Wandering Eyes

The Jockeys & Jeans summer auction to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) will begin Aug. 1 and end Sept. 15. Items up for sale include a Gulfstream VIP package and signed memorabilia from the likes of Hall of Fame trainers Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas and jockeys Braulio Baeza and Jorge Velasquez. To bid, click here. The post Jockeys & Jeans Summer Auction Begins Aug. 1 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Chester and Mary Broman have dedicated 22 years to the New York breeding program and have enjoyed quite a bit of success with the likes of GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint winner Bar of Gold (Medaglia d’Oro), MGISW Artemis Agrotera (Roman Ruler) and GI Florida Derby hero Friends Lake (A.P. Indy), among others. The couple spent the first 20 years racing everything they produced on their 300-acre farm in Chestertown, N.Y., but starting last term, they began selling off their crops in what Chester Broman refers to as estate planning. Buyers at Fasig-Tipton’s upcoming yearling sales will have a chance to acquire some of New York’s finest with five Broman-bred yearlings in the Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale and an additional seven in the NY-Bred Yearling Sale. “I am slowing down on my racing interests and selling off all of them,” Chester Broman said. “We are selling all of the 2-year-olds and we sold all of the 3-year-olds already. I am only racing horses we could not sell. I am going to be 84 years old, so it is getting tough to keep enthused about it.” Broman had his biggest score in the sales ring earlier this year when the first foal out of GI Frizette S. and GI Ballerina S. heroine Artemis Agrotera, a colt named Chestertown (Tapit), topped the OBS March Sale at $2 million, setting a new record for the auction. The handsome gray was purchased by West Point Thoroughbred, Sienna Farm and Rob Masiello, but Broman stayed for in a piece. He is now in training with Steve Asmussen and recently worked a half-mile at Saratoga from the gate in :48.55 (25/156) (Click here for XBTV video of the breeze). When asked about the colt’s progress, Broman said, “I don’t think he is quite ready yet. I am excited about him. I have nothing to do with it. I just listen. I don’t think he will start at Saratoga, probably Belmont. He is a great big horse and you have to go easy with him.” The Bromans will offer a half-sister to Chestertown by Uncle Mo as Hip 178 in their five-horse consignment with Becky Thomas’s Sequel New York at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale. They purchased this filly’s third dam, GISP Immerse (Cox’s Ridge), for $350,000 in foal to A.P. Indy at the 1997 Keeneland November Sale, just one year after she produced future GISW Stephen Got Even (A.P. Indy). The resulting foal was SW & MGSP Indy Glory, the dam of Artemis Agrotera, who produced an Arrogate filly Apr. 22 of this year and was bred back to Into Mischief. “You always hope for [the success we had with Chestertown],” Broman said on his expectations for the filly in the sales ring. “She is a nice-looking horse, so we will see what the sale brings.” He continued, “Artemis Agrotera is a very, very nice mare. She is beautiful and she produces beautiful horses. She is also a big mare and all of her babies are big so far, including the filly we are selling. We should be alright selling her. You never know when you go to a sale.” The Bromans’ other Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale offerings are: Hip 62, a Hard Spun filly out of MSW Mineralogist (Mineshaft); Hip 99, a son of Quality Road out of Mineralogist’s MSP half-sister Risk a Chance (A.P. Indy); Hip 105, a Pioneerof the Nile filly out of Artemis Agrotera’s half-sister Rumors of Glory (Storm Cat); and Hip 125, an Into Mischief colt out of a full-sister to MGSW American Lion (Tiznow). The couple were originally set to offer a full-sister to Bar of Gold, who upended the 2017 Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint at odds of 66-1, at the Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale, but they had to scratch her due to minor issues. However, buyers may get another chance to purchase the Medaglia d’Oro filly next year at the 2-year-old sales. “We had to take her out of the sale with a minor issue,” Broman said of Hip 39. “She would have been a high-priced horse. It is possible we re-offer her next year.” The Bromans will offer seven more yearlings the following weekend at Fasig-Tipton’s New York-Bred Yearling Sale, also through Thomas’s Sequel New York. The homebreds on offer include Hip 330, a Will Take Charge colt that is a half to three stakes winners; Hip 354, a Freud filly out of SP Backwood Bay (Girolamo); Hip 361, a daughter of Super Saver whose second dam is MGSW Carmandia (Wild Rush); Hip 391, a California Chrome colt out of a daughter of MGSW Sara Louise (Malibu Moon); Hip 400, a son of Shanghai Bobby out of MSW Dash Dot Dash (Put It Back); Hip 540, a Speightstown half-sister to MSW Newly Minted (Central Banker); and Hip 621, a full-sister to the Bromans’ MSW Mr. Buff (Friend or Foe). Three-time stakes winner Mr. Buff, a son of Broman-bred Friend or Foe, who is by their homebred Florida Derby victor Friend’s Lake, is scheduled to run Aug. 7 in the Evan Shipman S. at Saratoga. All 12 of the yearlings on offer next week have been prepped at the Bromans’ farm just 45 minutes from Saratoga, where they reside during the meet. The couple, who had show horses for years, purchased the farm in the 1990s and delved into the Thoroughbred breeding business. “We had show horses for the kids since they were small,” Broman said. “I had a son that rode at the [Madison Square] Garden since he was 13. We had ponies and horses and then we went to boating for a while. I sold a big boat and bought the horse farm.” The owner, President and CEO and Clifford Broman & Son, Inc., a general contracting company based in West Babylon, N.Y., continued, “We got them all ready at the farm here. We think we did a good job getting them ready. We will see how they look at the sale compared to other horses. When you look at your own, you see nothing but pretty horses.” It was a no brainer for Broman to sell all of his yearlings in New York-based auctions due to the state’s breeding incentives. The only debate was which yearlings to send to which of the two upcoming auctions. “I chose to sell them in the New York sales so hopefully more New Yorkers will buy them,” he said. “If I took them to Kentucky, the odds may be less. The breeding awards are pretty good in New York.” As to how the decisions were made on which yearlings to sell where, Broman said, “It is a committee decision. I have my farm manager Greg [Falk] and Becky Thomas is involved with it. We look at them all and try to find the best road to take.” While the Bromans may be winding down their racing operation, they still plan to continue with their well-respected breeding program. “I think we are selling about 15 mares at Saratoga [Fall Sale],” Broman said. “We will keep about 30 and have six or seven more coming off the track.” The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale will be held at Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Aug. 5-6 and the NY-Bred Sale will take place there Aug. 11-12. The post Bromans to a Offer Dozen Yearlings at Saratoga in Change of Tactics appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Risky Mischief (f, 2, Into Mischief–Risky Rachel, by Limehouse) lost an opportunity when her would-be debut was one of the casualties of torrential rains that forced the cancellation of racing at Saratoga following race four July 25. But the $350,000 Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale graduate made a booming impression in the rescheduled event Wednesday afternoon at the Spa, validating 3-4 favoritism with a thoroughly dominating victory, good for the ‘TDN Rising Star’ tag. Drawn pole position, the March foal only beat one out of the stalls, but quickly mustered for speed up the fence to lead after the opening furlong and the race was over, for all intents and purposes. Traveling on the bridle throughout for Jose Ortiz, she turned for home with a commanding advantage and was not fully extended through the final eighth of a mile, scoring by about six lengths. Fellow firster Playtone (Tonalist) chased home the winner to finish clearly second best. Even prior to last week’s race, the word was out on Risky Mischief, as she matched motors with Stillwater S. winner My Italian Rabbi (Competitive Edge) in a four-furlong work over the main track that was timed in :49 4/5 before galloping out well past her company. Bred by Sandy Bacon from the 2012 Union Avenue S. winner, Risky Mischief’s second dam was the classy New York-bred Dancin Renee (Distinctive Pro), a two-time stakes winner in restricted company who also annexed Saratoga’s GIII Honorable Miss S. in 1997. Risky Rachel is the dam of the Tiznow yearling colt Tiz Time For Wine and produced a full-sister to Risky Rachel this season. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O-Jeff Drown; B-Sanford Bacon (NY); T-Jeremiah Englehart. The post Another Into Mischief Filly Romps To Rising Stardom appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

There are several companies or individuals who provide services that, in the end, use the data gleaned from an ultrasound to project in one way or another potential racing success. We provide data obtained when a Thoroughbred’s heart is scanned with an ultrasound computer and measurements are taken of its body mass to determine an “ejection fraction.” The definition of “success” often depends upon the criteria applied to that data. One definition of success is to project the potential for that horse to race successfully up to or beyond a certain distance. (Most of these providers do not offer medical data one would get from a veterinary examination). Your correspondent and partners provide such a service on a stand-alone basis or as part of an overall biomechanical profile which takes into consideration the size, structure and likely efficiency of the horse in question. In either case the primary finding of an ultrasound is based on distance potential. Since we like to keep things simple, we use the following analogy: What kind of a vehicle do you have and is the engine capable of providing the energy to get that vehicle’s job done? For example, you may have a Ford Explorer on your hands but it has a Toyota Corolla engine–not going to work because that engine will be struggling for that vehicle’s functionality, which is to get into gear and build momentum with sustained power over a bit of ground. Or, you might have a Maserati in the barn, but the engine belongs in an Explorer–your vehicle needs to get away fast and stay fast early, but a heavy engine designed to gather momentum is not going to be efficient. We could give many more examples, but you get the drift. (You might be surprised how many women get this quicker than some men). In any case, while many of these providers project distance capabilities, some might also employ the technology along with other factors to project quality. This is a much more difficult task because quality is a fleeting thing in so many ways. For the purposes of this essay we wanted to see whether ejection fraction could project racing quality in a readily identifiable group of yearlings, and we found that group in the Saratoga Select sales from 2012 through 2017. At these sales we scanned well over 600 yearlings. There were nearly 100 stakes winners in that group (based on racing through July 15 of this year). Even though we also biomechanically analyzed every one of those yearlings, we tasked ourselves to ignore those findings and to just concentrate on what percentage of those stakes winners had returned Cardio Scores that were Above Average, Average or Below Average relative to the criteria we have established in our database on more than 20,000 Cardio Scores. Just to make things clear: the Average score (orange on the charts below), is not only where the majority of scores fall but also in all our previous studies has been the cut-off between runners who can win at a mile or further and those which have problems achieving those distances. Above Average scores (blue on the charts) logically implicate greater distance capabilities while Below Average scores (in grey) are risky when it comes to distance. We found a great deal of interesting data that we could have brought to the table in a bunch of charts, but the basic findings can be summed up in just two charts: This one shows the distribution by Above, Below and Average groups among all yearlings analyzed. This one shows the quality of the stakes winners–the Above and Average are a much larger percentage of graded stakes winners while the Below are almost not there. As an aside, six furlongs was the distance of the Grade I win of the Below Average group. There’s an enormous amount of other data we could supply and share, but we thought a conversation could be started with what has been presented here. After all, we would never argue with the fact that a horse with a great deal of innate courage is one that we’d like to see battling for the lead at the sixteenth pole. But we sure as heck would like to know that in the next 110 yards it probably would not run out of gas. Bob Fierro is a partner with Jay Kilgore and Frank Mitchell in DataTrack International, biomechanical consultants and developers of BreezeFigs. He can be reached at bbfq@earthlink.net. The post Gotta Have More Than Heart appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Thursday sees Goodwood’s festival offer the third Group 1 race of the week in the Qatar Nassau S., where the 3-year-olds look to dominate as they did in the previous day’s Sussex. Freshened up after a defeat in the June 21 G1 Coronation S., Ballydoyle’s G1 English and Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Hermosa (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) tries a mile-and-a-quarter trip that may be more suitable as a full-sister to Hydrangea (Ire) and The United States (Ire). “She is in good form. We were nearly stepping her up last time for the French Oaks, but we decided to give her one more go at a mile at Ascot,” Aidan O’Brien commented. “It will be interesting going up in trip. You never know if it will bring out more improvement until you do it, but we always thought there was a chance she would get further. She got beaten at Ascot last time, but she had two tough races before and we were happy with her run.” Standing in Hermosa’s way is another project from the almost-unstoppable Gosden-Dettori combination in Mehdaayih (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who showed explosive acceleration when winning the Listed Cheshire Oaks over an extended 11 furlongs on May 8 and the 12-furlong G2 Prix de Malleret at Saint-Cloud on June 30. In between, Emirates Park’s granddaughter of the 1995 G1 Sussex S. heroine Sayyedati (GB) (Shadeed) met much trouble in running when seventh in the G1 Epsom Oaks on May 31 and she is still dangerously unexposed. “She was very unlucky in the Oaks, where she got knocked over not once but three times and she quickened up very well in France,” Gosden explained. “We are coming back in trip, but she is very versatile and we think she will run a nice race. Whether she will handle Goodwood is something we will only find out after the race.” Hermosa was undone by a French challenger in Watch Me (Fr) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) in the Coronation and she meets another here in Samuel de Barros’s G1 Prix de Diane winner Channel (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}). She will have to find more off a narrow success in that June 16 10 1/2-furlong Classic and trainer Francis-Henri Graffard is aware of the nature of her task. “She will need to improve a bit to be competitive in the Nassau, but she is in top shape and I think she has improved physically since her last run,” he said. “She is coming into the race in good form. She will like the 10-furlong trip and I don’t think the undulations of the track will be a problem. She has an outside draw, which might not be ideal to get a good position but she is very easy to ride. I said to the owner if we are third in a race like that it is a very good result. It is against older fillies, which will not be easy, but she is an Oaks winner now.” Another of the Classic generation is Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Maqsad (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who like Mehdaayih was off the board in the Oaks. Only 10th there, the impressive May 5 Listed Pretty Polly S. winner was travelling better than anything heading to two out and arrives here a fresh filly. “She took a long time to get over the Oaks, but she is back in good form now,” trainer William Haggas said. “I think it may have been more than the trip in the Oaks, because she travelled well and then stopped very quickly. Dropping back in trip should suit her. I don’t see the track being an issue.” Heading the older filly contingent are the Sir Michael Stoute-trained 4-year-olds Rawdaa (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Sun Maiden (GB) (Frankel {GB}), with the former coming off the back of a second in the G1 Duke of Cambridge S. over a mile at Royal Ascot on June 19 and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Sun Maiden stepping up in class following her defeat of Nyaleti (Ire) (Arch) in the G3 Hoppings Fillies’ S. over an extended 10 furlongs on Newcastle’s Tapeta on June 28. Teddy Grimthorpe said of Sun Maiden, “She is progressing pretty nicely and did well to win at Newcastle in a slightly slowly-run race on quite a deep surface. She has pleased Sir Michael since and everything has been very straightforward. She is coming into the race in great form.” ‘TDN Rising Star’ Threat (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) tackles the G2 Qatar Richmond S., where he bids to confirm the form of the June 18 G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot with the third-placed Guildsman (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), fifth Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) and eighth Maxi Boy (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). Trainer Richard Hannon is hoping the subsequent freshening-up process will benefit the exciting prospect. “We agreed with the management of Cheveley Park that we were going to miss the July meeting at Newmarket, as it comes a little quick after Ascot, and go to Goodwood instead,” he explained. “Working back from the Dewhurst is what we decided to do. He is in the Phoenix, the Prix Morny and the Gimcrack. He has all those nice entries, so we can pick and choose our way depending on what happens in the Richmond.” Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum’s Symbolize (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) travelled notably strongly when fourth in the five-furlong Listed Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot on June 19 and was beaten only a length when fourth. Over a more suitable trip and on the quicker ground on which he beat the subsequent G3 Princess Margaret S. runner-up Aroha (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) on debut at Salisbury on May 16, he is one of the race’s unknown quantity. In the G3 Qatar Gordon S., Ballydoyle’s Constantinople (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has to give away three pounds to his rivals after his May 24 G3 Gallinule S. success. Subsequently second under top weight in Royal Ascot’s King George V H. on June 20, he could yet emerge as the stable’s leading G1 St Leger candidate. Also racing with a penalty is Earle Mack and Team Valor’s Spanish Mission (Noble Mission {GB}), who acquired the extra burden when scoring by four lengths in the G3 Bahrain Trophy over 13 furlongs at Newmarket on July 11. Godolphin’s Jalmoud (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) will provide clues as to the merit of Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who he finished just 1 1/4 lengths behind in the July 14 G1 Grand Prix de Paris, and Headman (GB) (Kingman {GB}) who slammed him by three lengths in the G2 Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud on June 30. He gives the impression he is still learning his craft and trainer Charlie Appleby said he believes he will be a major contender. “We dropped him back to a mile and a quarter on his penultimate start and it was a good performance to finish second to Headman,” he said. “Last time he finished a good third back up to a mile and a half and if he brings that level of form to Goodwood, he will be a major player. He is a horse that deserves to be in this calibre of race. We put a hood on him on his last start and that helped, so that will stay on again.” Michael Pescod’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Floating Artist (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) took Ascot’s Woodford Reserve H. on his first try at this trip on July 13 and bids to emulate last year’s winner Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) in winning that and following up here. The post Hermosa Faces Nassau Test appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

With eight select yearlings in Fasig-Tipton’s upcoming Saratoga sale–including a full-sister to his GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Bar of Gold; a filly out of a full-sister to the dam of his multiple Grade I-winning star Elate; and a colt out of a half-sister to his two-time champion Songbird–it is not unreasonable to expect fireworks from Medaglia d’Oro this summer. After all, he had eight yearlings bring $1 million or more last year in the sales ring, the year after he had seven individual Grade I winners on the racetrack and, somehow, he only seems to get better each year. Medaglia d’Oro has made a career of making brilliancy seem routine. “Medaglia d’Oro showed what he can do on the racetrack and also his prowess in the sales ring, which is really the bullseye for an elite stallion. To be able to get you that top runner but also that commercial score just earmarks what a special stallion he is and we’re obviously very lucky that he stands here at Jonabell,” said Darren Fox, sales manager for Darley at Jonabell Farm. “Obviously a horse of Medaglia d’Oro’s caliber would be the cornerstone of any stud farm,” continued Fox, “and he just continues to go from strength to strength.” Those of us around racing 20 years ago were awash in the Eclipse campaigns of Charismatic (Summer Squall), Anees (Unbridled), Victory Gallop (Cryptoclearance), and Artax (Marquetry). All were top racehorses who had moments of brilliance on the track, but not necessarily in the breeding shed. No one would have guessed a bay colt born that year by Ireland’s juvenile champion El Prado (Ire) would set first the racing and then the breeding world on fire, leaving reverberations that will surely be felt for generations to come. El Prado was a very good sire, to be sure, but was one of a very few sons of Sadler’s Wells to find success at stud in North America. There were plenty to be found across the pond–and this was even before the days of Sadler’s Wells greatest gifts to Europe in super sires Galileo (Ire), who is only a year older than Medaglia d’Oro, and Montjeu (Ire), three years his elder–but grass racing wasn’t as popular in the U.S. at the time as it is now. El Prado’s other exceptional sire son, Kitten’s Joy, would not be born for two more years. The smartest minds in the business could not have remotely guessed two decades ago that El Prado, who stood for just $10,000 the year Medaglia d’Oro was conceived, would be the sire of two of the top stallions in North America and certainly could not have predicted Medaglia d’Oro’s prowess on dirt himself, first as a racehorse and then as a sire. Medaglia d’Oro’s female family was sprinkled with nondescript black-type, but, other than some graded action deep under his third dam, there was nothing to indicate the star he would become. After he broke his maiden at second asking, he was sold privately and transferred to the barn of Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel. Frankel could do little wrong with the horse, immediately winning the GII San Felipe S. and putting him on the Triple Crown trail. Medaglia d’Oro wouldn’t win a Classic, with his best finish a second in the GI Belmont S., but he did take the GI Travers S. and Jim Dandy S. before the year was through. He would eventually add the GI Whitney H., GI Donn H., and several other graded stakes as well as two consecutive runner-up finishes in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic and a second in the G1 Dubai World Cup. “As a race horse, Medaglia d’Oro was ultra tough, ultra consistent, and just performed at the highest level time and time again,” said Fox. “An elite performer, he did run first or second in 15 over 17 starts, and in 14 of the starts he ran triple-digit Beyers up to a high of 120, so [he was] just an amazing, consistent, high-performing athlete through every year he raced, so he certainly is a rare performer in that regard.” But the best was yet to come. Medaglia d’Oro entered stud in 2005. It turned out to be a banner year for new sires, as his fellow first-timers in the breeding shed included what are now legendary names like Tapit (Pulpit), Candy Ride (Arg) (Ride the Rails), and Speightstown (Gone West). All found success right out of the gate, siring a minimum of two Grade/Group I winners with their first crop, but when the dust settled, only one had a Horse of the Year in that first crop. That, of course, was Medaglia d’Oro with the spectacular Rachel Alexandra, Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly. Medaglia d’Oro’s other champions to date include Songbird, Vancouver, Passion for Gold, and Wonder Gadot. The striking bay has sired four individual Breeders’ Cup winners, a Classic winner, two Kentucky Oaks winners, and a Golden Slipper winner among his 130 black-type winners. Of his 66 graded stakes winners, 22 are Grade/Group I winners . “What makes Medaglia d’Oro special is obviously his ability to get elite performances on both surfaces, just his versatility, he’s the only stallion in the world that has sired five Grade I winners on dirt and turf in the last five years, so that just really highlights what [he] can do,” said Fox. And he’s not done yet. Medaglia d’Oro has 189 current juveniles, 167 current yearlings, and plenty of foals of 2019, many out of mares that would be the envy of any stallion manager’s book. Ditto with mares in foal for 2020. Judging by the way his 2-year-olds were received at auction earlier this year, led by a $1.2 million colt at Fasig-Tipton’s Florida sale in March, it would not be a stretch to conjecture that Medaglia d’Oro could still come up with several more stars. Nor would it be a stretch to imagine him as a mainstay in the breeding shed for several years yet. “At 20 years of age,” said Fox, “he looks absolutely phenomenal. He’s had another great season in the breeding shed, excellent stats and, as you can see by his condition, doesn’t look a color of his age, so we’re really thrilled with how he’s been performing in the shed, and how he looks in his general health and vitality. “We’re very excited about what the future holds for Medaglia d’Oro and his dynasty as a sire of sires.” The post Medaglia d’Oro Better than Ever at 20 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY–Back when the New York Racing Association announced its bold new initiative for 3-year-old turf horses in the summer, a trio of big-money events dubbed the “Turf Trinity,” many quipped that it would quickly be reconsidered as the “Chad Brown Trinity”, due to the perennial leading trainer’s particular dominance with grass horses. It only took one race in the series, however, to throw a wrench in that assumption, as longshot Henley’s Joy (Kitten’s Joy) upset the Belmont Derby at over 20-1 for Jeff Bloom’s Bloom Racing Stable and trainer Mike Maker. Sunday at Saratoga, the overachieving colt will look to make another early mark on the series as he contests the first running of the Turf Trinity’s second leg, the $1-million Saratoga Derby, which will be run at 1 3/16 miles to mirror the distance of the Triple Crown’s middle jewel, the GI Preakness S. “I’m a big fan,” Bloom said with a laugh about his early impressions of the series. “I think it’s a great idea, just another way to create excitement, interest and support a whole different component of our business in terms of developing young turf horses. It’s something that I think will only grow and become a big thing for the game. Obviously I’m a big fan having taken down the first ever [leg] of it, but I think it’s going to build excitement and you’re going to see a lot of people plan to go after running in and winning these races.” Henley’s Joy was a $50,000 purchase at OBS April last year, and has so far earned nearly seven figures on the racetrack despite suffering a number of troubled trips going all the way back to his unveiling, where he navigated a slow start and ground loss to score a 14-1 upset on the Ellis lawn. Next time out, the chestnut paid for himself and then some with a neck triumph in the lucrative Kentucky Downs Juvenile S. After that, though, Henley’s Joy won just one of his next eight starts, a stretch that included runner-up finishes by a nose, a neck and a half-length, and which Bloom chalked up to bad luck more than anything. “He’s a horse that had exhibited tons of talent, and even going back to his debut race, he had to overcome so much adversity with a poor start, extremely wide trip, bumped,” he said. “If you went back and looked at every single one of his races, including two of his just horrific near misses, he had trips that were so compromised. Every rider that had been on him said the same thing, that he’s one of the good ones, and if not for the bad trip, he would’ve won the race.” Then came the July 6 1 1/4-mile Belmont Derby, Henley’s Joy’s first foray beyond nine furlongs. True to expectation, the Chad Brown barn had four imposing runners in the race, but Bloom and Maker’s ace in the hole was jockey Jose Lezcano, riding Henley’s Joy for the first time in the midst of a brilliant meet that would see him take home his first-ever New York riding title. Lezcano worked out a beautiful trip, saving ground and sitting just off the speed, finding clear sailing in the stretch and just edging past fellow longshot Social Paranoia (Street Boss) to pull the 3/4-length shocker. “It’s not like he was missing by much running against the best horses,” Bloom said. “He had run against War of Will, and a number of really good horses and had held his own. It simply came down to him getting an absolutely fabulous trip, and things worked out.” Bloom, himself a former jockey who piloted 172 winners in his brief career, noted that, because of his riding experience, he tends not to be overly judgmental of jockeys when he’s the recipient of a bad trip as an owner. “I really don’t like to be critical of riders,” he said. “Having been one, I have a completely different perspective and so many things happen during the course of the race. It’s really easy for people to sit back, watch a race and have all the answers, but there are split-second decisions that are required to be made and regardless of instructions, the complexion of a race changes from second to second. So I try to remove that emotional component of it when I’m watching the races.” As for the Saratoga Derby, Bloom is confident that Henley’s Joy will not only replicate his Belmont Derby heroics, but potentially improve upon them in a race that will include a number of players from the Brown barn as well as European powerhouse Aidan O’Brien. “We’re pretty high on him right now, he came out of the Belmont Derby probably in better shape than he went into it,” he said. “If a horse can blossom even more, he’s done it. He’s matured physically and really filled out nicely in the last couple of months. That race definitely gave him what I think is a good confidence booster. Often times, when horses run into trips where they have problems, they can go the other way and get dejected, but it’s been the opposite for him. He’s relished the fight. He had a beautiful breeze the other day, he’s ready, and we’re looking forward to hopefully getting that next leg.” Henley’s Joy isn’t the only top-level talent who will give Bloom a thrill this summer at the Spa. The brilliant Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), a four-time Grade I winner who ran her record to a perfect five-for-five this season with a victory in the GIII Molly Pitcher S. July 20 at Monmouth, is gearing up for a run in Saratoga’s GI Personal Ensign S. Aug. 24. The dark bay 4-year-old, who Bloom bought for $80,000 at OBS April in 2017 and now owns in partnership with Madaket Stables and Allen Racing, has earned $2.87 million on the racetrack with 10 victories in 16 starts. “She’s a game-changer,” Bloom said. “You hope she’s not a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but that could possibly be the case. There’s only so many of those kinds of horses. She’s just in a whole different league, a whole different level and you hope and aspire to get more of those, but I know, being a realist, it’s a challenge. On every level, she’s been a pleasure to be a part of. One of the things that makes it even nicer is the personality she has. She’s just so wonderful to be around and fun to be around at the barn, yet she’s fierce on the racetrack. The ride that we’ve had has been just incredible, beyond words, and we’re not done yet. It’s one of those things where every day, you wake up thinking, ‘Wow, Midnight Bisou is one of our horses.’ It’s really exciting to sit back and enjoy the ride and embrace it as much as you can. It teaches you to be in the moment and really appreciate how exciting, how much fun it is.” The post ‘Henley’ Fits Perfectly in Turf Trinity appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

William Buick is set to make his long-awaited return to the saddle with two rides at Newmarket on Friday evening. Buick, who was unshipped from Sir Busker (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) on the way to post at Ascot on May 10, has been out of action since partnering the Charlie Appleby-trained 2-year-old newcomer Expressionist (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) to victory at the same track 24 hours later. He missed his intended mounts in France the next day after reportedly feeling unwell. The 31-year-old, retained by Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation, subsequently spent some time at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge–where he underwent tests. Buick will make his comeback aboard Appleby’s newcomer Lazuli (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Unibet British EBF Novice S. before riding his stablemate Art Song (Scat Daddy)–a winner on his only previous start at Kempton last October–in the 32Red Novice S. The post Buick Set to Return on Friday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Oaklawn Park has announced significant purse increases to a number of its 2020 stakes as the Arkansas oval will for the second year host a meet that stretches into May. Four stakes at meet, which runs from Jan. 24 to May 2, will feature $1-million purses: the Mar 14 GII Rebel S., Apr. 11 GI Arkansas Derby, Apr. 18 GI Oaklawn H. and Apr. 18 GI Apple Blossom H. Both the Oaklawn H. and Apple Blossom have been pushed back on the calendar and given $250,000 purse bumps. The purse for the Feb. 17 GIII Southwest S. for sophomore males has also been increased by $250,000 to $750,000, and purses its three preps for the GI Kentucky Oaks have been raised as well: by $25 ,000 for the Feb. 1 $150,000 Martha Washington S., and by $100,000 each for the now $300,000 GIII Honeybee S. Mar. 7 and $600,000 GIII Fantasy S. Apr. 10. The second-annual $300,000 Oaklawn Invitational for 3-year-olds will again be run on GI Kentucky Derby day. “We have so many great things happening now at Oaklawn and it’s reflected in our remarkable stakes program scheduled for the 2020 season,” Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. “We are especially proud of the increases we made to our 3-year-old series for horses on the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks trail.” The inaugural 1 1/2-mile Temperence Hill S. for older horses will be contested Mar. 13. With the shift of the Oaklawn H. and Apple Blossom, this will be the first time that the Racing Festival of the South will stretch past the Arkansas Derby. “My father conceived the idea for the Racing Festival of the South in 1974 and since that time it’s become one of the most prominent events on the national racing calendar,” Cella said. “I think he would be thrilled to see the purses of the Oaklawn Handicap and Apple Blossom at $1 million each.” Oaklawn’s 2020 stakes schedule features a total of 33 races worth $10,700,000. Overall, 15 of those stakes received purse increases including four Arkansas-bred stakes. The post Major Purse Increases for 2020 Oaklawn Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Last year’s G2 Coventry S. winner Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}-Helleborine {GB}, by Observatory) has been bought by Coolmore Stud and retired from racing. The 3-year-old will stand at Coolmore with owner/breeder Juddmonte Farms retaining an interest in the horse and supporting him. Calyx was the first winner for his standout young sire last June when winning at Newmarket in a five-length ‘TDN Rising Star’ performance, and he backed up 10 days later with a one-length victory over Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in Royal Ascot’s Coventry. Sidelined for the remainder of the season thereafter, Calyx returned a four-length winner of the G3 Pavilion S. at Ascot on May 1 and was last seen finishing second in the G2 Sandy Lane S. on May 25. Calyx is out of the G3 Prix d’Aumale winner and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac second Helleborine, a full-sister to G1 Sprint Cup winner African Rose (GB), also the dam of G3 Princess Margaret S. winner Fair Eva (GB) (Frankel {GB}). His third dam, Musicanti (Nijinsky), produced G1 Dewhurst S. winner Distant Music (Distant View). Coolmore’s Director of Sales David O’Loughlin said, “We are thrilled to get Calyx. He had an explosive turn of foot, as did his sire Kingman, while his dam is a group-winning 2-year-old and a full-sister to a Group 1-winning sprinter. He’s a quality individual too so he has the complete package.” John Gosden, who trained both Calyx and Kingman, said, “Calyx always had that rare brilliance you only see in champions. His performances at Ascot at both two and three years were of the highest standard. He is a very similar type to his sire Kingman and with both Coolmore and Juddmonte supporting him at stud he will be given the best possible opportunity to succeed as a stallion.” The post Calyx Bought By Coolmore, Retired appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Goffs UK Silver Yearling Sale, which catalogued 175 yearlings, will be held at Doncaster on Aug. 29, the day after the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale ends. Two past graduates of the sale are American graded winners this year, in The Mackem Bullet (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}) and Simply Breathless (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), while Flying Thunder (GB) (Archipenko) won a Group 3 in Hong Kong. One of the highlights of the sale is a filly by Fountain of Youth (Ire) out of the G3 Ballyogan S. heroine Golden Nun (GB) (Bishop of Cashel {GB}) as lot 593 from Bearstone Stud. Lot 473, a Dandy Man (Ire) colt produced by French Group3 victress Percolator (GB) (Kheleyf), hails from the draft of Harry Dutfield. Night of Thunder (Ire) is represented by a Bumble Mitchell-consigned half-brother to SW & GSP Green Rock (Fr) (Green Tune) (lot 484) and Abbeville Stud consigns lot 546, a son of Markaz (Ire) out of the Group 3 winner Questioning (Ire) (Elusive Quality). In 2018, the sale grossed £1,385,400 from 136 yearlings sold, with an average of £10,187 and a median of £8,250. The top price was £40,000 for a son of Clodovil (Ire). “Every year the Silver Sale produces some very smart horses and 2019 has been no different having enjoyed stakes winners in America, Hong Kong and Ireland thus far this season,” said Goffs UK Managing Director Tony Williams. “Each year we see more buyers stay after the Premier Sale for the Silver Sale the following day and last year was one of the best in terms of attendance with a number of major owners, trainers and agents onsite which led to vendors supporting the sale with a stronger selection this year.” The post Goffs UK Silver Yearling Catalogue Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Keeneland has released the catalogue for its upcoming September Yearling Sale. A total of 4,644 yearlings have been catalogued for the auction, which will run from Sept. 9-22. The sale begins with a three-session Book 1–190 yearlings have been catalogued for the first two sessions and 189 for the third session–beginning daily at noon. Book 1 will be followed by a dark day Thursday and the auction resumes with a two-session Book 2, with bidding beginning at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday. A total of 569 yearlings are cataloged in this year’s Book 1, compared to 989 yearlings in Book 1 in 2018. The Book 2 catalogue is 730 horses, compared to 826 last year. “Keeneland is in constant communication with our sales clients, and we work with them to determine the best way to structure the September sale each year to produce the strongest market we can–by enabling consignors to best present their yearlings and giving buyers adequate time to inspect these horses,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston said. “We feel the revised format of the 2019 September sale and the other exciting changes at Keeneland will create a successful atmosphere that rewards participants.” The September catalogue will be available online at www.keeneland.com beginning Aug. 6 and print catalogues will be received Aug. 19 and 20. Ahead of the September sale, Keeneland has completed the first phase of its multi-year stable area renovation. Barns 11-19, which are located closest to the sales pavilion, feature new roofs, re-graded walking rings, a new drainage system, upgraded LED lighting, new electrical wiring and new trees. “The goal of this project is not only to enhance the barn areas, but to bring the walking rings and areas where consignors present horses for inspection on par with the caliber of horses being showcased,” Keeneland Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Vince Gabbert said. The post Keeneland Catalogues 4,644 for September Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Al Shaqab will continue to sponsor the £350,000 G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S. until 2024, after a new five-year deal was agreed upon, Newbury Racecourse announced on Wednesday. Besides the G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S., Al Shaqab will also sponsor the G3 Al Rayyan S. and the Listed Haras de Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial. “The agreement to renew Al Shaqab’s sponsorship of the G1 Lockinge for a further five years demonstrates our commitment to British Horseracing and its well-deserved standing worldwide,” said Al Shaqab General Manager Khalifa Al Attiya. “With 50 horses in training in Britain alone and an extensive breeding and racing operation in France, this is an important partnership for us and one which has helped foster our relations and cooperation with horse organisations in the UK and the rest of the world.” “We have enjoyed a great partnership with Al Shaqab since they came on board to sponsor the prestigious Group 1 back in 2015 and I am delighted they have extended the relationship for a further five years,” said Newbury Racecourse Chief Executive Julian Thick. “The Al Shaqab Lockinge S. is a hugely important race in the European calendar, and we are delighted that, with the backing of Al Shaqab, we are now in a fortunate position to look at attracting new partners to support and grow this event further.” The post Al Shaqab Extends Lockinge Sponsporship appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Four $1 million stakes races: the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2), $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1), $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2), and $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) highlight Oaklawn's 2020 stakes schedule. View the full article

It is now 11 Group 1s for Frankie in two months as he steered TDN Rising Star Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) to success in Wednesday’s G1 Qatar Sussex S. at Goodwood. Gaining revenge on his G1 St James’s Palace S. conqueror Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the process, the Lloyd-Webbers’ homebred stayed in a pocket behind Phoenix of Spain (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and that rival and swooped on the Ballydoyle runner a furlong out. Asserting for a half-length success, the even-money favourite who took the G1 Prix Jean Prat over seven furlongs at Deauville July 7 may be about to drop back in trip after this pace-packed display. “He is very good and had a smooth run into this race–he’s got so much speed,” Dettori said. “I can’t feel my arms at the moment! He’s blessed with so much natural speed.” 1–TOO DARN HOT (GB), 126, c, 3, by Dubawi (Ire) 1st Dam: Dar Re Mi (GB) (Hwt. Older Mare-Eng at 11-14f, G1SW-Eng, Ire & UAE, GSW & G1SP-Fr, GISP-US, $4,359,112), by Singspiel (Ire) 2nd Dam: Darara (Ire), by Top Ville (Ire) 3rd Dam: Delsy (Fr), by Abdos (Fr) O-Lord Lloyd-Webber; B-Watership Down Stud (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £593,392. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr & G1SP-Ire, 9-6-2-1, £1,320,181. *Full to Lah Ti Dar (GB), GSW & MG1SP-Eng, G1SP-Fr, $541,171; So Mi Dar (GB), GSW-Eng & G1SP-Fr, $242,742; and 1/2 to De Treville (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), MGSP-Fr, $114,187. The post Too Darn Hot Stretches Frankie’s Streak In the Sussex appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sent off the 11-8 favourite on the basis of her 3 1/4-length success in the Listed Dragon S. at Sandown July 5, Philip Wilkins’s Liberty Beach (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) mastered a clutch of the fastest juveniles that could be mustered in opposition in Goodwood’s five-furlong G3 Molecomb S. Always travelling strongly behind the speed, the bay was short of room passing the two-furlong pole but was undeterred and split the Matthieu Palussiere-trained pair Fan Club Rules (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) and Wheels On Fire (Fr) (Sidestep {Aus}) to lead with 150 yards remaining. At the line, she had a length to spare over Alligator Alley (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and jockey Jason Hart was left relieved it had come off. “She was very brave and tough to go through that tight gap,” he commented. “I planned to follow Frankie [on Maven (American Pharoah)] and I had hoped he would take me a bit further, so I got dragged out of the race a tiny bit and had to make my move sooner than ideal.” 1–LIBERTY BEACH (GB), 124, f, 2, by Cable Bay (Ire) 1st Dam: Flirtinaskirt (GB), by Avonbridge (GB) 2nd Dam: Talampaya, by Elusive Quality 3rd Dam: Argentina, by Storm Cat 1ST GROUP WIN. (£16,000 RNA Ylg ’18 TASAYG). O/B-Philip Wilkins (GB); T-John Quinn; J-Jason Hart. £42,533. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0, £94,870. The post Cable Bay’s Liberty Beach Takes the Molecomb appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

West Melton trainers Tony and Lyn Prendergast have two runners in Saturday’s Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations 122nd Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton. The husband and wife duo will be represented by the top weight of the field, Who Dares Wins, and Trudeau. Who Dares Wins strung together three wins in a row earlier this preparation, including the Listed Easter Cup (1600m) and Gr.3 Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m), however, the seven-year-old gelding put in an uncustomary poor performance at Ri... View the full article

Noel Riordan, best remembered as the only jockey able to get the best out of champion stayer Il Tempo, died on Tuesday morning, aged 84. Riordan, a quietly spoken, humble man, maintained his interest in horse racing throughout his adult life and passed away at Country Lodge, Matamata. Riordan’s father died when he was four and he was one of 10 children brought up by their mother. At the age of 13 he and his brothers, Des (then 15) and John (11) left their New Plymouth home in 1948 to sign on a... View the full article

Write photo caption here by replacing this text. TAB News Pick6 this week $25 Pick6 at Cambridge on Thursday night. $40 Pick6 Friday night at Addington. August and September – Harness First4 $6,000 Bonus First4 on a Race 4 Every Friday Night in Aug/Sept and on Race 4 at Addington on Thu 19 Sept. Cambridge Raceway News – New Season Launch 1 August You’re invited to a birthday party! Join us to celebrate the brand new racing season and the horse’s birthday! We are holding a special season launch event on Thursday 1 August at Cambridge Raceway in the Skyline Lounge (level 2). Kick off is 5pm, first race 5.21pm. And entry is free! Alexandra Park News – Friday 2 August Christmas at the Races featuring the Inter Dominion Championship 2019 Christmas at the Races are some of the hottest nights on the Alexandra Park Harness Racing calendar. Choose from our various rooms and packages the best option to suit your guests, get into the festive spirit with our amazing Christmas themed all-you-can-eat buffet and keep your eye out for Santa. There will be competitions, entertainment, photographers and non-stop harness racing excitement, plus live entertainment after the last race. This year offers added value with the Inter Dominion Championship being run in New Zealand for the first time in 8 years. Explore the best Alexandra Park has to offer, but don’t forget to book quickly as these popular nights don’t last long. For more information visit: https://www.alexandrapark.co.nz/whats-on/christmas-races-2019/ To make a booking, do it online or contact us 09 631 1165 or email dining@alexandrapark.co.nz Gore Harness Racing Club return of the SPRING FLING BONUS Following the success of this bonus last season the Club would like to announce that the SPRING FLING BONUS returns this season to be run over their race meetings on the 10th and 25th August and the 12th October. Two categories, fillies/mares and colts/geldings. Winner (highest points scorer) of each category to receive $1,000 plus cool down rug. Points: 1st = 10pts, 2nd = 6pts, 3rd = 3pts, 4th = 2 pts, 5th = 1 pt. Southern Harness Racing – Southern Awards – Sunday 11 August Sunday 11 August 2019 Ascot Park Hotel, Invercargill Doors open 5.15pm, starting 6 pm sharp Master of ceremonies – Jess Smith Tickets $70 online $75 cash or cheque Please use the following link to purchase your tickets https://forms.gle/gWyNZ7bAKhMsibda7 Any problems phone Karen 03 206 6545 or Nicole 03 206 6965 Canterbury Harness Racing Awards – 21 September 2019 Woodlands Stud Canterbury Harness Awards Dinner – Saturday 21 September Silks Lounge – Addington Raceway, Addington 6.30pm for a 7.15pm start Tickets $60.00 incl. GST Drinks extra at individual’s cost. Watch our for our stallion tender for Downbytheseaside and Pegasus Spur services which close on 02 September 2019. All enquiries to 021 969 969 or cantyawardsdinner@gmail.com View the full article

AUSSIE punters expect Kiwi trainer Phil Williamson to steal the show at Australia’s biggest trotting meeting on Sunday. Williamson’s exciting pair Ultimate Stride and Liberty Stride dominate opening betting markets in their respective Group 1 assignments. Ultimate Stride, who looked so good winning his only Aussie run, is a $2.10 favourite in the $50,000 Group 1 Volstead Redwood Classic for baby trotters. Ultimate Stride has barrier nine – two-out on the back row – in the standing start feature. And filly Liberty Stride, who stunned locals with a monstrous first Aussie wins, is $2.15 against the boys after drawing gate four in the $75,000 Group 1 Haras Des Trotteurs Victoria Trotters’ Derby. Williamson has booked former Kiwi driver Anthony Butt for both races. Butt replaced Chris Alford on Ultimate Stride as Alford is committed to his own family runner, Dreamee, from gate six. Ultimate Stride’s main danger looks to be local Powerkeg, who he did beat easily last outing. In the Derby, another Kiwi Kratos from the John and Josh Dickie barn is a clear $3.60 second elect despite the back row (gate 10). The other highlight of the massive day is the return to racing of Inter Dominion trotting champion Tornado Valley in a free-for-all (race seven). Tornado Valley missed a planned return race a couple weeks back with a minor setback. Despite being first-up for almost five months and drawing the back row (gate nine), Tornado Valley is still a $1.90 favourite. Main dangers will be fellow Inter Dominion finalists Big Jack Hammer (gate six, $3.50) and Save Our Pennys (gate seven, $6). View the full article

It took just two scintillating bursts of speed for Jazzy Star’s season to go full circle in the past two weeks. The Brent White trained 4yr-old dashed along the passing lane to make it two wins from two starts in a perfect winter preparation. Jazzy Star also started his season by winning his first two starts, before things went pear shaped for the pacer during a summer campaign in Auckland. “He went awful up there,” White said. “I wouldn’t have sent him up there if I didn’t think he was a chance to pay his way.” “Nothing worked out for him, really.” “We think he might have picked up a bug on the way up there.” The Auckland Reactor pacer immediately put his failed trip behind him when he produced a jaw-dropping burst of speed to win fresh up for driver Stephen McNally. Jazzy Star backed that effort up with another impressive performance at Addington on Friday night. What talent the pacer posses is not yet matched in his ringcraft. Jazzy’s Star’s greenness meant driver Ricky May elected to ease the favourite to a gap three back on the markers after he failed to make the lead. Though it may have caused some of the horse’s backers some nervous moments, it proved to be masterstroke from May when he found clear air in the straight.” “He is still learning the game a wee bit,” White said. “He relaxes far better on the back of another horse. “He had a dig for the lead and he can over race a wee bit, so when the gap opened.” “Ricky thought he would take the punt and the horse fell back to sleep then.” “Around the bend he was just jogging and it was just a matter of finding a gap.” Jazzy’s Star’s troubles were not simply over when he left the spelling paddock following his Auckland campaign. The pacer’s return to racing was set back around two months ago when he was struck by illness. “I had him ready to go to a race at Ashburton six or eight weeks ago and I pulled him out of the box and he had snot running out of his nose,” White said. “So we had to start again with him.” “I have to take my hat off to his owners Dave and Gay Luke, they have been patient with me and let me do what I have got to do with him.” Jazzy’s Star’s back to back wins have earned him a small break. The pacer was likely to have three weeks off before resuming in the spring, White said. View the full article

Former champion trotter Stent has died prematurely. The million-dollar earner, rising 11, had been enjoying a new life as a riding horse in Timaru. “He had a paddock accident yesterday and, unfortunately, the only humane thing to do was put him down,” said his breeder and owner, Trevor Casey. “The lady that had him was most upset when she rung to tell me. “It’s a real shame but unfortunately that’s what can happen with livestock.” Stent had a storied career under the tutelage of Colin and Julie DeFilippi, though one that was cut short through injury. “He certainly was a talent, though I don’t think we ever really saw the best of him,” said Casey. “He could have gone a lot further had he not broken down when he did.” Stent suffered a leg injury as a seven-year-old and then after nearly two years away from the track returned for one final run at the start of last season before the same injury reoccurred. His watershed year came in the 2014-15 season, when he won Trotter of the Year in both Australia and New Zealand. He recorded seven Group 1 wins that term, including the Rowe Cup, Great Southern Star, New Zealand Trotting Championship and New Zealand Trotting Free For All. For Casey, winning the two-mile Rowe Cup at Alexandra Cup was a personal highlight amongst his 30 wins. “Winning the Rowe Cup was a special moment after people said he couldn’t stay. “The Great Southern Star was another great win; he won that really well. “He was just head and shoulders above them that year – he really was just playing with them.” Casey is immensely grateful for all the time and effort the DeFilippis put in to Stent and said they would be keenly feeling his loss as well. “He will always be remembered as a big part of all our lives for a long time. “Colin and Julie did such a fantastic job.” And while the unforgettable ride of owning champion pacer Lazarus is probably at the forefront of Casey’s racing memories, he has very personal reasons for being enamored with Stent, a horse he bred. “Yes, I’ve had Lazarus, but Stent still holds a special place in my heart. “In fact, he is named after a stent that was put in my heart ten years ago.” Casey is still breeding out of Stent’s dam, Belle Galleon, and his half-sister, Arya. “And I’m racing his full brother, Lone Star Lad.” Casey has quite an elite band of trotting broodmares at his Christchurch property, but it’s a group of 21 other mares that have him excited for the coming breeding season. They are all in foal to his former star pacer, Sky Major, who he brought home from North America last Spring to stand at Wai Eyre Farm. “I’m backing him. I advertised for mares and got offered about 50, so I picked out the best ones and put them all in foal. “So, there will be a few going through the sale ring in the next few years, and I’ll try a few myself. “The first ones are due in August and that’s a really exciting time for us.” As for Lazarus, Casey says it is unlikely he will be breeding any mares to him in his first season at stud, in New South Wales. “Unfortunately, I won’t be as all my pacing mares can’t go to him. “They’re either from his family or by Bettor’s Delight and Christian Cullen. “So, I guess I’ll be looking at the sales instead.” View the full article

Van Blanc winning at Tauranga on Wednesday. Pukekohe trainer Nigel Tiley picked up an early quinella at Tauranga on Wednesday courtesy of Van Blanc and Hunua Hank in the Gartshore 1600. Under torrential rain Van Blank looked a beaten runner at the 800m as he drifted back to the rear of the field, however, under the urgings of jockey Vinnie Colgan, the four-year-old made a resurgence and came storming home late out wide to run down his stablemate to record a short-margin victory. “He was very wide and then he drifted right out of it, I actually took my eyes off him and was watching the other horse (Hunua Hank),” stable foreman Karen Zimmerman said. “He came home really well. They both really deserved to win today. It was a good effort by both of them.” Jockey Vinnie Colgan thought he was on a beaten horse midway through the race, but was pleased with the way his charge fought back down the home straight. “It was hard work,” he said. “There was a decent downpour as we raced and there was a lot of mud coming back. It was hard to see and the track is very deep. “My horse was going backwards at the half-mile, it wasn’t until I got him wide and into a bit of clear space that he got going again. It was a really good effort by the horse. View the full article

No Change winning at Hastings last month. Hastings trainers Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal will take a trio of runners to Riccarton on Saturday, but they are slightly concerned with the heavy track conditions heading into the weekend. “We are just not too sure about the track. It appears that it is getting worse, it has gone to a Heavy11,” Nelson said. “I think the rain has gone through, but it will be what damage it has done really.” No Change will be their first runner of the day in the Racecourse Hotel & Motor Lodge Sydenham Hurdles (3100m) and he heads into Saturday in winning form after taking out the Hawke’s Bay Hurdle (3100m) at Hastings last month. “Hawke’s Bay suited him, the track (Slow7) was pretty much to his liking,” Nelson said. “He has been a bit long without a run, but hopefully that won’t count against him.” While the 11-year-old son of Shinko King has won twice on a heavy surface, Nelson would like to see the track improve before Saturday. “He has won on a heavy track, but it’s been a wet and loose track. He will probably run on Saturday and then we will see after that.” Nelson holds the same concerns with Zardetto heading into the Yesberg Insurance Services Koral Steeplechase (4250m) on Saturday after he was pulled up in the Wellington Steeplechase (5500m) on the testing Heavy11 track last start. “He’s been pretty good (since that run), I am just not too sure that we didn’t have a bug go through (the stable),” Nelson said. “Even though his record hasn’t been huge lately on wet tracks, I thought he would have finished the race alright.” The 12-year-old gelding pleased his connections in his previous three starts over fences where he placed in the Waikato Steeplechase (3900m) and Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase (4800m) and they elected to travel him south in search of better tracks. “We thought that we were going to get better tracks and then we made a plan to bring the other horses down,” Nelson said. “They are here and the fields aren’t very strong, so he will run and we will see after that. “He has won on a heavy track, but probably as he has got older he hasn’t been as keen on them. “The good thing is that steeplechase track hasn’t been used. We will just have to play it by ear really. “We’ll see how he goes on Saturday.” Meanwhile, Ooee pleased Nelson with his debut placing over the bigger fences at Te Rapa a fortnight ago and he is hoping the addition of a tongue-tie will assist the gelding on Saturday when he contests the Maneline (NZ) Safety Trackx Raceplates Maiden Steeplechase (3200m). “He had his first chase the other day and he looked like he was in it and he just struggled a bit from the second-to-last fence,” Nelson said. “We have put a tongue-tie on him and hope that might help him. “His best form has been on better ground too, but it is the first race on that track, so we might get away with it.” View the full article

Pukekohe trainer Nigel Tiley picked up an early quinella at Tauranga on Wednesday courtesy of Van Blanc and Hunua Hank in the Gartshore 1600. Under torrential rain Van Blank looked a beaten runner at the 800m as he drifted back to the rear of the field, however, under the urgings of jockey Vinnie Colgan, the four-year-old made a resurgence and came storming home late out wide to run down his stablemate to record a short-margin victory. “He was very wide and then he drifted right out of it, I a... View the full article