Wandering Eyes

Te Akau Racing will have a strong hand at their home meeting at Matamata on Saturday, but their attention will also be firmly focussed on Flemington where their Group One-winning filly Captured By Love is set to make her Australian debut. The daughter of Written Tycoon has won five of her 11 starts in New Zealand, including the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m), and was placed in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) and Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) as a juvenile. Her only unplaced run came last month when seventh in the Gr.1 Railway (1200m) under heavy rain at Ellerslie on Karaka Millions night, and trainer Mark Walker said the wet conditions were far from ideal for his filly. “That rain thwarted her chances,” he said. “She whacked away but she just wasn’t as effective when we had that rain.” Captured By Love has settled in well into Te Akau’s Cranbourne base and Walker is looking forward to testing her talent in Australia for the first time in Saturday’s Listed Desirable Stakes (1400m). “She travelled over and settled in well,” Walker said. “It has come up a pretty strong field, the One Thousand Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) winner (Another Prophet) is in it and the number three horse (Too Darn Discreet) is a pretty good horse as well. “It is never a walk in the park over there, that’s for sure, and it won’t be on Saturday either. But she is in good form and we are hopeful.” A Flemington mile target awaits Captured By Love, but what that will be will be dictated by Saturday’s performance. “We will just play it by ear after Saturday, but one option could be the Australian Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) and another is the Kewney Stakes, a Group Two three-year-old fillies race.” Stablemate It’s A Wild Night will also be chasing stakes success at Flemington this weekend in the Listed The Elms Handicap (1400m). The Group One performer will be first-up on Saturday, and Walker is confident of a bold showing from the five-year-old gelding. “It’s A Wild Night gets his chance, he is only half a kilo above the minimum in that race, so gets in nice,” Walker said. Te Akau will also be looking for stakes success on this side of the Tasman when they take a strong contingent to Matamata. Leading their charge will be a three-pronged attack in the Gr.3 Fairview Matamata Slipper (1200m) five-horse field, led by undefeated colt Return To Conquer, who sits atop the market at $1.55, while two-win colt To Bravery Born is on the second line of betting at $3.80, and debut winner He Who Dares is the third fancied runner at $7. “They are three nice Snitzel colts and you can make a case for all of them,” said Walker, who trains his Matamata team in partnership with Sam Bergerson. “Sometimes those small fields can throw up surprises and it becomes a very tactical affair. “I think Return To Conquer is our number one seed, but there isn’t a lot between the other two.” A tilt at the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie on Champions Day, March 8, is in the offing for the trio if they perform up to expectations on Saturday. “It is the most likely path, but they have got to front up on Saturday and perform well to continue on that path,” Walker said. Te Akau will also have a strong line-up in the Gr.2 J Swap Contractors LTD Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m), led by last start Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) victor La Dorada. “She is tough, like all the progeny of Super Seth,” Walker said. “He is doing an amazing job at stud. His progeny are tough and resilient, and the New Zealand industry is lucky to have him. We expect her to be a genuine winning chance on Saturday.” She will be joined in the race by stablemates Marokopa Falls and Born To Be Royal. “Marokopa Falls had a nice freshen-up after Wellington (when third in the Gr.2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes, 1100m) and has had a couple of exhibition gallops, so she is ready to roll,” Walker said. “Born To Be Royal didn’t get all favours in her debut (when runner-up). It was a good debut and she isn’t there making up the numbers.” What You Wish For will be the stable’s sole representative in the Listed Matamata Veterinary Services Kaimai Stakes (2000m), and Walker said he has conditions to suit. “He has always promised to be competitive in the big ones,” he said. “He gets in on the minimum (53kg) and 2000m suits, so he should be thereabouts, and he has got a good record on his home track.” While Walker is hoping for positive results throughout the nine-race card on Saturday, he said it would be sentimental to win the Listed Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes (1400m), the first time it will be run at stakes level. “It would be very special to win Lisa’s race, she was a very dare friend of everyone’s, and it would be an honour to win her race,” Walker said. The stable will have two chances to do so with Group One winner Skew Wiff and last start Gr.3 Phar Lap Trophy (1600m) winner My Lips Are Sealed. “Skew Wiff is better suited to it because it is 1400m and with My Lips are Sealed, probably her best chance is a mile and beyond, but this race fits in with the Cuddle Stakes (Gr.3, 1600m) on Oaks Day.” View the full article

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The west coast Florida track north of Tampa said it's proud of its nearly 100-year-old history of racing.View the full article

Group 1-winning white mare Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) delivered her first foal, a filly by Equinox (Jpn), last month according to a post by the Northern Horse Park and owner/breeder Kaneko Makoto Holdings on X. Born on Jan. 30, the filly does not share her dam's white colouring as she is bay, but is doing well. Her dam a champion at two and three, has a trio of top-level races to her credit–the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies as her finale in a four-for-four juvenile season, the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) at three, and the G1 Victoria Mile at four. Overall, the full-sister to Japanese Champion Sprinter and G1 Sprinters Stakes heroine Mama Cocha (Jpn) won seven times throughout her career and earned over $5.3 million. Sodashi's dam, the winner Buchiko (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), was known for her unique spots, while her second dam, Sunday Silence mare Shirayukihime (Jpn), was white. The post Sodashi’s First Foal Is A Filly By Equinox appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

You'd better believe the Kentucky Derby (G1) will be a hot topic this spring in the Boston Red Sox locker room. Two of their players already have been bitten by the horse racing bug: Walker Buehler and Alex Bregman.View the full article

Race 2 AR PAINTERS HANDICAP 1300m ERNA (L Sutherland) – Trainer Ms. A Harvey reported to Stewards, ERNA has been retired from racing. The post Otaki-Maori Racing Club @ Otaki, Sunday 9 February 2025 appeared first on RIB. View the full article

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Just Steel (Justify), runner-up in last year's GI Arkansas Derby, continues to train towards his 4-year-old debut at Oaklawn Park, with the Mar. 29 GIII Oaklawn Mile his first major target of the season, according to trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Just Steel has been sidelined since suffering a condylar fracture during a fifth-place effort in the GI Preakness Stakes last May. “He's pretty versatile,” Lukas said. “He could go long or short, so I've got some options. In a perfect world, if everything would fall into place, I'd like to run him in the Oaklawn Mile. That would be a great spot. “I would say I'd probably try to find a conditioned race and then go in the Oaklawn Mile. That would be my guess. I'm going to run him. I really think he's doing good.” Just Steel has seven published works at Oaklawn since December. He most recently worked six furlongs from the gate in 1:14.00 Feb. 10. “Super,” Lukas said when asked how Just Steel had progressed. “Any adjective you want to use, superlative you want to use, would fit. He's coming back, he's had that time off, he's filled out, he's matured. If you've looked at his work tab, it's pretty solid.” The post Just Steel on the Comeback Trail appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

3rd-TAM, $53K, Msw, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:50 p.m. ET. MEURSAULT (Tapit) is set for her first start under the care of trainer Chad Brown for Alpha Delta. A $700,000 Keeneland September buy, the filly is out of unraced Lasy W (War Front), who claims one other foal–a yearling filly by Quality Road. The first-time starter's second dam, GI Acorn Stakes heroine Zaftig (Gone West), is also responsible for MGSP Spinoff (Hard Spun). Joining Meursault at the barrier is homebred Smoothly (Nyquist). Godolphin also campaigned her dam Via Strata (Street Cry {Ire}) and her second dam MGSW Golden Velvet (Seeking the Gold). Trained by Eoin Harty, Smoothly's extended female family includes MGISW Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) and current sire Maxfield (Street Sense). TJCIS PPS The post Friday Insights: Tapit Filly For Alpha Delta Unveiled At Tampa Bay Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Despite tiring and finishing fourth in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull Stakes (G3), co-owner Ramiro Restrepo said Ferocious checked off several important boxes in his 3-year-old debut that gives the team confidence ahead of the March 29 Florida Derby (G1).View the full article

Three years after taking the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (G1) aboard Home Affairs, jockey James McDonald returns to Flemington in hopes of piloting the Chris Waller-trained Switzerland to victory Feb. 15.View the full article

Live racing was canceled at Penn National Race Course Thursday evening due to the ongoing effects of winter weather in the area. Racing at the Pennsylvania oval is set to resume Friday with the first of 10 races scheduled to go off at 5:45 pm. Thursday's canceled 10-race card will now be run in its entirety next Wednesday and the track will race Wednesday through Friday next week. The post Penn National Cancels Racing Thursday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In 'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma), George Weaver trains what looks like the fastest 3-year-old male in the U.S. Last week at Aqueduct he won a maiden race by seven lengths while earning a Beyer figure of 106. The 106 is easily the fastest number run so far this year by a 3-year-old. For some owners, a race that good would have afflicted them with Derby Fever and their horses would wind up in traditional Derby preps. But owners Jack Wolf, Curtis Harrell and their partners have said that all racing decisions will be made by Weaver, who is still mulling his options That's not a bad thing. Weaver is careful and practical. On the one hand, trying to squeeze in the Derby after the horse broke his maiden in a sprint race in February may be way too much to ask. On the other hand, might he be so talented and fast that anything is possible. If he thinks that Colloquial could win the Derby, then don't his owners deserve a chance to win the $5-million race? These are nice problems to have, at least for now, Weaver is exploring all possibilities and ruling out nothing. The only firm decision he has made is that Colloquial will have six or seven weeks off before his next race. “Because he ran so fast, the only thing I am committed to is giving him some time,” the trainer said. “I am a big believer that if we tried to bring him back on short rest it would backfire. With the number he ran being so fast, giving him a six or seven-week break now would be ideal to me. He gets back here to Florida on Friday and we'll see how he's doing and go from there.” Weaver is the first to admit that trying to force his way into the Derby so quickly and with so little preparation is a risky proposition. “I'm not sure the horse will run two turns,” he said. “But we're at that time of the year with these 3-year-olds where it's not hard to get that Triple Crown fever. We'll keep all of our options open. If the Gotham were back in five weeks, I'd probably be tempted to try it. It's a one-turn mile. But running him would mean bringing him back in three weeks and I'm not going to do that.” Nonetheless, he hasn't slammed the door on trying a traditional Derby prep in the horse's next start. “If you ran him in one of the major Derby preps and if he won you could go to the Derby, if you wanted to. But it doesn't feel like a realistic goal,” Weaver said. “But you never know. Times have changed. It used to be that you had to go into the Derby with a seasoned horse. Now, more and more every year, some of the more highly regarded horses in the Derby field are horses that didn't get started until they were three.” At this point, it looks like the safer bet is to concentrate on sprint races restricted to 3-year-olds. An obvious goal would be the GI Woody Stephens Stakes, which is run during the Belmont Stakes festival at Saratoga. What if Colloquial had distance limitations, but turns into an outstanding sprinter? “I'd definitely be OK with that,” Weaver said. “It's my responsibility to my owners to put all of these options out there. Sometimes owners would like to see them run long. I don't know if this horse will go long. If I owned him myself, I would try to get to the Woody Stephens and pick the best path to get there and after that I'd think about stretching him out. With the 3-year-olds they only get one shot at the Triple Crown races. There are a lot of decisions that have to be made. Maybe we will stretch him out in his next start and see what he wants to do.” “Maybe he will go two turns. He's out of a Bernardini mare, but it's still a big question mark. We're glad to have him. If I can keep him healthy all year, he's going to be a big force.” Colloquial is by Vekoma, who Weaver also trained. Vekoma, last year's leading freshman sire, flopped in the 2019 Derby when finishing 12th, but he was a completely different horse the next year when Weaver raced Vekoma only in one-turn races. He won all three of his starts during his 4-year-old year, including the GI Carter and the GI Metropolitan H. To train what might turn out to be one of Vekoma's fastest sons brings back a lot of memories for Weaver. “We've been lucky enough to get some good horses in our barn,” Weaver said. “Not a lot of them, but we've had quite a few nice horses. Vekoma is obviously one of them. It's amazing when they show up. The appreciation we have for a good horse is unbelievable. It's about the horse. Saratoga County was my first good one. With horses like him and Vekoma, it didn't really matter what I did with them. I just tried to keep them healthy. You didn't need to worry so much about what you did with them between races because when you led them over in the afternoon, they always showed up. You think about how much they do for you and your family. With how well Vekoma is doing at stud, it's like we're now being able to relive his greatness.” The post Weaver Weighing Options with Colloquial appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

OGMA Investments, JR Ranch, Upland Flats Racing, Morplay Racing, High Step Racing, Lady Sheila Stable and Michael and Jules Iavarone's highly regarded Victory Avenue (Arrogate), unraced since his debut run last winter, returns to the races Sunday at Gulfstream Park. Trained by Gustavo Delgado, the colt was second after a troubled start in his debut at Gulfstream on the Pegasus undercard last January. He was entered in the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes off that maiden appearance, but was scratched. “He was just such a naturally fast talented colt that he kind of took us to the [maiden] race,” explained co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “We started him at the end of January in a race when he really should have just started training at the end of January. Obviously, he put up a ridiculous race. He ran out of his skin, but he kind of told us after the race that he needed some time. We turned him out for a good while and have taken our sweet time.” Victory Avenue | Coglianese Victory Avenue returned to the work tab Dec. 7 and has breezed eight times at Gulfstream for his comeback. He drew post two in a field of seven for Sunday's fourth race, a maiden special weight for 4-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on the main track. Javier Castellano will ride. “He's had eight workouts so far and he's ready to take that first step. We've been easy on him just to get him back. He hasn't had any crazy bullets or anything like that, but with those works he's fit enough to run and just re-start his career,” Restrepo said. “Obviously last year the imagination was running wild, but I think we're a patient bunch and we're just happy to get him back in the gate.” Restrepo also reported that JR Ranch, Marquee Bloodstock, High Step Racing and OGMA Investments' Ferocious (Flatter) exited his fourth-place finish in the Feb. 1 GIII Holy Bull Stakes in fine shape. Second in last year's GI Hopeful Stakes and GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, the colt was making his first start since finishing fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He was wearing blinkers for the first time in the Holy Bull and found himself within a head of the lead after six furlongs before tiring. “He was tired seven furlongs in. From the quarter [pole] home he kind of flattened out, and that's fine. It happens. He came out of it well. It was nice to have gotten a start in to get the year going,” Restrepo said. “The positive is that he did so many things that nobody even notices. He would get really nervous in the paddock. He would get really nervous in the post parade. He would get nervous in the gate and he would run in pieces in his races. He wouldn't run a complete race. Those were huge questions for us. With the blinkers and the time [off], all those boxes were checked. He behaved like a total gentleman in the paddock, he behaved like a total gentleman in the post parade and starting gate. That was huge for us.” Ferocious's likely next start is expected to be the Mar. 29 GI Florida Derby. “I don't know what Gustavo's next move is going to be,” Restrepo said. “The plan was to go Holy Bull-Florida Derby. I believe that seems to be the same plan. I haven't heard him say we have to go Fountain of Youth or reroute to another place or anything like that. I'm assuming Florida Derby will be the next start, and we have ample time to keep building on his training for the Florida Derby.” The post Victory Avenue Returns Sunday, Florida Derby Likely Next for Ferocious appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

We have seen him race just six times to date and there is good reason to hope that the best could still be to come for the strapping four-year old Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}). Whatever else he goes on to achieve, it would be hard to surpass the delight he delivered for Shaikh Isa Salman Al Khalifa in securing his first Group 1 triumph in the race sponsored by the owner's home nation, the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes. The mind of the colt's trainer William Haggas is already turning over with pencilled-in plans for the season ahead and, despite the expert help he has on hand at his Somerville Lodge stable, he has added what he hopes will be a beneficial twist to the current training schedule of Economics by sending him off for some schooling with Olympic gold medal-winning eventer Laura Collett. And by that, we don't mean schooling in the racing sense of popping him over a few hurdles, but the laying of a good foundation of flatwork in an arena. Done properly, particularly in partnership with a rider of Collett's calibre, this steady, collected exercise encourages a horse to use different muscles to those relied upon in the daily routine of traditional racing training, in turn enhancing strength and balance. Economics is reportedly a model pupil. “He's an intelligent horse, and Laura thinks he's wonderful,” says Haggas. Collett would know a thing or two about sitting on a good Thoroughbred. Her experience in this field includes riding the great steeplechaser Kauto Star in his conversion from racehorse to dressage horse, and she previously did similar work with the Haggas stable's Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) in the days before he was a three-time Group 1 winner. The trainer continues, “She said she wanted to give Economics another week last week, and I said, 'You can have two if you want.' We trust her to do what is right for him, and it's very much a team game, because it was the introduction from Yogi Breisner who set us up with Laura, with Dubai Honour initially. And really we've been a fan ever since, and of course Maureen gets it.” Haggas's wife Maureen previously competed in eventing herself and remains one of the key riders at Somerville Lodge. She was doubtless instrumental in the arrangement which sees the former British Eventing team performance manager Yogi Breisner appear at their Newmarket stable once a month to offer tuition to riders in the yard. While it is still only February, in Newmarket it is hard not to yearn for those days of high summer and top-class Flat racing, and it may well be at Royal Ascot where we witness the return of Economics. He last ran at Ascot in the G1 Qipco British Champion Stakes and was seen to have some blood in one nostril after finishing sixth in testing underfoot conditions. Haggas says, “He was an immature horse last year, and I'm really hoping that this will be his year. His first main target is the Prince of Wales's Stakes. I'm not intending to force him any earlier than that, because a lot of the types of races he's going to run in are from Ascot onwards. But if he needs a run, it's possible he could go for the [Prix] Ganay. I wouldn't want to run him on very heavy ground again, because that didn't appear to suit him at Ascot. But essentially, we're looking at the Prince of Wales's and then we'll take it from there.” He adds, “The trip that he will be running over is the great trip for a four-year-old because there are lots of valuable and prestigious options. I always thought he would stay a mile and a half but I'm not sure whether we'll ever do it. I actually thought he might be better at a mile and a half, but he's pretty good at a mile and a quarter.” Laura Collett and Kauto Star | Racingfotos The aforementioned Dubai Honour is one of a team of four soon heading from the Haggas stable to Sydney, which has become a regular – and highly lucrative – stomping ground for the trainer. Now seven, Dubai Honour took New South Wales by storm two years ago when winning the G1 Ranvet and G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes – two obvious repeat targets for him this time around. Success in either would also help bolster the charge of his sire Pride Of Dubai, who currently leads the Australian general sires' table. Since his previous Australian foray, Dubai Honour won last year's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and was last seen chasing home his Newmarket neighbour Giavellotto (Ire) to be second in the G1 Hong Kong Vase. “Verry Elleegant has died, sadly,” says Haggas of the great Australian-trained mare who tussled, honours even, with another of Haggas's multiple Group 1 winners in the country, Addeybb (Ire). “But we've now got a new challenger in Via Sistina. She's obviously very good, and is much the best horse there. So she might be a tough nut to crack, but we should never be frightened of one.” Joining Dubai Honour on the journey south is the King and Queen's Royal Ascot winner Desert Hero (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). “He's in good shape at the moment. Long may that continue,” Haggas reports. “And we're taking a six-year-old called Al Mubhir, who is by Frankel. He likes a bit of cut in the ground, but copes on faster ground. He's ready for a trip abroad and I think he'll enjoy it very much.” Completing the quartet is four-year-old Marama (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), a seven-length winner at Chester last September who will remain in Australia having been bought by a local syndicate. “We've been very lucky in Sydney,” says Haggas, whose most recent plunder of a huge pot came with Lake Forest (GB) (No Nay Never). Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy's Gimcrack winner of 2023 won the A$10m Golden Eagle at Rosehill last November, dashing the hopes of the Nurlan Bizakov-owned Lazzat (Fr) in the dying strides to pick up the equivalent of just over £2.8m in prize-money. “When Lake Forest won there, blimey, that was extraordinary. I haven't talked to the owners yet, but I quite fancy going to Hong Kong at the end of April for the Champions Mile. And then he'll go to Ascot, hopefully, for the Queen Anne. He won over seven and a half [in Australia], finishing well. We'll campaign him over a mile. Seven's a bad trip in Europe, but he wants top of the ground. I don't think he'll get it early on, so maybe Hong Kong is the right shout. And he might well end up back in Australia or at the Breeders' Cup. We'll have to work that out, whether he goes to Australia for a race in Sydney and then a race in Melbourne in October/November, or goes to the Breeders' Cup in California. We'll have to see. But he's a pretty good horse, I think. To do what he did was pretty outstanding.” Haggas begins his international campaign for 2025 this Saturday in Qatar, where he will run Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's Yaroogh (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Al Rayyan Mile. “He just got beaten a nose in the Horris Hill,” he says of the three-year-old, who won three races last year, including the Listed Prix Saraca at Chantilly. “He's got a great draw, but he needs a thunderstorm really and he's not going to get it. But he's very well, and he's a hardy bugger. He likes going forward, which I think will suit him around there. So hopefully he will run a nice race.” The post ‘He Was an Immature Horse Last Year’: Haggas on Economics and International Plans appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

It’s Friday night and that means dual racing under the lights at Addington and Alexandra Park. The return of Wag Star will create a lot of interest in the south while Greased Lightnin aims for a third win in just five career starts at Alexandra Park. Wag Star favoured for winning resumption at Addington By Michael Guerin Wag Star is ready to start making up for his lost summer at Addington tonight. But exactly what his campaign looks like heading forward could be decided by his performance in tonight’s feature pace, the Studholme Bloodstock handicap Pace (8.26pm) . Wag Star looked every inch an open class pacer in the making when he returned with a massive performance in the spring and was then second to Tact McLeod in an open class race at Addington, form that has stacked up since. After runs in the Kaikoura Cup and the junior free-for-all he missed his main target the Invercargill Cup with a virus that forced trainer Craig Ferguson to let him miss most of the summer. “Once that happened he was better off having a spell,” says Ferguson. “But he has come up really well this time and won both his trials without us having the blinds on. “He is probably going into this Friday as ready as he was back in the spring and we all saw what he did back then. He is currently a $2.40 favourite. “So it looks a good comeback race for him, especially only being off 10m.” The field contains little winning form but the obvious danger is Dalton Shard, who while he hasn’t won in a while has been in great form, with a second in the Invercargill Cup and fourth in the Auckland Cup. He has had a brief let up too but like Wag Star has plenty of options this new season. “This week might tell us which way to go, north or south,” explains Ferguson. “He could stick around in the south for the country cups or maybe head up north for some of the better races up there.” Could that possibly extend to a slot in the $1million Race by Betcha at Cambridge on April 4? “Obviously that would be great if the opportunity came up and he was racing well enough.” Tonight’s meeting sees another early season 2YO race, the Barron Bloodstock Class of 2025 Mobile Pace (7.29pm) with the stables represented in the first of the season two weeks ago, Ross Houghton and Ken Barron, joined by debutantes from Mark and Nathan Purdon and Team Telfer. The Telfer runner Sonofamistery is a $1.90 favourite following the scratching of debut winner Showmethetanlines. Greased Lightnin aiming to go three in a row at Alexandra Park By Michael Guerin Learning curves don’t come much steeper than the one Greased Lightnin finds himself on at Alexandra Park tonight. But co-trainer Scott Phelan says he wouldn’t be surprised if the three-year-old keeps on winning and reveals himself as a Derby contender. Greased Lightnin contests the opener, the appropriately named Purdon and Phelan – ATC Leading Trainers Mobile Pace (6.15pm), on a short and sharp night at Alexandra Park and he finds himself being fast forwarded into intermediate grade. As can sometimes happen at Alexandra Park Greased Lightnin has come from a maiden race two starts ago to tonight taking on horses like his own stablemate Invisible, who a few starts ago was racing Miracle Mile runner-up Sooner The Better and Jolimont in a $100,000 open race. Phelan, who trains in partnership with the legend Barry Purdon, says while the two stable reps are coming in with vastly different form lines he can’t choose between them. “We all know Invisible can mix it with those better horses and he can win this week if he shows his best,” says Phelan. “But I am not sure Greased Lightnin is any inferior ability wise. “Sure he is younger and still improving but he has real ability and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in some of the big races over the next few months. “So while it is a big step up this week we wouldn’t be stunned if he won again.” If Greased Lightnin can make it three wins on end it could set up a family double as his older half sister Ultimate Racy Girl also finds herself in a race she can win, Race 4 – the Woodlands Stud ’25 Yearling Draft Junior Mobile Pace. She had her highs and lows in the second half of last season but is better than the grade she finds herself in tonight. While the Purdon/Phelan team has a small but important hand at tonight’s meeting two of their stable stars start their Sydney campaigns at Menangle tomorrow night. Sooner The Better returns against a genuinely top class local in Captains Knock at Menangle as he works his way toward the Miracle Mile, which has automatic qualifiers in two weeks. “He is really well and will go a good race but he will also improve with this week,” says Phelan. Better Knuckle Up makes his Australian debut in the $50,000 Hondo Grattan Stakes, which is a qualifier for the Chariots of Fire on March 1. He meets NZ Derby winner We Walk By Faith and a strong bunch of Australian four-year-olds and faces the Menangle fresh up curse, with the big mile track notoriously difficult for New Zealand horses to win their first start on, particularly in a Group-level mile. The stable star Merlin will bypass tomorrow’s meeting and resume at Menangle next week as he also looks to qualify for the Miracle Mile via the lead up races on March 1. View the full article

by Adam Hamilton Tonight’s Terang Cup may seem a left-field option for star Kiwi pacer Don’t Stop Dreaming, but not when you take a glance at the race’s Honour Roll. One of the greatest pacer’s the sport has seen, Blacks A Fake, is the biggest name on the list. Trainer-driver Natalie Rasmussen used the 2006 Terang Cup win to launch Blacks A Fake towards the first of his four Inter Dominion wins, in Hobart just weeks later. Just days after winning the 2015 Hunter Cup, Kerryn Manning took Arden Rooney to Terang in New South Wales and won the Cup. Months later, he became the first Aussie pacer in 28 years to win the NZ Cup. Before them, the great Sokyola won Terang Cups in 2003 and 2005 – before and after – a plethora of major wins, including two Miracle Miles. In Don’t Stop Dreaming’ case, the Terang Cup simply suited his preparation for another tilt at the Miracle Mile. Just four years ago, Anthony Butt used Terang to prepare Wolf Stride, who won a Miracle Mile qualifier and then ran third in the Mile itself. “It suited to stay down in Victoria a week longer and go to Terang, rather than head to Sydney early,” Purdon said. That way Don’t Stop Dreaming will have the foundation of three runs in as many weeks, but get a two-week break before the crucial Miracle Mile qualifying races at Menangle on March 1. And excited Kate Gath keeps the drive after partnering Don’t Stop Dreaming for the first time when a fantastic second to Leap To Fame in last week’s Group 1 Cranbourne Cup. “It’s exciting and a real bonus,” Gath said. “I knew I was just warming the seat at Cranbourne so to get another go on him is terrific.” Don’t Stop Dreaming is a $1.55 favourite for the Cup that goes at 10.33pm NZT. Gath was suitably impressed at Cranbourne. “He went super,” she said. “Every time I asked him for a bit more, he kept giving. “I heard Grant (Dixon) say after the race he was a bit surprised he couldn’t shake us off, that’s a real credit to this horse. “I just wish I’d been able to drop back in behind Leap To Fame on the home bend. I got close, but Mach Dan did just enough to keep me out. “I’m not saying we’d have beaten Leap To Fame, but we’d have got a lot closer with that little breather.” It was the second time Don’t Stop Dreaming has run second to Leap To The Fame. The other was in last year’s Hunter Cup. “Mark felt the Hunter Cup run would’ve brought the horse on and it certainly seemed that way,” Gath said. “It’s an easier race this week, especially with no Leap To Fame there, so you’d expect him to go very close if he runs up to last week.” On the same card, Gath drives her only stable star Catch A Wave in a support race at Terang. “We could’ve gone to the (Terang) Cup with him, but just prefer to keep him to the sprint races leading into the Miracle Mile,” she said. Swayzee heads to Albury as he chases $1m bonus By Adam Hamilton Cam Hart is not taking tonight’s Albury Cup in Victoria for granted with dual New Zealand Cup winner Swayzee. Despite the mighty stayer winning 19 of his 25 starts for trainer Jason Grimson, including an epic last start win over Leap To Fame in the Hunter Cup, Hart insists an outside back row draw, full field and some quality opposition will make the race a challenge. “Yes, you do go expecting him to win races like this, but this won’t just be a stroll in the park,” he said. “It’s a small track and clearly the best field of the four NSW Cups he’s been in so far. Captain Hammerhead is a lovely horse and I’ve got some time for Catalpa Rescue, too.” Despite that, Swayzee is a $1.10 favourite. The race will go at 10.53pm NZT. Hart said the mighty stayer had thrived since the Hunter Cup win, which he believes was the best of Swayzee’s career so far. “He’s really well. The timing of the race is good, too. It’s a couple of weeks since the Hunter Cup and we’ve got four weeks until his next run, so we can afford to go out there and really make it a contest,” he said. “I’m still buzzing after that Hunter Cup. He went super in the Victoria Cup (last October) and the two NZ Cups wins have been terrific, but I think the Hunter Cup is his best win yet. “In a great field like that, to come from a back row draw and just keep running in that (record) time. “It’s the biggest thrill I’ve had in the game, so I guess that says it all.” Swayzee will guarantee connections at least a $500,000 bonus if he wins at Albury as fourth leg of the five-race NSW Carnival of Cups. He’s already won the first three legs at Parkes, Young and Tamworth and can boost the bonus to $1 million if he wins at Albury and then adds the final leg, the Renshaw Cup, at Penrith on March 14. View the full article

A new three-year workforce strategy, designed to improve recruitment, development and retention of people working within the racing and breeding industries, has been announced by the independently-chaired Horseracing Industry People Board (HIPB). Titled Our People, Racing's Future, the strategy encompasses five main themes, starting with the recruitment of more people with suitable skills, the training and development of new and existing members of the workforce, and improving employment practices to help with retention of staff. The final two elements are inclusion and wellbeing, with an emphasis on mental and physical health provision. The plan is described as “a vision for ensuring racing is an attractive, rewarding and fulfilling industry in which to work, where people feel supported to build a career and achieve their potential”. In turn, it is hoped that this will see a reduction in the skills shortage, with the aim of bringing the average vacancy rates across racing and breeding yards down to 10%. That figure currently stands at 24%, while it was also reported that 45% of staff are looking to leave the sport within the next two years. Julia Tyson, interim chair of the HIPB, said, “The publication of the strategy is an important milestone for the sport. We are an industry driven by the passion, dedication and expertise of our people–and we must do more to support those at the heart of British racing and breeding. “We know that working in our industry can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also be demanding. We are acutely aware of the challenges people face, especially in horse-facing roles. To ease these pressures, we need to recruit, develop and retain more people with the right skills and do more to prioritise people's physical and mental wellbeing. “This workforce strategy builds on the vast amount of existing good practice while thinking about how we can do things differently, setting new standards for the future and doing so in a more coordinated way. It will take time to deliver, but we are encouraged by the willingness of the industry to get behind the plan. “We all have an important role to play in ensuring the strategy's success and securing a more prosperous future for British racing and breeding–and the people who make it all possible.” The HIPB includes Flat trainer Daniel Kubler, former National Hunt jockey Tom Scudamore, Helene Sharrock, chief people officer at the Jockey Club, and George McGrath, chief executive of the National Association of Racing Staff (NARS). The strategy has also been approved by racing's leaders, with Brant Dunshea, acting chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), describing the launch as “an important moment for the sport”. He added, “We have made welcome progress, especially in recent years, to create more attractive, safer, supportive and inclusive working environments for racing's people. We do recognise we need to do more and do it in a more coordinated way. “We need to be more coordinated if we are going to tackle the challenges we face, particularly when it comes to recruitment and retaining the talent in our industry that will enable our sport, the people and horses to flourish.” The strategy is available to view in full here. The post Three-Year Plan Announced to Grow and Support Racing’s Workforce appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sulaiyma (GB) (Kingman {GB}), a 4-year-old half-sister to G3 Munster Oaks heroine Sumiha (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), topped Thursday's Goffs Online Sale, which consisted of seven lots from the draft of the Aga Khan Studs. The horses were scratched out of the Goffs February Sale proper as a mark of respect following the recent passing of His Highness The Aga Khan. The bay went to Tally-Ho Stud on a bid of €150,000. Sold as lot 381, the filly is from the extended family of Sinndar (Ire). All seven lots offered sold for a gross of €338,500. The average was €48,358 and the median was €30,000. Lot 336, the 5-year-old Harzand (Ire) mare Kayhana (Ire). brought €65,000 from Thoroughbred Investments. She was last seen finishing fourth in the Listed Knockaire Stakes. Muzina (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) (lot 352) was snapped up by Middlelane Farm for €55,000. The 4-year-old counts G2 Prix de Royallieu heroine Mouramara (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}) as her second dam. The latter has thrown a trio of black-type winners under both codes anchored by G1 Sydney Cup hero Mourayan (Ire) (Alhaarth {Ire}). Pat Downes, Aga Khan Studs manager, said, “I thought the sale went well and we are more than happy with the results. The Goffs Online process was highly efficient and well run so I can envisage us making more use of it in the future.” Goffs Group chief executive Henry Beeby said, “Goffs was pleased to accommodate the wishes of the Aga Khan Studs by conducting a special one-off online sale of their February Sale draft and are delighted with the results headed by a top price of €150,000 and a perfect clearance rate of 100%. The bloodlines that His Highness nurtured with such skill and care over the last 65 years are always highly prized and we wish the new owners the best of luck with their purchases. “Today's sale went seamlessly and clearly demonstrated the customer friendliness of Goffs Online. We have been relatively quiet in this space recently but are working on something a little different about which more in due course.” The post Aga Khan’s Sulaiyma The €150k Star Of Goffs Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Needless to say, Dornoch didn't look as shocked as Jayson Werth had felt when someone once said much the same to him. But somehow he got the message, because next day he went out there as a longshot and came back the winner of the GI Belmont Stakes. It had just been the two of them, in his stall, Werth literally giving the horse a pep talk. So he wanted to be a stallion, a lot of pretty mares lining up? Wanted to be somebody in this game? Well, here's how it was. “This,” Werth told him, “is your last chance in horseracing.” A heartless phrase that went back to a time when he, too, had been written off; when nobody wanted to hear excuses–like Dornoch getting stranded by the rails draw in the Derby–and perhaps even suspected that he was malingering. After a superb debut season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Werth was hit by a fastball on the first day of spring training in 2005. He holds up the wrist, the bone still pretty messy even now. The medics gave him some routine treatments, including surgery when it stubbornly wouldn't clear up, and told him time and again that he was good to resume. “Except I couldn't even open a door,” he says. “It was that painful. And they're trying to tell me there's nothing wrong with me. Because all I had to do was get on the field for one inning, and they could send me down to the minor leagues and not pay my insurance. It was a time of ultimate turmoil, just bad, bad juju, bad vibes. People thinking that I was just trying to collect unemployment, essentially. When all I wanted to do was play.” He played a little in 2005, not at all in 2006. Finally he was released by the Dodgers. For an athlete in his prime, on the brink of stardom, it was purgatory. At one point, Werth had flown over to consult yet another doctor in Atlanta. On the way, he called home: his high school sweetheart Julia was raising their young kids, suffering in her own way from the whole saga. But it was only because he happened to visit that day, and went to the mailbox when he did, that he spotted the father of a boyhood teammate walking his dog over the street. Werth called out a greeting. Jayson Werth touches them all following a 2-run home run in the 2009 NLCS | Getty Images “Hey, Jayson, what's up? What are you doing here?” Werth explained about his wrist. “Man, you're still having problems with that?” “Yeah, I'm going to go see another specialist. This is like my eighth.” “Have you been to the Mayo Clinic?” “Never even heard of it.” Werth now remembered that this guy was an orthopaedic surgeon. “Their hand department up there is amazing. You should call them.” He gave Werth a name to ask for. Werth ran straight in and dialed the number. “I don't want to call back. I'll wait. Tell him this is important.” He was three hours on hold, in total, the first doctor having redirected him to a more relevant specialist. Finally he was talking with Dr. Berger's assistant. “Okay,” she said. “Let's make an appointment. How about Aug. 16?” This was May. He thought the Dodgers might get him moved up, but they didn't. Finally the day came. “Well,” Dick Berger told him. “You've got one of two things. One, I can fix it. If it's the other, you'll never play again.” So they did an MRI, and Werth braced himself for sleepless nights of waiting. But as he left the scanning room, there was Berger in the doorway. “Surgery tomorrow. I'll get you in early, be there at six. I got you. I can fix this.” Nearly 20 years later, Werth still chokes with emotion. Julia, too, has her eyes brimming. “We literally just sat on the phone and bawled our eyes out until six o'clock the next morning,” Werth recalls. “This was the only guy in the world that was doing this surgery, that was identifying and repairing what I had [an ulnotriquetral split.] Oh, man. I mean, I was done. My career was over before it started.” Not that his comeback was easy, even then. The Phillies had taken him on, but he was rusty and it was only because two of his new teammates got injured right at the trade deadline that he got his chance. The GM called him in. And that's when he heard those words: “This is your last chance in professional baseball.” Getty Images “And I'm like, my last chance? What the ****! I mean, I was just almost Rookie of the Year. I get hurt, and now this is my last chance?” He shakes his head, still incredulous. “So I get two hits that night. Four hits the next night. I end up hitting .420 for August. We run down the Mets in '07, we win the World Series in '08. I don't come off the field for 10 years. And that was my last chance.” Hence his words to this uncomprehending Thoroughbred, soon after discovering a surprising new stimulus for his retirement. There's a parallel, after all, between what he did during his own career and the preparation of Dornoch: endless, repetitive honing and rehearsing, all coming down to a fleeting moment of performance. “That part, I totally get,” Werth says. “They're the athlete. They're the pro. How much work you put into something. Plus the fact that he was pigeon-toed like I was! But yeah, the blood, sweat, and tears goes into it. You get so invested, owning these horses, it's crazy. It becomes as big a deal as when I was playing.” He had first become intrigued through golf buddies in Florida, who raced the occasional state-bred. “It's the same, whatever level you've played sports,” he says. “When you stop, you miss that competition. So having a horse leave the gate, it's like you're back on the field. I kind of tiptoed into it, at first, with a piece of some fillies. But all of a sudden it's Tuesday at Tampa Bay Downs, a $16,000 claimer I own a leg of, and I'm as fired up as I get. I'm alive again. I didn't even realize that there was a void to fill, that there was a huge piece of me missing.'” He was soon raising the bar with R Calli Kim (Revolutionary), whose thrilling off-the-pace style won two graded stakes. And then he walked into a bar at the Keeneland September Sale of 2022. “Could have gone left, could have gone right,” Werth recalls. “But I saw Danny [Gargan, trainer] and Conor [Foley, agent] and all those guys, who I knew, so I went over and talked. And next thing Danny's convinced me to take 10% percent of a Good Magic yearling they just bought [for $325,000]. First colt I ever had. Looking back, Danny was so full of it! And I was so green. I mean, like we're going to buy one colt and chase the Derby dream? But he even said, 'It'd be cool to have a guy like you in the game, get a celebrity involved. If this horse turns into something, it could become…' Really, become what it has. So he had a vision, and he was right.” And so the mutual attraction between horseracing and this usefully conspicuous convert–all that hair, all that open, buoyant engagement–began to intensify. Hoisting the Belmont Stakes trophy at Saratoga | Getty Images “Fountain of Youth day, I brought Max Scherzer, a first-ballot Hall of Fame pitcher, and some other baseball buddies,” he recalls. “We get a suite at Gulfstream. And R Calli Kim wins a Grade III, and then Dornoch wins, and it's starting to hit me: 'All right, guys. The dream is on.' I've won the World Series, I know what it's like, I get it. And I'm playing big games again.” The Derby itself proved an anti-climax, but the experience–the walkover, all the rest of it–was indelible. Going into the Belmont, Werth was affronted to see how quickly Dornoch had been forgotten. “We really, legitimately thought he was going to win the Derby,” he says. “But that one post, he's dead before it starts. Never had a chance. And now he's 17-1, the outcast. 'Come on, this is my guy. Don't trash my guy.' I knew how good this horse was. I believed in him. And I mean, he's like a family member. So that's when I go in and give him a full pep talk. Tapped him on the head, told him, 'This is it, dude, your last chance at horseracing.'” The delirium he shared with a watching nation, during and after the race, measured the revelation that horseracing had become. If anything, however, too much of a revelation. “As it started coming together, we thought, 'This is remarkable,'” he says. “My wife's fallen in love with it, too: the dresses, the hats, the big days, events before and after. And we were like, 'This is such a cool sport. How does nobody know about this?' “I mean, we lucked into this whole thing. I don't think the average American fan has any idea how cool this can be, above all from an ownership side. Because that's where you can differentiate: you're not just sports fans, but sport owners. That's where horseracing's missing the mark. That's how to change and grow the sport, through ownership. Because now these horses become your story, your reality. And you start peeling back the layers.” For too long, he suggests, ownership has been the preserve of the privileged few. “No offense, because it's these people, these families, that have stood the sport up to this point,” he acknowledges. “But the sport isn't growing. Why? Not because it hasn't evolved, started to do great things for the people and horses involved, to erase the stigmas. I mean, it's a way better sport than 20, 30, 50 years ago. And my challenge has been explaining that to people. So why is little old me having to tell them all this stuff? “The industry's done a poor job of storytelling, explaining, outreach. Granted, we've had unbelievable luck in what we've done. But without that success, I wouldn't be here. So that's driven me to see this soft spot: to share the experiences we've had, bring people in. Everybody I've invited to the track, to see a day through the lens of an owner, straightaway it's: 'How do I get involved?'” Werth is not naïve. He knows that many a novice has had a bad experience, maybe been taken for a ride. But as one who thrived because baseball cleaned up its act, leveling the playing field for those who had always played straight, he implores us to recognize the stakes. “Without new people coming in, I don't think the sport can sustain itself,” he says. “Look at the industry right now: it's addition by subtraction. We should be gaining tracks, not losing them. Yes, there's stuff that needed sorting, that people are doing a great job to get rid of. But you can talk about the bad parts of any industry. You want to talk about the low levels of minor league baseball? I mean, it sucks. And we're talking about human beings that can talk. So, of course we need to protect these horses that can't stand up for themselves. But if Aunt Tammy, Aunt Sally and Uncle Chad owned a piece, fewer would fall into the hands of people that don't care.” So what does addition by addition look like? Well, a lot like Icon Racing. While Werth admires the impact of fractional ownership entities, his evolving partnership is pitching a higher level of risk and reward. So far they've raised over $3 million from a typical stake of $100,000. “But I tell people not to look at it as an investment,” he says. “This is like buying season tickets, and taking your family to Disneyland, and going to Vegas, and buying Lotto tickets, all in one. With season tickets, you have your memories–but that's it. You own nothing. With this, you have all that, too, the great times with your families, the winner's circle pictures. But sometimes–not always, but sometimes–at the end you also have an investment that has value. “You don't need to own 100% of a horse to get 100% of the experience. I own 10% of Dornoch. Like, it was enough. I mean, it was life-changing. People will say, 'What a joke, the dude acts like he owns the whole thing.' I'm here to tell you that if I owned one percent, I'd have acted the same. That's the point.” Werth recognizes the challenge, even with $100,000 investors, in competing against the superpower programs. Werth at last year's Keeneland September Sale | Keeneland “But so what?” he says. “That's what's fun. We can still play the same game as the billionaires. Sure, there's going to be more people in the winner's circle, in the paddock. So what? Where's the hang-up?” Werth grabs his phone and holds it aloft. “This thing should be revolutionizing horseracing,” he says. “You can be anywhere in the world, in a meeting, at work, whatever. 'Excuse me. One second. I got a race.' I want to put cameras in the stalls. So any time of day you can go on your phone and, 'Hey, look at this. There's my guy.'” This zeal is now being infectiously communicated through a podcast with fellow MLB veteran Shawn Kelley, Off The Rail. Meanwhile Icon recruited six yearlings at Keeneland last September and have further capital for the juvenile sales. That's their trading window, that's putting a team together: horses, trainers, riders, above all partners. Because Werth always relished how a gladiatorial showdown between individuals, pitcher and batter, derived its meaning from the teams around them. “Oh yeah, that camaraderie,” he says. “I played on so many good teams. There was only one that wasn't, and the difference was obvious: chemistry. We had good players, but didn't win because the inside was toxic. “And that's the thing about horseracing that's so unique. This whole industry is a team. Yes, everyone's trying to win purses. But we're all pulling in one direction, to not let our sport die. It's been going the wrong way for so long. That's not where I'm going.” Werth's own journey remains in its early stages. He has been involved barely as long as those cruel three years when he was all but lost to baseball. But this time everything–the emotion, the intensity, the high stakes–have all been positive. “This is an incredible sport,” he says. “And I believe in it. I think we can grow the sport, despite itself. That's why we're going forward with this whole thing. To show people how amazing, how compelling, it can be. How it can rip your god-damned heart out of your chest.” The post Jayson Werth: A Home Run For Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Tickets for the 42nd running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will go on sale to the general public April 23, with the event returning Oct. 31-Nov. 1 to Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.View the full article

Tickets for the 42nd running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, Apr. 23 for the two-day event scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2025, at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Fans may click here to enroll for special pre-sale ticket access. Beginning in 2025, fans must have an account on SeatGeek in order to purchase tickets to the Breeders' Cup. Accounts may be created free of charge by clicking here. More than $34 million in purses and awards will be distributed across the 14 Grade I events that comprise the Breeders' Cup. Del Mar, which also hosted the 2024 championships, will be staging the event for the fourth time. Breeders' Cup Experiences is the official ticket, hospitality, and travel provider for the 2025 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar. For more information, visit BreedersCupExperiences.com. The post 2025 Breeders’ Cup Tickets On Sale Apr. 23 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Following a couple of notable performances in the last seven days, the time has come for a long overdue trip to France and a dive into an all-weather scene which is just as vibrant nowadays as that on this side of the Channel. For every Notable Speech (GB) there's been an Ace Impact (Ire), who made a successful debut on the all-weather at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in January 2023, before retiring at the end of that year as the unbeaten winner of the Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. It was on the polytrack at Deauville that last year's Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine, Rouhiya (Fr), registered her first career victory the previous November, while fellow Classic scorers Castle Lady (Ire) and Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire), as well as dual Group 1 winner Junko (GB), feature among the star names to have shed their maiden tag on the polytrack at Chantilly. It was at the last-named venue that we witnessed perhaps the most striking display on the all-weather last week, courtesy of the Carlos and Yann Lerner-trained Godspeed (Fr), a six-length winner of the one-mile heat for unraced fillies on Friday's card. Settled in mid-division in the early stages, the daughter of Hello Youmzain (Fr) was still hard on the bridle as the 14-strong field turned into the straight. From there she made serene progress to challenge the long-time leader entering the final furlong, before drawing right away for an effortless debut defeat of the well-touted, Juddmonte newcomer Temptable (GB) (Kingman {GB}), the second foal out of the GI Natalma Stakes heroine Capla Temptress (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). An €80,000 purchase at the Arqana August Yearling Sale, Godspeed is the fourth winner from five runners out of Listed scorer Mary's Precedent (Fr) (Storming Home {GB}), a half-sister to Lovemedo (Fr) (Zafeen {Fr}), the Listed-placed dam of the G3 Prix Cleopatre winner and G1 Prix Saint-Alary third Crown Princesse (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}). Mary's Precedent's other winners include the Listed-placed Mary's France (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}). Last year the Lerners tasted Classic success for the first time as a training duo, with their Prix du Jockey Club winner Look De Vega (Fr), and they're entitled to be thinking of a trial now with this filly, ahead of a potential tilt at the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. It would certainly be another feather in the cap of Hello Youmzain if she can make that step up, after the Haras d'Etreham resident was crowned the leading first-season sire in France in 2024. New winner by #HelloYoumzain ! GODSPEED wins on debut by more than 6 lengths in the Prix des Gazons de Coye over 1600m at Chantilly for trainers @CYLerner ! Congratulations to everyone involved @FOhinderzerace @RonanThomass @HCadran pic.twitter.com/Nt6vuxa1Ix — Haras d'Etreham (@Haras_d_Etreham) February 7, 2025 'The Little Princes' Makes Big Impression Around 600 miles south of Chantilly at Cagnes-Sur-Mer, Les Petits Prince (Fr) was also being talked about in Classic terms after his last-to-first victory in the one-mile maiden on Monday's card, with his trainer, Nicolas Perret, reporting that the son of Bated Breath (GB) is likely to be given an entry in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. Admittedly, it probably wasn't the deepest race of its type, but the runner-up was a solid yardstick, having finished placed in each of his four previous starts. Les Petits Prince ultimately took care of that rival in relatively straightforward fashion after fluffing the start, hitting the front entering the final furlong and just needing to be kept up to his work from there to land the spoils by a length and a quarter. Bred by Haras du Mont dit Mont, Let Petits Prince is one of three winners from six runners out of the unraced Hurricane Run (Ire) mare Hurbling (Ire), from the family of the multiple Group 1 winners Hermosa (Ire) and Hydrangea (Ire), both by Galileo (Ire). Their dam is the G2 Prix du Gros-Chene heroine Beauty Is Truth (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), a half-sister to this colt's winning grandam. The three winners out of Hurbling to date include a full-brother in Summiter (Ire), who was Group 3-placed as a three-year-old when he finished third in the Prix de Fontainebleau. That race, won in recent years by the subsequent Poulains winners Brametot (Ire) and Persian King (Ire), would look a suitable target for this colt if his connections feel like putting his Classic credentials to the test. Either way, the €14,000 it cost to secure Les Petits Prince at the Arqana v.2 Yearling Sale already looks a very shrewd piece of business. He's also a potential flagbearer for Perret who, in just his fifth year with a licence, leads the trainers' championship in France at this very early stage with 13 winners and nearly €290,000 in total prize-money won. Prix Des Issambres @hippocotdazur Cagnes Sur Mer – Maiden – 3 ans – 1600m – 8 Pts – 23 000 € Les Petits Princes (m) Anthony Crastus @CrastusAnthony (Bated Breath (Gb) @JuddmonteFarms – Hurbling (Ire) par Hurricane Run (Ire)) Nicolas Perret Ecurie… pic.twitter.com/RwX4KLd5Ve — French and International Horse Racing (@Vincenzo0612) February 10, 2025 Powerhouse Stables Lock Horns Back in Britain, Tony Carroll has been by far the most prolific trainer since the turn of the year, with his tally of 29 winners putting him well clear of Andrew Balding (16) and Karl Burke (13) in the podium positions. The last-named pair have both enjoyed their fair share of success in recent days, but it was Balding who had the final say in what was arguably the most interesting race run on the all-weather in Britain last week, namely the class 2 handicap run over six furlongs at Southwell on Friday. Burke was responsible for the 10/11 favourite in the hitherto unbeaten Rebel's Gamble (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) but, in the event, the concession of 15lb to Balding's Humam (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) was simply too much on their respective handicap debuts. Humam dominated from the front and kept going well to win by a length and three-quarters from his chief market rival, who was held up before making late headway to snatch second in the final strides. Both horses had received positive mentions in previous editions of Winter Watch and it's fair to say that they each enhanced their reputations with the way that they performed at Southwell. Humam, who opened his account in a seven-furlong maiden at Lingfield on his previous start, seems to be improving with every race and should be up to winning again from a revised mark of 86. Certainly, his pedigree is an ongoing recommendation, as a half-brother to three black-type performers, headed by the G3 Bengough Stakes and G3 Palace House Stakes winner Vadream (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}). As for Rebel's Gamble, this was the first blemish on his record after a pair of victories at Southwell and Newcastle, but he didn't lose much in defeat from a lofty opening mark of 95. He remains one to be positive about, already not too far off the sort of level required to make him competitive in minor stakes company. Baker's Dozen Up for Burke Burke went on to saddle his 12th and 13th winners of the year with an across-the-card double in the space of around 20 minutes on Saturday, with Nordic Norm (GB) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) making a winning debut in the one-mile maiden at Newcastle, before The Watcher (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) maintained his unbeaten record with a smooth success in the seven-furlong novice at Wolverhampton. The Middleham trainer is likely to saddle few easier winners this year than The Watcher, who simply did what was expected of him as the 1-5 favourite, ultimately winning by five lengths, having dictated a steady gallop in the early stages. He now finds himself in the same boat that stable-mate Rebel's Gamble did before his Southwell run on Friday, with handicaps now an option after he was allotted an opening mark of 89. He's clearly a promising sort, but stiffer tasks lie ahead for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's homebred, the third winner from as many runners out of an unraced Lope De Vega (Ire) mare. As for David and Yvonne Blunt's homebred Nordic Norm, he's the first foal out of an unraced Exceed And Excel (Aus) mare. His second dam is the multiple Group 2 runner-up Fraloga (Ire) (Grand Lodge), a half-sister to a pair of Group 1 winners by Linamix (Fr) in Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud scorer Fragrant Mix (Ire) and Prix Jean Romanet heroine Alpine Rose (Fr). The official winning margin for 10-11 favourite Nordic Norm was just a head, though he always looked like he was doing enough once hitting the front inside the final furlong. He is open to more improvement and looks a likely candidate for another novice on the all-weather if Burke wants to give him more experience before the start of the turf season. Winning debut! Nordic Norm (Saxon Warrior x Fracherette) fends off Royal runner Warrant Holder, getting the job done nicely for Sam James and @karl_burke at @NewcastleRaces… pic.twitter.com/g85DStwkub — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) February 8, 2025 Tremorgio Takes Care of Business Of the trainers who have saddled 10 or more runners on the all-weather in Britain in 2025, seven of them have a strike rate of at least 30% at the time of writing. Burke is one of them, having saddled his 13 winners from 42 runners (31%), but you won't be surprised to hear that it's Charlie Appleby who leads the way by that metric with six winners from 12 runners (50%). The latest winner for Appleby was Tremorgio (GB), who made it two from two for the Godolphin team when sent off the 1-7 favourite for the novice run over a mile and a half at Southwell on Friday. Admittedly, champion jockey Oisin Murphy didn't enjoy an entirely stress-free outing on the son of Dubawi (Ire), briefly facing a wall of horses entering the final two furlongs, but his mount responded well once getting clear sailing as he lengthened away to win by three and a quarter lengths under his penalty. In truth, we probably didn't learn anything new about Tremorgio in what was a thin-looking contest, but he got the job done in a professional manner, not necessarily a given for a horse who was gelded before his debut at Newmarket in October and has now worn cheekpieces in both of his racecourse appearances to date. At Newmarket he'd been very weak in the betting, doubling in price from 9-2 to 9-1, with stable-mate Arabian Poet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) clearly expected to fare better as the 15-8 favourite. The first foal out of the winning Invincible Spirit (Ire) mare Spring Of Love (GB) who, in turn, is out of the G2 Rockfel Stakes third Desert Blossom (Ire) (Shamardal), Tremorgio almost certainly isn't one of the leading lights at Moulton Paddocks, but he should at least make up into a useful handicapper for his powerful connections. He's been given an opening mark of 89. Favouritism justified!@oismurphy overcomes traffic problems aboard Tremorgio, getting the job done in the @godolphin blue for Charlie Appleby at @Southwell_Races… pic.twitter.com/glEiDk3dT9 — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) February 7, 2025 More to Come from Crack On Boys Les Petits Prince wasn't the only bargain buy to impress in recent days, with the Tom Clover-trained Crack On Boys (GB) also deserving a mention after his wide-margin victory in the one-mile maiden at Newcastle last Tuesday. The son of Cracksman (GB) went unsold at 8,000gns when first offered at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale, before being purchased for €35,000 at last year's Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-up Sale. That already screams value for the group who now own Crack On Boys, The Galivanters, as he looks a colt with the potential to give them plenty of fun days out in the coming months judged on the style of his Gosforth Park success. Held up last of the five runners in the early stages, he made smooth headway to lead entering the final furlong, before drawing right away to beat the subsequent winner, Orangesandlemons (GB) (Mayson {GB}), by four and a quarter lengths. Beaten just a length when finishing fourth on his debut at Lingfield in December, Crack On Boys also became the third next-time-out winner to come out of that one-mile maiden, after the runner-up Solar Pass (GB) (Phoenix Reach {Ire}) and third Mdawi (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Their subsequent exploits all pay a handsome compliment to the narrow winner on the day, Baridi (GB) (Sergei Prokofiev), who sprung a mild surprise at odds of 14-1 and was later bought by bloodstock agent Alessandro Marconi for 100,000gns at the Tattersalls February Sale. What Crack On Boys is worth now is hard to know, but he's certainly bred to do better still when he steps up in trip, for all that he didn't look short of pace at Newcastle. He is a half-brother to Eagle's Foot (GB) (Free Eagle {Ire}), a dual winner over an extended two miles, while his unraced dam is a half-sister to the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange hero and Prix du Jockey Club runner-up Best Name (GB) (King's Best). Winners in Waiting Dancing Teapot (Ire), runner-up at Dundalk (November 22) since publication Padua (Ire), seventh at Kempton (December 4) since publication Marhaba Ghaiyyath (Ire), winner at Lingfield (December 3) since publication Safe Idea (GB), third at Wolverhampton (December 21) since publication Indian Springs (Ire) Spanish Voice (GB) Noble Horizon (GB) Dixieland Blues (GB) City Of God (Ire), winner at Southwell (January 17) since publication War And Love (GB), runner-up at Chelmsford (January 11) and fifth at Newcastle (February 4) since publication Cupola (GB) Lady Lilac (Ire) The post Winter Watch: Godspeed on Road to the Classics appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Renee Geelen It was revealed on Thursday by 7news.com.au that Anthony Cummings has been given an eviction notice by the Australian Turf Club (ATC) from Leilani Stables. Additionally, he has had his training licence revoked by Racing NSW and this is going through an appeals process which is understood to be concluded on Friday by the Racing Appeals Tribunal. These are two separate issues but are related to each other, as only a licenced trainer can hold a lease on ATC-owned stables. Australian Racing has a couple of rules around bankruptcy, but they don't necessarily apply to Cummings, as it is his business which is in liquidation, not himself as a person. In October 2024, Racing NSW issued a show-cause notice to Cummings with regards to his business, Rosscarbery Holdings, being liquidated, and the process around his licence has been ongoing since then. When Racing NSW revoked his licence last Friday, this triggered a clause in his lease from the Australian Turf Club for Leilani Lodge. Cummings now awaits the outcome of his appeal to the Racing Appeals Tribunal. “As it stands, Anthony has issued an appeal notification to the finding and sought a stay of proceedings which will likely be decided over the weekend or on Monday,” said Cummings' son Edward. “In the meantime, both of us have asked the ATC to give permission for me to take over the lease at Leilani so the horses' preparations aren't interrupted by this. “It's a little bit chicken and egg because only a licenced trainer can hold a lease, and I'm a licenced provisional trainer, not metro. I need Racing NSW to upgrade my licence to metro so I can take over the lease on Leilani Lodge, and we need the ATC to agree to this as well. “What I've been able to achieve on my own over the last few years is worthy of the upgrade, and the lease at Leilani. I'm an excellent candidate to take over the stables given our results on the track. We currently have a full barn with a full suite of staff and highly skilled riders, and owners who are supportive of our process.” The famous stables on High Street in Randwick have been occupied by a member of the Cummings family for over 40 years. Bart Cummings trained there until his death in 2015 when his grandson James took over. When James was given the opportunity to become head trainer at Godolphin in 2017, the stable lease was transferred to James' brother Edward and father Anthony. Anthony and Edward trained in partnership from Leilani Lodge until Edward formed Myrtle House at Hawkesbury Racecourse in 2019 where he trained on his own until August 2024. The post Cummings’ Training License Revoked, Given Eviction Notice from Leilani Lodge appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Michael Hickmott will look to enhance the already impressive record of Fancify (NZ) (Niagara) when she runs in a Stakes race at Flemington. Fancify has won seven of her 14 starts and has an imposing record at Flemington, registering two wins and a second from three starts at the track. The Group 3 Frances Tressady Stakes (1400m) on Saturday will see Fancify attempt to add a third win over the course and distance. Fancify scored at the track and trip last June before leading throughout to claim the Group 3 HKJC Stakes on Melbourne Cup Day. “She seems to enjoy the track and it’s probably clearly her pet distance and we’re very happy with the race that we’ve found,” Hickmott said. Todd Pannell is making the trip over from Adelaide to partner Fancify on Saturday, replacing Joe Bowditch who won on the mare at Murray Bridge and Flemington last year and partnered her when a first-up second at Sandown on February 1. “Todd and Jessica (Tzaferis) ride most of my horses over here and he has done a lot of work on the horse in the background,” Hickmott said. “Unfortunately, in the last preparation she got 54 kilos on Murray Bridge Cup Day and 55 kilos on Melbourne Cup Day when she won those two races. “Todd and I discussed it, and as Joe was over here riding for me that day, he held the ride. “Joe certainly hasn’t been taken off and if she doesn’t happen to get Todd’s weight again, Joe will go back on her.” Hickmott said with the trial schedule in South Australia he was unable to get the fitness into Fancify ahead of her first-up assignment. He said Fancify had made improvement from running second to She’s Bulletproof at Sandown. “I know she has a lot of improvement left in her just with the trial schedule over here as we weren’t able to get an official trial into her and she went into the race not wound up,” Hickmott said. “This race, or the Mannerism Stakes at Caulfield next week, were always going to be her target, so I decided to run in this rather than wait for the Mannerism.” Past Saturday, Hickmott is undecided on where to head. Saturday’s 1400m trip is her preferred journey and Hickmott thinks the 1200m of the Group 1 Sangster Stakes in April may prove a bit sharp. “I just want to get through Saturday,” Hickmott said. “I would love to find 1400-metre race while her rating is around that 100 range and I think finding a nice 1400-metre handicap would be ideal.” View the full article