Wandering Eyes

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R. A. Hill Stable, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Channel Maker is back at Saratoga Race Course to defend his title in the $250,000 Bowling Green Stakes (G2T) July 27. 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

10th-Saratoga, $92,000, Alw, 7-24, (NW1$X), 3yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:22.79, ft. RISKY MANDATE (f, 3, Strong Mandate–Paying Off {SW, $192,380}, by Malibu Moon) was a stylish first-time out winner June 22 at Churchill, handily defeating her foes by 6 1/4 lengths and earning an 80 Beyer Speed Figure. Tackling a good-looking group here, the 2-1 favorite broke a step slowly before quickly grabbing a stalking position on the inside directly behind the pacesetting Fair Regis (Bustin Stones). The leader rolled through a :22.63 opening quarter and jockey Jose Ortiz pulled the trigger on Risky Mandate after a half-mile in :45.22. She drew alongside Fair Regis, dueling with that rival down the lane and kicking clear in the final sixteenth for a 3 1/2-length tally. Fair Regis held on for second over Proximity Bias (Flatter). Risky Mandate is a half-sister to Joint Custody (Outflanker), MSW, $274,530, the unraced juvenile Carpe Victoiram (Carpe Diem) and a yearling colt by Hard Spun. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $105,448. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O/B-Ghost Hollow Farms, LLC (KY); T-Thomas M. Amoss. The post Strong Mandate Filly Remains Undefeated at the Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Bankit returned to the winner's circle for the first time in 2019, scoring by 1 1/4 lengths in the July 24 in the $150,000 New York Derby at Finger Lakes Racetrack. View the full article

Brittlyn Stable's homebred Minit to Stardom went straight to the lead in the $200,000 Honorable Miss Handicap (G2) at Saratoga Race Course July 24, and despite being the longest shot on the board at 20-1, she led every step. View the full article

The New York Racing Association, uniting with racetracks across the country as part of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys’ Fund Awareness Day Across America at Saratoga Race Course this Saturday, will host a variety of events, highlighted by a special meet and greet and autograph session. Riders from the Saratoga jockey colony will sign autographs on the Jockey Silks Room Porch from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. with a suggested donation to PDJF. Fans who donate $5 to PDJF will receive a commemorative “Riders Up!” poster, while supplies last, and will be entered to win a framed limited edition “150 Years of Racing at Saratoga” print. The Community Outreach Booth will host PDJF in honor of the day-long celebration at Saratoga Race Course. Fans are encouraged to visit the booth, which is located on the Jockey Silks Room Porch, to learn more about the not-for-profit organization’s mission to provide financial assistance to former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. The post PDJF Awareness Day at Saratoga to Feature Jockey Autograph Session appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The California Retirement Management Account (CARMA)’s annual summer fundraiser, ‘Hoedown for Horses’, lassoed in more than $172,000 to support Thoroughbred aftercare Sunday in the Del Mar paddock. The funds will go to supporting CARMA’s placement program, which retires, rehabilitates and rehomes Thoroughbred raceshorses and replenishing its granting fund to help support more than 20 equine nonprofits. “We set the bar high with the amount of money we wanted to raise at the Hoedown and we are so grateful to the racing community, sponsors, friends, fans and volunteers that made it happen,” said CARMA President Candace Coder-Chew. “This event set a record for us and many retired racehorses will be supported with the funds generated from the Hoedown.” More than 300 people attended the fundraiser, which kicked off with a barbecue-styled buffet and live country music. There was also a popular head-to-head jockey mechanical bull riding competition, with Aaron Gryder taking home the custom champion belt. “It warms our hearts every year to host our summer fundraiser and to see the support from the horse community,” said Lucinda Lovitt-Mandella, executive director of CARMA. “Aftercare for retired racehorses has really come into focus in recent years and we’re seeing the direct result of that.” The post CARMA’s ‘Hoedown for Horses’ Raises $172K for Thoroughbred Aftercare appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Full brother to highweighted colt Belardo will make his first appearance at Doncaster View the full article

A week after one of the summer's classics for 3-year-olds was contested at the Jersey Shore in stifling humidity, the division is turning up the heat once again. View the full article

About 100 horses have been cataloged for the single-sesssion Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale scheduled for Monday, Aug. 26 at 12 noon at the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park near Dallas. The sale is sponsored jointly by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park. The sale will be the first held in Texas since the passage of legislation that is expected to add as much as $25 million annually to purses, state-bred incentives and other programs to benefit the Texas horse industry. “The Southwest region is even stronger now that the Texas racing and breeding industry should be revitalized by recent legislation,” said Sales Director Tim Boyce. “We have a strong group of Texas-breds in this sale for those looking to jump in on a program ready to trend up, and we also have solid representation from Oklahoma and Louisiana for those looking to participate in those programs.” The yearling session will be immediately followed by a mixed session with broodmares and horses of racing age. For more information and to view the catalog, go to www.ttasales.com. The post Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale Catalog Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Godolphin's multiple group 1 winner Thunder Snow cleared quarantine and enjoyed his first gallop on the Oklahoma training track July 24 in preparation for his start in the $1 million Whitney Handicap (G1) Aug. 3 at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today’s Observations features a half-brother to September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). 5.50 Leopardstown, Mdn, €19,000, 2yo, f, 7f 20yT WHITE WINGED DOVE (Karakontie {Jpn}) debuts for the Niarchos Family and is a daughter of their high-class GI Spinster S. winner Aruna (Mr. Greeley). Willie McCreery saddles the February-foaled bay, who encounters Jim Bolger’s homebred Auma (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), a full-sister to the useful Round Two (Ire) who also won on debut and hails from the family of Easy Goer. 6.15 Doncaster, Novice, £6,900, 2yo, 7f 6yT SKY VEGA (IRE) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) debuts for China Horse Club and Ballylinch Stud, having cost €600,000 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale. A full-brother to the G1 Dewhurst S. and G1 Lockinge S. winner Belardo (Ire), Richard Hannon saddles the January-foaled bay against a well-touted Godolphin newcomer Global Storm (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), a Charlie Appleby-trained colt whose dam is a half to Eight Belles (Unbridled’s Song). 6.20 Leopardstown, Mdn, €17,500, 2yo, f, 8fT YANKEE STADIUM (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is the choice of Ryan Moore over two other stablemates in this maiden won by Camelot (GB) in 2011 and on five other occasions in the last 10 years by Ballydoyle representatives. Out of Moyglare Stud Farm’s $4.3-million purchase and dual grade I heroine Switch (Quiet American), the bay is a late April foal so may need this introduction despite the nod from Aidan O’Brien over fellow newcomers Cormorant (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), a 1.05million gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase, and Cabot Hills (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}, a son of the stable’s illustrious performer Peeping Fawn (Danehill) and a half-brother to the G1 Fillies’ Mile runner-up September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). The post Observations: July 25, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Kevin Patterson’s consecutive win streak ended at 16 races on Tuesday night when Wolfblade (Midshipman) ran third in the eighth race at Mountaineer Park. Saddling 16 straight winners is believed to be a North American training record. The previously recognized mark of 14 consecutive wins was established by the late Frank Passero at Gulfstream Park in 1996. Before that, four other trainers were known to have racked up nine straight wins. Wolfblade, ironically, was the horse who started Patterson’s streak back on May 31. The filly had already repeated on June 22 to be number 8 in the 16-victory parade. Sent off as the 7-2 third choice in Tuesday’s betting, Wolfblade was also the longest-odds starter among Patterson’s 16 winners, several of which had gone to post at as low as 1-5 and 1-10 odds. All of Patterson’s winners in the streak came at either Charles Town (11) or Mountaineer (5). Patterson’s 2019 win percentage is an eye-popping 42% from 79 starters. For perspective, of the 92 trainers on the continent who have a higher win percentage than Patterson this year, only three of them have started more than 10 horses, and none has saddled more than 17 starters. Patterson, who has a private farm and training track in Pennsylvania, competes primarily in West Virginia with the backing of owner Robert Cole Jr., whose horses accounted for 11 of the streak’s wins. The two are known as an aggressive claiming outfit with an emphasis on speed-oriented horses. Patterson still has another streak going: His horses have not finished out of the money in 22 consecutive races dating back to May 18. The post Patterson’s Consecutive Win Streak Ends At 16 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

6th-Saratoga, $90,000, Msw, 7-24, 2yo, 5 1/2f (off turf), 1:03.33, ft. ANOTHER MIRACLE (c, 2, American Pharoah–Retraceable {MSW, $370,564}, by Medaglia d’Oro) became the sixth winner for his freshman sire (by Pioneerof the Nile) when he blazed home in this off-the-turf event at the Spa. In his prior start July 4 at Belmont, the $210,000 KEESEP buy battled head-and-head through a quick early pace yielding late to check in second behind impressive fellow firster Green Light Go (Hard Spun). Lining up at the rail here, the 9-5 shot rocketed from the barrier to immediately seize command of the lead, rattling off splits of :22.79 and :45.37. Uncontested at the top of the stretch, the bay streaked to the wire to score by 1 1/4 lengths, withstanding the spirited late rush of Irish Mias (Sky Mesa), who recovered nicely from a poor start to finish a strong second. Another Miracle’s dam Retraceable captured her debut before landing Woodbine’s Princess Elizabeth S. during her juvenile season. She produced a Flatter filly this term. Sales history: $210,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $65,500. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Leonard C. & Jonathan I. Green; B-J. Betz/CHNNHK/D.J. Stables/Lamantia/CoCo/Ramsby (KY); T-Gary C. Contessa. The post American Pharoah Colt Goes Wire-to-Wire at the Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Back in 2006, Dan Ward was still oiling the gears of a near decade-long sabbatical from horse racing when a gun was held to his head. He was working as a bartender at the Stick & Stein, a busy sports bar near LAX airport frequented by travelers and athletes and Hollywood Park track workers. As he was locking up one night, a gun-toting robber was waiting outside, figuring to try his luck. The Fates had other plans, and the assailant left with little more than the tips in Ward’s pocket. “The safe was closed and I couldn’t get it open,” he said, “so they just took what money I had on me.” But the incident had the effect of hastening Ward’s return to the track. “Once you have that happen, you don’t have the same enthusiasm,” Ward said, of his bartending gig. In 2007, he accepted a short-term position for Peter Miller, after which Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer tapped him to oversee his Santa Anita stable. Ward accepted, and the die was cast on a working relationship that has proven one of the most prolific on the Southern California circuit. Now, however, there’s another gun leveled Ward’s way–a metaphorical gun, sure, but one no less able to send those cortisol levels spiking. “I’ve got all eyes on me right now if anything happens,” Ward admitted, of the scrutiny he’s currently under, having taken out, at the saintly age of 60, his trainer’s license to run a barn that would–in an alternate universe–operate under the Hollendorfer name. The background to this situation has played out as public spectacle. In June, American Currency became the fourth Hollendorfer-trained horse fatally injured during the six-month Santa Anita meet. Citing that and another two Hollendorfer- trained horses catastrophically injured at Golden Gate Fields, The Stronach Group (TSG) ordered the trainer to remove his horses from both tracks. Following TSG’s lead, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Del Mar subsequently barred Hollendorfer from running horses at their facilities under his name, but they opened the door to his assistants, with Don Chatlos now training owner Larry Best’s horses in New York. Muddying the waters is the fact that there has been no formal, regulatory ruling in California and New York against Hollendorfer. Neither TSG nor NYRA directly answered questions as to what the statistical basis was for their decisions, and what information points they factored in, though court documents filed by Del Mar this week includes the following: “despite his lengthy and successful career during the past six months, Hollendorfer has accounted for 15% of the horses that have lost their lives in racing and training at two California tracks.” The documents are in response to the complaint filed in the Superior Court of San Diego by Hollendorfer and the California Thoroughbred Trainers against the Del Mar Turf Club, seeking to permit Hollendorfer to resume training at the current Del Mar meet. A ruling on the case is expected this Friday. While Hollendorfer’s career is undergoing such public anatomization, Ward is keen for the trainer’s broader record to be evaluated, rather than a narrow slice of it. “If you want to go back the last 10 years and look at all the starts and injuries, we’ve got a pretty good record,” said Ward, before detailing the program he oversaw at Santa Anita. “We filled out every work slip. We don’t train on [phenylbutazone] bute. We don’t shockwave. We don’t inject joints [with corticosteroids]. We jog every horse before they go to the track and cancel any works if they’re unsound,” he said. (Indeed, a review of the California Horse Racing Board’s “veterinary list” database indicates that the last time a Hollendorfer trainee at Santa Anita received a shockwave treatment was 2018. As for the use of bute and corticosteroid injections, CHRB public information officer Mike Marten wrote an email that they are listed in “Vet Confidentials” which are not public documents). Right now at Del Mar, Ward runs a stable of about 16 horses, with another 20 at Los Alamitos. They’re down as many as 20 horses overall, said Ward. Some were turned out. Some owners left through frustration at horses being scratched, he said–a result of the new five-person review panel filtering entries. But some owners, Ward added, fled the nest because of ongoing uncertainty surrounding Hollendorfer. “We lost a lot of business,” Ward said, explaining that he’s laid off more than a dozen employees. “What I do know is how much it hurts when people came to get their last checks who had been here for like 10, 12, 15 years, and they were crying.” Some have found employment elsewhere, he said. “But they want to come back here because it’s like family,” Ward explained. “They’re good people. Their cousins work here, and then their cousins work here–they don’t leave. That’s the hardest thing, looking them in the eye and you don’t have an answer.” Loss, of course, can have an equalizing effect. While horse and staff numbers are down, Ward has gained an altered appreciation of Hollendorfer, thanks to his handling of events. “He’s under all this stress, people taking away horses and having to lay-off employees, that hurts,” he said, adding that he wished more focus was applied to other aspects of the trainer’s record, including his racehorse aftercare program in Washington State, providing equine therapy to veterans suffering PTSD. “There’s a cat at Los Alamitos, he spent $10,000 to save it. You’re telling me the same guy wanted to hurt the horses?” Ward said. Training, so the adage goes, is a young person’s game–at 60, Ward isn’t your typical wet-behind-the-ears addition to the ranks. He always wanted to train, he said. “Everybody does.” Though these are hardly the circumstances in which he wanted it to happen, happen it did, and after opening weekend, Ward boasts a 20% strike rate. His parents, who live locally, were on hand for his inaugural victory. “It’s worked out good that they’ve got to come see my name in the program, come into the winner’s circle-really special,” he said, before alluding to their ages, 86 and 87. “I don’t know how many more times I’ll be able to come down and have them here.” Though Ward wasn’t born into the sport–his father worked for American Express, his mother in accounting–horseracing hooked him from an early age. “My first race, Majestic Prince in ’69,” he said, of the golden chestnut’s Santa Anita Derby romp. When it came time to join the workforce, Ward had eyes on the Bobby Frankel academy, “but he didn’t have any availability,” Ward said. So, the 18-year-old joined instead the barn of Joe Manzi, trainer of champion 2-year-old colt Roving Boy. There he stayed until a school friend secured him a spot with choice numero uno. “I went over there, but it was much more difficult,” he said, of the five-time Eclipse Award winning outstanding trainer. “You had to prove yourself. If you do something that he sees to gain his trust, then you’re in. When I started, they didn’t let me groom four horses–I had one and I walked horses. Then I had two. Then I had three. Then I had four.” Ward took out his assistant trainer’s license in 1980 and started travelling with the stable’s best and brightest. This was the era of early Juddmonte star Exbourne, grizzled handicapper Marquetry, and G1 Japan Cup winner Pay the Butler. There are elements of the Frankel philosophy that have stuck: “I liked that he worked his way from the race, backwards,” Ward said. “He would go from stall to stall, evaluate every horse, figure out what the goal is.” Another Frankel axiom: if a horse runs lights out, don’t run it back quick. Just look at Ghostzapper, the future GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. “He ran a ridiculous number first time out, and he was really thinking about the [Derby preps]. He ran him back and he was fourth, and he was mad at himself,” said Ward. Ghostzapper was subsequently turned out, missed the classics, but came back to win the GI Vosburgh S. later that year. “Things like that, you can’t learn that from anyone else–and you can’t forget that.” Ward parted ways with Frankel in 1998, burned out, he said, from the relentless grind. Then came the near decade-long sabbatical into bartending. In an ode to posterity, when Ward did return to the fold, one of the first big horses Ward was involved with at the Hollendorfer barn was the former Frankel trainee, Heatseeker (Ire), who ended up winning the 2008 GI Santa Anita H. Which leads us back to the present, and the current maelstrom in which Ward finds himself very much in the eye of. “I think the rules that they’ve put in are all good,” he said, of the safety protocols and medication restrictions put in place both at Santa Anita and across the state. “You’re thinking about the things you never used to think about, like the public’s perception,” he said. “Times change.” The times they are a changin’ indeed, for it’s not just in California where issues of horse welfare have taken the wheel– industry-wide headwinds are fundamentally reshaping long-established practices of horsemanship and training. “We’re just not going to see horses dropping from $50,000 to $4,000 to run in Mountaineer. That’s a good thing,” Ward said. “Those types of horses just aren’t going to be allowed to run anymore. You’ve got to get rid of them, turn them out, which is okay.” What about the future–where’s the game headed? Ward sees two issues integral to reducing catastrophic breakdowns. One is a switch to synthetic surfaces, and the other is simply less racing. “Even when they first put in the Hollywood fall meet, you still had six, seven weeks’ break from racing,” Ward said, of a period in California’s history where the racing calendar was less intense. “Horses got the break they needed.” As for his own future, Ward is understandably circumspect with so many loose threads dangling. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Ward said. “I don’t even know what’s going to happen next week.” Some much-needed clarity could come this Friday. But then there’s the issue of whether TSG will, later this year, offer Hollendorfer stalls at their California facilities–Ward anticipates that Belinda Stronach and Hollendorfer will meet in person. “They’ve got to,” he said. If this Friday the judge rules against Hollendorfer, Ward’s name will remain in the program book, at least for the time being, though he’s keen to emphasize how the every-day running of the barn remains unchanged. “Nothing’s different,” he said. “It’ easy to make the list, because I know what [Hollendorfer] wants,” Ward said. And yes, though he has only 16 horses at Del Mar, it’s a rather sweet 16 that includes two-time Grade I winner, Vasilika (Skipshot), who he describes as “the best mare in American right now.” There’s another regal eagle in the barn, a half-sister to Songbird by American Pharoah named America’s Surprise. “If she wins a Grade I she’s worth $10 million. There’s your goal,” he said, before planting his feet back on the terra firma. “We’ll just try to have a quiet meet, win some races, keep our owners happy, and try to build on it.” The post Dan Ward: Fresh Challenge, Difficult Circumstances appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Filly will make her next start in July 28 Prix Rothschild (G1) View the full article

Britain and Ireland’s 2-year-old scene takes further shape on Thursday as Sandown and Leopardstown stage some pointers to the 2020 Classics. In the afternoon, the Listed British Stallion Studs EBF Star S. acts as a stepping stone for the 1000 Guineas aspirants and unsurprisingly there is a Charlie Appleby representative in the Newmarket maiden winner Light Blush (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). That win over this seven-furlong trip was only 12 days ago and like the July 15 Ayr novice scorer Walk In Marrakesh (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) she has to prove she can back up successfully. The latter hails from the Mark Johnston stable along with the July 5 Haydock novice scorer West End Girl (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), while Kevin Ryan puts forward Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s Rhea (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) who also won on debut at Haydock May 24. Later in the evening, Leopardstown offers intriguing fayre beginning with the Frank Conroy Irish EBF Maiden in which Ballydoyle unleashed Camelot (GB) in 2011. Of the trio of entries from Rosegreen, Yankee Stadium (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is the selected one for Ryan Moore who then rides the June 28 G2 Airlie Stud S. runner-up Precious Moments (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Jockey Club of Turkey Silver Flash S. which Aidan O’Brien has collected 10 times. Stonestreet Stables’ ‘TDN Rising Star’ Windracer (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) is in opposition as she bids to confirm the June 27 Curragh debut form with Precious Moments’ stablemate Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). “She seems to have come out of her first race well and we’re looking forward to running her,” Windracer’s trainer Jessica Harrington commented. “The way she won at the Curragh she looked above average, but until you let them take on these better fillies, you don’t really know for sure.” If O’Brien has a formidable record in the Silver Flash, his tally of a dozen successes in the G3 Japan Racing Association Tyros S. speaks for itself. Future Classic heroes from Ballydoyle who have taken this en route include King of Kings (Ire), Cape Blanco (Ire), Gleneagles (Ire), Churchill (Ire) and Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) with the last four by Galileo. Both representatives are by the sire of all sires this year, with Moore on the impressive June 27 Curragh maiden winner Armory (Ire). While the next two home there have subsequently been beaten in maidens, the style of his success was notable. In a fascinating renewal in which none of the five can be ruled out, Ger Lyons saddles the June 13 course-and-distance scorer Justifier (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}) while Mick Halford sends one of His Highness the Aga Khan’s brigade into battle in Zarzyni (Ire) (Siyouni {Ire}). He took a Gowran Park maiden by 3 1/2 lengths June 16 and has Classic success in his blood being a descendant of the 1998 G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Zalaiyka (Fr) (Royal Academy). “He’s in great form and we’ve been waiting for this race since his first run,” Halford said. “We hoped he’d run well in Gowran, but he surprised us a small bit that he was ready enough to win. That is always a good sign and he does seem to have come forward in his homework. It looks a smart race, even though it’s a small field. We’ll have a better idea of where we stand afterwards, that’s for sure.” The post Classic Clues on Offer on Thursday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Negotiations for Kilfrush Stud are ongoing, after the Irish nursery did not sell at auction on Wednesday, Racing Post reported. Currently owned by Qatari businessman Mubarak al Naemi, bidding stalled at €6.1 million on the bid of Andrew Nolan of Goffs, who was representing an unnamed client. The guiding price of the stud prior to the auction, which was the birthplace of champion sprinter Last Tycoon (Ire) (Try My Best) and MG1SW Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), was €5.5 million. “We’re still in negotiations with the highest bidder and I can’t say any more than that at this stage,” said Kilfrush Stud Manager David Ryan to Racing Post. The post Negotiations Ongoing for Kilfrush Stud 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, TDN’s Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. In this edition, 2-year-old colt Kowalski (Will Take Charge), a strong third after missing the break in his six-furlong debut at Churchill Downs June 28, is highlighted. Previous runners featured in this column include: MGISW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway) and MSW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). La Chancla (Uncle Mo), featured in this space in early June, was a smart next out maiden winner at Belmont Park July 7. SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – As the promising Kowalski (c, 2, Will Take Charge-Willowbern, by Bernardini) came charging home to a useful third-place finish on debut at Churchill Downs in late June (video) carrying Peter Brant’s forest green silks and sporting a famed white bridle of Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, memories of the duo’s former standouts from yesteryear such as Gulch and Stella Madrid quickly came to mind. “He’s one of my favorite people,” Lukas said of Brant back at his regular digs at Barn 83 after wrapping up a morning of training on Oklahoma. “He’s really a treat to be around and he’s a tremendous asset to the Thoroughbred industry in every way. He’s got the passion for it. There’s nothing better than if I could get a good horse for him.” Kowalski, one of two juveniles for Brant’s White Birch Farm residing in the Lukas barn, has every right to be that good horse. Off as the 3-1 second-choice for a barn not exactly known for cranking on its babies to win first out these days, Kowalski broke 11th and was on the move into a sharp :22.29 opening quarter. Tipped out six deep by Jon Court and looking a serious danger while launching a flashy bid on the turn for home, he finished with interest down the center of the course to complete the trifecta, 6 1/2 lengths adrift the good-looking Eddie Kenneally-trained debut winner Noose (More Than Ready). “You would think that an old quarter-horse guy like me could get one away from the gate, but he missed the break,” Lukas said with a smile as a single strand of straw dangled from his mouth. “He did some things in that race that a young horse doesn’t normally do. If they get away that bad, they lose all touch with the race. We think he’s definitely a good prospect.” Kowalski has breezed twice over the training track since joining the Lukas string in Saratoga. He worked four furlongs in :47.64 (4/14) July 9 and covered the same distance in :48.29 (3/53) July 21. “He’s doing well,” Lukas said. “His works have been solid. We don’t always let them do what they’d like to do, especially if they’ve got a lot of talent. We saw enough that we don’t have to find out if he can do it everyday now. We’re hopeful that he’s a top candidate. That first race impressed everybody.” Lukas picked out the bay on behalf of Brant for $225,000 at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Out of the unraced Bernardini mare Willowbern, Kowalski hails from the second crop of champion 3-year-old colt Will Take Charge. Lukas, of course, trained the handsome blaze-faced chestnut to wins in the GI Travers S. and GI Clark H. Will Take Charge is the sire of one black-type winner and five graded stakes horses, according to TDN Sire Lists. “He’s got that look,” Lukas replied when asked if Kowalski would handle stretching out in distance. “I’m looking for some more of the Will Take Charges to start showing up–he was such a good horse. Hopefully he starts getting more [stakes horses]. This may be one.” As for what’s next for Kowalski, Lukas concluded, “I just got the new [Saratoga condition] book. I was talking to Mr. Brant whether we want to go 5 1/2 or six [furlongs]. There’s a seven in the book, too. We’ll pick something out.” The post Second Chances: Kowalski appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Dubai World CupPurse: $10 Million After the Pegasus World Cup adopted its new format which we will discuss later, the Dubai World Cup can now regain its position as the richest horse race in the world. The race is run at the Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates, on the last Saturday of March […] The post Most Expensive Horse Racing In The World appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

MG1SP East (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who ran third in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches in May, has been purchased privately by Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm in advance of an intended start in Sunday’s G1 Prix Rothschild, Racing Post reported on Wednesday. Successful in the G3 Prix Thomas Byron and runner-up in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf prior to her Classic placing for East Partners and trainer Kevin Ryan, the chestnut daughter of SW and G3 Princess Margaret S. bridesmaid Vital Statistics (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) ran 10th in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas last out on May 26. Bred by Mitaab Abdullah, the €315,000 2018 Goresbridge May topper will bear the Northern Farm colours on Sunday at ParisLongchamp. “She’s in good form,” Ryan told Racing Post. “The plan is to go to France on Sunday. We’ve been happy with her at home, so we’re looking forward to running her.” The post East Sold to Katsumi Yoshida appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The International Harmonization of Racing Rules Committee plans to meet Friday, Aug. 9 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. View the full article

Godolphin’s dual G1 Dubai World Cup hero Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}) has been confirmed for the Aug. 3 $1-million GI Whitney H. at Saratoga. No stranger to Stateside racing, the Saeed bin Suroor trainee, who ran third in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs last November prior to a second-place finish in the Mar. 9 G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3, was last seen running a solid third in the GI Runhappy Metropolitan H. at Belmont Park on June 8. Regular jockey Christophe Soumillon has the call. “He’s doing great,” bin Suroor told the Meydan notes team of his star, who cleared quarantine in New York on Wednesday morning. “He had a very nice work, his last piece of work, over the gallops at Newmarket this week and I’m happy with him. He’s in good form and improved from his last race at Belmont. He’s sound, happy and healthy and that is what you want. The nine furlongs will suit him better than the mile.” The Breeders’ Cup Classic is once again Thunder Snow’s end-of-season goal, where he will attempt to become the first horse to capture the Dubai World Cup and Classic in the same year. “The horse will ship back [to Newmarket] after the run and prepare for his next race,” bin Suroor continued. “It could again be at Saratoga [in the GI Woodward S. on Aug. 31] or the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup back at Belmont [on Sept. 28]. He will come back and we will decide what he does.” The post Thunder Snow Aiming for Whitney appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The second annual Goffs UK Goodwood Sale, slated for Wednesday, July 31, grew by three lots to bring the total on offer to seven, with final entries confirmed this week. First-season sire Gutaifan (Ire)’s Fan Club Rules (Ire) is lot 107. Offered by Bansha House Stables, the winning bay colt has run fourth in both the June 29 G3 Prix du Bois and the July 21 G3 Darley Prix Robert Papin. Lot 101, the Listed Prix Reves D’Oro bridesmaid Wheels On Fire (Fr) (Sidestep {Aus}) will also take part. Another Bansha House member, the bay colt and Fan Club Rules have both been given entries in the G3 Molecomb S., earlier on the day of the sale. The 90 BHA flat-rated sophomore gelding Harvey Dent (GB) (Mayson {GB}) (lot 108) has joined the line up from the draft of Archie Watson’s Saxon Gate. A half-brother to GSP Poster Girl (GB) (Excellent Art {GB), he sports three wins to round out the new entries For more information and the full catalogue, go to www.goffsuk.com. The post Gutaifan Colt Among Goodwood Sale Additions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Integrity Education Programme, designed to help protect participants and inform the racing and betting public about how they can help protect the integrity of British racing, was launched by the British Horseracing Authority on Wednesday. With the aim of educating the wider public, the online platform lists key integrity issues: the BHA’s integrity and regulation capabilities, equine anti-doping, corrupt approaches and inside information, betting practices, and drugs and alcohol. Videos on these issues, including interviews with broadcaster Nick Luck where former jockeys and members of stable staff give advice and share their experiences, are also available. In addition, there is also an online self-assessment tool for those using the site. “This programme has been a number of years in the making following a recommendation in the 2016 Integrity Review and above all is designed to help and protect participants and educate the betting and racing public,” said the BHA’s Head of Integrity Chris Watts. “We’ve gone to great lengths to try and ensure that what can be some technical and complicated areas of our integrity work are explained in as clear and easy to understand a way as possible. “Hopefully all those who use the website will come away with a greater knowledge of how we work to keep racing fair and clean, which will help them both to avoid inadvertent breaches of the Rules and provide guidance should they be faced with a potential integrity issue in the future.” The post BHA Launches Integrity Education Programme appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article