Wandering Eyes

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

The ITV racing team is bringing viewers action at the British Champions Day from Ascot on Saturday. There are four Group 1’s to sink our teeth into with Champion Stakes arguably the best race of the day. This day really marks the end of the flat season and gives racing enthusiasts one last chance to see equines elite on European soil. The Group 2 Lomg Distance Cup opens proceedings on this star-studded Saturday and it’s the £1 million bonus winner Stradivarius that’ll be top of most peoples lists. John Gosden’s leading stayer has won all four starts this season and is, without doubt, the best stayer in training. That being said the son of Sea The Stars has been beaten on all four starts with the word soft in the going, including when finishing third in this race last season. Stradivarius wasn’t beaten far that day behind Order Of St George and although the ground conditions are a worry, there is nothing of the same calibre in the field this year. The main danger will come from Ballydoyle as Aidan is represented three of the seven runners, chief among them being Flag Of Honour. The impressive winner of the Irish St Leger has won his last three starts all of which since he’s been upped in trip. Flag Of Honour seems to be on an upward curve and looks like a Cup horse for next season but I would add a caveat that the forecasted soft underfoot conditions won’t suit this good moving horse. Considering the ground reservations about the principals it may open the door for one of Aidan’s lesser know inmates Sir Eric, who has only run four times but was an impressive winner of a listed race on heavy ground at Limerick seven days ago. If this race doesn’t come too fast he may be able to capitalise and surprise a few people. The other horse of note is the Willie Mullins trained Thomas Hobson who had a fantastic duel with stablemate Max Dynamite in the Group 2 Doncaster Cup when last seen in action. He is also a course winner having landed the Ascot Stakes at the Royal meeting last year. This dual-purpose performer looks sure to give a good account of himself may come up short. Selection: Sir Eric The Tin ManChampion Sprint Stakes The logical starting point in this is The Tin Man who heads the market following a snug victory in the Haydock Sprint Cup over Brando. That was the first time Oisin Murphy rode Jame Fanshawe’s stable star and unsurprisingly he retains the partnership. He is already a dual course and distance Group 1 winner having won the Diamond Jubilee and this race back in 2016. On his favoured track and with the ground conditions unlikely to inconvenience The Tin Man, he justifiably tops the market and will be tough to beat. Librisa Breeze took the contest twelve months ago when getting a great ride from Robert Winston to come fast and late. He beat many of today’s rivals last year on similar ground and although Dean Ivory’s charge has been disappointing in three runs in Europe this season he will undoubtedly have had this as a target and holds strong claims of landing back to back renewals. Another horse that is re-appearing in the race having finished fourth last year is Harry Angel who like Librisa Breeze has been slightly disappointing this year. He started the season with a victory in the Group 2 Duke Of York Stakes cosily beating Brando. There were excuses when he trailed in behind Merchant Navy in the Diamond Jubilee but there were no such excuses when he finished sixth in the Sprint Cup behind The Tin Man. Harry Angel is still very lightly raced and I’m sure Clive Cox will get him back on track and this may be the race to prove he is still top class. Of the others, Brando has run well in many of the top races this season but always seems to be the bridesmaid and never the bride. Tasleet has only run twice since finishing runner-up in the race last season and should run well. The final runner of interest of the Fozzy Stack trained Son Of Rest who landed a gamble in the Ayr Gold Cup most recently. Prior to this, he had finished runner-up in a Group 1 at the Curragh and this is his tie of the year so there could be some further progression to come from him. Selection: The Tin Man Lah Ti DarChampions Fillies & Mares Stakes This race is all about Lah Ti Dar who is bred to be a superstar and she may just live up to that billing. She won all three of her open career starts and although she came up short against Kew Gardens in the St Leger, this was only her fourth run and first against the Colts. She is now back down in trip and against her own sex which are both big positives, throw in her weight for age allowance and it looks like a penalty kick for John Gosden’s filly. The only real danger comes from France in the form of Kitesurf who won the Group 1 Prix Vermeille beating Magic Wand by a head. This was Andre Fabre’s filly’s first Group1 success and although she looks sure to run a huge race I think she’ll struggle to give Lah Ti Dar weight. Hydrangea won this last year but she has been a bitter disappointment in three runs this season. That being said Aidan’s horse weren’t on song for much of the season so perhaps she suffered more than most and considering we haven’t seen her since July, we could see a different horse on Saturday. Coronet finished in behind Hydrangea last year but has taken her form to a new level this season, with a Group 2 win and placings in Group One’s on her last three starts, behind the likes of Sea Of Class. She looks sure ot run well but may just ack a bit of quality. Selection: Lah Ti Dar Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (British Champions Mile) One of the standout horses of the season has been Roaring Lion, who’s won the Coral-Eclipse, Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion Stakes in a fantastic year. John Gosden will be hoping the Group One wins haven’t stopped as he bids for a fourth straight win in the British Champion Mile and he could be difficult to contain. This will be his first time dropping back to a mile since finishing fifth in the 2000 Guineas. It’s another French raider that may prove the biggest threat, Recoletos won the Group 1 Prix Du Moulin at Longchamp beating Wind Chimes when last seen and has run well all season. He was well fancied in the Queen Anne at the Royal meeting but came up well short and I believe a similar fate lies ahead here. Another horse looking to add the cherry on top of what’s already been a great season is Laurens. Karl Burke’s charge has won four Group Ones in six starts this year which is incredible and if it were not for Alpha Centauri, she would have got far more credit. She is a very simple mare that races prominently and rarely has a hard-luck story. This will be her first time taking on the colts and she will have to improve to beat them but in receipt of the weight allowance, she may continue her fine run of form. One of the most interesting horses in the race is Addeybb who hasn’t bee seen since running disappointingly in the Lockinge back in July. This was his first time stepping into Group 1 company having previously been an impressive winner of the Lincoln and Group 2 Sandown Mile on his previous two starts of the year. Both of those victories were on ground with soft in the description and perhaps he just found things happening too quickly in the Lockinge. If he runs to his Lincoln form then he has a major chance. Others of note include Lord Glitters, Beat The Bank and Happily. Selection: Addeybb CracksmanChampion Stakes Eight horses go to post for the Champion Stakes but in reality, only three have chances of landing this Group 1. The three that count are Cracksman, Crystal Ocean and Capri. Cracksman heads the market but it has to be a concern that we haven’t seen him since going down to Poet’s Word in the Price Of Wales’s Stakes. In truth, he didn’t look like the real Cracksman in his last two racecourse outings as he raced lethargically when just getting the better of Salouen in the Coronation Cup two starts back. It’s no surprise to see John Gosden reaching for first-time blinkers and hopefully, they will have the desired effect. Crystal Ocean is another horse that’s had a stellar year, having won his first three season starts and was only just denied by Poet’s Word in the King George. Sir Michael Stoute then ran him in the September Stakes at Kempton where all eyes were on Enable including Crystal Ocean as Enable was three lengths ahead of him. He looks sure to run another big race. Aidan O’Brien’s Capri is the biggest priced of the leading fancies but he has beaten his two main rivals. In the Irish Derby, he beat Cracksman and he defeated Crystal Ocean in last season’s St Leger. Capri showed a real sign of revival when he finished fifth in the Arc behind Enable two weeks and if that run didn’t take too much out of him then he’s my idea of the winner. Selection: Capri The Balmoral is the only handicap on British Champions day and it brings the meeting to a close. There is unsurprisingly a big field going t post for this valuable 1-mile handicap. Jamie Osborne is responsible for Raising Sand who heads the market following a win in the Challenge Cup at Ascot. The slight step up in trip won’t inconvenience Raising Sand and Nicola Currie gets on well with him. Top weight Flaming Spear finished in behind Raising Sand in the Challenge Cup and he was flying home at the finish, with the extra furlong today I think he will reverse the form. Rober Winston takes over the reins again which means he carries more weight but he still looks sure to run a huge race. Safe Voyage hasn’t been seen since landing the Ahonoora Handicap at the Galway festival on August. John Quinn engaged the services of crack claimer, Sean Davis, that day and he retains the partnership in a bid to land this big handicap. This was his third win in his four starts which means he has crept up the handicap. I still get the feeling that he is on an upward curve and must go close. Of the outsiders, Waarif peaks my interest having run very well behind Just hiss at York last week. The softer underfoot conditions won’t inconvenience Richard Fahey’s inmate and he may outrun his odds. Selection: Safe Voyage The post British Champion Day Preview – Will The Lion Roar Back Over A Mile? appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost Top British jockey Silvestre de Sousa will ride in Hong Kong from November 1 to February 28 – @DRFAnderen The worst-kept secret in Hong Kong racing was confirmed on Thursday with the Jockey Club announcing De Sousa will spend the winter based at Sha Tin. It is easy enough to fill short-term riding positions in Hong Kong – the likes of Ryan Moore, Alexis... View the full article

A change in riding tactics combined with a claiming apprentice jockey may hold the key to unlocking the potential of Caspar Fownes’ once highly touted Joyful Trinity. The French import, who is a two-time Group Three winner along with multiple Group One place-getter, has struggled to continue his promising racing career in Hong Kong. After winning two of his first five starts, the now six-year-old has managed to win just one out of his past 21 attempts. However, Fownes is hopeful that... View the full article

Beauty Generation is seven weeks from his Longines Hong Kong International Races grand final but John Moore cannot hide his excitement, saying his superstar is “the horse to beat” in Sunday’s Group Two Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy. Reigning Horse of the Year Beauty Generation stunned Moore with a dominant victory first-up three weeks ago and the veteran trainer expects the six-year-old to be better again this weekend. “It was a little bit of a surprise, the facile win... View the full article

Trainer John Gosden hopes he won’t be left eating his “famously silly words” after his glowing assessment of Roaring Lion ahead of Saturday’s Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1,600m) on Champions Day at Ascot. Gosden has decided to run his star three-year-old over the mile, as opposed to the Group One Champion Stakes (1,993m) where he also has favourite Cracksman, and expects big things. “Roaring Lion has a fantastic constitution and doesn’t strike me as... View the full article

More relaxed Zac Kasa stamps his class View the full article

Flak Jacket a perfect fit in Class 3 View the full article

Nizar hits target for first time with Silent Arrow View the full article

Jomo blitzes rivals on debut View the full article

Early scratching October 21 View the full article

Horses' body weights October 19 View the full article

Track conditions and course scratchings October 19 View the full article

Collett on the mend after surgery View the full article

Le Grange's Gold Cup team hinges on QEII Cup day View the full article

Early scratchings October 19 View the full article

In his first start since being claimed by owner Michael Hui and trainer John Ortiz, Zulu Alpha became the first graded stakes winner for his new conditioner when he put away favored Arklow in the Sycamore Stakes (G3T). View the full article

Officials at Keeneland have announced the addition of four supplemental entries to its upcoming November Breeding Stock Sale. Eaton Sales will consign a filly by Tapit that is the second foal produced by champion La Verdad (Yes It’s True) (see Before the Hammer) as hip 116A. Vinery Sales, agent, will offer hip 245A, Peruvian broodmare of the year Almudena (Per) (Silver Planet {Arg}), the dam of Peruvian champion and MG1SW Cascanueces (Smart Strike), as well as Group 3 winner More Than Words (More Than Ready). Almudena sells in foal to Candy Ride (Arg). Somalia (Mineshaft), the dam of recent GIII Durham Cup S. winner Lookin For Eight (Lookin At Lucky) and GIII Selene S. victress Miss Mo Mentum (Uncle Mo) is offered as hip 245B by Bill Murphy, agent, and is part of the first book of mares bred to Horse of the Year Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}). A weanling colt from the same mare is cataloged as hip 198. Greenfield Farm (B. D. Gibbs Farm), agent, will offer hip 245C, the MG1SW La Extrana Dama (Arg) (Catcher In the Rye {Ire}), as a broodmare prospect only. Winner of eight of her 21 career appearances and in the money on 16 of those occasions, the 5-year-old is a daughter of US Grade I winner Toda Una Dama (Arg) (Cipayo {Arg}). “These are exciting additions to the November Sale catalog and ones that will appeal to an international clientele,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston said. A total of 4,510 horses, including broodmares in foal to the world’s leading sires, broodmare prospects, weanlings, horses of racing age, stallions and stallion prospects, are cataloged to Keeneland’s November Sale, which will be held Nov. 5-16. Keeneland will continue to accept supplements until the November Sale begins. View the full article

First, the facts, bare and unvarnished: In 2017, 17% of the 37,483 flat races in the United States were on turf, up from 5% of 71,454 races in 1991. I wrote about this shift to turf and its relationship to the breeding industry here in March. At face value, this is a significant increase, but it’s bigger than I thought, because turf racing at some of the most prestigious race meets is even more impactful when filtered for quality. After removing claiming races from totals and using only races with purse values of $50,000 or more, the combined numbers in 2017 for 2,394 qualifying races at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Kentucky Downs (which races on turf only), Belmont, Saratoga, Santa Anita, Del Mar, Oaklawn (dirt only), and the “championship meet” at Gulfstream were 46% turf and 54% dirt. Those are head-turning figures for turf racing, and it’s likely that the differences between turf and dirt will be even narrower this year, when, believe it or not, there were more races scheduled for turf than dirt at Saratoga. These selected races, by the way, comprised only 6% of all races in the US last year but offered money and prestige at many more times their weight. For instance, almost half of leading turf sire Kitten’s Joy’s total earnings from North America and Europe last season came from this narrow circuit at the top of the game. The heft of turf racing is further amplified by another fact: 39% of all graded races in the US last year were on turf. Or, framed another way, there were 178 graded races on turf from a total of 6,271 turf races versus 277 graded races from a total of 31,212 races on mostly dirt (including a smattering of synthetic tracks). The distance composition of the 2,394 races? Sprints at seven furlongs or less made up 33% of the dirt races compared to 15% on turf, while 18% of races at a mile and a sixteenth or more were on turf versus 13% on dirt. For races at more than seven furlongs but less than a mile and a sixteenth–the miler category –13% were on turf while 8% were on dirt. Turf racing clearly leans towards stamina. These are the facts. Sire Stats Researcher Chris Rossi, an astute observer of the racing landscape, picked the tracks for this survey after consulting with me and then compiled sire stats based on the criteria noted above. The two accompanying charts separately rank the leading 25 sires on turf and dirt by progeny earnings, and they offer an interesting look at how well these sires performed at top-tier or purse-rich venues. The active leading dirt sires (Unbridled’s Song at #1 is deceased) were led by such established big guns as Lane’s End’s Candy Ride (Arg) ($80,000 fee in 2019) at #2, Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Curlin ($175,000) at #3, Lane’s End’s Quality Road ($150,000) at #4, Gainesway’s Tapit ($225,000) at #5, Adena Springs’s Ghostzapper ($85,000 in ’18; ’19 fee not announced yet) at #6, Spendthrift’s Malibu Moon ($75,000) at #7, Darley’s Medaglia d’Oro ($200,000) at #8, and Spendthrift’s Into Mischief ($150,000) at #9. The stats are illuminating, but beware that a glimpse at one year doesn’t necessarily provide the entire picture, as any horse can have an “off” year. And younger horses are at a disadvantage by a lack of numbers. This is particularly evident on the dirt list. Nonetheless, WinStar’s Bodemeister ($25,000), with only two crops racing through 2017, was #10 on the dirt list with a first-crop Kentucky Derby winner; Lane’s End’s Union Rags ($60,000), also with two crops, but with four Grade l winners in them, was #16; the Darby Dan duo of Shackleford ($20,000 in ’18) and Dialed In ($25,000 in ’18), also with two crops each, were #24 and #25, respectively; Ashford’s Uncle Mo ($125,000), who had a first-crop Derby winner in 2016, was #15 with three crops; and Quality Road and Ashford’s Lookin At Lucky ($17,500), with four crops each, were #4 and #14, respectively. That’s an impressive showing for these young horses because as a rule first crops tend to be more productive than second crops and fourth crops are frequently the least effective in a stallion’s early career. [Because Pimlico wasn’t included in this survey, Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Maclean’s Music ($25,000), with two crops and the sire of a first-crop Preakness winner, lost all chance to make the dirt list.] Turf Sires In contrast to the dirt list, the turf list is populated mostly by older stallions, with a few standouts from Europe (Dubawi {Ire} and Galileo {Ire}) and more than a few dead sires (Scat Daddy, Giant’s Causeway, Unusual Heat, Northern Afleet, City Zip, Arch, Harlan’s Holiday, Smart Strike, and Exchange Rate). With little crossover from the dirt list (Medaglia d’Oro, Candy Ride, Tapit, Into Mischief, and More Than Ready stand out), what this means, to use a baseball analogy, is that a lot of qualified rookies are going to get playing time in the near future. The opportunities are there and the positions will need to be filled, but until that happens–because demand for quality turf horses is exceeding supply–expect a greater number of foreign imports in the immediate future to compete against the progeny of the few veteran turf sires around. One of those veterans is Calumet’s English Channel ($25,000 in ’18), ranked #6 last year on the turf list and the sire of four Grade l winners in 2018–all on turf. He was profiled here two weeks ago. Warranted or not, stallions, like actors, get typecast early, and after that it’s difficult to play against type, especially if they find success in a particularly notable way. Danzig’s War Front ($250,000) at Claiborne, the most expensive stallion for 2019, is such an example. His first crop contained Gl Malibu S. winner The Factor and Grade ll Fountain of Youth S. winner Soldat on dirt, but then a deluge of European success came so forcefully that he hasn’t been able to extricate himself from grass since, though Claiborne’s Walker Hancock and Bernie Sams maintain to this day that he’s a top dirt sire and told me this summer that they’ve sent high-quality dirt mares to him in recent seasons to prove exactly this. In the meantime, he remains an outstanding source of high-quality turf runners both here and abroad and was #3 on the turf list with six graded winners, despite having some of his best runners in Europe. Note that 90% of his overall earnings in this survey came from turf. There’s no such equivocation about Kitten’s Joy ($75,000), #1 on the turf list with 98% of his earnings on turf. A son of the Sadler’s Wells stallion El Prado (Ire), as is #2-ranked Medaglia d’Oro, Kitten’s Joy came up during the synthetic age and in 2013 became the first horse in North America to lead the general sire list with non-dirt horses. Relocated from Ramsey Farm to Hill ‘n’ Dale for the 2018 breeding season, his exceptional ability has been on display in Europe in recent years, first with Group 1 winner Hawkbill and this year with Group 1 winner and the top-rated 3-year-old colt Roaring Lion, but the grass-friendly environment here has also allowed for the development of high-quality all-turf domestic runners like Oscar Performance, a Grade 1 winner at two, three, and four in North America and so far the earner of $2.3 million without ever setting foot on dirt. He enters stud at Mill Ridge next year and is the type of horse that could fill vacancies available on the turf list down the road. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Oscar Performance is destined to be a turf-only sire, like his sire. Ashford’s late Scat Daddy, for example, #4 on the turf list last year, came up with the Triple Crown winner this year, and More Than Ready at #5 is the sire of the 2018 Travers winner. It does mean, however, that it will pay to follow those turf stallions that are poised to inherit a landscape that’s ideally set up for them. Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks. View the full article

Demonstrating its commitment to the fight against doping in Argentina, a new chemical services area has been opened at San Isidro Racetrack in Buenos Aires. Professional staff at the lab belong to the Association of Official Racing Chemists (AROC) and regularly take part in the proficiency testing program, designed to check and detect the use of prohibitive substances in horses. The Argentinian Jockey Club has invested about US$1.4 million in equipment and facilities over the last two years as it works towards certification from the International Federation of Horseracing Authority (IFHA) to become an IFHA reference laboratory to analyze samples from all Group 1 races conducted across South America. View the full article