Wandering Eyes

Saturday sees Enable take her second step towards her Arc defence when she contests the King George. Ripp Orf looks the pick in the International Stakes, while Get Knotted bids to win the race named after him at York. I think Golden Apollo looks the one in the Dash and Regal Reality will take all […] The post Weekend Preview – Enable Eyes King George Glory appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Gamine (Into Mischief), who sold to Michael Lund Petersen for an auction-record $1.8 million at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale two months ago, continued to train forwardly in Southern California for Bob Baffert. The filly turned in a bullet five-furlong work at Del Mar Thursday, covering the distance from the gate in 1:00.00 (1/48). “She is training like a good one,” Baffert reported. “She’s very classy and has a great mind.” Gamine, out of stakes placed Peggy Jane (Kafwain), worked the co-bullet furlong of :10 flat before Petersen made his record-setting bid at the Midlantic sale. She was consigned to the sale by Bobby Dodd and had been purchased by Brad Grady’s Grand Oaks for $220,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. “She’ll probably make a start in August,” Baffert said when asked about the filly’s expected debut. Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield, on behalf of Stonestreet, will offer Gamine’s yearling half-brother by Speightstown (hip 81) at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. The post Del Mar Bullet for Midlantic Topper appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The New York Racing Association cancelled the remainder of Thursday’s card at Saratoga–seven races in total–after the day’s fourth race due to severe thunderstorms. The unexpected precipitation rolled in as the horses were approaching the gate for the fourth, a 1 3/8-mile maiden special weight event on turf, which was run in a driving rainstorm and won wire-to-wire by Tide of the Sea (English Channel). Initially, the remainder of the day’s grass events were moved to the main track, but following a lengthy delay due to track maintenance as horses were in the paddock for the fifth race, officials decided to cancel the rest of the card. “Due to adverse track conditions caused by extremely heavy rainfall, live racing was cancelled in the best interests of the safety of our equine athletes and horsemen,” NYRA said in a statement. The last cancellation due to rainfall at Saratoga came on GI Whitney S. day last August, when the final two races on the card were cancelled. Live racing resumes Friday at the Spa with a 10-race card, highlighted by the Curlin S. First post is 1 p.m. The post Saratoga Cancels Thursday Card After Four Races Due to Thunderstorms appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Some two months after finishing heads apart in the Triple Bend Stakes (G2), that race's winner, Air Strike, and runner-up, Cistron, will meet again in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) July 27 at Del Mar. View the full article

Trainers are often creatures of habit and it is safe to assume that whatever Aidan O’Brien runs in Leopardstown’s G3 Japan Racing Association Tyros S. is one of his top prospects. Where the likes of Gleneagles (Ire), Churchill (Ire) and Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) led so the stable’s new hope Armory (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) followed on Thursday as he surged to a five-length verdict in the important staging post. Showing a smart burst to get out of a pocket and win a seven-furlong maiden at The Curragh June 27, the 2-5 favourite followed stablemate Toronto (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and when sent past approaching the final furlong stretched clear for an emphatic success. “He’s a very exciting colt and this has been a nice race over the years, so hopefully it bodes well for the future,” Ryan Moore commented. “He did it very impressively and hopefully he’ll go on from there. He travelled very comfortably and showed a good turn of foot to put the race to bed very quickly. He was strong through the line and his last furlong was his most impressive.” Armory, who was third on debut behind Justifier (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire})–withdrawn from this rematch due to a temperature by Ger Lyons–in a June 13 course-and-distance maiden, was becoming the 13th winner for Aidan O’Brien who said, “You’d be delighted with him and we’ll go for the [G2] Futurity [S. at The Curragh Aug. 23] with him. He’s progressing lovely, he came forward lovely from his first to his second and you’d have to be very happy with him. He looks like a mile would be his trip horse as a three-year-old. You never know, he could stay further, but he’s not short of pace.” The post Galileo’s Armory Takes the Tyros appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

For Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt's Mitole, it's all about doing what he does best in his last few races before next season beginning the new phase of his life as a stallion. View the full article

With TDN Rising Star Windracer (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) sleepwalking through Thursday’s G3 Jockey Club of Turkey Silver Flash S. at Leopardstown, Ballydoyle’s Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was alert and sprightly in contrast to register an impressive 11th success in the race for Aidan O’Brien. Runner-up to that Jessie Harrington trainee at The Curragh June 27, the chestnut had shown an aptitude for hard graft by breaking her maiden over this course and distance from the subsequent G3 Anglesey S. third Soul Search (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) July 11. Sent to the front soon after the stalls’ opening by front-running supremo Seamie Heffernan, the 8-1 shot never looked back en route to a 3 1/4-length dismissal of the Joseph O’Brien-trained Unforgetable (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}). Two more from Ballydoyle, So Wonderful (War Front) and the 2-1 favourite Precious Moments (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), were third and fourth in another O’Brien father-son whitewash while Windracer started sluggishly in last and stayed there throughout. The post Galileo’s Love Makes All In the Silver Flash appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The inaugural Sept. 15 The Pat Smullen Champions Race for Cancer Trials Ireland at The Curragh features 10 jockeys that have amassed 75 flat and jump champion titles between them, Pat Smullen announced. Held on the second day of Longines Irish Champions Weekend, the race sees four jump jockeys (Ruby Walsh, AP McCoy, Paul Carberry and Charlie Swan) and six flat riders (Pat Smullen, Johnny Murtagh, Richard Hughes, Joseph O’Brien, Kieren Fallon and Ted Durcan) recruited by Smullen, square off going a mile immediately after the G1 Comer Group International Irish St Leger. All funds raised from the unique race, and other weekend fund-raising activities will be donated to Cancer Trials Ireland, who performs research and conducts pancreatic cancer trials. “To have Ruby and AP riding against each other one more time will be exciting, and when you see Charlie and Paul there too, we really have what many consider four of the greatest Jumps riders of all time,” said Pat Smullen. ” And we have signed up five brilliant Flat champions–Kieren is a hugely popular figure with racegoers here, Johnny, Richard, Joseph and Ted were world-class jockeys with whom I was lucky to share the weigh room. “All of us want to make this a competitive race worth watching and so we will be sourcing horses over the next few weeks. Already we’ve had trainers and owners offering their support and that will be very important because, as well as this being about creating an exciting event over Longines Irish Champions Weekend, my priority is also about raising money for Cancer Trials Ireland, the leading Irish cancer research trials organisation.” The post Stellar Cast for Pat Smullen Champions Race appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Extreme heat in Britain, and across Europe, presented challenges to Thursday’s racing fixtures, with Southwell eventually making the decision to abandon the last two races of its jumps card. Meetings at Sandown, Yarmouth, Newbury and Doncaster on the flat went off as planned and without a hitch. Southwell had already moved the start of the card forward to 11:25 a.m., with a scheduled completion of 2:30 p.m. in an effort to dodge the hottest part of the day, but acting clerk of the course Charlie Moore said that after 1:30 p.m. the decision to abandon was unanimous. “The last temperature reading we took, which was at the end of race five, was 34.6C and it had effectively gone up a degree a race,” Moore said. “There was no-one eager to go on in the conditions. “We had six vets here, four of our own and two of the British Horseracing Authority, and we were all aware it was getting hotter and it was decided to hold an inquiry into the situation. At that inquiry there was no-one voting against the facts.” Sandown’s Clerk of the Course Andrew Cooper pointed out that jumps racing is dealing with more challenging circumstances. “We are not racing beyond a mile-six–Southwell started at two miles and it has very different demands on the horse,” he said. “In terms of our situation here, it wasn’t raised [bringing the meeting forward] as a Flat race meeting as a necessary scenario.” Midway through the day, Cooper said, “We have four veterinary surgeons on duty and a lot of experts of handling the Thoroughbred racehorse in terms of what you might call extreme temperature. They seem comfortable with arrangements in place and how horses are handling things. No concerns have been raised by any professional partner–no trainer, no jockey and none of the experienced veterinary team.” “For all racing, the key thing seems to be having access to cold water as soon as you can in terms of the post-race handling of the horses,” he added. “We have enhanced volumes and accessibility to water. We’ve also got mobile water on vehicles of our own and if there is an incident anywhere, we can get water to the horse.” Trainer Mark Johnston, who is also a veterinarian, had runners at Sandown on Thursday and he said, “We take more precautions than most on a normally hot day. We put these wet sheets on them and we’ve always done that. “We take precautions when we are travelling, which would be far more of a concern to me than on a racecourse. We give them a bit extra water and make sure we throw plenty of water over them.” Frankie Dettori said, “It is the highest temperature I’ve ever ridden in England without a doubt.” “It’s hot,” he added. “We can cope with this though, it is the poor horses that have to run.” “It is hard for us and hard for the horses, but it is one of those things,” said jockey Andrea Atzeni. “I’m lucky I don’t have to waste, but there are jockeys in there that have to be careful with their weight. It is probably not ideal, but we have to get on with it. “Everything that has been put in place to cope with it seems to be fine. We are still racing as hard as we would normally be, with the difference just it being warmer than usual.” The post Heat Challenges British Fixtures appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Niarchos Family’s homebred Free Solo (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) was a staying-on third over seven furlongs at Naas in his only prior start July 6 and powered to TDN Rising Stardom upped to one mile in the Frank Conroy Irish EBF Maiden–a race which includes Camelot (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) on the honour roll–at Leopardstown on Thursday evening. The 4-1 chance was sharpest into stride from the outside stall and seized immediate control of this return. Scrubbed along off the home turn, he was driven clear approaching the final eighth and stayed on strongly in the closing stages to score by an impressive five lengths from Cabot Hills (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who chinned stablemate Yankee Stadium (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by a short head on the line for second. Free Solo, half to a colt foal by Le Havre (Ire), is the first foal produced by a daughter of MG1SW European champion Six Perfections (Fr) (Celtic Swing {GB}). The homebred chestnut’s unraced dam’s siblings include MGSW G1 Racing Post Trophy second Yucatan (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), G2 Prix du Gros-Chene-winning sire Planet Five (Storm Cat), GIII Modesty H. victress Faufiler (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G2 Beresford S. runner-up Mount Everest (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). 2nd-Leopardstown, €17,500, Mdn, 7-25, 2yo, 8fT, 1:44.23, gd. FREE SOLO (IRE), c, 2, by Showcasing (GB) 1st Dam: Amuser (Ire), by Galileo (Ire) 2nd Dam: Six Perfections (Fr), by Celtic Swing (GB) 3rd Dam: Yogya, by Riverman Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, €12,150. O/B-Niarchos Family (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Showcasing’s Free Solo Claims TDN Rising Stardom at Leopardstown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Just eight months after retired jockey Rosie Napravnik first initiated talks with both New Vocations and the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (LAHBPA) about creating better aftercare options for retired Thoroughbreds from the state’s four tracks, a satellite facility of the nation’s largest racehorse adoption charity is up and running and has already adopted out five horses while currently housing 10 others awaiting new homes. That’s a pretty quick turnaround from concept to reality. And to underscore how interconnected the lives of racetrackers and racehorses are when it comes to aftercare, Napravnik told TDN she is grateful to see that a durable gelding she rode to back-to-back stakes wins in 2012 and 2013 is currently the star of the barn at Equi-Best Equestrian Center in Covington, where New Vocations has been basing its Louisiana operations since March. Heavy On Themister (Lion Tamer), now 11, was a three-time Louisiana-bred stakes winner over a 68-race career that ended with 15 victories and $725,350 in earnings when he was retired by owner Coby Michael Landry one year ago this week. “He was really cool to ride, very classy,” Napravnik said of the gelding, with whom she partnered to win the Louisiana Champions Day Classic S. at Fair Grounds and the Louisiana-Bred Premier Night Championship S. at Delta Downs prior to her own retirement from the saddle in 2014. “He has the right build, a desirable personality, the soundness, and the brain–just what everybody is looking for in a second-career sport horse,” Napravnik said. “I really loved that horse, and I was so pleased to find out that he would be going through the New Vocations program.” (View Heavy On Themister’s adoption page here.) Anna Ford, the Thoroughbred program director for New Vocations, added that “he’s a nice, classy, what we call ‘war horse.’ The people that donated him really wanted to make sure he got into the right place for his retirement. The amazing thing is, with all his starts and everything he’s done, we only had to give him just a little bit of time off. We did some chiropractic adjustments, just minor things, and he’s one of the sounder horses in our program. “He wants to have a job,” Ford continued. “He just loves interaction with people. The last couple weeks, Equi-Best had a pony camp, so the barn was full of little girls. He just took it all in, and loved the attention–ate it all up. We’ve promoted him as being able to do some jumping, or he could do some dressage or be a trail horse. It’s all about finding that right person who is going to appreciate him for who he is, and partner with him for his next stage of life.” Ford said New Vocations was not specifically looking to open an adoption facility in Louisiana when Napravnik first pitched the idea last autumn. “Although our goal is always continuing to expand and increase our capacity, our next facility was not necessarily going to be in Louisiana,” Ford said. “But we recognize that where there’s a need, we try to help out. So we spent a good four months hashing through funding and location details, and it just came together so well that we knew we just had to open a facility in Louisiana. But it all started with Rosie, because she let us know that there’s a really great need down there, and we go where we’re needed if we can find the right connections, the right facility, and the funding to do it.” Napravnik said that her career switch from being a jockey to an assistant for her husband, trainer Joe Sharp, gave her a different perspective on the adoption needs that are specific to Louisiana. The couple’s home is in Kentucky, but Sharp’s horses are stabled at Fair Grounds for the duration of the track’s five-month winter meet. “I became a little bit more aware of how many horses have issues that might make them not competitive as racehorses, but that don’t prevent them from doing something in a second career,” Napravnik said. “Aftercare has taken such big steps in the last five to seven years that it just became so much more in my face, especially in Louisiana. The horsemen have just been begging for alternatives and outlets for these horses, and I think they’re starting to appreciate having a unique program like New Vocations down there. “There are so few organizations like New Vocations in that area,” Napravnik continued. “There are a lot in Kentucky and on the East Coast, but not down in the southern states. With some of the exploiting of horses that were ending up at livestock auctions in Louisiana and Texas, it just came to a point where it was a big problem, and it was a no-brainer to partner with New Vocations. I’ve always known that I would be involved with an aftercare organization in some way, and with this all the pieces just fell together.” The Covington facility is the eighth New Vocations stable to open since the non-profit racehorse adoption program was founded in 1992 (six cater to Thoroughbreds and two to Standardbreds). Its five other Thoroughbred facilities in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have rehabilitated, retrained, and rehomed nearly 7,000 horses over the better part of three decades, with almost 500 retirees served by the program each year. About 90% of horses are able to be rehomed as “riding sound,” Ford said, most within 60 days of being retrained. All of the New Vocations locations are accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), which means the facilities have been determined to have met or exceeded requirements in the areas of operations, education, horse care management, and adoption policies and protocols. Ford said when New Vocations branches out into new states, the preference is to work with a pre-existing facility, like Equi-Best in Covington, which provides not only stabling but oversight by two trainers. “Currently, we have 10 horses there and we’ve already adopted out five others,” Ford said. “Although 10 doesn’t sound like a very big number, our goal is adoption. We want to get the horses rehabbed and adopted into homes so we can take in more horses. Long-term, we would like to have 20 [stalls], and that probably will mean branching out of that facility and utilizing two facilities. Our goal in the next 12 months is to have 40 or 50 horses adopted [out of Louisiana].” New Vocations partners with The Right Horse Initiative, which is a collective of industry professionals and equine welfare advocates working together to improve the lives of horses in transition. “The Right Horse is giving us a grant for $100,000 to help us run the Louisiana facility for the first two years,” Ford said. “We have also received donations from owners Barry and Joni Butzow, Bradley Grady, Andrea Pollack, and trainers Carl Moore and Bret Calhoun.” The post New Vocations Louisiana Aftercare Initiative Hits Full Stride appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Two Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (ITBA) Management and Development Workshops, delivered by Gateway Consulting, will be held in counties Meath and Tipperary during August. Each three-day workshop, which costs €100 per person, will begin in Co. Tipperary on Tuesday, Aug. 6 and for Co. Meath, Wednesday, Aug. 7, before continuing on subsequent Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Geared towards people working in the Irish Thoroughbred industry, topics covered in the workshops include: developing a business plan, management and leadership, succession planning, financial planning, cost control/measuring profitability/cash flow, marketing, and promotion and communication skills. “We are delighted to be partnering with both Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) Meath and Tipperary on this educational initiative and we would like to thank both LEOs for supporting and co-funding these workshops,” said ITBA’s Kerry Ryan. “We look forward to establishing and nurturing a good work relationship [with] the LEO networks, which has 31 dedicated teams across the country.” The post ITBA Management Development Programme Workshops Scheduled for August appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The 2020 Dubai World Cup Carnival programme, worth $12.74 million, was announced by the Dubai Racing Club on Thursday. Meydan plays host over the 10-week carnival which begins Jan. 2 and lasts until Feb. 27 on Thursdays and Saturdays, before the Mar. 7 Super Saturday card. Super Saturday features seven course and distance preps for the $35-million Dubai World Cup night at the end of the month. The newly upgraded $250,000 G2 Singspiel S., formerly a Group 3, has received a purse boost and will be contested on Jan. 9. There are also six $175,000 turf handicaps which have been upgraded to listed status (base rating of 95) that will act as feeder races: Jan. 2 Dubai Racing Club Classic (2410mT) Jan. 2 Meydan Challenge (1400mT) Jan. 16 Zabeel Turf (2000mT) Jan. 23 Dubai Dash (1000mT) Jan. 30 Meydan Cup (2810mT) Feb. 6 Dubai Sprint (1200mT) Click here to view the entire programme. The post 2020 Dubai World Cup Carnival Programme Announced appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Keeneland will be the title sponsor of the 13th Annual Bluegrass International Cup, a polo match and dinner benefitting the Fayette Alliance Foundation and the UK Markey Cancer Foundation Friday, Sept. 6, at historic Mt. Brilliant Farm near Lexington, the company announced Thursday. “Keeneland is delighted to become the title sponsor of the Bluegrass International Cup, which is three days before the start of our world renowned September Yearling Sale,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. “This exciting event will enhance the experience of our sales clients while they are in Lexington and allow us to support two entities that are tremendously important to the unique fabric of our area. Keeneland’s connection to the Bluegrass International Cup is a perfect fit.” Since 2007, the Bluegrass International Cup has featured high-goal polo, food and live music in support of key Lexington nonprofits. The event has raised more than $1 million for the Fayette Alliance Foundation and the UK Markey Cancer Foundation. The night before the Bluegrass International Cup, Evening in the Gardens, will feature gourmet food and signature cocktails. Table sponsorships may be secured by contacting info@fayettealliance.com. Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.fayettealliance.com. The post Keeneland to Sponsor Bluegrass International Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has partnered with Old Smoke Clothing Company to create off-track Thoroughbred-themed T-shirts. Four different designs are available, each one creatively showcasing OTTBs or the TAA brand. The T-shirts retail for $32 each, which includes a small kickback to the TAA, and are now available for purchase on OldSmokeClothing.com/TAA. “The TAA is thrilled to partner with Old Smoke. We love the products that they have created, and we thought this would be a great opportunity to highlight off-track Thoroughbreds and aftercare in a fun way,” TAA marketing manager Erin Shea said. “We are beyond excited to partner with TAA and be able to provide our part to support the aftercare of these great animals that define our sport. It is our hope that these fresh new designs through this partnership can help raise more awareness of this amazing organization,” Old Smoke co-founder Kurt Rossner said. The post TAA Partners With Old Smoke to Offer OTTB-Themed T-Shirts appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kentucky Downs is moving the starting time for its first race to 12:15 p.m. Central, up from 1:25 p.m. in recent years. This year’s meet runs Aug. 31 and Sept. 5, 7, 8 and 12 over the all-grass track on the Tennessee border. “It just makes sense for a variety of reasons,” said Ted Nicholson, Kentucky Downs’ senior vice president and general manager. “We have become one of America’s premier racing products. Knowing that, we want to make our races as convenient as possible to the most horseplayers possible. Our opening day overlaps closing weekend at Saratoga and Del Mar. The earlier post time lets us start early with Saratoga and also get more races in before Del Mar begins. Also, since so many of our horses, horsemen and a significant number of our guests come in from Louisville, Lexington, and the East Coast time zone, the earlier start allows them to get home at a reasonable time.” The post Kentucky Downs Moves Post Times Up appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Last out G1 St James’s Palace S. winner Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has been supplemented for next Wednesday’s G1 Sussex S. at Glorious Goodwood at a cost of £70,000, taking the purse for the one-mile contest to £1,059,250. Circus Maximus could be joined by a pair of Aidan O’Brien stablemates: the Group 2-winning filly I Can Fly (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and listed winner Never No More (Ire) (No Nay Never). Circus Maximus is set to face some formidable competition from the Classic generation, with Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) the current favourite and G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Phoenix of Spain (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) also still engaged. The older brigade could include the last two winners of the G1 Queen Anne S., Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) and Accidental Agent (GB) (Delegator {GB}), as well as this year’s G1 Prix d’Ispahan winner Zabeel Prince (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). The post Circus Maximus Supplemented For Sussex appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Kokura and Sapporo Racecourses and featuring the first Japanese starter for Triple Crown winner American Pharoah: Saturday, July 27, 2019 5th-SAP, ¥13,400,000 ($123k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1500mT CLEPAT (f, 2, American Pharoah–Intelyhente, by Smart Strike), a $310K Keeneland September purchase last fall, becomes the first Japanese starter for the Horse of the Year and Triple Crown hero. A half-sister to SP Count Alexander (Scat Daddy) and to recent Prairie Meadows maiden winner Mr. Ankeny (Into Mischief), the April foal is out of a full-sister to MGSW Bel Air Beauty, the dam of Sovereign Award winner Stacked Deck (First Samurai) and GSP Valentino Beauty (Vindication). American Pharoah’s six winners to date include G3 Prix du Bois victor Maven. B-William Duignan & Tranquility Investments Limited (KY) 6th-KOK, ¥13,400,000 ($123k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200mT PINGXIANG (c, 2, Speightstown–Beauty and Light, by Unbridled’s Song), a $300K in utero purchase at KEENOV in 2016, was knocked down for $100K at last year’s KEESEP sale and is out of an unraced half-sister to MGSP Snowboarder (Raven’s Pass). The colt’s third dam, La Comete (Holy Bull), is a half-sister to GISW Icon Project (Empire Maker) and is, of course, the dam of Speightstown’s top stallion son Munnings and his MSW & MGSP full-sister Munnings Sister. Beauty In Light was resold for $260K in foal to Honor Code this year at KEEJAN and has since produced a filly. B-Dream With Me Stables Inc (KY). Sunday, July 28, 2019 6th-SAP, ¥13,400,000 ($123k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1700m FULLEREN (JPN) (f, 2, Pioneerof the Nile–Dust and Diamonds, by Vindication) is a full-sister to Much Better, a $600K KEENOV weanling who was stakes placed at two and has placed in graded stakes both short and long this season. The filly’s dam, a dual graded-stakes winning sprinter and runner-up to Groupie Doll (Bowman’s Band) in the 2012 GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, followed Much Better into the ring at KEENOV and was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for an even $1 million. Dust and Diamonds is the dam of a yearling colt by Deep Impact (Jpn) and a colt foal by Heart’s Cry (Jpn). B-Northern Farm SEREIN (f, 2, Uncle Mo–Tiz Miz Sue, by Tiznow), a $500K KEESEP acquisition, is the latest foal from the 2013 GI Ogden Phipps H. winner, whose 2016 produce, Tatweej (Tapit), was hammered down for $2.5 million at KEESEP in 2017. The filly’s graded-stakes winning second dam Sue’s Good News (Woodman) is also the dam of Bulletin (City Zip), winner of the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint last November. Third dam Montera (Easy Goer) produced MSW & MGSP Easyfromthegitgo (Dehere). B-CresRan LLC (KY) The post Notable US-Bred/Sired Runners in Japan: July 27 & 28, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 8th-LRL, $40k, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 4:50 p.m. ET Alex G. Campbell Jr.’s BERNADETTE THE JET (American Pharoah) dropped the hammer for $425,000 as a yearling at the 2018 Keeneland September Sale. The chestnut has been training steadily at Fair Hill under the tutelage of classic winning conditioner Graham Motion. Bernadette the Jet, a half-sister to GI Preakness S. third place finisher Social Inclusion (Pioneerof the Nile), RNA’d for $485,000 at this year’s Fasig-Tipton March sale after breezing an eighth in :10.2. Social Inclusion became the buzz horse of spring 2014 after a 10-length trouncing of MGISW Honor Code (A.P. Indy) in only his second career start prior to his Preakness effort. TJCIS PPS The post July 26 Insights: Pricey American Pharoah Filly Poised for Laurel Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Brocklesby S. hero Show Me Show Me (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) is the latest new addition to the boutique Goffs UK Goodwood Sale scheduled for Wednesday, July 31. Consigned as lot 7 by trainer Richard Fahey’s Musley Bank Stables, the bay finished second by only a head in the £250,000 Weatherbys Super Sprint S. at Newbury on July 20. From the extended family of Group 2 winner Toocoolforschool (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), the colt also holds an entry in the G3 Molecomb S. earlier on Wednesday. For more information on the eight-strong Goodwood Sale catalogue, go to www.goffsuk.com. The post Show Me Show Me Added to Goffs UK Goodwood Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Richard Hannon’s Herridge Racing Stables will be open to the public on Sunday, Sept. 1. Sponsored by Unibet and with the aim of raising money for the Greatwood Charity which uses retired racehorses to help disadvantaged children and young adults with special educational needs, and Wiltshire Air Ambulance, the inaugural Open Day lasts from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors will get to meet some of their equine heroes during a parade of the stable’s stars throughout the morning. Entertainers “Sharkey and George” will be on hand to provide fun and activities for children. Food and drink outlets will also be available. Premier League player Charlie Austin will answer questions about his racing experiences and his thoughts on the upcoming season. Tickets are £20 for adults and £5 for children under 16 accompanied by adults. “The open morning provides a wonderful opportunity for us to give something back to fans of racing as well as raising money for two brilliant causes,” said Hannon. “We are very lucky to have some wonderful facilities and everyone at Herridge Racing Stables is excited to welcome visitors to the yard on Sept. 1.” The post Hannon Hosts Yard Open Day for Charity appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kentucky Downs is moving the starting time for its first race to 12:15 p.m. Central Time, up from a 1:25 p.m. post time in recent years. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Uncle Benny (Declaration of War), last seen finishing a huge second in an ultra-key renewal of the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs Nov. 2, is nearing a return to the races. Last term’s Futurity S. winner, owned by Beach Haven Thoroughbreds and trained by Jason Servis, breezed five furlongs in 1:03.23 (8/8) at Saratoga July 22. He was previously credited with a three-furlong breeze in :38.22 (19/41) downstate July 6. “Uncle Benny is doing very well training up at Saratoga,” Beach Haven’s Founding Partner Ara Aprahamian said. “We should expect him to have his first race within the next 30 days. We are encouraged with how fast he has come back since he started training-he had a slight injury following the Breeders’ Cup. We expect him to have a successful remainder of 2019 and maybe even find his way back to the Breeders’ Cup. Aprahamian added, “He had edema–fluid buildup–in his ankle and we decided to give him time off to get back to 100%. We don’t have a specific race picked out, but we’re looking at races going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf–an allowance or a small stakes. Then we’ll stretch him back out.” A game front-running debut winner sprinting over the Monmouth dirt Aug. 24, the $185,000 FTSAUG graduate switched to grass with an eye-catching last-to-first win in Belmont’s Futurity. There was certainly no shortage of talent finishing behind him in the aforementioned Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, including: Somelikeithotbrown (Big Brown) (third), subsequent winner of the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway; War of Will (War Front) (fifth), hero of this year’s GI Preakness S.; The Black Album (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) (eighth), winner of the Charlie Barley S.; Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (ninth), victor of the G1 Investec Derby; and Henley’s Joy (Kitten’s Joy) (13th), winner of the GI Belmont Derby Invitational. Uncle Benny is out of the unraced Storm Cat mare Celebrity Cat. His second dam is millionaire Starrer (Dynaformer). This is also the extended female family of MGISW Stellar Jayne (Wild Rush). The post APB: Uncle Benny Gearing Up at the Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The undefeated Looking At Bikinis (Lookin At Lucky) will make his highly anticipated stakes debut in Friday’s loaded $100,000 Curlin S. at Saratoga. He stamped himself as one to watch with a very sharp 5 3/4-length front-running win at first asking for trainer Chad Brown over subsequent GIII Sunland Derby winner Cutting Humor (First Samurai) sprinting in the Belmont slop last September. Sidelined thereafter, the bay proved well worth the wait for his sophomore debut, showing a different dimension rallying from off the pace and overcoming a troubled trip to reel in the speedy Not That Brady (Big Brown) in a $100,000 optional claimer going a one-turn mile at Belmont June 27. He earned a hefty 95 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. Looking At Bikinis fired a five-furlong bullet in :59 2/5 (1/29) at the Spa July 19 (XBTV Video). The 1 1/8-mile Curlin will mark his first attempt at two turns. He is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. “We are very excited about this colt,” co-owner Sol Kumin said. “Chad has been extremely high on him since he arrived and we think he has a chance to be special. He’s coming into the race with good spacing and is training extremely well. If he runs like we hope, we will point him to the [GI Runhappy] Travers [S. Aug. 24]. Kumin continued, “He needed some time after his first race. We sent him to Bruce Jackson at Fair Hill, who did an excellent job like he always does, and he came back to Chad ready to roll.” Looking At Bikinis, a $240,000 OBSAPR 2-year-old acquisition (:21 4/5), is campaigned in partnership by Long Lake Stable LLC, Madaket Stables LLC, Thomas Coleman and Doheny Racing Stable. He was produced by the two-time winner Bikini Beauty (Bernardini), a daughter of Grade II winner Beautyandthebeast (GB) (Machiavellian). “This ownership group is great,” Kumin said. “We own one-third in Madaket Stables, Long Lake-two great guys that love racing in Steve Mack and Matt Sidman–own one-third, and Tom Coleman and Mike Doheny, own the other third. It’s a group of young guys that are all close friends that all love racing and buy two-three horses a year together. We will be well represented on Friday.” The post Streaking Into the Curlin Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. is annually one of the sport’s most anticipated contests, and given its position as Britain’s third-richest race (behind the G1 Investec Derby and the G1 Qipco Champion S.) and its calendar spot where 3-year-olds and older horses can meet each other at the peaks of their powers, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Saturday’s renewal of Ascot’s midsummer showpiece could prove to be a vintage renewal, with Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) aiming to become just the third dual winner of the 68-year old race. She would also be the first to win it in non-consecutive years; she bested Ulysses (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) by 4 1/2 lengths at three but sat out last year’s edition, won by Poet’s Word (GB) (Poet’s Voice {GB}), on account of a setback that caused her seasonal debut to be delayed until September. While we wait to see if Enable can make history, it is worth reflecting on the accomplishments of another who did so in 2010. Harbinger (GB) (Dansili {GB}) went off the 4-1 second choice and was abandoned by Ryan Moore in favour of his stablemate, the Derby winner Workforce (GB) (King’s Best), but nonetheless decimated his five rivals under Olivier Peslier, winning by 11 lengths for Highclere’s Admiral Rous syndicate and trainer Sir Michael Stoute in a track-record time of 2:26.78. His 11-length gulf also bettered the race’s previous-best winning margin of seven lengths established by Generous in 1993. He was rated 140 by Timeform-joint sixth of all time in conjunction with Dancing Brave, Dubai Millennium, Sea The Stars, Shergar and Vaguely Noble. His King George was given a mark of 135 by the World Thoroughbred Rankings-good enough to be named the world’s best racehorse of 2010 by a wide margin over the 129-rated GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame (Arch). Harbinger, sadly, was injured on the gallops just a few weeks later and never ran again. The competition to secure him for stud was understandably fierce, and despite what connections described at the time as a “very strong bid” to keep the horse in Britain, ultimately they couldn’t turn down an even stronger offer to sell to the Yoshida family’s Shadai Group, and in late 2010 Harbinger was on a plane to Hokkaido, Japan. Harbinger stood this year, his eighth season, for ¥6-million (£44,407/€49,787). He covered 210 mares in 2018 and was one of seven Shadai stallions to break the 200 mark in addition to Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), Drefong, Duramente (Jpn), Maurice (Jpn), Rulership (Jpn) and Epiphaneia (Jpn). Harbinger’s first crop (comprised of 148 foals) hit the track in 2014 and yielded 18 winners from 85 runners, good enough to be named champion first-season sire-a significant accomplishment considering Harbinger himself hadn’t started until mid-April of his 3-year-old year, but it is important to note that Japan’s entire racing program is very focused on older middle-distance and staying horses. Even the 2-year-old program is designed around nurturing future stars, with 2-year-old racing only beginning in early June. As with all ages, Japan has fewer 2-year-old group races, making them more competitive in nature: whereas Japan has 14 2-year-old group races to divide among an annual foal crop of around 7,000, Britain alone has 36 for 4,600 foals. Harbinger notched his first stakes winner shortly after the turn of the calendar in 2015 when Beruf (Jpn) took the G3 Kiesei Hai S. over 2000 metres, and 2-year-old Dreadnoughtus (Jpn) won the G3 Nisai S. over the same distance (yes, a 2000 metre race for 2-year-olds) in late November, and Harbinger wound up the year with 72 individual winners. Harbinger added an additional group and listed winner in 2016, and while he had plied his trade admirably throughout his first few seasons, it was in 2017 that his progeny really began to spring to life. He made headlines when remarkably recording three Group 1 winners in the span of a month, all 3-year-olds from his third crop: the G1 Shuka Sho (2000 metres) winner Deirdre (Jpn); the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2200 metres) scorer Mozu Katchan (Jpn) and Persian Knight (Jpn), winner of the G1 Mile Championship. The momentum rolled into 2018 when he produced a career-best tally of stakes winners (10, including five group winners) and earnings (around £20.7-million/€23.3-million). His headline horse last year was Blast Onepiece (Jpn), a 3-year-old who bested older horses in the 2500-metre G1 Arima Kinen. The Arima Kinen, held annually on the Sunday before Christmas, is the country’s biggest betting race, with the field decided in part by votes from fans who sometimes camp out for days in advance to get a good position among the 100,000-plus crowd at Nakayama Racecourse-despite the cold weather and the holiday season. Harbinger is on three stakes winners thus far in 2019, headed by the G1 Victoria Mile winner Normcore (Jpn). He sits ninth on the sires’ table comprising turf and dirt earnings, and fifth by turf earnings only. He has averaged 3.4 stakes winners per crop. Harbinger is playing an important role on the Shadai roster as an outcross that is also a source of class and stamina. It is well known that Deep Impact and other sons of Sunday Silence are very prominent at the top of the stallion ranks in Japan, and the two other obvious outcross sires to emerge in recent years, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) and Rulership (Jpn), are both by the prolific King Kamehameha, who will also have plenty of daughters at stud. Two of Harbinger’s Group 1 winners, Mozu Katchan and Blast Onepiece, are out of King Kamehameha mares. Seven of his 17 stakes winners are out of Sunday Silence mares, including Persian Knight, and a further five are out of mares by sons of Sunday Silence, while Normcore and Group 3 winner Prophet (Jpn) have second dams by Sunday Silence. “It is very important to have a successful pedigree which is an outcross to Sunday Silence line for the horse breeding industry in Japan,” said the JRHA’s international representative Naohiro Goda. “And as many of the important races in Japan are over a mile and quarter, a mile and half and more, Harbinger is an ideal stallion for Japanese breeders.” Japan’s gain appears to have been Europe’s loss when it comes to Harbinger’s stud career, but it is worth questioning whether he would have gotten the same chance to shine on his home soil. While his record-breaking King George win would have surely gained him some early support at stud, the fact that he didn’t race at two and didn’t reach his best until four would have turned plenty off in the land where a precocious page has become so crucial in the sales ring. Just look at horses like Decorated Knight (GB) and Harzand (Ire) in recent years. Sure, neither were rated 135, but both were incredibly admirable multiple Group 1 winners over middle distances, and both have struggled to attract decent book sizes: Decorated Knight received 66 mares last year and Harzand, after covering 87 in his first season, was visited by just 30 mares in 2018. And while we cannot say that Harbinger wouldn’t have had a 2-year-old stakes winner had he stood in Europe, hypothetically a first year of runners in Europe without one would have been extremely difficult to bounce back from. Harbinger has found a place at Shadai where he can successfully ply his trade, and we can now watch on with interest to see whether he develops into one of the next great imports. And with the Japanese-trained Cheval Grand (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) lining up in hopes to dethrone Enable on Saturday-and with Harbinger’s own Deirdre having run in Royal Ascot’s G1 Prince of Wales’s S.-one has cause to believe that we could still see one of Harbinger’s own sons or daughters someday line up in the race in which he made such a mark. The post Japan An Ideal Environment For Harbinger appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article