Wandering Eyes

Saffie Joseph Jr. is no stranger to rejection. In the early years of his training career, there were moments when he wondered if chasing his dream had been a big mistake. In what is now a familiar part of Joseph's origin story, his father had warned him against leaving Barbados to launch a stable in America. Joseph came anyway. He arrived at Calder Race Course in 2011 only to be told that there was no stall space available, but he went back to the racing secretary week after week until finally securing a spot. A few years into his career, Joseph still had little to show for his efforts. With only a handful of owners–most of them from back home in Barbados–he had been turned down more times than he could count. At his breaking point, he told his dad it was time to go home. “But he told me no,” Joseph said. “He said that we'd come too far to go back. For me, that gave me confidence. It was like he finally believed in me. From then on, everything just went to a different level.” It was the best 'no' that Joseph could have received. Not long after that conversation, he scored his first graded win with Math Wizard (Algorithms) in the 2019 GI Pennsylvania Derby. He had another breakout year in 2024 with 16 graded stakes wins and his first Breeders' Cup victory with Soul of an Angel (Atreides) in the GI Filly and Mare Sprint. Though Soul of an Angel is no longer in his barn, Joseph is determined to return to the Breeders' Cup this year. And after a fast start to the season, he looks poised to do just that. Saffie Joseph Sr. and Jr. in Barbados | photo courtesy Saffie Joseph Joseph's childhood in Barbados revolved around the racetrack. His father was a trainer and his grandfather was an owner. “When I was really young–like six, seven, eight–the grooms would put me on the horses after they had trained and my dad would get really pissed if he saw it,” Joseph recalled with a fond smile. “Cleaning a stall brought so much joy to me as a kid. Even just picking out a horse's foot at that age was like the most amazing thing ever.” At age 22, Joseph became the youngest trainer in history to win Barbados's Triple Crown. Two years later, he arrived in the U.S. with a stable of just two horses. Looking back now, he admits that his decision to start fresh was fueled more by ego than experience. “You have dreams to be the best in the world,” he explained. “You couldn't do that in Barbados. Over there it's more for prestige and for fun. When I was 22, I thought I was the greatest thing around a horse. Then you come to American and you get a reality check. You realize it's not about you anymore. It's about the horses. I look back at that time and I realize that the horses were training me. I wasn't training the horses.” Even after launching his stable, Joseph kept learning from his father, who eventually joined him in South Florida as his assistant and advisor. That guidance and mentorship played a crucial role in Joseph's growth and helped pave the way for his eventual success. When Math Wizard took Joseph to his first Breeders' Cup in 2019, the colt ran a credible fifth in the Classic and left Joseph feeling eager to get back to the World Championships. Saffie Joseph gets his first Grade I win with Math Wizard in 2019 | Sarah Andrew “The Breeders' Cup puts on a show,” he said. “It feels like everyone is there during the week leading up to it. It's fun to be a part of. You look around and there is a good horse on every side of you. There are good trainers there, the best of the best from all over. That's what makes it so unique and so entertaining. All the horses are training there for that week and the camaraderie just makes it an amazing vibe.” In 2023, Joseph's stable notched a pair of third-place Breeders' Cup efforts and in 2024, he got his first victory. After sitting at the back of the pack through speedy early fractions of :21.94 and :44.42, Soul of an Angel pulled off a 19-1 upset in the Filly and Mare Sprint when she came flying late to get a photo-finish win. “When you grow up watching the Breeders' Cup, getting our first win with Soul of an Angel was a dream come true,” said Joseph. “It was a moment that you cherish for life. The way she won it, after the first furlong I was like, 'Whoa, she has no chance.' I didn't think she could win. And then every furlong started getting better and better. By the eighth pole, I felt like she was going to get there. It was like she got there in slow motion.” Joseph watched the race from near the sixteenth pole at Del Mar. When Soul of an Angel switched to the outside and started to make her move, he found himself sprinting down the track apron urging her home. When she hit the wire, he turned to the person who had helped him reach that pinnacle win. Looking back, the memory of hugging his father before they made their way to the winner's circle together still brings a wave of emotion. “I told him that I loved him,” he said. “It was just a special moment. That's what racing brings. I wish more people could enjoy it because I can only describe it so much. You have to almost feel it to believe it.” Joseph celebrates first Breeders' Cup victory | Breeders' Cup Eclipse Sportwire Earlier this year, Soul of an Angel sold for $2.6 million to Chatsworth Stud in Australia, breaking the record for the highest sale to date on Fasig-Tipton's digital platform. Although there's no replacing that stable star, Joseph now finds himself with a growing roster of Breeders' Cup hopefuls. Turf specialist Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) earned her first Grade I score last month in the Gamely Stakes and is now pointing for the GI Diana Stakes on July 12. White Abarrio (Race Day), who won the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic under the tutelage of Rick Dutrow, was transferred back to Joseph's barn last year. In his most start, he finished fourth in the GI Metropolitan Handicap. Joseph reported that the 6-year-old is pointing for the GI Whitney Stakes, a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Classic. Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) has already secured two graded stakes wins this year, including the GII Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes in his most recent start. Joseph said he will point to either the Whitney or next weekend's GI Stephen Foster Stakes, another Classic 'Win and You're In' qualifier. Now that Joseph has one Breeders' Cup win on his resume, he is hoping to build on that momentum and attract more top-level talent. “I think when you win the Breeders' Cup it gives owners confidence to say, 'Hey, we want him to train our horses,'” Joseph explained. “At the end of the day, those are the races the big owners want to win–the Breeders' Cup, the Classics, the Grade Is. Until you're able to do that, you don't really get the first-tier horses. I think as you win those races, they also open opportunities. It may not happen immediately, but it definitely gets people to consider you.” More than 10 years after relocating his stable to the U.S., Joseph has proven he can compete at the highest level of the sport, but he stops short of saying that he feels a sense of belonging amongst the best. “There's too much ego in that,” he explained. “I feel thankful and blessed. I thought we weren't going to break through, so it means a lot when you put your whole life into something and you get there finally. It's a full-team moment. There is no hero in this other than the horses. We're just pieces of the puzzle putting everything together to hopefully get the results.” The post Breeders’ Cup Breakthrough: Saffie Joseph Defying the Odds appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Ghostwriter (Invincible Spirit), who twice finished third behind City Of Troy last year in the G1 Eclipse and G1 Juddmonte International, is set to continue his racing career in the Amo Racing colours after being bought for £2,000,000 at Monday's Goffs London Sale. Consigned by trainer Clive Cox's Beechdown Farm Stables, the four-year-old could make his first start for his new owners in Saturday's G2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, having finished sixth on his most recent outing in last month's G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup. Successful in the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes as a juvenile, he is out of the Listed Cheshire Oaks runner-up Moorside (Champs Elysees), from the family of the 2,000 Guineas-winning sire Zafonic. The post Ghostwriter Bought by Amo Racing for £2 Million at Goffs London Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

LONDON, UK — On the eve of Royal Ascot, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock (APPG) has delivered a stark warning regarding the sport's future in Britain, which it fears “risks being tipped into terminal decline”. At a launch in Westminster in the shadow of the British government's seat of power, MPs Dan Carden and Nick Timothy, co-chairs of the APPG, delivered a report demanding urgent action to stave off the threat from a “triple whammy of challenges that represent no less than an existential threat to the sport”. Entitled Securing Racing's Future: The Threat to British Horseracing, the report highlights the potential damage to racing's financial structure from the proposed harmonisation of gambling duties as well as affordability checks on punters, which it claims has already led to a £1.6bn fall in betting turnover on racing. It also highlights the need to reform the Levy to include bets placed domestically on overseas racing, as is the norm in other major racing jurisdictions. The proposed unified Remote Betting and Gaming Duty across sports betting, pool betting, and online casinos and slots is likely to be close to the current 21 per cent rate for the latter. Currently, the tax on sports and pool betting is 15 per cent. This has prompted fears of a loss of more than £40m per year to operators, which would in turn affect the revenue flow to areas such as prize-money and equine welfare via the Levy. Described in the report as “a national institution woven into the fabric of our culture”, racing is the second-largest spectator sport in the country. Thoroughbred racing and breeding and their subsidiary businesses have been assessed to contribute more than £4bn annually to the British economy, supporting around 85,000 jobs, many of which are in small, rural communities. Polling undertaken for the report found that 53 per cent of the public consider horseracing to be an important part of British culture, while 56 per cent support the implementation of a law requiring greater reinvestment into British racing. With the backing and assistance of the British Horseracing Authority, Carden and Timothy are urging their colleagues in government to consider also the “Millions of pounds of international investment…drawn in from key trading markets by the world-leading standards of care, science and animal welfare found at British stud farms and training yards.” At Tattersalls alone last year, in the heart of Timothy's West Suffolk constituency, more than £450m was traded on bloodstock. He said, “Horseracing is one of the crown jewels of British sport and culture. Newmarket, in my constituency, is the centre of racing and breeding in Britain. Some of the most important racing operations in the world are based in Suffolk, and these businesses invest huge sums of money into the local economy. “This is a story we could tell across the country, from rural villages to towns like Cheltenham and Doncaster, where horseracing is part of the social fabric and has been for centuries. “The public recognise this. Nobody will forgive ministers if their decisions lead to the decline of the nation's second-biggest spectator sport. The time for warm words has ended – we now demand action. The government must listen to the public and take immediate measures to secure the future of horseracing in Britain.” Carden's Liverpool Walton constituency is home to the Grand National, the most gambled-on race of the year in Britain. “The message from this report is clear: British racing needs this Labour government to be on its side,” Carden said. “Racing is part of our national story, and its enjoyment and support extends all the way from rural to urban working class communities. “I'm calling on the government to listen and to act in order to secure a fair funding model, protect jobs and allow horseracing to thrive for future generations.” He added, “Hopefully this campaign will grow. The people who rely on horseracing for their livelihoods and for their passion are speaking out and making sure the government is listening. I'm a Labour MP and I want my government to do the right thing and to back British racing for the future.” Among those in London for the presentation were trainer John Gosden and his wife, former ROA president and Newmarket town councillor Rachel Hood, Epsom-based trainer Jim Boyle, Jockey Club senior steward Dido Harding, National Trainers Federation chief executive Paul Johnson, and Martin Cruddace, CEO of Arena Racing Company. Johnson told the gathering, “Racehorse trainers employ thousands of people across the country and they are 15 per cent fewer in number than they were 10 years ago. If I spoke to them about where their businesses are going around half of them would say that their businesses are vulnerable. So, the triple whammy that we are looking at today is potentially going to have far-reaching consequences for the whole sport, because we need those people to be doing what they are doing for the sport and for their local communities.” Gosden referred to his frustration of previous meetings with the government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). He said, “I tried to impress upon them the enormous international investment in the breeding industry – people forget about that – but the thousands of millions of pounds invested in the development of the stud farms, the stallions, the bloodstock that has been brought to this country to cause us to have the highest standard of Flat racing horses on the turf.” He added, “Here we have a gene pool of the Thoroughbred which is far superior to anything else in the world and yet we are about to blow it down the river. What makes me beyond angry is that it is never grasped how important this is internationally.” Timothy, who described the issue of tax harmonisation as a “mad proposal”, spoke of renewed efforts to argue racing's case at this highest level. He said, “It's definitely the case that there is a lot more energy around the industry in parliament, and with the BHA and the All-Party Parliamentary Group, in trying to get these issues to the top of the agenda and to try to make the arguments we need to get our way with government. “It has to be the case that the government is on the side of the second-most popular spectator sport in the country. It's hugely important economically, socially and culturally.” The post BHA and MPs Unite in Urgent Call For Action on Betting Tax Proposals appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Royal Ascot meeting at Ascot racecourse in Berkshire, England will begin streaming, exclusively on Peacock, Tuesday, June 17 at 8:30 a.m. ET and will continue with five-hour shows Wednesday through Friday beginning each day at 8:30 a.m. ET. NBC and Peacock will present a live 4.5-hour Royal Ascot program on Saturday, June 21, starting at 9 a.m. ET. Britney Eurton and Nick Luck host Saturday's coverage on NBC and Peacock, with NBC News' Dylan Dreyer on-site with access to the Royal Enclosure. Steve Kornacki, chief data analyst for NBC News and NBC Sports, returns to NBC Sports' Royal Ascot coverage as an insights analyst. NBC Sports' Royal Ascot coverage schedule this week: Tues., June 17 8:30 a.m. Peacock Wed., June 18 8:30 a.m. Peacock Thurs., June 19 8:30 a.m. Peacock Fri., June 20 8:30 a.m. Peacock Sat., June 21 9 a.m. NBC, Peacock The post Peacock Streams Five Days of Live Coverage of Royal Ascot; Saturday Coverage Also on NBC appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Mystik Dan (Goldencents–Ma'am, by Colonel John), the winner of the 150th Grade I Kentucky Derby in 2024, is set to stand stud at Airdrie Stud in Midway, Kentucky, upon the conclusion of his racing career, according to a press release from the farm Monday morning. A three-time graded stakes winner with earnings to date of more than $4.4 million, Mystik Dan has been campaigned throughout his career by trainer Kenny McPeek for the ownership group of Lance Gasaway, 4G Racing LLC., Daniel Hamby III and Valley View Farm LLC. Mystik Dan first gained attention with an emphatic 7 ¾-length 2-year-old maiden victory going 5 ½ furlongs at Churchill Downs November 12, 2023. The performance was good for a 96 Beyer Speed Figure, one of the top numbers recorded by a juvenile that year. His Kentucky Derby victory came over a strong field which included Grade I winners Sierra Leone, Forever Young, Dornoch and Fierceness, amongst others, and highlighted a 3-year-old campaign that also included an eight-length win in Oaklawn's Grade III Southwest Stakes, as well as second- and third-place finishes in the Grade I Preakness Stakes and Grade II Arkansas Derby, respectively. In his most recent start, the 4-year-old returned to the Churchill Downs winner's circle with a victory in the Grade III Blame on May 31, setting a new stakes record in the process. Mystik Dan is scheduled to make his next start in the Grade I Stephen Foster Stakes on June 28, with a season-ending goal of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in Del Mar. The first foal out of his owner's four-time winning Colonel John mare, Ma'am, Mystik Dan's immediate female family includes Grade I winners Laragh and Siphonic as well as the multiple Graded-stakes winning millionaire Summer Front. “His historic win in the Kentucky Derby will ensure that name recognition will never be an issue for Mystik Dan,” said Airdrie's Bret Jones, “but what we really want is for breeders to focus on some of the other performances that showcase how genuinely talented he has always been. His win at two, where he opens up seven lengths going 5 ½ furlongs and runs a near-100 Beyer is as impressive as any juvenile race you'll ever see. And it's that same brilliant turn of foot that he showed when winning the Southwest by eight lengths that allowed him to open up a clear advantage in the Derby stretch despite being close to a pace that sent every other forwardly placed horse to the back of the field. He's shown that he can train on with a stakes-record performance in the Blame and I know Kenny really believes he's poised to be one of the best older horses in the country this year. He's an exceptional talent with that unmistakable Into Mischief look and we couldn't be more grateful to his great ownership team for the opportunity to stand their Kentucky Derby winner.” ” I trained a great sire in Harlan's Holiday,” said trainer Kenny McPeek, “And I promise you Mystik Dan is every bit as good or better than Harlan's Holiday ever was. Honestly, he reminds me of Northern Dancer in the way he's made and the way he moves- he's just exceptionally balanced and athletic. He's got such great speed and he stays. Those are traits everyone wants in a racehorse. I think he's got every chance to be a really top stallion and we're going to be breeding and buying a lot of them!” “Mystik Dan has given us the ride of a lifetime and we sure think he's going to give us some more great days before it's all said and done,” added co-owner Lance Gasaway. “He's such a calm and personable horse; always such a pleasure to be around. We are going to miss him when the time comes, but we are honored to partner with Airdrie Stud and very excited for what the future holds.” The post Kentucky Derby Winner Mystik Dan to Stand at Airdrie Stud appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

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Ballydoyle's Los Angeles (Camelot) will face eight rivals in Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, with his chief G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup rival Anmaat (Awtaad) set to renew rivalry. Also in the 10-furlong feature are the progressive Map Of Stars (Sea The Stars), Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and See The Fire (Sea The Stars), with White Birch the only withdrawal. In the supporting races, Luis Saez will partner Lennilu (Leinster) in the G2 Queen Mary Stakes and Flavien Prat is on Tough Critic (Caravaggio) in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes. There are 25 fillies in the Queen Mary headed by Wathnan's TDN Rising Star Zelaina (Mehmas) and eight in the G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes including Godolphin's likely favourite Cinderella's Dream (Shamardal). The post Los Angeles Heads Prince Of Wales’s Nine appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Formlines from the English, Irish and French 2,000 Guineas will collide in a pulsating running of the Group One St James’s Palace Stakes (1,600m) to headline day one of Royal Ascot on Tuesday. Field Of Gold and Ruling Court – who locked horns in the Group One 2,000 Guineas (1,600m) at Newmarket in May – will renew their rivalry once again, with the former looking to exact revenge for a half-length defeat. Ruling Court, trained by Charlie Appleby, got first run that day over Field Of Gold, who...View the full article

Venerable sprinter Mrs Chrissie (NZ) (Per Incanto) has won six races for trainer Ciaron Maher and has placed on a further nine occasions, but the six-year-old mare will make a rare appearance at Flemington this Saturday. Mrs Chrissie hasn’t been to Flemington since finishing fifth in an 1100m benchmark 70 in May 2023, and has primarily done her racing at Caulfield. The talented mare will contest an A$150,000 open handicap off a rating of 91 and enters in a fresh state. The daughter of Per Incanto will have her first run since finishing second-last at Morphettville in the Gr.3 Irwin Stakes won by Royal Ascot contender Asfoora on April 12, which Maher’s Assistant trainer Turnbull described as a forgettable experience. “I think the travel and the weather that day really got the better of her,” he said. “She clearly wasn’t at her best, so we were pretty keen just to back off and reset. “Her three prior to that Adelaide race were OK without being amazing. In hindsight, she was definitely not at her best that prep but if she gets back to it, (it’s a) different ball game. “I’m sure she will be fine at Flemington, albeit she has only ever raced there once.” The open sprint is the part of a Flemington card that also includes the $150,000 The David Bourke, which is a qualifier for the Winter Championship Final, and heats of the Creswick Sprint Series, Silver Bowl Series and Mahogany Series for the three-year-old stayers. View the full article

Cranbourne trainer Gavin Bedggood could unveil new acquisition St Lawrence (NZ) (Redwood) at Flemington on Saturday as a potential candidate for next month’s Listed Winter Championship Series Final. Formerly prepared by Ciaron Maher, the son of Redwood has won eight of 23 starts and a tick under A$1 million in prizemoney. The rising seven-year-old was recently purchased for $85,000 and transferred to Bedggood by passionate racehorse owner-breeder Paul Lofitis, of the Lofty Group. St Lawrence has tuned up with an impressive two-length 1300m Seymour trial win last Wednesday. “He might run in The David Bourke (1600m) or we might wait for an Open 1400m the following Saturday,” Bedggood said. “We bought him online. He was a good get. “He’ll head towards the Winter Championship hopefully.” Bred by Westbury Stud owner Gerry Harvey, St Lawrence is one of five winners from seven foals to race out of the unraced Encosta De Lago mare Bacio Del Vinto, who is also the dam of Group Three winner Marroni. St Lawrence began his career in New Zealand, where he was trained by Andrew Forsman. He won two trials on the Cambridge synthetic track, then overcame a wide run to score an impressive debut win at Hasting before his private purchase and transfer to Maher. View the full article

Cambridge Stud’s Almanzor has been firing in Europe this year with a trio of Group Two winning three year-olds and one of those is high class filly Gezora, who soared to new heights when taking out the Gr.1 Prix de Diane (2100m) at Chantilly. Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and ridden by Christophe Soumillon, Gezora won the Gr.2 Prix Saint Alary (2000m) at her previous start. She powered to the line to win by a length over the Aidan O’Brien trained Frankel filly Bedtime Story with two more fillies trained by Graffard running third and fourth in Cankoura (Persian King) and Mandanaba (Ghaiyyath), both Aga Khan Studs homebreds. Bred by Haras d’Etreham, Gezora was sold privately at the end of her two year-old season to Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm and carried his colours to victory taking her overall record to four wins and two placings from seven starts. “During the race I was trying to follow all three through my binoculars,” Graffard said. “I was a bit frustrated with where Mandanaba found herself during the race but they all picked up really well and there was a moment when I saw this green wave surge forward. “It was an incredible moment, although I wasn’t absolutely sure we’d win even then because Aidan’s filly was finishing fast, but I was focused on my filly. “That moment when my three fillies went to the front, I was on my own little cloud.” Gezora is the third Group One winner among 25 stakes-winners for Almanzor, a champion son of Wootton Bassett who stands at Cambridge Stud at a fee of $30,000. View the full article

The Manfred Man-trained Patch Of Stars looks one of the more progressive gallopers going through his grades after three successive Sha Tin victories over the past few months. The three-year-old son of All Too Hard is a graduate of the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale where he was purchased for NZ$800,000. A winner over 1400m on FWD Champions Day, Patch Of Stars was also an effortless winner in mid-May over the same distance under Zac Purton despite still learning his craft. Stepped up to Class 3 company on Saturday, Patch Of Stars again won with plenty in hand when taking the Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships Handicap (1400m) under Zac Purton. The winning jockey said that although the race had set-up nicely for Patch Of Stars, who drew well and then settled behind a solid tempo, the horse should improve over time and with more racing. “He is a little bit quirky, he doesn’t quite know what he is doing, he gets a bit hot and agitated and latches on a bit in the run sometimes and wants to hang in and get out,” Purton said. “That is fine, he is just learning, but the fact that he is as raw as he is but is still doing what he is doing is a pretty good sign.” Patch Of Stars is raced by Mr Yeung Kin Man, who has been the leading purchaser at the past two NZB Ready To Run Sales, with four-win three-year-old Patch Of Cosmo also sourced at the same sale. A graduate of Riversley Park’s draft, Patch Of Stars ran a slick 10.34 seconds in his breeze up. The Ready To Run Sale, which has a host of star graduates, headed by Golden Sixty, will be conducted on November 13 and 14 at Karaka this year. View the full article

The spring is War Machine’s oyster with its plethora of Group One sprint options for rising star War Machine (NZ) (Harry Angel), according to his co-trainer Ben Hayes. Hayes said he will need to discuss War Machine’s program with his brothers Will and JD as well as his connections before a plan is mapped out for the Kiwi import. Hayes also predicted that the best was yet to come from the four-year-old son of Harry Angel. “The scary thing is the way he looks and the way he’s racing he’s got more improvement to come,” Hayes said. Hayes said his initial thought was there were two races which came to mind – the Gr.1 Everest (1200m) and the Gr.1 Sir Rupert Clark Stakes (1400m). “The Stradbroke has been a good race for The Everest over the last couple of years, so that’s on the cards and then there’s the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield,” Hayes said “The Sir Rupert Clarke being a Group One race over 1400m and a handicap also fits in nicely for him beforehand especially as it’s now before The Everest.” “Then there’s a lot of other Group One weight-for-age sprints in the spring as well. There are a lot of options,” he said. Hayes put the win of War Machine down to the planning and foresight of the late Mike Moroney. “It was a big thrill for the stable and a big thrill for the Ballymore team and the memory of Mike Moroney. When we received the horse that was his plan to go to the Stradbroke and Mike was right as he said he was a Stradbroke horse and he did it,” he said. “Some of the ownership group are still doing it tough, so there were a lot of mixed emotions after the win. It was a big thrill for everyone.” “He’ll have a short break and then we can attack the spring.” New Zealand breds have won 16 Group One races in Australia this season, with War Machine the latest, bred under the banner of MDJ Bloodstock Ltd – Mary, Maddy, David and Jim Wallace – with the latter pair remaining in the ownership of the emerging talent who was purchased off a strong Foxton trial win. View the full article

Former race caller Jason Teaz has formed a successful career as a harness racing trainer, but it was in the thoroughbred code where he was able to fulfil a lifelong ambition at Matamata on Sunday. Teaz, the son of former thoroughbred trainer Basil Teaz, was lining up his first thoroughbred in more than three years when Out Of Sight entered the starting gates in the Slattery Contracting 1200m on Sunday. The four-year-old mare made it a memorable occasion, storming home down the middle of the track to score by an improving 3-1/4 lengths in the hands of Kate Hercock. It was the first thoroughbred training victory for Teaz, and he said it was very sentimental to bring up the win in the colours of his father. “It (train a thoroughbred winner) has always been something I wanted to do, and to be able to do it is incredible,” Teaz said. “My father trained for about 40 years and the ambition has always been there. Dad won the Matamata Cup there in 1990, so to do it there at the scene of one of his biggest wins was very sentimental. “They are Dad’s colours. When I started training harness, I changed them slightly with an extra star and a couple of extra armbands, but those are his original colours that we used (on Sunday). “I am hearing from people that we haven’t heard from in many years. Seeing the colours out there again brings people back. “They are the last ones he ever got made, in about 1993, so they are very old colours. I always said that if I could train a winner in them as well, I would put them on the wall and get a new set made. On the way home yesterday, I ordered a new set of colours, so those will be going up on the wall.” While Teaz grew up in a thoroughbred racing family, he developed a passion for harness racing when pursuing his dream of becoming a race caller, and he is thrilled to return to his roots and become a dual-code trainer. “I was too tall and heavy to continue riding and I was into commentating,” he said. “I started commentating the harness trials on a Saturday at Cambridge and got the bug from there. “I left the thoroughbreds behind and Mum and Dad were winding down anyway. “I have always wanted to be in it (thoroughbred racing). When Dad passed away, he had one broodmare left, so we tried to breed from her, but we couldn’t get her in-foal, so that was one dream dashed. “The only avenue we could down was buying them and see how we go. We tried a couple of others and had a placing with one and then had a three-year gap because I was just too busy with so many harness horses in work. “This one came out of the blue through my association with Graeme Rogerson. He had her and I was breaking in so many of his harness horses. “I had said to him that I wouldn’t mind getting a galloper again one day, and when you half mention something like that to Rogie he has always got a horse for you. He decided to put her on the float and sent her over and said I could have her. “He did say she would win races on the wet. Even though she had a few starts, he said it wasn’t a true reflection of her ability, and he turned out to be correct.” Teaz said Out Of Sight has thrived at his property and she has enjoyed working in amongst his harness horses. “She is just a joy to work with,” he said. “I work her on the lead behind the trotters and she goes to the track a couple of times a week. She does a bit of everything, and it agrees with her. “I gave her a trial about three weeks ago at Te Awamutu and her work had been great. That gave us the confidence to have a race. “It was great to see her out there and race up to her work.” Teaz shares in the ownership of Out Of Sight with his mother, Helen, and partner, Yvette Lawson, and he said all three of them are having a blast racing the mare. “I gave Mum a share, and it is my partner Yvette’s first thoroughbred as well,” Teaz said. “One of her (Lawson’s) mates race quite a few horses with Te Akau, and Imperatriz was one of those. They had great fun following her around, they went to Moonee Valley and watched her race. For her first thoroughbred to be a winner, she is buzzing too. “This is mum’s first thoroughbred since they gave up training and Dad died, so it keeps her involved. She rode a winner as an amateur rider, so she has been in it (thoroughbred racing) her whole life. Having her there yesterday was a real buzz.” Out Of Sight is the only thoroughbred Teaz has in work, and while he would love to increase that number, he said it isn’t viable at this stage. “We tend to keep it to one because I am working about 15 standardbreds all the time, which is pretty time consuming,” he said. “I do enjoy it (thoroughbreds), but the thing is getting track riders and that can be a bit of a nightmare. At this stage, as long as I have got enough help, I will stick to a very small number, but I would love to have a few more. “We bank on the theory that a change in scenery can help some of these thoroughbreds. If they get ridden every day, they can get a bit sour, so they come out to our place and it’s pretty quiet and we can work them off the trotters, and for some of them it does work.” In the meantime, Teaz is looking forward to hanging up his newly-framed colours in the lounge and reflect on the memory of his father and fulfilling his goal of following in his footsteps. View the full article

Who Knows has announced herself as a serious staying mare through the winter, and Niall Quinn has a range of options to consider for her after she returns from a well-deserved break. A daughter of Redwood, Who Knows only debuted as a mid-season four-year-old, but over the last 18 months, she’s won four races, and Saturday’s winning performance at Wanganui may just be her best yet. Coming off a luckless last-start second to McKhan, the mare started a $2 favourite in the Bullocks Whanganui 2040, with Kate Hercock back in the saddle. In the testing ground, Hercock utilised the long run into the first turn to find cover off the fence in midfield, while McKhan led the field in his customary fashion. He put the pressure on at the 800m, and while temporarily in traffic, Who Knows was swiftly on the scene and once she hit the lead at the top of the straight, it was all over. Powering down the outside of the track, she put a space her rivals, cruising across the line to score by 6 – ¼ lengths. Niall Quinn, who prepares the mare out of his base in Wanganui, was rapt with the effort and was quick to give credit to his wife, Emma. “We’re really happy, she ran well and won very nicely in the end,” he said. “It was a really testing, heavy track, but she’s got the job done. “She was a bit tricky to start with, but Emma has done a very good job with this horse over the years. She was both physically and mentally quite weak, so Emma’s put a lot of time into her to get to where she is now. “She’s really starting to put it all together now, so it’s great to see the hard work paying off.” Regardless of the result, Quinn had intended to give Who Knows some time in the paddock after the Wanganui contest, with better surfaces calling in the spring. “We might just give her a bit of a freshen-up, we had planned to after Saturday’s race and we’ll probably still do that,” he said. “We’re looking for a bit of improvement in the tracks before she comes back out again. “I think she could go further, she’s turning into quite a versatile mare and she could come back to a mile as well. We’ve been able to get her to settle more as she’s gotten older, before, we couldn’t ride her in front, but now, we can be handier like she was at Wellington.” Bred by Harry Parslow, Who Knows is out of Zabeel mare Bello Capello, a daughter of outstanding race mare Cinder Bella. On the track, Cinder Bella was a dual-Group One winner and placed at Group Two level in Australia. Seemingly a good omen, Who Knows is raced by the Fast Horses Syndicate, who are based across all corners of the country. “Harry Parslow bred her, then he gave her to John Walsh and a group of his mates who are in a syndicate together,” Quinn said. “They’re a really good group of friends spread out over the North and South Islands, and it’s a way to keep them all involved. “They’re keen to look at the New Zealand Cup (Gr.3, 3200m), but I’d be just as happy with the Greymouth Cup and the Kumara Gold Nuggets next season. “We’ll see how we go.” Quinn was rapt to complete a winning double, having won the previous race with Leprakhan. Another late-starter, the five-year-old was having her tenth start in the maiden staying event and was tasked with the extreme outside draw under apprentice Elle Sole. Opting to head forward, Sole found a good position in the trail of the leaders along the back straight, and after rolling to the top at the 1000m, she couldn’t be caught, holding off race-favourite Kwanza to win by 1 – ¾ lengths. “We were so pleased with her, she’s got a great group of owners that have been very patient,” Quinn said. “She’s a big mare that has taken a long time to mature into her frame and they’ve been fantastic to work with. “It was great to see them rewarded.” Purchased for just $200 through the Rider Horse NZ Dispersal Sale, the daughter of Mongolian Khan has also been learning the ropes of jumping, which could be in her future. “She has been doing a little bit of jumping for a while, but she’s still a while away from having a jumps race,” Quinn said. “She just really enjoys her work and I think the owners will have a bit of fun with her.” The stable came close to a treble over the weekend, with consistent gelding Mr Fahrenheit going down by a narrow margin in the maiden hurdle at Te Rapa. “I thought he went really well, we’re happy with him and Will (Featherstone, jockey) did a great job, he’s improving all the time,” Quinn said. View the full article

Pier’s latest black type success at Eagle Farm prompted major celebrations, but there was also a bittersweet side for connections of the high-class son of Proisir. He demolished his rivals in Saturday’s Listed The Wayne Wilson (1600m) to further his record, which already featured three-year-old victories in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m). Pier is trained by the father and daughter combination of Darryn and Briar Weatherley with the former sharing in the ownership group with wife Lou, long-time friend Barry Wright and partners. The Weatherleys and Wright bred the five-year-old and had the misfortune to lose his dam La Vitesse earlier this year. “Unfortunately, she had bad laminitis and Jamieson Park did a wonderful job looking after her and nursing her, but it would have been too cruel for her to go another winter,” Darryn Weatherley said. A daughter of Darci Brahma and multiple Group winner Naturo, La Vitesse was an $80,000 Karaka purchase and was initially prepared by John Sargent during his time at Matamata. “We owned La Vitesse and Sarge won once with her before he went to Australia,” Weatherley said. “I took out my licence then and trained her. She was my first runner to the races at Taupo and she won with Mickey Coleman in the saddle. “I used to do the overflows for Sarge, if he had a 40-horse barn and had 50 in work then we’d have 10 at our place.” La Vitesse’s first foal La Velocitea, by Proisir, was successful on three occasions and then came Maria Farina. The daughter of Contributer won the Gr.3 King’s Plate (1200m) and the Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) and Lightning Handicap (1200m) at Listed level from the Weatherley stable. “If she was held up for that last run, she had an enormous sprint and (son) Sam used to ride her really, really well,” he said. She is now retired and will be mated for the first time this spring to either Paddington or Profondo. “We’ve got a sister (Rumours) to Maria Farina, who trialled very well when third at Ellerslie and we’ve also got a brother to Pier, who has been broken in and is due to come back shortly,” Weatherley said. “They are similar types, he’s not very big but I haven’t seen him for a bit, and they tell me he’s grown and when Pier was at the same stage, he was like a little rabbit. “We had to put a foster mare on the last foal, a colt by Satono Aladdin.” Meanwhile, Pier has now gone for a month’s spell in the warmer climes of Queensland. “He’s going up to Beaudesert so we’re doing the right thing by the horse, and I’m down to one for the week with Dark Destroyer to run in the Ipswich Cup (Listed, 2150m) on Saturday,” Weatherley said. View the full article

Riding from far off the pace is not usually recommended. But for Nitti, lately that has become a recipe for success. The latest example is the San Juan Capistrano Stakes at Santa Anita Park.View the full article

The victory by Hero Or Zero in the eighth race at Santa Anita, a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds, secured the mark for the Southern California-based trainer. View the full article

Lost in the shuffle of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival June 6-8, was Kilwin's victory in the Leslie's Lady Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs June 8. She beat a field that included multiple graded stakes-placed Vodka With a Twist.View the full article

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk After a close run series, Michael House is New Zealand’s champion amateur driver. The series concluded at Addington yesterday with House and Bruce Hadley both tied on 16 points. A countback then couldn’t separate the pair as both drivers had one win, one second and a third over the four races at Cambridge (Thursday) and Addington (Friday and Sunday). According to the conditions of the Championship “should no winner be identified at the end of the initial count back then the winner shall be the driver who drove the most recent winner in the championship.” And that was House as he won Heat 3 at Addington yesterday with the Bruce Negus-trained Gliding High. Hadley’s only winner came at Cambridge with Billy The Kid on Thursday night. The fourth and final heat was taken out by Craig Sharpe with favourite Stephs Boy while Cheree Wigg won the second heat with Almighty Clever. For House, who is second in the trainers premiership with 72 wins in 2025, it is his first win in the NZ Amateur Driving Championship. Results for House and Hadley for the four races were : Michael House : 8th in Heat 1 (Maria Kirilenko) 2nd Heat 2 (Betterwithbling) 1st Heat 3 (Gliding High) 3rd Heat 4 (Pure Courage) Bruce Hadley : 1st in Heat 1 (Billy The Kid) 10th in Heat 2 (Hope For Love) 3rd in Heat 3 (Waterholes Road) 2nd in Heat 4 (Timbimboo) Final Leaderboard : Michael House 16 Bruce Hadley 16 Frank Phelan 14 Craig Sharpe 10 Cheree Wigg 10 Andrew Sharpe 6 Neil Munro 6 Alan Edge 6 John Kriechbaumer 5 Colleen Negus 1 Big few days for Bruce Hutton at Addington By Mike Love Greendale trainer Bruce Hutton had a very successful couple of days at Addington Raceway over the weekend, lining up two runners for two victories. Whyamihere and driver Jim Curtin took out the Gold Band Taxis Harness 5000 Series (Final) in emphatic style on Friday. It was the three-year-old Sky Major gelding’s second win in just three starts. “He’s a really nice horse. He’s Australian owned by John Durston and his wife. He’s doing a great job at the moment,” says Hutton. “It’s a bit tricky now because he now drops into the better grade of horses, but he’s not that experienced yet. So I’ll have a yarn to the owners and see but he’ll be having a week off now then go somewhere else.” Capping off the weekend was Apatchofgold’s success in the Mike (Got A Bit On) Palermo Pace, also with driver Jim Curtin on Sunday. Apatchofgold made a fast beginning to lead from the 2000m stand. Curtin initially handed up, but then angled out and around to regain the lead in a confident move. On the corner Apatchofgold was being urged along to go up a few gears and was meanwhile temporarily headed by Melton Magnate before tenaciously fighting back to win by half a head at the line. “She’s an eftpos card. I actually broke her in as a weanling, sent her to Bruce Negus and then she came back to me,” says Hutton. “She’ll have a few days off then line up back here probably on a Friday because she’ll be out of the Sunday grade now.” Apatchofgold, the six-year-old Racing Hill mare, has now won six from 83, with 18 placings and total stakes just shy of $80,000. She is raced by Hutton along with Derek Newton. “I’ve got a couple of nice young ones there. We have another nice Sky Major filly who bowls around good, and a Downbytheseaside two-year-old out of Invisible Girl who I’m rapt with.” View the full article

Darby Dan Farm's Modernist got his first winner when his son Stretch romped in a five-furlong maiden special weight race, winning by nine lengths at Lone Star Park June 15. View the full article

One of only two sons of the mighty New Zealand-based stallion Savabeel standing in Australia, Cool Archie continued his irrepressible way with a fifth straight success in Eagle Farm's JJ Atkins.View the full article

Mystik Dan is one of two horses trained by Kenny McPeek nominated to the Stephen Foster. The other, allowance winner and 1 1/8-mile track record holder Gould's Gold, also worked Sunday, covering five furlongs in 1:00 1/5.View the full article

Royal Ascot is expected to start on a mixture of good and good to firm ground, with no rain forecast through the week. And ticket sales are up on last year, according to director of racing and public affairs Nick Smith.View the full article

Owner Jim Bryce has described his United States adventures with Heart of Honor as "crazy" and is relishing more international trips with his dirt star following a well-earned break.View the full article