Wandering Eyes

After a couple of unlucky runs in big races this season, Antipodean (NZ) (Derryn) turned his fortunes around at Selangor on Sunday with a deserved victory in the RM300,000 NZB Ready to Run Sale Championship (1400m). Antipodean was bought for $23,000 by trainer Simon Dunderdale from Regal Farm’s draft at the 2022 Ready to Run Sale at Karaka. The star five-year-old has now had 20 starts for 12 wins and six placings, including a perfect six-from-six record over 1400 metres. Previously the winner of last year’s RM200,000 Selangor Gold Cup (1600m) and RM100,000 Supreme Challenge Cup (1400m), little had gone right for Antipodean in his recent runs. He had a tough wide run when third in the Selangor Mile (1600m), then was significantly hampered by a fallen horse on his way to a fourth placing when he tried to defend his Selangor Gold Cup title. But it was a different story on Sunday. Jockey Bernardo Pinheiro took up a handier position this time on Antipodean, settling fifth in the run. All eyes went towards the outside at the home turn as Antipodean and Duma (NZ) (Too Darn Hot) began to launch their runs. That pair swept to the front together and went clear to fight out the finish, with Antipodean winning by half a length. The third-placed Rocky Bhai (Microphone) finished four and a half lengths behind the first two with favourite Lucky Magic (NZ) (Mendelssohn) finishing just outside of the placings after enduring a wide passage throughout. “When the rain came, I had to change tact,” Pinheiro said. Winning connections of Antipodean following the Antipodean gets the better of Duma in the NZB Ready to Run Sale Championship Photo: supplied “He has been coming home strongly but not winning with 59 kilograms on his back. On the wet track, if I had held him back early, he would be charging home as usual but might be too late. Hence I decided to urge him on early and place him in a more handy position. “Once I placed him where I wanted to be, I got him to relax and waited for the straight to mount my challenge. This horse has got such a big heart.” Winning trainer Simon Dunderdale was delighted to see a change in Antipodean’s fortunes. “He was always drawn wide, and added to that he was either forced to race wide or was interfered with in the running,” he said. “Today he had the luck in the running and showed everyone what he is really capable of.” The expat Kiwi trainer enjoyed a successful day, having sent out Capetian (NZ) (US Navy Flag) to win the NZB Ready To Run Progressive (1200m), with graduates coming from last year’s edition of the sale. The three-year-old is out of Indomitable, making him a half-brother to multiple Group One winner and sire Turn Me Loose. He was purchased for $70,000 from the draft of Prima Park by Dunderdale and the late Joe Yorke. The 2025 edition of the Ready to Run Sale will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre from 10am (NZT) on Wednesday 12 & Thursday 13 November. Breeze Ups will be held at Te Rapa Racecourse on Monday 20 & Tuesday 21 October. View the full article

Plenty of drama has surrounded Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress) ahead of Saturday’s A$20 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick, but trainer David Hayes assures everything is fine with the Kiwi-bred sprinting sensation. “I got a call yesterday (Sunday) at lunchtime from JD, my son, and Gareth Hall (racing broadcaster) had rung him and said his twitter account had been hacked and sent out some false information, which basically had him scratched, lame in behind and not eating,” Hayes said. “That’s not the horse I have been training anyway. “The phone went into meltdown for about six hours, but to use a Donald Trumpism, it’s fake news.” Ka Ying Rising put any doubts to bed following his trackwork gallop at Canterbury on Monday, where he pleased Hayes with his hit-out. “We are really happy with him,” Hayes said. “He just went out on the beautiful Canterbury track this morning and ran home in 38 under a nice hold, and his recovery was excellent.” The son of Shamexpress finished third in his 1000m trial at Randwick last week and Hayes said he has benefited a lot from that run. “I think he has really improved from that trial. The idea of the trial was to bring him on, and I think it has,” he said. “I am sure if we trialled him today, he would be a nine out of 10. He has made the progression we thought he would and we are expecting a bold showing. I love the weather pattern as well, a nice, firm track will only help. “I think he is ready to rumble.” The all-important barrier draw will take place tomorrow night (Tuesday), with Hayes hoping to secure an inside marble. “As close to the rail as possible, that would be the best,” he said. “In Hong Kong, they jump and really go hard because they have only got 200m to the turn. In Sydney, they have got a nice 600-700m run. The tempo isn’t quite as hectic, so the barrier is not quite so important for him. “He has got incredible gate speed and he has got the ability to take a sit, so he is pretty foolproof.” Bred by Marton horseman Fraser Auret under his Grandmoral Lodge Racing banner, Ka Ying Rising has been an unstoppable force for trainer David Hayes in Hong Kong, winning 14 of his 16 starts in the competitive racing jurisdiction and amassed more than $HK68 million (NZ$15.2 million) in prizemoney. View the full article

Harness Racing legend Barry Purdon had a weekend to remember. On Friday he made a winning return to the sulky, following a six-year hiatus, when piloting Group One-performing trotter Higher Power to victory at Alexandra Park, and on Sunday, his famous silks were to the fore once again, but this time in the thoroughbred code, when his exciting galloper Yamato Satona scored on debut in the opening race at Arawa Park for trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott. Purdon was trackside in Rotorua with his wife Katrina, who shares in Yamato Satona’s ownership, along with good friend and stable client Dean Shannon. “It was a great thrill,” Barry Purdon said. “We went down there and we weren’t expecting to see what we saw, but it was great. “Lance and Andrew have always liked him, so that is always a good sign.” The 70-year-old horseman was also pleased to return to the driving ranks on Friday night, and he is looking forward to frequenting the track more often this season. “It was great, I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I had a pretty nice horse to drive and it was good to get out there again. “I have been driving quite a bit of track work lately since I had that bit of bad luck with my hip, and I feel good again.” The Purdon surname is synonymous with harness racing, with Purdon and his late father Roy dominating the New Zealand training ranks for several decades, winning every premiership bar one between 1976 and 1996. His brother Mark has dominated the sport in recent times, winning 14 trainers’ premierships since 2000, and he has also started to train a few thoroughbreds from his new Matamata base. In the nineties, harness racing royalty teamed up with thoroughbred racing royalty when Purdon raced several thoroughbreds with Paul and Dave O’Sullivan at Wexford Stables, and the association has continued for more than 30 years. “We had a horse with Paul and Dave O’Sullivan called Most Happy Fella in about 1995,” Purdon said. “There has been a bit of a lull, but we usually have had a horse with them.” Purdon also dabbled in training the odd thoroughbred himself and recorded his sole thoroughbred training success in the 2011/12 season. “I trained a couple (of thoroughbreds) for a little while,” he said. “We managed to get a winner at Pukekohe with a little horse called Maverick. It took a lot of time when you have the harness horses too.” Last year, Purdon was looking to purchase another thoroughbred to race and went to Karaka in search of his next horse, and Yamato Satona, a Satono Aladdin colt in Rich Hill Stud’s draft, caught his eye. “I first saw him on a video when I was looking at all of the yearlings, and I really liked him,” Purdon said. “When I saw him in the flesh, I really liked him as much, if not more. “He was a kind horse, a little bit timid, but he had a great attitude. He was in and out of the box because he was quite popular and I just liked his temperament. “The Satono Aladdins are pretty nice horses and he is out of a Commands mare, and he was a pretty good stallion himself.” Purdon was delighted to secure the colt with a final bid of $250,000, and subsequently placed him in the care of Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott at Wexford Stables in Matamata. “We paid a bit of money for this guy and I just wanted to make sure that everything was done right, and one of those was to make sure he went to Lance and Andrew because he would get every opportunity,” Purdon said. And his colt has been given just that, placing in three trials before winning his last trial over 1000m at Arawa Park last month, and he won on debut like a horse with a bright future, a view shared by co-trainer Andrew Scott. “We were really pleased, he settled in well, stayed the 1400m and for an inexperienced young horse to quicken in the manner he did, we couldn’t be happier,” he said. “He’s put in a performance that suggests he has good levels of ability and where we go to from here, we’ll let the dust settle over the next few days. “Hopefully he has a good summer ahead of him, as his experience levels increase, his confidence will come with it and once he gets out to a mile, he’s certainly going to have a successful season.” View the full article

High class three-year-old Autumn Boy may not have a New Zealand suffix next to his name, but his Kiwi roots run deep. The Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) winner was bred and sold by Beltana Stud’s Richard Rutherford, who is continuing to breed from the Chris Waller-trained colt’s dam Rosegarden. “It was terrific result all around and he’s a cracking horse,” said Rutherford, whose boutique breeding operation is located at Parnassus, about 130km north of Christchurch. Autumn Boy was offered through Amarina Farm’s draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale where he was sold to Waller Racing and Mulcaster Bloodstock for A$200,000 and is raced by South Island owner Glenn Ritchie. “He was a magnificent colt, a beautifully balanced horse who just kept improving and Amarina did a wonderful job with him,” Rutherford said. By The Autumn Sun, Autumn Boy has now won three of his five starts, with his stake earnings topping A$2 million. The unraced Rosegarden is a daughter of multiple stakes winner O’Reilly Rose who failed to meet her $200,000 reserve at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale. Currently residing at Amarina, she has since produced a son and daughter of Yarraman Park’s Hellbent, a Group One-winning son and daughter of I Am Invincible. The two-year-old was sold privately and is being broken in while the future of the filly has yet to be decided. “It’s early days and she’s only a month old, she’s a beautiful filly and the mare was served by The Autumn Son last week,” Rutherford said. “I’m only breeding from a couple of mares and I’ve got a few others, but I won’t be breeding from them this year.” Autumn Boy is the third top-flight winner in Australia that Rutherford has bred from the family. The colt’s granddam is a three-quarter sister to Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) winner Shamexpress, who has enjoyed a successful stud career at Windsor Park, while Affinity won a Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m). “I’ve had a lot of other Group One-placed horses, a second in the Epsom Handicap (1600m), The Metropolitan (2400m), The All-Aged Stakes (1400m) and the AJC Derby (2400m), although some years ago,” Rutherford said. “Shamexpress and this one (Autumn Boy) have been the best recently.” Rutherford is also looking forward to the career of another well-credentialled family member. “I’ve got a half-sister by Super Seth to Rosegarden, and I think she’s an outstanding filly,” he said. “She’s a two-year-old and I’ll race her, but I haven’t decided on a trainer yet.” View the full article

Ka Ying Rising continued his Group One The Everest (1,200m) preparation with his final serious gallop on Monday morning, with trainer David Hayes enjoying the calm of Canterbury after Sunday’s chaos. Forced to field calls for “probably six hours” after rumours ran wild about hot favourite Ka Ying Rising potentially missing Saturday’s The Everest, Hayes was pleased to see his superstar back up what he told everyone on Sunday. “We’re really happy with him. He just went out on the beautiful...View the full article

The Kaikoura Cup will celebrate its 100th running this year. Over the next few weeks Kaikoura Trotting Club historian Phil Gourdie will look back at the history of the great race, starting today with The First 50 Years. The Kaikoura Cup – 1914 to 1964. By Phil Gourdie The Kaikoura Cup was first raced for 111 years ago. Since then it has had a far from uninterrupted run due to World Wars, the depression and the creation of the new track. In 1914, the first running of the Kaikoura Cup was won by nine-year-old mare Kintail, owned by Arthur Edgar and trained and driven by William Honeybone. Kintail led throughout and won a good competitive race by a length from the President Arthur Marshall’s Black Prince. The first multiple winner of the Cup was Full Cry. Owned and trained by Henry Leaman, he won his first Cup in 1916 and then completed the double in 1919. On both occasions he was driven by Edward (Teddy) Redmond. Described as a strong powerful pacer who could stay well Kinthorpe was a decisive winner in just a seven horse field in 1921. He was not a fluent pacer and during the race mixed his gait more than once. He was by Lord Althorpe from Kintail, the inaugural winner of the Kaikoura Cup. There was a strong local connection to 1929 and 1931 winner Arachne. He was owned, trained and driven by County councilor, Francis Monk. 1953 saw the introduction of the new South Bay Racecourse at Kaikoura. The 1119m course was a dirt-based facility. This was a huge step up from the lengthy grass track that ran deep into South Bay. Over the first 51 years and 40 runnings of the Kaikoura Trotting Cup many household names got onto the Honours Board. These included William and Ernest Honeybone, Edward Redmond, Tom Fox, Frank Monk, Ces Donald, George Murfitt, Stan Edwards, Alan McKenzie, Noel and Colin Berkett, Chief Stipe Watts, W E Lowe, R P Nyhan and Maurice Holmes. The 15 drivers named drove 23 of the first 40 Kaikoura Trotting Cup winners. Next time we will look at “Records are made to be broken”. Footnote: Phil Gourdie is currently writing a history on the Kaikoura Cups which will be published to mark the centenary. View the full article

Following feedback from the industry, and in conjunction with the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club, we wish to advise that the Wednesday trials at Addington will now be open to: – Horses requiring qualification – Horses needing to pass from a specific start type – Horses that have been stood down to trial by the Stipendiary Stewards. This change provides additional opportunities for connections to trial and qualify their horses midweek. Preference will continue to be given to qualifiers, with trials limited to four heats. Nominations for trials this Wednesday, 15 October, close at 12pm tomorrow (Tuesday, 14 October). View the full article

By Michael Guerin Akuta’s New Zealand Cup campaign has hit a speed bump with the wonderful pacer set to miss this Friday’s Lamb and Hayward Canterbury Classic at Addington. The former Auckland Cup winner has been the comeback story of the spring but was found to have mucus in his throat after failing at Addington last Friday. Co-trainer Nathan Purdon says Akuta will start treatment straight away and with five runs under his belt already this spring and plenty of lead-up options left he can still make the IRT-sponsored Cup at Addington on November 11. “It is not ideal of course but at least we know why he performed below his best,” says Purdon. Akuta remains a $12 chance in the Cup market as the road to the great race has taken some surprise turns around Leap To Fame and Swayzee in the last week. Team Purdon have already withdrawn Chase A Dream from the NZ Cup but it was never a certain target for the four-year-old. “We are really happy with him and he will trial this week and then be ready to race,” says Nathan. “We are aiming him at races like the Christian Cullen and the Invercargill Cup but the [NZ] Cup is just going to come too soon.” While they won the $150,000 NZBS Harness Million for two-year-old fillies with Wat Next, the stable also had plenty of bad luck on Friday night. Oscar Bonavena got back and never looked a winner chance in the Worthy Queen Trot but will back up this Friday at Addington while Rubira was locked away three back in the Flying Stakes. And juvenile pacer Special Occasion was also found to have a similar mucus issue to Akuta after his eighth in the NZBS Harness Million won by Jumal. View the full article

By Mike Love Yaldhurst trainers Derek and Adele Jones continued to have success with their team after Kiss The Girls was a very impressive winner in yesterday’s Cavalier Trotting Products Akaroa Cup at Motukarara. In what were dramatic events before the race got underway – with two false starts and the late scratching of Ted’s Legacy with his trainer and driver Jim Curtin being injured – Kiss The Girls made two fliers from those false starts before scrambling away when it mattered to settle six back on the fence. Driver Kimberly Butt then sat patiently for the metres to tick by before working into the clear at the top of the straight and producing a barnstorming run to knock off pacemaker Still Rockin. Co-trainer Adele Jones could not be happier with the outcome. “It was great. We didn’t actually think we’d won!” said Jones. “At home he begins like a rocket. Derek said to Kim if he bobbles away just push him through and he’ll come down. She couldn’t pull him up after the false starts – so he’s probably run 3200m.” The win was the eight-year-old gelding’s seventh career victory and his second on the track after winning at the Akaroa meeting back in 2020. “He’s been working the house down at home.” It was Kiss The Girls’ third run back this campaign with a luckless fresh up run and then not handling the bog at Methven last week. Jones was a little unsure how things were going to pan out yesterday. “He didn’t handle the track at all last week. But they needed the run. I was a bit unsure about starting but Derek said he’d be okay and he was!” Kiss The Girls was bred by Derek, Adele and their daughter Chelsea who all remain in the ownership along with Cath Ironside. “We all owned George’s (Kiss The Girls) mum Duarunner. We sent her to Terror To Love, and we gave Cath Ironside a share – she helps us out a lot!” Kiss The Girls’ racing career was in jeopardy a couple of years ago when he was injured, making yesterday’s victory a very satisfying one with his previous victory being in May 2022. “He broke a splint bone. It set him right back and took him a long time to get his confidence back. We were just using him as a GP (galloping pacemaker). He didn’t like being on holiday so we brought him back once he was right. He loves galloping and trying to beat Eurostyle in work. He’s just loving the work.” To date this is the Jones’ best season on record tallying eight winners so far. “We’ve got some really nice horses around us at the moment. Lavra Rose has been a bit of a surprise. She’s a typical Bettor’s Delight that grows a leg on race day. (We also have) Muscle Sass, Eurostyle and a young two year old trotter who should be stepping out at the trials or workouts this week or next.” Kiss The Girls gave Kimberly Butt a driving double on the day with her other victory being To Ri Ruby in a fresh state for Simon Adlam. The driver-trainer combo of Mia Holbrough and Bruce Negus also had a double (Mouton Cadet and Folijon Star) while Blair Orange also picked up a driving double (Tribbiani and Quicker Than Quick). View the full article

A quick early tempo in the $390,950 Franklin Stakes (G2T) set the stage for a closer on the Keeneland turf Oct. 12, and Time to Dazzle took the cue. Living up to her name, the 4-year-old Not This Time filly dazzled to the tune of a 3 1/4-length win.View the full article

Trailing early on the all-weather track, Piper's Gift hung close to the lead through the opening half-mile of the 7-furlong contest. Moving off the rail, Piper's Gift challenged two wide at the turn before taking control early in the stretch.View the full article

State-bred and -sired programs in Louisiana, West Virginia and Maryland were in the spotlight over the weekend, and the while main events at Delta Downs, Charles Town Races and Laurel Park each featured heavily backed odds-on favorites, the results produced varying outcomes: A new track record, a double-digit-lengths blowout, and an upset of a Breeders' Cup-placed horse who had seemed like a cinch dropping down into restricted company. On Saturday at Delta Downs, Touchuponastar (Star Guitar) returned from a 4 1/2-month layoff in the co-featured $100,000 Gold Cup Stakes for Louisiana-breds, and was bet down to 1-10 odds in a field of seven. Jockey Tim Thornton let the gelding roll right out of the gate, applying pressure to a pair of longshot pacemakers while three deep for the first half of the two-turn, seven-furlong race. Entering the far turn, Touchuponastar drew away at will without being asked by Thornton, leaving a splintered pack behind with his next closest pursuers being scrubbed on for run while the 6-year-old effortlessly widened his margin. Beyond a couple of flicks of the wrist through the lane, Thornton never encouraged the gelding to kick into a quicker cadence, and Touchuponastar cruised under the wire in hand when he shaved four hundredths of a second off a 22-year-old track record, stopping the timer in 1:24.27. Bred by Coteau Grove Farms and sold for $15,000 as a yearling at the Texas Thoroughbred Association sale in 2020, Touchuponastar has been campaigned through his 17-for-24 career by Set-Hut Stable, which is comprised of a partnership between former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, his father, Jerry, and Jake's brother, Jeff, who trains. In his second career start back in 2022, Touchuponastar broke his maiden in a state-bred race by 21 1/4 lengths, and he has been running amok over Louisiana-restricted company ever since, including what is now 12 consecutive victories in state-bred stakes (after running third in his first stakes start right out of the maiden ranks). But his $1,520,000 in earnings also includes a very respectable 4-for-5 lifetime in-the-money mark in open, graded stakes. Back in March, Touchuponastar earned a 6-1 victory in the GII New Orleans Classic over 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' and 3-year-old champion Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), who was third in his 4-year-old debut and is now among the favorites to defend his title in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. 14 1/4-length blowout At Charles Town, Teachintherelease (Windsor Castle), who was claimed for $20,000 in mid-2024 and has since gone on to add four West Virginia-bred stakes to his lifetime record of 14-for-32, asserted himself at the front of the 10-horse field and waited until the third and final turn of the nine-furlong race to split the $300,000 Sam Huff West Virginia Breeders' Classic Stakes wide open at 1-10 odds, scoring by 14 1/4 gaudy lengths in 1:52.67. Carlos Lopez rode the 5-year-old gelding for trainer Stephen Murdock and owner Robert Cole Jr. Teachintherelease was bred by John Casey, who had owned and trained the dam, Romantic Cork, a two-time victress in stakes on the West Virginia Breeders' Classic cards in 2016 and 2017. 96 Beyer Breakout At Laurel, the 6-1 upset by Barbadian Runner (Barbados) over the 1-10 Post Time (Frosted) in Saturday's $150,000 Maryland Million Classic Stakes had a lot to do with pace tactics that swung the balance of the race in favor of the longer shot. But don't dismiss the effort by the winning 3-year-old as a fluke, because the Henry Walters trainee has been quietly building an upward sophomore arc that signals he is capable of competing in select open-company stakes after the breakout performance (96 Beyer Speed Figure) against his older, GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile-placed rival. The win was Barbadian Runner's first attempt at nine furlongs, and jockey Forest Boyce gave the Shamrock Farm-bred gelding every chance to excel in the six-horse race by saving ground and staying in touch with tepid early fractions of :24.98, :50.31 and 1:15.14. By contrast, Sheldon Russell opted for a back-of-the-pack placement for Post Time, but the late-striding gray's seeming class advantage wasn't enough to overcome being so far behind the lethargic tempo. By the time Post Time started to unwind with his characteristic top-of-stretch stretch torque, Barbadian Runner had already darted to the outside of the tiring leader they were both gunning for, building better momentum to collar Post Time at the sixteenth pole, finishing up in 1:51.09. Back in January and February, Barbadian Runner had won a pair of $100,000 open stakes at Laurel that briefly put him in consideration for other possible prep races for the GI Kentucky Derby. But Walters and owner AJ Will Win Stables opted for a mid-Atlantic spring, summer and fall campaign instead, and that more realistic path paid dividends in the form of victories in the off-turf May 31 $90,000 Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park and the Aug. 22 $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes at Charles Town, with three second-place finishes in other stakes in between. In that open Charles Town stakes prior to the Maryland Million, the 9-1 Barbadian Runner ended up finishing ahead of the two favorites in that race–Neoequous (Neolithic) and Owen Almighty (Speightstown)–who had been both near the front of a sacrificial pace in the Kentucky Derby. And now, a month and a half later, in what was also his first start against older horses, Barbadian Runner has beaten a much more seasoned 5-year-old whose past-performance cut includes eight in-the-money finishes in graded stakes and five races where Post Time had earned a triple-digit Beyer figure. The post The Week in Review: State-Bred Results Yielding Intriguing Results appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Eduardo Luces saddled his first winner with his first starter Sunday at Gulfstream Park when Vino Santo went wire-to-wire in the day's sixth race. Luces, who is currently training a stable of three, was not involved in racing in his native Venezuela, but worked his way up to assistant trainer under Oscar Gonzalez in South Florida. “I'm obviously very happy and thankful to all the people who have supported me,” the 38-year-old trainer said through a translator. The post Eduardo Luces Saddles First Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Edited Press Release Constitution (Tapit–Baffled, by Distorted Humor) will once again lead the WinStar stallion roster when he stands the 2026 season for $110,000 S&N, while Life is Good (Into Mischief–Beach Walk, by Distorted Humor)'s fee for next year has been set at $60,000. WinStar's 2026 stallion roster, which was released Sunday evening, will also include recently retired multiple Grade I winner Patch Adams (Into Mischief–Well Humored, by Distorted Humor), who will stand his initial season at stud for $30,000 S&N; and Straight No Chaser (Speightster–Margarita Friday, by Johannesburg), last year's Eclipse Award champion male sprinter, who is set to defend his title in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 1 and will stand for $10,000 S&N. The fees for Constitution, Straight No Chaser, and Independence Hall are subject to change pending Breeders' Cup results. “Each year brings in a new level of excitement,” said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. “This year, we have two new Grade I winners from different sire lines. Constitution has gone from strength to strength from the racetrack to the sales ring and now has several sons turning into excellent sires. He has three horses pointing to the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar and all have a big chance. Life is Good's first 2-year-olds are ready to hit the track in 2026, and he presents a great risk-reward opportunity for breeders. He's bred 566 high-quality mares in his first three crops and offers exceptional value in his fourth season at stud. We're thrilled to welcome a third generation homebred in multiple Grade I winner Patch Adams to our roster for 2026, and he will be joined by Straight No Chaser, an Eclipse Award winner and Breeders' Cup champion, just like his grandsire Speightstown who had a huge impact on the breed. We're trying to offer value at all points of our roster, and our team is eager to help with your mating plans for 2026.” Constitution is the No. 5 General Sire this season with progeny earnings of more than $12 million. His leading runners in 2025 include multiple Grade I winner and leading GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender and chief earner Mindframe, as well as graded winner Parchment Party, who is currently targeting the G1 Melbourne Cup, and GIII Vosburgh Stakes winner Patriot Spirit, who is under consideration for either the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint or GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. In the sales ring, Constitution has had four yearlings sell for $1 million and others fetching $825,000, $775,000, and $750,000. He is also an emerging sire of sires, already represented by multiple Grade I winner and leading second-crop sire Tiz the Law, as well as WinStar's promising first-crop sire Independence Hall. Life Is Good, a four-time Grade I winner, has had first-crop yearlings sell this year for $1.25 million, $1.025 million, $725,000, and $700,000, and he is one of only two first-crop sires to have a seven-figure yearling at both the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga and Keeneland September sales. Cogburn (Not This Time–In a Jif, by Saintly Look), set a North American record for 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in winning the GI Jaipur S. last year, sizzling the distance in :59.80, registering a 114 Beyer, was bred to 194 mares in his initial season at stud this year. Multiple Grade I winner Country Grammer (Tonalist–Arabian Song, by Forestry), who retired as the third-highest earning North American-bred of all time with earnings of $14.9 million, will have first yearlings in 2026. Nashville (Speightstown–Veronique, by Mizzen Mast), who saw first yearlings sell for up to $425,000 this year, will have his first 2-year-olds in 2026. Timberlake (Into Mischief–Pin Up {Ire}, by Look at Lucky), winner of the GI Champagne S. and GII Rebel S., bred 161 mares in his first book in 2025. GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Two Phil's (Hard Spun–Mia Torri, by General Quarters), a graded stakes-winning juvenile and a multiple graded stakes winner at three, bred 260 mares in his first two books and will have first yearlings in 2026. WinStar stallions with other possible Breeders' Cup starters include Audible, whose daughter Splendora is a possible contender in the GI Filly and Mare Sprint, and Independence Hall, whose first-crop 2-year-old Civil Liberty is possible for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, having finished third in the GI Del Mar Futurity in just his second career start. WinStar's complete 2026 roster is: Constitution, *$110,000; Life Is Good, $60,000; Patch Adams, $30,000; Cogburn, $25,000; Timberlake, $15,000; Nashville, $12,500; Straight No Chaser, *$10,000; Heartland, $10,000; Independence Hall, *$10,000; Audible, $7,500; Take Charge Indy, $7,500; Two Phil's, $7,500; Country Grammer, $5,000; Promises Fulfilled, $2,500. *Fees subject to change after Breeders' Cup. The post At $110k, Constitution Tops WinStar 2026 Stallion Roster appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

6th-Keeneland, $109,588, Msw, 10-12, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.50, ft, 4 3/4 lengths. CUT TO THE CHASE (f, 3, Complexity–Listen to Libby, by Indian Charlie), seen just once prior when finishing fourth after setting the pace on the lawn July 14 at Ellis, again showed the way Sunday but with a much different result. The bay–second choice Sunday at 3-1–emerged from the early fray to briefly chase Contemplate (Hard Spun) before leaving that one in her wake, clocking the first quarter in :22.15. Moving easily, she stayed in front, doing it easily as Victor Espinoza stayed motionless. After registering the half in :45.73, Cut to the Chase sailed to the wire in a hand ride, crossing the line 4 3/4 lengths the best with her ears pricked. Favored firster American Pearl (Gun Runner) finished second. The winner is a half to Chanteline (Majesticperfection), GSW, $594,972; and to Kell Paso (Divine Park), MSW, $244,603. Her dam has a yearling Upstart filly, who sold to Miguel Clement for $160,000 at last month's Keeneland sale, and a 2025 Mage colt. From the same family as GI Hopeful Stakes winner Currency Swap (High Cotton), the mare was bred back to Complexity for a full-sibling to Cut to the Chase for next term. Sales History: $375,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $70,454. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-Thomas W. Bachman; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. Victor Espinoza makes his way back to the Keeneland winner's circle as (6) Cut To The Chase soars down the stretch in race 6! (2) American Pearl checks in second and (7) Taverna follows in third. pic.twitter.com/wSy7mKS38v — Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) October 12, 2025 The post Complexity’s Cut to the Chase Collars Keeneland Maiden Convincingly appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In a full-circle moment for his trainer, Chris Waller, Autumn Boy maintained a strong family line of Caulfield Guineas (G1) winners when taking out the AU$3 million classic in a top-class display at Caulfield Oct. 11.View the full article

Nysos and stablemate Citizen Bull each worked six furlongs at Santa Anita Park for trainer Bob Baffert Oct. 12, and reigning champion sprinter Straight No Chaser returned to the tab after being beaten in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2).View the full article

Last seen completing the exacta for her sire in a Sept. 10 allowance at Kentucky Downs, Time to Dazzle (f, 4, Not This Time–Staria, by Unbridled's Song) went from last to first in a rousing rendition of the $400,000 GII Franklin Stakes Sunday at Keeneland. As In Our Time (Not This Time)–who headed that Sept. 10 exacta–set a blazing pace up front while vying early with Luna Louska (Compexity), throwing down quarters of :20.65 and :43.65, Time to Dazzle bided her time at the rear. She dove to the rail in the stretch, found another gear, and left the rest in her wake, getting the 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in 1:02.09. In Our Time held for second, while Pondering (Hard Spun) finished third. The Franklin marked Time to Dazzle's second graded win following the GIII Ontario Colleen Stakes at Woodbine in 2024. TIME TO DAZZLE ($8.06) squeezes through on the rail to get the win in the $400,000 Franklin Stakes (G2) at @keenelandracing. The daughter of Not This Time was ridden by @jose93_ortiz and trained by @markecasse. pic.twitter.com/UFoViMPTgY — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) October 12, 2025 Sunday, Keeneland FRANKLIN S.-GII, $390,950, Keeneland, 10-12, 3yo/up, f/m, 5 1/2fT, 1:02.09, fm. 1–TIME TO DAZZLE, 121, f, 4, by Not This Time 1st Dam: Staria, by Unbridled's Song 2nd Dam: Starboard Tack, by Seattle Slew 3rd Dam: Hangin On a Star, by Vice Regent ($310,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Tracy Farmer; B-Rodney Orr (KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $241,800. Lifetime Record: 14-4-2-1, $682,877. *1/2 to Sir Genghis (Tale of the Cat), MSW, $523,052. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–In Our Time, 121, f, 4, Not This Time–Laura's Pleasure, by Cactus Ridge. ($325,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $9,000 RNA 3yo '24 KEEJAN). O-Resolute Racing and Miller Racing LLC; B-Brian Kahn (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. $78,000. 3–Pondering, 118, f, 3, Hard Spun–Always Thinking, by Street Sense. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh. $39,000. Margins: 3 1/4, HD, NK. Odds: 3.03, 5.66, 6.75. Also Ran: Pipsy (Ire), Cart Girl Sam, Won Happy Mama, Luna Louska. Scratched: Future Is Now, Lady Crush. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. The post Not This Time’s Time to Dazzle Does Just That at Keeneland in Franklin Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Baoma Corp's Nysos (Nyquist) worked six furlongs in 1:11.20 (1/4) Sunday at Santa Anita and remains on track for the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, according to trainer Bob Baffert. “Very happy with the work,” Baffert said. The 4-year-old Nysos, whose lone loss to date is a narrow runner-up effort behind Mindframe in the GI Churchill Downs Stakes in May, is coming off wins in the GIII Triple Bend Stakes and GII San Diego Handicap. Shortly after that work, Baffert sent out Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) to work the same distance in 1:11.80 (2/4). Last year's champion juvenile, coming off a 5 1/2-length victory in the Aug. 31 Shared Belief Stakes, is also aiming for the Dirt Mile. Baffert also sent out 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Boyd (Violence) out to work Sunday at Santa Anita. In his first work since romping in his Sept. 7 unveiling, the 2-year-old went three furlongs in :37.60 (16/20). He is being aimed at the Nov. 16 GIII Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar, according to Baffert. Boyd | Horsephotos Also working at Santa Anita Sunday ahead of the Breeders' Cup, Straight No Chaser (Speighster) worked four furlongs in :47.20 (1/69) as he prepares for a defense of his title in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. “He worked really well,” trainer Dan Blacker said. “We're on target for the Breeders' Cup [Sprint].” Straight No Chaser finished third as the favorite in the Sept. 28 GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship last time out. Motorious (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}), preparing for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, blitzed five furlongs on the synthetic training track in :58.60 (1/19) for trainer Phil D'Amato. The 7-year-old gelding, who was a narrowly beaten second in last year's Turf Sprint, most recently won the GIII Green Flash Stakes via disqualification Aug. 30 at Del Mar. The post Nysos, Citizen Bull Work for Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Entering Oct. 11 with 10,997 career wins, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen pulled off a hat trick at Remington Park to become the first North American trainer to win 11,000 races.View the full article

Most with a story to tell regale audience and bystander around the dinner table or the campfire or at the bar. More disciplined souls sit at the typewriter to memorialize it in print. But what possesses someone to then take that memoir and distill it into a screenplay, fundraise a small retirement account for a movie of that screenplay that you'll direct yourself before premiering the finished product in a packed Los Angeles movie theater for a collection of SoCal racing glitterati? “The summer of my first year in college [in Pasadena], I worked for the carnival. The last place we were at was Great Falls, Montana. I was going to go home after that. I had some money from working the summer. “But instead of just getting a plane ticket or a bus ticket, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to buy a horse and I'm going to bring the horse back,” laughs Tom Knust, the 78-year-old horse racing multi-hyphenate (and current jock's agent to Antonio Fresu), as he pinpoints a character trait driving his 30-year odyssey to film his war-torn experiences with Vietnam. The morning's late at Santa Anita's otherwise empty Clockers' Corner, and the rowdy din of the tractors provide a fitting backing track. “I paid like $600 for the horse. But when I came to pick it up, I found it was too expensive to send back,” Knust remembers. “So, I bought an old horse trailer for like a hundred bucks. I had to reboard and fix it up. And then I bought a car for like $400.” The old jalopy was thirstier than a desert cactus–Knust had to stop every 50 miles to quench the steaming radiator from dozens of water bags strapped to the outside. There were other bumps along the way. A late stop at Salt Lake City saw the horse get loose and pull a Houdini. Knust found her the next morning grazing in a football field. A young Tom Knust | courtesy Tom Knust The whole trip took more than three days. By the time he got back to his sister's house in Arcadia, it was two in the morning. “Well, I'm not going to wake her up. So, I just put the horse in the backyard, closed the gate and went to sleep in my car. The next morning, my niece goes to my sister, 'There's a horse in the backyard.' My sister says, 'There's not a horse. You're dreaming.' She looks out the window. There's a horse grazing on their lawn,” recalls Knust. “Stupid stuff like that, that I don't have to do, but I just get my mindset on something and then I just have to do it,” he says. “You know, it's the way I've been all my life.” The latest demonstration of this innate stubborn streak is the movie Shadow War, which Knust recently played to a packed theater in Pasadena, attended by a healthy cross-section of race-trackers–jockeys and trainers and TV presenters and bloodstock agents, some of them actors in the film. A standing ovation ensued. The movie cuts back and forth between the formative years of Knust's life, from his childhood growing up under the shadow of his alcoholic grandfather to the dreams and ideologies that led to his deployment to Vietnam, and then his convalescence after a head shot during combat left him temporarily paralyzed. “My grandfather was an alcoholic, but he would tell me all these stories about all these adventures. And when I was a kid, that's what I wanted to do, go to all these places and have more adventures than him,” said Knust. “My grandfather had instilled in me so much that I was invincible. And I did think I was invincible. So, when I got shot, that's the thing that shocked me the most. That I could get hurt,” says Knust. “The guy they put next to me [in hospital] was in one of those rotating beds. He had screws in his head and his feet, and they'd have to rotate him and stuff. He would moan all day long and sleep at night. I hated it because I could never sleep. “Finally, I got used to it, and then I got friendly with the guy. Before, I couldn't hear what he was saying. But this time I could hear him saying he didn't want to die. “I told him about my spiritual experience and that I felt there was something else besides what we have here. Then, when I woke up the next morning, he had died,” Knust recalls. “I thought to myself, 'Maybe what I said to him helped,' because he was really at peace and he wasn't so much afraid anymore.” An earlier draft of Knust's screenplay, that he'd adapted from his memoir, apparently knocked for a short while around the executive desks of movie studio MGM. “They had optioned the script and they said they were going to do something with it. But nothing happened. I don't think MGM was really that serious. And then they gave me the option back,” says Knust. For the next 25 years, the script went through several shapeshifts, some of it by pedigreed storytellers. This includes, said Knust, racehorse owner Jim Wilson, who produced Dances with Wolves during a long collaborative career with Kevin Costner. David Milch, the doyen of prestige TV (think Deadwood and Luck), and once a piece of the Santa Anita furniture, similarly pulled out his red pen. “One time he came in my office and he sat there for like 30 minutes and rewrote some stuff,” says Knust. “Then he said, 'I can't do it legally because I'm on contract. But if I did it for you, that would've cost you about $150,000.'” After pulling together around $100,000, it was time for Knust to start filming. Which is when he leant on familiar faces, like trainer Carla Gaines' roly-poly dog, Prince Bama, now immortalized among cinema's greatest canine matinee idols courtesy of a haunting character arc to rival Newman in Cool Hand Luke. To recreate combat in Vietnam, Knust decamped to Ventura County's Lake Piru, part of owner-breeder Tim Cohen's sprawling Rancho Temescal. Bloodstock agent Steve Rothblum (clearly channeling his inner Brando) played the dissolute grandfather. For the mother of his younger self, Knust turned to XBTV on-air talent Millie Ball, who provides the film's beating heart. Ball only got the call up the night before filming, the original actress having bailed last minute. “I asked, 'How many lines do I have?' He said, 'Oh, don't worry, it's only a few lines. A few scenes. Usual thing,'” Ball recalls of the casting call. “I got there the next day and it was basically a whole day of filming with about six, seven scenes and a whole lot of lines. But we got through it, and I actually really enjoyed doing it.” Ball is no acting neophyte, but she hasn't flexed that muscle for years. And when she did, it was as a stunt performer primarily. “I thought it had a good message,” says Ball, of why she signed on. “You go to war, bad shit happens, and you come back and you've got to make the best of it, but you've got to stand proud having fought for your country.” It took about a year-and-a-half to organize, film, and then edit the movie. Knust hopes to sell it, once he can secure the rights to some of the music woven through a playlist that includes the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Doors. For the film's premier, Knust hired out the Ice House theater in Pasadena. Trainer Richard Mandella was there. “I thought it was just terrific,” says Mandella. “I think it's a film that anybody would enjoy. I just wish it would have gone further and talked about the career he ended up having.” Indeed, throughout Knust's artistic ventures–which includes other books and a script in development–he has shied away from his long involvement in the sport. Having returned from Vietnam and still recovering from his injuries, Knust walked hots for trainer Joe Dunn. He took his own license out for a short while. “The good thing is they don't keep records from when I trained, so, nobody knows what my record is,” he says, leaning heavy on the self-depreciation. He's been a clerk and a placing judge. An assistant handicapper and a racing secretary. But his longest stint has been as a jock's agent for the likes of Corey Nakatani, Kent Desormeaux, Richard Migliore, Kevin Krigger, David Cohen, Abel Cedillo, Victor Espinoza, and Jose Valdivia, Jr. He represented Patrick Valenzuela on four different occasions. One of those times, Valenzuela had one of his drug-fueled meltdowns. “I told him, 'The California Horse Racing Board's going to come and test you. If they test you, you're not going to ever be able to ride again.' So, I took him to a rehab in Pasadena and he was there for all of three months. He gave permission to the doctor to talk to me about his progress and everything. “I'd go to Del Mar–I'd picked up Nakatani by then. On Mondays and Tuesdays, I'd come back here. The doctor at the end of the three months told me 99.9% he'd do crystal meth again. He said, 'Absolutely will.' And sure enough, he did do it again,” says Knust. The 63-year-old jockey recently applied for his riding license. He was knocked back. But the hearing officer hinted Valenzuela could reapply in 2026. “Knowing him, he'll apply again,” says Knust. “If anybody can do it, he can do it.” Determined to finish what he started no matter what? Sounds an awful lot like his former agent. The post From Agent to the Arthouse, Knust’s Cinematic Dream Becomes Reality appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Steve Asmussen became the first trainer to win 11,000 races in North American when Beau Soleil won the eighth race at Remington Park Saturday night. Asmussen's night at Remington Park began with two quick victories in the second and third races, putting him at 10,999 North American wins before Beau Soleil clinched the milestone victory in the eighth race. The trainer's son, Erik Asmussen, rode all three winners. “I'm extremely proud and grateful to a lot of great help, great owners and great horses,” Asmussen said. Asmussen has won an unprecedented 19 training titles at Remington Park, with an all-time leading 1,331 total victories in Oklahoma City. Now with 29 wins for the current season, Asmussen leads Robertino Diodoro by seven in the standings, in search for a 20th seasonal title. The current Remington meeting concludes Dec. 20. The post Asmussen First Trainer to 11,000 North American Wins appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

TATTERSALLS, ENGLAND – Mick Murphy has dedicated his lifetime's craft towards producing a horse good enough to win a Group 1 and, when his Longways Stables graduate Gewan (Night Of Thunder) crossed the line in front in Saturday's Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket, he and his wife Sarah were nowhere near the hubbub and celebration that rang out around the racecourse. Instead, Murphy was back at Park Paddocks searching for his next big-name star ahead of the Book 2 session of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. It is almost a year to the day since Murphy sourced Gewan at Book 2 and, to say his breakthrough at Group 1 level was a timely one would be a massive understatement. Far beyond the wild celebrations at Newmarket racecourse, Gewan provided the Longways team with a lift in their spirits after Sarah's well-documented health scare. Speaking from the Solario cafe at Tattersalls on the eve of Book 2, Murphy said, “I was back here inspecting the horses when Gewan won. Sarah was toying with the idea of coming over but Flora Of Bermuda, another graduate of ours, is her pride and joy, and she runs on Champions Day at Ascot next Saturday, so she decided that she would go to that instead. So our first Group 1 winner and neither of us were there! It's actually funny, I rang her straight away after the Dewhurst and she was watching the race on a delayed feed. She was about a minute behind but I don't think she minded me ruining the surprise to tell her that the horse had won. It was just an unbelievable buzz.” He added, “It was very special. Especially for Sarah, who has had a tough time of it for the past two years now, so Saturday provided her with a huge lift. The treatment has been going well but it has been a challenging 24 or 25 months now. That's why you could say Gewan was well-timed. It provided us with a major boost. It really is a massive thing for us. We've been lucky to have sold two Royal Ascot winners and have had multiple horses placed in Group 1s. We even had Le Brivido, who was beaten a short head in a French 2,000 Guineas. So to get that breakthrough Group 1, it means the world to us.” Not only was Gewan a hugely important winner for Longways Stables, but it was one that was collectively fist-pumped by the breeze-up community. Gewan provided that sphere with a one-three in the Dewhurst, given the third-placed Distant Storm was bought and sold by prominent breeze-up handler Cormac Farrell, and Murphy says the result will serve as a timely reminder of how strong that business has become. He said, “The past few years have been unbelievable. The quality of the horses that are being bought to go breezing now is frightening. I've said it several times before now but, when I first got into breezing, we were essentially second-hand car dealers. We trained what the trainers didn't want. Essentially, that was the role of the breeze-up men and women – to pick up the slack. Even in the past couple of years, the whole thing has gone to another level. It's gone so professional. But trying to buy horses to go breezing isn't easy, either. The market this year has been unbelievably strong. We were very lucky that we made a good living out of the chancier horses but, now, you need sire-power. I am a big believer in sire-power.” And Gewan has that all-important sire-power. By Night Of Thunder, who can seemingly do no wrong at present, the grey is out of a Stakes-placed mare in Grey Mystere (Lethal Force). Murphy went to 100,000gns to secure Gewan from Overbury Stud here 12 months ago. Recalling him as a yearling, he said, “I loved him physically, but thought he was quite raw. At the end of the day, though, he was by Night Of Thunder out of a Stakes mare. It is well-documented now that he had a small issue with one of his knees. My vet, Rob Dallas, was very happy with him and gave me the confidence to take a chance on him. Obviously, plenty of others didn't. Whether it is breeze-up horses or horses-in-training, a comment on knees or stifles will frighten a lot of people. I can remember when I was only starting out in this game, [vet] John Halley told me that. But I loved the horse and I took the chance on him. It wasn't anything majorly clever given his pedigree. Unfortunately, the buyers weren't as forgiving of him at the breeze-ups and we didn't make any money on him. Okay, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I knew he was a Group 1 horse, but I knew he was well above standard. Thankfully, Billy Jackson-Stops listened.” Gewan was led out of the ring unsold initially at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale. However, Jackson-Stops saw something that a lot of buyers didn't in the colt. And, crucially, he took Murphy at his word that this was a promising colt in the making. A deal was done and Jackson-Stops bought Gewan on behalf of Rabban Racing for what now looks to be a snip at €80,000. “He didn't blow the clock off but his stride analysis and his biometrics were off the charts,” Murphy explained. “The track at Deauville, it suits a really fast horse – you are only off the bend and you are into the straight and then there is a relatively quick pull-up. The Craven at Newmarket would have suited him better, as it proved yesterday, but because he was so raw, we gave him the time and waited for France. We did right by the horse. We probably didn't do right by ourselves with regards to getting well-paid for him, but we did right by the horse, and the horse is always number one. Billy was using the Pythia system last year at the breeze-ups and it was he who told me that Gewan scored unbelievably well on that. In fairness to Billy, he took a chance on the horse and it has worked out for him so I am absolutely delighted for him.” Gewan was sold privately by Rabban Racing to Chinese billionaire Yuesheng Zhang after the colt landed the G3 Acomb Stakes at York. Murphy wouldn't be human if he didn't wish his eye and judgement was better rewarded at the breeze-up sales but admitted to feeling overwhelming joy at Gewan fulfilling his potential. He said, “Obviously, we buy these horses for resale but our ultimate goal is to produce good horses. Whether you are a yearling or breeze-up consignor, I think that is the main aim. A Group 1-producing consignor, that's where you want to get to. It has taken us a while to get there but it was worth the wait.” Attention now turns to Book 2 where the goal is a simple one. Unearth the next Gewan. “My shortlist is a longlist,” Murphy joked. “There are a lot of nice horses here. But then again, there are a lot of people here so I am expecting trade to be strong. It's a sale I have been very lucky at before and we'll be trying hard again. I always try to buy two or three horses at Book 1 but we managed to buy five here last week – including two Night Of Thunder fillies – so it was definitely workable. So I bought five and I probably underbid six or seven as well. The pedigrees may not be as strong at Book 2 but, having got around to see the majority of the horses, the physicals are extremely strong. There are some very smart-looking horses here.” The post ‘My Shortlist Is A Longlist’ – Longways On The Hunt For Next Gewan At Book 2 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

High-class filly Barnavara, last seen winning the G1 Prix de l'Opera at ParisLongchamp, is set to go under the hammer at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale. She will be consigned by Baroda Stud and will feature as part of the fourth edition of the Sceptre Sessions, which take place on Monday, December 1 and Tuesday, December 2. Trained by Jessica Harrington for Alpha Racing, Barnavara has gone from strength to strength since gaining her first black-type victory in June's Listed Kooyonga Stakes at Navan. The daughter of Calyx has been beaten just once in four subsequent starts, notably winning the G3 Jannah Rose Stakes at Naas and G2 Blandford Stakes at the Curragh, before beating See The Fire by a short neck to make the breakthrough at the top level on Arc weekend. Altogether Barnavara will be offered at Park Paddocks as the winner of five of her 13 starts, having also made a successful debut at the Curragh in May last year. She went on to finish placed in three Group races as a two-year-old, including when returning to the Curragh to take third in the G2 Debutante Stakes. “The rules of the syndicate are that the horses are sold no later than the end of their three-year-old careers,” said Patrick Cooper of BBA Ireland, who bought Barnavara for €70,000 at Book 1 of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale. “She is a big filly, standing a good 16.2HH, so what she has achieved this early in her career is remarkable. She won her maiden in May of her two-year-old year and has run another dozen times since. She has a great constitution and an attitude to die for. She just doesn't lie down.” He continued, “Barnavara is named after the farm where Mum grew up in Cork. She is one of two nonagenarians in the syndicate, most of whom are intending to come to the sales. The genteel rabble that are the owners had the day of their racing lives at Longchamp. This is a great group of people. “Alpha Racing has been going for eight years now and we have pretty much given everyone back the share price every year. Hopefully, this year's group might do a little better than that. We have a core that has been in since the beginning and others come and go depending on circumstances. We will be sorry to see her go, but we are stocking up for next year and the bills need paying. The sale will be her last race for us and we are expecting a large turnout.” Bred by Andriy Milovanov and Viktor Tymoshenko, Barnavara is one of three winners from as many runners out of the Kentucky Dynamite mare Alfea who, in turn, is out of a half-sister to the G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis – Bayerisches Zuchtrennen hero Danceteria (Redoute's Choice). The third dam, the G3 Grand Prix des Provinces scorer Bal De La Rose, is a half-sister to the dual Classic-winning sire Lope De Vega. Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony added, “Barnavara is a filly of exceptional talent and looks to be a filly who is only going to get better and she will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the Sceptre Sessions at this year's Tattersalls December Mares Sale. She joins a growing list of stellar fillies that will be offered at Europe's leading breeding stock sale and it is a privilege to be asked to offer her at one of the most eargerly anticipated events of the global bloodstock sales calendar this year.” The post Prix de l’Opera Heroine Barnavara Joins A-List Cast for the Tattersalls December Mares Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief–No Joke, by Distorted Humor) will join the stallion roster at Coolmore America's Ashford Stud in 2026 following his final start in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, the farm said in a press release early on Sunday morning. As a juvenile, Citizen Bull won on debut at Del Mar for trainer Bob Baffert who pitched him straight into the GI Del Mar Futurity–a race he finished third. Subsequent starts at the Grade I level yieled victories in the American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita and in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. For his efforts, the colt was voted the country's top 2-year-old colt, which made him his sire's ninth champion. Citizen Bull's 3-year-old campaign included a score in the GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes in Arcadia and a 5 1/2-length win in the Shared Belief Stakes at the seaside oval Aug. 31. “The only Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male by Into Mischief, Citizen Bull will make a fantastic addition to our roster,” said Ashford Stud's Dermot Ryan. “He is from that very potent Into Mischief-Distorted Humor cross that has already given us the proven Grade I sire Practical Joke, and hails from the family of up-and-coming young Ashford sire Tiz The Law.” Following his Shared Belief Stakes success, trainer Bob Baffert said that, “He was back to a distance he really loves. The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is where we will be pointing… You saw the champion Citizen Bull today.” A stud fee for Citizen Bull will be announced in due course. The post Champion Citizen Bull To Stud At Coolmore America For 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article