Wandering Eyes

It's safe to say jockey Flavien Prat didn't have much concern as to what kind of horse he had underneath him midway through the turn in the $200,000 Santa Ynez Stakes (G2) Jan. 6 at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

Following some consideration, G M B Racing's Tom's d'Etat has officially been confirmed for the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park, according to trainer Al Stall Jr. and G M B Racing Manager Greg Bensel. View the full article

BELLAFINA (f, 3, Quality Road–Akron Moon, by Malibu Moon), the prohibitive 2-5 favorite to return to winning ways in Sunday’s GII Santa Ynez S., put on quite the display as she dueled with second choice Mother Mother (Pioneerof the Nile) before pouring it on in the stretch en route to an effortless double-digit victory. Golden Gate Debutante winner Tomlin (Distorted Humor) checked in third. The winner stopped the clock in 1:22 flat. After breaking her maiden second up in the GII Sorrento S. Aug. 5, the bay added emphatic tallies in both the GI Del Mar Debutante and GI Chandelier S. to head into the GI Breeders’ Cup Fillies as the one to beat. She was a disappointing fourth that day at 19-10, but it was later revealed that she was found to have been in season at the time. Sales history: $220,000 RNA yrl ’17 KEESEP; $800,000 2yo ’18 FTFMAR. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0. O-Kaleem Shah Inc. B-JSM Equine LLC (Ky). T-Simon Callaghan. View the full article

G M B Racing’s Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike) has been confirmed to run in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park according to racing manager Greg Bensel. The 6-year-old began serious preparations for North America’s richest race with a half-mile breeze in :49 flat (19/110) Sunday at Fair Grounds, his first major activity since capturing the Tenacious S. by 3 1/2 lengths Dec. 22 at the New Orleans oval. That was the first stakes try for the bay, who has racked up six victories in nine career outings. “This will be a true test,” Bensel told the Fair Grounds notes team. “We don’t know where he fits in the Pegasus, but I do know that he’s won six out of his nine career races so he deserves a chance. He’s a horse that can definitely go the distance up against that type of talent. It will be the most talented field there can be.” Bought for $330,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, Tom’s d’Etat announced himself with a nine-length romp in a Saratoga optional claimer last summer, but had gone unseen for over a year before resurfacing with another dominant optional claiming score Nov. 4 at Churchill prior to his Tenacious heroics. He will have two more breezes before the Pegasus, Stall said. View the full article

Zaki, Boss and Woodworth suspended View the full article

Horses' test result January 7 View the full article

The Week in Review If you were trying to watch the early races from Gulfstream and Aqueduct on TVG over the weekend, you had a problem. On Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST, TVG is airing a sports betting show called “More Ways to Win.” One of the hosts is Dave Weaver, who has been part of TVG’s racing team. By the time More Ways to Win went off the air on Saturday, two races had been run at Gulfstream, two at Aqueduct and Tampa and one at Laurel. For the Aqueduct and Gulfstream races, they interrupted the sports betting show just long enough to show the running of the race. There was nothing in the way of build up or analysis from the network’s horse racing experts. As things stand now, the racing fan isn’t missing that much because of the More Ways to Win show. What is disturbing is the direction this is surely going to go. More Ways to Win is from the sports betting firm Fanduel. TVG and Fanduel are owned by the same company. Fanduel is putting this much emphasis into a sports betting show when its product is currently available only to a tiny percentage of the country. New Jersey residents can bet with Fanduel online or at the Meadowlands. Fanduel also runs the sports book at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia and has the contract to eventually open a sportsbook at a casino in Pennsylvania. That’s it. Just imagine what the scope of Fanduel’s sports betting platform will be in the U.S. in, say, five years. It will be massive. If they’re devoting this much time to sports betting on TVG now, what will happen when they’re in 30 states and their sports betting revenue dwarfs their take on racing? The likely answer is that TVG is going to become a sports betting network that may or may not show a few horse races here and there. The racing can always be farmed out to TVG2, but that network is not available to nearly as many people as the main TVG network is. People love to complain about TVG and, in particular, some of its hosts. You might want to stop taking TVG for granted because the TVG as we know it is probably not long for this world. For what it’s worth, the More Ways to Win show is outstanding, with lots of valuable insights from hosts, Weaver among them, who clearly know their stuff. Upheaval on Road to the Derby The first week in January is not normally a time when you expect anything significant to happen when it comes to potential candidates for the GI Kentucky Derby, but last Saturday’s races produced the sort of upheaval normally found when the major preps come rolling around. It was a very good day for two horses and a not-so-good-day for two others. Despite the horse having had only one career start, the hype machine had hit overdrive for Coliseum (Tapit), the favorite in the GIII Sham S. at Santa Anita. That was hardly a surprise. Trained by Bob Baffert, by Tapit, owned by Godolphin and an easy winner of his maiden race, the ‘TDN Rising Star’s potential seemed unlimited. The only glitch was that Baffert had often mentioned that the horse was high on talent but needed to make strides in the maturity department. Baffert’s worst fears came true when Coliseum left the gate seemingly disinterested and never really got into gear. In a flat performance, he finished sixth, beating one horse. While it was a major setback, it’s way too early to give up on Coliseum. “He needed the race and he got behind after he didn’t break and I was afraid of that,” Baffert said. Still, with the way his 3-year-olds had been mowing down everything in sight since last summer, it was a shock to see a highly regarded Baffert colt throw in a clinker. Guess, the guy is human after all. Horses mature at different rates and Baffert will, no doubt, eventually bring out the best in him. That may not happen by Derby Day, so, perhaps this could be a GI Haskell-GI Travers horse. We’ll see. As Coliseum took a step in the wrong direction, Sham winner Gunmetal Gray (Exchange Rate) vaulted into the top tier of Derby contenders with a visually impressive win. The horse was last on the final bend before unleashing a powerful turn of foot that carried him to a one-length win under Mike Smith. It was the first start for the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained colt since he finished fifth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Even with the explosive late effort, there will no doubt be skeptics when it comes to Gunmetal Gray. His Beyer figure was an 82. That’s not the kind of number it takes to win the Kentucky Derby. Not even close. At Gulfstream, there was a similar story in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man S. Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}), appeared to be a major player on the way to Louisville. In the hands of Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, he broke his maiden at Saratoga and then finished second in the GI Champagne after stumbling at start and spotting the field several lengths. With a fever having knocked him of the Juvenile, he finally made it back to the races yesterday, and the results were not pretty. With no apparent major excuses, he finished a lackluster fourth. The winner was ‘Rising Star’ Mihos (Cairo Prince). In his first try beyond six furlongs he stayed perfect at three-for-three for trainer Jimmy Jerkens, winning by a neck. While there was nothing wrong with his race, he will likely have to do more before being considered an upper echelon Derby candidate. Did Computer Sharks Attack Sham Pools? Looks like the computer guys–those big players who use computer algorithms to handicap the races and collect huge rebates–made major last-second bets on the Sham. Based on the betting patterns, they were clearly convinced that Coliseum was an overlay. Whether or not they collected on Gunmetal Gray is unclear. Here are the odds when the horses entered the gate and the final odds: Horse – Start of Race – Final Odds Sueno: 16, 18 Gray Magician: 8, 5 Savagery: 25, 17 Easy Shot: 70, 87 Coliseum: 2-5, 3-5 Gunmetal Gray: 7-2, 7-2 Much Better: 12, 7 This may have been a no harm, no foul situation since the price on the winner didn’t change. But suppose someone had bet on Much Better and he won. They were expecting to collect $26 and instead cashed for $16. You win, but you feel like you lost. That’s not how you keep your customers coming back. Imagine how much money had to bet on a Saturday card at Santa Anita to account for such huge late odds swings? This is bad for the game. View the full article

Off the mark over this course and distance at first asking on Nov. 10, the newly minted 3-year-old Val d’Isere (Jpn) earned his first group tally in the G3 Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen on Sunday. Able to secure a spot against the fence in seventh behind a half-mile in :47.30, the dark bay burst up the inside once the field hit the home straight. Outfooting most of his rivals from there, he took charge but had to contend with the closing Meiner Flap (Jpn). He fended off that foe by a neck at the line. The ninth black-type winner and seventh group winner for his sire Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), Val d’Isere is the first foal from his three-time winning dam. Lord Kanaloa already has three Group 1 winners to his name, included recent G1 Hopeful S. victor Saturnalia (Jpn), 2018 Japanese Filly Triple Crown victress Almond Eye (Jpn) and G1 Mile Championship winner Stelvio (Jpn). Sunday, Kyoto, Japan NIKKAN SPORTS SHO SHINZAN KINEN-G3, ¥72,630,000 (US$669,026/£525,772/€587,019), Kyoto, 1-6, 3yo, 1600mT, 1:35.70, fm. 1–VAL D’ISERE (JPN), 123, c, 3, by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) 1st Dam: Fargo (Jpn), by Heart’s Cry (Jpn) 2nd Dam: Matikanesasameyuki, by Woodman 3rd Dam: Russian Ballet, by Nijinsky II 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-G1 Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Kunihiko Watanabe; J-Yuichi Kitamura. ¥38,441,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Meiner Flap (Jpn), 123, c, 3, Victoire Pisa (Jpn)–Meine Elena (Jpn), by Roses in May. O-Thoroughbred Club Ruffian; B-Big Red Farm (Jpn); ¥15,126,000. 3–Mikki Brillante (Jpn), 123, c, 3, Deep Brillante (Jpn)–Epic Love (Ire), by Dansili (GB). (¥52,000,000 Wlg ’16 JRHAJUL). O-Mizuki Noda; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥9,563,000. Margins: NK, 1HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 5.80, 31.70, 4.40. Also Ran: Passing Through (Jpn), Happy Hour (Jpn), Miyake (Jpn), Go Timing (Jpn), Intruse (Jpn), Donau Delta (Jpn), Copano Martin (Jpn), Shadow Emperor (Ire), Nihonpiro Henson (Jpn). Click for the Racing Post chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA Video. View the full article

King T. Leatherbury is a horse racing legend, but not in the manner of a Bob Baffert or a Wayne Lukas. Leatherbury has been grinding it out since 1958, primarily with claiming horses, but the 85-year-old trainer has been so good at what he does that he’s the fifth winningest trainer of all time in North America and he is in the Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Leatherbury was a recent guest on the Thoroughbred Daily News podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made. Excepts from that podcast appear below. TDN: According to a recent articles, you’re down to two horses. You’re going to give both the winter off and take some time off for yourself. We also see that Laurel has announced it has named a stakes race in your honor. While that’s obviously something you’re thrilled about, it has people asking questions. What is your future? What about retirement? KL: Everyone says I’m retiring, so to answer I thought I’d start off with a joke. The doctor is telling the guy that he’s in good shape at 50 years old. The guy says, ‘Who says I’m 50? I’m 60.’ He said, ‘Well, you are in good shape. How old was your father when he died?’ He said, ‘Who says he’s dead?’ He said, ‘He’s 82 and doing well.’ He said, ‘Good heavens. Well, how old was your grandfather when he died?’ He said, ‘Who said he died? He’s 102 years old. In fact, he’s getting married tomorrow.’ Then the guy says, ‘Good gosh, why would a man 102 years old want to get married?’ He said, ‘Who says he wants to?’ I haven’t announced that I am retiring. The thing is, rumors are going around because I’m dwindling down on horses. I was down to five, then I was down to three, and then two. We sent those two a couple of days ago back to the farm and we’ll pick them up later this year. I wanted to give them a break. So, that’s it. I’m a horse trainer with no horses to train. Right now, we’re just waiting and in February, in the middle of February, we’ll pick up our turf horses. We also have some turf horses on the farm. TDN: King, like most horse trainers, I’m guessing that you probably haven’t had many days off over the last 60 years. Perhaps none. What do you think about the down time? How are you going to fill your day? Are you looking forward to it? Are you not looking forward to it? KL: No, I’m not particularly looking forward to it, but I’ll just do what comes up. I can just work around the house and certainly I’ll continue to go to the races many days. I do enjoy that, that’s what got me into the game. I’ll enjoy going to the races and watching other peoples’ horses run. Then I’ll catch up on some work around the house. TDN: It’s not just you, a lot of trainers, a lot of fellow members of the Hall of Fame, have had the same sort of problem at some point in their career, usually around their mid-70s or so. People just seem to lose confidence in them. Is this just a horse racing problem? Is it a societal problem? Why do you think people are so easy to give up on the King Leatherburys of the world. KL: It’s a natural thing. Just like with any sports teams–look at the football and basketball coaches–if they don’t win then they’re always looking to fire the coach. People have got to make a change when they’re not winning. You do hit slumps and when I didn’t hit slumps is when I had a lot of claiming owners, and I had a lot of claiming horses. With those, as they go, you replace them. They’re easy to replace and so you can continue a higher rate of winning than you can with the homebreds. TDN: You bred, trained and owned Ben’s Cat, who was probably the best horse you ever trained and gave your career a huge lift only a few years ago. This might be hard to put into words but what did he mean to your life and to your career? KL: Oh, my golly. He’s the one who pushed me into the Hall of Fame because he was competing on the high level, which means a lot to the Hall of Fame people that vote. You win cheap races, they don’t count much, but the good ones bring recognition to you. TDN: He started his career in 2010, ran 63 times, won 32 races, 26 of them stakes races, he earned $2.6 million dollars. He won the Jim McKay Turf Sprint five times. King, in an era where horses have become soft and aren’t durable like they were in the glory days of the ’60s when you were winning those 350 races a year, did you ever think you’d see another like this, that some horse like this could even come around and do what he did? KL: No. It’s just luck. It’s just luck and percentages. The more horses you deal with the better chance you have to come up with something. They only come around every once in a great while. So if you try something many times, you’ve got a chance to hit something like that. You try to use some laws of probability on different things and you know something is going to hit here and there. But no, you can’t just plan out something that comes along and turns out like that. You can plan it, but it very seldom will work out the way you think. TDN: Unfortunately, the story of Ben’s Cat didn’t end well. Just 24 days after his last race, he’s retired, sent to what is going to be a great home and he passes away from colic. That must’ve been just heartbreaking for you. KL: It was devastating. It was really sad. He made it through all those years of racing to stay sound and then that happened. It was a tragic ending for a remarkable horse. TDN: You were an early user of the sheets. How much did you use them when making claiming decisions and did they give you an advantage? KL: I started out with Ragozin himself, Len Ragozin, who originated the sheets. He called me and he told me, he said, ‘Look, you don’t know me,’ he said, ‘I like your record. When you get a horse it improves. I’m going to call you up to claim some horses.’ He called me and I claimed one and I ran the horse back and it won. I claimed another horse and ran the horse back and it won. That happened three straight times and I’m saying, ‘Geez, this guy’s a genius. Whatever he’s doing, it was pretty good.’ Anyhow, that’s the way I got to know those sheet people and then I started believing in them. Back then, you couldn’t buy them, you had to be kind of a member of their gang. Then he went public with them. I’ve been using sheets and it helps you evaluate the value of the horse and the ability of the horse. View the full article

Robert Baron's Caroline Lois captured the fourth race at Gulfstream Park Jan. 5 to give Eclipse Award-winning trainer Dale Romans the 2,000th victory of his career. View the full article

Coming off a strong November sale, Keeneland looks to pick up 2019 right where they left off with the four-day Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, which kicks off at 10a.m. Monday. The 1,583-horse catalogue is highlighted by champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road), who sells as Hip 288 during the opening session. There are 709 broodmares/broodmare prospects, 601 yearlings, 258 horses of racing age and six stallions. “I think it starts with the quality offerings the consignors have brought to the sale,” said Keeneland’s Vice President of Sales Bob Elliston. “It starts with champion mare Abel Tasman and then recentle Fatale Bere, Grade I winner of the Del Mar Oaks. Those two would make headlines at any kind of breeding stock sale, so we are very excited about that.” A Grade I winner at ages two, three and four, Abel Tasman won an Eclipse Award and six Grade I events, earning a total of $2,793,385 for Clearsky Farm, China Horse Club and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. “I think that she’s one of these rare collector’s items that don’t come around very often,” said Mark Taylor, whose Taylor Made Sales is consigning the mare. “A lot of those great mares are in private hands, they don’t see the sales ring, so she’s unique. Winning six Grade Is, for anybody that races horses, I mean winning a Grade I is difficult. To do it six times, and then the iconic races that she won in the fashion she won them in, and her versatility. She’s rare, and it’s really, really a privilege to have her in the barn. Mares like her just don’t come around very often.” The January sale boasts some impressive recent graduates, such as MGISW Catholic Boy (More Than Ready), G1SW Mind Your Biscuits (Posse), MGSW Flameaway (Scat Daddy) and GSW and GISP Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man). “If you bring these kinds of quality racehorses, as well as quality broodmares and short yearlings, with the outstanding successes that have occurred, people are keen on coming to January,” Elliston said. At last year’s January sale, 909 horses sold for a gross of $34,996,000 with an average of $38,499 and a median of $12,000. The 2018 renewal was topped by MGSW Mrs. McDougal (Medaglia d’Oro), who summoned $1.6 million from bloodstock agent Steve Young. The highest-priced yearling was a $1 million son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah purchased by Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier. The January sale runs through Thursday with sessions beginning at 10a.m. daily. View the full article

The following Letter to the Editor was submitted in response to Kevin Blake’s Jan. 4 Op/Ed on how Ireland and Britain need to continue working together for their mutual benefit, despite the upcoming challenge of Brexit.Should you wish to chime in, please send your thoughts to garyking@thetdn.com. Kevin Blake may well be correct in saying that Britian and Ireland are the finest breeders of flat racehorses in the world, but his figures do not give the full story. As anyone involved with breeding in France or Germany knows, where a horse is bred is not a straightforward question and the suffix it carries after its name does not tell the whole story. As long as a majority of Europe’s best stallions are based in England and Ireland, and although France has made great strides in recent years with horses like Siyouni (Fr), Le Havre (Ire) and Wootton Bassett (GB) this is still the case, breeders in France and Germany who aspire to competing at the top international level are obliged to send their mares to be covered abroad, which means in many cases to foal abroad too. As a result the leading performers bred by breeders like the Wertheimers brothers, the Ecurie des Monceaux, the Haras de Saint Pair, or Gestut Ammerland, Gestut Rottgen and Gestut Fahrhof and many others more often than not carry the suffixies Ire or GB, as that is where they were born. In 2018, you only have to consider horses like Polydream (Ire), Intellogent (Ire), Magic Wand (Ire), Sistercharlie (Ire), Trais Fluors (GB), bred and raised in France but born elsewhere. If it is only the suffix which counts then Goldikova (Ire), the best known French horse of the century, would be included among the successes of Irish breeding. In France this problem has been addressed, not without controversy, by the assimilé scheme. Horses who are born outside France can qualify for French bred premiums as long as they return to France with their dams at the end of the covering season and remain in France up to a certain point of their yearling year. In Germany, there is a similar scheme and a mare has to stay in Germany at least once every three years if her progeny are to qualify for premiums. There have been those in France and Germany who wished to take a different, nationalistic approach and to give premiums only to the progeny of domestic sires. However, in France and Germany those arguing for international cooperation and the pursuit of excellence prevailed and over the last few decades exchanges between the major European breeding and racing countries have expanded dramatically. One would have thought this was a clear example of where European countries have all benefited from working together to facilitate exchanges and the movement of people and goods. These benefits and this cooperation will clearly be affected by Brexit and directly threatened by a no deal Brexit. Safeguarding these exchanges is in all probability more important than arguing about which of the European countries has the best record for producing high-class horses. European racing and breeding have moved ever closer together during the 21st Century and we have to hope this movement is not brought to a sudden halt on Apr. 1st. View the full article

The latest edition of our value sires series (click for parts one and two) focusing on stallions with their first yearlings in 2019 gives us the opportunity to look at how the market has actually assessed the first progeny of the sires, rather than speculating as such based on pedigree and racetrack performance. With such a large slice of the European foal market feeding pinhooking trade, the progeny of fast, precocious, unproven stallions have become more and more popular-those foals expected to develop early and that have the added bonus of being safe from the scrutiny of their sire having runners in a year’s time. We will learn more about a lot of these stallions at the yearling sales, but for now there is plenty to draw clues from. There were two sires from this crop that undoubtedly found favour with the market at the 2018 foal sales: Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}). Standing for €27,500 at Haras de Bouquetot, Shalaa was the most expensive newcomer of this sire crop in 2017, and was the undisputed leader at the sales, his 19 sold from 27 offered averaging £84,207/€93,249. He had the crop’s top-priced filly and colt (240,000gns and 160,000gns). A sharp 2-year-old, Shalaa reeled off wins in the G2 July S., G2 Richmond S., G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. Injury ruled him almost entirely out of a 3-year-old campaign, but he returned in the autumn to win the G3 Bengough S. Invincible Spirit’s record as a sire of sires is there for all to see, and Kingman (GB) and Charm Spirit (Ire) only helped that cause last year. Bouquetot has pledged support of Shalaa, in buying his foals at the sales and in sending him its crown jewel Treve (Fr) in his debut year. He is down to €22,000 for 2019. Derrinstown Stud’s Awtaad was a bit more of the surprise package, and he was certainly no one-hit wonder: his close average of £59,239/€65,630 and median of £52,011/€57,593 suggest an even quality among his foals, and 29 of his 35 offered were sold. He had two make six figures at both Tattersalls and Goffs with a high price of 170,000gns. His fee stays at €15,000 this year. He covered 115 mares in his debut season and 69 last year. Awtaad beat the G1 2000 Guineas winner Galileo Gold (Ire) (Paco Boy {GB}) in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and was then third to that rival in the G1 St James’s Palace S. He won the G2 Boomerang S. in the autumn. He is from the immediate family of 2019 Classic aspirant Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), and his fourth dam is a half-sister to Seattle Slew and a full-sister to Seattle Dancer. Standing alongside Awtaad at Derrinstown is Markaz (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a full-brother to Group 1-winning sprinter Mecca’s Angel (Ire) who himself was a Group 3-winning sprinter at three and four. Markaz stays at €6,000 after covering 104 and 81 mares in his first two years, and he had his admirers at the foal sales, with colts selling for 60,000gns, 40,000gns and €65,000. His 25 sold averaged £15,935/€17,652. Another to receive a warm reception at the foal sales was Whitsbury Manor’s Adaay (Ire), which shouldn’t be surprising given that he is a dual Group 2-winning sprinter by Kodiac (GB). Adaay has taken a minor fee cut each year at stud (dropping from £7,000 to £6,000 to £5,000) but that has helped keep his numbers up: he covered 122 mares in year one and 106 last year. Adaay had 26 sell from 41 offered for an average of £32,721/€36,252. Ballylinch Stud’s pair of Fascinating Rock (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) each take a small fee trim heading into their crucial third year, and both had promising results at the foal sales. Fascinating Rock won the G1 Champion S. and G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup-with Found (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in second both times-earning RPRs of 125 for both those. He was rated 127 by Timeform and was second only to Golden Horn (GB) on the world rankings for middle distance turf horses in 2015. Fascinating Rock’s 12 sold at the foal sales for an average of £37,490/€41,548 included a pair of fillies sold at Goffs for €185,000 and €110,000. He is down to €7,500 this year from €10,000. G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner New Bay takes a cut to €15,000 from €20,000 after covering 105 and 99 mares in years one and two. He had 21 sold from 29 offered last year with an average of £32,493/€35,953. He had a top price of 80,000gns for a colt at Tattersalls. New Bay is, like Kingman, out of a Zamindar mare, and in fact that Horse of the Year appears on his page under his third dam, as do the successful sires Oasis Dream (GB) and Beat Hollow (GB). Coolmore is represented by two in this group: dual Group 1-winning miler The Gurkha (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Australian shuttler Pride of Dubai (Aus), a dual Group 1-winning juvenile by Street Cry (Ire). The Gurkha was the second-most expensive sire of this crop in 2017 at €25,000, and he drops to €17,500 this year. While his career on the racecourse was short-lived, it was very productive: he won the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains at third asking, earning an RPR of 122. He was then second to Galileo Gold in the St James’s Palace (RPR 121), second to Hawkbill (Kitten’s Joy) in the G1 Coral-Eclipse (RPR 120), and he rounded out his career with a win over Galileo Gold and Ribchester (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) in the G1 Sussex S. (RPR 124). The Gurkha is out of a Danehill Dancer mare, so carries the same cross that has produced sires like Frankel (GB) and Teofilo (Ire) (out of Danehill mares). His second dam is a half-sister to Arc winner Solemia (Ire) (Poliglote {GB}). The Gurkha has been busy the last two seasons, covering 154 and 135 mares. Pride of Dubai won the 2015 G1 Blue Diamond S. and G1 Inglis Sires’ S.-Australia’s second and third most prestigious juvenile Group 1s. His stakes-placed dam Al Anood (Aus) (Danehill) is a half-sister to both Chiang Mai (Ire), the dam of G1 Pretty Polly S. winner Chinese White (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}), and Rafha (GB) (Kris {GB}), dam of sires Invincible Spirit (Ire) and Kodiac (GB). The already illustrious family has a chance to improve its sire-producing strike rate, with Gustav Klimt (GB) and James Garfield (Ire) both retiring to stud this year. Pride of Dubai has covered 137 and 100 mares his first two seasons. His first foals sold for up to 82,000gns and averaged £23,035/€25,557, although just 19 of 39 offered were sold. Territories (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Twilight Son (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) stand just down Duchess Drive from one another at Dalham Hall and Cheveley Park Stud, and both head into their third year with the promise of big books thus far and decent results at the foal sales. Territories is by Invincible Spirit from the female family of Street Cry and Shamardal, and as a 3-year-old he was second to Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 2000 Guineas, won the G1 Prix Jean Prat and was second to Esoterique (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois. The price of £12,000 has apparently been right; he covered 131 mares in year one and 127 in year two. His average was £30,473/€33,795, his top price was 70,000gns and his foals were bought by the likes of Tally-Ho Stud, JC Bloodstock, McKeever Bloodstock, Paca Paca Farm and Mags O’Toole. Also at Dalham Hall for £6,000 is Charming Thought (GB), a G1 Middle Park S.-winning son of Oasis Dream (GB) from the family of Group 1 winners Ballingarry (Ire), Starborough (GB) and St Nicholas Abbey (Ire). Twilight Son won his first five starts, including the G1 Sprint Cup, before finishing second to Muhaarar (GB) in the G1 British Champions Sprint. He won the following year’s G1 Diamond Jubilee S., and has the potential to be an important successor to his sire Kyllachy and grandsire Pivotal (GB) at Cheveley Park as a truly classy sprinter. He covered 140 and 115 mares in his first two seasons at £10,000, and dips to £8,000 this year. His top price was a €95,000 colt at Goffs, and he had 35 sold from 45 offered for an average of £29,668/€32,902. Darley’s Kildangan Stud has three in this group: Belardo (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), The Last Lion (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) and Buratino (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}). Buratino just edges out Belardo as being the most popular in their first two seasons: Buratino covered a combined 234 at €5,000, and Belardo 209 at €15,000. Buratino’s toughness and precocity is apparent in the fact that he was making his sixth start when he beat Air Force Blue (War Front) by two lengths in the G2 Coventry S., and he finished out the season with placings behind that rival and Shalaa in the G1 Phoenix S. and G1 Middle Park S., respectively. His stakes-winning second dam is a half-sister to Danehill Dancer (Ire). Belardo won the G1 Racing Post Trophy at two and, at the conclusion of a busy 3-year-old campaign, just the all-conquering Solow (GB) stood between him and a win in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. Belardo got redemption the following year in the G1 Lockinge S., and back at Ascot again found only Tepin too good in the G1 Queen Anne. He boasts some solid credentials on paper, too, being out of the G2 Lowther S. and G1 Cheveley Park S.-placed Danaskaya (Ire) (Danehill). He drops down to €10,000 this year, and his 17 sold averaged £27,810/€30,838. The Last Lion was retired after a 10-start 2-year-old campaign with trainer Mark Johnston where he was never off the board. His four wins included the G1 Middle Park S. and the G3 Sirenia S., and he was second to Prince of Lir (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) in the G2 Norfolk S. The Last Lion looks to follow in the footsteps of Dark Angel (Ire), the last Middle Park winner to retire at two, and he rides the momentum that Choisir is building as a sire of sires with the likes of Starspangledbanner (Aus) and Olympic Glory (Ire). He covered 60 mares in his debut season at €12,000 and 50 last year when dropped to €7,500. He stays at that fee. His 19 sold last year averaged £23,037/€25,544 The Last Lion’s Norfolk S. conqueror Prince of Lir is listed as private at Ballyhane Stud after covering 118 mares for €5,000 in year one and 84 for €4,000 last year. His foals made up to €38,000. Another pair earning accolades at the foal sales were Tally-Ho’s Mehmas (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and Rathbarry Stud’s Kodi Bear (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). Like The Last Lion, Mehmas-who represents the same cross as Dark Angel-retired after his 2-year-old season, when he won the G2 July S. and G2 Richmond S. before placing in the G1 National S. and the Middle Park. Mehmas started at €12,500 and is now down to €10,000, and he had 35 sold from 51 through the ring. His top price was an 85,000gns colt at Tattersalls bought by Peter and Ross Doyle and his average was £20,585/€22,825. Kodi Bear was a listed winner and runner-up in the Dewhurst at two before winning the G3 Sovereign S. and G2 Celebration Mile at three. He is down to €6,000 this year, and his 16 sold at the foal sales included colts for 40,000gns and €40,000 off his opening €10,000 fee. His average was £16,695/€18,515. Tally-Ho is also home to the Group 1-winning miler Vadamos (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}). Typical of his German breeding, Vadamos broke his maiden over 1 1/4 miles at three and won a listed race over 1 1/2 miles two starts later, but he proved sharp enough to win the G2 Oettingen-Rennen at four and was soon kept to around that trip. He won the G2 Prix du Muguet, G3 Prix Messidor and G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp at five. Vadamos was well supported in year one at €10,000 with 167 mares, but just 65 visited last year and he has subsequently dipped to €7,500. Imagine being able to get to a dual Derby-winning son of Sea The Stars (Ire) from an Aga Khan family for €10,000? That, friends, is Harzand (Ire), who takes a fee cut this year from €15,000 at the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud. After covering 87 mares in year one, Harzand was visited by just 30 last year. Despite a rather cold reception from breeders, Harzand was actually relatively well received at the foal sales: of his six offered at Tattersalls, one was bought back, but of the five that sold three were well in excess of the stud fee. Same at Goffs: a filly was bought back for €78,000, and his other two offered sold for €35,000 and €60,000. Tara Stud stands the dual juvenile Group 2 winner Estidhkaar (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a half-brother to Group 1 winner Toormore (Ire) (Arakan {Ire}) who was well supported at €5,000 in year one with 136 mares and who had a colt bought by Yeomanstown for 80,000gns at Tattersalls. Pearl Secret (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) punched above his weight at the foal sales, his average of £15,682/€17,397 for 20 sold (21 offered) dwarfing his stud fee of £4,000. A median of £12,121/€13,445 again points to an even level of quality. A winner at two, the flashy chestnut was a group-performing sprinter from three to seven. He is from the family of Dutch Art (GB). Bobby’s Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) has been well supported at Lanwades Stud in his first two seasons, covering 90 and 94 mares at £12,500, and he drops to £10,000 this year. A Grade III winner at two, he beat No Nay Never at three in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. The supporting cast to Shalaa in France includes Haras d’Etreham’s Scissor Kick (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}) and Haras de Bonneval’s Dariyan (Fr) (Shamardal). A dual Group 3 winner over six furlongs in his native Australia at three, Scissor Kick should fit in well in Europe; his third dam is Juddmonte’s Kerali (GB), best known as the dam of the great Hasili (Ire), who produced five Group 1 winners in addition to Group 2 winner Dansili (GB). Scissor Kick’s eight first-crop foals sold off a €10,000 stud fee (subsequently dropped to €8,000 and €6,000) averaged £13,333/€14,798. G1 Prix Ganay winner Dariyan has held steady at €8,000. The son of G1 Hong Kong Vase winner Daryakana (Fr) (Selkirk)-and grandson of G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Prix Vermeille winner Daryaba (Ire) (Night Shift)–had seven sell for an average of £13,235/€14,692. Value Sires Podium Gold – Twilight Son (£8,000): a classy sprinter from a sireline that produces classy sprinters. Silver – Fascinating Rock (€7,500): one of the best of his generation now at a bargain price. Bronze – Pearl Secret (£4,000): a hard knocker on the racecourse that really punched above his weight at the foal sales. View the full article

18:45 Wolverhampton Goring has won five from ten when racing on an all-weather surface, including a win and a second from two prior runs at Wolves, and was a decent fourth at Listed level last time out, only losing out on second in the final strides. Today’s race takes place over a slightly shorter trip so […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Monday 7th January appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

As anyone intimately acquainted with Hong Kong racing would relate, it is not a simple task for an imported galloper to open their account in Class 2 at first asking. But former Andrew Balding trainee Ka Ying Star (GB) (Cityscape {GB}), winner of three from four in England when raced as Urban Aspect (GB), proved equal to the task with a smart front-running score over 1600 metres Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin. Drawn gate five in a heat that attracted no fewer than nine horses with local Classics aspirations, Ka Ying Star flashed his usual early speed and pressed through to take up the running from fellow 4-year-olds Furore (NZ) (Pierro {Aus}) and Easy Go Easy Win (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) who took the box seat in a moderately paced affair. Still going well on the engine after 1200 metres that were clocked in just 1:13.28, Ka Ying Star failed to swap over to his left lead in the stretch, but found plenty in the final half-furlong to score by 1 3/4 lengths (video) at odds of 28-1. Easy Go Easy Win remained glued to the rail throughout and did slightly the better than Furore to grab second money. Enrichment (Aus) (Teofilo {Ire}) ran with credit for fourth in his second local appearance, while favoured Charity Go (Ire) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) wasn’t done any favours by the lack of pace and was sixth, one spot ahead of Helene Leadingstar (Aus) (Wanted {Aus}). “He’ll definitely go to the [Jan. 27] Classic Mile and he’ll come on from this race for sure,” winning trainer Tony Cruz told HKJC’s David Morgan. “He isn’t 100% fit yet, but the race went to plan for him. “The horse was a front-runner in England so I told Vincent to go to the lead where he likes to be. He’s like his sire, Cityscape-he won from the front, too.” Campaigned by Juddmonte Farm, Cityscape made two appearances at Sha Tin in his career, just missing at odds of 32-1 behind Able One (NZ) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in the 2011 G1 Hong Kong Mile. Ka Ying Star is out of the stakes-placed Casual Glance (GB) (Sinndar {Ire}), a half-sister to G3 Diomed S. hero Passing Glance (GB) (Polar Falcon), French GSW Hidden Meadow (GB) (Selkirk), SW & MGSP Scorned (Ger) (Selkirk) and SW & MGSP Kingsclere (GB) (Fairy King). In addition to the Classic Mile, the 4-year-old series includes the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) Feb. 17 and the HK$18-million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) Mar. 17. View the full article

Meticulous form preparation by jockey Vincent Ho Chak-yiu and trainer Tony Cruz was enough to pull off a first-up boilover for their English import Ka Ying Star at Sha Tin on Sunday. The gelding was given an easy time in front in the Class Two Lung Kong Handicap (1,600m) and kicked on to win comfortably on debut, marking him as a serious four-year-old series contender. After seeing the lack of speed in the race on paper, Ho jumped into the overseas form records to see what the horse was capable... View the full article

Caspar Fownes will take his reliable galloper Southern Legend on a two-month mission to Dubai in an attempt to dodge the Beauty Generation juggernaut in Hong Kong. The six-year-old has been one of the hard luck stories of the season so far, running second and third behind Hong Kong’s highest-rated horse in career-best performances after a breakout season in 2017-18. With his galloper untried on the dirt so far, Fownes has nominated him for both the Group One Dubai Turf (1,800m) and a... View the full article

He was visibly ecstatic as he saluted the crowd on crossing the line but once the dust had settled Matthew Poon Ming-fai was finding it “hard to explain” the feeling created by his first Group success in Hong Kong. The 24-year-old orchestrated a massive boilover in the Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (1,000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday, spearing the Ricky Yiu Poon-fai-trained Jolly Banner home to win at 90-1. Jolly Banner is the roughest winner of the season so far and Poon was... View the full article

Trainer Brad Cox got all the right answers from his pair of new acquisitions, Contributing and Goldberry, in the $75,000 Pan Zareta Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. View the full article

Jockey Mike Smith and Gunmetal Gray relaxed well behind the rest of the field in last, then began to make their move late in the second turn of the one-mile dirt test and surged in the stretch to win by a length. View the full article

The perfect season debut and a ticket to the $7 million Pegasus Turf Cup Invitational (G1T) came down to a flared nostril for Next Shares in the $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

After a short freshman campaign that spanned only three months, Centennial Farms' Mihos stepped in up in a big way in 2019 and scored his first stakes win in the $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Jan. 5 at Gulfstream Park. View the full article

Gunmetal Gray (c, 3, Exchange Rate–Classofsixtythree, by Include), runner-up to Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI American Pharoah S. last September and a well-beaten fifth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile most recently, turned in a powerful stretch rally to deliver a career high in the GIII Sham S. at Santa Anita. Off at odds of 7-2, the gray caboosed the field through fractions of :23.46 and :46.95. He began to enter the picture on the turn for home, came widest of all as they straightened and came flying down the center to win by a length. Sueno (Atreides) finished second; Much Better (Pioneerof the Nile) was third. Godolphin’s highly regarded ‘TDN Rising Star’ Coliseum (Tapit), a blowout maiden winner at Del Mar Nov. 17, never factored after a slow break. Sales history: $85,000 RNA yrl ’17 KEESEP; $225,000 2yo ’18 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-0. O-Hollendorfer, Pear Racing & West Point; B-Lee Pokoik (Ky); T-Jerry Hollendorfer. View the full article

Webster springs big upset at comeback race View the full article

Time Lord lives up to hype second-up View the full article