Wandering Eyes

Trainer Chad Brown picked up his fourth consecutive Belmont Park spring/summer individual meet title in runaway fashion with 38 wins, while Jose Lezcano earned his first New York riding title with 44 victories as the 48-day meet drew to a close Sunday. Klaravich Stables posted 12 wins to pace all owners, while racking up over $1.5 million in earnings. Brown, who is a heavy favorite to take his fifth consecutive New York Racing Association year-end leading trainer award, had double the wins of his nearest pursuers, as Rudy Rodriguez and Todd Pletcher tied for second with 18 scores. His meet was highlighted by 14 graded stakes victories, including three Grade Is on GI Belmont S. day June 8. Lezcano, the 34-year-old Panamanian who rode longshot Henley’s Joy (Kitten’s Joy) to an upset victory in Saturday’s GI Belmont Derby, eked out his title over Luis Saez, who was one back with 43 wins. Jose Ortiz was third in the competitive jockeys’ race with 40, while Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Joel Rosario were one back with 39 apiece. “It’s been a very good meet. All the trainers have given me great opportunities and I’m very grateful for them,” Lezcano said. “You have to run for the right people. I thank my agent, Jason Beides, for all his hard work. When you win, you get more opportunities; more horses and better horses and you get more work. In New York, there’s so many good riders. Luis, Irad, Jose, Johnny V [Velazquez], and all the young riders, too, it’s just real competitive.” NYRA’s live racing resumes with opening day Thursday at Saratoga. First post is 1 p.m. The post Brown Wins Fourth Consecutive Belmont Title; Lezcano Takes First Ever NY Crown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

9th-Belmont, $80,000, Msw, 7-7, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:16.98, ft. LA CHANCLA (f, 3, Uncle Mo–Mama Tia, by Carson City) was given a rail-skimming ride by Jose Ortiz and closed the Belmont spring/summer meet on a high note for owner LNJ Foxwoods and Rodolphe Brisset with narrow victory. Sent off the 8-5 favorite off a useful fourth-place debut effort at Churchill May 30, the bay settled in about midfield as My Bronx Tail (Speightstown x ‘TDN Rising Star’ Winding Way) galloped along on an easy lead. The latter cut the corner into the stretch traveling apparently well, but La Chancla was pulled off the rail to deliver her challenge into the final eighth of a mile and she managed to grab the pacesetter in the shadow of the post. A half-sister to Cali Thirty Seven (Eskendereya), MSW, $271,060; Southern Honey (Colonel John), GSW, $223,017; and Shangroyal (Shanghai Bobby), MSP, $190,569, La Chancla–a May 17 foal–was a $200,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase who realized a nice profit when hammering for $775,000 at the 2018 OBS March Sale. Unraced Mama Tia is a half-sister to MGSW & MGISP Runway Model (Petionville), the dam of MGISW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ McKinzie (Street Sense). Mama Tia is the dam of a yearling colt by Candy Ride (Arg) and a filly foal by Street Sense. $200,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP; $775,000 2yo ’18 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $48,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-LNJ Foxwoods; B-Atlas Farm LLC & Conor Doyle (KY); T-Rodolphe Brisset. The post Expensive Uncle Mo Filly Takes Belmont Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Patricia Generazio’s homebred Pure Sensation has shown no signs of slowing down at age 8. The speedy Florida-bred son of Zensational scored his third Parx Dash (G3T) victory July 6 at Parx Racing and did so in frontrunning fashion on soft turf. View the full article

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. An undefeated colt wires the field in the Derby. But while leading late in the race, he shifts paths and causes a horse trained by Steve Asmussen to check hard and lose momentum. After a lengthy deliberation, the stewards disqualify the winner, placing him behind the Asmussen trainee he fouled while elevating the wide-and-driving second-place finisher to victory. That paragraph pretty much describes this year’s GI Kentucky Derby, right? Yet it also aptly summarizes Friday night’s Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows. In a racing season already teeming with bizarre happenstances, you can now add “Derby DQ Déjà Vu” to the list. In the Kentucky Derby, the nationally televised stewards’ takedown set into motion chaos, confusion and litigation. By contrast, the Iowa Derby DQ was followed by the figurative chirping of crickets. There was one important difference, though: As part of a new Prairie Meadows policy that started this season, one of the three stewards who officiated the race actually got on a microphone and explained to the public the reasoning behind the DQ shortly after it happened. You may recall that in the aftermath of the historic DQ in America’s most important horse race, one of the chief criticisms was the inadequacy of the Churchill stewards’ explanation. To date, the only public accounting of their decision remains a terse, 60-second recitation of prepared remarks made by the chief state steward at a press conference several hours after the DQ rocked the racing world. So while no one is pretending that the DQ’d Winning Number (Speightstown), the elevated Top Line Growth (Tapizar), and the fouled Shang (Shanghai Bobby) are Iowa’s equivalent of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day), Country House (Lookin At Lucky), and Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy), it would be fitting if Churchill Downs decided to take a cue from Prairie Meadows by insisting that their stewards disclose more about decisions that alter (or preserve) an order of finish. Breaking the Derby curse… It’s now two months after that controversial Kentucky Derby. Do we have a reliable line yet on how strong a group this year’s top-tier sophomores are based on what the Derby horses have done in subsequent starts? The first 10 next-race starts for horses that ran in the initial leg of the 2019 Triple Crown produced nine losses and just one win. That lone victory was War of Will (War Front)’s GI Preakness S. score. The rash of defeats by Derby alumni included losses in seemingly cushy spots by Maximum Security at 1-20 odds in the Pegasus S. at Monmouth Park and Roadster (Quality Road) at even money in the GIII Affirmed S. at Santa Anita Park. Those early results haven’t exactly established a bedrock of confidence in the crop. But the Independence Day holiday weekend of stakes racing at Belmont Park offered a couple of clues that might indicate the tide is turning. On July 4, Win Win Win (Hat Trick {Jpn}) unleashed a smart last-to-first run to capture the Manila S. at 4-1 odds. The ninth-place Derby finisher had run seventh in the Preakness and was shortening up to a one-turn mile for his grass debut. “This was an experiment. I really didn’t know how it was going to end,” said trainer Michael Trombetta, who was non-committal about keeping Win Win Win on the grass for future races. “We didn’t put any pressure on him, but he handled it well and we were happy with him. We wanted to see what it was all about and get him started, but we’ll take him one race at a time.” Saturday’s GIII Dwyer S. was only a supporting feature on a card stacked with five graded stakes, but Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB})’s going-away win stamped him as a sophomore who could be emerging as a divisional force in the second half of the season. Code of Honor had crossed the wire third in the Derby and got boosted to second via DQ. But his effort on the first Saturday in May left the impression that he failed to capitalize on the absolute gift of circumstances created when Maximum Security vacated his inside spot turning for home, opening an unimpeded rail path that Code of Honor didn’t fully seize. Even jockey John Velazquez said in his post-Derby comments that such a clear inside passage “never happens.” Code of Honor–a relatively late May 23 foal–was held out of the remaining two legs of the Triple Crown to recoup and regroup. What a difference in maturity those two months made. Velazquez rated the 1.15-1 favorite to last in the Dwyer, angled out widest on the turn, then dove between rivals with an assertive move at the head of the homestretch. He shifted Code of Honor outside to get off the heels of a tiring inside rival, and even though Velazquez dropped his whip while Code of Honor was winding up for his closing kick, it wasn’t really needed because the light-framed colt leveled off with determination and composure under his own power in the final furlong. The winning margin was 3 1/4 lengths, but it could have been more. “Today, he put it all together the way we expected out of him,” Velazquez said after the Dwyer winner’s circle ceremony. “Hopefully, he can continue doing that going forward.” A GII Jim Dandy S. start on July 27 is under consideration, with the Aug. 24 GI Travers S. the main summer target. Three other Kentucky Derby horses also ran on Saturday, but none hit the board. So to date, the scorecard for 2019 Derby alumni now shows three wins from 15 combined post-Derby starts by 12 different horses. Fifteen wins and counting… On Saturday night at Charles Town Races, trainer Kevin Patterson broke what is believed to be the record for consecutive wins by a trainer. The victory by Flashy Dragon Girl (Flashy Bull) was the 15th straight win for Patterson, who has not lost a race since May 26 while competing exclusively at Charles Town and Mountaineer Park. The previously recognized record 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. Patterson, whose 2019 win percentage is a gaudy 42%, competes primarily in West Virginia with the backing of owner Robert Cole Jr., whose horses have accounted for 10 of the wins during the current streak. The two are known for partnering on aggressive claiming and entry tactics, with an emphasis on speed-oriented horses. Patterson had a couple of anxious moments while racking up those 15 wins. On Friday night, winner No. 14, C.D. Jammin (Bop) had to survive a foul claim en route to a wire-to-wire win at 1-5 odds. And back on June 26, Patterson earned a $200 fine from the Mountaineer stewards for failing to deliver Cuttin Edge Tech (Fiber Sonde) to the paddock, necessitating a late scratch. That race was won by the other half of a Patterson-trained, Cole-owned entry, the 1-5 Phonemyposseagain (Posse), while Cuttin Edge Tech was held out for a start two nights later at Charles Town, which she wired as the 1-10 favorite. According to the Association of Racing Commissioners International rulings database, Patterson began his year with a 15-day suspension stemming from a medication penalty he incurred back in 2017 when the Cole-owned Blu Moon Ace (Malibu Moon) tested positive for a cobalt overage after running second in the GIII DeFrancis Dash at Laurel Park. A lengthy appeals process failed to overturn the original ruling, so Patterson’s $500 fine and suspension didn’t go into effect until late 2018. Patterson does not currently have any future entries listed on Equibase. The post The Week in Review: Derby DQ Deja Vu appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) is set to head for the G1 Grand Prix de Paris on July 14 and bypass the G1 King George and Queen Elizabeth S. on July 27. Trainer Aidan O’Brien revealed connections are leaning towards ParisLongchamp on Sunday for the G2 King Edward VII S. winner, while English and Irish Derby winners–Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire} and Sovereign (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), respectively–are heading to Ascot. “We are thinking of going to the Grand Prix de Paris with Japan at the moment,” said O’Brien. “He seems to be in good form, he seems to have come out of Ascot well. We’re thinking Anthony Van Dyck might go to the King George, with Sovereign. It could change, but that’s what we’re thinking at the moment.” G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas hero and G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas fifth Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spriit {Ire}) is targeting the Sept. 14 G1 Irish Champion at Leopardstown. “He has had a break and he is in good form now,” said O’Brien. “He has just started back doing good canters again. We are looking at something like the Irish Champion with him and he is another that could have a run before it.” G1 St James’s Palace S. victor Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is eyeing the July 31 G1 Sussex S. at Glorious Goodwood, and his stablemate, G1 Middle Park S. victor and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (No Nay Never), who ran fourth in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, is a possible entry for the G1 Darley July Cup this coming Saturday. “We are thinking of the Sussex S. with him [Circus Maximus] at the moment, but that is not yet written in stone,” said the Ballydoyle handler. “The plan is to run Ten Sovereigns in the July Cup and he seems to have come out of it [the Commonwealth] very well.” The post O’Brien Unveils Summer Plans for Star Colts appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget expects his G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) to be even better by the autumn ahead of a mouthwatering clash with Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). All being well, the two will meet in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October, but having won the G1 Coral-Eclipse on her return to action at Sandown on Saturday, Enable– who will be bidding for a record third win in the race–sets a very high standard. Sottsass comfortably accounted for the G1 French Guineas winner Persian King (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) in the French Derby and his trainer feels there is plenty more to come, with a short-term goal the G2 Qatar Prix Niel at ParisLongchamp on Sept. 15. “Normally he will go for the Niel and then be trained for the Arc,” Rouget told Sky Sports Racing. “He’s in good form–it’s the classic French preparation.” The post Rouget Targetting Arc for Sottsass appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

2018 G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest heroine Polydream (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) will aim to defend her title in the 2019 edition at Deauville on Aug. 4 connections have revealed. The Freddy Head-trained filly was sent off at odds-on for the Group 3 Prix de la Porte Maillot on Thursday evening, and duly ran out a cosy half-length winner from Marianafoot (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). Seven-time Maurice de Gheest victor Head said of the Wertheimer & Frere homebred, “She did it very well. She ran a good race and has come out it very well. We’re are going for the Prix Maurice de Gheest–the race she won last year. The timing of that race is good.” The post Polydream Aims for De Gheest Repeat appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

On a day with a host of impressive performances, the sharpest of all may have come from W.S. Farish’s Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}), who rallied from last into a slow pace to notch a 3 1/4-length victory in the GIII Dwyer S. despite jockey John Velazquez dropping his whip near the eighth pole. Runner-up in this year’s GI Kentucky Derby, the chestnut passed on contesting the final two legs of the Triple Crown and will now use the Dwyer as a springboard to the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 24 at Saratoga, according to trainer Shug McGaughey. The colt is also possible for a run in the GII Jim Dandy S. July 27 at the Spa. “Hopefully, we can go through the summer and make our mark,” said McGaughey. “We’re looking for the Travers. I’d like to run in the Jim Dandy, but we’ll see how he comes out of this.” Code of Honor was one of the horses affected by Maximum Security (New Year’s Day)’s drifting in the Derby, shying when that rival put him in tight at the rail, and McGaughey said his colt’s mental growth contributed to his convincing score in the Dwyer. “I think it showed a little bit of his maturity and where he’s going,” said McGaughey. “Physically, I think he’s bigger, and I think in the Derby he was still a mentally immature horse. That’s why, when Maximum Security came back over on him, he did what he did. Today, he was back in there. He was eating the dirt. When he had to find the hole, and the horses were kind of going everywhere, he found the hole and he was there.” Elsewhere in the aftermath of Saturday’s card, dual-surface star Catholic Boy (More Than Ready), runner-up in the GII Suburban S., is likely to stay on dirt for his next start, trainer Jonathan Thomas said. The 4-year-old will be pointed towards the GI Woodward S. Aug. 31 at Saratoga, where he could potentially rematch with Suburban winner Preservationist (Arch). The Woodward would be a slight turnback to nine furlongs from the 1 1/4-mile Suburban. “The Woodward will be our major target,” said Thomas. “While we think he’s a mile and a quarter horse, I feel more confident cutting him back to a mile and an eighth now more than ever just off of the tactical speed he seems to have.” Catholic Boy, last year’s Travers and GI Belmont Derby hero, started this campaign with a gritty score in the GII Dixie S. May 18 at Pimlico. In the Suburban, he was a bit headstrong and made an early move down the backstretch before coming up 4 1/2 lengths short to the winner in the lane. Thomas said that other than a few nicks, his charge came out of the race well. “Overall, he’s pretty good. He’s got a couple little bangs and scratches but nothing big,” said Thomas. “Now that the dust has settled, I thought overall it was a really good effort. Preservationist ran a 108 Beyer and we ran a 102, which is his second lifetime best. We were giving the winner six pounds and it wasn’t the ideal set up. I thought we ran well … Javier said he was a little funny about the kickback and he jumped up on the bridle and worked his way out. I would have preferred to sit behind Preservationist and make one run, but it didn’t work out that way for whatever reason. I don’t think it helped, but I don’t know that it cost us the race.” The post Stars & Stripes Wrap: Code of Honor Pointing to Travers, Catholic Boy to Woodward appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

MR. HUSTLE (g, 2, Declaration of War-Ready Ready Ready, by More Than Ready) became his expatriated sire’s 16th black-type winner, building on a 5 1/4-length debut victory June 16 to add Sunday’s $100,000 Victoria S. at Woodbine. Sent off the 11-10 favorite, the $235,000 Keeneland September yearling jumped alertly and argued the pace from between rivals, as the debuting Old Chestnut (Speightstown–Pool Land) pushed through at the rail and second choice Joker On Jack (Declaration of War) flashed some early foot from the widest draw. Easily able to dispose of Old Chestnut entering the stretch, he pulled readily clear to score by about four lengths over the debutante Curlin’s Voyage (Curlin) in 1:04.60. Forester’s Fortune (Old Forester) ran off the track in upper stretch, but managed to stay on for third down the middle. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. O-William Werner; B-V Gail Ray (KY); T-Roger Attfield. The post Declaration of War’s Mr. Hustle Stays Perfect in Victoria S. appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

3rd-EP, Msw, $50k, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 2:46 p.m. ET Trainer Mark Casse unveils two auspiciously bred juveniles on Sunday’s card at Ellis. Carrying the silks of Tracy Farmer’s GI Belmont S. victor Sir Winston (Awesome Again), CARA CATERINA (Bernardini) fetched a price tag of $500,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland September Sale. The bay enters the starting gate hoping to follow in the hoofprints of her Grade I winning full-siblings, To Honor and Serve and Angela Renee. Both precocious juveniles, Angela Renee graduated in her debut at Belmont as a 2-year-old before capturing Santa Anita’s GI Chandelier S. later that season, while To Honor and Serve was a MGSW at two before adding highest-level wins at three and four. Cara Caterina’s stablemate Battleofwinterfell (Declaration of War) hails from the family of multiple Sovereign Award winner Nothernette (Northern Dancer) and European champion 2-year-old and important stallion Storm Bird (Northern Dancer). The Marc Detempel-owned filly has been breezing consistently over the Keeneland oval, clocking a half-mile in :47 3/5 (4/30) out of the gate June 20. She is a half-sister to stakes winner Giada Vegas (Scat Daddy). TJCIS PPS The post July 7 Insights: Well-Bred Casse Duo Debut at Ellis appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Looking a tailor-made G1 Deutsches Derby colt when successful in Dusseldorf’s Listed Derby-Trial May 26 and the G2 Union-Rennen at Cologne June 10, Gestut Ittlingen’s Laccario (Ger) (Scalo {GB}) duly justified 2-1 favouritism in Sunday’s 150th renewal of the Hamburg Classic. Initially keen for Eduardo Pedroza anchored behind the leading quartet, the bay enjoyed an ideal split on the rail at the top of the straight and after mastering the Union-Rennen runner-up Django Freeman (Ger) (Campanologist) approaching the final furlong powered to a 1 1/4-length success, with Accon (Ger) (Camelot {GB}) staying on out wide to get third, the same margin away. It is a fifth edition for the Andreas Wohler stable and a notable first for the German star rider Pedroza in 17 tries. Laccario is also the fifth Deutsches Derby winner for his dam line, which has the word Derby stamped all over it. The first black-type winner from three runners for Laccata (GB) (Lomitas {GB}), he is a grandson of the G2 Preis der Diana (German Oaks) third La Donna (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}) who is a half-sister to the seven-times group 1-winning 1993 Derby and Japan Cup hero Lando (Ger) (Acatenango {Ger}) and his half-brother Laroche (Ger) (Nebos {Ger}) who took this in 1994. Lando is also the sire of Scalo, which gives Laccario a 3×3 inbreeding to the great Ittlingen matriarch Laurea (Ire) (Sharpman {Ire}) whose own dam Licata (Ger) landed the G3 German 1000 Guineas. The fourth dam Liberty (Ger) (Birkhahn {Ger}) is a full-sister to the German 2000 Guineas hero and leading sire Literat (Ger), in turn the grandsire of Lando out of the German Oaks and German 1000 Guineas heroine Lis (Ger) (Masetto {Ger}). Laccata also has an unraced 2-year-old full-brother to Laccario named Lascalo (Ger) and a 2019 colt by Neatico (Ger). The stud’s Manfred Ostermann was overwhelmed by the result, saying, “It is all so emotional, I am so very happy to be here again after 25 years. I admit I have shed many happy tears after this victory.” Sunday, Hamburg, Germany IDEE 150TH DEUTSCHES DERBY-G1, €650,000, Hamburg, 7-7, 3yo, c/f, 12fT, 2:29.95, gd. 1–LACCARIO (GER), 128, c, 3, by Scalo (GB) 1st Dam: Laccata (GB), by Lomitas(GB) 2nd Dam: La Donna (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB) 3rd Dam: Laurea (Ire), by Sharpman (Ire) 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Gestut Ittlingen; B-Gestut Hof Ittlingen (GER); T-Andreas Wohler; J-Eduardo Pedroza. €390,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0, €448,200. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Django Freeman (Ger), 128, c, 3, Campanologist–Donna Lavinia (Ger), by Acatenango (Ger). (€4,000 Wlg ’16 ARQDEC; €5,000 RNA Ylg ’17 BBAGS). O-Hedge Baumgarten Holschbach; B-Stiftung Gestut Fahrhof (GER); T-Henk Grewe. €130,000. 3–Accon (Ger), 128, c, 3, Camelot (GB)–Anaita (Ger), by Dubawi (Ire). (€22,000 Ylg ’17 BBAGS). O-Holger Renz; B-Gestut Hof Ittlingen (GER); T-Markus Klug. €78,000. Margins: 1 1/4, 1 1/4, NK. Odds: 2.00, 3.30, 18.20. Also Ran: Quest the Moon (Ger), Surrey Thunder (Fr), Dschingis First (Ger), Moonlight Man (Ger), Andoro (Ger), So Chivalry (Ger), Ormuz (Ger), Sibelius (Ger), Beam Me Up (Ger), Mojano (Fr), Amiro (Ger), Magadan (Ger). Scratched: Mooniac (Ger). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. The post Scalo’s Laccario Justifies Favouritism In the Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 200 horses for its seventh annual July Horse of Racing Age Sale Monday afternoon at Newtown Paddocks, where bidding is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. The initial catalogue included 168 horses and there have been 22 supplements in the interim, including ‘TDN Rising Star’ Fierce Lady (Competitive Edge) and undefeated More Roses (Uncle Mo). Some other standouts in this year’s catalogue include GSP ‘TDN Rising Star’ Copper Town (Speightstown), stakes-winning sophomore Clint Maroon (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and SW & GSP Orbolution (Orb). “We have a really distinct catalogue and it grows every year as buyers and sellers continue to gain confidence,” said Faig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “It has increased in popularity. There is something for everybody in the catalogue: colts, fillies, geldings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, older horses, grass, synthetic, dirt. There is a wide variety of options, regardless of where you’re racing and it should attract a broad range of buyers to the sales grounds.” Some notable graduates of this auction include this year’s GIII Westchester S. victor Nicodemus (Candy Ride {Arg}), GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint winner Wavell Avenue (Harlington), GSW & MGISP Ivy Bell (Archarcharch) and GIII Tom Fool H. scorer Do Share (Candy Ride {Arg}). A total of 100 horses changed hands at last year’s renewal of this sale for a total of $9,318,000. The average was $93,180 and the median was $50,000. The 2018 edition was topped by stakes winner My Miss Tapit (Tapit), who summoned $700,000 from Breeze Easy and was sold by Elite Sales. “It takes a little while to get people accustomed to it, but now there is no question it is a sale people point to, both sellers and buyers,” said Browning. “I think it has been a great addition to the calendar and to the July Sale. I think the horses of racing age help the yearlings and the yearlings help the horses of racing age. It just attracts a wide group of people to town. We are all horse crazy, so you might think you are coming to the Horses of Racing Age Sale and end up buying a yearling, or both or vice versa. They are very complimentary to each other.” Monday’s Horses of Racing Age session will be followed the Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. The post Horses of Racing Age Take Center Stage at Newtown Paddocks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

As it had been in Saturday’s G1 Coral-Eclipse, the following day’s G1 Prix Jean Prat proved easy pickings for a Gosden-Dettori axis in full swing as TDN Rising Star Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) brushed aside his rivals in front of Deauville’s half-packed stands. Losing his tenure of office as generation leader when runner-up in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh May 25 and third in the June 18 G1 St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot, Lord Lloyd-Webber’s homebred was back to his sizzling pomp in the unrelenting Normandy sunbeams to prove a point. Always comfortable travelling with his usual zest off seven-furlong pace carved out up the middle of the straight track by compatriot Fox Champion (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), the 9-10 favourite moved to take command approaching the 300-metre marker. Dettori asked for full effort soon after and he gave as generously as he had when sealing champion juvenile status at this distance in the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket in October. At the line, there was a yawning three-length gap to fellow TDN Rising Star Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), with Fox Champion holding on to third a further two lengths behind to make another British whitewash in France. Gosden was in self-berating mood afterwards. “I was very stupid to run him over ten furlongs, as I’ve said before, because he’s an extremely fast horse and had shown that last year,” he commented. “He’s come back to his best trip and was brilliant. This is very quick ground today and he handled it well. He’s got bundles of speed and even though we’ve done everything badly he’s got us out of trouble. I think an easy mile is also no problem for him and I like the easy mile here on the straight course, so his next race could be the [Aug. 11 G1 Prix ] Jacques le Marois], or it could be the [G1] Sussex [S. at Goodwood July 31]. l have to wonder why two major European races on the racing calendar are only 11 days apart. Maybe the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita could be a possibility later in the season, but we’ll take it one race at a time.” Dettori added, “I’m pleased for the horse–he showed his old turn of foot and did everything right and put the race to bed good. It’s good for the horse’s confidence and there is more to come.” Lady Lloyd-Webber was also on hand to say, “We saw the real Too Darn Hot today and this is where we are starting our season, so let’s forget about the rest. He’s just a speed horse through and through and this is his perfect distance. It’s a long year ahead and I’d be delighted to go to Los Angeles again. We had the longest winter with him and it could have been that he hadn’t developed and improved as much as the others and that does happen, but in our heads he’d worked so brilliantly at home that none of us really lost faith in him. Everyone read it completely wrong, even the experts, but he’s telling us something.” Charlie Appleby said of Space Blues, who was backing up a second in the June 22 G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot, “He’s run extremely well and was beaten by a good horse, so we have no complaints. It’s time to give him a little break and most probably we’ll think about the [Oct. 6 G1 Prix de la] Foret [at ParisLongchamp]. That will be a nice race for him later in the season.” It is remarkable to think that Lah Ti Dar (GB) was running last Sunday as if the mile and a half of the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud was on the sharp side, given the abundant pace of her full-brother. Lah Ti Dar was also staying on stoutly at the end of the extended 14-furlong trip of the G1 St Leger in which she was runner-up in September and while she won the G2 Middleton S. over an extended 10 furlongs in May she is more in the mold of her dam, the triple group 1-winning Yorkshire Oaks heroine Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}). In the middle of Too Darn Hot and Lah Ti Dar trip-wise was the dam’s third-best progeny, the talented G3 Musidora S. winner and G1 Prix de l’Opera third So Mi Dar (GB) also by Dubawi. Dar Re Mi is one of four group 1 winners produced by the G1 Prix Vermeille heroine Darara (Ire) (Top Ville {Ire}) alongside the ill-fated Rewilding (GB) (Tiger Hill {Ire}) who had the speed to beat So You Think (NZ) in the G1 Prince of Wales’s S., the G1 Ranvet S. hero Darazari (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup scorer Diaghilev (Ire) also by Sadler’s Wells. From the family of the G1 Prix du Jockey Club-winning leading sire Darshaan (GB), Dar Re Mi’s unraced 2-year-old full-brother to Too Darn Hot was bought by David Redvers for 3.5million gns when topping the Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale and is named Darain (GB). She also has a yearling filly again by Dubawi. Sunday, Deauville, France QATAR PRIX JEAN PRAT-G1, €400,000, Deauville, 7-7, 3yo, c/f, 7fT, 1:21.29, gd. 1–TOO DARN HOT (GB), 128, c, 3, by Dubawi (Ire) 1st Dam: Dar Re Mi (GB) (Hwt. Older Mare-Eng at 11-14f, G1SW-Eng, Ire & UAE, GSW & G1SP-Fr, GISP-US, $4,359,112), by Singspiel (Ire) 2nd Dam: Darara (Ire), by Top Ville (Ire) 3rd Dam: Delsy (Fr), by Abdos (Fr) O-Lord Lloyd-Webber; B-Watership Down Stud (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. €228,550. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng & G1SP-Ire, 8-5-2-1, €813,632. *Full to Lah Ti Dar (GB), GSW & MG1SP-Eng, G1SP-Fr, $541,171; So Mi Dar (GB), GSW-Eng & G1SP-Fr, $242,742; and 1/2 to De Treville (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), MGSP-Fr, $114,187. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Space Blues (Ire), 128, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Miss Lucifer (Fr), by Noverre. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. €91,440. 3–Fox Champion (Ire), 128, c, 3, Kodiac (GB)–Folegandros Island (Fr), by Red Rocks (Ire). (75,000gns Wlg ’16 TATFOA; £260,000 Ylg ’17 GOUKPR; 420,000gns 2yo ’18 TATBRE). O-King Power Racing Co Ltd; B-Con Marnane (IRE); T-Richard Hannon. €45,720. Margins: 3, 2, 1HF. Odds: 0.80, 3.10, 24.00. Also Ran: Munitions, Namos (Ger), Watan (GB), Pretty Boy (Ire), Graignes (Fr), Pure Zen (Fr), Urwald (GB), Azano (GB), Royal Marine (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Too Darn Hot Takes the Prix Jean Prat appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Dropping 44 pounds in a month would probably be a concern for most athletes, but it had no discernible impact on the Chris So Wai-yin-trained Classic Unicorn at Sha Tin on Sunday.The talented youngster was a dominant winner on debut in June but alarm bells were going off for punters when they saw such a big weight drop ahead of his second career start.Often that means an illness or the horse is off its food, but the trainer couldn’t find an issue.Classic Unicorn remains unbeaten and claims the… View the full article

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Last year’s G1 Irish and Yorkshire Oaks winner and G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Sea of Class (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) has had her career cut short by a bout of colic which required surgery on Wednesday, trainer William Haggas reported on Sunday morning. “It’s devastating news,” Haggas said. “She had surgery on Wednesday and is under intensive care. If she was a human you would say she was critical but stable, that’s how it is, there’s nothing more I can add really. You just have to take each day as it comes. “There is no question that her racing career is over, 100%.” Bred by Razza Del Velino and raced, like her sire, by Sunderland Holdings, Sea of Class stamped herself the best middle-distance 3-year-old filly in Europe last year with a pair of Oaks wins and ran Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) to a half-length from an unfortunate draw in the Arc. Sea of Class had had one start this year en route to a second Arc attempt, when fifth over unsuitably soft ground in Royal Ascot’s G1 Prince of Wales’s S. The post Colic Ends Sea of Class’s Racing Career appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Champion jockey Zac Purton is within reach of Joao Moreira’s 170-win season after the Australian put on a clinic with six victories at Sha Tin on Sunday.The 36-year-old entered the 11-race meeting trailing Moreira’s 2016-17 record by 12 but now finds himself just six behind after the stunning performance.With 20 races left in the season, Purton is in a race against time, needing seven winners to set a new benchmark in what has been a career-best season having already comfortably eclipsed the… View the full article

With just two meetings remaining, a solitary win separates John Size and John Moore in what has become a titanic battle for the trainers’ championship.Coming into Sunday’s Sha Tin meeting trailing by two (74 to 72), Moore halved his deficit when Magic Success took out the Class Four Beas River Country Club 1,400m Handicap – the beneficiary of a terrific Zac Purton ride and one of the jockey’s six victories for the day.While Moore saddled up nine runners across the 11-race card, Magic Success… View the full article

Former top hurdler Just Got Home made a welcome and well received return to the winner’s circle at Te Aroha on Sunday when he prevailed in a thrilling finish to the Frank & Annie Matijasevich Memorial Open Steeplechase (3500m). The rising twelve-year-old had won for the first time over the bigger fences at the same venue back in August last year after switching to steeplechasing following a richly successful hurdling career that saw him win on five occasions in that role, including a victory i... View the full article

A potential spring campaign in Sydney awaits class mare Volpe Veloce as she eases her way back to racing trim for the new season. The 2018 Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) winner is currently in pre-training before returning to the stable of Matamata trainer Graham Richardson for her six-year-old season. Richardson, who is back to training on his own after his partnership with Gavin Parker ended on amicable terms, is looking forward to having his star pupil back in the fold as he prepares a mainly y... View the full article

A decision to place greater emphasis on the training side of the business appears to be paying dividends for former top jumps rider Clayton Chipperfield who produced a winning double on Saturday. Two-year-old Proisir filly London Bound made many sit up and take notice with a stunning seven length win on debut in the opening event at Te Rapa while progressive four-year-old Obsessive rounded out the day in fine style on a testing track at Awapuni with a win in the last race of the day. Chipperfiel... View the full article

Heavily-favored Marley's Freedom made it back-to-back wins in the $200,351 Great Lady M Stakes (G2) July 6 at Los Alamitos Race Course. View the full article

Due to a shortage of entries, there will be no daytime Thoroughbred racing Thursday, July 11 at Los Alamitos. View the full article

The 6-year-old son of Arch was forwardly placed and took control at the top of the stretch in the $700,000 Suburban Stakes (G2) July 6 at Belmont Park, turning back dual grade 1 winner Catholic Boy en route to a 4 1/2-length win. View the full article

California’s Los Alamitos has canceled the card for Thursday, July 11, due to a lack of sufficient entries. Programs with nine races each are tentatively scheduled for next Friday through Sunday, which will be the final days of the brief summer meet that began June 29. Two other days, June 27-28, were also cancelled. The post Los Alamitos Cancels Thursday Card appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article