Wandering Eyes

Joseph Allen and CHC's Talk of the Nation, coming off a victory in the $1 million Gun Runner Stakes Sept. 2 at Kentucky Downs, aims for a second consecutive stakes victory in the $300,000 Bryan Station Stakes (G3T) Oct. 28 at Keeneland. View the full article

The material for the $7-million all-weather synthetic surface training track at Santa Anita Park will begin arriving Nov. 13.View the full article

Luke Morris picked up the Breeders' Cup ride on Bradsell, whose regular partner Hollie Doyle will miss the meeting through suspension after failing to get a seven-day careless riding ban reduced at a hearing Oct. 26.View the full article

8th-Keeneland, $100,000, Msw, 10-26, 2yo, 7f, 1:28.82, ft, 4 lengths. ROCKETEER (c, 2, Curlin–Thirteen Arrows {MSW, $277,375}, by Indian Charlie) went off at 3-1 in this debut spot and was forwardly placed just off pacesetting World Fair (Tapiture). The top pair moved through opening fractions of :22.97 and :46.63 before Rocketeer made his run to strike the front with an outside move passing the quarter pole. The class of the field in the run to the wire, the Brad Cox trainee cruised home to win by four lengths over 25-1 longshot D Day Sky (Omaha Bech). $1.5m yearling Stop the Press (Uncle Mo) was never a factor after a slow beginning and came home sixth. Thirteen Arrows, a $575,000 broodmare purchase out the 2016 FTKNOV sale, is a half-sister to GISW and sire Cross Traffic (Unbridled's Song) and also to the dam of SW/MGISP Gulfport (Uncle Mo). Her Into Mischief yearling colt brought a final bid of $525,000 from Repole Stable at this year's KEESEP sale and she reported a filly by the same stallion this Spring before visiting Life Is Good for 2024. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $57,350. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Brennan, Ian; B-Fifth Avenue Bloodstock & Glenwood Breeding (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. The post Curlin’s Rocketeer Wins Nicely In Keeneland Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Long-time sire Ashford Stud sire Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike–Private Feeling, by Belong to Me) will be staying in Chile at Haras Don Alberto for the next season and will not be available to cover mares in Kentucky in 2024, officials at Coolmore America confirmed Thursday. A champion at two and three, as well as winner of the GI Preakness S. and four other Grade I events, Lookin At Lucky's first foals were born in 2012. Among his 74 black-type winners and 49 graded winners worldwide are champion and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Accelerate and GI Kentucky Derby winner Country House in the U.S., as well as Chilean Horse of the Year Wow Cat (Chi), who is also a Grade I winner in the U.S. Lookin At Lucky has been wildly successful in Chile, siring an additional five champions there, while another of his Chilean-breds was exported to Hong Kong and was named champion there in 2021. Lookin At Lucky shuttled his first year to Australia for the Southern Hemisphere season and has visited Chile a majority of the seasons since. The post Lookin At Lucky Won’t Return to Kentucky for the 2024 Breeding Season appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Playing chess with nature. That's what Jean-Luc Lagardère called it, and the analogy has always resonated with Alberto Figueiredo. How, for instance, do we account for the sheer size of King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who sealed his place among the elite sophomores of Europe with his Group 1 success at Ascot last Saturday? You don't particularly see that bulk in the sire; and, tragically, it wasn't in the dam either. In her case, the disparity proved fatal. “She was a good, medium-sized mare but he was so big it caused her to hemorrhage when foaling,” explains Figueiredo, CEO of Bonne Chance Farm. “That's how we lost her. We understand, that's part of the game. We deal with live animals and, unfortunately, something like will happen from time to time. He was well raised by a foster mare. But when you look at him, and then look at his parents–well, the gene is not obvious, it's not right there. You might have to go back to the fourth, fifth generation. And that's the chess.” Figueiredo is duly impatient with any attempt to reduce breeding to a simple formula, as though everything comes down to slapping this bloodline over that one. He remembers how one of the best judges of horseflesh he ever saw, in his native Brazil, never even brought a catalogue to the sales. Long experience in different hemispheres tells Figueiredo that such horsemanship transcends cultures, languages, racing environments. We should all be able to learn something, then, from an astounding year for this small but most cosmopolitan of farms. King of Steel | Megan Ridgwell Figueiredo modestly protests that there's nothing so extraordinary about the program he operates for Brazilian entrepreneur Gilberto Sayão Da Silva. “I don't think we have a very unusual program,” he says amiably. “I would not put that way. I think we do the same kind of thing that you normally have to do with horses.” But nor can we merely say that it's all in the name: French for “good luck”. Something, surely, merits attention when a crop of just 14 Bonne Chance graduates, in the sophomore class of 2023, should include not just King Of Steel but also GI Woody Stephens S. winner Arabian Lion (Justify). On the one hand, a colt that briefly burst clear in the ultimate test of the Classic Thoroughbred, over 12 furlongs at Epsom, until collared late on his first run of the season, and just the third of his life; and, on the other, a top-class dirt sprinter. The fact is that Bonne Chance, for a boutique operation, has quite exceptional geographical reach: both in blood and schools of horsemanship. King Of Steel himself–conceived in France, foaled in Kentucky, trained in Newmarket–is an apt symbol of internationalism. For Bonne Chance has evolved as an offshoot of the leading South American program Stud RDI, which was launched in 2008 by Sayão in partnership with Paulo Fernando de Oliveira. In 2013, after a tentative experiment at Tattersalls the previous year, Figueiredo (along with colleagues Philippe Jousset and Fernando Garcia) picked out three yearling fillies at Arqana and sent them to Mikel Delzangles. Each has since become a black-type producer. At €95,000, the least expensive was Eldacar (GB) (Verglas {Ire}), who proved a modest but sound staying handicapper. “She had a good pedigree,” Figueiredo recalls. “Not a fashionable one, perhaps, but she was a beautiful mare and at that time our program was all breed-to-race.” Eldacar started her breeding career in Normandy, but was soon transferred to the 300-odd acres previously known as Regis Farms on the Pisgah Pike, acquired in 2015. “There was no reason to have 10 mares here, and five over there,” Figueiredo explains. “Having bought this land, we said we'd concentrate them all in one place.” Bonne Chance had started out with yearling fillies, rather than broodmare prospects, so that the team could get to know them inside out. That way, a complementary influence might be sought from matings. “People can choose nicks because that's what they think the market wants,” Figueiredo says. “I'm not opposing them, that's okay as a way to conduct their business. Maybe I'm just not smart enough to believe in those scientific equations. But I'm more like, 'Okay, this is a nice filly. She has talent but Mikel has brought us the information that she's more of a galloper, so she needs a little more speed.' And we were lucky enough, at that time, to be part of the Wootton Bassett syndicate. So we could bring in some speed that way. “Maybe doing something like that won't work immediately. Maybe you need another generation. You can never say we will definitely get this, or that. But that's the same as when we mix blood from South America in the United States or Europe. You might not be able to say why a combination has worked. But when it does, you know that you have only achieved those results from having an open mind.” Arabian Lion at Spendthrift | Sara Gordon A perfect example is Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}, the program's breakout success in the United States. A domestic Group 1 winner in Argentina as a juvenile, he was sent to Paulo Lobo and won the GI Shadwell Turf Mile before being involved in three consecutive finishes of the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. “His second dam came to United States from Chile,” says Figueiredo. “She had a Smart Strike filly we sent to Brazil, where she was very smart, a Group 2 winner. And then we brought her to a Japanese stallion, Agnes Gold by Sunday Silence. And then came Ivar. So, you could see how it can work.” King Of Steel did not have such an exotic background. Nonetheless the market remained too insular to prevent agent Alex Elliott having to pay more than $200,000 on behalf of Amo Racing at the Keeneland September Sale of 2021. A Wootton Basset was challenging enough. One that size, however, was a bridge too far for most. “We had high expectations,” Figueiredo recalls. “Don't get me wrong, he brought good money. But people kept saying he was too big. What's the problem in being big? If big means slow, well, he's never been that. He was always a straightforward horse, never had any problems. But his size did scare a lot of people.” Because of his build, and also because his dam improved with maturity, Figueiredo is confident that King Of Steel will keep thriving if kept in training. But first he is set to return to his native soil for the Breeders' Cup. Happily, despite the loss of his dam, Bonne Chance now finds itself with a valuable breeding prospect in King Of Steel's full sister Macadamia (Fr). Though not to be confused with her GI Gamely S.-winning namesake (as it happens, a Brazilian-bred), the 4-year-old has won a maiden and allowance race at Horseshoe Indianapolis from 13 starts. “She's likely to be bred in Europe,” Figueiredo says. “She's much smaller than her brother. If you put them together, she'll look like a weanling. They're both gray, so if you stood her behind him you will lose her. That's the chess again!” There are, of course, ways of securing your queen on the genetic chessboard. One is to borrow the depth offered by Unbound (Distorted Humor) when acquired for $310,000 at the Keeneland November Sale of 2015, her granddam being none other than Personal Ensign. “I strongly believe in the foundation of family,” Figueiredo says. “Being a 20-mare operation, we don't have the numbers, money or time to try a different way. I have to reduce the probability of mistakes. So I like to go to a farm, a family that you know produces. Of course, you still have to take your chance, even then, but you know that the substance is there.” Ivar | Coady Photography Unbound was one that paid off, and quickly: her 2017 foal, a Giant's Causeway colt, made $450,000. “And a couple of years later we sent Unbound to Justify for a little bit of size, because she is a compact, Distorted Humor type,” Figueiredo explains. “Again, chess! It did not work as we expected. She had a small, late foal. So I said, 'Okay, let's not put him in the yearling sales, he's not ready.' So we gave him time and sent him to the 2-year-old sales. And that worked perfectly.” Prepared and sold by Hidden Brook, where Figueiredo's cousin Sergio de Sousa is a managing partner, the colt made $600,000 from Zedan Racing Stables at OBS April. As Arabian Lion, he briefly threatened to give Bonne Chance prospects of a double Derby bid, at both Churchill and Epsom, but ultimately confirmed a single turn to be his métier. Arabian Lion has now retired to Spendthrift as Justify's first Grade I winner. Of course, his sire has also made an immediate and spectacular impact in Europe. And, if weathervane is finally turning back towards genetic transfusion between hemispheres, then no farm of its size can have trimmed its sails better than Bonne Chance. That's a gratifying state of affairs for a man whose international Turf education began virtually in boyhood. “I started to work in a sales company when I was 14, researching for catalogues,” Figueiredo says. “So, yes, it's been a lifetime's work. One of the partners in the company was a very successful farm vet, Dr. Jose Luiz Pinto Moreira. And he was the best horseman I've ever been with. Just from the way he talked, the way he looks. I've had so many positive as influences on my life but, strictly on horses, this guy was amazing.” Figueiredo was also fortunate to work with Moreira during around 20 years working for Linneo de Paula Machado at Haras São José & Expedictus from the early 1990s. That post opened up many new horizons, not least through the export of horses like Siphon (Brz) to California. “That was best life experience ever,” he says gratefully. “To work with such nice people who gave me such good opportunities in life. Because we can all learn from each other. Richard Mandella was able to go to South America and look at how things work there, and the same for me the other way. When we bought the farm in Kentucky, each year I took one of our team there to Brazil. That meant I could say, 'Look, if I ever I say something that seems stupid in Kentucky, please forgive me–because this is how we do things over here, here's how I learned.' So the same thing that we do with the blood, we also do with people.” But while the whole premise is that horse skills are transferable, there's no denying that a harder road in South America–for horse and horseman alike–fortifies those who travel it far enough to compete on the global stage. “How can I explain to you?” muses Figueiredo. “I love my country, and I love living there. But you learn a little bit differently. Say you want to buy a mare. In the United States, you go to the bank, you present your business plan, and you get a very good rate. In South America, you would find that impossible. To buy a horse, you have to sell your house. But I think that when you have those challenges, it makes you more aware. If one way doesn't work, you're going to find another way. Because you need to do this. If things happen a little more easily, more predictably, maybe you get into a comfort zone.” Auguste Rodin | HRI One way or another, between the horsemanship and the bloodlines, here is a farm exuding the dynamism urgently required in what has become a rather stagnant gene pool either side of the Atlantic. But you can think big and still stay humble. Because it's about resisting complacency, about being receptive to other cultures and methods. “I guess that all of us, in this way of life, end up meeting and working with many different people, in many different places,” Figueiredo reflects. “And every time someone will say, 'Hey, the other day, I was wondering about this…' And this exchange of experience, added together, can become very important. “What works in Kentucky isn't necessarily going to work in Europe or South America, and equally the other way round. But you're getting information every day, and it adds up to a wider perspective.” He returns to the trainer he used to watch going round the sales in Brazil, with no catalogue. “His success was amazing, and it was just his instinct, just feeling,” he says. “He was unbelievable, the way he and horses could 'speak' together. And that, to me, is the fascination. That feeling he had. Because I'm fascinated by people who succeed. What he had, you can't put into words, but it also showed why Michael Jordan is like this, or Roger Federer, or Pele, Maradona, so on–even the good politicos!” Figueiredo remembers the cycles of regeneration achieved by breeders of the past: the Classic sires imported to South America from Britain at the turn of the last century; similar traffic from Britain to America in mid-century; then the revolution achieved by sons of Northern Dancer in Europe. And let's not forget that the only horse to run down King Of Steel at Epsom, Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), was out of Galileo (Ire) mare outcrossed to the principal heir of Sunday Silence's speed-carrying dirt genes. Maybe we can't leap to definitive conclusions, even when a farm like Bonne Chance produces two of the best sophomores in the global crop. But it would surely be foolish not to emulate something of the sense of adventure that animates its program. “It's been a remarkable year,” Figueiredo acknowledges. “And first of all that's about a very good job by our team on the farm. That's for sure. But I really believe that this mix of blood helps a lot. Japan has been showing the world how to conduct things. There are a lot of good things in every country. Go to Argentina, you're going to see nice horses. Brazil, the same. Their best horses can compete around the world. Just look at Book 1 at Keeneland, and see how many trace to good Argentinian mares. So we always start with an open mind, we're always willing to try things. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn't. But even then it's a good experience. Because you're not just focused on one thing, and you forget that the world is so big.” The post Bonne Chance Team Making Their Own Luck appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Three horses that have been pre-entered for races on Breeders' Cup Saturday took to the Santa Anita main track for timed breezes Thursday morning. Prepping for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Joe Peacock, Jr.'s Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) fired a bullet five furlongs in :59.40 with big-race rider Geovanni Franco in the irons. It was the fastest of 19 moves at the distance. “He went really well, he dragged me around there,” Franco said of this year's GII San Diego H. upsetter. Franco was also in the irons when Senor Buscador ran on nicely for fourth behind Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) and Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI TVG Pacific Classic Sept. 2 and again when third to Slow Down Andy (Nyquist) in the GI Awesome Again S. Sept. 30. Didia (Arg) (Orpen), who arguably represents North America's best chance in the GI Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf, went five-eighths of a mile in 1:01.80 for Nacho Correas, while Lane Way (Into Mischief), who is on the outside looking in for a potential start in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, went a half-mile in :47 flat (1/29) for trainer Richard Mandella. Expected to breeze Friday is Classic contender White Abarrio (Race Day), whose move was postponed from Monday. Work of the Day from @santaanitapark—Didia worked 5 Furlongs in 1:01.80 on October 26th, 2023, for trainer @IgnacioCorreas. pic.twitter.com/EWSA0q8Bdo — XBTV (@WatchXBTV) October 26, 2023 The post Senor Buscador, Didia Among Thursday Workers at Santa Anita appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Only three horses pre-entered for next week's Breeders' Cup recorded timed workouts Oct. 26 at Santa Anita Park, though another half-dozen breezed at other tracks across the country. View the full article

When two members of Gulfstream Park's security team and a veterinarian descended on his barn on the morning of June 2, the 62-year-old trainer Jeff Poole didn't think he had anything to worry about. According to the Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Regulatory Rulings website, Poole, who has been training since 1989, had never had a violation of any kind. And his recent record–he had won 11 races combined since 2021–hardly suggested that he was a trainer who was taking an edge. Even when investigators found in his office a tube of Thyro-L, which is used with horses for the correction of conditions associated with low-circulating thyroid hormone, Poole wasn't that alarmed. He was given a prescription for the medication in September to use on a horse that was subsequently transferred to another trainer a month later. He says he had not used the drug on any horse since. At the time, it was perfectly legal to use the drug if a prescription had been obtained and in the states Poole raced in, Florida and Ohio, it was not illegal to possess the medication. Then everything changed on May 22 when the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) took over, handling the drug testing at most U.S. racetracks and levying the penalties for those who were found to have violated HIWU rules. Under the new Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) rules, the mere possession of Thyro-L was a serious violation as the drug had been designated a banned substance. Suspensions for banned substances carry suspensions of up to two years. Jeff Poole was in a lot of trouble. “I was totally unaware I had (Thyro-L),” he said. “I would have thrown it away. I wasn't even using it and they don't accuse me of using it. All they've accused me of is having it. It is not a performance-enhancing drug. This is a joke.” Poole got the prescription for use on a horse named King Andres on Sept. 27, 2022 while the horse was training at Thistledown. After that race, he was transferred to the barn of trainer Randy Faulkner. The Thyro-L prescription was written by Dr. Scott Shell. In what may be nothing more than a coincidence, Shell was provisionally suspended by HIWU for being in possession of banned substances, none of which were Thyro-L. From Thistledown, Poole shipped to Tampa Bay Downs and then to Gulfstream. He said that on each occasion his employees packed up everything that wasn't nailed down in his tack room and office, which included the tube of Thyro-L. While it should have been thrown away, it was simply forgotten and thrown in with the rest of Poole's belongings. One thing Poole cannot do and has not tried to do is claim ignorance. He admits that on March 15, 2023, while at Tampa Bay Downs, he sat in on a presentation from HIWU Chief of Science Dr. Mary Scollay in which Scollay warned trainers that new rules were about to go into effect and that they needed to get rid of medications that were about to fall into the banned substance category. Thyro-L was specifically mentioned. “I'm hitting myself over the head,” Poole said. “This is so stupid. I could have gotten rid of the stuff. I just didn't think about it. Too much else on my mind.” Poole decided to fight, which led to having a hearing before an arbitrator that took place on July 26. That gave him plenty of time to think, beginning with why someone would have inspected his barn in the first place. “They said someone tipped them off that it was in my office,” Poole said. “As far as I'm concerned, they must have sent a stool pigeon into my place. I never would have let anybody in my office who wasn't a friend. And if a friend saw it and knew what was going on, they would have said 'Jeff, get rid of that stuff. You're not allowed to have it anymore.'” He's also followed other HIWU cases and claims a pattern is emerging whereby it seems that the majority of those who have been suspended are small-time trainers with limited resources. (Ironically, in his ruling, arbitrator Jeffrey Benz referred to Poole as a “high-level trainer of thoroughbred racehorses.”) “(HISA CEO) Lisa Lazarus talks about how they're not trying to get rid of the little people but it looks to me like that's exactly what they're trying to do,” Poole said. “They gave me 22 months and I never had a bad drug test on a horse ever. They don't care about destroying a man's life when it's totally unnecessary. Horses are my life.” Lazarus has had to respond to accusations that HISA is targeting small stables many times. When asked to comment on Poole's accusations she said “The ADMC program is completely unbiased” and referred to a letter to the editor she wrote to the TDN that addressed that issue. During the first weeks of his suspension, Poole did nothing. He remained convinced that his side of the story would hit home with whomever was to decide his fate and that he would be exonerated. He was, of course, wrong. “I thought this would all be straightened out,” he said. “I never dreamt they'd do this to me. I sat for months with no income. It got to the point where I couldn't keep doing it. I couldn't make a red cent. There was nothing but money going out.” Once the arbitrator ruled against him, upheld the 22-month suspension plus a $10,000 fine and ordered Poole to pay $8,000 in arbitration costs, he knew he had to do something. While most trainers who have been provisionally suspended by HIWU have sat on the sidelines, Poole moved his stable to Mountaineer Park. HISA does not have jurisdiction over West Virginia racing. The same goes for Louisiana. So Poole is free to race in both states. “West Virginia is not my home,” he said. “This is not where I want to be. My home is in Tampa, Florida. Every year I look forward to going home. After Mountaineer closes, my only option is to try to get stalls in Louisiana at the Fair Grounds. That's not a place I ever wanted to go to in my life, but it's either that or welcome to Walmart.” Poole realizes he made mistakes. He was told by Scollay that Thyro-L was going to become a banned substance and that he needed to get rid of it if he had any in his barn. He ignored her warning. He also understands the trainer responsibility rule. No matter what he might think about the rules regarding Thyro-L, he was in possession of a banned substance and under the trainer responsibility rule he had set himself up for a penalty. But what he can't understand is why he was suspended 22 months and fined $18,000 for what he considers to be a very minor offense. “I expected to probably be fined for not discarding it,” he said. “But 22 months? If they think that's fair, that's beyond me. Officials, trainers, owners, everybody is telling me how unfair it was what they did to me. But I didn't see it coming. I don't think I deserve anything more than a possible fine.” The post Given 22-Month Suspension From HIWU, Trainer Poole Calls Process A ‘Joke’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Chaldean, the winner of the Dewhurst Stakes (G1) and this year's Two Thousand Guineas (G1), has been retired and will stand alongside his sire Frankel at Banstead Manor Stud in 2024.View the full article

Hollie Doyle will miss the ride on Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) at next week's Breeders' Cup after failing in her appeal against the severity of a careless riding ban. Doyle incurred a seven-day suspension for her ride at Kempton last week. The British Horseracing Authority's independent disciplinary panel heard Doyle's appeal Thursday morning. The jockey contested the length of the ban rather than the riding offence itself. After hearing submissions from Charlotte Davison, representing the BHA, and Rory Mac Neice for Doyle, the panel concluded the original penalty should stand, resulting in Doyle's missing the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup, when Bradsell is due to run in the Turf Sprint at Santa Anita. “We do accept there was corrective action taken by Miss Doyle, but the reality was unfortunately the situation had been caused. We can see from the footage interference does take place and it is, in our view, significant,” said Rachel Spearing, the panel's chair. “We find interference was foreseeable, it was serious and it is appropriate to fall within the careless riding [penalty] of five to 14 days. We note she was provided with a seven-day suspension and we see no reason to interfere with those days. “We have concluded this wasn't a frivolous appeal and in those circumstances agree to return the deposit.” The post Doyle to Miss Breeders’ Cup After Failed Appeal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Edited Press Release Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) will host the Bash at the Breeders' Cup presented by Churchill Downs Incorporated at the Le Meridien Hotel in Arcadia, CA, Friday, Nov. 3. The hotel is located opposite Gate 5 at Santa Anita. “Over the last eight years, Bash at the Breeders' Cup has become a very popular event on the Breeders' Cup week calendar,” said Erin Halliwell executive director of TCA. “We are excited to return to California and raise money for our approved grant recipients. TCA's grants provide a broad range of support to approved charities offering Thoroughbred aftercare, health and human services to backstretch and farm workers, equine-assisted therapies, as well as Thoroughbred incentive programs. Our work wouldn't be possible without the support of our donors.” The event will feature a live auction including a Del Mar Racing package, halters worn by Arcangelo and Mage, a racing saddle signed by numerous jockeys including Johnny Velazquez, Flavien Prat, Julien Leparoux and Tyler Gaffalione, a VIP day at the races at Santa Anita Park, a Whitney S. weekend package in Saratoga, a box at the Blue Grass S. with weekend accommodations, a VIP race day at Kentucky Downs, a stay in a luxury Mexican villa, 2024 Breeders' Cup tickets and more. For those that cannot attend in-person, online bidding will be available beginning Wednesday, Nov. 1. Online bidding will close at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 3 and bidders wishing to continue bidding in the live auction may bid by telephone. Auction items may be previewed here. Bash at the Breeders' Cup is generously presented by Churchill Downs Incorporated. Other sponsors include Herringswell Stables, New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Candy Meadows Farm, Tito's Vodka, Maker's Mark, and Jackson Family Wines. Media sponsors include BloodHorse, TDN, Paulick Report, and the Horse Racing Radio Network. The post TCA To Host ‘Bash At the Breeders’ Cup’ Fundraiser appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Middle Eastern buyers held sway on day four of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale with German Group 3 winner Aemilianus (Ger) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) (lot 1243) being snapped up by Qatar-based Gassim Ghazali for 250,000gns. Trained by Markus Klug, Aemilianus carried the colours of Gestut Schlenderhan to victory in a heavy-ground Group 3 contest at Dusseldorf last season. He has carried his form well this year as a four-year-old and arrived at Park Paddocks off the back of finishing third in that same Group 3 contest earlier this month. The result represented a triumph of persistence for Ghazali, a well-known buyer at Tattersalls, as he revealed afterwards that he had been sticking around especially for Aemilianus. Ghazali said, “I am delighted. I have been waiting for this horse–three days I have waited for it! Some quality horses have been through the ring, but I have been outbid by Wathnan Racing and Najd Stud. I hope this horse will make it to some good races in Qatar. The pedigree should suit Qatar. “I like the sire and I won the Qatar Derby last season with a son of Holy Roman Emperor called Emperor Maximus (Fr). The sire's progeny tend to like the track in Qatar and the good ground.” He added, “I am not too sure of the horse's level and how that will slot in once he gets to Qatar, I know the horses from England and how they will work into the Qatari programme, Germany is a little different. I am hoping this horse will be good enough for either the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup or the HH The Amir Trophy.” Gassim Ghazali also went on to purchase the twice-raced Heater (Ire) (No Nay Never) (lot 1351) from Imperium Sales for 75,000gns. Owned by Valmont, Heater arrived at the sales after a promising third on his second start at Wolverhampton. Najd Stud was responsible for the second-highest priced horse through the ring on Thursday at 100,000gns. Tchaikovsky (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) (lot 1283), a winner of Kempton novice for John and Thady Gosden on just his second start, was bred by the late Sir Robert Ogden and proved to be one of the standouts on the day. The juvenile is a half-brother to a winner in Kensington (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and hails from the family of Islingston (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). “This horse goes to Saudi. His starts have been good and hopefully he will do well for us in Saudi,” said Saad bin Mishraf for Najd Stud. “We are looking for differing types of horses all the time as we have a variety of races in the country.” Tchaikovsky's dam Canonbury (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), herself a daughter of Islington, is due to be sold as part of a complete dispersal of Lady Ogden's stock at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale. Despite a smaller number (2%) of horses going through the ring on this day compared to last year, the aggregate was up a massive 51% to 2,553,400gns. Furthermore, the median climbed 20% to 6,000gns while the average was up 48% to 12,101gns. The clearance rate stayed the same on 88%. Buy of the Day Despite the fact there may not have been as many big-ticket lots compared to earlier in the week, there was still plenty of value on offer, and the 38,000gns Eve Johnson Houghton paid to retain Machiavellian Lady (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) (lot 1317) could prove money well spent. She should have no trouble finding new owners for this winning juvenile, presuming that's the plan, and judging by that hard-fought victory at Chelmsford, there could be more to come. The post Group 3 Winner Aemilianus Bound For Qatar After 250k Sale At Tattersalls appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The catalogue for the Osarus 100% National Hunt Sale, offering 28 juveniles, 31 yearlings and 11 foals, mares and horses-in-training, is now available online. The single-session sale is scheduled to take place Nov. 8 at Le Lion d'Angers. Bidding begins at 1 pm. Past graduates include Grade I winners Laurina, Punch Nantais, Gelino Bello, Capodanno and Mighty Potter, winner of the GI Ladbrokes Novice Chase in February. The top lot of the new Osarus horses-in-training sale at Craon in September, Rose de la Jarrie (Elm Park) was purchased as a store for €5,000 at this venue last year before winning on debut for Elisabeth Allaire and selling for €42,000 at Craon. Yearlings include a filly by Rail Link (lot 34), a half-sister to eighth time winner Giloulou and a colt by Bow Creek (lot 36), a half-brother to three winners and a Doctor Dino colt (lot 49) out of a winning mare. Heading the offerings of stores, a gelding by Chœur du Nord (lot 2) out of the listed-placed mare Parcelle Perdue; a half-brother to Sunseat (lot 3), winner at Auteuil; and lot 5, a filly by Dschingis Secret, half-sister to Auteuil winner Enna Pietra. Horses-in-training include a winner over jumps, Indra Smart (lot 59), a mare by Masked Marvel. For more information, click here. The post Osarus 100% NH Sale Catalogue Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Tom Clover says that Rogue Millennium (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) provided him and his owners with a day they will never forget when winning at Royal Ascot but described her date with the Tattersalls December Mares Sceptre Sessions as the perfect way of seeing the Group 2 winner off on her next chapter as a broodmare. Rogue Millennium, who was bought by Billy Jackson-Stops for just 35,000gns from Shadwell at this exact sale in 2021, has carried the colours of The Rogues Gallery with great distinction and brought Clover to some of the biggest meetings in Europe. Not only did she justify her supplementation fee when landing the G2 Duke Of Cambridge S. at Royal Ascot, but she also ran a gallant second to Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G1 Matron S. at the Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown. She will now embark on her next chapter as a broodmare and Clover says that he is hopeful that the 4-year-old will prove quite an attractive prospect to all the big stud farms come December. Recapping on that memorable triumph at the Royal meeting, Clover said, “It was just the most incredible day at Royal Ascot. It's the type of result you dream of when you start training. For a syndicate of really good friends and people now, who are such racing enthusiasts, to have a day like that together; we'll remember it for the rest of our lives. We'd a great big picnic in the car park beforehand and had a fantastic day. A day we'll remember forever.” The trainer added, “She's a filly who we always had in mind to put through the ring at some stage. Being a daughter of Dubawi (Ire) and a Group 2-winning miler at Royal Ascot will hopefully make her quite attractive. Tattersalls has just been fantastic to us and the Rogues. I know Tony Elliott [syndicate manager] really wants to support them. Going there to the Spectre Sessions will be a fantastic way of seeing her off.” Rogue Millennium reached an official rating of 110 and amassed over £300,000 in career earnings. She has won three times from 14 starts and placed on a further five occasions. She was last seen running fifth behind Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. The post Royal Ascot Winner Rogue Millennium Set For Sceptre Sessions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

On paper, there appears to be no clear-cut favorite among a dozen sophomore fillies assembled for the $300,000 Valley View Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland.View the full article

Group 1 winner Dariyan (Fr) (Shamardal) will move to Haras du Mont Goubert in 2024. A fee will be announced later. Formerly at His Highness The Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval, the Prix Ganay hero has been represented by G3 Prix la Force hero Mister Saint Paul (Fr), as well as seven other stakes horses including the group-placed horses Princesse De Saba (Fr), Galaxie Gold (Fr), second in the G2 Prix Hocquart, Elizar (Fr), and My Kurkum (GB). His dam Daryakana (Fr) (Selkirk) has also thrown a four other stakes winners led by dual graded winner Devamani (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}). His second dam Daryaba (Ire) (Night Shift) won both the G1 French Oaks and Prix Vermeille. The post Dariyan On The Move To Haras Du Mont Goubert appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Oct. 28 marks the final Best of Ohio Day for 2023. Five $100,000 stake races for Ohio-breds will be contested at distances from six furlongs to a mile and a quarter at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course.View the full article

Keeneland has added a trio of horses–one racing/broodmare prospect and the dams of a pair of current black-type winners, one with Breeders' Cup aspirations. Bellabel (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}), to be offered by Taylor Made, is cataloged as hip 251. A maiden winner in five Irish appearances at tgwo, the dark bay relocated to the U.S. last year and was off to a quick start, with victories in the Blue Norther S. and–following a six-month absence–the GII San Clemente S. as the betting favorite. Bellabel was runner-up to the classy Spendarella (Karakontie {Jpn}) in the GI Del Mar Oaks and was last seen at the races in Keeneland's GI QE II Challenge Cup, staying on gamely for a third-place effort behind Gina Romantica. She is cataloged as a racing/broodmare prospect, but has been in steady work at Los Alamitos, where she has recorded no fewer than seven breezes since Sept. 3 and most recently drilled five furlongs Oct. 20. Warrendale Sales consigns Lemon Belle (Lemon Drop Kid) to Keeneland November as hip 249. The 13-year-old is a daughter of MGSW Queenie Belle (Bertrando), making her a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic winner Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), in turn the dam of multiple Eclipse Award winner Unique Bella (Tapit). Lemon Belle's sixth produce is Raise Cain (Violence), winner of this year's GIII Gotham S. and recent hero of the Listed Perryville S. at Keeneland. Lemon Belle sells in foal to boom stallion Justify. Troublesome (Into Mischief) (hip 250) is part of the Woods Edge Farm draft and sells pregnant to Yaupon. The 9-year-old is the dam of Amidst Waves (Midshipman), winner of the Bolton Landing S. at Saratoga and the near-miss runner-up in the local Indian Summer S. Amidst Waves has been pre-entered for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and sits first on the 'not-selected' list, but seems likely to gain a run given others' first preferences. Keeneland has also announced the addition of 15 horses to the November Horse of Racing Age Sale, including MGSW millionaire 'TDN Rising Star' Smile Happy (Runhappy) from Gainesway, agent; and fello 'Rising Star' Strobe (Into Mischief), multiple graded-placed this season and selling through Taylor Made. Both are being offered as racing/stallion prospects. Keeneland will continue to accept entries up to the start of the sale. The post Grade II Winner Bellabel, Pair of Stakes-Producing Dams Added to Keeneland November appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin Trainers Andrew and Lyn Neal don’t have to wait long for their potential new stable star to return to the races. Because just a week after their former headliner Nicholas Cage left their Cambridge stable, Northern Oaks placed filly Diamonds Are Forever returns on her home track tonight. Nicholas Cage was fast enough to defeat Akuta and Copy That (no mean feat) in the Founders Cup at Alexandra Park on March 10, a display of speed than earned him a slot in The Race by Grins. The four-year-old son of Art Major only had two starts back this campaign before it was decided his talents were better suited to the mobile mile racing of Menangle so he has headed to Belinda and Luke McCarthy’s stables there. “Lyn took him over there last week and helped them get to know the horse and I am sure he will do a great job over there,” says Andrew Neal. With Nicholas Cage gone for now the Neal stable’s next good horse could be the one that returns tonight as Diamonds Are Forever demonstrated real class early in her three-year-old career. She was an incredible second to Millwood Nike in the Northern Oaks in March after an early gallop and while she didn’t win again in that campaign Neal says they are happy with how she wintered. “She has come back really well and is ready to go, although she has only had one workout,” says Andrew. “So she will improve but she is where she needs to be at this stage of her campaign.” That campaign is aimed at another Oaks, this time the New Zealand classic, at Addington on December 10. “We aren’t kidding ourselves, we know how tough that will be, but she deserves another shot if she is racing well. “We have about five or six weeks so we will aim her at that and she can probably have two runs up here and maybe even one down there before the Oaks.” Diamonds Are Forever meets another filly who has been chasing home the best in Wicked Wanda in race 7, the 2200m mobile tonight. Wicked Wanda has a major fitness advantage over Diamonds Are Forever tonight in a tidy field that also sees the resumption of the talented Romeo Shard. View the full article

Star jumps sire No Risk At All (Fr) will cover a limited book at Haras de Montaigu in 2024, the stud announced on Thursday. His €20,000 live foal fee, an increase of €2,000 from 2023, leads the five-strong roster. Standing alongside the perennially successful sire are Beaumec De Houelle (Fr) and Flintshire (GB), each at €6,000. The latter is available to mares under both codes. Group Flat sire Dabirsim (Fr), whose Horizon Dore (Fr) ran third in the G1 Champion S., and Dschingis Secret (13) will both command €4,000. The latter's eldest foals are 3-year-olds. The post No Risk At All Increased to €20,000 As Haras De Montaigu Releases 2024 Roster appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Officials at Fasig-Tipton Company have announced an additional eight supplemental entries for its November Sale, to be held Tuesday, Nov. 7 at the Newtown Paddocks. Chief among them is Strong Incentive (Warrior's Reward–G G's Dolly, by Comic Strip), a stakes winner at three who has become an outstanding addition to the broodmare band at Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stable, having produced Grade III winner Highly Motivated (Into Mischief); Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}), victorious in this year's GIII Lake George S. and entered for Friday's GIII Valley View S. at Keeneland; and the exciting Ways and Means (Practical Joke), named a 'TDN Rising Star' on Saratoga debut Aug. 6 ahead of a troubled runner-up effort in the GI Spinaway S. The 11-year-old mare, in foal to top sire Good Magic, is being offered by ELiTE, agent, as hip 264. Next through the ring will be Ceiling Crusher (Mr. Big), who shipped away from her California base for the first time to best 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) in the GI Cotillion S. at Parx Sept. 23. Also successful in Del Mar's GIII Torrey Pines S. over the summer, the California-bred is cataloged as a racing/broodmare prospect and sells as hip 265 through Taylor Made. Other supplements include: Mylady (Ger) (The Grey Gatsby {Ire}), a Group 3 winner and third in the G1 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) before wining the GIII The Very One S. in her second appearance in America; offered as a broodmare prospect by Lane's End; Practica Cat (Chi) (Practical Joke), a group-winning juvenile in Chile and placed at Group 1 level at three; consigned as a racing/broodmare prospect by Highgate Sales; Yuki (Chi) (The Lumber Guy), a Group 1-placed runner at home prior to her export to the U.S., where she most recently won the Sept. 23 Dark Mirage S. at Los Alamitos; Highgate Sales consigns as a racing/broodmare prospect; Weanlings by Authentic (hip 266), Munnings (hip 267) and Into Mischief (hip 268) All entries are available online and will also be available in the Equineline sales app. Fasig-Tipton will continue to accept supplemental entries through the Breeders' Cup. The post Newest Additions To Fasig-Tipton November Include Top Producer Strong Incentive appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has introduced Thoroughbred racing's first-ever recommended national concussion protocol for jockeys.View the full article

Paradise Farms and David Staudacher's grade 1-placed New York-bred The Wine Steward will represent the Empire State in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park.View the full article

1st-KEE, $100K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:00 p.m. A Gary and Mary West homebred, HOLLYWOOD ENDING (Curlin) makes the races Friday for trainer Brad Cox. The colt is the fifth foal out of Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Milwaukee Appeal making him a half-brother to MGSW Actress (Tapit), herself the dam of GIII Withers S. winner Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}). On a steady work tab at both Turfway Park and, more recently, Churchill Downs, Hollywood Ending comes in with a good foundation and picks up Flavien Prat for his debut. TJCIS PPS The post Friday Insights: Homebred Curlin Colt Debuts For Gary And Mary West appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article