Wandering Eyes

NEWMARKET, UK–In the words of the song: “Now I’m returning with gold in great store.” For with the first crop of No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) making such an electrifying start on the track, those who were ahead of the curve at the foal sales last year are now reaping the dividends. In the final session of Book 2 at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, these included one old master of pinhooking in Willie Browne; a most promising recruit to the same trade in Morna McDowall; and, outstandingly on the day, Paul and Marie McCartan of Ballyphilip Stud. Having produced both Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel Ire}) to achieve sprinting stardom last year from a broodmare band of no more than a dozen on their Co Limerick farm, the McCartans showed another dimension of their artistry in turning a €40,000 son of Coolmore’s star rookie into a 450,000gns prize for football agent Kia Joorabchian. That helped Book 2 inch past last year’s record aggregate, up to 48,458,500gns from 48,022,000gns, and also to a new high of 45 transactions of 200,000gns or more (44 in 2017). The closing session maintained the fine clearance rate across the catalogue, with 204 changing hands from 237 lots offered at 86%–compared with 196 of 252 last year at 78%. The gross for the day slipped from 16,262,000gns to 15,496,000gns, bringing down the average 8% to 75,961gns (from 82,969gns). But the median climbed 10% to 55,000gns from 50,000gns. That median held across the three days, unchanged from last year, while the Book 2 average was marginally down to 76,796gns from 78,339gns. Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony commented: “In 2011 the combined turnover of Books 1 and 2 was a little under 77-million guineas. Seven years later it has risen to a new record, well in excess of 150-million guineas. These are pretty staggering numbers, especially following on from the extraordinarily strong 2017 October Yearling Sales which we felt would be so hard to match.” “The key to the huge advances in recent years is the quality of the stock. The leading British and Irish breeders, as well as a number of their French and German counterparts, consistently place enormous faith in the October Yearling Sale–and top- quality yearlings, combined with racecourse success, bring the buyers to the sale. Year after year horses purchased at the October Yearling Sale achieve superstar status, not only in Europe, but on the global stage and the strong international demand has been a real feature of the past three days of Book 2.” “Buyers from throughout the Gulf region have been prolific this week and their consistent support and patronage is hugely appreciated. British and Irish trainers continue to regard Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale as the key date in the European sales calendar. And buyers–some of them new to Europe–from South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand have all made notable contributions to an impressive clearance rate of 86%.” The final day’s top lot (1165), out of a sister to G1 Golden Jubilee S. winner Fayr Jag (Ire) (Fayruz {GB}), was picked up from Knockatriana House just a few minutes into the first session at Goffs last November. “Marie found him,” said Paul McCartan. “She was determined to have him. In fact, she said: ‘I know the fella I’m going home with–and it’s not you!’ We wanted one by the sire, and he was early into the ring. He’s an absolutely gorgeous horse, the nicest I have had on the farm since Battaash.” The latter was a 200,000gns graduate of this sale three years ago–but this colt soon raced past that figure, with Alex Elliott determined to land him for Joorabchian’s Amo Racing, for whom he will enter training with Michael Bell. “Physically, he was very hard to fault,” the agent said. “It was a stretch but the brief is Royal Ascot and this was the ‘must-have.’ Kia’s given them a great rattle; we bought three in Book 1 last week, and No Nay Never has taken all before him–you can’t have enough of him.” When Browne has a hunch, of course, he is normally at least one step ahead. Sure enough, his willingness to stake six figures on another No Nay Never colt at the same Goffs sale last November–through partner Mark Dwyer’s Oaks Farm Stables–proved an early signpost to the terrific success of Coolmore’s rookie. The half-brother to Group 3-placed Seaella (Ire) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) [lot 1112] turned that €110,000 pinhook into a 250,000gns docket signed by Alastair Donald. “Listen, he was a very nice horse, but it’s all about the sire,” said Browne. “We took a bit of a punt on him, and sometimes you get lucky. There isn’t a crystal ball, but he vetted very well so everything fell into place.” Certainly this success will not be deceiving his seasoned judgement with the foal sales looming. “Foals are too dear, for sure,” he cautioned. “I think we’ll need to be vigilant.” It augurs well for McDowall, meanwhile, that she too identified the potential of No Nay Never when making a private deal with the breeder of lot 1146 after the daughter of a Galileo (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) half-sister to prolific Italian stakes performer Vol De Nuit (GB) (Linamix {Fr}) had to be withdrawn from that same Goffs sale. The Cork consignor was vindicated by a 200,000gns docket for the filly in the name of Charlie Gordon-Watson / MV Magnier. “She had a nasty cut but she was an athletic-looking filly out of a Galileo mare,” McDowall said. “She’s had a really good first year and there was plenty of interest from the right people. Pinhooking is a rollercoaster but this is great.” McDowall made a fine impression with her breeze-up debut this spring, no surprise given the breadth and depth of her education in the business either side of the Atlantic. She worked for several years for some of the premier horsemen in North America before coming home to Ireland to lead the riding team at Grove Stud. Breaking the same arm twice in the last year did not assist the launch of her solo career, but she clearly knows what she is about. Kingman Picks Up The Gauntlet… Not to be outdone, another freshman to have made a splendid start surpassed No Nay Never as the top sire by average of Book 2. Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ir}) processed nine lots at an average 256,111gns–thanks in part to his son out of a Galileo half-sister to multiple group winner Loup Breton (Ire) (Anabaa) from the Wildenstein family of champions Loup Sauvage (Riverman) and Loup Solitaire (Lear Fan). Presented as lot 1217, he became the latest to advertise the skills of Philipp Stauffenberg–this time on behalf of breeders Dayton Investments in France–when bringing 400,000gns from Stephen Hillen. He will be trained by Henri-Francois Devin for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. “A gorgeous horse,” Hillen enthused. “Everyone wants a Kingman and I thought him the best horse in the sale. He was so relaxed walking round the ring. We thought 250,000-300,000 might do it, but upped our estimation when we saw him here. But that was the last bid. He has the premiums so while I know it’s a huge price, if he’s any good he has a chance of getting it back.” Stauffenberg had sold a Dansili filly for 360,000gns the previous day. Not a bad 24 hours’ work given that the potential star of his draft–a half-sister to one of Kingman’s first star, Persian King (Ire)–had been a late scratching after the Group 3 success of his sibling down the road over the Rowley Mile last weekend. She has been retained to race. “We’re very honoured to be sent horses from the breeders to prepare for sale,” stressed Stauffenberg. “This was a lovely colt and we’re grateful for the chance to be involved with these great pedigrees and horses.” Players Mean Business… The consigning laurels go to Newsells Park, who followed up their unprecedented tally in Book 1 as leading vendors in this catalogue as well-racking up 19 sales for 2,010,000gns turnover. A truly impressive double. But it has also been a stellar week for Whatton Manor, responsible for a terrific tenfold pinhook on Tuesday with lot 937 and yesterday landing a 420,000gns payout from Alastair Donald for lot 1297–a Dark Angel (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) colt homebred from an unraced Oasis Dream (GB) (Green Desert) mare acquired here six years ago for just 46,000gns. “It’s been an amazing week,” said Ed Player. “We knew we had a nice draft of horses, but couldn’t think it would go this well. We’re just so grateful to the team, both here and at home, they get up so early and work so hard and just do the most fantastic job. This has been a star of a horse, one of those that hasn’t put a foot wrong all the way along.” The mare had lost a Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}) foal and the Players were beginning to feel that she was becoming unlucky. But then her hard-working first foal Blyton (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) won for a third time in a nursery at York last week, already his 12th start, and it’s a deep family further down. The colt’s fifth dam, in fact, is none other than blue hen Coup De Folie (Halo). Shadwell Spree Sustained By Lope De Vega… It was a strikingly productive day for Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal), who is beginning to reap the benefits of an upgrade in mare quality along with the rise of his fee and ended up as Book 2’s premier sire by aggregate. Late in proceedings Jeremy Brummitt, acting for Bjorn Nielsen and Mikael Magnusson, gave 280,000gns for a colt out of the Listed winner Miss You Too (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) consigned as lot 1308 by Hillwood Stud. “He has the Montjeu walk,” Brummitt said. “Let’s hope he has the Montjeu gallop.” He had managed something beyond most this week, in responding smartly to every sally offered by underbidder Angus Gold. But the latter had already added a couple of sons of the Ballylinch sire to the Shadwell haul, and returned a few minutes later for another one: a colt out of listed winner Mousse Au Chocolat (Hennessy) presented by Pier House Stud as lot 1318. Purchased at Goffs last November for €75,000 by Peter & Ross Doyle, here he realised 230,000gns. It was the third time in the session that Gold was the toast of pinhookers of the Ballylinch sire. The first, lot 1210, had been the work of John Foley. Shoppers in Book 3 today will do well to match the bargain found by Tim Easterby two years ago, when Foley sold him subsequent Group 3 Acomb S. winner Wells Farhh Go (Ire) (Farhh {GB}) for just 16,000gns. If the consignor deserved more that day, he was amply rewarded–in his second year operating from his new Ballyvolane Stud base in Co Limerick–for taking aboard a Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) foal bought for 90,000gns by JC Bloodstock here last winter. This time the colt, from the family of Dream Ahead (Diktat {GB}), realised 325,000gns. “He was a strong, lovely-actioned foal,” Foley said. “He showed very well here and I’m glad he’s going to such a good home.” Then there was lot 1290, a colt out of a Desert Style (Ire) (Green Desert) half-sister to G2 July S. winner Alhebayeb (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). Bought here last December by Abbeylands Farm for 60,000gns, here he was presented by Rathbarry Stud as agent and made 230,000gns. Shadwell duly ended the sale as its premier investor for the fifth year running, finishing up with 40 animals at a gross of 6,870,000gns. Oasis Out Of The Wilderness… His fee having been in mystifying freefall, Oasis Dream (GB) (Green Desert) has stopped the rot on the track this year and it was heartening to see his parallel resurgence at the sales–he processed 10 yearlings in Book 1 at an average 219,000gns–extended by Shadwell’s 280,000gns investment in a daughter presented by Barton Stud as lot 1118. Out of a half-sister to that smart sprinter Chineur (Fr) (Fasliyev), the filly was bred and sold, albeit reluctantly, by Cyril Humphris. “I’m very sorry to sell her as it’s been a wonderful family and she’s a beautiful filly, she’s been very special from birth,” he said. “But the mare keeps having fillies, I have four from the family already, and at some point you have to put some money into the treasury. It’s a sprinting page, I can’t compete with Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) so I have to fish in shallower waters.” The dam Goleta (Ire) (Royal Applause {GB}) has already produced Group 3 winner Dibajj (Fr) (Iffraaj {GB}) and is carrying a sibling to that horse. “I started with Iffraaj (GB) (Zafonic) when he was €6,000 and he’s now £40,000,” Humphris said. “Now I’ve sold this filly maybe I can afford to go back to him.” View the full article

Barretts hosted its final auction Tuesday with the 2018 Fall Sale at the Fairplex Park in Pomona, CA. A total of 139 horses sold for $1,419,700 during the single-session auction. “I felt the sale itself was pretty weak,” said Barretts General Manager Kim Lloyd. “The stronger out August Sale got, the weaker this sale got. Our select sale has gotten stronger every year and in turn this sale weakened every year. The horses perceived as less desirable are very hard to sell and we found that to be true [Tuesday].” The sale was topped by stakes winner and Grade I-placed La Nez (Storm Creek) (Hip 313), who sold to bloodstock agent David Meah for $75,000. Dam of SP sophomore Tapit Today (Tapit), the 11-year-old mare is in foal to new California stallion Danzing Candy, a multiple graded-stakes winner and ‘TDN Rising Star.’ “She was a great runner herself and we’re big believers in new California Danzing Candy,” Meah said. “The 2-year-old is on the worktab at Belmont and looks to be nearing a race. In today’s market, the price seemed to be fair.” The top-priced yearling was Hip 210, a California-bred colt by Justin Phillip out of Country Whirl (Country Light), who summoned $57,000 from Nick Cosato. He was offered by Stormy Hull’s Critter Creek Farm on behalf of Robin Mason’s Carnation Racing Stable. There were a pair of yearling fillies to hit $55,000 in Hip 188 and Hip 15. Purchased by trainer Peter Eurton and agent Larry Zap, Hip 188 is from the final crop of California stalwart Unusual Heat and out of the Runaway Groom mare Bel Air Belle. She was consigned to the sale by Harris Farms. Hip 15, a daughter of Slew’s Tiznow and the Mr. Greeley mare Grand Advice, was picked up by Tony Metaxas. The California-bred was consigned by Adrian Gonzalez’s Checkmate Thoroughbreds. This is the final auction for Barretts, which conducted its first sale in 1990. The Stronach Group and Fasig-Tipton will host a pair of auctions in 2019, a 2-year-old sale in June and a yearling sale in September. When asked for his feelings on hosting his final sale, Lloyd said, “It was kind of an odd day, having it for the last time, but it’s done and now it is gone. It is a shame to lose such a wonderful facility. Fasig will come in and do a fine job next year.” View the full article

The global Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry lost one the greats of the last 50 years when Dr. Ignacio Pavlosky [1942-2018] passed away a few days ago. It is impossible to write a brief note on the contributions and achievements of “Nacho”, as we would need to book to contain it all. In the 1970s, Dr. Pavlosky spent two years in France as the veterinarian for the Argentine trainer Angel Penna. During that time, Mr. Penna was the leading trainer in both France and England in 1976, and won the Arc with Allez France in 1974. Dr. Pavlosky maintained a long, and successful, relationship with Ron McAnally and, with his friend Pepe Leon, exported such greats as Paseana, Bayakoa, Different and Candy Ride. Since the mid 1970’s, Nacho was the brains behind the tremendous success of the Argentine division of the Haras Santa Maria de Araras, which is owned by Brazilian Julio Bozano. As I said before, I can’t mention all of the achievements of Dr. Pavlosky as a breeder, owner, manager and veterinarian, but with all that he did professionally, it would be hard to match what he did as a mentor and family man. Three sons, Nachito, Agustin, Ivan are all veterinarians and play an important role in our industry in their respective fields. So many others have benefitted from the opportunity to work under his guidance and have gone on to successful careers. Most of all, we all will miss the perpetual smile on his face when we came in contact with this kind, generous and giving man. As the saying goes, “they just don’t make them like him anymore.” RIP Dr. Pavlosky. We all miss you. —John Fulton View the full article

Feet up, lolling back in his chair, it would be hard to sit behind a desk with a more casual mien than John G. Sikura. But not for a moment does that glint of steely engagement fade from his gaze, from those windows onto a mind–forever questing, forever questioning–that must be counted one of the most acute and independent on the contemporary American Turf. “You have no idea what’s going to work until it works,” he says with a shrug. “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.” And that, in the end, is the great consolation of a game where the purest of all market forces should, at least in principle, be quality. Yes, Sikura’s is a business where you can be wrong even when you’re right. If enough people want to spend their money on a misplaced premise, then you can go broke trying to offer them something better. But if people are breeding to the wrong stallions, or buying the wrong yearlings, then that is ultimately going to tell on the racetrack. To borrow the description of a rival Kentucky studmaster, offered with ungrudging admiration, Sikura reliably “marches to his own beat.” And when you look at his record, and the roster he has put together at Hill ‘n’ Dale, you cannot help but think that it will pay to fall in step. So the reason we’re taking his time, on this occasion, is to learn more about his determination to dismantle the industry’s mechanically prescriptive approach, in recent times, to bloodlines as either “turf” or “dirt.” The transfer to Hill ‘n’ Dale of Kitten’s Joy (El Prado {Ire}), the standout among American grass stallions, has coincided with the rise of his son Roaring Lion as the premier European colt of his generation; while Sikura has meanwhile launched a transatlantic turf star in Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}). But he feels that getting domestic and international support for stallions of this kind, not least given the rapid expansion of the American turf program, is only half the battle. He also wants European breeders to reconnect with the sort of blood he funnels through the rest of his roster. “Here’s what I find curious,” he says. “Arguably the greatest team ever assembled is Coolmore. And, as M.V. Magnier said this summer, their operation was built on the backs of the American dirt horse. The same is true of all the major European lines today. In fact it’s become second nature for me, every time I see a Group winner in Europe, to look at the first three dams listed in the TDN. And nine times out 10, in those three dams you’ll find an American racemare, with a strictly American pedigree. Bold Forbes, something like that, something you’d never think. And they’re converted, over one or two generations, to the ultimate achievers on the turf.” In other words, there’s a proven model of success; a chance to go back and try what has worked already. While Sikura is less certain that a European turf pedigree can make the inverse transformation, he considers it unarguable that what is perceived as an American dirt pedigree can be parlayed into elite proficiency on grass. He cites some of the most feted producers in Europe. “You look at Doff The Derby,” he says. “By Master Derby. There couldn’t be a more American dirt horse pedigree. Trace back on Misty For Me (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), or Peeping Fawn (Danehill). I can’t tell you why a horse suits one surface or another. Is there a physical attribute? Is there a genetic attribute? Seems to me that when horses are equally good on both–that’s called greatness. Horses like Candy Ride (Arg), More Than Ready, Storm Cat. War Front. Scat Daddy had as pure an American pedigree as they come, and he became probably the most important international horse of his time. You would think that there should not only be an acceptance. It should be a quest.” This conviction fuels Sikura’s enthusiasm for the two very special ladies who respectively headline the Hill ‘n’ Dale drafts for the forthcoming November sales at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland. Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy), of course, was one of the first to grab and shake the lapels of European breeders regarding the prowess of her sire; while Lady Eli (Divine Park) captured the American imagination as much as any turf mare of recent years. “Besides her supernatural brilliance, physically Lady Aurelia is a great specimen and she is bred to produce a horse for any surface,” Sikura enthuses. “All they’ll need is a starting gate. She’s the kind of mare that can start her own line, breed her own stallion. She’s a remarkable, historic achiever. In recent times, nobody had been bold enough even to go and try what she did in Europe–never mind go over and dominate, repeatedly. The best turf horses in the world, consistently, are European-based. And she humbled them all. “And then Lady Eli, she has a European pedigree under the second dam, the third dam. She beat the best, nationally and internationally. Forget that she’s by Divine Park. Performance: that’s the evidence revealed. She could get a horse to win the Arc, she could get a horse to run here. I think both mares are without borders, without boundaries.” Lady Aurelia’s career, of course, showed how thoroughly the Americans have now reversed European condescension about insularity. In recent years most European operations–with the telling exception of the one already singled out by Sikura, for its grasp of the importance of genetic cross-pollination–have become culpably reluctant to roll the dice on dirt at the Breeders’ Cup. In the same period, in contrast, the Americans have been coming over to Royal Ascot to beat the locals at their own game, in their own backyard. “I think success begets success,” muses Sikura. “And after Wesley [Ward] was bold enough to try it, and succeed, now more and more people are going over to Ascot and finding it the greatest experience in racing: the pageantry, the line-up. But slowly all countries are starting to recognise that we’re all in this together. I think you’re going to see a lot of marauding from continent to continent. This is about: ‘May the best horse win. Bring your best, we’re ready.’ That’s what racing should become.” True, he says he regrets that connections of Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) never risked her reputation at Ascot; and urges the Japanese to keep removing barriers to open competition. After all, their pre-eminent sire Deep Impact (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) is another witness to the merits of exporting American dirt blood to a largely turf environment. It stands to reason. The classic dirt virtues–the grit, the ability to carry speed through two turns–absolutely confound the prejudices of Europeans, whose idea of commercial “speed” is so much cheaper, so much less likely to produce a Classic horse. Those who persist in those prejudices then resort to tarring of all American stock with the same brush: medication. That is enough to make Sikura roll his eyes. “The drugs thing, I think it’s a tiresome subject,” he says, exasperated. “Any scientist will tell you it’s not possible for an animal that has a 20-plus year reproductive lifespan to change their genetics because Lasix made offspring weak and vulnerable. You can say what you wish, but when they go over and beat you, your excuse is no longer valid. I’m not pro-drugs, I’m not giving an opinion on the subject, I’m just saying that we have a global Thoroughbred. And the guys that are the most successful recognize that–and it underpins their success.” The problem is that perceptions, for all stallions, can be self-fulfilling. Take Curlin (Smart Strike), whose litany of dirt champions has taken him to a fee of $175,000, but who has been given barely any opportunity in Europe. “All he needs is an exposure,” Sikura insists. “I think if he got 20 European mares he’d be as successful on the turf as he is on dirt. Everything about his pedigree says all he needs is a chance: Bates Motel, Sir Ivor. Smart Strike is a great indicator. If he gets that chance, he can be the world’s best sire. And I think it’ll happen. He just needs some representation.” Europeans are on more familiar territory with Kitten’s Joy, though even the discovery of Roaring Lion–his second G1 Eclipse S. winner in three years–for just €160,000 has not appeared to prompt the stampede you might expect. “This year will be the sixth he will have led the American turf sire list,” Sikura says. “That’s remarkable; that’s dominant, a one-off, doesn’t happen. And from limited exposure to Europe, he’s proven now that there’s no barrier to him whatsoever. “Europeans have to look at all the Kitten’s Joys now. His statistics, in many cases, are above what are considered the elite sires of Europe. And compare what it costs to breed to Frankel or Dubawi, or to buy the best Galileos. Here, with him, you can probably buy the one you love. So there’s value, there’s performance, and you have something I think is on an upwards trend. “Because while he’s not a young horse, the whole concept is relatively new. Ken Ramsey made the horse: he bred his own mares, irrespective of what they looked like, he claimed them, he had his formula, he knew the horse. It takes multiple years of being successful for people to take notice of a horse like this. Since he’s come here, it’s the first time he’s had a broad base of outside support, more commercial mares, some different pedigrees.” If Kitten’s Joy remains a relative bargain, even squeezed back up to $75,000 in 2019, then how about Flintshire at just $15,000 as his first weanlings head to the sales? Winner of five Grade I races and $9,589,910, he has the backing of an elite partnership still featuring owner/breeders Juddmonte. (See the TDN video feature on Flintshire.) “Flintshire has all the attributes you’d get from any ‘unproven’ horse anywhere in the world,” declares Sikura. “He lacks nothing. There’s no reason he can’t be a great sire. That Juddmonte pedigree. The performance: it’s elite, a world traveller, sound horse, great turn of foot, everything. He has much chance to do it as any horse standing in Europe.” As Kitten’s Joy himself has shown, the domestic pool makes it hard for a perceived turf sire to stand out. But it is an article of faith for Sikura, with stallions, that “the genetic switch” is either on or off. “Think of the stallions that were coddled, hand-picked, and didn’t work,” he says. “If they make it, they make it: Pivotal, Candy Ride. If you’re a good sire, you’re going to get runners. I would argue that the quality of their initial horses, when no one has heard of them, will be as good as in the eighth crop. It’s just one will bring 20-grand and one will bring $700,000.” This is the man, of course, who had both Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado {Ire}) and Candy Ride (Arg) (Ride The Rails) in their early days. Medaglia d’Oro was then a big beautiful horse with no pedigree. He is now one of the most coveted sires in the world and, be it noted, equally likely to get you a champion on turf or dirt. Perhaps no Hill ‘n’ Dale stallion should be in greater demand with Europeans, then, than his son Violence. “That horse is a centimeter away from being the smash young sire of North America,” says Sikura. “He’s had winners at all the major tracks this year, and they’ve lined up to breed to him every year. Whatever your fee is, they line up out the door. He’s one horse away from being a breakout sire. I’d hope he can be the next Medaglia d’Oro. That’s a mouthful to say–but he gets turf horses, he gets dirt horses, they’re big, robust, great frames, they’re talented. And he’s a Grade I winner, hailing from a great American dirt family.” And that’s the point. That background should work for everyone, either side of the ocean. But you know what they say about leading a horse to water. “Okay, what’s right today can be wrong tomorrow,” concludes Sikura. “Things change. Lines work, they get dormant. You have to be constantly moving and turning and acknowledging. But a good horse will be versatile. Look at Blushing Groom: great stallion on both surfaces. And Northern Dancer–well, he settles all arguments. Kentucky Derby winner, and without him we wouldn’t have a business. We might be selling horses, but we’d be working by day and selling horses by night for fun. He created everything. “If you don’t like the American Thoroughbred, you don’t like to win. And you don’t have an appreciation for history. And you’re not being honest. If you want to be insular about your way, talk about Lasix, talk about what you want–but make sure you ignore the facts when you give your opinion. Because the facts will contradict you.” View the full article

2.20 ParisLongchamp, Debutantes, €27,000, 2yo, c/g, 9fT CRETE (IRE) (Camelot {GB}) debuts for the Niarchos family and Francis-Henri Graffard, who combined with his half-brother Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) to win the 2005 G1 Grand Prix de Paris and the following year’s GI Canadian International. Among his opponents is the Wertheimers’ Carvali (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), a Freddy Head-trained half-brother to the G1 Prix Saint-Alary scorer Queen’s Jewel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). 2.50 ParisLongchamp, Debutantes, €27,000, 2yo, f, 9fT RIDISIA (Mizzen Mast) debuts for His Highness The Aga Khan and Mikel Delzangles and is a daughter of the G1 Prix de l’Opera winner Ridasiyna (Fr) (Motivator {GB}). She meets Fair Salinia Ltd’s homebred Queen (Fr) (Kingman {GB}), a Pia Brandt-trained daughter of the G1 Champion S., G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and G1 Hong Kong Cup heroine Pride (Fr) (Peintre Celebre). View the full article

In the midst of trade at Book 2 of its October Yearling Sale on Wednesday, Tattersalls released the catalogue for its December Foal Sale on Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. The 1,175 foals set for sale include a pair of colts by Dubawi (Ire)-out of Group 1 winner and producer Nightime (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (Lot 1006) and Group 3 winner Lily’s Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) (Lot 930), respectively-from The Castlebridge Consignment, and Galileo has one filly catalogued: Lot 1010, a full-sister to triple Group 1 winner Decorated Knight (GB). There are 133 foals catalogued by the current top 10 active British and Irish sires and over 200 by the top 20. Leading U.S. and French-based sires represented include Bernardini, Elusive Quality, Kendargent, Kitten’s Joy, Le Havre (Ire), Temple City, Wootton Bassett (GB) and War Front. First-crop sires include Fascinating Rock (Ire), New Bay (GB), Pride of Dubai (Aus), The Gurkha (Ire) and Vadamos (Fr), as well as the internationally-based Air Force Blue, Dariyan (Fr), Flintshire (GB), Shalaa (Ire) and Vancouver (Aus). The sale also includes the dispersal of the European stock of Bobby Flay, which includes foals by Dark Angel, Invincible Spirit and Frankel (GB). View the full article

A pair of horses racing for different stables this season could hold the key to kick-starting jockey Neil Callan’s season. The Createth and Mega Heart have both endured uninspiring Hong Kong careers to date, but there is light at the end of the tunnel for the pair, Callan believes. While Callan rode the now John Moore-trained The Createth to an eye-catching second earlier this season, he will ride the lightly raced Mega Heart for new trainer Michael Chang Chun-wai for the first time on... View the full article

Italian jockey Umberto Rispoli knows as well as anyone how to ride out tough times when all the luck seems to be flowing the other way. While only riding two winners this season, Rispoli has ridden 15 place-getters, making up a quarter of all of his rides. With six seconds, Rispoli believes it would not have taken anything, other than a slice of luck, to have that figure halved. “It’s frustrating at the moment because you come back, you check your records and you see already six... View the full article

C. R. Trout's hombred Shotgun Kowboy will attempt to take home his third $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup, the richest event on the $1,000,000 Oklahoma Classics Night of stakes events for eligible Oklahoma-bred Thoroughbreds at Remington Park. View the full article

QEII Cup tops for Jupiter, Makanani takes over in Gold Cup View the full article

The Stobart Apprentice Jockey Championship kicked off on the 5th of May and is set to finish in the last on the final day of the British Champions day meeting on 20th October 2018 and unless Rossa Ryan rides every winner between now and Saturday, Jason Watson will be crowned as the 2018 Champion Apprentice. Watson fully deserves to win the title as he’s been far and away the apprentice fin of the season. At present, he has ridden 71 winners from 442 rides, many of which in recent months have come in big Saturday races. The 18-year-old initially from Brighton’s rise through the ranks has been astronomic considering he only rode two winners last season. The aspiring jockey received lessons from Ray Goldstein(Marc Goldstein’s father) as a six-year-old and after his first lesson the astute Goldstein said: “he’s a natural, he should be a jockey! If he doesn’t win his first race at Brighton by the time he’s 18 I’ll eat my hat!” Watson had to wait less than two months to ride his first winner aboard the Gary Moore trained Many Dreams for whom he rode for before joining the “King” of nurturing apprentice jockeys Andrew Balding. A quick look at the jockeys to come up through the Balding academy tells it’s own story, with William Buick, David Probert and man of the moment Oisin Murphy all among his past apprentices. The Champion apprentice elect’s biggest winner of his career came in the Stewards’ Cup at Glorious Goodwood aboard the Hugo Palmer trained Gifted Master. These victories seemed a distant dream Watson revealed: “There was 200 days from my first winner to my second and I wasn’t too sure whether I was going to carry on…It wasn’t that fact that I wasn’t willing to wait – I just felt I wasn’t good enough if I wasn’t riding those winners. “It’s such a prestigious yard that produces a lot of talent. You see jockeys flying through their claim – that wasn’t happening to me so I kind of thought I wasn’t good enough, I had a lot of people backing me and telling me I just needed to sit tight and it would come. “To be fair to Mr Balding, he said he didn’t want me riding too much at the start of my first season as he didn’t want me going through my claim too quickly…After 200 days I didn’t think he needed to worry about that.” There must also be an honourable mention to Rossa Ryan who has had a wonderful season. The young Irish native is apprenticed to Richard Hannon who was also the source of the 2015 champion apprentice Tom Marquand. Ryan looks to have a very right future. Once the title is finished people will be looking for the next up and coming apprentice and I think if Jamie Gormley stays as an apprentice he’ll be the next young jockey to add their name to this illustrious list. David Egan – 2017 Last season’s title went the way of David Egan who clinched the crown with 53 winners which was a single victory over his closest rival Kieran Shoemark. Egan who hails from Kildare and comes from a great racing family being a son of leading flat jockey John Egan and his grandfather is the late, great Dessie Hughes. Since emerging triumphantly in his ding-dong battle with Kieran Shoemark, Egan rode out his claim aboard Keeper’s Choice in June. After that milestone victory Egan said: “It’s great. Hopefully, we will keep things rolling over now I’ve lost the claim as that is what every apprentice looks for. “I’ve got great people supporting me to help bring me to the next level.” In July he announced that he was abandoning his chance of landing back to back apprentice titles by taking out his full professional licence. The 19-year-old decided to pursue higher grade winners by joining agent Tony Hind and strengthening his relationship with his main trainer Roger Varian. Egan added: “One day I would be keen to go for the jockeys’ championship and Tony Hind is the right man to give me the best possible chance” He currently sits 21st in the jockey’s table and with his combination of potential and pedigree he may just fulfil his dream of being a champion jockey in the future. Josephine Gordon – 2016 Josephine Gordon born on the 16th May 1993 hails from North Devon and her interest in racing began when her family bought a horse for pony racing and as they say “the rest is history!” A trip to the racing school led to Josephine spending time riding out for the likes of Annabel King, Jo Hughes and Stan Moore, where her career really took off. It was obvious from an early stage that Josephine had a lot of natural talent, which was highlighted when she rode her first winner on just her ninth ride winner at Bath. After this quickfire start to her riding career, Gordon surprisingly had to wait 18 months between drinks. 2016 proved to be a fantastic, career-defining season for Gordon as she rode over 70 winners, was crowned Champion apprentice and also won the accolade of Lady jockey of the year at the prestigious Lesters awards. These achievements have not gone unnoticed as leading equine operations such as Godolphin and trainer Sir Michael Stoute availing of her services. If 2016 went well, 12 months on, things were going even better for Gordon as she rode the biggest winner for her career when guiding the William Haggas trained Fastnet Tempest to glory in the Victoria Cup at the Royal Meeting. A first Group winner came aboard Koropick in the Chipchase Stakes in July. She followed it up with a second Group 3 win for Hugo Palmer in the Princess Royal Stakes on Apphia in September. Josephine beat her 2016 total of winners to finish 24th in the jockeys’ championship. In November she rode her 100th winner of the year, becoming only the second female jockey to reach this milestone after Hayley Turner in 2008 Tom Marquand – 2015 The Gloucestershire native incredibly won the Champion Apprentice title at the age of 17 only twelve months on from his first career ride. This rise to prominence was down to his natural talent and the backing he received from his boss Richard Hannon. It was always clear that Marquand was going to be a jockey as he first sat in the saddle at the age of 2 and would cry until he was put on a horse. This tactic may not work for every parent with a screaming toddler but it was just the trick for a screaming Marquand. Tony McCoy was the jockey that Tom looked up to growing up and he held dreams of becoming a jump jockey in his youth. However, his dreams were bigger than his legs as his growth spurt stopped at 5ft 5inches. After a stint at Newmarket’s racing school he decided to turn his attention to the flat: “I didn’t really get into the Flat until I was about 14 or 15 and started riding out for Tony Carroll,” The plan was for Marquand to join the Balding apprentice academy but love took him to Richard Hannon’s as he explains: “My initial plan was to go to Andrew Balding’s yard,” he says. “I’d spent a month there and I was all up for going, but my girlfriend, who’s an apprentice for Richard Hannon, got me a chance to try out there. Her dad organised me to go down to ride out so I did, and I loved it. Then they offered me the job.” Lingfield was the location for the young jockeys fledgeling ride aboard Here For Good in November 2014 and it only took a month to register his first winner on Mecado at Kempton. A nip and tuck battle lay ahead for the Champion apprentice title with the Richard-Fahey based Jack Garritty but it’s one he clinched by only two victories. The final number of wins stood at 54 in comparison to 52 for Garritty. It wasn’t just the number of wins that was impressive but also the quality. After claiming the title Hannon said: “There’s no doubt that Tom has the ability to go all the way. He rides very well and is a pleasant lad who works hard and deserves all the success he has had these past 12 months”. Since this whirlwind season, Marquand has maintained a strong relationship with Richard Hannon, which has seen him ride at the top level on numerous occasions. On 1000 Guineas day at Newmarket he was aboard the well-fancied Anna Nerium but unfortunately for Marquand he had to watch stablemate Billesdon Brook and Sean Levey streak to victory. Although I’m sure he was delighted for the yard and the winning connections he’d also have loved to have been in Levey’s position. Who knows if he will ever emulate previous winners by going on to become a champion jockey but one thing for certain is that a bright future lies ahead. Oisin Murphy – 2014 The term “blue blood” is used within the equine industry when referring to regally bred thoroughbreds but it could equally be used to describe Oisin Murphy who’s uncle is none other than triple Gold Cup winning Jim Culloty. The Killarney native had his first taste of racecourse action at Chepstow in May 2013 and one month later he was steering his first winner Imperial Glance at Salisbury for his boss Andrew Balding. A year later Murphy wasn’t just winning the Champion apprentice title he was running away with recording 76 winners, the most since Paul Hanagan rode 81 to secure the crown in 2002. A high profile four-timer on Ayr Gold Cup day including the feature race was the defining moment in that championship-winning season. The Irishman’s career has just continued on an upward trajectory with the powerhouses of Qatar and Godolphin backing the twenty-three-year-old. Oisin has had a season most jockeys could only ever dream about this current campaign. Roaring Lion has been the standout horse in Murphy’s artillery with the grey landing the Coral-Eclipse, Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion Stakes, which was his first Group 1 in Ireland. He also sits second in the jockey’s title behind Silvestre De Sousa on winners and also second in prize money behind Ryan Moore. It only looks a matter of time before Murphy adds the title proper to his growing list of accolades. Freddy Tylicki – 2009 Tylicki started his riding career in Ireland where he worked under leading trainer Dermot Weld and Jim Bolger. A move to England to be an apprentice at Richard Fahey really kick-started his career where he rode 25 winners in 2008 and followed this up with 60 winners in 2009. Those winners proved enough to defeat David Probert who finished just 1 winner behind Tylicki. Following this victory, Freddy donated his trophy to the family of former promising apprentice Jamie Kyne, who tragically died in a house fire. After this fantastic season, Freddy became a steady 60 winners a season jockey but was beginning to hit new heights in 2016 when he forged a fruitful partnership with the James Fanshawe trained Speedy Boarding. The pair landed a brace of Group Ones with victories in the Prix Jean Romanet and Prix De L´Opera. On the 31 October 2016 Freddy was involved in a serious four-horse accident at Kempton Park Racecourse which ended with him in intensive care at St George’s Hospital in Tooting. It was later announced that he had been diagnosed with T7 paralysis meaning he is paralysed from the waist down. After the accident Tylicki said: “You’re going to have good days obviously and you’re still going to have a lot of bad days, but where I am now is just trying to find my new routine” At The Races and ITV Racing presenter, Matt Chapman set up a gofundme page to support Tylicki in the days proceeding the accident and the fund incredibly raised more than £250,000. Freddy recently had his first win as an owner when Mary Salome won her maiden for Madeline Tylicki. After this victory Freddy said: “She is pretty much my first horse but I have a share in a couple with Dr Catherine Wills over in Britain in training with James Fanshawe and she gave me a taste for it, which I am very grateful for. “Paul Clarke, my old agent, and myself own this filly and we bought her for fun and also to support the family and Madeleine and it has worked out brilliantly.” Who knows what the future holds for Tylicki but it looks bright given his passion and expert knowledge within the equine industry. Ryan Moore – 2003 Ryan was born into racing, with his father Gary is a very successful trainer over both codes. He started riding at the age of four and by twelve he was leading AP McCoy over the jumps at his father’s stables. The main attributes he picked up for AP were his drive and dedication, which was shown by the champ until the day he retired. Moore’s first victory came at the age of sixteen which cemented his decision to become a jockey having flirted with the idea of being a professional footballer. The drive he picked up from AP was evident when he won the Champion apprentice crown in 2003 given he started riding he weighed 8st 10lb, but by the time he lifted the title he had got down to 7st 13lb. Richard Hannon senior was Ryan’s main mentor as he rose through the ranks and following his apprentice championship in 2003, Moore quickly broke through the £1 million prize money barrier and rode more than 100 winners in 2004. A first Group 1 came when partnering Notnowcato in the Juddmonte International at York in August 2006. This would also be the first time Moore was crowned Champion jockey but not the last as he added titles in 2008 and 2009. Since 2011, Ryan has been one of Ballydoyles leading jockeys and has won a plethora of top races all over the world. He is often referred to as the best jockey in the world and few would argue. Paul Hanagan – 2002 Another top jockey who’s completed the Apprentice and Champion jockey double is Paul Hanagan, who took the apprentice title in 2002, with a very impressive haul of 81 winners. This was the second highest total for an apprentice since Lee Newman rode 87 winners to be crowned champion in 2000. This was a sign of what was to come for Hanagan as he recorded over 100 winners the following year including a big win in the Northumberland Plate aboard Mirjan. Richard Fahey had predicted that Hanagan would be crowned Champion jockey at some stage but I doubt he envisaged it would be eight years after his breakthrough apprentice season. An opening four-timer timer put Hanagan in a strong early position and he never relinquished the lead, eventually riding 191 winners. Hanagan successfully defended the title in 2011 fending off the strong challenge from Silvestre De Sousa which was one of the best title battles in living memory. These successes did not go unnoticed as he was made retained jockey to Sheik Hamdan Al Maktoum’s horses in 2012, a role he held until 2016. Following the split, Hanagan moved back up North to rekindle his strong relationship with Richard Fahey and I believe he will continue to flourish and may challenge for Champion jockey again next season. Lee Newman – 2000 The world looked at Lee Newman’s feet when the Richard Hannon based jockey streaked away with the apprentice jockey title with a staggering 87 winners in 2000. However, the following season proved far tougher for Lee with only 21 winners on the board and after breaking his ankle in a car accident the Scottish born Newman had a problem with his weight and had to quit the saddle. A move to Barbados to work as a bookie followed and what looked like a small career peak turned into an eight-year hiatus. In 2010 Newman announced he’d be returning to saddle after getting his weight down from 14 stone at its peak to 9 stone. The comeback, while successful was short lived as weight issued, reared it’s ugly head again. Newman announced the second comeback last year, five years on from retiring for the second time. Class is permanent is the term that comes to mind when discussing Newman and he showed this when competing at Group One level upon his return to the saddle in Australia and if he can stay on top of his weight then future big winners lie ahead. Jason Weaver – 1993 Jason began his career with Luca Cumani and rode 60 winners in 1993 which was enough to clinch the Champion apprentice title. After this successful start to his career, Weaver moved to Middleham to become stable jockey to Mark Johnston. Weaver had a fantastic if slightly short riding career amassing over 1,000 winners, with some of the highlight being winning the Ascot Gold Cup aboard Double Trigger and the St. James’s Palace Stakes on Bijou d’Inde. Issues with his weight lead to Weaver announcing his retirement from the saddle in 2002 at the young age of 30. Since his retirement, Weaver has worked with leading racing broadcasters ITV and At The Races where he has built a fantastic relationship with co-host Luke Harvey. We may not be treated to Jason’s riding brillance anymore but he looks sure to be a permanent fixture on our screens. The post Apprentice Jockey Championship – Past, Present & Future Winners appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Approaching its 10th season, the Nov. 2-3 Breeders’ Cup pledge to benefit New Vocations is widely recognized as one of the most immediate and charitable ways owners and trainers can share the success of participating in the sport’s world championships with the nation’s largest rehabilitation and placement program for retired racehorses. This association between the Breeders’ Cup and giving back to help aftercare is now firmly established. But Anna Ford, the longtime Thoroughbred program director for New Vocations, recalls a time when the annual fundraiser represented a bit of a gamble for the accredited non-profit racehorse adoption program. Nearly a decade ago, when Ford and her team at New Vocations were first kicking around ideas for an autumn fundraiser, she wasn’t initially sure she could come up with a donation model in which 100% of the proceeds benefitted the charity. “Back in 2009, we were trying to figure out how we could have a late fall fundraiser, and anytime you’re trying to raise funds, the most important part is trying to keep your costs low,” Ford explained in a recent phone interview. “We were brainstorming, and I’m a huge fan of the whole Breeders’ Cup event. And looking at the amount of purse earnings that was being given out over those two days, I was like, ‘Wow, if we could just get a small percentage of that earnings base, that would be huge for us.’ That’s when we started thinking if we could get owners and trainers to pledge a percentage, this could work. “So that first year, I just went to people who were already in our support group and donor base, and every single one that I talked to said, ‘Absolutely, we’re in.’ So right off the bat, I was like, ‘Wow, this is something that could actually work,'” Ford said. It certainly did. By getting owners and trainers of Breeders’ Cup entrants to voluntarily pledge from one-half of one percent to 10% of purse earnings (donors choose their own percentages), past New Vocations pledge drives have netted anywhere from $40,000 to $120,000 during the course of each year’s two-day championships. All of the money goes straight to aftercare efforts. “It’s great because there is no overhead cost for us to put on the event,” Ford said. “The Breeders’ Cup is the event. The horses are the show. We just need to get in front of the right people and get them to understand what our program is about and to see if they’ll pledge a percentage of purse winnings of their choice, and it becomes a win-win situation.” Perhaps most rewarding for New Vocations is when owners and trainers send a post-race donation anyway, even if their pledged horse fails to earn significant Breeders’ Cup purse winnings. “We do end up having one or two people every year who don’t come in the money, but they still send us a check anyway because they want to support the program and they believe in what we’re doing,” Ford said. “People are excited just to go the Breeders’ Cup, and I think it helps them to know if they do well in the race, they have a chance to give something back to a charity, and we’ve found that people are ecstatic to be donating as part of their overall experience,” Ford said. The 2019 Breeders’ Cup online pledge form is here. The New Vocations crew will be doing outreach to the connections of Breeders’ Cup entrants as the fields solidify, but Ford said she has already had prospective donors get in touch with her, which she appreciates. “It gets easier for us to ask participants if they’ll pledge because now they are more aware ahead of time that the fundraiser has an established history,” Ford said. “Without even having to ask, the other day I had an owner of a potential Breeders’ Cup starter email me to say, ‘Hey, we’re pledging if we run in the race.’ So it’s nice to get those, because normally we have to make calls and emails, and it was nice to have somebody reach out to us before I even reached out to them.” Ford said that trend is helped, at least in part, by the growing recognition on the part of owners that exit strategies for horses need to be factored into their business models. “The industry is just really embracing aftercare now,” Ford said. “And this fundraiser is also a really easy concept for people to get behind. The more we can get the word out there, we feel the more willing owners and trainers are to donate. We need to make sure that everybody knows we’re doing it, and that we want them to be a part of it.” As an indicator of how quickly time has flown since the inception of the fundraiser, Ford said New Vocations is now taking in the progeny of stallions who ran–and were pledged by their owners and trainers–in previous Breeders’ Cup events. “We definitely are seeing horses in our program that are being sired by horses that ran in the Breeders’ Cup,” Ford said. “Right now we’ve got two Uncle Mos. That is really cool because Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher have been supporters of our program for a really long time. They pledged Uncle Mo when he ran. And I will say that Uncle Mo’s offspring, the ones that we’ve had here in our program, they’ve all got great minds. They’re making really, really good riding horses. “I know it’s not the original plan–for owners to want the offspring of their horses to come through our program,” Ford said. “But we value a connection like that. The horses that do win Breeders’ Cup races, obviously, they’re not the ones that need our services. It’s the horses that don’t that we really have to support.” View the full article

Certainly relative to last week, this is considered “a trainer’s sale”—but it sure helps if you train for Sheikh Hamdan. Two-thirds of the way through Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Sale, his Shadwell Estates have accumulated no fewer than 30 yearlings for 4,880,000gns at a median of 160,000gns—very nearly three times that of the sale overall. Shadwell already seem certain to top this catalogue for the fifth year running, and very likely with a bigger spend. Not terribly surprising, perhaps, if you can find a horse as fast as Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in Book 2, as they did for 200,000gns three years ago. But then that horse was also typical of the profile of Sheikh Hamdan’s expenditure in this catalogue, which—given that he finds his greatest motivation in the patient work of building families— is certainly indulgent of the trainers to whom he tends to be so loyal. Those who can’t get on his roster must dream of a boss like this. On Tuesday, admittedly, he topped the session with a filly who can one day serve his own priorities—a 450,000gns daughter of Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}) with a page that guarantees her some residual value, even if she doesn’t win the Queen Mary. But Angus Gold also signed on his behalf for another series of youngsters by sires who major in up-and-at-’em speed and precocity. Gold duly contributed significantly to very solid trade, again characterised by an extremely businesslike clearance rate. In all, 212 lots changed hands from 237 offered, at 86%, in step with the 203 of 240 processed last year (85%). Gross weighed in at 16,661,500gns, up 10% on 15,197,000gns, with average and median mildly divergent at 78,592gns (up 5%) and 57,500gns (down 4%) respectively. Across the two days both indices are virtually unchanged, year-on-year. The star turn was presented by Corduff Stud as lot 974. She is the second foal of a Desert Style (Ire) (Green Desert) half-sister to G1 Prix du Jockey Club third Baraan (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and to the dam of Librisa Breeze (GB), who won the G1 British Champions’ Sprint this time last year. Further back this is a very good American family: the fourth dam is G1 Ashland S. winner Chic Shirine, whose various distinctions as a producer include the mother of promising sire Verrazano (More Than Ready). It was instructive that the underbidder should have been no less respected an owner-breeder than Juddmonte Farms, and Gold was duly somewhat taken aback at the eventual number on the docket. “I didn’t think we’d have to go that far,” he admitted. “But she’s a lovely filly by a very good stallion. Sheikh Hamdan was looking for some fillies at the start of the week, and she was put up to him early on. She’s a lovely filly with the most fantastic attitude, which helps in life—always pricking her ears. John Gosden liked her too, so I imagine that’s where she’ll be going. Everything looks as though Siyouni is going to be as good a sire of females as Pivotal.” The dam was acquired through Blandford Bloodstock from the Aga Khan Stud draft at the Arqana December Sale in 2014, for €165,000. “It was quite obvious this filly was making lists, but it’s hard to put a value on that,” said David Egan of Corduff. “But she’s been acting really well here, she’s a lady. And I’m very pleased Angus bought her: she’ll go to a good trainer. The mare has a Lope De Vega filly and is in foal to Dabirsim.” Anthony Stroud, himself so busy at this sale on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed, noted the demand for fillies of longer-term potential after giving 360,000gns for a Dansili (GB) (Danehill) filly (lot 989) out of Capichera (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger})—whose first foal Catan (Ger) (Oasis Dream {GB}) has won two of his first four starts for Roger Charlton. “The 2-year-old looks promising, and this is very nice, athletic filly,” said Stroud. “But these good fillies seem to be as valuable as the colts, if not more so. It was a trend in Ireland, a trend last week, and this filly was rather more than one anticipated.” Conversely, Stauffenberg Bloodstock were rewarded for sticking to their guns when receiving less than they had anticipated here last December—when they bought this filly back for 40,000gns. Hot Streak Is King For A Day… Hard to say who had the bigger day: Hot Streak (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), whose first yearlings have certainly been helping him to live up to his name of late, or the Australian ex-jockey who included two sons of the Tweenhills stallion among the three purchases that launched his new business as a bloodstock agent. The dockets Paul King signed for the Hot Streak pair posted a neon advertisement for a sire who started out at a fee of £7,000. They had been acquired as foals here last year for just 20,000gns and 40,000gns, respectively. Returned to the ring within barely half an hour of each other, they realised 200,000gns and 220,00gns from King’s nascent Kingcraft Bloodstock. The first, a half-brother to Group 2-placed Switcher (Ire) (Whipper) Lot 937, was sold here in December by the sire’s home farm at Tweenhills to Portanova Bloodstock, a pinhook partnership assembled by Ed Player of Whatton Manor Stud. “We’re absolutely over the moon,” beamed Player. “He was recommended as a foal by David Redvers, and he’s always been a very forward, mature horse. He’s been very popular since we got here, everyone loved him, but we could never have dreamt of making that kind of price.” King returned for lot 962, a colt out of a Street Boss (Street Cry {Ire}) half-sister to the dam of G3 Dick Poole S. winner La Rioja (GB) (Hellvelyn {GB}). He was presented by Jamie Railton, who modestly said: “He had a very fast page and, as luck would have it, the horse did the rest—all I had to do was not get in his way. It’s great for the team that invested in him.” Redvers, naturally, said he is delighted by the overall performance of Hot Streak in his sales debut. “His foals have got his hip, and his action,” he reflected. “I expect that hip is what has appealed to the Australians who bought these two. But the fact is that Hot Streak was the most exceptional 2-year-old. If you look back, his speed figure in the Cornwallis is matched only by Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) among 2-year-olds of recent years. Kevin Ryan is on record as saying he was the best horse he’d ever trained and he was just unfortunate that he missed the introduction of the Commonwealth Cup by a couple of years. As it was, he was a close third as a 3-year-old in the King’s Stand.” King proceeded to give 260,000gns for a No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) filly, consigned by Highclere Stud as lot 1002. She is out of an Oasis Dream (GB) (Green Desert) half-sister to two prolific group operators in Balius (Ire) (Mujahid) and Delfos (Ire) (Green Tune). King explained that all three of his acquisitions will race for his first client, who is based in Hong Kong, out of the Sydney barn of Kim Waugh—whose success as a trainer, notably with G1 Syndey Cup winner Mahtoum (Aus) (Suave Dancer), ensures that she is known for better reasons in her own right than for a husband, Mark, who was one of the most stylish Australian cricketers of his generation. King certainly deserves credit for trying to set out a different kind of stall. His three picks were all foaled by Feb. 2, but will nonetheless be on a different track, in terms of maturity, relative to the Southern Hemisphere breeding schedule. “But they won’t be rushed, of course,” he explained. “We’ll give them time, give them a chance to settle in, and to mature the bone they’ll need for the hard tracks in Australia. But they’re all real sprinting types, and look to have the physiques that will suit our racing.” It was an important day, then, for a man making a fresh start after a riding career that yielded over 1,300 winners. “We tried for three yesterday but got blown out,” he said. “I only set up the business a month ago, having ridden for over 30 years until I packed up in January. I rode all round the world, Macau, Mauritius, Malaysia, Inner Mongolia, you name it. Obviously we’ll look to buy in Australia too but we’re just here looking for different breeds, and to try and be a step ahead with these sires.” Ever The Twain Could Meet… Another member of No Nay Never’s second crop reminded us that—while everyone can be grateful that the European market’s two superpowers have finally taken so much of the politics out of the sales ring—the sheer scale of their respective operations had always made fertile synergies available. Lot 846 is out of the young Street Cry (Ire) (Machiavellian) mare Whitefall, culled by Darley in the February Sale here in 2013 for just 3,000gns. David Evans then gave her his trademark treatment, making her a winner and five times placed during a dozen runs before September. Bought back for 50,000gns when offered by Kilminfoyle House at the Horses-in-Training Sale that autumn, she has since produced as her first foal this summer’s listed-placed winner Dark Jedi (Ire) (Kodiac {GB})—and now this colt by Coolmore’s star freshman No Nay Never (Scat Daddy). Bred by JC Bloodstock and again presented by Kilminfoyle, the chestnut was knocked down for 320,000gns to Ross Doyle. He will be trained by Richard Hannon Jr. “Lovely colt,” the agent said. “Very well-conformed, strong, mature, good-moving. The mare’s been doing her job, and she’s by Street Cry, too, that’s a big positive. And the sire needs no explanation. His stats are unbelievable, from a relatively small sample.” Those stats, for the record, place No Nay Never at the top of the rookies’ table on all indices—notably 25 individual winners, six of them at black-type level, headed by G1 Middle Park S. winner Ten Sovereigns (Ire). A Financial Romance… Who says sentimentality doesn’t pay? That certainly wasn’t the case with lot 939, a Zoffany (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) colt sold to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for 240,000gns. He was foaled on Valentine’s Day, and his nickname at Pantile Stud is “Romeo”, but the original infatuation of his breeders BB Bloodstock—several of whom were in tears after the sale—was with his mother. She is the dual listed winner and multiple group-placed Bahia Breeze (GB) (Mister Baileys {GB}), who raced for friends Lynn Lambert, Stephen Russell and Val Beeson after being bought by Rae Guest for just 5,000gns this week 15 years ago. At the end of her racing career, they sold her to Sir Eric Parker’s Crimbourne Stud. “I went down to see her a couple of times at Crimbourne,” Lambert said. “I don’t have kids and I am afraid I became a bit of stalker. It is a bit of a love story. “When Sir Eric died, she was put back in the sales and I spent all my savings on her: Rae bought her for me for 65,000gns. I then had a panic, as I was not sure how I was going to pay for her. It was all the money I had, but Stephen and Val came back into the ownership group.” “She was in-foal to Zoffany, so we decided to sell this colt as a yearling because all her best sales had been as yearlings. We can’t believe this has happened. Houghton Bloodstock consigned him today, as she always went there on her holidays when in training.” Bahia Breeze had a filly by Twilight Son this spring and is in foal to Nathaniel. Coeur D’Or Strikes Gold… Consignors are creatures of habit for a reason: it’s a cyclical business, a case of finding out what works, forging relationships with particular auction houses and their clientele. But it can sometimes pay to experiment and Eric Lhermite of Haras de Grandcamp made his first offering through this ring a very successful one when selling a homebred brother (lot 811) to Classic runner-up Coeur De Beaute (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}) to Shadwell for 240,000gns. To be fair, it was something of a homecoming in that their dam Twilight Tear (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) was acquired at the December Sale here eight years ago for just 15,500gns. That was a fairly remarkable price for a mare out of a full sister to Group 1 winners Listen (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) and Sequoyah (Ire), the latter also already dam of Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo). Not that there had been much of a dividend through Coeur De Beaute, sold for €30,000 as an Osarus September yearling before going on to win the G3 Prix Imprudence this spring, and going down by just a short neck in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. Her brother, already named Coeur d’Or (Fr), put that straight here. “He’s a very good mover but was born quite late [May 7] so August [Arqana] came a bit early,” Lhermite explained. “The mare was empty this year but she has gone back to Dabirsim and is in foal.” Coeur De Beaute belongs to the debut crop of Dabirsim (Fr) (Hat Trick {Jpn}), who entertained more mares than any other Flat sire in France this year. These are duly exciting times at Grandcamp, not least following the news that Lawman (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is to follow his former studmate Dream Ahead (Diktat {GB}) there from Ballylinch. With his eligibility for French premiums in mind, Angus Gold indicated that the colt is set to join Francois Rohaut. Gold, continuing his hectic week, invested minutes later in another page featuring a 2018 Classic trial winner, as the Camacho (GB) (Danehill) colt for whom he gave 200,000gns (lot 821) is out of a half-sister to James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus})— second in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest since his success in the G3 Greenham S. Camacho is enjoying a lucrative vogue at this sale, and his son out of Listed winner Zenella (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) presented by Lodge Park Stud raised 270,000gns from Alastair Donald as lot 859. The agent’s interest was unsurprising, granted that he gave 450,000gns for the mare’s son Fox Power (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in Book 1 last year. That colt is now rated 92 after his recent win and placing at Wolverhampton for King Power Racing. Explained Donald: “I think Fox Power could be a stakes horse, he was beaten by the draw last time, and this is a lovely-looking horse.” View the full article

2.00 Nottingham, Mdn, £6,000, 2yo, f, 8f 75yT Clipper Logistics’ POETIC LEGACY (IRE) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) is a half-sister to MG1SW G2 Derby Italiano hero Dylan Mouth (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) and this term’s G2 Derby Italiano runner-up Henry Mouth (Ire) (Henrythenavigator) and debuts for Mark Johnston. Her one dozen rivals include Saeed bin Mohammed Al Qassimi’s Shamameya (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), who is a David Simcock-trained daughter of G1 1000 Guineas third Alasha (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}) and thus kin to G3 Sceptre S. victress Alanza (Ire) (Dubai Destination); and Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum’s Mannaal (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is a daughter of G3 Princess Margaret S. victress Soraaya (Ire) (Elnadim), from the Simon Crisford stable. View the full article

The jumps season is beginning to heat up as the rain makes the unusually good ground that bit safer. Limerick played host to the Munster National last weekend, which marked one of the first proper opportunities for staying chasers and it went the way of Spider Web. Tom Mullins charge will do well to match the achievements of last season winner Total Recall but he does look like a horse worth following considering how he stayed inside the final furlong. Punchestown is undoubtedly the home of jumps racing in Ireland and the Kildare track is the location for the Irish Daily Star Chase which is one of the season’s first proper graded races for Gold Cup hopefuls. A quick look at some of the past winners shows what it takes to win the race with War Of Attrition (2005, 2006 & 2008), Don Cossack (2014 & 2015) and Road To Respect (2017) all previous winners. Noel Meade is looking for back to back success with Road To Respect in the race. The son of Gamut went on to win the Group 1 Christmas Chase at Leopardstown last season before finishing a very creditable fourth in the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham festival. The Gigginstown House Stud-owned seven-year-old looks sure to run another big race, with the Gold Cup the undoubted target. Ballycasey represents the Willie Mullins camp and although the Rich Ricci owned gelding has been a fantastic servant down through the years but hasn’t got his head in front for over a year and a half. If given an easy lead then the son of Presenting may be able to get his head back in front. One of the most interesting runners in the field is Snow Falcon who is a stablemate to the favourite Road To Respect and finally won a big race (Kerry National) after threating to do so on many occasions. Noel Meade said after this victory: “I was just thrilled that he went and won a good race like that. We gave him an easy time afterwards as he had a hard race” Sub Lieutenant got his head in front for the first time in nearly two years at Galway in August which should serve as a very good confidence booster for this smart gelding. The son of Brian Boru has a small bit to find with Snow Falcon on their running in the Galway Plate but that was his first run of the season so perhaps he can reverse the form. Selection: Road To Riches The post Irish Daily Star Chase Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Few owners can argue that their horse pulled off the most impressive effort at Saratoga Race Course this summer. Ray Mamone can make that case. After 42 years in the game, he has his first top-level horse in Imperial Hint (Imperialism), who might be the nation’s top sprinter. Mamone is watching poetry in motion. After winning the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga July 28 by sweeping by the field, Imperial Hint was sent to the lead by jockey Javier Castellano in the GI Vosburgh S. at Belmont Park and never looked back. In each race, he finished full of run through the lane with a rare fluidity of motion, while under wraps. “I’m on cloud nine right now,” Mamone said. His eyes are set on the Nov. 3 GI TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs, where he could get a rematch with last year’s winner Roy H (More Than Ready). “I think we can beat him this time,” he said. A Somerville, New Jersey resident who just turned 86, the Brooklyn-born Mamone has reached this point with a horse he calls “a freak.” His horse is in the capable hands of Luis Carvajal Jr., who has trained for Mamone the last decade. He was a longtime assistant to the late New Jersey trainer Robert Durso, who also trained for Mamone. Mamone calls Imperial Hint “a natural” out of a mare he raced named Royal Hint, who was two-for-six lifetime. Mamone almost didn’t get to race Imperial Hint as he gave his dam to Shade Tree Thoroughbreds when she had trouble producing foals. Luckily, Shade Tree Thoroughbreds bred her to Imperialism and Mamone bought the offspring at two for about $25,000. At the time, Imperialism was standing in Florida. Imperialism stood at Esquirol Farms in Alberta, Canada this year for a $2,500 stud fee. Imperial Hint has earned more than $1.4 million so far. “I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me,'” Mamone recalled after first seeing Imperial Hint. The colt was small but Mamone liked him. “He was wide in the front, nice in the chest, well mannered.” Mamone got his first taste for racing when he won a bet as a teenager at Monmouth Park with some friends. “I won $14 and thought I was a millionaire,” he said, adding that he enjoyed the gambling aspect of the game. The success of his auto body business allowed him to enter horse ownership in 1976. In his first year as an owner, he claimed 22 horses with New Jersey-based trainer Mike Vincitore. “He said I was crazy claiming all of those horses,” Mamone said. “I made money–that’s why I’ve stayed in the business 42 years…You can’t go crazy man.” He also had horses in New York with trainer Steve Juliano in the 1980s. For about six months in the late 1970s, Mamone gave a stab at training horses himself, but found it was too difficult to do while running his auto body shop. “It knocked the hell out of me,” he said. In the early 1980’s, he privately purchased a New Jersey-bred mare named Castles Gift, who was trained in New York by John Campo. Mamone took the horse back to Jersey and had success with her on the racetrack. As a broodmare, she delivered Ray’s Gift, who took the filly division of the 1986 New Jersey Futurity. Ray’s Gift had a granddaughter named Royal Hint, which makes Imperial Hint a fifth-generation Mamone runner. It hasn’t been all roses for Mamone. His dad lost most of his money in the Great Depression and went to work for the WPA. Their family lived near Ebbets Field and Mamone remembers sneaking into games with his friends as a child to watch the Brooklyn Dodgers, and being chased away. The family moved to New Jersey, he quit school at 14 and went to work delivering ice. Mamone left his ice route to take a job picking tomatoes for 10 cents a bushel. “I worked my [butt] off,” he recalled. He lied about his age to take construction work, then found a job at an auto body shop but was fired due to his inexperience. He wound up setting pins at a bowling alley for three cents a game. Eventually, his old boss offered him his job back and Mamone took it with the provision that he would be taught the auto body profession. After a decade there, he opened up his own shop. He and his wife Bernadine were married for 61 years until she died in 2012. “She loved every part of [horse racing],” said Mamone, who has two children. Now his focus is on winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. “I want to win that race so bad,” he said. With all of the energy his little rocket has been able to store through the ease of his victory in his last two races, Mamone believes he is ready for lift off. “You’re going to see a surprise,” Mamone said. “That’s what we’re waiting for.” The plan is to get Imperial Hint acclimated at Churchill Downs for two weeks before the Sprint. He has run twice there but without success. His first try was a 12th-place finish in the 2016 GIII Pat Day Mile S. in his third career start. Earlier this year, he set the pace over a rain-drenched track in the seven-furlong GII Churchill Downs S. before tiring. Mamone believes the distance of six furlongs at the Breeders’ Cup suits Imperial Hint best. “He’s perfectly sound. He doesn’t have a pimple on him. He’s got a lot of heart,” Mamone said. Mamone said Imperial Hint gives him confidence when he goes to visit him at their Parx Racing base to deliver mints and carrots. The effortless manner in which he works gives him goosebumps. “I’m just so proud of him. When I look at him, he’s looking at me like, ‘Don’t worry about it.'” View the full article

The first calendar featuring Secretariat’s living sons and daughters was released last year and raised more than $4,600 for equine industry groups and this year’s calendar is now available. The new calendar spans 15 months, from January 2019 through March 2020. Featured on the cover is stakes winner Fast Market, now the oldest known living offspring of Secretariat at age 32. All profits from the sale of the calendar are allocated to three organizations, Bright Futures Farm, Victory Alliance Ranch and Virginia Tech’s MARE Center, each of which has been a caretaker of one of the last known offspring of Secretariat. The calendars, which will start shipping immediately, are available for $25 each at www.SecretariatsLegacy.com. View the full article

When Sippican Harbor (Orb–Blossomed, by Deputy Minister) swept to victory in the GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga in August, it marked the first Grade I winner for the burgeoning broodmare band of Justin and Kalvert Spaeth. The Colorado-based couple will offer a half-brother to the Breeders’ Cup-bound juvenile filly at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton October Sale. By Bodemeister, the yearling will sell as hip 217 from Gerry Dilger’s Dromoland Farm consignment. “It was quite the race and we’re thrilled with the way she performed,” Justin Spaeth said of Sippican Harbor’s 16-1 upset in the Harbor. Sippican Harbor, who the Spaeths co-bred with Equine Equity Partners, sold for $260,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale before RNA’ing for $110,000 at this year’s OBS March sale. She opened her career with a fifth-place effort over the turf before romping home a 17-length winner of a rained-off special weight at the Spa Aug. 12. That effort put the filly in the line-up for the Spinaway where she made a strong last-to-first move to win by two lengths for owner Lee Pokoik and trainer Gary Contessa. “When they switched her from the turf to the dirt, we knew they had a lot of confidence in her,” Spaeth said. “We’ve been excited following her and she’s appeared to be special from the very beginning. We took her to Saratoga to sell as a yearling, so we’ve always liked her.” Spaeth, whose business interests involve water treatment in the oil and gas industries, admits his entrance into the Thoroughbred breeding business started with his wife’s family. “My father-in-law [Dr. Kirk Shiner] has been in the equine business for a very long time,” Spaeth said. “He was a partner at Hagyard, I don’t know how long ago, in Lexington. So there is a family connection [to the racing industry].” The Spaeths initially got involved in breeding through small partnerships. When they decided to build their own broodmare band, one of their first purchases was Blossomed (Deputy Minister). They purchased the unraced 10-year-old mare in foal to Bodemeister for $100,000 at the 2013 Keeneland November sale. “She was one of the earlier mares that we purchased,” Spaeth said. “She had a lot of visual appeal and a very nice family page as well.” Blossomed is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Cinemine (Mining), as well as to the dam of graded winner Greengrassofwyoming (Quest). In addition to Sippican Harbor, Blossomed is also the dam of graded-placed Bodacious Babe (Mineshaft), who was a weanling the year the Spaeths purchased the mare. The Bodemeister foal Blossomed was carrying in 2013, Speedmeister, sold for $140,000 as a Keeneland November weanling in 2014. He sold for $250,000 at the following year’s Fasig-Tipton July Sale before bringing $650,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream juvenile in 2016. Blossomed’s yearling colt by Bodemeister was originally entered in the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, but the decision was made to wait for a later auction in hopes his half-sister would make a name for herself. The Saratoga sale came a week before Sippican Harbor’s romping maiden score. “That was the right move to scratch him from that sale,” Spaeth said. “We wanted to see her get out again and so we’re glad that we made that decision.” Boarded at Dromoland Farm, Blossomed has a weanling colt by Malibu Moon and was bred back to Honor Code. The Spaeths’ broodmare band currently has about six mares, but expect that number to gradually increase. “We have continually grown over the last six years that we’ve been in the business,” Spaeth explained. “We are focused on quality over quantity, but we will definitely continue to grow as we find mares that fit our program. We’ll just steadily grow.” While he credits his wife’s family with his initial involvement in the sport, Spaeth is clearly enjoying the experience. “Honestly, I didn’t have any connection to racing, but it was always very intriguing to me,” he said. “It’s an exciting business. We’re glad to be part of it. We go to Kentucky whenever we can and have enjoyed the relationships and connections that we’ve been able to make in the industry. Most of horses are boarded in Kentucky, so that’s a neat interaction to do that. I’m constantly learning, which I think is a good thing throughout life. We’re always learning and always eager to learn more.” The Fasig-Tipton October sale will be held Oct. 22-25 at the company’s Newtown Paddocks in Lexington. Sessions begin daily at 10 a.m. View the full article

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has announced that 56 stakes worth a total of $6.87 million will be up for grabs for this upcoming 2018-19 racing season, which is set to begin on Thursday, November 15. View the full article

Kildare Village played host to the annual Curragh Racing Awards in association with Tipperary Crystal Oct. 15 where trainer Jessica Harrington and jockey Ronan Whelan were big winners. View the full article

Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who on Oct. 7 defended her title in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with just one start in the interim, will have her third run of the season in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3. Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Khalid Abdullah, made the announcement on Tuesday and said further decisions on the 4-year-old filly’s future would be decided after the Breeders’ Cup. Enable, who has not lost a race since last April, also has last year’s G1 Investec Oaks, G1 Irish Oaks, G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. and G1 Yorkshire Oaks to her credit. She looks to join fellow mare Found (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) as the only horses to win both the Arc and the Turf. No horse has done it in the same year; Found was beating the same year’s Arc winner Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) when she won the 2015 Turf, and she went on to add the Arc the following year. View the full article

The Curragh Racing Awards for 2018 were presented at Kildare Village on Monday, with trainer Jessica Harrington and jockey Ronan Whelan taking the training and riding performance of the year honours. Harrington was selected for her training performances of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) as well as the three-time stakes winner I’m So Fancy (Ire) (Rajj {Ire}). Whelan was recognized for his winning rides on the likes of G1 Moyglare Stud S. winner Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy). Special awards went to IHRB Medical Officer Adrian McGoldrick and Curragh Racecourse grounds foreman Pat Webb and his team for their contributions to Irish racing. The leading owner, trainer and jockey awards went respectively to Sue Magnier, Aidan O’Brien and Donnacha O’Brien. View the full article

The impending arrival of superstar jockey Joao Moreira will be good for competition, according to 13-time champion Douglas Whyte. The South African said there was no point complaining about the possible return of the Brazilian following his backflip after he decided to walk out on the club at the end of last season in search of a Japan Racing Association licence. Whyte, along with Moreira and current champion Zac Purton, remain the only jockeys to have won the premiership this millennium, such... View the full article

Star Hong Kong jockey Zac Purton will return home to Australia this weekend to ride in the Caulfield Cup after his mount, Red Verdon gained a start in the race. Purton, who won the Group One in 2014 aboard Japanese stayer Admire Rakti, secured the ride some time ago but it was not clear whether the Ed Dunlop-trained stayer would gain a start. With a host of withdrawals this week, the six-year-old comfortably made the field, where Purton will carry 54 kgs (119 pounds) over the 2,400m trip.... View the full article

A pair of classy John Size three-year-olds return to the races at Happy Valley on Thursday night three weeks on from dominant wins at the city track. Country Star steps out in the Class Three Waratah Handicap (1,200m), while Red Warrior lines up in another Class Three – the Roselle Handicap (1,650m). Zac Purton rides both horses, who have had identical careers to date after both finishing fourth on debut on September 5 before scoring their maiden Hong Kong victories on the same night... View the full article