Wandering Eyes

Just five days out from an intended start in the G1 Winx Warwick S. at Royal Randwick on Saturday, Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) worked at Rosehill on Monday morning. The bay, hunting for her 26th consecutive win which would break Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus})’s record, had regular pilot Hugh Bowman in the irons (video). “I am happy with her preparation and Hugh said she feels great ahead of Saturday’s race at Randwick,” trainer Chris Waller posted on Twitter. View the full article

Sunday’s G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. hero Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) is now on a short break, and trainer Martyn Meade hopes his first Group 1 winner out of the historic Manton yard will lead to bigger and better things to come. Meade is eyeing the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket on Oct. 13, as the next goal for the Phoenix Thoroughbred-owned juvenile. “He’s come out of the race very well, there’s not a bother on him,” said Meade. “He’s going to have a bit of a break now and then we’ll get him ready for the Dewhurst, that’s the plan. To get a Group 1, so soon after moving yards, is a bit of a relief. We’ve won a Group 2 and a Group 3 as well, so it couldn’t have gone any better.” Advertise was bought by Phoenix Thoroughbreds Limited before finishing second in the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot and has proved a shrewd investment, winning the G2 July S. as well as the Phoenix since. View the full article

Connections of Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) will let the dust settle before deciding on the next move for the top-class filly after she chalked up a fourth Group 1 win in a row at Deauville on Sunday. It will be at least a week before trainer Jessica Harrington and owners the Niarchos family look at the next move for the ‘TDN Rising Star’, who has been the star of the flat season so far. Alpha Centauri has plenty of options with races such as the G1 Matron S. at Leopardstown next month and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot and the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile later in the autumn likely to be considered. The daughter of Mastercraftsman left older horses in her wake as she added the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois to her victories in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, G1 Coronation S. and the G1 Falmouth S. earlier in the year. “It was very good. She was brilliant again,” said Harrington. “She was back home at 11 o’clock last night. She was fine and grand this morning. No thoughts at the moment. We’ll leave it a week or 10 days.” View the full article

Following last week’s Wrap, I realise I may be in danger of being labelled a rampant feminist but I’m afraid I’m about to beat the drum for the women again. Let’s start with the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, a weird and wonderful anomaly to the racing programme thanks to its team format but one which apparently grows in popularity each year and features among its four teams one restricted solely to female jockeys. Some folks bridle about the team being labelled ‘Girls’ but this shouldn’t be seen as being in any way derogatory. I turn 49 today and I’ll be delighted if anyone out there is still calling me a girl. Vastly preferable to old bat. The girls’ team was only added to the Shergar Cup in 2012 but the girls have now beaten the boys twice in those seven years, each time led by Hayley Turner, chief cheerleader for the event in general and this year joined by Hollie Doyle and Josephine Gordon. You won’t see a more polished ride than the one Turner gave Via Serendipity (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) to win the Shergar Cup Mile and her two other placed finishes meant that she also won for the first time the Silver Saddle, awarded to the day’s leading rider and named after the much-missed Alastair Haggis, who died in 2014 at the age of just 51. Alpha females The most heroic performances on the track this week from our four-legged friends were generally posted by females. Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) can now rightly lay claim to being the outright star of the season with her fourth straight Group 1 victory. That it should come in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois, the race sponsored by her breeder for more than 30 years and previously won by her great grandam Miesque (Nureyev) and grandam East Of The Moon (Private Account) made her success all the sweeter. There was also an all-female cast in the celebratory photograph as trainer Jessica Harrington was joined by Alpha Centauri’s owner-breeder Maria Niarchos and her niece Electra. Earlier on the Deauville card, juvenile Pure Zen (Fr) became the second stakes winner of the weekend for Zoffany (Ire) following the victory of Main Edition (Ire) in the G3 german-thoroughbred.com Sweet Solera S. at Newmarket. Pure Zen’s win in the Prix Francois Boutin came on just her third start for Myriam Bollack-Badel and her Italian owner-breeder Nicola Gallo of Scuderia Micolo, who bought her dam, Dolce Attesa (GB) (Dr Fong), for just £5,000 as a yearling through Federico Barberini. Deauville was also the scene of another major step forward for the David Lanigan-trained Worth Waiting (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), whose three-length victory in the G3 Prix Minerve was her fourth success in a row. Bred by Whatton Manor Stud and sold as a yearling for 40,000gns, Worth Waiting has twice been withdrawn from horses-in-training sales in the last year, most recently from the Tattersalls July Sale. The clue is quite clearly in her name and owner Saif Ali will be delighted that he kept patience with the filly who will surely take her chance in Group 1 company before too long. A second Group winner for the former top-class sprinter Bated Breath, Worth Waiting is a middle-distance filly through and through, which is no surprise given that her dam Salutare (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) twice won over a mile and seven furlongs, a distance well within the capability of Montare (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), the mare’s three-parts-sister and winner of the G1 Prix Royal-Oak. This family is discussed further in today’s column by Andrew Caulfield. Montare has herself gone on to produce Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) for owner-breeder George Strawbridge, winner in 2016 of the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S., which is one of the possible end-of-season targets for Worth Waiting. Garswood’s Sister Impresses We’re edging towards the time of the year when the 2-year-old maidens become increasingly laden with top-drawer pedigrees. Only two of last year’s Tattersalls October Book 1 top ten have appeared so far on the racecourse. The first to win was Fantasy (Ire), by Invincible Spirit (Ire) out of Cassandra Go (Ire), and she was followed on Saturday by Zagitova (Ire), the Galileo (Ire) half-sister to Garswood (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) bought by MV Magnier and the Mayfair Speculators for 1.6 million gns. With the benefit of a July 14 debut at Newmarket behind her, Zagitova was the dominant force in Saturday’s Cork maiden which she won by 4.5 lengths and she may head next to the G2 Debutante S. She is out of the Cheveley Park Stud-bred mare Penchant (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) who was sold by the Thompsons back in 2010 for 21,000gns, the same year that her weanling son and subsequent Group 1 winner Garswood was sold for 19,000gns. He is now standing as a stallion at his birthplace and is currently represented by his first crop of runners. Following two Group winners in Cheveley Park’s own colours at Glorious Goodwood, the stud has enjoyed more reflected glory this weekend via Advertise (GB), who broke the Irish stronghold on the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. to become the first British-trained winner of the juvenile contest in 21 years. Trained by Martyn Meade and bought by his son-in-law Dermot Farrington as a yearling for £60,000, the son of Showcasing (GB) was bred by Cheveley Park Stud from the six-furlong winner Furbelow (GB) and is the fifth individual Group 1 winner this year out of a mare by the stud’s great flagbearer Pivotal (GB) following Cracksman (GB), Olmedo (Fr), Rhododendron (Ire) and Mikki Rocket (JPN). As a fast, young son of a popular sire, Advertise will doubtless already have plenty of stallion masters in hot pursuit. In time, he would make a commercially very desirable addition to the National Stud ranks in Newmarket, where his owner Phoenix Thoroughbreds already has an interest in freshman sire and fellow Meade/Farrington Group 1 winner Aclaim (Ire). Wertheimer Sires On The Up Cheveley Park Stud can also drawn plenty of encouragement from the increasingly good results for Intello (Ger), who has five black-type winners from his first crop including the G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Intellogent (Fr). The son of Galileo (Ire) recently completed his third season in Newmarket having stood his first two years there followed by two years at Haras du Quesnay. The Head family’s Normandy farm is also home to another Wertheimer-bred young stallion, Anodin (Ire), the brother to Goldikova (Ire) who narrowly lost out to Karakontie in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile. His is perhaps not a name many people would have expected to be so prominent in the first-crop sires’ table this year but the 8-year-old son of the former Quesnay stalwart Anabaa has been quietly notching the winners of late and, numerically, is tied for fifth place on eight winners with Slade Power (Ire). His star performer to date is the Wertheimers’ Harmless (Fr), a rare non-homebred to run in the brothers’ colours, who won the listed Prix Roland de Chambure at ParisLongchamp and is unbeaten in three starts. Braveheart Bruce A Scottish-named, Chilean-bred Grade I winner in America by an Irish stallion is just the latest example of the shrinking world of bloodstock and Robert Bruce (Chi), the Fast Company (Ire) colt who has only just turned four by his southern hemisphere birth, was an intriguing winner of the Arlington Million. He left trainer Patricio Baeza in his native country over the winter to join Chad Brown, who also trained the imported runner-up, Shadwell’s Almanaar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a dual Group 3 winner during his days with Freddy Head. Owned and bred by Haras Convento Viejo, which stood Fast Company during his shuttling days, Robert Bruce is a son of the Chilean Oaks winner Lady Pelusa (ARG) (Orpen) from a family which stretches back to Idle Hour Princess (Ribot {ITY}), a sister to the Classic-winning duo of Ribocco and Ribero. The colt won four Grade 1 races during his unbeaten run in Chile, and his close relation Mister Fluff (Chi), by the same sire and out of a half-sister to Lady Pelusa, has been Grade 1-placed in the Chilean versions of the 2000 Guineas and St Leger for the same connections. Runner-up to New Approach (Ire) in the G1 Dewhurst S. of 2007, Fast Company wasn’t seen again on the racecourse and didn’t enter stud until four years later, starting at Rathasker Stud at €5,000. After four years he moved to Overbury Stud for one season in 2016. This was also the year his Irish 1000 Guineas-winning daughter Jet Setting (Ire) emerged, prompting a switch to Darley’s Kildangan Stud, where he remains and no longer shuttles to South America. Fast Company covered his smallest book the year he stood in Britain and some of the offspring of those 64 mares will be at the forthcoming yearling sales. Heading to Tattersalls October Book 2 is a half-brother to this season’s Group 3 winner Indian Blessing (GB) (Sepoy {Aus}), while a half-brother to Havana Grey (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) was bought by Godolphin for 85,000gns at last year’s foal sale. Not So Shambolic Start Computerised systems for racing colours make the choosing of owners’ silks a little dreary these days, despite the BHA’s attempts to liven things up by making the odd wacky design available. The most desirable colours remain the plain silks, though sadly one could no longer register shades such as the Duke of Devonshire’s ‘straw’ or Lord Howard de Walden’s ‘apricot’. It was a bonus then to see those straw colours being carried to a debut victory at Newmarket on Saturday by Shambolic (Ire), a Shamardal filly bred in partnership by the Duke of Devonshire with the Duke of Roxburghe out of Comic (Ire) (Be My Chief). This of course makes the John Gosden-trained filly a half-sister to the Hong Kong star Viva Pataca (GB) (Marju {Ire}), and the same stable is also home to the mare’s 3-year-old colt George Villiers (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is a dual winner to date for Princess Haya. Comic was 20 when Shambolic was foaled and this year she gave birth to a filly by Kingman (GB) on Feb. 3. Shambolic wasn’t the only well-related and impressive first-time-out winner from the Gosden stable last week. As the heatwave gradually abated, Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) gave us one last blast with a seven-length victory at Sandown. Lord Lloyd-Webber’s colt is a brother to So Mi Dar (GB) and Lah Ti Dar (GB), both of whom have impressed in Classic trials before meeting setbacks ahead of intended starts in the Oaks. Their dam is Waterhsip Down Stud’s celebrated treble Group 1 winner Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}). View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Tuesday’s Insights features a half-sister to G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine Nezwaah (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). 2.30 Chelmsford City, Cond, £12,900, 3yo/up, f/m, 8f (AWT) Mohammed Jaber’s UMMALNAR (GB) (Shamardal), a William Haggas-trained half-sister to 2014 GI Northern Dancer Turf S. victor Sheikhzayedroad (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), is burdened with an additional six pounds for registering a July 20 debut score at Newmarket and faces just three rivals in this return. Opposition includes Roger Varian incumbent Monteja (GB) (Shamardal), who is a hitherto unraced half to last term’s G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine Nezwaah (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). View the full article

Catch him if you can. Well, actually, Goldencents (Into Mischief) already has–and others will doubtless be getting their act together soon, as their first juveniles mature and stretch out. But if Goldencents has edged into a midsummer lead in the freshman sires’ table, by winners and prize money, in other respects it is Uncaptured (Lion Heart) who leads the way at Ocala Stud in Florida. Four of his nine starters have won. Of these, two have promptly added a stakes success–and one of those is the only one of the crop so far to win a graded race. That was Catherinethegreat, who earned the first black type of the Saratoga summer in the 100th running of the GIII Schuylerville S. Previously a 10 1/4 length maiden winner at Gulfstream, here she blazed an opening quarter of 21.78 before cruising four lengths clear in 1:09.98. Catherinethegreat duly vindicated her status, at $170,000, as the most expensive of the 19 yearlings (from 23 offered) whose $47,880 average and $40,000 median–against a covering fee of $6,000–both qualified Uncaptured as the leading freshman outside Kentucky at the sales last year. She was bought by trainer Mark Casse for John Oxley, just like Uncaptured himself before they made him Canada’s first juvenile Horse of the Year in a generation. Casse bought Uncaptured for $290,000 at the Keeneland September Sale of 2011, in turn making him the priciest member of the final U.S. crop sired by Lion Heart (Tale Of The Cat) before his export to Turkey. Lion Heart, an unbeaten Grade I winner at two, had proceeded to finish runner-up in the Kentucky Derby–pluckily holding off all bar Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality) after throwing down the gauntlet from the front–and to win the GI Haskell Invitational. He offered breeders class, soundness and lovely motion. But not height. And his stock had only been allowed two seasons on the track before a package deal, also including Dehere (Deputy Minister) and Powerscourt (Sadler’s Wells), was agreed between the Turkish Jockey Club and Ashford Stud. The timing of Lion Heart’s exit could not have been much worse; or better, I guess, depending which side of the deal you stood. In 2010, their sire’s first year in Turkey, Kantharos won the GII Saratoga Special S. by seven lengths in an unbeaten juvenile season; Dangerous Midge, a slow-maturing member of his first crop, won the Breeders’ Cup Turf as a 4-year-old; Line Of David beat subsequent Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver (Maria’s Mon) in the GI Arkansas Derby; and, at Bill Graham’s Windhaven Farm in Ontario, an Arch mare named Captivating delivered a colt on March 19. Her son would become one of five GSW among the final American foals of Lion Heart. In fact Uncaptured would win six of seven starts at two, graduating from three black-type races on the synthetic at Woodbine to win the GIII Iroquois S. and the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. on dirt at Churchill Downs. Those wins had the look of a Kentucky Derby reconnaissance, but he proved unable to rise from relative shallows at three when his finest moment instead brought domestic prestige, in the Prince of Wales S. (second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown). And though back on an upward curve when beaten barely half a length by Palace Malice (Curlin) in the GII Gulfstream Park H. the following spring, he came out with an injury and that was him done. Still, he retired as a good-looking millionaire and those guys are seldom short of company in the Florida winter. His arrival at Ocala Stud in 2015–Oxley retaining a good stake–gave its clients an alternative to Kantharos, another son of Lion Heart who would soon be packing his bags for Kentucky after finishing seventh in the national rookie standings with seven black-type performers from 32 starters (moved to Hill ‘n’ Dale last year). Florida breeders took their cue, sending Uncaptured no fewer than 137 mares in his first season, 108 for his second and 140 last year. That made him the busiest sire in the state but he has entertained even more this time round: a bumper 173, in fact. That extraordinary fourth book shows how Uncaptured has overcome the usual inclination to “wait and see” a sire’s first runners. His debut at the 2-year-old sales can only have helped: of 31 hips, he shifted 28 at an average $114,500 and median $93,500–capped off by a $350,000 filly at OBS April. These are knockout returns for a $6,000 regional cover. “Really, there has been a huge buzz about the horse since day one; since the day we brought him to the farm,” said Ocala Stud manager David O’Farrell. “He was very well received by breeders locally–he’s a beautiful individual–and the momentum started building from the time his first foals hit the ground. “With the majority of stallions, especially in the regional marketplace, historically you do tend to see a blip in those third and fourth years. But you can see from the size of his third and fourth books the confidence he has been giving breeders.” Uncaptured appears an impressive specimen, evidently rather bigger and scopier than his sire. Just as important, however, is what Casse described as the “mind of steel” he brought to training and racing. Sure enough, already in midwinter his foals were being credited with an obliging disposition by major 2-year-old consignors. And then his very first starter won her debut as favorite over 4 1/2 furlongs at Gulfstream in April. Next came Capture Your Dream, whose training for a small barn (smart work, Anna Varsi) was such that she was heavily backed against a Pletcher favorite for a maiden over the same track. She exploded through a 21.7 opening quarter and won by 10 1/2 lengths. Oxley promptly bought Capture Your Dream from owner/breeder Kathy Machesky–the filly is, after all, out of a half-sister to the dams of two others who punched above their weight in Ron The Greek (Full Mandate) and Musket Man (Yonaguska)–and moved the filly to Casse’s Palm Meadows barn. Last Saturday she became her sire’s second stakes winner in the $100,000 FTBOA Florida Sire S. So what’s happening here? The parallels with Kantharos plainly speak well of the stud who launched them both, and Uncaptured can only have profited from his former studmate’s example. “There’s no question Uncaptured stands on his own merit, but Kantharos certainly gave people confidence,” O’Farrell said. “They’ll have had his success in the back of their minds when they first came to look at Uncaptured. “But if you stood them up side by side, though they’re both good-looking sons of Lion Heart, you would see that Kantharos and Uncaptured are very different horses. Kantharos is a racehorse sire: he produced a high volume of runners. You can see the Arch in Uncaptured. He is just a gorgeous horse. “It’s always important to have a horse that can come to hand quickly, that can develop at two. But people were drawn not just to his precocity, but also to his physique.” Daughters of Arch have already produced I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley) and Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie), among others. Arch also causes a 4×5 echo in Uncaptured’s pedigree, as Lion Heart’s mother was a granddaughter of Hail To Reason–whose Roberto-Kris S line is extended by Arch. You would suspect there may be some turf angles to be worked through here. Remember that Uncaptured was himself adaptable, in terms of surface, while his dam Captivating had previously produced Dancing Raven (Tomahawk), a stakes winner over a turf mile and also over 6f on a synthetic track. “Uncaptured was a versatile horse,” O’Farrell remarked. “He broke his maiden at 4 1/2 furlongs, but was able to carry his speed over 1 3/16 miles at three. He started out on synthetics in Canada and moved onto the dirt at Churchill. Kantharos is proving versatile too, and that gives you reason to believe they can both go a long way. Because while a lot of commercial breeders rely on dirt horses, there’s definitely a move towards the turf: I really think racing is making something of a paradigm shift in that way.” Captivating, herself unplaced in two starts, is a half-sister to a number of multiple winners including a smart one in Gold Star Deputy (Silver Deputy), who set a couple of track records at around 10 furlongs in winning 11 races, including at stakes level. Another half-sister has produced a couple of Grade II-placed stakes winners, one of whom is the dam of triple Grade I winner Curalina (Curlin). Their stakes-placed dam Andrea Ruckus was by Bold Ruckus, Canada’s multiple champion sire–albeit a Florida-bred, as they might stress down at Ocala. Bold Ruckus was a zippy grandson of Bold Ruler and Raise A Native, but less familiar paths must be taken along the bottom line. In fact the next two dams are by Right Combination, who I think was unraced but was granted a place at stud as a son of Round Table out of a half-sister to Buckpasser; and Stratus, a son of the Derby winner (and inconsequential sire) Nimbus imported by E.P. Taylor. Stratus did manage to break a track record–over a mile and a half on turf at Atlantic City. He features here as a result of Taylor pairing him with the dam of Canadian champion older horse Giboulee, Victory Chant-herself bred from two foundation stones of the whole Windfields empire, Victoria Park and Orchestra. In some respects Victoria Park was a pathfinder for Northern Dancer, his Preakness and Kentucky Derby podiums emboldening Taylor that a Canadian-bred horse could take on the Bluegrass bluebloods in their own backyard. Since Taylor also bred Storm Bird, whose sireline extends through Lion Heart, he holds together both top and bottom lines for Uncaptured. So this story links polar points of the North American Turf, in Ontario and Ocala. For a long time its only link to the northeast was through Uncaptured’s barn nickname, “Whitey Bulger”–for a notorious Boston crime boss who spent 16 years on the run (i.e. uncaptured) from the F.B.I. Now he has a landmark winner at the Spa. One stakes winner does not a summer make; nor even two. But O’Farrell is adamant that this is only the beginning. “We stood Kantharos for Stonestreet and he’s now off to bigger and better things,” he said. “It does appear that Lion Heart is going to have a lasting impact, despite leaving when he did. He had that speed, and he carried it. “And the race that always stuck out to me, with Uncaptured, was his last one–against Palace Malice. That was a really solid field and arguably the winner ran his best race, but Uncaptured didn’t flinch the whole way round. So he wasn’t just a very quick 2-year-old, he could carry that speed a long way. Which is what we’re after. “He’s an awful nice stallion for us in Florida. It’s so exciting, to get these two stakes winners straight off the bat. And without knocking the pedigrees of these horses, he’s not started with the best mares in the world. We have some [coming through] on the farm we’re extremely high on. I think the word’s out. But the best is yet to come.” View the full article

The catalogue for the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, scheduled for Oct. 9-11, is now online. A total of 519 blue-blooded lots will go under the hammer in early October, all of them eligible for the £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus scheme. There are 47 siblings or half-brothers and sisters to Group 1 winners or Classic winners, and 246 lots are half or full-siblings to group or listed winners. Eighteen Group 1 or Classic-winning broodmares have yearlings catalogued. The top 20 active sires in Britain and Ireland are represented by 265 yearlings, with 166 yearlings by the top 10 sires. Europe’s leading sires are all represented, with Dubawi (Ire) the sire of 21 lots, Galileo (Ire) has an equal number and fourth-crop sire juggernaut Frankel (GB) sees 25 yearlings entered. Sea The Stars (Ire) fields 27 lots, Dark Angel (Ire) 20, and Kodiac (GB) and Invincible Spirit (Ire) have 23 and 17, respectively. New Approach (Ire), sire of this year’s G1 Derby winner Masar (Ire), is represented by seven yearlings, and Mastercraftsman (Ire), sire of standout miler Alpha Centauri (Ire) has five. France’s Siyouni (Fr) has 24 lots entered. U.S. sires are also well-represented, with yearlings by Blame, Distored Humor, Kitten’s Joy, Medaglia d’Oro, More Than Ready, Speightstown, Street Sense, Uncle Mo and War Front slated to go through the ring. “The catalogue for last year’s October Book 1 was outstanding and the 2018 renewal looks to be equally special,” said Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony. “There are a huge number of own or half-brothers and sisters to group and listed winners in the catalogue, but equally impressive is that 130 of the yearlings are out of group and listed winning mares, including many of the truly outstanding racemares of our time, and a further 76 are out of group and listed placed mares. Graduates of the October Yearling Sale have as ever enjoyed enormous success on the global stage headed by 65,000 guineas G1 Irish Derby winner Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), and the enormously popular £25,000 Tattersalls October Book 1 Bonus will again ensure that buyers have the chance to win unprecedented prize money by purchasing at Europe’s premier yearling sale.” View the full article

He was a valued and respected assistant to Todd Pletcher and was hired by Bridlewood Farm as their trainer, which gives him access to their first-class facility in Florida to train not only their horse but those for outside clients. Jonathan Thomas, just 38, has been busy building the groundwork for a top stable, one that some day could rival that of the premier trainers in the country. What he needed was a marquee horse to put him on the map. That’s no longer a problem. Catholic Boy (More Than Ready) is coming off a win in the GI $1.2 million Belmont Derby, has won stakes on both the dirt and grass and has proven to be among the gamest horses in the sport. His next assignment will likely come in the GI Travers S., where he could be the second choice behind Good Magic (Curlin) and where a win would only further raise Thomas’s profile. “The Travers and Belmont Derby are both obviously very important races,” he said. “For me, personally, it’s extremely meaningful. I think more important than that, for me being responsible for the career of Catholic Boy and showcasing his abilities and possibly putting him into a stallion barn down the road, that’s as meaningful as anything. He’s a deserving horse so are the clients that support us. Being able to deliver on a big day in the Belmont Derby was stellar for them.” Thomas literally grew up on Rokeby Farm in Virginia and surrounded himself with horses from a young age. He began as a steeplechase jockey until a serious injured forced him to look elsewhere. He was an assistant to Dale Romans, spent some time working in Saudi Arabia, and then worked as an assistant to Christophe Clement and Todd Pletcher. “Jonathan Thomas, he was a terrific assistant,” Pletcher said. “He’s a consummate professional, everything you’re looking for in an assistant trainer. He’s totally reliable, honest, good communicator, good horseman. We had some good years together. He did a great job, and I’m not surprised that he’s doing well on his own.” {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"Jonathan Thomas on the Rise","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/283927009.hd.mp4?s=e21372efc506971a0a92a1cf88bc2de886b80c1f&profile_id=174","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/279154669.hd.mp4?s=6cd103df93200bea1e30b99a712c015e8bd8695a&profile_id=174","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} In 2013, he left Pletcher to go work for Bridlewood and its owners, Leslie and John Malone. While he would be based for much of the year at their Ocala farm, he worked out an unusual arrangement with them as he would also be allowed to take on outside clients. “We want to make sure we’re doing the best job possible on both fronts,” Thomas said. “I’m very fortunate to have the team that I have and the support I’ve gotten from my clients. Good people and good clients make it easy enough.” Thomas says he currently has about 45 horses, which doesn’t include some of his 2-year-olds who aren’t quite ready for the races or horses coming back from layoffs. Things started slowly for Thomas, and as recently as 2016, he had only two winners on the year from 18 starters, and stable earnings of $34,485. Things started to turn around when he began to attract outside owners. Thomas discovered Catholic Boy at the 2016 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, where he RNA’d for $170,000. He was able to buy him after the sale for a “fair price” on behalf of owner Robert LaPenta. “He was a horse that Mr. LaPenta and his team allowed us to purchase and develop and he seemed to be doing real well in our system, so they left him with us. Thankfully, he did,” he said. Catholic Boy won his first two races on the turf, including the GIII With Anticipation S., which was Thomas’s first career stakes win. After running fourth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, he made his first try on the dirt and won the GII Remsen S. That had LaPenta, his fellow owners and Thomas, thinking GI Kentucky Derby. He ran respectably in the GIII Sam F. Davis at Tampa, finishing second, but followed that up with a well-beaten fourth in the GI Florida Derby. “He had a one off bleeding episode (in the Florida Derby), which was unusual,” Thomas said. “It was enough to explain the effort, which was a little below par for him. At that point in time, the right thing to do was to regroup. The Kentucky Derby is very important, but in our operation we never want to let it compromise the horse.” When Catholic Boy was ready, Thomas sent him back to the turf and the result was two remarkable efforts. In the first, the GIII Pennine Ridge S. and then the Belmont Derby, he gave up the lead to the Chad Brown-trained Analyze It (Point of Entry) in deep stretch, looked hopelessly beaten and then came on again to win. “He’s certainly the gamest horse we’ve trained,” Thomas said. “The first mile of those races I watched as a trainer and the last furlong to a quarter of a mile I watched as a fan. It was something to behold. Analyze It is a very good horse and he’s a good barometer for our horse’s effort. We’re very proud of him. This horse really grinds it out.” It might have made more sense to keep him on the grass but the connections want a definitive answer as far as his dirt ability goes, which they don’t believe they got in the Florida Derby. Barring a last-minute change of mind, the Travers will be next. “We owe it to the horse and to the clients to leave that option on the table,” Thomas said. “We’ve let the horse dictate our next step and I think we’ll continue to do that. The timing of the Travers is very good. If there’s something we don’t like we can always adjust, but it’s worth at least investigating.” Catholic Boy remains the only stakes winner Thomas has ever trained, but it’s not hard to envision his career taking off. Catholic Boy has given him exposure, new owners are starting to take notice and he shares many of the same traits that made Pletcher a star. Like his mentor, he’s polished, professional and ambitious. Does he see himself someday having a stable that rivals Pletcher’s? “I think as long as we can do a great job and do what’s best for our clients and our horses, I’d certainly be willing to head in that direction.” he said. “As long as we’re doing a quality job.” He has a long way to go, but he certainly seems to have the tools to succeed and now he’s got a horse everyone is paying attention to. The Travers will be a big race not just for Catholic Boy but for his trainer. View the full article

CHAMPION jockey Blake Shinn has suffered a serious neck injury in a Randwick barrier trial fall this morning and is unlikely to ride again this year. View the full article

There has been nothing posted on the NZTR website regarding the TAB Turnover since 06 May! Anyone know where to source it from? Afterall we have been led to believe there is a 20% increase in profit coming from somewhere?

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The records set during last year’s Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale were short-lived as the 2018 edition of the auction, which concluded in Saratoga Sunday evening, set new highwater marks for gross, average, median, overall top price and top-priced filly. The New York sale built to a fevered pitch and bidding was fast and furious as the auction reached its finale Sunday night. At the close of business, 172 yearlings had sold for $18,492,000. The average of $107,512 rose 20.7%, crushing last year’s previous record figure of $89,088 and the median increased 9.3% to a record $76,000. “The last half of the session tonight was just electric,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “Obviously, that’s reflective of how the horses happened to fall in the catalogue, but we had a run of horses that were just one beauty after another beauty after another beauty that sold remarkably well.” A colt by Pioneerof the Nile (hip 588) became the auction’s highest-priced offering when selling for $600,000 to John Ed Anthony’s Shortleaf Stable. The yearling was consigned and bred by Jonathan Thorne’s Thorndale Farm. During Saturday’s session of the two-day sale, a daughter of American Pharoah became the sale’s highest-price filly when bringing $450,000. That yearling was bred by Joanne Nielsen’s Sunnyfield Farm. “Jonathan Thorne and his family are long, long time supporters and advocates of the New York markeplace,” Browning said. “And last night, we had the Nielsens, who were another sort of taproot human family to the New York breeding program. So it’s a testament to their commitment, both to the overall Thoroughbred industry, and to the New York program, and also to producing quality horses. They were richly rewarded as a result of that.” A total of 30 yearlings sold for $200,000 or more at the sale, far surpassing last year’s total of 16. “I think you saw tremendous diversity among the buyers tonight,” Browning said. “There were certainly some new names on the results who haven’t been active previously in the New York-bred marketplace. I think that’s a direct result of the quality and the success New York-breds are achieving all over the world.” Pioneerof the Nile Colt Sets Record Ed Anthony, bidding on behalf of his father John Ed Anthony’s Shortleaf Stable, bid a sale record $600,000 to acquire a colt (hip 588) by Pioneerof the Nile late in Sunday’s final session of the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale. The colt, who bettered the mark of $500,000 set by a Cairo Prince colt last year, is out of Score (A.P. Indy). The mare is a daughter of multiple Grade I winner Educated Risk (Mr. Prospector) and from the family of champion Inside Information. “With that pedigree, I knew there would be plenty of competition,” said Anthony, who is responsible for the pedigree analysis for potential Shortleaf runners, having worked for Three Chimneys, as well pedigree analyst Bill Oppenheim. “Pioneerof the Nile is a sire of sires and it looks like he’s going to go a lot further than he already has. If you’re looking for stallion prospects and want to be relevant in the Classic picture and the Triple Crown trail, you have to pony up sometimes and play the game.” Under the name of Loblolly Stable, John Ed Anthony campaigned champions Temperence Hill, Vanlandingham and Prairie Bayou. “My dad has raced up here for 50 years and he likes to race in the big races,” Anthony explained. “This is the deep end of the pool, and if you’re going to play in the deep end of the pool, you better come loaded for bear, so to speak.” The bay yearling was consigned by Jonathan Thorne’s Thorndale Farm. A longtime New York breeder, Thorne purchased Score, with this record-setting colt in utero, for $120,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. “The horse is an incredible horse,” Thorne said. “He’s been a beautiful horse since he was born and he’s just gotten better and better. He’s a very intelligent and honest horse. I’m proud of my horse and I’m proud of my team at the farm to get him to this point. It’s special. I think he’s got a great future, so I can’t wait to watch him.” Thorne is the ninth generation to live at his family’s Thorndale Farm in Millbrook, New York. His family began breeding horses in 1980 when he was six. While he grew up on the family farm, he admitted it was one horse in particular that cemented his love of racing. Thorne served stints at Gainesway, Eaton Sales and Derry Meeting Farm before going out on his own at Thorndale, where he bred 2009 GIII Florida Oaks winner Don’t Forget Gil (Kafwain). “It feels great,” Thorne said of the record achievement. “All of us around here have been doing this for a while and everyone has stepped up their game as the quality of the New York-bred crops continues to rise every year. We are all trying to up our game and keep producing high-quality horses.” Asked if he had considered sending hip 588 through the sales ring during last week’s select sale, Thorne said, “Fasig-Tipton had offered that, but I like to support Fasig-Tipton for conducting this [New York-bred] sale and the October sale in the first place. It really helps the program and a lot of the players. This is a great sale and it continues to get better and better every year. I don’t see that stopping–I’m just trying to keep up. I’m trying to keep up with my good friend Joanne Nielsen.” Nielsen’s Sunnyfield Farm sold a colt by American Pharoah during the select sale for $1 million and topped Saturday’s open session of the auction with a filly by the Triple Crown winner who sold for $450,000. As for Score, Thorne’s partnership with the mare was profitable but short-lived. “She did not get in foal last year, so I thought it might be an ok idea to sell her in Fasig February last year and some good friends bought her from me, Alex Solis and Jason Litt,” Thorne said. “So they have the mare and they bred her back to Classic Empire. She is a lovely mare and a pretty good buy. So I hope for the best for them as well.” Solis and Litt purchased the mare for $45,000 at this year’s February sale. Risky Pays off Again for Bacon Sanford Bacon, who campaigned his homebred filly Risky Rachel (Limehouse) to six stakes wins between 2011 and 2014, offered the first foal out of the mare named after his granddaughter and was immediately rewarded when the colt by Scat Daddy brought $1 million from Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier at this year’s Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale. Through the Paramount Sales consignment, Bacon offered Risky Rachel’s second foal, a filly by Into Mischief, Sunday in Saratoga and the yearling (hip 573) attracted a final bid of $350,000 from Jeff Drown’s Kindred Stables. “We have a Tiznow [weanling] coming up, so we will see what happens with him,” Bacon said after watching the yearling sell. “And then we a 50%-share taking another shot with Into Mischief.” Bacon admitted he was hoping the filly’s new owners take full advantage of her New York-bred status. “I just hope the people who bought her keep her here in New York and give her the opportunity to make a lot of extra breeders awards,” Bacon said with a chuckle. “In the end, the money is all going to charity anyway.” Risky Rachel is a daughter of Bacon’s graded stakes winner Dancin Renee (Distinctive Pro), who is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Say Florida Sandy. Asked if he was tempted to retain any of the mare’s foals to race himself, Bacon said philosophically, “When you get to be my age, you’d love to race them all. I’d love to be here to race them, but at 90, I’m not counting on it. But I would love to do this same interview next year.” City Zip Colt Destined for Resale A colt by City Zip will likely reappear in a sales ring next spring after Randy Bradshaw signed the ticket at $300,000 for the yearling (hip 530) out of the unraced Nick’s Honor (Jump Start). “I liked everything about him,” Bradshaw said. “He’s a June foal, but he has plenty of size. He’s by City Zip and the mare has done nothing wrong. She’s a very good mare. We are just hoping down the road we can make a little money with him. We’ll probably put him in the April sale at OBS and see if we can do well with him.” The yearling was consigned by Indian Creek on behalf of breeders Jamie Lamonica, Lee Sacks and Soave Stables. “He was a nice colt, a June 2 foal, but he’s never done anything wrong,” Lamonica said. “He’s just nice horse.” The 14-year-old Nick’s Honor never made it to the races, but her offspring have enjoyed plenty of success in the afternoon. She is the dam of stakes winners The Lewis Dinner (Posse) and Kelli Got Frosty (Frost Giant) and the stakes placed Princess Phoebe (Defer) and Frosty Gal (Frost Giant). Lamonica was co-founder of Empire Stud and Nick’s Honor was a part of that program. “We have three mares, two of them are in New York,” Lamonica said. “We love the New York program and we had the farm up here, Empire Stud, for a long time. This mare started out as a product of that. We bought that mare with a partnership as a 2-year-old in training and she was very talented. She’s a huge mare, she’s 17.1h. She fractured a hip before her first start, so we just bred her to the house stallions. And then she kept having stakes horses, so we decided to go to Tale of the Cat and City Zip. Actually it’s a little sentimental because this yearling was the last City Zip ever born. City Zip was very good to me over the years. So this was important.” Nick’s Honor is currently in foal to GI Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. Of the increasing success of the New York breeding program, Lamonica said, “It’s remarkable the job that everyone has done– the New York breeders, the sales company, the farms up here. That mare foaled at Rock Ridge and Lere [Visagie] did a great job with her. They come down [to Kentucky] and go to Indian Creek and they, in turn, did an amazing job in turning him out here. It’s all those type of people that are raising the bar here. It’s the farms in New York. And it’s the people in Kentucky doing their job, too. So they are working well together. And you’re seeing it in the sales ring.” Emotional Pinhook for Jones When hip 520, a filly by Normandy Invasion, sold for $170,000, it was a successful, but bittersweet, result for Danielle Jones. Jones purchased the yearling with her mother Brenda for $30,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton New York Mixed Sale. “My mom had been in the business a long time,” Jones explained. “She and I came up in October to buy a couple of horses and this filly was one of them. She passed away a week ago. So this sale was bittersweet, but she would have been very happy.” The Joneses own Silver Oaks Farm in Ocala and Danielle is a client liaison at Gainesway and runs inspection cards at the farm’s sales barns. Of the yearling’s appeal last fall, Jones explained, “I loved her leg and the way she walked. She was very elegent. She is by a first-year sire, so there is nothing going against her. Normandy Invasion is a son of Tapit, so I don’t think you can go wrong with that.” She continued, “[The final price] far exceeded what I thought was going to happen. I tend to keep realistic expectations, but I wasn’t willing to give her away for less than $75,000. So I was very happy with what she brought and who she is going to.” Out of Muffy (Tomorrows Cat), the yearling was purchased by Vineyard Ventures. View the full article

Calvin Borel teamed with trainer Ian Wilkes to capture Ellis Park's signature race, as Champagne Problems powered to a 3 1/4-length victory over frontrunning favorite Sense of Bravery in the $100,000 Groupie Doll Stakes (G3) Aug. 12. View the full article

In his second try at the $200,000 Longacres Mile (G3), the chestnut with the striking white face put it all together, but there was a moment in the stretch where it appeared as if he might hold himself back. View the full article

Trainer Shug McGaughey had already entered the $100,000 Fasig-Tipon Lure with a special connection to the race, having conditioned the two-time Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) winner for which race is named. View the full article

Longshot Decorated Soldier earned his first graded stakes victory Aug. 12, when he upset an accomplished field in the $125,000 Seagram Cup (G3) at Woodbine. View the full article

Multiple graded-stakes winner Curlin's Approval rebounded from a fourth-place finish in the June 30 Princess Rooney Stakes (G2) Aug. 12 with a dominating, 2 1/2-length victory in the $75,000 Sugarloaf Key at Gulfstream Park. View the full article

Horses' test results August 11 & 13 View the full article

The development of Hronis Racing's Yuvetsi has been more of a germination or a brew. It took her 13 starts, but afer a decisive score in the $100,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3), she's now a graded winner. View the full article

Having her way on the lead, Jon Marshall's Tricky Escape put together back-to-back stakes victories, taking the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes Aug. 12 at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

Despite a bit of a bumpy start and some more bumps in a stretch duel, Call Paul still prevailed Aug. 12 and scored his second consecutive win in the $200,000 Saratoga Special Stakes Presented by Miller Lite (G2) at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

SIPPICAN HARBOR (f, 2, Orb–Blossomed, by Deputy Minister)took some money, but settled for fifth after traffic trouble in her turfy, two-turn debut here July 22. Forced to cut back and switch surfaces here, she dominated her competition as the 9-5 favorite. Knocked down to 9-5 favoritism late, the $260,000 yearling FTSAUG soon seized command. She began to tug her way clear heading for home, and poured it on in hand to run up the score to 15 1/2 lengths in 1:23.55. Fellow second timer Girl At War (Ire) (Declaration of War) held on for second. O-Lee Pokoik. B-Justin & Kalvert Spaeth & Equine Equity Partners (Ky). T-Gary Contessa. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Monday’s Insights features an expensive daughter of GSP Beloveda (Ghostzapper). 1.35 Ayr, Cond, £8,900, 2yo, f, 7f 50yT MISTRESS OF LOVE (Scat Daddy) was one of a baker’s dozen to make $1 million or more at the Keeneland September Sale and she debuts for Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited and Karl Burke. The fact that the Middleham-based trainer is given charge of the March-foaled daughter of the GSP Beloveda (Ghostzapper) speaks volumes about how far Burke has come in recent times. View the full article

After becoming the first winner for Spendthrift Farm's stallion Shakin It Up in June, B. B. Dude added the Aug. 11 Manzano Stakes to also become the sire's first black-type winner. View the full article

Longshot Decorated Solider earned his first graded stakes victory Aug. 12, when he upset an accomplished field in the $125,000 Seagram Cup (G3) at Woodbine. View the full article

CALL PAUL (c, 2, Friesan Fire–Avani Force, by Forestry), the 4-5 favorite in a four-horse running of the GII Saratoga Special S., justified his short price in a game effort Sunday. The bay earned a solid 80 Beyer Speed Figure for his debut tally down at Delaware July 5, and had been flattered earlier in the day Sunday when the runner-up from that heat came back to score at Monmouth. The $20,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic yearling turned $210,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile sat inside among a three-way scramble for the lead before charging up the fence to take over. He was challenged by Tight Ten (Tapit) in upper stretch, and seemed to dig deeper as that green foe came in on him as they dueled to kick on by a length in 1:16.55. Tight Ten held second. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. O-Michael Dubb, David Simon & Bethlehem Stables. B-Beatrice Patterson & Vicky Schowe (PA). T-Jason Servis. View the full article