Wandering Eyes

Raquel Clark to ride in Singapore for three weeks View the full article

William S. Farish's Code of Honor arrived at Churchill Downs in the early afternoon April 24 from Keeneland, where he had been training the past few weeks to prepare for the 145th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). View the full article

OCALA, FL – The action picked up noticeably during Wednesday’s second session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s April Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, with bidding fast and furious both in the pavilion and back walking ring throughout the day, and a filly by Quality Road bringing top price of $1 million. Bloodstock agent Emmanuel de Seroux made the winning seven-figure bid on the classy filly (hip 444), who was consigned by de Meric sales. During Wednesday’s session, 171 horses sold for $22,360,500 for an average of $130,768 and a median of $80,000. Through the first two sessions of the four-day auction, 331 juveniles have grossed $37,416,500. The average of $113,041 is up 14.7% from the corresponding figure at last year’s sale and the median is up 27.3% to $70,000. Through two sessions of the 2018 sale, which ended with record gross, median and average, 359 horses had sold for $35,382,500. The average was $98,558 and the median was $55,000. At the close of business in Ocala Wednesday, the two-day buy-back rate was 23.7%. At the end of last year’s second session, it was 21.9% and that figure fell to 18.8% with the inclusion of post-sale transactions. “As always, I think the sale takes a day or so to gather momentum,” said Nick de Meric, whose de Meric Sales is the leading consignor at the auction’s halfway mark. “[Tuesday], we put nine through the ring and we sold all of them. Some of them inexpensively, but that’s fine too because inexpensive horses need to get sold as well. So I would say, top to bottom, this looks like a very healthy market. I think it’s gathering steam and I’m sure that looking around at the buying bench, these guys have a ways to go. There are a lot of nice horses still to go and I’m sure there will be some fancy prices.” During Wednesday’s blockbuster day of selling, 20 horses brought $300,000 or more, exceeding the two-day 2018 total of 19. In all, 29 juveniles have topped $300,000 so far this April. Aron Wellman, whose Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners purchased a Palace Malice colt for $550,000 Wednesday, continued to see polarization in the market. “It is the same as it has been for five or six years now,” Wellman said. “The quality, or what is perceived to be quality, is selling well and the other stuff is struggling to find its way through the market. I do sense that there is some trepidation in the air with the current events and the industry at the moment. There is a lot better energy in here today. You see all the big players here [Wednesday] and the heavyweights duking it out, so that is good. I think we are bound for a tick of softening, but again, we just paid $550,000 for a horse that has run a quarter of a mile. I still think it is very healthy for the right horses.” De Seroux’s Narvick International is the leading buyer through two sessions, having purchased 10 lots for $2,460,000. The OBS April sale continues through Friday with sessions beginning daily at 10:30 a.m. Quality Road Filly Lights Up the Board Bloodstock agent Emmanuel de Seroux, active all season long at the top-level of the juvenile sales, was forced to $1 million to secure a filly by Quality Road on behalf of an undisclosed client Wednesday at the second session of the OBS April sale. “The owner prefers to remain anonymous,” de Seroux said after signing the ticket on hip 444. “She’ll probably race in the U.S.” Consigned by de Meric Sales, which purchased her for $220,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale, the bay filly is out of Paris Rose (Accelerator), a half-sister to graded stakes winner Decelerator (Dehere) and graded placed Cool Blue Red Hot (Harlan’s Holiday). Under the juvenile’s second dam is City of Light (Quality Road) and, she, like this year’s GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational winner, was bred by Ann Marie Farm. “You look at her and you love her,” de Seroux said. “And then she is by Quality Road, who is one of the very best stallions around. She has a fantastic pedigree, she is bred on the same cross as City of Light. So there is not too much not to like about her.” The filly solidified her sales credentials with a furlong work in :9 4/5 during last week’s under-tack preview. “She was a very easy mover,” de Seroux said of the work. “Not only did she move fast, but she did it effortlessly. A lot of horses can go fast, but she did it just in style.” Nick de Meric said picking out the million-dollar filly last year at Keeneland was a team effort. “My son [Tristan] and daughter-in-law [Valerie] and my wife [Jaqui] and I split up and work the September sale, like we all do,” de Meric recalled. “And she is one that we picked out there. City of Light hadn’t come along yet, but we loved the filly physically. And Quality Road, as we all know, has been on a roll. The old cliche ‘she checked all the boxes,’ couldn’t be truer with this filly. She had a panther-like walk and a demeanor that set her apart from all the horses we looked at that day, and in fact the whole sale.” De Meric continued, “I’ve got to give Tristan and Valerie all the credit [for the filly’s development]. They’ve had her in their division all winter and did a magnificent job with her. I’ve watched her right through the process, she’s just done everything you could ask of a young horse in training. She never had any setbacks. They don’t come along like her very often and when they do, it’s wonderful when you get rewarded a bit.” The filly’s seven-figure price tag wasn’t a surprise, according to de Meric. “It’s been a little while since we’ve sold a million-dollar horse, but if ever there was one that we had in recent years that looked like she could do it, this was the one,” the horseman said. “It’s like she breathed different air. She’s a special filly. We wish Mr. de Seroux and his client the very best of luck. He bought a very special horse.” Of the filly’s breeze show performance, de Meric admitted, “I’ve been doing this an awfully long time and I don’t get any less nervous going into these breeze shows then I did when I started. But when we’ve got one that we feel is special, it quadruples everything. Is the rider going to break on time? Is she going to get the lead right? Is she going to do what we think she’s capable of doing? And mercifully the answers were yes on all counts with her.” De Seroux was the leading buyer at the OBS March sale, purchasing eight juveniles on behalf of Prince Sultan bin Mishal al Saud for a total of $3,050,000. The Frenchman’s Narvick International purchased five 2-year-olds at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, including a $1.2-million son of Medaglia d’Oro, for $2,470,000. @JessMartiniTDN Tiznow Colt a Find for Bobo Tami Bobo, who initially purchased a weanling colt by Tiznow for $100,000 in 2017, had her reward delayed, but duly cashed in at OBS Wednesday when re-selling the youngster for $600,000 to Solis/Litt on behalf of LNJ Foxwoods and NK Racing. Hip 321, out of multiple graded placed Marquee Delivery (Marquetry) is a half-brother to Grade I winner Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford) and to multiple stakes winner and graded placed Marquee Miss (Cowboy Cal). Bobo originally purchased the colt at the Fasig-Tipton November sale. “He was a big leggy colt, just a beautiful colt,” Bobo said of the youngster’s appeal. “We tried to pinhook him as a yearling and of course we were very high on him at that point and we bought him back for $285,000 [at Keeneland September]. We decided to go on with him as a 2-year-old and hope that the horse that we thought we had was there.” The bay colt worked a quarter-mile during last week’s under-tack show in :21 flat. “He developed phenomenally well,” Bobo confirmed. “He’s a strong colt and impeccably minded and that’s what it takes to be a good racehorse.” Bobo began in the industry as a yearling-to-juvenile pinhooker, but has diversified her operation in recent years. “I initially came into this business 10 years ago and I was introduced into it pinhooking 2-year-olds,” she said. “I pinhooked 2-year-olds for about seven years and I just decided that the weanling to yearlings was something that I wanted to transition into as I saw the market bearing that way. So I went into the weanling and yearlings and of course, if you’re going to do weanlings and yearlings, you’re going to have a broodmare band. Now we have a broodmare band that we do all Kentucky-breds. We have the broodmare band in Kentucky and then they come here [to Florida], so that gives us that weanling operation and the yearling operation.” Alex Solis agreed the colt looked to be the complete package. “He is just a great physical, who breezed really well and has a really nice pedigree,” Solis said. “The mare has thrown two really nice horses. You like a mare who can throw a runner. And he performed.” Asked if he had looked at the horse last fall at Keeneland, Solis said, “We liked him there, he was a nice horse, but we just passed on him. Another colt is always there. It was good to see him again; he’s gotten bigger and he’s done all the right things.” @JessMartiniTDN Speedy Speightstown Joins Delacour Barn Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables has a new addition in hip 453, a Speightstown colt, who sold to their trainer Arnaud Delacour for $585,000. The bay breezed in a bullet :9 4/5. “We liked him,” said Delacour. “He breezed fast. He has been showing great the last three days.” Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, hip 453 is a full-sibling to Grade I winner Lighthouse Bay. Consignor Bruno DeBerdt paid $135,000 for him at Keeneland September. “This horse deserved to bring that,” DeBerdt said. “He is a good horse, an honest horse. You are going to see a lot more of him in the future. Mentally, he has always been an ideal horse. The first 60 days, he was just kind of one of the horse, but after we put some training on him, he got more business-like. He has always been very consistent.” He added, “I am pleased for the partners. You need a few of those to keep the whole thing going because the market is so polarized if a horse doesn’t jump through all the hoops, you aren’t going to get paid.” @CDeBernardisTDN Determination Pays Off for Eclipse with Palace Malice Colt Eclipse Thoroughbreds’ Aron Wellman and his team had their sights set on hip 368, a colt from the first crop of Palace Malice, and their determination paid off when they secured the colt for $550,000. The colt will be trained by Todd Pletcher, who also conditioned his MGISW sire. “Obviously Palace Malice is extremely special to us having been campaigned by Cot Campbell and Dogwood Stable,” Wellman said. “Some of the partners on Palace Malice have morphed into the Eclipse program, for which we are extremely grateful. In fact, we were pretty adamant that we were going to buy this colt here today and we picked out a name for him. He will be named after Mr. Campbell. He will be named Cothran.” A :10 flat breezer, Hip 368 is out the unraced Malibu Moon mare Moon Beamy, who also produced MSW Daddy Justice (Lantana Mob). “We knew it was going to be a battle in there going in,” Wellman said. “He was an incredibly classy colt through and through. He was incredibly fast on the racetrack. He carried himself the entire week. When he walked in the back ring, you could tell he was cut from a different class. Time will tell always and hopefully our opinion of him today will hold true in a year.” Bred by Justice Farm, the dark bay was picked up by Albert Davis, who consigned the colt through his Old South Farm, for $110,000 at Keeneland September. “He looked a whole lot like he did now, a big pretty colt, well balanced with a great walk,” Davis said of the colt as a yearling. “You don’t know if they can run, but he looked like he could and I think he can.” He continued, “He has done everything like we wanted him to do. He grew up, filled out and came here and did his job. I never expect anything. I knew he was a nice horse and I hoped to be well paid.” When asked his thoughts on the first crop of Palace Malice, Davis said, “He is the only Palace Malice I have had, but based on him, I would like to have another one.” @CDeBernardisTDN Fletcher Strikes for Curlin Colt Frank Fletcher has been a fan of Curlin since the first time he saw him at his home track at Oaklawn Park and he struck early Tuesday to secure a son of the Hill ‘n’ Dale stallion (hip 332) for $525,000. The Little Rock, Arkansas native has yet to pick a trainer for his new addition. “We love Curlin,” Fletcher said after signing the ticket seat alongside bloodstock agent Donato Lanni. “I was in the [GI] Arkansas Derby, many years ago, and they brought Curlin in and I said, ‘We are not going to win.’ He was a big, strapping stallion. He walked away with the Arkansas Derby, so I always liked him. That was the only time I finished in the Arkansas Derby. I finished third with Son of Rocket. Anyway, it was a. big day and I will never forget Curlin.” As for what he liked about this colt, who breezed in :10 2/5 for consignor Niall Brennan, Fletcher said, “We went over and looked at him a lot. He is very calm. We look at their mind as much as their ability. If they are calm walking around here, they will be calm when you put them in the gate. If they are crazy out here, by the time they are getting to race, no matter how much ability they have, they get crazy. We have bought some expensive horses whose mind was not as good as their body.” Bred in Ontario by Josham Farm, Hip 332 is out of MGSP Mekong Delta (Stormy Atlantic), who is a full-sister to Canadian champion Leonnatus Anteas. “He is a beautiful colt,” said Josham Farm’s Ted Burnett, who has a broodmare band of about 25 horses in Ontario. “He was a little bit behind growing up, so we just waited until we got him a little bit more mature. If you look at the colt, you will see there is more potential left in him. Six months from now, he will be a big powerful horse. He has talent, he had a great work, he galloped out great.” He continued, “We bred the Canadian champion Leonnatus Anteas and the mare, who is a full sister to him. It is a nice pedigree and goes back two or three generations of our own breeding program, so we are happy with it.” @CDeBernardisTDN Commissioner Filly Raises the Bar Bloodstock agents Jason Litt and Alex Solis made their second big purchase of Wednesday’s second session of the OBS April sale when going to $475,000 to acquire a filly from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Commissioner (A.P. Indy). The filly, bred by Polo Green Stable, had been purchased by Q Bar J Thoroughbreds for $40,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale. “She had all the parts and pieces as a yearling and she bloomed and turned into just what we hoped she would,” said Q Bar J’s Quincy Adams. The bay filly, out of Money Madness (Rahy) (hip 365), turned heads in Ocala last week with a quarter-mile work in a bullet :20 1/5. “It was an amazing work,” Adams said. “She just skipped across the racetrack and galloped out like none that I’ve owned before.” Of Wednesday’s result in the sales ring, Adams added, “I think they got a good horse and we’re thrilled. I hope she pans out for everyone.” @JessMartiniTDN Brown Secures Pricey Karakontie Filly for Klaravich Hip 422, a filly from the first crop of Karakontie (Jpn), provided her GI Breeders’ Cup Mile-winning sire with his biggest sale to date when hammering for $460,000 to trainer Chad Brown, who was acting on behalf of Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stable. “The horse breezed really well,” Brown said. “We think she is a really good prospect and we think the stallion has a good chance. I saw some yearlings I liked. Of the 2-year-olds I have seen, going around to the farms and such, this looked like one of the better ones, so we are keen to get her.” Bred by Jim and Pam Robinson’s Brandywine Farm, Hip 422 was purchased by consignor Barry Eisaman for $150,000 at Keeneland September. Out of MSP Oblivious (Cozzene), the :10 flat breezer is a half to SW Street Storm (Stormy Atlantic). @CDeBernardisTDN Ryan Wins Out on Paynter Filly Hip 312, a filly by Paynter, set the tone for the second session early, igniting a spirited round of bidding before hammering for $450,000 to bloodstock agent Mike Ryan, who was acting on behalf of Allen Wise’s Wise Racing. The bay will go to trainer Chad Brown. “Hopefully we will see her on a Saturday afternoon at Saratoga,” Ryan remarked after signing the ticket alongside Wise and shaking Brown’s hand. “I knew it was going to be tough to get her. We knew Paynter or no Paynter she would sell herself and she did. There are a lot of smart horse people here. When I saw Bob Baffert out back, I said, ‘This is not going to be good.’ This filly had Linda Rice and Bob Baffert [bidding on her], a lot of astute people were on her.” Bred by Falcon Wood Partners, the :10 flat breezer is out of SP Mallory Street (Street Sense) and hails from the family of GISW New Year’s Day (Street Cry {Ire}) and MGSW Mohaymen (Tapit). “She breezed phenomenal,” Ryan said. “She is a very powerful filly and did it the right way. She comes from a great consignor [Barry Eisaman], who does a fantastic job. I know the filly very well. I bred her with Gerry Dilger. We still have the mare. She is in foal to Practical Joke and has a Practical Joke on the ground.” Ryan continued, “The filly blew me away. She sold herself. She is by Paynter, who I really like. I think he is underrated as a stallion. They have a lot of heart. They are tough. He was a very tough, good horse himself. I understand Bob Baffert was underbidder and he knows more about Paynter than the rest of us. She was an exceptional filly and we knew we were going to have to reach for her.” Eisaman purchased Hip 312 for $50,000 at Keeneland September and said he was pleased with her final price Tuesday. “She was always very correct and very healthy,” Eisaman said. “She has grown noticeably. She is out of a Street Sense mare and she looks a lot like a Street Sense. She has immense speed and she has a pedigree that will carry at a distance. You should probably go wager in the future wagers for the Kentucky Oaks of next year.” He added, “She is a wonderful filly, who showed herself well here. Her vet work was impeccable. Paynter is doing better and catching on as a sire. I couldn’t say more about her as an athlete and a potential star.” @CDeBernardisTDN Quick Start for All in Line Stables All in Line Stables got its first-ever consignment off to a quick start with the very horse through the ring during Tuesday’s opening session of the OBS April sale. Hip 1, a son of Blame who had RNA’d for $19,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton October sale, sold for $290,000 to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. “I’d partnered with [breeder] Bruce Gibbs up in Kentucky,” explained All in Line Stables manager Karl Keegan. “He’d RNA’d her for $19,000. When I got him back down here, he just thrived at the farm and went from A to Z. We brought a beautiful horse over here to market and the market rewarded us. They gave us $290,000 for our first horse ever sold. It was a pretty exciting start.” All in Line Stables is located on 125 acres in Morriston and clients with horses at the farm include Bob Edwards’s e Five Racing and D J Stable. “I basically came in here and took over managing the farm just a little under four years ago,” Keegan, who was assistant trainer and assistant manager at Goldmark Farm from 2006 through 2015, explained. “I set up a three-year business plan, but the pinhooking was not in the plan. It was just to bring in some high-end clients, fix the farm up and put in a beautiful turf course. We achieved all of those things and got some great people in. So the last couple of years, I’ve been going up to the sales and getting some horses and bringing them back to the barn and partnering up on some RNA’s with some people.” The farm’s first pinhooks were offered through Niall Brennan’s consignment, but Keegan said, “We decided to get in and start doing it ourselves this year.” He continued, “My focus is definitely breaking and rehabbing racehorses, but we would also like to bring some quality horses to auction. We just want to be open and honest about our consignment and take it from there. We want to show people horses who are really well-prepared, healthy horses in tip-top condition.” One of the things which sets All in Line Stables apart is its state-of-the-art turf course. “It’s not an oval,” Keegan said of the turf course. “It’s a three-eighths of a mile straightaway and a five-eighths of mile circle. And they get to go up and down hills. So the five-eighths circle, we can go left handed one day or right handed another day. We have it all under lights, so we can get out there and train these horses in the morning in the winter. We don’t have to wait for the sun to come up, we can actually take a set or two every morning out to the turf course. So they are getting on the turf course twice a week. It’s really nice. It’s different for them mentally, but you also get to see them moving differently over different surfaces.” Keegan expects to be active at the upcoming yearling sales and plans for future All in Line Stables’ consignments are flexible. “We’re definitely going up to September this year with a little budget and we’re going to start buying some horses to pinhook,” Keegan said. “And you never know what the future holds. If it’s what happens, we’re open to expanding the consignment.” @JessMartiniTDN View the full article

The 360GT (gentle touch) crop, designed by Hall of Fame jockey Ramon Dominguez, has a larger, cushioned padding at the end designed to have less impact on horses. View the full article

There is a great card of racing to look forward to at Sandown on Friday and the ITV racing team are bringing us live action of the four best races on the day. There is a great mix of classic contenders and old stalwarts to suit everyone. Will we see a future Derby winner in […] The post Sandown Friday Preview – Stoute Looks For More Crystal With Ocean appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Three Chimneys Farm's freshman sire Fast Anna had his first winner from just his second starter April 24, when his 2-year-old daughter Anna's Fast easily defeated a field of six others in a Keeneland maiden special weight. View the full article

Three Chimneys Farm's freshman sire Fast Anna had his first winner from just his second starter April 24, when his 2-year-old daughter Anna's Fast easily defeated a field of six others in a Keeneland maiden special weight. View the full article

The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, a think tank started by Glen Hill Farm’s Craig Bernick, is calling for compromise throughout the racing industry and has “enlisted five industry leaders to present their take on improving different segments of racing through new approaches to long-stagnant ‘offices,'” according to a press release. Their ideas will be released by TIF in the next two days, focusing on wagering and innovation, racing administration and planning, integrity and welfare, communications and marketing and owners’ services and recruitment. “Presented with an opportunity to re-shape our industry and mindful of our precarious position, these suggestions should be met with open minds,” the release said. “Our interest in a healthy Thoroughbred industry is shared. The process to achieve these much-needed improvements remains rooted in compromise, with all stakeholders understanding that once-entrenched opinions must be loosened in order to establish a modern sport.” View the full article

The $125,000 William Walker Stakes, topped by undefeated Bulletin, highlights Churchill Downs' opening night April 27. The five-furlong turf sprint places the City Zip colt back over the same course as his Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint win. 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. Today’s Observations features the first foal out of Frankel’s half-sister Joyeuse. 4.30 Tipperary, Mdn, €15,000, 2yo, 5fT PISTOLETTO (War Front) bids to extend Ballydoyle’s winning sequence to four-from-four for their juveniles so far this term. A full-brother to the dual GI Rodeo Drive S. heroine Avenge, the April-foaled bay encounters seven on this debut test. 6.00 Chelmsford City, Mdn, £12,500, 3yo/up, 6f (AWT) JUBILOSO (GB) (Shamardal) debuts for Khalid Abdullah and Sir Michael Stoute and is particularly noteworthy as the first foal out of the dual listed-winning Joyeuse (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), a half-sister to Frankel (GB) and Noble Mission (GB) and a full-sister to Morpheus (GB). She encounters another debutante in Godolphin’s Ice Cave (Ire) (Shamardal), a 375,000gns TATOCT graduate and Saeed bin Suroor-trained son of the G1 Phoenix S. and G1 Matron S. winner La Collina (Ire) (Strategic Prince {GB}). View the full article

Woodbine was conspicuously absent from the list of North American tracks that have agreed to ban Lasix in all 2-year-old races in 2020 and in all stakes races in 2021. The reason is not that the Canadian racetrack was left out of the discussion, but because executives there felt they needed more time to discuss the controversial issue with stakeholders to determine whether or not cutting back on the use of Lasix was or was not the right thing to do. “We recognize that this is a very difficult and controversial issue in North America,” said Woodbine Entertainment Group CEO Jim Lawson. “Between Woodbine and the Jockey Club in New York, we’ve had many long discussions about it. My reaction is one of caution right now. There are any number of stakeholders that we have relationships with, including, first and foremost, our regulators, both the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Association, both of which have jurisdiction on drug rules. This is an issue as a racetrack where we think we will need to work through things not only with our regulators, but our horseman’s group. We have a very good relationship with the HBPA here.” Lawson did not reject the idea that Woodbine would some day join the coalition of U.S. tracks that are attempting to push through new rules regarding Lasix reform. It was more a matter of Woodbine feeling that signing on now would have been a matter of moving too fast and not giving horsemen and regulators a proper chance to weigh in on the issue. “I did not think now was the time to jump out ahead of this without proper consultation and study,” he said. “By waiting, we’ll also have benefit of understanding what goes on with the U.S. experience in this regard and how they deal with it. It is a matter we think needs more time, more study and more consultation before we jump in and say this is the way it’s got to be. There are clearly two sides to this and we want to continue to have a consultative and good relationship with our regulators and our HBPA.” Adding to his reluctance to move quickly, Lawson said he has heard from people he highly respects whose take on the Lasix issue are the polar opposite of one another. “There are people respected by everyone with a high degree of expertise who sit in each camp on this issue. That includes our regulators,” he said. Despite not immediately joining forces with the groups looking to ease up on the use of Lasix, Lawson said he was supportive of the effort. But he shares the opinion of many others that the industry faces more serious problems than Lasix and that Lasix was not behind the rash of breakdowns at Santa Anita that was the catalyst for the movement to cut back on use of the medication. “The principal message is that we are very supportive of the way the industry is looking at race-day medication,” he said. “There’s no secret this is a difficult issue. In some ways, it doesn’t lie at the heart of the issues in the industry that we are experiencing today. There are many, many issues the industry has to deal with. Race-day medication is one, but so is equine safety generally. I don’t want to dissect what that means, but I don’t think Lasix is at the heart of the bigger issues that the industry has too look at.” Woodbine is better positioned to take a wait-and-see attitude than most American tracks because Canadian animal rights activists have, by and large, not made horse racing a target. “[Criticism from animal rights groups] does exist, but we haven’t felt a lot of pressure from them,” Lawson said. “I think that’s because we do our best to answer any concerns on animal welfare and safety. Woodbine has a reputation of being very sensitive to animal welfare and safety. I do believe that helps us, not so much with the real activist groups, but with the general media. They don’t attack Woodbine because they understand equine safety is number one when it comes to our values at this racetrack.” Woodbine’s reputation has also been aided by the fact that, unlike some North American tracks, it has stuck with its synthetic surface. Every study done on track surfaces has shown that there are fewer catastrophic injuries on synthetic tracks than there are on dirt surfaces. “[Having a synthetic track] has helped us and we put it in primarily for safety reasons,” Lawson said. “Weather, yes, But bad weather means an unsafe racetrack if wet and freezing and we don’t have that problem with a synthetic track. We get criticized. ‘Why wouldn’t you go back to traditional dirt? You’ll never get a Breeders’ Cup if you don’t have traditional dirt.’ Our answer is safety comes first.” View the full article

DONCASTER, UK–In an era where we hear so much about market polarisation, it seems difficult to know what to expect from the breeze-up sale staged by Goffs UK here on Thursday-following, as it does in this year’s calendar, two sales pitched at opposite ends of the spectrum. Last year this auction fell between the blue-collar curtain-raiser at Ascot and the elite catalogue at the Craven Sale, and ended up signposting a tough spring for the whole sector. Given its focus on the middle market, considered notoriously fragile nowadays by dealers in all kinds of bloodstock, a later date this time round may help to render more intelligible the slightly mixed messages coming out of Ascot and Newmarket. Both tightened their catalogues and both improved their clearance rate, while the Craven Sale also managed to improve the median. That was encouraging, albeit the welcome presence of Sheikh Mohammed in person–generously redressing the absence of a number of more regular breeze-up prospectors–gave turnover a very different look than might otherwise have been the case. Today’s hosts have likewise trimmed the catalogue, down from 182 last year (before withdrawals) to 160. Now they are hoping that the dividends improve as much as the weather: last spring was so wet that there had even been talk of switching the breeze show to Southwell, whereas this time they had to water. Consignors sounded very happy with the conditions, and those buyers who rely on the clock can do so with corresponding confidence. It always seemed a little harsh to blame sales companies for bloating their catalogues last year, when at the time you were hearing more complaints about the number of horses they had turned away. That said, Goffs UK chairman Henry Beeby acknowledges that the market’s saturation had been a collective responsibility. “Sales companies and vendors should work as a team,” he said. “It isn’t them-against-us, or us-against-them. We’re working together, it’s very much a partnership. Particularly with a breeze-up, where the vendors will be able to tell you that this is the right horse for a given sale. “So I think both parties were guilty last year. Certainly in our sale, I can’t speak for anybody else’s, we should have controlled it more. It’s very easy for vendors to tell us we should control the numbers, ‘except mine!’ But essentially it’s up to us to provide the right number. And we took too many, and it was the wrong decision. A universally wrong decision, maybe, but we were as guilty as anybody. The day after the sale we said we will cut back next year. So we had some difficult decisions to make. We could easily have had the same number. But the vendors understood, and they have sent us a really good bunch.” The firm’s other proactive response is this revised date, a move Beeby credits to a variety of different factors. “Last year we lost a number of buyers to the Easter Yearling Sale [at Inglis],” he said. “And we also noticed that Keeneland were reintroducing their 2-year-old sale this year. Then there were all the worries about the ground last year, we felt any extra time might help with the weather. There has often been a school of thought, as well, that it’s better to go after the Craven Sale, as the market leader, because people might wait for that. And by now people are properly into Flat mode.” After the breeze, the drums were beating for a couple of consecutive lots around a third of the way into the sale. But arguably it volunteered no more intriguing animal than lot 100: a colt by Malibu Moon out of a group-placed Giant’s Causeway mare whose unraced daughter Querulous (Raven’s Pass) is dam of Kessaar (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), winner of the G2 Mill Reef S. last year and already at stud alongside his sire at Tally-Ho. Both this colt’s grand-dams are daughters of Mr Prospector, while his third dam is none other than champion racemare Inside Information (Private Account), herself responsible for dual Grade I winner Smuggler. All told, Tom Whitehead of Powerstown Stud appears to have done very well to import him from the Keeneland September Sale for just $50,000. In fairness, there was an element of serendipity: Kessaar’s G3 Sirenia S. success, just a few days before this colt went under the hammer in Lexington, was obviously not in the catalogue; and the Mill Reef followed a week later. But joining Whitehead was in turn a lucky break for the colt: it was Powerstown, after all, that consigned this sale’s poster girl, Quiet Reflection (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who won two Group 1 sprints after selling to Karl Burke for just £44,000 here four years ago. Whitehead was rightly delighted by his Malibu Moon colt’s breeze. “It was top-class,” he said. “But he didn’t give us any surprises here. We liked him from day one, he’s always worked well, and he’s a very straightforward horse as well.” Keeneland has proved increasingly fertile territory for European pinhookers in recent times and, while this colt has a highly accessible profile, Whitehead said he believes that the right model can overcome a more exotic page. “I remember years ago my good friend Johnny Collins brought over a Speightstown when nobody knew anything about him,” he said. “And that was Bapak Chinta who won the Norfolk. He brought over a horse by Forest Camp that won the same race [South Central]. As soon as they win, everybody wants one. Remember with all the different surfaces we have now, the world has gone very small. But you do have to work hard at it. There are so many horses there, they can’t all find owners: so if you get your vetting right, and are careful with your prices, you’ll eventually find horses.” Whitehead even managed to find an American Pharoah filly for just $30,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale last year, and moved her on at the Craven Sale for 110,000gns. “There were 900 horses in that sale,” he remembered. “So again, it’s just about working hard: she was a nice filly and had good X-rays, but unless there’s someone there to bid how can you value a horse? You can’t value them by weight, like you can cattle. It’s just a case of is there someone there to buy him, and is someone willing to sell?” Overall Whitehead felt the vibes at the Craven sale were positive. “I thought the middle [market] was a lot better than last year,” he said. “And for whatever reason the second day in particular seemed to have a much better atmosphere, with plenty of homes for horses.” But even the doldrums of this sale last year had a following wind: 58 juvenile graduates of this sale won, among a total of 212 individual winners worldwide in 2018. “Whether changing the date was the right thing to do remains to be seen,” Beeby said. “But certainly it has paid off in terms of the weather: we got near-perfect ground, the Doncaster racecourse team did a really good job and the feedback has been very good.” Nonetheless Beeby remains concerned by one lingering stormcloud on the industry horizon. “And that’s the ongoing uncertainty created by lack of political stability in Britain and across Europe,” he said. “I’m trying to avoid using the ‘B’ word, which we’re all heartily sick of. But Brexit has been the enemy of the market for the past couple of years. It’s hurting, and so too, in the middle market, are the ongoing issues with return-on-investment and prizemoney. “But we’re hopeful. We’ve got a very good catalogue, we’ve a lot of foreign buyers here from Scandinavia and Italy and Eastern Europe, and I think the horses breezed as consistently well as I’ve ever seen.” View the full article

Anna’s Fast (f, 2, Fast Anna–True Will, by Yes It’s True), a $470,000 purchase at last month’s OBS March Sale (:9 4/5), earned the ‘TDN Rising Star’ tag while becoming the first winner for her freshman sire (by Medaglia d’Oro) at Keeneland Wednesday. The 1-5 favorite cleared the field from her outside draw, showed the way through an opening quarter in :23.22 and was never asked to run down the lane while scoring by 5 1/2 lengths over Topless (Successful Appeal). The final time for 4 1/2 furlongs was :52.50. Anna’s Fast showed three workouts on the tab, headed by a three-furlong bullet in :35 1/5 (1/4) at Keeneland Apr. 15. Anna’s Fast is the fifth 2-year-old winner for trainer Wesley Ward at the Keeneland Spring Meet and his third ‘Rising Star.’ Fellow juveniles Lady Pauline (Munnings) and Nayibeth (Carpe Diem) also received the nod. Sales history: $17,000 RNA wnlg ’17 KEENOV; $32,500 yrl ’18 FTKJUL; $470,000 2yo ’19 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O-Breeze Easy LLC; B-Amg Equine LLC (Ky); T-Wesley Ward. View the full article

Dundalk, €15,000, Mdn, 4-24, 2yo, 6f (AWT), 1:14.20, st. FORT MYERS (c, 2, War Front–Marvellous {Ire} {G1SW-Ire, $262,665}, by Galileo {Ire}), a son of the stable’s G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine, was 1-2 to make it three winners from three juvenile runners from Ballydoyle in 2019 and looked sharp from the outset gaining a prominent position and a lead. Working his way to the front with a furlong remaining, the bay stayed on to score by a half length from Never Before (Ire) (No Nay Never). Donnacha O’Brien said, “I like him. He was a bit greener than the last two [juvenile winners] and was just a bit raw in front, but once he got the hang of it he impressed me. Seven furlongs will be no problem.” Marvellous is a full-sister to four group winners headed by Gleneagles (Ire), hero of the G1 English and Irish 2000 Guineas, the G1 St James’s Palace S. and G1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S. and now a first-season sire who is sure to make a big impact this year. Her other full-siblings Happily (Ire) captured the G1 Moyglare Stud S. and G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and was placed in two Guineas, while Taj Mahal (Ire) was successful in two renewals of the G2 Sandown Classic and Coolmore (Ire) took the G3 C.L. & M.F. Weld Park S. and was third in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational. They are all out of the remarkable You’resothrilling (Storm Cat), the full-sister to Giant’s Causeway who captured the G2 Cherry Hinton S. before going on to broodmare stardom. Marvellous’s 2018 colt is also a War Front, after which she was bred to Quality Road. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $10,375. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith & Mrs John Magnier; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (KY); T-Aidan O’Brien. View the full article

After finishing a close second in her past two starts, Ickymasho will look to secure what has proven to be an elusive stakes win when she starts April 26 in the $150,000 Bewitch Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland. View the full article

Shadwell South Africa went to R9-million (£622,777/€558,871)-a record price for a yearling in South Africa-for the session-topping son of champion sire Silvano (Ger) on the opening day of the three-day National Yearling Sale in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The penultimate offering through the ring, lot 184, was consigned by Wilgerbosdrift Stud and is out of the Group 3-winning Quickwood (SAf) (Fort Wood), a full-sister to G1 SA Guineas winner Heir Apparent (Saf). Quickwood has already produced the G1 Majorca S. winner Nightingale (SAf) and the G2 SA Oaks second Oriental Oak (SAf) from matings with Silvano. Shadwell also struck for the session’s second-highest priced offering, a R4.4-million (£235,799/€273,226) colt (lot 115) by another champion sire, Captain Al (SAf), out of the stakes-winning Justthewayyouare (SAf) (Fort Wood). The dam is herself a daughter of the champion 3-year-old filly Promisefrommyheart (SAf) (Elliodor {Fr}), and she has already produced the multiple Group 3 winner Captain Splendid (SAf) (Captain Al {SAf}). The day’s top-priced filly was a R4.3-million (£230,437/€266,926) daughter of Dynasty (SAf) (lot 98) picked up by Form Bloodstock. The bay is the fourth foal out of the dual Group 1 winner Happy Archer (Aus) (Dubawi {Ire}). The Hong Kong Jockey Club laid out R4.2-million (£225,162/€260,719) for lot 55, a Querari (Ger) colt who is the third foal out of champion 3-year-old filly and South African Triple Tiara winner Cherry On The Top (SAf) (Tiger Ridge). Cherry On The Top’s first foal, a 3-year-old daughter of Silvano named Blossom (SAf), has won twice. Bjorn Nielsen, best known in racing circles as of late as the owner of last year’s European champion stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), picked up lot 89, a Silvano filly, for R2-million (£107,220/€124,115). Consigned by Klawervlei Stud, she is out of the multiple Group 2 winner Gibraltar Blue (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), and a half-sister to the stakes-placed Pillar of Hercules (SAf) (Captain Al {SAf}). Other European spending came from Blandford Bloodstock, which scooped up a Captain Al colt (lot 165) out of the Group 3-winning and Group 1-placed One Fine Day (SAf) (Trippi). With 55 lots still to sell on Thursday morning in ‘Session 1’ of the sale, 138-head have thus far been sold for R73,855,000 (£3,958,664/€4,583,256). The average of R535,181 (£28,685/€33,215) at the end of day one is down 8.1% on the whole of Session 1 last year, while the median at R250,000 (£13,400/€15,515) currently sits 23% below last year. Complete comparative stats for Session 1 will be included in Friday’s TDN. View the full article

6th-Chantilly, €27,000, Debutantes, 4-24, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:06.19, g/s. REAL APPEAL (GER) (c, 2, Sidestep {Aus}–Runaway Sparkle {GB}, by Green Desert), sent off the 27-10 favourite, was positioned behind the early pace. Showing greenness at halfway, the bay was in front with three furlongs remaining and despite being briefly headed by Enchanting (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) stuck to his guns to regain the advantage in the final 50 metres and hold the closer It’s a Heartache (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) by a short neck. In doing so, the descendant of the G3 Park Hill S. winner Mistle Song (GB) (Nashwan) was becoming the first Northern Hemisphere winner for his first-season sire (by Exceed and Excel {Aus}) who stands at Haras du Logis at €4,000. Sales history: €9,000 Wlg ’17 ARQDEC. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, €13,500. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Theresa Marnane; B-Gestut Kussaburg (GER); T-Mathieu Palussiere. View the full article

Hip 444, a filly by red hot sire Quality Road, was the first to reach seven figures during day two of the OBS April Sale Tuesday, selling to Bloodstock agent Emmanuel de Seroux for $1,000,000. The half-sister to GSW Decelerator (Dehere) was purchased by de Meric Sales for $220,000 at Keeneland September. View the full article

While he's currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the operations of track owner The Stronach Group, as the founder of that company, Frank Stronach outlined April 23 a plan that would protect tracks as a going concern. View the full article

Last week, it was announced that National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities was gifting $100,000 to enable the University of Kentucky to further support equine surfaces and safety research under the direction of Mick Peterson, director of UK Ag Equine Programs. Peterson, a nationally known expert in surface safety and faculty member in the UK Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, recently sat down with the NTRA to provide greater insight on the new laboratory and what initiatives he hopes to see enacted as a result. Below is an edited transcript of that conversation. Q: How is this new lab different than the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory? What are some of the testing that will be able to take place now that hasn’t previously? MP: We really have three steps to this. One is, we need to make sure that the material is appropriate to be able to race on. That is what the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory does. There is a second entity that is an LLC that goes and certifies the racetrack before every race meet and so they’re basically going and the engineer works for me and we basically work on making sure that if the track is perfectly maintained that we will be able to have a consistent racing surface. But the third piece of this– which is the most difficult and where we have the biggest challenges–is making sure that the maintenance is appropriate to the weather and that the response every day is optimal for the safety of the surface. Right now, we are way behind on that third piece and that third piece is interesting because it includes both technology and people. Right now we’re completely dependent on someone at the track doing that hard work and paying attention. The goal with this lab is not only to train more of those people who can do a good job of tracking the day to day maintenance but also to automate more of it. Q: How key has the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance been– in particular with its in-field experiences across the country–in identifying a need for this space and moving this needle forward? MP: There is almost a 100% overlap between the people who have a commitment to the Safety and Integrity Alliance and the accreditation and the people who I’m working with. It’s the accredited tracks that really get it. And the accreditation process is a dynamic discussion that actually pushes the tracks to think about the technologies that they need and the human resources they need in order to produce the optimal racing surface and the optimal overall racing environment. So this goes back to the very beginning of the founding of the Safety and Integrity Alliance–this was an original partnership. Q: Some existing funded projects will move into the lab on day one. Is it safe to say this is just the beginning and there are numerous future projects that will need funding? MP: There are so many things we can be doing to support the industry and it starts out with how we tend to talk a lot about main tracks and dirt track surfaces in general. There is a huge need right now to look at turf racing. There is so much pressure on the turf courses. The turf courses are small traditionally in the United States, they’re ovals on the inside and there just isn’t that much area. And if you talk to racing secretaries, they say ‘I do six turf races a day’. We do not have the infrastructure for that. So, some of the projects we are looking at are things like how we repair divots, how we look at watering on the turf track. Everything needs to be on the table in order to protect the integrity of the surfaces to protect the horses. Q: To put it mildly, funding the science seems like such a key intangible toward meaningful change. MP: I had a professor when I was in graduate school say that you are looking for solvable, unsolved problems. And I look at surfaces and there are a lot of solvable unsolved problems. We’ve got some challenges–the risk to a rider when a horse clips heels. You can train stewards, you can train jockeys, you can look at shoe design but some of that risk is inherent to racing. When we talk about an uneven turf surface or inconsistent moisture on the main track, we can fix that. And so, I think that’s one of the key takeaways on this. View the full article

For the second week in a row, trainer Dennis Yip Chor-hong produced a 100-1 winner at Happy Valley and yes, he was just as shocked as all the punters.Last Wednesday, The Full Bloom prevailed at 166-1 and this time around it was Travel First who provided the upset as he captured the Class Three Busan Handicap (1,800m) at 115-1.Yip was giggling as he walked into the winner’s circle, amazed at what had occurred.“It’s been a big surprise two weeks in a row,” Yip laughed. “I think the track suited… View the full article

Unable to supply subsequent G1 Epsom Derby success since Blue Peter (GB) (Fairway {GB}) completed the double in 1939, Epsom’s Listed Blue Riband Trial was barren ground for Aidan O’Brien too, but Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s Cape of Good Hope (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) set that record straight with a determined effort in Wednesday’s renewal. The bay took three starts to shed maiden status, doing so at his local Tipperary track in July, before placing in Newmarket’s July 14 G2 Superlative S. and Sept. 29 G2 Royal Lodge S. to conclude a five-race juvenile campaign last time. Settled off the pace in fifth as Sameem (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) and Massam (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) scooted clear of the remainder, he made smooth headway in the straight before quickening into second at the quarter-mile marker and fought the camber under a drive in the latter stages to gain the upper hand nearing the line for a career high. Halting a run of four straight wins for the John Gosden stable, he had a half-length to spare over the fast-finishing Cap Francais (GB) (Frankel {GB}) with ‘TDN Rising Star’ Turgenev (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) 3/4-of-a-length further adrift in third. “He had some of the best form coming into the race from his performance in the Superlative behind Quorto and being third in the Royal Lodge,” said Coolmore’s Kevin Buckley. “Coming here you never know what is going to happen, but it is good to get that experience. He is a full-brother to Idaho and Highland Reel–Idaho was third in the Derby and Highland Reel won the Coronation Cup–and the family has experience and success around here. Ryan [Moore] said he settled nicely and there was a decent pace. He was ready to start, he’ll get home and Aidan will see how he comes out of it. He is entered in the [June 1 G1] Derby and we will see how the [remaining] trials go.” Should Cape of Good Hope make the cut for Ballydoyle’s Derby squad, he is not certain to once more cross swords with Cap Francais, as trainer Ed Walker explained, “Gerald [Mosse] loves him, but he was very fresh today. He was like that last year so we took him to Kempton for an away-day. There was about four-and-a-half people there and he behaved like a lamb, but he came here today and was silly in the paddock. He was difficult to saddle and just fresh. It is £85,000 to supplement him [for the Derby] and it’s a lot of money. We may take in another trial and see what happens. Maybe he is not a horse for the [Epsom] Derby, but for another Derby. Maybe Ireland.” Cape of Good Hope is a full-brother to MG1SW globetrotter and sire Highland Reel (Ire), MG1SP G2 Great Voltigeur S. and G2 Hardwicke S. victor Idaho (Ire) and an unraced 2-year-old colt. The bay is also a half-brother to G1 VRC Oaks and G1 Storm Queen S. second Valdemoro (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}). His dam Hveger (Aus) (Danehill), a daughter of G1 Australian Oaks heroine Circles of Gold (Aus) (Marscay {Aus}), is a full-sister to Australian champion and MG1SW sire Elvstroem (Aus) (Danehill) and a half-sister to MG1SW sire Haradasun (Aus) (Fusaichi Pegasus), from a family featuring G1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas victress Amicus (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and MG1SW sire Starspangledbanner (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}). Wednesday, Epsom, Britain INVESTEC BLUE RIBAND TRIAL-Listed, £50,000, Epsom, 4-24, 3yo, 10f 17yT, 2:06.28, gd. 1–CAPE OF GOOD HOPE (IRE), 127, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire) 1st Dam: Hveger (Aus) (G1SP-Aus), by Danehill 2nd Dam: Circles of Gold (Aus), by Marscay (Aus) 3rd Dam: Olympic Aim, by Zamazaan (Fr) 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (240,000gns Ylg ’17 TATOCT). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Hveger Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £28,355. Lifetime Record: MGSP-Eng, 6-2-1-1, $90,531. *Full to Highland Reel (Ire), 2x Hwt. Older Horse-Ire at 11-14f, Hwt. Older Horse-Ire at 9 1/2-11f, MG1SW-Eng, HK & US, MG1SP-Fr & G1SP-Aus, $10,530,964; and Idaho (Ire), MGSW & MG1SP-Eng, G1SP-Ire, $1,634,798; and 1/2 to Valdemoro (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}), MG1SP-Aus, $337,006. 2–Cap Francais (GB), 127, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Miss Cap Ferrat (GB), by Darshaan (GB). O-John Pearce Racing Ltd. £10,750. 3–Turgenev (GB), 127, c, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Tasaday, by Nayef. O-HRH Princess Haya of Jordan. £5,380. Margins: HF, 3/4, 6. Odds: 4.00, 5.00, 2.75. Also Ran: Mackaar (Ire), Arthur Kitt (GB), Massam (GB), Sameem (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

While he's currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the operations of track owner The Stronach Group, the founder of that company, Frank Stronach, outlined April 23 a plan that would protect tracks as a going concern. View the full article

Last year’s G1 St James’s Palace S. winner Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is likely to step up to 10 furlongs this season. The 4-year-old was fifth behind Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) on his seasonal return in the Mar. 30 G1 Dubai Turf in only his second try beyond a mile. “He is in good form–I think he will go for something like the [G3] Brigadier Gerard at the end of May,” said trainer John Gosden. “I think it all happened a bit quick for him in Dubai, and I think he will be better over a mile and a quarter. He ran well in Dubai, though, and he has come out of that race in great order, which is the main thing.” Gosden also offered an update on multiple Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed mare Coronet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is back for another season at age five. “She is in good form. We probably won’t go for the [G1 Prix] Ganay and we will probably run her in the [G2] Jockey Club S. at Newmarket at the Guineas meeting.” Acknowledging the fact that the grey has placed in seven Group 1s, Gosden said, “The darling girl needs to win her Group 1. She is a lovely filly and is always there or thereabouts.” View the full article

1st-Chantilly, €25,000, Mdn, 4-22, unraced 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:40.19, g/s. FOUNT (GB) (f, 3, Frankel {GB}–Ventura {MGISW-US, GISW-Can & SW-Eng, $2,580,375}, by Chester House) occupied a forward role in third after the early exchanges of this unveiling. Coming under pressure approaching the quarter-mile marker, the 3-1 second favourite locked horns with Fonthill Abbey (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) entering the final furlong and was ridden out to deny that rival by a head after a thrilling tussle. Half to the unraced 2-year-old filly Epigram (GB) (Dansili {GB}), the homebred bay becomes the third scorer for GI Just a Game S., GI Santa Monica H., GI Woodbine Mile and GI Matriarch S. heroine Ventura (Chester House), herself out of a MSP half-sister to four stakes winners including G1 Prix Royal-Oak runner-up Erudite (GB) (Generous {Ire}). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, €12,500. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. 1ST-TIME STARTER. O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Andre Fabre. View the full article