Wandering Eyes

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption for Image” _builder_version=”3.22.4″ text_font=”||on||||||” text_font_size=”10px” custom_margin=”-10px|||”] Kali (middle) battles with Jennifer Eccles (left) and On Show as the trio near the finish at Hastings. [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Article Test” _builder_version=”3.22.4″] Progressive three-year-old Kali maintained her unbeaten record at Hastings on Saturday but not without high drama as the Tony Pike-trained filly secured her second victory courtesy of a successful protest against fellow Cambridge visitor Jennifer Eccles in the Taupo Pak’nSave Fillies 1100. The Shaune Ritchie-trained Jennifer Eccles was first past the post after producing a barnstorming late run from near last in the eight-horse field to down Kali and local runner On Show in a blanket finish to the contest. A bumping duel with Kali at the 250m mark, which saw the race favourite denied momentum and clear racing room, resulted in the placings being reversed in the inquiry room with Jennifer Eccles relegated to second place. Had the protest proved unsuccessful punters would have felt rightly aggrieved after Kali and rider Leith Innes became a victim of circumstances when trapped on the fence as the pace slackened approaching the home turn. Desperate to extricate his mount from the position, Innes finally found room four places off the fence where shortly afterwards the interference occurred. Pike was philosophical about the final result but pleased with how his charge had fought back when hampered in the closing stages. “It’s nice to get the win but not really the way you want to achieve it,” Pike said. “She was a little fresh and over-raced a bit which didn’t help when she got trapped as the pace eased coming to the corner. “She copped a bump at the 250m and again at the 100m, while she also got struck over the head by a whip, so to pick herself up and try so hard was very pleasing to see.” Pike, who had taken out the opening event with promising stayer Beauty Star, will now set Kali for the Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) back at Hastings on September 21. “She will take a lot from today and will strip fitter for her next run,” he said. “Provided all goes to plan she will be back here in the three weeks for the Group Three where I think she will be tough to beat.” Eventual runner-up Jennifer Eccles lost no admirers with her brave effort whilst third-placed runner On Show showed plenty of heart to fight on well for third in her first run of a new campaign. Progressive three-year-old Kali maintained her unbeaten record at Hastings on Saturday but not without high drama as the Tony Pike-trained filly secured her second victory courtesy of a successful protest against fellow Cambridge visitor Jennifer Eccles in the Taupo Pak’nSave Fillies 1100. The Shaune Ritchie-trained Jennifer Eccles was first past the post after producing a barnstorming late run from near last in the eight-horse field to down Kali and local runner On Show in a blanket finish to the contest. A bumping duel with Kali at the 250m mark, which saw the race favourite denied momentum and clear racing room, resulted in the placings being reversed in the inquiry room with Jennifer Eccles relegated to second place. Had the protest proved unsuccessful punters would have felt rightly aggrieved after Kali and rider Leith Innes became a victim of circumstances when trapped on the fence as the pace slackened approaching the home turn. Desperate to extricate his mount from the position, Innes finally found room four places off the fence where shortly afterwards the interference occurred. Pike was philosophical about the final result but pleased with how his charge had fought back when hampered in the closing stages. “It’s nice to get the win but not really the way you want to achieve it,” Pike said. “She was a little fresh and over-raced a bit which didn’t help when she got trapped as the pace eased coming to the corner. “She copped a bump at the 250m and again at the 100m, while she also got struck over the head by a whip, so to pick herself up and try so hard was very pleasing to see.” Pike, who had taken out the opening event with promising stayer Beauty Star, will now set Kali for the Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) back at Hastings on September 21. “She will take a lot from today and will strip fitter for her next run,” he said. “Provided all goes to plan she will be back here in the three weeks for the Group Three where I think she will be tough to beat.” Eventual runner-up Jennifer Eccles lost no admirers with her brave effort whilst third-placed runner On Show showed plenty of heart to fight on well for third in her first run of a new campaign. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section] View the full article

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption for Image” _builder_version=”3.22.4″ text_font=”||on||||||” text_font_size=”10px” custom_margin=”-10px|||”] Lord of Light makes easy work of his rivals in Singapore on Friday night. [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Article Test” _builder_version=”3.22.4″] Favourite Lord Of Light ran his rivals ragged in the S$20,000 Open Maiden race over 1200m on Friday night. The five-year-old son of Power was previously placed three times over 1200m in seven starts, including a close second to Mr Coppola in a Maiden race at his second-last start three weeks ago. But how he came into his own at his very first success, an emphatic win that even took his trainer Mark Walker a little off-guard. Upon despatch, Make U Famous, Kadima, Sun Order (Daniel Moor) and Orient Express burned up the track early, but the lead was ultimately taken up by Make U Famous, despite being caught four wide after jumping from an outside barrier. After breaking from barrier two, Lord Of Light was kept out of the early tussle, to settle right behind the leaders, but as Be Humble dropped back, Zawari elected to tack onto Orient Express as they approached the home turn. With Make U Famous and Orient Express rolling off on the turn, Zawari did not need any second invitation to send the odds-on favourite through the rails gap. The rest turned into a procession. Lord Of Light romped in by five-and-a-quarter lengths from Whakaaria Mai with Cizen Boss third another one-and-a-quarter lengths away. The winning time was 1min 11.87secs for the 1200m on the Polytrack. Walker said he was confident of a forward run, but maybe not in such a dominant style. “I didn’t expect him to win by five, but I guess he found the right race,” said the two-time Singapore champion trainer. “It was a lovely ride. Zawari rode him a bit off that hectic early speed and he got a dream run. “Putting on the tongue-tie this time was really clutching at straws. I thought I’d try something different. “He showed a bit (of ability) early, but he did a tendon, so he’s taken a while to come back, so perhaps he’s just fit enough now after a long layoff. “The owners are lovely people, and hopefully he can go on with it.” Zawari was at his second win of the season after he opened his account on Sunday with Spokesman, another ward trained by his former master, Walker. “I’m very happy with my second winner this year,” said the Malaysian jockey, who, however, begins a three-day suspension on Saturday following a careless riding charge on Atlantic Fox. “We just tried to follow the second and third horse in front, and when I pressed the button in the straight, he knew what to do next.” With a record standing at one win and three placings, Lord Of Light has brought home more than S$30,000 in prizemoney for the Light Stable. -STC [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section] View the full article

Beauty Generation enjoyed a record-breaking campaign last term. Beauty Generation has enjoyed his summer downtime judging by the sheen of his coat and the barreling depth to his girth. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look this fat, to be honest. He’s a big boy, he’s carrying a lot of condition,” jockey Zac Purton said of Hong Kong’s current supreme champion. The Patrick Kwok-owned seven-year-old has not raced since an impressive victory in the G1 FWD Champions Mile on 28 April. That was his eighth win of an incredible season, a record haul for a single Hong Kong campaign, and pushed his career earnings to a new local high of HK$84,770,000. After four months without competition, the Road To Rock gelding is entitled to be a little soft around the edges. But the summer girth is already receding back to the athlete’s frame, lean and tight again. Preparations are gearing towards his comeback run a little more than four weeks hence when he will attempt to win the Celebration Cup for a third time. “He’ll be first-up on the first of October, the 1400m Group 3,” trainer John Moore said. “He’s done very well, he’s about 30lb over his weight but that will come off, he’s looking good!” Despite the cheeky “fat” jibe, Purton was in agreement. The champion jockey knows the drill; he knows that Moore will have the New Zealand-bred ready to run a race when he returns but the rider is not making any assumptions about continuing the unbeaten streak. “The horse is definitely well, he looks really good, he’s glowing in his coat and his character suggests he can’t wait to get on with things,” Purton said. “We’re only just over a month out from his first run and he’ll go into that race underdone, as he did last season when his class carried him through. He’ll have to give more weight away, the way the ratings are this season, so it’s not going to be an easy start for him. “But he goes so well fresh that I’m still sure he’s going to run well. As we go towards December, John will just keep tightening the girth on him and we’ll have him peaking on the right day.” A third success in December’s G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) would match Good Ba Ba’s feat and would secure for Beauty Generation an eighth Group 1 win. That would further augment the two-time Horse of the Year’s unshakeable status as one of Hong Kong’s all-time greats. “Last season he was able to do what no horse was able to do in Hong Kong before and the fact that he did it all at Group level adds even more merit to his performances. He had track records, numbers of Group 1’s, record number of wins, another Horse of the Year title, he couldn’t have done any more than he did.” Purton said. And another successful campaign could see Beauty Generation meet the desires of his many fans by taking in a race on foreign soil. Moore has Dubai in mind as perhaps the most suitable destination, should the idea come to pass. “This season it sounds like the owners are keen to travel abroad,” Purton said, “so that’s going to open up a whole new box of challenges for him and let’s just hope he’s in the same form this season as he was last season and he can do Hong Kong proud again. “There’s excitement and anticipation at what’s going to happen,” he added. View the full article

Three-year-old filly Sorceress made an eye-catching winning debut at Ashburton on Friday in the Barneswood Farm Stakes Day 19th October (1250m). Despite greenness the three-year-old daughter of showcasing showed a good turn of foot to distance her rivals by in excess of five-lengths, at odds of $63.60. “She’s always been a work in progress, she went through a Ready To Run Sale prep and she tends to get a bit fired up so we gave her two quiet trials before coming to the races,” trainer Andrew Carston said. Sanctify came from last in the Go Racing silks to make it a Carston Racing Stables quinella. “They’re both nice fillies,” Carston said, although he remained reserved when it came to the fillies’ future, which may involve plotting a path to the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas. “They’re all superstars until they prove you wrong, we will just see how they progress.” View the full article

Write photo caption here by replacing this texQuick Thinker is on a path to the Gr.1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m). Prominent syndication company OTI Racing is enjoying a good run of form with horses from New Zealand and they are hoping to see a positive start to an Australian campaign from the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Quick Thinker when he steps out in the Gr.3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m) on what looms as a heavy track at Rosehill on Saturday. The So You Think colt won the Listed Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie as a juvenile and is one of two-runners in the field for the visiting Cambridge trainers, who will also line up fellow stakes winner Rhaegar. “Quick Thinker trialled at Te Rapa on the heavy there the last two times and was a little plain, he just doesn’t quite let down on it and obviously he’s got a big stride,” OTI Director Terry Henderson said. “He needs a run so there’s not a lot of confidence about him being competitive in the race given that situation. “The horse is very well in himself, but you would prefer for the ground to be no worse than soft and it’ll certainly be heavy there tomorrow.” Henderson believes the handsome colt will be seen to best effect once he gets over a staying trip. “We think he’s a Spring Champion Stakes (Gr.1, 2000m) or Derby type of horse,” he said. “Everything about him indicates that. “He’s a very well-winded horse and I think the Spring Champion Stakes looks like his first aim for sure. “If he was to win that, we’d give serious consideration to the Cox Plate (Gr.1, 2040m), but it’s a fair way down the track.” Aside from Group One winning stablemate Vin de Dance and an untried Tavistock filly, Henderson said the syndication group’s runners in New Zealand were light at present. “They’re the only three that we’ve got in training in New Zealand at the moment,” he said. “The reality is, economically it’s not a silly thing to have your horses trained in New Zealand. Because even though the costs of bringing them over for the better races is high, the general training costs are far lower. “But you really need to have horses over there that are good, so they can progress to coming over here because of the economics of the situation over there at the moment. “Having said that, a horse like Vin De Dance is going to campaign in the better staying races in New Zealand and the intention is to bring him back over in autumn.” Henderson has been a big supporter of the stock of Westbury Stud stallion Redwood, sire of recent OTI-owned winners Romancer and Urban Lumberjack, and believes his six-year-old son Night’s Watch can recapture his best form this campaign. The winner of eight races and nearly $500,000 in prize money will have his first start for new trainer Chris Waller when he steps out over 1400m at Caulfield on Saturday. “The feedback from Chris Waller has been very good, but I’m surprised at how short he is tomorrow ($5),” Henderson said. “He has trialled well and we brought him down to Melbourne to separate him from a number of other horses that we have with Chris in Sydney. “We’re hopeful that we can get him to one of the serious handicaps over a mile or 2000m. That’s the initial plan, whether he goes back to Sydney for the Epsom (Gr.1, 1600m), time will tell but at this stage we are seeing a horse with a lot more exuberance than at the end of his last preparation.” Henderson said patience was the key to success with the progeny of Redwood, a Group One winning son of High Chaparral. “I think he’s a very underrated stallion, but they need to be trained conservatively. I think we have had good luck with them because we have been patient.” Despite a flood of European imports sporting OTI’s navy blue and gold hooped-silks, Henderson said around 30 of the 95 horses on their books had emanated from New Zealand. “When I look though the Group One winners that we’ve had, there have been just as many from New Zealand as from Europe. “If you can get them as young horses or before they’re over exposed and they become Hong Kong targets or high price targets, then they remain value.” View the full article

Helena Baby’s winning streak may have come to an end last start when finishing fifth in the Gr.2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m), but jockey Donavan Mansour believes he has improved since that run. The John Bell-trained gelding had won his previous five starts and Mansour’s only concern heading into Saturday’s Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings is the Dead5 track. “I honestly feel that he is better and has turned the right way this week and Mr Bell has done a fantastic job with him. We are looking forward to it,” Mansour said. “I would have liked some rain (before Saturday). He is proven on a wet track, but I feel like he would go well on a dead track. “He is probably one of the strongest horses I have ever ridden, my arms feel like they are seven metres longer after I have worked him.” Mansour believes the son of Guillotine best distance would be over a mile and thinks he would be ideally is ideally suited to the Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) on the second day of the Bostock New Zealand Spring Racing Carnival. “I think a mile to 1800m is his best distance and if it fits in well he would get the 2000m,” he said. TAB bookmakers have installed Helena Baby as an $8.50 fourth favourite behind Foxbridge Plate winner Endless Drama ($2.70), Melody Belle ($5), and Danzdanzdance ($8). View the full article

The 4-year-old Blame filly led a 1-2 finish for trainer Graham Motion, as late-flying Empressof the Nile closed with a six-wide rally to finish second, three-quarters of a length back. View the full article

Former Riverton galloper Flying Sardine will have her first start in Australia at Caulfield on Saturday. Riverton trainer Kelvin Tyler has sent seven-year-old mare Flying Sardine across the Tasman and the 11-time winner will make her Australian debut for ex-pat Kiwi trainer Rachael Frost when she contests the Clanbrooke Racing Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday. The dual Group Three-placegetter has settled in well to Frost’s Mornington base after finishing third to Dez in the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton earlier in the month. “I know Rachael a little bit from back here and I wanted to keep her to a small team and she is someone I can trust,” Tyler, who owns the mare, said. “She is a mare that was getting up in the weights a bit here, so I thought I might send her for a few of the mares’ races over there. “On her breeding, she is probably worth a few dollars as a broodmare so if we were lucky enough to win a race in town or something I would sell her as a broodmare. “So that is probably the main mission, hopefully she races competitively over there and I will sell her on.” Tyler said an Australian campaign for Flying Sardine was something he had thought about for 12 months and he was happy to roll the dice. “She has been there just over two weeks. She is eating well now and had a couple of nice gallops and is not a high maintenance horse. She is pretty adaptable and would probably fit in most places.” The daughter of Flying Spur is a $41 outsider in early markets for Saturday’s contest. “This is going to be a starting point for her,” Tyler said. “It will probably be too short for her and whether she can keep up or not we will find out.” Tyler won’t be on-hand at Caulfield on Saturday but is keen to venture over at some stage in the spring. “I have got that much going on here at the moment, I thought about going over but maybe next time,” he said. Tyler was joined in training partnership by his daughter Aimee for the first time last season and the pair won 35 races and in excess of $600,000 in prizemoney. “We had a really good year last season and hopefully we will have a similar one this year,” Tyler said. “It is pretty tough going, you start at zero and have to do it all again. “The weather is a bit rough here at the moment. We had a lot of rain on Thursday morning and struggled to work the horses, everything was that wet, so that makes some of those wins all the more rewarding given we faced a few challenges from the elements.” Tyler said he was pleased with his team of horses for the new season but nominated Galway Garry, an improving six-year-old that has won his past two, as a horse to follow. “He won on both days of the national carnival and has come along in leaps and bounds and is turning into a really good horse.” View the full article

Cambridge trainer Lauren Brennan has Magnum right where she wants him ahead of his first-up run in Saturday’s Harcourts Whangarei 1200 at Ruakaka. Cambridge trainer Lauren Brennan has Magnum right where she wants him ahead of his first-up run in Saturday’s Harcourts Whangarei 1200 at Ruakaka. Brennan produced the Per Incanto gelding for a fresh-up win in the same race last year as a leadup to his third placing to Te Akau Shark and Love Affair in the Gr.3 Red Badge Sprint (1400m) at Hastings five weeks later. “It’s a race he won last year first-up and we’ve decided we’d follow the same sort of path – the first few races anyway – as last year,” Brennan said. “We’re really happy with him. He’s come up really well.” A winner of four races in Singapore and placed in the Singapore Guineas (1600m) at Kranji before returning to New Zealand in late 2017, the now seven-year-old Magnum has established himself among the top echelon of sprinter-milers in the country. As well as his Red Badge Sprint placing, he has won the Listed Flying Handicap (1400m) at Awapuni, finished second in the Gr.3 J Swap Contractors Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa and twice finished within five lengths of the winner in Group One assignments. He showed he was forward for a new preparation when he deadheated an open 880m trial with Group One performer Dawn Patrol on a heavy track at Te Rapa earlier this month. “We were really happy with his trial and Sam (Spratt, jockey) was happy with him too,” Brennan said. “He wasn’t liking the ground at all and Sam just kept a hold of him. We knew he wouldn’t like the ground but it was a good trial to bring him on. “It’s a nice handy field on Saturday so we should get a good gauge on him. He’s drawn three and the two inside him don’t usually go forward so you’d think he’d jump in front and then hopefully something can come around him and give him cover. “It’s hard to say but he’s training well and he’s a happy horse. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t run in the first three anyhow. He races well fresh.” Longer-term, Brennan is keeping an open mind to Magnum’s late spring and summer programme. “Hopefully he’ll be competitive in Group One company again this year. We’ll see how he goes in these lower grade races for a start,” she said. “We don’t know whether he’s going to be a mile horse or whether he’s going to be better sticking to 1400m.” Brennan will this weekend also produce promising gallopers Vigor Winner, at Hastings, and Anna Cecelia, most likely at Ruakaka. Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) winner Vigor Winner was a trial winner at Te Rapa earlier this month but Brennan expected he would take improvement from Saturday’s Hastings Heart Of Hawke’s Bay 1200, a leadup to next month’s Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) at the same track. “Carrying 54kg after the claim, this is a good race to prepare him for the second day. We’re really happy with him. He’s done really well. The trial win was very impressive. If he won on Saturday, it would really show he’s on track for a big campaign,” Brennan said. Anna Cecelia is likely to progress from Saturday’s race to either the Gr.3 Cambridge Stud Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Ruakaka on September 14 or the Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) a week later at Hastings. “She’s good. I didn’t trial her this time in. She’s quite a light-framed filly. She’s had a couple of good gallops in company at Te Rapa and she’s training well.” View the full article

Centennial Farms’ classy veteran Preservationist (h, 6, Arch–Flying Dixie, by Dixieland Band) found a seam to run through late and surged to the lead in the final strides to earn his first Grade I victory in the GI Woodward S. at Saratoga Saturday. Sent off at 3-1, the bay sat just off the pace and under a snug hold as longshot Mr. Buff (Friend or Foe) took the field through fractions of :23.98 and :47.97. Bal Harbor (First Samurai) was first to challenge the pacesetter entering the stretch while Preservationist was caught behind a wall of horses. He finally found clear run, splitting Bal Harbor and Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike), to forge to the lead to win by a half-length. Bal Harbor was second and defending Woodward champion Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}), well back early, closed powerfully for third. The time for the nine furlongs was 1:48.11. Preservationist, finding his best as a 6-year-old, earned his first graded stakes win with a 4 1/2-length victory in the July 6 GII Suburban S. and he was looking to rebound from a fourth-place finish in the Aug. 3 GI Whitney H. Lifetime Record: 10-6-1-2. O-Centennial Farms. B-Emory Hamilton (Ky). T-James Jerkens. The post Preservationist Determined in Woodward Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Centennial Farms' Preservationist proved a formidable opponent Aug. 31, cutting a path between horses in deep stretch to take the $750,000 Woodward Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

Given a 4-1 chance while attempting to get her first taste of black-type following a first out win at Ellis Aug. 10, Jezebel’s Kitten (2, f, Kitten’s Joy–Truc’s Love, by Not For Love) woke up in the stretch and rolled to the front late to win Saturday’s Juvenile Fillies S. at Kentucky Downs. Settled in midpack early through moderate opening splits, she appeared to be idling as she drove between rivals turning for home. Swung to the outside for the stretch drive, she hit another gear late and burst to the front in the final strides to win going away. Ask Bailey (Run Away and Hide) finished ahead of Battleofwinterfell (Declaration of War). Final time for the eight furlong test was 1:40.06. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $330,000. O-Illium Stables LLC; Ken & Sarah Ramsey (KY); T-Brad Cox. The post ‘Kitten’ Roars to Victory at Kentucky Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A second chance turned into a winning move for Live Oak Plantation's Global Access and jockey Johnny Velazquez, who picked up a neck victory in the $194,000 Saranac Stakes (G3T) Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

A second chance turned into a winning move for Live Oak Plantation's Global Access and jockey Johnny Velazquez, who picked up a neck victory in the $194,000 Saranac Stakes (G3T) Aug. 31 at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

The $242,500 Prioress Stakes (G2) turned out to be a tale of two racetracks, though technically, it wasn't. If you're wondering about that, then you probably didn't back the victorious Royal Charlotte in the six-furlong stakes Aug. 31 at Saratoga. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today’s Observations features a half-sister to Free Eagle. 2.20 Cork, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, f, 8fT AMMA GRACE (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is a significant debutante for Moyglare Stud at the end of an emotive week for the establishment. A half-sister to the G1 Prince of Wales’s S.-winning sire Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and other notables and a full-sibling of last week’s Listed Galtres S. scorer Search For a Song (Ire), the Dermot Weld trainee is up against a fair yardstick in the Niarchos Family’s Jessie Harrington-trained Cork maiden runner-up Unknown Pleasures (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). 2.35 ParisLongchamp, Debutantes, €27,000, 2yo, f, 8fT MILLE FOIS MERCI (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is the first foal out of the G3 Prix d’Arenberg winner and G1 Cheveley Park S. third High Celebrity (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) who starts out in the same Ecurie Victoria Dreams colours for the same Andre Fabre stable. Among her rivals is Shadwell’s homebred Adabeyaat (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), a Jean-Claude Rouget-trained daughter of the G3 Prix de la Porte Maillot winner and G1 Prix Rothschild third Mashoora (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}). 2.50 Cork, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, f, 6fT SECOND GLANCE (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is a daughter of the G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Rosdhu Queen (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) who Coolmore snapped up for 2.1million gns at the 2013 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. Aidan O’Brien introduces the January-foaled bay against His Highness The Aga Khan’s Shehreen (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), a Dermot Weld-trained half-sister to the stable’s G2 Blandford S. scorer Shamreen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) whose 3-year-old half-sister Sheranda (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) debuts in the 3.50 on the card. 4.25 ParisLongchamp, Mdn, €27,000, 2yo, c/g, 8fT MUSICAL MAST (Mizzen Mast) debuts for Khalid Abdullah and Pascal Bary and is a son of the dual Grade I winner Flute (Seattle Slew) who has produced this colt’s GII Goldikova S.-winning full-sister Filimbi. In an 11-strong line-up, there is a Godolphin-Andre Fabre project who must be feared in Victor Ludorum (GB) (Shamardal), a relative of Street Cry (Ire). The post Free Eagle’s Half-Sister Kicks Off Cork Card appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 7th-SAR, $90,000, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, post time: 3:42 p.m. ET E Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ LAUGHABLE (Distorted Humor), a full-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Quip, makes her first trip to the post for trainer Todd Pletcher. The bay filly was a $300,000 FTSAUG yearling. Pletcher also saddles Barry Schwartz’s Sparkling Sky (More Than Ready), third but promoted to second, in her debut over course and trip Aug. 4. The chestnut was a $650,000 KEESEP yearling. Stephanie Seymour Brant’s Boxer Rebellion (Empire Maker), a $420,000 KEESEP yearling, debuts for trainer Chad Brown. The dark bay is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Song of Spring (Spring at Last). TJCIS PPs 8th-SAR, $90,000, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, post time: 4:14 p.m. ET ORSAY (American Pharoah), purchased by Larry Best’s OXO Equine for $1.2 million at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, debuts for trainer Chad Brown. The chestnut filly is a daughter of multiple Grade I winner Life at Ten (Malibu Moon). Wayne Lukas saddles Mathis Stable’s Cleopatra’s Charm (Pioneerof the Nile), a daughter of Grade I winner Careless Jewel (Tapit). Lee Pokoik’s Buxom Beast (The Big Beast) tries the maiden ranks following a respectable fourth-place finish while ambitiously placed in the July 11 GIII Schuylerville S. in her debut. TJCIS PPs 8th-DMR, $61,000, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, post time: 8:30 p.m. ET Neil Drysdale saddles firster ENCHANTED NILE (Pioneerof the Nile) for Lady Sheila Stable, George Bolton, and Mark Mathiesen. The bay filly, the first foal out of graded placed Enchantress (Malibu Moon), was a $375,000 KEESEP yearling. Also debuting is Phoenix Thoroughbreds’ Scarlet Lips (Malibu Moon), a $400,000 FTSAUG yearling trained by Bob Baffert. Jerry Hollendorfer sends out Don Alberto Stable’s Matera (Tapit). The $1.4-million KEESEP yearling disappointed when third as the favorite in her debut going six furlongs at Del Mar. Aug. 18. Out of graded winner Miss Macy Sue (Trippi), the filly is a half to Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song) and Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway). TJCIS PPs The post Sunday Insights: Pricey American Pharoah Filly Debuts for Brown, Best appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Flying from the back of the field in Saratoga’s seventh race Saturday, August Dawn Farm’s Three Technique (2, c, Mr. Speaker–Nite in Rome, by Harlan’s Holiday) closed from the back of the field and ran away from his rivals late to post a eight-length score over Always Misbehaving (Into Mischief), becoming a TDN Rising Star in the process. Runner up sprinting five panels at Belmont June 14, the August Dawn runner finished in the same spot behind Hopeful S. contender Basin next time while extending to six furlongs at Saratoga July 21. Final time for the seven furlong test was 1:22.93. This is the fourth winner for his freshman sire (by Pulpit). Lifetime Record: 3-1-2-0, $88,000. O-August Dawn Farm; B-Omega Farm LLC & Bally Breeders.T-Jeremiah Englehart. The post Mr. Speaker Colt Earns Rising Star Status at Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A battle in the Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt Division and three other races that will play a role in which horses qualify for bonus money for their owners and trainers headline the MATCH Series as part of a 12-race program at Parx Racing on Labor Day. View the full article

The $242,500 Prioress Stakes (G2) turned out to be a tale of two racetracks, though technically, it wasn't. If you're wondering about that, then you probably didn't back the victorious Royal Charlotte in the six-furlong stakes Aug. 31 at Saratoga. View the full article

After posting a front-end score in his first start on turf in the La Jolla Handicap (G3), California-bred Kingly will stay on the turf for the $250,000 Del Mar Derby (G2T) Sept. 1 at Del Mar. View the full article

In the $250,00 Bernard Baruch Handicap (G2T), how two new arrivals handle their second American start could hold the key to deciding the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes on Sept. 2 as the curtain falls on another year of racing at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

The top two finishers of the Aug. 4 GIII La Jolla H.–Kingly (Tapit) and Neptune’s Storm (Stormy Atlantic)–square off again in Sunday’s GII Del Mar Derby. The former recorded a narrow score with Mario Gutierrez in the irons in the California Derby over the Golden Gate synthetic last April before finishing third behind winner Visitant (Ghostzapper) there in the off-turf Alcatraz S. May 19. Fifth on the Santa Anita main track in the June 16 GIII Affirmed S., the Bob Baffert trainee was a distant third in the GIII Los Alamitos Derby July 13 ahead of his neck score over Neptune’s Storm in the La Jolla. Gutierrez retains the mount. Since joining Richard Baltas’ string this past spring, Neptune’s Storm reeled off two consecutive victories at Santa Anita in the mile Singletary S. Apr. 28 and the nine-panel Cinema S. June 2 before his narrow second in the La Jolla. Florent Geroux gets aboard for the first time. Nolde (Pioneerof the Nile) showed moderate form on the dirt in his first four trips to post, however, appeared to step it up a notch when switching to the turf. Donning cap and gown going a mile over the Santa Anita sod May 3, he made it two straight with a narrow victory in an $80,000 optional claimer at the Arcadia oval June 21. Sent off the second choice in his latest in the July 17 Oceanside S. at Del Mar, he had to settle for second behind favored Jasikan (Ire) (Bated Breath {GB}). Victor Espinoza, aboard the John Shireffs trainees past three starts, gets the call this time. On the board in all five prior starts, Vistant comes into this off a tiring third-place finish in the Affirmed and tries turf for the first time here. The Carla Gaines-trained colt gets the services of Geovanni Franco for the first time here. The post Royal Rematch in the Del Mar Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sent off at 9-2 while trying to rebound off of a lackluster sixth in the Aug. 3 GI Test S., Royal Charlotte (3, f, Cairo Prince–Sass and Class, by Harlan’s Holiday) came from off the pace to take Saturday’s GII prioress S. at Saratoga. Allowed to settled near the back of the compact field as undefeated favorite Break Even (Country Day) rolled through opening fractions of :21.87 and :44.76, the GIII Victory Ride S. winner began to take closer order while in between rivals approaching the quarter pole. Two lengths wide turning for home, she was taken to the outside of the game frontrunner in the stretch, overtook that one in the final sixteenth and drew clear late to post a 1 1/2-length score over Break Curfew. A slow-starting Risky Mandate (Strong Mandate) closed to be third. Final time for the six-furlong test was 1:09.45. Lifetime Record: 6-5-0-0, $359,400. O-First Row Partners & Parkland Tbreds. B-Rhineshire Farm LLC; T-Chad Brown. The post ‘Royal’ Procession in Prioress appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

It is 11 years since Kamsin (Ger) (Samum {Ger}) became the latest G1 Deutsches Derby hero to follow up in the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden, but Gestut Ittlingen’s Laccario (Ger) (Scalo {GB}) could be cut from the same cloth as he prepares to emulate that past luminary in Sunday’s Longines-sponsored feature. Unbeaten at three, the homebred has made the natural progression from Dusseldorf’s Listed Derby-Trial May 26 and the G2 Union-Rennen at Cologne June 10 to Derby victor with an ease that suggests he could become one of the season’s leading middle-distance 3-year-olds. His task is to deny a significant overseas challenger in Godolphin’s Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is back from a lengthy break having finished third in the G1 Prix Ganay over 10 1/2 furlongs at ParisLongchamp Apr. 28. Previously successful in the 10-furlong G2 Prix d’Harcourt there three weeks previously, he is reported ready for his reintroduction by Charlie Appleby. “Ghaiyyath has had a good break since the spring. We are looking forward to seeing him race over a mile and a half, as we are confident that it will be his best trip,” he said. “He was a little disappointing in the Prix Ganay, but we wondered about a couple of things afterwards–whether there was a slight bounce factor after wintering in Dubai and if his big effort in the Prix d’Harcourt may have left him a little flat. His preparation has gone well and he looks great at the moment. He won after a long lay-off last season and, if he brings the level of his spring form to the table, he is going to be a strong contender.” Runner-up to the classy French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}) in the G1 Grosser Preis Von Berlin at Hoppegarten Aug. 11, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum’s Communique (Ire) (Casamento {Ire}) tries again at the top level. Connections of the May 4 G2 Jockey Club S. and July 11 G2 Princess of Wales’s S. winner are hoping he can make it count this time and upgrade his profile. “He was unlucky last time, as he banged his head in the stalls before the race,” trainer Mark Johnston said. “We’ve been happy with him since and he is definitely up to winning one of these races. This is no soft touch, but he should be there or thereabouts.” Stall Turffighter’s Ashrun (Fr) (Authorized {Ire}) missed a clash with Laccario in the July 7 Hamburg Classic, having won the Listed Derby Trial at Hanover June 23 but returned to capture the G3 Prix de Reux at Deauville Aug. 4 and remains an unknown quantity in this company. On the undercard, Godolphin and Charlie Appleby field Vintager (GB) (Mastercraftsman {GB}) in the G2 Oettingen-Rennen. Successful in the G3 Prix Bertrand du Breuil over this mile trip when last seen at Chantilly June 16, he carries stable confidence. “He has enjoyed a little break, runs well fresh and this looks like a nice opportunity to hopefully win a Group 2 race,” Appleby said. At ParisLongchamp, the country’s future staying stars are tested in the G3 Prix de Lutece, while the juveniles warm up for the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in the G3 Prix la Rochette. Gerard-Augustin Normand’s July 30 Listed Criterium du Bequet winner Les Hogues (Ire) (Bated Breath {GB}) is a Jean-Claude Rouget project who bids to upstage the colts which include her stablemate Sujet Libre (Fr) (Hurricane Cat). He was runner-up to Saturday’s G3 Zukunfts-Rennen winner Alson (Ger) (Areion {Ger}) in a seven-furlong conditions event at Clairefontaine last time Aug. 9. The Wertheimers are also represented by a filly in the Carlos Laffon-Parias-trained Femina (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), who took a debutantes race on Deauville’s Polytrack Aug. 11 over a 6 1/2-furlong trip that is certain to be the minimum for the daughter of the G2 Prix de Malleret winner Legerete (Rahy). Click here for the complete fields. The post Laccario Looks For Prestigious Double appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article