Wandering Eyes

New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program will hold its fourth-annual All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show Friday, Sept. 7 and Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Qualified exhibitors will be welcomed to return for The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) Championships on Sunday, Sept. 9, where $25,000 prizes will be awarded in hunter, jumper, pleasure and dressage divisions. The event has become the largest all-Thoroughbred hunter/jumper show in the U.S. Due to increased interest, a dressage category has been added. Entries have been split into junior/amateur and open divisions, and a $1,500 Low Jumper Stake has been added. “New Vocations is absolutely thrilled with the expansion of our Kentucky show,” said Sarah Coleman, Director of Public and Community Relations. “This event is truly designed to showcase Thoroughbreds, both those that have recently retired form racing and those that are seasoned horse-show pros. We’re excited to add dressage to our offerings this year; in total we’ll have seven competition rings highlighting just what these horses can do once they retire from racing.” Kristin Werner Leshney, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and the administrator of T.I.P., added, “The Thoroughbred Incentive Program was created to recognize and reward riders and their horses who have excelled in disciplines beyond racing. The program has been a resounding success since its launch in 2012 and the T.I.P. Championships serves as the only North American All-Thoroughbred Championship Show for hunters, jumpers, dressage and pleasure. When you add in the T.I.P. awards offered the week before at the USEA American Eventing Championships, a total of 36 North American Champion Thoroughbreds will be crowned in September.” For sponsorship information and entry questions, contact Sarah Coleman at 330-518-9001 or sarah@horseadoption.com. For other information visit www.newvocations.org. View the full article

Talismanic recorded an impressive success in the Prix Gontaut-Biron (G3) over 10 furlongs on turf at Deauville Aug. 15 in what was his first start since the end of March. View the full article

Breeders’ Cup Ltd. and Maker’s Mark have announced the renewal of their multi-year partnership and Champions for Charity Program, which was started in 2015 to raise money for local and Thoroughbred-industry charities. The three-year partnership will continue limited edition releases of Maker’s Mark bottles to coincide with the 2019, 2019 and 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships and auctioned surrounding each event. Maker’s Mark will also be the exclusive bourbon of the Breeders’ Cup and title sponsor of the GI Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The 2019 limited-edition Maker’s Mark bottle features Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, the all-time leading trainer in Breeders’ Cup history. Fans can begin securing bottles now through the Champions for Charity website: https://www.breederscup.com/champions-for-charity. Bottle fulfillment and pick up information will be announced in the coming weeks. Proceeds will support Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farms and the Kentucky Derby Museum. View the full article

Juddmonte’s five-time Group 1 heroine Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) will skip next week’s York meeting and instead will point to the G3 September S. over the synthetic at Kempton Park on Sept. 8. Out with a knee injury sustained in May, the 4-year-old will be making her first start since winning the G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last October. A title defense of the ParisLongchamp feature, held on Oct. 7 this year, is the long-term goal for the John Gosden trainee. “She will not go to York next week, and I would think she will go to Kempton,” said Teddy Grimthorpe, the racing manager for Prince Khalid Abdullah to France-Galop. “It was always going to be a big ask to get to York, but it would be silly to push her and we will give her one run before going to the Arc. She’ll need to have a run, but I would think that would set her up very nicely. She’s got to to keep on going the right way, but it looks a good starting point for her. A racecourse gallop is always a possibility, but we haven’t got there yet and there are a number of places we could go.” View the full article

Jockey Pat Smullen is “on to the next step” of his recovery as he continues to receive treatment for a tumour which was found earlier this year. The nine-times champion Irish flat jockey was diagnosed in March and has now completed his required course of chemotherapy. He will undergo surgery next and after that Smullen is hoping to make a full recovery. “Thankfully everything is going according to plan,” he said. “We’re through the chemotherapy now and on to the next step. That will hopefully be followed by surgery and then hopefully that will be the end of it. I’d like to thank everybody again for their support and well wishes. That has been a big factor in me getting on so well and getting this far.” 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. Thursday’s Insights features a son of the MGSW & MG1SP Fire Lily (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). 5.15 Leopardstown, Mdn, €17,500, 2yo, f, 7fT DELPHINIA (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is a full-sister to the stable’s MGSP Delano Roosevelt (Ire) out of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Again (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) who debuts for Ballydoyle in the Susan Magnier silks. Her sibling won at the first time of asking last year, but a repeat may be asking a lot with the yard’s juveniles needing their introductions more than ever in 2018. 5.20 Yarmouth, Cond, £7,400, 2yo, 7f 3yT THREE COMETS (GER) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) was a 525,000gns Tattersalls October sensation who debuts for the Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum-Roger Varian connection. A half-brother to two black-type performers in Germany, he meets Denford Stud’s homered Private Secretary (GB) (Kingman {GB}), a John Gosden-trained half-brother to the G1 St Leger third Michelangelo (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). 6.45 Leopardstown, €17,500, 2yo, c/g, 8fT SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE (GB) (Australia {GB}) made such an eye-catching debut when fourth over seven furlongs at The Curragh 10 days ago that he is certain to be a warm order in this maiden won four years ago by Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Ballydoyle’s half-brother to Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}) is joined by stablemates Constantinople (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a full-brother to the G1 St Leger runner-up Bondi Beach (Ire), and Jack Yeats (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a son of the MGSW and MG1SP Fire Lily (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY–The day was May 3, 2003. The 129th Kentucky Derby was set to unfold under clear skies in front of a crowd of 148,530 at Churchill Downs, and a chestnut owned by a ragtag group of six high school friends was getting ready to make history. Yes, the game victory of Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) was a significant one because it struck a blow for geldings, the blue-collar variety of racehorse, among the parade of colts with stallion futures who had so dominated the Run for the Roses. But there was another reason that the longshot’s heroics made a dent in racing lore, one that has proven much more meaningful over time: Funny Cide was a New York-bred. “It was New York pride,” winning rider Jose Santos said when asked to describe the effort of the “gutsy gelding,” as New York-based track announcer Tom Durkin had dubbed him. Few could foresee what that exhibit of pride would have portended 15 years later, but today, New York-breds are so competitive and, in some cases, so dominant, that their home-state designation has become a selling point, rather than a hindrance, throughout the sport. “Funny Cide was a walking equine marketing campaign for us,” said Jeff Cannizzo, executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders. “In his day, being a New York-bred and winning in graded company, running on Saturdays and Sundays, it was essentially an anomaly. Funny Cide demonstrated the incentive program and he really jump-started that at the Grade I, Triple Crown level. Today, literally every weekend around the world, you have New York-breds not just performing, but actually winning.” Back when Funny Cide captured the Derby, and two weeks later, the Preakness, New York-breds were considered second-class citizens in the racing world. Now, they count among them some of the fastest horses on the planet, and nowhere has that been more evident than this summer at Saratoga, where they have been impossible to miss. “To have a New York-bred win the Derby and the Preakness and have every chance to win the Triple Crown, that was a pivotal year,” said trainer Rick Violette, who also served as the president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association from 2008-2017. “It convinced people that you could expect a high-quality, consistent racehorse even if they were bred in New York, and that’s been confirmed since, as we’ve had multiple Grade I winners in multiple years. You can’t just say it’s the exception that proves the rule anymore, because we have too many exceptions.” There was the Aug. 4 GI Whitney S., one of the two most prestigious races the Spa has to offer, which was conquered by Empire-bred, leading older male and Violette trainee Diversify (Bellamy Road), and the state-bred runner-up Mind Your Biscuits (Posse), who himself has raided Dubai to capture back-to-back renewals of the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. Last Saturday was another showcase for the hometown team, as a gutsy chestnut who would’ve made Funny Cide proud, Voodoo Song (English Channel), annexed the GI Fourstardave H. to follow Sue’s Fortune (Jump Start) capturing the GII Adirondack S. earlier in the card. “We had a one-two finish in the Whitney with the top two choices who happen to be two of the top 10 horses in training,” Cannizzo said. “Voodoo Song wins a Grade I here in Saratoga, Fourstar Crook (Freud) runs a bang-up second in the Beverly D. the same day. It’s literally every weekend in racing that New York-breds are on the map.” Clearly, this didn’t happen solely because of Funny Cide, and it’s taken a lot of work in the time since he shocked the sport to get the New York-bred program to this level. There were lean years, and major questions about the future of racing in the state as a whole, after Cannizzo came aboard in 2008. The New York Racing Association was in dire fiscal straits and its quest to secure the lifeline of video lottery terminal revenue was tied up in the kind of bureaucratic red tape Albany is infamous for. The sport’s principals in the state were generally more worried at that time about keeping the lights on than bolstering its state-bred incentive program. “When I started at NYTB, you had the NYRA franchise unraveling,” Cannizzo recalled. “There was a lot of uncertainty still. There was no VLT operator even earmarked at that point for Aqueduct and we had New York City OTB collapsing into 2010, so my first few years here, there was significant financial struggle, uncertainty and a dark cloud hanging over New York racing.” The fog finally began to lift in September 2010, when the Genting Group, an international gaming conglomerate, was given final approval to install VLTs at Aqueduct. That led to what is now Resorts World, a state-of-the-art casino, being built next door to the Ozone Park oval in 2012 and providing a strengthened foundation for New York racing and, by extension, the growth of the New York-bred program. “As the years unfolded, a lot was put into VLT, and revitalization has happened,” Cannizzo said. “You had people leaving ownership and breedership by the truckload, foal crop was dropping to the basement level, purse structure was dramatically different by 100%, the breeding fund was different by upwards of 100%. Once Resorts World came on, much change has taken place since then and it’s been a renaissance period for our industry here in New York.” The New York-bred program has seen substantial growth in purses and owner/breeder incentives, as well as foal crop size, throughout this decade. At a time when registered foal numbers are on a steady decline throughout the industry at large, the number of New York-breds has been surging and as a result, has become a larger share of the national market. According to a study by The Jockey Club, the program produced just 1,185 foals in 2011, which accounted for 4.8% of all the foals in America that year. In 2016, that figure jumped to 1,502 foals, representing a record 6.7% of the total crop size. The same study showed that on the racetrack, New York-breds earned $25,686 per starter in 2017, way up from $17,899 in 2010. They’re also staying home to take advantage of the incentive program more often, with 81.2% of their starts coming in-state in 2015 compared to percentages in the mid-60s a decade ago. “We’ve had people coming from all over the world into our market here, and horsemen all have New York-breds now in their stable,” Cannizzo said. “We’ve created a commercial marketplace in New York that absolutely did not exist to this extent 10 years ago. Literally every aspect has changed here over a 10-year period. Purse structure has grown by $60 million over that period and breeder rewards are at an all-time high.” Just as noteworthy as New York-breds’ unprecedented success on the racetrack has been their skyrocketing value in the sales ring. Fasig-Tipton’s recently-concluded New York-Bred Yearling Sale sets new records every year, and this renewal was no different, posting all-time highs in gross, average and median, as well as selling the highest-priced offering in the auction’s history when a Pioneerof the Nile colt hammered for $600,000. “When the program first started, none of the major trainers had New York-breds,” said Violette. “The expectations used to be pretty low, and at sales, if it was a New York-bred, the page would just be turned. Now, there’s no longer a ceiling to their ability or performance, and you just can’t afford to do that.” According to that same Jockey Club study, the average sale price for New York-bred weanlings was $53,403 in 2017, an increase of an eye-popping 282% from $18,907 in 2009. Average yearling price was $59,704 last year, up 231% from $25,861 in 2010, an the mean for New York-bred 2-year-olds rose 183% from $33,270 in 2009 to $60,734 last year. “The sales market has definitely evolved and changed for the better,” Cannizzo said. “It goes hand-in-hand with the incentive and purse structure here. We have a commercial market largely because we have the strongest restricted racing product in the world.” In totality, what all of this means is that the New York-bred program has achieved the best of both worlds: creating an exclusive space to boost breeding and racing locally, while also establishing credibility that its horses can compete anywhere on the planet. As Violette said of the Fasig-Tipton auction, “It’s a New York-bred sale, but first and foremost, it’s a racehorse sale.” And everyone with a stake in racing in the Empire State has, at least partially, one gutsy gelding with “New York pride” to thank. View the full article

One week after Irish War Cry turned in his second timed workout at Fair Hill Training Center, trainer Graham Motion said his millionaire stakes-winning protégé is on the road to recovery. View the full article

Famed retired track announcer Dave Johnson will sponsor the Dave Johnson & William “Bill” Fisher Scholarship Award to support University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program students pursuing a career in the business side of Thoroughbred racing in fields such as track management, publicity and announcing. In sponsoring the scholarship, Johnson is also honoring his late friend Bill Fisher, who was treasurer and general manager of Hialeah Park and who hired Johnson in 1971 to be Hialeah’s caller. “We couldn’t be more excited that Dave selected the RTIP’s scholarship program as a way to support the industry while honoring William Fisher,” said Wendy Davis, Director of the RTIP. “It’s incredibly gratifying to see the level of support from industry leaders for the next generation of racing executives.” View the full article

Fans at Saratoga Race Course are invited to some see the new Triple Crown Trophy designed by sculptor Robert Santo on Lustgarten Foundation Day at Saratoga Race Course Saturday, Aug. 8. Fans may take photos with the trophy at the Community Outreach Booth from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a suggested $5 donation to the Lustgarten Foundation, which funds pancreatic cancer research. Fans who share their photos on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtags #TCTrophy and #Saratoga will be entered to win one of four 2018 premium Saratoga seat giveaways. The annual Lustgarten Foundation Day was started to honor longtime New York circuit trainer Dominic Galluscio, who lost a brief battle with pancreatic cancer in 2014. Lustgarten Day will also feature an autograph signing ($10 suggested donation) with leading Saratoga trainers, including Bill Mott, Shug McGaughey, Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. near the paddock mutuel building. View the full article

‘TDN Rising Star’ Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {GB}) takes to Salisbury on Thursday to bid to get his season back on track in the G3 Tattersalls Sovereign S. after two disappointing efforts. Shadwell’s son of Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) was well below the standard of his G1 2000 Guineas fourth when only sixth in the Irish equivalent at The Curragh May 26 and may have been under-par again when third in the 10-furlong G2 York S. July 28. Charlie Johnston, assistant to father Mark, is hoping the return to a mile will answer some questions. “It was great to get him out at York a couple of weeks ago. It was slightly frustrating as it looked like he had won it for most of the straight, but the petrol gauge just ran empty that last 150 yards,” he said. “It was a solid return to action, though, even if it was slightly disappointing not to win. We are dropping back to a mile off the back of that run which I hope will be okay. I wouldn’t be surprised if we go back to a mile and a quarter later in the year. This, though, looks like a good next spot for him. There are six runners and he is top-rated, so it would be nice to get him back in the winner’s enclosure.” One of the five taking him on is the Wertheimers’ ‘TDN Rising Star’ Plumatic (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), an Andre Fabre-trained 4-year-old who enjoyed a confidence boost when successful in a Chantilly conditions event last time July 27. At Leopardstown, the G3 Invesco Pension Consultants Desmond S. sees the July 31 Listed Prix de Tourgeville scorer Masaarr (Distorted Humor) take on American Pharoah’s brother St Patrick’s Day (Pioneerof the Nile) with the latter needing to up his game after a latest fifth in the G2 Minstrel S. at The Curragh July 21. View the full article

Sponsorships for all five available races on Kentucky Downs’s Sept. 1 Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Day have been obtained. Glen Hill Farm will sponsor the $250,000 One Dreamer S., while Breeders’ Cup, Equibase, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and Starlight Partners are sponsoring four overnight races. All sponsorship dollars will go to Grayson for equine research. “Kentucky Downs is pleased to once again host Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Day and support equine health,” said Corey Johnsen, president of Kentucky Downs. “Grayson-funded research helps not just Thoroughbreds, but horses of all breeds, and we’re glad to support an organization that enables such important work.” View the full article

A colt by Minister’s Wild Cat topped Tuesday’s California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Northern California Sale when bringing a final bid of $45,000 from Michael Dante. Consigned by Harris Farms, agent, Hip 104A is out of multiple stakes winner Bold Roberta (Bold Badgett) and is a full-brother to stakes winner Bella Luma. The yearling was bred by Thomas Bachman. During Tuesday’s auction, 95 yearlings sold for $652,500. The average was $6,868 and the median was $3,000. With 28 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 22.8%. View the full article

American by name, American by deed. In becoming the first Triple Crown winner since the 1970s, American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) scaled a pinnacle that had come to seem beyond the modern dirt runner. But if that made him something of a throwback, as a racehorse, then his next challenge—as a sire for the 21st Century—is a global one. His lamented predecessor at Ashford, Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), has shown the thirst for stallions of international influence: capable of since producing the century’s second Triple Crown winner, while also becoming a priceless outcross for Europe’s dominant bloodlines. The quest to achieve something similar starts in Deauville this weekend, when the European market is offered its first two American Pharoah yearlings at the Arqana August Sale. As a $200,000 freshman, certainly, he was priced with that kind of breed-shaping potential in mind; and that is also how he has been received, so far, at the sales. His weanlings averaged $467,307, while only Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado {Ire}), gilded by seven Grade I winners last year, was able to deny him top billing at Saratoga last week—where two of the sale’s five seven-figure transactions took American Pharoah to a yearling average, to this point, of $601,846. The proof of the pudding, of course, will ultimately be on the track. To the European market, however, he must also answer two further questions. First, can his stock adapt any inherited brilliance on dirt to a different environment? And second, assuming he can, will that be contingent on the assistance of a mare with turf genes? A personal conviction is that horsemen, in recent times, have become far too prescriptive and that many dirt runners now at stud would have potential for a radical impact on the European scene, if given the chance. And when you’re talking about one of historic accomplishment, like American Pharoah or now Justify (Scat Daddy), the potential becomes not so much radical as revolutionary. But even a Northern Dancer can’t do it on his own. It boils down to imagination and resource, on the part of European horsemen, on a scale proportionate to the opportunity. At least American Pharoah shares one set of hands with Northern Dancer, John Magnier’s ongoing quest for outcross sires having meanwhile illuminated for others the versatility, as well as the class, of Scat Daddy and also War Front (Danzig). So much for the bigger picture. The pair at Arqana, for now, represent a toe dipped in the water: lot 34, presented by Haras d’Etreham; and lot 158, consigned by Ecurie des Monceaux. The consignors of both are adamant that American Pharoah has the mechanical wherewithal to sire turf runners. Henri Bozo of Monceaux explains that the farm’s mare Marbre Rose (Ire) (Smart Strike), having won a Grade III for Christophe Clement, stayed in the U.S. to meet the retiring champion precisely because his locomotion looks ideal for turf. “We decided to send her to American Pharoah because we were so impressed with the horse himself, and with his ease—he looks, physically, like one that could be a good turf horse,” Bozo said. “When you see him walk, he’s really impressive. We’ve one yearling and one foal on the farm and both give you that same impression: they are very easy movers.” Nicolas de Chambure of Etreham saw American Pharoah round off his career in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. “It was something very special to witness,” he recalled. “Especially after he had been beaten in the GI Travers, to bounce back that way. We went to see him and for a big, imposing horse he was very light on his feet, with a very good walk—a bit of a ‘European’ walk, almost. And Bob Baffert, and some of the others who’d been dealing with him, all felt he would have done really well on turf, too. Because for a horse that only ever ran on dirt, actually it’s not a typical, pure U.S. pedigree.” American Pharoah’s dam is by Yankee Gentleman, a son of Storm Cat—who, besides being a very potent broodmare sire (and sire of broodmare sires), of course enjoyed so much success with his European stock. The second dam, meanwhile, once covered five furlongs on turf at Atlantic City in :57.31. But acres of green grass also stretch auspiciously behind his sire. First and foremost, Pioneerof the Nile is out of a mare by Lord At War (Arg). That splendid Argentinian chestnut not only combined frantic speed with ferocious determination but also, built for fluency rather than bulk, produced durable stock that thrived on turf. (He was, after all, a grandson of Brigadier Gerard {GB}.) He also consistently imparted class, with an excellent one-in-nine lifetime ratio of stakes winners to foals. One of those was Pioneerof the Nile’s dam Star Of Goshen, herself out of a mare by Key To The Kingdom—a sire who enjoyed plenty of success in Europe, notably through 1000 Guineas winner Ma Biche. American Pharoah’s GI Kentucky Derby success took his sire-line’s record in the race to 1-2-2-1, Pioneerof the Nile and Empire Maker both finishing second since Unbridled’s success. So you can’t get “dirtier” than that. Empire Maker’s period of exile, moreover, reflected his modest returns from Juddmonte’s turf mares. But the fact remains that his blue hen dam Toussaud—by El Gran Senor, after all—includes an GI Arlington Million winner and a Grade II turf winner among her other foals. And don’t forget that Pioneerof the Nile himself broke his maiden on turf at Saratoga, and won two Grade Is on a synthetic track. Overall, then, there is plenty to encourage Europeans in American Pharoah’s own background. And if anything is going to draw out a latent turf potential, it will be a filly like the one consigned by de Chambure and his team. For she is out of listed winner Shawara (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}), a conduit of an Aga Khan family extending back half a dozen generations. Her previous foals include dual Group 1 winner and Arc runner-up Shareta (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}). Now 20, Shawara was bought for €550,000 at Goffs November in 2013 by David Nagle’s Barronstown Stud, who last year consigned her filly by Declaration Of War through Etreham at the equivalent Deauville sale—fetching €500,000 from Mandore International. “As I say, I think American Pharoah is a really interesting sire to be trying on turf anyway,” de Chambure said. “But especially, as with this filly, when crossed with a mare with a lot of turf influences. That should give people plenty of confidence.” “This filly came to us from Kentucky in June. I saw a good few American Pharoahs in Keeneland last November and I feel she’s quite typical. He makes a great stamp, it seems, and this filly is strong, tall, with great substance, but is also very athletic, with a huge walk. And great bone. The ones I’ve seen all seem pretty relaxed and laidback, too, and she is the same: a confident filly with a good attitude. Obviously the sire must have had a great mentality to do everything he did.” As she was a May delivery, the dam was rested a year but it speaks well of this filly that she was sent back to American Pharoah this spring. “She’s very well developed for a May foal, though obviously she’s still going to change and do a lot,” de Chambure said. “But she’s certainly mature enough to have been accepted for an early sale like this.” As you would expect, the Monceaux filly also represents a strong family—notably with its female runners. Yes, she is the first foal of a first foal. But her dam Marbre Rose is out of a half-sister to Canadian Grade I winner (and GI Ashland S. runner-up) Zoftig (Cozzene), herself responsible for two daughters who scored at the elite level in Mother Goose S. winner Zo Impressive (Hard Spun) and Acorn S. winner Zaftig (Gone West). “I am really, really excited about this filly,” enthused Bozo. “The story behind Marbre Rose is that we bought her dam as a yearling, then raced her in America with Christophe Clement where she won a sprint. We kept her, sent her to Smart Strike and brought her back here to Monceaux. Her first foal was Marbre Rose who we [offered] at the sales in Deauville, but she was not sold for some reason. We kept her, she went into training with Freddy Head and she was a very good filly: she was twice group-placed in France as a 2-year-old, and Andreas Putsch bought 50% of her.” The Stateside switch paid off for Marbre Rose on the track and, judging from Bozo’s excitement about her filly, it may well have kick-started her new career, too. This kind of transatlantic traffic encourages de Chambure, for one, that we may be seeing a new cycle of mutual regeneration. “Very much so,” he says. “It’s become polarised in Europe, people all tending to go to the same stallions. But I think people are beginning to open their minds a little, to think about stallions outside Europe; and at the same time there are more horses coming through, in America, that would suit Europe.” Sure enough, de Chambure himself sent one of Etreham’s own mares to American Pharoah in his second season; has a Medaglia d’Oro filly selling at Keeneland September; and mares in foal to Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}), Violence (Medaglia d’Oro) and Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song). He also gives a warm recommendation for a Temple City (Dynaformer) filly, presented as lot 97 at Arqana, with a recent update in the Group 3 success of her Classic-placed half-sister Honerique (Exchange Rate). “We’ve already seen what Temple City can do on turf,” he said. “I feel over the next three or four years there will be more exchange in everything: horses in training, breeding, stallions. Both sides of the Atlantic, people need to be working together to change their ideas—and I think that’s all very positive.” View the full article

6th-SAR, $85K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, post time: 4:05 p.m. ET Chad Brown sends out Juddmonte Farms’ homebred CHAMBER (Tapit) for this belated career debut and she is bred to be any kind. The gray filly is the most recent to make the races from the farm’s standout dirt mare Sightseek (Distant View), whose seven Grade I victories included this track’s Go For Wand H., in which she galloped home better than 11 lengths clear at 15 cents on the dollar. Having produced GSP Raison d’Etat (A.P. Indy), Sightseek is a half-sister to the outstanding turf distaffer Tates Creek (Rahy), a dual Grade I winner and winner of an epic renewal of Saratoga’s GII Diana H. in 2002. The further female family includes Juddmonte’s French G1SW Etoile Montante (Miswaki), a two-time graded winner and Grade I placed upon her repatriation. Face It (Tapit) will go toe-to-toe with Chamber, on pedigree at a minimum, as she is a daughter of GSW Catboat (Tale of the Cat), making her a half-sister to treble GISW and 2011 CCA Oaks victrix It’s Tricky (Mineshaft). The latter is the dam of GSW & GISP Enticed (Medaglia d’Oro). TJCIS PPs 8th-SAR, $87K, AOC, 3yo, f, 1mT, post time: 5:19 p.m. ET QUIVERY (Violence), a $30K OBSAUG yearling, fetched $360K as an OBSMAR breezer last spring, the best of her sire’s 20 fillies to go under the hammer in 2017 and third-best of 41 overall. A maternal granddaughter of SW Arianna’s Passion (Unbridled’s Song)–dam of MGSW Distorted Passion (Distorted Humor)–Quivery is kin to Old Bailey (To Honor and Serve), who won for the fifth time in 11 starts in Japan Aug. 4. Quivery’s year-younger half-brother Strong Union (Union Rags) was a $650K purchase by Robert Baker and William Mack and is in training at the Spa. Quivery won her first two starts and was a close fourth in last year’s G3 Prestige S. while under the care of Jeremy Noseda. TJCIS PPs View the full article

Not seen in Europe this term until Wednesday, Godolphin’s GI Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Talismanic (GB) (Medaglia d’Oro) made light work of his comeback in Deauville’s G3 Prix Gontaut-Biron. Only ninth tried on the dirt in the Mar. 31 G1 Dubai World Cup, the flashy bay travelled easily back on turf as Mickael Barzalona waited patiently in mid-division. Committed turning for home, the even-money favourite took over from the long-time leader Subway Dancer (Ire) (Shamardal) with two furlongs remaining and quickly asserted to record a two-length success, with First Sitting (GB) (Dansili {GB}) a short neck back in third. Wednesday, Deauville, France PRIX GONTAUT-BIRON HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB-G3, €80,000, Deauville, 8-15, 4yo/up, 10fT, 2:09.72, g/s. 1–TALISMANIC (GB), 123, h, 5, by Medaglia d’Oro 1st Dam: Magic Mission (GB) (GSW & GISP-US, GSP-Fr, $398,111), by Machiavellian 2nd Dam: Dream Ticket, by Danzig 3rd Dam: Capo di Monte (Ire), by Final Straw (GB) O-Godolphin; B-Darley (GB); T-Andre Fabre; J-Mickael Barzalona. €40,000. Lifetime Record: GISW-US & G1SP-HK, 20-8-6-1, €2,987,793. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Subway Dancer (Ire), 126, g, 6, Shamardal–Sub Rose (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). (€60,000 RNA Ylg ’13 AROCT; €3,000 3yo ’15 ARNOV). O-Ecurie Bonanza; B-Haras de Saint Pair (IRE); T-Zdeno Koplik. €16,000. 3–First Sitting (GB), 123, g, 7, Dansili (GB)–Aspiring Diva, by Distant View. (15,000gns 2yo ’14 TA14; 35,000gns 4yo ’15 TA15). O-Bringloe & Clarke; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Chris Wall. €12,000. Margins: 2, SNK, NK. Odds: 1.00, 20.00, 9.00. Also Ran: Master’s Spirit (Ire), Syrita (Fr), Alignement (GB), Wren’s Day. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Editor’s note: Today, August 16, marks the running of the twice-annual Palio, the oldest horse race on record, which takes place around the central piazza, or town square, in Siena, Italy. A group of TDN staffers covered the July 2 Palio for the September edition of the TDN Weekend. They included our videographer, Patty Wolfe. Nothing could have prepared me for shooting the Palio in Siena, Tuscany last month–literally nothing. That my photographer position was on the track in front of the starting gate (read: rope that drops sluggishly after a deafening cannon fires) was, as young people say, “next level.” Most of us have heard the legends of the Palio: passions flaring like fireworks, villagers beating their own jockeys after losing, bribery, theft, kidnapping, horses throwing jockeys, and jockeys whipping other horses and one another. From a distance, it’s (almost) funny. Nine years ago, I visited Siena for the first time. Our tour guide described the race while pointing at the Piazza del Campo, a modest-size medieval cobblestone village square peppered with café tables and a smattering of tourists. She told us that 17 neighborhoods, or contrade, each put a horse in one of the two bi-annual races to compete for bragging rights. Standing in Siena, I took the legends a little more seriously, but a part of me entertained the possibility that some of the hype was for the benefit of tourism. I was wrong. The Palio is a serious, tribal institution as old as Siena itself with all manners of respect and dignity on the line, and not an iota for the benefit of tourists. It runs only twice a year, but lords its legend over the city every day. We arrived in Siena the day before the July 2nd race. Celebrations and preparations filled streets. Dirt had been laid down over the cobblestone–to my relief. We trotted around to secure credentials and prove my insurance coverage for the seventh time (which finally sparked the notion that covering the Palio from the track may involve some measure of risk). The trial race that evening confirmed my new fear. The trials are run for the horses to get accustomed to the track, the enormous crowd, and a cannon that makes every heart skip two beats within a kilometer. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"Scenes from the Palio","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/284024608.sd.mp4?s=4ce963964044354cc80ba754bc7463a1b0b431ed&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/281449967.sd.mp4?s=b7485f32ab2c8512189fee9b10e4f87b059d2ea3&profile_id=165","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\/"} Before the first trial run, I was carried off the track several times by police who could not see my temporary paper credential safety pinned to my shirt. They lifted me like a chess piece back over the guard wall. I finally connected with the officer in charge of the photographers who placed me on the track about 15 yards in front of the start rope. The officer said, “You are Patty? The American? Here.” I stood, then crouched, in the very spot he left me, motionless like a bunny in a snake’s cage, for the next several hours. I decided the telephoto lens was much too scary for me to use as I glared up and into the nostrils of the anxious horses at the starting rope appearing just several feet in front of me. My six fellow photogs were Sienese and my language barrier kept me from gleaning key safety tips and practices. I imagined that’s what they were talking about. I started counting the ways I could die, when–BOOM–the ground shook. The start cannon fired with the volume of a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier, the large rope dropped, and they were off! Well, after a few false starts, they were off. I wondered aloud if we could do the subsequent starts without the cannon. The rope drop would suffice, no? Nobody understood my helpful suggestion, or they pretended not to. The horses and jockeys took the practice at a slower-than-race pace and with less whipping of everyone and everything, but the fan excitement was full throttle. As the horses passed us a second time the crowd emptied the stands like thin cake batter pouring from a bowl. Crouching against the wall, I did not expect the bodies that came cascading over (and on) me to chase the horses. The track was wall-to-wall people in a matter of seconds. Race day, I would be better prepared for this moment, I told myself. TDN Publisher Sue Finley offered me the chance to beg off the on-track position on the day of the race. I considered it, being a lifelong chicken. Ultimately, I thought of my two children, as any mother would. Though I was confident I would be missed if something horrible befell me, how could I deprive them of the tale of losing their mom in an incident at the Palio? The story itself was too good to pass up. (They confirmed I made the right choice later when I discussed it with them. Cherubs.) Emma Berry and I arrived in Siena a little before 7 a.m. the morning of the race. The tone of Siena had become a lot more serious and a little less celebratory than the day before. A crowd gathered at 7:30 a.m. in the piazza while a full Catholic mass was performed by the local clergy. The jockeys were present and blessed while everyone prayed for their safety and for the safety of the horses. My Latin is not good, but I didn’t hear my safety mentioned. I received my official credential after that. This one had a picture. The whites of my eyes could be seen around the circumference of my irises. I’m pretty sure that is a medical symptom of fear. Or is it insanity? No matter. There was one more trial run after the mass and then we bopped around town for the remainder of the morning following horses to various churches for their blessings. There was an awful lot of praying going on. The streets were so crowded by late morning that you could keep pace moving through streets without your feet touching the ground. We never really got to select our direction; we were just carried along in people-rivers until we were let out somewhere wide enough. One time we got log-jammed under some bleachers. We saw only slivers of daylight for the next 45 minutes. For a second, I forgot I did not know the man standing behind me during this pile up, for our bodies had been pressed together for quite a while. Every contrada has unique jockey silks, of course, which resemble loose cozy pajamas. It might be a good time to mention that the jockeys ride bareback in these silky pjs, (which explains to me how half of them slip off before the end of the race). Flags fly in the contrade year-long, waving their colors proudly. Sienese fans and tourists wear representing silk scarves around their necks. I tried shopping for a scarf to wear, but then thought better than to side with one contrada and have 16 others mad at me. I was already courting enough risk at this point. I was late to my track position on race day. The track was already closed. I needed a police escort to walk me around the empty track in front of the massive crowds. This time my fellow shooters were waiting for me with great big smiles, like maybe they had just finished laughing or trying to suppress laughter in that moment. One of them, Giancarlo, asked me to speak on his Facebook Live and tell his followers how I came to be on the track at the Palio. This seemed to be as big a mystery to them as it was to me. I was speaking in English and Giancarlo was clearly not understanding me. I brought up a picture on my phone I had taken of Justify crossing the finish line at the Belmont Stakes just weeks before. I told them I covered racing in the U.S. They had not heard of Justify or the Triple Crown, but they clung to the topic of needing to win three races before you are crowned and discussed it at length. Next, the longest parade in world history commenced. (I don’t feel the need to fact check this proclamation. It has to be true.) The costumes, the flags, the horses were medieval and spectacular! I considered for a moment that there were as many people in the parade as there were watching. And then, where did the parade people go to watch? There isn’t a square inch left. I asked Giancarlo if people were being repeated in the parade just playing different characters. That question drew more laughs. I wasn’t trying to be funny. Finally, the race was set to begin. Giancarlo gave me a serious look and warned, “After the horses pass a second time, run to the center of track as fast as you can. Then try to stay safe.” “You mean from the jockey-less horses?” I asked. “No, the humans! It’s very dangerous. Be safe,” he warned, no longer seeing the humor in my presence on the track. More false starts and strategic maneuvers (covert whippings of another’s horse, etc) ensued at the starting rope. Post time was 7:15 p.m. The race ran at 8:40 p.m. You can imagine how many times that cannon blasted in the interim. I looked for the closest defibrillator but could see none hanging up anywhere. Bodies were carried on stretchers from the “infield” throughout the long wait, but I think they were just overheated. All hearts appeared to be beating. When the rope dropped for the last time the horses and jockeys fought hard for inside position with almost constant turning around the small piazza. Four jockeys were thrown in the process, but their horses stayed in the hunt as they would be considered the winner with or without a jockey. As the horses came toward us a second time, I saw my fellow photographers running directly towards them. Yikes. I ran, too, reassuring myself that I would not intersect with the pack at their speed. The stands emptied faster than the night before. Suddenly I was in the middle of a melee with no idea of who won the race. A young man decided my arm looked ripe for punching so I acquired a war bruise to show off later. I’m told by my colleagues in the stands that the track looked like a sea of elbows pumping up and down while fists pummeled unknown things. Looking up, I saw celebratory flags for one contrada hoisted in the air and surmised the winners would be a happier (safer) group. I was able to snake my way to the victorious pile of people hugging and crying. I told myself, this is the story, and stayed there a long time. Ironically, the winner was a horse whose blessing I had attended earlier in the day. And I had a quiet moment with him outside his stall, which was decorated like a church. The Palio is not for the faint of heart, nor is the start cannon, but it is the most extraordinary scene you could imagine for the oldest horse race on record. I highly recommend visiting Siena and watching the Palio for yourself…from a balcony. Intelligent, extensive and colorful coverage of the Palio can be found in the September TDN Weekend by Emma Berry. I hope you enjoy the images. View the full article

Just as Eminent (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) did 12 months ago, Neil Jones’s Knight To Behold (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) came from Britain as the underdog for Wednesday’s G2 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano and led all the way to run away with the prize under a masterful ride. Well beaten in both the G1 English and Irish Derbys, the 23-1 shot was always happy bowling along in isolation under Oisin Murphy and as he had in the May 12 Listed Lingfield Derby Trial kicked off the front to dominate. At the line, there was four lengths to spare over Patascoy (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), with the returning G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero Study of Man (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) only third as the 4-5 favourite, two lengths further behind. Wednesday, Deauville, France PRIX GUILLAUME D’ORNANO HARAS DU LOGIS SAINT-GERMAIN-G2, €400,000, Deauville, 8-15, 3yo, 10fT, 2:06.10, g/s. 1–KNIGHT TO BEHOLD (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Sea the Stars (Ire) 1st Dam: Angel of the Gwaun (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells 2nd Dam: Ballerina (Ire), by Dancing Brave 3rd Dam: Dancing Shadow (Ire), by Dancer’s Image 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Neil Jones; B-Abergwaun Farms (IRE); T-Harry Dunlop; J-Oisin Murphy. €228,000. Lifetime Record: SW-Eng, 6-3-1-0, €277,390. *1/2 to Cosmo Meadow (Ire) (King’s Best), GSW-Jpn, $1,569,342; Beauty O’ Gwaun (Ire) (Rainbow Quest), GSW-Ire, $108,525; and Angelonmyshoulder (GB) (King’s Best), MSP-US, $272,206. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Patascoy (Fr), 128, c, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Noble World (Ger), by Winged Love (Ire). (€40,000 Ylg ’16 ARAU2). O-Roberto Cocheteux Tierno; B-Mme Barbara Moser (FR); T-Xavier Thomas-Demeaulte. €88,000. 3–Study of Man (Ire), 128, c, 3, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Second Happiness, by Storm Cat. O/B-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd (IRE); T-Pascal Bary. €42,000. Margins: 4, 2, 1 3/4. Odds: 23.30, 4.50, 0.80. Also Ran: Gyllen, Louis d’Or (Ire), Crossed Baton (GB), Pharrell (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Third as the favourite in Chantilly’s G3 Prix Paul de Moussac when last seen June 17, Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor’s May 13 G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches third Wind Chimes (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) came back strong from a break to stamp her authority on Wednesday’s G3 Prix de Lieurey at Deauville. Slowly away and settled with one behind early by Pierre-Charles Boudot, the 6-5 favourite was always travelling with purpose and swept to the front 1 1/2 furlongs down en route to a 3 1/2-length defeat of Poetic Charm (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), with the long-time leader Adorable (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) a short head away in third. “She had run such a good race in the Pouliches and had always shown a lot of talent,” Mathieu Legars, representing Coolmore, said. “Things did not go too well last time, but she had too much to do and it was a good effort plus she is more relaxed than she used to be and is easier to ride. Pierre rode her perfectly and we’ll leave it to Monsieur Fabre as to where she runs next. There are races like the Matron, the Moulin or the Sun Chariot so there are plenty of possibilities.” Wednesday, Deauville, France PRIX DE LIEUREY-G3, €80,000, Deauville, 8-15, 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:42.17, g/s. 1–WIND CHIMES (GB), 123, f, 3, by Mastercraftsman (Ire) 1st Dam: Militante (Ire) (SP-Fr), by Johannesburg 2nd Dam: Maggie Jordan, by Fusaichi Pegasus 3rd Dam: Pharapache, by Lyphard 1ST GROUP WIN. (€130,000 Ylg ’16 ARAUG). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Ecurie des Monceaux (GB); T-Andre Fabre; J-Pierre-Charles Boudot; €40,000. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Fr, 6-3-0-2, €156,650. *1/2 to Golden Fastnet (Fr) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), SP-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Poetic Charm (GB), 123, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Speirbhean (Ire), by Danehill. O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charlie Appleby. €16,000. 3–Adorable (Ire), 123, f, 3, Kodiac (GB)–Caffe Latte (Ire), by Seattle Dancer. (€100,000 Ylg ’16 GOFORB). O-M Alqatami & K M Al-Mudhaf; B-Tally-Ho Stud (IRE); T-Mick Channon. €12,000. Margins: 3HF, SHD, 3/4. Odds: 1.40, 4.40, 11.00. Also Ran: Zonza (Fr), Flowrider, Frankel Light (Ire), Environs (GB), Leytana (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

The highlight of Salisbury Racecourse’s season takes place on August 16th as the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes and features a six-runner field at 4.10pm. This year marks a new sponsorship deal as the feature race will be sponsored for the first time by the sales company, Tattersalls. The inaugural running of the Sovereign Stakes took place in the year 2000 as a Listed contest and the £76,500 one mile race was then upgraded to a Group 3 in 2004 and is open to colts and geldings three years or older. It seems fitting that last year’s winner of the Group 3, Ballet Concerto, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, was a graduate of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. Other names to have taken the title in recent years include Zonderland (winner in 2016) steered by Oisin Murphy and Kodi Bear (2015) ridden by Géarld Mossé. Mark Johnson-trained Elarqam will certainly be one to watch in the race. The three-year-old had a promising run to finish third in the York Stakes at the end of last month at York. The drop back in trip to one mile may just suit the son of superstar Frankel and allow him to do all the running. Richard Hannon-trained Oh This Is Us is set to be steered by Ryan Moore in the Group 3, one-mile contest. Hannon will be all systems go to regain the Sovereign Stakes as he has previously won the race on three occasions with Umistim (2001), Priors Lodge (2002) and Ordnance (2008). The son of Acclamation is the Herridge trainer’s only runner of the six competitors and may just be one to watch in the betting ranks as an always consistent runner. Another trainer who will be eager to regain the title is Andrew Balding and he runs South Seas in the one-mile contest who Oisin Murphy will be aboard. Balding has taken the trainers title in the Group 3 challenge on three occasions to include Passing Glance (2003), Side Glance (2011), Tullius (2012). The four-year-old and son of Lope De Vega may be one to struggle however as his recent form may suggest as he only finished down the line on his last two outings due to a step up in trip from seven furlongs to one mile. The Andre Fabre-trained Plumatic will return to the track for only the ninth time and will be ridden by Maxime Guyon. The four-year-old colt won on his last outing at Chantilly, when landing the one mile Prix du Champ d’Alouettes at the end of last month. On form, he may be one to keep on side in an open-looking race. Selection: Elarqam The post The Sovereign Stakes: Elarqam set to put on a show appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

All eyes will be on Deauville this weekend. The G1 Darley Prix Morny will be the feature of a terrific afternoon of racing on Sunday; while Arqana’s August Sale, which is held over three days from Saturday, raises the curtain on Europe’s season of high-class yearling auctions. Arqana graduates have been enjoying yet another successful season on the world’s racecourses, so the young horses on offer will be keenly scrutinised by owners or trainers serious about competing at the highest level. Included amongst their tour of inspections will be the first yearlings offered by many of the new bunch of first-season sires, and it is always exciting to see which of these young stallions seem to be throwing quality stock. An extremely strong intake to the stallion ranks wordwide in 2016 means that yearlings buyers will be spoilt for choice when it comes to the offspring of Classic winners. The Ashford Stud-based 2015 US Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (Pioneer Ofthenile) and Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}), the 2015 Investec G1 Derby, G1 Coral-Eclipse S., G1 QIPCO Irish Champion S. and G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero who stands at Dalham Hall Stud, are arguably the two biggest names among the group. American Pharoah, whose stock sold eye-catchingly well in Saratoga last week, is discussed elsewhere in this issue; while we are sure to hear plenty of Golden Horn around the Arqana sale-grounds, where he has six fillies and two colts in the August Sale. Golden Horn is not the only British Classic winner to have first-crop yearlings in the August Sale. His fellow Darley sire Night Of Thunder (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) has two colts and three fillies in the sale, conceived at Kildangan Stud in 2016 after a racing career which had yielded victories in the 2014 QIPCO G1 2,000 Guineas and 2015 G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S. The year after Night Of Thunder lowered the colours of Kingman and Australia in the 2,000 Guineas, Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) landed a similarly thrilling victory in the same race. The beautifully-bred colt then followed up in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas and the G1 St. James’s Palace S. (having previously taken the G1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S. as a two-year-old) and is clearly a very exciting young sire. He has eight yearlings in the August Sale including two whose pedigrees have recently had notable updates. Lot 8 is a filly out of Nuit Polaire (Ire) (Kheleyf) whose current three-year-old Intellogent (Ire) (Intello {Ger}) took the G1 Qatar Prix Jean Prat last month. Lot 298 is a filly out of Elitiste (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) whose half-sister Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) has landed a stellar four-timer in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas, G1 Coronation S., G1 Tattersalls Falmouth S. and G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois during the summer. Two other ‘Guineas’ winners also have an interesting first-crop representation in the August Sale. Karakontie (JPN) (Bernstein) took the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains in 2014 before ending that year in a blaze of glory by landing the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita. He retired to Gainesway in Kentucky in 2016 and has one son in the sale. Make Believe (GB) (Makfi {GB), winner of the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains in 2015 before taking the G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret in the autumn and then retiring to Ballylinch Stud, is represented by one sons and two daughters. Another young Irish-based sire with top-class form linked in with the cream of the European Classic crop is Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparal {Ire}) who has two fillies catalogued. The former Moyglare Stud colour-bearer has minor placings behind two Derby winners on his CV: second to Australia (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 ICON Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Trial S. as a juvenile and third behind Golden Horn in the G1 QIPCO Irish Champion S. as a four-year-old. He had preceded that latter performance by taking the G1 Prince of Wales’s S. at Royal Ascot. Another Royal Ascot winner to have first-crop yearlings on offer in the August Sale is Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the brilliant sprinter who began a sensational run of success in the summer of 2015 by taking the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. He subsequently followed up by taking the G1 Darley July Cup at Newmarket, the G1 Larc Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville and the G1 QIPCO British Champions’ Sprint S. at Ascot. If his six Arqana yearlings are any guide, Muhaarar has been given every chance to succeed at stud. All seven of them have top-drawer pedigrees, including a half-sister to the 2013 G1 Irish Oaks heroine Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and to recent G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). While one could call Muhaarar the best sprinter to have first-crop yearlings in the August Sale, fans of Brazen Beau (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) might dispute that assertion. Brazen Beau was brilliant during the 2014/’15 season in Australia, most notably landing impressive victories at Flemington in the G1 Coolmore Stud S. and the G1 Lexus Newmarket H. In between those triumphs he registered an excellent second place behind the mighty Chautauqua (who then chased him home in the Newmarket Handicap) in the G1 Lightning S. Brazen Beau probably didn’t show his best form when, having come to Europe, he could only finish seventh behind Muhaarar in the July Cup, and he is better judged on his second place behind Undrafted in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot. He has one yearling in the August Sale, lot 231, a half-brother to Charm Appeal (Fr) who won three races last year including the Prix Volterra at Maisons-Laffitte. Another very fast young stallion represented at Arqana is Gutaifan (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) who retired to Yeomanstown Stud in 2016 at the age of three, having won four of his seven starts including two Group Two sprints: the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte and the G2 Flying Childers S. at Doncaster. He has one colt and one filly to be sold this weekend. A stablemate of Gutaifan in Richard Hannon’s stable during 2015 was Ivawood (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}) who notched three excellent minor placings that year: third behind Muhaarar in the G3 Greenham S. at Newbury and then third to Gleneagles in both the G1 2,000 Guineas and the G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas. He had won three races the previous season including the G2 July S. at Newmarket and the G2 Qatar Bloodstock Richmond S. at Goodwood. Now based at Coolmore, he has two colts in the August Sale. Two other former high-class juveniles represented in the August Sale are the young Darley sires Outstrip (GB) and Sidestep (Aus). Both are sons of Exceed And Excel (Aus), with the former standing at Dalham Hall Stud and the latter at Haras du Logis. Outstrip enjoyed his finest hour when taking the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in 2013, having previously beaten The Grey Gatsby by three lengths in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster. Sidestep is best remembered for this two Group victories at Rosehill: the G2 Pago Pago S. over 1200m as a two-year-old and the G2 Royal Sovereign Stakes over the same distance at three. Among the young sires represented in the August Sale is one who has already been a star of this special weekend but whose stud career was a short one as he died earlier this year. Having previously won a maiden race at Ayr and the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot, The Wow Signal (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) extended his unbeaten record by taking the G1 Darley Prix Morny in 2014. The Wow Signal sadly never raced after his rewarding juvenile season. Poor fertility meant that his crops were small but lot 35, his daughter of Sister Golightly (GB) (Mtoto {GB}), will be sure to attract plenty of attention. Of the French-based freshmen represented in the August Sale is Galiway (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) who stands alongside Kendargent (Fr) (Kendor {Fr}) at Haras de Colleville. Galiway won two races including the Prix Le Fabuleux at Maisons-Laffitte and is one of four stakes performers produced by his Group Three-winning dam Danzigaway (Danehill) who herself is a half-sister to the former Haras du Quesnay stalwart Gold Away (Ire) (Goldneyev). Galiway’s only yearling in the August Sale is Lot 320 Kenway, a son of the Group Three-winning Kendargent mare Kendam (Fr). There is also a strong representation of first-season sires in Arqana’s V2 Sale, five of whom do not have yearlings in the August Sale. One of them stands in France: the three-time Group 1 winner Hunter’s Light (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) who stands under the Darley banner at Haras du Logis. Also representing Darley is the eight-time stakes winner French Navy (GB) (Shamardal) who stands at Kildangan Stud. Also Irish-based is the G3 Round Tower S. winner Cappella Sansevero (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) who stands at Bridge House Stud. Young British-based stallions represented in the sale are G2 Temple S. winner Hot Streak (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) and Lacken S. winner Due Diligence (War Front) who are based at Tweenhills Farm & Stud and at Whitsbury Manor Stud respectively. View the full article

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