Wandering Eyes

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A glorious day at Moonee Valley will live long in the memories of those involved and, perhaps, lead to more of Hong Kong’s genuine top liners travellingView the full article

What Happy Valley Races Where Happy Valley Racecourse – Wong Nai Chung Rd, Happy Valley, Hong Kong When Wednesday, November 1, 2023 First Race 6:40pm HKT (9:40pm AEDT) Visit Dabble Hong Kong racing returns to Happy Valley on Wednesday evening for a massive nine-race program under the lights of the city circuit. We should be racing on a pristine surface, with perfect conditions forecast in the lead-up. The rail is set in the C+3 position, so horses going forward should gain an advantage throughout the night. The opening event is scheduled for 6:40pm HKT (9:40pm AEDT). Best Bet: Majestic Knight Majestic Knight will be seeking to turn the tables on Heroic Master after suffering a 0.8-length defeat at this course and distance on October 4. The son of Redoute’s Choice gets a crucial 5kg swing in the weights courtesy of apprentice jockey Angus Chung’s 3kg claim. Majestic Knight should be the natural leader from barrier four and will look the winner for much of the 1000m journey. Best Bet Race 3 – #3 Majestic Knight (4) 5yo Gelding | T: Douglas Whyte | J: Angus Chung (a3kg) (61kg) Bet with Betfair Next Best: Turin Warrior Turin Warrior is winless in 22 Hong Kong starts; however, his promising effort first-up at Happy Valley gives the impression the six-year-old is ready to break his duck. He drew barrier 10 on return and retreated to the rear of the field under Zac Purton before storming down the centre of the course to go down by only half a length. Purton will be much more positive from gate four this time, and Turin Warrior looks perfectly placed by the Manfred Man camp. Next Best Race 5 – #8 Turin Warrior (4) 6yo Gelding | T: Manfred Man | J: Zac Purton (56.5kg) Bet with BoomBet Next Best Again: Speedstar Speedstar was brave in his latest effort at Happy Valley on October 4 when sitting three wide without cover for the entire trip. Keagan De Melo tried to press forward on the son of Sweynesse but was unable to get in from barrier eight. He draws much softer in stall three this time and shouldn’t have any issues slotting in comfortably under De Melo. Speedstar is on the verge of a class drop if he doesn’t perform well here, but this is very winnable. Next Best Again Race 4 – #12 Speedstar (3) 5yo Gelding | T: David Hall | J: Keagan De Melo (52.5kg) Bet with Bet365 Hong Kong Wednesday quaddie tips – November 1, 2023 Happy Valley quadrella selections Wednesday, November 1, 2023 1-3-5-6 1-2-3-4-8 2-4-6-7-11 1-3-5-10-12 More horse racing tips View the full article

What Randwick-Kensington Races Where Royal Randwick Racecourse – Alison Rd, Randwick NSW 2031 When Wednesday, November 1, 2023 First Race 2pm AEDT Visit Dabble Royal Randwick is the destination for NSW metropolitan racing on Wednesday afternoon as the Kensington circuit gets set to host a quickfire seven-race program. The rail moves out +2m the entire circuit for the meeting, and with only a small chance of rain hitting the track, we’ll be doing the form for a Good 4 surface. Racing is scheduled to get underway at 2pm AEDT. Best Bet: Mogwai Mogwai returned after a gelding operation on October 18 and was an impressive runner-up behind Keenan over 1300m. Zac Lloyd got everything out of the three-year-old, charging along the inside running rail, but the winner was simply too good. The margin back to third was significant, and with the extra 100m on Wednesday sure to be a positive for the son of Epaulette, we’re confident Mogwai can improve to score second-up. Best Bet Race 1 – #5 Mogwai (2) 3yo Gelding | T: James Cummings | J: Zac Lloyd (57.5kg) Bet with Bet365 Next Best: Tulle Tulle will debut for the James Cummings barn after two outstanding barrier trials. Her latest effort at Hawkesbury on October 16 particularly caught the eye, as the daughter of Sepoy raced under her own steam and cruised to the wire under a stranglehold for Zac Lloyd. It was a quality piece of work, only solidified by the booking of James McDonald for race-day. Provided McDonald can get cover from barrier seven, Tulle looks ready to break her maiden at the first time of asking. Next Best Race 2 – #5 Tulle (7) 4yo Mare | T: James Cummings | J: James McDonald (57kg) Bet with Neds Next Best Again: Furious Furious had zero luck at Kembla Grange on October 12, as he was dragged back towards the rear of the field and ran into nothing but backsides. We’re taking the four-year-old on trust from his maiden victory at Sandown on September 20, which has produced four subsequent winners. If Furious can replicate that kind of performance on the Kensington circuit third-up, he’ll be hard to hold out. Next Best Again Race 7 – #12 Furious (13) 4yo Gelding | T: Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | J: Tommy Berry (57kg) Bet with Betfair Kensington quadrella selections Wednesday, November 1, 2023 6-7-8-9 2-3-5-8 3-4-7-8-12 3-4-12 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip More horse racing tips View the full article

What Bendigo Races Where Bendigo Jockey Club – Heinz St, White Hills VIC 3550 When Wednesday, November 1, 2023 First Race 12:30pm AEDT Visit Dabble It is Bendigo Cup Day on Wednesday afternoon, with a stacked nine-race meeting set to kick off at 12:30pm AEDT. The track should be in perfect order, and the rail is set in the true position for the Bendigo Jockey Club’s marquee day. Read on to see our best bets and quaddie selections. Bendigo Cup Top Tip – Muramasa Muramasa could not have been any more impressive when claiming the Group 3 Coongy Cup (2000m). The four-year-old gelding was aided by an inch-perfect ride at Caulfield and pounced on the lead inside the final 100m. He was only getting warm late by the looks of things, so the extra 400m should suit. Barrier 12 is offset by his want to be towards the rear of the field. As long as he can get a tow into the race 600m out, Muramasa looks too hard to go past in the 2023 Bendigo Cup. Bendigo Cup Race 7 – #5 Muramasa (12) 4yo Gelding | T: Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | J: Blaike McDougall (55.5kg) Bet with Betfair Best Bet at Bendigo – Alectrona Alectrona has her hoof on the till with two runner-up performances to begin this campaign. The Tony & Calvin McEvoy-trained filly chased home the smart Bizot at Ballarat on October 15 and the start prior went down by a narrow margin. Both of those starts were at 1200m and she looks like she is crying out for 1400m, which she gets in Wednesday’s opener. Harry Coffey can stalk the speed from barrier one throughout, and with even luck in the home straight, Alectrona should be breaking maiden ranks at start five. Best Bet Race 1 – #11 Alectrona (1) 3yo Filly | T: Tony & Calvin McEvoy | J: Harry Coffey (55kg) Bet with PendleburyBet Next Best at Bendigo – Is It Me The Daniel Bowman-trained Is It Me beat all bar Thousand Guineas (1600m) favourite Skybird upon resumption over 1300m last time out. The four-year-old son of Iffraaj hardly knows how to run a poor race (6: 2-3-0) and is armed with a strong turn of foot, while the booking of Damien Oliver only helps. From barrier one, he will need luck at a certain stage in the home straight, but if the gap comes, Is It Me looks to be a touch too classy for his rivals in the final race of the day. Next Best Race 9 – #14 Is It Me (1) 4yo Gelding | T: Daniel Bowman | J: Damien Oliver (55kg) Bet with Dabble Next Best Again at Bendigo – Tidal Force Despite only winning by a nostril at both starts in Australia, Tidal Force looks set to bring up a third win in as many starts. The Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young-trained gelding produced a strong finishing burst at Pakenham and then again at Echuca over 1200m and then 1400m, which suggests the 1600m should be ideal third-up. Blaike McDougall will have him at the rear of the field, and in a small field of eight, he should always be within striking distance. Next Best Again Race 4 – #5 Tidal Force (7) 4yo Gelding | T: Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | J: Blaike McDougall (58kg) Bet with Neds Wednesday quaddie tips for Bendigo Bendigo quadrella selections Wednesday, November 1, 2023 2-7-8-12 5-7-9-11 1-5-6-8 3-14 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip More racing tips View the full article

It’s Business Time on her way to victory in the Coupland’s Bakeries Mile Trial (1400m) at Riccarton on Saturday. Photo: Race Images South Exciting mare It’s Business Time extended her winning sequence to five with another star turn in Saturday’s Coupland’s Bakeries Mile Trial (1400m) at Riccarton. A late developer whose early career was held up by injury, It’s Business Time began her rise through the grades with back-to-back wins in February and March to close out her four-year-old season. She resumed with another two sprint victories in Rating 75 grade at Riccarton in September, and on Saturday she stretched out over 1400m, stepped up into open company and delivered the same result. The daughter of Turn Me Loose jumped well from gate two in the hands of jockey Sam Weatherley, and she settled nicely in a midfield position for most of the race. It’s Business Time appeared to be full of running coming up to the home turn, but got squeezed back and then was surrounded with nowhere to go. A gap appeared with 300m remaining and It’s Business Time immediately quickened, dashing through to take a clear lead. There was a late scare as the lightly raced Watch Out flashed home, but It’s Business Time had enough up her sleeve to hold on by a long head. The third-placed Lightning Jack finished two and a quarter lengths behind the impressive first pair. Bred and part-owned by Windsor Park Stud, It’s Business Time has now had nine starts for six wins, two placings and $155,670 in stakes. Her Riccarton heroics were part of a super Saturday for Te Akau Racing trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson, who also won the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) in Melbourne with Imperatriz and saddled Cognito to score at Pukekohe. “It was good effort after getting shuffled back inside the 600m, and she hit the line so strongly,” Walker said. It’s Business Time has tightened her hold on favouritism for the Group 3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) at Riccarton on November 15, dropping from +200 to +140. Diss Is Dramatic is the second favourite at +380, with fellow Saturday winner Desert Lightning at +700. It’s Business Time became the 50th winner in New Zealand this season for the all-conquering Te Akau operation. “After a record-breaking last season (203 wins), it’s incredible to think that the stable is slightly ahead of that pace again with 50 wins before the end of October,” Te Akau Racing principal David Ellis said. “We’ve got such great staff across the board at our stables in Matamata, Riccarton, Victoria and Singapore, and it’s a credit to Mark and Sam, our racing manager Reece Trumper, assistant trainer Nicole Shailer, and Hunter Durrant (managing the South Island stable), that we can provide our owners with top-quality people to look after the horses. “We’ve had a great association with the Schick family at Windsor Park Stud, and it’s a thrill to be training this very promising mare for Rodney (Schick) and his friends.” More racing news View the full article

Sam Wynne celebrates Eulogy Show’s victory at Riccarton. Photo: Race Images South Underrated staying mare Eulogy Show has enhanced her prospects of getting a start in the Group 3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) next month with an unflinching effort at Riccarton. The six-year-old mare had finished fourth in the same race twelve months earlier and showed she loves the longer distance events as she sat outside the early pace before taking control at the 600m. Expertly rated by Sam Wynne, the Centaine Spittles-trained daughter of Highly Recommended never shirked her task when tackled by race favourite Prismatic in the run home, extending her margin to just on a length at the winning post to register her third career victory. Spittles was thrilled with the effort and was quick to praise Wynne for her ride. “Sam rated her perfectly and that certainly helped get the win,” Spittles said. “She (Eulogy Show) is very tough once she gets to the front, she just loves it there and Sam got her to drop the bit and relax and she had plenty of fight in the run home. “She seems a little stronger this time in and we know she goes best once she gets out to a middle distance and beyond. She ran second on Cup Day last year over 2600m so we know she can handle a good track and she likes it when things get tough.” Spittles admitted the mare holds a soft spot in her heart and she would dearly love to see her gain a start in the New Zealand Cup as she believes she will lap up the two-mile journey with a light weight on her back. “She really is a funny wee thing at times,” she said. “When she is a home she loves to buck and kick and race around her paddock when you feed her. “At the track though she is all business and we would dearly like to sneak her into the Cup as that has been her goal all the way through. A daughter of unraced Stravinsky mare Every Cloud, Eulogy Show comes from an extended family with plenty of staying prowess including dual Group One winner Showella and Group 3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) winner Showcause, who also won twice at Group Two level. More racing news View the full article

So Naive strides clear at Pukekohe Park on Saturday. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Byerley Park trainers Bruce Wallace and Grant Cooksley produced their promising contingent of juveniles to an impressive quinella at Pukekohe on Saturday. In a compact field of six, the Wallace/Cooksley stable presented half of the two-year-old field and managed to fill the first two placings with So Naïve and Toruk Makto respectively. A son of U S Navy Flag, So Naïve jumped from the inside draw and was hustled to hold the pacemaking position under apprentice Ace Lawson-Carroll, while stablemate Toruk Makto began alongside race-favourite Take The Crown, who briefly bucked and became detached from the remainder of the field early. The long-striding So Naïve travelled boldly in front throughout and despite racing greenly in the home straight, the colt showed a strong turn-of-foot to score by a length-and-a-quarter from a fast-closing Toruk Makto and Joe Doyle. “He was a wee bit slower out than I thought he would be, but we got there easy enough and got some nice sectionals out in front,” Lawson-Carroll said. “He was very strong, very forward and will be a nice horse to watch in the future.” So Naïve was a $37,500 purchase for Wallace Thoroughbreds out of Kilgravin Lodge’s Book 2 draft at the 2023 Karaka Yearling Sales, while Eminent colt Toruk Makto was secured for $28,000 out of Brighthill Farm. More racing news View the full article

Seasons Wit wins at Happy Valley. Seasons Wit went a long way to confirming some of his early promise as he romped to a fourth straight win at Happy Valley. Expertly handled by superstar jockey Zac Purton, who collected a four-timer at the fixture, Seasons Wit (119lb) – trained by Jamie Richards – extended smartly for a three length first-up success in 56.91s over Reward Smile (115lb) and Carroll Street (113lb). “He’s done a really good job. He was a three-year-old last season and after a few runs he started to get the hang of it. Jamie was mindful to have him a little bit more ready for the start of this season because he took a couple of runs last season. “He’s matured nicely. Once he got the start right he found himself in the right spot and with no weight on his back he was able to do his job,” Purton said. By Capitalist, Seasons Wit racked up a hat-trick of wins across his final three outings last season over the course and distance in Class 3. He earned HK$3.09 million this afternoon for connections, which includes a HK$1.5 million ‘PP Bonus’. “We’d targeted the race for a little while. Obviously there aren’t too many races for his rating at Happy Valley over 1000 metres. He’s had a good preparation and he looks like he’s improved over the summer,” Richards said. After setting the early tempo, both Kurpany (130lb) and Nervous Witness (126lb) failed to make impacts, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. “He’s (Seasons Wit) going to run out of races at Happy Valley that are suitable because of his rating. He’s a 1000 metre horse around here and he probably has to stretch to 1200 metres at Sha Tin. “There is a suitable race for him here at the end of November, so we might look at that,” Richards said. Snapping a rare cold spell that saw Purton go winless across three race meetings in Hong Kong, the Australian’s four victories see him join jockey Hugh Bowman at the top of the championship table with 20 wins apiece. Purton’s third triumph came for trainer David Hayes aboard make-all winner Tomodachi Kokoroe. “He wasn’t the quickest out of the gates. It took him a little bit to get into his rhythm and stride. Once he was able to do that he travelled really, really nicely. “I let him come out off the bend to keep him balanced but he didn’t change his leg, which had me worried because it felt like he was going up and down in the one spot and getting a bit tired but he obviously kept the gallop up,” Purton said. The six-time champion jockey commenced his four-timer aboard Turin Mascot for trainer Pierre Ng. Purton and trainer Douglas Whyte successfully combined with Durham Star – an arrogant winner. “Today he had all of the favours, there was a really good, solid tempo and they never stop-started. He hugged the rail and that looks like the place to be today and he managed to get to the outside of horses. I think the win was a little bit flattering with the run that he did have but he deserved that and so did the owners,” Whyte said. Jockey Andrea Atzeni collected his seventh win from the last five race meetings with a double for trainer Ricky Yiu, who won the last three races at the city circuit. The Italian scored aboard Precise Express, who gained a start due to Vincy’s withdrawal. Atzeni made it a race-to-race double with a rail-hugging ride aboard Golden Artie in the Class 3 Zhaoqing Handicap (1200m). “I knew it was going to open up on my inside and he’s a gutsy horse. Great to get a double, I’m suspended on Wednesday (November 1) and it’s good to get a double for Rick Yiu – he’s been supporting me since I got here, so it’s great,” Atzeni said. Jockey Lyle Hewitson closed out Yiu’s trio aboard Splendid Living. “He’s super honest. On paper you can tell he likes to lead but the grey (Brilliant Way) has a lot of speed, I had to let him cross me because he was always going to eventually and hope that he kept up a genuine tempo,” Hewitson said. Jockey Brenton Avdulla grabbed a third win from the last three race meetings as Mr Valiant landed the Class 4 Foshan Handicap (1000m) by a neck for trainer David Hall. “He did a good job. He had nice form and he’s well down in rating from where he has been but he gave me plenty of confidence going to the gates and everything worked out really well,” Avdulla said. Nordic Combined claimed the Class 5 Chaozhou Handicap (1200m) for jockey Alexis Badel and trainer Chris So. So made it a double two races later as Hang’s Choice rounded the field to win under jockey Karis Teetan. Trainer Francis Lui indicated that Golden Sixty will go into the HK$32 million Group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m) first-up, seeming to abandon consideration for a tilt in the HK$5.35 million Group 2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile (1600m). “He needs a few barrier trials. He’ll trial on Tuesday (31 October),” Lui said. More racing news View the full article

Horse Racing on Monday, October 30 will feature three meetings in Australia. Our racing analysts here at horsebetting.com.au have found you the top bets and the quaddie numbers for the meeting at Newcastle. Monday Racing Tips – October 30, 2023 Newcastle Racing Tips Monday’s Best Racing Bets Of The Day – October 30, 2023 Place these horse racing bets in a multi for $32.05 odds return: Monday, October 30, 2023 Newcastle Race 1 – #3 Taunting Benalla Race 6 – #9 Wings Of Song Wellington Race 7 – #5 Wilbury | Copy this bet straight to your betslip As always there a plenty of promotions available for Australian racing fans, check out all the top online bookmakers to see what daily promotions they have. If you are looking for a new bookmaker for the horse racing taking place on October 30, 2023 check out our guide to the best online racing betting sites. More horse racing tips View the full article

What Grafton Races Where Clarence River Jockey Club – Powell St, Grafton NSW 2460 When Tuesday, October 31, 2023 First Race 1:15pm AEDT Visit Dabble NSW country racing heads to Grafton Racecourse on Tuesday afternoon, with a competitive eight-race program set for decision. The rail is in the true position for the entire circuit, and with only scattered showers scheduled for October 31, the current Soft 5 track rating should hold up. The first race is set to get underway at 1:15pm AEDT. Best Bet: Written Fame Written Fame returned as a sensational winner at Murwillumbah on October 10, scoring by an impressive three lengths on the wire. It was only a small field of seven, but the arrogance with which he put his rivals to the sword really caught the eye. This BM58 over 1175m looks to be well within his grasp, and despite having his work cut out from barrier 15, we’ll leave it to Ashley Morgan to weave a passage in the last. Best Bet Race 8 – #16 Written Fame (15) 3yo Gelding | T: Matthew Dunn | J: Ashley Morgan (56kg) +150 with BoomBet Next Best: Prophets De’vine Prophets De’vine is unfortunate to only have one win on the resume, going down by a combined 0.16 of a length in her last two starts. The Annabel Neasham-trained mare should get a lovely run in transit from barrier one this time, and with the 2200m coming at an ideal time in the preparation, she will be doing her best work late. Next Best Race 1 – #5 Prophets De’vine (1) 4yo Mare | T: Annabel Neasham | J: Ashley Morgan (56.5kg) +190 with Bet365 Best Value: Pretty Little Liar Pretty Little Liar is third-up in her debut campaign and is showing great improvement every time she steps out. She held ground gamely when trying to lead all the way at Beaudesert on October 2, just peaking on the run after going at a strong clip throughout the 1400m contest. There is a query as to whether she will see out the 1700m here, but the each-way price with online bookmakers is too good to pass up. Best Value Race 2 – #8 Pretty Little Liar (9) 3yo Filly | T: Annabel Neasham | J: Ashley Morgan (55kg) +800 with Betfair Tuesday quaddie tip for Grafton races Grafton quadrella selections Tuesday, October 31, 2023 7-11-12-14 1-2-5-6 1-2-4-5-6 16 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip View the full article

What Newcastle Races Where Newcastle Racecourse – 100 Darling St, Broadmeadow NSW 2292 When Monday, October 30, 2023 First Race 1:10pm AEDT Visit Dabble The new week of NSW racing kicks off at Newcastle Racecourse on Monday afternoon, as they get set to host a competitive eight-race program. The $40,000 Cessnock Cup is the headline act, and we should be racing on a much firmer surface than what the current Soft 7 rating may suggest. The forecast is promising, and with sunny skies hitting the circuit across the weekend, we’ll be hopeful of a possible Good 4 track with the rail out +3m the entire. The first race is set to get underway at 1:10pm AEDT. Cessnock Cup Top Tip: Roller Coaster Roller Coaster has had a lengthy campaign for the Paul Shailer barn but we’re hopeful the five-year-old gelding can produce one more peak performance this time in. The son of Ocean Park was luckless in his latest effort in metropolitan company, going to the line under a hold at Randwick (Kensington) on October 18. He’s super fit for this event, and with Aaron Bullock back in the saddle, we’re happy to side with Roller Coaster in the 2023 Cessnock Cup. Cessnock Cup Race 6 – #1 Roller Coaster (7) 5yo Gelding | T: Paul Shailer | J: Aaron Bullock (61kg) +270 with Betfair Best Bet at Newcastle: Deceive Deceive returned an impressive winner to crack his maiden status at Hawkesbury on October 19, and we’re confident the four-year-old can go on with the job. The John Thompson-trained mare powered over the top to score over 1000m, and despite racing greenly with 100m to run, the daughter of Deep Field put them away with relative ease. This is a much deeper Class 1 Handicap; however, with Deceive aided by a soft draw (3), back-to-back wins are well within reach. Best Bet Race 2 – #3 Deceive (3) 4yo Mare | T: John Thompson | J: Keagan Latham (59kg) +800 with Dabble Next Best at Newcastle: Ramius Ramius will return from a 141-day spell on Monday afternoon, with the three-year-old undergoing a gelding operation during his time away from racing. If he’s barrier trials since are anything to go by, it’s seemingly done wonders for the son of Russian Revolution. He charged home in his latest jump-out at Hawkesbury on October 16, going through the wire under a hold for Brock Ryan. Ramius will benefit from having race-day experience compared to a couple key rivals, and should hold him in good stead here. Next Best Race 5 – #8 Ramius (3) 3yo Gelding | T: Richard & Will Freedman | J: Brock Ryan (56.5kg) +380 with Neds Monday quaddie tips for Newcastle races Newcastle quadrella selections Monday, October 30, 2023 4-8 1-2-6-7 1-2-3 3-4-10 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip More horse racing tips View the full article

The last-start winner and an unbeaten import are the South African trainer’s highlights on Wednesday night’s Happy Valley cardView the full article

So you want to get involved in the Melbourne Cup but you don’t know anything about it. I’m not sure how that’s possible if you live in Australia, but sure, let’s go with it. View the full article

Promising mare Reputation is making quite the impression on trainers Michael Moroney and Pam Gerard. The daughter of Iffraaj recorded her second win from four starts when taking out the Eagle Technology 1600 at Pukekohe last Saturday and her conditioners believe there are more to come from the four-year-old, who was ridden by visiting Australian hoop Celine Gaudray. “She’s a pretty good jockey Celine Gaudray, does a fair bit of riding for Mike (Moroney) in Melbourne, and when she came over to ride Luberon in the Soliloquy we thought it was a good opportunity to make use of her,” Gerard said. It was a month between runs for Reputation and Gerard said she is looking at backing her up at Trentham this weekend before sending her for a spell. “Each time, I’ve always spaced her races because she doesn’t carry a lot of extra (condition), but since that last run at Hastings she’s actually put on weight and got better,” Gerard said. “We’ll take it race-by-race, but we’ve got to give her an ease up at some stage. We haven’t put a lot of pressure on her, so we’ll let her tell us. “We’ll have a look through and see what else there is while she’s well and racing accordingly. She’ll let us know if she’s had enough for this prep, I think. “We might find something suitable down at Trentham, then maybe go home to Christopher’s farm from there for a couple of weeks. We’ll just wait and see.” View the full article

The Oaks Stud has a great association with the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and the Cambridge farm are hoping to extend their legacy in the Riccarton Classic next month with Burn To Shine. “We have Catalyst (2019) and Darci Brahma (2005) who we were involved with and also with Buzz Lightyear (1999) when Terry Jarvis owned this place in the early years,” The Oaks Stud General Manager Rick Williams said. “It is a good race for us and we hope that continues.” Burn To Shine will head into the race in winning form, having taken out the Gr.3 War Decree Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton last Saturday. “It wasn’t a surprise to us and hopefully he is approaching his peak, which will hopefully be in two weeks’ time,” Williams said. “It’s lovely to have the confidence heading into it (Guineas) thinking we are a chance. I am sure the Annie Sarten form is stronger, so we have still got to improve again to beat that horse (Crocetti), but we are in the mix.” Burn To Shine is now the winner of three of his six starts, placing in his three other outings, including the Gr.3 Matamata Slipper (1200m), Listed El Roca – Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m), and Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m). There has been plenty of interest in the gelding, which owner Dick Karreman has resisted, with the hope of gaining Group One glory and further strengthening the family’s pedigree. “They (bloodstock agents) have been after him since he was a two-year-old, but we said all along that we are heading towards the Guineas,” Williams said. “We own Smoulder (dam) and we would love to win another Guineas, it has been a good race to us over the years, and it is worth a lot more money this year. “Smoulder is a mare we bred and raced. She was out of Flying Firebird, who we bought off the racetrack. She was a Group Two winner and placed in the 1000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.1, 1600m). “We had a good filly out of her called Embers that was a Group-class horse in the making but got injured. We are breeding from her as well, so we have got a few members of the family. “The mare is back in-foal to So You Think and we have got a Hello Youmzain colt going to the sales out of her. She is looking like a very good producer.” View the full article

War Decree ensured Inglewood Stud received plenty of bang for their buck as backers at Riccarton of one of the key lead-ups to the Classics on the track next month. The War Front stallion is resident at Gus and Bianca Wigley’s farm, sponsors of Saturday’s Gr.3 War Decree Stakes (1400m), and made his presence felt with a trio of winners on the undercard. “It was a really good day and the stallion had been threatening to do something like that for a while, so to put it all together on his day was great,” Gus Wigley sad. Stephen Marsh’s Burn To Shine won the event named in War Decree’s honour from Trobriand and Lantern Way with the visiting North Islanders to renew their rivalry in the upcoming Gr.1 Al Bast Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) on November 11. The former now shares the third line of betting with Lantern Way at $8.50 with Trobriand the second fancy at $6.50 behind $1.75 pre-post favourite Crocetti, an unbeaten son of late Inglewood stallion Zacinto. War Decree was firstly represented on Saturday by the lightly raced Terri Rae-trained filly Sugar, who claimed the opening maiden event over 1400m. Spartan later claimed his second success from five appearances for local conditioners Russell McKay and Ashley Harrington and the Inglewood graduate Turf War landed the closing event for the third win of his 11-start career for trainer Samantha Wynne. “We have had a lot of positive feedback and War Decree will be serving between 60 and 70 mares, we’ve got 10 going to him and the rest are clients,” Wigley said. “There is a good degree of optimism here in the South Island, which is nice, with a boost in prizemoney and certainly more people willing to breed this year. “There had been a drop off in the last 10 years in mares down here, but there are lots of new faces and new people breeding and good old clients so it’s really positive.” Sugar is part-owned by War Decree fans Andrew Stuart and Riversley Park’s Sam Beatson and will head toward the Gr.1 Barneswood Farm New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m). “She won really well and Andrew walked a mare into the stallion this (Monday) morning,” Wigley said. “He has partnered up with Sam Beatson, they’re good mates, and breeding six mares to the stallion this year so it’s great to have their support. “They are also in the ownership of Luvnwar, so they will have two War Decree fillies in the Guineas.” Also trained by Rae, Luvnwar has won one of her three starts and was a last-start third in the Gr.3 Barneswood Farm Stakes (1400m). War Decree’s oldest crop are now four-year-olds with his leading performer to date the Gr.2 Lowland Stakes (2100m) winner Val Di Zoldo. “The disappointing thing about War Decree is that he leaves such a good type and we wanted to put them in front of the Australian buyers, but his first crop that went to Karaka was in the COVID year and none of them were there,” Wigley said. “We just didn’t get many over to Aussie from that first crop, which was disappointing, but they are making their way over there now and in Hong Kong which is really nice for the horse. “Zacinto did a great job for us and War Decree has taken over the mantle. He’s exceptionally fertile and he’s got the most amazing libido. “He’s the most amazing stallion to have around and hopefully he’ll have a good Cup week down here in front of his home crowd.” War Decree is a son of War Front and won three times during a light career for Irish maestro Aidan O’Brien, racing exclusively in Group company following his debut win. He was successful in the Gr.2 Goodwood Stakes (1400m) as a two-year-old and the following season added the Gr.3 Diamond Stakes (2000m) to his record. View the full article

A barnstorming finish carried progressive galloper Matscot to his biggest career victory when he took out the Listed Sothys Spring Classic (2000m) at Riccarton on Saturday. The six-year-old son of Haradasun has a real penchant for performing on his home track with Saturday’s victory being his fourth at the venue and the most important for trainer Sharon Robertson, who co-bred him and also shares in his ownership. Rider Courtney Barnes gave her charge the perfect trip in transit as he lobbed along towards the rear of proceedings before beginning to get serious rounding the home bend. Initially blocked for a run behind a wall of horses, Barnes eased Matscot across heels to make his final bid at the 200m and he unleashed a powerful sprint to race past eventual runner-up Charms Star to win by more than a length at the line. Barnes was impressed by the effort which had been helped by an improvement in his barrier manners. “He was very good and felt very powerful at the finish,” Barnes said. “He has always had plenty of ability, but he could be slow away which affected where you could ride him. “He got away nicely this time and although he hit a flat spot approaching the turn, I could feel him building underneath me which gave me plenty of confidence. “When I asked him, he let down nicely and I think it was a very smart win.” Mascot holds a nomination for the Gr.3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) on November 15, where Barnes thought he would be a strong contender with a light weight, especially with plenty of pace on in the race. The highs and lows of racing were clearly evident for Barnes on the day as her mount in the last race on the card, Waihora Mist, knuckled over at the start and dislodged her. “She just came out a little awkwardly and dropped me when she knuckled over,” she said. “I’ve got a few bruises but nothing serious so I’m good to go again.” TAB Bookmakers currently have Matscot rated as a $21 chance in the Coupland’s Bakeries Mile where It’s Business Time, who made it five wins in succession earlier in the day, is the $2.40 favourite. View the full article

Impendabelle reigned supreme in a dramatic running of the Group 2 Soliloquy Stakes (1200m) at Pukekohe on Saturday. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Classy filly Impendabelle is now a Group Two winner at the ages of both two and three, surviving a protest to take out a chaotic running of the Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe on Saturday. The $175,000 fillies’ feature brought together the majority of the leading contenders for next month’s Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton and was expected to clear up the classic picture. Instead, the race created more questions than it answered. The first 1000m of the race were relatively uneventful, with the favourite Luberon shooting forward from a wide gate to lead the way until around the 300m mark. The challengers were by that stage beginning to build momentum in behind her, and the stage was set for an exciting battle to the finish. But Luberon suddenly threw it all away, veering sharply to the left and crashing into the outside running rail. Fortunately, she and her jockey Celine Gaudray escaped injury. In the meantime, Impendabelle surged through to take the lead in the centre of the track with 200m remaining. She was joined by Tulsi on her outside, while Mary Shan and Molly Bloom came at her with big strides closer to the rail. Impendabelle’s margin steadily dwindled as the four fillies set down to fight out a desperate finish. The leader dug deep to cling on to her small advantage, but she raced very greenly in the final few strides, drifting towards the fence and impeding both Mary Shan and Molly Bloom. The connections of Molly Bloom lodged a protest against the winner, but the placings stood, with Impendabelle beating Mary Shan, Tulsi and Molly Bloom. It was the third win of a seven-start career for Impendabelle, who kicked off her career with back-to-back victories as a spring two-year-old last season including the Group 2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) at Trentham. The daughter of Impending later finished third at Pukekohe on Boxing Day, then fifth in the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) in her final start of the season. Impendabelle was a luckless seventh when she resumed in the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings in September, clipping a heel and almost falling before recovering to get within three lengths of the winner Quintessa. In her only other start, she overcame a wide run for a solid second behind the undefeated Crocetti at Te Rapa. “She’s really had no luck at all this spring, and it looked like she might not get any today either,” Pike said. “I thought she’d have a nice run following Luberon, but she ended up being left alone in front and started to race a bit greenly. But she fought it out well and it was good to see her get the win. She deserved that.” Impendabelle will now push on towards the 1000 Guineas at Riccarton on November 18, for which horse racing betting sites now rate her an +700 chance. “She’s a really relaxed filly, so I don’t expect the step up to 1600m to trouble her,” Pike said. “She ran the race out strongly today in a performance that looked a bit better to me than the margin might suggest.” The minor placegetters lost little in defeat on Saturday, with Mary Shan coming into a +600 quote for the 1000 Guineas while Molly Bloom now holds outright favouritism at +350. Tulsi is rated a +1100 chance. “It was a huge run – she should have won the race,” Mary Shan’s jockey Craig Grylls said. “She got shuffled back and flew home.” Joe Doyle, the rider of Molly Bloom, was similarly impressed with his mount. “She did well in a very messy race,” he said. “I’m confident that she’ll get the mile, so it’s onwards and upwards for her.” Luberon remains a +600 chance for the 1000 Guineas despite Saturday’s incident. It made for an up-and-down day for visiting Australian rider Celine Gaudray, who also recorded wins aboard Roc Dancer and Reputation. “She’s got a mind of her own, that horse,” Gaudray said about Luberon. “She was giving me such a nice feel until that stage. She still really has no idea what she’s doing, but there’s so much untapped ability there.” More racing news View the full article

Burn To Shine prevails in the feature Group 3 War Decree Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday. Photo: Race Images South Cambridge visitor Burn To Shine threw his name into the mix of serious contenders for the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) next month with a determined effort to take out the Group 3 War Decree Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton. The Stephen Marsh-trained three-year-old had finished third behind Saturday’s race-rival Lantern Way in the Group 2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) at his last start and turned the tables after enjoying a perfect run in transit for rider Johnathan Parkes. Parkes sat Burn To Shine one-out behind a muddling speed set up by Funfetti before joining issue shortly after turning for home. In contrast Lantern Way (+180) was forced to travel three-wide throughout before commencing his run at the 600m with the race favourite Trobriand (+170) tracking him all the way. Burn To Shine took control at the 300m and fought doggedly when tackled by the favoured pair, holding off the charge of Trobriand by half a length with a further length back to Lantern Way. Marsh was on track at Pukekohe for the day but admitted he had watched the race on television with some excitement. “It was a very good win and one he deserved as he has been going cracking races,” Marsh said. “Parkesy said there was no speed on and he probably got to the front a little soon, but he was very resolute and ran the mile out very strongly. “We train this one for The Oaks Stud, who are very big supporters of the stable, so it is great to get a win like that for them and repay the faith they have in us.” Marsh will now take Burn To Shine straight to the 2000 Guineas and is upbeat about his prospects. “We know now he gets a good mile and has experience on the track which will stand him in good stead for what comes next,” he said. “We also know the Guineas favourite (Crocetti) is a very fine horse but we are here with no travel ahead of us and we can just do our own thing and have him cherry ripe on the day.” Raced by The Oaks Sud principal Dick Karreman, who bred the horse, Burn To Shine is out of talented race mare Smoulder who numbered the Group 2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) amongst her four career victories. Horse racing bookmakers quickly slashed Burn To Shine’s odds for the 2000 Guineas from +2000 to +750 behind red hot favourite Crocetti (-133.33). More racing news View the full article

The 2023 Melbourne Cup is almost upon us, with the final field to be revealed this Saturday afternoon (November 4). View the full article

Trainer Michael Dini decided the best move for the gray or roan Arrogate gelding was to get him back on the track, even in the muddy conditions brought on by the day's rain.View the full article

Michael Lund Petersen's Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) tuned up for Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff with a four-furlong drill in :48.20 (22/69) Sunday at Santa Anita. The 4-year-old comes into the Distaff with a string of four straight stakes victories, including a 5 1/4-length score in the Oct. 1 GII Zenyatta S., but will have to step up her game to win Saturday, according to trainer Bob Baffert. “She'll be running against a different type of filly on Saturday,” Baffert said. “She's a big, fast filly and she has a great mind. But this will be a class test. Her last race was great, but this is a step up. To win this race, you need to have a really good horse and have real good luck. Winning these races is not easy.” Also working for Baffert Sunday, GI Preakness S. winner National Treasure (Quality Road) went four furlongs in :47.40 (11/69) in preparation for the GI Dirt Mile. “He looked good out there,” Baffert said. “I had him galloping out five furlongs in :59 and change. That last race seemed to wake him back up.” National Treasure is coming off a fourth-place effort in the Sept. 30 GI Awesome Again S. Baffert's GI F/M Sprint contender Eda (Munnings) went four furlongs from the gate in :47.40 (11/69) Sunday morning, while GI Juvenile contender Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) went five furlongs in 1:00.20 (5/61). Also working for the F/M Sprint, trainer Steve Asmussen sent Society (Gun Runner) out to drill three furlongs in :37.40 (11/15) Sunday. Godolphin's Mile contender Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) went out for a routine canter Sunday, but ended up working four furlongs in an unofficially timed :49 2/5. “Unfortunately that wasn't the plan,” said trainer Charlie Appleby's assistant Chris Connett. “All we wanted to do with him was go out for a steady canter, but he didn't have his hood on and unfortunately he took off with his rider. It was not quite what we hoped for or what was planned. We will now have to adjust his schedule accordingly with a quiet day tomorrow and he will definitely have the hood on him next time he's out on Tuesday morning.” GI Breeders' Cup Sprint contender Dr. Schivel (Violence), coming off a win in the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship, worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 (19/61) Sunday for trainer Mark Glatt. Mott Runners Tune Up Trainer Bill Mott sent out four Breeders' Cup hopefuls to work at Santa Anita Sunday. George Krikorian's War Like Goddess (English Channel), prepping for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, worked four furlongs in :49.80 (57/69). “It was beautiful,” Mott said of the work. “Poetry in motion. She works on the dirt and she works in :49 or :50; that's all we want. You could see the rider was just letting her do it. She gets a lot out of working on the dirt, conditioning wise. She is fit enough.” Also Sunday, Mott sent Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) and Elite Power (Curlin) out to work four furlongs in company. Casa Creed, headed for the GI Mile, went in :46.40 (3/69), while Elite Power was credited with bullet :46.20 (1/69). Of Casa Creed, Mott said, “We think he is a pretty good horse. In these turf races, it's all about the trip and the pace and position. You have to have the golden trip and you've got to get lucky. Everyone in there is a nice horse; probably half the horses in it could win it.” Of Elite Power's attempt to defend his title in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint next Saturday, Mott said, “I don't have any lack of confidence in him. Look, it's a horse race and he has to go over there and do it and have a good trip. I have no reason to believe he is not as good as he was last year.” Elite Power had an eight-race win streak snapped when second behind Gunite (Gun Runner) in the Aug. 26 GI Forego S. last time out. The Mott-trained Cody's Wish (Curlin), aiming for the GI Dirt Mile, went four furlongs in :47.20 (10/69) with assistant trainer Neil Poznansky in the saddle. “He looked smooth as glass,” Mott said. “I was happy that he didn't go faster. Neil had him just right. Cody's Wish did it on the bridle. Passing the eighth pole, [Poznansky] released his hold and took his hand off the bridle a little bit and he finished up good and galloped out good.” The post Breeders’ Cup Sunday Bulletin: Baffert, Mott Runners On Track appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The added distance was key for Liberal Arts in the Oct. 29 Street Sense Stakes (G3) as the son of Arrogate needed the full 1 1/16 miles to find his best stride. View the full article

Celebrating 40 Years of the Breeders' Cup John Henry famously didn't make it to the Breeders' Cup. Da Hoss famously did, after a two-year layoff with a mere allowance prep. In this industry, where geldings at the elite levels are the exception and not the norm, those geldings tend to become beloved fan favorites. Perhaps it's because they often have longer race careers than their compatriots whose breeding careers must be considered. Right up there in the lexicon of the special 31 geldings to have won a Breeders' Cup are two industry favorites living their best lives as retirees with the people who knew them best: Wise Dan and Main Sequence. These two glorious geldings may now be retired from the racetrack, but they both still live with their trainers, Charlie LoPresti and Graham Motion, respectively. “He lives with us and that should show how special he is,” said Motion of Main Sequence. Neither had a future in the stud barn, neither was transformed into a show horse, neither became a track pony, neither is even a riding horse. Instead, both Wise Dan and Main Sequence are beloved pasture pets, each turned out with a buddy, each living the life of Riley, each with the assurance of LoPresti and Motion meeting their every need. Wise Dan | Sarah Andrew Both champions–one as a homebred always destined to race as such and one as a homebred originally intended for the sales–these two horses gave so many thrills to their connections. No wonder their trainers couldn't imagine them living anywhere else and plan to cater to each one's every need for life. The two chestnuts took very different routes to each trainer's barn. Wise Dan has spent nearly every moment of his life, since he was a short yearling, in LoPresti's care. Motion doesn't remember laying eyes on Main Sequence until he was a 5-year-old who had already won a Group race in England and finished second in the G1 Investec Epsom Derby for trainer David Lanigan. “Wise Dan was foaled at Patchen Wilkes Farm in Lexington and Mr. [Morton] Fink always sent those babies to us when they were short yearlings,” remembered LoPresti. “I don't remember the exact month, but we pretty much raised him from a short yearling. We broke him, we trained him, we did everything with him. Wise Dan | Sarah Andrew “He was a big, strong horse,” continued LoPresti. “I wouldn't say he was difficult, but the only thing that stood out in my mind early was how different he was than other horses. Once I figured out that his stride was so much longer than most horses, he was easy to get along with. At first, we were always trying to bottle him up or slow him down, but once we figured out his natural rhythm was :13 or :14 [for an eighth], he was just a natural athlete. He is just an incredible horse, so smart. Just different than most horses.” Everyone remembers Wise Dan as a two-time Breeders' Cup Mile winner, but what might not be remembered as well is he started his career on the dirt. He was a graded winner on the main track at three and even ran in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, finishing sixth. It was midway through his 4-year-old year that Wise Dan tried turf for the first time, winning the GII Firecracker H. at Churchill, but he didn't stay on the surface, adding the GI Clark H. and GII Fayette S. on dirt before the year was over. More graded success on the main track at five followed. It wasn't until August at Saratoga at age five in the GII Fourstardave H. that Wise Dan moved permanently to the grass and started one of the most remarkable streaks in recent memory. He would win his next nine in a row, including his first Breeders' Cup, and 14 of his final 15 races. Successful Dan and Wise Dan | Sarah Andrew “I could tell you so many things about him,” said LoPresti, “but nothing really phased him. He almost knew when he was going to run. He'd lay down or rest his head on the stall webbing. I would worry about post position, track condition, everything, but [rider] Johnny Velazquez would say, 'Don't' worry about it. He knows how to win, he knows how to get himself out of trouble.' And he did! He did it every time he won and pulled it off. Nineteen graded stakes he won. “Part of the thing with him was how he took everything in stride,” continued LoPresti. “When he got to Santa Anita for his Breeders' Cup wins, the first thing he did was just stare at the San Gabriel Mountains like he knew what he was there for. He'd get in the stall–remember he'd never been there before–make two or three turns around and settle down to eat. Most horses take a little while to settle in. He wouldn't. He never got upset about anything. If there was a loose horse, he would just watch like he was saying, 'What's wrong with you?' “That's the thing about him: he took everything in stride and he always knew how to win.” He certainly did. During his five-year racing career, Wise Dan won 23 of his 31 starts. No fewer than 11 of his 19 graded wins were in Grade I races. He set track or course records at Santa Anita, Keeneland, and Woodbine. But not everything was smooth sailing. He came back from small injuries. And the sport held its collective breath when Wise Dan colicked and underwent surgery. “When they turned him over on the table and opened him up,” remembered LoPresti, “the surgeon turned around and gave me a thumbs up. He'd untwisted when they turned him over, so they didn't have to mess with anything and they just sewed him back up. The only thing we were dealing with then was the healing of the incision. Yes, that's a lot, but he was just so tough. That son of a gun came back from the clinic bouncing off the van! All we had to do was heal his incision.” Wise Dan | Sarah Andrew LoPresti said he got some flack for bringing Wise Dan back after the surgery and expecting him to perform at the same level. What some people forget is that no one knew him better than LoPresti and no one had his best interests more in mind. “I knew a lot of people thought I was crazy to bring him back. His first couple of works were not brilliant and I can remember reading stuff after those works–he's not the same horse, you know, all the naysayers–but all I was trying to do was keep him from being stressed and bring him along slow. Then we started to build. That's where I wanted him. We didn't pressure him; we wanted to go along easy and make sure he wasn't going to colic again. Then he came back and he won. And he won again. I always worried. When people start talking, you start to second guess yourself, but I started to see the light come back on and I knew he was back.” Back indeed. Wise Dan would close out his career as a two-time Horse of the Year and a legend. “I just want everybody to realize what kind of horse he really was, everything he came through, everything he did. He won $7.5 million and 19 graded stakes and he didn't run for mega-purses. He earned it. If you look at all his races, a lot of them were small stakes. He didn't go to Dubai; there was no Pegasus Cup. I was very fortunate that I had a farm and owners who trusted what I did. I always gave my horses the winter off, never took them to Florida or Louisiana. That was to my demise as a trainer for business, but the old racing families, the old, true sportsmen, got it. I was just fortunate that I had owners that let me do that. Nowadays, if you don't travel and dance every dance, you're going to lose horses. I have really fond memories looking back.” LoPresti, who quietly retired from training at the end of 2020, said it wasn't just his family and the public who loved Wise Dan. The horse also gave his owner-breeder a reason to live. “Mr. Fink went to dialysis two or three days a week. That horse kept him alive. The idea of having to go watch him run and watch his next race. That was why we didn't go overseas or to Dubai or anything. Mr. Fink wanted to watch him in person and he really couldn't travel that far. We weren't there for the money. Mr. Fink enjoyed the horse and being able to go see him. I totally understood. I believe he could have gone over to Dubai and won, but that's not what Mr. Fink wanted to do. I was fine with that.” Wise Dan's last race–and win–was in 2014 in the GI Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland. No one knew at the time it would be his last race, but some small, niggling injuries kept him from returning. When he was officially retired 11 months later just before an attempt at a third GI Woodbine Mile, it was decided 'Dan' would live out his days at LoPresti's farm. LoPresti indicated the Kentucky Horse Park and Old Friends were both interested in having him, “But this is what we all decided. We know him. He was raised here. Why send him somewhere he doesn't know and take him away from his brother?” Successful Dan and Wise Dan | Sarah Andrew That half-brother is the one-year older MGW & MGISP Successful Dan, also a Fink homebred campaigned by LoPresti. Successful Dan and Wise Dan are thick as thieves. They're turned out together, they play hard, and they keep themselves extremely fit, said LoPresti. They're also very attached to each other. “Not too long ago, Successful Dan got a little hurt and needed some stitches. He needed to stay in the barn for a week. Wise Dan never went more than 30 yards away. He kept checking on him,” said LoPresti. “Wise Dan is just different from other horses. He's so smart. All the great ones are just different. That's what makes them what they are. Of course, they have to have the athletic ability, too, and he did with that natural rhythm, that natural stride. “He's very kind, but also very strong. When he decides he wants to go out to the paddock or when he went to gallop at the track, he's going to take you where he wants to go. It's impossible to slow him down.” Wise Dan's Breeders' Cup wins were in 2012 and 2013; he was undefeated in four starts in 2014, but didn't make the Breeders' Cup that year. Main Sequence, another turfer, did. The two never faced each other on the track, as Wise Dan specialized at a mile and Main Sequence wanted longer. The latter won the 12-furlong Breeders' Cup Turf in 2014. He took a far different road getting there than Wise Dan did. “Honestly, he wasn't the most straightforward horse to train,” said Motion of Main Sequence. “He could be a little bit tricky. He certainly has a lot of personality.” Lanigan, a former UK-based trainer who is now with Four Star Sales in Kentucky, laid it out plainly. “He was a pain in the ass!” said Lanigan, who first trained Main Sequence in England, with a laugh. Lanigan and Motion both trained for the Niarchos family's Flaxman Holdings. Main Sequence | Sarah Andrew “He was a difficult horse, a little bit quirky,” continued Lanigan. “He didn't like to lead the string, didn't show much on the gallops. But he was a big, mature, good-looking horse who coped with everything very good. We were surprised when he won his maiden first time at two. None of mine usually won first time out. They improved more from first to second run. There was a good horse of Godolphin's in there that cost a lot of money and he beat him quite well. Then we sent him to a novice at Newmarket. It was more of a fact-finding mission to see if he was as nice as we thought he was. There were useful sorts in there and he won that very well. “Then I managed to convince [owner] Maria [Niarchos-Gouaze of Flaxman Holdings] and [Flaxman's racing manager] Alan [Cooper] to supplement him for the Derby… The boldness in me! I couldn't leave a Derby horse on the table. I had to spend the next six months trying to convince Alan to run him.” Main Sequence ended up going to the Derby undefeated in four starts, including in the G3 Betfred Derby Trial. He suffered his first career defeat in the Derby to Aidan O'Brien's Camelot (GB) with Queen Elizabeth II in attendance. The performance may have been assurance that Main Sequence was as good of a horse as Lanigan thought, but that loss was also tough to swallow. “It broke my heart,” said Lanigan. “Nobody ever remembers second. He was beaten by a very good horse and ran his race, but I was gutted for myself because I knew we had a very nice horse. And I was very disappointed for Maria. She was one of the first people to send me a horse when I started training. She was always a very good supporter and friend, so it wasn't just my own selfishness. I was very disappointed for her.” Main Sequence | Sarah Andrew Main Sequence and Lanigan were together for approximately another year and a half after the Derby, long before the Breeders' Cup was on the table. Lanigan had actually picked the chestnut out of the Keeneland September sale as a yearling. The horse had been entered, but Lanigan said Niarchos-Gouaze had asked him if there were any of hers in the crop he liked. When Lanigan picked Main Sequence, he never went through the ring and was shipped to the UK instead. Lanigan and the horse were together for nearly three years total and came to an understanding. “Like a lot of good horses, you could set your watch by him. He went out first lot every day, would have his breakfast, then go to sleep. He'd be comatose from 9-12, head under the shavings. I took him out for a pick of grass every day myself. He was a bit of a handful. Out of nowhere, he'd stand straight up on his hind legs. “He overcame a lot. He had a tiny bit of a kissing spine after he won his novice as a 2-year-old, but after that never missed another day. We gelded him at the end of his 3-year-old year because he didn't really have a stallion's pedigree. He was a little bit of a bridesmaid at four. He'd get himself very warm in paddocks that year, which he never did before, so it was sort of a frustrating year. “I told Maria, 'There's a better chance for him over in America. You could win a Breeders' Cup with him in America, but we're going to struggle with him in Europe.'” Prophetic words, it turns out. Lanigan said shipping him back and forth was considered, but it was ultimately decided it would be better for the horse to be based in the same area he'd run, rather than to ship. Lanigan was fully on board. Bye Bye Melvin with Main Sequence and Benjamin Button (the mini) | Sarah Andrew “I told Maria it was going to be a wasted opportunity for the horse and for her if she didn't do it. It all worked out very well. Maria and the horse were the most important two in the whole thing. She's an owner who deserves the very best. It was a pleasure to have had him and I feel very lucky to have had him.” Motion was the lucky recipient in America. Although Motion had been to Lanigan's yard in Lambourn when he stabled his GI Kentucky Derby and G1 Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom there prior to a run at Royal Ascot, he didn't have any particular memories of Main Sequence in the flesh before he came to America. “Obviously he'd been in some nice races already, so you knew he was a good horse,” said Motion. “I was aware of him because we all trained for Flaxman and he'd certainly done well in some nice races–had that second in the Derby–but I didn't really know him before. I think the whole team felt that American racing might suit him. We kind of all made all those decisions together, with David Lanigan and Alan Cooper. “Main Sequence actually got quite sick when he first came to me. Shipping over the winter is tough, having to travel and quarantine on both sides. It took him a while to get over it. We gave him a lot of time.” Main Sequence and Bye Bye Melvin | Sarah Andrew The repatriated Main Sequence would not make his American debut under Motion's care until July of 2014. He would win that day–the GI United Nations S.–and wouldn't lose that year, adding the Sword Dancer, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, and Breeders' Cup Turf, all Grade Is. The campaign culminated in a championship. “We did things with him that I hadn't really done with a horse,” said Motion, “in all the extra schooling. He required a lot of time in working with those things. He was always a little slow to come away from the gates, so we worked on that quite a lot. The first time he ran for us, in the UN, he walked out of the gate. He gave us fits with that. “His first three races were by a neck, a head, and a neck. It was a testament to Rajiv [Maragh], who rode him so well.” Maragh was not able to be aboard for the Breeders' Cup. Velazquez, who had piloted Wise Dan to his first Breeders' Cup win, but had gotten injured earlier on the card of Wise Dan's second Breeders' Cup victory and was hospitalized as the race ran, had to substitute for Maragh in this Breeders' Cup. “It was tough,” said Motion, “because Rajiv had won on him in the Turf Classic and while we were up in the reception room after the race [just over 30 minutes later], Rajiv had his terrible accident and broke his arm. We were good friends with him and Angie, his wife, so there were a lot of emotions when he got hurt. I get emotional now just thinking about it. So Johnny rode him in the Breeders' Cup. That was the year he was coming off that bad accident of the year before in the Breeders' Cup.” Maragh needed two plates and 13 screws to repair his arm and would win on Main Sequence again in 2015. Velazquez had emergency surgery after a spill in the Juvenile Fillies in 2014 that resulted in pancreas repair and spleen removal. Motion is close friends with both riders. “On Breeders' Cup Day was the only time Main Sequence ever broke properly. He won handily,” said Motion. After winning the GII Mac Diarmida S. the next year, Main Sequence tried Dubai and for a repeat in the United Nations, but didn't perform as hoped in the latter and it was discovered he had suffered a tendon tear. He was retired. “Alan and Maria were nice enough to let him stay here after his career,” said Motion. “These horses were so influential in my career.” Graham Motion with Better Talk Now in 2008 | Sarah Andrew Motion mentioned Better Talk Now, his very first Breeders' Cup winner. Better Talk Now, who also won the Turf a decade before Main Sequence, also retired to Motion's Fair Hills home base. He passed away in 2017 following complications from colic surgery. “Main Sequence is a bit like Better Talk Now,” said Motion. “Neither one of them were particularly nice horses to ride. They both had the same kind of personality: pretty cantankerous, pretty tough, which is probably an indicator of how good they were.” Main Sequence now lives in a paddock with Bye Bye Melvin, another former Motion runner who ran in the 2022 Breeders' Cup Turf. “I have to be very careful who we put out in the paddock with him, because he's pretty tough on other horses, but he and Bye Bye Melvin get along great.” Main Sequence served as an ambassador at the Maryland 5* event earlier this month. “That was quite a shock to him to come out of his field for the first time in years,” said Motion with a laugh. “He was a little wound up, but it was very cool. A lot of people came by to see him. I heard he only bit one person, but we made it through. It was just a mile up the road, so we decided to do it.” Like LoPresti with Wise Dan, Motion has incredibly fond memories of his Breeders' Cup win with Main Sequence. “It was very rewarding,” said Motion. “It was really a team effort to win a Breeders' Cup race for the Niarchos family. I grew up watching them, so it was like a dream to win for them. It was sort of coming full circle. We love the Breeders' Cup.” The post Wise Dan and Main Sequence, Two Glorious Geldings and the Breeders’ Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article