Wandering Eyes

NEXT GEN RACING BETTING Picklebet Australia is offering a stack of promotions, plus very competitive betting markets. Top Four Betting. Extra Place. Every Race Picklebet.com is making waves in the Australian horse racing scene, and they’re set to deliver standout promotions for Coolmore Classic Day at Rosehill on Saturday, March 15. Picklebet has consistently provided unique promotions for major race days, and Saturday is no exception. This weekend, Picklebet is offering “25% Boosted Winnings” on all races at Rosehill & Caulfield. Enjoy a 25% boost on your winnings, paid in BONUS CASH. This offer applies to your first bet only in each race, with cash bets and fixed wins eligible. The maximum bonus you can receive is $250. Additionally, Picklebet will feature their signature Top Four Betting, available on every race at any time. This allows punters to bet on a horse finishing fourth instead of third, which could be particularly valuable on a highly competitive Saturday. Saturday racing promotions at Picklebet.com Picklebet is offering the following promotions throughout Saturday: 25% Winnings Boost! – Caulfield & Rosehill Get 25% BOOSTED WINNINGS paid in BONUS CASH. Fixed win only. First eligible bet per race. Must apply Promotion in betslip. Cash bet only. Max bonus $250. Picklebet T&Cs apply. Login to Picklebet to Claim Promo 10% AGAIN! – Gold Coast Get 10% Boosted Winnings paid in BONUS CASH. Max bonus $100. First bet only. Paid in bonus cash. Cash Bets Only. T&C’s apply. Picklebet T&Cs apply. Login to Picklebet to Claim Promo What betting markets will Picklebet offer on Saturday? Picklebet provides a comprehensive range of betting markets, including their unique fourth-place betting feature, which is available at every horse racing meeting. Their odds are also highly competitive across all major race days. Picklebet bet types available for Saturday include: Top Four Betting Same race multis Win/Place Quinella Exacta Trifecta First Four Picklebet’s Saturday horse racing coverage will also feature detailed statistics on the runners, including betting fluctuations, speed maps, and race insights. Does Picklebet.com.au have a free bet offer for new customers? Picklebet does not offer free bets for new customers, as these types of new account incentives are banned under Australian law. Horse racing promotions View the full article

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3rd-Santa Anita, $65,500, Msw, 3-14, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.94, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. VOLDEMORT (c, 3, Good Magic–Beauty Buzz, by Bernardini) couldn't reel in 'TDN Rising Star' Tiz Secure (Maximum Security) in their mutual unveiling Feb. 22, but the 8-5 favorite more than got the job done here with a workman-like effort on the front end. Quickly to the front to control the pace, he came under pressure after the half in :45.78 and tried to give the field the slip entering the second bend. On a clear lead, but with the margin shrinking late, Voldemort held on by 1 1/4 lengths over Westwood (Authentic), who came in over 10 lengths ahead of the third place runner. The winner is the second to the races, but first winner, for his dam. Beauty Buzz has since produced a juvenile colt by Core Beliefs and is due to Pappacap for 2025. The mare is a half-sister to the dam of Venezuela's 2024 champion juvenile filly, and is out of a full-sister to the late MGISW Pioneerof the Nile, best known as the sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Sales history: $700,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $51,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Bashor, Dianne, Determined Stables, Masterson, Robert E., Ryan, Tom J., Waves Edge Capital LLC and Donovan, Catherine; B-Gary Broad – Walmac Farm, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. The post Good Magic’s Voldemort Caught on Camera, Graduates at Santa Anita appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Facing just two rivals March 14 in a field decimated by eight scratches in the $100,000 Boston Handicap at Colonial Downs, grade 1 winner Book'em Danno emerged triumphant in his 2025 comeback, scoring in near-track record time.View the full article

In a week that had everything but rarely went to script, it was only fitting that the prize which means everything in this sport should provide one final twist in the Hollywood blockbuster otherwise known as the 2025 Cheltenham Festival, with leading man Galopin Des Champs (Fr) (Timos {Ger}) having to settle for the runner-up spot behind Inothewayurthinkin (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}) in his quest for a third consecutive victory in the G1 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. After the black comedy that was the Champion Hurdle and the romance that was the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Gold Cup was supposed to be the comfort watch, the one where you know the ending and yet it still gets sweeter with every viewing. An emphatic winner of the Gold Cup in the two years previous, Galopin Des Champs seemed to loom so large over the field for this year's renewal that there was a sense of inevitability about what we were about to witness, more so after his trainer, Willie Mullins, won the first four races on the card, including the G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle which kicked off proceedings with 100-1 shot Poniros (GB). Even JRR Tolkein couldn't have come up with that one, but it was a trilogy to rival his own that we'd all flocked to Prestbury Park to see, with Galopin Des Champs expected to emulate Golden Miller, Cottage Rake, Arkle and Best Mate as a three-time winner of National Hunt racing's blue riband. Instead, there is a new name on the Gold Cup trophy after this coming-of-age performance from 15-2 chance Inothewayurthinkin, who had been beaten by an aggregate margin of nearly 59 lengths in three previous starts this season, each time finishing behind Galopin Des Champs. The gulf in class appeared to be such that he wasn't even entered in the Gold Cup until last weekend, when trainer Gavin Cromwell and owner JP McManus made the bold decision to supplement him, sufficiently encouraged by his fourth-place finish in last month's G1 Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown to stump up the £25,000 fee. “He went to the Dublin Racing Festival and was only beaten seven lengths, staying on well,” Cromwell said of that display as he celebrated the biggest success of his training career to date. “It takes a long time to get him fit and he just seems to be a spring horse. He did a piece of work just over a week ago and we were delighted with him, so it was all systems go. “It was probably my fault that he wasn't entered in the race because I thought it was going to come too soon in his career and we'd be better waiting for next year. But he went to the Dublin Racing Festival and ran such a big race and has come forward since that.” Jumping had long been considered the Achilles heel of Inothewayurthinkin, but the seven-year-old showed a sound technique in the main here, back at the scene of his first victory over fences when landing a gamble as the 13-8 favourite in last year's Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys' Handicap Chase. Tracking the strong-travelling Galopin Des Champs on the approach to three out, he jumped the next almost upsides the 8-13 favourite, before drawing right away on the run-in to land the spoils by seven lengths. It was another 12 lengths back to Gentlemansgame (GB) (Gentlewave {Ire}) in third, one place ahead of Monty's Star (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}). McManus's other runner in the race, Corbett's Cross (Ire) (Gamut {Ire}), sadly suffered a fatal fall at the second last. Cromwell added, “Galopin Des Champs was a dual Gold Cup winner, but we were coming here to try and win the race–we weren't coming to pick up the pieces and get place money. We thought we'd have a good chance if everything was right. “To have a runner in the Gold Cup is fantastic. To win it is unbelievable. I'm so grateful to JP and Noreen for sending horses like this to me. I'm just delighted to be able to repay them by winning the Gold Cup.” For McManus it was a second win in National Hunt racing's most prestigious prize after that of another homebred, Synchronised (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), back in 2012. Inothewayurthinkin is one of six winners from as many runners out of the Califet (Fr) mare Sway (Fr), a Listed scorer over hurdles at Auteuil as a three-year-old. The others include last year's G2 Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase heroine Limerick Lace (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}), who finished fifth behind another McManus runner, Dinoblue (Fr), when attempting to defend her crown earlier on Friday's card. Speaking after the Gold Cup, McManus said, “You have to enjoy these moments, they are so long in the making. We've had him since he was a foal–he was bred by Noreen [McManus's wife]. It's a very exciting time and I will treasure it. I would like to see it again, I don't think I took it all in, but it's an exciting day.” McManus ended the Festival as the leading owner with six winners, but Gold Cup-winning rider Mark Walsh was pipped to the leading jockey award by Paul Townend, whose runner-up finish on Galopin Des Champs was enough to seal the title on countback after both men ended the week with four winners. As for the leading trainer, that was a one-way street in favour of Mullins as he saddled 10 winners at the Festival for the second time in four years, having first set that record back in 2022. As well as Dinoblue, he was also responsible for William Hill County Handicap Hurdle scorer Kargese (Fr) (Jeu St Eloi {Fr}) and G1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle hero Jasmin de Vaux (Fr) (Tirwanako {Fr}) on Friday, after Poniros had got the ball rolling when making a remarkable start to life as a hurdler in the Triumph. Formerly trained by Ralph Beckett for Amo Racing, Poniros failed to add to his debut win at Nottingham in seven further starts on the Flat, latterly finishing well beaten when sent off the 6-1 favourite for the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket in September. The son of Golden Horn (GB) had also finished tenth in the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot, when finishing over five lengths ahead of paternal sibling and Triumph favourite East India Dock (GB). Whereas that horse had racked up three wins over hurdles this winter, Poniros had been kept under wraps at Closutton, after being bought by Mullins and bloodstock agent Harold Kirk, on behalf of owner Tony Bloom, for 200,000gns at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-Training. “We bought him in October, schooled him and gave him a break,” said Mullins, filling in the gaps since we last saw the four-year-old in competitive action. “We said we'd better drag him in from the field and get him ready for Cheltenham, and that's what we did. But I didn't expect any more than a nice run. I couldn't believe it when I saw him flying through the middle of them.” At the line Poniros was a neck ahead of the well-touted Lulamba (Fr) (Nirvana du Berlais {Fr}), with East India Dock a further three quarters of a length back in third. The runner-up is now being considered for a chasing career next season, according to trainer Nicky Henderson, whereas Poniros and East India Dock are both likely to make a return to the Flat in the coming months, with Mullins already weighing up a potential trip to Australia with the winner. He added, “I imagine he'll go to Punchestown and then we'll find something at Royal Ascot, perhaps. He was bought as a dual-purpose horse and I am hoping in time he might turn into a Melbourne Cup horse–that would be the long-term plan.” Overbury Stud's Golden Horn, who was also responsible for Golden Ace (GB), the winner of that dramatic Champion Hurdle that now feels a lifetime ago, was still in search of that breakthrough horse at the top level at the start of this week. Like London buses, two have now come along at once, seeing him tie with Haras du Mesnil's Doctor Dino (Fr)–the sire of Dinoblue and Wednesday's Grand Annual winner Jazzy Matty (Fr)–as the leading stallion at this year's Festival, with the other 24 winners at the meeting all coming from different sources. There was even a first Festival winner for the late Le Havre (Ire) as Wodhooh (Fr) maintained her unbeaten record in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle which brought the curtain down on the meeting, much to the relief of trainer Gordon Elliott after he'd drawn a blank with his 47 runners in the 27 previous races. “I'm just thrilled,” he said afterwards. “We've had a rough week, but I'm absolutely delighted. This has been the plan–we waited to come here, so it's worked out great. The crowd have given me a cheer in after what's been a tough week. It just didn't happen for us, didn't bounce for us, but we keep smiling.” Keep smiling, indeed, advice which might be useful to many a punter at the end of a week which featured high-profile reversals for the likes of Majborough (Fr), Constitution Hill (GB), Ballyburn (Ire), Jonbon (Fr), Teahupoo (Fr) and, of course, Galopin des Champs. A horror flick at times, perhaps, but in terms of drama the 2025 Cheltenham Festival delivered and then some. The post Inothewayurthinkin Draws Dramatic Festival To A Close With Gold Cup Triumph appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

7th-Colonial Downs, $100,000, (S), Hcp, 3-14, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:20.03, ft, 2 1/2 lengths. BOOK'EM DANNO (g, 4, Bucchero–Adorabella, by Ghostzapper) was clearly the showstopper here as the field scratched down to just three from 11 horses, and he made his 2025 bow a winning one. Last seen running fifth in a salty GII Cigar Mile Handicap Dec. 7, he'd been winless since claiming the Listed Jersey Shore Stakes by a nose in mid-July at Monmouth Park. He'd hit the board in the GIII Perryville and GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes in between, and claimed the GI Woody Stephens Stakes in early June. Away well as Celtic Contender (Irish War Cry) set the pace through :22.65, :45.14, and 1:07.92 fractions, the pair locked horns entering the lane with the heavy favorite overhauling that one nearing the three sixteenths. Edging away as his challenger faded, the victor was 2 1/2 lengths in front of Repo Rocks (Tapiture) at the line when that one claimed second from the pacesetter. #6 BOOK'EM DANNO ($2.60) made his 2025 debut a winning one by taking the $150,000 Boston Handicap at Colonial Downs. The 4yo son of Bucchero has now won 7 of his 12 career starts. @PacoLopez1018 was in the irons for Derek Ryan. pic.twitter.com/aNFgEb7r7H — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) March 14, 2025 Book'em Danno is a half-brother to Girl Trouble (Fast Anna), MSW, $288,540, the first for their dam to make the races and to claim black-type. Adorabella has since produced an unraced 3-year-old half-brother to that pair named Coach Bennett (Classic Empire) and is due to Medaglia d'Oro for 2025 after aborting her 2024 covering to the stallion. Sales history: $475,000 RNA 3yo '24 KEECHA. Lifetime Record: GSP-KSA, GISW, 12-7-3-1, $1,098,125. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-Atlantic Six Racing, LLC; B-Gregory J Kilka & Bright View Farm (NJ); T-Derek S. Ryan. The post Book’em Danno Game in 2025 Bow at Colonial Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Adrian Murray trainee Arizona Blaze (Ire) (Sergei Prokofiev–Liberisque {GB}, by Equiano {Fr}), who closed a nine-race juvenile campaign with a runner-up finish in November's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint when last seen, made a winning return to action in Friday's Horse Racing Every Friday Until 11th April Race at Dundalk. Amo Racing and Giselle De Aguiar's March-foaled bay got the better of subsequent G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere hero Camille Pissarro (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in May's G3 Marble Hill Stakes and broke swiftly to gain an early advantage in this six-furlong conditions heat. Holding sway throughout, the 4-9 favourite was shaken up approaching the final furlong and ridden clear in the closing stages to easily outclass Songhai (Ire) (Sands Of Mali {Fr}) by 4 1/2 lengths. Different class Last seen running huge in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Arizona Blaze makes a winning return @DundalkStadium. Some big days lie ahead for this son of Sergei Prokofiev.@amoracingltd | @AMurrayRacing pic.twitter.com/Ywu2WHsVn3 — Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 14, 2025 The post Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Runner-Up Arizona Blaze Makes Winning Return at Dundalk appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jonathan Snaith shelled out R525,000 (€26,540) for lot 228 to top the second day of the Cape Racing Sales Premier Yearling Sale Day 2 on Friday. The son of Pomodoro (SAf) and the stakes-placed Captain Al (SAf) mare War Path (SAf) was offered by Klawervlei Stud. A half-brother to stakes winner Bella Chica (SAf) (Rafeef {Aus}) and the Grade 3-placed Fearless Warrior (SAf) (Vercingetorix {SAf}), the colt is a grandson of Listed Goldfields Sprint winner Uber Rock (Aus) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who was second in the G3 Pretty Polly Stakes. Leading the fillies was a daughter of What A Winter (SAf) already named Frosty Sovereign (SAf) who sold to Dee Zurnamer for R500,000 (€25,276). Consigned by Narrow Creek Stud, the filly is out of Blue Duchess (SAf) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), herself a half-sister to G3 Champagne Stakes winner State Blue (SAf) (National Assembly). During the second day's trade, 87 yearlings visited the ring, resulting in a strong clearance rate of 92% with 80 sold. The gross was R17,475,000 (€883,408). The average was R218,438 (€11,042) and the median was R200,000 (€10,110). The post CRS Premier Yearling Sale Day 2 Topped By Pomodoro Colt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Nearly seven months ago to the day, it was announced by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to the crowd on hand at Colonial Downs for the running of the Arlington Million that for the first time in 2025, the Virginia Derby and Virginia Oaks–heretofore grass races held during the traditional summer meeting in New Kent–would be switched to the spring and to the main track to position themselves as prep races for the main events in May. That day arrives Saturday, as a field of nine sophomore males heads to the post for the $500,000 Derby, while seven sophomore fillies will load the gate for the $250,000 Oaks about 45 minutes earlier. Both offer Derby and Oaks points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale. With the ban lifted on his participation beneath the Twin Spires, trainer Bob Baffert was set to be represented by GI Del Mar Futurity hero Gaming (Game Winner) in the Virginia Derby, but when that colt spiked a fever last weekend, the conditioner elected to re-route Getaway Car (Curlin) to the nine-furlong contest. Winner of last year's GIII Best Pal Stakes, the $700,000 KEESEP yearling makes his second start of the season, having proved dead game in taking out the Sunland Derby by a nose on Feb. 16. Irad Ortiz, Jr. has the call on Saturday. Brad Cox entered two for the Derby, but will saddle just one, as Sam F. Davis hero John Hancock (Constitution) awaits next weekend's GII Louisiana Derby. Rapture (Uncle Mo) will fly the flag for the stable, having run away from Oaklawn maidens in impressive fashion en route to 'TDN Rising Star' honors when tried over two turns Jan. 25. Flavien Prat has the assignment. Three horses drop out of graded competition Saturday afternoon. American Promise (Justify), who Beyered 95 in graduating in the Hot Springs mud at the back end of 2024, faded to fifth behind all-the-way winner Magnitude (Not This Time) in the Feb. 15 GII Risen Star Stakes and would be suited by a good gallop. Render Judgment (Blame) adds blinkers off a distant eighth in the same event, while the rail-drawn Calling Card (Complexity) will look to improve off his seventh behind Flood Zone (Frosted) in the GIII Gotham Stakes just two weeks back. The Oaks lost some of its pre-race luster with the news that GII Rachel Alexandra Stakes runner-up Gowells Delight (Practical Joke) would be scratched by trainer Ken McPeek. That could leave the outposted Fondly (Upstart) as the one to beat off a smart Tampa debut–appropriately enough–on Valentine's Day. Beaten for speed from the inside gate, the Eclipse runner advanced to be in a prominent position, only to be stopped cold and lose a few spots at the quarter pole. But she picked herself off the canvas and flew by them late to score by four in an effort that suggested more ground would not be a problem. You'll Be Back (Practical Joke) is one of two in the race for trainer Tom Amoss and makes her third straight stakes appearance, having finished a game second in the Dec. 29 Year's End Stakes at Oaklawn and a latest third in the Dixie Belle Stakes Feb. 24. Low Key (Bolt d'Oro), who races for Oaks-winning owner Joel Politi, most recently overcame a tardy dispatch and was up on the line to break her maiden over three-quarters of a mile in the Fair Grounds slop Feb. 23. McPeek will send out Anonima (Sharp Azteca), a good-looking Fair Grounds allowance winner Jan. 19, but a well-beaten sixth behind Quietside (Malibu Moon) in the GIII Honeybee Stakes Feb. 23. The post Derby, Oaks Points Up For Grabs For The First Time in Virginia appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will be on-site at Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday, Mar. 22 for Texas Champions Day. As a supporter of Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Sam Houston Race Park will showcase and raise awareness for accredited aftercare throughout the entirety of the race day and race meet. “We are very excited to host Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and their VIP guests for Texas Champions Day,” said Bryan Pettigrew, Vice President & General Manager of Texas Racing Operations, Sam Houston Park. “As supporters of accredited aftercare, we are honored to highlight the incredible work that Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance does to ensure racehorses have a safe and fulfilling life beyond the track.” Emily Dresen, Director of Funding & Events, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, added, “Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is thrilled to participate once again in Texas Champions Day. Having the opportunity to engage with racing fans and our VIP guests allows us to further our mission and continue making a meaningful impact on the lives of retired racehorses.” The post Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance to be On-Site Texas Champions Day appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Should Gowells Delight not run in Virginia, McPeek has another contender, Anonima. Her name means Anonymous in Spanish, and should she win March 15, she will definitely be known. View the full article

3rd-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, 5fT, 1:50p.m. ET Profiled last year by our colleagues at TDN Europe, Benny The Waiter (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) has been shipped to the states to make his US debut in a turf dash at Gulfstream Park. A 280,000gns Craven Breeze-Up purchase by Repole Stables, this is the half-brother to GSP-Eng Space Legend (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) while his dam, unraced Newton's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), is herself a half-sister to SW-Ire & GSP-Fr Treasure Isle (Ire) (No Nay Never). The group black type picks up speed beneath the third dam with successful runners being tallied across Europe. Benny The Waiter ran sixth on his Deauville debut for trainer Jerome Reynier. He has since been gelded and moved to the shedrow of Anthony Sciametta Jr. for this jump, which will also be his first with Lasix. TJCIS PPs 5th-CNL, $75k, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 2:18p.m. ET Likely to take the lion's portion of attention in this Colonial Downs maiden special, Lion of Justice (Into Mischief) debuts here for the partnership of St. Elias Stable, Talla Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, and C J Stable from the barn of Brad Cox. Out of 'TDN Rising Star' GSW Ever So Clever (Medaglia d'Oro), the $1.1-million KEESEP purchase in 2023 has been working steadily at Payson Park and enters this race with a healthy string of them under his belt since last December. The dam has already produced a graded winning full-brother named Everso Mischievous as well as another full-sibling one year older to Lion of Justice who is a four-time winner. The morning line has this one tabbed at 3-2 odds. TJCIS PPs 6th-CNL, $75k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 2:53p.m. ET One race later at Colonial and another million-dollar auction buy is debuting for big name connections, this time named Verifire (Authentic) for Resolute Racing, out of the Brad Cox barn. A $1-million grad of last year's OBSMAR sale, he's out of SP Ruby Trust (Smart Strike), who herself is out of GSW Queen ofthe Catsle (Tale of the Cat). TJCIS PPs 8th-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 4:20p.m. ET A princely $3-million buy at KEESEP in 2023, Vibe (Into Mischief) debuts for the partnership of Repole Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, CJ Stables, Woodford Racing, Lane's End Racing, and Patrick McGee from the barn of Anthony Sciametta Jr. While he is a half-brother to GISW Outwork (Uncle Mo), perhaps his most notable sibling thus far is half-sister Nonna Bella (Stay Thirsty), who is responsible for 'TDN Rising Star' juvenile champion MGISW Fierceness (City of Light) and his full-brother, track record-setter GSW Mentee. The second dam MSW Holy Bubbette (Holy Bull) claims MGSW Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile) to her credit and is herself a half-sibling to GSW Sum Runner (Summing). To his inside is Activity (Into Mischief) for owner/breeder William S. Farish, who retained the colt after he RNA'd at KEESEP in 2023 for $390,000. Out of Sea Gull (Mineshaft), this is a half-brother to MGSW Catalina Cruiser (Union Rags) and MGSW & GISP Royal Flag (Candy Ride {Arg}). TJCIS PPs The post Mar. 15 Insights: Pricey Into Mischiefs Dominate Headlines in Respective Debuts appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Amid the fluid nature of the threatened 25% blanket tariff on all Canadian goods entering the U.S. set to be enacted on Apr. 2, one confusing aspect has surrounded a possible 30-day “Temporary Entry” permit, beyond which tariffs might apply. Tom Rooney, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), elaborated Friday on his understanding that if a horse resides in the United States for less than a year, then the tariff wouldn't apply, as per the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. “We believe that horses from Canada can enter the United States for extended periods without paying duties under certain conditions,” wrote Rooney, who has been working with Canadian officials to rectify the discrepancy. Horses from Canada can enter the U.S. temporarily without paying tariffs under two main scenarios, wrote Rooney. The first is a one-year temporary entry, tariff-free scenario in which: Horses may be admitted under bond for exportation within one year from the date of importation; This period may be extended, upon application, for one or more further periods which, when added to the initial one year, shall not exceed a total of three years; For stays longer than 30 days, horses will need an official health certificate of physical examination performed within 30 days of travel, endorsed by a Canadian government veterinarian, and a negative equine infectious anemia (EIA) test drawn within 180 days prior to export. The second is a 30-day temporary entry scenario (already in place) in which: Horses can be imported from Canada for up to 30 days without requiring a USDA veterinary port inspection or formal entry with U.S. Customs; This is the standard temporary entry period for horses from Canada; Horses must have an official Veterinary Health Certificate endorsed by a Canadian government veterinarian and a negative equine infectious anemia test. Rooney explained Friday that, under this scenario, it is currently unclear how the bond system works and is calculated, and how the bond is returned to the owner. Rooney explained that he is working closely with the office of Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr to request a waiver on Canadian horses sent for sale in the U.S. Rooney also warned that his understanding of the tariff's mechanics could change at any moment “given that live horses are mentioned in the list of potentially affected goods.” That's if the tariffs are enacted at all. “This could very well change at any moment given whatever the will of the president is,” Rooney said earlier in the week. “If it really is just to get people to the negotiation table to negotiate something, maybe we'll never see this.” As currently outlined, the blanket tariffs are scheduled to go into effect on Apr. 2. In response to the blanket tariffs, the Canadian government has threatened reciprocal tariffs against approximately $30 billion worth of imported goods into Canada. While the initial round of retaliatory tariffs did not apply to purebred breeding and racehorses, future ones may well mirror those imposed by the U.S., the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) has warned. On Wednesday, the California Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) issued their own advisory on the impending tariffs. The post Update By NTRA’s Rooney On Threatened US-Canada Tariffs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Dullingham Park stallions Shaquille (GB) and Soldier's Call (GB) have been bought by Yulong Investments from Steve Parkin's Clipper Logistics and will remain in situ in Newmarket. Yulong Investments' European representative Paul Curran said, “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Shaquille and Soldier's Call into the Yulong fold. Yulong Investments is deeply passionate about breeding elite racehorses and spares no effort in ensuring its stallions are positioned for greatness. These two exceptional sires will be supported by an elite broodmare band, giving them every opportunity to succeed and leave an enduring mark on future bloodlines. This is not just about adding stallions to our roster; it is about securing a legacy—one that will be felt for generations.” TDN asked if Yulong had also purchased Dullingham Park Stud itself but Curran declined to comment. Referring to the “outstanding stewardship” of Clipper Logistics in launching the careers of the two stallions, a statement from Yulong, which also owns Lucky Vega (Ire), who has his first runners this season, emphasised the company's eagerness to “build upon this strong foundation”. Curran added, “This move underscores Yulong's long-term ambition to be at the forefront of the global breeding industry. With strategic planning and a commitment to excellence, we are confident these stallions will leave a lasting legacy.” The dual Group 1-winning sprinter Shaquille has first foals on the ground this spring. In Ireland, Steve Parkin currently stands Space Traveller (GB) at Starfield Stud and is involved in the partnership which stands Sands Of Mali (Fr) at Ballyhane Stud. The post Shaquille and Soldier’s Call Bought by Yulong Investments appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin On a night when getting back in the field was disastrous at Alexandra Park, young driver Carter Dalgety found the best way to overcome it. He simply decided to let his equine girlfriend Beside Me prove she was the best filly in Friday night’s Caduceus Club Ladyship Stakes and the results were dazzling. The big girl had made quite an impression in the south but fresh up at Alexandra Park can be very testing at Group level, even more so when you are well back with 1400m to go. Beside Me was, and then she wasn’t. Dalgety pulled her out to improve in the straight with a lap to go and she exploded, racing from near last to first in the space of 300m and then roaring clear. It was graphic stuff from a filly who is looking absolute top class every time she goes to the races. She has now won four from five. “When I pulled her out I think she thought it was the home straight so she took off,” says Dalgety. “But she is so strong she can get away with it. “She is my girlfriend and she is big and strong but such a lovely pacer with it.” The rivals she beat up on on Friday night can at least rest knowing she won’t be there to pick on them again in the Harness Million next Friday as she is ineligible. That leaves another impressive Friday night winner in Stella Rouge as favourite for that race and on a collision course with Beside Me in the Northern Oaks next month which will be something to get to The Park for. What both fillies, and most of the other big race winners on Friday, had in common is they were handy or leading over the last lap but punters paid a a hefty price for those who weren’t. Rubira led and held on in the Alabar Classic in which hot favourite Marketplace went back at the start and never moved, looking electric over the last 200m but by then the race was over. In the Lincoln Farms Founders Cup it was the same thing, Jolimont going forward and controlling the speed well enough to get home, his even sectionals of 54.8 and 27.4 seconds meaning those back in the field never had a chance. Auckland Cup winner Republican Party ran on well. And in the main trot Oscar Bonavena, also backed as if unbeatable, wasn’t. He got disconected from the back of Kyvalley Hotspur early but caught him up well enough but never really looked likely to run past him. Horses starting off 30m handicaps in this grade are often vulnerable and Oscar’s defeat doesn’t take away from the wonderful job Bernie Hacktt and Michelle Wallis are doing with the winner. “I wanted to make the move mid-race to get him parked as he feels big and strong out there but I wasn’t expecting to get trapped three wide,” smiled winning driver Crystal Hackett. “But I wanted to win a really nice race for Mum and Dad, it is one of my goals to start the season.” View the full article

Sam Agars SUNLIGHT POWER - R7 (2) Has been racing in strong form and can strike from a good draw Jay Rooney JUNEAU PRIDE - R9 (5) Drawn to get a dream run and can make it back-toback wins Trackwork Spy SKY JEWELLERY - R10 (7) Has made a splash to start his career and looks hard to beat again Phillip Woo GOOD LUCK BABE - R6 (3) Should map perfectly from barrier one and can salute here Shannon (Vincent Wong) THE CONCENTRATION - R1 (3) Won impressively last start and can repeat the dose Racing Post Online VOLCANIC SPARK - R5 (2) Ran well for second last start and can go one better this time Tom Wood SKY JEWELLERY - R10 (7) Arguably should be unbeaten and can win again hereView the full article

The Road, presented by Gainesway and Darby Dan FarmView the full article

“It's invisible,” says Rob Murphy. “And sometimes it moves. Sometimes it's an oval; sometimes an oblong with no corners.” On one level, then, there's nothing there at all. Yet those, for many years, were the parameters of his working life. As a relief pitcher for eight MLB teams between 1985 and 1995, all his focus was on that void behind the batter, and the elusive margins between strike and ball. Little wonder, then, if another great passion of Murphy's life is all about giving definition to something most of us consider hopelessly amorphous: namely, what makes some Thoroughbreds superior to others. “What if we typed into some AI platform, 'Who will win the Kentucky Derby?'” he suggests. “There's a correct answer. I can give it you right now. 'A 3-year-old Thoroughbred with four legs and a tail.' Right? Okay, so how many of those do we have? Twenty-thousand. So it's a question-and-answer, but it's not the right question. And what I've learned, as AI has started to permeate, is that you have to ask the right questions. But when I look at what I was doing in the 1980s? Well, those were the right questions.” He was ahead of the game in more ways than one; became an object curiosity, indeed, as the guy who hauled a computer into the bullpen itself, honing his analytics on batters. And that was an era when you almost needed the physique of a professional athlete for this kit to be in any sense “portable.” As a southpaw, in fact, he was always careful to use his right arm to carry his laptop, which came in at 30 pounds. He waves his phone and chuckles. “It was 9.4 hertz,” he says. “So a millionth of the processing power we now carry around in our pockets. A millionth!” It was three years before anyone else in baseball started using a computer. In the meantime, Murphy was also pioneering its use in another walk of sporting life. Murphy's maternal grandfather, Frank Ashley, called races for over 30 years at Arlington Park, Washington Park and Hawthorne; while his dad's stepfather Freddie Smith rode for Colonel Bradley, winning the 1940 Preakness and Belmont on Bimelech. Growing up in Miami, however, his most immediate Turf stimulus was a string of racehorses his father kept at Calder. It was at the lunch tables of the Turf Club there that Murphy began a 50-year quest to unravel an enigma. Simply as a handicapper, at first–but gradually all those grids, all those numbers and symbols, began to strike a deepening chord. For his, patently, is a mind with its own way of looking at things. When the word SLEW (for his equine paragon) reversed out of a printer, for instance, few of us would have clocked, as he did straightaway, the latent alternative: M375. Hence his racing program, M375 Thoroughbreds. Sure enough, even as an adolescent, Murphy discovered a peculiar aptitude for deciphering the data by which we interpret equine ability. He was just 17, in fact, when hitting a freak streak: the trifecta, six days running, with a three-horse box. Getty Images Closing day at Calder, they walked onto the Turf Club patio for the last–then the only trifecta race of the day. “So who do you have?” asked his dad. “Three, five and 10.” “What!?” The moderate favorite plus two longshots. After the race his mom sighed, “Well, nobody's got that.” He pulled out the ticket. “We do.” It paid $9,800. “I'm not even old enough to cash the tickets,” Murphy says. “My parents had sent me to a great Catholic high school, so when my dad returned from the windows I handed back five grand. 'That's for my school,' I said. 'And my car.'” Everything, then, still remained sheer instinct. Murphy wouldn't be introduced to computer science–the first class in the state–until his senior year of high school. “But you know what?” he remarks. “It was via numbers. It was the process, learning a system.” That said, the class opened immediate horizons. Asked to volunteer a practical application, for grading, Murphy persuaded his teacher to let him handicap the Derby. “The program outgrew the memory of the school's system,” he recalls. “The whole thing was still loaded on paper tape, an inch wide. But we ran the program and it said: Affirmed, Alydar, Believe It.” Grade A, then–albeit Murphy had to settle for the race call over the PA between innings at the baseball district championship. For his other, more physical prowess was meanwhile creating opportunities of its own. By 1981, his college career at the University of Florida made him a first-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds. Mind you, he didn't break out of minor leagues until 1985. If baseball didn't happen, he wanted a contingency plan. So patiently, painstakingly, he extrapolated his handicapping values into pedigrees. He pored over stallion registers and produce records. His first compendium totaled 12,000 pages; the second, 18,000. He read and annotated every entry. For most of us, data in such volume would tell you so much that it tells you nothing. “I know that good sires come in all different shapes and sizes,” Murphy accepts. “Good dams, the same: might be Grade I winners, might be unraced. But I'm a trends person. I see something, I make a model. Seattle Slew fits; then Northern Dancer fits too. So then it's, 'All right, how can I show a validated search-and-find process?' “So next I started going through yearling catalogues. Over 200,000 pages, inputting the data. Then I put these parameters together and, in the sale that produced Seattle Slew, he was one of just two that popped positive. Who cares what the other horse was? You picked that one, right? Then Spectacular Bid, a couple of years later, his dam fits the model–even though she got her black type in a $12,500 stakes at Bay Meadows. Amazingly enough, Flying Paster's dam won that race. So it doesn't have to be the Alabama winner every time. Leslie's Lady got her black type at Hoosier. Arrogate's dam won hers at Sam Houston.” The program Murphy constructed was isolating 1% of yearlings; of those, 20% proceeded to win stakes. Many multiples, in other words, of the industry average. Then a teammate, seeing Murphy buried in pedigree books on the bus, introduced him to a buddy who owned horses. The guy was intrigued, and they agreed to target a juvenile sale at Hialeah in 1984. Of 233 horses, Murphy's program approved only an Ack Ack colt. The physique checked out, and they bought him for $30,000. Artillerist won three of five juvenile starts; he ran second in stakes on the other two, and again when reappearing in a Grade II. Then a single horse sieved out of a Washington-breds sale became a stakes winner. “So the real-life application's working,” Murphy says. “And I'm tightening the screws all the time. But then, yes, baseball happened. Eleven years of it happened.” He was particularly talented at it; his ERA in 1986 was 0.72. In the history of Major League Baseball, no National League pitcher who has thrown more than 50 innings in a year has a lower one. Nonetheless he maintained and tweaked his database throughout. There was no internet, of course, and he was constantly on the road. But he could get the Daily Racing Form in cities, there was BRISnet, he even used an early telex machine, with fast-fading printouts on thermal paper. In August 1994, eight days after the Yankees plucked him from the Cardinals, and from last to first in the standings, the Major League Players' Association went on strike. The silver lining was that he could now go to the September Sale. With a couple of pals pitching in, Murphy shook two out of the catalogue: the colt won a graded stakes, the filly was stakes-placed before becoming a stakes producer. Entering the stretch with baseball, then, Murphy knew he had something to fall back on. Next, a couple of mares: one produced a millionaire in Japan; the other, claimed for $5,000, came up with Platinum Tiara (Cozzene). Carrying the silks of M375 Thoroughbreds, she won a stakes by 11 lengths and was beaten half-a-length in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. “And of course we've got the mother, the brother, the sister,” Murphy says. “So out of that five-grand mare, we sold millions of dollars of horses. Just from throwing the right dart.” Another bull's-eye was Grade II winner Golden Spikes (Seeking the Gold), at $250,000 his only pick at the 2006 September Sale. There was admittedly a period out of the game, to prioritize family, but Murphy has been regrouping since. In 2021, for instance, having missed the Saratoga Sale through illness, he saw that West Point had bought his top pick. He approached Terry Finley and was allowed into the City of Light colt we now know as graded stakes winner Battle of Normandy. Obviously there's no single, simple formula; nor, equally, can Murphy be expected to divulge much even of its complexities. Clearly, however, he has devised a colander that retains a disproportionate percentage of superior horses. “There's probably 75 or 80 data points,” he says. “The algorithm is 100-plus calculations. But it does say yes or no, there's no gray. Even with technology now, you can't just ask ChatGPT: 'Which horse should I pick out of this sale?' It's about how data is processed, how it's curated, whether it fits the pattern you're looking for.” His focus is increasingly on dams. “I've broken them down: stakes mares, winning mares, others,” he explains of his yearling sales research, dating back to 1975. “The numbers are the same across each group. And you wouldn't expect that. But it's finding a balance: mares with zero race record must be from better families, that kind of thing. There was an article recently saying how science has discovered that broodmares are best with their second through sixth foals. I knew that in 1984. Okay, Secretariat's dam was 19, so we're going to miss some. But that's something I always accepted, always been part of the model.” Murphy tested three Saratoga Select Sales, between 2019 and 2022 (omitting the Covid year). From 649 horses, an initial filter produced a longlist of 89. But that 14% produced half the elite horses graduating from these auctions. Expensive, some of them–but not as expensive as the many duds released through the colander. If mares widen the filter, compared with Murphy's original sire focus, they also widen opportunity: it's less about finding Nureyev at $1.3 million than his sister Fairy Bridge at $40,000. Remember that mares will gradually move from one column to another, with age, and Murphy incorporates a corresponding sliding scale. But what he has always done so laboriously, longhand, plainly has scope for exponential acceleration through AI. Murphy has accordingly begun talking to potential partners about turbo-charging the process. “As always, it's about relationships,” he says. “I've been putting in 10, 12 hours a day moving this forward: it's not labor, it's passion. Right now, I have parts of 25 horses. We still want to keep the quality high and the quantity low. But we're growing it back and looking forward to big things. I can't wait to see what the future brings.” Talking about that invisible box, Murphy had used an instructive expression. “I've got the ball, he's got the bat,” he says. “I'm in charge.” That's obviously not the case in racing, where so much is vested in those raising, training, riding your horse. “On the other hand, in baseball, second place is last!” Murphy says. “Second at the Breeders' Cup, they're going to write you a check. And you have black-type for the mother, brother, sister.” However rare the athletic attributes that brought Murphy fame, they are harnessed to no less exceptional mentality. “I was raised by the world's two greatest optimists,” he says gratefully. “If the word 'can't' ever came out of my mouth, as a kid, my dad would say, 'Do not say that.' So whether it's work harder, or read more, whatever it may be: I'm a 'can do' person.” The post Murphy Thinking Outside the Box appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jeff Novitsky, currently the senior vice president, anti-doping compliance, for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has been reappointed to the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Committee of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Prior to joining UFC in 2015, Novitsky was a federal agent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, leading investigations of companies suspected of illegally distributing performance-enhancing substances, including the case involving Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team. Prior to that, Novitsky conducted Internal Revenue Service investigations into some of the highest-profile anti-doping cases in sports, including those involving the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) and Major League Baseball's Barry Bonds. “Jeff's extensive expertise will be a tremendous asset to the ADMC Standing Committee,” said Charles Scheeler, Chair of the ADMC Standing Committee and the HISA Board of Directors. “His leadership in anti-doping enforcement and commitment to the principles of fair competition will further strengthen our mandate to promote transparency, safety and integrity in horse racing.” HISA expressed its gratitude to Dr. Jerry Yon, who stepped down from the Committee on Dec. 31, 2024. “We deeply appreciate Dr. Yon's invaluable contributions to the ADMC Standing Committee,” said Lisa Lazarus, CEO of HISA. “His dedication and insight have played a pivotal role in shaping the foundation of the ADMC Program, leaving a lasting legacy that will continue to strengthen the integrity and welfare of our sport.” The full list of ADMC Standing Committee Members can be viewed here. The post Novitzky Rejoins HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Jonny Turner Wag Star fans can keep the faith ahead of the MLT Wyndham Cup on Saturday. The pacer was largely luckless through the spring when clashing New Zealand’s best pacers and little has changed in his two runs back from a spell. In the latest of those at Ascot Park, Wag Star was forced to sit parked when unable to cross to the lead with a horse on his inner racing fiercely. In testing conditions, the pacer fought on for fourth and his effort was enough to get a tick of approval from trainer Craig Ferguson. “When that horse was pulling hard inside him it wasn’t ideal and he was forced to sit parked, but he fought on pretty well,” the trainer said. “On a day where most horses that worked were struggling in the conditions, his run was pretty decent.” With a tough 3200m staying test just seven days after his Ascot Park outing, crucially, Wag Star has come through his last start well. “He has come through it really well, he hasn’t left any feed or anything like that,” Ferguson said. “We haven’t done a whole lot with him this week but he seems really well in himself.” Wag Star will step up to race over two miles for the first time in his hometown cup and Ferguson is confident the pacer can handle it. “He is a tough customer, so hopefully he should suit two miles.” Wag Star is one of three horses that will start from a 20m handicap in the MLT Wyndham Cup. Ferguson will also link up with the horse went toe to toe with in their last starts at Ascot Park in Always Ticking. After over-racing in the lead, the mare fought on to run a creditable 5th behind Wyndham Cup aspirant Betterthancash. Always Ticking steps back in distance when stepping out in Saturday’s Southern Belle Speed Series Heat. And Ferguson rates the mare a cheeky hope. “I thought she went fought on pretty well last week and she definitely wouldn’t be the worst chance if she got a bit of luck on Saturday.” Ferguson will be hoping to feel the same kind of electric speed Marketplace delivered in his sensational placing at Alexandra Park on Friday night. The brilliant three-year-old charged home from well off the speed to finish third behind Rubira, who ran a 26sec closing 400m in the lead. Marketplace was unofficially timed to run his last 400m in 25.3sec. View the full article

Verona Rose winning the Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic. Photo: Bradleyphotos.com.au Kerrin McEvoy has guided Verona Rose to a stunning victory in the Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic (1600m) on Friday, as the Gary Portelli-trained filly stormed home from near last to maintain her perfect career record. Despite facing the biggest test of her career, the daughter of Castelvecchio showed an incredible turn of foot to surge between runners late, nailing Inevitable Truth and Brigidine Gal in a thrilling finish at . The $2.30 bookmaker favourite Dominetta looked to have pinched the race after controlling the speed, but she was swamped late, finishing just outside the placings in fourth. Canny Queen was a big improver in fifth, while Sun ‘N’ Sand also ran well for sixth. Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic Replay – Verona Rose https://horsebetting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kembla-Grange-2025-Group-3-Kembla-Grange-Classic-14032025-Verona-Rose-Kerrin-McEvoy-Gary-Portelli.mp4 Trainer Gary Portelli was full of praise for his unbeaten filly, confirming that she would now head to the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on March 30 before a likely tilt at the Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick on April 12. “I’ve always thought she was an Oaks filly,” Portelli said. “She was in all sorts on the turn, but once she balanced up, she just kept finding.” “To win a race like this at just her third start, against more seasoned fillies, it’s a huge effort. If she comes through it well, I don’t see why we don’t go straight to the Vinery and then the Oaks.” Verona Rose has now won three races from as many starts, with pricing Verona Rose as a $15 hope to win the Viery Stud Stakes. Horse racing news View the full article

Strathalbyn trainer Kym Healy with former Darwin apprentice Emma Lines after they combined to secure victory with He’s Maverick on Alice Springs Cup Day at Pioneer Park last April. After two frustrating days at Kangaroo Island in February, Strathalbyn trainer Kym Healy is hoping for better fortune in Alice Springs with the Cup Carnival starting on Sunday. Healy, who has enjoyed plenty of success in the NT, has 12 runners on deck at Pioneer Park, and it was during the corresponding meeting last year that he landed a winning treble. Not surprising, as Healy’s horses usually impress first up in the Red Centre. During his career, Alice Springs has been Healy’s most successful venue, where he has picked up 30 of his 168 career wins. He’s Maverick, Mathematics, Noble Magnate, Cyclonite, Taipan Tommy, Starlite Rebel and Lotto Fight, who will feature on Day 1 of the Carnival, have saluted in Central Australia previously. Healy’s other runners are Pompeii Empire and Grinzinger Bishop, who have both won in Darwin, as well as NT debuts Figo The Great and Limited Risk, who both bring good form to town. Last year’s Darwin Guineas (1600m) winner He’s Maverick, who starred in the NT last year before producing poor form back in SA, and Figo The Great will line up in the $36,500 St Patrick’s Day Cup (1600m) at BM76 level on Sunday. The stablemates face Neil Dyer’s Hettinger, last year’s St Patrick’s Day Cup winner, Kerry Petrick’s Venting, last year’s Alice Springs Cup (2000m) winner, Dick Leech’s Write Your Name, who won the 2023 Alice Springs Cup, and Terry Gillett’s in-form Kangaroo Court. “He’s Maverick was good here last year – three runs for a first, second and third,” Healy said. “I think he’ll run a cheeky race. “He just seems to love the dirt tracks, so hopefully he can bounce back to form. “Figo The Great won his last two at Kangaroo Island. “Hopefully, he cops the track – he’s by Magnus and they normally like the dirt. “He’s heading towards the Cup.” The $110,000 Alice Springs Cup is scheduled for April 6, it will be preceded by the $100,000 Pioneer Sprint (1200m) on April 5. Having won the Cup in the past with Pretty Blonde, Healy was thrilled when he was able to quinella the Pioneer Sprint a year ago with Mathematics – once trained by Lisa Whittle in Alice Springs – and Noble Magnate. Healy, who will have 16 horses in Alice Springs during Carnival, is eyeing a good day on Sunday. “Noble Magnate, the Pioneer Sprint favourite, had a really good run here last year,” Healy said. “Taipan Tommy had a good Carnival and has got to be a chance – he just loves it here. “Pompeii Empire would be around the mark you’d think, it wouldn’t surprise me if Figo The Great or He’s Maverick won. “The same with Lotto Fight and Starlite Rebel, they’ve both won here before. “Limited Risk had really good form in SA before I got him. “Hopefully, there’s a few good chances there – I don’t want to jinx myself though.” Horse racing news View the full article

Australian jockey rates Ricky Yiu’s quality galloper hard to beat from barrier one in Saturday’s Class Two at Sha Tin.View the full article