Wandering Eyes

Spacewalk ridden by Jamie Kah wins the Rising Fast Stakes at Flemington. (Photo by Pat Scala/Racing Photos) After going down as a well-backed favourite last start, Spacewalk (+400) has returned to the winner’s circle with a strong win in the Group 3 Rising Fast Stakes down the Flemington straight, with Jamie Kah giving him a perfectly timed ride. The James Cummings-trained sprinter settled a lot closer to the speed, albeit five lengths off the tearaway leader Najeem Suhail (+900) who ran the race at a breakneck tempo. When the leader began to slow and take smaller steps, Kah went for her mount and as he lengthened stride, he picked up the leader very quickly and went past him. However, it wasn’t all easy for the winner, as Crosshaven (+3000) flashed through the pack and nearly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, but Spacewalk had enough of a margin on the runner-up to hold on and claim victory. 2023 Rising Fast Stakes Replay – Spacewalk | T: James Cummings | J: Jamie Kah James Cummings was on course for the big raceday, and he spoke post-race about the win. “It worked out quite well. Jamie Kah was convinced that she had the right horse to follow and could save Spacewalk for his final dash and that he’d be pretty hard to hold out,” Cummings said. “It unfolded in unusual fashion with a long leader, but it did give Spacewalk something to knuckle down and chase. “He’s out of a Dubawi mare, he looks like a Dubawi. Those horses just try so hard. “Jamie just got the timing spot on, the horse has really been flying this preparation, he was excellent first up, he got his head in front in the Caulfield Sprint so I felt a bit for Jamie. “She was just forced to make her run a little earlier than she would’ve liked last time but she was very confident with me this afternoon that if she could get her timing that the horse would be hard to hold out.” Jamie Kah brought up her first winner on Derby Day, and she spoke post-race. “I’d love it if that horse (Najem Suhail) was in everyone of his races. He just needs a bum to follow and horses to chase down,” Kah said. “The other day we got there too soon. “He’s got a short sprint on him and he needs a horse in front for a long time and that was perfect today. “I knew Najem Suhail couldn’t maintain that so I was just being patient and waiting. “We love riding winners and especially on Derby Day. It is fantastic.” More racing news View the full article

Queen Of The Ball ridden by Damien Oliver wins the Begonia Belle Stakes at Flemington. (Photo by Pat Scala/Racing Photos) They say it is best to strike when the iron is still hot, and that is exactly what Damien Oliver has done on Derby Day at Flemington, guiding Queen Of The Ball to victory in the Group 3 Begonia Belle Stakes. The Michael Freedman-trained galloper has been running in Sydney at her last three starts, but the stable chose to bring her back to Melbourne to run down the famous Flemington straight for the first time since her Coolmore Stud Stakes run on this day last year. Followers of Queen Of The Ball would have been puzzled by Oliver’s decision to take the natural front-runner to the back of the field, but when he let her go and she let down with an explosive turn of foot in the final 300m, they would have been very happy. As soon as Hypothetical and Dancing Alone appeared ready to fight out the finish, the daughter of I Am Invincible raced straight past them to record an easy one-length victory. 2023 Begonia Belle Stakes Replay – Queen Of The Ball | T: Michael Freedman | J: Damien Oliver Michael Freedman and Damien Oliver have been close friends for years and Freedman couldn’t have been happier for Oliver after the win. “It’s a huge buzz, we’ve got a lot of history, our family and Damien go back 35, nearly 40 years so being his last Derby Day and one of my first runner on Derby Day, it’s a great thrill,” Freedman said. “He (Damien) said he wanted to do that because there’s a bit of a headwind and he just got into the perfect spot and I was rapt to see when he got to the outside how quickly she let down. “She’s a good quality mare. “It’s been a little bit frustrating, I think her form has been a little bit better than it looks on paper her last three starts, she just got pipped first up in the Toy Show at Randwick, the Sheraco was a bit of a mad scramble and the last race was a bit messy. “I always felt she was going as well as she was ever going and when we saw this race down here we pulled the pin on the back end of the Sydney carnival and just targeted this race. “I thought if she could we win this we might hang around for the How Now Stakes (at Caulfield). As long as she pulls up ok we’ll keep her going for one more.” Damien Oliver couldn’t have kicked of his Melbourne Cup Carnival any better, and he spoke post-race after his second win from three rides. “It’s great-to-back in time and ride one for the Freedmans, we go back a long way, both Michael and Richard have been really supportive of us this week and it’s great to team up with them again,” Oliver said. “Michael and I were flatmates for many years right behind this grandstand so a lot of fun days back in our teenage years and early 20’s. “I kind of thought if I could (take a sit) there was good speed around her to do it, she ran a great race here last year in the Coolmore and back to fillies and mares grade today, she’s always been a really speedy sort of filly and mare and with good speed in the race I was able to get a nice trail. “She’s a gutsy fast filly and fortunately she was able to use that at the end of her race. “I’d done nothing for the first half of the race so I thought I’ve got plenty to give and from where I was I was a bit obscured by what was going on the inside so I didn’t want to be too cute.” More racing news View the full article

Kalapour ridden by Damien Oliver wins the Archer Stakes at Flemington Racecourse. (Photo by Pat Scala/Racing Photos) In what will be his final Melbourne Cup Carnival, Damien Oliver has claimed his first victory aboard Kalapour (+400) for great mate Kris Lees in the Group 3 Archer Stakes at Flemington. As a ballot exempt race for the 2023 Melbourne Cup, the son of War Command has now booked his spot in the 3200m classic next Tuesday after winning the Archer. Kalapour is now a (+5000) chance in the 2023 Melbourne Cup futures market with online bookmakers. The race seemed to have no speed on paper before the jump, and that is exactly what appeared as the runners ran out of the straight for the first time, so Oliver chose to take up the lead from barrier one. Oliver allowed Kalapour to settle and run along at his own pace, clocking a few 13-second sectionals down the back straight, which indicated to spectators and punters that they weren’t breaking any records. At the top of the home straight, Oliver released the brakes on the leader and he kicked two-lengths clear of Athabascan (+170), and even though the race favourite chased gamely, the Kris Lees-trained stayer held him at bay in the final 100m. 2023 Archer Stakes Replay – Kalapour | T: Kris Lees |J: Damien Oliver Kris Lees was very happy that he had two runners in the 2023 Melbourne Cup, and he spoke post-race about both runners. “I’m rapt to have a winner with Damien in what will be his last spring carnival. It certianly means a lot to me,” Lees said. “Whenever I bring horses down here, if they a chance he’ll certainly ride them. “I’ve had a great association (with him) and I’m glad he could get a win for us today. “I didn’t give Damien any instructions. “I said to him, ‘what are you going to do’ and he thought he’d be box seating but when he jumped so cleanly, he was able to dictate in front, I was very confident in the run. “With a couple of sections of 13.5, I knew he was going to be hard to run down. “It wasn’t a tough run. We’ll see how he pulls up but I’d expect him to back up. “He drops to 50 kilos, I think he is, he’s a horse in form which is what you want to see, I think he’ll acquit himself well. “They’ve got to do something Tuesday as well but it’s great to have two runners for sure. “He (Cleveland) had a nice gallop this morning, he’s in good order. Looking forward to the day.” Damien Oliver brought up 86th winner at the Melbourne Cup Carnival over his career, and he spoke post-race. “It is great to get one under the belt early. It is great for the confidence,” Oliver said. “This horse has been running really consistently all season and it is great that he can win a nice race today. “Barrier one was much better than barrier 16 (in Newcastle Cup), I can tell you. “He jumped well. I wasn’t really planning to lead but the more I got closer to the gates I thought it was an option. I didn’t want to hand the lead up to United Nations. “They were going fairly pedestrian up the straight (first time) and I thought ‘bugger it, why not lead’. “He kicked nicely for me on the bend, he actually changed stride about 100 metres after we straightened and he just lost his action a little bit but then gathered it up nicely and because he’d had it so easy in front he was able to hold them off. “I’m not sure what the plan is with him but he’s had a pretty easy run today if they wanted to go there (Melbourne Cup), the horse is in great condition, he’s a really healthy animal and he’s just a gentleman of a horse.” More racing news View the full article

Kaizad ridden by Tim Clark wins the Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington. (Photo by Pat Scala/Racing Photos) Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott have kicked off their Melbourne Cup Carnival in fine style with Kaizad (+1000) leading every step of the 1600m to claim the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington. Although the son Capitalist has only missed the placings once throughout his career, he was unwanted in betting, jumping at (+1000) with online bookmakers. However, after he jumped perfectly and went straight to the lead for Tim Clark, Kaizad was always going to be hard to run down. Clark allowed his mount to get into a rhythm and run the race to suit himself before giving a big kick on the home turn to put two lengths on his nearest rival at the 300m mark. The two favoured runners in the race, Brave Mead (+200) and Heman (+210) chased gamely, but they were never a winning chance, as Clark got the most out his gelding late and recorded a nice victory. 2023 Carbine Club Stakes Replay – Kaizad | T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott| J: Tim Clark Gai Waterhouse was on track for Kaizad’s victory and she spoke post-race. “He’s terrific, Tim (Clark),” Waterhouse said. “He just understands pace perfectly. He bounced him out of the gates, got him right on the bunny and it was see you later alligator. “He’s improved out of sight. He was the most nerdy two-year-old and then the moment he was gelded he changed his attitude and he’s never looked back. “This is a really good win today. “It is a hard race to win, the Carbine Club, and it is nice to win it with a nice horse so I’m really pleased. “Every time you’d ask him to do something he’d want to do the opposite.” Tim Clark kicked off his Melbourne Cup Carnival in the best way possible, and he spoke post-race. “He’s got great tactical speed and we were able to utilise that,” Clark said. “I wanted to make sure we didn’t back off it too much and turn it into too much of a sit-sprint. “Wanted to make sure we kept up the gallop and tested the rest of the oppositions’ stamina. “He’s made leaps and bounds this preparation. “He’s a completely different horse and obviously the gelding operation played a part in that but also a bit of maturity as well.” “They’ve done a good job handling him and they’ve turned him out a treat today and it is nice to star the carnival off with a win.” More racing news View the full article

Mark Zahra has sensationally ditched Gold Trip days out from the Melbourne Cup, with the veteran set to ride Without A Fight. Top jockey Mark Zahra says his decision to ditch defending Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip, for Without A Fight, was an agonising one that had cost him some stern words from his Mum. Zahra rode Gold Trip to glory last November, which was his first Melbourne Cup win, with it stunning the Flemington crowd with a blistering finish in the 3200m feature. But the 41-year-old believes Gold Trip has had a tougher path to the 2023 Melbourne Cup, and Without A Fight presents a better winning opportunity. “I would have said the decision was 60/40 in Without A Fight’s favour,” he told RSN. “Last year, I thought Gold Trip, all his runs were on soft tracks and he had a soft run in a Caulfield Cup and he ran second… he didn’t get out in a Cox Plate on a soft track and then went to the Melbourne Cup. “I reckon it’s a different kettle of fish this year. He’s had two hard runs on firm tracks, he’ll get a firm track again, I believe anyway, on Cup Day and I think Without A Fight is a better ride.” “It was hard because I’m very good friends with a couple of owners in the horse so I had to tell them first – and I was having dinner with Ciaron. They wanted to kill me and my mum, she loves Gold Trip, so she was flat as well. “It was an extremely tough choice… there wasn’t a great deal between them.” Gold Trip is a $5 chance to win the Melbourne Cup with Neds Australia, with racing royalty James McDonald expected to be announced as Zahra’s replacement. Without A Fight is also well-backed at horse betting sites, with Neds having the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained six-year-old at $7.50. The Melbourne Cup barrier draw will take place at Flemington racecourse on Saturday evening. More racing news View the full article

Valiant King will stay down under, under the care of Chris Waller, and will target the Australian Cup. Valiant King will not be among the final declarations for the Melbourne Cup, with the promising four year old withdrawn from the 3200m feature on Friday night. The decision to withdraw Valiant King from the race was confirmed by part-owner Ozzie Kheir, marking the end of the horse’s spring campaign, after a gallant sixth on Australian debut in the Caulfield Cup. Racing Victoria veterinarians had identified him as being lame during a recent inspection. Despite having until Saturday morning to assess the horse’s condition, Kheir made the proactive choice to withdraw Valiant King from the Melbourne Cup. “After this morning’s RV inspections where Valiant King was found to be mildly lame post his work, we had our own vets this evening come back and inspect him and agree with RV’s assessment as he remained slightly lame in the front left fore,” Kheir said. Valiant King remained in the markets for the Melbourne Cup up until Saturday morning, with one popular online bookmaker having him at $26. The decision was undoubtedly disappointing for Valiant King’s owners, as well as trainer Joseph O’Brien and his team, but Kheir said they remained confident in Valiant King’s ability, despite the setback. Kheir said Valiant King would now have a spell with an eye towards feature race glory in the autumn and spring. Kheir also revealed their plan to target the Australian Cup at Flemington, provided Valiant King settles in well under the care of trainer Chris Waller. Zac Lloyd had initially been booked as the jockey for Valiant King, carrying a weight of 50 kilograms. Despite the disappointment surrounding Valiant King’s withdrawal, there is a silver lining for some of the owners. Interpretation, another horse in their ownership, is now assured a place in the final Melbourne Cup field. Interpretation secured the 24th spot in the order following a recent victory in the Bendigo Cup. However, Interpretation’s place in the Melbourne Cup was not guaranteed until Valiant King’s withdrawal, as Saturday’s Archer Stakes winner, Teo Nugent, remained in contention for a ballot-free entry. Adding to the intrigue, the New Zealand galloper Ladies Man has also risen to the 24th spot in the Melbourne Cup order of entry, making it one of five Archer Stakes horses vying for a coveted position in the Melbourne Cup. More racing news View the full article

What Ballina Races Where Ballina Jockey Club – 38 Racecourse Road , Ballina When Monday, November 6, 2023 First Race 1:50pm AEDT Visit Dabble The new week of racing gets underway at Ballina on Monday afternoon, with a competitive seven-race program set for decision. The surface is currently listed as a Good 4 at the time of writing; however, with showers forecast across the weekend, we’re expecting a significant downgrade into the Soft or even Heavy range. The opening race is set to get underway at 1:50pm AEDT. Best Bet at Ballina: Smart Recognition They simply don’t trial much better than Smart Recognition did on October 24 at Eagle Farm. The Chris Anderson-trained three-year-old scored a dominant win by 5.5 lengths, clearing away under Michael Rodd. He maintains the ride for race-day as the son of Smart Missile returns from a 143-day spell, and with form from last preparation that jumps off the page in this kind of class, Smart Recognition should be a maiden no more after Monday. Best Bet Race 1 – #1 Smart Recognition (7) 3yo Gelding | T: Chris Anderson | J: Michael Rodd (59kg) -153.85 with Betfair Next Best at Ballina: Tosen Dreamer It’s been seven starts without a win for Tosen Dreamer, however, she has placed five times throughout her luckless career. She finished her latest campaign with another minor placing at this course on June 29, narrowly defeated by less than a half-length on the wire. Since that effort, the daughter of Tosen Stardom has been back to the jump-outs, looming up to her rivals impressively at Grafton on October 24. It’s ‘last chance’ material for this four-year-old, but we’re confident Tosen Dreamer can get the job done at start eight. Next Best Race 2 – #9 Tosen Dreamer (3) 4yo Gelding | T: Samantha McGuren | J: Matthew McGuren (57kg) +100 with Boombet Best Value at Ballina: Trapeze Flyer Trapeze Flyer was well-beaten on debut at Ipswich on October 26; however, we strongly believe the three-year-old gelding is worth forgiving. He missed the start significantly and had nothing to take him into the race from the rear of the field. That was over 1200m and with an immediate step up in trip only a positive for this three-year-old by Trapeze Artist, we’re expecting a much-improved effort on Monday afternoon. Best Value Race 7 – #9 Trapeze Flyer (10) 3yo Gelding | T: Lauren Abbott | J: Georgina Cartwright (57.5kg) +1200 with Dabble Monday quaddie tips for Ballina races Ballina quadrella selections Monday, November 6, 2023 3-4 1-4-5 1-2-3-5 1-3-8-9-12 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip More horse racing tips View the full article

What Sha Tin Races Where Sha Tin Racecourse – Tai Po Rd, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong When Sunday, November 5, 2023 First Race 1pm HKT (4pm AEDT) Visit Dabble Hong Kong racing is back at Sha Tin on Sunday afternoon as they get set to host Group 3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse (1800m) Day. 10 horses have accepted for the main event, accompanied by an ultra-competitive 10-race program. The rail is in the C+3 position throughout the afternoon, and despite some showers predicted in the area, we’re hopeful they miss the course proper, leaving us with a Good track. The opening race is scheduled for 1pm HKT (4pm AEDT). Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Tip: Super Sunny Sing Nothing went right for Super Sunny Sing second-up at Sha Tin on October 1 but still showed his quality to scoot away with the prize in Class 2 company. He was forced to lug 60kg on that occasion and still proved far too good for his rivals over 1600m, despite traveling wide without cover the entire journey. He drops 6.5kgs stepping into Group 3 level for the first time, and although Matthew Chadwick has his work cut out for him in barrier 10, Super Sunny Sing will prove hard to hold out. Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse Race 7 – #7 Super Sunny Sing (10) 5yo Gelding | T: Chris So | J: Matthew Chadwick (53.5kg) Bet with Betfair Best Bet: Green N White Green N White was sensational resuming at Sha Tin on September 24, dragging himself off the canvas to score in Class 4. The son of Smart Missile never settled for Zac Purton, forcing his hand to cart into the race on a three-wide line. It didn’t phase the progressive four-year-old, pinching a winning margin before tiring late. He’s drops 6kgs tackling Class 3 company for the first time, and we’re confident Green N White is up for the task. Best Bet Race 10 – #7 Green N White (9) 4yo Gelding | T: Ricky Yiu | J: Zac Purton (55kg) Bet with Bet365 Next Best: Ching Ching won four of his 10 starts last season and stamped himself as a consistent horse to follow out of the Michael Chang barn. He’ll resume off an 18-week spell, however, doesn’t seem to have lost much based on his impressive barrier trials. He’s ticking over nicely heading into Sunday, and with barrier one sure to be a massive advantage with the rail out, Lyle Hewitson should be able to weave aboard Ching. Next Best Race 5 – #6 Ching (1) 5yo Gelding | T: Michael Chang | J: Lyle Hewitson (58kg) Bet with Neds Sunday quaddie tips for Sha Tin races Sha Tin quadrella selections Sunday, November 5, 2023 7 2-3-4-5-6-9-12-13 1-3-5-7-10-12 4-6-7 More horse racing tips View the full article

Jockey reunites with Hong Kong Classic Cup winner and exudes confidence Chris So’s galloper can continue his ascension at Sha Tin on SundayView the full article

A very grand total of 58 foals of 2021 took part in the five races at Santa Anita Park on Breeders' Cup Friday, Nov. 3.View the full article

A four-time winner over Sunday’s course and distance, the returning five-year-old tackles an open Class Two at Sha TinView the full article

All-sources handle for the 10-race program on the first day of the 40th Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park was $61,747,341, the third consecutive year the Friday handle has topped $60 million. View the full article

One punter will be having some sleepless nights as they wait for the Melbourne Cup, with an almost million-dollar collect waiting for them if the favourite Vauban salutes. View the full article

All-sources handle for the 10-race program on the first day of the 40th Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park was $61,747,341, the third consecutive year the Friday handle has topped $60 million. The Future Stars Friday card featured five Breeders' Cup races for 2-year-old horses, the sixth consecutive year the Breeders' Cup has carded all of the juvenile races on the same day since the event expanded to its two-day format in 2007. Friday's on-track attendance was 43,377. On-track handle was $6,541,751. Last 5 Years: Breeders' Cup Friday Attendance & Handle Records 2023: Santa Anita Park – 43,377; $61,747,341 2022: Keeneland – 39,851; $66,141,766 2021: Del Mar – 20,536; $61,696,893 2020: Keeneland – no attendance reported due to COVID-19; $51,409,606 2019: Santa Anita Park – 41,243; $56,517,228 The post All-Sources Breeders’ Cup Handle Tops $60M for Third Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

ARCADIA, USA — A clean sweep for Europe in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. How about that to start the Breeders' Cup? And then for the closing act, a one-two for Aidan O'Brien in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf after the drama of the early-morning scratching of race favourite River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). For the curtain up, Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}), named to honour a fallen friend, paid the best possible tribute to the late Paul Evans in giving his British owners Paul and Rachael Teasdale an extraordinary introduction to racing on the other side of the world. “This is absolutely fantastic for Paul. It's a year on Wednesday since he died, so it's very fitting for a great guy with a great horse. It couldn't be any better,” said Paul Teasdale. “This is what it's all about. We came here knowing that it was going to be a tough race and that we were racing against the best in the world, but we have a little saying that we wanted to be brave and to be among the best, and that's what the guy who this horse is named for would have said. It's a tribute to him with an amazing horse.” Big Evs, trained by Breeders' Cup debutant Mick Appleby, is the stand-out performer from a strong first crop of runners by European champion freshman sire-elect Blue Point. He had been picked up for 50,000gns as a yearling by breeze-up pinhooker Micky Cleere, but was withdrawn from his intended appearance at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale when sold privately. Teasdale continued, “I bought the horse in March of this year and didn't necessarily plan to call him Big Evs, which was Paul's nickname, but when Mick called me and said he was going to enter him and we needed a name it just seemed the natural thing to do. “He was a personal friend for 40 years and we went racing together for 25 years. He was diagnosed last year with lung cancer and he died after a short illness.” Since winning the Listed Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot on only his second start, Big Evs has been in the sights of plenty of potential purchasers. As he added the G3 Molecomb S. and G2 Flying Childers S. to his burgeoning resume, the offers kept coming and the price kept rising. So was Teasdale ever tempted to sell his horse with such an emotional connection for him? “Absolutely not,” he replied without a moment's hesitation. “We're delighted with what he's done. We didn't have to do any soul searching, we just turned them down.” For Tom Marquand, it was a case of one and done, as he triumphed on his first ever Breeders' Cup ride and heads off now to Australia for the Melbourne Cup Carnival and on to Japan for a winter in which his international profile can only continue to be enhanced. “That's his run style at home but English gate speed is different to American gate speed and we were just hoping that he would be fast enough to get a good pitch,” said the jockey. “I think he's tough as well because he did break half a length slower than some of them and he needed that top gear, but he trucked along. I'd say he was learning around the bend, he wasn't the smoothest but he got the hang of it. To be perfectly honest for as much confidence that you have that you're going to win, he just felt that there were two gears left all the way.” In behind Big Evs and closing fast was another Royal Ascot winner, Amo Racing's Valiant Force (Malibu Moon), with champion jockey William Buick aboard, while Frankie Dettori and Starlust (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) claimed third for Ralph Beckett and Jim and Fitri Hay to give Britain and Ireland the trifecta in the opening contest. A Ballydoyle one-two is nothing out of the ordinary, even at this exalted level, but the team could well have been left wondering whether they might have had the first three home in the Juvenile Turf but for the withdrawal on the insistence of the veterinary team at Santa Anita that River Tiber be stood down from the race. In his place, Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) was an emphatic winner – O'Brien's sixth in this contest – with Mountain Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) the valiant runner-up sustaining a non-displaced condylar fracture of his cannon bone in running. “We thought that he might be a miler as a three-year-old so we thought that we would get away with a mile around here now,” said O'Brien of Unquestionable. “We hope he might be a French Guineas horse.” On Mountain Bear's injury, he added, “[The fracture] is not displaced, so that's good. He'll get a cast on it for four weeks and he should be fine. He's back at the barn and settled in now. They were unbelievably quick to pick him up and bring him down so he did no damage.” O'Brien also said that he felt prior to Friday morning that Unquestionable would have finished behind River Tiber. “We felt that River Tiber was in a different place to where he's been for his last two runs. His work had been excellent and everything had been very good with him,” he said. “We were sorry to see him go out. But the rules are the rules. We thought he was ready to run but the vets didn't agree, and it's their job. Whatever the authorities decide happens, and we accept that. It's just the way it was.” While this was essentially a victory for an Irish-Qatari partnership, Unquestionable, who runs in the colours of Al Shaqab Racing, is a member of the final crop of Wootton Bassett to be conceived in France. Nobody at Santa Anita had bigger smiles on their faces than Guillaume Vitse and Camille Porin, who bred the colt with their daughters Valentine and Axel at their “boutique” farm in France. “It's just amazing. It's something we couldn't even think about when we started our operation five years ago,” said Vitse, the former manager of Haras de Colleville who, with Porin, started his family business, Normandie Breeding. “Being here at the Breeders' Cup is amazing enough but winning is just like a dream. I have had that dream for 35 years now, since I was a kid, so I'm over the moon.” He added, “There was so much pressure when River Tiber came out and Unquestionable became favourite, and when it goes like that it often doesn't happen, but today everything went fine. It's unbelievable.” Wootton Bassett adding yet another string to his bow with a juvenile Grade I winner in North America will have delighted the Coolmore team that purchased him three years ago. Having already been represented by Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Audarya (Fr) in 2020, he could yet add to that record with his son King Of Steel being one of the leading fancies in the Breeders' Cup Turf on Saturday. But really this was a day for two of the most exciting young stallions on either side of the Atlantic. Blue Point is uncatchable in Europe, and then there's Justify, who is fast becoming an international sire sensation. His first crop are now three, and that vintage includes the GI Belmont Oaks winner Aspen Grove and GI Woody Stephens S. winner Arabian Lion. It is Justify's second crop that has really caught the imagination, however. He has arguably the best juvenile colt and filly in Europe in City Of Troy and Opera Singer, and in the space of 40 minutes on a roasting Friday afternoon, he added two juvenile Breeders' Cup winners, on dirt and turf, to the list in Just F Y I and Hard To Justify. It's a record which is all the more impressive when one considers that Justify didn't even see a racecourse until he was three. His career lasted for four short months but it included a Triple Crown. This is the Breeders' Cup, and one breeder in particular who will surely be sending mares back to Justify is Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals of Yeguada Centurion, who produced the Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Hard To Justify from the Quality Road mare Instant Reflex. Pujals has also been represented as breeder this year by the Justify filly Ramatuelle, who was runner-up to Vandeek (GB) in the G1 Prix Morny, and in his own colours the breeder has two of the best three-year-olds in France in the Christopher Head-trained duo of Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) and Big Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}). They call this meeting the World Championships, and it starts with the breeders. After day one, breeders from Dubai, France, Spain, and of course America have already seen their labours rewarded with success at the big show. There's plenty more excitement to come. The post Big Day for Europe? That’s Unquestionable appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After suffering an injury during the running of the 10th race Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park, Bus Buzz is scheduled for surgery Nov. 5.View the full article

Mike Repole discusses Fierceness' Breeders' Cup victory.View the full article

Defending champion looks to join Viva Macau in winning back-to-back editions of the Group Three featureView the full article

Last year it was Gold Trip, ridden by jockey Mark Zahra, that went on to win the Melbourne Cup from barrier 14 — becoming the seventh horse in history to do so from that position. View the full article

Repole Stables' homebred Fierceness overpowered a deep field in the $1.82 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) for trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez. The son of City of Light was 6 1/4 lengths ahead of Muth. Locked was third.View the full article

The 40th edition of the Classic (G1) offers the same type of scenario as the first with horse racing's best and brightest assembled on a two-day, 14-race stage and in the biggest race of them all there are two of the little guys with longshot hopes.View the full article

Lord Bullingdon went last to first in the Golden Mile Stakes on the turf, while longshot Wet My Beak used a similar move at the top of the stretch to capture the Senator Ken Maddy Stakes.View the full article

While Mountain Bear suffered an injury that saw him vanned off after finishing second in the $920,000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park, trainer Aidan O'Brien believes he'll be able to recover in about four weeks.View the full article

With all eyes on the Breeders' Cup Future Stars Friday at Santa Anita Park, Interstatedaydream and Crupi quietly stole the show at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 3.View the full article

The 40th edition of the Classic (G1) offers the same type of scenario as the first with horse racing's best and brightest assembled on a two-day, 14-race stage and in the biggest race of them all there are two of the little guys with longshot hopes.View the full article