Wandering Eyes

When the MATCH Series returns to Delaware Park July 13, eight horses will have the opportunity to qualify for the lucrative owner and trainer bonuses tied to each series division. View the full article

It seems like a strange thing to say but the Norfolk Stakes looks like a one-horse race with Sunday Sovereign likely to start as a short-priced favourite. Paddy Twomey’s charge beat Coventry winner Arizona two starts back and was an impressive winner on soft at Tipperary when last seen. He has been purchased by King […] The post Royal Ascot Preview – Day 3 appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Tracy Farmer’s homebred Sir Winston (Awesome Again), the winner of this year’s GI Belmont S., has been ruled out of a summer campaign due to a minor left front ankle injury. The story was originally reported by the Daily Racing Form. “He has a minor left front ankle injury and he’s going to do some rehab at the farm. He’s back in Ocala now [at Casse’s personal training center], he’s going to be off for a little while,” said trainer Mark Casse. “I’m still hopeful we’ll be back in the fall, we’ll play it by ear. The (GI) Travers S. is not going to be an option.” Casse mentioned the GI Pegasus World Cup S. in January as a possible long-term goal for Sir Winston. This news comes shortly after trainer Bill Mott announced GI Kentucky Derby winner Country House (Lookin At Lucky) would be out for the remainder of the season. The post Sir Winston Sidelined with Minor Injury 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 3rd-BEL, $80K, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 4:07p.m. Chad Brown unveils a $1 million KEESEP buy with a high-powered ownership group behind him in SAGAPONACK (Quality Road), who is campaigned in partnership by Peter Brant, Joseph Allen and the Coolmore contingent of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith. Out of SW Storm Minstrel (Storm Cat), the bay colt is a full-brother to MGSW Blofeld. His second dam is MGSW Colonial Minstrel (Pleasant Colony), herself a daughter of champion Minstrella (The Minstrel). The sophomore enters off a best-of-38 half-mile in :48 1/5 over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track June 13. Christophe Clement saddles a firster with a big pedigree in Sumaya US Stable’s Golden Tapit (Tapit). Out of GSW Fun House (Prized), the $275,000 KEESEP purchase is a full-sibling to champion Untapable and a half to GISW millionaire and sire Paddy of Prado (El Prado {Ire}). This is also the family of Grade I-winning sires Tapizar (Tapit), Pyro (Pulpit), Cuvee (Carson City) and Olympio (Naskra). TJCIS PPs The post June 20 Insights: Million-Dollar Quality Road Debuts at Belmont appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Becoming as rare a piece of work as the brand of instrument after which he is named, Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) returns to Royal Ascot on Thursday looking to join a band of staying nobles whose names have been written more than once on the G1 Gold Cup honour roll. In contrast to the fast conditions he encountered 12 months ago when outgaming Vazirabad (Fr) (Menduro {Ger}), Bjorn Nielsen’s millionaire faces a potential slog this time with rain continuing to dog Berkshire’s theatre of dreams. Like all the greats of this cherished division, the beloved chestnut is also met by a new cast a year on as would-be marathon stars appear from all angles. They include the remorseless Dee Ex Bee (GB) (Farhh {GB}), with his humourless galloping style certain to fit Thursday’s edition and the swashbuckling class act from the G1 Melbourne Cup in Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), who would have been best served had the rain stayed away. Yeats (Ire) had similar examinations after he first caught Ascot unawares in 2006, with allcomers attempting to subsequently dethrone him to no avail. Stradivarius is no Yeats, with his style tailored more to a swift closing effort than the grinding nature of the Ballydoyle giant’s method, but a win in this particularly strong edition in these gruelling conditions would move him ever closer to his own portion of immortality. There was nothing in his return winning performance in the May 17 G2 Yorkshire Cup to suggest he had lost either enthusiasm or dexterity following his winter break and the march is on for more “Cup” glory after his high-achieving manoeuvres from here to Goodwood to York and back here again last season. Soft-ground Gold Cups are not uncommon, with the 2016 renewal won by Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the 2012 version taken by Colour Vision (Fr) (Rainbow Quest) carried out on an easy surface, but Wednesday’s deterioration in conditions has moved this one into another dimension. There was always going to be a time when Stradivarius would have to win ugly and this is it. He did manage to capture the G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup in October on soft, but that was against lesser opposition and trainer John Gosden is well aware that his flagbearer will have to raise his game. “If it rains a lot he is up against it,” the master of Clarehaven warned. “He has that great weapon for a two-and-a-half miler in that he has a phenomenal turn of foot. If it goes soft, it blunts his turn of foot and leaves him vulnerable. It won’t be his scene if it turns into a slog on softer ground, because he has got a lot of class and that will favour the boys who have got to grind it out. I don’t see the standard being any higher–he was just very effective on good-to-firm ground last year. He is not a big horse, but he has the ability in the last two furlongs to turn it on.” Gosden is well aware of the burden connections carry into each task that Stradivarius undertakes now that he is such a high-profile campaigner. “To a degree, I share the view he is becoming a people’s favourite,” he added. “He is in the Cup races and people enjoy them and he was the champion stayer last year.” Frankie Dettori will feel the pressure most, but having ridden over 60 winners here helps. “He has become the people’s favourite horse,” he said. “The great thing about him is that he wears his heart on the sleeve and he never goes down without a fight and people appreciate that.” Mark Johnston knows how epic the Gold Cup is, having conquered the great prize with Royal Rebel (GB) (Robellino) twice in 2001 and 2002 and with Double Trigger (Ire) (Ela-Mana-Mou {Ire}) in 1995, and will not have been disheartened by the rain for Dee Ex Bee. “We are relishing the extra half mile, not concerned about it,” he said of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum’s 4-year-old who had the class to be second in the G1 Epsom Derby. “Double Trigger was very much the classical stayer–he was 16.2 and tall and lean. Dee Ex Bee is far thicker-set and heavier, but on form and pedigree he’s got all the credentials. He’s been what we have been dreaming of for many years and he’s all we imagined he would be.” One of the those that Dee Ex Bee fell foul of in 2018 was Cross Counter, who broke Goodwood’s mile-and-a-half track record when taking his measure in the G3 Gordon S. in August before his Flemington heroics. Like Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), he comes here on the back of a break since winning on World Cup night, but on the form of his success in the two-mile G2 Dubai Gold Cup he has to improve to lay a glove on Stradivarius. “He’s a horse that has done well from three to four and I don’t think he’s plateaued out,” Charlie Appleby said. “What he’s done over two miles, you cannot fault him. Stepping up in trip again, you don’t know, but if he improves for it then it opens up even more possibilities.” Supporting the centrepiece are a clutch of quality encounters kicked off by the G2 Norfolk S. in which King Power Racing’s acquisition Sunday Sovereign (GB) (Equiano {Fr}) occupies favouritism and has a rock-solid feel. Having beaten Tuesday’s G2 Coventry S. winner Arizona (Ire) (No Nay Never) by three lengths over six furlongs at The Curragh May 6, Paddy Twomey’s exciting prospect registered a seven-length rout of his rivals in a Tipperary conditions race over this trip on soft ground June 4. American Pharoah has his first Royal Ascot runner in the Apr. 19 Aqueduct maiden special weight scorer Maven for Richard Ravin and Wesley Ward while Ryan Moore has opted to ride the May 22 Cork maiden winner Mount Fuji (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) from Aidan O’Brien’s duo. A fascinating G2 Ribblesdale S. sees Anthony Oppenheimer represented by two homebreds taking on the May 31 G1 Epsom Oaks third Fleeting (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). The William Haggas-trained Frankellina (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who was runner-up in the May 15 G3 Musidora S. and sixth in the Oaks, is met by ‘TDN Rising Star’ Star Catcher (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) who was third behind the re-opposing Queen Power (Ire) (Shamardal) in the Listed Haras de Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial S. at Newbury May 18. “I honestly don’t favour one over the other and that is why we are running them both,” their owner-breeder commented. “When Star Catcher was beaten at Newbury, Frankie Dettori came back and apologised because he felt he should have won; he said he should have made more use of her because she was running on again at the line, she finished full of running. She should be really suited by stepping up in trip–that is what we are hoping. Frankellina had the two quick runs in the Musidora and the Oaks, but she did a really nice piece of work the other day which is why we are keen to run her. I’d absolutely think Ascot should suit her more than Epsom, because she is a big filly.” Royal Ascot always offers connections of runners in the Epsom Classics a temptation to come back to the races quickly, but that is not the case in the G3 Hampton Court S. where all 15 avoided the Derby. Juddmonte’s TDN Rising Stars Headman (GB) and Sangarius (GB) are both by Kingman (GB) and enter the mix with an abundance of promise. The former, who represents Roger Charlton’s stable, took the London Gold Cup H. under a stopping weight at Newbury last time May 18, while Sir Michael Stoute’s Listed Flying Scotsman S. winner Sangarius was third under a penalty behind the subsequent G1 St James’s Palace S. runner-up King of Comedy (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) in Sandown’s Listed Heron S. May 23. Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said of the latter, “His work has been solid. Sir Michael is bringing him in great shape. We have always had it on our mind that he might be a mile-and-a-quarter horse, even from when he was a 2-year-old, so this is an interesting opportunity for him.” Of Headman, who bids to emulate his half-brother Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) who took this off a win in the London Gold Cup in 2015, he added, “Everything he has done since that victory has pleased Roger. This was always the race in mind we had for Headman after Newbury. You never quite know how much is between them. We’ve put the pink cap on Sangarius mainly because he has listed form, which Headman hasn’t. But Headman is also by Kingman, which is important to us.” Also by Kingman is King Power Racing’s Fox Chairman (Ire), who was an eyecatcher when third behind the St James’s Palace S. hero Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Listed Dee S. at Chester last time May 9. The post Tightly-Strung appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Still a maiden entering Royal Ascot’s Listed Windsor Castle S. on Wednesday, Southern Hills (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) had run to a high standard when second to the G2 Norfolk S. contender Air Force Jet (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) in a five-furlong maiden at Navan June 1. Drawn towards the stand’s side which proved best again, the 7-1 shot showed speed to stay near the frenetic pace and when sent to the front with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining stayed on to account for Platinum Star (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) by 3/4 of a length. In doing so, he was providing Gleneagles with a first black-type winner. SOUTHERN HILLS (IRE), c, 2, Gleneagles (Ire)–Remember You (Ire), by Invincible Spirit (Ire). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £51,039. Lifetime Record: 3-1-1-0, £55,127. *1st stakes winner for freshman sire (by Galileo {Ire}). The post First Black-Type Winner For Gleneagles As Southern Hills Takes the Windsor Castle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Maven, the first winner in the United States for American Pharoah, will make his stakes debut June 20 when he faces an expected 14 other juveniles in the Norfolk Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot. View the full article

The Lysters love a wilderness. The snowfields above Jackson Hole are like a second home, and between them they have made dozens of visits to Sub-Saharan Africa. Now they have bred a pretty adventurous horse, too, in Bound for Nowhere (The Factor), who this week crosses the ocean for a third time in just 11 career starts. But he is only the latest to demonstrate that anyone trying to beat a path to the winner’s circle–that sunlit clearing in the jungle of breeding and raising Thoroughbreds–can take their bearings from an exceptionally reliable compass in Ashview Farm. Bound for Nowhere is another terrifically fast graduate of the family operation near Versailles, Kentucky, that gave us Johannesburg (Hennessy) and Runhappy (Super Saver). He has contested two Group 1 sprints at Ascot: fourth to Caravaggio (Scat Daddy) as a sophomore with just two starts under his belt; and then beaten under a length when third from a horrible draw in the Diamond Jubilee S. last year. Bound for Nowhere returns for the same race on Saturday, having again set himself up with a fine comeback in the Grade II sprint he won at Keeneland last spring (just collared a neck this time round). Another showcase, then, for the horsemanship of Wayne Lyster, his wife Muffy, and their sons Gray and Bryan, who nowadays share front-of-house at Ashview. They found his dam Fancy Deed (Alydeed) at the 2011 Keeneland November Sale, needing just $15,000 even though she was a half-sister to the stellar Midnight Lute (Real Quiet). “I think it was one of those scenarios where if a mare doesn’t produce anything from her first few foals, she becomes worth an absolute fraction of what she might have been before,” says Gray Lyster. “But sometimes you can make an excuse for them. And in my opinion she just hadn’t been bred to particularly good sires.” The Lysters sent her to a rookie son of War Front with a good buzz at the time, in The Factor. And the resulting colt made $310,000 from Wesley Ward at the 2015 September Sale. “That’s fun, from a $15,000 mare and a $15,000 stud fee,” Gray accepts. “But it certainly wasn’t something we were shocked by. He was a really good-looking, smooth-walking colt, who vetted well, by a sire who was selling well. I guess the only thing was that as a May colt, he wasn’t small, but compared to the big, beautiful horse he is now, he still needed to mature a little bit. Wesley kind of bought him at a moment’s notice and, being the sportsman he is, kept him for himself.” There was an extra dividend for the trainer, as Ward was duly sent the last foal out of the mare, who sadly colicked hours after delivering a filly by Goldencents the following March. The Lysters decided to keep her, and named her Bingwa: a nod, as the Swahili for “champion”, to their collective love of the whole bush environment and culture. And, a debut scorer last year, she looked highly progressive in winning a Belmont allowance last month. “Wesley’s very high on her, we’re all pretty darned excited to tell the truth,” Gray admits. “Like with Bound for Nowhere, Wesley’s not been in a big rush with her. But she’ll likely take the next step up in the GIII Victory Ride S. in New York on July 5. We hope she might be a top-quality sprint filly.” Bingwa was scratched from the 2017 September Sale. “If you cut one third off a golf ball, she had a lump like that on the outside of her ankle,” Gray explains. “She X-rayed clean but it was definitely an eyesore and you’d have been hard-pressed to pay a lot of money for her. But we knew it was a bit like buying a new vehicle with a big scratch down the side. It wouldn’t affect how fast you could drive. So we never even took her to the sale. We said, ‘You know what, we don’t have the mother anymore and Bound for Nowhere looks really good. Let’s keep her and race her.’ And that’s something we do very rarely.” Yet Bingwa can only ever be a relatively trivial blessing relative to those shared by the family after a harrowing trauma at that same September Sale. Because the day the Ashview staff moved in the weekend yearlings, Bryan checked into the University of Kentucky Hospital with a mysterious spine problem. He was in searing agony, couldn’t even stand up. “Level nine-and-a-half pain,” he recalls. “Wondering how I hadn’t passed out. Pain I didn’t know existed.” As the doctors struggled to identify the problem, ultimately revealed to be an infection of spinal disc and bone, so they assessed the odds. The thresholds of hope were uncomfortably low. A normal life? Or just life? A week previously, Bryan’s wife had delivered their third child. “It was really scary for my whole family,” he recalls. “The doctor told me I had a 10 percent chance of getting better; a 10 percent chance of never walking again; and then the 80 percent in the middle was where I’d most likely land. But afterward he told me he’d been pretty sure I was going to be in that bottom 10 percent.” “The first couple of weeks we didn’t know if Bryan was ever going to walk again–let alone, you know, pull through,” Gray admits. “It was a very, very difficult time. And while we’re wondering will he ever be able to pick up his kids again, we’re supposed to be shipping and showing horses at the same time.” The staff stepped up to the plate. In fact, Ashview had a spectacular sale–so much so, that the family jokes about keeping out of the way in future. More seriously, they accept the reminder that routines work for a reason. “All of our staff took care of everything perfectly,” recalls Gray. “We basically showed up when the horses went to the ring. Truly, credit to our guys, they do a great job. But you know, a nice horse sells himself as well.” And they had one of those, from the debut crop of Cairo Prince, who gave Bryan a real tonic as he lay in hospital, following the sale on his iPad. “Really one of the few things that got me through was watching the prices some of our horses were bringing,” he says. “It became one of the better sales we’ve ever had. And this colt in particular, bringing $320,000. A $10,000 stud fee and 100 percent for the home team: it was me, Gray, and dad that owned the horse. So for me, personally, it definitely lifted my spirits. I can’t imagine if we’d had a poor sale on top of it all.” Gray shrugs. “I gotta tell you, it didn’t matter what horses were bringing,” he says. “It was pretty upsetting, the whole thing. And all while we’re trying to make our harvest for the whole year. Trust me, if we had been selling worse, I’m sure it would have been more depressing. But nobody was slapping high fives.” Happily, Bryan’s recovery exceeds anything his doctor has seen. As for the Cairo Prince colt, he was named Mihos by Centennial Farms and sent to Jimmy Jerkens. A ‘TDN Rising Star’ when breaking his maiden, he briefly entered the Classic picture when winning the Mucho Macho Man S. at Gulfstream in January, only to disappoint in the GII Holy Bull S. Though given a break since, he has recently resurfaced on the worktab. The dam of Mihos was another bargain, an unraced daughter of Lion Heart found for just $10,000 at the Fasig-Tipton February Sale in 2014. Her half-sister Sharla Rae (Afleet Alex) subsequently won the GI Del Mar Oaks and, unsurprisingly, she has gone back to Cairo Prince this spring. But the ultimate coup was the mother of Runhappy. The boys had still been in college for Johannesburg, who was very much a Wayne Lyster production. But Runhappy sealed their integration into the regime, as son of a mare Gray claimed for $5,000 at Delaware. She was later sold for $1.6 million to Stonestreet. The funny thing is, I don’t know how many we claimed that year but it was a bunch,” recalls Bryan. “And she was literally the only one we kept. I don’t know if that was because we saw the light–or if maybe we just got a little lucky.” Their parents started Ashview as a house plus nine acres; it has since evolved to 350 acres plus 700 acres of alfalfa and other crops. But while the boys have assumed more responsibility, Wayne is still the fulcrum. “He’s the smartest guy out there,” says Gray. “Because he knows how not to micromanage while being involved in all the big decisions. He’s the foundation of everything we do. We’re all on the same page, really. Because while there’s a certain type of mare you like, or whatever, I think the way you raise a horse is so much more important than how they look, or what their pedigree is. I think you see that over and over again, with some really good breeders. There’s a lot of different ways to do it well. But, you know, our way is kind of raise them tough and…” “Let them be a horse,” interjects Bryan. “…Let them be themselves,” agrees Gray. “That’s not to say you don’t need an athletic animal in front of you. But I actually think people now, compared with 10 years ago, are acknowledging that. They say: ‘Wait a minute. This type of operation raises a horse like this, and they have oodles more success with the same quality of stock as a different operation.'” And that is consistent with the trademark Ashview has developed, not particularly by design, by growing their own organic forage. “I wouldn’t say it’s a prerequisite,” says Bryan. “But it feels good when you know exactly where it’s coming from, what you’re putting in their bellies. Because there hasn’t been a bunch of glyphosate sprayed all over what our horses are eating. I mean, honestly, it’s no different than the way we raise our own children.” Gray feels as though people sometimes “roll their eyes” if they labour the point. “It’s a little old-fashioned, rather than organic,” he says. “I mean, there’s a lot of good ways to raise horses. Same as there’s a lot of good ways to train horses. Shug McGaughey and Wesley Ward are two great trainers who probably don’t train the same way. And our way just happens to be a little more hay, oats, and water. “But we put ourselves in that position by usually buying young mares, who don’t need a lot of reproductive help, who have good feet, who can be tough outside. When we say we don’t do a bunch of surgeries on our young foals, maybe it’s just because we bought some nice, correct mares. And in 2019 I guess it’s turned into a little bit of a brand: whether it’s you going to the grocery market or the yearling sales, people want to know the history of this product and how it was produced.” To a degree that’s just one dimension of the literally hands-on scale of their operation. People know that every horse presented by the Lysters has been raised, day-by-day, by men who started not just under the same roof, but with the same principles of horsemanship. “When we were kids, every farm used to sell their own horses,” remarks Gray. “Now there are some big consigners today that do wonderful jobs. But we want to promote ourselves as people who can say: ‘We’re the ones raising the product that’s in front of you. Please ask us about it. We’re not saying anybody else is right or wrong, but this is how we do it.'” The post Ashview to Ascot: Another `A-Lyster’ Celebrity appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jockey Randy Romero, elected to racing’s Hall of Fame in 2010, said last weekend he is in hospice care, but is at home in Lafayette, LA, where a brother is staying with him and helping with his care. “I’m very sick but I haven’t given up,” he said by phone. Romero, 62, said doctors told him he is not strong enough to undergo the surgery necessary to remove the tumors, discovered in 2015. He said his pain is being managed and hospice is allowing him to undergo dialysis three times weekly at a facility close to his home, a procedure he has done for some 15 years. A tainted blood transfusion following a bizarre 1983 Oaklawn Park reducing-room accident that set him ablaze and burned over 60% of his body gave him Hepatitis C, which damaged his liver and kidneys. A few years later doctors removed a diseased kidney. For several years he hoped for a rare liver and kidney transplant that for various medical reasons never materialized. He estimates he has broken 25 bones in racing accidents and had some 30 injury-related surgeries in a 26-year career that ended in 1999 with 4,294 victories and earnings of over $75 million. Rarely suspended and known for getting the best from fillies and mares, he won back to back GI Breeders Cup Distaffs aboard Sacahuista in 1987 and in 1988, when he got up in the final stride to win aboard Personal Ensign, allowing her to retire undefeated in 13 starts. He was the regular rider for 1989 2-year-filly champion Go For Wand, who looked on her way to victory in the 1990 Distaff, only to suffer a catastrophic injury. Romero broke seven ribs in the incident, but managed to ride another race on the day’s card. Romero’s faith has remained strong, and before he became too ill, regularly attended Catholic Mass with his mother Joyce Romero. “I know God is going to be with me no matter what” he said. “And I know prayers help.” The post Hall of Famer Romero In Hospice Care appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum’s Move Swiftly (GB) (Farhh {GB}) stepped out of handicap company to run second in Lingfield’s Nov. 1 Listed Fleur de Lys S. and made giant strides to plunder Wednesday’s G2 Duke of Cambridge S. at Royal Ascot in her first start of 2019. The 9-1 chance was steadied at the break to race at the tail of the field as Nyaleti (Arch) set the tempo. Still last with three furlongs remaining, she made smooth progress into contention at the quarter-mile marker and kept on resolutely under a drive once launching her challenge entering the final furlong to swoop for a career high in the dying strides, denying Rawdaa (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) by a neck. I Can Fly (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who started as the 7-2 favourite despite carrying a three-pound penalty for winning last term’s G2 Solonaway S., also threatened inside the final quarter mile and was best of the rest 1 3/4 lengths adrift. MOVE SWIFTLY (GB), f, 4, Farhh (GB)–Hurricane Harriet (GB), by Bertolini. (30,000gns Wlg ’15 TATFOA; 70,000gns Ylg ’16 TAOC2). Lifetime Record: 8-4-3-1, £154,801. O-Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum; B-Mrs K. E. Collie (GB); T-William Haggas; J-Danny Tudhope. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Farhh’s Move Swiftly Swoops Late for Duke of Cambridge Triumph appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

LADIES’ DAY at Royal Ascot is the highlight of the week for many people with the Gold Cup at the very centre of it. It’s a race I’ve always loved and was lucky enough to win two times. Whoever wins that race this year will need class, guts and determination to battle up the hill […] The post Kieren Fallon Royal Ascot Preview – Day 3 appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

With Ascot continuing to be hit by persistent rain, Wednesday’s G1 Prince of Wales’s S. turned into a measure of toughness and TDN Rising Star Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) fit the bill as he registered an 80th Royal winner for Sir Michael Stoute. Tracking Ballydoyle’s pacemaker Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) under Frankie Dettori, the 3-1 second favourite struck the front before the two-furlong pole and held Galileo’s pair Magical (Ire) and Waldgeist (GB) safely at bay despite running around in the clear to beat the former by just over a length. Wednesday, Royal Ascot, Britain PRINCE OF WALES’S S.-G1, £750,000, Ascot, 6-19, 4yo/up, 9f 212yT, 2:10.25, sf. 1–CRYSTAL OCEAN (GB), 126, h, 5, by Sea the Stars (Ire) 1st Dam: Crystal Star (GB) (SW & GSP-Eng), by Mark of Esteem (Ire) 2nd Dam: Crystal Cavern, by Be My Guest 3rd Dam: Krisalya (GB), by Kris (GB) 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Sir Evelyn De Rothschild; B-Southcourt Stud (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £425,325. Lifetime Record: 15-8-5-2, $2,036,353. *1/2 to Hillstar (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), Hwt. 3yo-Eng at 11-14f, GISW-Can, MGSW & G1SP-Eng, $1,221,978; Crystal Capella (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}), Hwt. Older Mare-Eng at 9.5-11f & MGSW-Eng, $550,532; and Crystal Zvezda (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), SW-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Magical (Ire), 123, f, 4, Galileo (Ire)–Halfway To Heaven (Ire), by Pivotal (GB). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. £161,250. 3–Waldgeist (GB), 126, h, 5, Galileo (Ire)–Waldlerche (GB), by Monsun (Ger). O-Gestut Ammerland & Newsells Park; B-The Waldlerche Partnership (GB); T-Andre Fabre. £80,700. Margins: 1 1/4, 3 1/4, 2. Odds: 3.00, 1.60, 4.00. Also Ran: Hunting Horn (Ire), Sea of Class (Ire), Deirdre (Jpn), Zabeel Prince (Ire), Desert Encounter (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Crystal Ocean On Top In the Prince of Wales’s appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Mick and Janice Mariscotti’s Dashing Willoughby (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) was no match for subsequent G1 Epsom Derby fifth Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) when third in last month’s G3 Chester Vase, but stepped forward in game fashion to claim Wednesday’s G2 Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot. Under heavy restraint in third behind a modest pace set by Nayef Road (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) for most of the 14-furlong slog, the 6-1 chance loomed large off the home turn to launch his challenge at the quarter-mile marker and stayed on strongly under a drive to deny Barbados (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by a half-length, despite veering right nearing the line. Nayef Road kept on gamely to finish a half-length further back in third. DASHING WILLOUGHBY (GB), c, 3, Nathaniel (Ire)–Miss Dashwood (GB), by Dylan Thomas (Ire). (70,000gns Ylg ’17 TAOCT). Lifetime Record: 6-2-2-1, £151,147. O-Mick & Janice Mariscotti; B-Meon Valley Stud (GB); T-Andrew Balding; J-Oisin Murphy. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Nathaniel’s Dashing Willoughby On Top In the Vase appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

On Tuesday, the Kentucky Racing Commission voted unanimously to approve Churchill Downs’s official request to lease, own and operate a “racetrack extension” at the new Louisville Thoroughbred Society in downtown Louisville, according to a post on the LTS website by one of its three founders, Gene McLean. The post says that the approval is contingent upon a final approval of an on-going background check on the three principal founders of the new club. That process is expected to be completed in the new few weeks, according to the post. The Louisville Thoroughbred Society bills itself as a private membership club “dedicated to promoting and enhancing the horse industry in Kentucky.” Once that due diligence is completed by the Racing Commission and staff, and final approval granted, Churchill Downs will have the ability to operate pari-mutuel wagering on simulcast racing from around the country, and around the world, at the new facility to be located at 209 East Main Street in downtown Louisville. Churchill Downs and the LTS have entered into a lease agreement to allow for the operation. According to the official request to the Kentucky Racing Commission, Churchill Downs may be able to own and operate up to 12 pari-mutuel devices on the location, where members, customers, and guests will have the ability to enjoy all the amenities of horse racing and wagering on site. “This is a tremendous step forward in all of our efforts to provide our members and guests with a premium, first-class, top-of-the-line, premium private club that is dedicated to promoting the greatest industry and sport in the Commonwealth,” said McLean, one of the three Founding Members of the LTS. The others are Mike Schnell and Dave Steinbrecher, who own and are restoring the historic property to be known as the Hughes Lofts. “From Day 1, we have communicated and worked diligently with Churchill Downs about this project. And, without any question at all, we would not be in the position we are today without the considerable help, support, and confidence of the world’s most renowned and historic horse racing venue,” said McLean. “They have been amazing partners in this project. Amazing. In fact, I cannot imagine anyone being more helpful, cooperative and encouraging. This is just another example of their commitment to make this the finest horse club in the world.” An official announcement from both Churchill Downs and the Louisville Thoroughbred Society is expected to be released in the next couple of days. The Louisville Thoroughbred Society–which will have a state-of-the-art audio and video network at the new facility, in addition to many other amenities, including a premium Cigar Bar, outdoor patio bar and entertainment area, an indoor “library” and meeting spaces–is now expected to open for full business early in 2020. The post Churchill to Open Racetrack Extension Downtown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Impressive around Chester’s tight turns when off the mark over six furlongs May 25, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum’s Raffle Prize (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}) was able to use that extra stamina on Ascot’s straight course to wear down Kimari (Munnings) and take Wednesday’s G2 Queen Mary S. as the Royal meeting continued to suffer a drenching. Always close to the stern pace set by that Ward raider, the 18-1 shot gained the edge in the last half furlong and fought hard to win narrowly as TDN Rising Star Final Song (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) filled third spot. RAFFLE PRIZE (IRE), f, 2, Slade Power (Ire)–Summer Fete (Ire) (GSW-Eng, $125,102), by Pivotal (GB). O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum; B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Mark Johnston; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £62,381. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, £75,748. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Slade Power’s Raffle Prize Battles To Queen Mary Success appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Runners in Thursday’s G2 Norfolk S. include the progeny of Group 1-winning dams, as well as some decent pinhooks and some bargain auction buys. A’ALI (IRE) (Society Rock {Ire}-Motion Lass {GB}, by Motivator {GB}) Maiden A’Ali was bred by Tally-Ho Stud and sold by that nursery for £35,000 to H&H Bloodstock and Star Bloodstock at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale. He was seen back at Doncaster in April where he was picked up by Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for £135,000. AIR FORCE JET (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}-Wind Fire, by Distorted Humor) Air Force Jet, like his dam, is raced by Qatar Racing. He is out of the G2 Flying Childers S. and G3 Coral Charge Sprint S. winner Wind Fire, who was also third in this race and is a granddaughter of the Grade I winner and producer Dream Supreme (Seeking the Gold). COOL SPHERE (Orb-Faringdon Circle, by Speightstown) Cool Sphere was picked up by Star Bloodstock for $45,000 at Keeneland September from breeder Hinkle Farms and, re-offered at the Tattersalls Craven Sale in April, he fetched 120,000gns from Cool Silk Partnership and Stroud Coleman Bloodstock. DUBAI STATION (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}-Princess Guest {Ire}, by Iffraaj {GB}) A maiden winner at Haydock 13 days ago, Dubai Station was bred by Hall of Fame Stud and purchased by Ahmad Al Shaikh for 30,000gns from Book 2 of Tattersalls October. EXPRESSIONIST (IRE) (Night of Thunder {Ire}-Permission Slip {GB}, by Authorized {Ire}) Expressionist was bred by Clare Castle Stud out of the stakes-placed Permission Slip and offered by them at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, where he made €65,000 from Rabbah. Re-offered at Craven by Houghton Bloodstock, it was Godolphin which signed the ticket at 300,000gns. FIREPOWER (FR) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}-Torentosa {Fr}, by Oasis Dream {GB}) Firepower was bred by Soledad de Moratalla and is out of a stakes-placed half-sister to G1 Derby winner Wings of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}). Bought by Emerald Bloodstock for €165,000 as an Arqana December foal, he was offered by Carmel Stud at Book 1 last year but failed to find a new home at 170,000gns. KING NEPTUNE (War Front-Agreeable Miss, by Speightstown) King Neptune races for the Coolmore partners and is a full-brother to the Listed European Free H. third Faydhan (War Front). The second dam is the GIII Princess S. winner Sweet and Ready (El Prado {Ire}). MAVEN (American Pharoah-Richies Party Girl, by Any Given Saturday) Bred by trainer Wesley Ward and raced by Richard Ravin, Maven was a winner in his only start at Aqueduct on Apr. 19. He was offered at Monday’s Goffs London Sale but taken home when bidding stalled at £725,000. Maven is out of Richies Party Girl, who set a 6 1/2 furlong track record in the Listed Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint S. and won two other listed contests. MISTY GREY (IRE) (Dark Angel {Ire}-Chinese White {Ire}, by Dalakhani {Ire}) Misty Grey is out of the G1 Pretty Polly S. winner Chinese White, who is in turn out of the Group 3-winning Chiang Mai (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), a half-sister to Rafha (GB) (Kris {GB}), winner of the G1 Prix de Diane and dam of Invincible Spirit (Ire) and Kodiac (GB). Misty Grey was sold by breeder Skymarc Farm to trainer Mark Johnston for 72,000gns at Book 1. MOUNT FUJI (IRE) (Dark Angel {Ire}-Shermeen {Ire}, by Desert Style {Ire}) Bred by Barronstown Stud and raced by the Coolmore partners, Mount Fuji is out of the stakes-winning Shermeen, and therefore a half-brother to the G1 Phoenix S. winner Sudirman (Henrythenavigator). REAL APPEAL (GER) (Sidestep {Aus}-Runaway Sparkle {GB}, by Green Desert) Real Appeal represents another good bit of a decision-making by the breeze-up wizard Con Marnane. Bought for €9,000 as an Arqana December foal, he didn’t see the sales ring again as a yearling or 2-year-old but started out this season in the silks of Marnane’s wife Theresa. He has thus far won three of four outings including the Listed Prix La Fleche on May 31, and he will race in new silks on Thursday as he was bought by Yulong Investments for £265,000 at Monday’s Goffs London Sale. STRIVE FOR GLORY (Dialed In-Chu And You, by You and I) Robert Cowell and owner Tom Morley came so close to a win in this race last year with another son of Dialed In in Pocket Dynamo, and the owner/trainer combination returns to try again with Strive For Glory, a $80,000 Keeneland September yearling. SUNDAY SOVEREIGN (GB) (Equiano {Fr}-Red Sovereign {GB}, by Danzig Connection) Sunday Sovereign, the winner of his last two, was sold by breeder Byerley Stud to Forge Stables for 12,000gns as a foal at Tattersalls December. He was pinhooked for €30,000 the following autumn at Tattersalls Ireland when bought by Howson & Houldsworth Bloodstock and Sunday Racing Club. He was acquired privately by King Power Racing after breaking his maiden on May 6. VENTURA REBEL (GB) (Pastoral Pursuits {GB}-Finalize {GB}, by Firebreak {GB}) Ventura Rebel was bred by Crossfields Bloodstock and sold for £28,000 to Federico Barberini at the Tattersalls Ireland Ascot September Yearling Sale. EMTEN (IRE) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}-Lucky Leigh {GB}, by Piccolo {GB}) Emten was bred by Rathasker Stud by it’s leading first-crop sire Bungle Inthejungle and sold by that nursery to Federico Barberini for £36,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland Ascot September Yearling Sale. The post Where Did They Come From? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Gustav Schickedanz, a leading owner/breeder in Canada, foxhunting enthusiast and construction magnate, died peacefully on June 17 aged 90 at his home in Schomberg, Ontario, with his family by his side. What Gus achieved in the Thoroughbred business, with a broodmare band rarely totaling more than 20, was truly remarkable. His pride and joy was his homebred sire Langfuhr (Danzig), who in 1996 won the GI Vosburgh S. and GII Forego H., and in 1997 the GI Carter H. and the GI Met Mile. Langfuhr, standing first at Vinery and later at Lane’s End where he is today pensioned at age 26, would carve out a reputation as a reliable sire of runners over all surfaces and across all distances, his Grade I winners including Whitney H. and Woodward S. winner Lawyer Ron, Arlington Million and Gulfstream Park Turf S. winner Jambalaya and Beldame S. and Gazelle H. winner Imperial Gesture. Gus’s entire program was built on cultivating his own families and using predominantly his homebred stallions, and thus it is no surprise Langfuhr would go on to be the linchpin of his breeding program in the 21st century. Such a strategy gave Gus Wando, the 2003 Canadian Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year; 11-time stakes winner Mobil, GII Nijinsky S. winner Last Answer and dual Grade III and Canadian Classic winner Marlang. Gus bred Langfuhr from his own homebred mare Sweet Briar Too (Briartic), and he bred the dams of both Wando and Marlang as well. Last Answer, who won his stakes race at age seven, was the 14th and last foal out of Gus’s foundation broodmare Victorious Answer (Northern Answer), who he purchased in 1976 from Windfields Farm. Victorious Answer was Gus’s first stakes winner and produced two black-type winners, and her daughters and granddaughters produced a further 14 stakes winners. Last Answer, who won his stakes race at age seven and ran 44 times, perhaps embodies everything that Gus’s breeding program stands for: the belief in his own carefully nurtured families to produce tough, sound, classy athletes. Other standouts bred and raced by Gus include the GII Monmouth Oaks winner (and Wando’s dam) Kathie’s Colleen (Woodman), 1999 Queen’s Plate winner Woodcarver (Woodman) and Canadian champion sprinter Glanmire (Briartic). He bred the only Canadian-bred winners of the Kentucky Oaks (Gal in a Ruckus, 1995) and Arlington Million (Jambalaya, 2007). Gus’s horses have earned 10 Sovereign Award trophies, and another testament to his homebred program is the fact that three of those were for Broodmare of the Year. Gus is a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and in April he received one of Canadian racing’s highest honors, the Sovereign Award of Merit. In presenting Gus with his award, Glenn Sikura of Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm said, “Gus is a true horseman. This is a man that wakes up early to look at his horses. He lives on the farm with his family. He’s a master horseman and rider. He knows a horse from every stage. There is nothing this man can’t do that’s related to a horse. “If you want the definition of a true homebred program you need look no further than at what Gus has done. The stallion he breeds to is his own stallion, and he breeds it to his mare that is out of another mare he bred and he races the offspring. Gus has been an absolute beacon for all of us.” Gustav Schickedanz was beating the odds long before he entered the racing game. He was 15 when the Russians attacked his town in Germany in the midst of World War II in 1944 and, with his elders brothers in the army and his father ill, it was up to Gus to lead his family to safety. They all survived. Six years later, with opportunities limited in war-torn Germany, Gus seized the opportunity to emigrate to Canada, the first country accepting German immigrants after the war. He arrived in July 12, 1950, with the clothes on his back, a toothbrush and $3 in his pocket. He found a job the following day laying bricks for a German contractor for $1.10 an hour and as he later recalled, “I was never unemployed.” Gus’s elder brothers Gerhard and Kurt, as well as their cousin Dani, arrived in Toronto the following year and the quartet shared an apartment and worked as stonemasons and carpenters. In 1953 they incorporated their construction company Schickedanz Brothers. Anyone who has ever spent time around Gus could attest to his devotion to family and his loyalty, and the fact that the Schickedanz’s were able to build an extremely successful business as a team and run it harmoniously for more than 60 years is a testament to those qualities. In a biography commissioned by the Schickedanzes in 2011 for family and friends, Gus explained that it was set out in the beginning that the running of Schickedanz Brothers would not be majority rule; all four had to agree on a decision to move it forward. With four stubborn German men at the helm this admittedly led to many a late-night deliberation, but in the end they all emerged on the same page. Today, Schickedanz Brothers owns land in the Greater Toronto Area and as far afield as British Columbia, Alberta, Florida and South Carolina. Shortly after the company was founded Gus married his wife, Ann, and they had four daughters: Lisa, Tina, Susi and Heidi. Later, when Gus began to grow his breeding and racing operations, those same family values shone through not only in his dedication to his equine families but in his loyalty to his long-serving-and equally as loyal and hard-working-farm manager Lauri Kenny and trainer Mike Keogh. Kenny and Keogh are often described in racing circles as Gus’s “adoptive sons” and have been paramount in his racing success. Gus, in Germany, had been on the backs of horses nearly from the time he could walk–“I believe I rode at age two and a half, bareback and barefoot,” he recalled-but his passion was set aside for his first decade in Canada to focus on building his business and his family. In 1960, he at last got back in the saddle with the purchase of a handful of Trakehner horses-this breed, originating from his homeland, would be Gus’s mount of choice for Foxhunting and carriage driving. Gus later kept a small string of Trakehners that shuttled between his farms in Ontario and South Carolina, and he rode every morning until well into his 80s. His faithful servants included the geldings Ethos and Kronprinz, and in 2006 he traveled to Germany and paid a record price at auction for Songline, a young Trakehner stallion in training who went on to be a very successful eventer. In the early 1970s, Gus began buying well-bred fillies-the likes of Victorious Answer-to lay the foundation for his Thoroughbred empire. As Gus well knew himself he also needed the right land on which to nurture his athletes. In 1976 he purchased Longleaf Plantation near Aiken, South Carolina. A few years later followed the property he would dub Schonberg Farm in Schomberg, Ontario–Schonberg meaning ‘beautiful hill’ in German. When it came to a Thoroughbred, Gus knew what he liked: the compact, strong type as opposed to the longer and leaner, with a short back with “just enough room for a saddle,” he’d often say. He had shares in Woodman and Clever Trick that served him extremely well. His most inspired splurge, however, would prove to be on a nomination to the booked-out Danzig at a Matchmaker auction at Fasig-Tipton in 1990. Gus selected his homebred stakes-winning filly Sweet Briar Too to use the nomination for her first mating, and the result was Langfuhr. A foal of 1992, Langfuhr was the crown jewel of Gus’s best-ever crop of foals that also included Kathie’s Colleen and My Intended, who later foaled the Canadian champion 2-year-old filly My Vintage Port. Of 20 foals born at Schonberg Farm that year, 17 started, all were winners and seven were stakes winners. The next best individual crop was perhaps the 2000 group that yielded Langfuhr’s sons Wando and Mobil, between them the winners of 18 stakes races and almost $4.4-million. It was those two sons of his prized Langfuhr that pulled Gus back from the brink after a major health scare in 2001, when he suffered a series of strokes. Gus had a Richard Stone Reeves painting of Langfuhr that hung above the fireplace in his sitting room, and he once told me that he sometimes sat for hours and just studied it. When he passed through Lexington en route to South Carolina each winter, Gus would stop and spoil Langfuhr with a giant bag of carrots-the stallion grooms at Lane’s End will tell you the horse knew the sound of Gus’s voice. Langfuhr, the tenacious, come-from-behind sprinter who went on to beat the odds year-after-year as a sire, perhaps embodied everything Gus had endured and accomplished in his own extraordinary life, and it was plainly obvious that the consummate horseman never once took that for granted. I met Gus in the summer of 2004 when I was 15 years old on the Woodbine backside after stopping by to see my favorite horse, Wando, on the morning of a race day. I probably bombarded him with stats about his horse, and Gus told me to come back to the barn after the race and meet his wife Ann and farm manager Lauri Kenny. Wando didn’t win that day, but when my parents brought me back to the barn we found them in great spirits. Lauri invited me to visit Schonberg Farm, and I showed up about two weeks later. Lauri told me to give him a call if I was looking for a summer job the following year. I showed up for my first day of work the following fourth of July and, for the next four years, was at the farm just about every moment I wasn’t in class. There are a few things I’ll never forget about Gus. Every morning, seven days a week, he walked down to the barn in a checkered shirt, blue jeans, black boots and a riding helmet, his dog Moby at his heels. He stopped en route to his morning ride to look at each mare and foal as they were turned out. He would then head on about a mile walk down to his barn of riding horses. As Gus aged and slowed down a little, he only started his walk earlier; he never drove to his morning ride. Gus lived on the farm from the time he purchased it and he truly knew every building, every fence line and every tree. He often got down and dirty during big projects and he’d frequently drive the tractors and pull the wagons during haying season. I remember Lauri telling me before I started that as a boss Gus was “tough, but fair,” and that couldn’t have been more true. He expected hard work, but if you delivered, he and Ann truly did treat you like family. When Ann took off for a drive around the farm she’d come armed with food for whoever she saw along the way. If she forgot, she’d turn around and return with something. Gus’s positive attitude was infectious. When asked how he was, his response was almost always, “if I was any better, I wouldn’t know what to do.” He would grab your arm and squeeze it during conversation when he was excited, and sometimes slap you on the back so hard you’d lose your breath. Many a jockey surely suffered a bruised thigh when returning aboard a winner thanks to his exuberant slaps. On the contrary, if he lost, Gus was the ultimate sportsman. “That’s horse racing,” he would say, followed by his trademark, “amen.” What Gus gave me is completely immeasurable. A massive leg up and education in the racing business, yes, but more importantly, memories that will last a lifetime and a second family that I remain very close with. Gus, you were the most incredible, inspiring, irreplaceable man. Today, I’ll raise a glass of Oban (and the other half) to you and say thank you. Amen. The post Owner/Breeder Schickedanz Dies appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Connections of talented three-year-old stayer Bobby Dee are looking to Randwick on Saturday as plan B after the gelding was stranded on the ballot for both the Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) and Gr.2 Brisbane Cup (2400m). The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained runner will take on older gallopers in Saturday’s Schweppes Handicap (2000m) for which he has drawn barrier two. “He travelled down to Sydney last week and settled in well to Bjorn (Baker’s) stable and his pla... View the full article

Lightly raced duo Lincoln’s Command and Lincoln Sky have joined the Randwick stable of John Sargent after transferring from the Awapuni stable of Lisa Latta. The pair have been sent to Australia with the view of targeting Sydney’s lucrative prizemoney, particularly during the winter months. Both Lincoln’s Command and Lincoln Sky have shown potential from their short careers thus far. Three-year-old Savabeel gelding Lincoln Sky has won once from eight starts and placed on two occasi... View the full article

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Jack Tims, best remembered as the owner-trainer of the top stayer Senator, has passed away. After a battle with deteriorating health, Tims died on Tuesday, just a couple of weeks after his 82nd birthday. A respected stockman and an all-round horseman, the Matamata dairy farmer was brought up with horses and initially enjoyed success in racing as an amateur rider, excelling over fences. He became the first amateur rider to win the Wellington Steeplechase (then 5400m) when successful in 1957 aboar... View the full article

Star trainer John Gosden holds the trump card ahead of Thursday’s Group One Ascot Gold Cup (3,991m) with his gun stayer Stradivarius but he can be excused for looking skywards for before Thursday’s feature.The three-time Group One winner is the star attraction of the historic race, which goes back to 1807, as he looks to confirm his title of Europe’s best stayer but Gosden holds concerns over the possible state of the track – it was downgraded to soft after a downfall during Tuesday’s meeting… View the full article

Updates on stewards' follow-ups to Friday and Saturday meetings View the full article

Horses’ test results June 17 & 18 View the full article

Charles Fipke's 6-year-old homebred Seeking the Soul jumped to No. 3 (165 votes) after the second week of the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings following his stirring win on Saturday evening in the Stephen Foster (G2) at Churchill Downs. View the full article