runners in the Guineas have raced over 1600m and beyond – Becquerel, He’s Maverick and The Panther – but it seems only bad luck will thwart Don’t Be Dramatic. Next Best Race 7 – #6 Don’t Be Dramatic (3) 3yo Gelding | T: Dan Morgan | J: Paul Denton (57.5kg) -142.86 with Neds NEXT BEST AGAIN: Taipan Tommy The fact Taipan Tommy was an early $10 quote with horse racing bookmakers is hard to ignore after winning emphatically last start. Making his Red Centre return, the eight-year-old gelding posted his fourth win from six starts when, after sharing the lead, he kicked clear in the home straight to seal victory by 3.5 lengths over 1400m (0-70). After three wins and a second in 22 days during last year’s Alice Springs Cup Carnival, Taipan Tommy then won the Tennant Creek Cup (1600m) in May. The son of Dark Valley didn’t adapt to Fannie Bay in two starts during the Darwin Cup Carnival, but on his way back home to South Australia in July, he pit-stopped at Pioneer Park and finished second over 1400m (0-70). Next Best Again Race 5 – #6 Taipan Tommy (4) 8yo Gelding | T: Kym Healy | J: Emma Lines (a1.5) (55kg) +140 with Unibet Wednesday Alice Springs quaddie tips – 27/3/2024 Alice Springs quadrella selections Wednesday, March 27, 2024 1-5-7-9 1-2-4-6 1-2-3-5 4-5-6-8 Horse racing tips View the full article