Wandering Eyes

Acting on her way to victory at Sandown on Wednesday. Lightly raced three-year-old Acting has put her name forward as a potential spring contender with a commanding victory at Sandown. After breaking her maiden status at Echuca, Acting was brought to town to tackle Wednesday’s Ladbrokes Odds Boost Handicap, recording a win that co-trainer Natalie Young hopes will open spring options. Under a well-rated ride by Linda Meech, Acting raced to a 2-14 length win on the heavy track. “We had no concerns of her handling the track as she’s out of a Pins mare and she’s always shown a lot of class,” Young said. “You like to see them put a race away like that, especially if you’ve got spring hopes for them and ideally we’d like to think of her as a Thousand Guineas-type of horse.” Young said the stable would assess Acting’s recovery from Wednesday’s win before deciding on her next outing. Acting could return to Sandown for a 1400m three-year-old fillies benchmark 70 race on September 4 or Young said the stable could roll the dice and run the filly in the Gr.3 HDF McNeill Stakes at Caulfield on August 31. “We’ll wait and see how she pulls up but she’s a quality filly and it’s good having a filly like her in the barn,” Young said. Young, who trains in partnership with Trent Busuttin, completed a double when Pierrocity won the Ladbrokes Back Yourself Handicap. -AAP View the full article

Deerfield will head a strong team for trainer Chrissy Bambry at Otaki on Saturday. Foxton trainer Chrissy Bambry will be loading up the float bound for Otaki this weekend. Bambry, who has held her trainers’ license since late last year, has just five horses in full work and will start four of them at Otaki on Saturday and believes all of them are solid winning chances. Spearheading the team is three-win galloper Deerfield, who boasts a further three placings from his eight career starts and contests the El Cheapo Cars Rating 82 (1100m). “We had a few problems with his feet just over a month ago, so he had his first race back at Otaki a couple of weeks ago. He was just lacking a bit of fitness and was a bit vulnerable over the last 200m but I thought he went really well,” Bambry said. “He is probably not at his best on a heavy surface, but back to 1100m it should suit him and will be a nice lead-up run to bigger targets in the spring.” Deerfield holds a nomination for the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) on the opening day of the Bostock New Zealand Spring Racing Carnival at Hawke’s Bay. “If we can sneak into the Tarzino, I would be pretty happy to have a go,” Bambry said. “He looks good and is galloping well and he is back to full fitness again. We’ve got his feet right and if he performs well on Saturday and gets a rise in the ratings, he is an outside chance of making the field. If he misses out, there is a Rating 82 1200m race for him there as another option.” Bambry said Deerfield had been an important horse in her first nine months of training, helping shine the spotlight on her training ability, while also proving an interesting project. “He isn’t without his issues, so he has taught me a lot about keeping a horse happy and healthy as well as keeping them fit. The water treadmill has been hugely important to him and he gets massaged every day and does stretches to help him. It has been very satisfying to get the results with him. “I have just got the five racehorses plus a couple of young ones in pre-training, so it would be nice to have a few more.” Bambry will use the services of 3kg claiming apprentice Hazel Schofer when her talented three-year-old Lord Bouzeron takes on the older horses in a Rating 65 (1200m) race. The son of Burgundy won well on debut and found the line well for sixth in the Listed Ryder Stakes (1200m) after making a wide run. “I was going to trial him, but the trials got cancelled and he is on a path towards the Wanganui Guineas (Listed, 1340m) in three weeks,” Bambry said. “He needs another good hitout and that race looks quite suitable.” Bambry’s father Tony sent out Lord Turbo to win the 2013 Wanganui Guineas before the gelding was sold to Hong Kong. The now nine-year-old is back in Chrissy Bambry’s care, and looks well placed to return to the winner’s circle in the Sunrans Spa (1600m). “He has been going super, so I would expect another bold run from him,” Bambry said. “My other runner Speed Call (Rating 65, 2100m) went a much improved run at Otaki and I think we’ve found the key to riding him now, which is to get back and settle and I think he will be hard to beat.” View the full article

Five breeding entities are in contention for the 2019 New Zealand Breeder of the Year award. The winner will be announced at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards dinner, at the Ellerslie racecourse, on Sunday, September 8. All the finalists for Breeder of the Year bred at least one Group I winner and most were represented by multiple Group winners. Garry Chittick and Waikato Stud, the 2018 winners, are in contention again, after breeding the Group I winners Madison County and Savvy Coup and 13 other stakes winners. Archer Equine, which is operated by David Archer and his family, has only a small broodmare band but was represented by the dual Group I winner Bostonian and the Group II winner Emily Margaret. Wellfield Lodge principal Bill Gleeson bred two Group winners, including the Group I winner On The Rocks, and three other Group-placed horses. Auckland breeder Don Goodwin owns just one broodmare, but she is the dam of Verry Elleegant, who won two Group I races in Australia, including the Australian Oaks. Greg Tomlinson’s Nearco Stud bred the outstanding Hong Kong galloper Beauty Generation and two other Group winners. Beauty Generation, who is rated among the top five gallopers in the world this year, was undefeated in eight starts in the past season, including four Group I wins. The dams of Beauty Generation, Madison County and the five-time Group I winner Melody Belle are the finalists for the Eight Carat Broodmare of the Year award. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing has also announced the finalists for New Zealand Strapper of the Year and the NZTR Media Award. Breeder of the Year: Archer Equine, Garry Chittick and Waikato Stud and partners, W J Gleeson and WJ Bloodstock, Don Goodwin, Nearco Stud. Eight Carat Broodmare of the Year: Meleka Belle (dam of Melody Belle), Red Delicious (dam of Madison County), Stylish Bel (dam of Beauty Generation). NZTR Media Award: Boys Get Paid, Des Coppins, Isola Racing Stables, Mark Nowell, Aidan Rodley, Paul Vettise. Strapper of the Year -sponsored by Chris Waller Racing: Northern region: Cherie Beddis (Team Rogerson); Central: Alistair Murray (Roydon Bergerson); Southern: Brittany Moore (Pitman Racing). View the full article

Multiple Group One winner Humidor will bypass Saturday’s Gr.2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) in favour of resuming in the Gr.1 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 31. Humidor has not been seen at the races since October last year when he was injured in the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m). “We just thought he’d be better (placed in the Memsie),” co-trainer Ciaron Maher said. “We whacked him in there (the entries for Saturday’s Lawrence Stakes) to see how it would go.” The New Zealand-bred and part-owned galloper won the Memsie Stakes in 2018 after an unplaced run in the PB Lawrence Stakes. View the full article

Group One-placed filly Aalaalune has been transferred from Matamata trainer Jacob McKay to Team Rogerson along with two-win ownership-mate Mr Universe, with both sporting the colours of $10 million lotto powerball winner Lou Te Keeti and his wife Val. A narrow second in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) behind Yourdeel at two, Aalaalune also placed in the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and Listed Splice Construction Stakes (1100m). She caught the eye when resuming over 1000m at Ruakaka on Sunday and looks on track for a strong spring campaign. “It was a big kick in the guts to lose them, especially for a young person starting off in the game,” McKay said. “They were my stable stars and it was definitely hard getting out of bed this morning, that’s for sure. “Mr Universe had come to me from Graham Richardson, so I know what it is like with horses moving and I don’t feel any animosity towards the Rogersons for taking the horses. “I was rapt with Aalaalune’s run on the weekend. I pushed the button probably a little bit sooner than I wanted to with her and that is probably why it (the horse transfer) came to ahead. “I wasn’t prepared to run her in the Tarzino (Gr.1, 1400m). I felt it was going to be a big ask for a three-year-old against older horses off that run. I thought it was a perfect Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) trial and she was well poised to make her mark later in the season.” McKay was philosophical about the loss of his stable flag-bearers. “It was nice to have had those horses and hopefully it is a case of one door closes and another one opens.” View the full article

Endless Drama will contest Saturday’s Gr.2 U S Navy Flag Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa. The track conditions at Te Rapa on Saturday are the only concern Cambridge trainer Tony Pike holds for Endless Drama heading into his first assignment of the season, the Gr.2 U S Navy Flag Foxbridge Plate (1200m). Rated a Heavy10 surface on Wednesday, Pike said it is a bit of an unknown whether the eight-year-old entire would handle wet conditions in New Zealand. He placed twice on heavy surfaces as a younger horse in Europe, however, he has failed to flatter in his three unplaced runs on heavy going in Australasia. “He has raced on good surfaces in Australasia, his form from Europe was quite good on heavier ground, but that was when he was a younger horse,” Pike said. “These older stallions, you don’t really know until they try it. We really don’t want a genuine heavy track. “I am hoping the weather holds over the next two to three days and it comes back to a half reasonable surface.” Endless Drama has drawn barrier two for Saturday’s race, and with favoured runners Te Akau Shark (11), Melody Belle (12) and Helena Baby (10) all drawing outside barriers, Pike believes his charge will be right in contention to add another Group Two victory to his tally. “Track conditions are going to be the main concern for a few horses there on Saturday,” Pike said. “You would think with the new ground on the inside, barrier two should be an advantage and it should give him plenty of options where he positions in the running. “It depends how the track plays, but they (Te Akau Shark, Melody Belle and Helena Baby) are probably going to have to go back from their wide draws a touch. “It is a race that does look like there is pretty even speed, so it shouldn’t be too much of a disadvantage.” Endless Drama pleased Pike with his trial win over 900m at Te Rapa last month and he said his runner should be on song for Saturday after a light freshen-up from his Queensland winter campaign where he placed in the Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m). “The old horse has come back with plenty of residual fitness from Brisbane and he trialled up very well at Te Rapa. He is not out of the race and is going to be a genuine each way chance. “Whether he can beat Te Akau Shark is a little bit up in the air, he does look exceptional, but I would be disappointed if he doesn’t run in the money.” Endless Drama opened as a $6.50 fourth favourite for the Foxbridge Plate with TAB bookmakers, behind race favourite Te Akau Shark ($2.20), Melody Belle ($3.80), and Helena Baby ($4.60). Pike will also line-up four other runners at the Hamilton track on Saturday, including four-year-old mare Samoon who will have her first start in New Zealand in the BCD Group 1200 for Trelawney Stud’s Brent, Cherry and Faith Taylor. “She is a mare who has come back from Mick Price’s,” Pike said. “She was just getting a little bit keen in her work when she first came home, so we have just given her two very quiet barrier trials. “Leith (Innes, jockey) was quite happy with the last one at Te Rapa, so it will be interesting to get a line on her on Saturday. “She is a lovely type of mare and she seems to have settled in well to the New Zealand environment, so she will be an interesting runner.” Pike believes his remaining three runners Prince Hareem, Beauty Star, and Five Stars are all in with a chance on Saturday. “They are all genuine each way chances,” he said. “Beauty Star finally broke through the other day. He wants to do a bit wrong in his races, but he is a horse with ability and the penny is starting to drop. “Five Stars was an encouraging run fresh-up over a distance (1200m) short of his best at Hastings and the step-up to 1600m will suit. “And Prince Hareem trialled really well at Te Rapa a couple of weeks ago. He will be a nice horse going forward.” View the full article

Keeneland is encouraging consignors and veterinarians to make full use of the repository to upload and to view endoscopic videos of horses scheduled to sell at the company’s September Yearling Sale, to be held Sept. 9-22 in Lexington. Keeneland has come out in support of a recent announcement from the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association endorsing the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) “Protocol for Pre-Sale Video Endoscopic Examination of the Upper Airway at Public Auction” as a means of educating buyers and veterinarians about video scopes, to increase buyer confidence in the procedure and to help create uniformity among sales companies. Asteris Keystone, Keeneland’s Repository software, has the capability to both upload quality videos of scopes and view them along with digital radiographs and submitted eye certificates or surgery letters. “Keeneland is hopeful that through educating veterinarians, buyers and consignors on the capabilities of the Repository software, all parties will feel confident in using these procedures in the near future,” Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell said. Keeneland is committed to following the AAEP guidelines for scope videos. Any consignor that chooses to put such videos on file are required to submit the same no more than 10 days from the sale day of the horse and preferably once the horse is on the sales grounds. Consignors and veterinarians will receive Repository guidelines and deadlines prior to each sale. As with the viewing of digital radiographs, registered veterinarians inspecting horses for prospective buyers will be able to view the scope videos in the Repository. Consignors will have the right to be notified when a veterinarian views a scope of their horse. Keeneland’s Repository, which was established in 1996, is located in the Sales Pavilion. Registered veterinarians, who have established an account (and receive a username and password), may inspect the medical records of a sales horse online at any time. Sales officials have also announced that for the first time this year, buyers may request at the time of their purchase that blood be drawn from their purchased to be tested for the presence of bisphosphonates. Buyers may also request that their yearlings be tested for anabolic androgenic steroids. Yearlings purchased with the intent of being exported to train and race in Great Britain are subject to British Horseracing Authority testing to detect the presence of prohibited substances such as bisphosphonates and anabolic steroids. International buyers may also request testing at the time of purchase. These provisions are covered in Keeneland’s Conditions of Sale. The post Keeneland To Encourage Use of Endoscopic Video for September Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A $45,000 colt by Mr. Big topped Tuesday’s Northern California Yearling and Horses or Racing Age Sale. Consigned by Harris Farms, Hip 2 is out of SP Perched (Into Mischief) and was purchased by Legacy Ranch. Harris Farms also consigned the sale’s second highest-priced horse, a yearling colt by Tamarando, who summoned $44,000 from Lawrence Lewis. A total of 92 yearlings changed hands for $553,700 with an average of $6,018 and median of $2,700. Forty-eight youngster failed to meet their reserves. Thirteen horses sold in the Horses of Racing Age portion for a gross of $49,800, median of $3,700 and average of $3,831 with seven RNAs. The yearling numbers were up from last year when 102 horses summoned $499,600 with an average of $4,898 and median of $2,200. Forty-seven yearlings left the ring unsold last term. The 2018 Horses of Racing Age portion saw 15 Thoroughbreds bring $37,600 with an average of $2,507, median of $2,000 and five RNAs. The post Mr. Big Colt Tops CTBA Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) in conjunction with the accounting firm, Dean Dorton, is undertaking a nationwide survey focused on Thoroughbred horse farm operations. The survey includes questions on boarding, sales, stallion ownership, breeders’ awards and other ancillary operational items. All Thoroughbred farm owners are encouraged to complete this survey, which will allow the NTRA and Dean Dorton to compare state-specific results to those of the nationwide respondents. All information from respondents will remain completely anonymous. The survey closes on Friday, August 23 and can be accessed here. The post NTRA, Dean Dorton Undertake Survey on Farm Operations appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Well, somebody has to blow a trumpet for them. Because it wouldn’t be their own style, that’s for sure, seasoned as they are in the vicissitudes of life with Thoroughbreds. Lori Fackler was raised on a small horse farm; her husband Tommy was a journeyman jockey. An understated, tough, modest pair, who know that you can’t ever bank on luck to reward work–but also that you won’t ever get the luck, without first putting in the work. Last week, in Saratoga, they sold a homebred yearling by Frosted to Spendthrift for $500,000. And this was only the latest remarkable dividend from a visit to the Keeneland November Sale in 2007, where they bought two cheap young mares to take back to Florida. Two, that is, of the bare handful they own outright; alongside maybe a dozen partnership mares at Best A Luck Farm, in the quiet backcountry north of Ocala. The Frosted colt (offered through Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield Sales, ThoroStride video) is out of Flirting With Fate (Saint Ballado), who cost $28,000 as winner of one of her seven starts. Her 2011 colt Dance With Fate (Two Step Salsa) won the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. before finishing sixth in the GI Kentucky Derby. The second mare, the unraced Slew’s Quality (Elusive Quality), was acquired for $35,000–and last year won fame as dam of the nation’s champion female sprinter, GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Shamrock Rose (First Dude), who recently retired with $968,962 in the bank. “We were just starting into it a little more, with the mares, and they were by strong stallions,” Lori remembers. “I guess I really liked the pedigrees, as something we could build from without spending money we didn’t have. And they have both made really nice foals. Especially Flirting With Fate. She has a really neat walk to her, and so do her foals, and that gets peoples’ attention. So she was kind of the favorite until Shamrock Rose came along. But I’ve kept with them, too. Some people only give them a couple years and then they move on. Those mares are getting age on them now, so I’m kinda loyal; always still hoping things’ll happen.” And things do keep happening. Even back in March, there was much talk about the Frosted colt. Saratoga was already on the Facklers’ mind: three years ago, after all, they had likewise taken the option of that sale with an Uncle Mo colt out of the same mare, departing from their standard formula of raising horses for the 2-year-old sales. And they were rewarded with $650,000. At 18, Flirting With Fate has a finite producing future. She plainly now deserves marquee stallion fees, but her owners can’t leave themselves too exposed. “And that’s difficult,” Tommy admits. “We try to stick to what got us started, and just be careful not to get too above ourselves. Because you have one or two go the wrong way, with those fees, then you’re in trouble. So we have to balance it out. “Upgrading the stallions and the insurance, it becomes expensive,” Lori agrees. “But it’s worth it. Slew’s Quality had a very nice Hard Spun filly this year, and then we sent her to Empire Maker.” Of course, it is precisely by having earned such aristocratic partners–Flirting With Fate is meanwhile in foal to West Coast (Flatter)–that these mares opened up different options for realizing the value of their foals. Because the whole premise of the Facklers’ regular, breed-to-breeze program was to create value they could not afford to inject at the base, whether in expensive mares or commercially glamorous coverings. “We can’t afford the big-pedigree horses,” Tommy explains. “So we have to make our own pedigree, as we go along. The people who sell weanlings and yearlings have to put up a lot of money, for the mares and the fees. We can’t do that, so we go the long route. Sell as 2-year-olds, when they are able to show the public what they can do on the racetrack. But these two mares, their babies can now be sold as weanlings and yearlings. They’ve put pedigree into their foals.” Neither of the mares Lori bought in 2007 was terribly big. Maybe that was how they slipped through the net. Slew Quality’s granddam, after all, was a half-sister to none other than Lady’s Secret. Certainly to buy the pair for $63,000, in foal to blue-collar stallions Eurosilver and Consolidator, respectively, and later breed Grade I winners from both would be an incredible achievement for a big Kentucky farm, never mind for a Florida operation of such limited scale and resources. Both Shamrock Rose and Dance With Fate showed how the usual system works, bringing $120,000 apiece at OBS April: good money for plain pages, having shown their wares as young athletes. (Albeit there have been bigger returns during what has also been a wonderful year for Best A Luck at the 2-year-old sales: two of Tommy’s pinhooks made $400,000 and $380,000 at OBS April, fillies by Danza and Ghostzapper bought for $74,000 and $150,000 respectively at Fasig-Tipton’s October Yearling Sale). “Shamrock Rose was always a pretty baby,” Tommy recalls. “A lot scopier than her mother. And when we started breaking her, she just had a really good mind. Anything you asked, she did easy. Very athletic, very smart. Never any problems, never the slightest issue, just a solid filly. But Dance With Fate, he was a monster. As a short yearling we thought we might have to geld him. He’d pick up the other babies and carry them round by their neck. Just playing.” The Facklers have three training barns (plus one for broodmares) at The Gallops, a communal facility around a five-furlong oval. With 400 head of horses on the site, their youngsters will leave already well accustomed to the bustle of a training center. There is a natural division of labor within their own operation: Tommy applies his track know-how to the education of the young athletes, while Lori supervises the mares and babies. Only she, of the pair, was born to her vocation: her parents Bob and Carol Melton owned Lots A Luck Farm, also in the Ocala neighborhood, and it was Bob’s expertise as a former rodeo rider that drew the teenage Tommy to the farm as a novice with Thoroughbreds. (Best was his grandparents’ surname, so Best A Luck contains a nod to both their families). “It was a very good environment,” Lori says. “Because though I was mostly with the mares and the foals, you also did the night watching, you were involved in everything. In the summer, with the training horses, we would rent stalls at different places; and every once in a while we would run a horse off the farm, so I’d go down to Miami with my dad for a few days.” Tommy, as a late starter and an outsider to the business, was no less indebted to Bob Melton for showing him the ropes–even if he’ll still grumble mischievously about the pay. “Wasn’t much at all,” he says with a grin. “But anyway, it taught me my career. Because I learned from the ground up. Without that, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now. It was like going to college, and getting a little bit of money for it. And a wife!” For he eloped with his boss’s daughter as soon as he got a jockey licence. He rode 150 winners in the second half of the 1980s at places like Delaware and Birmingham. “Did good in some places, starved to death at others,” he says. “I did ride with Shoemaker. Once. Alabama, the very first night it opened, they had him come in to ride in the inaugural stakes. Neither one of us did any good–but I rode against Shoemaker.” You catch a glint in his eye. Finished in front of him, didn’t you Tommy? “Yes!” Of around 50 youngsters through his nursery every year, a good half will be broken and prepared for the track; the rest will be honed for sales, albeit at a more temperate rate than some rival outfits. “We start them off slow,” Tommy stresses. “I spend a lot of time before I make it to the racetrack with them. The round pen, the paddock, that kind of thing: 30 days, or longer, before they even come out on the track. And even then I build them slow, slow, slow. Because too much speed, too soon, will set these young horses right back. “I just try to let them tell me to move forward. Just from their attitude. Are they in the bit, are they wanting to do more? It’s like a classroom full of kids, they’re all different. Of course I have to do speed work, too, to get them through the sales. But it’s about the foundation. If you have that underneath them, then you can go forward and do what you need to do.” Among those to benefit from this grounding was Grade I winner and Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up Effinex (Mineshaft), who was broken here in his youth. “He was a laid-back type, you never would have thought he would become what he did,” Tommy recalls. “But he also shows how different they all are. After he got to racing, he was a funny horse. If he acted up in the post parade or behind the gate, he didn’t run very good. Then when they switched to Mike Smith, he said you got to leave the horse alone. If you made him switch lead, he’d bolt. And it was all upwards from there. So each horse is different and, like Smith did, you just kinda figure them out.” In the case of Shamrock Rose, however, it was all out there. She breezed :10 flat. Moreover, a benign destiny kept the Facklers in the loop, as her purchaser Conrad Farms sent her to Lori’s stepbrother Mark Casse. She won a stakes on debut at Woodbine as a juvenile. “But at three she just started out okay, seconds and thirds,” Tommy recalls. “So Mark brought her home to his place at Ocala, gave her a bit more time. And then he started her again at Presque Isle and she won by 10, easy.” After that, she was on a roll. “When she ran in the [GII] Raven Run . at Keeneland we were 20 minutes away, at the Fasig-Tipton sale,” continues Tommy. “And because we watched that race there, we said we wouldn’t jinx her by going to the Breeders’ Cup. So we stayed home and watched it on TV. And when the gates open, and they’re down the backside… Man, if she even gets fourth or fifth that’ll be something. Fourteen horses, outside post, and a 3-year-old. She was just amazing.” Perhaps, when Shamrock Rose left the farm, she took with her the benediction of the Greek Orthodox monks who gaze upon the worldly endeavours of the horsemen on the neighbouring property. More likely, she was blessed by the instincts and enterprise of the couple who raised her–who started out with a three-acre, backyard pinhooking experiment 23 years ago and now find themselves, still only from 45 acres, breeders and vendors of an Eclipse champion, and selling half-million dollar yearlings at Saratoga. They’ve had to be cute, work the angles. Shamrock Rose herself, remember, was registered as a Pennsylvania foal. “The mares get sent all over, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky,” Lori explains. “Just different gimmicks, we rotate them around. So when it works out, like with her, it’s incredibly special. A lot of these owners, you know, they’re in Grade IIs, Grade Is, all the time. It’s not a big deal. But for us, it’s wonderful. I know we’re not real young anymore, but nor are we somebody that’s been in the business 60 years with unbelievable resources behind us. So it feels a pretty special thing to do. There’s so much that has to go right.” “And that word ‘luck’ has got to come into it, too,” adds Tommy. “But everybody in Marion County has seen how hard we’ve worked.” “Everybody has been very supportive,” agrees Lori. “And it gives everybody hope. They look at us and can say, ‘Well, maybe I’ve got a shot too.'” The post Lucky Shamrock Highlights Best of Years appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

There is abundant quality on offer across France, Ireland and Britain on Thursday, but the major player is ‘TDN Rising Star’ Headman (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in Deauville’s G2 Prix Guillaume D’Ornano Haras du Logis Saint-Germain. Impressive when dealing with the subsequent G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Jalmoud (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) and the re-opposing Flop Shot (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) in the G2 Prix Eugene Adam over this 10-furlong trip at Saint-Cloud June 30, Khalid Abdullah’s homebred escapes a penalty in this long-range Arc pointer and jockey Jason Watson is relishing resuming the partnership. “We’ve been happy with how he came out of his last race in France. He did win quite nicely and encouragingly, so we’ll try our luck out there again,” he said. “He’s already beaten Flop Shot, who is running, so I hope he’s going out there with a good chance.” During another Deauville festival where the majority of the black-type races have been heading overseas, Flaxman Stables Ireland’s Up Helly Aa (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) adds weight to the challenge to the French-trained contingent. Second in the G3 Meld S. at Leopardstown July 18, the son of the former Willie McCreery stable star Fiesolana (Ire) (Aussie Rules) is open to further progression. “He seems in good form. He’ll have to improve again to win it, but we hope he’s on an upward curve,” McCreery said. “He’s improving physically the whole time, so I hope he will do so on the track.” Elsewhere on the card, the G3 Arqana Prix de Lieurey sees another British raider with strong claims in the Meon Valley homebred Twist ‘N’ Shake (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Fourth in the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot June 21, the John Gosden trainee registered a 3 1/2-length defeat of the re-opposing Fount (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Listed Prix de Bagatelle over this track and mile trip July 21. She is met by Teruya Yoshida’s Commes (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), who was runner-up in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at ParisLongchamp May 12 and G1 Prix de Diane at Chantilly June 16. Reverting to the distance of the former Classic, she lost out by inches in both contests and needs a win like this on her resume. Commes’s trainer Jean-Claude Rouget pitches last year’s G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains hero Olmedo (Fr) (Declaration of War) into the G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club on the back of a disappointing effort when 15th in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot June 18. At Salisbury, last year’s Queen Anne winner Accidental Agent (GB) (Delegator {GB}) lines up search of a confidence boost in the G3 Tattersalls Sovereign S. after finishing last of eight in first-time cheekpieces in the G1 Sussex S. at Goodwood July 31. Trainer Eve Johnson Houghton is happy that the 5-year-old is in a good place and said, “We know he is better on a straight track–a look at his form tells you that–and he’s not bothered by a bit of cut, so we’re not concerned on that score. He just got caught on heels at Goodwood last time and just threw his head up a bit. He finished really well though and was only beaten five lengths, so it wasn’t too bad at all.” Of the 3-year-olds in the Sovereign, Susan Roy’s G3 Hampton Court S. third King Ottokar (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) drops back to a mile having faded late when third in that June 20 10-furlong contest. “He had a lovely run at Royal Ascot. We felt that day, potentially, he didn’t quite get home,” trainer Charlie Fellowes commented. “He was drawn wide and had to challenge wide, so he did well to finish third. We are dropping back to a mile off the back of that run which I hope will be okay. Ideally we want plenty of rain, because it needs to be a bit of a stamina test.” At Leopardstown, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s G1 Epsom Derby runner-up Madhmoon (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) takes aim at the G3 Invesco Pension Consultants Desmond S. and trainer Kevin Prendergast is understandably bullish. “He couldn’t be better, he’s in great shape,” he said. “He’s in the [Irish] Champion S.–he has to have a run somewhere and this is a good place to run him. He’s won there twice and been second the other time. He likes the track and conditions suit him, so he should be there or thereabouts.” The post All Eyes on Headman at Deauville appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

DEAUVILLE, France–Deauville is commonly referred to as the 21st arrondissement, and during the opening session of Arqana’s August yearling sale on Saturday the number 21 is likely to be a star attraction, as it has been assigned to Monceaux’s Fastnet Rock (Aus) colt out of star producer Starlet’s Sister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The bay received another timely update just last weekend when his half-sister Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) took her sixth Grade I when defending her title in the GI Beverly D. S. Sistercharlie is the first foal out of Starlet’s Sister, who then went on to produce the G3 Prix Bertrand de Tarragon winner My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}). Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr})’s victory in this year’s G1 Prix du Jockey Club means Starlet’s Sister has produced three group winners from three foals to race, all three of which are now in the hands of Peter Brant. Brant also purchased the mare’s current 2-year-old, Radiant Charm (Ire) (Charm Spirit {Ire}), for €400,000 at last year’s Arqana August yearling sale. “She throws very correct horses that are good movers, but especially with great minds that are so easy to deal with,” said Ecurie des Monceaux’s Henri Bozo. “To have a career like Sistercharlie has had, she needs a great mind and I think that’s the main feature of her progeny.” Starlet’s Sister was unplaced for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, and acquired privately by Monceaux as a 4-year-old. “We bought her out of training when she was four through Hubert Guy,” said Bozo. “She was by Galileo out of a nice family–not the best at the time, but we decided to give it a chance. She was by Galileo, and the trainer said she had talent even though she couldn’t show it on the track. So we gave it a go and bought her.” Starlet’s Sister is a full-sister to G3 Prix Cleopatre winner Leo’s Starlet (Ire) and a half to listed winner and multiple Group 1-placed Anabaa’s Creation (Ire) (Anabaa), the dam of listed winner Create A Dream (Oasis Dream {GB}) since Starlet’s Sister’s purchase. Starlet’s Sister has, however, undoubtedly been the heavyweight lifter when it comes to updating the page. “It’s a bit of luck in the business that you have sometimes,” Bozo said. Explaining the decision to send the mare to Myboycharlie for her first cover, he said, “I wanted to cover her at a reasonable fee with a proven stallion with a kick, and that worked well with Myboycharlie. But this mare can produce with any stallion. She’s one of these gold mines that we’ve been very fortunate to acquire.” Reflecting on My Sister Nat and Sottsass, Bozo said, “We then sent her to Acclamation who is a stallion I like. In a different style she produced a very gifted filly who was a Group 3 winner and Group 2-placed in France and, according to the trainer, had a lot of talent. We then sent her to Siyouni, who is a stallion we’re using more and more. He works very well with Galileo mares and Sottsass is a champion. He’s a very impressive horse, he won the French Derby beating a nice horse very easily.” Starlet’s Sister’s biggest fan, Bozo aside, surely is Peter Brant. Brant purchased Sistercharlie privately prior to her runner-up effort in the 2017 G1 Prix de Diane, and just a few months later he turned up to buy Sottsass at Arqana August for €340,000. He added Radiant Charm, currently in training alongside Sistercharlie with Chad Brown, to his stable last August, with Michel Zerolo working as agent. Reflecting on the early stages of Sistercharlie’s racing career, Zerolo said, “What I liked best about her was her third race, which was a conditions race at Saint-Cloud where she was very impressive coming from the back of the pack to win a race that was slowly run. She was very impressive. “Sottsass was a good-looking horse, a very good mover and very athletic,” Zerolo added. “He had a great demeanour. It was love at first sight. Sottsass probably takes a lot after his mother; there’s a little bit of Siyouni in him but also a mix of Galileo as well. He’s a very good-looking horse.” It would surprise no one were Brant to have his eye on the Fastnet Rock colt this weekend, and Bozo said of him, “we sent the mare to Fastnet Rock, which is a stallion I really love. He’s proven and he’s very good. He can produce very genuine horses who last and the mating with Galileo mares has been amazing. She produced a beautiful colt who is very correct, walks very well and is a powerful animal with a good mind. He should follow his siblings’ footsteps.” At just 10 years of age, should Starlet’s Sister continue in the same kind of form, she is poised to become a highly influential broodmare. The chestnut has a Dubawi filly foal at foot at present and is back in foal to that Darley sire. Asked if the Dubawi filly could feature in the Monceaux draft next August, Bozo said, “it’s early times but there’s a chance she will. It will depend on what we have from the mare [next year], who is carrying to Dubawi again but I think she’s another special individual. With a Galileo mare, Dubawi is an obvious choice so for next year we’ll see if we go to Dubawi again or if we go back to Siyouni.” With what Starlet’s Sister has achieved thus far from a range of different sires, it would seem her options are nearly limitless. While Starlet’s Sister’s latest colt will no doubt be a star attraction, he’ll be far from alone in the spotlight among Monceaux’s perennially strong offering. The 33-strong draft also includes the likes of lot 16, a colt by the red-hot Kingman (GB) who is a half-brother to two stakes winners; lot 48, a first-crop daughter of Shalaa (Ire) who is a half-sister to French champion 2-year-old National Defense (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}); lot 60, a full-brother to ‘TDN Rising Star’ Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and a half-brother to G2 Vintage S. winner Dark Vision (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}); lot 78, a Galileo (Ire) filly out of a stakes-placed half-sister to G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}); and lot 148, a Dubawi (Ire) half-sister to Classic winner Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The post Another Star To Ascend In Deauville appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A New York State panel has given the last set of approvals needed for a massive development project at Belmont Park, an effort that could also prod along long-discussed plans for sweeping improvements at the adjacent Thoroughbred racetrack. View the full article

The upcoming five-day meet at Kentucky Downs has been renamed the Runhappy Meet at Kentucky Downs, thanks to a sponsorship agreement with Houston furniture magnate Jim McIngvale, owner of the former sprint champion and current stallion Runhappy. The Runhappy Meet at Kentucky Downs runs Aug. 31 and Sept. 5, 7, 8 and 12, featuring exclusively grass racing over North America’s only European-style turf course. First post each day has been moved up to 12:15 p.m. Central this year. “I think it’s a perfect fit: Kentucky Downs is America’s most unique race meet, and Runhappy the most unique American racehorse we’ve seen in recent years, with his speed, quality and competing without any medication,” McIngvale said. “One of Kentucky Downs’ meet mottos is ‘It’s gonna be quick.’ What better horse to sponsor that than our brilliantly quick Runhappy?” The post Runhappy Named Sponsor of Kentucky Downs Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In my 10th year of French studies, I took a year-long course in translation. Whenever a student would ask, “but why do they say `I have 18 years’ instead of `I am 18 years old?'” the teacher’s answer was the same: Because French is not English using different words. In other words, just accept it. This lesson was brought home to me when I was at the movies in Paris one day watching an American film. The actress said in English, “I’m completely lost here,” and the translation in French appeared on the screen: “I’m pedaling through yogurt.” Certainly not what she said…but to the French, apparently what she meant. Each individual industry, of course, has its own particular language. And in a sport where a jockey will come back after a workout and say, “I broke him off at the pole,” a complete mystery to outsiders, Thoroughbred racing is certainly no exception. But just in time for English speakers heading to Deauville for the Arqana August Sale, help has arrived, in the form of Nicole Braem’s “Vocabulaire des Courses et De L’Élevage,” or, “Racing and Breeding Vocabulary.” The portable 67-page booklet is a helpful tool for anyone going from an English-speaking country to a French-speaking one (or vice versa) to conduct racing business. Braem, who holds a Master’s Degree in English from the University of Lille, is a former English teacher who subsequently spent 25 years riding out at Chantilly. She met the illustrator for the cover and the inside back cover, the French cartoonist JOYEUX, when they were both riding out for Maurice Zilber. She has divided the booklet into different sections in the industry; from professions (Je suis entraineur; mon écurie est à Chantilly) to anatomy, markings, racing and sales terms and more. And so we learn that “bugboy” does not translate literally into some sort of `insecte-garçon’ in France, where a new jockey is simply an “apprenti” or apprentice. France’s names for a horse’s front legs (antérieur droit and antérieur gauche) cite left and right, rather than near or fore, which makes more sense to me. A horse’s frog isn’t a grenouille at all, but a fourchette, the same word for a fork (not in the road, but the one that you eat with.) Horses wear iron (le fer) on their feet, rather than shoes, and they are fitted with iron (ferré) rather than being shod. Of course, the most relevant section for this week is the section on `les ventes.’ As we all see in the catalogue, horses are “presentés’ rather than consigned, and you’re not nominated to the Breeders’ Cup; rather, you’re qualified (qualifié). Mares aren’t in foal; they’re full, or `pleine.’ (That’s also a helpful lesson when you’re in the Zinc Bar at Arqana and someone asks you if you’d like a sandwich. You’re not full, which means pregnant. Instead, you don’t have hunger. `Je n’ai pas faim.’) But just as sandwich translates to sandwich, we learn the disappointing news that yearlings translates to yearlings, breeze-up to breeze-up, and foal to foal. But say them with a French accent, and at least you’ll feel like you’re speaking French. Jockey William Buick said he welcomed the publication of the booklet, writing, “to understand professional terms for horse racing in English and French is hugely important for everyone involved in the sport. One of my regrets personally is I never learned French in school, but I hope this booklet will help me in the future.” The booklet will be on sale during the Arqana sale in the boutique and the welcoming office inside the main entrance. It is also available to purchase on Jour de Galop’s online store. For someone who used to beg my teachers to let me translate a Dick Francis book as my schoolwork, only to be told that it wasn’t interesting enough, (it was to me), this book hits the spot. Je vous verrai aux ventes! The post Decoding the Language of the Thoroughbred appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Lightly raced three-year-old Acting has put her name forward as a potential spring contender with a commanding victory at Sandown. After breaking her maiden status at Echuca, Acting was brought to town to tackle Wednesday's Ladbrokes Odds Boost Handicap, recording a win that co-trainer Natalie Young hopes will open spring options. Under a well-rated ride by Linda Meech, Acting raced to a 2-14 length win on the heavy track. "We had no concerns of her handling the track as she's out of a Pins mare... View the full article

Foxton trainer Chrissy Bambry will be loading up the float bound for Otaki this weekend. Bambry, who has held her trainers’ license since late last year, has just five horses in full work and will start four of them at Otaki on Saturday and believes all of them are solid winning chances. Spearheading the team is three-win galloper Deerfield, who boasts a further three placings from his eight career starts and contests the El Cheapo Cars Rating 82 (1100m). “We had a few problems with his fe... View the full article

Five breeding entities are in contention for the 2019 New Zealand Breeder of the Year award. The winner will be announced at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards dinner, at the Ellerslie racecourse, on Sunday, September 8. All the finalists for Breeder of the Year bred at least one Group I winner and most were represented by multiple Group winners. Garry Chittick and Waikato Stud, the 2018 winners, are in contention again, after breeding the Group I winners Madison County and Sa... View the full article

Multiple Group One winner Humidor will bypass Saturday’s Gr.2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) in favour of resuming in the Gr.1 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 31. Humidor has not been seen at the races since October last year when he was injured in the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m). "We just thought he'd be better (placed in the Memsie)," co-trainer Ciaron Maher said. "We whacked him in there (the entries for Saturday's Lawrence Stakes) to see how it would go." The Ne... View the full article

Several changes for the 2020 running of the All-Star Mile (1600m) have been announced, including the eligibility of New Zealanders for the public vote. Prize money for the All-Star Mile, which will be run at Caulfield in March with 15 runners, will remain at A$5m though the allocation of the prizemoney has been changed, affecting the lower placed horses. The top 10 horses from a public vote will gain automatic entry, and there are to be two 'win-and-you're in' races - The Gr.1 Futurity Stakes (1... View the full article

Registrations are now open for the 2019 Rodmor Trust Lecture Series. Held at five venues across New Zealand in late August and early September, the series will focus on “How can I fix my injured equine star”. Internationally recognised veterinarians Professor Wayne McIlwraith and Dr Lucy Kamm will discuss different treatments available including stem cells and related therapies. McIlwraith is a leader in the field of equine orthopaedic research and surgery. He consults worldwide as a specia... View the full article

Group One-placed filly Aalaalune has been transferred from Matamata trainer Jacob McKay to Team Rogerson along with two-win ownership-mate Mr Universe, with both sporting the colours of $10 million lotto powerball winner Lou Te Keeti and his wife Val. A narrow second in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) behind Yourdeel at two, Aalaalune also placed in the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and Listed Splice Construction Stakes (1100m). She caught the eye when resuming over 1000m at Ruakaka o... View the full article

The track conditions at Te Rapa on Saturday are the only concern Cambridge trainer Tony Pike holds for Endless Drama heading into his first assignment of the season, the Gr.2 U S Navy Flag Foxbridge Plate (1200m). Rated a Heavy10 surface on Wednesday, Pike said it is a bit of an unknown whether the eight-year-old entire would handle wet conditions in New Zealand. He placed twice on heavy surfaces as a younger horse in Europe, however, he has failed to flatter in his three unplaced runs on heavy ... View the full article

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Fans of harness racing game ‘Catch Driver’ can expect an exciting new look to the game from next week. Catch Driver is a harness racing game where players can race live against other players from all over the world by using their touchscreen mobile phone or device. Since its release in August of 2018 the game’s Canadian founder, Ryan Clements, has been constantly searching for ways to keep the game improving. “When we first got started, our team’s background had been mainly in software development and not games,” explained Ryan. “This meant we didn’t have a 3D artist or animation skills, so it was natural for us to make a game like ‘Off and Pacing’ (The Farm Ventures other harness racing game) which focused on players being able to manage horses but not drive them.” “We have been moving towards becoming a more traditional game studio over the past few years, and our capabilities in the area of graphics have been improving rapidly. I knew this was a prime opportunity to bring Catch Driver to life in a whole new way,” said Ryan. Ryan has a keen interest in technology, but also is an important part of the way forward for harness racing as he has grown up in and around it. His grandfather raced the legendary Cam Fella, and Ryan has made it his mission to help grow the number of harness racing fans by creating games that anyone can play, giving them an opportunity to fall in love with sport. And he’s dedicated to keeping that work going. “Our whole business is built around the idea that we when release a game, that doesn’t mean it’s finished,” Ryan said. “We want our players, and the industry as a whole, to see us pushing forward and to believe that we are going to continue to bring excitement to the world of harness racing in the form of games.” He went on to explain that the improvement in graphics will put players in the sulky like no other game has before. “A whole new challenge awaits players as they get even closer to the action, and keeping track of your fellow competitors will become even more vital to success,” Ryan said. The game may be made in Canada, but it has become popular for harness racing fans worldwide. “Right now the game is most popular in the United States and Italy. Not far behind those two are Canada, Australia and France.” “New Zealand is currently our ninth biggest audience, but is well represented at the top of the leaderboards. Including Matty Williamson who has been ranked as one of the highest rated players in the game,” said Ryan. Ryan and his team have been instrumental also in getting some of the world’s biggest names on board which gives players the chance to drive against some of their heroes. “Many of the world’s top drivers have been known to appear in Catch Driver races from time to time,” Ryan explained. “A video of Tim Tetrick playing circulated on Facebook a while back. This week Aaron Merriman is hosting a stakes event in the game where he will be competing.” “We have had championship events including top North American pros like James MacDonald, Doug McNair, Aaron Merriman, Marcus Miller, Brady Galliers, Yannick Gingras, Anthony MacDonald and Tim Tetrick.” “You will be able to notice the big name drivers in your race by a little star that appears by their name. There are professionals from all over the world playing Catch Driver.” The team have been releasing updates and teasers on the Catch Driver Facebook page around the new upgrades, and the feedback has been overwhelming. “Every time we show someone a sneak peak of the new updates the first question they ask is when can I get it.” “We haven’t seen this level of excitement since the day we first released Catch Driver, and I’m equally as excited. This is by far the biggest update we have ever brought to one of our games,” Ryan said. The Catch Driver team have been huge supporters of the youth of New Zealand harness racing, last year co-sponsoring the Kidz Kartz New Zealand Cup and are this year’s sponsors of the Catch Driver Cadet of the Year competition. As mentioned, the new graphics will launch next week and the game is available to play for free on mobile phones and can be downloaded for Apple or Android by visiting the following link http://onelink.to/gme7ve View the full article