Wandering Eyes

Central Kentucky-based Taylor Made Stallions has released their fees for the 2019 breeding season, which will once again be led by two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit). The dual classic winner will stand for $35,000. His first foals will be yearlings next year. Joining California Chrome in the Taylor Made complex with first yearlings of 2019 are Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway), who will stand for $15,000, and Mshawish (Medaglia d’Oro), whose feel is set at $10,000. Rounding out the roster are Midnight Storm (Pioneerof the Nile), who will stand for $10,000 and whose first foals will arrive next year, as well as Graydar (Unbridled’s Song), who will stand for $7,500 and whose first foals were sophomores this year. All fees are stands and nurses. View the full article

Canadian Classic winner Danish Dynaformer (Dynaformer- Danish Wildcat, by Danehill), one of the last sons of Dynaformer to go to stud, has been retired. The Charles Fipke homebred, winner of the 2015 Breeders’ S. and following term’s GIII Singspiel S., will stand at Colebrook Farms in Ontario, Canada, for a $2,500 fee. The 6-year-old posted a record of 26-5-3-1 and earnings of $764,645. View the full article

John Liviakis, who has bred the likes of Grade I winners Gomo (Uncle Mo) and GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint-bound Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), has decided to significantly reduce his bloodstock holdings at the upcoming Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale in Lexington Nov. 5-16. Taylor Made will handle the Liviakis consignment, which will include 10 broodmares and three weanlings. “I have known John for quite sometime, I have always admired his breeding philosophies and his results from a small broodmare band,” said Taylor Made Sales Agency Sales Manager Pat Payne. “John tries to ‘make’ mares, and then sells them privately or at auction. We have done both for him.” The owner and operator of Liviakis Financial Communications, the Mill Valley, California-based former trainer of Standardbreds has also bred MGSW’s Renee’s Titan (Bernstein), Handsome Mike (Scat Daddy) and Reneesgotzip (City Zip) in addition to three ‘TDN Rising Stars’, including Mick’s Miracle (Wildcat Heir). Liviakis’ philosophy has been to routinely investigate entries of medium and major racing circuits for potential broodmares. He then tracks female offspring of branches of families that have caught his eye, and purchases them privately. He also develops broodmares from the daughters of families he has nurtured. “The thing that’s amazes me about John is that he knows the breeding business, he knows the economics, and he knows the value of a horse,” Payne added. “We have always had a win-win situation when working with John.” The Liviakis draft begins in Book 3 with hip 1093, Awesome Dove (Awesome Again), whose second dam is Canadian champion Dancethruthedawn (Mr. Prospector). The latter is also the granddam of GISW Moreno (Ghostzapper). Awesome Dove sells in foal to Not This Time. For more details, visit www.keeneland.com. View the full article

In July 1985, the morning after he had sold a world-record priced yearling colt, I spent some time with the late Warner Jones, then the owner of Hermitage Farm. I always had a great relationship with Warner, so before he would discuss the $13.1-million hammer price, he took advantage of my being captive in a room with him to vent on a subject of great importance. “Look at this,” he said, taking from his pocket a story from Daily Racing Form, my employer at the time. “The horse is mentioned, the trainer is mentioned, the jockey is mentioned … but no mention of the owner,” Warner said, shaking the paper at me. “How the hell would this game exist without the owners.” Of course Warner was right, this day the owner in question being his good friend George Bunn, more known globally for the coffee makers bearing his name than his equine exploits. And though this column has nothing to do with owners, it makes the point that when wise men speak, it is smart to listen, no matter the subject. And though Warner Jones had plenty to say about selling an eight-figure yearling, and was still basking in its glow, he was the man at the lectern. I finally got around to the matter of breeding, not just how one goes about breeding a horse that sells for $13.1 million (consigned by Warner but co-bred with Will Farish and W.S. Kilroy) but the process of mating one’s mares. “It really is quite simple,” he explained. “I look at what has worked in the past and try to repeat it.” As I started to ask another question, he added this: “Simple, but not easy.” As I sat there stewing over that, Warner continued. “We all look at genetics, inbreeding, think about taking a stout mare to a speedy stallion, but I really do study what has worked for me in the past and see if I can repeat it.” Gee, that seems so simple. Simple, but not easy. I was reminded of that exchange with the former Churchill Downs board chair when I read a fascinating story in the Thursday Thoroughbred Daily News by Chris McGrath. That interview with Hill ‘n’ Dale Stud owner John Sikura contained this statement: “You can have all the opinion you want; you can’t predict success. But you can react to it. Once it works, then you go back. Or… you can stay in your ways, and never win, and be irrelevant. That’s a choice as well.” So, once it works, then you go back. Exactly as Warner Jones had told me 33 years ago. Warner Jones, during a half-century of breeding, was certainly never irrelevant. Though younger and in the game fewer years, the same can be said of John Sikura. The $13.1-million sale of Seattle Dancer, a half-brother to Seattle Slew by Nijinsky II, helped Warner Jones set more than one record that July. He sold eight yearlings for $19,470,000, most for a consignment in the history of that storied sale. John Sikura has some records of his own. His Hill ‘n’ Dale, as agent, sold the highest-priced broodmare prospect every auctioned at Keeneland, Playful Act, in 2007 for $10.5 million. The operation also sold the top-priced broodmare at Keeneland in 2015 and 2008; the second highest-priced weanling colt ever sold at the sale (2015); the top-priced colt at the September sale (1990 and 2011) and the leading filly at the September sale (1985, 2002 and 2013). Sikura’s comments to McGrath about stallions, their influences in Europe and the U.S., and his historical perspective, are great reading. He makes it sound so simple. Simple, but not easy. At each Keeneland sale, I would find time to sit and chat with the late Bob Courtney, a man with whom I had great affection and admiration. One day roughly 20 years ago I asked him a question. “If you were new in the game and had $100,000 to invest, who would you give it to?” Bob didn’t hesitate. “John Sikura,” he said. Simple … and easy. View the full article

The Irish are coming, in droves. So are the English. Money talks, and North America’s richest steeplechase race, the G1 $450,000 Grand National, caught the interest of overseas trainers who filled American-bound flights with entries for Saturday’s featured race of the 98th annual Far Hills Races. Of nine entries for the 2 5/8-mile hurdle race, five will have trainers based in Ireland and England. Gordon Elliott has been here before and won last year’s Foxbrook Champion Hurdle with budding star Zanjabeel (GB) (Aussie Rules), a two-time Grade 1 winner who is now sidelined with a tendon injury. Elliott will have two starters for the Grand National, Rosbrian Farm’s and Meadow Run Farm’s Clarcam (Fr) (Califet {Fr}) and Sideways Syndicate’s Jury Duty (Well Chosen {GB}). Although unplaced in his two U.S. starts, the G1 New York Turf Writers Cup and G1 Lonesome Glory H., Clarcam possesses dangerous front-end speed and wired the €250,000 Galway Steeplechase Plate Aug. 1. Jury Duty was third in the Galway race. Paddy Mullins, the storied Irish trainer, will influence the Grand National through his grandsons. Emmet Mullins will saddle his Tornado Watch (Ire) (Selkirk), a two-time winner over fences this year. Tornado Watch will be ridden by cousin David Mullins. Danny Mullins, who won last year’s Grand National with Gillian Johnston’s Mr. Hot Stuff (Tiznow), will be aboard the owner’s Days of Heaven (Fr) (Saint des Saints {Fr}), who made his most recent start for Nicky Henderson before transferring into Jack Fisher’s barn. British owner Robert Aplin is making his annual visit to central New Jersey and will try again with Hammersly Lake (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}), who was fifth last year for trainer Charlie Longsdon. American interests are outnumbered but not necessarily overwhelmed. Fisher will saddle Harold A. “Sonny” Via Jr.’s Hinterland (Fr) (Poliglote {GB}), who made a nice run at Zanjabeel to finish second in the Belmont Park’s Lonesome Glory Sept. 20. Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard will take another shot at the Grand National with Buttonwood Farm’s All the Way Jose (Senor Swinger), who was beaten two noses in third last year. The Sheppard-bred most recently finished sixth in Saratoga Race Course’s New York Turf Writers. The first of owner Irv Naylor’s back-to-back Grand National and Eclipse Award winners was Dawalan (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}), who will be attempting a comeback after 17 months on the shelf. The 2015 Grand National winner is trained by Cyril Murphy. In partnership with Monmouth Park, the Far Hills Races will offer pari-mutuel wagering for the first time, and live-streaming video will be available on the meet’s website, www.farhillsrace.org. View the full article

Merriebelle Stable's Blue Prize, winner of the Oct. 7 Juddmonte Spinster (G1), returned to the worktab Oct. 19 with a 4-furlong work in :47 1/5 at Keeneland in preparation for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs. View the full article

Four stakes races for 2-year-olds–including a pair of Grade I races–highlight the upcoming Winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos. The eight-day season will begin Thursday, Dec. 6 and continue through Sunday, Dec. 16. The $300,000-guaranteed Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity and the $300,000-guaranteed Starlet–for fillies–will be renewed Saturday, Dec. 8. The other two stakes will be run at one mile and are ungraded. The $100,000 Soviet Problem–for fillies–will be offered Saturday, Dec. 15 while the $100,000 King Glorious will be run Sunday, Dec. 16. Both are for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California. Visit www.losalamitos.com. View the full article

NEWMARKET, UK—We’re in the home straight. Around 100 yearlings will go under the hammer this morning at Tattersalls when the repositioned Book 4 brings the curtain down on the October Sale. The fortnight started in the stratosphere with another record-breaking Book 1, but in the last few days the trade has been brought back down to a more earthly level. Book 3 ended its two-day run on Friday, each of the sessions graded, meaning that the second lengthy stint at Park Paddocks didn’t quite match the pace set on Thursday. The October Sale figures have held up well to this point and even despite the distinctly lower prince range of Friday, an overall clearance rate of 80% meant that the Book 3 accounts were still largely on par with events of 12 months ago. Reassuring though that may be to some, it will be cold comfort for the breeders or pinhookers selling yearlings at or below the median mark of 10,000gns (-9%) and average of 16,082gns (-3%). There is little profit to be found at this level but the 472 horses sold in the last two days have added 7,590,800gns to October’s running tally of 162,552,300gns. James Hanly has successfully targeted Book 3 in the past and had another good sale this time around, his five yearlings selling for an average of 60,000gns, while the Castlebridge Consignment led the vendors’ table by aggregate, selling 30 yearlings for 376,800gns. Rabbah Bloodstock was the largest buyer, signing for 17 yearlings. A Zoffany To Breeze A Zoffany (Ire) filly who offers plenty of residual value once her racing days are behind her was a fitting leading lady for Friday’s session at 60,000gns through Voute Sales. The daughter of the Fittocks Stud mare Cosmodrome (Bahri) (lot 1841) may find herself back in a breeze-up sale next spring, according to her purchaser, Richard Fitzsimons of BBA Ireland, and a fast breeze would only enhance the recommendations already available on the page. Her dam won the listed Height Of Fashion S. for breeders Luca and Sara Cumani and the mare’s half-sister Splashdown (GB) (Falbrav {Ire}) was also a listed winner who has produced the G3 Solario S. victor Aktabantay (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). Cosmodrome’s two winners to date are Lovell (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and 3-year-old Snax (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}). “She’s a big strong filly and there’s a lot going on in the family,” said Fitzsimons. “There are Dubawis and Kingmans coming through under the second dam.” Piermill’s Pinhooking Delight Ling Tsui has been resolute in her support of her family’s stallion Sea The Stars (Ire) and she hasn’t turned her back on his half-brother Born To Sea (Ire) either. The son of Invincible Spirit (Ire) will next year move from Gilltown Stud to France to stand at Alain Chopard’s Haras des Faunes but in the meantime he was responsible for another of the day’s top-priced fillies (1806), bought by the Tsuis’ Sunderland Holdings for 56,000gns. As ever, their representative John Clarke was on hand to do the bidding, confirming that the filly will be trained in France. Out of the listed-placed King’s Best mare Best Side (Ire), the half-sister to G3 Dee S. winner Azmeel (GB) (Azamour {Ire}) and German listed winner Baisse (GB) was pinhooked last December by Troy Steve for 16,000gns on behalf of Piermill Bloodstock, a local operation run by Bill and Amber Dash. “We do it all ourselves and just have three or four foals each year,” said Bill Dash, who explained that he and his wife had started up several years ago. “Troy has been really helpful buying the horses and drops in to make sure we are heading in the right direction. We have had some sell well and others not so successfully but we are delighted with this result.” European Combo Strikes For Kingman One of this season’s leading freshman sires, Kingman (GB), made a huge impression at Books 1 and 2 and his daughter out of a sister to treble Group 1 winner and South African-based sire Twice Over (GB) (Observatory) found a willing buyer in Federico Barberini, who signed for lot 1865 at 55,000gns. The Italian agent was acting on behalf of leading French breeze-up consignor Paul Basquin of Haras de Saubouas and said, “We also bought a No Nay Never last night. They are both by popular sires and ideal to go to the breeze-ups.” The filly is a daughter of Dupe (GB), bought from the Juddmonte draft back in December 2013 for 37,000gns by Faisal Meshref Al-Kahtani. Her daughter by Frankel (GB) fetched 200,000gns at Book 1 last year and this is a family which also includes the Group 1 winner Timepiece (GB) (Zamindar) and Passage Of Time (GB) (Dansili {GB}). Barberini also went to 48,000gns for a speedily-bred son of Sepoy (Aus) (1921) out of a winning daughter of the G2 Temple S.-placed Firenze (GB) (Efisio {GB}), a sister to G1 July Cup winner Frizzante (GB). His co-breeder Jan Hopper, who bred the colt with Mike and Michelle Morris and has been involved with three generations of the family, said, “He has always been a lovely type. The mares board at the National Stud and Tim [Lane] and his team have done a fabulous job getting him ready for this sale.” Dods Plays Leading Role Three years ago Emma Foley and Damian Flynn’s Redgate Bloodstock topped Book 3 and the team produced one of the final day’s leading lights this time around in lot 1661, a Mayson (GB) colt who will be trained by Michael Dods. The half-brother to the multiple winners Dark Defender (GB) (Pastoral Pursuits {GB}) and Oh It’s Saucepot (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}), who brought the hammer down at 47,000gns, will eventually join this year’s G1 Qatar Prix de l’Abbaye winner Mabs Cross (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) at Dods’s Country Durham yard. The trainer was one of the leading buyers during Book 3, signing for 10 yearlings. Elkingon Stud is another consignor which has fared well in Book 3 of late, selling last year’s third-top price, a son of Mukhadram (GB) for 90,000gns. During the final session, Jane Keir’s Oxfordshire farm was responsible for lot 1706, a first-crop daughter of Ivawood (Ire) out of the Pivotal (GB) mare Romp (GB). This is the first foal of the 7-year-old mare, herself a winner at four and from the family of dual Group 2 winner Whitewater Affair (GB) (Machiavellian), later the dam of Japanese Group 1 winners Asakusa Den’en (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) and Victoire Pisa (JPN) (Neo Universe {JPN}). Romp as bought from the July Sale of 2015 by Liam Norris and William Huntingdon for 14,000gns. Joe Foley signed for the bay filly at 40,000gns and said, “She’ll come back to Ballyhane to be pre-trained and come the spring, we’ll decide where she’ll go to be trained. She’s a smashing filly out of a Pivotal mare who is herself out of a Singspiel mare, and she’s from that very good John Greetham family.” Foley later went to the same price for lot 1882, a Dragon Pulse filly out of the unraced Fillothewisp (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), a grand-daughter of Ireland’s champion stayer Eurobird (GB) (Ela-Mana-Mou {GB}). Park Paddocks falls quiet tonight after Book 4 as the yearling action switches to Arqana’s October Sale in Deauville from Tuesday, but will return to the spotlight on Oct. 29 with the start of the four-day Horses-in-Training Sale. View the full article

Runaway FTBOA Florida Sire Susan’s Girl S. and FTBOA Florida Sire My Dear Girl S. heroine Cookie Dough (Brethren) is being pointed toward a start in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs Nov. 2. “She’s doing great,” trainer Stanley Gold said of the Arindel Farm homebred. “She’ll breeze again next week. We’ll leave on the 26th, and off we go. I think we haven’t seen the best of this filly yet. Hopefully, we’ll see it on the second of November.” Gold saddled Awesome Feather (Awesome of Course) to a victory in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Arindel’s Blonde Bomber (Fort Larned) was also third in the same race last year for Gold. View the full article

Jammin Still, a 2-year-old son of Take Charge Indy, returns to the scene of his impressive career bow in the $125,000 Grey Stakes (G3) Oct. 21 at Woodbine. View the full article

The last major work for Mind Your Biscuits in advance of the Breeders' Cup didn't go exactly as planned, but it satisfied trainer Chad Summers nonetheless. View the full article

A bet’s a bet, and I’m calling on Mattress Mack to pay off. During my recent TDN podcast with Jim McIngvale I got him to agree to a friendly wager. McIngvale is a huge Houston Astros fan and there is no bigger Red Sox fan than myself. With the American League Championship Series tied at 1-1 at the time, I offered to have my picture taken and printed in the TDN wearing an Astros jersey if Houston won the the ALCS. He asked that it be the jersey of Alex Bregman. If the Red Sox won the series, I wanted McIngvale to name one of his horses in honor of the Red Sox or one of their players. With the Sox having finished off the Astros Thursday night, I am ready to head to the cashier’s window. Mack, don’t worry about looking into researching names. I’ve done it for you. My first choice was Benintendi, for left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who all but saved the series with his dramatic game-ending catch in Game 4. That name is taken. So is Mookie, the given name of the great Mookie Betts. So, I’m going to go for Mookie Bets, one “T,” which should mean we don’t have to get Betts’s permission to name a horse after him and the “Bets” part fits in perfectly considering this is a wagering game. If that doesn’t work, how about MVP Mookie? They’re both available. Sorry, about your ‘Stros, Jim. But it’s time to pay up. View the full article

A bet’s a bet, and I’m calling on Mattress Mack to pay off. During my recent TDN podcast with Jim McIngvale I got him to agree to a friendly wager. McIngvale is a huge Houston Astros fan and there is no bigger Red Sox fan than myself. With the American League Championship Series tied at 1-1 at the time, I offered to have my picture taken and printed in the TDN wearing an Astros jersey if Houston won the the ALCS. He asked that it be the jersey of Alex Bregman. If the Red Sox won the series, I wanted McIngvale to name one of his horses in honor of the Red Sox or one of their players. With the Sox having finished off the Astros Thursday night, I am ready to head to the cashier’s window. Mack, don’t worry about looking into researching names. I’ve done it for you. My first choice was Benintendi, for left fielder Andrew Benintendi, who all but saved the series with his dramatic game-ending catch in Game 4. That name is taken. So is Mookie, the given name of the great Mookie Betts. So, I’m going to go for Mookie Bets, one “T,” which should mean we don’t have to get Betts’s permission to name a horse after him and the “Bets” part fits in perfectly considering this is a wagering game. If that doesn’t work, how about MVP Mookie? They’re both available. Sorry, about your ‘Stros, Jim. But it’s time to pay up. View the full article

PREAMBLE (c, 2, Speightstown–Beautician, by Dehere) took his record to two-for-two with a narrow score at Keeneland Friday afternoon. The $225,000 KEESEP buy donned cap and gown by 1 1/2 lengths in his Churchill Downs unveiling at this distance Sept. 15 and was heavily favored at 7-5 to remain perfect here. Tracking from second through a first quarter in :22.46, the chestnut ranged up alongside the pacesetting Bingwa (Goldencents) turning for home and the pair were well clear of the rest of the field. The two foes battled stride-for-stride down the length of the stretch with Preamble edging clear late for a half-length success. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. O-WinStar Farm, China Horse Club & SF Racing; B-Peter J Callahan (KY); T-Rodolphe Brisset. View the full article

Stuart S. Janney III's On Leave will look to notch her second consecutive stakes win when she competes against a talented nine-horse field in the $200,000 Athenia Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares 3 years old and up Oct. 21 at Belmont Park. View the full article

When Marvin Little, Jr. passed away in July of 2017, the legendary horseman left one goal unfulfilled. The breeder of 1991 GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S. winner Hansel wanted that missing jewel in the Triple Crown. A year plus later and Little’s daughters Teresa and Marilyn hope to accomplish that dream on behalf of their late father. The sisters will take a first step in their mission with their first consignment under the Little’s Bloodstock banner at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale. “The one dream my father had, he won the Preakness and he won the Belmont, he won the Tremont and the Breeders’ Cup, but he never won the Kentucky Derby,” Teresa Little said. “At my father’s funeral, I sang ‘My Old Kentucky Home,’ and people said that wasn’t a good thing to do. But it was for me because it’s the only thing my father wanted to win. He wanted to breed or sell the winner of the Kentucky Derby.” Marvin Little served as farm manager at the historic Newstead Farm in Virginia before moving to Kentucky after the farm dispersed its bloodstock in 1985. In addition to Hansel, he also bred G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Kinsale King. The Little family started out the yearling sales season with a bang at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale. Through the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment, the family sold a colt by Into Mischief for $300,000. “We let Taylor Made sell them [at the July sale], but now we’re kicking off Little’s Bloodstock,” Little said. “And I am telling you, it’s in my dad’s name. We are going to rock it. We’re going to do it for him.” Little’s Bloodstock’s first October consignment features 10 yearlings. Included in the group is a colt by Blame out of a half-sister to Grade I winner Pampered Princess (Indian Charlie) (hip 157); a half-brother by Stormy Atlantic to stakes placed ‘TDN Rising Star’ Just a Smidge (Into Mischief) (hip 1109); a filly by Lea out of a half-sister to graded winner Royale Michele (Elusive Quality) (hip 1211); and a filly by Candy Ride (Arg) out of Stellabymoonlight (Malibu Moon) (hip 1367). In addition to the sales consignment, the Littles will also continue to breed commercially at their Little’s Bloodstock Farm. “We’re also going to have Little’s Farm,” Little said. “We are going to keep dad’s mares. We are selling a few with Taylor Made, but we are going to continue on and we’re going to breed that Derby horse.” While it will have its initial foray at the October sale, Little’s Bloodstock will expand going forward. “We are going to do Kentucky [sales] and absolutely do Saratoga,” Little said. “We’re going to be boutique, we’ll have a few clients, but we’ll be boutique. We might get a little bit bigger, but our focus is going to be on Marvin Little, Jr.’s way.” Asked to describe that way, Little said, “Brains and class. He always said it was brains and class. And you can’t teach it.” Little’s Bloodstock will also pay tribute to its patriarch’s notorious love of the New York Yankees. “I am going to put New York Yankees in every corner,” Little said. “My mother beat cancer when they won the Pennant and dad faced every huge event in the world based on the New York Yankees. We’re doing all of this for him.” The Fasig-Tipton October sale runs from Oct. 22 through 25 at the company’s Newtown Paddocks in Lexington. Sessions begin daily at 10 a.m. View the full article

There will be no Triple Crown winner in Japan this year, but Guineas winner and Derby runner-up Epoca d'Oro would make a smart impression with a victory in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1) at Kyoto Racecourse Oct. 21. View the full article

It's the calm before the Breeders' Cup storm, and the only graded stakes races in North America Saturday, Oct. 20 are the Lexus Raven Run (G2) for 3-year-old fillies at Keeneland and Grand National Hurdle Stakes (NSA-G1) from Monmouth at Far Hills. View the full article

The last major work for Mind Your Biscuits in advance of the Breeders' Cup didn't go exactly as planned, but satisfied trainer Chad Summers nonetheless. View the full article

Jockey Andrea Atzeni is a late scratch from Champions Day after he failed to have a suspension delayed. Atzeni picked up a two-day ban, to be served Oct. 20 and 21, for a riding offence at ParisLongchamp on Oct. 6, which was reciprocated by the British Horseracing Authority, as is customary. Atzeni was approved earlier this week to have one day of the ban moved-which is generally permitted for bans in Britain four days or fewer-but because French stewards only allow jockeys to use this option once a year, and Atzeni has already exercised that choice in 2018, he in fact must serve the day on Saturday. Atzeni’s intended mounts on Saturday were Thomas Hobson (GB) (Halling) in the G2 Long Distance Cup, Lightning Spear (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. and Sharja Bridge (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) in the Balmoral H. Oisin Murphy has been named on Thomas Hobson and James Doyle on Sharja Bridge. View the full article

Triple Italian Group 1 winner Dylan Mouth (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}-Cottonmouth {Ire}, by Noverre) has been retired to Worsall Grange Stud in North Yorkshire for 2019, where he will be marketed primarily to the National Hunt market. Trained initially by Stefano Botti, Dylan Mouth won the G2 Derby Italiano and captured his maiden Group 1 five months later in the G1 Gran Premio del Jockey Club. He added the G1 Gran Premio di Milano the following summer and closed out his 4-year-old campaign with a victory in the G1 Premio Roma GBI Racing before transferring to Marco Botti. He defended his title in the Gran Premio di Milano at five, which by then was downgraded to a Group 2, and his most recent win was a victory in the G3 John Smith’s Silver Cup S. on July 14. View the full article

1.35 Leopardstown, Mdn, €17,500, 2yo, f, 8fT FLYING (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is one of four newcomers from Ballydoyle and on jockey bookings probably not expected to shine on debut, but she is a full-sister to the accomplished G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Misty For Me (Ire) and the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Ballydoyle (Ire) so amounts to rare property. She is joined by another with a Group 1-winning sibling in Four Leaf Clover (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a full-sister to the recent Irish St Leger hero Flag of Honour (Ire). 2.05 Leopardstown, Mdn, €17,500, 2yo, c/g, 8fT GENTILE BELLINI (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}) is a significant runner for Ballydoyle as a 2-million gns TATOCT purchase and the first runner for the stable by the sire. Out of the four-times Group 1-winning G1 1000 Guineas heroine Sky Lantern (Ire) (Red Clubs {Ire}), the January-foaled bay is a fascinating prospect in a maiden the yard has won three times in the last five years. View the full article

Ken and Sarah Ramsey's multiple graded stakes-placed Daring Duchess heads a field of 10 entered for the $125,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares going 1 1/2 miles Oct. 21 at Keeneland. View the full article

There will be no Triple Crown winner in Japan this year but Guineas winner and Derby runner-up Epoca d'Oro would make a smart impression with a victory in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1) at Kyoto Racecourse Oct. 21. View the full article

John Gosden’s Clarehaven Stables have assembled a trophy haul from seven of this year’s British Group 1 races, with another Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe also added to the coffers, but all that may just be the preamble to a Qipco British Champions Day gala performance from four of the yard’s five dominant members on Saturday. All of them, Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy), Lah Ti Dar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) present a formidable array of equine aptitude and will start at short odds to create the ultimate four-timer on a day which was designed to crown the best of their division. Perhaps the most enigmatic of them is Anthony Oppenheimer’s Cracksman, who returns to what appears on paper to be the least competitive of the four Group 1s on the card, the Qipco Champion S. If the homebred had done nothing other than win this by seven lengths 12 months ago, his reputation would be assured, but after a scrambling victory in the June 1 G1 Coronation Cup and second to Poet’s Word (Ire) (Poet’s Voice {GB}) in the G1 Prince of Wales’s S., some gloss has inevitably rubbed off. Nevertheless, his latest run–which was at this track four months ago to the day when runner-up to Poet’s Word (Ire) (Poet’s Voice {GB}) at the Royal meeting–was soon seen in a favourable light once the initial deflation was over. Few things could have gone better in the lead-up to his finale, which in a short spell has become something of a Frankel celebration after the Juddmonte anomaly and his brother prevailed and this first-crop leader stormed to an emphatic triumph in the latest edition. Common sense seemed to call for some headgear due to his sluggish comportment at Epsom and lack of focus here, and after careful consideration some blinkers are applied to ensure no opportunity is left behind. Frankie Dettori will be on guard to nip any potential problem behaviour in the bud. “If the same Cracksman turns up from last year, he will be very hard to beat,” he said. “There’s no Roaring Lion, which makes life easier for me. He’s been off for a long time, but we have been very pleased with his demeanour.” By the time Cracksman lines up for the feature, the Gosden faithful will already know their fate regarding the other trio which are more than a supporting cast in their own right. Qatar Racing’s G1 Eclipse S., G1 Juddmonte International S. and G1 Irish Champion S. hero Roaring Lion is almost the star turn on the day, but he has to encounter a surface far softer than ideal over a trip that is shy of that over which he has blossomed so far this year. Added to his dilemma is the fact that the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. hosts a clutch of worthy protagonists in their own backyard distance-wise, one of them being the operation’s own G1 Sussex S. hero Lightning Spear (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). “He has improved so dramatically this year,” Gosden said of Roaring Lion. “It was a cold, miserable winter and we had no spring. He just wasn’t with us. He was a complete playboy and during the winter he spent a lot of time on his hind legs. He was a real lad and was the type if you went into town, you would have to make sure he didn’t start a fight. He was full of it. He came good with racing. He has got discipline with racing and that is impressive.” ‘TDN Rising Star’ Lah Ti Dar faces another stiff task in the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S., in which she encounters fellow Clarehaven stalwart Coronet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), but she will still wield the power of favouritism after her gallant second in the Sept. 15 G1 St Leger at Doncaster. Her appearance comes after that of the stable’s millionaire Stradivarius in the G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, which opens the fixture. Rested since adding York’s G2 Lonsdale Cup to his G1 Ascot Gold Cup, G1 Goodwood Cup and G2 Yorkshire Cup successes, the A-list stayer has similar ground to contend with as he did when third in this 12 months ago, but he had Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Torcedor (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) to contend with then. “He’s a little guy, but all heart,” Gosden said of Stradivarius. “Winning those four staying races has not happened before and might not happen again. His achievements have been fantastic. We have a nice team.” Outside of the Gosden four, there is the expected abundant quality on display and one of the major threats to a golden send-off for Cracksman in the Champion is ‘TDN Rising Star’ Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). While his sole piece of form at this trip this year came when battling to a workmanlike return success in the G3 Gordon Richards S. at Sandown Apr. 27, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild’s homebred upped that level considerably over an extra two furlongs when second to Poet’s Word in the July 28 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. Slow ground is not ideal, but it may help bring into play the stamina which saw him narrowly denied glory by Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the 2017 G1 St Leger over an extended 14 furlongs. Ballydoyle’s grey is a surprise entry here, with all his strongest form over at least a mile and a half and he has missed the majority of this campaign, but he will relish the testing conditions and showed up well for a long way when fifth in the Arc 13 days ago. While at first glance he seems a way short of a Champion S. winner, he did beat Cracksman in last year’s G1 Irish Derby and if this turns into a slog the door could be opened to him. In the QEII, Qatar Racing’s venerable Lightning Spear has over two lengths to make up on Recoletos (Fr) (Whipper) on his latest outing when he was fifth behind that rival in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp Sept. 9. Lightning Spear was third in 2016 and sixth last year, so it is hard to know what to expect especially as the ground is contrasting to that which he encountered when denying Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) and Beat the Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) in what was probably a below-par renewal of the Sussex at Goodwood at the start of August. Lord Glitters’s form here reads a win and three seconds from four outings and that success came over the course-and-distance Balmoral H. which closed this card last year. Of the 3-year-old fillies, Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) resume rivalry after a tight finish in the G1 Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket Oct. 6 and both boast superior form to last year’s winner Persuasive (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Laurens’s jockey Danny Tudhope stated after her latest win that she would prefer a turn, so she is vulnerable taking on straight-track specialists here as old pilot P J McDonald takes back the reins. Happily was returning to the level she had shown when winning the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere from a couple of future Classic winners last October and is open to further progression on ground that seems to suit her well. While Ballydoyle supply no favourites on the day, last year’s Fillies & Mares heroine Hydrangea (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) should be a tough nut to crack defending her title as long as she can regain the sort of form that saw her upstage Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Coronet 12 months ago. The stable’s leading runner could prove to be the Long Distance Cup protagonist Flag of Honour (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who gets eight pounds from Stradivarius due to weight-for-age. He showed in The Curragh’s G1 Irish St Leger Sept. 16 that he is a relentless galloper and it could be that this two-mile trip brings out further improvement. Godolphin are unusually quiet on the card in numbers, with no Charlie Appleby representatives, but in the Sept. 16 G1 Prix Vermeille heroine Kitesurf (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) they have a genuine contender for the Fillies & Mares. Trainer Andre Fabre commented, “She has been in great form since her win in the Vermeille. For a brief moment we were tempted to go the Arc route, but the interval between the Vermeille and Ascot works well. I think she’ll handle the conditions but this will probably be heavier than she has previously encountered, so it’s not a certainty either.” The operation’s biggest chance surely rests with Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint, but after a fifth fruitless visit to this track when blowing his chance at the start in the June 23 G1 Diamond Jubilee S. and a lacklustre fifth in the Sept. 8 G1 Haydock Sprint Cup, he has a major question mark hanging over him. “Harry Angel is currently in as good a place as I’ve had him,” trainer Clive Cox said. “He has trained better at home all year. He has been very consistent. He was beaten in the Haydock Sprint last time because he was a bit fresh and went too hard in front on heavy ground. I know he won the same race on heavy the previous year, but this time around it became more of a test because of his freshness. I hope we get ground that is better than last year at this meeting because I’m very pleased with him. I think he can produce his best run and win.” Harry Angel’s flop at Haydock proved the gain of The Tin Man (GB) (Equiano {Fr}), who denied Brando (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) on similar ground to that which he encounters here. Successful in this in 2016, the 6-year-old was only fifth last year behind Librisa Breeze (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) but he has generally run to a high standard here. Over at Leopardstown, the Oct. 5 Listed Star Appeal S. one-two No Needs Never (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Old Glory (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) re-oppose in the G3 Killavullan S. which has played host to some past stars. View the full article