Wandering Eyes

When Saturday comes around, the extravaganza at Churchill Downs will be all the richer for the involvement of two of the Breeders’ Cup’s most revered colonists. Freddy Head, who remains the sole winner of a race both in the saddle and as a trainer, returns to the Mile in which he lords it over even the domestic handlers thanks to the unprecedented deeds of the triple heroine Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa). “Goldi” was a class act in Europe, but when she came to the Breeders’ Cup she took on another dimension and between 2008 and 2010 made the contest her own which led to her eventual induction into the Hall of Fame. In the finale of her triumvirate of successes, she dismissed Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat) at this venue before returning a year later to almost conjure a fourth before being just outrun into third. It was also at Churchill that Head completed the double in the Mile on the great Miesque in 1988, so this week will be familiar territory where he is concerned. Fittingly, Head saddles another who sports the Wertheimer silks this time in Polydream (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}). She assumes the insignia of favouritism and also boasts the best form, having captured the 6 1/2-furlong G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville in August. Trapped hopelessly behind rivals during the G1 Prix de la Foret, a race which has often provided tricky traversing for its protagonists due to the geography of the seven-furlong passage at ParisLongchamp, she can safely be forgiven that blip. Although she is a bit shy of the standard the Classic-placed Goldikova brought here as a 3-year-old 10 years ago, there is a feeling that this has been the plan for some time and there are fewer better target trainers in the business. In fact, of the leading Breeders’ Cup trainers by purse won, he has the best strike-rate of all those in the top 30. He simply does not bring horses to this meeting without having genuine intent, as his record of having six of his eight runners in the first three reveals. Whereas Head’s influence on Breeders’ Cup history stretches back almost to its inception as he steered the “brute” Miesque to her Mile triumphs, his “second life” as a trainer is still relatively in its formative stages compared to his great compatriot Andre Fabre. While Head was still maneuvering around the tight left-hand circuits of this movable feast, France’s unrivalled influencer of Thoroughbred capability was pulling off a training feat still to be matched by all of his European peers. In 1993, much to the wonder of onlookers, he sent the Wildenstein chestnut Arcangues (Sagace {Fr}) to win the Classic at such inflated odds that Santa Anita’s tote board could not cope. Despite the subsequent gallant efforts of the Euros, no other stable has managed to win this race on the dirt, but Fabre has always worn an air of a maverick nonpareil. Fabre’s other Breeders’ Cup triumphs have fit more reliably into the expected, with In the Wings (GB), Shirocco (Ger), Banks Hill (GB) and Talismanic (GB) (Medaglia d’Oro) mostly predictable winners on the turf which has always favoured the raiders. The latter is back to defend the title he so ruthlessly wrested from Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) 12 months ago and he is joined by ‘TDN Rising Star’ Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who like the 2005 Turf hero Shirocco, represents the German breeding gold which Fabre has successfully prospected in recent times. Both participated in the Arc with differing impact, they have to yet again cope with the dominant force Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), but that interval between Europe’s pinnacle event and these festivities is a long time in the life of a horse under his tutelage. Like In the Wings and Shirocco, Waldgeist was fourth in the Arc with the former like him having also won the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud during the season. Shirocco was helped by the heavy rain that came to Belmont in 2005 and this week’s Kentucky forecast is sure to play to Waldgeist’s strengths too. Talismanic, who was overshadowed by Waldgeist in ParisLongchamp’s G2 Prix Foy last month, had the sun on his back at Del Mar 12 months ago and it could be a different matter this time. Another success in the Turf would only further entrench Fabre into Breeders’ Cup folklore. He currently sits 10th in the list of the leading Breeders’ Cup trainers by purse won and behind only Aidan O’Brien of the Europeans and that is a position he will be keen not to let slip as he nears the end of his illustrious career. French influence at the Breeders’ Cup goes way back, with Last Tycoon (Ire) and Miesque taking three of the first five renewals of the Mile and Lashkari (GB) the inaugural turf. That “Coup de foudre” was not just short-lived, with the country now boasting success in almost a third of the runnings of the Mile. France’s relationship with this meeting is characterised by an unflinching mutual attraction and it is only right that two of its finest horsemen are back with a triumvirate of equine talent to carry the tricolor in the chief grass races. Bestowed with the honour of being the latest Head and Fabre runners, they will be “Ventre à terre” for more glory under the Twin Spires come the hour. View the full article

Kris and Lorenzo Del Guidice lived out the dream of every small breeder when Shang Shang Shang (Shanghai Bobby) gritted out a dramatic victory in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot some four months ago. Now two-for-two, the juvenile filly will put her unbeaten record on the line in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. Two days later, her dam Yankee Victoria (Yankee Victor) (hip 151) and her weanling half-sister by Paynter (hip 53) will go through the sales ring at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale through the Baccari Bloodstock consignment, but the weekend will be bittersweet for Kris Del Guidice. Her husband Lorenzo, who purchased Yankee Victoria in 2016, passed away in September. “This is all my husband’s doing,” Del Guidice said of Yankee Victoria’s addition to the couple’s small Ocala-based broodmare band. “He was looking for something in foal to Shanghai Bobby. He had been to Keeneland that winter and, for our money, he couldn’t find anything. The quality just wasn’t there for the money. So he came home and he said, ‘I’m going to OBS. I’ll find something over there.’ He searched the books and he found her. Yankee Victoria is a very beautiful mare.” Lorenzo was willing to go to $40,000 for the then-11 year old mare in foal to champion juvenile Shanghai Bobby, but he was able to walk out of an OBS with what, even then, seemed a bargain. “He thought he’d have to give anywhere between $20,000 and $40,000 for her,” Del Guidice said. “So when he got her for $17,000, we were a little surprised.” When Shang Shang Shang was born a few months later, it was apparent she had inherited her mother’s placid disposition. “We used to call her Bobby Buffalo because she was so furry and hairy,” Del Guidice said with a laugh. “She was a little non-descript dark bay filly, very laid back. Her mom was very sweet and laid back and she was the same way.” The youngster quickly rewarded her breeders when topping the 2017 OBS Winter Mixed Sale with a final bid of $110,000 from William Heiligbrodt’s East Hickman Racing. “When she was the sale topper, we were pleasantly surprised, of course,” Del Guidice recalled. “She was a nicely put together little filly. We had a $40,000 reserve on her, so when she hit that, Lorenzo said, ‘That’s a legitimate bid, let’s go.’ We were out back at OBS and he wouldn’t even look up at the monitor. I said, ‘Hold on. They are still bidding on her. Look, she’s at $50,000, $60,000.’ And he thinks I’m lying and he won’t turn his head to look. When I told him she was at $100,000, he really thought I was lying. He finally said, ‘You’re not kidding?’ We were both shaking by then. When she went to $110,000, we were just staring at each other.” Del Guidice continued, “I’ve been on the racetrack my whole life, that’s where I actually met Lorenzo, at a racetrack in Cleveland. That’s something you pretty much dream about. You always dream, why not us some day? You never know. And being such a small breeder, we only have three mares, so that was a really nice deal for us.” Returned to the sales ring at OBS the following March, Shang Shang Shang sold to Sam Ross and Mike Hall’s Breeze Easy for $200,000. A debut winner at Keeneland in April for trainer Wesley Ward, the filly earned an automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint when she outbattled Pocket Dynamo (Dialed In) for a nose victory in the Norfolk (video). “I had guys putting in new counter tops and as the race was going on, we were screaming,” Del Guidice recalled of watching the Norfolk from her home in Ocala. “Those guys, their eyes were bugging out of their heads. They didn’t know what was going on. When it was all said and done, I said, ‘That filly that just won this race in England, her mother and her little sister are literally standing outside the window.'” Lorenzo, meanwhile, had already left to open the couple’s nearby Roma Italian Restaurant. “My husband called me and he was out of breath and he said he was going to have a heart attack. His health was not very good and I said, ‘Seriously are you okay?’ He was so excited.” Asked if it was a difficult decision for the couple to sell Yankee Victoria, Del Guidice was succinct. “No,” she said. “I am very sentimental, but I also know opportunity knocks once. Especially, being a small breeder, we didn’t have to sell her, but it turned out to be a good decision since my husband passed away.” The 66-year-old Del Guidice has spent a lifetime involved with racehorses. “I always had a riding horse, since I was 10 years old,” she said. “When I was growing up in Ohio, there were only two Thoroughbred farms. I worked at both of them. And the second one I worked at, all of the horses were leaving to go to the racetrack. I was 20 or 21 and they asked me if I wanted to stay on the farm and clean stalls or did I want to go the racetrack. And I thought, ‘Really? I’ll see you later!’ When I went to the racetracks and I saw people getting paid to pony, I thought, ‘You have got to be kidding me.’ I didn’t know anything about the racetrack, but they wouldn’t have had to pay me if I just got to ride my horse all day. I started out grooming, hotwalking, ponying, training. I did it all. I love the racetrack. I just absolutely love it. But that’s a whole other time ago.” As Del Guidice juggles the responsibilities of the restaurant and the couple’s adopted son, she expects to disband her breeding stock. “I just have too much on my plate,” she said. “We adopted a little boy and he’s just seven, so my days are filled with homework and we have this restaurant going and this bar going. I’m just spinning in the wind from everything right now, so I’m not going to breed anymore. There are two other mares standing there in foal and three weanlings, so hopefully I can get them sold.” Chris Baccari will be handling the consignment of Yankee Victoria and her weanling filly at the Fasig-Tipton sale. “I’ve known Chris for quite a long time,” Del Guidice said. “We always send our mares up there to be bred. He always took care of all of that for us. So I am really comfortable with him. That helps.” Yankee Victoria will sell in foal to Cupid. Her weanling filly will walk into the sales ring bolstered by recent stakes winners for her young sire Paynter, including Knicks Go, who won the Oct. 6 GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and goes postward in Friday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Sentient Jet Juvenile. “She has a completely different temperament from Shang Shang,” Del Guidice said of the weanling. “She is kind of a witch. Out of the same mare and I’m just telling you how sweet the mare is, but she didn’t get her mare’s temperament.” Looking ahead to the sale, Del Guidice admitted, “I’m so nervous and I’m so excited. And it’s really bittersweet because Lorenzo won’t be there.” The Fasig-Tipton November sale will be held Sunday in Lexington, with bidding scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. View the full article

I love any racehorse who shows toughness and grit with a will to win, but when that racehorse is a mare I tend to hold them in even higher regard. Over the years there have been a number of fillies and mares who have won my heart, but one of the all time greats is Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa). She contested the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile not once but four times and she won on three of those occasions, cementing herself in history as the only horse to ever win three editions of the same Breeders’ Cup race. On her fourth attempt, she was third beaten only a length. It is hard for me to pinpoint which one of her wins was the most prolific as she showed her class each time, but I would have to say her run in 2009 had me screaming and crying. She was drawn wide and raced second last for much of the race, about 10 lengths off the leader. When asked to make a run, she responded with blistering speed all the while having to stay wide and make up ground. In all of her races she always looked like a fighter, she always seemed to know how to stick her head down and get to the line. In the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Mile (video) she certainly dug deep and battled and that finish is something that will always stay with me. View the full article

I miss the Breeders’ Cup Marathon. The race, first run in 2008, only lasted for six years before its relegation to the under-card as the Marathon S., the reason for its demotion being that the fields which it was attracting were not up the standard expected of the Breeders’ Cup. Why it did not attract better horses is anyone’s guess. It was a valuable race ($500,000) and there are plenty of smart stayers around, in Europe, anyway, if not the USA. Predictably its first two winners were European-trained. Muhannak (Ire) (Chester House) took the first edition for Ralph Beckett, while Aidan O’Brien landed the second renewal with Rags To Riches’s half-brother Man Of Iron (Giant’s Causeway). Disappointingly, the victories of those horses did little to inspire increased European participation, and it was another four years before another transatlantic raider took the prize. The identity of Europe’s third winner of the BC Marathon probably sealed the race’s fate. London Bridge (Arch) had changed hands for $130,000 as a yearling at Keeneland in September 2011 before finding his way to the Lambourn (GB) stable of Mikael Magnusson, for whom he had one unplaced run as a 2-year-old. On Magnusson’s retirement, London Bridge stayed within Lambourn, moving to the small stable of Jo Hughes. Two more unplaced maiden-race runs saw him enter the BHA ratings’ list on the lowly mark of 64. After handicap wins at Brighton, Sandown and Ripon, a third place in a handicap at Ascot and a fourth place in the Prix Michel Houyvet at Deauville, London Bridge was sold to Australian owner Paul Fudge (of Waratah Thoroughbreds) who decided that his final run for Hughes would be in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (video) before joining a local stable. The likelihood is that when Jo Hughes dispatched London Bridge on his journey to the USA, she was not expecting the horse to win. Certainly, she did not think it worth her while to fly over to Santa Anita. Instead, she was treating her staff to a Saturday-evening meal in an Indian restaurant in Swindon when the race was run. Fortunately, it was a restaurant with a television–which enabled her to watch the action live as Mike Smith brought London Bridge home a surprise winner, instantly elevating Hughes into the elite band of UK-based Breeders’ Cup winners and giving hope to numerous battling trainers in the process. London Bridge, incidentally, never won again and eventually found his way to Carrington Park Stud in New South Wales, where he started out at a stud fee of A$4,500 + GST. View the full article

Churchill Downs hosting the Breeders' Cup for the ninth time will provide the World Championship races with some quirks and distance changes of which horsemen, handicappers, and fans will want to be mindful. View the full article

Bellafina, the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Nov. 2 Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), is an imposing figure on the track Oct. 30 during training hours at Churchill Downs. View the full article

Team Valor CEO Barry Irwin is known for scoping the globe far and wide in search of talented Thoroughbred flesh and often times showcasing such skill in the United States. View the full article

As founder and president of BSW Bloodstock and ELiTE Sales, Brad Weisbord is responsible for the acquisition of Thoroughbreds for the likes of Sol Kumin and his racing partnerships. View the full article

Churchill Downs hosting the Breeders' Cup for the ninth time will provide the world championship races with some quirks and distance changes of which horsemen, handicappers and fans will want to be mindful. View the full article

The Breeders' Cup World Championships is always a difficult weekend of racing to figure out, especially if you don't follow European racing. View the full article

Kentucky native and University of Kentucky graduate Kenny Rice brings a wealth of knowledge to racing as he prepares to work the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the seventh consecutive year as a reporter for NBC. View the full article

Andrew Balding’s G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup hope Duretto (GB) (Manduro {Ger}) is a doubtful starter in the race after he pulled up lame following morning exercise at Werribee International Horse Centre last Saturday. The 6-year-old, who finished fourth behind Best Solution (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) in the G1 Stella Artois Caulfield Cup ten days ago, is currently undergoing assessment at the University of Melbourne Equine Centre. Duretto has been confined to box rest the past three days and the next couple of days will be crucial if he is to make the lineup at Flemington Nov. 6. As of yet vets have been unable to unearth the cause of the lameness and in a statement released by stewards on Tuesday officials at Racing Victoria said, “Univercity of Melbourne veterinarians will keep Duretto at the Equine Centre overnight and conduct further examinations tomorrow to help determine why the horse was lame in its left foreleg following a track gallop at the Werribee International Horse Centre last Saturday. The results of tomorrow’s further examinations will assist Mr Balding, in consultation with his veterinarians and RV veterinarians, to determine whether Duretto is in a suitable condition to be a final acceptor for next Tuesday’s A$7.3 million Melbourne Cup at Flemington.” View the full article

The latest Queensland Derby winner has stepped out in Hong Kong for the first time, hoping to travel a well-worn path towards Hong Kong Derby glory. Dark Dream was given a soft 1,200m trial at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning under a hold from champion jockey Zac Purton. It was his first hit-out since his win in Australia in June as trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen attempts to plot a winning course for his star import. The Group One Queensland Derby (2,200m) has proven to be a happy hunting ground for... View the full article

RaceBets Bet Of The Day: 18:45 Wolverhampton It may well be a case of the heart ruling the head but with the recent announcement that legendary trainer Luca Cumani is to retire it’d be great to see him add yet another winner to his long list of successes. It would hardly go down as one of his most illustrious victory but the three-year-old, maiden filly Konigin could grab her first win this evening. She put in her best performance to date when finishing 3rd over 1m6f. A return to that trip after two lacklustre efforts over shorter distances looks a promising move and with the all-weather maestro, Luke Morris booked for the ride his chances are there for all to see. Top weight Eden Rose has an obvious chance despite being a maiden and the lightly raced Thistimelastyear looks to add to his former all-weather success. KONIGIN (WIN) Bangor-On-Dee: 13:05 – Anytime Will Do (WIN) 13:35 – Boughtbeforelunch (WIN) 14:10 – Cuddles McGraw (WIN) 14:40 – Tailor Tom (WIN) 15:15 – North West Wind (WIN) 15:45 – Lissycasey (WIN) 16:20 – Tel’Art (WIN) Catterick: 12:25 – Leodis Dream (WIN) 12:55 – Lady Joanna Vassa (WIN) 13:25 – Mixboy (WIN) 14:00 – Our Charlie Brown (E/W) 14:30 – Alexis Carrington (E/W) 15:05 – Handsome Dude (E/W) 15:35 – Cupid’s Arrow (E/W) 16:10 – Cape Hill Cotter (E/W) Chepstow: 13:10 – Kalarika (E/W) 13:45 – Treaty Girl (WIN) 14:20 – Before Midnight (WIN) 14:50 – Transpennine Star (WIN) 15:25 – Againn Dul Aghaidh (WIN) 16:00 – Out For Justice (WIN) 16:30 – Westerly Wind (WIN) Wolverhampton: 16:45 – Saumur (E/W) 17:15 – My Heart (E/W) 17:45 – Secret Potion (E/W) 18:15 – Zipedeedoodah (E/W) 18:45 – Konigin (WIN) * 19:15 – Chasing The Rain (WIN) 19:45 – Multamis (WIN) 20:15 – Get Back Get Back (WIN) The post Picks From The Paddock Best bet 30th October appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Horse racing in Hong Kong is very much a numbers game and young jockey Callan Murray has produced some phenomenal figures in recent times, but they’re not the sort he’s likely to be looking back over fondly. He’s had 12 rides, zero winners and an average starting price of $98 across the last three meets – it’s fair to say it has been a tough slog for the ever-positive 20-year-old, who is eager to turn the tide at Sha Tin on Wednesday night. The South African has... View the full article

Jockey Chad Schofield faces a race against time to make the weight for his plum ride on rising star Glorious Forever this Sunday at Sha Tin. The 24-year-old will ride the Frankie Lor Fu-chuen-trained gelding in the Group Three Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse (1,800m) for the first time in race conditions after Zac Purton was able to win three races in a row with him. Schofield however, who has a usual riding weight of 115 pounds, concedes he may not be able to shed enough weight to reach the 113-... View the full article

Starting off Breeders’ Cup week in downtown Louisville, Ky. Monday was the second annual Equestricon horse racing convention. The first day of the event attracted horse racing fans and owners from all walks of life attending over 15 Monday panels taking place on the Breeders’ Cup stage on the Convention Floor and in rooms downstairs. For those who had time to spare between panels, rows of vendors took over the rest of the floor, from farms in Horse Country Row to a Breeders’ Cup merchandise booth and the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Hub. If you had forgotten the racing industry was in the midst of Breeders’ Cup, walking around the Kentucky International Convention Center would bring you back to this week’s races. Breeders’ Cup signage could be seen around the block and walking into the Convention Floor and all four walls had a purple tint from the bulbs lining the ceiling. The Breeders’ Cup Stage provided the location for the convention’s first ever “Track Talks,” which kicked off with an aftercare panel titled “Leaders and Innovators In Aftercare, Presented by the TAA.” Moderated by the TAA’s Stacie Clark-Rogers, Old Friends Farm’s Michael Blowen kicked off proceedings with a talk that at times could have doubled as a comedy routine. “The day Silver Charm showed up at our farm, Dec. 1, 2014 is the greatest day of my life,” Blowen said. “I know you’re supposed to say the day you got married or the day your kids or your grandkids were born, but it’s not the truth.” Once the crowd was warmed up, the power of off-the-track Thoroughbreds was on full display through the stories shared by three people who had seen or felt the effect they’ve had first hand. The process former National Football League player Jeff Tow-Arnett had to go through to prove he was fit to adopt his horse Nowhere to Hide from the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center was challenging, but he credits it for helping to change his life. “Thoroughbred aftercare is a huge thing. It’s drastically changed my life. If you would have asked me four years ago if I’d be standing here, I would have told you you’re absolutely nuts. If you would have told me I’d go from one horse to now having 23 horses, I would have told you there’s no possible way but ‘Noah’ turned my life upside down.” Today, Tow-Arnett has a 60-acre property with his brother and girlfriend where they are growing a lesson program in Minnesota. Still in contact with the Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center, Tow-Arnett’s operation is also looking at teaming up with the Center to create a “Maker’s Mark North” in the future. The most powerful speech of the day, however, came as the final talk in the aftercare Track Talk with war veteran James Stewart. Sharing the story of how an off-track Thoroughbred named “Budder” (registered as Three Lions) literally saved his life after years in the military had the crowd enthralled. Recounting how his mother-in-law told him about a program that could help him, Stewart was forced to stop a few times as his emotions caught up to him. Traveling to the program, he was assigned to Budder for his time there. Working with Budder in the round pen alone one day, the horse walking up to him was the change that he needed to start to heal from his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. “You turn your shoulder to the horse and if he wants to accept you, he comes up to your shoulder.” Stewart explained. “So I did it, I turned my shoulder to him and he approached. We were walking a figure eight, then I pretty much just stood there with him and cried. I had no idea what had gone on. I left a bunch of war baggage right there in the sand of that pen. He saved my life that day, because if it hadn’t worked, I probably would have gone home and committed suicide.” Following Stewart’s Track Talk was hard, but the next talk an hour later gave it a try with the “Innovative and Leading Women in Racing” talk, presented by the Thoroughbred Women’s Network. The session started with Claire Crosby sitting down beside Dell Hancock, one of the most recognizable women in racing. Hancock spent most of her time on the stage talking about the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. In a very informative talk, she explained how the Foundation chooses projects to help fund–including the process that goes into choosing which projects will play a bigger part in usable research–and how those who aren’t accepted also get feedback on how to improve. Hancock also gave examples of horses who have been helped by the research funded by Grayson, including champion Lady Eli and Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. “I think if you take care of the horse, the horse will take care of you,” she said. “We wouldn’t be having this wonderful week right now and this great weekend of racing coming up if our horses weren’t healthy. At the end of the day, it takes a lot of work to keep them healthy and any help that we can give through research or rules or whatever it is, I think it’s our responsibility. If you love the horse, you’ve got to take care of it.” With four other women participating, there were many nuggets of wisdom not only for other women but anyone aspiring to get into the sport. But it was an oft-used saying repeated by Tanya Gunther of Glennwood Farms that stuck out the most. “‘Never quit something that you can’t spend a day not thinking about.’ For me that is the horses. I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t think about them and I feel very lucky for that,” she said at the end of her panel. Equestricon wrapped up the day with the Breeders’ Cup draw and a successful Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance auction. Tuesday’s panels kick off at 8:55 a.m. and run all day long on topics from handicapping to Thoroughbred aftercare and ownership, with more good stories and thought-provoking discussions still to come to wrap up this year’s edition of Equestricon. View the full article

Peters expects Nova Vocal to have a say this time View the full article

Azhar feels Clarton is back to Super form View the full article

Iskandar suspended for two days View the full article

Pike, Thompson to ride at Dester Singapore Gold Cup weekend View the full article

The figures might be dwarfed by the October Yearling Sale, but the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale proved no less international with the top lot from Monday’s opening session heading to Saudi Arabia for 335,000gns. Archetype (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) was the horse in question, an Arqana Breeze-Up purchase by Highclere Thoroughbred Racing for just €60,000 in May 2016. Now four, he had been productive in two seasons running in the care of Simon Crisford with five victories in total and a Listed third at Longchamp. His credentials for transfer to the Middle East had clearly been enhanced when he scored at conditions level on the Polytrack at Chelmsford earlier this month. “We liked him all the way round,” said a smiling Saad Bin Misref, representing Archetype’s new connections. “He’s a very nice looking, sound horse who will suit our distance and our surface. We were looking for a horse who acted over a mile to a mile and a quarter and hopefully we will do well with him. He’ll go to Saudi Arabia in two weeks.” Agent Ted Voute, sitting with the Saudi contingent just to the left of the rostrum and the signer of the docket for lot 276, elaborated that the colt would be joining the Red Stable fleet of HRH Prince Faisal Bin Khaled, who won last year’s G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot with the Andre Fabre-trained Le Brivido (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). “The owner has done well from this sale in the past,” he said. “Jorvick (Mizzen Mast), a Juddmonte horse, won the Ministry Of Finance Cup in Saudi Arabia at the weekend and Barefoot Dancer (GB) (Dansili {GB}) has won the King’s Cup. I would imagine those big races will be the target.” Out of 307 lots offered, 256 horses found new homes for a clearance rate of 84%. The gross was 5,588,600gns, while the average was 21,830gns (-17%) and the median was 10,000gns (-28%). During the first day of the 2017 sale, Elizabeth Browning (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) brought 700,000gns. Waller Heads Australian Interest Chris Waller has dominated the headlines in world racing over recent days through the exploits of the incomparable Winx (Aus) (Street Cry) and his influence even spread to the other side of the planet. The Sydney-based trainer’s bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster signed for what proved to be the second top lot (lot 248) as former Jamie Osborne inmate Mr Reckless (Ire) (Reckless Abandon {GB}) reached the comparatively giddy heights of 240,000gns. A half-brother to The Queen’s dual listed winner Set To Music (Ire) had scored twice himself this year, in minor handicaps at Wetherby and Windsor. “I’m very happy to be able to get him, he’s got form at around 10 furlongs and might stretch a little further. He’s exactly the sort of horse we are looking for,” Mulcaster explained. “The prize-money has gone up in Sydney and hopefully we’ll have some fun with him.” Waller had also snapped up lot 108, three-times winner Shuhood (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), for 60,000gns. There was a smattering of Antipodean interest throughout a session which produced eight six-figure lots. Jim Clarke, who has branched out as an agent on his own after an apprenticeship with Godolphin and James Harron Bloodstock, was active for another Australian-based Kiwi, trainer Trent Busuttin. They took charge of lot 292 Jack Regan (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), a three-time winner for Ian Williams, who had bought him for 22,000gns 12 months ago and scooped a major return when turning him over for 180,000gns. “Trent is a very good young trainer in Melbourne and hopefully he’ll do well with him,” Clarke said. Paul Moroney, whose brother Michael is another well-respected member of the Victorian training community, was positively thrilled to have picked up Buffalo River (Noble Mission {GB}) (lot 301) for the same price of 180,000gns. The agent had monitored the juvenile’s four runs for John Gosden, which had concluded with a decent recent novice win at Kempton. “He was third at Doncaster behind Royal Marine, who won a Group 1 in France, and the runner-up (Turgenev) ran in the Vertem Futurity Trophy. My reading of the races was that his form was really good,” Moroney said. “I actually saw him as a yearling in the US and he made my final list then. “He looks like a real Galileo to me and he’ll go back to Australia and just chill out for six months as he’s still quite babyish. Everyone’s trying to buy a Melbourne Cup horse but we think he’ll be a nice solid 10-furlong kind of horse.” Another winner for Gosden to be offered was Cheveley Park’s Whitlock (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) as lot 298, but he will remain at Clarehaven Stables under new ownership with a 200,000gns price tag. “He’ll have options on the Flat and maybe jumping further down the line and hopefully he’ll give his owners some fun,” said Will Douglass of Charlie Gordon-Watson Bloodstock. Red Baron Flying High Some good fortune from a particular sale will always encourage buyers to return and this has been the case with Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal. Jed Cohen’s California-based operation took River Boyne (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) home this time last year and were rewarded when the Jeff Mullins-trained colt picked up prizes including the GIII La Jolla H. Cohen’s son Tim was attracted by Eagle Song (Ire) (lot 218), a son of star freshman No Nay Never, who had been placed by Joseph O’Brien to snare two handicaps at Dundalk within the last month. “We’ll see how he handles the firm ground, which I think he should,” said Tim Cohen, who expects to be clawing back some of his 160,000gns outlay soon. “In California you’re allowed to run in a first conditional allowance race if you haven’t earned over $10,000 in any one race. What’s nice about this horse is that he’ll get to run against horses that have just broken their maiden, obviously he’s a multiple winner and there’s a little advantage there. He’s been picking up recently and hopefully will develop into a 3-year-old.” Cohen said he would work out which of their handful of trainers would be the recipient of Eagle Song once the sale was over. “Of the horses we bought last year, they’ve done the spectrum. River Boy has done phenomenally well but Eldritch (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) has been a bit of a disappointment. But it’s a good place to buy and we keep coming back.” Kirk Following Well-trodden Path Harold Kirk has made some astute dual-purpose purchases for Willie Mullins’ pre-eminent Irish stable at this sale and he views the strapping-looking dappled grey M C Muldoon (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) (lot 243) in a similar mould. The lightly-raced 3-year-old, who changed hands for 100,000gns, had made a bright start for Peter Chapple-Hyam this season, breaking his duck on debut at Nottingham and taking runner-up in listed company at Longchamp only for his form to tail off. “It’s been a lucky sale for me,” the agent explained. “I bought Low Sun (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) here, who won the Cesarewitch, and also Stratum (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who won a big handicap at Newbury for Tony Bloom. He’s a gorgeous horse who is bred to stay. He’ll go jumping first and then go back on the Flat.” Rebel Racing Supporting Rajasinghe Buyers seemed keener to enjoy the shafts of autumn sunlight than enter the ring during a sleepy morning, with the arrival of lot 91 providing the only serious excitement early in the sale. Rebel Surge (Ire) (Kodiak {GB}), an admirably consistent mare, had put herself in the shop window a fortnight ago by taking third in the Listed Boadicea S. just down the road on the Rowley Mile. She attracted interest from Matt Coleman, among others, before being knocked down to Bobby O’Ryan for 72,000gns. O’Ryan is involved in the set-up with Rebel Surge’s connections, Phil Cunningham’s Rebel Racing and trainer Richard Spencer, and is keen to espouse the virtues of their retired stable star Rajasinghe (Ire) (Choisir {Ire}), who is standing at the National Stud. “She’s been bought and she’s booked for Rajasinghe,” O’Ryan explained. “She has got some black-type and hopefully she might get some more as we might put her back in training.” Cook on His Travels Visitors from every continent, perhaps barring Antarctica, seemed to be sticking their hands up at one point or other but no horse might be heading to a more unusual destination than lot 207, James Cook (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The colt would have begun his racing career with a not unrealistic expectation of becoming a potentially significant Coolmore stallion, given that he is a full-brother to Found (Ire), the 2016 G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe S. heroine. Although he beat the subsequent G1 Irish Derby S. winner Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in a Leopardstown maiden and was ridden by Ryan Moore in two Derby trials, he was essentially not within touching distance of that marvellous filly on the track in seven starts for Aidan O’Brien. However his genes are still coveted and Andriy Ostapchuk, the Ukraine-born agent who worked for Coolmore before setting up Imperial Bloodstock, was prepared to go to 42,000gns for him. “He has been bought as a potential stallion prospect by an existing client in Uzbekistan,” he said before explaining a little more about one of the lesser-known racing jurisdictions. “Obviously he has got the breeding and he was ok racing, he was rated 97. I came here looking for a horse like this and maybe a few mares. I was in Uzbekistan earlier in the year and they are improving the racing over there–there’s only one track but they are redeveloping it.” The second of four days of this sale commences at 9:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday. View the full article

Trainer Jonathan Thomas shares insight on Breeders' Cup Classic hopeful Catholic Boy. Sponsored by Darby Dan Farm. View the full article

Grade I winner Collected (City Zip–Helena Bay {GB}, by Johannesburg) will begin his stallion career at Airdrie Stud for the 2019 breeding season, the farm announced Monday. Bred in Kentucky by Runnymede Farm Inc. and Peter J. Callahan and raced in the silks of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner’s Speedway Stable LLC, the Bob Baffert trainee was an Eclipse Award finalist for Champion Older Male in 2017, a season highlighted by his victory over champion stablemate (Unbridled’s Song) in the GI Pacific Classic and second-place finish to Horse of the Year Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. A five-time graded stakes winner, Collected’s current earnings stand at $2,975,500. Bought by Marette Farrell for $170,000 as a 2-year-old at OBS March, the chestnut won four of his first six starts and, after almost a year on the sidelines, returned with four consecutive victories to begin his 4-year-old season, including a 14-length tour de force in the GIII Precionist S. and his Pacific Classic triumph. He most recently ran fourth in the Pennsylvania Derby Champion S. Sept. 22 at Parx. “It’s a very proud day for Airdrie Stud to be able to announce Collected as our newest stallion,” said Airdrie owner Brereton Jones. “One of the smallest bullseyes to hit in our business is to find a young stallion that both fills the eye of the commercial breeder while also boasting the resume of a genuine leading sire prospect. Collected is that horse. He’s a beautiful, masculine, correct Marette Farrell purchase, he was a debut winner at two going 6 1/2 furlongs and he trained on to beat the best horses in the world at the classic mile-and-a-quarter distance. We couldn’t be more grateful to Peter Fluor and K. C. Weiner and their families for allowing us to stand their great horse or more excited about the exceptional partnership we’ve put together to support Collected at stud.” “Collected has been an absolute dream horse for our Speedway Stable family,” Fluor and Weiner added in a joint statement. “Our advisers Marette Farrell and John Adger identified him as a perfect Bob Baffert candidate when we bought him as a 2-year-old, and it would be very difficult for a plan to work out better. Because of our tremendous confidence that his next career will be every bit as successful as his first, we have elected to stay involved with Collected and to partner with the wonderful group that Airdrie has put together. We will be supporting the horse with several of the very nice fillies and mares we’ve raced and purchased over the last few years and look forward to doing our part to make him the great success we know he can be.” View the full article

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky–Fields for this weekend’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships took shape Monday at the Rood & Riddle Post Position Draw on the main stage at the second annual Equestricon, held this year in Louisville’s Kentucky International Convention Center. A total of 191 entrants (48 international) from a record 221 pre-entries remained in contention for the 14 Breeders’ Cup contests set to be held Friday and Saturday at Churchill Downs. Hronis Racing’s Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky), who enters the $6-million GI Breeders’ Cup Classic off a trio of Grade I victories out in Southern California, will break from the far-outside 14 post as he faces a full field (with two also eligibles) in the weekend’s main event. The Bob Baffert-trained duo of McKinzie (Street Sense, 6-1) and West Coast (Flatter, 5-1) drew next to each other in six and seven, respectively, while well-traveled Mind Your Biscuits (Posse), the all-time richest New York-bred, will attempt 10 panels for the first time from stall 11. Back-to-back G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) will look to become the first horse to win that prestigious event and the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf in the same season. The shortest price on any of Mike Battaglia’s morning lines at even-money, she’ll break from gate two–just outside of last year’s upset winner Talismanic (GB) (Medaglia d’Oro). The $2-million GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff features a clash of the last two GI Kentucky Oaks heroines back over the same track and trip, as leading sophomore filly Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) takes on her elders for the first time, including 2017 champion 3-year-old filly and Distaff runner-up Abel Tasman (Quality Road). The former, drawn in slot 11, was set as the 2-1 favorite as Abel Tasman looks to bounce back from an uncharacteristically dull effort last out in the GI Zenyatta S. Back-to-back Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will run five in the $2-million GI Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup F/M Turf–the first time a conditioner has sent out five in a Breeders’ Cup race since D. Wayne Lukas did so when winning the 1988 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, also contested at Churchill Downs. For the first time, Friday’s Breeders’ Cup menu will feature all juvenile races–dubbed “Future Stars Friday”–including the inaugural running of the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. The $2-million GI Tito’s Handmade Vodka Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies was the only juvenile race not to draw an overflow field, but the high-quality group will be led by 2-1 morning line choice Bellafina (Quality Road), who breaks from the far-outside 10 hole. Unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) was given the 8-5 morning line nod in the GI Sentient Breeders’ Cup Juvenile as he looks to provide Baffert with a fourth win in that event. View the full article