Wandering Eyes

It was the day of the GI Runhappy Travers S., and that’s a race that will always command the most attention on the most important day of the Saratoga meet. But the 48,213 fans who packed the stands Saturday saw what will be hard to top when it comes to the best race run this year, the GI Personal Ensign S. This was racing at its best, and something you so rarely see anymore. It was two terrific horses in Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) and Elate (Medaglia d’Oro) hooking up at the top of the stretch, going nostril-to-nostril for almost a quarter-mile and then having the race decided by an inch or so. The win went to Midnight Bisou, but Elate did not deserve to lose. Showing tremendous fight, she showed not only her talent, but her courage. Now six for six on the year with three Grade I wins, Midnight Bisou appears to have wrapped up the Eclipse Award for the older filly and mare division. The other story line in the Personal Ensign was the betting. The linemaker had made Midnight Bisou 6-5 and Elate 7-5, which made perfect sense because Midnight Bisou had defeated Elate in their two prior meeting this year. Yet, the public went for Elate, making her 4-5 and Midnight Bisou 8-5. It might have been because the bettors lacked confidence in Midnight Bisou at a mile-and-an-eighth since she had never won beyond a mile-and-a-sixteenth before in her career. As good as Midnight Bisou is, she may not be the best horse in training in her division. Remember Monomoy Girl (Tapizar)? She faced Midnight Bisou four times last year and crossed the wire in front of her each time. The only victory Midnight Bisou gained over her rival came via a stewards’ disqualification in the GI Cotillion S. at Parx. Has Midnight Bisou gotten that much better or is Monomoy Girl that good? We may find out. Needing more time than expected to come back from a case of colic, Monomoy Girl has not raced this year, but is nearing her first start. She had her third work this year Saturday, going four furlongs in :48.20 at Churchill Downs. Trainer Brad Cox has said he’d probably need five or six works to get her ready for her first race. If things continue to go well, and if Cox is not afraid to try his filly at the highest level after a long layoff, the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. at Keeneland Oct. 6 would fit his schedule. She could go from there to the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Elate vs. Monomoy Girl vs. Midnight Bisou in the Distaff? A lot would have to go right for that to happen, but if it does, it promises to be among the most memorable races anyone has seen in a long time. Los Alamitos Deserves Better On Thursday, the California Horse Racing Board approved a 2020 dates schedule that cut Los Alamitos out of the Los Angeles County fair meet dates in September that bridge the gap between the closing of Del Mar and a short meet at Santa Anita. Instead, those dates were given to Santa Anita. Everyone knows that Los Alamitos is not Santa Anita or Del Mar. It has no turf course, the level of racing when compared to Santa Anita and Del Mar dips considerably when it is open and most of the top jockeys take the meet off or ride only in the stakes races. But it does serve a purpose. It allows trainers that struggle to win races at the major Southern California meets a chance to pick up a few checks and Los Alamitos officials have argued that it helps its Quarter Horse meet because the Thoroughbred bettors stay engaged with Los Alamitos more now than ever since it has a presence with both breeds. But the real issue is that the California racing industry owes Los Alamitos after it came to its rescue following the closing of Hollywood Park and never should have thrown it under the bus. It was felt that the Southern California circuit had to have a third track, even if it was one that ran only a relatively small amount of dates. Ed Allred, the chairman and owner of Los Alamitos, could have told the Thoroughbred industry he wasn’t interested, but he was willing to help. One of the primary issues was that, with Hollywood closed, the circuit desperately needed more stalls, so Allred put in approximately 800 additional stalls to house Thoroughbreds. He also expanded the track to a mile to make it a better fit for Thoroughbred racing. According to a 2014 Los Angeles Times article, Allred spent $5 million preparing the track for Thoroughbred racing. “I have so many problems with what is proposed,” Allred testified before the CHRB. “It’s difficult to get it down to a minute or two. Seven years ago, we were approached about putting in a mile track, which we did in record time, about three months. Spent many millions of dollars on it. We were heroes, heroes for horse racing in all of California. We were glad to do that.” He’s not wrong. Obviously, more will be bet at Santa Anita than would be at Los Alamitos and the level of racing will be much better, but this is no way to treat a racetrack that came through for the sport when the sport needed its help. John Sadler…Hall of Famer For the second straight week, John Sadler won the Saturday feature at Del Mar. A week after taking the GI TVG Pacific Classic with Higher Power (Medaglia d’Oro), he won the GII Pat O’Brien H. with Catalina Cruiser (Union Rags). He’s now won 16 stakes on the year, 12 graded stakes and four Grade Is. Starting off in 1978, he’s won 2,492 races during his career, including 165 graded stakes. Sadler probably wasn’t a Hall of Famer until the Hronis Brothers came onto the scene and started providing him with the types of horses that are capable of winning at the highest level. But he was given a tremendous opportunity and he ran with it. When it comes to older male horses, right now there is no more dangerous trainer in the country. Ironically, the number of races he now wins each year has dipped since his association with the Hronises began. He won just 59 races in 2018 after winning at least 100 each year from 2007 to 2013. But that’s because he is now dealing in quality and not quantity. The other knock on Sadler had always been that he could not win in the Breeders’ Cup or whenever his horses left Southern California. His 1-for-45 Breeders’ Cup record still looks ugly on paper, but he got that monkey off his back last year when winning the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic with Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky). And if Accelerate had come along in any year other than one the included a Triple Crown winner, he would have been Horse of the Year. Sadler has never been so much as been on the Hall of Fame ballot. The time has come. Not Your Typical TV Analyst You have to give Fox credit for using Jonathon Kinchen on its horse racing shows. This is not a person you’d normally see on TV. Even though in his mid-thirties, he’s rumpled, his hair rises from his scalp halfway to the sky, with the way he dresses, there is no shot he will ever appear on the cover of GQ. He appeared on the Travers show wearing a Hawaiian shirt. When choosing on-air talent, television too often goes for style over substance. In some cases, that’s fine. But horse racing is a gambling game and too often the networks forget that. When it comes to handicapping, Kinchen’s credentials are hard to beat. A regular tournament player, he remains the only player in NHC history to have both of his entries qualify for The Final Table, and in 2015 he won the NHC Tour, a testing year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned events. Yet, he doesn’t come across as arrogant nor does he try to be the smartest guy in the room. He couldn’t connect in the Travers, picking Tacitus (Tapit) and combining him in exactas with Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) and the wiseguy horse, Looking at Bikinis (Looking at Lucky). But he’ll have other chances to prove his acumen. There’s a place for features and fluff, but the Fox horse racing audience is still made up largely of horseplayers and Fox is giving them what they want–a guy who knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the betting game. They took a chance on someone who doesn’t fit the profile of a TV guy. Good for them. The post The Week in Review: The Personal Ensign Was Racing at its Best appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Last year’s G1 Moyglare Stud S. winner and Cartier champion 2-year-old filly Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) is set to return from a four-month absence in Thursday’s G3 Fairy Bridge S. at Tipperary. Anthony and Sonia Rogers’s filly was last seen beating just one home on seasonal debut in the G1 1000 Guineas, after which it was revealed she had torn a muscle. Patrick Prendergast handled Skitter Scatter’s career at two before this year turning in his license but joining up with her new trainer John Oxx. Prendergast said on Sunday, “Hopefully we get a bit more of this nice weather that is forecast and so long as the ground is nice, she’s going to run in Tipperary, all being well. It does seem a long time since the Guineas. It’s been frustrating, but these things take time and just require a bit of patience. She seems happy and well and we’re looking forward to getting her back on the track.” Prendergast said the G1 Matron S. at Leopardstown on Sept. 14 is a longer term goal. “Her home work is as good as it ever was,” he said. “She’s always been very professional, but only does as much as she has to. The proof will be in the pudding on the racecourse. We’ll see how she goes, but if she runs well, we’d like to take her to Irish Champions Weekend.” The post Skitter Scatter Returns Thursday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Wicked Whisper (Liam’s Map), the priciest of 64 yearlings by her first-crop sire (by Unbridled’s Song) to sell last year when she cost $500,000 at Keeneland September, began repaying owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong Sunday at the Spa when she put forth a head-turning debut effort worthy of ‘TDN Rising Star’ status. Having done most of her racetrack preparation down in Kentucky, the Steve Asmussen pupil shipped up to Saratoga to work an easy half-mile over the Oklahoma Training Track in :50 flat (25/48) Aug. 19 and was backed down to 8-5 favoritism facing a well-bred group. Not off particularly quickly from her rail draw, the chestnut was pushed along by Ricardo Santana, Jr. to rush up and grab the early lead. She doled out splits of :22.41 and :45.64 while always several lengths clear, and hit the lane looking like a sure thing. From there she continued to cruise away under confident handling, and ran up the score to 6 1/4 effortless lengths over the seemingly turf bred Highland Glory (Sky Mesa). Second choice Stop Shopping Tammy (Tapit–Miss Shop) had trouble at the break and checked in fourth. Wicked Whisper becomes the second winner for Liam’s Map and seventh maiden-breaking juvenile for the Asmussen barn this Saratoga season. The somewhat late-blooming Liam’s Map was second on debut here as a sophomore in August of 2014, and returned to the Spa the following season to finish second in the GI Whitney S. before romping in the GI Woodward S. Wicked Whisper’s dam Zayanna (Bernardini) is already responsible for Point of Honor (Curlin), GSW & MGISP, $466,375–second in the GI Alabama S. here Aug. 17, the stakes-winning juvenile Velvet Mood (Lonhro {Aus}) and stakes-placed Admiral Jimmy (Jimmy Creed), who broke the 4 1/2-furlong track record at Gulfstream for a winning debut at two in 2017. Zayanna is a half to graded winners Capitano (Belong to Me), Mr Freeze (To Honor and Serve), Dilemma (Grand Slam) and Heavenly Ransom (Red Ransom). She produced a Union Rags filly last term and a Curlin colt Apr. 26. Wicked Whisper’s performance Sunday adds to Bernardini’s emergence as a top broodmare sire. He is already the damsire of the likes of dual surface GISW Catholic Boy (More Than Ready), this year’s GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Serengeti Empress (Alternation) and Alabama winner Dunbar Road (Quality Road). 1st-Saratoga, $90,000, Msw, 8-25, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:10.33, ft. WICKED WHISPER, f, 2, Liam’s Map 1st Dam: Zayanna, by Bernardini 2nd Dam: Heavenly Cat, by Tabasco Cat 3rd Dam: In Excelcis Deo, by Forty Niner Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $49,500. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. Click for the equineline.com catalog style pedigree. O-Alex & JoAnn Lieblong; B-Siena Farms LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. *$500,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP The post Pricey Liam’s Map Filly Sharp in Saratoga Unveiling; Named ‘TDN Rising Star’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Further underlying the strength of the G3 Oak Tree S., Lord Lloyd-Webber and Will Farish’s Royal Intervention (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) bounced out of a creditable fifth in that seven-furlong Goodwood contest to take Sunday’s prestigious G2 Casino Baden-Baden Goldene Peitsche. In front from the outset in usual fashion, the chestnut shook off pressure early in the straight and was beyond reach as Gestut Brummerhof’s Waldpfad (Ger) (Shamardal) got going. At the line, she had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over that G3 Hackwood S. winner to add to her prior pattern-race success in York’s G3 Summer S. also over this six-furlong trip. Instantly demonstrating her credentials at two when breaking her maiden by 4 1/2 lengths in the Listed Empress S. at Newmarket in June and when runner-up in the G3 Princess Margaret S. at Ascot the following month, she was next seen again finishing fourth in the Listed Chelmer Fillies’ S. on Chelmsford’s Polytrack on May 2. Third behind Hello Youmzain (Fr) (Kodiac {GB}) and Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in Haydock’s G2 Sandy Lane S. on May 25, she was far from disgraced when fifth in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot on June 21 before trying a seventh furlong for the first time in the Oak Tree. Racing under a three-pound penalty there and burdened with a wide draw, she was passed only by the class acts Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), Perfection (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), Jubiloso (GB) (Shamardal) and Rocques (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) and had the likes of Angel’s Hideaway (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Pretty Baby (Ire) (Orpen) in arrears in a strong renewal. Pedigree Notes Royal Intervention is one of three stakes winners out of Exciting Times (Fr) (Jeune Homme), including the high-class Gorella (Fr) (Grape Tree Road {GB}) who captured the GI Beverly D S. and was runner-up in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp and third in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile. Another was Porto Santo (Fr) (Kingsalsa), whose career highlight was a third placing in the G1 Criterium International. This is the family of the G3 Prix de Royaumont runner-up Enquiry (Darshaan {GB}) and the G1 St James’s Palace S. and GI Hollywood Derby runner-up Raykour (Ire) (Dalsaan {GB}). Exciting Times also has the unraced 2-year-old filly Circus Tent (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Sunday, Baden-Baden, Germany 149TH CASINO BADEN-BADEN GOLDENE PEITSCHE-G2, €70,000, Baden-Baden, 8-25, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:08.49, gd. 1–ROYAL INTERVENTION (IRE), 123, f, 3, by Exceed and Excel (Aus) 1st Dam: Exciting Times (Fr), by Jeune Homme 2nd Dam: Eloura (Fr), by Top Ville (Ire) 3rd Dam: Eurissia, by Sir Gaylord O-Lord Lloyd Webber & W S Farish; B-Exciting Times Partnership (IRE); T-Ed Walker; J-Gerald Mosse. €40,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Eng, 9-3-2-1, €144,779. *1/2 to Gorella (Fr) (Grape Tree Road {GB}), GISW-US, GSW & MG1SP-Fr, $1,456,209; Porto Santo (Fr) (Kingsalsa), SW & G1SP-Fr, MGSP-US, $327,351; Stars Over the Sea (Sea the Stars {Ire}), GSP-Ire, $205,862; and Thanks Again (Ire) (Anabaa Blue {GB}), SP-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Waldpfad (Ger), 130, h, 5, Shamardal–Waldbeere (GB), by Mark of Esteem (Ire). (€390,000 RNA Ylg ’15 BBAGS; €49,000 4yo ’18 BBAGO). O/B-Gestut Brummerhof (GER); T-Dominik Moser. €15,500. 3–Big Boots (Ire), 127, c, 3, Society Rock (Ire)–Dairy Herd (Ire), by Footstepsinthesand (GB). (€14,500 Ylg ’17 GOFFEB; £16,000 2yo ’18 TATABR; £11,000 2yo ’18 GOFHIT). O-Guido-Werner-Hermann Schmitt; B-A Malone (IRE); T-Waldemar Hickst. €8,000. Margins: 1HF, 1 3/4, NK. Odds: 1.80, 1.30, 7.50. Also Ran: Namos (Ger), Zargun (Ger), Iron Duke (Ger), K Club (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. The post Goldene Peitsche For Royal Intervention appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Missing out on third by fractions in one of Deauville’s showpiece events, the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, Sutong Pan Racing’s Spinning Memories (Ire) (Arcano {Ire}) made light work of Sunday’s G3 Prix de Meautry Barriere as the Normandy meeting drew to a close. Sent off the 2-1 favourite, the bay was typically exuberant tracking the pace in third under regular rider Christophe Soumillon. Seizing command passing the furlong marker, she opened up for a demonstration as Stake Acclaim (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) led the chase trailing 3 1/2 lengths behind. “She deserved to win a race like this, having run so well in the Maurice de Gheest,” trainer Pascal Bary commented. “I think she won in very good style and we’ve now found her best distance. She won’t run over five and I’m not certain that there are any suitable opportunities over six in France so maybe we’ll look abroad and to Hong Kong, where her owner is living.” Campaigned almost exclusively over seven furlongs so far, the former Andrew Oliver trainee had shown distinct promise when winning the Listed Prix Matchem at Saint-Cloud in October and the Listed Prix Maurice Zilber on the first of three starts on ParisLongchamp’s turning track on May 12. Fourth in the G3 Prix du Palais-Royal on May 30 and third in the July 4 G3 Prix de la Porte Maillot, she was beaten just over a length when caught late and denied a placing in the Aug. 4 Maurice de Gheest and is a sprinter that is certain to make the highest grade now that she has found her metier. Pedigree Notes Spinning Memories is the first live foal out of the unraced Hanalei Memories (Hard Spun), whose second dam is the GI Beverly D. S. and GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. heroine Memories of Silver (Silver Hawk). She has four black-type winners to her credit, headed by the GI Garden City S. winner Winter Memories (El Prado {Ire}) and the GIII Athenia S. winner La Cloche (Ghostzapper), with both of these proving stakes producers in their own right. Memories of Silver is kin to four stakes performers, most notably the GII Miss Grillo S. winner Memories (Hail the Pirates), who in turn the dam of the G3 Prix du Palais-Royal scorer Russian Revival (Nureyev). Sunday, Deauville, France PRIX DE MEAUTRY BARRIERE-G3, €80,000, Deauville, 8-25, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:08.89, gd. 1–SPINNING MEMORIES (IRE), 125, f, 4, by Arcano (Ire) 1st Dam: Hanalei Memories, by Hard Spun 2nd Dam: Memories For Us, by Street Cry (Ire) 3rd Dam: Memories of Silver, by Silver Hawk 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Pan Sutong Racing Bloodstock; B-Mubarak Al Naemi (IRE); T-Pascal Bary; J-Christophe Soumillon. €40,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-0-1, €141,990. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Stake Acclaim (Ire), 128, g, 7, Acclamation (GB)–Golden Legacy (Ire), by Rossini. (€65,000 Wlg ’12 GOFNOV; 62,000gns Ylg ’13 TATOCT; 125,000gns 2yo ’14 TATGNS). O-Michael Yarrow; B-G Devlin (IRE); T-Dean Ivory. €16,000. 3–Tertius (Fr), 125, c, 3, Siyouni (Fr)–Rhenania (Ire), by Shamardal. O/B-Mme Christa Zass (FR); T-Markus & Stephanie Nigge. €12,000. Margins: 3HF, HF, 1. Odds: 2.00, 10.00, 24.00. Also Ran: Poetry (GB), Comedia Eria (Fr), Keystroke (GB), Big Brothers Pride (Fr), Viscount Barfield (GB), Ilanga (Fr). Scratched: Glass Slippers (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Memories In Control In The Meautry appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Upping his game when runner-up in the June 30 G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, the Wertheimers’ Ziyad (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) had his moment in the sun when taking full advantage of a class-drop in Sunday’s G2 Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de Deauville. Content using the pacemaker of Nagano Gold (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}) as his own as he travelled with purpose in second, the 2-1 second favourite thrust into a clear lead with two furlongs remaining as the Czech 17-10 favourite floundered on his inside. Never in danger thereafter, the homebred had a cozy half-length margin to spare over Soft Light (Fr) (Authorized {Ire}) at the line, with Nagano Gold two lengths behind in third. Mainly consistent this term, the homebred who was tried over longer trips in the autumn returned to be second in the Listed Prix de la Porte de Madrid over this trip at Saint-Cloud on Mar. 26 before finishing 10th of 11 behind Nagano Gold in the Apr. 14 Listed Prix Lord Seymour at ParisLongchamp. Well beaten when third in the Listed Prix Bedel at Lyon-Parilly on May 8, he began to hit his stride when runner-up in the June 2 G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly before confirming his upgraded status in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Pedigree Notes Ziyad is the last foal out of Arme Ancienne (GB) (Sillery), who was third in the Listed Prix Melisande before producing the stakes-placed Machiavelique (Street Cry). The second dam is the G3 Prix de Psyche winner and G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches runner-up Agathe (Manila), who produced three group winners to matings with Rock of Gibraltar’s sire Danehill, most notably the G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Prix Vermeille heroine and G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Aquarelliste (Fr) and the GI Charles Whittingham Memorial H. and GI Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship hero Artiste Royal (Ire). She is also related to Arcangues (Fr) (Sagace), Cape Verdi (Ire) (Caerleon) and Angara (GB) (Alzao). Sunday, Deauville, France LUCIEN BARRIERE GRAND PRIX DE DEAUVILLE-G2, €200,000, Deauville, 8-25, 3yo/up, 12 1/2fT, 2:38.20, gd. 1–ZIYAD (GB), 126, g, 4, by Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) 1st Dam: Arme Ancienne (GB) (SP-Fr), by Sillery 2nd Dam: Agathe, by Manila 3rd Dam: Albertine (Fr), by Irish River (Fr) 1ST GROUP WIN. O/B-Wertheimer & Frere (GB); T-Carlos Laffon-Parias; J-Olivier Peslier. €114,000. Lifetime Record: 16-5-6-2, €367,840. *1/2 to Machiavelique (Street Cry {Ire}), SP-US. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Soft Light (Fr), 120, c, 3, Authorized (Ire)–Light Saber (Fr), by Kendor (Fr). (€40,000 Ylg ’17 AROCT). O-Claudio Marzocco; B-SARL Jedburgh Stud & Mme Isabelle Corbani (FR); T-Jean-Claude Rouget. €44,000. 3–Nagano Gold (GB), 129, h, 5, Sixties Icon (GB)–Never Enough (Ger), by Monsun (Ger). (3,500gns Wlg ’14 TATFOA). O-Syndikat V3J; B-J Knight & E Cantillon (GB); T-Vaclav Luka. €21,000. Margins: HF, 2, HF. Odds: 2.00, 6.10, 1.70. Also Ran: Villa Rosa (Fr), Master’s Spirit (Ire), Premier Lion (Fr), Tiberian (Fr), Gyllen. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Ziyad Conquers The Grand Prix appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

... View the full article

As an operation on the outskirts of Newmarket about to celebrate its centenary, it’s only natural that Barton Stud has a long history of consigning locally at Tattersalls, but it dipped a toe in the Doncaster waters last August and found them pleasingly warm. Twelve months on, Barton Stud returns to the Goffs UK Premier Sale this week with an enhanced draft of 10 yearlings and manager Tom Blain is looking forward to his favourite time of the bloodstock year. “I love the sales,” he says. “Barton Stud has always been a boarding facility but recently we have particularly focused on the sales; it’s a part of the industry that I really enjoy.” The stud, which has been owned by the Broughton family since 1925 and once stood Nasrullah, has made pronounced progression on the commercial front since Blain joined the team in 2013. This year, along with the 10 horses heading north to Yorkshire, it will be busy throughout the Tattersalls October Sale with more than 30 yearlings consigned across the first three books. Blain continues, “It’s my job to focus on who is buying what and I generally have my head in the game the whole time. I think I have a good head for values and I hope that can be of help to some of the smaller English breeders we consign for who wouldn’t have the same time to devote to it.” The stud’s location in Bury St Edmunds and proximity to Newmarket’s major farms means that it has naturally been a popular port of call for breeders wanting to walk in mares to local stallions but Blain has concentrated on developing more of a fixed herd at Barton, for the benefit of their own mares and those of their regular clients. He says, “About five years ago I focused on permanent boarders in a bid to try to build up the sales consignment side. We do board in the season for some of the best French farms and we have enough land to do that, but really the focus is more on the permanent boarders.” Among the offspring of Barton’s own mares for sale in Doncaster is one whose family has had a particularly successful association with the Premier Sale in recent years. Lot 122 is the second foal of South Bay (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), an unraced half-sister to Gale Force Ten (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the colt who topped the sale in 2011 when selling for £280,000 before going on to win the G3 Jersey S., while Orkney Island (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) sold for £180,000 the following year. Blain says of the daughter of Charm Spirit (Ire), “I thought this was a good Doncaster pedigree and she looks like a pure ball of speed. It’s a lovely family going back to Bianca Nera (GB), who we used to have here at the stud for many years. This is a prime Doncaster filly and I hope she’ll go down really well.” Prices have continued to rise at Doncaster and last year’s sale saw a new record price of £380,000 for a colt by Gleneagles (Ire) from Newsells Park Stud. While the quality of yearlings on offer has evolved, many consignors and buyers still have a fixed idea of the type of horse that works best at this early-season auction famed for its precocious types. “I’m really pleased with the horses physically,” Blain says. “Not all of them necessarily have the strongest pedigrees but they’re all good-walking, real Donny types. Everyone knows roughly what we should be taking to Doncaster, though it is changing a bit and I think Goffs UK are trying to change it for the good. We sold well last year and with the perception of Doncaster changing we are happily taking a few types that maybe we would normally have taken to Tattersalls, to see how it goes.” Barton Stud will consign on behalf of a number of other British farms this year, including Jeffrey and Phoebe Hobby’s Brightwalton Stud, which will offer a filly by one of the freshman sires who has already made a good impression with his first yearlings at Arqana–the French-based dual Group 1 winner Shalaa (Ire). The Hobbys bought the dam of lot 177, Vesnina (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), from Cheveley Park Stud in 2015 and they have been rewarded by several nice updates, including from her first foal, the 2-year-old Nina Bailarina (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who posted a five-length victory at Newmarket in her breeder’s colours on Aug. 9 and now has some fancy stakes entries. “Shalaa made a great start last week [at Arqana] and Nina Bailarina is going for the Cheveley Park S. so that’s quite smart,” Blain says. “It’s a very good active family and her dam’s 2-year-old half-sister by Frankel [Melnikova] also won recently. I’m actually quite excited about her.” Roger and Matt Coleman’s listed winner Melbourne Memories (GB) (Sleeping Indian {GB}) made quite an impression at Goffs UK three years ago when her first foal, a colt by Acclamation (GB), sold to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for £230,000, and this time her Muhaarar (GB) colt forms part of the Barton draft as lot 425. The consignment also includes the only yearling by Olympic Glory (Ire) in the sale, a colt (lot 444) who is eligible for French premiums and is out of the four-time winner Money Time (Ire) (Arch) from a family with plenty of French black-type. Following a strong start to the European yearling sales season in Deauville, the team from Barton Stud will not be the only consignors hoping that the strong trade continues in Doncaster and on to Newmarket, where it will be well represented. Blain says, “We have 33 horses going to Tattersalls and we mostly prep them all on site. I quite like getting our own touch on them. We have four particularly good yearlings for Book 1 this year and I’m really excited about that. We then have 18 serious horses for Book 2.” And as if that isn’t enough to keep Blain busy, he has recently been elected to the board of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) and, at the age of 31, brings some youthful enthusiasm to the organisation as the youngest board member. “I think they were quite keen to have someone with their hands on the pitchfork, as it were. I took a while to decide to put myself forward as I didn’t want to do it if I wasn’t going to give it 100%. I’ve now been to my first two board meetings and it’s absolutely fascinating. The TBA does so much good work–even as someone who’s been involved in the industry for a little while now I hadn’t appreciated just how much they do and what they’re putting money into, such as veterinary research,” he says. “I believe it’s really important to support the TBA, and it shouldn’t be underestimated or taken for granted because it is a very special organisation. All breeders in this country should be members and use it for support and for advice. They are there to help.” He adds, “We all know that the industry is facing some pretty tough times. We need to stick together and we need voices at the top table shouting for us. So we need to give up some of our time to support those voices, and that’s what I am trying to do.” The post Barton Stud Back In Premier Fray appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A boozy night in a pub in the South Island of New Zealand has resulted in Ablaze making his way to the stable of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace and two hurdle victories. Making a winning jumps debut at Coleraine a week ago, Ablaze backed that up with success in the J J Houlahan Hurdle at Ballarat on Sunday. Part-owner Rod Lyons, who has a share in Group One-winning sprinter Nature Strip, said a trip to May's Warrnambool carnival sparked an interest in securing a jumper. "A couple of the owners o... View the full article

New Zealand jumper Tallyho Twinkletoe has equalled the feats of a champion jumper of yesteryear with his dominant victory in the Grand National Steeplechase at Ballarat. Tallyho Twinkletoe became the first horse since Mosstrooper in 1930 to complete the Grand National Hurdle/Steeplechase double in the same year. Patrick Payne calls himself the "puppet trainer", having taken over from Kevin Myers just days before the gelding's Grand National hurdle victory at Sandown on August 4. Sent off favouri... View the full article

Rangiora based trainer Nick Wigley could have a two-pronged attack on some of the three-year-old filly features in the South Island this spring if all goes to plan at Tuesday’s Rangiora trials. Wigley and new training partner Kayla Milnes will line-up Charm Spirit filly Intimidate, who impressed when winning over 1000m at Riccarton in July to round-out her two-year-old campaign, along with a Sacred Falls half-sister to Gr.1 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas (1600m) winner Ugo Foscolo, who they ... View the full article

A barnstorming finish for third in the Gr.3 Toy Show Quality (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday has forced the connections of talented New Zealand mare Xpression into a rethink about her future plans. The former Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) placegetter, who races as My Xpression in Australia, joined the Sydney stable of Chris Waller at the start of the year after winning three of her seven starts in New Zealand for trainers Guy Lowry and Grant Cullen. She failed to fire in her first two st... View the full article

Cambridge trainer Tony Pike will head into the first day of the Bostock New Zealand Spring Racing Carnival at Hastings this Saturday with some added firepower thanks to the circumstances created by the abandonment of racing at Taupo last Wednesday. With the Taupo meeting called off after four races, Pike’s promising filly Kali missed out on making her spring debut in the 1100m three-year-old fillies race scheduled on the day. That race has now been added to the Hastings programme with Pike con... View the full article

Regan Bayliss’ first stint in Hong Kong was cut short through injury but with an extension until the end of the year and a return to full fitness, the young jockey is determined put his best foot forward.The 22-year-old broke his hand in the barriers before a race at Happy Valley on June 5, ending his season with just four winners after arriving in Hong Kong in late February.There was some uncertainty about whether the Jockey Club licensing committee would extend his time at Sha Tin, but he got… View the full article

Hronis Racing's Catalina Cruiser dug deep in the Del Mar stretch Aug. 24 and won the $200,351 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) by a head. View the full article

Hronis Racing's Catalina Cruiser dug deep in the Del Mar stretch Aug. 24 and won the $200,351 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) by a head. View the full article

One of the proudest nights of Phil Williamson’s career has come at a cost. But the Kiwi trainer isn’t about to let that take the gloss off his group one double in the space of 35 minutes at Melton in Victoria on Saturday night. Williamson produced Liberty Stride (three-year-old fillies) and Ultimate Stride (two-year-old boys) to record massive wins in their divisions of the Breeders Crown, the first winning by 19.4m which seemed like a dramatic demolition job until Ultimate Stride nearly doubled that, winning his final by 37.8m after sitting parked. That set up a Kiwi clean sweep of the only three trotting finals they contested at the rich Breeders Crown meeting with Kratos a promoted winner of the A$80,000 three-year-old trot final after first past the post All Cashed Up, who beat him by a nose, was relegated for galloping. His win was the fifth Breeders Crown success for South Auckland trainers John Dickie but while he and son Josh had to have their little trotter trained to perfection to win, Williamson was still the star of the show. Liberty Stride was unheralded just two months ago yet her development curve has been so steep she now rates as one of the most exciting young trotters in Australasia, but Williamson won’t get to take her to the next level next campaign. Owner Emilio Rosati has decided to leave Liberty Stride in Victoria to be trained by Brent Lilley whereas Williamson will be bringing Ultimate Stride home. “Emilio bought her (Liberty Stride) off us so he gets to make those choices and it is hard to argue with because there isn’t a lot here for a four-year-old trotting mare,” says Williamson. “So if she qualifies for the Australian invite for the Jewels we might get her back but I’m sure what Emilio does with her long-term will depend on how she is racing.” Williamson was stoked by his first group one double, especially after spending nearly six weeks in Australia training just the two horses. “I think we had eight starts here for six wins, a second and gallop so they have really done us proud. “I was pretty excited last night. Group one don’t usually come easy but they both absolutely bolted in so I had time to enjoy them.” Ultimate Stride’s win was a bonus for Williamson who originally thought his juvenile season was over until Sydney-based Rosati talked him into tackling the Crown. “It was a real after thought but he thrived on the trip and while it is only two-year-old racing I think everybody can see he is a real open class trotter in the making.” While all three New Zealand-trained trotters won their finals the pacers had to settle for placings, with Best Western second in the three-year-old fillies final in which fellow Kiwi filly Princess Tiffany was surprisingly beaten into third after nothing went her way. And the juvenile pacing boys pair of Perfect Stride and Zeuss Bromac were outpointed by the local star Be Happy Mach in their A$300,000 final. View the full article

For the second consecutive year, the New York Racing Association, Inc. generated a Travers Day record all-sources handle as fans wagered $52,129,344 on an afternoon that featured the 150th running of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers. View the full article

It’s been a year where it sometimes seems there is one trainer, Chad Brown, and then everyone else. On the day of the GI Runhappy Travers S., it was beginning to look like a case of more of the same. Coming into the Travers, Brown had already won four races on the day, including two stakes. But lest we forget, there are still some wise, old pros out there, none sharper and better at what they do than Shug McGaughey. He’s done so much in his Hall of Fame career, and yesterday’s win in the Travers with Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) certainly ranks up there as one of his greatest achievements. Code of Honor was obviously meant to be a good horse. He broke his maiden as a first-time-starter last year at Saratoga, won the GII Fountain of Youth and crossed the wire third in the GI Kentucky Derby before being placed second through disqualification. Yet, there was something about him that always suggested we had seen nothing close to his best. You probably thought that, the Farish/Lane’s End family thought that and, obviously, so did McGaughey. He knew what he had to do: find a way to get the horse to fulfill his promise. That may sound easy, but it’s not. Horses have minds of their own; some develop, some don’t and many become the first-round draft pick who is cut three years into their careers. So, when Code of Honor officially finished second in the Derby, many trainers would have plowed ahead with the remaining Triple Crown races. Who knows? Code of Honor possibly could have won the GI Preakness or GI Belmont, but McGaughey knew exactly what the right thing to do for his horse was and that was to let him develop. After the Derby, he didn’t show up for nine weeks and came back with a 3 1/4-length win in the GIII Dwyer. That’s hardly a career-making race, but it was exactly what Code of Honor needed to take the next step. “I think it showed a little bit of his maturity and where he’s going,” McGaughey said following the Dwyer. “Physically, I think he’s bigger, and I think in the Derby he was still a mentally immature horse.” The next logical step would have been either the GI Haskell or the GII Jim Dandy, but McGaughey passed both. He had his eye on one prize, the Travers, and he was going to do use every bit of knowledge he had compiled during the 40 years he had been training to get the horse to the starting gate on Aug. 24 in peak condition. “He was a little bit of Jekyll and Hyde horse and we wanted him to put it all together,” the trainer said after the Travers. “And he put it all together today. He’s been training really well and his Dwyer was a really good race, so we thought we were going to see what we just saw.” What we got was a horse who showed he was both talented and professional. Sitting ninth early under John Velazquez, he started to roll entering the far turn and, despite going five wide on the turn, motored by a couple of good horses in Tacitus (Tapit) and Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) in the stretch to draw away and win by three. “He put his mind on running today,” Velazquez said. “When I put him out in the clear, he responded right away. We’ve been looking for this kind of performance for a long time. He’s a late foal (May), and didn’t always know what to do even though he ran some big races. He really put one together today.” What exactly did McGaughey do? Show patience? Let the horse grow up a little bit? Sharpen him up in the mornings? He did have a bullet four-furlong workout on the Saratoga training track Aug. 4, the type of work you rarely see from a Shug horse. Was it all of the above or something else? Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. The answer is that the trainer knew which buttons to push. After he’s done celebrating, McGaughey might want to go commiserate with a trainer who is his equal and peer, fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott. He must be tearing his hair out over the frustrations he’s had to endure this year with the talented but enigmatic Tacitus. Sent off the 2-1 favorite Saturday, he finished second for the third straight time. He most likely would have won the Belmont, but jockey Jose Ortiz made a rare mistake when he had him wide throughout on a track that was clearly favoring the inside. He might have won the Jim Dandy, but he stumbled at the start. Mott dug into his bag of tricks Saturday and equipped the horse with blinkers. What he got was a horse who completely deviated from his normal running style. A colt that had always come from the back of the pack, Tacitus broke so sharply that he wound up on the lead. Ortiz tried to get him to settle and allowed Mucho Gusto to take control. Tacitus kept battling on, but he never seemed comfortable in the race while seeming out of sorts dueling for the lead. Meanwhile, though he failed to hit the board in the Travers, even though he had two starters, Brown had another stellar afternoon. He won the GII Ballston Spa with Significant Form (Creative Cause) and the GI Sword Dancer with Annals of Time (Temple City). The Sword Dancer win was particularly impressive as Annals of Time won his first stakes race since the GI Hollywood Derby in 2016 and had nearly two years off after winning an allowance at Belmont in 2017. Brown is most often associated with Bobby Frankel, for whom he served as an assistant trainer. But few remember that he also once worked for McGaughey, and there’s little doubt he learned a thing or two while studying under McGaughey. This was the first Grade I win on the year for Code of Honor, but it did put him in the discussion for the 3-year-old championship. That has as much to do with Code of Honor as it does with what a crazy year it has been for the 3-year-old male division. Based on the fact he’s the only 3-year-old male to have won two Grade I’s this year and that he did cross the wire first in the Derby, Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) is still the leader of the division. But he passed the Travers because trainer Jason Servis did not like the way he was training up for the race and will now point for the GI Pennsylvania Derby. But , considering what Servis had to say this week, there can be no guarantees his colt will make the big race at Parx. To snatch the championship away from Maximum Security, Code of Honor is going to have to do something else important before the year is over. That could mean winning the GI Pennsylvania Derby. That could mean winning the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. Both would be tall orders, especially if a healthy Maximum Security shows up for those two races. But Code of Honor has finally found himself and he is trained by one of the best in the business. The public didn’t show a lot of confidence in him yesterday, letting him go off at 4-1. The players won’t make that mistake again. From here on in, doubt this horse at your own risk. The post “Code” Honors His Trainer’s Brilliance appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Zawari, Noh suspended View the full article

Count bounces back in Merlion Trophy for Clements quinella View the full article

'Iron Horse' Spokesman breaks through for his first Singapore win View the full article

Top Knight still at the top of his game View the full article

Count Me In won’t be left out this time View the full article

Duric extends lead after early double View the full article