Wandering Eyes

Miacomet Farm's Heavenly Sunday—who took the Edgewood Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day—has an opportunity to replicate that success beneath the Twin Spires in the $300,000 Mrs. Revere Stakes (G2T) Nov. 24.View the full article

Ryan Martin, a graduate of the University of Louisville's Equine Industry Program, was named Content Manager of PM Advertising in Lexington Kentucky, effective Dec. 1, the agency announced Tuesday. Martin joins PM Advertising after working for the New York Racing Association's media department as Senior Racing Communication Strategist, a position he held for 4 ½ years. Prior to his NYRA tenure, Martin, 30, held other publicity-centered roles at other racetracks such as Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds Race Course, and Arlington Park. Martin is also an elected Vice President of Turf Publicists of America (TPA). “I am excited to be stepping into a new role in joining the team at PM Advertising,” Martin said. “After spending the past few years watching and covering some of the sport's finest equine athletes during their racing campaigns, I now get to promote some of those same horses during their stallion careers. PM does a great job promoting stallions for farms all over the world, and I'm looking forward to being a driving force alongside Jon and Christine Siegel in promoting such a wide variety of stallions. I also look forward to working closely with some of the best consignors in the industry, advertising their stock during the breeding and yearling sales. It's an honor to be selected to work with such a great team.” Jon Siegel, Managing Partner of PM Advertising, said, “Ryan came highly recommended by several people that we really trust. Passion for horses is a must for anyone filling this role for us. From what I've seen so far, Ryan has it. I think he will jump right in and have an immediate positive impact on our creative process. Christine and I are thrilled to welcome Ryan to the team and back to the Bluegrass State.” PM Advertising is an award-winning marketing and advertising agency based in Lexington, Ky. PM Advertising specializes in brand identities, web design, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, print, motion graphics, and commercials. The post PM Advertising Names Ryan Martin Content Manager appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk A tough draw and a big field won’t make it easy but Natives Inferno is well overdue to get back into the winner’s circle at Rangiora today. The four-year-old son of Love You has only won once in 16 starts but has been a model of consistency of late with three second placings in a row. Last start, at Rangiora on November 10, Natives Inferno looked the winner only to be nutted late by Mr Love, who charged home from near last. “I had to go a bit earlier than I wanted last week and was three wide for a bit and then got bombed,” says regular driver Kyle Cameron. Just days ago Cameron experienced the thrill of winning on one of the sport’s biggest days by guiding $48 outsider Prince Teka to victory at Addington on Show Day. “He’s a lovely old horse and it was great to get one on a big day.” Today in Race 7, the Robbie Holmes Stable Trot, a second row draw is the first thing he’ll have to negotiate with Natives Inferno. “He’s been in mobiles recently so probably won’t rush him from the stand anyway.” “Hopefully we will get through a few early but he’s going to be coming off the pace which is not easy over 2000m but he is up to most of them in that field.” Murano, Racey Krusa, Shandon Bells and Holmes’ own horse MM Sunshine all loom as potential threats in a big open field. “From six on the second row we won’t be handy you wouldn’t think so he’ll have to show some speed at some stage,” says Cameron. Trained locally at Ashley by Austin Thornton, Natives Inferno’s first and so far only win came at Rangiora just on a year ago. While Natives Inferno looks like an each way player so too does Buddy Reign, who Cameron drives in race 5, the Ripple Creek Equine Pace for trainer Kevin Musso. “He’s drawn wide (8) so we will have to play it by ear but he’s in the right race but he may need a bit of luck from that wide draw.” Cameron’s other drives on the day are Steelintheheel, who he also trains, in Race 2 the Carlton- Standing at Wai Eyre Farm Mobile Trot and another Musso runner Flossy Reigns in race 3, the Andrew Stuart Racing Stables Mobile Pace. The eight-race programme starts at 3.09pm. View the full article

Kitasan Black (Jpn), Japan's busiest stallion in 2023 and the sire of the world's top-rated racehorse Equinox (Jpn), has had his covering fee doubled for next season to ¥20 million (approximately £108,000/€124,000). Kitasan Black is a son of Black Tide (Jpn), a full-brother to the late Deep Impact (Jpn), and he was kept busy at the Shadai Stallion Station last spring when covering 242 mares. It remains to be seen whether his most famous son, who is favourite to extend his Group 1 winning streak to six in Sunday's Japan Cup, will join him on the roster in Hokkaido next year. This season's leading first-season sire, the 2019 Japan Cup winner Suave Richard (Jpn), has also had his fee increased for next year to ¥15 million (£80,000/€93,000). This will also be the fee commanded in 2024 by his stud-mates Epiphaneia (Jpn) and the Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn), whose first foals proved immensely popular at the JRHA Select Sale in July. Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) looks set to become Japan's champion sire for the first time at the end of the year, thus ending the long reign of Deep Impact. About to turn 16, he has had his fee maintained at ¥12 million (£65,000/€74,000), which is also the price set for Kizuna (Jpn), who currently sits third in the Japanese sires' table. A full list of fees for Shadai's 31 stallions can be found here. The post Kitasan Black’s Fee Doubled for 2024 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A slimmed down section of stores and National Hunt yearlings nevertheless brought an aggregate close to last year's tally as the Arqana Autumn Sale continued in Deauville. Haras du Mesnil's immensely popular stallion Doctor Dino (Fr) provided the top two lots and the only six-figure sales of the session, for a yearling and two-year-old respectively. At €120,000 the day's leader was the yearling filly named Cherry Berry (Fr), consigned by Mesnil's sister stud Haras de Maulepaire and bought by Ecurie de Launay. The May-born filly (Lot 572) is out of Snow Berry (Fr) (Dream Well {Ire}), a half-sister to the prolific chasing duo of Le Berry (Fr) (Gemix {FR}), whose 11 wins included the G1 Prix Maurice Gillois, and 13-time winner Berryville (Fr) (Poliglote {Fr}). This is also the further family of one of Maulepaire's most famous Flat graduates, the Melbourne Cup and Hong Kong Vase winner Dunaden (Fr). Jerome Glandais conducted the bidding and said afterwards of the half-sister to this season's Auteuil Listed winner Funny Berry (Fr) (Bathyrhon {Fr}), “She was bought for Sofiane Benaroussi. We are looking for well-bred fillies by good stallions. The objective is to find the right profile for racing and also for breeding.” Earlier, the two-year-old AQPS gelding Lascar du Mathan (Fr) (Lot 514) had sold to Guy Petit for €100,000. “For me, he is the horse of the sale, he really has everything going for him,” said the agent. “He's a beautiful horse and a son of Doctor Dino. I bought him for my client David Maxwell and he will be trained in France.” Of the 114 horses on offer on Tuesday, 84 were sold to lift the clearance rate slightly to 74%. The average of €26,025 was a 15% improvement on last year's figures, and the median rose from €15,000 to €20,000. Turnover was down by 5% at €2,191,000 but from 16 fewer horses sold this time around. The post Doctor Dino Day at Arqana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

So we're hearing it at last: the dreaded “C” word. Correction. After a bull run as long as the one we've seen in international bloodstock, we're now hearing this and other words chosen to discourage undue alarm. Last week, on the conclusion of their November Sale, Keeneland officials resorted to adjectives as queasy as “pragmatic” and “solid” to describe trade. “Correction” has a bolder implication: that if the market's down, then so it jolly well should be; values had reached an unsustainable high, and have merely been rocked back onto an even keel. Even if that happens to be true, however, it's only human to hear the word with nervousness. In the cycles of boom and bust, there's always the chance that it is only the beginning of a long period of penitence. In the Lexington neighborhood, indeed, horsemen may associate the whole concept with driving past the nearby Blackburn Correctional Complex. True, one veteran breeder made me chuckle, as we left one of the auctions staged locally over the past couple of weeks, by declaring that fewer criminals were accommodated in that forbidding institution than in the pavilion behind us. But the fact is that after a frenzied start to the week at Fasig-Tipton, the deeper and wider market across town at Keeneland intimated that our unfettered bull run may finally have come to an end. A relatively boutique catalogue, like the one staged at Fasig-Tipton, is always a precarious gauge of wider trends, in that its data will be heavily skewed by the successful recruitment and sale of elite mares. But just as Keeneland effectively spans the entire yearling market in September–accounting for $2.08 of every $3 spent on yearlings in America this year–so its breeding stock sale, extending to nine sessions, gave us a far more penetrating sense of where we stand. Book I at Keeneland more than emulated Fasig's hot trade the previous day, the median catapulting 21.8 percent on 2022, from $275,000 to $335,000. These figures have been updated to include post-sale transactions, of which there were plenty: 21 out of 141, compared with just six of 142 the previous year. That strongly corroborates the suspicion that fireworks at Fasig the previous day (nine-figure turnover that was virtually unchanged, only from fewer horses, yielding rises of 18 and 10.4 percent respectively in median and average) had emboldened some ambitious reserves. Keeneland's Book I average was admittedly down seven percent, from $482,606 to $448,511, but the inclusion last year of a $4.6 million Flightline share had much to do with that. (Without that exotic offering, the 2022 average would have been $453,404.) One way or another, then, the two elite sessions either side of town showed that the top end remains extremely strong, the median at both smashing what had seemed very robust yields the previous year. But it turned out that the rest of the Keeneland market would somewhat match the weather: a bewildering 81 degrees on the opening Wednesday, reverting to 36 degrees by dawn on Saturday. By the end of the sale, an increasingly familiar narrative of polarization had been reinforced. Now things were actually nothing like as alarming as appeared the case when Keeneland issued its own data at the close of the sale. This initially indicated a slump in the overall median as steep as 20 percent, and 17 percent in the average. Given the panic this must have caused many people, it was startling to discover that this data only measured the nine sessions staged this year against what had only been the first nine in 2022–when a similar volume of horses, in the overall catalogue, had actually been distributed across a 10th day of trade. In other words, the data omitted the weakest element of the whole 2022 sale, which naturally diluted the median: from $40,000 after nine sessions last year, to $35,000 after completion of the extra day. Updated to compare the two completed sales, the median had slipped far less seriously, from $35,000 to $32,000. As a headline figure, a drop of 8.6 percent should prompt much less unease than one of 20 percent. The initial report on the average proved similarly misleading. By meanwhile incorporating not only the omitted session that completed the 2022 sale, but also post-sale trade, the overall sale average was down no more than 8.5 percent from $92,928 to $85,048. Nothing like as drastic, again, as had been haplessly relayed by the press on the close of the sale. Pretty cold comfort, no doubt, for many. Putting that avoidable muddle to one side, the tables below show that top quality is still commanding top dollar, but that the going is indeed tougher away from that rarefied zone. For by combining Fasig and Keeneland Book I turnover–a useful exercise, for historic comparisons, given the way the Fasig auction has grown in recent years–and breaking off the rest of the Keeneland catalogue, we see that the former eked out a 2.5 percent gain in average ($557,698 from $544,292) even on last year's vintage trade. In contrast the average through remainder of the Keeneland catalogue shed 10.7 percent, from $67,627 to $60,421. COMBINED MARKET FASIG-TIPTON & KEENELAND NOVEMBER ring sold %sold gross ave 2023 2,933 2,374 80.9 290,137,000 122,214 2022 3,109 2,499 80.4 317,719,200 127,139 2021 3,183 2,689 84.5 311,982,500 116,022 2020 3,018 2,429 80.5 238,059,800 98,007 2019 3,612 2,799 77.5 268,146,200 95,801 2018 3,647 2,784 76.3 287,324,300 103,206 COMBINED FASIG-TIPTON & KEENELAND BOOK I 2023 390 295 75.6 164,521,000 557,698 2022 425 312 73.4 169,819,000 544,292 2021 360 272 75.6 155,073,000 570,121 2020 388 277 71.4 133,179,000 480,791 2019 384 294 76.6 139,510,500 474,526 2018 362 274 75.7 151,056,500 551,301 KEENELAND OTHER BOOKS 2023 2,543 2,079 81.8 125,616,000 60,421 2022 2,684 2,187 81.5 147,900,200 67,627 2021 2,823 2,417 85.6 156,909,500 64,919 2020 2,630 2,152 81.8 104,880,800 48,736 2019 3,228 2,505 77.6 128,635,700 51,352 2018 3,285 2,510 76.4 136,267,800 54,290 But let's keep that in perspective. If we rewind to before the 2020 pandemic, we see that the typical commercial experience for those operating after Book I (the majority, obviously) remains pretty healthy. In 2019, their average transaction was $51,352 at a clearance of 77.6 percent. This year, it was $60,421 at 81.8 percent. Nor has the relative performance of this sphere lost value relative to the elite market. This year, the average sale after Book I represented 10.8 percent of one in the Fasig/Book I market; in 2019, it was worth…10.8 percent! Last year, admittedly, the average from Book 2 onward represented 12.4 percent of that set in Fasig/Book 1; and it had weighed in at 11.4 percent in 2021. In 2018, however, it was only 9.8 percent. So the market then was actually a little more polarized than it is today, suggesting that this sector was perhaps more vulnerable to “correction” than the heat in the elite tier might have led us to expect. None of this trade happens in a vacuum, of course. If you're a pinhooker, a soaring weanling/yearling market means simply that you require the same growth to carry through into the yearling/2-year-old sales to make the same profit. And other costs, of course, are going up all the time. In our recent assessment of what superficially proved a very stable yearling market in North America, we should have stressed that point: if your sales are stable, but inflation is ballooning your overheads, your profits are anything but. For commercial breeders, the key cost tends to be a covering fee. (And a key differential, too, bearing in mind that keep, labor and veterinary costs are essentially the same for a cheap horse as for an expensive one.) And the stallion farms certainly seem to have been dovetailing their demands to the profits presumed for their clients in recent years. Now, you can get a legitimate sense of the cost to access a new sire–which is obviously “Main Street” for most commercial breeders–by taking a median fee among the top 10. (Which prevents a Flightline kind of fee skewing the equation.) You can then get a speculative handle on the kind of overall investment you might need, to make your debut as a commercial breeder, by adding that median fee to the average price of a mare (i.e. excluding weanling trade) after Book I at Keeneland. MIDDLE MARKET MARE PLUS COMMERCIAL MATING 2018-2023 top 10 new sires median fee KeeNov ave mare after Book I total cost cover as % of mare 2023 35,000 61,882 96,882 56.6 2022 40,000 72,505 112,505 55.2 2021 25,000 66,878 91,878 37.4 2020 27,500 49,751 77,251 55.3 2019 22,500 53,209 75,709 42.3 2018 30,000 53,988 83,988 55.6 And the bottom line is that entry into commercial breeding appears rather more intimidating now than it did before the pandemic. In 2019, the median fee for a top 10 freshman was $22,500; last year it was $40,000, and this year $35,000. A mare outside Book I would cost an average $75,709 in 2019, and even in a slower market than last year ($112,505) the equivalent purchase in 2023 was $96,882. The aggregate mare-plus-cover cost today is therefore 28 percent higher than in 2019. Breeders are supposed to find that out of their own increasing profits, but the rise in average for a Keeneland September yearling in the same period, from $125,201 to $141,489, is only 13 percent. Even what felt like a buyer's market last week, then, will take a long time to alleviate the impact of higher stallion fees. That feels absolutely central to how things may develop from here. Admittedly this is a fairly random snapshot. Our table shows that you would get markedly different outcomes if you compared 2018 and 2023, say, or 2019 and 2022. And, to be fair to the stallion farms, the cost of a typical commercial cover relative to the price of mares has maintained a remarkably even pitch, given the inevitable fluctuations. In four of the past six years, in fact, it has worked out between 55.2 and 56.6 percent. Stallion farms also have wider responsibilities, of course, in an age when the foal crop is diminishing even as book sizes soar. That's a debate for another day, however. In this context, let's just take a quick look at the early dividends achieved at the weanling market by the latest intake of young sires. It must be acknowledged that the agents and advisers tend to be pretty obedient when presented with these debutants: sires launched at the higher fees tend to achieve the highest averages at the sales. Only rarely does a market “discovery” punch above fee. Sure enough, after their opening skirmishes, the top four spots in the weanling averages have duly been filled, in order, by the sires launched with the first, second, third and joint-fourth highest fees. Albeit from samples of varying size, Essential Quality, Charlatan, Maxfield and Yaupon have so far obliged with an almost mechanical yield: the first three at 4.1, the well-signaled Yaupon (176 live foals!) at 4.4. on those measures it's been a slower start for the next two, Knicks Go and Silver State, but there is an awfully long way to go for all of them. As for the weanling market overall, the indices at Keeneland were generally positive. The average achieved from a rather smaller offering was, to a nearly freakish degree, virtually identical to last year. True, that was powered this time round by more demand at the top end: there were 19 hips sold at $400,000 or more, up from 10 last year. The median was duly down somewhat, and considerably so on 2021, when fewer sales at the top end translated into a very strong median as well as a competitive average. KEENELAND WEANLING MARKET 2018-2023 offered sold clearance aggregate ave median 400,000+ hips sold 2023 1,016 804 79.1 56,713,200 70,539 35,000 19 2022 1,155 881 76.3 62,154,100 70,549 37,000 10 2021 1,055 860 81.5 59,195,700 68,832 42,000 8 2020 950 746 78.5 40,909,200 54,838 25,000 10 2019 1,317 962 73 58,700,200 61,019 25,000 20 2018 1,314 972 74 64,657,600 66,520 30,000 14 Again, however, trade remains much healthier than before the pandemic: average (up 15.6 percent), median (up 40 percent) and clearance (79.1 percent from 73 percent) all remain significantly ahead of 2019; and comfortably in front, as well, even of what had been a stronger sale the previous year. All in all, then, it feels way too early to relate any slippage in the middle market to the wider economic or political environment. Bloodstock, after all, has proved mysteriously immune to all manner of external provocations in recent years. Yes, we see plenty going on out there that might affect confidence, and not just in the economy. By this stage, for instance, we are surely all aware that we can't be complacent about the social glamor our sport enjoyed in eras past. But sales of this kind are about the long haul: whether you're a trader trying to build a commercial portfolio, or an end-user striving to underpin your own program. Such buoyancy at the elite level is no small comfort, then. As for the rest of us mere mortals, it feels like we could primarily do with a break on covering fees. Yes, stallions are expensive to recruit, and their window of opportunity is cruelly brief. But if the sales ring is really facing one, then it may be the stallion farms that must next embrace a “correction.” Sales Statistics — November, 20th 2023 Top Sires of 2023 Weanlings, by cumulative Average Price. North American Sires–First Crop Sires Rank Name 22 fee Ring Sold Average Median 1 Essential Quality $75,000 8 5 308,000 280,000 2 Charlatan $50,000 22 19 206,052 175,000 3 Maxfield $40,000 12 11 165,181 110,000 4 Yaupon $30,000 40 36 130,888 100,000 5 Knicks Go $30,000 25 18 64,611 41,000 6 Silver State $ 20,000 27 20 44,660 36,000 7 Independence Hall $10,000 34 25 40,080 32,000 8 Lexitonian $10,000 18 16 37,750 27,500 9 Raging Bull (Fr) $10,000 9 9 37,000 17,000 10 Tacitus $10,000 26 9 36,326 30,000 The post Stud Fees Central To Correcting November Polarization appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Balladeer, Speaking Scout, Planetario, and Yes This Time—respectively first, third, fourth, and sixth in the John Henry—face four others in the Hollywood Turf Cup (G2T) at Del Mar.View the full article

Accelerate, one of the top racehorses of his generation, will be relocated to the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lane's End Farm announced Tuesday. Accelerate was a five-time Grade I winner on the racetrack with over $6.6 million in earnings. His victory in the 2018 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs capped off a season in which he also won the GI Santa Anita H., GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita, GI Pacific Classic S., and GI Awesome Again S. Accelerate had stood at Lane's End Farm since his retirement in 2018, starting at a fee of $20,000, which dropped to $10,000 for the 2023 season. He sired one stakes winner and three stakes-placed horses in his first three seasons at stud. “We are thrilled to welcome Accelerate into the Hall of Champions,” said Kentucky Horse Park President Lee Carter. “Guests of the park will love meeting this Kentucky-bred champion and hearing his story for years to come. It is an honor that Lanes End Farm and Hronis Racing are entrusting Accelerate's care to the Kentucky Horse Park.” Bred in Kentucky by Mike Abraham and raced by Hronis Racing LLC, Accelerate defined himself as a top-class, durable and honest racehorse. Purchased as a yearling for $380,000, Accelerate went into training with John Sadler and proved to be a top runner for Sadler in four seasons of racing. Kosta Hronis, who campaigned Accelerate, said “Accelerate is a very special horse to me and my family. I feel it is important for the Thoroughbred community to share its racing superstars with the fans of our sport. There is no better venue than the Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions to showcase the talent and charisma of the Thoroughbred breed, and no finer equine athlete than Accelerate to represent the Thoroughbred racehorse.” Accelerate will reside at the Hall of Champions with Thoroughbred Roy H, Standardbred Pacers Western Dreamer and Won The West, and Standardbred Trotters Mr. Muscleman and Marion Marauder. The post Accelerate Relocates to Kentucky Horse Park Hall of Champions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program (RTIP) Global Symposium on Racing, scheduled for Dec. 4 – 6, 2023, will be streamed live online, so that those unable to attend the conference in person will still be able to watch the panel sessions. Roberts Communications Network (RCN) will make the stream available on the Racetrack Television Network (RTN), with all proceeds from the sales going back to the RTIP. “Every year, the Global Symposium on Racing brings together the international racing community to discuss the most important topics in our industry, and we are very excited to deliver it around the world,” said RCN and RTN President and CEO Todd Roberts. “All of the money generated by the sales will go back to the RTIP program to help support everything they do for the industry.” The agenda for this year's Symposium includes panels on wide-ranging topics, including an update on HISA, strengthening simulcast content, how racetrack closures impact the industry's long-term sustainability, a closer look at mental health and emotional wellness, the ways to embrace change, and more. “We are very excited to once again stream the Symposium through our RCN partnership,” said RTIP Chair Robert Hartman. “We continue to see growth in our international audience and understand that travel may not be possible for some. We feel it is critical to make these important panel sessions available to everyone. We are very appreciative of RCN's help and especially their generosity in donating all the proceeds back to the program.” The live streaming package, which also includes archived sessions of each panel, is available for a $149 purchase on the RTN.tv website, enabling people to watch on tablets, smartphones, and PCs, and on televisions through Roku devices and Amazon Fire TV. For more information on the symposium, including a full agenda, visit the website at www.RacingSymposium.com. The post Arizona Symposium to be Streamed Live on RCN appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Through seven months of use and 9,164 timed workouts on dirt and turf at Oklahoma through its Nov. 11 closing, there were no fatal breakdowns on surfaces that were rebuilt and improved by the New York Racing Association in 2021.View the full article

Wednesday's top tips from the SCMP analystsView the full article

Ayrton (NZ) (Iffraaj) is one of 10 horses who have touched down in Western Australia on Tuesday, with the raiders met with scorching conditions ahead of The Pinnacles heating up and temperatures not expected to drop below 36 degrees until Saturday. An unlucky runner in last Saturday’s Gr.1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr are eyeing off the A$1.5 million Damien Oliver-Gold Rush (1400m) on December 16 with Ayrton, who is the early favourite. “It’s a tough time for the horses who have just arrived because there is a heat wave on, so it’s like 38 to 40 degrees for the next few days,” Kent Jnr explained. “He is staying at Simon Miller’s and he is going to venture down the beach a couple of mornings and try and stay as cool as possible. “But he’s travelled really well.” Having been saved from a nearly deadly spider bite earlier in his career, Kent Jnr said the horse appears to be in a great space physically and mentally after three runs this preparation. “He was going to be a very, very smart horse early days and it’s no secret he spent a lot of time in hospital and possibly there was some hangover prep,” Kent Jnr said. “The last two preparations he hasn’t quite been there for us, but the owners have been very patient and we’ve just started again fresh and he’s come up really well. “He has his confidence up and has put in three really good runs, so we want to capitalise and win the big cash over in Perth.” Ayrton was climbing over heels in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, finishing sixth, beaten by 3.35 lengths last Saturday. “It was always going to be a busy race, it always is but we thought we would be a little handier and got buffeted around,” Kent Jnr said. “I think the horse is going great, four weeks between runs is nice, 1400 metres is perfect and a big track at Ascot and dry ground is tick, tick, tick.” Ayrton is a $6 chance with Sportsbet for the Gold Rush. View the full article

Jockey Daniel Moor has answered the call to head to Perth to ride Forgot You (NZ) (Savabeel) in the opening Group One race of The Pinnacles. Moor partnered the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young-trained Forgot You to his three wins as a three-year-old before Blake Shinn registered a win on the now five-year-old at Flemington last time out. Forgot You was flown to Perth on Monday to contest the Gr.1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot on Saturday, although his main target is the Gr.1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) on December 9. Moor rode Forgot You in the horse’s first two runs back from 18 months away from the track and said he was looking forward to again partnering the entire. “Obviously, Blake Shinn is out suspended, but I’ve got a good association with the horse,” Moor said. “I was on him early on in the prep when he was building fitness and form. “The mile might be a touch short in the Railway, but the 1800 metres of the Northerly two weeks later is probably more up his alley. “He’s going over in good form and in good order, so we’re happy with him and I’m happy to be on him.” Moor said it was good to see Forgot You finally return to winning form. He rode Forgot You to three wins at Moonee Valley, including the Gr,2 Vase (2040m) before running fifth in the Gr.1 Victoria Derby in 2021. Moor said Forgot You took time to get fully fit after his break. “He had a long time off with his rehab, but he is a fairly gross horse that does really well.,” Moor said. “It took him a few runs, and they were in good races, so he had a bit against him in those first couple of runs, but he still ran well. “I felt he should have won at Sandown (four runs back), but he probably got to the front a touch too soon and then last time found a race that suited at Flemington. “He had the tempo that suited that day and I think he’ll get that over in Perth as they generally go along at a gallop and that should suit him.” Moor said he would ride at Moonee Valley on Friday night before flying to Perth on Saturday morning. View the full article

It was a timely win for Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse) in Sunday’s Gr.2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin, with his half-brother set to go under the hammer this week at Karaka. A New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale graduate himself, Lucky Sweynesse was purchased out of Woburn Farm’s 2020 draft by J & I Bloodstock for $90,000. He has gone on to win 14 races in Hong Kong, including the Gr.1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), Gr.1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m), and Gr.1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m). The son of Sweynesse was crowned Champion Griffin in 2021-22 before going on to become Champion Sprinter and Four-Year-Old in the Asian racing jurisdiction a year later. It was Zac Purton’s tenth win on Lucky Sweynesse, who is the first horse since Hot King Prawn in 2018 and 2020 to win the race twice. “He got the job done,” Purton said. “He’s sort of getting back to his best. He’s not quite there yet but he took another step in the right direction today and he’s going to need to be better next time.” Lucky Sweynesse will now aim to land his first Gr.1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin on 10 December. Woburn Farm are offering a half-brother by Contributer as Lot 116 at this week’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale, and farm principal Adrian Stanley has been buoyed by the level of interest in the colt. Woburn Farm principal Adrian Stanley. Photo: Trish Dunell “He is a lovely, strong, physical horse,” Stanley said. “It was lovely to see Lucky Sweynesse back to winning form and a good rehearsal for the International Group One Sprint next month. “There is a lot of Hong Kong interest in the colt. He ticks all the boxes for a horse that deserves to go up to Hong Kong.” Having prepared Lucky Sweynesse for the sale, Stanley said the Contributer colt is a more impressive physical type than his older sibling. “He is more physical and stronger than his brother. His brother was the same size, but this guy is more forward,” he said. The colt is part of a 15-strong Woburn Farm draft and Stanley is also expecting strong results with a couple of other juveniles. “Lot 358, the Shamus Award, is a lovely type of horse. He is a Guineas and Derby type of horse and he has been well received,” he said. “Lot 259, The Autumn Sun, is a lovely shape of horse and you would be pressed to find a better type than him on the sale ground.” Stanley has been pleased with the foot traffic at Karaka ahead of the sale, which commences on November 22 at 11am. “Coming out of COVID, it is picking up and getting busier every year,” he said. “It is good to see the Hong Kong trainers and permit holders down. It gives a good vibe ahead of the sale and hopefully that transfers to the sale ring tomorrow.” View the full article

Haras de Saint Pair's homebred Group 1 winner Pearls Galore (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) has been given a wild-card entry to the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale. She will be offered carrying her first foal by Frankel (GB) as Lot 210 on Saturday, December 9. Trained by Paddy Twomey, Pearls Galore bowed out at the top of her game last season after winning the G1 Matron S. at Leopardstown during Irish Champions Weekend. In total, she won seven of her 17 starts, including the G2 Lanwades Stud S. and two Group 3 contests. A granddaughter of the G1 Prix Vermeille winner Pearly Shells (GB) (Efisio {GB}), she is out of Pearl Banks (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), herself a Group 3 winner and dam of two other black-type winners. Pearls Galore was offered at last year's Tattersalls December Mares Sale and was a vendor buy-back at 2.1 million gns. The post Pearls Galore Added to Arqana Breeding Stock Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Mauritian jockey looking forward to main event 12 months after returning from injury on Happy Valley’s big nightView the full article

Zac Purton ponders Francis Lui’s decision to switch All Is Good back to the city circuit after four wins on the bounce at the New Territories venueView the full article

Group performer Beaudz Well (NZ) (Zed) will make his first appearance for new trainer Debbie Harris when he heads to New Plymouth on Friday to contest the Whitakers Civil Construction 1400. The seven-year-old gelding, who is part-owned by All Black Beauden Barrett and Crusaders assistant coach James Marshall, was previously trained by fellow Taranaki trainer John Wheeler. He was stakes placed on four occasions, including three consecutive runner-up results in the Listed Staphanos Classic (1950m), Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2500m) and Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) in 2021. The son of Zed hasn’t featured in the money since, and the decision was made earlier this year to change his environment in the hope of turning his form around. Breeder and part-owner John Lynskey had a good association with Debbie Harris and thought her boutique operation would be the perfect environment for his gelding. “I used to work for Rob Patterson who trains a lot for John Lynskey. He wanted to try the horse in a different environment and see if he might find a bit of form again before they retire him,” Harris said. “He is a lovely, laidback horse to have around.” Harris has been pleased with the way Beaudz Well has been working ahead of his first-up assignment but said the 1400m trip is well short of his best. “He has been working along really nicely. He has had a few little niggles but hopefully we have got on top of them now,” she said. “He has been going pretty well at the jump-outs so we are hoping he can carry on that jumpo-out form to the races. “He is a stayer but you have got to kick-off somewhere.” While Harris is taking it one race at a time, she said the main aim of the preparation could be the Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) if Beaudz Well returns to form. “We have put in a nomination for the Wellington Cup but we will just play it by ear at this stage,” she said. “We will see what happens and if he does find form again it could be something we potentially look at.” Stablemate La Santana (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) will also be first-up on Friday, having won her maiden at her last outing in April. The lightly-raced mare has been given time to mature and is another Harris said will benefit over further ground, but is hopeful of a good showing in the Energy City Ford 1400. “She is a lovely mare. We turned her out after she won quite nicely last season, she just needed a little bit of time to strengthen up,” Harris said. “She has come up really well this prep, I am really happy with her. She may need a mile-plus but she has been working well too.” View the full article

Josh Shaw will head north this weekend in the hope of executing a long-term plan with his in-form mare Faraglioni (NZ) (El Roca). The Levin trainer set the daughter of El Roca for Saturday’s Gr.2 Dunstan Horsefeeds Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe nearly 12 months ago and recent form suggests she is firmly on target. “It’s been the goal since she raced there last December in the Stella Artois Final, it was worth a bit of money. The other factor was that we wanted to get her on that leg and she coped well,” Shaw said. Faraglioni finished midfield in the $100,000 event behind subsequent Group winner Habana (Zoustar) but, in the process, gained valuable experience of the right-handed way of going. “I worked her the reverse way on Monday with a mate and Jonathan (Riddell) came down and rode her and he was very happy with her work,” Shaw said. Riddell will be reunited with Faraglioni on Saturday after placing in both previous starts with the mare, who was ridden to victory by Lisa Allpress in an open handicap at Trentham earlier this month. “I don’t think I have had a horse improve out of a race as much as she has, I haven’t been able to fault her and hopefully we’re going up there with a loaded gun,” Shaw said. “Jonathan has done a bit of work with her this prep, so we’ve given him his due reward.” Faraglioni has amassed five wins and seven placings from her 18 appearances since she was sent to Shaw by co-breeder Gordon Cunningham. “I bought a horse off him through gavelhouse.com that I will be trialling next Tuesday, an Eminent filly who’s a half-sister to a horse I had called Amazing Team,” Shaw said. “He rang up a couple of days later and said I’ve got this El Roca filly, a two-year-old that hasn’t done a lot and has been broken in, and said I’ll send it down to you. “He sent me the pedigree and saw she was out of a Zabeel mare, so I said don’t worry about sending photos, I’ll take her.” Faraglioni is raced on lease with Shaw involved in the ownership group. “If she can win on Saturday then we will probably exercise the right of purchase,” he said. “Being out of a Zabeel mare with a pretty deep female line makes her a cheque book mare if she can get some black type.” She is from the extended family of the multiple Group One winner and sire Starcraft, top-flight South African winner Happy Valentine (Silvano) and the Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) winner and Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) runner-up Sports Illustrated (NZ) (Fast ‘N’ Famous). Shaw will head to Pukekohe in high spirits following a hard-earned victory at Waipukurau on Sunday with Billy Easton (NZ) (Road To Rock). While he may be limited, it took him 27 starts to break through, the diminutive son of Road To Rock has endeared himself to his trainer. “He’s a mate with his own personality and rapt to get that done. I was wondering if the day would ever come and I’m so glad it did,” Shaw said. “Hopefully, he has his confidence up and can go on with it now. “To be fair to him, he’s only a pit pony and with a few exceptions he’s pretty much carried 58.5kg his whole life, now he’ll get a couple of kilos off the topweights and be competitive in the 65 grade.” View the full article

Barry Howden has had a number of stakes winners in his barn over his 35-year training career and he is excited to have another in his care in Rhaegar (Pluck). Formerly trained by Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, Rhaegar won the Listed Auckland Futurity Stakes (1400m) as a juvenile and went on to win a further two races for the Cambridge trainers before he was offered on gavelhouse.com last year where Howden secured the now seven-year-old for $5,500. “I watched him race early on and I liked the way he moved,” Howden said. “He is nice to do anything with, he is a pleasure to have around.” Rhaegar subsequently had three unplaced runs for the Makarewa horseman before undergoing a wind operation. Howden couldn’t be more pleased with the way he has progressed, with the gelding returning to winning form last month at Gore over 1335m. “He got through that race as good as gold. I am really pleased with him,” Howden said. “We had a wind operation done on him, which seems to be making a big difference. He is way happier now.” The son of Pluck is set to drop back to 1200m on Wednesday when he lines-up in the Christmas At The Races Sat 16 Dec Handicap, and while Howden said the distance is below his best, he is expecting another bold showing. “I still think 1400m is a better distance for him than 1200m, but I expect him to go well,” he said. “We may look at going to Cromwell after that if he pulls up well.” Howden will also line-up Willis (NZ) (Vadamos) first-up in the Vale Graham Tippett Handicap (1200m). “He is working well so here’s hoping he goes well,” Howden said. “He won first-up last year. He has got a lot of ability but he is a bit erratic sometimes, which is his biggest trouble.” The two geldings make up Howden’s entire race team and he enjoys keeping his hand in the game following a 35-year career which has garnered 79 wins, including three at stakes level. “I started off giving the Ridleys a hand back in the day and progressed from there. I was also an amateur rider,” he said. “I have had some handy horses. They are pretty hard to get those nice ones, so it’s nice to have another in the stable.” View the full article

Caulfield and Newcastle took centre stage last Saturday, while the summer carnivals for Western Australia and Queensland kicked off at Ascot and the Sunshine Coast, respectively. In this week’s edition of the Follow Files, HorseBetting.com.au highlights three runners from the weekend that look poised to make an impact this preparation. Sunshine Coast Track rating: Good 4 Rail position: True entire circuit Race 1: Two-Year-Old Handicap (1000m) | Time: 0:58.39 Horse to follow: Poster Girl (1st) The opening race at the Sunshine Coast may have featured the best performance of any runner on the program, with the Chris Munce-trained Poster Girl running home from the back of the field to record a very impressive debut victory. This two-year-old filly showed an electric turn of foot in the final 300m to make up over six lengths on the leader and run straight past her in the final strides. This daughter of Alabama Express rattled off an outstanding 35.24 last 600m sectional and will have taken a lot of benefit from her debut performance. When to bet: With the Magic Millions Carnival only six weeks away, Munce will have to decide whether this girl keeps running or if he puts her away for a little spell. If he decides to keep her racing, the Listed Calaway Gal on December 9 over 1000m looks like an ideal race for Poster Girl second-up. Race 8: Open Handicap (1000m) | Time: 0:57.10 Horse to follow: Nettuno (1st) Nettuno from the Tony Gollan stable returned in an Open Handicap last Saturday after having 12 months off the racetrack. This son of I Am Invincible was a very good two-year-old in Queensland and was sent down south to take on the best Sydney and Melbourne three-year-olds, placing at Group 3 level and running in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes. This four-year-old entire went around at the Sunshine Coast as a +2000 outsider with online bookmakers, which looked massive overs when he burst clear in the final 150m to run away with a two-length victory. When to bet: The Group 3 George Moore Stakes over 1200m at Doomben on December 2 should be a great stepping stone for Nettuno. If Gollan chooses to keep him on the short course, the Listed Bribie Handicap seven days later at Eagle Farm appears to be the likely target. Caulfield Track rating: Good 4 Rail position: True entire circuit Race 2: Benchmark 84 Handicap (1400m) | Time: 1:23.86 Horse to follow: Meridius (4th) After a good performance first-up, the Lloyd Kennewell & Lucy Yeomans-trained Meridius went to Caulfield last Saturday with expectations of a strong showing. However, Mark Zahra chose to settle at the back of the field on the fence, and after making ground along the inside rail, he ran into a wall of horses at the top of the home straight. Although this son of Extreme Choice got some clear air on the inside of the runner-up, he went over the line hard-held and never really got a crack at them in the final 150m. When to bet: After failing at the 1600m as a three-year-old, it appears that the stable is reluctant to go past 1400m with Meridius, so the next target for this gelding should be a Benchmark 84 Handicap over 1400m at Ballarat on December 9. Latest horse racing tips View the full article

What Ballarat Races Where Ballarat Turf Club – 240 Kennedys Rd, Miners Rest VIC 3352 When Thursday, November 23, 2023 First Race 1:30pm AEDT Visit Dabble Racing heads to the Ballarat Turf Club this Thursday afternoon for an eight-race meeting. Clear skies are forecast, and with the track rated a Good 4 and the rail out 9m for the entire circuit, it may be advantageous to be up on speed early in the day. The action at Ballarat is set to get underway at 1:30pm AEDT. Best Bet at Ballarat: Zabeelist Maiden wins do not come any more impressive than Zabeelist’s at Bendigo on October 21, as she unleashed a thunderous turn of foot to finish over the top of her rivals and win by four lengths. The Lloyd Kennewell & Lucy Yeomans runner looks to have found a winnable BM58 which should be run to suit her get-back-and-run-on pattern. With the likes of A Good Yarn, Zouthur and Carolina Sunrise all looking to lead, Zabeelist should be able to find a spot just worse than midfield before putting them away. Best Bet Race 6 – #8 Zabeelist (9) 4yo Mare | T: Lloyd Kennewell & Lucy Yeomans | J: Zac Spain (60kg) Bet with Betfair Next Best at Ballarat: Maid In Dubai Maid In Dubai made an eye-catching return at Kyneton on November 8 after nearly six months off, making up a stack of ground late to go down by a length. From barrier five under Carleen Hefel, the Pride Of Dubai filly draws to settle a touch closer to the speed than she did first-up. If Maid In Dubai can replicate the finishing sprint she displayed at Kyneton, she can break maiden ranks at her third start. Next Best Race 4 – #11 Maid In Dubai (5) 3yo Filly | T: Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman | J: Carleen Hefel (56kg) Bet with Boombet Next Best Again at Ballarat: Bernay The Archie Alexander-trained Bernay has shown plenty of early speed in two Camperdown jumpouts leading into her racing debut, so she should have no issue in leading the field up from barrier two over the 1000m. There does not look to be much competition for the lead, meaning Declan Bates should be able to rate this girl as he likes. If Bernay can put forward what she showed at her last jumpout, where she was only grabbed late, the Invincible Spirit mare should be making a winning debut. Best Value Race 3 – #5 Bernay (2) 4yo Mare | T: Archie Alexander | J: Declan Bates (57.5kg) Bet with Dabble Thursday quaddie tips for Ballarat races Ballarat quadrella selections Thursday, November 23, 2023 4-5-7-8 1-8 1-2-5-6 1-4-6-9-10 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip More horse racing tips View the full article

Bedtime Story winning at Hastings on Sunday. Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North) Promising filly Bedtime Story is turning into a dream for her connections. The daughter of Per Incanto was runner-up on debut at Woodville last month and was duly backed into $1.60 favouritism Hastings on Sunday. From her outside gate in the compact five-horse field, Bedtime Story settled in fourth just behind the speed where she was given an economical trip by jockey Kozzi Asano. The northern hoop guided his charge into the one-one heading out of the back straight before navigating her wide when turning for home where she was able to show a good turn of foot in the Heavy9 track conditions to score a 1.75-length victory. Trainer Guy Lowry was impressed with her performance and is predicting a bright future for the filly. “She has improved from her first start, she is improving all of the time. She is a nice filly going forward,” he said. “You never know on a wet track, but we had indications that she would handle it.” Bedtime Story is raced by breeder the Dowager Duchess of Bedford and is the first horse she has had in Lowry’s barn, and it is proving to be a flourishing partnership. “I have known her (Dowager Duchess of Bedford) for a while and she has always been meaning to give me a horse, so it’s nice to have a good filly for her as the first one,” Lowry said. Lowry is planning to take it quietly with Bedtime Story, with her next outing set to be at Trentham next month. “She may head to Wellington on the 23rd (of December), there is a set weights and penalties three-year-old race over 1200m,” he said. Meanwhile, Lowry said Zambezi Khan is enjoying a spell following her run in the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) at Flemington earlier this month. The daughter of Mongolian Khan will continue to race in Australia in autumn, with Lowry eyeing some Oaks targets in the southern states. “She pulled up shin sore after the Wakeful, so we put her out for a spell,” he said. “She will be set for the Tasmanian Oaks (Listed, 2100m) and South Australian Oaks (Group 1 2000m). “Every owner’s dream is to have a horse run for a bit of money over in Australia. She is definitely good enough, she has paid her way so far, I think she is a nice filly.” More horse racing news View the full article

Noble Knight winning at Riccarton on Saturday. Photo: Race Images South Sandy Cunningham had hoped Noble Knight would be contesting the two-mile feature on Cup Day last Saturday at Riccarton Park but was delighted to settle for an impressive victory in the Rating 82 2600m event. New Zealand Cup-winning jockey Sam Weatherley was booked aboard Noble Knight last Saturday and the northern hoop bounced the six-year-old astutely out of barrier three to position midfield and one-off-the-fence. At the head of the 18-strong field was Good Oil, the ultra-consistent grey controlling a moderate tempo early before Lisa Allpress pushed the button at the 1600m aboard Rivera Rock to take over. While other backmarkers began to struggle nearing the home turn, Noble Knight cruised into contention near the outer and descended strongly down the straight, drawing away from a brave Good Oil to score comfortably by 1.75 lengths. The son of Ghibellines has been a dependable force in Cunningham’s Prebbleton stable for several seasons, and the victory came as a small consolation in missing their target of the Group 3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) this season. “Sam rode him the perfect race. It was a very different pattern (to the opening day), he rode him positive out of the gates and did everything right,” Cunningham said. “We had planned to (run in the Cup) this time, but we had a bit of a hiccup in his prep and that didn’t happen. But we’re getting closer.” Weatherley was pleased to record another victory during Cup Week, one that ended successfully when he took home the feature Group 3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) aboard Mahrajaan later on the card. “I just had to bounce him (Noble Knight) out and get him mobile, he’s been getting a long way back,” he said. “It was a bit messy early, it was quite tight with everyone trying to get off the fence and having pressure from the other side. “He went to sleep mid-race, I was on the back of Opie (Bosson, aboard Fierce Flight) and he wasn’t taking me anywhere, so it was a bit of a search-and-run, but to his credit he was really strong to the line and very willing.” More horse racing news View the full article

Beaudz Well will make his first appearance for new trainer Debbie Harris at New Plymouth on Friday. Photo: Trish Dunell Group performer Beaudz Well will make his first appearance for new trainer Debbie Harris when he heads to New Plymouth on Friday. The seven-year-old gelding, who is part-owned by All Black Beauden Barrett and Crusaders assistant coach James Marshall, was previously trained by fellow Taranaki trainer John Wheeler. He was stakes placed on four occasions, including three consecutive runner-up results in the Listed Staphanos Classic (1950m), Listed Metropolitan Trophy (2500m) and Group 3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) in 2021. The son of Zed hasn’t featured in the money since, and the decision was made earlier this year to change his environment in the hope of turning his form around. Breeder and part-owner John Lynskey had a good association with Debbie Harris and thought her boutique operation would be the perfect environment for his gelding. “I used to work for Rob Patterson who trains a lot for John Lynskey. He wanted to try the horse in a different environment and see if he might find a bit of form again before they retire him,” Harris said. “He is a lovely, laidback horse to have around.” Harris has been pleased with the way Beaudz Well has been working ahead of his first-up assignment but said the 1400m trip is well short of his best. “He has been working along really nicely. He has had a few little niggles but hopefully we have got on top of them now,” she said. “He has been going pretty well at the jump-outs so we are hoping he can carry on that jumpo-out form to the races. “He is a stayer but you have got to kick-off somewhere.” While Harris is taking it one race at a time, she said the main aim of the preparation could be the Group 3 Wellington Cup (3200m) if Beaudz Well returns to form. “We have put in a nomination for the Wellington Cup but we will just play it by ear at this stage,” she said. “We will see what happens and if he does find form again it could be something we potentially look at.” Stablemate La Santana will also be first-up on Friday, having won her maiden at her last outing in April. The lightly-raced mare has been given time to mature and is another Harris said will benefit over further ground, but is hopeful of a good showing. “She is a lovely mare. We turned her out after she won quite nicely last season, she just needed a little bit of time to strengthen up,” Harris said. “She has come up really well this prep, I am really happy with her. She may need a mile-plus but she has been working well too.” More horse racing news View the full article