Wandering Eyes

Princess Vega (Ire) (Beat Hollow {GB}), a winning daughter of six-time Cheltenham festival scorer Quevega (Fr) (Robin Des Champs {Fr}), proved to be worth the wait at the Goffs February Sale when selling as one of the last lots through the ring [431G] on Thursday evening for €150,000 to agent Gerry Hogan on behalf of Swanbridge Bloodstock . It was Liz Lucas's Swanbridge Bloodstock who signed for the Order Of St George (Ire) filly out of Princess Vega at the November National Hunt Sale at Goffs for €48,000 last year. According to Hogan, so pleased are the new owners with their Order Of St George filly from the top-notch family, they decided to push the boat out to secure the dam who was sold by the Irish National Stud in foal to Walk In The Park (Ire). Hogan said, “She was bought for Swanbridge Bloodstock, who bought the Order Of St George, who is the daughter of this mare. She's a nice mare and the pedigree speaks for itself. They know the family and they were very anxious to get her.” It was Catherine Magnier who pushed Hogan furthest and filled the role as determined underbidder. The pair were left fighting it out from the six-figure mark for Princess Vega, who, like her superstar dam Quevega, was trained by the champion trainer in Ireland, Willie Mullins. Princess Vega, a winner of a Tramore bumper on debut for Mullins, will now join the broodmare band of Swanbridge Bloodstock in Britain, which features well-known mares like Alasi (GB) (Alflora {Ire}), Intense Tango (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Western Victory (Ire) (Westerner {GB}) and more. Graduates of the British National Hunt breeding operation includes Midnight River (GB) (Midnight Legend {GB}), Princes Of Scars (Ire) (Flemensfirth) and last year's impressive Goffs UK Spring Sale Bumper winner Crest Of Glory (GB) (Black Sam Bellamy {Ire}). Princess Vega proved to be the highlight of the two-day sale which saw turnover fall by 29% to €3,082,400 compared to 12 months ago. The average fell 19% to €12,898 while the median was also down 11% to €8,000. The clearance rate stood at 65%. Goff chief executive Henry Beeby commented, “As ever Goffs February has been dominated by weanlings and once again has delivered the highest-priced Flat and National Hunt weanling of the February sales season by some margin. That is the strength of the sale and what sets it apart as, like November and December, Kildare Paddocks was awash with pinhookers finalising their 2024 yearling drafts and adding to their three-year-old stores of two years' time which led to several lively bidding duels for those youngsters adjudged to be the most commercial. “Of course, a clearance rate of 65% is a clear mirror of the autumn sales season and those the market deemed less appealing were friendless in the ring. However, the familiar cry of 'it's hard to buy the good one' was as evident as ever and we are all having to adapt to the evolving nature of the market.” Beeby added, “Trade for the breeding stock session mirrored the weanlings with keen competition for some headed by the €150,000 top price and less interest in others but we have welcomed a diverse overseas contingent over the two days who are enticed year after year by the undeniable quality of Irish bloodlines and the proactivity of ITM working alongside the Goffs Purchaser Attraction Team and our superb international agents. Indeed, buyers from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Libya, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, UK and Zambia have all featured in the results and ensured a truly cosmopolitan feel to the sale. “So Goffs February confirms its market leading status again with two vibrant sessions and a big crowd from start to finish. As ever, we extend our thanks to each vendor and all our purchasers for we are nothing without them.” “It's Not Rocket Science,” – Havana Grey Continues To Shine Willie Browne: bought a Havana Grey weanling for €90,000 | Goffs There's no such thing as a dull day when it comes to Havana Grey (GB). The Whitsbury Stud-based stallion lit the touch paper to the February Sale on Wednesday when a colt of his was knocked down to Yeomanstown Stud for for €85,000 and the big results kept coming for the sire sensation on Thursday when top judge Willie Browne signed for a Havana Grey filly under the banner of JB Bloodstock to the tune of €90,000. That meant that Havana Grey accounted for three of the top five weanlings sold at Kildare Paddocks this week. The €90,000 filly was offered by The Castlebridge Consignment on behalf of her breeder Tommy Severns, who was rightfully overjoyed by the result. He said, “I've loved her from day one. She was always a pretty classy filly and the dream was to keep her, but as a small operation, we have to keep trading. Billy Jackson-Stops felt she would stand out a bit here, so we targeted this sale as a result. “It's all a credit to the team at Stoneyhill Stud in Gloucestershire, where she was born and bred. We then sent her to Triermore Stud in County Meath, where Paul McDonnell and Terry Denning do a great job. The filly has thrived since she went there and having seen the videos, she looked great on the complex, so Bill and his team at The Castlebridge Consignment deserve a lot of praise too.” The January-born Havana Grey filly is out of the Selkirk mare Scots Fern (GB), a three-time winner. Scots Fern has already produced two winners, Giava Dream (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Hebridean Nomad (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}), from five foals. Severns added, “It's our (Stonehill Stud) second year in operation and a result like this is so important. Ed Harper deserves a lot of credit, too, as he was very strong on Havana Grey and advised me to use him. “We've got six mares at home, so we're a pretty small operation, though a result like this may help us to go out and improve the quality of stock on the farm. I'm a polo player by day, so I'm currently in Argentina. I'm actually gutted to not be there, but that's the way it is. “Scots Fern has been great for us and she foaled a smart filly by Perfect Power (Ire) last week. We haven't finalised our mating plans for the year, but there are an exciting bunch of stallions on the list so far.” For Browne, who revealed to be down on numbers with regards to his foal purchases in 2023, the Havana Grey filly proved to be exactly what he was searching for. The legendary breeze-up trainer and pinhooker admitted that his new acquisition didn't come cheap but explained how she could slot into any yearling sale in the autumn. He said, “She is a very good model and I couldn't fault her in any way. She was plenty expensive now but I suppose that's what you have to pay to get a Havana Grey these days-it's not rocket science. “I actually underbid another Havana Grey earlier in the day so I am very pleased to have gotten her. I usually buy around 12 foals a year and we were down on numbers this time round. They were very hard to buy in the winter. This filly could come back to the Orby or even to Book 2 but I've been very lucky selling at Goffs down through the years so we might keep her for the Orby.” The post Swanbridge Goes To 150k For Winning Daughter Of Quevega At Goffs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin Up for grabs: One crown. Condition: Well worn, plenty of former owners. Apply: In person at Alexandra Park, Menangle, Cambridge and Addington. That could be the advertisement for the role of New Zealand’s best pacer, a title with two very obvious applicants, both of whom race this weekend. Over the last four years the crown of New Zealand’s has sat on the head of Copy That, Self Assured and even briefly Akuta. Two of them are now injured and will not be part of our racing lives for the next six months or longer while as brave and blessed as Self Assured is his best feels like it is behind him. He could prove that wrong in a four-horse field at Alexandra Park tonight but to do so he will have to beat one of the young pretenders who are bidding to be the new No.1 in Merlin. Merlin races over 2200m mobile tonight and his arch rival Don’t Stop Dreaming at Menangle tomorrow night. They have both embellished their records this summer, Merlin winning the NZ Derby while Don’t Stop Dreaming won the Franklin Cup and much more importantly finished second to Leap To Fame in last Saturday’s A$500,000 Hunter Cup. So while Self Assured and even Old Town Road have claims on their day to be as talented as the youngsters, it is time for one of the four-year-olds to take over. But which one? It has often felt like Merlin was faster and Don’t Stop Dreaming tougher. But Merlin seems to be getting tougher and Don’t Stop Dreaming faster. They are both, quite simply, turning into complete racehorses. Don’t Stop Dreaming seems to do more incredible things but Merlin seems to win the races that matters, like two Derbys and two Harness Millions. Merlin should make it 15 wins from 21 starts in the free-for-all tonight, which has basically been put on to give him and Self Assured a race and tonight’s meeting a draw card. “He has improved since his win two weeks ago and I think Zac (Butcher, driver) will use his speed early,” says co-trainer Barry Purdon. If that happens Merlin should be able to go as fast, or as slow, as Butcher wants and then it will take a wicked performance from Self Assured to beat him, although he did just that to Akuta in the NZ Free-For-All three months ago. After tonight Merlin will head to Menangle in two weeks to try and win his way into the A$250,000 Chariots Of Fire on March 2 and then maybe the Miracle Mile a week later. Waiting for him in the Chariots will almost certainly be Don’t Stop Dreaming, who is on the quick back-up after last Saturday’s Hunter Cup into a Chariots prelude at Menangle tomorrow night. “He travelled so well we are happy to back him up because we are confident he can show his best,” says co-trainer Mark Purdon. Don’t Stop Dreaming meets Merlin’s stablemate Sooner The Better and NSW star Better Be The Best in the mobile mile but on his best form he should win. So the Merlin and Don’t Stop Dreaming show should roll on this weekend, then through the Chariots and maybe even the A$1million Miracle Mile and eventually back home. They will both be in the $1million Race by Grins at Cambridge on April 12, Merlin getting his slot this week while Don’t Stop Dreaming’s connections already own one. If they make it that far the Auckland Cup beckons in May and by the first scarf of winter we should know who wears the crown: Merlin or Don’t Stop Dreaming. One thing is for sure. It will be earned the hard way. View the full article

Richard Pugh and Freya Hammer have been appointed to the Racing Department of Horse Racing Ireland, HRI announced on Thursday. The former is now the head of Racing and Insights and will report to the director of Racing, Jonathan Mullin. Previously with Tattersalls Ireland since 2012 and their director of Horses-in-Training Sales since 2015, he will be responsible for the management of the Racing Department and the Race Planning Function. Pugh will also cease in his role of director of Point-to-Point Services, which he co-founded in 2003. Hammer is the new senior data insights manager and will begin her role in May. She will report to the head of Racing & Insights. Her earlier roles include Flutter from 2018 and she is currently trading business insights manager at BoyleSports, which she joined in 2022. The post Pair Of New Racing Department Appointments Announced By HRI appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Hopkins highlights a field of five in a bid to capture a second consecutive running of the six-furlong $100,000 Palos Verdes Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park Feb. 10.View the full article

The island is still there, nearly 50 years later, which would have surprised Nick de Meric at the time. He'd have assumed that there could be nothing left by now. “Because they were basically mining it off the map,” he recalls. “It was made of iron ore. So they had these massive Euclid trucks, wheels high as a building. And all these men on shift work, living in long huts. Not quite a prison environment, but it was all-male, tropical heat, nothing to do but drink beer and play cards. A lot of these guys would have a cooler beside them while driving these huge trucks on night shift. So there were accidents. Some that drove over cliffs. Most of them, if they weren't already, were on the way to becoming alcoholics. Either running away from bad marriages, or from the law. They all had a story.” This young Englishman was still in the early chapters of his own tale, one that would eventually bring him into our community as one of the most respected horsemen in Ocala. Back then, however, the Australian toughs working Koolan Island (next stop Indonesia) must have found him an object of some curiosity. How did he get here? Well, horses had already long captured his imagination. Back in England, he'd shown ponies as a boy, moved onto eventing and steeplechasing, worked in racing yards. He'd passed up a university place to read English and Philosophy to make a first trip to Australia, working on a cattle ranch; went home to dabble in journalism; then a stint in agricultural college. At one point he exercised horses over the ancient gallops of Salisbury Plain for one of the great throwbacks of the English Turf. As somewhat of “a rebel and a wanderer,” however, de Meric was soon resuming his travels, returning Down Under to work a couple of years under Tommy Smith. “A great trainer,” de Meric recalls. “Very much in the Woody Stephens, Jack Van Berg school. He would chew a few of them up, but when he found a good one, nothing was too good for them. And there were some great horses in the stable at the time. So that was a really good education.” But the routine was numbing: up at 3 a.m., all the usual chores but also hours at the walk, riding and leading, round city blocks, in the mornings and then bareback in the afternoons. Or vanning over to Mascot Bay to swim them–behind a rowing boat. “So picture this,” de Meric says. “Your legs are over the back of the boat and you've a shank in your hand, and there's a guy behind you rowing. A lot of horses, the first time they swim, they say, 'I'm not going in there. I'm not going there. Okay, I'm going.' And they practically get in the boat with you. “One time a filly got loose and disappeared into the mangrove swamps. They found her two weeks later, standing there with her head down, covered in crab bites and sores. Dehydrated, but alive. And actually I think she was able to race again.” Next de Meric bought an old car and drove up the coast with a pal. “We followed this little road through the rainforest, and it opened up onto a massive beach, just miles and miles of sand,” he recalls. “And we were like, 'Yee-hah!' And we're doing 'donuts' over the sand. Well, guess what? The car gets slower and slower, until eventually it sinks up to the hubcaps. And then suddenly that huge beach starts to get smaller and smaller, as the tide came in. I remember standing on the roof of the car, saying, 'We need to get our s*** out of here.' So we threw what we could into a backpack, waded ashore, and hitchhiked the rest of the way to Cairns.” After staying there for a few months, de Meric traveled down to Perth where he was hired to work on Koolan Island, climbing giddy poles with a line-belt and handing kit to the electricians working on the power cables. But none of these hard-drinking men around him seemed to notice that they were surrounded by a dazzling marine environment. The one exception was a chef from New Zealand. Courtesy Nick de Meric “So we found this old catamaran, and spent three months fixing it up,” de Meric explains. “What was cool is that everybody on the island got a bit interested in what we were doing. So on night shift, the welders would make us a little bracket for the motor, the mechanics overhauled the motor, the carpenters helped fabricate new rudders. And then we took off, up the coast. Our grand plan was to cross the Timor Sea and island hop up the Indonesian chain to Thailand.” At the time, it wasn't even charted: just countless little islands and reefs, with 35-foot tides rushing in between and 20-knot currents. They put in at a tiny settlement on stilts, where Japanese merchants hired Thursday Islanders to dive for pearls. Three days out from this last outpost of civilization, they anchored off one of these tiny islands. “And in the middle of the night we got hit by what they call a cockeyed bob, like a mini-hurricane,” de Meric says. “We fought this thing for three hours and finally drove the boat onto the reef. And when the tide went out, here we are high and dry. It's the right way up, but it's got holes all through the bottom.” At least they had plenty to salvage: rice, flour, firearms, fishing tackle, not to mention plenty of wine and whiskey. They dragged it all up the beach, made a tent fly of the sail, and made camp. His buddy, remember, was a chef. So that was something, and they fished every night. When sharks started hauling off fish and fishing tackle combined, they switched to a meat hook and caught shark instead. De Meric's island 'home' | Courtesy Nick de Meric “Just barely edible, but Graham was good,” de Meric recalls. “The problem we did have was water. There was no fresh water, and our supply was diminishing. We made a bunch of solar distilleries: you make a little depression in the ground, fill it with leaves and brush, put a garbage bag over the top with a pebble in it and a cup underneath. And you get condensation and it drips. But that was nothing like enough.” They had a radio, but the distances were hopeless. In certain conditions they could get onto the “Skip” frequency but only managed to raise a taxi driver somewhere in Japan. There was nothing else for it: de Meric would try to row the catamaran's dinghy back through the three days' sail to the pearl-diving hamlet. He'd go from island to island, riding each tide, resting in between. But if he could get there, then he could organize Graham's rescue as well. The initial leg went to plan: de Meric made it to the first island, rested, then took off with the tide for the next one. But half a mile or so out, the tide turned and started rushing him back the way he came. “A depressing moment,” he says wryly. So he must have thought he was more or less done for? “We were kind of thinking that before I left, actually,” de Meric admits. “Leaving Graham behind was a very hard thing to do. But he was a chef and I was the seaman, son of a naval officer. Anyway there I am, scanning the horizon, and suddenly I glimpse this little bow wave just caught by the sunset. We hadn't seen a vessel of any description in 13 days out there. So I'm standing up in the dinghy, waving my arms, yelling, but it just keep going. And then, miraculously, it turns round and this boat is coming towards me.” It turned out to be Australian coastguards, exceptionally patrolling that remote stretch because “Boat People,” as Vietnamese refugees of the time were known, had been washing up along there. They hadn't seen him, of course, but picked up a ping on the radar–and only because the dinghy was aluminum. Otherwise, well, maybe two piles of bones on two different islets might yet remain undiscovered. And nor would dozens of stakes and graded stakes winners (including a Horse of the Year) have benefited from de Meric's eventual discovery, after all these peregrinations, of a vocation that could keep him settled in one place. And how did that happen? Usual story: Cherchez la femme! Next time he went traveling, de Meric tried the States, got a job with Lee Eaton. Met a girl on Eaton's fall yearling crew of 1981; independently they both got hired by the same Louisiana farm to prep yearlings for the 2-year-old sales; and wound up in the same staff house. “Rancho Malaria, we called it affectionately,” de Meric says. “It was right by the bayou.” Here, they yielded to two lasting enchantments: one professional, one personal. The first yearling they pinhooked together, a filly by Nearly on Time, cost $15,000: de Meric himself had scraped together five grand, and his parents and then his uncle put in the same. Nick and Jaqui would come home from their work as freelance gallopers, and tend their filly with manic attention. They cooked bran mash on the kitchen stove and rushed it over to her hot. She made $30,000 at OBS March in 1983, and that summer they married. “Although that may seem a paltry profit, today, at the time it felt like we'd won the lottery,” de Meric recalls. “If that filly had sold for $3,500, or gone lame, my life could have been very different. But the fact that we were able to show even a modest profit inspired us to keep going, to see whether we could make a career of this.” So they leased a plot outside Ocala, found a couple of believers to send them a horse or two: Moreton Binn, Gerry Nielsen. Then they bought a first, 40-acre parcel, and expanded in gradual accretions until acquiring the 230 acres in 1997 that became the Eclipse Training Center. “It had been let go, was a bit run down, but basically a really nice piece of land, with a really good track,” de Meric recalls. “So we spent time fixing it up, built two more barns, leased out some stalls. That allowed us enough cashflow to pay the mortgage, until I got rid of that about eight or nine years later, by selling some adjacent tracts with track rights.” With Tristan at OBS | Photos By Z They had started their own program even as the 2-year-old game was itself still in its infancy. In fact, de Meric reckons that Ocala Stud must be the only outfit then selling juveniles that's still doing so today. The changes in this sector, after all, have been wild. “And I think that's why there's been quite a high attrition rate, among those of us playing that game,” de Meric says. “Because if you don't adapt to the changing mores of buyers, and the changing dynamics of the market, you're left behind. Yes, some aspects of the business have maybe evolved in a slightly unhealthy direction. But you either quit playing, or you play by the new rules in order to survive. “We used to 'two-minute lick' them in pairs, on the bridle. Bow neck, nice strong gallop down the lane, eyeball-to-eyeball, make them look good. And we'd average somewhere between 30 and 70 percent on our money. Never hit one out of the park, but made a decent living. And then Luke McKathan started breezing his horses singly. He was a pioneer in his own way, and very good at what he did. He had this little quarter horse rider that could make them go fast, would whip them all the way down the lane. And then one could hear Luke in the barn saying, 'Yeah, did it real easy.' That was before videos, electronic timers, any of that!” Nowadays, of course, time is money with these bullet breezers. But surely the old ways sufficed for the better horsemen, who didn't need the crutch of the stopwatch? “Well, people were quite good at covering up a mediocre horse!” de Meric cautions with a smile. “But yes, the better horsemen could certainly identify the better horses, and plenty of good ones came out of those sales. But it gradually became apparent that you were putting a cap on your upside, doing it the way we were. So, little by little, I started out breezing in pairs and then singly.” In the process Darrin Miller, who now operates a public stable, proved a real asset. “Riding a horse, he was a master at making it look like he had three more gears, when in fact he was all out,” de Meric says. “One isn't completely comfortable with every facet of the way it has evolved, with speed becoming more and more the thing. But my feeling is that there's a lot you can do to make it easier on your horses.” And apart from anything else, that starts with selecting the right stock. “We're quite conservative, by comparison to some of our peers,” de Meric says. “But our horses usually show up when it's time to push the button. We aren't famous for bullet works. We don't complain if we get one, but we never demand them. We focus on good movers, and if they're a tick slower than some, that hasn't really hurt us that badly. We just shop carefully and, when we get them home, treat them the best we possibly can.” A cornerstone of which philosophy is a “resistance-free” education. In fact, de Meric dislikes the very word “breaking,” with its connotations of confrontation. The celebrated Idaho horseman Martin Black worked with their program for three seasons, teaching his methods, and Jaqui has become especially adept at tutoring the young horses. But while they duly prioritize mentality, physique remains central to their shortlisting. “I think that's what we start with because, to be honest, everything else follows,” de Meric reasons. “We're looking for horses with a little more to come, but also for that element of precocity. And we like to see that in the pedigree also. But, yes: athletic, balanced, good-moving individuals. If they're athletes, first and foremost, then we'll handicap pedigree and value.” And how hard is it to gauge competence for such a specific role, if you only get a fleeting glimpse of these yearlings glossed for the sale ring? “Well, there's an element of guesswork, and also an element of judgment based on experience,” de Meric says. “You're watching for little clues. I got past the point where I look for what you might call 'projects,' or 'fixer-uppers.' Some people make a good living doing that. But I'm looking for horses that will appeal to higher-end buyers, if possible.” Which is another reason why a horse needs to do more than merely flash precocity. It was this program, remember, that honed Knicks Go. In fact, de Meric says that it was at his urging that the KRA, who had five in the sale, changed their minds and retained the future Horse of the Year to race. He wasn't fashionably bred, of course, nor very big–but he had shown de Meric unusual grit. Knicks Go at Taylor Made | Sarah Andrew “We're asking them to do a lot,” de Meric remarks. “These days, as we've said, people want to see these horses work fast. But they also want horses that will possibly have Classic potential, train on as 3- and 4-year-olds. So they need to have it all, and to vet well at the end of it. When you actually stop and add it all up, you think, 'What the heck are we doing? This is madness.' Because the odds are stacked against you from the minute you set foot on the sales ground. But it's what we do. It's the bed we've made. And it's been good to us over the years.” As you can read in tomorrow's TDN, in de Meric's contribution to our “Succession” series, he's as proud of the parallel program developed by his son Tristan (and daughter-in-law Valerie) as he is concerned by the kind of future that may await the next generation. The way things are going for our sport's reputation in Main Street, it must almost feel like watching that bow wave diminishing into the sunset, all those years ago. But maybe this boat can also turn round. “There's a lot of momentum in the wrong direction right now,” de Meric acknowledges. “We keep running into these unexpected headwinds, into challenge after challenge. As a generation, I don't think we've done a spectacular job as stewards of our sport. At the same time, I feel we have to stay positive. “There's enough of us, collectively, that are passionate about this game, that would almost die rather than see it go under. People talk about greyhounds, about harness racing. Ours is a different world. When it gets under your skin, there's no fighting it. That's why billionaires become millionaires playing this game. Because there's no feeling like it. “It's all those lows that make the highs even more exciting. It doesn't matter if you're racing, pinhooking, breeding, selling: those highs, it's a euphoric feeling. I think all of us, by definition, tend not to be the kind who like the middle ground. Because this is not that kind of business. It's a rollercoaster. And it's not for the faint of heart. When it's good, it's great; and when it sucks, it really sucks. But at the end of the day, we're working with the animals we love. And in that we are truly blessed.” The post De Meric’s Odyssey Brings Him ‘Home’ To Horses appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Eighty-three lots will be offered for sale during the next Tattersalls Online sale, which takes place on February 14 and 15 and includes the four-time winner Jilly Cooper (Ire). The five-year-old daughter of Lope De Vega (Ire) is being offered by Philip Makin's PJM Racing. The mixed offerings from the Flat and National Hunt include at least one horse who could do either job in the 84-rated dual winner Queen Of Seduction (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who is trained by Jessica Harrington. Along with the horses in training, the sale features a breeding right to Manton Park Stud stallion Aclaim (Ire), the sire of 1,000 Guineas winner Cachet (Ire). There are also nine broodmares catalogued, including Eltham Palace (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire), who is in foal for the first time to Without Parole (GB). The daughter of Group 3 winner Moment In Time (Ire) (Tiger Hill {Ire}) is from the family of Chaldean (GB). Bidding opens at noon on Wednesday, February 14. The post Jill Cooper to be Sold at Tattersalls Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Irish National Stud has joined forces with the EM Normandie business school in France to offer a certified course in equine industry management. Aimed at professionals who wish to acquire or perfect their general management skills, the 'Equine Management Executive Certificate' takes places over eight months, mostly online, but with two weeks spent in Kildare and Normandy with visits to businesses and farms, particularly involving Thoroughbreds. The €8,000 course will have a maximum of 15 to 20 students who will be coached by academic and equine industry experts. A range of management courses on leadership, entrepreneurship, economic performance, financial management, marketing and sales, and innovation are conducted in English and will take place online on Fridays and Saturdays from April to October. “This new professional and international training offer is an obvious choice for EM Normandie, a world-renowned business school based in both Normandy and Ireland,” said Elian Pilvin, group CEO and dean of EM Normandie. “Our aim is to develop programmes that reflect the excellence and specific characteristics of our region – Normandy is renowned for its equine industry – and to support students and professionals throughout their careers.” Cathal Beale, CEO of the Irish National Stud added, “For over 50 years, the Irish National Stud has been offering world-class equine education programmes, and we are delighted to be collaborating with EM Normandie on the Equine Management Executive Certificate program, combining our know-how and enhancing the skills of future participants in our courses.” Potential candidates must be proficient in English. Further details can be found on the EM Normandie website. The post Irish National Stud and EM Normandie Launch Management Course appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

On a week when Sydney’s weather revived some childhood memories for Chris Waller, the champion horseman was hopeful a couple of his Randwick runners could revive some old form. Waller will saddle up three horses in Saturday’s ASI Solutions Handicap (1600m) – Bold Mac (NZ) (The Bold One), Manzoice (Almanzor) and Lord Ardmore (NZ) (Reliable Man) – the first two needing to turn back the clock after some below par performances. Manzoice hasn’t managed a placing in six starts since his Group One triumph in the 2022 Victoria Derby, but there is renewed hope he can rediscover some of his former brilliance when he resumes a little lighter on Saturday. “We’re hoping that gelding him has done the trick,” Waller said during his weekend preview on X. “He’s a Derby winner and he looks great. He is ready to run well.” Bold Mac is likewise on notice to lift his game after an inglorious first-up performance in the Carrington Stakes (1400m) where he failed to beat a rival home, finishing 23 lengths astern of winner Zou Tiger. The six-year-old has had a subsequent trial and Waller is banking on a middle draw and the three-kilo claim of apprentice Jake Barrett helping him turn around his form. “He has been a consistent horse and he’s paying the price for it now with the big weights,” Waller said. “Fresh up there he was still a bit soft, so hopefully with the trial since his first-up run, a soft draw, claiming three, we’re in the hunt.” Lord Ardmore rounds out the stable’s trio, dropping back to 1600 metres after finishing third in last month’s January Cup (2000m). Waller is keen to see him working to the line late as the gelding heads towards the Listed Parramatta Cup (1900m) at Rosehill in two weeks. He is also happy to see an improvement in Sydney’s weather after Rosehill was lashed by heavy rain during Tuesday morning’s trackwork session. Waller said he had rarely seen so much groundwater since his days growing up in the New Zealand countryside. “I was that wet, I took my shoes off and poured water out of them. That hasn’t happened since I I’ve been on the farm in New Zealand,” Waller quipped. View the full article

Bad luck thwarted the first racing campaign of Snow Patrol (NZ) (Contributer) who is set to make his racing return at Caulfield. The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained gelding is being aimed at the Gr.1 Australian Guineas at Flemington next month. First-up though is the Gr.2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday. Snow Patrol scored a debut over 1300m at Sandown last August before a ‘hard watch’ when the three-year-old finished third at Sandown behind Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) a month later. The Price and Kent team pressed the button once more with Snow Patrol finishing out of the money at Flemington in late September before being turned out for a break. Price said Snow Patrol had returned in good order this campaign and enters Saturday’s first-up assignment off a win in a Cranbourne jump-out on January 30. “He’s going very well, and we’re hoping to get him into the Australian Guineas,” Price said. “He’s a nice horse that should have won his first two starts. “The second start was a hard watch then subsequently, his last run, I was trying to get back the bad luch that he had at start number two. “He ran the race of a horse that had probably had enough, but he didn’t have much joy in that race either. “So, I’ll get a guide what to do with him after Saturday, whether we run in the Australian Guineas.” Price said if the decision was made to head to the Australian Guineas on March 2, then Snow Patrol would join stablemate, the unbeaten Otago (NZ) (Ocean Park) in the Group One contest. He said the three weeks would be ideal for Snow Patrol between runs while Otago would have his lead-up run in the Gr.3 C S Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday week. “Otago trialled very well at Cranbourne on Monday and will run in the C S Hayes and two weeks later to the Guineas,” Price said. View the full article

Trainer Benno Yung unearthed a three-year-old with potential in the second section of the Class 4 Kowloon Park Handicap (1,200m), with Super Joy N Fun (NZ) (What’s The Story) sticking on to salute at $13.6. Racing in the same colours as Joy And Fun, Super Joy N Fun was sent forward from gate nine by jockey Jerry Chau before eventually electing to settle outside leader Divine Era in a race without any great pace. Quick to respond when asked to extend in the home straight, Super Joy N Fun quickly took control before holding off fast-finishing $2.2 favourite Beauty Infinity by a head. Super Joy N Fun is a son of the Savabeel stallion What’s The Story and was a strong trial winner for New Plymouth trainer Debbie Harris before his sale to Hong Kong. Out of the Elusive City mare Citycenta, Super Joy N Fun was known as Buyback in New Zealand and is a half-brother to the stakes performer City Slicker. He was bred by Peter and Sue Westend who stand What’s The Story, a Group One performed son of Savabeel, at their Norweigan Park in Ohaupo. View the full article

One-win galloper Gold Wolf (NZ) (Tivaci) faces a stern task in Friday’s Listed Tasmanian Derby (2200m) as he takes on in-form Patrick Payne-trained galloper Bold Soul (NZ) (Embellish). Prepared by David and Coral Feek, Gold Wolf broke his maiden convincingly over 1600m at Moe in December before moderate performances over 2000m at Seymour and Pakenham. But David Feek has seen a newfound maturity in the son of Tivaci’s trackwork and, with the benefit of an additional run under his belt, is optimistic he can run a cheeky race in the Derby. “I like this horse,” he said. “We wanted to keep him in his own age group and for him, the further the better, so this was an obvious target at this stage of the calendar year. “I thought he was good winning his maiden first-up at 1600m and he was pretty sound at Seymour when the run just got blocked on him. “We were meant to go to a three-year-old 2000m race at Flemington, but he had a minor setback and missed the run, which meant that he was five weeks between runs at Pakenham last start. “We were disappointed with him on the night, but once we had a chance to watch the replay and take into account that time between runs, we decided to press on. “He worked really nicely yesterday, we weren’t out to break records but he’s just showing increased mental maturity in his fast work. “People looking at his replays will see a green, raw horse but we’re seeing a slightly more grown-up horse in his work since Pakenham.” Gold Wolf is a $17 chance in a market headed by Bold Soul at $1.60, who enters off the back of wins at Flemington and in the Listed Launceston Guineas (2100m), the latter when carrying 60kg topweight. View the full article

What Randwick Races Where Royal Randwick Racecourse – Alison Rd, Randwick NSW 2031 When Saturday, February 10, 2024 First Race 12:30pm AEDT Visit Dabble The $2 million Inglis Millennium (1100m) headlines a bumper 10-race program at Randwick this Saturday afternoon. The two-year-old feature should shed some light upon a fascinating contingent of gallopers putting their hand up for the Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) later in the season. The rail returns to the true position throughout the entire circuit for the meeting, and with no rain forecast to hinder proceedings, the track should be rated a Good 4 this weekend. The opening race is set to get underway at 12:30pm AEDT. Inglis Millennium Top Tip: Trunk There is no stable you’d rather trust with two-year-olds at the moment than the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott barn, seemingly turning out winners on a weekly basis. Trunk will be looking to continue that trend as he returns to Sydney after a solid debut performance at Geelong on January 6. The son of Snitzel attempted to make every post a winner on that occasion but ran into a smart one in the form of Stay Focused, who seems to be on a Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) path in Melbourne. His barrier trial at this course on January 22 was a suitable change of tactics to sit in behind the speed, and with a strong tempo here, we expect Trunk to be doing his best work late. Inglis Millennium Race 7 – #7 Trunk (5) 2yo Colt | T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | J: Tim Clark (56.5kg) +750 with Picklebet Eskimo Prince Stakes at Randwick: Caballus The Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) is a wide-open affair, signified by the fact that all seven runners engaged are at single-figure odds. Caballus is the one that gets the nod after a terrific first-up performance for the Bjorn Baker stable. The I Am Invincible colt burst clear of his rivals at Rosehill on January 20, careering away with the prize by 1.2 lengths. Three subsequent winners have been produced from that form since, and with the change of stable seemingly unlocked the best of Caballus, we’re hopefully he can continue his winning ways in the 2024 Eskimo Prince. Eskimo Prince Stakes Race 6 – #4 Caballus (6) 3yo Colt | T: Bjorn Baker | J: Joshua Parr (57kg) +320 with Dabble Best Bet at Randwick: Marquess Two impressive barrier trials seem to have the lightly-raced Marquess returning in terrific order after a 112-day spell. He produced three wins across five starts in his last campaign, suggesting the son of Tavistock has plenty of upside moving forward, and the James Cummings barn seemingly agree with that assessment as they elect to kick-off the five-year-olds preparation over 1600m. Racing in open company allows Zac Lloyd to hop aboard on the minimum 52kg, and with gate three to help him on his way, we expect a bold showing by Marquess in the penultimate. Best Bet Race 9 – #7 Marquess (3) 5yo Gelding | T: James Cummings | J: Zac Lloyd (52kg) +190 with PlayUp Next Best at Randwick: Tintookie Tintookie has continued to be consistent since returning victorious at this course on January 6 and wasn’t far off making it back-to-back wins running into Our Kobison in consecutive starts. She clearly finished best of the rest at Rosehill on January 20, powering into a runner-up finish over the 1100m. She heads to the Randwick 1200m for the first time in the campaign, and with this seemingly an ideal setup to for this progressive four-year-old mare, Tintookie looks a strong play in the final race of the afternoon. Next Best Race 10 – #3 Tintookie (5) 4yo Mare | T: Brad Widdup | J: Kerrin McEvoy (59.5kg) +230 with Neds Best Value at Randwick: Embassy Embassy appears ready to produce a strong debut performance on the back of two eye-catching jump-outs – particularly his latest effort at Hawkesbury on February 1. The son of I Am Invincible was allowed to stride forward under his own steam under Tommy Berry and bounded away from his rivals to score by 3.5 lengths. It was an impressive piece of work, and with plenty of chances across this two-year-old contest, we’re willing to take the risk on Embassy running a bold race at each-way odds with online bookmakers. Best Value Race 2 – #2 Embassy (8) 2yo Colt | T: Peter & Paul Snowden | J: Tommy Berry (56kg) +1100 with Bet365 Saturday quaddie tips for Randwick Randwick quadrella selections Saturday, February 10, 2024 1-2-4-7-9-12 2-3-5-7-8 4-7-8 3-9 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip More horse racing tips View the full article

Melbourne Cup placegetter High Emocean (NZ) (Ocean Park) has run her final race and will be sold at auction in Australia in May. The seven-year-old daughter of Ocean Park, who was selected by renowned bloodstock agent John Foote for $80,000 at the 2018 Karaka yearling sale, would go on to win seven races and more than A$1.2 million in prizemoney. Maher informed owners this week of the decision via a lookback video of her career, with the mare having last raced in the Geelong Cup last spring. Having won her maiden at Ballarat in October 2019, it was the winter the following year she put together a hat-trick of wins, with triumphs at Sandown and Caulfield. She would soon after go on to win the Listed R.M. Ansett Classic and later the Group 3 Bendigo Cup, which secured her a start in the 2022 Melbourne Cup with just 50 kilograms. High Emocean would finish a strong, closing third behind Gold Trip (Outstrip) and Emissary (Kingman) under Teo Nugent. View the full article

While Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) was winning races from her two-year-old year through to retirement as a six-year-old, her trainer Peter Moody said she did not reach full maturity until her later racing years. Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) is no Black Caviar, but he is about to embark on an autumn campaign in the Gr.1 C F Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday as a fully mature six-year-old. The Ben, Will and J D Hayes-trained gelding has graduated from a Group One handicap winner to being a multiple Group One weight-for-age performer to running second, by the barest margin, in Australia’s greatest race, the Cox Plate. Jockey Craig Williams has been aboard Mr Brightside in 25 of the gelding’s 29 starts and has seen him develop and mature along the journey. That association began with a maiden win at Geelong through to a number of his major victories, although Williams did miss out on Mr Brightside’s win in the All-Star Mile and a second win in The Doncaster when sidelined through injury. Mr Brightside will on Saturday line up for his first start since running second to Pride Of Jenni (Pride of Dubai) in the Gr.1 Champions Mile at Flemington last November. Williams rode Mr Brightside in a jump-out at Flemington last Friday and was happy with the gelding’s performance and believes the six-year-old can rise to another level. “We joked about that at Flemington before his run in the Champions Mile and said, because he’s always improved, it’s going to be scary for his opposition if he does come back and keep improving,” Williams said. “When you see him he just looks more mature in regards to being hardened. “He hasn’t got an bigger, or any taller, he looks fantastic. He hasn’t got surplus weight, he’s not fat, he just looks more rounded, more seasoned, his muscle definition is a lot firmer. “He looks the horse that he is on his form guide.” Williams said the biggest transformation from Mr Brightside’s four and five-year-old years is that when he turns up for a Group One contest, he is ready for a fight. That fight has arguably set Mr Brightside as Australia’s best miler at present. “It took an international horse to beat him a small margin in the Cox Plate, so he’s arguably the best miler to 10 furlong (2000m) horse we have in Australia right now,” Williams said. “He will improve I feel with the run but he’s going well enough that he can definitely win on Saturday, and I’m looking forward to riding him.” View the full article

Darryn and Briar Weatherley have been well-represented in stakes events this season and that trend will continue at Te Rapa on Saturday with a trio of feature race contenders. The Matamata trainers have stable favourite Mali Ston (NZ) (El Roca) and the progressive Arby (NZ) (Proisir) in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) while gifted filly Tulsi (The Autumn Sun) will step out in the Gr.2 David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2000m). “We’re quite proud of our little team, we’ve only had three winners but most of our runners have been in Group or Listed races,” Darryn Weatherley said. “They’ve been going good races and we haven’t had any midweekers or maidens and it’s great to have a couple in the Group One, although it’s obviously going to be hard to beat Legarto. “Both my boys are really well and I couldn’t separate them to be honest and both deserve their spot in the field.” Mali Ston finished third in the Gr.3 Eagle Technology Stakes (1600m) three runs back after he was held up in the run home and then finished eighth in the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2050m), again denied room in the straight. The son of El Roca suffered a similar fate in his most recent outing when he charged home late once clear to run third at Tauranga. “I would get a great thrill if he could put his foot in the till, he’s got a lovely bunch of owners in the Matijasevich family,” Weatherley said. “It would be wonderful to kick a Group One goal for them.” Weatherley’s son Sam will partner Mali Ston while Joe Doyle will ride Arby, who finished well for a last-start fifth in the Aotearoa Classic (1600m) and the Proisir four-year-old will appreciate the step up in distance on Saturday. “It was a four-year-old race over a mile worth $1 million so we tried to keep him as fresh as we could, but he is a stayer and was looking for 2000m,” Weatherley said. “He got outpaced early and was finding it a bit uncomfortable after a shower of rain and found it hard to get fraction. “When they straightened and he got balanced, he really came home strongly. He hasn’t got the speed to pounce and put himself in the race and he’s certainly going well. “If he can put in the sectionals that he did the other night at Ellerslie, they’ll know he’s in the race.” Younger stablemate Tulsi also had little luck when third in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) and was then caught wide without cover when seventh in the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m). At her last appearance, the daughter of The Autumn Sun overcame a bump in the run home to finish runner-up at Ellerslie. “She’s been running against the best fillies and has been thereabouts. Her run in the 1000 Guineas was huge, taking nothing away from Molly Bloom,” Weatherley said. “She had no favours from an outside gate and dragged Molly Bloom into the race and still fought on well. “At Ellerslie the other day, the winner (Fortunate Son) got slow sectionals across the top and we were back second to last and she really flew the last bit. It was a better run that it looked.” The Te Rapa team also includes the consistent Be A Roca, who will contest the Dr John Southworth Memorial Vase (1200m). “She loves the track, with a couple of wins, and that’s a big plus because it is a bit horses for courses there,” Weatherley said. “We gave her a week off after her last run on an unsuitable track at Hawke’s Bay and she still went a brave race for fourth. “She is really thriving and her work has been super and she looks a million dollars.” View the full article

Champion jockey Per-Anders Graberg is hoping to make an impression in New Zealand to add to the list of countries he has successfully ridden in. The vastly experienced Swedish jockey arrived last week on a four-month visa and has based himself in Cambridge. “I have been riding out for Tony Pike and, of course, for any others if they need me,” Graberg said. The 49-year-old finished fifth aboard the Pike-trained Full Moon Fever in his New Zealand debut at Matamata on Wednesday and will have two rides at Te Rapa on Saturday for the stable. The natural lightweight will partner the promising Vera Rose in the $350,000 Sir Patrick Hogan Karapiro Classic (1600m) and the capable but often unpredictable Dawn Parade in the Vertical Logistics Handicap (1400m). “I am very glad he has put me on and very much looking forward to it,” Graberg said. Fiorente filly Vera Rose has made a promising start to her career with the three-year-old winning her first two starts and most recently finished fourth in the Gr.3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham. Vera Rose is raced by breeder The Oaks Stud, the Cambridge operation managed by Rick Williams whose son Dean was formerly Pike’s Racing Manager and a key player in Graberg’s arrival in New Zealand. “I met Dean when he came over to Europe and stopped by Sweden on his way to Ireland and we had a chat about it and he said he could help to set it up,” he said. “I said yes, okay, and when they cancelled all the racing back home for the winter and none of my normal clients were going to Dubai like they normally do, I said let’s go for it. “My plan was to have come over a lot earlier, but it took longer than I expected to get my visa through, so I’ve only been here for five days.” Graberg has a career tally of 2062 winners, mainly in Sweden, and has been champion Scandinavian jockey on 12 occasions. “I have ridden winners in 11 different countries, mostly through Europe and in Dubai,” he said. “Back home, I usually ride at 54kg but down here where it’s warm I could go down to 53kg for a good ride, I’m a naturally light guy.” Graberg said he would be keen to return to New Zealand in the future if his current stay works out well. “The season starts back home in the middle of April, so Plan A is to be home for that,” he said. “If I like it and people like me and I have a bit of success then I would like to come back next year for three or four months, so this is a test really to see if I like it of course and can get going.” View the full article

A tilt at Group company is now on the cards for Qali Al Farrasha (NZ) (Almanzor) following her convincing maiden win in the Wexford Stables (1600m) at Matamata on Wednesday. Heading into the meeting off the back of three successive placings, the daughter of Almanzor was backed into $2.10 favouritism at the midweek meeting and duly delivered for her supporters, running out a comfortable four length victor. “She looks a nice staying filly in the making, from a classy family, and we just love the progeny of Almanzor and have always been a strong believer in the stallion,” said Mark Walker, who trains in partnership with Sam Bergerson. Qali Al Farrasha has yet to be tested over further than a mile, but Walker believes she will be suited over more ground and is looking forward to taking her to Hastings later this month to contest the Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2100m). “Once she gets to the Lowland Stakes, I think she’ll show her staying ability and it looks like she’ll measure up to Group racing,” he said. “She was building nicely to that win today, has a bit of race experience now, and it was a lovely ride of Opie’s (Bosson, jockey).” Bred and owned by Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis and David Peacocke (Weston Lea Bloodstock), her Te Akau trained dam, Nucleonic (NZ) (Burgundy), impressed winning on debut over 1200m as a two-year-old, while her granddam Mexican Rose (NZ) (Volksraad) was Champion two and three-year-old in Singapore, having first impressed when winning two of her three starts in New Zealand. “Greg Tomlinson (Nearco Stud) and I bought Mexican Rose,” Ellis said. “We sold two O’Reilly colts out of her for good money and her weanling topped the sale in 2016. “She was pretty smart, Nucleonic, and this is her second foal, so it’s great to get a promising filly like this early in her breeding career. “The Peacocke family has had a lot of success with Te Akau, racing Avantage among others, and have a long family involvement in racing.” Following the purchase of about 40 yearlings in January from the Gold Coast and Karaka, Ellis has been busy with farm inspections and selling shares. “We’ve had people booked in during each day to come and see the yearlings in the paddocks at Te Akau Stud,” he said. “We’ve bought a lot of nice horses and it’s just so good going around the farm each day and showing them to people that are interested in getting involved at such a buoyant time for the New Zealand racing industry. “I must say I love the (Lot 601) Almanzor – Bavella filly that I bought at Karaka, from Cambridge Stud. She just looks a readymade racehorse to me. “People love coming out and having a look at the horses, they really do. They love going around the farm and seeing all the yearlings and other farm stock, and I love showing them what we’ve got out here.” View the full article

Lightweight Australian jockey will take four rides into Monday’s Lunar New Year meeting at Sha Tin: ‘Receiving the call was a dream coming true’View the full article

What CF Orr Stakes Day 2024 Where Caulfield Racecourse – Gate 22, Station St, Caulfield East VIC 3145 When Saturday, February 10, 2024 First Race 12:15pm AEDT Visit Dabble Feature racing in Victoria heads to Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday, with the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m) headlining a stacked 10-race meeting. With six other black-type events scheduled, there will be plenty of good horse-flesh on display. Perfect conditions are forecast, and with a Good 4 track and the rail in its true position, we are set fair for a cracking day of racing from 12:15pm AEDT. Keep reading for our free race-by-race preview and quaddie selections for Caulfield Race 1: BM100 Handicap (2000m) Independent Road has returned a different horse this campaign, winning on three occasions from five goes. The seven-year-old gelding narrowly denied Flash Feeling at Moonee Valley on January 27 in a perfect front-running display over the 2040m. He does go up 5kg from that run, hence the better price, but in a race with little pressure on him out in front, we’re confident Jye McNeil can pinch it from the front once again. Selections: 2 INDEPENDENT ROAD 1 BERMADEZ 9 FLASH FEELING 4 SUPARAZI Race 2: BM78 Handicap (2400m) Oceanic Flash has not won in over two years, but the six-year-old from the Andrew Payne barn looks to have found the race to break that drought. He is a stayer who gets better with runs under his belt, and his third-up effort at Flemington when finishing second suggests he is ready to win on Saturday. He was forced to sustain a long run 900m out from home, and only just peaked on his run late after hitting the lead 300m out from home. From barrier three, Mick Dee will have the son of Sacred Falls covered up until the home straight, and as long as he can build through his gears, Oceanic Flash should prove to be the superior stayer over 2400m. Selections: 7 OCEANIC FLASH 6 PEARL RAIN 10 GALILAEUS 8 CHEVALIER DU FAU Next Best Race 2 – #7 Oceanic Flash (3) 6yo Gelding | T: Andrew Payne | J: Mick Dee (56kg) +380 with Playup Race 3: BM70 Handicap (1600m) Former West Australian First Encounter kicked off life in Melbourne with an eye-catching fourth at Sandown over 1600m, and despite staying at the trip, we’re confident he can run a big race at a big price. The four-year-old son of Dundeel was first-up off a six month spell on that day, and the small field of five just seemingly didn’t suit him. He is forced to carry 60.5kg once again, but with the run under his belt and a more hotly-contested affair expected, the John Leek (Jnr) stable looks to have placed this bloke perfectly. With a well-timed sprint from the rear of the field, First Encounter can blouse his rivals in style in this. Selections: 6 FIRST ENCOUNTER 9 ANOTHER WIL 4 ZAMBORGHINI 11 JABBAWOCKEEZ Best Value Race 3 – #6 First Encounter (4) 4yo Gelding | T: John Leek (Jnr) | J: Jamie Mott (60.5kg) +1800 with Neds Race 4: Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) Despite being an odds-on favourite, we’re happy to take on Southport Tycoon purely because of his $1.85 quote. Sandgroper Zipaway comes to Melbourne with top-tier formlines, including his narrow third-place finish in the Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) behind Dom To Shoot and Zaaki. The three-year-old gelding tired late on in a hotly contested affair, and considering he was beaten a nostril by Zaaki, we’re confident he can cause an upset here. The son of Playing God will most likely be giving his rivals a start on the home turn from barrier seven, but with a strong finishing burst, we’re confident he can overcome the 1.5kg weight difference against the favourite, and zip away with victory. Selections: 1 ZIPAWAY 4 SOUTHPORT TYCOON 2 CARBONADOS 3 FLYING TRAPEZE Autumn Stakes Race 4 – #1 Zipaway (7) 3yo Gelding | T: Neville Parnham | J: Steven Parnham (58.5kg) +600 with Bet365 Race 5: Group 3 Carlyon Cup (1600m) Ciaron Maher’s Yonce has been progressing nicely in two runs this campaign, and looks primed to strike third-up from a long injury layoff. She return with a steady performance over 1100m at Caulfield, before coming out and finishing a luckless fifth in the Listed John Dillon Stakes behind Ayrton and Buffalo River who both line up in Group 1 company later in the card. John Allen will have the Proisir mare settled in the moving line with cover, and as long as she finds clear air at the right time, Yonce should have no issue in overpowering her rivals late. Selections: 4 YONCE 5 UNUSUAL CULTURE 1 YOUNG WERTHER 6 FOXY CLEOPATRA Best Bet Race 5 – #4 Yonce (5) 6yo Mare | T: Ciaron Maher | J: John Allen (55kg) +320 with Dabble Race 6: Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (1100m) The first of the Blue Diamond Prelude’s is for the boys, and based off his win in the Blue Diamond Preview (C&G), it is hard to see how High Octance gets nutted on Saturday. The Peter & Paul Snowden-trained colt was as green as grass in his debut win, but still managed to put close to a length on his rivals in dominant fashion. Barrier one on Saturday will mean he gets all the favours in running under Blake Shinn, and if the pair can get off the fence on the home turn, we’re confident High octane will space his rivals and in doing so, further rocket into Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) calculations. Selections: 1 HIGH OCTANE 4 STAY FOCUSED 3 BODYGUARD 5 HOLMES A COURT Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) Race 6 – #1 High Octance (1) 2yo Colt | T: Peter & Paul Snowden | J: Blake Shinn (57kg) +160 with Betfair Race 7: Blue Diamond Prelude (F) (1100m) The juvenile fillies will kick off Saturday’s quaddie in the Group 2 Blue Diamond Prelude, and we’re confident Matisse can salute at a nice price. The Microphone filly put in an eye-catching run when third on debut in the Blue Diamond Preview (F) on January 26, and with even luck she goes much closer to winning. She only went down by a half-length on that day, and with natural improvement and potentially a vulnerable favourite first-up, Matisse can spring an upset. Barrier 16 is a touch concerning, but if Damian Lane can have Matisse settled in the three wide line with cover, she showed plenty on debut to suggest she will take a power of beating with even luck. Selections: 8 MATISSE 1 BOLD BASTILLE 2 HAYASUGI 6 KUROYANAGI Blue Diamond Prelude (F) Race 7 – #8 Matisse (16) 2yo Filly | T: Anthony & Sam Freedman | J: Damian Lane (56kg) +1000 with Unibet Race 8: Group 2 Rubiton Stakes (1100m) The fact Asfoora is even-money or better with top horse racing bookmakers is ridiculous. Henry Dwyer’s five-year-old mare has three wins from as many starts at the Caulfield 1100m, and she can add further black-type success to her already glittering record. Look for Mitch Aitken to stalk the speed through from barrier six, and when asked to quicken on the home turn, Asfoora should have no issue in putting this race away in a couple of strides. Selections: 4 ASFOORA 9 REY MAGNERIO 14 HYPOTHETICAL 11 QUEEN OF THE BALL Rubiton Stakes Race 8 – #4 Asfoora (6) 5yo Mare | T: Henry Dwyer | J: Mitchell Aitken (57kg) +100 with Picklebet Race 9: Group 1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m) The Group 1 CF Orr Stakes is the first Group 1 race of the new year in Australia, and punters are set to be treated by the return of Mr Brightside. Will the champion be vulnerable first-up from a spell? Or will he blow his rivals away? Veight, Pericles and Pride Of Jenni have all had backing in final field markets, so it looks to be more than a one-act affair. Click here for our full preview of the 2024 CF Orr Stakes Race 10: Group 3 Peter Le Grand Stakes (1100m) So Glamorous has not been seen since claiming victory over 1400m at Caulfield in BM70 company, and as she steps into Group company for the first time in the Peter Le Grand Stakes, we’re confident she can stack up. With two wins and a second to her name from three starts, she looks to have plenty of upside, and under the care of Grahame Begg, is sure to be competitive in a field like this. Despite being eight-weeks between runs, she looks to gain every advantage in running drawn barrier one under Jye McNeil. So Glamorous will need a touch of luck on the home turn, but if she sees clear air at the right time, she can cause an upset in the last. Selections: 10 SO GLAMOROUS 7 BLANC DE BLANC 8 ESTRIELLA 2 EXPLORING Peter Le Grand Stakes Race 10 – #10 So Glamorous (1) 3yo Filly | T: Grahame Begg | J: Jordan Childs (56kg) +100 with Picklebet Caulfield free Saturday quaddie tips Caulfield quadrella selections Saturday, February 10, 2024 1-2-8 4 1-2-9 Field | Copy this bet straight to your betslip Horse racing tips View the full article

What Cyril Flower Stakes Day Where Bunbury Racecourse – Brittain Rd, Bunbury WA 6230 When Saturday, February 10, 2024 First Race 12:29pm AWST Visit Dabble This Saturday, the Listed Cyril Flower Stakes will headline the nine-race program that has been transferred from Ascot to Bunbury due to the extreme heat predicted for Perth. With perfect summer conditions forecast in the Bunbury area for Friday and Saturday, the track is expected to stay in the Good range for the whole meeting. The rail will be in the true position, with racing set to kick off at 12:29pm AWST. Cyril Flower Stakes Tip: Wild Belle Wild Belle put an unlucky first-up run behind her and dominated her rivals in the Listed Miss Andretti Stakes at Pinjarra last start. The Luke Fernie-trained mare showed her blistering turn of foot to glide past the leaders and put the race to bed with 100m to go. Although William Pike won’t be in the saddle for her third start this campaign, Clint Johnston-Porter should be able to give this girl a great run from barrier two. Johnston-Porter should be able to settle in the one-one position behind the leaders, and if she gets even luck in the final 300m, Wild Belle should go very close. Cyril Flower Stakes Race 8 – #5 Wild Belle (2) 4yo Mare | T: Luke Fernie | J: Clint Johnston-Porter (56.5kg) +240 with Playup Best Bet at Bunbury: Autumn Rebel Darren McAuliffe and Clint Johnston-Porter will combine with Autumn Rebel when he seeks his fourth straight victory in a Benchmark 72+ over 1675m. This three-year-old colt has gone to a new level since stepping up in distance to 1600m-plus, with three of his four wins coming over a mile or more. Last start, this son of The Autumn Sun ran home strongly from midfield to record a narrow victory over Thorogood at Ascot over 1800m. Even though Autumn Rebel will drop back in distance slightly, he should prove too strong in the concluding stages once again. Best Bet Race 5 – #7 Autumn Rebel (8) 3yo Colt | T: Darren McAuliffe | J: Clint Johnston-Porter (54kg) +100 with Neds Next Best at Bunbury: Ruler Rocket Ruler Rocket returned from a 13-week spell with a good performance over 1000m at Ascot on January 27, when he ran on nicely from midfield to finish fifth — beaten one length by Rock This Town. The Bruce Watkins-trained galloper would have taken a fitness benefit from his fresh run and should be ready to win second-up. This son of Universal Ruler has drawn well in barrier two and should get the run of the race behind the speed, from where he can peel off the leader’s back as they round the home turn. If Ruler Rocket lets down with a similar finishing burst to last start, he can play a prominent role in the finish. Next Best Race 6 – #5 Ruler Rocket (2) 4yo Gelding | T: Bruce Watkins | J: Troy Turner (59.5kg) +500 with Dabble Saturday quaddie tips for Bunbury races Bunbury quadrella selections Saturday, February 10, 2024 2-3-5-8 1-3-5 4-5-9 2-3-5-7 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip Horse racing tips View the full article

Lucky Encounter, Storm Rider, Ka Ying Rising and Master Mastermind look to have more to give, while Running Glory lines up in the Chinese New Year CupView the full article

What Doomben Races Where Doomben Racecourse – 75 Hampden St, Ascot QLD 4007 When Saturday, February 10, 2024 First Race 12:13pm AEST Visit Dabble This weekend, for the first time in 2024, the Brisbane Racing Club will host a Saturday metropolitan meeting at Doomben Racecourse. The track was rated a Soft 5 at the time of acceptances, and with rain forecast on Friday and Saturday, it is expected to stay at that mark for the whole meeting. The opening race of the day will jump at 12:13pm AEST, and the rail will be in the +0.5m position for the entire circuit. Best Bet at Doomben: Anythink Goes After finishing second in his previous two starts, Matthew Smith has chosen to send Anythink Goes up to Queensland for his sixth run of the preparation. The five-year-old gelding chased home the smart Running By two starts back before being run over late by Buillt at Rosehill last start over 1500m. Smith appears to have found the perfect race for this son of So You Think, as there will be little to no speed and only two last-start winners in the race. With James Orman in the saddle, expect Anythink Goes to settle in the first four, build momentum around the home turn, and prove too classy for his rivals late. Best Bet Race 8 – #5 Anythink Goes (7) 5yo Gelding | T: Matthew Smith | J: James Orman (58.5kg) +140 with PlayUp Next Best at Doomben: Damo Dayz We were with Damo Dayz as he maintained his unbeaten start to his career with a stylish win over 1200m at Eagle Farm on January 26. The Tony Gollan-trained galloper has only had two race starts, where the four-year-old gelding has displayed a blistering turn of foot to claim back-to-back victories. From barrier one, James Orman should be able to give Damo Dayz an economical run along the fence, and with even luck in the final 400m, he should prove very hard to hold out. Next Best Race 6 – #8 Damo Dayz (1) 4yo Gelding | T: Tony Gollan | J: James Orman (57kg) +350 with Neds Best Value at Doomben: Quothquan Quothquan broke maiden ranks at the fifth time of asking last start, backing up strong trial form to win first-up over 1200m at this track on January 24. This son of Rothesay will have taken a fitness benefit from the fresh run and should be full of confidence after his first victory. Considering how strong this guy ran through the line, the rise in distance to 1400m should suit him down to the ground. With the benefit of Jake Molloy’s 3kg claim and good speed in the race, Quothquan looks a good chance to record back-to-back victories. Best Value Race 5 – #2 Quothquan (14) 4yo Gelding | T: John Dann | J: Jake Molloy (a3) (59.5kg) +900 with Boombet Saturday quaddie tips for Doomben races Doomben quadrella selections Saturday, February 10, 2024 Field 5-14 2-3-9 4-7-11-12 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip Horse racing tips View the full article

Arby will contest the Group 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa on Saturday. Photo: Race Images Palmerston North) Darryn and Briar Weatherley have been well-represented in stakes events this season and that trend will continue at Te Rapa on Saturday with a trio of feature race contenders. The Matamata trainers have stable favourite Mali Ston and the progressive Arby in the Group 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) while gifted filly Tulsi will step out in the Group 2 David & Karyn Ellis Fillies’ Classic (2000m). “We’re quite proud of our little team, we’ve only had three winners but most of our runners have been in Group or Listed races,” Darryn Weatherley said. “They’ve been going good races and we haven’t had any midweekers or maidens and it’s great to have a couple in the Group One, although it’s obviously going to be hard to beat Legarto. “Both my boys are really well and I couldn’t separate them to be honest and both deserve their spot in the field.” Mali Ston finished third in the Group 3 Eagle Technology Stakes (1600m) three runs back after he was held up in the run home and then finished eighth in the Group 1 Zabeel Classic (2050m), again denied room in the straight. The son of El Roca suffered a similar fate in his most recent outing when he charged home late once clear to run third at Tauranga. “I would get a great thrill if he could put his foot in the till, he’s got a lovely bunch of owners in the Matijasevich family,” Weatherley said. “It would be wonderful to kick a Group One goal for them.” Weatherley’s son Sam will partner Mali Ston while Joe Doyle will ride Arby, who finished well for a last-start fifth in the Aotearoa Classic (1600m) and the Proisir four-year-old will appreciate the step up in distance on Saturday. “It was a four-year-old race over a mile worth $1 million so we tried to keep him as fresh as we could, but he is a stayer and was looking for 2000m,” Weatherley said. “He got outpaced early and was finding it a bit uncomfortable after a shower of rain and found it hard to get fraction. “When they straightened and he got balanced, he really came home strongly. He hasn’t got the speed to pounce and put himself in the race and he’s certainly going well. “If he can put in the sectionals that he did the other night at Ellerslie, they’ll know he’s in the race.” Younger stablemate Tulsi also had little luck when third in the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) and was then caught wide without cover when seventh in the Group 2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m). At her last appearance, the daughter of The Autumn Sun overcame a bump in the run home to finish runner-up at Ellerslie. “She’s been running against the best fillies and has been thereabouts. Her run in the 1000 Guineas was huge, taking nothing away from Molly Bloom,” Weatherley said. “She had no favours from an outside gate and dragged Molly Bloom into the race and still fought on well. “At Ellerslie the other day, the winner (Fortunate Son) got slow sectionals across the top and we were back second to last and she really flew the last bit. It was a better run that it looked.” The Te Rapa team also includes the consistent Be A Roca, who will contest the Dr John Southworth Memorial Vase (1200m). “She loves the track, with a couple of wins, and that’s a big plus because it is a bit horses for courses there,” Weatherley said. “We gave her a week off after her last run on an unsuitable track at Hawke’s Bay and she still went a brave race for fourth. “She is really thriving and her work has been super and she looks a million dollars.” Horse racing news View the full article

Top End trainer Garry Lefoe will run last-start winners Canton Kid and Barragunda at Fannie Bay this Saturday. (Photo: Caroline Camilleri/Darwin Photography Professionals) Although they will take on good opposition, Darwin trainer Garry Lefoe remains hopeful that Canton Kid and Barragunda can deliver at Fannie Bay on Friday. Canton Kid, a six-year-old gelding, hasn’t been spotted since Darwin Cup Day in early August and lines up in Heat 5 of the Summer Sprint Series (1100m) at 0-76 level. Barragunda, also a six-year-old gelding, returns after winning his first Top End race at the seventh attempt a fortnight ago over 1200m in 0-70 grade. Darwin horse racing tips & quaddie picks – Friday, February 9 After starting his career in NSW for Sydney trainer Mark Newnham for one win from six starts, Canton Kid debuted for Lefoe in May 2021 and saluted over 1100m in 0-64 grade. Since then, the son of Written Tycoon has had 21 starts in Darwin and one start in Katherine for a further four wins, finishing in the top four on 18 occasions. During last year’s Darwin Cup Carnival he won by 5.3 lengths over 1100m against 0-66 opposition before a last-start win by 3.3 lengths over 1200m in the 0-70 ranks where he broke the track record. Darwin Race 2 replay (19/7/2023) – Canton Kid Canton Kid stopped the clock at 1:07.09 to eclipse the time of 1:07.42 set by Jade City, who won the 2007 and 2008 Palmerston Sprint (1200m), in June 2007. Lefoe was serving a suspension at the time, with Canton Kid under the care of trainer Tayarn Halter. With two wins and two seconds following a spell in the past, Canton Kid cannot be dismissed on Friday; however, the opposition in the six-horse field is above average. Having returned to training late last year, Lefoe agrees that winning won’t be easy, but he isn’t waving the white flag. “He’s back from a break after racing well and he generally goes well fresh,” he said. “Tayarn had him going good, he was flying. “Let’s just see how he goes this prep, but I expect him to go well. “I reckon he’ll run a good race on Friday, he should be thereabouts. “He really improved last prep – he stood up – and hopefully he can keep it up and improve this prep. “All of his siblings are decent horses, so it just took him a little longer to mature.” Chris Nash’s Son Of Bielski was the early +220 favourite, while Gary Clarke’s Patriotic King and Phil Cole’s El Magnificence must be respected. There is likely to be a mad dash for the early lead on Friday, but according to Lefoe it won’t affect Canton Kid — regardless of whether he leads or sits off the pace. “There will be plenty of speed — there’s probably four leaders in the race,” he said. “We’ll just have to wait and see where he ends up and how the race pans out, I’ll just leave that up to Shiersy (jockey Paul Shiers).” And there was a reason why Canton Kid was off the scene for six months. “Just gave him a longer break because it was really hot during build up,” Lefoe said. “I took my time with him, plus there wasn’t too much on the program for him. “This was the first suitable race for him, so after Friday we’re probably going to have to go to Alice Springs for the carnival. “There’s not too many races for open-class sprinters here between now and the Alice Springs Cup Carnival, so to a degree you’re forced to take them down there.” Barragunda was pushed to the limit before finishing strongly on Australia Day, and he too will have his hands full when he faces six other runners over 1200m on Friday. Bon’s Pride, striving to make it three straight wins for Jason Manning, was the early +140 favourite with online bookmakers. After two seconds from five starts for Halter and then Tom Logan, Barragunda returned to Lefoe’s stable and was fifth over 1100m on December 30. He boasted good form in Victoria for Cranbourne trainer Lloyd Kennewell, with two wins from 12 starts. “I paid $42,000 for Barragunda in an Inglis Online Sale in March 2022 – he is by I Am Invincible,” Lefoe said. “He’s been frustrating for his owners, but he has had problems during his career. “However, he’s a horse with plenty of class when you get him right. “Touch wood, we’ve got him right at the moment and he came through that last run pretty well. “He is stepping up in grade as there wasn’t a suitable race in his grade for the distance I wanted with him. “He won well last start and I expect him to go well again on Friday, I just hope he can keep plugging away. “It’s a good field — he’s only a 62-rater, but I think he will handle himself.” Horse racing news View the full article

Waitak will be vying for back-to-back Group One victories in Saturday’s BCD Group Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) After being nothing short of spectacular in the Group 1 Railway (1200m) at Pukekohe on New Year’s Day, emerging sprinter Waitak will hunt a Group One double in Saturday’s BCD Group Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa. Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, who train Waitak out of their Matamata base, tested the gelding over various distances as a three-year-old, which included finishing second in the Group 2 Avondale Guineas (2100m) and fifth in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m). The son of Proisir resumed off a decent break with a dazzling performance over 1300m at Te Rapa before a successful last-to-first triumph in the Railway indicated the sprinting distances may be his preferred range. “He steps out to the 1400m, and he’s working into the race really well,” Scott said. “We took him across to Te Rapa last Wednesday and galloped him between races, Craig, his regular trackwork rider, rode him for us and he was really pleased with him. “It’s another step-up for him, it’s going to be a pretty hot field in weight-for-age conditions but he’s a big boy and we think he’s ready to handle it.” The four-year-old was guided in the Railway by premiership-leading hoop Warren Kennedy, however, with Kennedy’s commitments to unbeaten three-year-old star Crocetti, Opie Bosson will take the ride at Te Rapa. “Opie’s familiar with him, he’s ridden him in the past and this horse loves Te Rapa, the big flat track really suits him,” Scott said. Bosson will have a prized opportunity to win a fourth BCD Group Sprint in five years, having taken out the Waikato feature aboard Te Akau headliners Te Akau Shark (2020), Avantage (2021) and most recently, last year’s edition with Imperatriz. Crocetti currently tops the market with horse racing betting sites at +150, with Waitak a +400 second favourite, while stablemate Dragon Leap sits an ominous +900 chance, fresh-off a tough run in the Group 1 Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham last month. Prior to this performance, Dragon Leap had kicked-off the new season with an impressive Group 2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m) victory at Te Rapa before finishing second in the Group 1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) behind Skew Wiff, and a close-up fourth in the Railway fresh-up, and will be partnered on Saturday by Vinnie Colgan. “Dragon Leap certainly deserves one of these races, not much went right for him at Wellington with the slow pace in the race and getting caught wide,” Scott said. “He should quicken well, we think 1400m is probably his peak distance now, and he won on the track earlier in the season there in the Foxbridge, he’s another that loves Te Rapa. “We hope he can bring his best form, because it would certainly be very satisfying and special for the team if he could win a Group One.” Horse racing news View the full article