Wandering Eyes

Extreme cold leads to cancellation of Wednesday card. View the full article

After an early childhood when the radio was the prime source of entertainment, I have plenty of vintage songs imprinted on my memory, including Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters urging me to ac-cent-u-ate the positive, e-lim-in-ate the negative and latch on to the affirmative. I wish I could do so following the inaugural running of the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S., but unfortunately it left me feeling rather underwhelmed. Perhaps I would have felt differently had the finish been fought out by the four previous Grade I winners in the ten-horse field, but none of them made the first four. Instead, the bulk of the nearly $7 million in prize money went to a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old and two 6-year-olds, none of which had previously won anything better than a Grade II. In other words, the prize money seemed to be out of proportion to the talent on show. Let’s hope that future editions attract more strength in depth, but to do so, the race probably needs to attract some top-class colts from Europe and Japan (this year’s only overseas challengers were an Irish filly and a Japanese mare). I wonder whether it will be able to do so in its current position in the calendar. It is surely too close to the breeding season for any European colt whose stallion debut is imminent. And colts which are set to continue racing have the carrot of the Dubai World Cup Festival dangling before them, with the $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic and the $4 million Dubai Turf among the possible targets. I would like to be proved wrong, and it is going to be interesting to see whether the decisive inaugural winner Bricks and Mortar (Giant’s Causeway) can develop into another turf champion for Chad Brown. It’s far from impossible that he will. Although he recently turned five, the son of Giant’s Causeway has raced only eight times and he has the proud record of having won six of them. He appeared poised to reach the big time when he defeated Yoshida (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) in the GIII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. in August 2017, to gain his fourth win from as many starts, but that win was followed by two defeats and an injury-induced absence from the track of more than 14 months. Incidentally, I suppose that I shouldn’t be too surprised that the connections of Bricks and Mortar and his fellow Grade I winners Yoshida and Next Shares were among those who turned down Gulfstream’s admirable offer of a 7lb allowance for horses running without Lasix. Bricks and Mortar’s latest success makes him the 28th Grade I winner by Giant’s Causeway. It will be interesting to see whether this former champion sire can add many more Grade I winners to his tally, despite a recent lack of ammunition. Although he is credited with 91 live foals in 2015 and 77 in 2016, the son of Storm Cat had only 38 live foals in 2017 and 15 in 2018. He covered just nine mares last year before dying at the age of 21 in April. Bricks and Mortar is inbred 3 x 3 to the champion European 2-year-old Storm Bird through his sons Storm Cat and Ocean Crest. While Storm Cat is a household name, the same cannot be said of Bricks and Mortar’s broodmare sire Ocean Crest. His finest moment during his ten-race career came when he landed the GII Del Mar Derby Invitational on turf in 1994. After failing to make it to the races as a 4-year-old, Ocean Crest began his stallion career at Prestonwood Farm in 1996, at a fee of only $5,000. He wasn’t a great success, but his first crop contained Bricks and Mortar’s dam Beyond The Waves, who proved to be a very consistent stakes performer in France. She won the Listed Prix des Tourelles over a mile and a half and was runner-up in the G2 Prix de Royallieu and in a couple of Group 3s. She was also second in the GIII Bewitch S. when returned to the U.S. Only a handful of Ocean Crest’s broodmare daughters enjoyed graded success, but two of them did very well. One of them, Surf Club, produced the Grade I winner Emcee and Grade II scorer Surfer. Beyond The Waves was the other good broodmare. In addition to Bricks and Mortar, she has produced the Grade III winner Emerald Beech to Maria’s Mon, the Listed winner Beyond Smart to Smart Strike and the Group 3-placed Sir Ector to Dynaformer. One of Beyond The Waves’s half-sisters, Miss Excitement, also enjoyed Grade I success as a broodmare thanks to her son Bordonaro, winner of the Ancient Title S. over six furlongs. Bricks and Mortar is by no means the first high-class performer closely inbred to Storm Bird. Summer Bird, a Grade I winner of the Belmont S., Travers S. and Jockey Club Gold Cup, was another inbred 3 x 3, while the three-time Australian Group 1 winner Trapeze Artist, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz and the Australasian Oaks winner Maybe Discreet are all inbred 4 x 3. Then there’s Mind Control, last year’s winner of the GI Hopeful S., who is inbred 3 x 4. Mention of Storm Bird reminds me that he clearly wasn’t a favourite of my esteemed colleague Tony Morris. In his book, Thoroughbred Stallions, Morris commented that “Storm Bird’s name will always be closely identified with the 1980s madness in the Thoroughbred business.” He illustrated this claim, saying that “in January, fit and well and hot favourite for both the 2000 Guineas and the Derby, he was worth $15 million. In July, having not turned out for either classic–or any other race that year–and obviously not exactly in the pink of condition, he was worth $30 million.” Morris also mentioned that some of Storm Bird’s stock had wind problems, but there is no getting away from the fact that Storm Bird hit the heights both as a racehorse and a stallion. Unbeaten in five juvenile starts, including the National S. and the Dewhurst S., the son of Northern Dancer earned the lofty Timeform rating of 134. His greatest achievement as a stallion was surely the dual champion sire Storm Cat, but he also gave us the Preakness winner Summer Squall, the outstanding European mare Indian Skimmer and the Oaks winner Balanchine, who was good enough to beat the colts in the Irish Derby. View the full article

Anodor (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}), who won the G3 Prix des Chenes last September, may have a prep run in ParisLongchamp’s G3 Prix de Fontainebleau before going for the G1 Poule d’Essai Des Poulains. Trainer Freddy Head will consider the 1600-metre feature in April before going back there in search of Classic success in the French 2000 Guineas a month later. “He’s doing very well–he is in full training,” said Head of the colt, who ran third in the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in the wake of Royal Marine (Ire) (Raven’s Pass) on Oct. 7. “The French Guineas, that will be the aim for the moment. I think maybe he will have a prep race in the Fontainebleau.” Head is looking to give G1 Qatar Prix du Cadran hero Call The Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}) a run on home soil first, before sending him to Meydan for the G2 Dubai Gold Cup on Mar. 30. “He’s due to run in Dubai in the Gold Cup,” added the trainer. “He could run before that in France. I’m very happy with him.” Another Head-trained Group 1 winner, G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest heroine Polydream (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), is returning next week after a winter break. She was scratched from the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile on the order of the state veterinarians in November. “She is still on her holidays. I am expecting her back next week,” he said of the Wertheimer & Frere homebred. “I don’t know what we will do with her yet. As far as I know, she is very well.” View the full article

It is the length of the road that makes you truly appreciate the view from the summit. Strictly, yes, you would get exactly the same panorama if you just got yourself dropped up there by helicopter. Conceivably you could win an Eclipse Award with the first 2-year-old you ever bought, and feel due excitement about maybe going on to the GI Kentucky Derby. But it just means so much more if, like Ben Glass and his patrons Gary and Mary West, you have been on this journey together for four decades. They have shared other wonderful moments on the way–but it’s actually the countless tougher days, in between, that permit them such satisfaction in their newly anointed champion Game Winner (Candy Ride). For the past 25 years, Glass has served the Wests as racing manager; for 13 years before that, he was their trainer. “When we first started, we were claiming horses for $2,500 in places like Grand Island, Nebraska,” he remembers. “And you know what, there’s nobody better for the racing game than Gary and Mary West. They are the best. Gary’s like a brother to me. You’re not going to surprise him with anything. If it can happen, it’s happened to them. I’m telling you, they’ve had some bad luck and some good luck, and they take it all on the chin.” In 2002 they had the second favorite for the Derby in Buddha (Unbridled’s Song), who had beaten Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado {Ire}) in the GI Wood Memorial S. “We got to the barn at five in the morning, to watch him gallop, and they said he was hurt,” Glass recalls. “And Gary just said, ‘Well, I’m going back to bed.’ I could tell you so many heartaches they’ve had, and they’re just good people. When it says West behind a horse, that horse is in good hands, believe me. We had a horse in New York one time who had a double compound fracture. They were told to put him down, but Gary said, ‘Well, can he be saved?’ I said, ‘Let me find out.’ And they did save him, they spent all that money so that they could give him away to some guy in Washington.” Glass and the Wests have literally seen it all. When Mongoose (Broad Brush) won the GI Donn H., also in 2002, they were having their picture taken in the winner’s circle when Glass looked down the track to see what had happened to their other runner. “And he’s lying down on the turn, he’s had heat stroke,” Glass recalls. “So we stood smiling for the win picture, and then I took off running. The game is full of ups and downs but that was the most up-to-down I’ve ever had. One horse taking the picture in the Grade I, other horse laying on the track. He did get up. But I mean, it’s a crazy business we live in.” As the Wests became able to invest more and more in their stable–alongside, that is, over $200 million committed to a charitable foundation–Glass discovered a fresh frustration to the racing of Thoroughbreds. “When Gary started buying the better horses I thought, man, these are beautiful horses, we can’t lose,” he reflects. “But Gary kept telling me, ‘Ben,’ he said, ‘if you get one graded stakes winner among all these horses, you’re beating the odds.’ And I finally realized he was right, that for some reason most of them won’t be runners–and that just breaks my heart. Such big, beautiful horses! It’s so tough to figure out. I guess they can’t all run, but it really bothered me for a long time, knowing you’re spending all that money and that most of them won’t make it. But I’ve learned to take it now.” In naming Dollar Bill (Peaks And Valleys) as his favorite to date–quite an accolade, considering that the Wests have just retired a previous Eclipse champion in West Coast (Flatter) to Lane’s End–Glass discloses both what he most admires in a horse, and also what potentially sets Game Winner on another plane. “Yes, Dollar Bill was kind of a hard-luck horse,” Glass says. “But he had a heart of gold. I mean, West Coast was a racehorse and a half, just wasn’t quite the same when he came back from Dubai. But Dollar Bill always was a trier. It was just that when he got in trouble or got bumped, he couldn’t quite get going again.” So while his trainer Bob Baffert rewrote the Triple Crown rulebook with the overnight sensation that was Justify (Scat Daddy), Glass likes the way Game Winner satisfies the conventional criteria of race seasoning. Because when backed into a corner, unlike Dollar Bill, he has shown the class to get back into top gear. “You know, in the Breeders’ Cup I thought he was going to get beat down the backside,” Glass confesses. “I didn’t think he had any prayer, as wide as he was; and then when he got bumped coming down there, I thought: ‘Oh man, everything in the world’s against us.’ But it didn’t bother him: he just shrugged his shoulders, kept on running. So we found out he can take a beating and keep on ticking. “And the fact he lost a lot of ground is good for us, because he looks like the farther they go, the happier he is. He’s a big, powerful, strong-built horse, and I think he’s got a big heart–which is what you need most in this game. That desire to win is half the battle. Seeing him bounced around in a rough trip like that, and keeping on going, I think he has the heart it takes to be a champion.” Certainly Game Winner was tailor-made for the Wests, who send Glass and his team to the yearling sales with a very specific brief. The two races they most covet are the Kentucky Derby and the GI Travers S., so they only want two-turn prospects with Classic dirt pedigrees. Various elements go into that mix: a heavy emphasis on dosage, for instance; and an aversion to mares who fail to produce a stakes winner in her first five foals, or to older mares period. Nor do they have any need for fillies, with enough already coming through the breeding program. West doesn’t want turf blood, either, albeit Glass contends that it can bring with it the required stamina. “We take all that into consideration before we buy a horse,” he says. “So really it eliminates a lot of horses I don’t even have to look at. Makes my job a lot easier. I know exactly what Gary wants, and there’s no sense looking at anything else because he’s going to nix it. He’s the boss! But I know he’s right. We’ve been doing this for a long time. We’ve bought a lot of horses and, with those that didn’t turn out, we went back and looked and tried to figure out why. You put that in the memory bank, and you end up with a program that works for you. For a long time, for instance, we tried to buy freshman sires. And boy, we were getting burned so bad. If only one out of 25 sires can stay in Kentucky, that tells you right there how lucky you got to be with those.” In the case of Game Winner, Glass was astonished to learn from his consignors that not one other person had scoped the horse. Sure enough, he was able to pick him up for $110,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. “Evidently he had something other people couldn’t live with,” he says with a shrug. “I have no clue what that might have been. But that’s the way it works. Everybody looks at a horse differently. Unless you get the spectacular standout everybody’s found, and you’re going to have to give a million.” After passing the first sieve of the Wests’ paper prescription, yearlings have to pass muster with their inspection team. Glass is accompanied by Des Ryan, who manages the Wests’ broodmares at Dell Ridge Farm; Ocala breaker and pre-trainer Jeff Kirk; and veterinarian Dr Doug Brunk, who like Glass hails from Nebraska. And then they have to pass Dr. Craig Van Balen, who scopes them and reads the X-rays. “So it’s a team effort,” Glass stresses. “We all work good together, there’s no ego trips here. Most times we’re all on board. They lead the horse out and we’ll all be looking at each other like, oh boy. So if somebody is worried about a funny-looking tendon or something, we’ll have that ultra-sounded to make sure nobody’s making a mistake, and we’re glad that one person on the team saw it. Then we come back and all go through it together, and try to put a number to a horse; and then Mr. West will put the final number to it. “But the truth is that I have to really, really love a horse before I want to buy him. Because when they’re selling 5,000 head [at one sale], you can buy what you love. Of course a vet can say no, or you can be outbid by Sheikh Mohammed. But we don’t ever try to talk ourselves into one. Because I found that’s the surest way to buy a bad horse. I hear that stuff all the time: ‘Oh, he can live with that, it’s just baby bone or whatever.’ When I was young I probably thought I can do this, I can conquer the world. But now it’s there we take them off the list. We’re pretty critical.” Glass loves the way Bob Baffert and Wayne Lukas know whether or not they like a horse the moment it is led from the barn, and similarly heeds his own gut instinct. Specifically, he likes a deep chest and stifle; a bit of length; and a big overstep. All lore he absorbed in youth, when issued his first licence aged just 16 at Arlington Park. By then he had absorbed a great deal from his uncle in California–a gifted horseman, never quite able to fulfil his talent in his own name, but valued by several big trainers–while his father always had a string of horses as a sideline. Yet Glass was immersed as a psychology major at college, intending to become a youth counsellor, when the call came. “I had two trimesters left when my dad’s trainer messed up,” he remembers. “So I told my wife, ‘I’ll just run down to Hot Springs and help my dad out with these horses and then I’ll come back and finish college.’ But when I came back I got my wife, loaded her up, we went to the racetrack and never went back.” Then one day Gary West, who had recently cashed in one of his first big businesses, was told by a friend about a nice filly Glass was breaking. And when West came to see her, he liked the filly–but loved the horseman. Soon West established that Glass was as skilled as he was honest: he claimed a horse named Joe Blow for $13,500 and, training at Ak-Sar-Ben, Glass kept him going for another five seasons and 23 wins. A few years later he saddled the Wests’ first graded stakes winner, Rockamundo (Key To The Mint), in the GII Arkansas Derby at 108-1. It was only when his sons were approaching the age to leave home that Glass, eager to spend time with them while he could, resolved to quit training. He was going to raise cattle, but West asked him to come back aboard as racing manager. “Training horses, I loved that life: couldn’t wait for that alarm to go off at four in the morning,” Glass admits. “But family’s got to come first. And I’m too old now. A trainer’s life is rough. Seven days a week, they don’t know if it’s Christmas or Thanksgiving.” As it is, he enjoys the privilege of seeing how a man like Baffert operates. “All good trainers develop their horses,” Glass says. “For Bob, there’s no [adequate] superlatives. He can just watch horses train and know what they need. But every trainer has his own theory, trains his own way. Some work them fast, some don’t; some work close to the race, some don’t. There’s no set-in-stone way to train a horse. “You can’t talk to horses. You got to know how to read them, how to listen when they’re telling you something. I used to have horses I’d take out and gallop the morning of the race; I had others, you did that they wouldn’t run a jump. It’s crazy. Each horse is different. There’s no manual. So it’s quite a humbling experience to get one to the winner’s circle, knowing you helped develop that horse. “And like I was saying with Game Winner, I really believe that the good ones, down the lane, they want to beat those other horses. I had horses, they didn’t win, they’d sulk. And when they won, they thought they were king of the world. Horses are a lot smarter than most people allow. Pigs are supposed to be smart, but I don’t know if a pig would know if he won a race or not. But horses, they have great personalities. I know they’re happy when they get into that winner’s circle.” View the full article

A second all-female syndicate group, christened Phoenix Ladies Two, is being developed, Phoenix Thoroughbreds announced on Tuesday. Emarati-based Phoenix Ladies Syndicate, whose flagbearer to date has been the undefeated Walking Thunder (Violence), has sold all of its shares, and horses are already being sourced for the second all-female syndicate. “By setting up Phoenix Ladies Two we can give even more women a chance to come on this winning journey with us,” said syndicate principle Pamela Cordina. “We hope that eventually we will have a regular presence outside the Emirates and I recently spent some time at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale researching on how they run, market and operate all-female syndicates in Australia. It’s much more part of the racing fabric down there and they have some great incentives in place to encourage this sort of ownership. It’s something we’d like to be involved in and explore further.” Walking Thunder, acquired for $42,000 as an OBSAPR 2-year-old Stateside, has won his first three starts by a combined 18 3/4 lengths in the orange and white Phoenix Ladies colours. Trained by Ahmad bin Harmash, the bay broke his maiden at first asking at Meydan over 1400 metres on Nov. 11, and followed up in a pair of 1600-metre conditions tallys on Dec. 6 and Jan. 10, respectively. He is pointing to the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas on Feb. 7. “He’ll run in the UAE 2000 Guineas before heading to the UAE Derby on World Cup night,” said Cordina of the son of Street Show (Street Boss). “We’ve not yet discussed having a go at the [GI] Kentucky Derby, but I guess it would be the logical step if all goes to plan. From the beginning, we said we wanted the Syndicate to take our members to some of the biggest racing events in the world and it doesn’t get bigger than ‘the Derby’ so we’ll see.” View the full article

The owner of undefeated Walking Thunder, Phoenix Ladies Thoroughbreds, will consider a start in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) should the Dubai-based 3-year-old continue to progress. View the full article

The rule adopted by the New York State Gaming Commission permits a larger purse-to-price ratio in claiming races. The state has required the minimum price for horses entered in Thoroughbred races be at least 50% of the value of a race's purse level. View the full article

The three names etched onto brass plaques alongside one particular stable at Fitzroy House are enough to cause a passer-by to pause for a moment to reflect on glorious summers gone. Sariska (GB), Red Evie (Ire), Margot Did (Ire): from the Classic summit to scorching a strip along the turf of York’s Knavesmire, the trio left a significant imprint at Michael Bell’s yard. Their successor has already proved a worthy inhabitant of this hallowed box, however, as housed within is Europe’s champion 2-year-old filly, Pretty Pollyanna (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). There’s none of the grandeur, either physical or mental, one might expect of a filly of her acknowledged stature on the racecourse. As her daily rider, stable apprentice Cameron Noble, tacks her up for her morning’s exercise, Pretty Pollyanna, recently returned from her winter holiday, turns kindly to him, not minding the intrusion of her trainer and a journalist standing and chatting in her doorway. Doubtless this no-nonsense attitude has helped in her notable achievements to date. “She’s been very easy to train from day one,” says Bell as he casts an eye over the medium-sized bay filly who, in his 30th year of training, will carry the stable’s hopes of adding the G1 1000 Guineas to the Classic roll of honour. That list already includes the 2005 Derby for Motivator (GB) followed by the Oaks and Irish Oaks in 2009 for Sariska. “She’s never missed a dance that we wanted her to take part in. She’s very uncomplicated and talented. She’s not terribly big but she’s a good model and she has strengthened over the winter,” he adds. Pretty Pollyanna is not the only one who has received a boost in recent months. Bell’s string is now in three figures. “It’s the first time we’ve had over 100 horses for quite a few years,” he says. “We have some really nice 2-year-olds this year.” However talented they turn out to be, the current crop will do well to match strides with the example set by Bill and Tim Gredley’s homebred Pretty Pollyanna last season. A winner on debut at Yarmouth, she was just over two lengths behind victrix Main Edition (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) when fifth in the G3 Albany S. at Royal Ascot before blazing a trail to win the G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. on her home track at Newmarket by seven lengths. She and Signora Cabello (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) then left the colts trailing in the G1 Prix Morny, with Pretty Pollyanna finishing three-quarters of a length to the good to set the seal on the championship in Deauville in August. Two subsequent appearances saw her finish fourth in the G1 Cheveley Park S. and third in the G1 Fillies’ Mile when tackling that distance for the first time. “To have a champion 2-year-old is pretty special–the last one we had was Hoh Magic (GB), who also won the Morny,” says Bell. “Pretty Pollyanna was spectacular on a couple of occasions last year. Things didn’t go right in the Cheveley Park through no fault of her own, and equally in the Fillies’ Mile, Danny [Tudhope] rode her as instructed but I think if we were to do it again, in order to get the mile we’d try to get a lead. I’m very hopeful that she’ll get the mile.” Having returned three weeks ago from her holiday at the Gredleys’ Stetchworth Park Stud where she was born, Pretty Pollyanna is still on daily trotting duties while she builds up to her seasonal reappearance in a Classic trial. “The plan at the moment is to go for a trial,” says her trainer. “Seven furlongs will possibly prove her optimum trip in the future but we’ll go for a trial and hopefully she’ll come through that and take her place in the Guineas.” Though both her dam and grandam were unraced, Pretty Pollyanna emanates from a family which has already bought Classic glory in abundance for Bill Gredley through arguably Stetchworth Park Stud’s most famous graduate, User Friendly (GB). The daughter of Derby winner Slip Anchor (GB) sailed unbeaten through the first six races of her life, the last four of that extraordinary sequence being the Oaks, Irish Oaks, Yorkshire Oaks and St Leger. She was then beaten just a neck in the Arc by Subotica (Fr) (Pampabird {GB}). User Friendly’s half-sister Friendlier (GB) (Zafonic) made up for her lack of racing career by producing the black-type trio of Unex El Greco (GB) and Gender Agenda (GB), both by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire), and Madame Defarge (GB) (Motivator {GB}), while Pretty Pollyanna’s dam Unex Mona Lisa (GB) was the result of her 2008 mating with Shamardal. Despite her Classic pretensions, Pretty Pollyanna has to share the title of stable star at Fitzroy House with another Gredley homebred. At eight years of age, Big Orange (GB) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}) is the elder statesman of the stable and, closing in on 17 hands, is certainly the largest inhabitant. He, too, has recently returned from Stetchworth Park, but his stay was a lot longer than Pretty Pollyanna’s owing to an injury to a suspensory ligament which meant an enforced lay-off since last spring. As long as there is no recurrence of this issue, there will be no more joyous reception given to any horse this season than that which will greet the much-loved stayer on his eventual return to the races. Indeed, he has already brought cheer to his home town of Newmarket during the bleak midwinter. “Big Orange is such a recognisable horse and the first day he was out on the Heath again between Christmas and New Year everyone was asking after him,” says Bell. “One of the reasons he’s so popular is his style of racing. He is a big physical presence but the way he sticks his head and neck out is such a good quality and it endears him to the public. It’s a pleasure to have him in the yard. He eats twice as much as most horses but it’s wonderful to have him back.” After a solitary start in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup in 2018, Big Orange was being prepared for the G2 Henry II S. at Sandown when his injury was detected, and it is in this race which Bell hopes he will make his resumption this May. “I’d say we’ll aim him at Sandown but he’ll have to come through a couple of scans first,” he notes. “I’m hopeful that we’ll get him back into full work. Once he starts galloping it becomes a bit more nerve-wracking but given that the injury was caught so early, I’m hopeful. Speaking as a horseman I feel positive–it is slightly walking on eggshells but we’ll tread carefully.” He continues, “We’re really happy with the scans so far and fingers crossed we’ll get the green light to start cantering after he’s done six weeks of trotting. I think we have to be hopeful. He’s had PRP [platelet rich plasma] treatment and whether it works or not remains to be seen but all the signs are good. I think it was the great Arthur Stephenson who said ‘there’s no such thing as a bit of a leg’, but we really did catch him extremely early. It was a small bit of damage to his suspensory and on the scale of tendon damage I would say it was probably three out of 10.” Having been based at his Stetchworth Park Estate just three miles outside Newmarket for almost 40 years, Bill Gredley, now 85, is every bit as well known in the headquarters of British horseracing as his giant Ascot Gold Cup hero. His legacy in the racing and breeding world will be continued by his son Tim, a former member of the British showjumping team and useful point-to-point rider who is now fully immersed in the operation of the stud. Bell, a long-term trainer for the Gredleys whose former assistant and now fellow Newmarket trainer George Scott is married to Bill’s daughter Polly, says, “It’s lovely to train for owner-breeders, and especially local owner-breeders who have such a huge interest in their horses. Bill has been at the game a very long time and it has given him, particularly, enormous pleasure. And for Tim, who is now based back at Stetchworth and really focused on it, you can’t ask for much more than to breed and own Group 1 winners.” View the full article

Six-time Hong Kong Derby winner John Moore is hoping for an eleventh hour entrance into the prestigious contest with his untried colt Sunny Speed, but knows he is in a race against time. The master trainer has won three of the past five Derbies but looks to have slim chances of winning in 2019, however he could have a trick up his sleeve with his 85-rated European import. Sunny Speed failed his first barrier trial last week and was beaten by almost 15 lengths on Tuesday morning, but Moore is... View the full article

13:55 Newcastle Today looks to be the day that the Brian Ellison trained Sam’s Adventure can finally bag a first victory over obstacles. The Ellison yard are going very well at the moment with a very promising 30% strike rate with their recent runners and this seven year old could well add to the stables […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Tuesday 29th January appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Hong Kong legend Douglas Whyte will ride at Happy Valley for the last time on Wednesday as the curtain on his illustrious riding career begins to fall. The 47-year-old’s contract does not expire until February 10, but Whyte’s last ride at the famous city track will be on the Tony Cruz-trained California Gungho in the Class Three Club Street Handicap (1,000m), with only Sha Tin meetings remaining due to Lunar New Year. Whyte will take up training at the start of the 2019-20 season.... View the full article

Gentlemen Agreement seals S John's riding comeback View the full article

A victory in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Jan. 26 allowed City of Light to officially end his career on top by earning first place in the initial NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll of 2019, the NTRA announced today. View the full article

Believing improper use of albuterol has gone up since clenbuterol was banned from racing in the state, the New Mexico Racing Commission is moving toward a ban of albuterol. View the full article

Unicorn Lion (Ire) (No Nay Never) was all the rage when making his career debut over 1800 metres Sunday at Kyoto Racecourse, and he gave those that crushed him into 1.7 (7-10) favouritism some anxious moments in the straight before digging in to post a half-length success (see below, gate 13). Trained by Yoshio Yahagi for Lion Race Horse Co. Ltd., the dark bay was away without incident from his high draw and showed good early speed to press the pace from close up in second. Asked for some acceleration on the swing for home, Unicorn Lion wanted to lay in approaching the furlong marker, at which point he was taken on by 78-1 roughie Hokko Mevius (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}), but he repelled that challenge and went on to score narrowly while racing on his incorrect lead through the wire. Bred by Desert Star Phoenix JVC, the breeding arm of the China Horse Club, Unicorn Lion was consigned by Baroda Stud & Colbinstown Stud to the 2017 Tattersalls October Book 1 sale and was hammered down to J.S. Company for 850,000gns (about US$1,184,972), easily the most expensive of No Nay Never’s 61 first-crop yearlings (from 67 through the ring) reported as sold in 2017. Unicorn Lion is one of four winners from as many to race from Muravka (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), who first produce was the late The Wow Signal (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Ire}), winner of the 2014 G1 Darley Prix Morny and G2 Coventry S. en route to being named champion of his generation in France. The mare’s third foal was Miss Infinity (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), a stakes winner at two in France in 2016, third in the G2 Shadwell Rockfel S. and Group 3-placed in Germany, who was purchased by Laurent Benoit’s Broadhurst Agency for 425,000gns at Tattersalls December in 2017. Back in foal to Starspangledbanner, Muravka was also offered at TATDEM, selling to Barronstown Stud for 950,000gns (about US$1,123,280). Her last listed produced is a 2-year-old full-sister to Unicorn Lion that fetched €130,000–also from the Broadhust Agency–as a foal at Goffs November in 2017. Unicorn Lion, the first of his sire’s progeny to race in Japan, is one of 34 first-crop winners to date. Among No Nay Never’s six black-type winners are G1 Middle Park S. hero Ten Sovereigns (Ire) and G2 Richmond S. winner Land Force (Ire). WATCH: Unicorn Lion opens his account at first asking at Kyoto View the full article

Here’s a full rundown of horse racing television and radio for the week leading up to three Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races Saturday, Feb. 2. View the full article

A total of 46 graded races will be held in Canada in 2019 after a listed race was upgraded to a Grade III event following the annual review by The Jockey Club of Canada’s Graded Stakes Committee. The Jacques Cartier S., previously run as a listed race, will have Grade III status this year. Included in the changes, the Monashee S. and the Lieutenant Governors’ H. were downgraded from listed status to black-type for 2019. The Graded Stakes Committee meeting was conducted by Committee Chair Ross McKague and accompanied by all Committee Members: Jim Bannon, Tom Cosgrove, Mark Frostad and Jockey Club of Canada’s Chief Steward R. Glenn Sikura. The attending racetrack representatives included Julie Bell, Matt Jukich, Nichelle Milner and Paul Ryneveld. For a complete listing of 2019 graded races, click here. View the full article

The Ocala Breeders Sales Company opens its 2019 calendar with a two-session Winter Mixed Sale which gets underway Tuesday at 11 a.m. The auction begins with 186 catalogued head in the consignor preferred section and is followed by a selection of horses of racing age. The sale concludes Wednesday with an open session. “I think we’ll see a lot of what we’ve seen at other mixed sales,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “I think people will be rewarded for perceived quality. There will be money here for the right horses.” The Winter sale’s horses of racing age section, which includes 117 catalogued offerings, features 35 older horses, 62 3-year-olds and 20 2-year-olds. “It has been a work in progress,” Wojciechowski said of the racing age portion of the sale. “I think people are starting to recognize it as a spot that you can buy some good, useful horses.” OBS held an under-tack show for the racing age horses Monday, which adds to the section’s appeal, according to Wojciechowski. “It’s a unique aspect of our racing age sale that we have them perform on the track and have a video of them breezing,” he said. Grand Royale (Cairo Prince), an unraced 3-year-old, turned in the fastest three-furlong breeze Monday, covering the distance in :32 1/5. The Oklahoma-bred colt, hip 194, is consigned by James Layden. An unraced 3-year-old by Goldencents (hip 251) had the day’s fastest four-furlong breeze of :44 flat. The bay colt is consigned by Woodside Ranch. “The track played pretty quick with the weather we had here Sunday, it was cold and rainy, and it was cold again this morning,” Wojciechowski said. “But there were some nice horses who sure looked good moving over the track. It was a good, safe breeze show.” The OBS sales complex has been undergoing an extensive renovation in recent years and buyers will see plenty new since the company held its most recent sale last October. “From October to January, there has been a pretty dramatic change,” Wojciechowski said. “The auditorium is, for all intents and purposes, complete. We have totally revamped the auditorium with new seats, new flooring, new ceiling, new everything. There are still some public areas that are not quite finished yet, but we are certainly on the downhill side of it. And I think people will even see an improvement from now to March. We’ve had a lot of positive comments. People are pretty excited to see what we’ve done and they are appreciative of it.” A yearling filly by Violence brought the top price of $200,000 at last year’s OBS Winter sale. The filly was one of nine to bring six figures at the auction. In all, 409 head grossed $5,969,600. The average was $14,596–up 62% from the 2017 figure–and the median was up 38% to $6,000. View the full article

The New Jersey state Assembly Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a bill that would provide a $10 million annual purse supplement to Monmouth Park over five years by a vote of 9-0 Monday. The vote came over one month after the state Senate passed Bill 2992 by a 40-0 vote Dec. 17. With this latest clearance, the bill will now travel to the state’s Assembly floor, where the next session is scheduled for Thursday. Should the bill pass the Assembly, Governor Phil Murphy would need to approve it before it becomes law. Bill 2992 would distribute $20 million between the state’s Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries annually. The subsidy would presumably provide a much-needed boost to the racing industry in the state, which has struggled to stay afloat in the years since Governor Chris Christie eliminated a $17-million annual purse supplement funded by Atlantic City casinos in 2011. View the full article

The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) and the University of Arizona’s Racetrack Industry Program (RTIP) will launch an educational program for horse racing investigators employed by racing commissions and tracks beginning in the third quarter of 2019. The course is modeled after the ROAP accreditation program. “The RTIP welcomes the opportunity to partner with the ARCI in ensuring that those seeking employment as racing investigators have the necessary educational foundation to perform effectively,” said Wendy Davis, Director of the Racetrack Industry Program. Ed Martin, ARCI President, added, “As one who recruited and built a staff of effective racing investigators, I can attest that a good investigator not only must have investigatory and interrogation skills, but also have a keen understanding of how racing works, as well as a feel for the backstretch community and what to take notice of.” The program’s steering committee consists of Davis and RCI Board Members Tom Sage and John Wayne, both seasoned investigators. The date for the first certificate program has yet to be finalized. View the full article

Spendthrift Farm welcomes a quartet of Grade I winners to its stallion roster in 2019, and while the farm’s Mark Toothaker told the TDN that Bolt d’Oro has already attracted considerable attention in year one, his new barnmates, GI Preakness S. winner Cloud Computing, Free Drop Billy and Mor Spirit bring plenty to the table in their own rights. The TDN‘s Lucas Marquardt sat down with Toothaker in the second installment of a two-part video feature to discuss the depth of Spendthrift’s incoming stallion class. TDN: Cloud Computing was a bit of a late arrival, having been retired at the end of November. How long did you have him on your radar for? MT: With Cloud Computing, we actually had made an offer on him after he won the Preakness. Klaravich Stables has been a big supporter of Temple City and Into Mischief, so we’ve had a good relationship with Seth [Klarman], and obviously with Chad Brown…We were glad to [eventually] be able to get him bought, and he’s been extremely well received. Chad jokingly said, “I know some horses coming off the track need a little bit of time before you show them. Let me tell you how much time you need on this horse. As soon as he walks off the van, hook a shank to him and start showing him. He is drop dead gorgeous.” And he is. He’s a beautiful horse. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"Spendthrift Welcomes New Faces","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/309561307.sd.mp4?s=2db4f0f0534b0512dee9b4275e77c89a274a4688&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/311208381.sd.mp4?s=72d8bf9f5a0e092d952ca0e9f2fb3982db599c23&profile_id=165","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} TDN: Speaking of his physical, Mike Ryan went to $200,000 to secure Cloud Computing as a Keeneland September yearling. It seems like this horse has always been identified as a standout. MT: There aren’t many people with a hotter hand than Mike Ryan. He is just such a tremendous judge of horse flesh. For him to stretch out there on this horse–when at the time no one really had anything to hang their hat on outside of Maclean’s Music’s brilliance–Mike saw something in this horse, and it was verified with the success he had when he got to the races. That makes you give pause and take another look at this horse. TDN: Cloud Computing is set to stand for $7,500 S&N with a Share the Upside fee of $8,500. How has he been received by breeders? MT: We did Share the Upside on him like we do with almost all of our new horses. That sold out tremendously fast. We’re into the phase now of just finishing him off on stands and nurse seasons. He’s going to breed a book right around 175 mares this year. He’s been very well received. It took about two days for the Share the Upside to sell out on this horse, so it’s extremely exciting…It’s our first classic winner here at Spendthrift since Mr. Hughes bought the farm. TDN: Switching focus to Free Drop Billy, he won the GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity on the main track as a juvenile and adds a pedigree that has incredible depth, with his half-brother Hawkbill (Kitten’s Joy) being a dual Group 1 winner on grass. Is that combination something that really stamps him as an exciting prospect? MT: It is an amazing family. I mean, it’s the direct family of Cozzene…and there’s the success that Hawkbill had this year. It’s a very, very good pedigree, and there’s a lot of very successful horses in that pedigree. I think he offers breeders a chance to breed to a horse who was a Grade I winner at two and has an outstanding female family that contains proven sires. To be able to breed to him and earn a lifetime breeding right for $10,000– that’s hard to beat. TDN: Mor Spirit is a two-time Grade I winner, but without a doubt, his defining performance was that 6 1/4-length romp in the GI Met Mile in 2017. Talk a little about that performance in a proven stallion-making race. MT: The Met Mile was one of those brilliant moments when you just say, “Man, it was just amazing–that performance on that day.” For him to just cruise around there as fast as they were going, and then when Mike Smith asked him turning for home, he just drew away from the field and won as easy as can be. And to run a 117 Beyer, that’s just not something you see every day. We have another stallion standing here in Cross Traffic that did the same thing in his career, and he’s the leading freshman sire. TDN: Can you talk a little about his stud fee? Do you expect a warm reception at $10,000? MT: This horse is so pretty and he was so talented–we felt like it was an opportunity to be able to stand this horse at a very reasonable price for breeders. They are going to love his physical, they are going to love his race record. When they see this horse, they’re going to want to breed to him. If this horse was by one of these sires who is very popular right now, he could very easily could be standing for anywhere from $25,000 to $35,000 with his resume. View the full article

The GI Pegasus World Cup hero City of Light (Quality Road) and newly crowned champion older male Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky) arrived together at Lane’s End Farm Monday, where both retire for the 2019 breeding season. It was still dark when the pair, who had an entire Sallee van to themselves, rolled in after a roughly 20-hour trip from Gulfstream Park (Thorostride video). “They left there about 11 a.m. yesterday and got in a little before 7 a.m. this morning,” said Lane’s End’s Bill Farish. “They shipped in great and they look terrific. They’re a little cold, and they’re going to get colder, but we got blankets on them right away and their coats will grow in fast.” Temperatures were in the high 20s Monday morning in Lexington, but are set to dip into the single digits by midweek. Both horses unloaded without issue and were calm being led to their new stalls. City of Light now resides in the stall directly across from his sire Quality Road. “They’re probably pretty tired from the van ride, but they settled in really nice,” added Farish. City of Light will stand his first season for a fee of $35,000. Accelerate will stand for $20,000. “It’s a first time for us having one, let alone two, come in just two weeks before the breeding season,” said Farish. “But I think they’ll adjust quickly and things will go smooth.” View the full article

Despite being quiet on the racing front, winter can still be an exciting time for those in the flat business. Racing fixtures may be limited to the all-weather, but in the background, hopes remain high for the newly turned 2-year-olds learning their trade. The ever-optimistic Luke Barry of Manister House Stud expressed such excitement on a recent January morning while driving a well-bred filly to her new home with trainer Kevin Prendergast on The Curragh. This particular Zoffany (Ire) filly is very dear to the Barry family, with Luke and his mother Liz hoping that she can in some way emulate her half-sister, dual Group 1 winner La Collina (Ire) (Strategic Prince {GB}). “She’s a very good-looking filly,” explains Barry. “From the day she was born, the plan has been to set her aside and send her to Kevin. It was something my late father, Frank, who was a great pal of Kevin’s, was very much looking forward to and now, we get to live his dream.” Frank Barry, who passed away in 2018, was a popular figure in the Irish bloodstock world and is remembered as a regular figure at Irish bloodstock sales, most often in company with his great friend Kevin Prendergast. It was therefore apt that Kevin bought La Collina as a yearling for £42,000, and was responsible for her victories in the G1 Phoenix S. and G1 Matron S. Her dam Starfish (Ire), an unraced daughter of Galileo (Ire), is due to foal down to Caravaggio in April, and will next visit Starspangledbanner (Aus), whom Manister has been a keen supporter of. “We have a lot of faith in Starspangledbanner,” says Barry. “Tom Gaffney and the team in Castle Hyde have done a great job at improving his fertility and he will have a lot more soldiers on the ground in the coming seasons. His stats so far are phenomenal and he offers very good value for money.” La Collina is the pinnacle of Starfish’s success as a broodmare, having produced six winners from six runners, and is considered the ‘blue hen’ of the Manister House broodmare band. “Every small farm dreams of owning a mare like her,” muses Barry, “Where every one of her progeny is a proper sales horse, who also delivers on the track; it’s magic, really.” Another mare who has earned much respect at Manister is Regency Girl (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), shrewdly bought by Barry for 6,000gns, and is now the dam of Wesley Ward’s stakes performer Elizabeth Darcy (Ire) (Camacho {GB}). After her 2- and 3-year-olds by War Command each sold for over €90,000, Regency Girl is now destined for her most prestigious mating to date, with Sea The Stars (Ire). “She comes from a lovely Oppenheimer pedigree, with a lot of potential to improve,” says Barry. “We enquired about Sea The Stars and we’re delighted to have a mare good enough to be accepted.” The story does not end there, as Barry reveals, “We even bought her half sister, Pure Vanity (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), in partnership with Grange Stud a while back, and her first two covers were to No Nay Never and she visits Zoffany this year.” The Barry family own three mares in partnership with Grange Stud, as Luke tells, “Grange Stud are very successful breeders and you couldn’t dream of easier partners to be involved with. My late father Frank always owned a couple of mares with David Magnier.” Miss Margarita (GB) (Scat Daddy) is another owned in partnership with Grange Stud and was partly chosen for her sire, as Barry tells me, “The Scat Daddy broodmares were getting nice stock judging by what was offered in Keeneland; they really catch and fill the eye.” Her maiden voyage will be to Lanwades Stud to young sire Sea The Moon (Ger) (Sea The Stars). “We’ve enjoyed some success with Sea The Moon through our pinhooks,” says Barry, adding, “It was actually Ryan McElligott who noticed him first as a racehorse and brought him to our attention, and we’ve watched him very closely since. It’s not until now that we’re taking a leap of faith.” Manister House are also using sons of Scat Daddy this season and will be sending two mares to his son, Sioux Nation. “We all want a piece of Scat Daddy at the moment,” confesses Barry. “Sioux Nation provides a very reasonable, commercial opportunity to breeders. He’s an impressive individual and was a very good 2-year-old, so he ticks a lot of boxes.” The two Manister mares being sent to the G1 Phoenix S. winner are Novantae (GB) (Pivotal), a daughter of a listed winner, and Liberty Sky (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), a half-sister to G2 Providencia S. winner Missit (Ire) (Orpen). Having used Caravaggio in his first year, Manister House are also displaying confidence in Coolmore’s young gun by sending Bright Glow (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) to him in his second season at stud. “We underbid Bright Glow’s second and third foals, so we knew her stock well before we bought her,” he said. “Her 3-year-old Aldana (GB) (Slade Power {Ire}) shaped very nicely as a 2-year-old and we’re hopeful that she will improve this year. We’re sending her to Caravaggio, which is a very similar cross to Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (No Nay Never).” Another second-season sire receiving Manister’s support is Churchill (Ire), who will cover Jessie Jane (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}), a half-sister to the dam of La Collina, and herself the dam of listed-winning 2-year-old I’ll Have Another (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}). On the mating, Barry commented, “Jessie Jane is a bit tall and narrow, and so we try to send her to a strong horse with plenty of hip. We believe in mating our mares physically– that’s very important for us.” And as for the argument of proven versus unproven sires, Barry has a logical answer, “She has produced three winners from three runners and so, when the mare is proven, we can make more of a case to visit unproven stallions. We’re big fans of Churchill; he’s a stunning individual with size, scope and great movement.” Irish National Stud stallion Dragon Pulse will not, however, go unrewarded for siring stakes winner I’ll Have Another, as Barry reveals, “He’s been a lucky stallion for us in many respects. We all have to look for some value. We can’t send every mare to expensive stallions and Dragon Pulse is a proven stallion, throws good looking types, and his stats read well. We’ve penciled in a Medicean (GB) mare, Maracuja (GB), which would create the same cross as his good filly Chicas Amigas (Ire).” Barry also nominates Camacho (GB), who enjoyed his best season yet in 2018, as a value option and will send Feathery (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) to the Yeomanstown Stud resident this season. “Feathery was bought as a maiden,” explains Barry, “We raced her with Charlie Fellowes, with whom she won, finished fourth in a listed and received a rating of 90. Like every small farm, we’re constantly trying to improve our band of mares. She has a smashing back pedigree too. Camacho offers an excellent opportunity to use a proven stallion at a very acceptable fee.” The Tally-Ho branch of the O’Callaghan family will also welcome a Manister mare in 2019, in the shape of Rahaala (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), a half-sister to listed winner and Group 2 third Mythical Magic (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}). Bought for a bargain £4,200 in 2013, she will visit G1 2000 Guineas victor Galileo Gold (GB). “She’s a nice Indian Ridge mare, with a lovely pedigree,” says Barry. “Galileo Gold was a very, very good racehorse and Tally-Ho is a farm that gets behind their stallions, so he will have a very good chance of making it as a sire. He’s an impressive individual too.” In this current market, choosing stallions in a season as unpredictable as their second or third, looks a brave move by the Manister House Stud team. When quizzed on the 2018 yearling market, Barry is, as ever, optimistic; “There’s been much negativity surrounding the market,” comments Barry. “Our view is that if you have faith in your mare, cover her. If not, don’t cover her–move on and replace her. All Thoroughbred breeders, whether big or small, are smart. They know that if you get the stallion right, or have a nice individual, you will get paid. If your horse doesn’t make the grade, you need to consider culling your mare.” In fact, Barry believes current pressures may bring new opportunities, saying, “Our industry is very resilient and there’s a slight correction taking place at the moment, which might happen quicker than people think. And that may also create opportunities. The foal crop might reduce a little too much. We often have a few below-par individuals, but you just have to make sure you have enough quality stock to keep the ball rolling.” And how about the other dreaded topic, Brexit? “My concern with Brexit in the short term is the movement of horses”, says Barry. “But I hope to have our mares back before the end of March. Wishful thinking perhaps. We can’t all stand still waiting to see what happens; you have to take a positive view and move on.” View the full article

A host of global Thoroughbred racing stars have been nominated for the Dubai World Cup card March 30 at Meydan Racecourse, including a group of U.S.-based standouts like McKinzie and Roy H, among others. View the full article

A total of 1440 nominations-divided across 739 horses–were received for the $35-million nine-race card at Meydan on Dubai World Cup night, announced the Dubai Racing Club on Monday. Among the eight Thoroughbred races on Mar. 30, the highlight is the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup, which sees 139 horses nominated, among them last year’s winner Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) for Godolphin and fellow Meydan Group 1 winner North America (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). The US contingent is headed by Grade I winners McKinzie (Street Sense), Leofric (Candy Ride {Arg}), Seeking the Soul (Perfect Soul {Ire}), Audible (Into Mischief), Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}), and Elate (Medaglia d’Oro), while Japanese hopes Gold Dream (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}) and Westerlund (Jpn) (Neo Universe {Jpn}) and Hong Kong star Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal) also feature. Other notable nominations on the night are 2018 Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) in the $6-million G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, Hong Kong superstar Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock {Aus}) in the $6-million G1 Dubai Turf, champion American speedster Roy H (More Than Ready) in the $2.5-million G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, and dual GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint hero Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic) in the $2-million G1 Al Quoz Sprint. For the full list of nominations, click here. “The 2019 Dubai World Cup, with a world-leading $35 million in purses and the world’s richest race, promises a brilliant global race day, offering the very best racing in the world on both turf and dirt, including the exceptional international champion horses, trainers, jockeys and owners,” said Malih Al Basti, Meydan Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Meydan Racing Committee. “This is evident in the Dubai World Cup day nominations, in which we see 19 nations represented, creating unprecedented excitement for Saturday, Mar. 30th at Meydan Racecourse.” View the full article