Wandering Eyes

The 2018 Arlington International Festival of Racing, headlined by the 36th running of the Arlington Million Stakes (G1), succeeded in surpassing wagering projections for the entire weekend. View the full article

Gary Barber's Wonder Gadot completed her major Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) preparations with a four-furlong bullet work in the early morning of Aug. 17 as she looks to become the first filly to win the Mid-Summer Derby since 1915. View the full article

Chiefswood Stable homebred Tiz a Slam has a chance to dominate Woodbine's $175,000 Sky Classic Stakes (G2T) on the turf Aug. 19. View the full article

Breeders’ Cup announced Friday announced its host sites for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Santa Anita Park kicks off the series in 2019, followed by Keeneland Race Course in 2020 and the 2021 host, Del Mar Race Track, rounds out the trio. Santa Anita, which has hosted the championships on nine occasions previously, most recently presented the series in 2016. The Arcadia, California oval is also the only track to have hosted the Breeders’ Cup for three consecutive years (2012-2014). Keeneland and Del Mar held the event for the first time in 2015 and 2017, respectively. “We are extremely proud and excited to bring the Breeders’ Cup back to three of the country’s most beloved racetracks in California and Kentucky, all of which share our commitment to providing an exceptional race-day experience for horse racing enthusiasts and first-time guests alike,” said Craig Fravel, President and CEO of Breeders’ Cup Ltd. “Breeders’ Cup events at Santa Anita, Keeneland and Del Mar have resulted in record success and overwhelming support from our fans around the world. We look forward to building upon past triumphs and to bringing the world’s best two days of Thoroughbred racing to these great racetracks and communities.” The 2016 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita established a two-day attendance record of 118,484 spectators. Santa Anita officials indicated $5 million in new premium seating would be added prior to the 2019 Breeders’ Cup, including new outdoor suites installed above the grandstand seating. “We are thrilled to have the Breeders’ Cup back here at Santa Anita for a record 10th time in 2019,” said Tim Ritvo, COO for The Stronach Group. “In addition to our existing amenities, we have several other high-end attractions that will be operational in 2019 and they will complement what has already been a terrific Breeders’ Cup customer experience through the years.” Keeneland expanded its accommodations heading into the 2015 Breeders’ Cup, including the installation of temporary seating chalets and lounges. Friday and Saturday’s cards drew a total of 95,102 patrons, breaking Keeneland’s attendance records. “The Bluegrass served as the ideal backdrop for the 2015 Breeders’ Cup and we could not be more excited to have Keeneland serve as the host of the 2020 edition of the World Championships,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. “Building on the success of the event for the industry and the community, we anticipate an even greater spectacle in 2020 and look forward to the Breeders’ Cup returning home once again.” For its inaugural Breeders’ Cup, Del Mar expanded its luxury seating options and infield experiences. The Breeders’ Cup debut at Del Mar resulted in a record-breaking, including a two-day on-track wagering mark. “Del Mar is delighted to again be hosting our sport’s championship days,” said Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s chief executive officer Joe Harper. “We know we put on a good show here in 2017 and we look forward to presenting an even better one in 2021.” View the full article

The Group 1 Darley Prix Morny is the undoubted highlight at Deauville on Sunday where runaway Duchess Of Cambridge winner Pretty Pollyanna will be looking to live up the reputation she acquired when easily winning the aforementioned Group 2 by seven lengths. The form of that contest has since been franked with the remote second Angel’s Hideaway cosily landing a Group 3 contest at Ascot in the interim. Michael Bell’s star two-year-old filly should be hard to beat receiving an allowance from the colt’s. John Quinn who won the race back in 2014 with the very smart The Wow Signal, trains another filly in the line-up with leading credentials in the form of Signora Cabello. The daughter of Camacho has won her last four starts in what has been a busy two-year-old campaign. The last two victories have come at Group 2 level in the Queen Mary and at Maisons-Laffitte. If she continues to progress then she has every chance of maintaining her winning-streak in this Group event. Aidan O’Brien sends over Land Force who like Signora Cabello has had a busy campaign and the son of 2013 winner No Nay Never won his first Group race in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood earlier this month. The Norfolk third seem to be thriving on racing and looks sure to be right there at the finish. Last season’s winning trainer was Karl Burkes when his “Unfortunately” won under Tony Piccone. Burke’s leading hope for success this time around is Comedy who has been very progressive in landing three races on the bounce culminating in a Group 3 win at Deauville when last seen. Others to consider include Marie’s Diamond and Sexy Metro. Selection: Land Force The Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet looks to have some of horse racings leading female lights with the very smart Bateel top amongst them. Last season’s Vermeille winner was a snug winner on seasonal debut in a Group 2 contest at Saint-Cloud in May. If turning up in the same form that she showed last year then it’s difficult to see her being beaten. The raiding party is being led by Aidan O’Brien’s Rhododendron who won the Lockinge in May but has been disappointing in her two starts since that victory in the Queen Anne and Nassau Stakes. Aidan has the Midas touch with these fillies so she could just bounce back to form but she’ll need to be on the top of her game to beat Bateel. Urban Fox has been a model of consistency this year with a career highlight coming in the Group 1 Pretty Polly at the Curragh in July. I think that race was slightly below par in terms of Group 1’s but the daughter of Foxwedge did win in convincing fashion. Wild Illusion put Urban Fox in her place at Goodwood but if Bateel fails to fire then she may just pick up the pieces. Others with claims include Lady Frankel, Golden Legend and I’m So Fancy. Selection: Bateel The post Sunday Preview – Prix Morny & Prix Jean Romanet appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor plans to be double-handed in the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) with Thunder Snow and Benbatl lined up to appear at York Aug. 22. View the full article

Let’s be honest about this. The giddy rise of Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday) didn’t please absolutely everyone. For one thing, he became a poster boy for the kind of aggressive incentives that won Spendthrift many friends, among breeders, while ruffling feathers at other farms. To start with, moreover, those rivals didn’t yet have his half-sister Beholder (Henny Hughes) to help explain how the daughter of a stallion who ended up in New Mexico could have produced such an undeniably potent son. But it now feels as though even the most reluctant are prepared to give credit where it’s due. Loads of farms have quit wringing their hands over the Spendthrift deals and started offering their own versions. Into Mischief is now not just the busiest stallion in America, with 235 mares covered in 2017, but also a six-figure cover, a sire of young sires, with no fewer than 39 yearlings in Book 1 at Keeneland September. And they might well get a collective boost, shortly before the sale, when Into Mischief’s electrifying new star, Instagrand, steps up to Grade I level in the Del Mar Futurity Sept. 3. That looks very likely to prove a showdown with Roadster (Quality Road) for the right to be named the top juvenile on the West Coast. The $1.2 million joint sale-topper Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream this spring, Instagrand treated his pursuers in the GII Best Pal S. with identical disdain to those he had dispatched in his maiden, in each case cruising 10 lengths clear with an apparent insouciance at odds with the wild speed measured by the clock. This colt has made such an impact, so quickly, that people are already speculating about his eligibility to see out Classic distances. Hitherto, for the most part, Into Mischief’s stock has majored in single-turn dash. (Practical Joke, for instance, soon dropped back in trip after running fifth in the Kentucky Derby). But that could well change, as his mares elevate along with his fee. Instagrand is the result of a 2015 cover, still “just” $35,000 but up from $20,000 the previous year. We’ll come to Instagrand’s own family in due course, but first we should revisit the bedrock that enabled 11-time Grade I winner Beholder–and, in the meantime, 18 1/2-length G2 UAE Derby winner Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy)–to stretch the speed of their sires into a second turn. Mendelssohn was the $3-million Keeneland September topper in 2016, the most expensive of his crop in America. By that stage, Into Mischief and Beholder–who had cost Spendthrift’s owner B. Wayne Hughes $180,000 apiece (respectively as breezer and yearling)–had given their dam Leslie’s Lady (Tipsy Creek) elite lustre. But the Mitchell family of Clarkland Farm had famously been able to buy her for just $100,000 at her late breeder’s dispersal in 2006. Leslie’s Lady, though a stakes winner at two, had been a hard-working sprinter; and, mated with ordinary stallions, had so far produced ordinary foals. Her own sire–after starting out in Kentucky–had ended up meandering from one Californian farm to another before, earlier that same year, moving to Running Horse Farm, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now whenever people stub their toes against a horse like this in the pedigree of an exceptional Thoroughbred–as we do all the time–they tend to move quickly on, and seek the comfort of familiar class elsewhere. But who can pretend to know truly how much, or how little, Tricky Creek is helping his grandson Into Mischief; or now, indeed, Instagrand? Perhaps the best that could be said of Tricky Creek, at the time Leslie’s Lady changed hands, was that he was an excellent source of soundness. One study, late in his career, listed him as fifth among active national sires by percentage of starters-to-foals; and seventh by lifetime starts-per-starter. Tricky Creek himself had teak enough to win a Grade II race at two, three and four. (Beholder showed still greater mettle in winning Grade Is every year from two to five, albeit Into Mischief himself mustered only half a dozen starts). Tricky Creek’s dam Battle Creek Girl (His Majesty) produced no fewer than 15 winners from 20 foals, six at stakes level. These included Canadian champion 2-year-old filly Wavering Girl (Wavering Monarch), dam of a Grade I winner on turf in Military (Danzig). Two of her other daughters are multiple stakes producers. And Tricky Creek’s third dam is none other than Soaring, an important daughter of Swaps who unites the pedigrees of Devil’s Bag, Rahy, Singspiel and Saint Ballado, among others. At one stage, in fact, Battle Creek Girl’s page looked so strong that her yearling brother to Grade I winners Parade Ground and Parade Leader, all three by Kingmambo, brought $5.3 million at the 2000 Keeneland September Sale. So there was plenty worth preserving in the sire redeemed from oblivion by Leslie’s Lady. Her own dam, meanwhile, was by Hail To Reason’s son Stop The Music, awarded the Champagne S. at the expense of a horse named Secretariat. (He dined out on this achievement until the remarkable age of 35, a Gainesway institution for three decades). The next dam, by One For All, was a half-sister not only to GI Californian S. winner Roanoke (Pleasant Colony), but also to the third dam of champion I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley). One For All had extremely aristocratic blood, while the next dam was by the mighty Sea-Bird out of a very smart runner and producer. So if you need to do a bit of drilling, you can certainly find seams of class to underpin the amazing achievements of Leslie’s Lady. Some people will read plenty into the fact that she produced both Beholder and Into Mischief from grandsons of Storm Cat, and Mendelssohn from the same line. But the details of her breeding history could certainly support an interpretation less akin to painting-by-numbers. What cannot be doubted is that Into Mischief is fortifying a Storm Cat line that seemed in peril when Harlan bequeathed only 98 foals when he died. Fortunately, one of them was the handsome Harlan’s Holiday and–while he didn’t make a great age, either, a sudden loss in Argentina at 14–he also has the likes of Shanghai Bobby and Majesticperfection going out to bat on his behalf, besides Into Mischief. (Harlan’s other principal legacy was Menifee, kingpin in Korea). It was actually Shanghai Bobby who denied Into Mischief (himself from their sire’s first crop) an instant Grade I winner when beating Goldencents in the Champagne S., but the latter put that right in the Santa Anita Derby and then consecutive runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Goldencents had been sold for just $5,500 at Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky October Yearling Sale, a first hint of Into Mischief’s ability to punch way above his perceived weight. How much this sire-line can contribute, as he seeks the final breakthrough as a legitimate Classic sire, remains to be seen. Into Mischief’s own career, truncated as it was, offers a limited distance template–albeit second in the GI Malibu S. at least demonstrated that he had not burned out after his Grade I success at two in the Hollywood Futurity. Physically, too, his length and balance augur well for carrying speed. His sire Harlan’s Holiday, for his part, graduated from the Ohio circuit at two to become a dual Grade I winner at three, adding the GI Donn H. and finishing second in the Dubai World Cup at four. If his major asset was speed, also the trademark of Harlan himself, he is entitled to dredge some of the right stuff from his own family: his dam was by Affirmed, and his third dam Princessnesian–by Princequillo (hooray!)–not only won the Hollywood Gold Cup (in 1:59.80) but was also a half-sister to Seattle Slew’s grandsire Boldnesian. (And Harlan, for what it may be worth, came from a family with far more stamina than you would expect). Certainly there is something auspiciously controlled and fluid about Instagrand’s speed. His ‘TDN Rising Star‘ debut for Jerry Hollendorfer at Los Alamitos was accomplished in :56 flat, but hardly in the manner of some crazed speed addict, and a sixth furlong made not the slightest difference to the way he was extending at the finish. He looks terribly natural–as you might expect of one who increased his $190,000 yearling tag, six-fold, by flashing his physical capacity to the breeze-up team working with Larry Best’s OXO Equine. How much Instagrand’s own family can contribute, in terms of extending his progress with time and distance, remains to be seen. On the face of it, he somewhat compounds his sire’s eclectic origins. His dam Assets Of War is by Lawyer Ron (Langfuhr), tragically a still more fleeting contributor than Harlan to the Stud Book. And his third dam is a Grade II winner by–wait for it–Stutz Blackhawk. In between, however, there is a mare by the splendid Lord At War (Arg), broodmare sire of Pioneerof the Nile. She is the GIII Arlington Heights Oaks winner Added Asset, a sister to Grade 2 winner Added Gold and half-sister to Added Time (Gilded Time)–a cherished mare for the breeders of Instagrand, at Stoneway Farm. Purchased as a $170,000 2-year-old in training at Keeneland in 1999, Added Time bred Stoneway’s first elite scorer in 2007 GI Spinaway S. winner Irish Smoke (Smoke Glacken). When ultimately finding themselves lacking fillies from the mare, Stoneway invested back in the family at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale in 2011, picking up Assets Of War as a $165,000 yearling. Though she won on debut, Assets Of War is said to take auspiciously after Lawyer Ron, as more of a two-turn type. It would be lovely to think a horse who set a track record in the GI Whitney H. (9f in 1:46.64) and won the GI Woodward S. by eight lengths might be permitted some kind of lasting legacy from just two seasons at stud–especially by sharing a page with Into Mischief, given that both Lawyer Ron and Into Mischief were bred by James T. Hines Jr., from whose dispersal the Mitchells bought Leslie’s Lady. Whatever happens, by this stage everyone should be enjoying the Into Mischief adventure–and eager to find out whether he can make one last leap. Because a rising tide floats all boats. At Stoneway, for instance, they may have missed the big payday from Instagrand, who was pinhooked through Eddie Woods. Crucially, however, they had sent Assets Of War on consecutive visits to Into Mischief–and the stars were certainly aligned when Instagrand made his debut. For it was barely half an hour earlier that his 3-year-old full-sister Aerial Assets, retained by Stoneway, had broken her maiden at Laurel. Moreover the mare has a colt by Cairo Prince, consigned by Paramount as hip 663, in the September Sale. She has meanwhile delivered a weanling colt by Noble Mission (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and had a cover from the flourishing Airdrie sire Creative Cause (Giant’s Causeway). It is another son of Giant’s Causeway, Not This Time, who is latest to be granted the privilege of a date with the venerable Leslie’s Lady. For those of us giving him a big shot, among the new sires, this represents a welcome vote of confidence from the Mitchells–whose prescience has been further attested by their choice of partner in 2016. For the precious mare’s colt at the September Sale, hip 120, is by none other than Medaglia d’Oro, sire of seven Grade I winners in the year of his delivery, and three of the top five lots at Saratoga. (The other two were by American Pharoah who, sure enough, is the sire of the filly foaled this spring by Leslie’s Lady). Above all, of course, there is the life-changing opportunity Spendthrift owner B. Wayne Hughes gave those small breeders who came aboard with Into Mischief on the ground floor. Spendthrift awarded a lifetime breeding right to anyone backing him–a $12,500 freshman who had dwindled to $7,500 by the time his first runners hit the track-for two consecutive seasons. The value of those rights, plainly, has since gone through the roof. With a libido and fertility equating to an astonishing 1,076 mares between 2013 and 2017, Into Mischief can hardly be expected to produce horses as exciting as Instagrand as though from a conveyor belt. But so long as he can maintain sufficient quality of this kind, among all the quantity, then he is assured an even greater legacy than he achieved with his mischievous, puckishly disruptive advent on the Kentucky commercial scene. View the full article

Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor plans to be double-handed in the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) with Thunder Snow (IRE) and Benbatl (GB) lined up to appear at York Aug. 22. View the full article

4th-SAR, $85K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 2:41 p.m. ET AHEAD OF PLAN (Big Drama), a $475,000 OBSAPR graduate (:10), looks like another live runner for the loaded Chad Brown barn. His stakes-winning dam Daisy Dukes (Ghazi) won her debut as a 2-year-old at Timonium. Principled (Medaglia d’Oro), the first foal from GII Top Flight H. heroine and GI Spinaway S. third Teen Pauline (Tapit), debuts for trainer Todd Pletcher. The $320,000 KEESEP yearling worked a bullet five furlongs in 1:00 3/5 (1/6) over the Oklahoma training track Aug. 11. Godolphin homebred Endorsed (Medaglia d’Oro), a son of GI Gazelle S. winner and GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint third Dance Card (Tapit), gets his career started for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. TJCIS PPs 7th-ELP, $42K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, post time: 4:40 p.m. ET Trainer Mark Casse will unveil the well-related EXPLORATIONIST (Pioneerof the Nile), an $825,000 FTFMAR purchase (:10 1/5) earlier this year by John C. Oxley and Gainesway Stable. The bay is the first foal out of GSW Assateague (Stormy Atlantic). He fired a bullet four-furlong move in :47 4/5 (1/72) at Churchill Downs Aug. 10. This is the immediate female family of graded/group winners Kindergarden Kid (Dynaformer), Rainha da Bateria (Broken Vow), Rabbit Run (Tapit), Asakusa Genki (Stormy Atlantic) and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up He’s Had Enough (Tapit). Explorationist’s loaded catalogue page also includes: champion Althea (Alydar), GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild), et al. TJCIS PPs View the full article

JOCKEY Hugh Bowman has declared Winx as good as ever ahead of her attempt at a record 26 consecutive wins in the race named in her honour at Randwick on Saturday afternoon. View the full article

Debuting in the race won 12 months ago by the fellow John Gosden-trained Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy) and in the past by Motivator (GB) and Frankel (GB), Gestut Ammerland’s Waldstern (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) started at 11-2 with the expectation being that he would need this introduction. Slowly away and settled worse than mid-division early, the chestnut gradually entered contention passing halfway and got rolling to inhale Venedegar (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the final 50 yards for a deeply promising 1 1/4-length success, with Le Don De Vie (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) a length behind in third. While this was not a flashy performance to match those of Frankel or even Motivator, the fact that such a stoutly-bred individual was able to win a well-contested novice on his first outing speaks volumes. His half-brother Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) also won at the first time of asking and took the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, but he has also progressed with maturity and captured last month’s G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Also a half to the recent G2 Prix de Malleret scorer Waldlied (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), the winner is out of the G3 Prix Penelope scorer and past TDN Rising Star Waldlerche (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) who is turning into a formidable broodmare for Ammerland. Jockey Robert Havlin was taken by the display. “He was quite backward in the early part of the race, but he’s a long-striding horse who gradually picked up the bridle as we expected him to,” he explained. “I was riding him to finish off the race and he did it a lot stronger than I thought he would. I wanted him to find his stride, as it’s a big learning curve and he had not been on the grass a lot. He did it the nice way round, when he hit the rising ground he finished off strongly and was also as good as gold in the preliminaries. I liked the way he behaved–nothing seemed to faze him. He’s a big horse who I would imagine will run over a mile and a quarter upwards next year and he’ll sharpen up a lot after today as he is quite inquisitive and looks about. He might travel a lot better the next day, as he pulled up as if he had had a canter. He seemed to handle this ground, which is on the slow side of good.” WALDSTERN (GB), c, 2, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Waldlerche (GB) (GSW-Fr & SP-Ger), by Monsun (Ger) Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, £5,175. O-Gestut Ammerland; B-Newsells Park & Ammerland Gmbh & Co Kg (GB); T-John Gosden. Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Newbury and Deauville offer the pick of the action on Saturday, with the former venue staging the seven-furlong G2 Ladyswood Stud Hungerford S. Carrying a three-pound penalty, the G3 Criterion S. and G2 Lennox S. winner Sir Dancealot (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) looks a specialist at this trip and will take some stopping despite his extra burden, while last year’s runner-up Librisa Breeze (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) is coming right having finished fourth in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville 13 days ago. Trainer Dean Ivory is hoping that the 2017 G1 Qipco British Champions Sprint S. scorer is not backing up too quickly. “He ran well enough abroad last time. This race might come a bit quick, I don’t know, and we won’t know until we run him,” he said. “We’ve got the ground, so we’ve got to have a crack at it and give it a go. He got a bit boxed-in when second here last year and the ground wasn’t perfect. We’d be hoping for a better run this year.” Despite holding favouritism for this welcome drop in trip, the June 19 G1 St James’s Palace S. runner-up Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has the class to win but comes from a Ballydoyle stable which continues to be in-and-out. Another 3-year-old with claims is Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s July 21 G3 Hackwood S. winner Yafta (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and trainer Richard Hannon said, “I think seven furlongs is his trip. He is in great form and if the ground becomes softer, it should suit him.” On the supporting card, the 3-year-old St Leger candidate Raymond Tusk (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) takes on his elders in the G3 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Geoffrey Freer S. on the back of a win in the Listed Glasgow S. at Hamilton July 20. “He has been in good form and if they have any rain, that will suit him down to the ground,” trainer Richard Hannon commented. “He will get the trip and we like him a lot. He is taking on older horses, but I think the track will suit him and he is in good form. He has a lot of class and we’ve always thought the world of him. The St Leger is the main plan.” Charlie Appleby has a progressive 4-year-old in Hamada (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in this and the way he dispatched his rivals in a Newmarket handicap last time July 13 suggests he is up to this standard. “Our horse is on an upward curve and it was always the plan to come here after Newmarket,” he said. “Hopefully this will be his last run before going to Australia. Obviously it depends on the result, but if he can finish in the first three, hopefully that will be enough to get him a run in the Melbourne Cup. After that, we’d have to decide whether we gave him a prep run in Australia or went straight for it.” ‘Rising Stars’ Out To Enhance Reputations… There are some exciting juveniles in action in France and England, with the unbeaten Boitron (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) lining up for Newbury’s Listed Denford S., or Washington Singer as it was known in the days of Lammtarra et al, and Godolphin’s ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Al Hilalee (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) putting his reputation on the line in Deauville’s Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l’Elevage. The former caught the eye when winning with ease despite blowing the start over six furlongs here July 12 before defying a penalty in a Doncaster novices event at this seven-furlong trip Aug. 4. “He is a gorgeous horse and is a proper two-year-old,” trainer Richard Hannon said of Boitron, who was bought into by Gerard Augustin-Normand after his racecourse bow. “His maiden was very impressive and if we get rain-softened ground, that would suit him. He should have an excellent chance.” Charlie Appleby said of his Deauville raider, “I think Al Hilalee won on raw ability at Newmarket, as he was very green that day. Mentally he’s come forward since then and I think the step up to a mile will suit him. I think he’s a middle-distance horse for next year really. He’s got a stout pedigree.” Also at Deauville, the G2 Shadwell Prix du Calvados features the sponsors’ ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Tasleya (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who bids to build on an impressive 3 1/2-length debut success here July 29 and go one better than her smart dam Mashoora (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}) who was runner-up to Elusive Kate (Elusive Quality) in the 2011 edition. Al Shira’aa Farms’ Sicilia (GB) (Kingman {GB}) was another to take the eye when winning over six here July 31 and the relative of Footstepsinthesand (GB) is held in high esteem by Carlos Laffon-Parias, while the omnipresent Charlie Appleby stable is represented by the July 28 G3 Prix Six Perfections winner Beyond Reason (Ire) (Australia {GB}). “She is a course-and-distance winner, obviously. I think she’s got to step up again to win on Saturday, but we feel that she has,” her trainer said. “She’s a very nice, straightforward filly and if she can just raise her game a notch, then she should be bang there.” The G2 Shadwell Prix de la Nonette also has an Appleby trainee engaged in the returning Listed Montrose Fillies’ S. winner Hadith (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), while Godolphin’s main chance seems to be the Andre Fabre-trained Musis Amica (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) who is having her first outing since finishing a neck second to Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) when runner-up in the G1 Prix de Diane over 10 1/2 furlongs at Chantilly June 17. “Musis Amica has been very impressive in defeat on her last two outings,” the operation’s Lisa-Jane Graffard commented. “We are still a bit perplexed about her true attributes, such as whether she needs further or softer ground. This race will hopefully act as a springboard for the second half of the season and we want to see how she gets on before making any further plans.” Appleby said of Hadith, “She hasn’t run since she won the Montrose as a two-year-old, but she’s a filly we’ve always liked. She had a small setback in the spring and we said we’d save her for an autumn campaign. Her preparation has gone well and I hope she’ll be competitive, but whatever she does, I’m sure she’ll improve from it.” View the full article

Breeders' Cup Aug. 17 officially announced Santa Anita Park, Keeneland, and Del Mar as the host sites for the next three editions of the World Championships. View the full article

Aheadbyacentury heads a field of nine Canadian-bred 3-year-olds for the Aug. 18 $400,000 Breeders' Stakes, third jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, going 1 1/2 miles over the turf at Woodbine. View the full article

Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor plans to be double-handed in the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1), with Thunder Snow (IRE) and Benbatl (GB), lined up to appear at York Aug. 22. View the full article

The G1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks at York next Thursday is shaping up into a thrilling contest with the winners of the Epsom, French and Irish Oaks each among the 11 fillies that have stood their ground for the mile and a half race. Of the Classic winning trio of Forever Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) it is only G1 Longines Prix de Diane winner Laurens that has yet to prove herself over the trip. Regardless, her trainer Karl Burke expressed himself delighted with John Dance’s filly as she gave all the right signals in a workout at home on Friday. “She had her final piece of work this morning and she went as well as I’ve seen her, to be honest,” Burke said. “We’re very happy with her. She’ll have a pipe-opener on Tuesday and that will be it, we’re really looking forward to the race.” Although not particularly cheap at the time when bought for £220,000 as a yearling at Goffs UK last year Laurens has proved not only a phenomenal investment but a joy to own and watch. From only seven runs she has toughed out five wins and two seconds for prize-money of over £1.1-million to date and she has been a credit to the handling of her trainer. View the full article

DEAUVILLE, France—After torrential rain on Thursday evening, by Friday morning the sky had cleared to ensure that the international supporting cast which has descended on Deauville could complete final yearling inspections bathed in sunshine. The European yearling season is ushered in with Arqana’a August Sale, which starts its three-day run this evening with two select post-racing sessions through the weekend. In the last four years the sale has cleared close to, or in one case just above, €40 million in turnover for the cream of the French yearling crop plus some select international visitors. The D yard at the sales complex has been extended this year with a new row of boxes containing the 22-strong consignment of La Motteraye, a draft which has grown progressively in both both quantity and quality in recent years. The young duo behind the consignment, Lucie Lamotte and Gwen Monneraye, could hardly have been given a bigger vote of confidence this year than to have been asked to consign the first foal of G1 Irish 1,000 Guineas and GI EP Taylor S. heroine Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}). Her statuesque Dubawi colt will sell on Sunday evening as lot 137. “It’s a great honour to have been asked to sell the colt by David Redvers,” said Monneraye. “Each year we have been trying to improve but this is a major step forward for us.” Just The Judge was herself a €50,000 Goffs Orby yearling but by the time she returned to Tattersalls in December of 2014 with two top-level wins to her credit she commanded a 4.5 million-guinea price tag with her existing owner Qatar Racing forming a new partnership with China Horse Club. The mare foaled a filly by Dubawi on Valentine’s Day this year. “We brought him here as we thought we could be one of 20 in Newmarket whereas here he’s the only Dubawi colt in the sale,” said David Redvers. “He is here to be sold for the partnership of Qatar Bloodstock and China Horse Club and he will have a very sensible reserve. “We’ve sold horses through La Motteraye ever since they started and they bring such enthusiasm to the game. They always do a wonderful job and we’re very happy to support them.” The Dubawi colt will be in the ring only two lots after 135, another colt from the La Motteraye draft who will demand interest as he is a Dark Angel (Ire) half-brother to the Group 1 winner and promising young stallion Havana Gold (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). The son of the dual Group 3 winner Jessica’s Dream (Ire) (Desert Style {Ire}) is being sold on behalf of Charlie Parker’s Crimbourne Bloodstock. A new name on the list of August consignors this year but one which is very familiar in Britain is Whatton Manor Stud, which offers one yearling (lot 131), a colt by Oasis Dream (GB) out of the GI Beverly D S. winner I’m A Dreamer (Ire) (Noverre). The Nottinghamshire-based operation has been enjoying a terrific run on the track this season, most notably through the exploits of the G3 Prix Minerve winner Worth Waiting (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), who could head next to the G1 Prix Vermeille. “We’ve sold here in the past through other people but we felt that the August Sale would suit this colt so we thought it was worth trying something different,” said Ed Player of Whatton Manor Stud. “His full-brother is in training with Clive Cox and is set to run at the end of the month and Oasis Dream is having a good year, particularly in France with Polydream (Fr), so we are hopeful of a good sale. It’s so important these days to split your draft and think very carefully about where to sell each horse.” The colt, bred by St Albans Bloodstock and a half-brother to juvenile winner Dream Warrior (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), is the last offspring of I’m A Dreamer, who also won the G3 Dahlia S. and was runner-up in the GI EP Taylor S. but was sadly lost to laminitis after he was foaled. The sale gives many European buyers a first glimpse of yearlings by American Pharoah, who has one filly selling on each of the first two evenings (lots 34 and 158). Among the other American-based stallions to be represented is Spendthrift Farm’s Temple City, whose one yearling in the catalogue, selling through Haras d’Etreham, is lot 97, a half-sister to the G3 Prix de Psyche winner Homerique (Exchange Rate). The first session of the August Sale begins at 5.30pm local time with the first lot into the ring being one of six yearlings in the sale by the champion sire Galileo (Ire). Lot 1 is out of the multiple Grade 2 winner Naissance Royal (Ire) (Giant’s Causeway) and is a sister to the Group 3-placed dual winner Jadhaba. View the full article

The ITV team will be showing racing from three different tracks on Saturday with some good racing at Newbury, Newmarket and Ripon. The listed Denford Stakes kicks off proceedings at Newbury where the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes is the feature race. Richard Hannon and Silvestre De Sousa team up in the opener with the twice-raced and unbeaten Boitron. The French-bred colt’s victories came at some of Britain’s top tracks and with this experience behind him, a big run can be expected. Ralph Beckett trains the only other unbeaten horse in the field with his once raced Antonia De Vega. The daughter of Lope De Vega came from off the pace to land a Newmarket maiden in July and the filly just could be anything. In racing, everyone is always looking for a “progressive” horse and that is exactly what Charlie Appleby’s Good Fortune is becoming as he has gone from finishing second last in a Haydock maiden on debut to winning a Lingfield novice event by ten lengths on his third start last month. If he continues to improve then he could turn into a group horse. Other previous winners to consider are the Ryan Moore ridden The Trader and Dutch Treat. Selection: Good Fortune HamadaThe Group 2 Geoffrey Freer Stakes is the highlight on the undercard at Newbury and the race has been won by big names down through the years chief among them probably being future leading national hunt sire Presenting back in 1995. Hamada definitely won’t be emulating Presenting as he has already been gelded but since this operation, the son of Cape Cross has won all three of his starts and he will be very difficult to beat here with James Doyle in the saddle. William Haggas’ Dal Harraild ran very well last time when finishing fourth behind Stradivarius in the Group 1 Goodwood Cup. This represents the best form on offer and Ryan Moore’s mount looks most likely to beat Hamada. The very promising Raymond Tusk is an intriguing contender here as the son of High Chaparral won well on debut and then ran with credit in the Eclipse as a 50/1 outsider. That run was followed by a victory in a listed race at Hamilton where he raced quite freely and with a step up in trip, the worry would have to be that SDS won’t be able to settle him. Top weight Algometer has to also be considered in a race of this nature as he was runner-up to Marmelo in a Group 2 at Longchamp when last seen. Selection: Hamada The Group 2 Hungerford Stakes is the feature race at Newbury and is may be at the mercy of Gustav Klimt, who has been contesting Group 1 events on his last five starts and with this drop down in class and trip he looks the answer. Aidan O’Brien’s colt has actually won all three of his starts over seven furlongs which is a big positive. Breton Rock bids for another victory in this race having won it back in 2014 and the perennial eight-year-old seems to be coming here in reasonable form having finished third behind Sir Dancealot in the Lennox Stakes most recently. Sir Dancealot re-oppose here and David Elsworth’s four-year-old has already had a great season winning a Group 3, Group 2 and he finished fourth behind U S Navy Flag in the Group 1 Darley July Cup. If he can continue this rich vein of form then the son of Prancealot must go close. Dean Ivory’s Librisa Breeze enjoyed his finest hour last season when winning the Group 1 British Champions Sprint Stakes and he showed a return to form when finishing fourth in the Prix Maurice De Gheest at Deauville earlier this month. If he can come back to the form he showed last season then he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Selection: Gustav Klimt Golden Apollo (Left)Ripon plays host to their flagship meeting on Saturday with the Great St Wilfrid Stakes being the jewel in their racing calendar. David O’Meara(3 Times) and Richard Fahey(2 Times) have won five of the last seven renewals between them. Richard Fahey is responsible for the current race favourite with Growl who finished third behind a resurgent Gifted Master in the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood most recently. He runs off the same mark here and with Paul Hanagan retaining the partnership he’s a worthy favourite. Last year’s winning trainer Tim Easterby is represented by 1-2 from the Dash at York with Flying Pursuit and Golden Apollo. The latter has a six-pound swing for this neck defeat and must have strong claims of beating his stablemate on this occasion. Of the outsiders, the jockey booking of Daniel Tudhope catches the eye on Marie Of Lyon who’s saddle slipped inside the final furlong in the Stewards’ Cup and could sneak into the places with a bit of luck. Others who hold claims include Kimberella, Spring Loaded and Brian The Snail. Selection: Golden Apollo The six furlong Randox Health Handicap takes centre stage at Newmarket and Andrew Balding is turning out Rebel Streak quickly following a win at Leicester last Sunday. Promising apprentice Jason Watson take over the reins and claims a valuable three pounds o this improving three year old. Staxton was a course and distance winner last month but I think he’ll struggle off a mark of 101. Andrea Atzeni rides Buffer Zone for Roger Charlton and the very lightly raced son of Bated Breath holds leading claims. The three year old was a beaten odds on favourite at Windsor on his latest start and could be worth following. Selection: Rebel Streak The post Weekend Preview – Can Kilmt Claim The Hungerford Stakes? appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

A USEFUL horse called Winx will be lighting up Royal Randwick on Saturday in her self-titled Group One race — the Winx Stakes — but she has a proper test in front of her with classy Godolphin galloper Kementari throwing down the gauntlet. Can the mighty mare break Black Caviar’s record of 25 straight wins and keep her own stunning streak intact? View the full article

CAULFIELD plays host to quality Group racing this Saturday with a nine-event card highlighted by the $200,000 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m). View the full article

WINX, racing’s winning machine, has enabled punters to rip nearly $100 million from two of the nation’s biggest bookmaking operations. View the full article

Red Barons Barn's runner will be back at his preferred marathon distance in the $250,000 Del Mar Handicap Presented by The Japan Racing Association (G2T) Aug. 18, but a nagging issue remains. He's winless in 10 starts at Del Mar. View the full article

No early scratchings August 17 View the full article

Tough as Silkino in his will to win View the full article

Dicton finally lays down the law View the full article