Wandering Eyes

Jon Snow joins the new season sire ranks in 2019/20. This season 10 new stallions will commence stud duties in New Zealand offering breeders a wide range of exciting proven bloodlines. With a European Champion Sprinter, three Derby winners, a New Zealand Champion Three-Year-Old and TwoYear-Old, in the mix, there is plenty of variety on offer and with only one stud fee in excess of $10,000 and a couple of incentives available there is something for every breeder in the country. We contacted each stud master and asked them about why they thought their stallion would appeal to New Zealand breeders and what type of mares, both physically and genetically would suit their stallions. In addition, Andrew Stewart from Arion Pedigrees has supplied data on each horse to provide accurate statistics to help assist in your decision making. ACE HIGH (AUS) 2014 BLACK OR BROWN (HIGH CHAPARRAL-COME SUNDAY BY REDOUTE’S CHOICE) RICH HILL STUD $10,000 PLUS GST John Thompson of Rich Hill Stud is delighted to be standing a son of High Chaparral who had so much success at stud when he stood in New Zealand. “He is a dual group one winner and has a similar race record to a number of other horses that have been successful when they have stood here,” Thompson said. “He had good two-year-old form and then went on to be a good three-yearold winning the Spring Champion Stakes and going on to win the VRC Derby. That’s not an easy achievement – Zabeel tried it and so did Dundeel, only four horses have been able to do it. “Ace High really has a fantastic pedigree that will go well with our mares. His dam is by Redoute’s Choice out of a Sunday Silence mare they are both great bloodlines. He is one of the most exciting stallions we have brought here. “That’s the beauty of this horse. He is going to click with so many mares. We know that the Zabeel – High Chaparral cross works, and he will go well with our Pentire mares. “Physically being a strong horse, he will cross well with Green Desert mares and Mr Prospector genes will click with him, He is an ideal pedigree for a number of mares.” Ace High was sold at the 2016 Magic Millions Gold Coast January Yearling Sale for A$130,000 to trainer David Payne. A winner at his final start at two after earlier finishing fourth in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes at Randwick, Ace High put together a sequence of three victories in the spring of his three-year-old career, the last two the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick and Group 1 Victoria Derby at Flemington. Returning in the autumn he was unlucky not to add the Group 1 Australian Derby to his record, going down by a narrow margin to Levendi. He added the Group 2 Hill Stakes at four and ended the racing part of his career with five wins and four placings from 28 starts and stakes earnings of A$2,269,325. One of 129 black type winners and 23 Group 1 winners by High Chaparral, Ace High is out of a Redoute’s Choice halfsister to black type winners Winner’s Way, That’s a Good Idea and Kneeling. His third dam, the dual Listed winner Lady’s Delight is a half-sister to four black type winners while his fourth dam is a half-sister to the dam of champion sire Danehill. High Chaparral, the winner of 10 of his 13 starts, won the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster at two and was named champion Three-Year-Old Stayer in Great Britain and Ireland after winning both the English and Irish Derby, the Breeders’ Cup Turf and finishing third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the Ballydoyle stable of Aidan O’Brien. He returned at four to win the Irish Champion Stakes and repeat his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, albeit in a deadheat with Johar. Retired to stud in 2004, he shuttled to Windsor Park Stud in Cambridge for four seasons before his relocation to Coolmore Stud in the Hunter Valley. High Chaparral died in 2014 and Ace High will be one of his last group one winners to retire to stud. High Chaparral has nicked well with mares by Danehill (15% stakes winner to runners) and his sons Danehill Dancer and Fastnet Rock, as well as mares by Zabeel and Cape Cross. Ace High is bred on the same Sadler’s Wells x Danehill cross as 2019 English Derby winner Anthony van Dyck’s, 2019 Irish Derby winner Sovereign and Waikato Stud’s All Aged Stakes victor Tivaci. ARDROSSAN (AUS) 2014 BAY (REDOUTE’S CHOICE-MISS ARGYLE BY IGLESIA) WAIKATO STUD $8,000 PLUS GST Ardrossan was purchased by Bruce Perry Bloodstock out the 2016 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale for a group of New Zealand breeders including Waikato Stud, JML Bloodstock, Jomara Bloodstock, Jamieson Bloodstock, and Brown Thoroughbreds, with the plan to stand him at stud if his race performance warranted it. That same group of shareholders are backing their judgement now by standing him at stud and will be supporting him with around 60 mares of their own. According to Bruce Perry they are hoping this will give the horse a good advantage. The shareholders will be looking to sell the yearlings commercially but also making sure they retain a significant number to race in Australia to develop the horse into a highly commercial stallion. Waikato Stud’s Mark Chittick believes that if Adrossan’s progeny are anything like him he will be an ideal stallion for the local market. “He should do well given his pedigree, his physique, his type, his performance and racing ability,” according to Chittick. “He’s such a good type with such a good turn of foot if he passes on one hundred per cent of his best, he will leave breeders a good-looking horse that can gallop.” Ardrossan was unbeaten in two starts at two including the Listed Star Way Stakes at Te Rapa. He had an injury interrupted three and four-year-old season racing in Australia but won a further two races from seven starts including the Group 3 Concorde at Ellerslie and finished third in the Group 1 Waikato Sprint behind Melody Belle and Bostonian on his return to New Zealand. He retires with a record of four wins from 9 starts and stake earnings of NZ$112,000 and A$20,600. Ardrossan is one of 166 black type winners by Redoute’s Choice, the sire of 34 Group One winners. Ardrossan is a half-brother to black type winners Bergerac, the winner of eight including the Listed Bernborough Handicap at Doomben, and Cheyenne Warrior, the winner of four in Australia and Singapore including the Listed Gold Sovereign Stakes in Tasmania. Their dam, the Listed Gimcrack Stakes runner up Miss Argyle, is a sister to Diamondsontheinside, a black type winner of 15, and a half-sister to the dams of Queensland Guineas winner Express Air and this season’s Queen Adelaide Stakes winner Heaven’s Deal. Redoute’s Choice, Australia’s champion three-year-old miler in 1999-2000, won five of his 10 starts from 1100m to 1600m including the Blue Diamond Stakes, Caulfield Guineas and CF Orr Stakes, all Group 1 events run at Caulfield, as well as the Group 1 Manikato Stakes run at Moonee Valley. He was also Group 1 placed in the Australia Stakes, Futurity Stakes and Vic Health Cup and in his only unplaced run stretched out to 2000m when running fifth behind Sunline in the WS Cox Plate. Retired to stud in 2000 at Arrowfield Stud in the Hunter Valley, Redoute’s Choice shuttled to France in 2013 for two seasons, he passed away in 2018. His sire sons include champion sires Snitzel and Not a Single Doubt, Stratum, Little Avondale Stud’s Nadeem, Beneteau and Bradbury’s Luck. Redoute’s Choice has nicked well with mares by Zabeel and his sire Sir Tristram, Last Tycoon (10 SW from 36 rnrs), Encosta de Lago and Hussonet (31% stakes winners to runners). Ardrossan is bred on the same Danehill x Semipalatinsk cross as five- time Group 1 winner Black Heart Bart. EMBELLISH 2014 BROWN (SAVABEEL-BLING BY O’REILLY) CAMBRIDGE STUD $5,000 PLUS GST. According to Cambridge Stud CEO Henry Plumptre the Cambridge Stud factor is a big part of Embellish being there at stud. “He is a great-grandson of Sir Tristram and a grandson of Zabeel, so we are continuing the line, it’s an extremely successful line really it is the most dominant line in New Zealand if not the Southern Hemisphere,” he enthused. “It’s very much a home-grown pedigree being by Savabeel out of an O’Reilly mare – a classic cross, a proven cross, and has worked really well. “On his day Embellish was a very good racehorse a group one winner of the 2000 Guineas we never really saw the best of him after he got hurt in Australia.” When it comes to his pedigree, Plumptre said he is a bit of an all-rounder. “With a couple of home-grown stallions Savabeel and O’Reilly, I would look to stay away from those two stallions. Both those stallions have been very successful with Sadler’s Wells and Danehill who has been the backbone of breeding in the southern hemisphere. I think he’ll cross well with those mares. “He is a lovely big horse and a nice type he should put size into those shorter leg Danehill mares and cross well with Encosta de Lago mares. I wouldn’t think he would be a hard horse to match up with and I wouldn’t be surprised if he throws a really good type,” he concluded. Embellish becomes the eighth New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner to retire to stud in New Zealand this century, joining successful sires Darci Brahma and the recently exported Jimmy Choux and new boys Turn Me Loose, Sacred Falls and Rock’n’Pop among others. He retires with a race record of three wins from 10 starts and stake earnings of NZ$476,185 and A$23,000 and being voted equal head of the New Zealand 3YO Free Handicap. After placing second at his only start at two, he reeled off three consecutive wins in the spring of his three-year-old campaign culminating in his 1 ½ length victory over stablemate Age of Fire in the 2000 Guineas. Returning in the autumn he was runner up to Scott Base in the Karaka 3YO Million before finishing just out of the placings in two runs in Melbourne. Only the second son of Savabeel to retire to stud in New Zealand after What’s the Story in 2018, Embellish is one of 89 black type winners and 18 Group 1 winners for his sire. A NZ$775,000 yearling purchase by David Ellis at the 2016 NZ Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale, Embellish is a brother to Group 1 NZ Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes winner Diademe, who recently sold for A$1.7 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, Listed placed Deadly Shadow and a halfbrother to Listed placed Roop All. He is closely related to New Zealand Champion Sprinter Sacred Star and Spring Champion Stakes victor Vanbrugh. A winner at two over 1000m, Savabeel won the Group 1 double of the WS Cox Plate at Moonee Valley and Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick as a three-year-old and was also Group 1 placed in the Victoria Derby and Champagne Stakes. Retired to stud in 2005 at Waikato Stud in Matamata, he has wrapped up his fifth consecutive New Zealand General Sire Premiership along with his fourth consecutive Dewar Trophy and Centaine Award, giving him the clean sweep of New Zealand stallion awards for the last four years. Unsurprisingly Savabeel has had great success with daughters of former Waikato Stud residents O’Reilly (12 SW), Pins (10 SW) and Danasinga. He also has 31% SW to runners with mares by Flying Spur and 23% with Carnegie mares. Embellish is one of those 12 black type winners bred on the Savabeel x O’Reilly cross along with his sister Diademe, New Zealand Oaks victor Savaria and Herbie Dyke Stakes winner Costume. EMINENT (IRE) 2014 BAY (FRANKEL-YOU’LL BE MINE BY KINGMAMBO) BRIGHTHILL FARM $8,000 PLUS GST European Group 2 winner Eminent becomes the first son of Frankel to stand at stud in Australasia when he retires to Brighthill Farm this coming season. And this has Nick King pretty excited. “Not only he is the first son of Frankel to stand at stud in Australasia, but he was a high quality three-year-old racehorse,” King said. “He is a really good looking individual and fits a lot of bills. We are chuffed to have him. “Frankel was such an amazing racehorse and is turning out to be an incredible sire, he is already the sire of 34 Group winners and in record time, and with his pedigree, it’s also a good way to access that incredible Galileo line. “I guess that with all these types of stallions with Galileo being such a dominant sire line we should look to horses that have crossed well with that. Frankel has crossed well with Sadler’s Wells despite the fact he has two strains himself. “He will definitely cross well with Mr Prospector line mares and we are looking to the Nureyev line to trace back to that wonderful mare Special. We can get this through Zabeel. “He is a lovely imposing horse physically, so he is going to suit a lot of mares.” After winning his only start at two, Eminent opened his three-year-old campaign with a comfortable win over Group 1 winners Rivet and Benbatl in the Group 3 Craven Stakes at Newmarket. Going off as third favourite in the 2000 Guineas, he finished just behind the placegetters in sixth before a fourthplace finish, beaten by just over a length, in the English Derby and a fifth in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown. Taken across the channel to France, Eminent downed a smart field which included Godolphin’s rising star Avilius in the Group 2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano over 2000m at Deauville before ending the year with a third in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. Lightly tried in Great Britain at four, Eminent then travelled to Australia where first up he almost stole the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes at Randwick, only being run down late by the afore-mentioned Avilius. He retires to stud with a race record of three wins and two placings from 14 starts. A £150,000 yearling purchase at the 2015 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Eminent is a son of Group 1 placed You’ll be Mine, a half-sister to Diamondsandrubies, winner of the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at Curragh. His grandam, the Irish champion twoyear-old filly Quarter Moon, is a sister to Irish 1000 Guineas victor Yesterday and group placed All My Loving and Hold Me Love Me. Further down the page we find Group 1 winners Aussie Rules, Coronet, Allegretto, Albanova and Alborada. Eminent’s sire Frankel was crowned Horse of the Year in Europe in 2011 and 2012 and retired to stud unbeaten in 14 starts, 10 at Group 1 level. His results in the breeding barn have been just as outstanding with a strike rate of 17% stakes winners to runners, 44 black type winners in total to date, eight of them at Group 1 level including champions Cracksman and Soul Stirring. Eminent is bred on the same Galileo/ Kingmambo cross that gave us the 2018 Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter. HOWARD BE THY NAME (AUS) 2012 BAY BY REDOUTE’S CHOICE-BELLINI ROSE BY FALTAAT) GRASSYARDS $5,000 PLUS GST One of two sons of Redoute’s Choice to enter stud in New Zealand in 2019, Howard Be Thy Name’s best performance on the track came at the end of a four-race winning streak when winning the Group 1 South Australian Derby at Morphettville. He will stand at Grassyards, Mosgiel near the famous White Robe Lodge. Grassyards is the family farm of Jason and Charlotte Coutts and their sons, Felix, Noah and Quinn. Charlotte is well known in equestrian circles in New Zealand, and they are known pony breeders who have decided to chance their luck with thoroughbreds. “We are hugely into horses and thoroughbreds are now the last part of our equation we have a good environment here, and farming is our forte’” explained Jason Coutts when asked about Grasslands and Howard Be Thy Name. “The fact that Howard Be Thy Name is a Group one winner by Redoute’s Choice has to be a big tick for the South Island, and he is one of the last group one winning sons of Redoute’s Choice to go to stud. “As well he is out of a group two winning mare and I think that the incentives we are offering to breeders will help them make the decision to actually breed a mare especially in the South Island. We are putting up $60,000 that’s $30,000 for the first breeder who breeds a twoyear-old winner and another $30,000 for the breeder who breeds the first threeyear-old winner. “As we know the industry is struggling so we are trying to offer something to keep people pushing on until it sorts itself out,” he said. “I think a broad range of mares will suit the horse, especially mares by O’Reilly, Coat’s Choice and Stravinsky there is enough confidence from what we have seen in Australia with Redoute’s Choice for him to put speed into New Zealand mares. Out of dividend bearing place only once at three, that being a fourth place finish in the Queensland Derby, Howard Be Thy Name also won the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes and Listed Port Adelaide Guineas, finished runner up in the Listed Tasmanian Derby and third in the Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes at Doomben. On retirement his race record stood at five wins and eight placings from 23 starts and stake earnings of A$615,540. One of 166 black type winners and 34 Group 1 winners by Redoute’s Choice, Howard Be Thy Name was bred by Watson Bloodstock and carries the Westbury Stud brand. One of two winners for his dam, the Group 2 winning Faltaat mare Bellini Rose, he descends from the family developed over many years by Pencarrow Stud of Group 1 winners Darci Brahma, Ethereal and Stony Bay. Redoute’s Choice, Australia’s champion three-year-old miler in 1999-2000, won five of his 10 starts from 1100m to 1600m including the Blue Diamond Stakes, Caulfield Guineas and CF Orr Stakes, all Group 1 events run at Caulfield, as well as the Group 1 Manikato Stakes run at Moonee Valley. He was also Group 1 placed in the Australia Stakes, Futurity Stakes and Vic Health Cup and in his only unplaced run stretched out to 2000m when running fifth behind Sunline in the WS Cox Plate. Retired to stud in 2000 at Arrowfield Stud in the Hunter Valley, Redoute’s Choice shuttled to France in 2013 for 2 seasons. His sire sons include champion sires Snitzel and Not a Single Doubt, Stratum, Little Avondale Stud’s Nadeem, Beneteau and Bradbury Luck. Redoute’s Choice has nicked well with mares by Zabeel and his sire Sir Tristram, Last Tycoon (10 SW from 36 rnrs), Encosta de Lago and Hussonet (31% SW to rnrs). JON SNOW 2013 BAY (IFFRAAJ-ORINDA BY O’REILLY) CLEARVIEW PARK $6,000 PLUS GST Jon Snow becomes the latest Australian Derby winner to retire to stud with the announcement he would stand at Clearview Park in Timaru in the 2019 breeding season. Clearview Park is run by Aaron Tapper a grandson of the former group one Matamata based trainer Hec Tapper. Tapper and his partner Lacy Stewart, had always followed Jon Snow’s racing career as Lacy was a big Game Of Thrones fan, and as they were both keen to get a well credentialled stallion for South Island breeders they were pretty quick to snap Jon Snow up when the offer to stand him came through. Tapper believes that Jon Snow’s bloodlines will appeal to lots of breeders, not just those in the South Island. “Bloodlines first off will be his appeal,” he said, “He is out of an O’Reilly mare out of a Zabeel mare, which goes back to Soliloquy and the third dam is the Champion Filly Solveig. That bloodline will keep going for a number of years. And he is by Iffraaj and he is still kicking goals and now so are his sire sons. “As far as mares, well he will match with Savabeel mares and he’s got no Danehill in his bloodlines so anything with a lot of Danehill will go well. Having no Danehill is a real positive for him, and I am sure he will match well with anything that suited Iffraaj. “He measures just a touch under 17 hands and is a lovely big bay. I am sure he will put size into smaller mares, and obviously he has a stamina-based pedigree and will put endurance in some mares’ progeny.” As an added incentive to breeders, Clearview Park will offer a 15% discount off Jon Snow’s service fee to NZTBA members. Racing consistently in only the best company, Jon Snow retires with a race record of 4 wins and 8 placings from 23 starts and stake earnings of NZ$201,250 & A$1,823,500. A winner over 1200m at two, Jon Snow added the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes to his derby win and was black type placed on five occasions including thirds in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby and Group 1 Levin Classic. As a four-yearold he took out the Group 3 JRA Cup at Moonee Valley and placed third in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes while his final season on the track earned him placings in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes and Zabeel Classic. One of 68 black type winners and nine Group 1 winners by Iffraaj, Jon Snow is from a winning O’Reilly half-sister to dual Group 3 winner Mr Ubiquitous. His grandam, a winning daughter of Zabeel, is a three-quarter sister to Sydney Cup winner Gallic and a halfsister to black type winners Greig and Lady Solvil. Directly descending from champion fillies Solveig and Soliloquy, Jon Snow’s family also features Group 1 winners Cross Swords, Fiveandahalfstar, Culminate, Captivate and Savaria. A triple Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed in Great Britain, Iffraaj won seven races from 13 starts. His victories included the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood and two editions of the Park Stakes, one at York and one at Doncaster plus a runner up position in the July Cup at Newmarket. Retired to stud in Ireland in 2007 and first shuttling to Haunui Farm in 2008, Iffraaj has been New Zealand’s leading sire of three-year-olds twice and twoyear-olds once. He has also finished second twice on the New Zealand General Sires Premiership. His sire sons include French champion Wootton Bassett, himself the sire of Cambridge Stud’s Almanzor. Iffraaj has crossed well with mares by Danehill and his sons. OCEAN EMPEROR 2011 BAY (ZABEEL-TOOTSIE BY PINS) WEOWNA PARK $8000 Ocean Emperor is most likely to be the last son of Zabeel to retire to stud in New Zealand, and he will stand at Gary and Jenny Hennessy’s Weowna Park in Matamata. There is probably no bigger fan of Ocean Emperor than Hennessy who trained the Zabeel stallion throughout his career, and needless to say he is pretty excited about offering him to New Zealand breeders. “Ocean Emperor’s sire line Sir Tristram, Zabeel and more recently Savabeel have dominated our industry for the last 30 years. That is what has stood us apart from Australia. We can breed a horse that is very competitive over there. This sire line, especially lately through Savabeel, is why Australian buyers come here. As well Zed who was a one race winning son of Zabeel has left a filly that could possibly be the next Winx. “Zabeel has left 166 stakes winners so for a blueprint for breeding mares you only have to look at Zabeel. He has a wealth of broodmare nicks that are tried and true. For example, he clicked really well with Flying Spur and Savabeel has left 15 stakes winners with Flying Spur in their pedigree so there is a clear pattern there. He is free of Danehill and that is a method that Sir Patrick has used with Eight Carat so it looks pretty good to me.” Ocean Emperor begins his new career as the winner of nine races from 28 starts including two editions of the Group 2 Tauranga Stakes and the Group 2 JapanNew Zealand International Trophy. One of 166 black type winners by multiple Australian and New Zealand champion sire Zabeel, Ocean Emperor is a son of the Group 3 winning Pins mare Tootsie, winner of the Mannerism Stakes at Caulfield and runner up behind Vonusti in the Group 1 Telegraph at Trentham. She is a sister to Group 2 winner Legless Veuve and Eudora, dam of NZ Bloodstock Filly of the Year and dual Group 1 winner Savvy Coup. Their dam Hyades is half-sister to black type winners La Rose Noir and Urbane. A champion on the track and in the serving barn, Zabeel needs no introduction. Winner of the Australian Guineas at Group 1 level at 3 from the stable of champion trainer CS Hayes, he signed off his racing career with seven wins from 19 starts and over A$1.1 million in stakes. Sire of 166 black type winners, 113 at group level, 46 of those at group 1 level, Zabeel was four times crowned New Zealand champion sire, twice Australian champion sire and 15 times winner of the prestigious Dewar Stallion Trophy. His sire sons include Savabeel, winner of the last 5 New Zealand stallion titles, Reset, Octagonal, himself sire of champion Lonhro, and Don Eduardo. STAPHANOS (JPN) 2011 BAY (DEEP IMPACT-KOKOSHNIK BY KUROFUNE) NOVARA PARK $7,000 PLUS GST Only the second son of Deep Impact to stand at stud in New Zealand, Staphanos arrives from Japan to stand his first season at Novara Park in Cambridge. Novara Park stud master Ray Knight is sure that breeders will be impressed with Staphanos when they see him. “Basically, he is a high-class racehorse, a very very good individual and a most importantly, a son of Deep Impact. “He will suit all types because he is beautifully balanced, and he can probably go across all our mares here in New Zealand. At 16.1 he is a quality horse who is clean boned and a good type. He is physically very correct and if he throws horses like himself that will be a good start, it’s important at sale time for a first season sire to leave good types. “With his bloodlines he has a very open pedigree so will cross with most of the mares we have in New Zealand. If you look closely at historically what Deep Impact has successfully crossed with then we have all those mares here. “He has plenty of depth on his dam side as well.” Racing only in the best class in both Japan and Hong Kong, Staphanos compiled a race record of four wins and 10 minor placings, his best result being his victory in the Group 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup Fuji Stakes in Tokyo. Group 1 placed in Hong Kong in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup and Hong Kong Cup, he also filled the runner up role in the Group 1’s Tenno Sho (Autumn) in Tokyo and Osaka Hai at Hanshin racecourse. One of 135 black type winners and 42 Group 1 winners by the recently deceased seven-time Japanese champion sire Deep Impact, Staphanos is a brother to group three placed Finift and out of a sister to the black type winner Golden Hind. His grandam, the nine-time black type winner Gold Tiara, is a half-sister to Poet’s Voice, winner of the 2018 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, black type winner Queen’s Park and the dam of Dubai Group 1 winner Blair House. Horse of the Year in Japan in 2005 and 2006, Deep Impact’s victories include the Group 1’s Japan Cup and Takarazuka Kinen at Kyoto. He is a son of North American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and champion sire in Japan on 13 occasions. Deep Impact is brother or half-brother to three black type winners including grade 2 winner Veil of Avalon. Deep Impact has crossed extremely well with mares by Storm Cat, the mating having produced 11 black type winners from 59 runners, including eight at the highest level. Other sires nicking well with Deep Impact include French Deputy, Tony Bin and King Kamehameha. SUMMER PASSAGE (AUS) 2014 BAY (SNITZELSUBSEQUENT BY ENCOSTA DE LAGO) MAPPERLEY STUD $8,000 PLUS GST The top-rated colt on the 2016-17 New Zealand 2YO Free Handicap, Summer Passage retires to Mapperley Stud after a racing career which took him from New Zealand to Australia to Hong Kong. He is the first son of Snitzel to stand in New Zealand and the team at Mapperley Stud are excited to be standing him, according to Simms Davison. “Snitzel is the hottest sire in Australia at the moment, leading the two- and three-year-old sires’ lists, he is a very dominant sire. “We also know that his progeny train on at three and beyond and they perform on dry and tracks and wet tracks and we think that a son of Sniztel with that ability will go really well in this environment. “We are hoping all his good attributes will be passed on. Juvenile speed is really important in New Zealand now more and more people are wanting to breed horses that target that two-year-old market. People who are trading horses want some early juvenile speed in their pedigrees. “We know how well Snitzel had gone in Australia over those New Zealand mares, and there are plenty of mares that need that precocious speed. He is a big strong horse with precocious form, so I don’t see any reason why he won’t pass it on. “If you look at Snitzel’s winners there are five really strong lines that will give positive results. The best is the Success Express line which with Snitzel has produced 22% runners to winners. The other lines which have all produced over 10% are the Nureyev line stallions Zabeel, Stravinsky, Spinning World, Thorn Park etc., then Iffraaj, Red Ransom with Ekraar and Charge Forward, and Street Cry with Per Incanto and Shocking. “Australians know Snitzel well and we are pretty sure that the stock from a son of Snitzel will be pretty well received at Karaka.” Summer Passage broke his maiden with a victory in the Listed Matamata Slipper before downing a field of 10 in the Group 1 Diamond Stakes at Ellerslie. Taken to Sydney he struck a heavy track when finishing second as part of a Snitzel trifecta in the Sires’ Produce Stakes at Randwick, only going down to Invader by less than a length with multiple Group 1 winner Trapeze Artist in third. As a spring three-year-old Summer Passage finished second in the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas. Summer Passage is one of 90 black type winners by Snitzel, recently crowned Australian Champion Sire for the third consecutive season. Thirteen of those 90 have been victorious at the highest level and they include the afore-mentioned Trapeze Artist, champion sprinter and dual winner of The Everest in Redzel and Cox Plate winner Shamus Award. Summer Passage is out of the winning Encosta de Lago sister or half-sister to 3 black type winners and from the immediate family of Shania Dane, Scintillation and Man From Uncle. A group 1 winner of the Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield, Snitzel was rated second on the 2005-06 Australasian 3YO Classification in the sprinting division. Himself a son of champion sire Redoute’s Choice, Snitzel is a brother to Group 3 winner Viennese and half-brother to Group 3 winner and successful sire Hinchinbrook. Summer Passage is bred on the same Snitzel/Encosta de Lago cross as his conqueror in the Sires’ Produce Stakes, Invader. Snitzel has worked extremely well with mares by Zabeel, Red Ransom and Elusive Quality. U.S. NAVY FLAG (USA) 2015 BAY OR BROWN (WAR FRONT-MISTY FOR ME BY GALILEO) VALACHI DOWNS $20,000 PLUS GST A champion racehorse with a champion pedigree to match, is the best way to describe U.S. Navy Flag according to Valachi Downs Stud manager Jonathan Scully. “U.S. Navy brings a power load of speed from Europe that we haven’t seen here for a very long time. He was a wonderful sprinter with an exquisite pedigree that will go well over New Zealand bred mares,” he said. Valachi Downs resident pedigree expert and breeding consultant Gareth Downey has had good look at what type of mares will suit U.S. Navy Flag and this is his conclusion. “The good thing with U S Navy Flag is he seems to suit almost anything on pedigree so the main thing is to simply match your mare to him on type. He carries no Danehill or Zabeel so is a good option for all those mares that do. “Some of the standout options for him if we were to name just a few would include mares by or carrying Zabeel, O’Reilly, Encosta De Lago, Fastnet Rock, Pentire etc. However, if your mare is a reasonable size herself and would benefit from a stallion to add quality, strength, athleticism, correctness and a great action then U S Navy Flag is the right option for her. U.S. Navy Flag was the first horse to win the Middle Park/Dewhurst Stakes double since Diesis in 1982, U.S. He becomes only the second son of his sire War Front to stand at stud in New Zealand. Rated the leading Three-Year-Old Male on the 2018 World Thoroughbred Rankings in the sprint division, champion European Two-Year-Old and champion European Three-Year-Old Sprinter, U.S. Navy Flag won five of his 19 starts and was placed on four occasions. As well as the Newmarket two-yearold Group 1 double, he also claimed the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes at the Curragh during his two-year-old season. At three he returned to Newmarket to beat the older horses in the Group 1 July Cup over six furlongs as well as placing in the Irish 2000 Guineas. One of 84 black type winners for his sire, a full 25% of these winning at Group 1 level, U.S. Navy Flag is a brother to three-time Group 1 winner Roly Poly and Grade 3 winner Cover Song. He is out of the champion filly Misty For Me, the Irish 1000 Guineas victor and a sister to black type winners Ballydoyle, the French Champion two-year-old filly off her year, and Twirl. European champion twoyear-old Fasliyev and North American grade 1 winners Desert Wine and Menifee feature further back in the pedigree. A grade 2 winner and grade 1 placed in North America, War Front’s sire sons in Australasia include The Factor, Declaration of War and Sweet Orange. A son of champion sire Danzig, he is a halfbrother to 3 black type winners including grade 2 winner Teammate. War Front has crossed well with mares by Sadler’s Wells (28% SW to runners), Pulpit, Galileo, AP Indy and Arch. View the full article

Doncaster Mile winner Brutal’s spring campaign might be shortened to just two runs with the budding stallion’s preparation delayed by a virus. Part-owner Rupert Legh said the new $7.5 million Golden Eagle in Sydney on November 2 now loomed as the major target for the horse following the setback, which he described as minor but enough to force a spring rethink. “He came back in really good form and he had just a minor hiccup – in that I mean he had one of little colds that so many horses are having in Sydney – and we just had a week or so to get over a few sniffles,” Legh said. “But he’s back ion full training again. We haven’t lost much (time) at all. “It was only a minor setback, there was nothing physical. It was more just one of those sniffles that a lot of horses in Sydney at the moment. “You are better off having it now rather than halfway through a prep.” Legh said the delay in Brutal’s training meant the Golden Eagle for four-year-olds over 1500 metres at Rosehill was now the Group 1 winner’s major spring goal and that he has no doubt the horse can achieve it. “I know you hear it too often, but he has come back bigger and stronger and his temperament hasn’t varied at all since we put him out for a spell so there’s a lot of hype and excitement around seeing Brutal back on the track,” he added. “I’d say you probably won’t see him until late September but we only really want to have one run before he goes into the Golden Eagle and that will more than likely be it for him. “The autumn has got some great races for him, but we’d love to pick up a Golden Eagle on the way through.” Brutal may not be Legh’s only Golden Eagle contender this spring as the race is also being targeted by his progressive galloper Buffalo River. View the full article

Tavisan. While most trainers are eyeing off big spring purses, Mick Price is prepared to pick off a few of the minor ones with Tavisan. As a three-year-old last year, Tavisan was placed three times in stakes company before running last in the Caulfield Guineas. Tavisan returned in the autumn but after one run, when last at Caulfield, he was spelled and gelded. With no concerns about Tavison’s future as a stallion, Price is looking to maximise his earning capabilities. Tavisan, who has a handicap rating of 80, races for the third time as a gelding in Saturday’s Ranvet Handicap (1200m) having registered a win and a third from his past two outings. “He needs to improve his rating a fair bit to get to better races,” Price said. “He was in a benchmark 84 the other day, which was the ideal race for him, but he didn’t blast away and beat them. “There’s $140,000 for Listed races and $125,000 for a benchmark 90 on Saturday and for a horse like him it’s not much point harming his rating if you don’t have to. “We’ll place him to maximise his earning potential and see how we go.” Price, who trains in partnership with Mick Kent Jr, said Tavisan had a good chance on Saturday but conceded the dangers were Usain Bowler and Terbium. “I would say six of the seven horses drawn inside us want a mile, so it will be interesting to see how he (Ben Melham) rides him,” Price said. “He could only get to midfield last start but I think he’ll go forward on Saturday and get a nice run.” Former Irish galloper Yulong Minister makes his Australian debut in the race and Price said he would learn more about the four-year-old from the run. “He’s not a big horse and trialled OK, without trialling impressively,” Price said. “I expect that he might be running on and give a bit of cheek and run in the first five, but on his trial I wouldn’t have thought he’d be going there with a red-hot chance.” View the full article

Spendthrift’s flagship sire Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday) is a remarkable stallion. For proof, just look at three of the six Grade l stakes entries at Saratoga on Saturday: he’s represented by Owendale and Chess Chief in the Runhappy Travers S.; Mia Mischief in the Ketel One Ballerina S.; and Rowayton in the H. Allen Jerkens S. Presented by Runhappy. Through Thursday, Into Mischief was leading General Sire for the year in North America with progeny earnings of $11,301,547, ahead of Tapit ($10,517,847) in second place and Quality Road ($10,330,841) in third. He stood the 2019 season for $150,000 live foal, but his story is noteworthy because he has made his way to the top the hard way–he’s earned it from the bottom up, year by year, despite very little patronage in his first four years at stud. He’d retired for $12,500 in 2009–not a good time, because it was shortly after the global economic collapse of 2007-200–and was down to $7,500 by 2012, before his first-crop runners, headed by subsequent millionaires Goldencents and Vyjack, put him on an upward trajectory from which he hasn’t deviated. That first crop, by the way, had an outstanding ratio of 17% black-type winners to named foals. To date, Into Mischief is represented by 55 black-type winners through eight crops of racing age (including 2-year-olds of 2019) and 23 graded stakes winners. Along the way, he’s become a sales darling as well, because he gets well-made Saturday afternoon horses (13 black-type winners and 36 black-type horses to date this year) and high-quality 2-year-olds (five ‘TDN Rising Stars’ so far in 2019) with metronomic precision. Spendthrift has done this type of thing before. The farm’s elder statesman, Malibu Moon (A.P. Indy), started out even more inexpensively than Into Mischief, at $3,500 in Maryland, and went on to sire a Gl Kentucky Derby winner. But Malibu Moon wasn’t a stakes winner, much less a Grade l winner like Into Mischief, and his ascent to the top echelons was surprising despite his top pedigree. Into Mischief’s success makes some sense in retrospect because his pedigree has improved dramatically during his run as a sire. In other words, he was a better stallion prospect than he first appeared to be. He was the first black-type winner and Grade l winner for his dam Leslie’s Lady (Tricky Creek) when he entered stud, but since then she’s had his champion half-sister Beholder (Henny Hughes), who was later followed by his Grade l-winning half-brother Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy). As the dam of three highest-level winners (all by Storm Cat-line stallions), Leslie’s Lady was named Broodmare of the Year for 2016. She obviously had the right stuff, and she’s passed it on to her son. If Into Mischief had gone to stud with his current pedigree, he’d have been a popular horse from the start and would never have been available for as little as $7,500; consequently, he’d have had more and better mares earlier in his career (his first four crops averaged only 36 named foals), and this could have changed his profile significantly as a sire from the beginning. Why? Because he’d likely have had the types of mares that would have helped him to get more 1 1/8-mile runners earlier in his career. Those are the horses that have the most Grade l opportunities, make the most money, and have the chances to be on the Classics trail. Into Mischief has only recently been getting more of them as his stature has grown and his mares have improved. Last year, for example, Audible won the Gl Florida Derby at 1 1/8 miles and ran third in the Kentucky Derby at 1 1/4 miles. In Saturday’s 1 1/4-mile Travers, note that Owendale was third in the Gl Preakness S. at 1 3/16 miles and is a last-out winner of the Glll Ohio Derby at 1 1/8 miles. Chess Chief, an outsider, appears to want more distance than 1 1/8 miles. Up until now, Into Mischief has carved his reputation mainly as a sire of fast sprinters and milers. Although he got the 1 1/8-mile Gl Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents from his first crop, Goldencents was subsequently cut back in distance to a mile and twice won the Gl Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile–a distance that was his true métier. Through the end of 2018 from seven crops, Into Mischief had only three Grade l winners to his credit–Goldencents, Practical Joke, and Audible–but he has picked up the pace and has two others this year, the filly sprinters Covfefe and Mia Mischief. Of his 23 Graded winners, only six–Goldencents, Audible, Maximus Mischief, Owendale, Strict Compliance and Vicar’s In Trouble–have won at 1 1/8 miles, and none have won at a distance of more than that; most of his graded winners have won at six and seven furlongs, and some others have stretched it to 1 1/16 miles. This may explain Into Mischief’s relatively low output of Grade l winners to date for a $150,000 stallion, but it also points to his quality as a sire that he leads the General Sire list by progeny earnings without significant representation in the most lucrative of races, which are at 1 1/8 miles and up. With the better mares he’s being bred to, it’s easy to project that his Grade l output at 1 1/8 miles and up will increase in the coming years. When that happens, his progeny earnings should rise that much more, which means that his rivals on the General Sire list are in for a greater tussle in the ensuing years. The latest chapter of this impressive stallion’s book is just being written. Stay tuned. SIRE LINE Into Mischief is a Storm Cat-line horse through Harlan, who wasn’t exactly Storm Cat’s best son. Harlan was an average type of stakes sprinter who won only one stakes race from 30 starts when he got lucky as a 5-year-old in the seven-furlong GI Vosburgh, at 18-1. That stakes win, however, gave Harlan an opportunity at stud at Stone Farm, where he sired six black-type winners from 99 named foals; one of them was the high-class Harlan’s Holiday, a winner of nine of 22 starts and $3,632,664. Among Harlan’s Holiday’s wins were the Glll lroquois S. at two, the Florida Derby and Gl Blue Grass S. at three, and the Gl Donn H. at four. Precocious at two, he won at 1 1/8 miles at three and placed three times in 1 1/4-mile Grade l races at three and four–the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Hollywood Gold Cup, and the Dubai World Cup–and entered stud at Airdrie in 2004. He was a success from the start, was later acquired by WinStar, and died prematurely at age 14 while on shuttle duty in Argentina. Into Mischief, who won three of six starts at two and three, including the G1 CashCall Futurity at 1 1/16 miles at two and the seven-furlong Damascus S. at three in 1:20.38, was a member of Harlan’s Holiday’s first crop and is the main proponent of this line. His son Goldencents, also at Spendthrift, is a promising young sire with his oldest runners only three this year and leads the second-crop sire list. Another son of Harlan’s Holiday, Shanghai Bobby, was the champion juvenile colt of 2012 when he went undefeated through five starts and won the GI Champagne S. and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Like Into Mischief, he had an abbreviated campaign at three–he won once from three starts– but was given every opportunity at stud at Ashford before he was sold to the Arrow Stud in Japan for the 2019 season. As is so often the case, Shanghai Bobby’s best runner, Shancelot, has surfaced since the sale. Exciting and undefeated, Shancelot opposes Into Mischief’s Rowayton in the H. Allen Jerkens. This is another illustration that speed is very much a prominent characteristic of this branch of Storm Cat through Harlan’s Holiday, but the versatility that Harlan’s Holiday demonstrated on track is evident in his produce as well and suffice to note that his Grade ll-placed 6-year-old gelding Noble Thought is entered in the 1 1/2-mile Gl Sword Dancer at Saratoga on Saturday, giving this line quite a bit of representation across an array of distances and surfaces. It’s almost certain that these versatile traits will become more evident in the Into Mischiefs as well. Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks. The post Into Mischief’s Changing Profile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Other than the Pat O'Brien (G2) at Del Mar and the Play the King (G2) at Woodbine Racetrack, all the graded stakes in North America Aug. 24 take place at Saratoga Race Course, climaxed by the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers (G1) for 3-year-olds. View the full article

Three-time stakes winner Bulletin will return to racing for the first time since April in the $100,000 Better Talk Now Stakes Aug. 25 on the inner turf at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–The GI Travers S. is one of the most prestigious races on the calendar. The kind of race that makes a stallion and, often times, a champion. Three of the last six colts to win the Eclipse Award as the year’s top 3-year-old male–Will Take Charge (2013), Arrogate (2016) and West Coast (2017)—first threw their hats into the ring as championship contenders with a win in the Midsummer Derby. In honor of this year’s 150th running of the Travers, we look back on some of the most memorable past renewals of the Saratoga 3-year-old feature. EASY GOER – 1989 It’s been 30 years, but no racing can forget the great Easy Goer. While his most memorable win may be his throwdown with Sunday Silence in the 1989 GI Belmont S., he is also on the list of legends to capture the Travers (video) with a win in the GI Whitney S. in between. Sunday Silence got the best of the chestnut in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, cinching up a tight race for champion 3-year-old honors, but Easy Goer earned his rightful place in the Hall of Fame. “At that time, I had never won the Travers,” said Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, who will saddle of Code of Honor in this year’s Travers. “I had come close a couple of times. He had just won the Belmont and the Whitney. He was in the midst of a big year. We were excited about running him and were very happy with the results. It would be very special to do it again. We are very excited and looking forward to [Saturday].” HOLY BULL – 1994 Twenty-five years ago Hall of Famer Holy Bull won the Travers en route to two Eclipse Awards for champion 3-year-old colt and Horse of the Year. The sensational gray colt had won the 1994 GI Florida Derby and GII Blue Grass S., but failed as the favorite in the GI Kentuckty Derby, finishing 12th. Rebounding with a trio of wins in the GI Metropolitan H., GII Dwyer S. and GI Haskell Invitational S., he bested Concern by a neck in a thrilling renewal of the Midsummer Derby (video). “If you are not blessed enough to win the Kentucky Derby, especially if going in you were the favorite like he was, the only thing that could make it okay would be to win the Travers,” said Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith, who pilots longshot Chess Chief (Into Mischief) in this year’s Travers. “That is like the summer Kentucky Derby. So, to go and pull that off for Mr. Croll in his life was just amazing. What an amazing afternoon that was. The way he ran was incredible. When Concern came up, the race call was one of the greatest race calls with ‘There is cause for Concern!’ He got heads up with me and might have even passed me for a little bit, but old Holy Bull dug in and just pulled back away. It was an amazing afternoon.” THUNDER GULCH – 1995 In the middle of D. Wayne Lukas’s hayday in 1995, Thunder Gulch won the GI Florida Derby and GI Kentucky Derby. He lost the GI Preakness S. to his stablemate Timber Country, but rebounded with a two-length decision in the GI Belmont S. before shipping out to Hollywood Park to win the GII Swaps S. Returned to the East Coast for the Midsummer Derby, the chestnut was heavily favored and ran to his odds with a decisive score after a bit of a hairy start (video). “At the start of the race, the assistant starter was very nervous,” Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens said. “Thunder Gulch was a very good gate horse and the guy got really tight in the gate and he forgot to let go of me at the start. Thunder Gulch reared up and I believe it was Barbara Livingston who won an Eclipse Award for this picture of him coming out of the gate and he is on his hind legs. The starter had just let go of him and I had this look on my face of terror. He got right back into the race and I was in a perfect position in lane four, stalking the pace. I pushed the button at the head of the stretch and it was all over with in a hurry. That was probably the biggest race he had run outside of or equal to the Kentucky Derby. He came back in the Jockey Club Gold Cup against Cigar [two starts later] and we raced in tandem and that wound up being his last race. He got injured and that was it, so the Travers was very memorable for me. It was my first Travers [win].” POINT GIVEN – 2001 Six years after Thunder Gulch’s victory in the Midsummer Derby, one of his sons would follow in his hoofprints with an impressive performance. Point Given had been making waves in California, winning the GI Hollywood Futurity in 2000 and the GII San Felipe S. and GI Santa Anita Derby in 2001. Favored in the GI Kentucky Derby, the hulking chestnut finished fifth after a bad break and wide trip, but came back to win both the GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S., taking the latter by 12 1/4 lengths. Point Given captured the GI Haskell Invitational S. in his next start and capped off his stellar career with a Travers score (video), earning him Eclipse Awards for top sophomore male and Horse of the Year. Nine years later, he also added the Hall of Fame to his resume. “It is a tough feat [to win both the Haskell and Travers],” said Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who sends out Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) in this year’s Travers. “It takes a special horse to do it and Point Given was. It is only about three weeks [between those races]. I remember with Point Given, I wasn’t going to run him in the Haskell and then we got word that the Prince wanted to run in the Haskell, so I got him ready in two weeks. So, he won the Haskell just on pure class and guts. It wasn’t one of his ‘A’ races, but he got lucky. I think it was kind of a prep for him. It set him up perfectly for the Travers.” BERNARDINI – 2006 Bernardini kicked off what would be a championship 3-year-old season with a win in the GIII Wither S. He went on to capture the GI Preakness S. after a bit of a troubled trip and simply devastated the 2006 Travers field with a 7 1/2-length romp (video). The bay went on to defeat his elders in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S. and finish second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. “It was probably one of the most exciting moments in my career, watching that horse come down the stretch the way he did that day, especially after what he went through in the Preakness,” said trainer Tom Albertrani. “To be able to enjoy that moment, watching him run such a spectacular race that day, was just very, very exciting. Off his Jim Dandy, naturally you are always a bit nervous going into the big races, hoping they can just keep running the same sort of race. I think I was pretty confident going in the race. If I am not mistaken, Tom Durkin’s call was really remarkable when he said it is 90 degrees out and he hasn’t broken a sweat when he was coming down the lane. It was pretty exciting just being a part of the Travers.” KEEN ICE – 2015 Keen Ice finished third behind American Pharoah as he soared into the history books with a victory in the 2015 GI Belmont S., becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. The hulking bay finished in his sensational rival’s shadow yet again when second in the Haskell. However, when they met next time at the Spa, the Graveyard of Champions, Keen Ice came charging down the stretch, sweeping by American Pharoah late to win the Travers by 3/4 of a length at 16-1 (video). He was the only horse to defeat the Triple Crown winner during his sophomore season. “I have won a lot of big races and I think that is the one I have always been going for,” said conditioner Dale Romans, who will be represented by Everfast (Take Charge Indy) in this year’s Midsummer Derby. “It was just a special day all the way around. Allen Jerkens was such a good friend of mine and he is such a good person. Just to think, he beat Secretariat and I went on to beat American Pharoah. That was a big thing for me. My best moment of the whole thing was when I walked back to the barn with the horse and Leroy Jolley was waiting there to hug me. He was one of my childhood heroes and we became good friends late in his life. For him to stand around there and wait for me just to hug me afterwards was about as good as it can get.” ARROGATE – 2016 Arrogate had three wins heading into the Travers, but they were in a maiden special weight and a pair of allowances. So, despite that record and his Hall of Fame trainer Baffert, the bettors let the ‘TDN Rising Star’ go off at 13-1. That would be the last time the gray went off at such generous odds as he led the field from gate to wire, dominating by 13 1/2 lengths in a sizzling new track record of 1:59.36 (video). That was just the beginning. Arrogate defeated Horse of the Year California Chrome next out in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, cinching up the champion 3-year-old male title. The following season, the Juddmonte colorbearer posted impressive victories in both the GI Pegasus World Cup and G1 Dubai World Cup. “The Arrogate Travers was probably the most magical one,” Baffert said. “We knew he was a really good horse, but we just didn’t know how good because we never really let him run in the afternoons. That day, I was even in awe of him of myself. I didn’t know he could do that. Especially after going through what happened with American Pharoah the year before, I am still mad at myself for that. I should have done a better job with American Pharoah. I will always blame myself for that one.” “He was just a beast,” Smith said. “That was the first time I had ever been on him period, but I knew he was really talented. Once I got him out of the gate good and got him to the first turn in good order, man, he was in a rhythm and a stride. I could tell when I looked back at the competition that they were having trouble keeping up with it. I just knew he was going to run huge. Even coming down the backside, I said, ‘Wow, this race is over.’ I looked back at the tote board at the time and then I heard the announcer say, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, that is a new track record.'” WEST COAST – 2017 Unlike Arrogate, West Coast came to the Spa fresh off a pair of stakes wins in the East Goer S. at Belmont and the GIII Los Alamitos Derby. Let go at 6-1, the bay led the way from the get-go and never looked back for a 3 1/4-length score (video). He captured the GI Pennsylvania Derby next out and finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, to become Baffert’s third straight Eclipse Award winner in the sophomore male category. “This year it is a different story,” said Baffert. “West Coast, when he won, we decided to put him on the lead. He was a high cruising kind of horse too. He was doing well, but we weren’t really sure how he fit. That is kind of what the Travers is all about, seeing if your horse is going to fit at a mile and a quarter against what is left of the 3-year-old crop. The vibe is unbelievable for the Travers. It is a great vibe up there for the Travers, so it is exciting if you can win it. It is such a huge race to win. You’ve got the Kentucky Derby and that is the Summer Derby. I have been very fortunate to win those.” The post Tales of Travers Past appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Brenton Avdulla is rapt to be aboard Unforgotten in the first major race of the season, believing she can be the horse to emerge from the shadow of former stablemate Winx. Any number of horses are bidding to fill the void left by the retirement of the champion although Winx’s incredible career statistics, including a world record 25 Group One wins, are not likely to be bettered any time soon. Unforgotten was one of the best staying fillies of her generation during her Classic season, winning the 2018 Australian Oaks and she showed glimpses of that promise during her four-year-old year with a Chelmsford Stakes victory and Group One placings in the Epsom Handicap and the Chipping Norton and Queen Of The Turf Stakes. Avdulla reunites with Unforgotten on race day for the first time since she won her maiden but after partnering the mare in a recent barrier trial and exhibition gallop, he is happy be back aboard. “I’m looking forward to riding her,” Avdulla said. “She’s trialled well, she galloped Saturday on the course proper and galloped well. “She’s 1400 first-up in the Winx Stakes with no Winx, so it’s going to be interesting. “I think the firm track will suit her and she’s a genuine Group One mare on her day that can run very competitively in a race like this.” Chris Waller has won the Group One Winx Stakes for the past four years – the past three with the race’s namesake. Along with Unforgotten, he will start new addition Kings Will Dream, who returns after breaking down in the Cox Plate, Youngstar and Verry Elleegant. James Cummings also has a strong hand with Best Of Days and race favourite Avilius who won the Carlyon Cup at Caulfield first-up last campaign, progressing to a brace of Group One wins during the Sydney autumn carnival. But Cummings warns that Avilius needs to go to another level again this preparation and will face tougher opposition at Randwick than what he did at Caulfield. “The pressure of a Group One return at 1400 metres is a bit different,” Cummings said. “By my estimation, and without getting too carried away, he will run a nice race. “But the effort he put in last season will be hard to replicate. He’ll be matching it with better horses every start. There’s nowhere to hide.” Despite Cummings’ reservations, Avilius was the $3.40 favourite on Friday, ahead of Verry Elleegant at $4 with Unforgotten an $11 chance. View the full article

The Brian and Shane Anderton-trained Raise You Five cleared maiden company at Wingatui on Friday when taking out the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour 31st August (1600m). The full-brother to stakes winner Raise You Ten settled towards the rear of the field after jumping away slowly from barrier seven. Jockey Jacob Lowry was able to pick an economical path through the field to present Raise You Five at the head of the field at the turn of the straight and the gelding was able to kick clear of his rivals to win by 3-1/2 lengths over Mah Girl, with Acre a further half-length back in third. “They went quite quick up front which was good and set it up for him,” Shane Anderton said. “He was travelling quite good on the corner. It was a good result.” View the full article

Cambridge Stud and staff are devastated to report the loss of stallion Roaring Lion overnight from further complications, following two major colic surgeries three weeks ago. Last year's Champion European three-year-old Roaring Lion won four Group One races from 1600m to 2000m, earning a Timeform rating of 130. Roaring Lion won eight of his 13 starts for trainer John Gosden and strung together four successive Group One wins last year, usurping the Eclipse Stakes (2000m), Juddmonte International . View the full article

The Craig and Shaun Phelan-trained Bay Rocker has been withdrawn from Saturday’s Corson Maize Pakuranga Hunt Hurdle (3350m) at Elleslie after sustaining an injury. The in-form hurdler was a $4.60 second favourite for the event after winning at Te Aroha last start. “It is very disappointing for the team and connections,” co-trainer and rider Shaun Phelan said. “He has come up with a suspensory injury but hopefully he will be back again next season.” View the full article

Star mare Enable secured the tenth Group One victory of her career when taking out the Yorkshire Oaks (2400m) at York on Thursday. “She felt great and she’s had a great send-off in front of the English people,” jockey Frankie Detorri said. “I was always in control today. The temptation in the past on her has always been to kick a bit too soon but today I thought I’d let Ryan (Moore, on Magical) come to me before I kicked. “When I gave her a little tap she put her head down, and I knew then I’d won. “In fairness we wanted an exercise canter. But Magical made a race of it, because she’s very solid.” Thursday’s race was her British swansong, with Enable set to try and add a third Gr.1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400m) to her record in October, and trainer John Gosden was pleased with the mare’s efforts in her final race on home soil. “Magical came to her, but she found a lot in the last 400 metres,” he said. “To that extent she showed her class and it was a good performance. “She’s not a filly that likes to be let all the way down, so between the King George (Gr.1, 2400m) and the Arc was too big a gap. She prefers to be let down a little and then brought back up for a race.” The daughter of Nathaniel has only tasted defeat once in 14 starts, placing third behind Shutter Speed in the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup Stakes at Newbury in her second start. View the full article

The connections of Group One performer Hiflyer have taken a patient approach with the gelding’s return after he suffered an injury following his last start unplaced run in the Gr.2 Japan NZ International Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga. “He had a minor setback after his last race, he pulled a muscle in his back,” Lock said. “We have just given him time to get over it. We decided we weren’t going to target the Tarzino Trophy (Gr.1, 1400m) and the triple crown series at Hastings this year, so we have left him out a little bit longer and he has really done well. “He is due back in the stable in the next six weeks and he looks fantastic.” With a likely summer return Lock said there are plenty of opportunities for the son of Tavistock and he will take a lot of benefit from is extended spell. “He has never really had a long decent break like this, so we will just get him fit and ready and if he comes up and does everything right in his first couple of runs we will step him up and may go back to Sydney with him or just stay around here,” Lock said. “Once the tracks get better I am looking forward to stepping him up over ground again and see whether he can handle it. “There are a lot of opportunities over the summer carnivals for him over miles, like the Thorndon Mile (Gr.1, 1600m).” Lock is also excited about the potential of Hiflyer’s two-year-old full-sister who he believes could be a bit more precocious than her older brother. “We have just broken his full-sister in,” Lock said. “All reports are that the breakers are really happy. “She is a little bit more precocious and short-coupled (than Hiflyer) and looks like she might come up a little bit earlier than what he did. She is a beautiful filly and we are really excited with her.” View the full article

Viktor Vegas will appreciate a heavy track at New Plymouth on Saturday. Te Aroha conditioner Peter Lock will take two runners south for Saturday’s New Plymouth meeting and he believes both horses are winning chances. Six-year-old gelding Viktor Vegas will tackle the feature race of the day, the New Plymouth ITM Interprovincial Challenge (1600m), and he takes some strong form into the race. The son of Tavistock has had two runs this preparation for a win first-up over 1200m at Awapuni before getting pipped at the line by The Good Fight over 1400m at Te Rapa earlier this month. “We thought it was a very good effort first-up because he is not a 1200 or 1400m horse,” Lock said. “I think he is going to be better once he has this run under his belt and gets up over 2000m. “In his fresh-up run he was under pressure the whole race and it was a very good ride by Jonathan Parkes to get him up to win that race. I thought we had won last time, but we got bobbed on the line. “He’s looking for the mile, so I think this week with the very heavy track (rated Heavy11 on Friday) it’s going to be like 1800m. Hopefully that should play into his hands. “I don’t think it (heavy11) will be a problem for him. It looks like it is going to be a very loose track, so that should suit him right down to the ground.” Viktor Vegas has a strong record on heavy tracks having won two and finished runner-up twice in his four starts on the surface. However, the Te Aroha galloper ironically doesn’t enjoy the wet conditions back home. “He has done everything right, but is a horse that has been a wee bit difficult to train,” Lock said. “He doesn’t like being in a box, so it has been a bit difficult for him going into this with all the rain we have had, but hopefully he puts his best foot forward. Rosie Myers will ride Viktor Vegas on Saturday and Lock said while he has drawn barrier two he is not overly concerned heading into the race. “That’s probably not the ideal barrier because he jumps and gets himself back a little bit and then gets into a nice rhythm. “But with a small field I don’t think it’s going to be a major problem if you are handling the ground.” TAB bookmakers have installed Viktor Vegas as a $3.50 favourite ahead of last start winner Alvins Dream, and Lock shares the bookmakers confidence in his horse. “I am pretty happy with the horse, he has come through that race well and his work has been really good,” he said. “I would be disappointed if he didn’t go a very bold race.” Lock is looking forward to the future with Viktor Vegas and believes he has the potential to be a genuine country cups horse. “Safely through here I am really looking forward to his next run over 2000m because I think he is a horse that has got a good cup race in him, whether it be a Waikato Cup (Gr.3, 2400m) or something like that. “He’s going to be a very good country cups horse I think, but we’ll just take it one step at a time.” Lock is also optimistic about the chances of Southern Princess ahead of her tilt at the ITM Pukepine 1400m. The daughter of guillotine was well beaten in open grade last start, but Lock said he was pleased with the run given it was her first raceday start in 18 months. “She has had a long layoff with injury. She got a hairline fracture on her cannon bone, so we had to give her some time off. “It has healed up well, she has won a trial (1100m) since then and she came through her race at Te Rapa very well. “It was a last minute thought to go there because the trials had been cancelled, so we decided to run her in the Open 1200m just to give her a good blowout.” Southern Princess will step back to rating 72 company on Saturday and will be assisted by apprentice jockey Mub Kareem’s claim, and will only carry 54.5kg. “Her work on Tuesday morning was very good,” Lock said. “It’s a small field and back to her own class with a four kilo claim, she has got to be a chance. “It might be just a fraction too heavy for her, but with no weight on her back and a good stake, you have got to have a go.” View the full article

Lisa Allpress will compete in the World All Stars Jockeys series in Japan this weekend. Lisa Allpress is hoping her competitive streak and previous experience in Japan can give her an edge in this weekend’s World All Stars Jockeys series at Sapporo Racecourse in Hokkaido. The Wanganui jockey has arrived in Hokkaido ahead of the four-race series which runs over two meetings at Sapporo. She has also picked up a further three rides including Daimei Fuji in the Gr.3 Keeneland Cup (1200m) on Sunday. As well as competing for individual honours, Allpress is part of the international team, which also features Ireland’s Colm O’Donoghue, Hong Kong’s Karis Teetan and the United States’ Julien Leparoux, up against Japan’s finest including Yutaka Take, Christophe Lemaire, Suguru Hamanaka and Nanako Fujita. “I’m super excited. When I got here yesterday I felt that connection with Japan again. I really like Japan. It’s a nice place to be and the people are lovely,” Allpress said. “I just hope the horses go well. A lot is the luck of the draw. I’m here to enjoy myself but to do my best and go as close to winning as I can. We’ve already been so well looked after.” Allpress’ participation in the series is the 20th occasion a New Zealand rider has competed for the title, though Shane Dye and James McDonald have ridden as Australian representatives. Dye finished second in 1991, while Jim Collett finished fourth in 1997 and fifth in 1995. Other Kiwi jockeys to have ridden in the series include Lance O’Sullivan, David Walsh, Tony Allan, Opie Bosson, Darryl Bradley, Michael Walker, Leith Innes and Samantha Collett. “I remember going through my apprenticeship and hearing all about the World Jockeys Super Series and the trip to Japan and it’s always been something I’ve aspired to do,” Allpress said. Allpress earned her invitation to the series after sealing her third New Zealand jockeys’ premiership last season. She is familiar with Japanese racing having ridden there on three previous short-term contracts, winning 11 races and finishing second in the Gr.3 Niigata Daishoten (2000m) at Fukushima in 2015 aboard Nakayama Knight. “I’m hoping my experience here stands me in good stead for this series. I know how they race here and I’ve ridden on the dirt before, not that I really like it. “They ride on a long rein here and push hard in the first 400m of the race. It shouldn’t take me long to get back into the swing of racing here.” View the full article

Hronis Racing’s once-beaten Catalina Cruiser (Union Rags) figures a warm favorite as he goes out in defense of his title in the GI Pat O’Brien S. at Del Mar, a ‘Win and You’re In’ qualifier for the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 2. The 5-year-old chestnut is undefeated in four tries around one turn, including this race 12 months ago in which he defeated Battle of Midway (Smart Strike), who was making his first appearance since winning the previous year’s Dirt Mile, by 7 1/4 lengths. Out of sorts when sixth as the 9-10 chalk in the 2018 Dirt Mile, Catalina Cruiser was the determined winner of the GII True North S. on the eve of the GI Belmont S. June 7 and comes off a second consecutive victory in the GII San Diego H. Connections land here after taking a pass on last week’s GI TVG Pacific Classic and having decided against a ship to Saratoga for Saturday’s GI Forego S. New York-bred Giant Expectations (Frost Giant) posted a 9-2 score in the 2017 O’Brien, but has been on the road for a good portion of this year. Third to the late Battle of Midway and ‘TDN Rising Star’ McKinzie (Street Sense) in Santa Anita’s GII San Pasqual S. in February, the chestnut made two appearances at Oaklawn, finishing a close third in the Mar. 16 Essex H. and fifth in the GII Oaklawn H. the following month. He returned to state-bred restricted company for the first time in two years last time, going down by a nose to the talented Pat On the Back (Congrats) in the May 27 Commentator S. going Belmont’s one-turn mile. American Anthem (Bodemeister) is four-for-six at seven-eighths and was third in the 2017 GI H. Allen Jerkens S. The bay is two-for-three at the seaside oval, including a 3/4-length allowance tally July 20. Jalen Journey (With Distinction), the top-priced offering during the horses-of-racing-age section at Fasig-Tipton July, gave a solid account of himself in his local debut, a third in the GI Bing Crosby S. going a furlong shorter July 27. The post ‘Cruiser’ Difficult to Oppose in O’Brien Defense appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Jorge Navarro has manage to saddle the winner of a Grade I sprint at Saratoga every other year since 2015. That summer he sent out the fleet-footed Private Zone (Macho Uno) to an unextended defeat of The Big Beast (Yes It’s True) in the GI Forego S. on this program and two summers later was represented by El Deal (Speightstown), a towering eight-length winner of the GI A. G. Vanderbilt H. Navarro, who has also overseen the career of G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen hero X Y Jet (Kantharos), will have the prohibitive chalk to keep the streak alive in Saturday’s GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. in the form of the unbeaten Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby). Rested off a debut victory in February–in which he accounted for future GISP Bodexpress (Bodemeister)–the dark bay pummeled Monmouth allowance foes by 6 1/4 lengths June 23, then turned the GII Amsterdam S. into a laugher, stopping the clock in an eye-popping 1:14.01 for the 6 ½ panels while defeating Nitrous (Tapit) by better than a dozen lengths. A repeat or even something close to that effort wins this for fun, although Call Paul (Friesan Fire), drawn just to his outside in gate two, could prove a fly in the ointment from a pace perspective. Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) won the GI Hopeful S. over track and trip last summer and has an admirable record of 4-2-0-1 at this specialist distance. After disembarking the Triple Crown trail, the Red Oak homebred annexed the seven-furlong GIII Bay Shore S. Apr. 6 and encountered a fair bit of trouble when eighth to Hog Creek Hustle (Overanalyze) in the GI Woody Stephens S. June 8 and when third at long odds-on in Laurel’s Concern S. July 14. Rowayton (Into Mischief) cuts back to one turn for the first time since posting a career-best 97 Beyer in landing a first-level Belmont allowance going 6 1/2 panels June 6. Second to ‘TDN Rising Star’ and champion Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) in last year’s GI Del Mar Futurity, Rowayton would give his sire a second Jerkens in three years (Practical Joke, 2017). The post Shancelot Looks Long Gone in Jerkens appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

One year removed from a gut-wrenching and much-discussed defeat at the hands of favored Abel Tasman (Quality Road), Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Elate (Medaglia d’Oro) is seeking a reversal of fate in Saturday’s GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga, with a fees-paid berth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff on the line. Runaway winner of the GI Alabama S. at this meeting two summers ago, the lanky dark bay dropped a neck decision to Eclipse Award winner Abel Tasman 12 months ago, a result which was ultimately allowed to stand despite a claim of foul. Forced to miss the 2018 Breeders’ Cup owing to a splint issue, Elate was allowed to train on this term, finishing second to Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) when spotting that one a recency advantage in the GII Azeri S. at Oaklawn Mar. 16 before a no-excuses third in the GI Apple Blossom H. Back to winning ways in no uncertain terms in the GII Fleur de Lis S. under the lights at Churchill June 15, she successfully defended her title at 30 cents on the dollar in the 10-furlong GII Delaware H. July 13. The Personal Ensign was run over the mile and a quarter from 1995 to 2011 and were it that trip Saturday, Elate could well go favored. In spite of the curious absence of a victory at Saturday’s nine-furlong distance, Midnight Bisou figures a razor-thin choice. A model of consistency, the dark bay has not tasted defeat in five start since finishing third to champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in last year’s Distaff. Her 3 1/2-length success in Belmont’s GI Ogden Phipps S. came over Come Dancing (Malibu Moon), the favorite for Saturday’s GI Ballerina S., and she did what she had to do last time, overcoming the heat to best Coach Rocks (Oxbow) in the GIII Molly Pitcher S. at Monmouth July 20. Wow Cat (Chi) (Lookin At Lucky), last year’s GI Beldame S. victress and Distaff runner-up, has a single tightener under her belt this term, a second-place finish to the Elate’s stablemate Golden Award (Medaglia d’Oro) in the GIII Shuvee S. over this course and distance July 21. She’s A Julie (Elusive Quality), victorious in the GI La Troienne S. in June, exits a low-odds third after contesting the pace in the Shuvee. The post Elate Out For Revenge in Personal Ensign appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Last season's Cartier Horse of the Year Roaring Lion has been put down after suffering another bout of colic. View the full article

Finalists for six of the seven Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards, sponsored by Godolphin, were announced Friday afternoon. Additionally, the winner of the Thoroughbred Industry Community Award is Bobby Lillis, Executive Director of the Maryland Horsemen’s Assistance Foundation Inc. and Director of Benefits for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. A new award was added this year to honor those in administrative roles. Awards in all seven categories will be presented at Keeneland Oct. 11. The shortlist judging panel met at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Aug. 13 to select finalists and the Community Award winner. A second panel will convene Oct. 10 to select winners in the remaining six categories. The finalists are: Administration Award Andrea Greathouse, Paramount Sales Bessie Gruwell, Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association Maria Catignani, Charles Town HBPA Dedication to Breeding Award Barrett Midkiff, Taylor Made Farm Ernest Blair, Lane’s End Farm Steve Clark, Godolphin, LLC Dedication to Racing Award Cristobal Trejo, Tomlinson Thoroughbred Training LLC Janeen Painter, Richard Mandella Lesley McCall, Moquett Racing Leadership – Breeding Award Jenny Carpenter, Buttonwood Farm Joe Peel, Claiborne Farm Mark Cunningham, Airdrie Farm Leadership – Racing Award Destin Heath, WinStar Farm Saul Castellanos, Mark Hennig Racing Stable Thomas Brandebourger, Chad Brown Newcomer Award Amy Stokes, Godolphin, LLC Courtney Schneider, Shawhan Place Michael Norris, Katherine Ritvo “I was truly honored to again be a part of these meaningful awards, and on behalf of my fellow judges, let me offer sincere congratulations to Bobby Lillis, as well as to all the finalists and all of the nominees,” said Dan Fick, shortlist panel chairman and Chairman of Racing Officials Accreditation Program. “Yet again, our job was a difficult one as the quality of the group was extremely high. All those involved, including the nominators, should be very proud of their participation this year.” Fick continued, “Godolphin and Sheikh Mohammed, in partnership with the National HBPA, TOBA, The Jockey Club, and Breeders’ Cup, have been underwriting these awards for four years now and they have quickly become a very important part of our industry’s landscape. Without the support of Sheikh Mohammed, these hard-working individuals might not truly get the acknowledgment and recognition they deserve for the important work they do. “I look forward to sitting down with each of the finalists when the final judging panel meets in October. And based on the strength of the nominees, we will certainly have our work cut out for us, but it will be an honor for all of us to meet these exceptional individuals in person.” The shortlist panel was comprised of Fick, along with Ramiro Restrepo, Market Representative for Fasig-Tipton; Maggie Wolfendale, Paddock Analyst and reporter for the New York Racing Association; Cate Johnson, Director of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame; and Stuart Angus, Sales Account Manager at Taylor Made. The post Finalists for TIEA Awards Announced appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Those who love European racing have a bit of everything on Saturday, with a plethora of notable meetings across Britain including seven group races and a dash of black-type action also at beautiful Killarney and Baden-Baden to spice things up. York’s Knavesmire is the main focus as the Ebor festival reaches its climax, with the £1-million feature race probably the most competitive ever staged. Just eight pounds cover the entire field of 22 runners, with six of them by Frankel (GB) who provided this fixture with one of its all-time great moments seven years ago. The shortest-priced of them is the actual Ebor favourite King’s Advice (GB), the Mark Johnston-trained son of the brilliant Queen’s Logic (Ire) (Grand Lodge) who has tasted defeat only once in nine starts in 2019 when not partnered by Joe Fanning. Also in the line-up for Britain’s answer to the Melbourne Cup is last year’s runner-up Weekender (GB), another son of Frankel (GB) who gives an idea of the standard required in this prize now having finished third in the G1 Irish St Leger in September. Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to Khalid Abdullah, summed up the increased profile of the Ebor as it stands in 2019. “He went close last year, but it looks a tougher contest this year,” he said. “It’s effectively a group race, but it should be with the money on offer.” Also on York’s card is the newly-promoted G2 City of York S. over seven furlongs, which is graced by the locally-trained star filly Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). John Dance’s six-time Group 1 winner was here 12 months ago tackling the mile and a half of the G1 Yorkshire Oaks to no avail and races over the shortest trip she has tackled since runner-up in the G3 Prix du Calvados on her second start as a juvenile. Also saddled with a five-pound penalty as a result of her latest top-level triumph in Deauville’s G1 Prix Rothschild, she will have to rock and roll from the front to hold off some speedy rivals. “She’s in great form, I couldn’t be happier with her,” trainer Karl Burke commented. “I’m really pleased with the draw as well–six of 10 is perfect for her, it’ll suit her way of running.” Laurens’ rivals include King Power Racing’s Shine So Bright (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who was third in the six-furlong G2 Gimcrack S. here in 2018 before returning to beat the subsequent G3 Jersey S. scorer Space Traveller (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) in an above-average renewal of the Listed European Free H. at this distance at Newmarket Apr. 16. Off since his game effort when sixth in the G1 2000 Guineas trying a mile that stretched him too far at Newmarket May 4, the grey is unexposed in this category. Trainer Andrew Balding said, “He had a setback after the Guineas and he has had a nice break, but this is quite an ask on the back of a long break against race-fit opposition. The horse seems in great form and fast ground on a track like that should be fine. It was a smashing run in the Guineas, but he didn’t quite get home. It looked like he was going to finish second until the last half-furlong, when he was just outstayed.” The day’s action kicks off with the G3 Strensall S., where George Strawbridge’s long-absent Wissahickon (Tapit) finally gets the quick surface he needs for the Gosden-Dettori combination. Successful in the G3 Winter Derby on Lingfield’s Polytrack Feb. 23, the homebred is back on turf for the first time since landing the Cambridgeshire H. over this nine-furlong trip in September. He encounters the aforementioned Space Traveller and Ahmad Alotaibi’s June 1 G3 Diomed S. winner and July 13 G2 Summer Mile runner-up Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), who may have been compromised by the slow ground when seventh in the July 30 G2 Lennox S. over a seven-furlong trip that is possibly too sharp for him. Away from York, Goodwood hosts the G2 Celebration Mile in which Skardu (GB) (Shamardal) emerges after a break having endured a tough spring campaign. Abdulla Al Khalifa’s Apr. 17 G3 Craven S. winner gave his all each time when first in the far-side group and third overall in the 2000 Guineas, fourth in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh May 25 and in the G1 St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot June 18. In a renewal dominated by the 3-year-olds, Fitri Hay’s Aug. 2 G3 Thoroughbred S. winner Duke of Hazzard (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and Sullivan Bloodstock and Merriebelle Irish Farm’s Beat Le Bon (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) who took the prestigious Golden Mile on the same Goodwood card are two that can keep building towards the top. Richard Hannon said of the latter, “Beat Le Bon is going up in grade into the big pond now, but he likes the track and will like the ground. He is finally maturing now and that is why he is starting to come good. Pat Dobbs has struck up a good relationship with the horse and has helped to get him relaxed early in his races. These are the best horses he has taken on, but I would like to think he is better than a handicapper. He loves it at Goodwood and we know he gets the mile well.” Goodwood’s G3 Prestige S. is a fascinating conundrum, with nine 2-year-old fillies lining up to promote their Classic credentials including Khalid Abdullah’s impressive Aug. 1 course-and-distance maiden winner Vividly (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}). Trainer Charlie Hills said, “It seemed to make sense to run her back here after winning over course and distance last time. She has been training well and I’m happy enough with her. She was drawn very wide last time and Kieran [Shoemark] did a good job to get her in front. They think quite a lot of the second, so it was a good run. This trip is fine for her, but she will probably get a mile in the future.” She is taken on by another potentially famous grey sporting Kirsten Rausing’s silks in Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a granddaughter of one of the most famous of that colour in Alnabova (GB) (Alzao) who has already proven she can handle unsettling undulations when off the mark on debut over this trip at Epsom July 18. Elsewhere on Saturday, Waverley Racing and Ralph Beckett’s G1 Epsom Oaks fourth Manuela de Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) takes on a more unexposed member of the Classic generation in the impressive July 5 Doncaster maiden winner Promissory (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) from the John Gosden stable in Goodwood’s G3 March S. over 14 furlongs. The latter’s jockey Rab Havlin said, “I rode her first time behind Terebellum (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), who won a Group 2 [the Prix de la Nonette] in France the other day, and I loved her that day. She was very green but learnt plenty and won the next day at Doncaster. The Goodwood race could not have worked out any better. The penny didn’t drop until the last furlong and a half at Goodwood, but she didn’t half finish off well. Frankie kicked her in the belly three and a half out last time and she just galloped everything into the ground, so the step up in trip won’t be a problem. This is only the third run of her life, but she is the least exposed, she has been pleasing everybody at home and is a filly is going the right way.” Newmarket’s Listed Hopeful S. sees the Gredleys’ G1 Prix Morny heroine Pretty Pollyanna (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) search for a confidence boost after four gruelling Group 1 attempts, while on Windsor’s evening fixture there is the G3 Winter Hill S. The sole 3-year-old in the field is King Power Racing’s June 20 G2 Ribblesdale S. fourth Queen Power (Ire) (Shamardal), who reverts to the 10-furlong trip over which she was so impressive in Newbury’s Listed Haras de Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial May 18. The post Ebor Saturday Boasts Riches Aplenty appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Treading a familiar path to some of Ballydoyle’s top juveniles of the past, Armory (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) followed a smooth win in the July 25 G3 Tyros S. at Leopardstown with a more hard-fought one in Friday’s G2 Futurity S. at The Curragh. Settled third early by Ryan Moore behind the stable’s Toronto (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Iberia (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the 4-6 favourite enjoyed a split between to gain the lead two out and may have been idling late as the 50-1 shot Rebel Tale (Tale of the Cat) got to within 3/4 of a length. Geometrical (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) was third, a length away. 1–ARMORY (IRE), 129, c, 2, by Galileo (Ire) 1st Dam: After (Ire) (MGSP-Ire, $107,377), by Danehill Dancer (Ire) 2nd Dam: Noahs Ark (Ire), by Charnwood Forest (Ire) 3rd Dam: Abstraction (GB), by Rainbow Quest O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €76,700. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-1, €125,387. The post Galileo’s Armory Wins the Futurity appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Owner/breeder enjoying success with disciplined business plan View the full article

New York-based trainer Shug McGaughey could notch a fourth Travers Stakes (G1) Aug. 24 with William S. Farish homebred Code of Honor. View the full article

Impressive when breaking her maiden with real authority over seven furlongs at the Galway festival Aug. 2, the Niarchos Family’s Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) got up late to deny Petite Mustique (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in a thrilling finale to The Curragh’s G2 Debutante S. on Friday. Tracking the early pace carved out by TDN Rising Star and stablemate Windracer (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), the 2-1 second favourite who is a half-sister to Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) allowed Petite Mustique first run but reeled in the Ballydoyle representative in the final yards to score by a short head, with Soul Search (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) 3/4 of a length away in third. ALPINE STAR (IRE), 126, f, 2, Sea The Moon (Ger)–Alpha Lupi (Ire), by Rahy. 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. O/B-Niarchos Family (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington; J-Shane Foley. €67,850. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-1, €81,600. *1/2 to Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Hwt. 3yo-Eur, Eng, Fr & Ire at 7-9.5f, MG1SW-Eng, G1SW-Fr & Ire, $1,639,990; and Tenth Star (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), SW & GSP-Ire, GSP-Eng. The post Sea the Moon’s Half To Alpha Centauri Wins the Debutante appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article