Wandering Eyes

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today’s Observations features a half-sister to GI Wood Memorial S. hero Wicked Strong (Hard Spun). 3.15 Kempton, Mdn, £9,000, 2yo, f, 8f (AWT) MISS YODA (GER) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) topped the Baden-Baden September Yearling Sale when purchased by Westerberg and starts out for the John Gosden stable on the Polytrack. Out of the G3 Preis der Winterkonigin winner Monami (Ger) (Sholokhov {Ire}), she encounters Godolphin’s fellow newcomer South Coast (War Front), a Saeed bin Suroor-trained half-sister to the GI Wood Memorial hero Wicked Strong (Hard Spun). 3.45 Kempton, Novice, £9,000, 2yo, f, 7f (AWT) TANITA (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is one of two intriguing newcomers from the Sir Michael Stoute stable and is out of a full-sister to the brilliant Midday (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and half to Frankel’s classy Sun Maiden (GB). Khalid Abdullah’s March-foaled bay is joined by Cheveley Park Stud’s Melnikova (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a half-sister to Marenko (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) who took the G3 Fred Darling S. on this surface when it was rescheduled to Chelmsford in 2016. The post Observations: Aug. 5, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Graded stakes winner Divine Miss Grey will be retired from racing after being pulled up in the stretch run of the Aug. 3 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose Stakes and vanned off, trainer Danny Gargan said. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale will look to follow up on its record-setting 2018 renewal when bidding gets underway at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. “I think there is a very good group of horses on the grounds,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. said Sunday morning. “We felt very good about the horses as we saw them this spring and as we were putting the catalogue together. You never know exactly until they get to the sales grounds, but the feedback we’ve gotten from the potential buyers has been very positive about the overall quality that’s here. There has been lots of activity on the sales grounds in advance of the sale, we know the market is pretty solid, and we’re very optimistic heading into Monday.” The sales barns were abuzz with activity Sunday morning, a day after a scintillating card of racing at the historic racetrack across the street. “It’s been packed,” Taylor Made Sales Agency’s Mark Taylor said in a rare break in the action. “It’s been unbelievable. We’re just trying to get people room to look at horses. The activity has been really good.” All of the sports major buyers were represented at the sales barns Sunday, with Godolphin representatives John Gosden and Anthony Stroud in attendance and Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier, Paul Shanahan, and Demi O’Byrne were making the rounds. Among the other buyers at the barns were Larry Best, Peter Brant, Kaleem Shah, Barbara Banke, Mandy Pope, and Everett Dobson. Terry Finley, whose West Point Thoroughbreds partnered to purchase last year’s Saratoga topper was also in attendance. Carlo Vaccarezza, who made a major splash at last year’s Saratoga sale for an initial pinhooking venture which enjoyed a very productive spring at the juvenile sales, looked primed to restock as he traversed the barns Sunday morning. And he had plenty of pinhooking company, with Eddie Woods, Randy Bradshaw, Bobby Dodd, Nick de Meric, and Raul Reyes all active at the sales grounds. An enthusiastic crowd of 40,791 watched a trio of exciting graded races at Saratoga Saturday. That excitement carries over to the sales grounds, Taylor agreed. “A lot of buyers, and a lot of our owners, they go over there and watch the races,” Taylor said. “It’s adrenaline. It’s very unique. And that’s one of the best things about Saratoga. You’re just mixing the end result with the draft. You’re having the draft and then you get to go watch the Super Bowl.” Fasig-Tipton launched the yearling sales season with its July Sale last month and, while that auction produced steady results, Taylor looks for demand to pick up during the boutique Saratoga sale. “To me the July sale was a little flat,” Taylor said. “Statistically, it wasn’t bad, but I thought the bidders were a little reserved, just kind of waiting. They knew they had Saratoga coming, they knew they had September coming, but here you get a very uniform group of nice physicals. I think that’s what Fasig hangs their hat on-they get good-looking horses on the sales grounds. And when you get that combined with not an overly large catalogue in a place like this, it’s just a good recipe.” Taylor continued, “There is some uncertainty in the market just because of all the challenges the industry is going through right now, but if you look at the crowd which was at the racetrack yesterday–I was walking through there for the [GI] Test [S.] and it was absolutely packed. There wasn’t an inch of that racetrack that wasn’t occupied. It just shows you what racing can be. If our industry could do anything to not undermine its own product, the sky is the limit.” The 2018 Saratoga auction produced the highest gross in its history, with 170 of 255 catalogued yearlings selling for $62,794,000. Last year’s sale also produced its second-highest average ($369,376) and a record-tying median ($300,000). Five horses sold for seven figures a year ago, led by a Taylor Made-consigned son of Medaglia d’Oro who brought a final bid of $1.35 million. The 2019 catalogue numbers 223 head, with 25 outs as of Sunday afternoon. “The catalogue is a little smaller this year,” Browning said of the anticipation of matching last year’s record gross. “We don’t have any artificial goals or predetermined expectations. We want to have a good, solid sale for the men and women who have supported us with quality horses-the owners and the consignors-and that’s how we’ll evaluate the overall sale. We want to get as high a percentage of horses sold as we can for them. And the final figures will be what they are. Let’s just hope we continue to have a strong marketplace, a realistic marketplace, and get a lot of commerce done for both buyers and sellers.” The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale will offer hips one through 112 Monday and Tuesday’s session will include hips 113 to 223. Both sessions begin at 6:30 p.m. The post Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale Starts Monday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

4th-Saratoga, $90,000, Msw, 8-4, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:41.17, fm. SKETCHES OF SPAIN (IRE) (f, 2, Lope de Vega {Ire}–Janicellaine {Ire} {GSP, $130,051}, by Beat Hollow {GB}), trained by Chad Brown, was one of two well-meant firsters for the trainer, the other being the 9-5 favorite Situation Room (Summer Front). Both the Brown runners settled behind the early pace as Sawanage (English Channel) and Osaka Girl (First Samurai) slugged it out early through initial fractions of :23.16 and :47.99. While the favorite appeared to idle a bit approaching the quarter pole, 5-1 chance Sketches of Spain was full of run, and thrust herself into contention several paths out rounding the home turn. Meanwhile, 41-1 longshot Crystalle (Palace Malice), who caboosed the field early, gathered steam, swinging into the stretch widest of all. As the field straightened out in the lane, the pacesetters started to fall back, while the second flight of runners–including the Todd Pletcher-trained Sparkling Sky (More Than Ready) and Sketches of Spain–were taking their shot at the lead. However, moving fastest of all on the far outside was Crystalle, who boomeranged past Sketches of Spain and Sparkling Sky in deep stretch, but in doing so, veered slightly inward, causing a chain reaction with those foes who were stationed behind her left hip. Despite crossing the wire ahead by a widening 2 1/4-length margin, Crystalle was demoted to third behind Sketches of Spain, who assumed the victory, and Sparkling Sky, promoted to second. Favored Situation Room rounded out the Super. The winner’s dam, Janicellaine, a half-sister to European and English Highweight juvenile filly Chriselliam (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), has a yearling colt by New Bay (GB) in addition to a 2019 full sister to the winner. Sales history: 400,000gns Ylg ’18 TATOCT. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $49,500. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Peter M. Brant; B-Ballylinch Stud (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown. The post Lope de Vega Firster Put Up at the Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fox Hill Farms' Omaha Beach turned in a bullet five-furlong work Aug. 4 at Del Mar as the scratched Kentucky Derby (G1) morning-line favorite continued preparations toward his first race back following minor throat surgery. View the full article

Patrick Payne is fast becoming a master trainer of jumpers. But while he will go into the record books as the winning trainer of Tallyho Twinkletoe in Sunday’s Grand National Hurdle at Sandown, Payne prefers to deflect all the credit to New Zealand conditioner Kevin “Dummy” Myers. This season has Payne has collected feature jumps victories at the Oakbank and Warrnambool carnivals along with the Australian Steeplechase at Sandown and the Kevin Lafferty Hurdle at Warrnambool. Myers was instrumental in sending Zed Em to Payne to win the Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warrnambool and thought Tallyho Twinkletoe the ideal type to contest the Grand Nationals in Australia. While Payne previously had time to get to know other jumpers Myers sent him, Tallyho Twinkletoe has been in Australia less than four days. In between arriving in Melbourne and racing at Sandown on Sunday, Tallyho Twinkletoe had to show his ability over jumps in front of Racing Victoria stewards. “He only arrived at my place at 11pm on Wednesday night and he was at Ballarat the following morning at seven o’clock to qualify,” Payne said. “So I’m only the fake trainer. “All thanks to the “Dummy” Myers team back in New Zealand and a special thanks to Jo Rathbone who is close to this horse. “She has spent a lot of time with him at the beach.” Backed into $3 favouritism, Tallyho Twinkletoe raced to a 4-3/4 length victory from Firefree ($20) with Euroman ($6.50) a length away third. Payne thought Myers gave a strong lead to Tallyho Twinkletoe’s ability when he phoned to say he was sending the jumper for both Sunday’s race and the Grand National Steeplechase at Ballarat on August 25. “Sometimes IRT (International Racehorse Transport) ring up and say there’s a horse of “Dummy” Myers waiting to be picked up,” Payne said. “Other times he’ll ring up and say I’ve got this thing coming over on this day, but he named this horse and said he was coming over for the two Nationals. “That was probably a pretty good barometer for this race, but I must admit I’m a little bit surprised as I thought he jumped the steeples better the other day than the hurdles and I thought he’d be better for next time. “He’s proven me wrong which he’s allowed to do.” Aaron Kuru picked up the ride after Mathew Gillies was involved in a race fall in New Zealand on Saturday and was stood down on medical grounds. View the full article

Jockey Amy McDonald. Amy McDonald could not have wished for a better advertisement of her skills as a jumps trainer than the victory of Master Poet at Sandown. Ridden by Richard Cully and carrying the colours of champion jumper Wells who won the Crisp earlier in the day, Master Poet raced to a comprehensive victory in Sunday’s MRC Membership Renewal Hurdle (3400m). McDonald trains a small team at Ballarat, predominantly jumpers, and said Sunday’s victory would do wonders for her career. Master Poet was sourced in New Zealand by McDonald’s husband Lee Horner who partnered stablemate Flying Agent into fourth place in Sunday’s event. “It’s a very good result for the owners who have had a bit of faith in us with this horse,” McDonald said. “My husband Lee sourced this horse out of New Zealand and the owners were pretty keen to get him over here as a potential chaser. “I thought his run at Pakenham (second) was sensational and he’s tidied up beautifully.” With only six horses in work and a capacity of 10, McDonald is hands-on with her team. She says it is hard watching from the stands as her horses go out to contest their races. “You think you’ve got them right but you’re giving control away to the jockeys which is really difficult,” McDonald said. “He’s done a great job as he’s travelled a lot better today with the blinkers on. “I’ve got thank to Steve Pateman who said to put them back on after he rode him at Pakenham last time. “I’m just ecstatic.” With the jumps season nearing an end, McDonald will allow Master Poet to progress through the grades. “Who knows, he could be a Grand National horse next year,” she said. View the full article

Winning the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) can be a life-changing event. For a racing partnership, it can be a business changer. View the full article

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Bethlehem Stables’ multiple Grade I winner World of Trouble (Kantharos), who had to be scratched as a heavy morning-line favorite from Saturday’s GIII Troy S. at Saratoga, is recovering from a foot bruise and visited the track Sunday morning, according to trainer Jason Servis. “He’s better. He had a foot bruise. We tested it and he was tender, real tender. We kind of had to cut it out and it got a little more tender, nothing serious,” Servis told the NYRA notes team. “He actually went to the track today, but he’s still a little tender on that foot. It’s a shame. It was just bad timing. It showed up on Monday, and we were trying to make it.” Servis said the Grade III Turf Monster S. Sept. 2 at Parx stands as the next target for World of Trouble at this point. A narrow runner-up in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, the bay is unbeaten in four starts this season, including victories in the GI Carter H. on dirt and GI Jaipur Invitational S. on turf. “We were always going to run here and then try to make the Turf Monster, so we’ll point for the Turf Monster,” Servis said. “He’s a monster. He’s a monster horse. I can’t wait to breed to him.” Elsewhere in Servis’s barn, last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Uncle Benny (Declaration of War) will make his 2019 debut in Wednesday’s Mahony S. for 3-year-olds at 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass. “The distance might be an issue, but he’s doing super. We thought it’d be a good starting point,” Servis said. “And, if it rains, we’ll run. I don’t know that he’s as good a dirt horse, but I wouldn’t scratch if it comes off. He’s a nice, big, good-looking horse.” The post World of Trouble Recovering From Foot Bruise appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Gold Square LLC and Double O Racing’s Daphne Moon (f, 2, Cairo Prince–Crozat, by Street Sense) scored a decisive debut victory at the Spa in Sunday’s opener, becoming the seventh individual 2-year-old winner of the year for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. Rating behind the leaders in mid-pack along the rail, she steadily advanced on the inside following fractions of :23.11 and :46.35. Looming wide around the turn, the dark bay surged down the lane and collared Weekend Fun (More Than Ready) in deep stretch for a 1 1/2-length tally. Daphne Moon dropped the hammer for $525,000 at the OBS April Sale after blistering a quarter in :21.0. The dam of the winner, Crozat, is a half-sister to Grade III victor Jungle Prince (Sir Cat). Englehart has also trained recent ‘TDN Rising Star’ and July 31 Spa debut victress Risky Mischief and Gold Square LLC owns recent juvenile winners such as ‘TDN Rising Star’ Maryanorginger (Strong Mandate), My Italian Rabbi (Competitive Edge) and Cleon Jones (Tale of the Cat). The final time was 1.23.94 The post Expensive Cairo Prince Filly Aces Debut in Spa Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

One of the outsiders for Sunday’s G1 Henkel-Preis der Diana at Dusseldorf, Gestut Brummerhof’s Diamanta (Ger) (Maxios {GB}) made strides on her previous best to put her peers in the shade on the day that counted. Breaking well to bag the rail as one of the leading contenders Ismene (Ger) (Tertullian) unseated her rider exiting the stalls, the 24-1 chance enjoyed a stalking trip in third under Maxim Pecheur before taking over from the 29-10 favourite Durance (Ger) (Champs Elysees {GB}) approaching the final furlong and asserting for a 1 3/4-length success. Fellow longshot Naida (Ger) (Reliable Man {GB}) got up for second in the final stride, a short-head in front of Durance. Sunday, Dusseldorf, Germany 161ST HENKEL-PREIS DER DIANA – GERMAN OAKS-G1, €500,000, Dusseldorf, 8-4, 3yo, f, 11fT, 2:15.78, gd. 1–DIAMANTA (GER), 128, f, 3, by Maxios (GB) 1st Dam: Diamantgottin (Ger) (GSP-Ger), by Fantastic Light 2nd Dam: Dunnellon (GB), by Shareef Dancer 3rd Dam: Dunoof (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB) 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Gestut Brummerhof (GER); T-Markus Klug; J-Maxim Pecheur. €300,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-0-2, €306,800. *1/2 to Diamant (Ger) (Zamindar), Ch. 2yo-Scan & SP-Nor, $206,525. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Naida (Ger), 128, f, 3, Reliable Man (GB)–Nacella (Ger), by Banyumanik (Ire). O/B-Gestut Niederrhein (GER); T-Yasmin Almenrader. €100,000. 3–Durance (Ger), 128, f, 3, Champs Elysees (GB)–Djidda (Ger), by Lando (Ger). O/B-Gestut Ebbesloh (GER); T-Peter Schiergen. €50,000. Margins: 1 3/4, SHD, NO. Odds: 23.50, 17.30, 2.90. Also Ran: Satomi (Ger), Akribie (Ger), Donjah (Ger), Skyful Sea (Fr), Shining Pass (Ger), Mythica (Ire), Apadanah (Ger), Freedom Rising (Ger), Liberty London (Ger). DNF: Ismene (Ger). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. The post Maxios’s Diamanta Takes the Diana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

It is a sign of the times that one of the success stories of the racing summer involves a French trainer based in England, winning his first Group 1 race in Germany for a horse owned by a group of Australians. Step forward David Menuisier, a graduate of such centres of racing excellence as the training yards of Richard Mandella, Criquette Head and John Dunlop now making a name for himself from his adopted West Sussex home of Coombelands. This was the place from which Guy Harwood honed the prodigious talent of Dancing Brave (Lyphard), and they are dancing still in Pulborough courtesy of the victory in the G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis of Australian Bloodstock’s Danceteria (Fr) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}). “It was a fantastic result, especially for the horse because we have always felt that he could reach that level, even last year,” says Menuisier, who shares the 150-acre estate with Harwood’s daughter Amanda Perrett. “Obviously last year we had Thundering Blue, who knocked on the door a few times, and after Danceteria’s good run in Eclipse we thought it would be good to get the monkey off our back. These are not easy races to win and when it happens it’s a joy but also a relief that you managed to get one to the top level. It’s a good feeling.” Danceteria won his first race last June in the same colours as Thundering Blue (Exchange Rate), those of the flamboyant Clive Washbourn, whom Menuisier credits as playing a significant role in the first five years of his training operation. “Danceteria was fully bought out by Australian Bloodstock after the Eclipse but Clive has been the biggest supporter of our yard from the first year after we started and he has been really important to the success of the yard. He really did give us a good leg up.” The trainer is equally fulsome in his gratitude towards Australian Bloodstock, who will have the chance to see their latest star racing closer to home later this year in the Cox Plate. He says, “Australian Bloodstock target their purchases in a very shrewd way and it’s a real pleasure to deal with them. Danceteria was invited for the Cox Plate after he won in Munich so that’s our next adventure. I admire Australian Bloodstock for having the guts to keep the horse with a smaller trainer like me. I really mean that. A lot of other owners, if they had bought this horse, the chances are they would have sent him to a bigger trainer. “I was flattered that they chose to leave him with me. It’s an acknowledgement that we have done well with the horse and know him better than anyone else. It’s a different approach to many owners.” Like many trainers in these days when there is lucrative business in selling a horse on, Menuisier has found himself on the less fortunate end of such a transaction in the recent past when his rising star Vintager (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) caught the eye of Godolphin. After his impressive victory at Newmarket last July his rating was boosted to 112 and he was then sold and joined Charlie Appleby’s stable. “You do feel a bit sore when it happens,” he admits. “And then when you have the next good horse and you have phone calls, you worry that the same thing is going to happen. I don’t think the number of horses you train makes you a good or bad trainer. Someone asked me the other day who in my opinion was the best trainer in England and it’s a very hard question to answer. The best one might have six horses and they are all rated 42 but he is getting the best out of them.” Menuisier himself has a team of 28 at Coombelands—a fraction of the number of some of the increasingly dominant stables in the land but enough to prove that he is more than capable of selecting and nurturing the nascent talent of young Thoroughbreds. In a sense he was born to the job. His parents Jacques and Marie-Francoise Menuisier have now retired from their breeding operation in the north-east of France but, in addition to giving their son his love of horses, they also provided him with his first winner in 2014 with their homebred Slunovrat (Fr) (Astronomer Royal). “He was basically the last horse that they bred and he was the first horse in the yard and the horse that really launched us, so it feels like a bit of continuity,” says the trainer. Nowadays he also trains for another key mentor in his life, Criquette Head, the owner of Edmond Dantes (Ire) (Alhebayeb {Ire}), who won at Goodwood in June. He recalls, “Criquette visited the yard last year and was intrigued to meet Thundering Blue in the flesh. She saw the famous grey in his stable and then asked about another grey next to him and I said I was looking for someone to buy him. She said, ‘I’ll buy him, I love him’. It was very simple and she is a fantastic owner to have. She just said to me, ‘I’ve been through it all before, so you just do what think is best, I won’t interfere’.” It would seem that there is little chance of Thundering Blue having his thunder stolen by his Group 1-winning stable-mate just yet. The popular grey has led his owner and trainer on a merry international dance, last year landing the G2 York S. and G3 Stockholm Cup and perhaps gaining even greater admiration in defeat, notably with a valiant third place behind Roaring Lion and Poet’s Word (GB) in the G1 Juddmonte International, in which he finished ahead of Group 1 winners Saxon Warrior (Ire), Benbatl (GB), Without Parole (GB), Latrobe (Ire) and Thunder Snow (Ire). He was also second in the GI Canadian International. On Saturday he will reappear in the G3 Rose of Lancaster S. after a sub-par effort in the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. “I ran him in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and I think the race was not really run to suit him. He’s a horse that wants a lot of pace with a good rhythm throughout and a long straight. He takes a furlong to get himself organised in the straight. I do believe he has retained his full ability from last year. I think the perfect example of this is when he ran third at Goodwood in the listed race, beaten six lengths by Elarqam (GB) with a five-pound penalty. He didn’t really handle the track I thought that was a terrific effort.” Thundering Blue holds entries for the Juddmonte International and Irish Champion S. but his participation in either of those hinges to a degree on this weekend’s effort. Menuisier says, “He’s six now and we need to look after him. He’s not an easy horse to train—he’s the sort that you really need to pussyfoot around. He’s very intelligent, which is not always a good thing, and you have to get into his head. Obviously it would only be 11 days between Haydock and the Juddmonte International so it all depends on how he comes out of Haydock. He would have to win and he would need a good confidence boost—well actually not so much him, more the trainer—to go for the Juddmonte. We just need to play it by ear really. He is also in the Irish Champion Stakes in September and that could potentially be a more realistic target timewise, though obviously that will be a strong line-up too. We have the option to go back to Sweden for the Stockholm Cup and to Canada for the Northern Dancer in September. He owes us nothing and he is the boss, so he will keep on telling us what to do.” The winner of six of his 25 races and a top-three finisher a further nine times, Thundering Blue now has a legion of fans, starting with those closest to him. “He’s part of the family now,” adds Menuisier. “He’s been a flag-bearer but more than that I think he has been a real icon. When we went to Sweden and Japan last year he had a massive fan club. When he won the Group 2 at York I was literally surrounded by people patting me on the back. It was unbelievable to see the crowd and it was the same in Canada. People are super fond of him. It is incredible but it’s the horse, it’s not us. We don’t take it in a pretentious way, it’s just a joy that people can see this horse with our eyes, that they can see him as an icon as much as we do.” This level of appreciation for horseracing was one of the reasons why Menuisier chose to remain in England at the end of his tenure with Dunlop, instead of returning home to the greater riches of French racing. He says, “Unfortunately there is no real buzz in France. I worked for six years for John Dunlop down the road and I was about to start with nothing anyway but I thought at least people have seen my face here for the last few years so I’ve got probably more chance of making it in England than in France. “I also stayed for the weather,” he adds with an ironic chuckle. “I’ve said it before but in my opinion the UK is the best racing nation in the world, or at least in Europe, because of the enthusiasm of the people. Everything is run very professionally; just one example is something like CCTV in the stable yard. This is the only place in Europe where you see that. In France anybody could get into the stables. The UK really comes across as a very professional nation and I have a really Cartesian straight, square mind and it just suits me when everything is in order. I really clicked with English racing from the first few days I came to work for John Dunlop.” Working alongside the great names he has been associated with was almost a process of learning by osmosis. “Just being there and seeing how they work and think, they don’t even need to speak, you don’t need words or anybody telling you how to do this or that. You can feel what they are feeling. Training horses is not something you can learn in the books.” He is undoubtedly right in his assertion but to have successfully taken up the baton in his own right hints at an intuitive approach to horsemanship which is bestowed first by nature, even if nurture then plays its part. And, of course, every trainer needs the raw materials. “Criquette Head always said that trainers and jockeys are only as good as the horses they ride and train,” he says. “I do feel fortunate for the horses we have. I had Thundering Blue last year but I didn’t get any new owners. Some people bluntly told me. “You’re lucky to have Thundering Blue, now you have to prove that you can do it again with another horse’. That’s basically what I’ve done.” In black and white it’s a statement that could be construed as arrogant but to listen to Menuisier speak, in his perfect idiomatic English, is to hear quiet confidence. And with the horse he describes as a “straightforward fantastic traveller”, he is entitled to be quietly confident of following his compatriots Mikel Delzangles and Alain de Royer Dupre on the road to Group 1 glory in Australia. The post Menuisier Leading The Dance With Aplomb appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Making it a dozen Group 1 wins this summer, Frankie Dettori delivered on Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited’s G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 Phoenix S. hero Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in Sunday’s G1 Larc Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville. Always travelling strongly behind the pace-setting compatriot Pretty Pollyanna (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the 11-5 favourite took over approaching the furlong pole and despite wandering around when pressed by the 2017 winner Brando (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) pulled out extra to prevail by a neck, with 3/4 of a length back to Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in third. “To win three group 1s is fantastic and he ranks as one of the best I’ve trained,” trainer Martyn Meade said. “Last time in the July Cup, he didn’t break too well but this was over further and he stays–that’s his strength. He’s done very well and will be retired at the end of the season, so I want the best for him and won’t throw him in a race just because he has a chance. We’ll to try spot the right ones and he’ll run once or twice more. Maybe he could travel to America for the Breeders’ Cup, we’ll see later on. There are lots of options and the [G1 Prix de la] Foret [at ParisLongchamp Oct. 6] is a possibility.” Frankie added, “He’s a lovely horse who was in tremendous form and I was able to slot in behind Pretty Pollyanna and two furlongs from home I had to take a pull as he idles in front. When I saw the others coming I kicked and he showed a good turn of foot. He felt Brando coming and took off again, but I was alone for a while and there to be shot at. He’s a proper horse and deserved it.” Sunday, Deauville, France LARC PRIX MAURICE DE GHEEST-G1, €380,000, Deauville, 8-4, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:15.33, gd. 1–ADVERTISE (GB), 125, c, 3, by Showcasing (GB) 1st Dam: Furbelow (GB), by Pivotal (GB) 2nd Dam: Red Tiara, by Mr. Prospector 3rd Dam: Heart of Joy, by Lypheor (GB) (£60,000 Ylg ’17 GOUKPR). O-Phoenix Thoroughbred Ltd 1; B-Cheveley Park Stud Ltd (GB); T-Martyn Meade; J-Lanfranco Dettori. €217,132. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng & Ire, 9-5-3-0, €1,012,748. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Brando (GB), 129, g, 7, Pivotal (GB)–Argent Du Bois, by Silver Hawk. (52,000gns Ylg ’13 TAOCT; 115,000gns 2yo ’14 TATBRE). O-Mrs Angie Bailey; B-Car Colston Hall Stud (GB); T-Kevin Ryan. €86,868. 3–Space Blues (Ire), 125, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Miss Lucifer (Fr), by Noverre. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. €43,434. Margins: NK, 3/4, HD. Odds: 2.20, 48.00, 5.80. Also Ran: Spinning Memories (Ire), One Master (GB), Pretty Pollyanna (GB), Polydream (Ire), So Perfect, Fox Champion (Ire), Mr Lupton (Ire), Le Brivido (Fr), King Malpic (Fr), Invincible Army (Ire), Munitions, Namos (Ger). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Advertise Wins the Maurice de Gheest appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

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Patrick Payne is fast becoming a master trainer of jumpers. But while he will go into the record books as the winning trainer of Tallyho Twinkletoe in Sunday's Grand National Hurdle at Sandown, Payne prefers to deflect all the credit to New Zealand conditioner Kevin "Dummy" Myers. This season has Payne has collected feature jumps victories at the Oakbank and Warrnambool carnivals along with the Australian Steeplechase at Sandown and the Kevin Lafferty Hurdle at Warrnambool. Myers was instrumenta... View the full article

Amy McDonald could not have wished for a better advertisement of her skills as a jumps trainer than the victory of Master Poet at Sandown. Ridden by Richard Cully and carrying the colours of champion jumper Wells who won the Crisp earlier in the day, Master Poet raced to a comprehensive victory in Sunday's MRC Membership Renewal Hurdle (3400m). McDonald trains a small team at Ballarat, predominantly jumpers, and said Sunday's victory would do wonders for her career. Master Poet was sourced in Ne... View the full article

Bizzwinkle (pictured) winning the 2018 Gr.3 New Zealand Cup. A trial at Cranbourne on Monday will give Ballarat trainer Patrick Payne a better guide on the progress of dour Kiwi stayer Bizzwinkle, a newcomer to his stable. Matamata trainer Glenn Old sent Bizzwinkle, the star of his stable and winner of last November’s Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) to Payne last month and the Rip Van Winkle six-year-old is entered for an 1190m trial at Cranbourne, which also includes the long-awaited reappearance of the 2018 Gr.1 Ranvet Stakes winner Gailo Chop. “The trial will be far too short for him, but it should give Patrick a chance to assess him,’’ Old said. ‘’He had a good spell after the Wellington Cup and I’d done a fair bit with him before he went over. I gave him a trial at Te Rapa (July 15) and he had a good blow-out. He’s a pretty clean-winded horse.’’ A winner of six of his 19 starts, Bizzwinkle has remained in his New Zealand ownership and Old says Payne will be in contact when he works out a race programme. ‘’He’s asked me a bit about him and all I can really say is he’s a dead-set one-paced stayer,’’ Old said. ‘’There’s also a 2800m race at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day that could suit him, but we’ll leave it up to Patrick.’’ Old also sent over Clearly Now (a placegetter in two of his four starts) to Payne and the four-year-old son of Thewayyouare made his Australian debut under the name of See It All when second at Mildura last week. ‘’It was a A$23,000 maiden race way out in the bush,’’ Old said. ‘’He should have no trouble winning a few races over there.’’ View the full article

Miss Federer wins the Listed Welcome Stakes at Riccarton. Riccarton trainer Andrew Carston is happy to have exceeded the goal he set himself for the 2018/19 racing season, whilst maintaining a consistent win count. This time last year Carston, who had just won the Gavelhouse Newcomer to Training Award, stated that his goal for the new season was to win a stakes race. “It was my best season yet,” Carston said. “Not by number of wins but I wanted to get a stakes winner this season and I got one – well two really, a Listed and a Group Three win.” The stakes wins came in the form of Miss Federer, a filly that he selected as a yearling for just $10,000. She won both the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m) and the Gr.3 Woburn Farm 2YO Classic (1200m). The daughter of Swiss Ace’s season was unfortunately cut short when a bone chip was discovered in her off foreleg while she was being prepared for the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m). She’s since had minor surgery and Carston reports that she is back in training. “She’ll trial towards the end of August,” he said. “She’s come through the surgery perfect and she’s just started fast work again.” Now in just his fifth full season as a trainer, Carston is paving a consistent path, with a solid 20 to 22 winners in each of his four completed seasons to date. “I haven’t had any more than 30 horses in work at a time so it’s a good achievement,” Carston said. “I don’t plan to get any bigger so the focus will remain on the quality of runners rather than quantity.” Carston is happy with the equine team he has in work for the new season and he’s confident of another good season ahead. “The old stable stalwarts are back in work,” he said. “Severine goes pretty well and Hee’s Our Secret is consistent too. “I’ve got a bunch of just turned three-year-olds and nine just turned two-year-olds which is the most I’ve ever had, so that’s pretty exciting. “It’s so important to have young horses coming into the stable.” View the full article

Talented galloper King Louis will do his future racing from the Ballarat stable of Simon Morrish. While he may have lost the services of talented four-year-old King Louis, Hastings trainer John Bary is excited about his team’s spring prospects in the countdown to the upcoming Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival that kicks off on August 31. Last season’s Gr.3 Mongolian Khan Trophy (1200m) winner King Louis has been transferred to the Ballarat stable of Simon Morrish by owner Richard Wood, a move that Bary described as completely understandable. “While it’s always a shame to see a nice horse leave the barn, Richard has made a business decision and is doing the right thing by the horse,” Bary said. “He’s a four-year-old now who will have the chance to compete for and win some decent prize money over there, which is not the case here under the present circumstances. “Simon trains Chouxting The Mob for Richard and also had Miss Wilson for a time, so they have a relationship that goes back quite a few years. “Richard and I have a great association and I will still be training horses for him here so it will all work out for everyone.” One of the Wood horses that Bary has high hopes for this season is three-year-old The Fugitive who won nicely on debut last season and has been back in work since June after spelling following an unplaced effort in the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Awapuni. “I’m really excited with the young talent we have coming through for this season,” Bary said. “We had five individual two-year-old winners last season and I’m confident that will set us up nicely for an attack on some of three-year-old classics. “The Fugitive will be one of our main chances at the upcoming carnival here at home. “He will probably run on the first day in the El Roca – Sir Colin Meads Trophy (Listed, 1200m) and then on to the Hawke’s Bay Guineas (Gr.2, 1400m) on the last day.” Another of Bary’s winning two-year-olds from last season is Callsign Mav who is also being set for the Gr.2 Sacred Fall Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) on October 5. “Callsign Mav has the Guineas as a target as well but he will take a slightly different path to get there,” Bary said. “He needs racing experience so he will go to Taupo on August 21 and then probably to the second day here (September 21) after that. “We also have a couple of very handy fillies being set for the Gold Trail Stakes (Gr.3, 1200m) on that middle day of the carnival in On Show and The Tailors Niece. “They have both been to the jump-outs here and are building nicely. “On Show is Pearl Series eligible so she will have a run at Taupo first-up while The Tailors Niece will probably kick off in the El Roca – Sir Colin Meads Trophy with the boys. “The weather down here over the past few weeks has been very good which has meant we have been able to get plenty of work into our horses. “At the jump-outs last Friday the track was probably a Dead6 which suited everyone so if that holds up for the carnival then I think we are in for some terrific racing.” View the full article

The Harvey Wilson-trained It’s a Wonder clears a fence on his way to victory at Riccarton. Waverley trainer Harvey Wilson could be in for a memorable week if results from the first day of the Grand National Carnival at Riccarton on Saturday are anything to go by. The former three-time Olympian lined up his entire jumping team of two on the weekend and came away with a win from It’s A Wonder in the Yesberg Insurances Koral Steeplechase (4250m) and a runner-up finish from Bad Boy Brown in the Racecourse Hotel & Motor Lodge Sydenham Hurdles (3100m). Those performances will ensure that both start amongst the favourites for their main assignments at the carnival where It’s A Wonder will contest the Racecourse Hotel & Motor Lodge 145th Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) next Saturday while Bad Boy Brown’s mission is the Hospitality New Zealand Canterbury 130th Grand National Hurdles (4200m) on Wednesday. While Wilson reported that both had pulled up well from their exertions, he isn’t getting carried away with his chances of victory in either race. “The thing that you have to remember is that it is racing and you’ve got to take the good with the bad,” he said. “We had a very pleasing day on Saturday but that doesn’t mean we can just go out and expect the same thing to happen next time. “The good news is that we have two fit and happy horses so I guess we’re going into each race with high hopes at least.” Wilson was rapt to see steeplechaser It’s A Wonder do everything right to secure his victory and placed plenty of credit for the win on the shoulders of rider Shaun Phelan. “Shaun rode him a treat,” Wilson said. “He got a perfect run behind Dr Hook in the early stages and then when Shaun took him to the front, he jumped his fences very well. “The steeplechase course provided better footing than the main track which he appreciated and he finished things off nicely. “The big question will be whether he can stay the distance of the National but if he happened to get a run like that again, then I don’t think it will be a problem.” Wilson was also pleased with the effort of Bad Boy Brown who went under narrowly when beaten by Guy Fox in the opening event on Saturday’s card. “He went a good race with an eye to Wednesday, where he will definitely appreciate the extra distance of the National Hurdle,” he said. “I think Guy Fox caught that last fence slightly better and had the momentum on him but he didn’t give up and chased hard all the way. “He was very bright this morning (Sunday) and that run will have taken the edge of him, as he pulled quite hard, so he will be ready to go.” View the full article

Damian Lane united with I Boogi with success at Moonee Valley. I Boogi taught jockey Damian Lane a valuable lesson as the gelding embarked on his racing career at Werribee. Lane told then trainer Russell Cameron he thought the gelding was unbeatable at his debut in January 2016. However the gelding went up in the air as the gates opened before flashing home to run second. “I came back in after that race and said I’ll never declare a horse again,” Lane said. Lane was reunited with I Boogi in Saturday’s Jockey Celebration Day Handicap giving the jockey his first metropolitan winner since his return from Japan. The victory also provided Cameron’s son Scott his first metropolitan win in his own name after starting out in a partnership with his father. “This horse still has his issues but Scott deals with him really well,” Lane said. “He’s been such a long work in progress and it’s good to get another win out of him.” Supported from $20 into $10, I Boogi scored a long neck win from The Great Artiste ($12) with Mercy Street ($17) 1-3/4 lengths away third. Lane had a successful return to riding at Pakenham on Thursday and has been working hard re-establishing connections. “It’s always good to get a break from the constant racing here,” Lane said. “It refreshes your body and your mind and I’m keen to ride as many winners as I can leading up to the spring. “I’m still picking up rides for the same trainers before I left, so it’s good I haven’t lost those connections.” -AAP View the full article

Dez (inner) and Rosewood battle out the finish of the Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations 122nd Winter Cup. Central Districts raider Dez took out Saturday’s Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations 122nd Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton courtesy of a peach of a ride from master jockey Chris Johnson. The lightly raced eight-year old, who was having just his seventeenth career start, lifted in the final 100m under the urgings of Johnson to nail fellow North Islander Rosewood right on the post to claim the victory. The Simon Wilson-trained and part-owned Zed gelding, who had finished an unlucky third in the race 12 months ago, had looked a forlorn chance to even make the trip south earlier this winter after a run of poor form saw him beat just four horses home in his first three starts of a new campaign. Wilson persevered and with Johnson legged aboard for the first time, Dez produced a revitalised effort to score well at Otaki last weekend to confirm his participation. Under a typically patient Johnson ride, Dez settled nicely in midfield before driving through the middle of the pack as a slew of runners fanned wide early in the run home. Rosewood, who had snuck through on the inner before angling to the middle of the track, had established what looked like a winning break at the 200m but Johnson never gave up on Dez who chased bravely to collar Rosewood and score his biggest victory. “We’ve had a few problems, but we sorted them out and he has definitely hit top form at the right time,” Wilson said. “I was happy with him as he had travelled well and was eating up but you just never know on the day. “Being by Zed we knew he would handle the conditions and he had a great rider on board. Part-owner Paul Mitchell celebrates with jockey Chris Johnson and trainer Simon Wilson (rear) after winning the Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations 122nd Winter Cup with Dez Race Images South “I actually can’t see that well as I’m a little bit colour blind but when he turned in it looked like he was coming through with a good run and it was a fantastic ride by Chris.” Johnson was his typically relaxed self as he described proceedings about the race he last won back in 1991 on Robyn’s Affair. “He travelled nice in the race although when we moved into second halfway down, he was flat out,” Johnson said. “The second horse (Rosewood) kept kicking and he (Dez) just lifted that last bit. “I wasn’t sure if we had got up as I’ve had a run of seconds and thought I was second again. “He’s had a few issues in this prep, but I had a look at his run last year which was huge and on his last start it looked like he was back in that form.” The victory made it win number seven for Dez who spent two and a half years on the side-lines with tendon issues after winning two of his first three starts back in 2015. View the full article

Evergreen sprinter Irish Excuse proves too tough as he races to victory at Riccarton. Evergreen sprinter Irish Excuse gave his rivals weight and a beating as he proved too tough in the closing stages of the Dyer Decorating Premier Sprint (1200m) at Riccarton on Saturday. The Ellis Winsloe-trained nine-year-old relished the testing Heavy11 track conditions as he out-finished race favourite Tabard in the final stages to score by a neat length with local runner Dynamic charging home into third. Winsloe resisted the temptation to utilise an apprentice rider to provide some weight relief for his charge’s 60kg impost, instead favouring visiting North Island jockey Shaun McKay who repaid the faith in him with a gem of an effort. McKay had Irish Excuse within striking distance throughout before guiding him into the middle of the track in the straight where he produced a dogged finish in the better footing, to nail down the victory. Winsloe was shaking his head in amazement as he waited for his stable favourite to return to the Riccarton birdcage after the race. “He’s been a great horse, who has won 14 now and has never come down in the grades,” Winsloe said. “It was a great ride as Shaun is a good rider and he (Irish Excuse) was the horse to suit him. “I was getting a hard time for not putting a claimer on him but Sam Collett won on him fresh-up in a similar sort of race so we stuck with Shaun and forgot about the apprentice allowance.” McKay, who was at Riccarton to take the ride on Central Districts raider She’s Poppy in the Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations 122nd Winter Cup (1600m) later in the day, was full of praise for his mount who has now won fourteen of his 67 career starts. “He’s a dude to ride who puts in 110 percent,” he said. “He (Winsloe) has done a terrific job to get the horse fit and for a horse who was carrying 60kgs to beat one carrying 53kgs, it’s a big effort.” View the full article

Malambo and Shiarna Johnson prove too strong for their rivals at Te Rapa. The training triumvirate of Graeme, Debbie and Bailey Rogerson kicked the new racing season off in style at Te Rapa on Saturday when they dominated the early proceedings at the meeting. The trio provided the quinella in the third race on the programme when accomplished mare Malambo proved too speedy for stablemate Comeback as she led all the way in the open 1200m sprint feature. That was just thirty minutes after promising filly Roc Cha headed home a quartet of Rogerson runners in the three-year-old 1100m contest, albeit they did provide six of the seven starters in the race. Competently handled by four-kilogram claiming apprentice Shiarna Johnson, Malambo relished the Slow9 footing as she produced an eye-catching dress rehearsal for her first major assignment of the season, the Gr.2 US Navy Flag Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at the venue in a fortnight. The Duelled five-year-old had been freshened after finishing a gutsy third at Trentham back in late May and after pinging away from an inside barrier she gave nothing else a look in as she controlled proceedings from in front throughout. “With the four kilos off I said to bounce out, be positive and try and lead hard on the fence and she pulled it off,” Debbie Rogerson said. “She’s a very handy mare who I think is a lot better this time up. “Hopefully she can win a Listed race this time in or be Group placed for her breeding prospects down the line.” Rogerson confirmed a tilt at the Foxbridge Plate was the mare’s next target provided she came through today’s exertions in good shape. “If she comes through this race, we’ve got nothing to lose,” she said. “She races good at Te Rapa and if she happened to run in the first four (in the Foxbridge) then I’d be ecstatic. “He (Comeback) also went really well and you will probably see him the Foxbridge as well.” Bred by Graeme Rogerson, Malambo’s career record now stands at seven wins from 32 starts, with four of those victories coming at the Te Rapa track. View the full article

Bencoolen gets off the mark at his fifth start at Kranji. Bencoolen (NZ) (Swiss Ace) finally franked the potential he has always shown with a convincing first win in the $20,000 Open Maiden race over 1200m on Friday night. Given a confident ride by champion jockey Vlad Duric, Bencoolen was quick out of his barrier one, but was just as quickly eased out of the speed battle when a trio made up of Lim’s Sphere, Agni and Air Combat rushed past him. Duric waited for the top of the straight to stoke the four-year-old up, who darted to the front for a move that looked a foregone conclusion, but he had to contend with one late challenge from Lee Freedman’s newcomer Smoke And Mirrors who was flying home on the outside. Under Duric’s hard riding, Bencoolen, however, kept finding to hold Smoke And Mirrors off by three parts of a length. Attention also ran on creditably for third place another 2 ¼ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 11.02secs for the 1200m on the Long Course Trainer Stephen Gray said the winner’s circle was a place Bencoolen could have visited earlier, but it’s been a struggle to get him there, especially following a recent racing setback. “He’s probably better than what he’s shown. Two starts back, he got galloped on and it was pretty serious,” said the Kiwi handler. “We thought we were on top of it and then it got infected. We had to put him on penicillin and we struggled for a while, but luckily, he got well. “He ran on good with Vlad two starts back. At his last start, he was trapped on the fence, and when they sprinted away, he was left flat-footed. “He probably needs a mile. I brought two good friends together to race this horse, Paul Hickman and Mr Lim Siah Mong. “They have another horse with me. It’s all about having a bit of fun together.” Duric said all the credit should go to Gray for not only his patience, but also for his horsemanship. “I actually told Steve to leave the blinkers off as he was quite aggressive with them on, but Steve said he would be okay with them. It was a good call,” said the two-time Singapore champion jockey. “He was in a weak field tonight and he had the perfect draw. I still had to rate him and see how he would get through the field as he’s not the brightest spark. “But it worked out smoothly. I had to really get him through my rhythm in the end.” View the full article