Wandering Eyes

Tamara, Sweet Azteca, and Mystik Dan are among the notable Breeders' Cup scratches at Del Mar from racing Nov. 1.View the full article

Both Sweet Azteca (Sharp Azteca) and 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) will scratch from the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Each filly looked to play a substantial role in the wagering with Sweet Azteca 2-1 on the morning line for Richard Baltas and Tamara listed at 7-2 for Richard Mandella. The news was reported on social media by DRF's David Grening. No reason was given for either scratch. Additionally, 20-1 shot Atsila (Ire) (Phoenix of Spain {Ire}) has been announced via the same source as a scratch from the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The post Scratches Keep Coming As Both Sweet Azteca and Tamara Are Out Of Filly & Mare Sprint appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) will not take part in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. The news was announced Saturday morning on social media by David Grening. Trainer Ken McPeek told Grening that “the reason they said was [he] responds to flexion left ankle.” This is the second scratch from the McPeek barn in as many days with 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Blackout Time (Not This Time) scratching Friday from the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Mystik Dan will retire to Airdrie Stud for the 2026 breeding season where he will stand for $15,000. Mystik Dan out of BC Dirt Mile. “The reason they said was responds to flexion left ankle,” McPeek said. Mystik Dan to stand stud at Airdrie in 2026. — David Grening (@DRFGrening) November 1, 2025 Both my Breeder's Cup horses have been scratched by Regulatory Vets. My team put both these horses on the plane without a single soundness concern. Neither horse has had any history of unsoundness. While obviously disappointed, We have been on an amazing journey the last two… pic.twitter.com/Hbjt44itzn — Kenny McPeek (@KennyMcPeek) November 1, 2025 The post Mystik Dan Out Of Dirt Mile; Retires To Airdrie Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sam Agars COLOURFUL KING - R9 (3) Will be fitter for first-up second and rise in trip looks suitable now Jay Rooney COLOURFUL KING - R9 (3) Big run on return and can overcome the outside draw here Owen Goulding LUCKY PLANET - R8 (10) Back to best latest and welldrawn front runner has no weight to carry Phillip Woo BRAVE STAR - R8 (1) Can strike down in grade over his preferred course and distance Shannon (Vincent Wong) ALL'S WELL - R2 (2) Can salute from a proper draw after running a...View the full article

On the Nov. 1 episode of BloodHorse at the Breeders' Cup: BloodHorse Monday's Louie Rabaut and Sean Collins, BloodHorse editorial director Frank Angst, news editor Byron King, and correspondent Bob Ehalt analyze the races on Breeders' Cup Saturday.View the full article

With those same tearaway tactics that have made her one of Australian racing’s fan favourites in recent years, Trelawney Stud-bred mare Pride Of Jenni ran her rivals off their feet again at Flemington on Saturday and became the first two-time winner of the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m). The daughter of Pride Of Dubai produced a similarly spectacular front-running performance to win the fillies and mares’ feature in 2023. That was a first win at Group One level for Pride Of Jenni, who went on to add the Cantala Stakes (1600m) the following weekend, and then a stunning six-length demolition in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick in the autumn after opening up a 30-length lead through the middle stages. Pride Of Jenni was beaten in all of her seven appearances at Group One level as a seven-year-old last season, throwing her racing future into uncertainty. But on Saturday she stepped out at Flemington and produced a performance that emphatically silenced the doubters. Regular rider Declan Bates again allowed her to power clear of the field through the middle stages, opening up a 10-length advantage. Pride Of Jenni put herself well out of the chasers’ reach and never looked like being caught. Despite tiring in the last 200m, she still crossed the finish line with four and a half lengths up her sleeve. Last season’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) winner Leica Lucy produced a strong finish to fill the runner-up spot and add valuable Australian Group One form to her CV. “I’m ecstatic and just so appreciative and respectful,” Pride Of Jenni’s trainer Ciaron Maher said. “She’s an amazing horse. For her to continually do what she does never ceases to amaze me. “I can’t thank the team enough, and Dec, who rides her fantastic. “Fair play to Tony (Ottobre, owner). I know he’s got some stick for not retiring her and racing on, but the mare’s happy and sound and she loves doing what she does. There’s nothing better than winning a Group One. I just want to give the horse a pat and a hug, and slap Dec on the back.” Bates has been in the saddle for all of Pride Of Jenni’s four Group One victories. “She is amazing,” Bates said. “She cantered around to the gates so relaxed, which is actually a bit unlike her, so I was a bit unsure coming around. But after 100m in the race, I knew we were winning. She got to her top nicely and kept extending every time I asked. I just knew there was nothing that could run us down. “She did get tired late, but the job was done. She’s an absolute warrior of a horse. “You can do things on her that you just can’t do on other horses. Her ability to sustain a gallop is freakish. For her to keep coming back and doing it year after year, it’s such a credit to everyone involved. Ciaron’s done an amazing job to keep getting her back. Tony and Lynn, wonderful owners who absolutely adore her. To be a part of this horse, it’s amazing. “It’s a movie I would be happy to watch over and over. She’s something special – a horse with her style to keep coming back and reproducing these performances. Everyone involved with this horse, it’s clear they’re doing a magnificent job to keep getting her back. “You can’t ride any other horse like you ride her, but the feeling she gives on these days is something else.” Pride Of Jenni has now had 42 starts for 12 wins, 12 placings and more than A$11.4 million in prize-money. She was bred by Trelawney Stud and is out of the O’Reilly mare Sancerre, who was prepared by Cambridge trainer Tony Pike to win on four occasions for the stud. The star mare stems from a family fashioned over generations at the famed Kiwi nursery, which has been in the Taylor family’s ownership since 1993, having been established by Seton Otway in the 1930s. Group Two winner Real Success, the taproot of star Trelawney Stud graduates Vouvray, Loire, A Touch Of Ruby and Pride Of Jenni and many others around them, was one of the first families the Taylors bought into upon taking ownership of Trelawney. Pride Of Jenni was sold at the Sydney Classic Sale for A$100,000 through the Segenhoe Stud draft, where she was purchased by Tony and Lynn Ottobre’s Cape Schanck Stud. View the full article

Two weeks on from a luckless third in the A$20 million Gr.1 The Everest (1200m), Jimmysstar had a well-deserved moment in the spotlight with a dominant victory in Saturday’s A$3 million Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Randwick. The New Zealand-bred son of Per Incanto burst on to the big sprint stage in Australia last season with explosive Group One victories in the Oakleigh Plate (1100m) and All Aged Stakes (1400m). All roads led to The Everest this spring, but until Saturday, Jimmysstar had to settle for a series of strong-finishing minor placings. He ran fifth from gate nine in the Gr.3 Concorde Stakes (1000m), second from the extreme outside gate in the Gr.2 Premiere Stakes (1200m), and then produced one of the standout performances of the race to be third and only a length and a half from Ka Ying Rising after jumping from gate 11 in The Everest. Saturday was finally Jimmysstar’s day. The six-year-old had a good draw at last in gate four, and regular rider Ethan Brown gave him a perfect and ground-saving run in midfield along the rail. Brown saw a gap when he needed one early in the home straight, and he angled Jimmysstar into it and pressed the button. Jimmysstar produced his customary blistering turn of foot, bursting into a clear lead and quickly putting the result beyond any doubt. Jimmysstar went on to win by two and a half lengths from the late-finishing Lady Shenandoah. It was the biggest winning margin in the Russell Balding Stakes, which was added to the Sydney spring calendar in 2019. “He was due,” Brown said. “I love this horse so much. He’s a beauty, and he’s matured now and he knows what it’s about. “I spoke to him behind the gates and said, ‘You’ve got to jump better.’ He did jump better, but he was still a bit sluggish there, and that’s just him. “But the beauty of a good draw, we were able to overcome that and get him into gear. Once we found our spot, he had a beautiful resting run on a good speed and I just had to trust his finish. “That’s what I said to the team and everyone was aware of that. That’s what he can do, and he certainly showed his true colours today. “We just needed room, and when we got that, jeez he let go.” The winner of two of his three starts in New Zealand for Hastings trainer Guy Lowry, a majority share in Jimmysstar was sold to clients of leading Australian trainer Ciaron Maher following a Rating 65 win at Hawke’s Bay, and the chestnut has now gone on to amass more than A$6 million in stakes. He has recorded 10 wins and seven placings in a 22-race career. “This was obviously well deserved,” Maher’s assistant trainer Johann Gerard-Dubord said. “He has been running big races all prep. His run in The Everest was huge. To back it up two weeks later, after such a big run, it was not easy to do. He is such a tough horse and it was a very good ride from Ethan. “It’s well deserved for the horse, because he was winless in this prep until today but could have won both of his last two with better luck. He keeps getting better. “Obviously his biggest asset is his turn of foot. We tried to use that this prep and we found out in The Everest that he is able to do it even doing work early. An extra 100m today, with a beautiful ride, he was very impressive. “He comes back better every prep and I think he will just keep improving. Plenty more good wins coming up.” Jimmysstar was bred by Wairarapa couple Pete and Chrissy Algie in partnership with Masterton’s Little Avondale Stud. Stud proprietors Sam and Catriona Williams along with the Algies remain in the ownership of the star galloper. The chestnut gelding is by Little Avondale Stud’s outstanding stallion Per Incanto out of Anniesstar. The Zed mare won five races including the Listed Feilding Gold Cup (2100m), while her full-brother Jacksstar was a seven-time winner up to Group Two level and also placed in the Gr.1 Auckland Cup (3200m) and her half-brother Bourbonaire was runner-up in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m). Anniesstar is the dam of three named foals, all of them have been winners, including Charms Star, winner of the Gr.3 Manawatu Breeders’ Stakes (2000m), and she was also runner-up in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and Queensland Oaks (2200m) as a three-year-old. View the full article

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk The official welcome has been held in Christchurch today for the international field of drivers here for the World Driving Championship. The function at the Commodore Hotel featured a traditional powhiri and was attended by eight of the 10 drivers involved, their entourages plus representatives from HRNZ and other interested parties. The two drivers not there were Gary Hall Junior who had some passport dramas and a delayed departure from Western Australia while American whizz kid Brett Beckwith was due later this afternoon. The group has already headed to Kaikoura for the opening heats of the WDC at the scenic South Bay course tomorrow. For New Zealand’s representative Blair Orange the quest to win a world title at home is becoming very real. “It’s pretty cool and you look around and these drivers have something like 30,000 wins between them so it’s a pretty amazing stat,” says Orange. Orange himself goes into Kaikoura with 2998 career wins, just two away from becoming the fourth New Zealander ever to secure 3000 wins. There are two previous world champions in the group, Canada’s James MacDonald and Frenchman Pierre Vercruysse. For MacDonald it was eight years ago and he’s been hugely successful in North America since then. “It’s exciting … in 2017 I felt like a bit of an outsider. Now I’m older and a little more used to stuff like this and I’m going to enjoy it and have a good time.” “There’s not a lot of pressure but there will be a lot of excitement if I get off to a good start.” Few would be more experienced than Vercruysse – he won in France in 2013. A veteran of 40 years in the sulky he says New Zealand is a bucket list trip having driven at most harness racing jurisdictions around the world. “It’s important … it’s the one piece of the puzzle that is missing.” He’s already taken in some wine tasting at Waiheke Island and his family have been to Hobbiton! As for chances of a second title he says “I feel confident in myself.” No-one has arguably come further for these championships than Finland’s Santtu Raitala. It took him 35 hours to get to Christchurch. “It’s very nice to be here and I am looking forward to it very much.” While he is an experienced and accomplished performer he is entering new territory this WDC. “I have no experience with pacers before.” Not that he seems too worried. “It should be easy,” he laughs. Everyone here agrees that luck will play a big part in this championship, both with the horses you get and in the way the heats pan out. As MacDonald says : “It’s a grind over a long period of time and you need to chip away – if you are going to be fifth try and be fourth and if you are going to be fourth try and be third.” The first heats at Kaikoura will be Races 5 (2.35pm), Race 7 (3.47pm) and Race 9 (5.00pm) on Sunday followed by Race 3 (1.20pm) and Race 5 (2.16pm) on Monday. The 20 heats will be held over 9 days (Nov 2-11) at six meetings at four venues : Kaikoura November 2 and 3 Cambridge November 5 Addington November 7 Winton November 9 Addington (NZ Cup day) November 11 There will be regular updates on hrnz.co.nz, wdc25.nz, and HRNZ’s social media channels throughout the championship. View the full article

By Michael Guerin The two highlight winners at Alexandra Park on Friday may be at different ends of their careers but they are both heading in the same direction. And that is the Golden Gait Finals at Alexandra Park next month for both Lord Popinjay and Captain Sampson. Veteran trotter Lord Popinjay continued the best form of his life when he overcame a 30m handicap in the main trot for in-form driver Monika Ranger. He had every reason to be beat at it looked like he would struggle to catch the leaders at the top of the straight but won so well you wonder how far he could have gone but for having an interrupted career. “He is in a real purple patch of form at the moment,” says trainer Matty White. “He actually had a hoof issue at the start of this campaign and I wondered about going on with him but he recovered quickly and he raced himself into peak form. “He is eligible for the Harness 5000 at Ashburton but he will stay up here and contest the Golden Gait.” White says with Lord Popinjay racing so well he might even give him his shot at a few open class targets if races like the National Trot come up light on numbers. Another horse who could have headed south but will instead stay at Alexandra Park is Captain Sampson, who was impressive again beating some proven open class horses in the main pace. “He went great and it is no easy feat beating some of those horses second up,” says co-trainer Gareth Hughes. “Obviously there are races down at Addington he could go to but if we look after his now he will pay us back later. “So he will go to the Golden Gait and there are a few other handy races around then and some really good targets next year.” Friday’s two Metro Finals were taken out by deserved Alexandra Park regulars with Confederate winning the pace leading home a Purdon/Phelan quinella while Bravehearthighlander overcame a 20m backmark in the Metro Trot to give young driver Jacob Dunn his richest win yet. View the full article

By Adam Hamilton Champion stayer Swayzee’s quest for a slice of IRT NZ Cup history looks over. The mighty seven-year-old was scratched from a vital lead-up race at Menangle tonight (Saturday) with a suspected cold. Given Swayzee hasn’t raced since October 4 and the NZ Cup is just 10 days way, it’s hard to see any way he’s on the scheduled flight tomorrow (Sunday) week to Christchurch via Auckland. Trainer Jason Grimson told Melbourne’s SENTrack radio the trip was now unlikely and plans would be finalised after he spoke with owner Mick Boots. Swayzee was trying to become just the third pacer to win three successive NZ Cups. But the latest setback continues a frustrating campaign for Swayzee, who has only raced twice and been beaten both times. The rising eight-year-old has been beaten at his past four starts, something we have not seen before since he joined Grimson’s stable. Swayzee missed last month’s Group 1 Victoria Cup with a bowel infection. Australia will still have two IRT NZ Cup runners with Leap To Fame booked to fly over Monday and Kingman six days later. Swayzee’s setback also raises doubts when Grimson will take stablemate Hi Manameisjeff across for the Group 1 NZ Free-For-All on Show Day. View the full article

By Adam Hamilton Champion driver Gary Hall Jr’s quest to win the World Driving Championship was almost over before it started. Just hours before the Hall Jr was due to fly to Perth to Christchurch, via Sydney, he lost his passport. If not for a woman at the passport office working a remarkable two hours past closing time, he would have been out of the series, which starts at Kaikoura tomorrow. “When I get home, I’ll be straight back to the office with a big gift for her, she was amazing,” he said. “Imagine the panic about three hours before I had to leave home when I went to the drawer where we keep the passports and Madi’s (Maddison Brown, Hall’s partner), but mine wasn’t. “It’s a mystery. I got a new passport just for this trip because my old one was close to expiring. “I sent a photo of it to Andrew Kelly (Harness Racing Australia CEO) to book my flights in August and put it back in the draw. “I almost cried. I’ve waited my whole life to be part of this series and I thought it was over.” It was 2pm when Hall Jr knew his only option was to try and get a replacement and the passport office closed at 4pm. “And I live an hour from the passport office,” he said. “I rang them, explained the urgency. One woman gave me hope, the other said I was no chance. “It wasn’t as simple as just rushing to them. First I had to go to births, deaths and marriages to get a birth certificate and then I got some new passport photos done. “I’m watching the minutes go by thinking the passport office is about to close. “I got there not long before closing time, but the woman was unbelievable. She said she’d stick around and get it done.” But even that had complications because Hall Jr had to get to Gloucester Park for a big night of Group 1 racing. “We got there, but only thanks to that amazing woman and the help of others, including Madi,” Hall Jr said. “I just had to bolt from the house to get the new passport, so left Madi to pack my bags for the NZ trip and all my driving gear for Gloucester Park that night.” It’s one of the few nights Hall Jr has gone winless at Gloucester Park and then he and Brown got the “red eye” from Perth to Sydney. Then it’s a flight from Sydney to Christchurch and the bus trip on to Kaikoura for the first five heats (across Sunday and Monday) of the 20-race World Drivers’ Championship series. “It’s not as if I could just fly a day later, is it? And miss that first meeting,” Hall Jr said. Hall Jr firmed into a clear favourite for the series after landing five good winning chances in the first five heats. “It’ll be a great story to tell if I win it … the series I almost missed,” he laughed. View the full article

Happy Valley hosts its only day meeting of the campaign on Sunday, with the Class Two Guangzhou Handicap (1,200m) the highlight of the meeting. There are 10 races on the card and Owen Goulding is in the hot seat to provide an extended rundown of his selections. Race 1 – Class Five Dongguan Handicap (1,200m) Speedy Smartie has more weight on his back but he is in rude health and will be able to comfortably make the lead from stall seven under Karis Teetan. Race 2 – Class Four Foshan Handicap...View the full article

David Eustace is hoping Colourful King can get his revenge on old rival Youthful Spirits when the pair lock horns once again in the Class Two Guangzhou Handicap (1,200m) at Happy Valley’s only day meeting of the season on Sunday. A two-time 1,000m winner at Happy Valley last season, Eustace’s four-year-old ran a big race on reappearance when sprinting home from the rear and finding only Youthful Spirits – who went from pillar to post – too strong. That race was run over the 1,000m trip and after...View the full article

Local runner Gigi produced a herculean performance to claim an amazing home track victory at Tauranga on Saturday in the Bayleys Tauranga 2100 (2100m). The consistent six-year-old looked to be a forlorn chance when he had to sit three wide for a greater part of the early stages in the open stayers contest before tracking pacemaker Khan Hunter and then moving forward to lodge his claim rounding the home bend. Quickly caught and headed by eventual runner-up Solidify, Gigi and rider George Rooke appeared to have spent their winning chips at that stage although no-one had told the Jim Pender-trained runner as he lifted off the canvas and landed a knockout blow in the final 50m to hold out Solidify and the fast finishing Sassy Lass. Pender cut an emotional figure as he waited for his home track hero to make it back to the winner’s enclosure. “They (victories) don’t come any better than that,” Pender said. “He’s only a little horse and has carried 58kgs today. I possibly should have claimed but I had already declared a rider (Rooke) before the weights came out. “He’s not big but you know every time you put that saddle on him, he is going to try hard. “In his first four trials he ran last but I said to the boys (owner’s Markwood Lodge) don’t worry as this horse can gallop. He has actually proved me wrong as he is better than what I thought he would be. “We will probably look at the Counties Cup (Gr.3, 2100m) in three weeks as he has just improved and is a lovely horse to do anything with.” Bred and raced by the Matijasevich family under their Markwood Lodge banner, Gigi is a son of Whie Robe Lodge-based stallion Ghibellines and the first foal of their three-race winner Hilarious. His extended family includes Gr.1 Victoria Derby (2500m) winner Blackfriars and multiple stakes winner Waterford Road. Gigi has now won six of his thirty starts and over $204,000 in prizemoney. View the full article

Awapuni filly War Princess moved a big step closer to a summer target when she ventured to Tauranga on Saturday and scored an impressive come-from-behind victory in the Armory Standing at Mapperley Stud 3YO (1200m). The $40,000 race was the first time War Princess had travelled to the north, the first time she had raced right-handed, and after being left slightly flat-footed in the early stages of the race, the first time she had raced or trialled anywhere other than on the pace. With the first two races on Saturday’s Tauranga card both won by on-pace runners, that change in position seemed to be detrimental to War Princess’s chances. Coming up to the home turn, she had only one horse behind her and was giving the leaders half a dozen lengths. Unbeaten filly Passiflora showed the way up to the turn and straightened for home with a narrow advantage over the favourite Lubeck. When that rival ranged up alongside her, Passiflora kicked again to set up what looked like an exciting two-horse battle to the line. But then jockey Craig Grylls unleashed War Princess down the outside. She lengthened stride and moved up into third with 150m remaining, albeit still with three lengths to make up on the leading pair. Then War Princess moved up another gear and flew up alongside Lubeck and Passiflora, collaring Lubeck in the last stride and winning by a short neck. “We were a bit worried when the gates opened and she ended up out the back, and we didn’t really have a Plan B,” said Trent Didham, who trains in partnership with his father Peter. “But she’s shown today that she’s not just one-dimensional, so that was good to see. Considering the first two races were both won off the front, it was a massive performance for her to come from behind like that. “This filly’s owners are huge supporters of ours – Ian Middleton (Exempt Bloodstock), the Hart family and Roach family (Chelsea Connections Ltd). They always have three or four horses in our barn, so we’re very grateful to them. “Hopefully she can go on with it from here. Making the trip up north and racing this way around has been a good experience for her. The dream really is the big three-year-old sprint on Karaka Millions night at Ellerslie in January (Gr.3 Cambridge Stud Almanzor Trophy, 1200m). That’s still a long way away, but we’ll aim for that.” Haunui Farm offered War Princess in Book 2 of Karaka 2024, where Exempt Bloodstock and Didham Racing bought her for $77,500. She has now had six starts for four wins and $80,560 in stakes. Saturday’s win made a good impression on Grylls, who was riding her for the first time. “I was talking to Trent before the race and he thought we’d probably be outside the leader,” Grylls said. “She jumped okay but then just didn’t really hit the ground running, and they went at a good enough tempo that she was off the bridle early on. “But then she worked into it at the right time, and the way she picked them up at the end was very good. She’s a classy filly. She’s putting a good record together and took another step up today, and I reckon she can keep going on with it.” View the full article

A rare visit to the Wairarapa on Saturday produced a milestone for Tony Pike, who brought up his 800th winner in New Zealand. The Cambridge trainer, who had saddled only three starters at Tauherenikau in his career before this weekend, made the 500km trek south with four runners and went into the meeting with 798 wins to his name. Pike trained two winners on the eight-race card to reach 800, with Thooza taking out the Power Related Services Rating 75 (1300m) before Agera added the Pete’s Kitchens Feilding Cup (2050m) to his career-best campaign. “I only found out about the 800th win when they told me on course,” Pike said. “I wasn’t even aware that I was on 798 coming into today. But it’s a great feeling any time you tick off a milestone like that and very satisfying for all the team.” Similarly satisfying is the form of Agera, who has now completed a Cup double after taking out the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) in his last start on October 17. Coming into the 2024-25 season, Agera was a two-race winner from 18 career starts and had placed on another eight occasions for total earnings of $81,490. His six-year-old season has now produced five wins from only seven appearances, adding another $173,250 in prizemoney for owners Gee Gee Investments Ltd. That impressive rise through the ranks has brought a matching rise in the ratings and weights, with Agera carrying 54kg to his Matamata Cup win and rising sharply to 60kg on Saturday. But not even that hefty impost could stop the Complacent gelding’s exceptional run of form. Jockey Leah Hemi settled Agera in second place on Saturday behind front-runner Sailor Jack, who pinched a break on the field coming down the side of the track. Sailor Jack was going to take plenty of catching in the straight, especially with a 5kg difference in the weights, but Agera showed that he was up to the task. That pair went to war through the last 200m and Agera slowly but surely got the better of his rival, edging away to win by half a length. “He’s had a great season and has just kept stepping up,” Pike said. “It was a particularly tough effort today to wear down that leader under 60kg, which was a big step up from the 54kg he carried in the Matamata Cup last start. He’s just in an outstanding patch of form at the moment.” Agera has now had a total of 25 starts for seven wins, eight placings and $254,740 in stakes. He was a $70,000 purchase by Waikato Bloodstock from Mapperley Stud’s draft in Book 2 of Karaka 2021. Saturday’s Feilding Cup was the fourth leg of the inaugural Prezzy Card Northern Country Cups Bonus Series, which began with Pacheco’s victory in the Poverty Bay Turf Club Cup (2600m) at Taupo on October 10 and Agera’s Matamata Cup success just over a week later. The third leg was the Waverley Cup (2200m) on October 19, which was won by Just Charlie. A new initiative from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) and the Taupo Racing Club, the Northern Country Cups Series will see seven Country Cups staged across the North Island from October to December, with horses earning points for top-four finishes and required to contest at least three races, including the $100,000 Harcourts Taupo Cup (2000m). Sponsored by leading prepaid gift provider Prezzy Card, the series is designed to encourage participation, create a competitive narrative between regional racedays, and culminate in a high-stakes finale on Harcourts Taupo Cup Day on December 28. The Harcourts Taupo Cup itself has received a $15,000 stakes uplift from last season. Agera now clearly sits at the top of the table, having earned 10 points from his Matamata and Feilding Cup victories. “He’s got two wins to his name in that new Country Cups series now, which is a great result,” Pike said. “We’ll see whether or not we keep him going. He’s obviously in the best form of his career at the moment, but he does need that bit of fire out of the track, so we’ll be guided by what the weather does. If the tracks really firm up now, I’d say he’ll head out for a spell and then come back for the autumn.” View the full article

Wonderfully consistent mare Glamour Tycoon showed all her fighting qualities to down a talented field of open class sprinters and capture her fifth career victory in the Bayleys Mount Maunganui (1300m) open handicap at Tauranga. The daughter of Written Tycoon has fashioned an enviable record that has seen her out of the first three placings on only six occasions in her 20 starts to date and that record was extended on Saturday in the hands of rider Wiremu Pinn. Pinn jumped her away nicely from an inside draw to stalk pacemaker You Say D’Orsay through the first 900m of the contest. Angled off the rail rounding the home bend, the four-year-old wobbled a little until balanced up by Pinn to begin a determined finishing burst. Glamour Tycoon put her head in front at the 150m before easing clear to win by half a length from the late closing Mosinvader, who snatched the runner-up position from You Say D’Orsay at the winning post. Trainer Stephen Marsh paid tribute to the toughness of his charge, although he admitted she gave him a bit of a scare rounding the home bend. “She jumped and I thought she was going to get a soft lead, but she was taken on so he (Pinn) went to the trail,” Marsh said. “She swung out a little bit wide on the turn, which had me worried, but she is a bloody good mare as she’s tough and has had to carry 58.5kgs in a nice field. “I think there are some nice races ahead of her now. “We went 1300m today as I thought it was a nice race, but now we will look at Counties in late November as there is the mares’ 1400m (Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes) or an open 1100m (Gr.3 Counties Bowl). “We will keep our options open but she is a high-class mare and has won a couple of stakes races with some more big races to come.” Pinn was suitably impressed by the performance of his mount. “She is a pretty good horse who has won well, but still did a few things wrong,” he said. “She made the corner quite awkwardly, was on the wrong leg and has had to give the other horse (You Say D’Orsay) quite a bit of weight. “She is only a small filly, so it was a good win and I think she has bigger fish to fry.” Bred by Diamond Park Breeding and Racing, Glamour Tycoon is out of the Foxwedge mare Glamour Gal who is a half-sister to the Gr.2 Doomben Roses (2000m) winner Etana. She races in the colours of part-owner Dennis Foster’s Bourbon Lane Stable and has now won five of her 21 starts and $315,710 in stakes. View the full article

A sensational few weeks for Stephen Marsh’s three-year-olds kept rolling on at Tauranga on Saturday when Swiss Prince led home a quinella for the Cambridge trainer in the Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m). Marsh had previously won the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) with Magic Carpet on September 27 and the Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) by almost seven lengths with Well Written on October 18. Well Written is unbeaten in two starts and is a $2.50 favourite for the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton. For good measure, stablemate Little Black Dress ran second in the Soliloquy to book her own ticket to Christchurch for the 1000 Guineas next Saturday. Marsh also holds a strong hand for the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) a week later, with Swiss Prince tightening from $14 into $4.50 following Saturday’s emphatic win. The Sarten continued a campaign of constant improvement for Swiss Prince, who made his debut with a fifth over 1200m at Avondale on July 16. He followed that up with a second at Rotorua behind his highly talented stablemate Churmatt, whose future now lies offshore. Swiss Prince went on to finish third behind Platinum Diamond and Churmatt in the Listed Wanganui Guineas (1200m) at the end of August, then ran second to Churmatt again at Ellerslie on September 20 before returning to the same venue to score an overdue maiden win on October 18. Marsh had no hesitation in stepping Swiss Prince up against the best of his age group on Saturday, and his faith in the ever-improving gelding proved to be well placed. Jockey Joe Doyle slotted Swiss Prince into a handy position in third along the rail as Too Darn Sweet set the early pace from the Marsh-trained filly To Cap It All. All eyes were on To Cap It All at the home turn as she shook free of Too Darn Sweet and suddenly kicked right away from the field. Romanoff and He Who Dares gave chase down the outside, but To Cap It All never came back to them and clearly had them both covered. Instead the big challenge came through along the rail as Doyle drove Swiss Prince up alongside his stablemate. They fought a head-bobbing battle through the last 50m, with Swiss Prince pulling ahead in the final few strides to score by three-quarters of a length. As well as being a quinella for Marsh, both Swiss Prince and To Cap It All also race in the turquoise, white and gold colours of owners Rosemary Carter and Brett Kendall. “I watched the race with Brett and Rosemary, who are massive owners with us,” Marsh said. “I joked to them before the race, ‘Who knows? We might run the quinella.’ “Both horses have run great races today. Swiss Prince just keeps getting better and better and his condition is amazing. He won a maiden last start and stepped up again today and delivered again. “I reckon he stamped Churmatt’s passport, he was the happiest one to see him go. But racing against a good horse like that probably helped him to learn his trade. “He’s still getting better and I think he can certainly take the next step to the 2000 Guineas. He’ll wander back now, get hosed, go home, and nothing will worry him. He has to get on a plane now and go to a new environment, but he’ll be all over that too. Two weeks between runs is perfect and I’m really looking forward to getting him there.” Doyle is equally enthusiastic about Swiss Prince’s 2000 Guineas prospects. “He keeps showing us that there’s more there,” he said. “Well done to Stephen and his team. They’ve done a super job with him, although I’d say he doesn’t take a whole pile of looking after. “He’s a real improver, he’s so honest, he has a great way of going and I think he’s going to eat up a mile in two weeks. I don’t think I’d swap him. I’m really looking forward to the Guineas, and whatever the weather is won’t worry him – he’ll go on any ground.” Swiss Prince was bred by Westbury Stud owner Gerry Harvey and is by El Roca out of the Swiss Ace mare Phoenix. Westbury Stud offered the Sarten winner in Book 2 of Karaka 2024, where Rosemary Carter bought him for $130,000. From a six-start career, Swiss Prince has now recorded two wins, two seconds and a third, earning $124,275. While Swiss Prince’s initial focus is now the 2000 Guineas on November 15, Saturday’s win has also made him eligible for the $1 million bonus pool on offer in the NZB Kiwi (1500m) alongside its $4 million stake. The Sarten Memorial was the first of nine races this season that are designated as Bonus Eligible. The winner of any of those races is eligible for a share of the lucrative bonus pool if they go on to finish in the top three in the NZB Kiwi at Ellerslie on March 7. Marsh was also delighted with Saturday’s return to top form by Sarten runner-up To Cap It All. The daughter of Capitalist won the Listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m) on debut in January and later placed in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) and Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m). Her first three starts as a three-year-old had produced a third at Taupo, fifth in the Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) and fourth at Rotorua, beaten by more than three lengths on all three occasions. “She was great today,” Marsh said. “We wanted to take bad luck out of the equation this time and put her in a forward spot to get an idea of how she’s tracking. She really kicked and it took a good horse to run her down. “She’s nominated for both Guineas, but we’ll have a good think and talk to the owners about that. I’m just not totally sure if the Riccarton mile will be her friend at this stage.” View the full article

Class mare Marotiri Molly showed she will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the summer as she overcame some home straight traffic issues to take out the Valley Plumbing Redcraze Bowl (1400m) at Tauherenikau on Saturday. The Matt Dixon-prepared seven-year-old had taken out the corresponding event when run at Trentham last year, completing a winning treble before finishing runner-up in the Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) and then capturing the Gr.2 Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) during a purple patch of form. Given a decent winter break after two unplaced runs in the autumn, the daughter of Per Incanto had been thereabouts in the first two runs of her current campaign and had a few questions being asked before Saturday’s event, however, she silenced those doubters in emphatic style in the hands of rider Toni Davies. Davies, who had managed to reduce the mare’s 62kg topweight by 2kgs with her apprentice claim, had Marotiri Molly beautifully placed behind pacemakers Turn The Ace and Reign It In early on and appeared to travel well within herself approaching the home turn. Things began to go pear-shaped at that stage as the pacemakers faded while the well supported pair of Bedtime Story and Blissful Belle kept Marotiri Molly in a pocket until the 200m mark. Davies manged to squeeze through a needle eye gap on the race favourite and she burst through to take victory by a head from Blissful Belle as the late closing Kopua snatched third off Bedtime Story. Dixon was pleased to see his stable star back in the winners’ enclosure as he looks forward to bigger summer targets for her. “The tracks haven’t been to her liking and I always knew that when she got back on a better track she would show her true worth,” Dixon said. “I thought it was a super effort, especially as she got held up and was carrying a big weight. To pick herself up and charge through that gap was a good effort. “I think she will go to Counties (Gr.2 Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes, 1400m) as she went super there last year, so that is the next plan.” Davies was all smiles as she described the ease of the victory. “She has done it real easy today even though she got a little bit held up,” she said. “As soon as she found the gap she just stormed home.” Raced by her breeders, Beven and Christine Parlato, Marotiri Molly is one of two winners from two foals to race out of the Al Akbar mare Marotiri Miss, who herself won five races and placed in the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) and Gr.3 Metric Mile (1600m). From 18 starts, she has now recorded seven wins and four placings and earned over $275,000 in prizemoney. View the full article

Jockey Christophe Soumillon ended his 20-year Breeders' Cup winless streak when he and Gstaad won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar Oct. 31.View the full article

Britney Wong Po-ni’s road to Happy Valley has been longer than most apprentice jockeys in recent times, but the 26-year-old is confident she now has the street smarts needed to negotiate the tight-turning city circuit. Initially hesitant to tackle the testing track where staying cool and calculated in heavy traffic is a must – jockeys must be given approval to ride at the course by Jockey Club management – Wong’s self-belief has built gradually through 249 rides and 23 winners at Sha Tin. Buoyed...View the full article

Ted Noffey prevailed in the battle of East vs. West, keeping his unbeaten record intact with a victory in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Oct. 31 at Del Mar.View the full article

Irish training legend Aidan O'Brien surpassed late Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas by notching his 21st Breeders' Cup victory when Gstaad scored under Christophe Soumillon in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T). View the full article

DEL MAR, USA — As Balantina was led back to the winner's circle after her victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, one man was smiling more broadly than any other, and it wasn't her trainer or any of her owners. For Aidan O'Brien, watching his son Donnacha win his first Breeders' Cup race would probably have been enough to make his day – and it was a day that had started with the disappointment of having to scratch his own red-hot favourite for that same race, Precise. But O'Brien Sr still had an ace up his sleeve and he played it latest of all, to dramatic effect. In so doing he became the most successful trainer in Breeders' Cup history. The win for Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) in the Juvenile Turf was the 21st at America's most prestigious meeting for O'Brien, taking him past the record of D Wayne Lukas, who died in June at the age of 89 and had been something of a mentor to him in his early years of training. “We came over here and we didn't know anything about American racing,” O'Brien said, recalling the trip to Churchill Downs with Giant's Causeway 25 years earlier. “He told us everything we wanted to know about from shoeing him, to the right way to take him to the track. He came down with his own horse and took him to the track himself for us to make sure that we got it all right.” O'Brien knows a thing or two now, and he and his wife Annemarie have clearly imparted plenty of their own horsemanship to their children. Between Aidan and sons Joseph and Donnacha, the O'Brien family accounted for a travelling party of 13 horses at this year's Breeders' Cup. With two winners on the board, more is clearly expected on Saturday. On the favoured horses from Ballydoyle is Christophe Soumillon, for whom it has been a long time between drinks at the Breeders' Cup – 20 years to be precise, from Shirocco to Gstaad. Looking at the jockey's gaunt cheeks at the press conference after Gstaad's victory, it has clearly also been a while between meals for him as he deprives himself in a bid to reach 8st 7lbs for the ride on Minnie Hauk in the Turf. “Minnie Hauk, everyone knows she's a big favourite,” he said, before adding to the sentence the name of one of the all-time greats. “She's by far, since Zarkava, the best filly I've ridden.” Soumillon continued, “We're not coming here to lose, but we're always respecting our opponents. You never know how things will happen in a race. I need to concentrate. I still have to lose a kilo for her tomorrow, and I'm fine because Gstaad gave me a nice meal for tonight.” Soumillon earlier had to settle for second on the slow-breaking Brussels (Wootton Bassett), who tried in vain to peg back Cy Fair (Not This Time) in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Though Gstaad wasn't quickest on the draw himself, Soumillon wasted no time in making up his mind for him and sending the colt on to battle. “My job is to ride in the present moment,” he said. “Seeing how the horse jumps, and from there I knew which horses to follow in the race. But unfortunately, he jumped a fraction slow, but I was quite happy to see after a few strides he was able to kick in there and get close from the pace. “I knew he would probably win when I arrived at the last corner because he was travelling so well. I was seeing everybody around me start to go to action, and I was just cruising with him. I think he's still a quite immature horse. He was playing around going to the start, enjoying his time with the pony. I think he's getting more professional after each run, and I think traveling here is going to make him a great horse for next season.” The Guineas will presumably loom large in Gstaad's future and that Classic quest will fuel another winter of dreams for breeder Kelly Thomas, who had flown in to California from Wales with her father Andrew Matthews and was remarkably calm as she watched the horse she had foaled become, after Vandeek, the second Group/Grade 1 winner for her increasingly special broodmare Mosa Mine (Exceed And Excel). “I'm just a bit gobsmacked,” Thomas said. “I'm in shock. I've been waiting for this. He's taken us around the world, he's taken us on some ride, but to do that now, that's the icing on the cake. “[The mare] has been fantastic. I can't believe she has bred two on the trot. I am lost for words.” Strike One for O'Brien Junior As Porta Fortuna exits stage left to fulfil an engagement as one of the stars of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, into her place for the same trainer and ownership group steps Balantina (Ten Sovereigns), winner of the Juvenile Fillies Turf under Oisin Murphy. While it will be hard to fill the shoes of that four-time Group 1 winner, in a sense Balantina is already one step ahead, as Porta Fortuna's own appearance in the same Breeders' Cup race two years ago resulted in a second-place finish behind Hard To Justify. Balantina has now fulfilled a long-held dream for one of her owners, Steve Weston. “Our goal every year, or my goal every year, is to make it to the Breeders' Cup with a two-year-old,” Weston said. “And we're fortunate enough to have Donnacha, and Mark McStay, who picked Balantina out at the Arqana Sale. They both liked her. “Donnacha said when I was in Ireland earlier in the year that he thought she was going to be early. And she was, and she did well. She broke poorly in her first start. Then Oisin got on her, and she broke really well when she won her second start. She went to Ascot [for the Albany Stakes]. She broke poorly. She broke 17th out of 17 but she ended up running third. So that told everybody that she had a lot of talent, and Oisin brought the talent out in her.” Weston races Balantina in partnership with Dean Reeves, Medallion Racing and Parkland Thoroughbreds, most of whom were also involved with Porta Fortuna, who provided a first taste of Royal Ascot success. He continued, “I bred another horse, Jody's Pride. She came close. She lost to Just FYI a couple years ago. And this was just a dream of a lifetime. I got into this business about ten years ago. And, you know, we've come a long way. “I have to thank my partner, Dean Reeves. Recently, we sold part of Balantina to Medallion. They're lucky. And maybe they helped bring the luck to both Dean and myself. “I thought it was exciting being with Donnacha when we won at Royal Ascot, but this might have topped the cake, being 25 or 30/1. It's just amazing.” The American-based Weston also explained his reasoning behind having horses trained in Ireland. “I believe that we are better off, the Americans, buying our horses, leaving them in Europe for a time, and letting them grow, having the advantage to compete against possibly the best turf horses in the world,” he said. “There's no reason to rush them to the States if they're able to compete in Europe under group conditions. We didn't feel right now that Balantina was at that highest level, so we thought, well, maybe we'll bring her to the States and maybe we could be fortunate enough to see if the Breeders' Cup would let us in. And they let us in. And the horse did the rest.” He added of Porta Fortuna's impending appearance in the Sceptre Sessions on December 2, “It will be sad when we do sell Porta. She's something that we'll never find again – a horse of her calibre. I'm happy to be with Donnacha, our first Ascot win was with Donnacha and now our first Breeders' Cup win is with Donnacha. And we hope to have many more in the future. “In Ireland, the horses and the people are just wonderful, and I enjoy it immensely.” For Donnacha O'Brien, though this is a first, it is on a stomping ground he has come to know well. “It feels incredible,” he said. “We've been coming here a long time, since we were babies, really. So, to watch Dad do it, year in, year out, and Joseph get winners, it's nice to be on the board. “Steve wanted to come here. Fair play to him. He made the shout to come to Breeders' Cup. So, we just walked back from here, and she'd been training exceptionally in the last few weeks. We came here thinking that we were overpriced and that we had a live shot.” Aspect Island Delights Owen Of the European raiders bidding to emulate the success last year of Magnum Force in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, it was a case of close, no cigar, but plenty to look forward to for next season. Having fluffed the break, Brussels sprouted wings to run the winner Cy Fair to three-quarters of a length, and the Wootton Bassett colt, one of three runners for Aidan O'Brien in the race, was chased home hard by Aspect Island (Showcasing), who gave trainer James Owen a memorable first run at the Breeders' Cup. “When I managed to bring him close to the rail halfway around the turn, I felt very well balanced,” said Soumillon of his game second on Brussels. “After entering the home straight, I saw Frankie move out, so I didn't have any room to manoeuvre. We were a bit close to the rail, but it was a very good performance.” Frankie is of course Dettori, who guided Aspect Island, a full-brother to multiple group-winning sprinter Tasleet, to a spot on the podium to the delight of his trainer. “Oh, fantastic run,” said Owen as he watched the replay on the big screen with owner Tim Gredley. “He's improving all the time and he's come a long way since [his maiden win at] Yarmouth. Tasleet improved, he got quicker. He's a big horse but he handled this well. We've learned a bit and he's learned a good bit as well, so we'll be looking forward to next year with him.” Owen will also saddle Wimbledon Hawkeye for the Breeders' Cup Turf, with the three-year-old son of Kameko also set to be ridden by Dettori, who is set to bring the curtain down on his stint in North America at Del Mar on Saturday. He added, “That's amazing. Frankie's a very close friend of the Gredley family and that's taken the pressure off now, but Frankie's Frankie and you don't need to give him orders.” The post Aidan O’Brien On High As Most Successful Trainer in Breeders’ Cup History appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After the scratch of Aidan O'Brien-trained Precise, it was O'Brien's son Donnacha who emerged victorious in the the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) with Balantina.View the full article