Wandering Eyes

A refund has been issued on all wagers made on Saturday’s Belmont-Yonkers Pick 4 after it was determined that some wagers were accepted on the sequence after the start of the Harry Harvey International Trot at Yonkers, which was the first leg of the Pick 4 wager. Wagering on the sequence was stopped during the running of the race, with some wagers entering the pool late. While none of the wagers made after the start of the race would have been successful, the tracks determined that the entire pool of $12,409 would be refunded, with players holding winning tickets entitled to their $1,250.75 payout on a $0.50 ticket. Additionally, a Saturday evening Blood-Horse report indicated that at least one bettor encountered a similar issue during NYRA’s Belmont Park-ParisLongchamp Pick 4 conducted Oct. 7. According to the Blood-Horse report, a bettor on TwinSpires.com said he was able to continue wagering on the sequence after the first two legs had already been completed–although NYRA representatives said no additional money entered the pool after late. View the full article

Multiple grade 1 winner Catholic Boy got back to his serious Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) preparations Oct. 14 at Belmont Park with a five-furlong breeze in company in his first appearance on the worktab since Sept. 30. View the full article

Here’s a conundrum, given the recent contributions of Europe’s premier yearling sale to a headlong rise in the global value of elite bloodstock. Because while Tattersalls Book 1 surpassed even some of last year’s giddy returns, achieving fresh records in turnover and median, the fact is that prices-for its very wealthiest patrons—have actually come down three times in four years. For while both the backgrounds and aspirations of the game’s biggest spenders remain international, what appears to be a single boom in the worldwide market also reflects local factors. The principal driver to that market, since its recovery from the banking crisis of 2008, has admittedly been a universal one: a decade of spending stimulus through quantitative easing, pointless interest rates etc. That creates a universal exposure, too, in that economies have been kept on the same drip even after recuperating, leaving the medicine cabinet bare should they fall sick again. But this spectre has not only largely failed to arrest spending at premier sales from Saratoga to Sydney. In this era of radical political insularity, we are now also seeing fresh spurs to participation in local markets—both by accident and design. On one side of the Atlantic, for instance, tax breaks for the most affluent have enabled them to shrug off any hesitation invited by reviving interest rates, energy prices and tariff wars. On the other, however, the impetus is less calculated. And paradoxically enough, given its roots, it is all to the advantage of wealthy foreigners. For when polling stations closed on 23 June 2016—the day that the British, playing with matches, suddenly detonated Brexit—sterling stood at $1.50. By the time Book 1 was staged that autumn, it was down to $1.22. It has settled at both subsequent sales at more or less the same mark, around $1.32. The result, in a market dominated at the top end by overseas speculators, has been to make the stock offered at Tattersalls less expensive for its international customers now than was the case five years ago. So while turnover at Book 1 last week was a whopping 34.3% higher than in 2014, conversion at the prevailing rate of exchange shows that the average cost of a Book 1 yearling that year was $393,893—compared with $376,564 last week. In terms of their own Book 1 ledger, Tattersalls have been able to boast of seven consecutive record sales. That’s a legitimate reflection of the quality of stock and its presentation, even if the average dipped 7 percent on last year’s record. But if you were spending petrodollars, to take a not very random example, you would view things rather differently. This table charts the way the market would look, either side of the referendum ripping a hole in the keel of sterling: You’ll see that in 2016 both turnover and average registered increases, albeit relatively modest ones at 6.4% and 2.5%, respectively, for Tattersalls’ accountants and indigenous clients. But if you were spending sterling (or, strictly, guineas) you had converted on the currency market, it felt very different. You could have bought the whole catalogue for 15.2% less than the previous year, at an average down 18.2%. Even a degree of recovery in sterling’s value since has not prevented international spenders being able to acquire arguably the best yearling stock in Europe—at the height of a bull run in the overall market—at a historically attractive rate. That bull run, as sustained by the post-crash cash doping noted above, remains measurable if we combine results at Book 1 with its prelude at the Goffs Orby Sale. The Orby, another flourishing auction, has managed to grow even as the Irish industry began to absorb the potentially disastrous local consequences of Brexit. The time, for instance, it clocked transactions worth €43,497,000 at an average €132,613, up from €40,702,500 and €109,122 at a wait-and-see sale last year (which was virtually unchanged from €39,925,000 and €109,986 in 2016). Combined with Book 1, over the equivalent period to the table above and converting guineas to euros at the prevailing rate, the gross has advanced in every year except for 2016—when you really could make hay with sterling. From 2014 to now, the combined market has grown 19% in gross and 14.4% in average. Good enough, especially compared with the premier yearling sale in France which has essentially just held steady in the meantime. In a roaring U.S. market, however, combined turnover at Keeneland September and Fasig-Tipton’s July, Saratoga Select and New York Sales has soared by 38.2% just since 2016—from $272,890,500 to $377,140,400. How absolutely critical, then, are the few big players who contribute to both markets—none bigger, it goes without saying, than the Maktoums. Godolphin was the top spender at the Keeneland September Sale, giving $19.96 million for 27 horses (including four for Godolphin Japan); followed by Shadwell at $12.345 million for 19. At Book 1, operating through Stroud Coleman, Sheikh Mohammed’s stable likewise topped proceedings by giving 21,075,000gns on 36 lots. In fact, colleagues Emma Berry and Kelsey Riley estimated in their concluding sales report that Sheikh Mohammed, Sheikh Hamdan and their cousin Sheikh Mohammed Obaid between them accounted for just over 30% of business conducted across Book 1. Sheikh Mohammed has topped the sale in seven of the last eight years and it has long been axiomatic that the industry has never had a more valued investor. It should consider itself blessed that he should remain so fervently engaged in the marketplace, even after his breeding empire has had so long to mature. While demonstrably fairly immune to the bottom line, he is an obvious example of someone who will scarcely be discouraged by the weakness of the host currency. More pertinent, perhaps, is the interest he presumably derives from the sensible admission, over the last year or so, that limiting his options on account of that long froideur with Coolmore ultimately served only to magnify the odds against what is already a challenging enterprise. If he thinks the nicest horse in the sale is by Galileo (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) it must feel quite liberating to be able to do something about it. Last week he bought four for 3,900,000gns, among several others by Coolmore sires. There was little evidence of reciprocation by the other camp, but several top-class Coolmore mares were sent to Dubawi (Ire) (Dubai Millennium {GB}) this spring and, having long been credited with far-sightedness, the Sheikh will be gratified by the knowledge that the whole industry is relieved by the rapprochement. Interestingly, however, any presumption that a renewal of cordial contention between the superpowers might lead to extra profits may have been misplaced. Yes, it’s splendid that both might be in the market for any animal. But that is only going to happen sporadically, and there is no immediate evidence that détente has brought any particular dividends in the spread of spending. Obviously the behaviour of the Maktoum and Coolmore camps will affect the experience of other ambitious spenders, in terms of how far they are prepared to go—either to prevail for a horse or to give up on one. But if we look at the history of Book 1 since it was streamlined in 2011, and assess the market share of the top 10 spenders each year, it would be very hard to claim that a free hand for its pre-eminent force has made the slightest difference to values. Coincidentally, as the table shows, the top 10 investors in 2011 and 2018 bought exactly the same number of horses. And while the market’s overall inflation means that those 151 horses cost more than twice as much this time round, they represented a nearly equivalent share of the sale gross: 60.2% in 2011, 61.1% this year. Sheikh Mohammed’s importance to Book 1 can be judged from the one year in which the market share of the top 10 purchasers dipped significantly as a proportion of both the gross and individual transactions: 2015 also being the one year in which he was not the sale’s number one spender. Both the Sheikh and Coolmore were among those taken with the work of Newsells Park Stud, which had a stellar sale, processing 18 animals for 11,055,000gns for a knockout average 614,167 gns. An eight-figure consignment is right off the charts, so huge congratulations to Julian Dollar and his team. An incredible week for the firm, all told, having started with a second Arc success for a graduate of Nathaniel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})’s first crop. Quite what Nathaniel needs to do to get due market recognition remains to be seen, having moved on two of only three Book 1 offerings for €208,000. That would represent a decent yield on his fee, but a catalogue like this gives no reliable reading of the going rate. For the same reason, we’ll resist the flattering snapshots being touted about sires who supposedly offer more commercial appeal, and make a broader review of stallion performance once the calendar has advanced sufficiently to sample the full spectrum. The same caveat should be applied to the whole market, naturally, with the rest of the iceberg eroded by overproduction and the tightening of belts among breeze-up pinhookers—as already seen across the likes of Arqana V2, Fairyhouse, the Sportsman’s and BBAG. For now, taken as a whole, the top tier still seems to be bubbling away from Keeneland to Kill. Yet it was incredible to see such polar divergence, last week, in the respective graph-lines of trading at Newmarket and Wall Street. If even the longest bull run in stock exchange history is beginning to do so, we may yet have to recognise that there is no such thing as a market where the only way is up. View the full article

Three of the biggest names headed to the Nov. 3 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic–Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky), McKinzie (Street Sense) and West Coast (Flatter)–all put in serious preps for the race Sunday morning at Santa Anita. Bob Baffert’s pair of McKinzie and West Coast worked six and five furlongs, respectively. West Coast, champion 3-year-old of 2017 and recently second off an extended layoff behind Accelerate in the GI Awesome Again S. Sept. 29, worked five furlongs in company with Lookie Loo (Candy Ride {Arg}), stopping the clock in :59.40 with a six-furlong gallop out in 1:12 flat. McKinzie, meanwhile, went six furlongs in a bullet 1:12 flat–his first work since winning the Sept. 22 GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing. “McKinzie went nice, I’m very happy with his work,” said Baffert.”He’s doing very well.” Of West Coast, Baffert added, “He came out of [the Awesome Again] really well. I didn’t have a choice but to run him in the Awesome Again. I had to do something. I couldn’t just bring him up to that race on works. He’s happy and he’s training well.” Accelerate covered four furlongs in :47.80 with a five-furlong gallop out in 1:01.20 for Sadler, who also sent out GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile hopeful Catalina Cruiser (Union Rags) to work six furlongs in 1:12 flat and GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint contender Selcourt (Tiz Wonderful) to drill six furlongs in 1:12.80. View the full article

The connections of Accelerate were able to send out the likely Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) favorite the morning of Oct. 14 at Santa Anita Park, on what would be a busy morning for potential Classic runners at the Arcadia, Calif., track. View the full article

MG1SW Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who ran fourth in this year’s G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Talismanic (GB) (Medaglia d’Oro) who was unplaced on Oct. 7, are Breeders’ Cup Turf bound according to French trainer Andre Fabre. His third Arc runner, third-placed Cloth Of Stars (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has no definite goal at this time. Both Talismanic and Cloth of Stars bear the colours of Godolphin. “I think Waldgeist could have maybe been closer with an inside draw, but you can do nothing about that and from an outside draw I was quite happy with him,” said Fabre of the Gestut Ammerland and Newsells Park-owned 4-year-old. “Talismanic and Waldgeist will be entered in the Breeders’ Cup, whether Cloth Of Stars runs again will be up to Sheikh Mohammed.” View the full article

Dual-surface MGISW Catholic Boy (More Than Ready) returned to the worktab Sunday morning at Belmont, breezing five furlongs in company in 1:01.26 beneath Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano. Catholic Boy missed three days under tack last week due to a minor fever, which forced him to miss a scheduled work last weekend, according to trainer Jonathan Thomas. Sunday’s move–his first since Sept. 30–put him back on track towards a potential bid at the Nov. 3 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, Thomas said. “I thought the work was executed perfectly,” said Thomas, who trains Catholic Boy for Robert LaPenta, Madaket Stables, Siena Farm, and Twin Creeks Racing Stables. “We wanted a nice, long, rhythmic breeze, and I thought Javier did a great job getting him to relax early.” Catholic Boy worked in company with stablemate and GSW/GISP March (Blame) and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13 3/5, according to NYRA clockers. Catholic Boy captured the GI Belmont Derby on turf prior to winning the GI Travers S. on dirt Aug. 25 at Saratoga. He has won a total of five graded stakes and would potentially enter the Classic as a well-rested horse. “He had a small temp, what basically turned out to be a two-day virus that he got over, but it cost us a breeze last weekend,” Thomas said. “When you prep for the Breeders’ Cup, you really don’t want any hiccups, but in the grand scheme of things, he recovered very quickly. He’s such a fit horse and I find it hard to believe that one [missed] breeze would dismantle what we’re trying to do here. And the fact that he breezed as well as he did this morning lets me know that maybe missing the work last week was a blessing, I don’t know. He did everything the right way.” Catholic Boy is slated to van to Churchill Tuesday and have two works over the local surface before the Breeders’ Cup. View the full article

Silk Racing’s Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) raced into the history books and became the fifth Japanese Fillies’ Triple Crown winner with a 1 1/2-length score in the 2000-metre G1 Shuka Sho at Kyoto on Sunday. The heavy 1-5 crowd’s pick follows in the hoofsteps of Mejiro Ramonu (Jpn) (1986), Still in Love (Jpn) (2003), Apapane (Jpn) (2010) and Gentildonna (Jpn) (2012). Trainer Sakae Kunieda was winning his second Fillies’ Triple Crown, after saddling Apapane eight years ago. Slowly away, the bay raced well off the fence near the rear third of the strung out field as Mikki Charm (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) showed the way into the backstretch. Still behind a wall of runners with Mikki Charm maintaining her vanguard advantage at the 600-metre mark, Almond Eye was cued by pilot Christophe Lemaire as the homestretch beckoned. Spun nine deep in the straight, she showed an impressive burst of speed to wear down the brave frontrunner inside the final 50 metres and win going away. It was a length back to Cantabile (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in third, with Salacia (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) another 3/4 of a length behind in fourth. “I was a bit worried today because Almond Eye was rather nervous and [more] highly strung than usual, so the start wasn’t that good, then our path was blocked and we had to go wide, but from there she just showed just how exceptional she was,” said Lemaire. “She’s such a fantastic filly and I have to give credit to the trainer and stable staff because it’s so difficult to maintain a horse’s condition at the top of her form throughout the season. So becoming a Triple Crown winner isn’t easy even with the best horse.” Almond Eye has only missed the winner’s circle once in six starts, running second in a Niigata newcomer heat last August, but was off the mark going a mile at Tokyo that October. She resurfaced with a victory in Kyoto’s G3 Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen on Jan. 8 and earned the first jewel of the Fillies’ Triple Crown in the Apr. 8 G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) at Hanshin, defeating champion 2-year-old filly Lucky Lilac (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) who ran ninth on Sunday. The May 20 2400-metre Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) cemented Almond Eye’s status as the premier sophomore filly returning to Tokyo, and she was shelved until Sunday’s triumph. Pedigree Notes… Almond Eye is the first Group 1 winner for her young sire, who was crowned the Japanese Horse of the Year during his racing days and has 3-year-olds of this year. Two-time Japanese stakes winner Fusaichi Pandora, who played the bridesmaid in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, foaled Unakite (Jpn) (Johannesburg), a winning juvenile half-sister and a yearling colt by Rulership after the Fillies Triple Crown heroine. Champion juvenile colts and subsequent successful sires El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer) and Try My Best (Northern Dancer) are half-brother’s to Almond Eye’s second dam, the unraced Lotta Lace (Nureyev). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Sunday, Kyoto, Japan SHUKA SHO-G1, ¥195,400,000 (US$1,741,425/£1,328,576/€1,505,809), Kyoto, 10-14, 3yo, f, 2000mT, 1:58.5, fm. 1–ALMOND EYE (JPN), 121, f, 3, by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) 1st Dam: Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) (MSW & G1SP-Jpn, $3,264,457), by Sunday Silence 2nd Dam: Lotta Lace, by Nureyev 3rd Dam: Sex Appeal, by Buckpasser O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Sakae Kunieda; J-Christophe Lemaire; ¥103,780,000. Lifetime Record: 6-5-1-0. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. 2–Mikki Charm (Jpn), 121, f, 3, by Deep Impact (Jpn) 1st Dam: Ripples Maid (GB), by Dansili (GB) 2nd Dam: Rivers Rhapsody (GB), by Dominion (GB) 3rd Dam: Trwyn Cilan (GB), by Import (GB) (¥70,000,000 Ylg ’16 JRHAJUL). O-Mizuki Noda; B-Mishima Bokujo (Jpn); ¥41,080,000. 3–Cantabile (Jpn), 121, f, 3, by Deep Impact (Jpn) 1st Dam: Chanrossa (Ire), by Galileo (Ire) 2nd Dam: Palacoona (Fr), by Last Tycoon (Ire) 3rd Dam: Palavera (Fr), by Bikala (Ire) O-Tatsue Ishikawa; B-Mishima Bokujo (Jpn); ¥25,540,000. Margins: 1HF, 1, 3/4. Odds: 0.30, 14.60, 13.00. Also Ran: Salacia (Jpn), Lathyros (Jpn), Randonnee, Primo Scene (Jpn), Gorgeous Lunch (Jpn), Lucky Lilac (Jpn), Satono Garnet (Jpn), Tosen Bless (Jpn), Pioneer Bio (Jpn), Dancar (Jpn), All for Love (Jpn), Harlem Line (Jpn), Oscar Ruby (Jpn), Sayakachan (Jpn). Scratched: Scarlet Color (Jpn). Click for the Racing Post chart. JRA Video. View the full article

When the story broke that Frank Stronach was suing his daughter Belinda in an attempt to retake control of the Stronach Group, most involved in the U.S. Thoroughbred business believed this was all about horse racing and who should be calling the shots, Belinda or Frank. However, it appears that one of the most contentious issues in the fight involves a cattle ranch. In the 1990s, Frank Sronach began buying property in Florida, eventually acquiring 95,000 acres. It was the first step in his dream of developing a huge cattle ranch for the modern era. All the cattle were to be grass fed and live in open pastures. He wanted the business to become a world leader when it came to beef that was raised in the most humane manner possible. Andrew Willis is the business columnist for the Toronto Globe and Mail and has covered the Stronach family for over 30 years. Interviewed last week on CBC radio, he suggested that the biggest rift between father and daughter was not anything that had to do with horse racing but with the ranch, Adena Farms. Apparently, the cattle operation has not been a financial success. “If I could boil it down for you, Frank has got these passion projects, including a grass fed beef ranch in Florida,” Willis said. “And he really believes in this stuff. He is an impassioned guy and he wants to have Americans eating healthy food. He’s put $300 billion of the family fortune into this huge dredging operation. Belinda tried to shut it down. She said, ‘Look, we cannot afford to do this’. He built a golf course near the ranch. Tens of millions of dollars went into the golf course. Belinda closed the doors and that made Frank crazy. “This big ranch in Florida that I mentioned a moment ago seems to be a real point of contention between him and Belinda. Frank now believes in environmentally sustainable food. He believes in taking care of the animals as you raised them and Belinda she says this is a big waste of the family’s money.” The irony is that no matter who has been calling the shots at The Stronach Group over the last few years, the racing end of the company seems to be thriving. Gulfstream has never been doing better, Maryland racing has undergone a rebirth and Santa Anita is starting to turn a corner. The company created The Pegasus World Cup, and while it may or may not be a losing proposition from a bottom-line standpoint, it is an innovative concept that, overnight, became one of the most important races run in the world. Again, all the racing industry can do is sit, wait and hope the family can resolve its differences and that The Stronach Group will come out of this as strong, if not stronger, than ever. For Rushing Fall, Why Not the Breeders’ Cup? We all know that Chad Brown would rather be dipped in boiling oil than run a horse back in three weeks, but when it comes to Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) he might want to reconsider his decision to skip the Breeders’ Cup. As expected, Rushing Fall rolled to another victory in Saturday’s GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland. She controlled the pace under Javier Castellano, was never seriously challenged and won by 1 1/4 lengths. She is now six-for-seven lifetime. After the race, Brown told the Daily Racing Form that his filly would not be going on to the Breeders’ Cup, which was exactly what everyone expected. He mentioned the GI Matriarch S. at Del Mar as a possibility. There are two reasons not to run Rushing Fall in the Breeders’ Cup: she is only three and Brown strongly prefers to give his horses six or seven weeks between races and will rarely run back in three weeks or less. There’s one reason why they should run Rushing Fall in the Breeders’ Cup: she’s good enough to win. The race for her is not the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, but the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile. For a horse that has never gone beyond a mile-and-an-eighth, it would be completely unreasonable to try a mile-and-three-eighths at this point in her career. She also probably can’t beat stablemate Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) or the top Europeans pointing for the race, particularly at that distance. The mile is a different story. The distance is perfect for her as she’s three-for-three at a mile, which includes her victory in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and the competition lining up for the race this year seems light. Of course, she’d have to face males, but there is a history of fillies winning this race. They’ve done it eight times. And four of those victories came from 3-year-old fillies, including greats Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa) and Miesque (Nureyev). It can be done. Throughout her career, Rushing Fall has been overshadowed by stablemate Good Magic (Curlin). But he’s been retired and she’s now the star of the e Five Racing stable; she deserves a chance to grab some glory of her own. When it comes down to it, racing is a business. The smart business decision is to take a break and head to Del Mar for the Matriarch. But it’s also a sport and when it comes to that aspect of the game a primary consideration should be doing something special, something memorable. Ten years from now, no one is going to remember who won the 2018 Matriarch. If she loses the Mile, no one will hold it against Rushing Fall and many will applaud owner Bob Edwards and Brown for their sportsmanship. She can move on, regroup and get ready for what should be a terrific 4-year-old campaign. But what if she wins? Depending on how Sistercharlie does in the Filly & Mare Turf, it may be enough for her to snatch the Eclipse Award away from that mare and it puts her in the same sentence as Goldikova and Miesque (The other 3-year-old fillies to win the race are Ridgewood Pearl (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) and Six Perfections (Fr) (Celtic Swing {GB}). It might even open the door to the Hall of Fame. The point is, there’s little to lose and a ton to gain. Chad Brown got to where he is because he has a system and he rarely deviates from it. That’s among the reasons he, at such a young age, has already made his mark as one of the best trainers in the history of the sport. But sometimes you just have to go for it. Chad, Bob, can you at least sleep on this? North of the Border It’s been mentioned in this space before, but bears repeating: what Mike Maker does with grass horses he claims is nothing short of remarkable. He shops in the $35,000 to $65,000 area and dozens of those claims have gone to become stakes winners. The latest is Hembree (Proud Citizen). Maker claimed him out of a $50,000 claimer for non-winners of three races lifetime back in April at Aqueduct. It took a while, but he became a stakes winner Saturday at Woodbine when he won the GII Nearctic S. for one of his main owners, Three Diamonds Farm. This one was a little different from his normal pattern. The Nearctic is a six-furlong sprint. Most of Maker’s success stories have been with horses that thrive in marathon turf races. The highlight of a huge card at Woodbine was the performance by Desert Encounter (Ire) (Halling) in the GI Pattison Canadian International S. Ridden by Andrea Atzeni, he overcame all sorts of trouble before flying past favorite Thundering Blue (Exchange Rate) in the stretch to win by a length. The 5-year-old gelding broke slowly before finding a spot on the rail. But Atzeni ran into some traffic problems and Desert Encounter was shuffled back to last on the turn and looked to have no chance. But an explosive kick got him to wire first. It was a very impressive win. Forty minutes later, Atzeni pulled off a sweep of the two Woodbine Grade I races with a win aboard Sheikha Reika (Fr) (Shamardal) in the GI E.P. Taylor S. By the way, why aren’t these particular Woodbine races “Win and You’re In Events” for the Breeders’ Cup? Seems even more odd when you consider a couple of far less prestigious Woodbine races, the GI Natalma Stakes and the GI Summer Stakes, are. View the full article

WE can all lock ourselves away in our own little world when we want to and if you really need proof have a look at an event called The Everest. View the full article

Archie St. George of St. George Sales doesn’t hide that he is thrilled to offer GISW Zipessa (City Zip) at this year’s Keeneland November Sale. Through numerous seasons of watching her on the racetrack and a year spent observing her on the farm, St. George is well acquainted with her class and said he is excited to see what she brings at the storied auction. Zipessa, a hard-knocking turf distaffer known for her versatile running style, wrapped up her career at the end of 2017 with two graded stakes wins to her name and earnings of $783,550. A fitting headliner to the burgeoning consignor’s November roster, Zipessa will be offered in foal to Medaglia d’Oro as Hip 245. Nevertheless, the road to Zipessa’s arrival at Keeneland November has not been without some unexpected turns. The Mike Stidham trainee earned a career-high when winning Keeneland’s GI First Lady S. last October and, despite an 11th-place finish in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, was expected to be amongst the most coveted offerings in the ring at last year’s Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Not all went according to plan, however, as the daughter of City Zip left the auction house unsold, however, RNA’ing for $925,000. “It was a little bit of a surprise, just because when you bring a Grade I winner to a ring, you think they’ll always sell,” St. George said. “Maybe everything didn’t fall into place, but the market told us where the value was, and competition was high.” St. George brought Zipessa back to his Stoneleigh Farm on Paris Pike in Kentucky and she sold privately about 10 days later. She visited Medaglia d’Oro in mid-March and returns to cap off a strong Book 1 at Keeneland Nov. 5. “She’s been pretty straightforward and living like a normal horse at the farm for the last year,” St. George said. Of course, Zipessa is just the most well-known name in a deep consignment for St. George at the massive sale, as the outfit helmed by Archie St. George and his wife Michelle have consigned 39 hips in total–18 weanlings, 17 broodmares and four racing or broodmare prospects–for the 12-day auction. Their other Book 1 presence will be with hip 72, a weanling filly by Speightstown who is a half-sister to Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union), the MGSW/GISP dam of GISW New Year’s Day (Street Cry {Ire}) and four-time graded stakes winner Mohaymen (Tapit). “We have a very solid consignment,” St. George said. “We have foals by horses like Candy Ride (Arg), Into Mischief, Violence, Speightstown, Liam’s Map, Honor Code, younger horses spread across mares that are in foal to More Than Ready, Street Sense, Kitten’s Joy. Across the board, I think we’ve got a solid consignment that should meet a lot of buyers’ demands, and I imagine Zipessa will be in the top percentage of mares put through the ring at Keeneland. We have mares in foal to the right stallions, by the right stallions.” Archie and Michelle set up St. George Sales in 2011 after Archie spent 10 years building experience at Eaton Sales. “Myself and Michelle run the day-to-day and everything dealing with the clients,” Archie said. “With me traveling to look at horses, my wife plays a huge part in the running of the sales, and we’re both very hands-on with what we do.” The St. Georges have between six to 10 employees depending on the time of the year and some freelancers who come in to just do sales work, and they collaborate with between five and 10 farms per year to form their consignments. “We’ve been fortunate to have people right with us from the get-go,” he said. “Some are yearling sellers, some are weanling sellers, and we’ve also been fortunate to pick up some very good clients along the way. We have a core of good clients and plenty of horses that we sell based here at our farm at Paris Pike, which keeps us busy.” Archie St. George grew up in Kilkenny, Ireland as a fifth-generation horseman and grew up immersed in the equine business. He came to America on a temporary basis that quickly turned into a permanent stay. “I grew up with horses, my parents bred and had horses, so I was never going to do anything else,” he said. “I rode at a young age, and when I came over here, I was only meant to spend two years here. That was 15 years ago. I had a great foundation at Eaton, where I saw everything from $1,000 horses to $5-million horses.” As for KEENOV, St. George sees a typically diverse array of prospects, starting with blockbuster broodmares and extending to weanlings from exciting freshman sires that should keep the action at high intensity throughout the sale. “It looks like a solid catalogue,” he said. “I haven’t gone into huge depth with it, but there looks to be a wide variety of horses from all levels, from your Lady Elis, Zipessas, Dream Trees, to some good foals and weanlings in there. There are halves to some very good horses by young, exciting stallions coming up with their first foals with high expectations for some of them. It should meet plenty of demand.” View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Monday’s Insights features a relation to GSW Godfrey Street (GB) (Compton Place {GB}). 2.40 Windsor, Cond, £5,800, 2yo, 6f 12yT Pineapple Stud’s GRACEFUL (IRE) (Zoffany {Ire}), one of two contenders for the Richard Hannon stable, is kin to G2 Flying Childers S. victor Godfrey Street (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) and G1 Prix de l’Abbaye heroine Gilt Edge Girl (GB) (Monsieur Bond {Ire}), herself the dam of this year’s Listed Prix Servanne winner Time’s Arrow (Ire) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}). Her six opponents include the hitherto untried Agent Basterfield (Ire) (Raven’s Pass), who debuts for Andrew Balding and is out of a half-sister to GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and GI Manhattan H. hero Manndar (Ire) (Doyoun {Ire}). View the full article

The New York Racing Association reported significant problems with its Pick 4 wager featuring races from Belmont Park and Yonkers Oct. 13 that exposed the wager to potential past posting. View the full article

Quest The Moon (Ger) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) registered a first stakes win for his Lanwades Stud-based freshman sire (by Sea the Stars {Ire}) when annexing Baden-Baden’s G3 Zukunftsrennen last month and Eckhard Sauren’s Noble Moon (Ger) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) doubled that tally in Germany’s premier juvenile contest–Sunday’s G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten–at Cologne. The homebred bay had claimed a neck verdict tackling the Rheinland venue’s one mile course and distance in his Sept. 23 debut last time and pulled out all the stops for a career high here. Racing in a handy fifth until tanking to the front hard on the steel at the top of the straight, the 18-5 second choice came under stern urging inside the final quarter mile and was driven out to bravely hold the persistent Django Freeman (Ger) (Campanologist) by a head, with Man On The Moon (Ger) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) three lengths adrift in third. Noble Moon becomes the fourth black-type performer for G3 Premio Dormello victress Nouvelle Noblesse (Ger) (Singspiel {Ire}) and he is kin to Listed Macau Hong Kong Trophy victor and G2 German 2000 Guineas and G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten placegetter Noble Alpha (Ire) (Shamardal), G3 Herzog von Ratibor-Rennen third Noble Champion (Ger) (Hawk Wing) and Listed Premio Eupili third Noble Fantasy (Ger) (Big Shuffle). His third dam is Listed Spreti-Memorial victrix Nouvelle Reine (Ger) (Konigsstuhl {Ger}), who produced three black-type winners headed by stakes-winning G1 Preis der Diana third Nouvelle Fortune (Ire) (Alzao). Nouvelle Noblesse has the yearling filly Schwesterherz (Fr) (Areion {Ger}) and a filly foal by Kendargent (Fr) to come. Sunday, Cologne, Germany PREIS DES WINTERFAVORITEN-G3, €155,000, Cologne, 10-14, 2yo, 8fT, 1:36.08, gd. 1–NOBLE MOON (GER), 128, c, 2, by Sea the Moon (Ger) 1st Dam: Nouvelle Noblesse (Ger) (GSW-Ity & SP-Ger, $151,132), by Singspiel (Ire) 2nd Dam: Nouvelle Perle (Ire), by Lando (Ger) 3rd Dam: Nouvelle Reine (Ger), by Konigsstuhl (Ger) 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€52,000 RNA Ylg ’17 BBAGO). O/B-Eckhard Sauren (GER); T-Peter Schiergen; J-Andrasch Starke. €85,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, €88,000. *1/2 to Noble Alpha (Ire) (Shamardal) SW-Mac & MGSP-Ger, $964,444; Noble Champion (Ger) (Hawk Wing), GSP-Ger, $195,165; and Noble Fantasy (Ger) (Big Shuffle), SP-Ity. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Django Freeman (Ger), 128, c, 2, Campanologist–Donna Lavinia (Ger), by Acatenango (Ger). (€4,000 Wlg ’16 ARQDEC; €5,000 RNA Ylg ’17 BBAGS). O-Lars Wilhelm Baumgarten & Christoph Holschbach; B-Stiftung Gestut Fahrhof (GER); T-Henk Grewe. €31,000. 3–Man On The Moon (Ger), 128, c, 2, Sea the Moon (Ger)–Maricel (Ger), by Silvano (Ger). (€36,000 Ylg ’17 BBAGS). O-Stall Dipoli; B-Gestut Gorlsdorf (GER); T-Markus Klug. €20,500. Margins: HD, 3, 2HF. Odds: 3.60, 1.70, 5.00. Also Ran: Rip Van Lips (Ire), Sibelius (Ger), Moonlight Man (Ger), Bristano (GB), Wilder (Ger). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. View the full article

The New York Racing Association reported significant problems with its Pick 4 wager featuring races from Belmont Park and Yonkers Oct. 13 that exposed the wager to potential past posting. View the full article

A hard-charging Desert Encounter made his first foray into North American racing with a bang Oct. 13, overtaking Thundering Blue in the final strides to win the Pattison Canadian International Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine. View the full article

Zuriman suspended five days, Shafrizal gets two days View the full article

Lord Of Cloud gives Young race-to-race double View the full article

Early tactical move pays off for Crown Gift View the full article

Lim's Dashing turns back the clock with well-timed run View the full article

Angel falls, but Takaoka saved by Bebop View the full article

Super Posh makes winning debut for Logan View the full article

Horses' body weights October 14 View the full article

Track conditions and course scratchings October 14 View the full article

Early scratchings October 14 View the full article