Wandering Eyes

She’s the world’s highest-rated horse, has won 21 Group Ones and is chasing a fourth Cox Plate victory on the bounce, but if Winx isn’t running in the Class Five Birch Handicap, well she can get stuffed, basically. That was the message on the terraces before the first at Sha Tin on Sunday, loud and clear. Questions about the mighty mare were met with blank looks among punters far more interested in finding a winner from a motley crew of some of Hong Kong’s lowest rated... View the full article

Walker thinks out of the box for Darci View the full article

O'Hara goes extra mile for Friendship View the full article

IT’S become the hilarious bonus vision after all of Winx’s latest wins — watching Bruce McAvaney squirm in his seat as he witnesses his greatest love charge to victory. View the full article

Victoria and Robert Gilker's Victress earned her first graded stakes with a perfectly timed ride that landed her the $100,000 Ballerina Stakes (G3) at Hastings Racecourse. View the full article

Trainer Jorge Abreu saddled his first Keeneland winner this spring, and will be gunning for his first stakes victory at the Lexington track Oct. 10 when he sends out two runners in the $200,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2T). View the full article

With no shortage of connections in Argentina for Ignacio Correas IV, where his family has been breeding top horses since the 1870s, those ties supplied the North American-based trainer with his first grade 1 winner. View the full article

LONELY ROAD (f, 2, Quality Road–Lonesome Town {GSP, $141,603}, by Broken Vow) made her turf debut a winning one, stalking the pace and rallying up the rail to hold off a late kick from Monette (Fr) (Cockney Rebel {Ire}) and capture the GIII Matron S. at Belmont Monday. Never far back behind a sharp quarter-mile in :21.91, she found a seam along the inside turning for home and punched through to seize control in the stretch. Monette closed stoutly, but by the time she leveled off and kicked it into high gear, it was too late, and Lonesome Town found the wire a head in front. The final time for six furlongs was 1:10.88. Lonely Road won on dirt at second asking in Elmont June 13, but never got involved when a distant eighth in the GIII Schuylerville S. at Saratoga July 20. The winner’s dam won on both turf and synthetic and placed third in the GIII Eatontown S. in 2014. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-0, $143,400. O/B-Robert S. Evans (KY). T-Christophe Clement. View the full article

Trainer Jorge Abreu saddled his first Keeneland winner this spring, and will be gunning for his first stakes victory at the Lexington, Ky., track Oct. 10 when he sends out two runners in the $200,000 JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2T). View the full article

Jump Sucker Stable's French-bred Blacktype proved once again that age is just a number Oct. 8, running gate-to-wire at Belmont Park to win his second consecutive Knickerbocker Stakes (G2T). View the full article

When Colonial Downs reopens for 15 days of live Thoroughbred racing in 2019 for the first time in six years, its race meet will occupy a new slot on the calendar different from the June/July schedule that had been the norm prior to closure. Exactly when is currently being negotiated. But as the track’s new owner, Revolutionary Racing, attempts to carve out a niche on the highly competitive mid-Atlantic circuit, Colonial intends to fully leverage its two most valuable assets in an attempt to become a regional–maybe even national–impact player: A nine-furlong, 180-foot-wide jewel of a turf course that can accommodate numerous rail placements and races each day, plus a purse structure that will be bolstered for the first time by revenue from historical horse racing (HHR) gaming machines. “One scenario we’re looking at is filling the gap between Laurel, Timonium and back to Laurel,” John Marshall, Colonial’s senior vice president and general manager, told TDN in a Monday phone interview. Such an August dates placement would take advantage of the geographic lull of turf racing that annually occurs when neighboring Maryland shifts to its dirt-only fairgrounds bullring for a brief meet. “A second scenario that we’ve examined very closely is potentially opening in late September, after Kentucky Downs, Monmouth Park, and the Meadowlands all-turf meet,” Marshall explained. “Racing into October, we could be the second-highest purse level nationally in that spot, second to only Keeneland for those 15 days. “The other thing that that time slot does for us is it makes a natural spot for the migration of horses from the Northeast heading to Gulfstream and Tampa for the winter. We’ve got geography in our favor [for outfits] to stop in and run for some great purses and do some training and stabling before heading south,” Marshall said. Exact purse levels are also still under negotiation, Marshall said. He added that Colonial will no longer host an autumn Standardbred meet like the previous operator did, which puts fall dates in play for Thoroughbreds. “For 2019, we know we’re going to run 15 live race dates,” Marshall said. “For 2020, we’re looking at 30 live race dates. We have not projected beyond that. As we examine both options one and two, we certainly need our horsemen and the racing commission to be on board, and we’re looking to cooperate with as many racetracks as possible.” But cooperation doesn’t always come easily in the mid-Atlantic, where competition for entries is already fierce, in part because the region is the most densely clustered area in the country for Thoroughbred racetracks. “We’re fully open to cooperate with all of the constituents in the industry. We’re a very cooperative and collaborative group,” Marshall said. “Where we run into difficulty is where we look to cooperate with one [track], we impose upon another. So there’s really no silver bullet that maximizes cooperation with all racetracks. But our doors are open [to hear ideas from] all the racetracks in the mid-Atlantic and maybe even beyond.” Mark Hubbard, a spokesperson for the track, said Colonial just received word Monday that regulations approved last week by the Virginia Racing Commission for 3,000 HHR machines at the track and its statewide off-track-betting (OTB) network were okayed by the governor and the attorney general, meaning the opening for simulcasting and HHR gaming at Colonial is on schedule for next April. Marshall said that when his transition team first arrived at Colonial in July, they were “pleasantly surprised” at how little the infrastructure had deteriorated since the track’s last live racing season in 2013. “Everything was well-maintained over the past four years. The previous owner invested in maintaining the conditions of the property,” Marshall said. Marshall spoke in particularly glowing terms about Colonial’s calling card–its massive and lush grass course that in previous years handled the burden of close to 90% of the races carded at the track. “The turf course was race-ready the day we moved in, and we’ve maintained that condition,” Marshall said. “It’s starving for horses to be on it, and the stable area could accept horses at any moment.” In May, the Colonial turf course underwent its annual controlled burn to remove invasive weeds and provide nutrients for new growth. “It’s part of the maintenance program,” Marshall said. “Since then it’s been maintained so well that we haven’t had any weed intrusion. That was the main reason [the burns] were done, to bring back as much of the Bermuda turf as we could, because we did have some intrusion on the outside and inside [of the course]. This turf course has got to be in the best condition it’s ever been, today.” The grandstand and clubhouse are a blur of daily construction as part of an overall facelift and image change, which will feature an industrial-modern look. In what is quite possibly a racing industry first, an all-female design firm, Within Interior Design, Inc., of Norfolk, Virginia, was hired to renovate the 21-year-old facility “This is not going to be your father’s racetrack,” Hubbard said. “Horse racing is very much a centerpiece of this project, but we’re presenting it in a way that no one’s ever seen before.” Marshall explained further: “We understand that our main demographic for HHR business is going to be predominantly females 55-years-plus. The challenge that we posed to Within was to consider this job as designing a sports bar for women. What would it look like? So we are going to lean toward feminine design in a lot of ways. “Traditionally, we all know racetracks to be attractions to men, 60-plus, with cigar smoke and mutuel tickets on the floor,” Marshall continued. “In this case, you’ll walk through the main entrance and be greeted with a lot of equine imagery, modern art, modern décor. It’s going to be high-energy, fast-paced. You’re going to see very modern finishes, a lot of metals and irons, [accented by] pastel colors, different textures. And you’re going to feel as though you’re not in a racetrack, but you’ve got the option to go out on the apron and enjoy racing as we all know it.” Colonial has also set aside 300 acres on the property for special-event use that is already being booked into the spring and summer of 2019. Food and beverages will have local ties where possible, Marshall added, featuring wines from New Kent County and a dozen Virginia-area craft beers on tap. “We’re going to appeal to entertainment and service from a mainstream perspective, and not necessarily focus on the traditional horseplayer-only” mindset, Marshall summed up. View the full article

The ownership of Kentucky Downs has filed an application with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to build a Standardbred track, to be named Oak Grove Meadows, on 80 acres near the intersection of Interstate 24 and U.S. 41-A in close proximity to Fort Campbell and Clarksville, Tenn. Kentucky Downs is committing $45 million to the Oak Grove project and plans to spend an additional $25 million in a major expansion of its existing track in Franklin, Kentucky. “We appreciate the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission opening up applications for new licenses,” said Kentucky Downs president Corey Johnsen. “For a number of years, we have been working with the Kentucky Harness Horsemen’s Association and the City of Oak Grove to fill a void in the Standardbred circuit and to create an entertainment and tourist destination in southwest Kentucky that complements existing businesses and enterprises.” The proposed track would race 15 days from Oct. 11 to Nov. 10, 2019, with purses fueled year-round by up to 500 Exacta Systems historical horse racing (HHR) terminals. The harness track will be five-eighths of a mile with 450 stalls. Kentucky Downs, which completed major renovations earlier this year, also plans an expansion to double the size of the main building housing its historical horse racing and simulcasting operation, as well as constructing an equestrian complex. The new space would be able to accommodate an additional 800 HHR terminals, a full-service steakhouse and sports lounge. “We have put together a dream team of experts and are excited to share our plans with the Kentucky horse industry,” Johnsen said. “We are confident that our plans at both sites will complement each other and provide maximum revenues for the Kentucky horse industry.” 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. Tuesday’s Insights features a son of GSW and G1 Prix Royal Oak fourth Chaing Mai (Ire). 3.00 Brighton, Cond, £6,400, 2yo, 7f 211yT ASIAN ANGEL (IRE) (Dark Angel {Ire}) is a son of G3 Blandford S. victress and G1 Prix Royal-Oak fourth Chiang Mai (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) and thus a half-brother to G1 Pretty Polly S.-winning Irish highweight Chinese White (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and G3 Royal Whip S. third Highly Toxic (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}). Opposition to the Mark Johnston trainee includes The Queen’s Starry (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who is out of a half-sister to MG1SW British and French highweight Aquarelliste (Fr) (Danehill), from the Andrew Balding stable. View the full article

Visit Horse Country, in partnership with member Three Chimneys, will host a special one-day-only experience to visit with 2017 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) Thursday, Nov. 1. The champion, retired to stud at Three Chimneys, will greet fans for this, the first tour offered to the public at the farm since 2016. The tour group will be intimate; only 25 tickets are available for $55 each at www.visithorsecountry.com. Guests will learn the history of Three Chimneys during the visit, receive a special Gun Runner-Three Chimneys hat, have a photo opportunity with Gun Runner, and be eligible for a special mystery prize at the conclusion of the tour. The 90-minute experience also will include Will Take Charge, second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2013. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have this experience available at Three Chimneys, especially during the festivities that surround a Breeders’ Cup being hosted here in Kentucky,” said Anne Sabatino Hardy, executive director of Visit Horse Country. “Gun Runner was a special horse to watch run and now, as we all anticipate seeing his first crop, fans can check in to see how he’s doing. We’re so grateful to Three Chimneys for opening their gates.” View the full article

Common problems, but common goals and shared solutions as well. From gene doping to jockeys’ mental health, that was the approach that united a wide-ranging agenda at the 52nd conference of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities in Paris yesterday. True, the vexing issues arising for the European sport from Brexit permitted wry acknowledgement by a number of speakers—not least following British domination of proceedings on the nearby racetrack the previous afternoon—that the aspiration for greater communion between nations is not universally embraced. But a laudable exchange of relevant experiences enabled delegates to go home comforted that the love of the Thoroughbred makes ours, in many important ways, a game without frontiers. The world beyond the Turf, for instance, might be startled by a new affiliation for Iran. But outside presumptions might also be confounded by the fact that a presentation about the industry there—from the ancient roots of horse breeding there, by nomadic tribes arriving from the steppes, to the lush modern pasture of Golestan province—was made by one of only two female speakers throughout the day. The other, moreover, was a sports psychologist who professed herself an outsider to racing until recently enlisted to help jockeys. As such, a session on the British Horseracing Authority’s attempts to improve diversity should perhaps have been absorbed more urgently than any. Yes, even this one was made by a man. But Will Lambe of the BHA should be commended for stressing that the “social licence” upon which the sport depends, in an increasingly urban age, required far wider inclusion. He also noted how the strictly business case for an improved gender balance was unequivocal. Change “should be unashamedly about the bottom line as well as the moral imperative.” And that bottom line, of course, is central to the challenge addressed in one of the global industry’s most pressing concerns: the stimulation of wagering turnover in an era when sports betting and other rival markets are experiencing explosive growth. This important session was chaired by Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, vice chairman of the host federation and CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, who noted how racing’s sharing of an expanding global betting market—valued at €106.5 billion overall in 2016—had become relatively stagnant. From 2010 to 2017, in fact, race turnover was unchanged even as sports betting had increased 6.9%. And projections to 2020 suggest a 1.3% lift for racing will be further outstripped by sports betting at 10.9%. In the much bigger picture, including lotteries and casinos and so on, the two sectors had each registered a 6% slice of the global gross gambling yield in 2017: race betting dropping from 7% in 2012, and sports betting rising from 6%. “We don’t just compete for money,” Engelbrecht-Bresges reminded his audience. “We compete for time. When we look at how we position our sport, it is not only about wagering but about customer experience.” His own authority, of course, has itself harnessed the sports betting boom. But what can racing do to fight its corner? “First of all, it’s absolutely necessary to widen our customer base,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said. “And especially to embrace technology to connect directly with customers and create relevant offerings.” In other words, you should not expect new players to be drawn in by arcane or sophisticated wagering models. Other priorities included enhanced tote technology and commingling options, especially with exotic bets in view, and the protection of intellectual property and legality in the gambling market. Engelbrecht-Bresges distinguished between the imperatives facing all racing authorities, such as guaranteeing integrity and welfare, and the value created for the sport by the provision of an appealing investment environment for new owners; and far better standards in public information. “Information does not just help you establish your copyright and intellectual property but helps you to drive turnover,” he said. “If you provide information at the roulette table, for instance, and see the sequence of the results, you see 20 to 25% difference in turnover. And I think when you look at racing operators worldwide, I’m not sure there is a strong focus to produce this kind of information.” What is already clear is the way adjustment to the nuts and bolts of programming can affect turnover. Two members of this panel—Richard Cheung, executive director of Customer and International Business Development at the HKJC; and Martin Panza, SVP of Racing Operations at the New York Racing Association—offered parallel evidence of the way turnover can be boosted. Cheung cited domestic data, taken from over 2,000 races, that measured turnover spikes achieved by greater field sizes, for instance, or positioning of races later in the card. Wagering is attracted to better quality horses, so capturing the imagination of wealthy investors was as important as sourcing well-bred horses. “You can’t have every day being an Arc day with six Group 1 races but still we try to optimise the management of the horse population,” Cheung said. “So on days when we don’t have star horses running, we have started to try to anchor those days on up-and-coming stars, horses coming through the ranks. These are natural drivers of followership and turnover.” Cheung also detailed Hong Kong’s commitment to the expansion of commingling, and commended implementation of a world pool and international refinement of wagering models as key to future development. Panza corroborated the effect of field sizes in his jurisdiction, and also shared experiments in niche stimulants to participation: programmes aimed at smaller barns, for instance, or “frequent flier” bonuses to prizemoney for horses that race repeatedly on NYRA tracks. He noted the difficult context of a much diminished foal crop, over the past decade, but demonstrated the turnover dividends from the construction and marketing of major racedays. Above all he stressed the importance of adapting wagering opportunities to changing technology and social habits. Belmont and Saratoga, for instance, have deployed an app that enabled customers to know where the shortest line at a betting window might be, or the nearest restroom—with reciprocal benefits to NYRA, in tracking their behaviour and spending instincts. In a later session, on international harmonisation of rules, delegates were cautioned that ambitions in commingling would be compromised by differences in regulation, to the detriment of its credibility as a wagering medium. Another important session focused on the health, safety and welfare of jockeys. Using data from the UK and Ireland over the last 70 years, Dr. Giles Warrington said that the average 14-year-old male has increased in height by 16% and body mass by 65%. This was reflected in the average weight of admissions to the Irish racing academy rising from 37kg in 1978 to 55.9kg in 2018. The obvious risks to mental and physical health were elaborated by the Irish sport’s senior medical officer, Dr. Adrian McGoldrick, who implored international action to raise weights. Of current Irish apprentices, he recorded that only one out of nine females and 13 of 49 males can claim their full weight concession. If the stipulated weights for maidens, conditions and stakes races were to be raised, the only effect on the outcome would be in terms of race times. “More importantly, we will have happy and healthy jockeys riding, not dehydrated as in so many cases,” he said. “It is a potential win-win for all: owners, trainers, punters and riders.” “We have to be conscious of our obligations to provide safe systems of work and in Europe there is legislation to deal with this. The last thing we want is for a solution to be imposed on us. We would be better off addressing the issue from within the sport.” Warrington also detailed research into mental health problems arising, not just from the torments of controlling weight, but from the unique challenges of the rider’s calling. “Over half of the jockeys [surveyed] were experiencing at least one mental health problem,” he said. “One in two were classified as displaying symptoms of depression and perceived stress.” Comparing these findings with an Australian study of elite athletes from other sport, the relative instances of depression were 57% against 27.2%; and of anxiety, 21.4% against 7.1%. The schedule also encompassed briefings on doping control, where it was reported that the five reference laboratories engaged in Australia, France, Britain, Hong Kong and the United States, as conforming to the host federation’s protocols, would be doubled in the next five years; on quality control, where it was revealed that no fewer than 49% of Grade I races staged in 2017 did not meet the set parameters, prompting the recruitment as consultant of the BHA’s recently retired senior handicapper Phil Smith; on free movement, where familiar challenges regarding African Horse Sickness and Brexit were reprised, albeit without particularly taking matters forward; on gene doping, where the Domesday warning issued at the Asian Racing Conference was reiterated, there being as yet no detection method to prevent the nightmare scenario of the heritable genome being altered by gene therapy at the breeding stage. Nonetheless the mood at France Galop’s headquarters was optimistic. The first of these conferences had 14 delegates from nine countries; here there were representatives from more than 50. “I’m very proud of the accomplishments of our Federation and its technical committees, under the leadership of many of you here today,” said IFHA chairman Louis Romanet. “That said, there is considerably more work to be done. Uniformity remains of utmost importance for our sport.” But the last word is borrowed from the Iranian presentation, which quoted Darius the Great describing Persia as “a beautiful land with good horses and good people.” For whatever new difficulties we face in the 21st Century, that would seem a pretty timeless model for us all to take home. View the full article

Gulfstream Park, which concluded its 2018 Spring/Summer Meets the weekend of Sept. 29 with the finals of the $1.1 million FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, witnessed a $50 million increase in total handle over the previous year. View the full article

Gulfstream Park’s Spring/Summer Meets, which concluded Sept. 29, boasted a $50 million increase in total handle over the previous year. Total handle for the Summer Meet was $369 million, compared to $345 million in 2017, while the Spring Meet saw a $26-million jump from the previous year. Total handle over the meets was $783 million. “We’re pleased with the way our Spring and Summer Meets continue to attract horsemen throughout North America and bettors both on-track and online,” said Gulfstream General Manager Bill Badgett. “With the Florida Sire Stakes and Florida summer racing program continuing to grow, and with more entertainment options throughout the entire year at the facility, we’re excited about the future of year-round racing at Gulfstream as well as this fall season at Gulfstream Park West.” Racing returns to Gulfstream for its signature Championship Meet beginning Dec. 1. View the full article

Trainer Brian Lynch said Terry Hamilton's dual grade 1 winner Heart to Heart is out of Breeders' Cup consideration following his ninth-place finish in the Oct. 6 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland. View the full article

The Ocala Breeders Sales Company stages its major yearling sale in the month of October for the second time beginning at the noon hour Tuesday in Central Florida, with a total of 789 cataloged. The sale begins with a session of 213 selected yearlings followed by two open sessions Wednesday and Thursday. Given the results from the year’s previous auctions, no one could blame sales officials for taking a bullish stance as it relates to their expectations. “We feel really good about the catalogue we’ve put together, the state of the market looks good right now and we’re excited for a good sale,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “There is a good mix of sires from all over the country, not just Florida. There’s a good representation of the industry as far as the sire power. We think we’ve put together a pretty good catalogue this year.” Indeed, there are a pair of offerings from the first crop of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), which has played to rave reviews from Hokkaido to Saratoga and from Deauville to Lexington. Hip 144 is a New York-bred son of My Dixie Doodle (Dixie Union) from the family of the treble New York-bred Grade I winner Affirmed Success (Affirmed), while hip 192 is a filly out of Toast to Ashley (First Defence) whose third dam includes Pioneerof the Nile himself. Other Kentucky-based stallions represented in the catalogue include Animal Kingdom, Awesome Again, Congrats, leading first-crop sire Goldencents, the latter’s sire Into Mischief, Kitten’s Joy, Lookin at Lucky, More Than Ready and Shackleford. The sales calendar at OBS always caters to its Florida-based clientele, and Ocala-area stallions represented in the catalogue include Adios Charlie, Big Drama, First Dude, He’s Had Enough, Khozan, Poseidon’s Warrior, Soldat, The Big Beast, Two Step Salsa and Uncaptured. Kantharos was relocated from Florida to Kentucky in late 2016, but he is well-represented in the catalogue with 19 yearlings, the bulk of which were bred in the Sunshine State. Kantharos is set to be represented in the Breeders’ Cup by Bucchero in the Turf Sprint and possibly X Y Jet in the Sprint. Wojciechowski is only too pleased that the October sale takes place less than four weeks from racing’s championship day, and OBS grads like Mind Your Biscuits (Posse), Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic) and blue-collar Discreet Lover (Repent) and the aforementioned Bucchero are all set to feature prominently at Churchill on the first Friday and Saturday of November. “We have been on a streak and it’s a streak that’s only possible because consignors bring us good horses,” Wojciechowski said. “We are fortunate to have those good horses that can then go on and prove themselves on a stage like the Breeders’ Cup. We look forward to that every year.” A total of 405 horses were reported as sold in 2017 for gross receipts of $8,120,000, an average of $20,051. John Oxley purchased last year’s sale’s topper, a $275,000 colt by Violence–Frank’s Hope (Pulpit) now named Strike Silver, who won his maiden at first asking at Churchill this past June and missed by a neck in second GIII Sanford S. Strike Silver went on to notch a rallying victory in Sunday’s Indian Summer S. at Keeneland. Oxley was also the high bidder on $170,000 open session topper Catherinethegreat (Uncaptured), who has gone on to win the GIII Schuylerville S. this year. For the full catalogue, visit www.obssales.com. View the full article

The day after Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) finished a closing second in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, trainer William Haggas revealed on Monday that the 3-year-old filly is done for the year with the view to staying in training at four and targeting Arc redemption. “She won’t run again this season, she’s given her all and had a lot of hard racing – she’s done plenty,” he said. “I think if we were going to retire her we may have looked at another run, but we’re not going to. I think the plan is to keep her in training, so I think we’ll call it a day.” In finishing second to defending winner Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Sea Of Class was losing for the first time since a debut second on Apr. 18. In the interim, she has won four times: two listed races and two Group 1s. “She’s come a long way in a short space of time,” Haggas said. “She didn’t win her listed race until May and she nearly won an Arc in October. She’s a pretty special filly. Hopefully she can go one better next year.” Haggas gained redemption later on the Arc card with Lael Stable’s One Master (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the G1 Prix de la Foret, and the trainer said that 4-year-old filly may have one more run before possibly heading into retirement. “The plan was to always keep her in training, but I don’t know now, I just need to sit down with the owners and discuss what we are going to do next,” he said. “The problem is that the only Group 1 over seven furlongs is the Foret and she’s won that and will have a Group 1 penalty in every race next year, bar the Maurice de Gheest. So we might look at a mile option before we put her to bed.” “We might – just might – see if she gets a mile because she relaxed so well,” he added. “There’s lots of speed in her family, but I think it’s well worth giving her a shot over a mile.” View the full article

American Dave Johnson, a long-time attendee of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, checked in with the TDN to relate his experience from the 2018 edition this past weekend. Steps. Lots of Steps. Could it be that when they tore down the two old Longchamp buildings, and rebuilt the new ParisLongchamp, the architects went “step crazy?” The oldest of the demolished buildings, remodeled in 1904, sat empty, except on Arc day when they crowded hoards of American tourists into the ruins. They made it exclusive and expensive. Finally and gratefully, they tore it down. In 1966, a much larger and functional grandstand was opened. It worked for massive crowds, but it was lifeless and bland. Few steps. More elevators. It was all demolished two years ago. In 2016 and 2017, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was staged at Chantilly. A huge windmill was built in 1312 at an abbey only a furlong from the starting point of Europe’s richest turf event. Looking to the left of the finish line, the windmill now is gone. Upon arriving this weekend at the new ParisLongchamp, I was startled by a huge–almost ceremonial–Egyptian-like entry. But even though there is another massive staircase from the park to a viewing balcony, this management team knows how put on a show. A great show. And supply space for the masses to watch a magnificent horse race. Just walk up those stairs! The new building is modern and sleek. From a distance it reads light brown. Up close it seems a cross between brass and gold. The walking ring, with those stately trees, is almost exactly the same. The expansive manicured racing surfaces, with so many lanes, doglegs, bends and straightaways is thankfully the same. Saturday was the prelude, almost a dress rehearsal for the big day. Sunday the buzz began early. And in only one hour the Thoroughbred story of the year played out. At 3:45 p.m. local time, Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), now a 4-year-old filly, was led into a private stall, quietly. Only trainer John Gosden and a valet saddled the favorite. One cameraman videoed the action from outside. 19 riders left the Jockey’s Room at 3:47. Unlike anything I have ever seen, each athlete lined up behind a beautiful girl wearing a maroon jockey outfit, and carrying a sign with the program number, horse and jockey name. This was all happening on stage right, as 19 trainers entered the walking ring from stage left. The 19 Thoroughbreds emerged center stage. Heads turned from side to side, watching two parades at once. At 3:50, champion Irish trainer, Aidan O’Brien, was surrounded by the four jockeys for the four horses he trained. O’Brien was barking orders to his riders. Gosden said that at about 3:53 O’Brien said to him, “I am going to send my best sprinters against you early, and as for stamina, my winner of the St. Ledger will be running at you late. If you beat this field today, you will have earned it.” This walking ring was very relaxed. Lots of smiles and joking. Much more civil than the circus of Derby Day at Churchill Downs. At 3:56, the groups converged. Jockeys mounted. Recorded music accompanied the large field, as most entries were double shanked by two handlers through a tunnel, out to the track and into a well staged post parade. The warm-up completed, the field loaded, the bell rang, the mile-and-a-half was magic, awesome, gripping and exhaustive. At 4:11, you must know what happened. Enable did it to become only the sixth horse to win back-to-back editions of The Arc. Frankie Dettori won his sixth Arc in a staggering 30 tries. A long victory lap in front of the new packed grandstand for Frankie and Enable. Lots of waves, kisses and pointing. At 4:21, a team of 4 draft horses pulled a portable stage on the track directly in front of the new grandstand. Owner Khalid Abdullah and John Gosden in a horse drawn carriage waved to the crowd on the way to the stage. Dettori was escorted to the weighing room, then he bolted to the jockeys room, where he first hugged rider Olivier Peslier, four-time Arc winner. Some champagne on his head from his valet, a quick towel off, then he got lost at 4:28. Out of the jocks room, through tunnels with bad signage, out on the racetrack, then running the wrong way. Dettori turned around, toward his horse drawn carriage, jumped aboard and headed to the presentation stage. Heavy trophies handed out. Much waving and fist bumping. Frankie, wearing the green, white and pink Juddmonte colors brushed back a slight hint of gray hair, clearing tears from his eyes. At 4:33, he kissed his trophy. By 4:34, Gosden’s hat arrived from where he left it in the carriage. At 4:35 the entourage moved to a media press conference. Gosden gave all credit to the breeder. Frankie gave all credit to the trainer. The love-fest continued. No word about the Breeders’ Cup. The trainer said he needed at least 10 days before he would think about what is next. But, it was at 4:45, exactly one hour after she was saddled, that Enable stuck her head in a blue plastic bucket and had a drink of water. After that, the single hotwalker, in suit and tie, all alone, walked the Arc winner back to her stall. The two, all alone. Hotwalker and Arc winner. It was the most humbling sight in horse racing…ever. View the full article

Falco (Pivotal {GB}-Icelips, by Unbridled) will stand at Elusive Bloodstock in Lincolnshire in 2019 in a deal brokered by Richard Venn Bloodstock. Bred and raced by the Wertheimers, the sire of flat Group 1 winner Odeliz (Ire) and jumps Grade 1 winner Peace and Co (Fr) previously stood at Haras du Grand Chesnaie in France. A winner of the G1 French 2000 Guineas in 2008, Falco has also sired Group 3 winners Snowday (Fr) and Xenobia (Ire). The 13-year-old will stand for £3,000, Oct. 1 SLF. “We are very excited to be standing a Group 1 winner, who will be one of the only stallions standing in the UK to have sired a Grade 1 winner over jumps and a Group 1 winner on the flat,” said Elusive Bloodstock’s James Gray. “He is a gorgeous bay by a wonderful sire and offers breeders the chance to breed a racehorse as well as a sales horse as shown by the recent sale of a 3-year-old for €65,000 to Gordon Elliot.” View the full article

NEWMARKET, UK—It’s no more than a ten-minute walk from Tattersalls to the heart of Newmarket’s training grounds where the fillies who ran each other so close in the Arc, Enable (GB) and Sea Of Class (Ire), go about their daily exercise. They are just two of some 3,000 racehorses in the small Suffolk town and the thoroughbred numbers have been temporarily boosted by the arrival of around 500 yearlings for Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale, followed in the coming week by another 1,600 for Books 2, 3 and 4. For the next three days the focus of the bloodstock industry will be on the most important—and certainly the most lucrative, horse per horse—sale of the year in Europe. As we saw at Goffs last week, being a full-sister to one of this season’s Classic winners provides a smart entrée to the most elite of circles. Among the plethora of well-credentialed youngsters already in temporary residence at Park Paddocks is a sister to the St Leger winner Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 298) consigned by the farm that produced the winners of both the English and Irish St Leger winners in the same weekend, David Nagle’s Barronstown Stud. There’s also a chance, come Thursday, to buy an Oasis Dream (GB) half-brother to Sea Of Class (404), one of five Group winners and seven black-type performers for her dam Holy Moon (Ire) (Hernando {Fr}). Then there’s the Galileo colt from Alluring Park (Ire) (Green Desert) (217), the Lodge Park Stud matriarch who has already produced both an Oaks winner, Was (Ire), by the same stallion and the sister, Al Namaah (Ire), who still holds the record for the most expensive yearling at Book 1, having sold to Al Shaqab Racing for 5 millions gns in 2013. Five years on, with the bloodlines assembled and a host of updates to keep them fresh in the mind, it seems fair to believe that that figure could well be exceeded this week. For the last seven years in a row, turnover has increased significantly at this elite boutique, that number being just shy of 50 million gns in 2010 and pushing fractionally past 100 million gns last year. The fact that the second tally was accrued from exactly 100 fewer yearlings naturally means that both the average and median have shot up in that period, the former in the 2017 bonanza being a whopping 293,095gns. This may seem almost obscene set against the struggling lower tiers of the market but it is a sign that the ‘sport of kings’ remains very much a cherished pursuit for those with the capital to invest in the best pedigrees available. They will find plenty to please them this week, and indeed, with the excitement of a weekend in Paris now consigned to memory, the sales grounds had a renewed buzz in the autumn sunshine on Monday. Sheikh Hamdan was on patrol, with his brother Sheikh Mohammed appearing during the afternoon. An American contingent, which includes Chad Brown, Peter Brant, Sheila Rosenblum, Andrew Rosen and Reiley McDonald, is in town, along with a good smattering of Australasian agents, among them Guy Mulcaster, Brad Spicer, David O’Callaghan of Sun Bloostock and John Camilleri, breeder of the mighty Winx (Aus). As the dust settles on the Arc’s return to Longchamp and a thrilling second victory for Enable, John Gosden and Frankie Dettori’s previous winner of the race, Golden Horn (GB), is set to be represented by his first Book 1 yearlings. Last December in the same ring, six of his weanlings sold for an average of 203,333gns and we won’t have to wait long to see how the Darley stallion is being received this week. Consecutive lots by him, 12 and 13, the former a half-brother to the Group 2 winners Bonfire (GB) (Manduro {Ger}) and Joviality (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and the latter a half-sister to Hong Kong champion Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal), will set the tone early. He has a further 16 to sell, including Le.Gi Stud’s half-sister to last year’s record-breaking 850,000gns Sea The Stars (Ire) colt (263), while Norelands Stud offers Golden Horn’s Galileo half-brother as lot 371 on Thursday. “He’s been very well received and he’s a typical Galileo in that he has an absolutely bombproof temperament. Like me, he thrives on eating, but unlike me he also thrives on exercise,” said Harry McCalmont of Norelands Stud who bought Golden Horn’s dam Fleche d’Or (GB) (Dubai Destination) for 62,000gns from Hascombe & Valiant Studs in the year her future Derby and Arc winner was foaled. Everyone involved in the racing world will be aware that, to a degree, such good fortune goes hand in hand with success, but in this week’s exceptionally strong catalogue, Tattersalls won’t have to rely merely on luck to ensure fortunes. View the full article

Pivotal, the grand old man of British breeding at the age of 25, has been surprising me–and many others–virtually from the moment this top-class five-furlong performer began his stallion career at Cheveley Park Stud back in 1997. Although Pivotal spent his third, fourth and fifth seasons at a fee of only £5,000, we have since seen his fee escalate as high as £85,000 and he was still priced at £40,000 when he completed his 22nd season earlier this year. The first weekend in October provided us with further reminders of his many and varied talents. Two of his broodmare daughters enjoyed Group 1 success on the Arc programme, a day after Pivotal’s up-and-coming son Siyouni has enjoyed another Group 1 success via his extraordinary daughter Laurens in the Sun Chariot S. Pivotal was also directly responsible for three sons–Avilius, Alignement and Nikkei–who registered group race successes over distances well beyond Pivotal’s own capacity. The ex-French Avilius was recording his third successive Group 3 victory for Godolphin when he took The Bart Cummings at Flemington over an extended mile and a half. Then Alignement, another gelding, sprang a 22-1 surprise in taking the G2 Prix Dollar over a mile and a quarter. Finally the 3-year-old Nikkei ran on strongly to take the G3 Silbernes Pferd over 1 7/8 miles. For the record, Alignement, Avilius and Nikkei were respectively conceived when Pivotal was 19, 20 and 21 and it will be fascinating to see whether his next few crops can continue to confound the widespread belief that veteran stallions lose some of their effectiveness. I feel slightly treacherous in pointing out that Pivotal’s youngest Group 1 winner was born in 2013, this being Blair House, winner of the Jebel Hatta as a 5-year-old. There will no doubt be a few more emerging from his 2014, ’15 and ’16 crops, as his progeny sometimes take a while to reach their peak. Of his other recent Group 1 winners, Lightning Spear was seven when he defeated his juniors in this year’s G1 Sussex S., Brando was five when he landed the 2017 Prix Maurice de Gheest and Talco was four when he took the 2015 Shoemaker Mile. We’ve even seen the 7-year-old African Story gain his first Group 1 success in the 2014 Dubai World Cup. Indeed, durability has long been appreciated as one of the main virtues of Pivotal’s progeny, with Peeress, Maarek, Farhh and Regal Parade being others which enjoyed Group 1 success at the age of five or older. For all his outstanding success as a sire, which–it must be remembered–has been gained mainly with crops containing fewer than 120 foals, there is a strong chance that Pivotal will ultimately be remembered primarily as a wonderful sire of broodmares. Having defeated Sadler’s Wells and Galileo to take the 2017 broodmare sires’ championship in Britain and Ireland, Pivotal is again heading this year’s table, with a lead of around £300,000 over Galileo. With several highly valuable races yet to be contested, there is no guarantee that Pivotal will hold onto his lead, but there is no escaping the fact that he has outshone the opposition in this department. Although Galileo’s daughters have 16 Northern Hemisphere group winners, compared to Pivotal’s 15, their total of Group 1 winners stands no higher than four. Pivotal’s daughters, on the other hand, have notched up the magnificent total of nine individual Group 1 winners in Britain, Ireland, France, the U.S. and Japan. These nine make an impressive collection, made up of various ages and some very different distance aptitudes. The 2-year-olds are Advertise (Phoenix S.) and Fairyland (Cheveley Park S.), and the 3-year-olds are represented by Olmedo (Poule d’Essai des Poulains). Their Group 1 double on the Arc card came via the 4-year-old fillies One Master (Prix de la Foret) and Mabs Cross (Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp), and the list includes another 4-year-old filly in Rhododendron (Lockinge S.). The 4-year-old division also features the top-class Cracksman, who may yet add to this year’s Group 1 successes in the Prix Ganay and Coronation Cup. Completing Pivotal’s nifty nine are the well-travelled Glorious Empire and the Japanese 5-year-old Mikki Rocket. Glorious Empire’s revival in the U.S. was highlighted by the 7-year-old’s victory in the Sword Dancer H. over a mile and a half, while Mikki Rocket took the Takarazuka Kinen over a furlong less. It is well worth adding that each of these nine Group 1 winners has a different sire, though three are by sons of Danehill–Kodiac (Fairyland), Fastnet Rock (One Master) and Holy Roman Emperor (Glorious Empire).The father-and-son team of Galileo and Frankel are also involved, via Rhododendron and Cracksman, and between them this pair have six group winners of 2018 out of Pivotal mares. Galileo’s all-female quartet of Rhododendron, Flattering, Hermosa and Magical have helped boost Galileo’s statistics with Pivotal’s daughters to 10 black-type winners, which represents an off-the-scale 32% of the nick’s 31 foals of racing age. The overall figure for Pivotal’s broodmare daughters is 4.4%. Quite a few stallions have far exceeded this 4.4% with Pivotal’s daughters, excellent examples being Dansili (23%), Frankel (22%), Oasis Dream (17%), Dalakhani (15%) and Kodiac (15%), The most popular choice for Pivotal’s daughters over the years has been the Prix Morny and Middle Park S. winner Dutch Art, partly because he is another member of the Cheveley Park Stud team. Mabs Cross is one of 88 foals bred this way and she is one of the nick’s five black-type winners, alongside the smart Group 3 winner Zonderland, the consistent seven-furlong filly Eternally (who has visited Kingman and Ulysses in her first two years), the very useful Zarwaan and the quick-maturing Miss Work of Art. The very useful geldings Baccarat and Robert Le Diable are other examples. Some of these good winners by Dutch Art have managed to stay a mile, but Mabs Cross has raced exclusively over the minimum trip since being beaten over six furlongs on her first two appearances. She has now finished third, second and first in three of the year’s most important five-furlong contests and there is likely to be further success next year for this progressive 4-year-old. Her dam Miss Meggy was a quick-maturing listed winner over five furlongs as a juvenile and has also done well with her Kheleyf filly Charlie Em, winner of the GIII Senorita S. over a mile at Hollywood Park after two juvenile successes in Britain. One Master, Sunday’s other Group 1 winner out of a Pivotal mare, is also bred for speed. Not only does she have the champion Australian sprinter Fastnet Rock as her sire but she also has very fast mares as her first two dams. Her second dam, Superstar Leo, did so well as a 2-year-old, notably winning the G3 Norfolk S. and G2 Flying Childers S., that she took her chance against the older sprinters in the Prix de l’Abbaye. She managed to beat all of them except the 4-year-old Namid. Mated to Pivotal, Superstar Leo produced Enticing, who appreciated Goodwood’s fast five furlongs so much that she landed the G3 Molecomb S. at two and the G3 King George S. at four. However, when Superstar Leo’s half-sister by Galileo was mated to One Master’s sire Fastnet Rock, she produced the G1 Racing Post Trophy winner Rivet and a Group 3 winner over a mile in Hong Kong. View the full article

NEWMARKET, UK—For a consignor which has never had the numbers associated with some of the more major names in the business, it’s hard to ignore the start made by Norris Bloodstock, which has consigned the top lot at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale in each of its first two years of trading. The husband-and-wife team of Liam and Jenny Norris has of course had a long-running association with the sales circuit—Jenny as former manager of David Hardisty’s Oaklands Farm and Clairemont Stud, and Liam as a former manager of Highclere Stud and the ‘other half’ of the Norris Huntingdon buying duo with William Huntingdon. Through this latter partnership, the Oaks winner Dancing Rain was purchased as a yearling for Clairemont’s owners Martin and Lee Taylor, and she provided the Norrises with their first taste of major sales-ring success, albeit under the Clairemont Stud banner, when sold in foal to Frankel (GB) for 4 millions gns at the December Sale of 2013. The subsequent sale of Clairemont Stud itself saw the couple set up their own business with the intention of offering a bespoke consigning service. Two years ago, a team of yearlings from Philippa Cooper’s Normandie Stud, consigned in the inaugural Norris Bloodstock Book 1 draft, included the Dubawi (Ire) colt now named Glorious Journey (GB) and a dual Group 3 winner for Godolphin, who split the top honours in Book 1 with Emaraaty (GB), Meon Valley Stud’s Dubawi colt out of Zee Zee Top (GB) (Zafonic). Sheikh Mohammed returned last year to buy the 4 million gns Galileo (Ire) yearling daughter of James Wigan’s Breeders’ Cup winner Dank (GB) (Dansili {GB}), again putting the Norris Bloodstock draft of six in the spotlight. “It’s been absolutely amazing for us to have had such headline horses in the first two years of running our own business. It was a dream,” says Jenny Norris as she bustles to and fro at Tattersalls, marking cards for agents and ensuring that their Book 1 quintet are showing themselves off well ahead of their sales-ring appearances. “We never thought we’d ever have anything like that—you always hope you’ll have one nice horse to help you along but the support from some really good breeders has been terrific and of course the publicity has been really helpful.” With success and publicity has of course come an increasing demand for their services, but Norris is keen to keep the draft at a manageable level. She says, “We’ve tried to keep the numbers down and to have good quality horses. Liam and I are both very hands-on at home. It’s not easy to find good staff but we’re very lucky to have a great core team. When it’s your own business you don’t get any days off, and there’s a lot of pressure but we love it—you wouldn’t do it if you didn’t. But I love coming to the sales and standing here looking at the horses and knowing that we’ve done our best. It’s really important that we get it right as our main selling point is our horses, and I like to let them do the talking.” A new client this year is the Norrises’ former neighbour from their days at Clairemont Stud in Hampshire, Bridget Drew of Mildmay Bloodstock. Her trio of Book 1 horses sells today, starting with lot 30, a Kodiac (GB) first foal of the Kheleyf mare Perfect Blessings (Ire) from the family of this season’s G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Polydream (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). “Bridget came to us late spring and asked if we could consign some horses for her and we were delighted to do it,” Norris says. “She’s a good breeder and has had some fantastic results on the racecourse. For a small operation she does very well and a lot of thought and effort goes into her horses. Olly Nash manages her team at home and he does a great job.” Immediately following the Kodiac filly is one of only two Pivotal colts in the catalogue (31), a half-brother to Drew’s G3 Chartwell Fillies’ S. winner Perfect Tribute (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), while later in the day is a Bated Breath (GB) (160) filly from a family with good updates this season courtesy of her dual-winning half-brother Nate The Great (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who was runner-up in the Chesham S., and also her dam’s half-brother, the Greenham S. winner James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). Norris adds, “It’s nice to work with people who care so much about their families and Bridget has sent us some lovely horses for all three books.” The five Book 1 yearlings from Norris Bloodstock are completed by lot 237, an Iffraaj filly pinhooked by Liam Norris on behalf of a new syndicate, and a colt from the first foal of Golden Horn (330) described as a “super first foal with a lovely mind on him” and bred, like Havana Grey (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), by Mickley Stud and Lady Caroline Lonsdale. “The Kodiac filly is going down very well but we have something to suit everybody and so far they seem to have been well received,” says Norris, who, as soon as the mare and foal sales are complete will turn her mind to the next challenge. With the lease due to expire at Granham Farm in Marlborough at the end of December, the Norrises and their horses will have a new base from next January. “We’re moving at the end of the year and have found a property not far from us with some lovely fresh land. I’m pleased to be staying local as we have some very loyal clients who have been with us from when we first set up.” The farm may change but it will be business as usual at Norris Bloodstock. View the full article