Wandering Eyes

After threatening a breakthrough for the past several seasons, jockey Flavien Prat finally reached the summit of his profession Thursday when he was recognized with the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey for the first time in his career. The Frenchman, who relocated to New York from California a few seasons ago to improve his chances of achieving this type of accolade, rode the winners of a record 82 black-type races in 2024, some 56 of those at the graded level, also a record. Overall he rode the winners of 230 races and amassed earnings of $37.3 million. On the possibility of winning his first Eclipse Award, Prat told NYRA's publicity department, “It means a lot. Honestly it would be a dream come true. It's something you work all your life for and to achieve it would be something, just to do it once. Hopefully, it would be great and would be something I would remember forever.” The French native–who started to win riding titles at Santa Anita and Del Mar in 2016–almost three years ago made the decision to move his tack to Kentucky that spring and then to New York for the spring/summer. That choice, along with copious amounts of hard work, gave him the opportunity for a shot at the record books. Prat's 2024 season was marked by a trio of notable milestones. First, as a member of arguably the toughest jockey colony at Saratoga, Prat set a record for stakes wins with 18 during a single meet at the Spa–14 of which were graded. The post Prat Breaks Through, Wins First Eclipse As Outstanding Jockey appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Chad Brown fought off a spirited challenge from Kentucky Oaks/Kentucky Derby-winning conditioner Ken McPeek to win the Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer for the fifth time overall and for the first time in five years. Brown's 2024 campaign was punctuated by an impressive array of Grade I winners, both on the turf and dirt, and was highlighted by 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), who gave Brown his first victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic before earning an Eclipse Award as the leading 3-year-old colt of the season. Additional Grade I winners for Brown in 2024: 'Rising Star' Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie), Raging Sea (Curlin) and Gina Romantica (Into Mischief) to name but a few. The Brown barn was represented by five Eclipse Award finalists on Thursday. The post Brown Back On Top as Outstanding Trainer appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's Godolphin was honored with the Eclipse Award as the outstanding owner in North America for the fifth consecutive year and seventh overall, and for the fourth time in a row was also crowned North America's outstanding breeder during Thursday's ceremonies. Godolphin-owned runners posted 104 victories from 460 starts (22.6%) during the year and their runners finished in the top three in 52% of their appearances while earning better than $20 million. Horses bred by Godolphin bankrolled $23.2 million and no fewer than 10 Grade I and 26 graded races in North America in 2024 were taken by Godolphin-breds In addition to Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Immersive (Nyquist), Godolphin's additional North American Grade I winners included Highland Falls (Curlin), Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), Measured Time (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Eclipse finalist Cinderella's Dream (GB) (Shamardal). The post Godolphin Repeats As Outstanding Owner/Breeder appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In the final start of her career, Idiomatic provided quite a memory, drawing off in the stretch to post a 6 1/2-length victory in the Spinster Stakes (G1) Oct. 6 at Keeneland. That effort likely lifted her to a second straight Eclipse Award.View the full article

Already an accomplished steeplechase horse, Snap Decision reached new heights in 2024 when the 10-year-old son of classic-placed Hard Spun would sweep two of the signature events in United States steeplechase racing.View the full article

Moira's connections were rewarded for their belief in the 6-year-old mare, when she finally got her well-deserved win in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T), and clinched the title for 2024 champion turf female. View the full article

Soul of an Angel made only two of her 11 starts last year at seven furlongs, but she made those races count. She won both races, including the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), to vault to championship honors as champion female sprinter.View the full article

HOLD Racing Hall of Fame member Steve Asmussen is North America's all-time winningest trainer, and in 2024 his youngest son Erik won more races than any other apprentice rider and was honored with the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice jockey.View the full article

Godolphin's homebred Immersive swept the title for the champion 2-year-old female with a flawless 4-for-4 campaign in 2024.View the full article

Thorpedo Anna's stellar season won't be remembered just for winning the Kentucky Oaks (G1), but also for being named champion 3-year-old filly. View the full article

A perfect six-for-six against her own sex in 2024, 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) was a slam-dunk choice for top 3-year-old filly honors. Both 3-year-old divisional winners sold at Fasig-Tipton. Sierra Leone topped the 2022 Saratoga Sale on a bid of $2.3 million while it required just $40,000 to purchase Thorpedo Anna out of the Fasig-Tipton October Sale a few months later. Thorpedo Anna, a leading candidate for Horse of the Year honors, is the first American champion for her sadly departed stallion, also a son of Darley stalwart Medaglia d'Oro. Early Impressions…“She was premature; seven, eight weeks premature when she was born. She was 45” tall, weighed 60 pounds. Her hocks were crushed. And there wasn't much hope of any future for her. So I volunteered to take her from the owners, Mr. Sanford Robertson and Kathryn Nikkel, who bred her. And Mr. Robertson graciously gave her to me when I volunteered to keep her. And I tried to do my magic and it worked.”.-Judy Hicks after Thorpedo Anna's Oaks victory The post Thorpedo Anna a No-Doubter For Champion 3YO Filly appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Godolphin homebred Immersive (Nyquist) ran the table in her four appearances at two, with three wins at Grade I level capped by a dominating 4 1/2-length victory on Breeders' Cup Friday. Immersive is the second Eclipse Award winner and third champion for Nyquist, himself the champion of his generation in 2015. Nyquist is also represented by Sovereign Award winner Gretzky the Great. One of 16 graded stakes winners for Nyquist, who was himself a champion juvenile, Immersive was also one of four Grade I winners for her sire in 2024–joining Johannes (who was a finalist this year for Champion Turf Male), Tenma and Randomized. Early Impressions… “I think 2-year-old fillies, she's the best we've had. To accomplish what she has, we've not had one win three Grade Ones at two. Excited about what she accomplished, proud of her, and looking forward to next year.”–Brad Cox following Immersive's Breeders' Cup win. The post Immersive Gives Nyquist A Second 2-Year-Old Filly Champion appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Riding professionally since late 2023, Erik Asmussen took home the Eclipse as the nation's leading apprentice in 2024. The young rider collected his first jockey's title at the Grand Prairie, Texas track where he topped the standings with 48 wins. In his early twenties, Erik is the younger brother of fellow Oaklawn-based rider Keith J. Asmussen, but lest we forget that their father Steve rode and so did their grandfather Keith. Cash Asmussen had a celebrated career himself during the 1980s and 1990s, which included being named a five-time champion in France. Riding professionally since November 2023, Erik posted his first career win Jan. 5, 2024 at Sam Houston Race Park where he finished the meet in the colony's top 10. Erik earned Jockey of the Week honors in early July after he won three stakes races in a row at Lone Star Park on closing weekend last summer. “I just wanted to get away as smoothly as possible,” said Asmussen about one his winners. “I've been getting on the horse in the mornings and I knew he was more than capable.”Primarily in the irons for his father Steve–the all-time winningest trainer in the history of North American Thoroughbred racing–Erik also got his picture taken at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Ellis Park and Churchill Downs in 2024. The post Erik Asmussen Does Family Proud, Named Outstanding Apprentice appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Soul of an Angel (Atreides) came from the clouds to light up the Del Mar tote to the tune of 19-1 beneath Drayden Van Dyke, an effort good enough to take home the Eclipse Award for the nation's top female sprinter. Sixth for co-owner/trainer Gerald James and co-owner Hall Performance in the GII Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Mar. 9, Soul of an Angel was purchased privately by C2 Racing Stable LLC, Agave Racing Stable and Ken Reimer and turned over to trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. The dark bay 5-year-old, who ran Idiomatic (Curlin) to a head in the GIII Molly Pitcher Stakes over the summer, proved best over seven panels, winning the GIII Princess Rooney Stakes ahead of her Breeders' Cup surprise. Medaglia d'Oro's son Atreides was being represented by his initial champion. Soul of an Angel could make her seasonal reappearance in the G1 Saudi Cup in Riyadh in about four weeks' time. Soul of an Angel is the lone graded winner for the well-related Stonestreet homebred Atreides, who stood the 2024 breeding season at River Oaks Farms in Oklahoma The post Angel Eyes: Atreides’s Soul of an Angel Captures Female Sprinter Eclipse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Canadian-based Moira (Ghostzapper) was given an A-plus steer by Flavien Prat and outlasted Godolphin's fast-finishing Cinderella's Dream (GB) (Shamardal) to scoop the statuette as the nation's leading Turf Distaffer for 2024. Kept in training after being purchased or $3 million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2023, Moira was also victorious in the GII Beverly D. S. and was a cracking second first off the layoff in the GI Diana Stakes at Saratoga. Ghostzapper is the sire of nine champions (Moira is a previous Canadian Horse of the Year). In between her sale as a yearling during pandemic-stricken Keeneland September in 2020 and the crown jewel to a fabulous career, she changed hands twice at the Fasig-Tipton Night of the Stars, including when selling for $4.3-million to “Bayles” to start the next chapter of her life for Yulong Stud. What that will look like has yet to have been decided. “She was a Horse of Year in Canada and is a Breeders' Cup winner,” Yulong's general manager Vin Cox said after her sale in 2024. “She's the sort of horse we like to add to our breeding band. We are putting together a very good broodmare band and she'll fit right in.” The post More Hardware For Moira, Named US Champion Turf Female appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Snap Decision (Hard Spun), making a remarkable fifth straight appearance as a finalist in this category, finally took home that elusive Eclipse statue. The 10-year-old veteran secured the championship with a gritty victory in the G1 American Grand National. Making his fourth straight appearance in the Far Hills race and still looking for his first win, Snap Decision was headed late, but battled back, refusing to be denied in a thrilling finish. Snap Decision opened 2024 with his third straight win in the G2 Temple Gwathmey Hurdle Stakes in April before adding a third win in the G1 Iroquois Stakes in May. On the shelf for the Saratoga meeting where he was precluded from running due to his age, the 10-year-old gelding prepped for the Grand National with a third-place effort in the G3 Mariann de Tejeda Stakes. He concluded his year with a third-place effort in the Nov. 17 G1 Colonial Cup, but earned the Eclipse award as the year's only two-time Group 1 winner.The championship was made even more poignant by the presence of Snap Decision's groom, Jenna Elliott, whose name was randomly selected from 340 entries to win the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards Sweepstakes. Elliott was guest of the NTRA and Resolute Racing at the Eclipse Award ceremony Thursday. The post Perseverance Pays Off For Team Snap Decision in Steeplechase Division appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Idiomatic (Curlin) joined a select list of dirt distaffers to win back-to-back Eclipse Awards Thursday evening. Though she had the target on her back for most of the season, she won three of her five tries, including a towering title defense in the GI Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, a race sponsored by her owners, Juddmonte. A scheduled showdown between Idiomatic and eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) in the Distaff, one of the most anticipated races of the year, had to be scrapped when Idiomatic suffered a minor knee injury in late October. The dual champion retired with five Grade I wins, nine black-type wins, and earnings just shy of $4 million. Idiomatic's repeat win as Champion Older Female gives Hill 'n' Dale's Curlin–himself a two-time Horse of the Year–his 12th Eclipse Award as a sire. Idiomatic's late stakes-winning and multiple GISP dam, a descendant of 1982 Broodmare of the Year Best in Show, was a full-sister to 2014 Champion Older Female Close Hatches, herself dam of three graded winners. Hill 'n' Dale-based Curlin has now been represented by a dozen Eclipse winners. Among the other dirt distaffers to win multiple Eclipse Awards are Paseana (Arg), Bayakoa (Arg), Azeri, Zenyatta, Royal Delta and Beholder. The post Idiomatic Repeats As Champion Dirt Female appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Chloe Baxter is eyeing both Darwin features during the Australia Day meeting on Saturday. Siberian Larch appears in the $40,000 Lightning Wet Season Final (1200m) against 0-70 opposition, while He’s The Ultimate contests Heat 3 of the Summer Sprint Series (1300m) with a $30,000 purse. Baxter’s biggest win was during the 2023 Darwin Cup Carnival when He’s The Ultimate won the $50,000 Metric Mile (1600m) before coming fifth in the $200,000 Darwin Cup (2050m). The son of Fastnet Rock, now a six-year-old gelding, then suffered a tendon injury before returning to finish second behind Wolfburn in the ROANT Gold Cup (1300m) prior to last year’s Cup Carnival. He’s The Ultimate disappointed in the Chief Minister’s Cup (1600m) and was third behind Wolfburn – the Top End’s Horse of the Year for 2024 – in the Metric Mile before coming eighth in the Darwin Cup. Returning to action on December 28, He’s The Ultimate was tailed off in open class over 1100m before motoring home to finish a narrow second behind Field Of Flutes. “Very happy with him last start, I had an inkling he would go well,” Baxter said. “The 1100m was always going to be a bit sharp for him. “We got a bit of rain before the race. “The kick back bothered him in the run, which is why he dropped so far back. “After the way he rattled home, I’m looking forward to him going around on Saturday.” Baxter said the 1300m will suit He’s The Ultimate, who will be ridden by the Gold Coast’s Wanderson D.Avila, as he seeks a second Darwin win. Siberian Larch made his Fannie Bay debut last March. In four starts, the five-year-old gelding’s best result was a second in a 1000m maiden before winning a Class 2 over 1000m on August 31. The son of Russian Revolution suffered a close loss over 1000m in September before being forced three-wide in the home straight two weeks ago and succumbing to Lord Fenrir by a nose over 1000m – the Wet Season Series’ final heat. “I have a pretty high opinion of Siberian Larch,” Baxter said. “He’s just getting a little bit unlucky and getting taken out in his runs, so hopefully we can ride him quieter come Saturday and he can finish off strong. “He is certainly knocking on the door. “There’s a bit of speed in the race, so I’m happy to let them go. “Hopefully ride him a bit colder and obviously 1200m is probably his biggest query. “If he can make a dash late in a pretty even race with plenty of nice horses, he should be thereabouts.” Leading Darwin jockey Paul Shiers, sidelined since last February with a bicep injury, returns this weekend and rides Siberian Larch. “Great to have Paul back, especially for Darwin racing,” Baxter added. “He’s just taking the one ride to get back into the swing of things. “He’s now a trainer, and after a long and lengthy rehab process I’m happy to pick him up.” Horse racing news View the full article

Applications for Slots in both “The Race” and the “TAB Trot” will close next Wednesday, January 29. Information surrounding the slots, including copies of Slot Holder Agreements can be found here. Slot holders will be announced on Friday, January 31. Any enquiries to dave@cambridgeraceway.co.nz, or by calling Dave on 027 202 7778. The 2025 Night of Champions will be run on Friday April 4. View the full article

America's Best Racing provides and At-a-Glance look at the 2025 Southwest Stakes (G3).View the full article

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The $3 Million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Feb. 25 at Gulfstream Park brings together a field of 12 in what should be an exhilarating race at the distance of 1 1/8 miles, with seven of the 12 entrants having earned $1 million or more.View the full article

After two unsatisfying performances in Gulfstream Park's richest race, hard-knocking Skippylongstocking is back for another try Jan. 25 in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1).View the full article

On Thursday at Santa Anita, one of the leading GI Kentucky Derby prospects, Journalism (Curlin), worked for the first time since he got his picture taken in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 14. Out of graded-stakes winner Mopotism (Uncle Mo), the 3-year-old colt drilled a half mile in :49.80 seconds for trainer Michael McCarthy. In pool three of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager last weekend, Journalism closed at odds of 20-1 to win this year's 'Run for the Roses.' Journalism rolled to a 3 1/2-length victory under Umberto Rispoli in the 1 1/16-mile Los Alamitos Futurity when facing winners for the first time. Previously, he broke his maiden when stretched out to a mile for his second start Nov. 17 at Del Mar. The McCarthy trainee currently has amassed $158,880 in earnings. Earlier this week, McCarthy said Journalism is targeting the GII San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Mar. 1, which serves as the final local prep for the GI Santa Anita Derby scheduled for Apr. 5. Journalism was an $825,000 auction buy as a yearling. and is owned by Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables 5 LLC and Robert V. LaPenta. Other notable workers Thursday included GISW Speed Boat Beach (Bayern), who has not started since winning the 2023 edition of the GI Malibu Stakes. The 4-year-old drilled four furlongs in 47 flat for trainer Bob Baffert. Last Thursday, Speed Boat Beach worked for the first time since late September. The post Derby Hopeful Journalism Gets Back To Work At Santa Anita appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article