Wandering Eyes

More and more businesses in the Thoroughbred industry are using social media to strengthen their brand and reach out to current and potential clients. Alix Choppin, head of communication and development at Arqana, shares her insights on strategies for social media marketing TDN: What are the benefits of social media marketing for businesses in the Thoroughbred industry? Alix Choppin: Social media has clearly enabled racing-related businesses to reach out to a much wider audience than they used to when using traditional media such as magazines and newspapers. The use of videos is invaluable to market a sport as visual as horseracing. Think of morning exercise at sunrise or racing images from a jockey’s headcam: we have so much to showcase that can definitely make racing attractive to a younger, urban audience who would never have been exposed to a racing-related newspaper. And when you see a celebrity such as FIFA World Cup champion Antoine Griezmann get hooked into racehorse ownership and share his passion on social media, the impact is huge – worth hundreds of old-style adverts. TDN: Which social channels have been most successful for you? How do you measure success? AC: Facebook and Twitter have been our core media at Arqana for a while now and as a result this is where we have the largest following. Both services provide detailed statistics, which make it easy to monitor our use and identify the highest-performing content. However these two media now tend to represent the old guard as is reflected in their users’ age pyramid. As a result we continue to explore other media such as Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. Flexibility and adaptability are fundamental in social media. TDN: Can you convert social media followers into clients? AC: Naturally it is very dependent on the type of products or services you are selling, but in the case of racing clubs, we’ve clearly seen a significant connection. Quite a lot of members found out about Arqana Racing Club on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, liked what they saw and were encouraged to investigate further. Particularly for foreign-based owners, social media can provide a good indication on the type of content they will receive as club members. This is an area where social media platforms have made a major difference from the days when all you would get from your trainer was the occasional phone call, and you counted yourself lucky if the race was broadcast live. TDN: Do you look at other organisations, inside or outside the Thoroughbred world, for inspiration? AC: Yes, of course. There is so much creativity in this area and I find it really interesting to look at how different sectors address their respective challenges via social media. TDN: How did you develop your social media skills? AC: Not being a digital native, I’ve been learning throughout my professional life using a combination of personal research, specific training and most importantly taking advice from the younger members in my team at Arqana. TDN: What are the biggest mistakes to avoid making? AC: I really wouldn’t dare to give any lessons in this domain as the main rule seems to be that the rules are constantly changing. TDN: Can social media be a distraction? AC: It all depends on your point of view. If you’re a teacher, a lecturer or a priest, you are likely to think social media content can be distracting. Luckily I am not, and as a result I consider social media as a source of information, networking, entertainment, expression and much more. TDN: What social media trends are you following? AC: I believe that we haven’t seen the end of media specialisation. In the early stages of social media, Facebook used to be the universal platform, while now you see people using separate channels for their various needs: interacting with family and friends, promoting and cultivating their professional profile, expressing their artistic inspiration, keeping in touch with the latest news, etc. TDN: Do you think social media marketing will continue to expand? AC: It seems inevitable to me. I was reading recently that in France alone, social media already accounts for 71% of digital advertising and 97% of its growth. As social media use continues to spread and intensify, these platforms will become increasingly valuable and brands will be willing to pay considerable amounts for a share of their users’ attention. View the full article

While most sales consignors operate at a range of sales, some of them in different countries, for Ecurie des Monceaux, the entire sales season hinges on what happens over this coming Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The leading vendor at Arqana’s August Sale for the last six years, Monceaux is effectively a private consignor, selling only horses bred at the farm by its increasing band of influential partners. With one Speightstown colt having been withdrawn, 34 yearlings will be offered for sale from this weekend. They include one of the pair of first yearlings by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to be catalogued in Europe. The duo will be discussed in a separate feature tomorrow. That gem aside, there’s plenty of depth to the Monceaux treasure chest, which arrives in Deauville with updates about as fresh as they come, including Saturday night’s GI Beverly D S. victory for graduate Sistercharlie (Fr) (Myboycharlie {Ire}), whose Charm Spirit (Ire) half-brother sells on Saturday as lot 43. “We don’t want to go over the kind of number we have now,” says Henri Bozo, the frontman for the various partnerships behind Monceaux who oversees the day-to-day running of the 282-hectare farm roughly half an hour from Deauville. “More or less it has been rising year after year but in the last two or three years we are where we want to be number-wise.” The results in the ring illustrate the draft’s importance to France’s flagship yearling sale. Last year alone, the Monceaux draft contributed €9,587,000 to Arqana’s August aggregate of €38,505,500—almost exactly a quarter of turnover. That success can only be sustained, however, if the annual yearling draft continues to produce racehorses of a decent calibre. Bozo says, “We are all very sure that the main thing is to keep throwing good results on the track and this year we have 11 individual 3-year-olds who have earned black type, which is great and it’s really exciting. We really orientate our policy on achieving that. Of course, we are very happy to have very good sales results but the ultimate result is definitely on the racecourse.” Monceaux graduates to have passed the ultimate test this year include Fiona Carmichael’s G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Intellogent (Fr), the flagbearer for the first crop of Intello (Ger). His dam Nuit Polaire (Ire) (Kheleyf) was herself bought by Monceaux from the August Sale of 2009 and she has a filly from the first crop of Gleneagles (Ire) (lot 8) to represent her there this year. “Nuit Polaire is the perfect example of what we’ve been trying to do since the beginning, to invest in either broodmares or, like her, yearlings,” Bozo explains. “We raced her, she won in Deauville and we kept her as a broodmare. Every year we’re trying to buy either broodmares, fillies off the track or yearlings to race and keep them in the future. “Nuit Polaire’s yearling is very racy and she seems to have a very good mind, like Intellogent. She’s got that fighting spirit and I’m happy with her. She’s got scope, she walks very well and she has quality.” Among other first-crop sires to have been visited by Monceaux mares is Shadwell’s Muhaarar (GB), who has four yearlings in the August draft, including two from the farm’s hallmark family of Platonic (GB) (Zafonic). The Fittocks Stud-bred mare was bought in 2004 for 100,000gns while carrying Prudenzia (Ire) Dansili {GB}), who would go on to become a listed winner for the original partnership of Ecurie des Monceaux and Lady O’Reilly’s Skymarc Farm and, more importantly, the dam of Classic winner Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}). Prudenzia and her half-sister, the Group 3 winner Pacifique (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), have each been represented in the past by seven-figure yearlings at Arqana—four in the case of Prudenzia, including this season’s G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})—and their twin visit to Nunnery Stud pays a high compliment to the champion sprinter Muhaarar. Bozo says, “We try to go to proven stallions as much as we can except when we are really keen on a young stallion who has a lot of appeal to us, and Muhaarar is one of those. He was such a good horse with a great turn of foot, a lot of speed, and he’s very well bred. He’s very attractive physically so we were keen to use him strongly and we did with some of our best mares. We used him to bring a bit of power and bit of a kick. About the kick we’ll know next year but I’m happy with the power that I see.” He continues, “This family of Prudenzia and Pacifique has become our foundation family and it keeps throwing very good horses. I think he haven’t seen the best of Magic Wand yet. We’ve got quite a few fillies [from the family] on the farm and hopefully they will keep developing.” What is also developing is the number of partners involved in the operation. Across the world in racing and bloodstock, the powerful liaisons are increasingly evident, often with a potential stallion at their core as illustrated by the link between WinStar, China Horse Club, SF Bloodstock and associated partners involved in the Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy). A similar business model operates within Monceaux, albeit one with a greater focus on the assembling of a world-class broodmare band. “Our historical partner is definitely Lady O’Reilly, with Patricia Boutin, with whom we started. We’ve had a lot of success working together and we keep buying with them every year with a lot of pleasure, the same as with Andreas Putsch,” Bozo says. The global reach of SF Bloodstock also extends to Monceaux, which is selling a Lope De Vega (Ire) half-brother to recent G2 Qatar Vintage S. winner Dark Vision (Ire) (Dream Ahead) on their behalf. Bozo adds, “We are very happy and lucky to sell his half-brother that we’ve bred here on behalf of SF Bloodstock. We didn’t have anything to do with Dark Vision. We didn’t breed him, but we got the mare in foal to Lope De Vega. “We also have some newer relationships, like with [Newmarket-based] Lordship Stud, and they have been investing with us and have become an important partner. We also have some complete newcomers. It’s one of our aims to try to bring new people into the game on the breeding side hoping that it could turn into a racing partnership in the future. We’ve got new, young partners, some of them French, and for some of them it’s their first partnership or their first investment in horses and I think it’s important to try to make this type of thing more popular in France. He continues, “It almost couldn’t be a better time to do this. Whether it is encouraging more French owners and breeders or bringing international breeders to France. Because really in the last, say, 10 years, with the quality of stallions and the new operations coming into France, suddenly the industry has had a great resurgence. Newcomers have arrived and built up some successful operations with some of them being stallion farms, some of them breeders, some of them consignors. I think there is a very strong generation of good horsemen in France with a real will to invest in the French breeding industry so that’s very exciting.” Racing either yearling purchases or the odd homebred is an important part of Bozo’s strategy when it comes to the development of the broodmare band and this exercise is not restricted to the lucrative racing programme in France. “It works very well as long as you have the same philosophy or the same idea, which is that we are really 100% focused on breeding and we want to try to give good mares, good families, the best chance of succeeding on the race track. We don’t sell our mares and we don’t trade really, so as long as people are happy with that policy we are very happy to go into partnership with people we get on well with,” he says. “We’ve had fillies in America with Christophe Clement for 10 years and that has been really successful and enjoyable. In the recent years we have wanted to develop a bit more of our racing side because we want to be more a part of the racing scene in France. That means we have invested in more yearling fillies which is a good way of building our future broodmare band and a chance of getting something exceptional. With our partnerships we now have more horses in training, some in France, some in South Africa and we are absolutely open to have some in England too if the opportunity arises.” There’s an old saying that pressure is for tyres and if Bozo does feel the pressure of the public manifestation of all these hopes and plans involving so many different entities coming to the boil on three days in mid-August, he does a very good job of hiding it. “The last few days before shipping to the sale can be stressful,” he admits. “Once you are on the sales ground you do your job, there’s not much else you can do except making sure the shows go well. “There are lots of bigger French drafts now and in a way we are all rivals in the sales ring, but it is good for the whole of the French industry that so many good consignors have become involved. They are successful, they’ve travelled, they know people, they are professional. We are all helping each other to market the French breeding industry. It’s very positive and it’s good to see that when you work hard, try hard, and are given a good chance you can be successful. It can only be positive for the future.” View the full article

New Zealand-born artist Peter Williams, a familiar figure in the paddocks of the most famous racetracks in the world, died at the age of 84 at his home in Goshen, Kentucky Aug. 13 after a prolonged battle with the debilitating effects of Lyme disease and advancing dementia for several years. Born March 22, 1934 at Ruatoria, a small east coast village on the North Island of New Zealand, Williams was brought up in the family business of raising livestock on expansive sheep stations near Gisbourne, NZ. An education at Hereworth School, Wanganui Collegiate School and Canterbury School of Art, fine-tuned his natural abilities and the encouragement he received made painting his passion. As he began to win awards and land exhibitions in New Zealand and Australia, he was invited by Quantus Airlines to be a guest on their inaugural 747 flight to the United States in 1971. Ten years later, he returned to the U.S. and a chance encounter with Richard Stone Reeves led to a commission to paint racing scenes and the beginning of his career as an equine artist. He was widely considered to be the unofficial artist-in-residence at Churchill Downs, Keeneland and Saratoga. Although best known for his equine-themed work, he was equally adept at painting landscapes, flowers, homes, vintage automobiles, cityscapes, nautical scenes and figural compositions, always from life and always executed in oil. He was commissioned by royalty, art collectors, and equine organizations around the world and was twice invited by HRH Queen Elizabeth II to paint the Sandringham Estate Carriage Trials. Although Kentucky was his adopted home for more than 25 years, there was no mistaking Peter Williams’ New Zealand origins and he chose to host a retrospective exhibit in his homeland in November of 2012 for the launch of his book Peter Williams Retrospective: Paintings and People Dear to Me. In all, he had dozens of one-man shows and exhibitions in New Zealand, England, Australia and the United States. Williams was known for his love of life and sense of humor, as well as his penchant for friendship, which led him to connect with many people throughout his life. Despite being very well known as an artist, when introductions were made, he often quipped that he was an unemployed sheepherder from New Zealand. He is survived by his loving best friend, Lee Anne Fahey; eldest son Harold (Janet) Williams; his son Tom (Linda) Williams; and daughter Belinda Pridham and her partner Pam. He is also survived by his six grandchildren: Jemma and Toby Williams, Olivia and Jerome Williams and Jesse and Tillie Pridham and many nieces and nephews all of whom reside in New Zealand. A celebration of Williams’s life will be held to coincide with an opening reception for his upcoming exhibition, “Peter Williams: Painted from Life,” at the Headley Whitney Museum in Lexington Sept. 7, 2018, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. View the full article

When the stewards disqualified Lewisfield from first for interference in the stretch and awarded close-second Laki the victory in the Polynesian Stakes Aug. 12 at Laurel Park, it also affected the MATCH standings. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In what is a very good summer in another strong year, Saturday, August 11, 2018 was a day of days for trainer Chad Brown. Not only did he complete the GI Arlington Million-GI Beverly D. S. double for the second consecutive year at Arlington Park, Brown saddled the first three finishers in the Beverly D, ran 1-2 in the Million and finished second in the GI Secretariat S. with Analyze It (Point of Entry). But wait. There’s more While Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) was taking the Beverly D. over stablemates Fourstar Crook (Freud) and Thais (Fr) (Rio de lLa Pata), and Robert Bruce (Chi) (Fast Company {Ire}) was winning the Arlington Million over Almanaar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Brown’s stable was having yet another very good day at Saratoga, where he is on a record-breaking pace, with three wins and two seconds from eight starters. For the day at Arlington, Monmouth Park and Saratoga, Brown had six wins, six seconds and two thirds from 19 starters. That’s a win rate of 31.57% and an in-the-money performance of 73.68%. The purse earnings for the day of $1,648,010 would rank 52nd on the 2018 national trainer’s list through Monday. Brown, 39, has been the leading turf trainer in the U.S. for several years and is a force on the Arlington Million program. His third victory in the Million tied the record shared by Hall of Famers Charlie Whittingham and Ron McAnally and his fifth Beverly D. and fourth in a row are records. In 2015, Brown became the first trainer to saddle the top two finishers in the Beverly. He did it again last year and managed to improve on it by sweeping the top three places in the nine-horse field. Then he produced the exacta in the Million. “It was a really incredible day. It came together in the right way,” Brown said. “Nearly all of our horses ran well. It’s a very fortunate position to be in. I’m very proud of our day.” While hitting the board with six of eight starters in the three Grade I races would have been an overly optimistic projection, Brown’s continued success at Arlington was not shocking. In the Million, Robert Bruce was the 5-2 second choice and Almanaar was the 7-2 third choice behind Oscar Performance (Kitten’s Joy), who was pulled up and vanned off after taking what jockey Jose Ortiz felt was a bad step. Sistercharlie was the 8-5 favorite in the Beverly D and Analyze It was the 4-5 favorite in the Secretariat. “We went out there with some really good horses,” Brown said at Saratoga. “Their training went well. A little bit of dodging weather over here wasn’t easy. It took a lot of teamwork, a lot of concentration by everybody, but we got it done. When we actually got them to Arlington and settled in, it looked like we were lined up potentially for a really good day of racing. I’m just so proud of the horses that did fire their best races. It was realistic, but not expected.” Brown said he had never had a day like that at Arlington and struggled to put it into perspective. “I mean, we’ve had some really great days. Last year we won both races as well, but to actually sweep the three spots in the Beverly D and run 1-2 in the Million is ….” he said, pausing for a moment. “I’m kind of at a loss for words. You set forth plans and you hope they come together. And they did.” The downside, though, is that many of Brown’s owners with horses in the Arlington races had to be satisfied finishing behind a stablemate. “The horses ran really well, so most people are happy with the efforts,” Brown said. “At the end of the day we go to Arlington and only two horses won. “They ran well, but everybody wants to win, as well. The best thing I can do is put everyone in the position where they have the best chance they can to win. Most of the horses ran very well out there and the clients are happy with their efforts, but at the end of the day everybody wants to win. That’s what’s tough about horse racing. There has to be a loser, even when horses run well.” Brown grew up in Mechanicville, about 18 miles south of Saratoga Springs and developed his interest in racing during family visits to Saratoga Race Course. He won with the first horse he started at Saratoga in first race on opening day in 2008, picked his first career Grade I victory at Saratoga and won the training title at the track in 2016 with a record 40 wins. Todd Pletcher matched the wins mark last year when he edged Brown, 40-39. This rainy summer, Brown is well on his way to reclaiming the title, and with 25 wins through 22 days of the 40-day season, is in a good position to surpass 40 victories. “We’ve had a very strong meet. I’m happy with the way things have gone,” he said. “Just keep moving forward. Especially given the weather. We have a lot of grass horses in our barn and for us to win as many races as we have has been rewarding and a relief. We have been bogged down by the weather some, both training and racing.” Through Monday, Brown had 11 more wins than Steve Asmussen, 25-14. He had won with 25 of 84 starters, 30%, and his runners had finished in the money 62% of the time. On dirt, Brown was 10 for 38, 26%. On turf, he was 15 for 46, 33%. His turf horses hit the board at a 67% clip. “We’ve been fortunate still to win a large number of races despite the weather,” he said. “It goes to show you how the stable has really evolved. We have a lot more dirt horses.” Brown is expecting to saddle two Saratoga’s signature race, the GI Travers S. Aug. 25: likely favorite Good Magic (Curlin), the 2017 2-year-old champ, Kentucky Derby runner-up and winner of the GI Haskell Invitational, and Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}), the GI Belmont S. runner-up. With her victory in the Beverly D., a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” race, Sistercharlie secured a spot in the Filly and Mare Turf, a race Brown has won three times in the last six years. He said she would likely make one more start before the Breeders’ Cup in the GI Flower Bowl S. Oct. 7 at Belmont Park. The Beverly D. was her third GI win in five races for Brown and followed her victory by a nose in the GI Diana S. July 21 at Saratoga. “She’s in that top selective group of the best turf mares that I’ve had,” he said. “She’s a remarkable talent to come back in three weeks and run a real blinder. She ran terrific.” Sistercharlie needed some sutures after the Beverly D to close some cuts in a hind leg. Brown said the wounds would delay her return to the track, but said he expects her to be ready for the Flower Bowl. Fourstar Crook is also being pointed to the Flower Bowl. Robert Bruce won all six of his starts in Chile in 2017. He added victory #7 in the GIII Fort Marcy S. May 5 in his debut with Brown and was sixth, beaten on length in a troubled trip in the GI Manhattan S. June 9. The Arlington Million victory gives him a berth in the GI Breeder’ Cup Turf at 1 1/2 miles and Brown will probably prep him at that distance in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Sept. 29 at Belmont Park. “He has run that far back home,” Brown said. “I think he’ll do it here.” William Lawrence’s Analyze It looked like he was on his way to victory in the Secretariat, but was caught and beaten a neck by 38-1 winner Carrick (Giant’s Causeway). It was Analyze It’s third-straight runner-up finish, after opening his career with three victories. “Disappointed he didn’t win. He ran another really good race,” Brown said. “I though the winner ran very well in that race. He just came up second-best. He attended a really quick pace on turf with some give in the ground and he was the only one there at the end. I give him a lot of credit. but you still need to win. The horse that won I thought got a great trip and ran a really great race so at the end of the day I’d say that Analyze It was just second-best.” Brown said he is thinking about running Analyze It in the GII Hill Prince S. Oct. 6 at Belmont Park and have him complete his 3-year-old season in the Hollywood Derby in November at Del Mar. View the full article

For any owner of a middle-distance mare, there is considerable temptation–especially in today’s speed-obsessed industry–to try to inject some pace by sending her to a sprinter. The widespread hope is that this type of mating will produce a happy blend of the sire’s speed and the mare’s stamina, with the resultant foal shining at around a mile. The possibility exists, though, that the foal will take after just one of its parents. Events over the weekend confirmed that, if Sadler’s Wells is somewhere in the mix, the chances are that stamina will win out over speed, even when the stallion concerned has a reputation for passing on a generous measure of his sprinting ability. Firstly we saw Bated Breath’s daughter Worth Waiting produce a career-best effort to take the G3 Prix Minerve over 1 9/16 miles, little more than three weeks after she had won the Listed Aphrodite S. on her first attempt at a mile and a half. Bated Breath, a grandson of Danehill, never tackled more than six furlongs in an 18-race career and was fast enough to win the G2 Temple S. over five furlongs and to finish a close second in the G1 King’s Stand S. Bated Breath’s older progeny have an average winning distance of 7.1 furlongs, with most of them doing their winning at up to a mile, and Worth Waiting is his first winner beyond a mile and a quarter. A look at the bottom half of the filly’s pedigree makes it easy to understand why. Her dam, the Sadler’s Wells mare Salutare, gained two of her three wins in France over 1 7/8 miles and was tried at group level over two miles. Salutare’s dam Contare visited Sadler’s Wells’s son Montjeu to produce Montare, a filly who was even more effective over 1 7/8 miles than Salutare, as she showed in winning the G1 Prix Royal-Oak. Montare, of course, went on to produce the high-class mile-and-a-half filly Journey to the miler Dubawi and the group-placed French stayer Travelling Man to the super-speedy Oasis Dream. I should add that Salutare represents the same Sadler’s Wells/Shirley Heights nick which produced those outstanding mile-and-a-half performers In The Wings and Alexandrova. It is also worth mentioning that Sadler’s Wells was so dominant, from a stamina viewpoint, that his progeny had an average winning distance as high as 11.4 furlongs. Only one of his many offspring–the filly Liscanna–was speedy enough to become a group winner over a distance as short as six furlongs after the age of two. Bated Breath isn’t without some stamina in his pedigree. Although his sire Dansili didn’t stay as well as his four Group 1-winning siblings, such as Champs Elysees and Cacique, his average winning distance stands at 9.5f. About 90 minutes after Worth Waiting’s impressive win, the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin over a mile and a half fell to Best Solution, even though he is by Kodiac. Thanks to the likes of Tiggy Wiggy, Besharah, Ardad, Prince of Lir, Kodi Bear, Nebo and Bear Creek, Kodiac’s reputation is largely based on his ability to sire considerable numbers of fast and precocious 2-year-olds. Best Solution appeared to conform to this pattern when he won over six furlongs at Goodwood in the July of his 2-year-old season but his trainer Saeed bin Suroor quickly recognised that Best Solution is no normal Kodiac. By October, the colt had become a Group 3 winner over a mile, in the Autumn S., and by the end of October, Best Solution had performed with considerable credit in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud over a mile and a quarter. In finishing second, beaten a length, he divided Waldgeist, who was to fail by only a short head to win the Prix du Jockey-Club, and Capri, who was to win the Irish Derby and the St Leger. Although Classic glory eluded Best Solution–he finished eighth of 18 in the Derby–he has added another three group successes, all over a mile and a half. In landing the G3 St Simon S. last year, he was followed home in third place by Danehill Kodiac, the only other middle-distance group winner by Kodiac, whose progeny have an average winning distance of only 7.2 furlongs. Bearing in mind that Kodiac is out of Rafha, a winner of the G1 Prix de Diane, it is a little surprising that so few of his progeny stay middle distances but we have to factor in the type of mare that Ireland’s commercial breeders sent him during the years when his fee stood at €10,000 or less. I am guessing that the type of mare sent to the son of Danehill may have changed a little over the last four years, during which his fee has climbed from €25,000 to €45,000 and then to €50,000 for the last two years. Best Solution provides plenty of reassurance for any breeders which have tried sailing against the tide. His dam Al Andalyya earned a mere £245 in five visits to the racecourse. She was tried at up to a mile and a quarter, which is understandable for a representative of the celebrated Kingmambo/Sadler’s Wells nick. You can gauge how successful this nick was from the fact that there are 106 foals bred this way. Ten of them became black-type winners, with no fewer than seven becoming Group 1 winners. The best stayers among them were El Condor Pasa, winner of the Japan Cup and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, as well as finishing an excellent second in the Arc; Campanologist, a four-time Group 1 winner over a mile and a half; and Divine Proportions, an admirably versatile filly who numbered the Prix de Diane among her five Group 1 successes. It mustn’t be forgotten that Kingmambo’s other Group 1 winners included two winners of the St Leger. Best Solution also has links to Britain’s longest Classic, as his second dam, the group-placed Kushnarenkovo, is a sister to Brian Boru, winner of the 2003 St Leger. Brian Boru and Kushnarenkovo were among the numerous Sadler’s Wells foals bred by Juddmonte Farms as part of a foal-sharing arrangement which included their dam Eva Luna for several years. Coolmore took four of the six siblings out of Eva Luna but Juddmonte retained Soviet Moon, an unraced filly who was to produce the Derby and Arc-winning Workforce to Kingmambo’s son King’s Best. Stamina has always been one of this family’s prime assets. Eva Luna won the G3 Park Hill S. over the St Leger course and distance and her foals also included Sea Moon, who was third in the St Leger after winning the G2 Great Voltigeur S. Eva Luna’s dam Media Luna, failed by only a neck to win the 1984 Oaks at odds of 66-1, and Media Luna’s half-sister Suni was third in the Oaks. One of Eva Luna’s half-sister, Medicosma, ranks as the second dam of Qualify, the 2015 Oaks winner sired by the champion sprinter Fastnet Rock from a granddaughter of Sadler’s Wells, Fastnet Rock, of course, shares the same sire–Danehill–as Kodiac, so Best Solution isn’t the first 12-furlong Group 1 winner bred to this pattern. View the full article

There are certain basic principles that are as universal to business as the nighttime stars are to sailors on the high seas. Throughout their decades navigating the energy sector, owners Ron and Barbara Perry have proven shrewd captains of these principles, steering their company Commercial Energy towards what it is today: a mainstay of the western energy markets, its oars dipped into the supply and delivery of electricity and natural gas to thousands of businesses. And now, against the backdrop of lightbulbs glowing and air conditioners whirring, the Perrys are applying some of these same business tenets to Cicero Farms, the umbrella name for their racing and bloodstock ventures. “Our goal is to build a lasting business, not just a single stallion or a single great racehorse, and we think it must be done all the way across the value chain rather than do it through breeding only or through buying yearlings and 2-year-olds only,” said Ron Perry, a slick, quick talker who can marry into a dizzying stream of consciousness the seemingly unmarried jargons of the bloodstock and corporate worlds. “We’re vertically integrated in both businesses. That is a key.” The stallion in question is He Be Fire N Ice, the now frosting-white blizzard known for his 2013 victory in the California Dreamin’ H. at Del Mar, and a couple of subsequent agonizing near-misses in the GII Del Mar Mile H. and GII City of Hope Mile S. It’s fast approaching crunch time for He Be Fire N Ice, who stands at Ridgeley Farm in Hemet, Southern California. His first 2-year-olds–four of which the Perrys bred themselves from mares purchased with the fledgling stallion’s future in mind–are poised to make the racecourse debuts. “We spoke with a few owners who have tried to develop stallions, and they’ve all said the same thing: it’s really hard to get other people to give you good mares when you’re getting started,” said Perry. “And generally, the [mares] that are offered don’t produce racehorses on the track.” Success, the Perrys noted, often came when breeders first supported their own stallions. Which is why, over the past two years, they’ve purchased eight more broodmares, each fitting, more or less, a broad set of requirements. Nearly all are racemares who made over $100,000. They won or were placed in stakes races, preferably graded. Ideally, they ran and won at two, or else, the dam has thrown precocious siblings. And all are handily sized–not too big. Comparable in stature to the stallion himself, all 16 hands of him. None, however, came with pocket-burning price-tags. And yet, “We went out and bought really nice mares,” said Barbara Perry, about the reasons behind their buying criteria: to emphasize quality in the offspring, to instill precocity into them, and to accentuate He Be Fire N Ice’s physical traits. “The math is pretty good on the homebreds, especially Cal-breds” Where Ron is the loquacious front of their marriage and business partnership, Barbara takes a more observational role, owlishly studying events as they unfold–a trait she picked up from her father, Red Ranck, a taciturn Montana oil-man whom W. H. Auden could have had in mind when he wrote, “If we care to listen, we can always hear them.” It was from her father, who owned a string of racehorses, that Barbara got a taste for racing. She used to exercise his horses, and not without incident. A nasty fall involving a dropped shoulder and the corner of a water trough left her with a fractured tailbone–an agonizing injury she kept from her parents, for fear they wouldn’t let her ride again. Soon, however, college and then business monopolized her time, and it wasn’t until about 13 years ago, when Ron and Barbara bred and raced Atticus Pomponius, that she was officially back in the game. The original Atticus Pomponius was a wealthy Roman banker who befriended the famous statesman, Cicero. The equine Atticus Pomponius was a moderately talented gelding with a snotty nose, whose career zenith was a breezy Wednesday afternoon maiden victory up at Golden Gate Fields. The original Atticus funded Cicero’s political endeavors. The four-legged Atticus could have funded Cicero Farms, or so the Perrys hoped… Nowadays, Atticus Pomponius, his sinuses successfully operated upon, lives a leisurely life at the Perry’s home in Rancho Santa Fe, breathing easy, eating hearty, sleeping tons, while doing a bit of show jumping on the side. Not so much funding Cicero Farms as basking in its warm afterglow. As for his owners? “We’ve made a few mistakes along the way,” admitted Ron, taking aim at those early years in the industry. But they’ve sure been making up for it since. Aside from He Be Fire N Ice, the Perrys have campaigned the likes of Tiz a Kiss, whose highest profile finish was a runner-up spot in the 2016 GII Goldikova S. at Santa Anita. This year, Marley’s Freedom (Blame) has them dreaming even bigger. “I always thought she was a very good filly,” said Barbara. Under her previous trainer Bob Hess, Marley’s Freedom was three-for-nine, garnering a second in the GII Santa Monica S. Since moving to Bob Baffert, Marley’s Freedom is two-for-two, picking up the GIII Desert Stormer S. and the GII Great Lady M S. Next up is the GI Ballerina S. at Saratoga, and then, if she proves up to snuff, there’s the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint to aim at. “[Baffert] told me he needs to get me a Bob Marley tie, because I can’t wear my Bob Marley shirt to the Breeders’ Cup,” said Ron, explaining how a t-shirt emblazoned with the singer’s face–the product of a bar-room transaction two years ago involving his own expensive shirt and a total stranger–is fine for most of Marley’s Freedom’s races, just not a world stage like the Breeders’ Cup. As for the name, Marley’s Freedom, just look to the breeding: by Blame (“You Can’t Blame the Youth,” sang Marley), out of Relaxing Green (that one should be self-evident). The day we spoke was the Monday after a weekend of celebrations–their filly, Sunday Prophet, having broken her maiden at Del Mar the Friday gone. The morning sun was already belting down over their sprawling ranch-house home, tossing diamonds over the backyard pool while giving the trees and plants decorating the property the droopy look of a Salvador Dali painting. Their home is in the small community of Rancho Santa Fe, known for its antiquated protective covenants which regulate everything from home improvements to the sorts of signs permitted on each property. While the Perrys regard these covenants as a quaint example of insularity, they view the insularity of the racing industry as a whole as something that needs addressing, which is where their business acumen comes in. “We should be building a bridge between racing and aftercare, whether it’s showjumping or three-day-eventing,” said Ron, recognizing what he sees as a singularly large audience of horse lovers which, though currently disconnected, could be unified by race courses willing to introduce competitions for retired Thoroughbreds at their facilities in between each race. “If we can integrate the two industries, now we’re showing the racing fan and the racing public that there’s a second career for the Thoroughbred,” said Ron, who alongside Barbara, it should be noted, take their long-term responsibilities as owners seriously indeed. “Now you’re showing them this aftercare, which isn’t just aftercare, it’s competitive and it completes the circle of life,” he added. “It allows a family to get a different experience at the racetrack–it’s a beautiful thing to watch. And maybe, we attract some of the big owners of showjumpers, like the Cooks and Gates and Springsteens to get involved with racehorses.” The Perrys also see the California breeding industry, though loaded with potential, as currently oversaturated and lacking in quality. “You do the math on how many stallions are currently standing in California and how many breedings come from those stallions,” he said, making the argument that the ratio of breedings per stallion in somewhere like Kentucky is that much healthier. Nevertheless, “If we can be great here, that would be wonderful.” Which brings us circling back to the first He Be Fire N Ice 2-year-olds poised for race course action. Months ago, the Perrys invited a handful of trainers to Mayberry Farm, in Ocala, where their youngsters were being prepared. Those who went were told to select their “draft picks,” said Ron, who explained that “when a trainer is part of the process of picking horses, they’re invested in it.” Interestingly, “Each trainer chose different horses,” Barbara said. Which rather compliments the Perry’s approach anyway. Different horses flourish in different environments, Barbara added, as she believed that Marley’s Freedom would thrive in Baffert’s regime. “This was a chance to run at the absolute highest level. It’s kind of like sending your child to Harvard or Yale.” Given this thought process, it becomes less of a surprise to find out that when the Perrys made their first visit to Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby day 2008, it wasn’t necessarily to watch the race but for Ron to get accustomed to the layout when he’d return the following year with Atticus Pomponius. “Okay, that may have been a little unrealistic,” admitted Ron. And while his immediate sights have since been lowered–“Yeah, you’re not going to be the Bill Gates of the horse racing industry in a year”–that old hunger for the top still gnaws at them both. “We’re pretty slow learners,” he said. “But we’re catching up all the time.” View the full article

As of Tuesday, Aug. 14, the Thoroughbred Daily News website is now geolocated, offering users in different regions of the world the information they most want to see first. In America, you’ll see the traditional homepage, with mostly American content. In Europe, you’ll see an all-new European homepage, with mostly European stories, videos, race replays and video features. Stories of mutual interest will appear on both pages. At the top of the page, we offer a handle toggle button so that readers can toggle back and forth between regions. Downloads to the American-first PDF and to the European-first PDF are available on both sites. Also beginning Aug. 14, we now offer a handy link to our partner publication, TDN Australia New Zealand, also at the top of every homepage. TDNAusNZ is published daily in Australia by TDN V.P. of International Operations Gary King, who still handles the responsibility for the TDN European edition, and Vicky Leonard. The TDN PDFs have been geolocated since 2015. View the full article

A schedule of upcoming radio and television programming on racing. View the full article

Filly Sistercharlie (IRE) moved to eighth in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll after her third grade 1 win of the season in the Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) Aug. 11 at Arlington International Racecourse. View the full article

Australia can appear to be the envy of the racehorse-owning world, with New South Wales and Victoria often seemingly competing against each other to see which can be the more owner-friendly state. Few, if any, figures can take more credit for this happy state of affairs than Nick Columb, the former long-term President of Victoria’s Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association who passed away last weekend, aged 72. Columb arrived in Melbourne from Europe with his parents at the age of four, the family disembarking at Station Pier in 1950. They had had a torrid time, having escaped their native Romania after its occupation by Russia at the end of the war before making a tortuous journey across Europe to France and finally joining the tide of refugees heading for a new start Down Under in the Lucky Country. The young Columb took to his adopted homeland like a duck to water, so much so that Melbourne’s twin sporting loves, racing and ‘footy’, soon had him under their spell, bewitching him with passions which would light up his whole life. Having started out as a cadet journalist on the old Herald, Columb soon found that his outgoing, confident and enterprising nature made him ideally suited to being his own boss. A string of entrepreneurial projects set him on the road to success, eventually seeing him build up a property empire which included a pub and some private hospitals. Once established financially, he could enjoy the luxury of giving his passions free rein. Columb had been supporting Footscray Football Club from an early age. His commitment to his team reached its natural conclusion when he became the club’s President in 1989. By this time he was already one of the most prominent identities on Melbourne’s racecourses. The Australian racing landscape in the 1980s was very different to today. In the pre-shuttle days there was nothing like the same breadth of international participation, while syndicate ownership was in its infancy. There was still scope for individual local investors to enjoy consistent top-level success, and few illustrated this better than Columb. Buying wisely at the yearling sales, often in New Zealand, he raced a succession of top-class horses, trained for him by Ross McDonald at Epsom. In total, he owned the winners of 17 Group 1 races. The first of his stars was Magari (Aus) (Maybe Lad {Aus}), winner in the spring of 1982 of the VATC Marlboro Cup and the VRC George Adams H. Perhaps his greatest days came with the Blue Diamond /Golden Slipper double of Courtza (NZ) (Pompeii Court) in 1989 and the Caulfield Cup victories of Tristrarc (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}) in 1985 and Imposera (NZ) (Imposing {Aus}) in 1988. Other particularly special occasions came courtesy of Tristarc’s wins in 1985 in the AJC Derby, Underwood S. and Caulfield S., and the South Australian Oaks triumphs of Centaurea (Aus) (Century {Aus}) in 1985 and Imposera (NZ) (Imposing {Aus}) in 1988. The natural extension of Columb’s high-prolife ownership success and of his assertive, ‘can-do’ organizational skills was what became arguably his greatest contribution to the sport: his Chairmanship of TROA from 1987 to 2001. Australian racing underwent massive changes during this period. Expansion and rationalization both literally and metaphorically brought the sport into the 21st century, with Columb one of the key figures throughout. His positive influence was not merely restricted to Victoria, but became national and international courtesy of his stints at the head of the National Racehorse Owners’ Association and the Asia Pacific Racehorse Owners’ Association. With Columb at the helm of the owners’ bodies, the principle was established and maintained that owners’ interests be kept to the fore at all times. The Australian Trainers’ Federation has been among those to pay tribute to Columb’s contribution to the sport. “Vale Nick Columb, a passionate industry participant, owner and a driving force behind TROA for many years. Racing is in a better place as a result of Nick’s contribution and poorer for his passing.” Former Australian Trainers’ Association Chief Executive John Alducci has reflected on Columb’s passing, “With Nick at the helm, he took TROA to another level. Anything he did, he threw everything into it and he was probably the most passionate person I’ve ever come across in racing. It’s a sad day for racing.” John Messara, another of the prime movers in ushering in the sport’s new era, has spoken particularly movingly of his friend and fellow industry-leader. “Nick Columb was the staunchest friend, always fearless, constantly innovative and deeply passionate about horse racing and so much else. He leaves an unfillable gap in Arrowfield’s world, and so many good memories and reasons to be grateful for his incomparable life.” Nick Columb’s business interests took a heavy hit in the crash of the early ’90s (famously, he observed wryly, “I went to bed a rich man, woke up a poor one”) but, while that setback prompted a major reduction in his ownership interests, it did not affect his commitment to furthering the owners’ cause as he maintained his position at the head of TROA until 2001. Subsequently, having previously been politically involved in both the Victorian Football League and racing, he further broadened his efforts to contribute to the community, throwing his hat into the city’s political arena by standing for Lord Mayor of Melbourne in the city elections of 2008 on the platform of ‘Passion for Melbourne’. Nick Columb’s final role within racing was as Senior International Racing Consultant for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, his duties including heading the Club’s buying team at international sales. The final champion with whom he was associated was the current Hong Kong star Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal) whom he and Mark Richards bought on behalf of the HKJC at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in France in 2014 for €180,000. Charismatic and hugely popular, Pakistan Star could fairly be described as one of the great characters of the racing world. One could say exactly the same about Nick Columb, a larger-than-life enthusiast who gave so much to the sport which he loved. View the full article

CHAMPION jockey Blake Shinn has thanked everyone for their support after he suffered a serious neck injury in a Randwick barrier trial fall, which has ruled him out for the spring. View the full article

Le Grange has Pennywise looking a million dollars View the full article

Peters keeps Skywalk going while force still with him View the full article

Trial win a boost for Affleck in his search of old star power View the full article

The $100,000 Bolton Landing Stakes for 2-year-old fillies drew a field of eight and will feature a trio of Wesley Ward trainees headed by his group 2 winner Shang Shang Shang. View the full article

Indiana Oaks (G3) winner Talk Veuve to Me and multiple graded stakes winner Midnight Bisou put in their last works before the Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, breezing four furlongs on the Oklahoma training track Aug. 13. View the full article

Alpha Centauri is officially the best 3-year-old Irish filly since Ridgewood Pearl 23 years ago after her rating was upped 2lb to 124 Monday, a day on from her magical Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois (G1) display. View the full article

An investigative news story centered on not-for-profit tax documents filed by the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Inc., (NJTHA) has made public a $30-million debt that the NJTHA owes to Darby Development LLC, which is the firm that the horsemen’s group has contracted with to operate Monmouth Park. The Asbury Park Press broke the exclusive story Monday. A link to the full article is here. The article also raises the issue that Monmouth horsemen remain “in the dark” about how revenues from recently legalized sports betting will be shared, and what the eventual implications might be in terms of increased purses or a longer race meet. A Monday voicemail message requesting a comment from Dennis Drazin, the chairman and chief executive of Darby, was not returned prior to deadline for this story. In interviews earlier this summer, TDN‘s requests to learn more about any sports betting revenue-sharing agreement that might be in the works yielded “no comment” replies from track officials. “The management agreement between Darby and the non-profit NJTHA is unique among American racetracks; most tracks are owned and self-operated by large gaming companies, without relying on an outside firm,” the article explained. “Still, the head of Darby Development says the company is in no hurry to collect the debt, and a board member of the horsemen’s group says the recent introduction of sports betting at Monmouth Park has the potential to bring a financial rebound.” The article further noted that according to the NJTHA’s agreement with Darby, “that money is not payable until all obligations due to the [New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority] including lease payments and $9 million in loans to the NJTHA, are satisfied. The earliest that money could be taken by Darby is 2024.” The article said that when the track was on target to lose $8 million in 2012 and its ownership was in flux, Drazin, an attorney who was the former counsel to the NJTHA, “stepped down from his post as the chairman of the New Jersey Racing Commission and became an advisor to the horsemen, while Darby was formed to operate the track. Drazin indicated he had to prove his family had $20 million in assets before the Sports and Exposition Authority would lease the track to the horsemen.” The article quoted John Forbes, president of the NJTHA, as saying that, “Most all of the risk has been taken, quite frankly, by Drazin and his family. They’re the ones on the hook. That’s just a fact.” View the full article

Alpha Centauri is officially the best 3-year-old Irish filly since Ridgewood Pearl 23 years ago after her rating was upped 2lb to 124 on Monday, a day on from her magical Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois (G1) display. View the full article

Koji Maeda's Awardee was euthanized Aug. 6 after suffering fracture to his right hock during training at Daisen Hills, the training facility of Maeda's North Hills Farm.The news was made public Aug. 11. View the full article

Shadwell stallion Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) swept all before him in a quartet of European Group 1 sprints in 2015. Alayna Cullen sat down with Tom Pennington, Marketing and Nominations Manager for Shadwell Stud in England, to discuss Muhaarar and his exploits in advance of his first yearlings going to the sales. TDN: Muhaarar was an exceptional race horse, remind us about what he achieved in his career? Tom Pennington: Muhaarar was an outstanding race horse. He was trained by Charlie Hills and was a high class 2-year-old winning the G2 Gimcrack and then he was third in the G1 Middle Park S. at Newmarket. He progressed tremendously from two to three, winning the G3 Greenham on his seasonal debut, breaking the track record. After that he went on to the G1 French Guineas where a combination of the draw and the ground probably played against him. It was probably a blessing in disguise because from there we dropped him down in trip and he went to Ascot for the G1 Commonwealth Cup where he blew them away, winning in tremendous style and in a course record time. He went on to Newmarket for the July Cup and he beat older horses that day. He also won in France and then it all culminated at Ascot again for the G1 QIPCO Champion Sprint where again he was hugely impressive. In all he beat 15 Group or Grade 1 winners, so he was a high class, phenomenal horse. For a sprinter to go back to back in all those sprints, not many horses can do that and it’s just testament to how good he was. TDN: Aside from his racing performances what characteristics does he have that make him a great stallion? TP: I think it’s his looks. And his outlook. He’s so relaxed and I think he’s passed that on to his offspring. He’s a great mover as well, which he’s passed on too. He’s really stamped them like that, he’s super athletic and all his foals have got massive walks which commercial breeders are really looking for especially in the sales place and that’s why they’ve gone down so well at the sales. TDN: How have breeders received him from year one to now? TP: Very well and on the back of those first foals he covered a better book of mares in year three which I think is unheard of really, and he was oversubscribed again by more than 100 mares which is phenomenal. I think that just tells you all you need to know and we’re already getting busy again for next year. TDN: You mentioned that his first foals were well received, how would you sum up how they sold at the foal sales? TP: Phenomenally well. 11 sold for an average of £210,000. The median was even more, I think it was £220,000. The highest price was 290,000gns for a colt bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud and sold to Capital Bloodstock, that price was beyond our wildest dreams, we didn’t see that coming at all. But as I said, they’re all stamped, they all look like him, walk like him and I think that’s why they sold so well. TDN: Have you had any feedback from vendors bringing yearlings for sale this year? TP: Yeah it’s been very positive. We are hugely excited, the first six sell in Deauville this month. Henri Bozo has been a huge supporter and he has a filly out of Pacifique (Ire) whose first foal, by Dubawi (Ire), sold for €2.6 million. He also has a colt out of Prudenzia (Ire) and I think we all know how her yearlings go at Arqana, he’s a half to Magic Wand (Ire) who won the G2 Ribblesdale this year and G1 Irish Oaks winner Chicquita (Ire). Haras Du Cadran have got a very nice filly out of Avenue Gabriel (GB), a first foal, who looks phenomenal. There’s also a very nice horse coming from Ireland, a filly out of I’m In Love. We’ve got six there and hopefully they’ll get the ball rolling and set the precedent for the year to come. TDN: Of course Sheikh Hamdan is a massive supporter of his stallions, are there any nice homebreds that we can look forward to seeing on the racetrack? TP: I was in Ireland recently, at Derrinstown Stud, and I saw a very nice colt out of Rifqah, he looks very nice. I can’t wait to see him running next year. Of course this year His Highness sent 15 mares, including Taghrooda (GB) and Ghanaati, so we’ve really got behind the stallion. View the full article

The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association will hold its annual Northern California Yearling and Horses of Racing Age Sale Tuesday at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. Bidding begins at noon. Recent graduates of the auction include multiple stakes winner and Grade I placed Take the One O One (Acclamation {GB}), who was purchased for $47,000 in 2016. At last year’s auction, 95 yearlings sold for a total of $652,500. The average was $6,868 and the median was $3,000. A filly by Smiling Tiger, consigned by Harris Farm, brought the highest price in 2017, selling for $70,000. Click here to view the catalogue. View the full article

Jockey Blake Shinn, who won the G1 Melbourne Cup in 2008 aboard Viewed (Aus) (Scenic {Ire}), fell off of Pacific Legend (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) during heat 10 of the Randwick barrier trials on Monday morning and was initally thought to have sustained a concussion, reported Racing NSW. Taken to Prince of Wales Hospital, Shinn was diagnosed with fractures at C1 and C3 of his vertebrae. Shinn will be in a neck brace for six weeks and will be out of the saddle for at least three months. View the full article

Peter Brant’s FOG OF WAR (c, 2, War Front–Say {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) rallied from far back to capture his career debut in a driving rain at Saratoga Monday afternoon. Sent off as the 2-1 second choice off a steady series of preps in recent weeks, the bay lagged well off the pace and made piecemeal progress as Seismic Jolt (Kantharos) led through a quarter-mile in :22.55. Gaining steam as All About It (Violence) seized control in midstretch, Fog of War collared that rival inside the final furlong and edged past to score by a half-length. The final time for 5 1/2 panels was 1:03.92. Bought for $400,000 at Keeneland September, the Chad Brown trainee is out of European GSW Say (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who in turn is out of American MGISW turfer Riskaverse (Dynaformer). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $51,000. O-Peter Brant. B-Orpendale, Chelston and Wynatt (KY). T-Chad Brown. View the full article