Wandering Eyes

With some valuable conditioning under her belt from her one-mile comeback race, My Miss Lilly will try to notch a second stakes victory at Aqueduct when she faces five rivals in the $200,000 Top Flight Invitational for fillies and mares April 13. View the full article

A pair of Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) runners from last season are scheduled to meet again April 13 at Keeneland when Flameaway and Solomini start in the $200,000 Ben Ali Stakes (G3). View the full article

Churchill Downs and Fund for the Arts have added live performances from local artists to the track’s opening night Apr. 27. The theme will be orange for the second year to celebrate the local art community. The 2019 Awards in the Arts will be presented by Kindred Healthcare and Joy Mangano. It is a separate, ticketed charitable event in the Starting Gate Suites. View the full article

The Drug Testing Standards and Practices (DTSP) Committee of the Association of Racing Commissions International (ARCI) is considering a major change to the recommended penalties for violations of the association’s drug rules to dramatically increase sanctions on those violations that can be considered “doping” or “equine endangerment”. An ARCI workgroup has been quietly working for the past year to put together a system to increase penalties for violations categorized as “Doping of Equine Endangerment.” Penalties for such violations would be effectively doubled from the existing Class A penalties, with a first violation requiring a two to five-year suspension of the trainer and a minimum $50,000 fine, which could be increased to $100,000 with aggravating circumstances. A second violation in any jurisdiction would trigger a license revocation. The proposal would also impose a $25,000 fine on an owner if there is a second lifetime offense in the owner’s stable in any jurisdiction. A third offense would suspend the owner for a minimum of 30 days to as much as a year and impose a minimum fine of $50,000 which could be increased to $100,000. Because of the seriousness of these violations a summary suspension would be required, pending any appeal. Existing penalties for medication overages would remain the same and many would be re-categorized as a “Treatment Misapplication & Mismanagement.” The proposal also contains a minimum $500 fine for a first-time failure to keep or report required treatment records. A second offense would bring a $2,500 fine, a third offense a $5,000 fine plus a referral to the commission for possible license review. The draft documents are posted online and anyone interesting in commenting or making a related proposal may do so by emailing comments or documents to rules@arci.com. View the full article

This year’s Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series will consist of 86 automatic qualifying races, whose winners receive a berth to the World Championships, which will be held at Santa Anita Nov. 1-2. The series includes 64 Grade/Group 1 events in 11 countries and features eight new races. Click here for the full schedule. One of the new races in the series this year if the G1 Qatar Prix de l’arc de Triomphe, which provides an automatic entry to the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf. Both races were won by the mighty Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). The other new races are the G1 Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini S. (BC Turf), the G1 Darley Prix Morny (BC Juvenile Turf Sprint), the GI Fourstardave H. (BC Mile), the GI Jockey Club Derby (BC Turf), the GIII Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint (BC Turf Sprint), the GI Cotillion S. (BC Distaff) and the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (BC Turf Sprint). View the full article

The GI Runhappy Travers S. will air live on FOX Broadcast Network as part of a one-hour telecast Aug. 24 starting at 5 p.m. “Travers Day is the greatest day of racing’s greatest meet, and our team can’t wait to come to Saratoga to present both the Runhappy Travers on FOX and a full afternoon of graded stakes racing on FS2,” said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Research, League Operations & Strategy. View the full article

With some valuable conditioning under belt from her one-mile comeback race, My Miss Lilly will try to notch a second stakes victory at Aqueduct when she faces five rivals in the $200,000 Top Flight Invitational for fillies and mares April 13. View the full article

Dallas Stewart will be at it again Saturday at Keeneland, running a horse named Chase the Ghost (Ghostzapper) in the GIII Lexington S., who, on paper, looks like he can’t possibly win. That’s on paper. On the racetrack, there is apparently no such thing as a Dallas Stewart-trained horse that has no chance. That was proven once again last week in the GI Central Bank Ashland S. at Keeneland, which Stewart won with 52-1 shot Out for a Spin (Hard Spun). She didn’t appear to have the class or the numbers to compete with horses like Eclipse Award winner Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) or GI Alcibiades S. winner Restless Rider (Distorted Humor). Stewart was aware of that. But he also knows when a horse is doing well and isn’t afraid to take a shot. He’s not a one-trick pony as he has won several major stakes races with horses who went off at low odds, but, at the same time, he has established a reputation as the sport’s most dangerous trainer when it comes to long shots outperforming expectations. “I just felt good about her,” he said. “She came out of New Orleans doing real well. The Ashland is a horse race that can get you to the biggest horse race for that gender and age group, which is the [GI] Kentucky Oaks four weeks later. You know what, it’s was a risk worth taking.” In the end, he was right. But very few major trainers would have dared to run Out for a Spin in a spot like the Ashland. Starting 50-1 shots is usually a recipe for defeat and every loss lowers your winning percentage. A lot of owners don’t want to hire people winning at 8%, which is Stewart’s percentage on the year, and trainers know that. That’s why they rarely take chances. “I’ve never been great at numbers and I’ve never really cared about numbers,” said Stewart, who is winning at a 14% rate for his career. “I just don’t think about it that much. I think about today. I live for today and if it’s a decision I make today, I’ll just go with it and see what happens. I think sometimes the numbers will keep you from accomplishing things. Maybe they’ll keep you in business, but maybe they won’t get you a Grade I when you think, in your gut, you could have gotten one. As far as the percentage thing goes, I’m not going to live by that. I’ll never tell myself I’m not a successful horse trainer because I’m not 20% or 25%.” Stewart’s reputation took root in the 2006 GI Kentucky Oaks, which he won with Lemons Forever (Lemon Drop Kid), who was 47-1. “The way that worked out was pretty good,” he said. “I owned a piece of her and we sold her for a lot of money, and that made it even better.” Lemons Forever was sold for $2.5 million at the 2007 Keeneland November Sale. Stewart has yet to win a Triple Crown race, but his wizardry at getting horses to over achieve in them is well known. He finished second in the 2013 GI Kentucky Derby with 34-1 shot Golden Soul (Perfect Soul {Ire}) and pulled the same trick the next year with Commanding Curve (Master Command), who was second at 37-1. He was second in the 2008 GI Preakness S. with 39-1 shot Macho Again (Macho Uno) and second again in 2015 when Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati) finished behind American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) at 28-1. Stewart said that he, more so than most trainers, relies on his instincts. “I’m kind of a gut feeling guy,” said Stewart, a former assistant to D. Wayne Lukas, another trainer known for winning big races with long shots. “That’s the way I work. It’s just like the Saints with the onside kick (in the 2014 Super Bowl). Who does that? Then, boom, they go and win the Super Bowl thanks to that play. Sometimes your gut instinct can help you win and sometimes maybe it gets you beat. I don’t know. I just go by what I feel. “That was the case with Out for a Spin. She came out of the Fair Grounds looking really good. I thought she got some weight on her after the last race. One of my top exercise riders worked her and she worked in :48 and change for the race. That was a really good work for her because she’s not a really fast work horse, but he said she just felt great. That gave me some confidence to take a shot.” He’ll try again with Chase the Ghost, who is coming off a ninth-place finish in the GII Risen Star at 96-1. “He’s a pretty nice horse,” Stewart said. “I thought he had some trouble last time. He got banged around. I thought he could have finished on the board in the Risen Star, but not enough to make me want to go in the [GII] Louisiana Derby with him. He got knocked sideways at the eighth-pole and I thought that hurt him little bit. We’re going to give him another shot, and for some pretty good money [$200,000].” He doesn’t have to win, but he definitely doesn’t have to lose. Such is always the case when Stewart drops one in the entry box for a major race. View the full article

The second crop of France’s leading first-season sire of 2018, Anodin (Anabaa), were highly sought after at Osarus’s La Teste breeze-up sale on Thursday. The Haras du Quesnay resident was responsible not only for the top-priced lot, a filly that fetched €90,000 from trainer Christophe Ferland, but three of the top 10. The clearance rate, while not sparkling, was up slightly from last year at 62%. With similar numbers offered and the exact same (46) sold, the average dipped 9% to €22,537, while the median climbed 7% to €15,000. The sale-topping filly (lot 42) was consigned by Haras du Saubouas and is out of Ciao My Love (Fr) (Touch Down {Ger}), making her a half-sister to the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein second Hello My Love (Fr) (Literato {Fr}). It is the extended family of G1 Deutsches Derby winner Lagunas. The same Saubouas/Ferland transaction took place for another juvenile by Anodin when the trainer signed for a colt (lot 80) for €60,000. The colt was the third-highest price of the sale and is out of Midas Medusa (Fr) (Elusive City), a full-sister to British listed winner Mister Hughie (Ire). Progeny of Siyouni, unsurprisingly, were also prominent among the top sellers, and the Gilltown Stud sire supplied the day’s second-highest price in lot 85, a colt bought by Mandore International Agency for €75,000. The colt is out of the G2 Flying Childers S. third Mythical Border (Johannesburg), a half-sister to G3 Sweet Solera S. winner Long Lashes (Rock Hard Ten). He was one of two Siyounis offered by Ecurie Prevost Baratte out of stakes-placed mares and the other, lot 2, a filly, was bought by MAB Agency for €50,000. She is out of the G3 Prix du Bois third Sage Melody (Fr) (Sageburg {Ire}). Her third dam, the Group 3-winning Marie De Ken (Fr), produced the GII San Francisco Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Charmo (Fr) and G2 Prix d’Harcourt and G3 Prix Vanteaux winner Ana Marie (Fr). Mandore also scooped up a filly by exciting young sire Camelot (GB) for €57,000. Lot 52 is out of the Anabaa mare Drole De Dame, and her third dam is the G2 Ribblesdale S. winner and G1 Oaks d’Italia second Armarama (GB). Also on Mandore’s shopping list was a colt by another leading French sire, Haras d’Etreham’s Wootton Bassett (GB). The youngster (lot 37), consigned by l’Ecurie Yann Creff, is the third foal out of the Anabaa Blue mare Bryanka (Fr), and GI Diana S. winner Somali Lemonade appears under the third dam. The European breeze-up circuit moves to Britain next week for the Tattersalls Craven sale Apr. 16 and 17. View the full article

The South African Stud Book was officially included on the list of breeding bodies published on the European Union Commission’s website as of Apr. 3, the National Horseracing Authority of South Africa announced on Thursday morning. The stud book was listed under Articles 34(1) and 64(4) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 [Article 34]. Originally, legislation was passed on Nov. 1, 2018 [Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 [Article 34] and the General Stud Book of South Africa applied for recognition in January, with the application being approved on Feb. 26, 2019. Under the legislation, if a stud book is not listed, horses of that country are not allowed to enter any EU-country or to be registered in that country. Prior to this approval, if a Thoroughbred was exported from South Africa to France, they would not be allowed to enter France as a Thoroughbred from South Africa if South Africa was not listed, furthermore, this horse would not have been permitted to be registered in the French Thoroughbred Stud Book. View the full article

Motion Emotion (Paynter) has been having a stellar season at Oaklawn and she will try to capitalize on that Friday as she faces a full field of fillies seeking a spot in the GI Kentucky Oaks in Oaklawn’s GIII Fantasy S. Wiring the field in her seasonal bow in Hot Springs and third lifetime start Jan. 25, she followed suit with a local optional claimer score Feb. 17. Favored in the GIII Honeybee S. here Mar. 9, the bay was run down late and forced to settle for second. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Brill (Medaglia d’Oro) followed her debut victory at Del Mar in July with a fourth behind likely Oaks favorite Bellafina (Quality Road) in the GI Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 1. Third behind that rival in the GI Chandelier S. at Santa Anita Sept. 29, the $1 million FTKJUL topper made her sophomore bow in a six-panel test in Hot Springs Mar. 22, finishing a solid second behind fellow ‘Rising Star’ Lyrical Lady (More Than Ready). Lady Apple (Curlin) enters off a pair of local wins for Steve Asmussen. Breaking her maiden in a sloppy sprint here at fifth asking Feb. 7, she defeated Irish Mischief　(Into Mischief) by two lengths in a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer over this strip Mar. 23. Todd Pletcher saddles a filly worth a look in Orra Moor (Orb). Graduating at first asking at Gulfstream Dec. 22, the dark bay romped by 7 3/4 lengths in a six-panel optional claimer there Feb. 10 and was third last time in Aqueduct’s one-mile Busher S. Mar. 9. Busher runner-up and GIII Tempted S. upsetter Oxy Lady (Oxbow) also returns in this test. View the full article

The Chad Brown-trained Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) proved a force to be reckoned with in the sophomore male turf division last year and he hopes to do the same Friday as he kicks off his 2019 campaign in Keeneland’s GI Maker’s 46 Mile. Winner of the GII Hall of Fame S. and GIII Saranac S. at Saratoga last summer, the bay could only manage fifth in Belmont’s GII Hill Prince S. Oct. 2, but rebounded with a victory in the GI Hollywood Derby at Del Mar Dec. 1. Veteran turfer Heart to Heart (English Channel) looks to defend his title here, but has not visited the winner’s circle since capturing last year’s renewal of this event. He was third to the re-opposing Dr. Mounty (Street Sense) when making his seasonal bow in the one-mile GIII Tropical Turf S. at Gulfstream Jan. 12 and was fourth last time after setting the pace in the GIII Tampa Bay S. Feb. 9. Winner of the GII King Edward S. last summer at Woodbine, Delta Prince (Street Cry {Ire}) came up a neck short behind Voodoo Song (English Channel) in Saratoga’s GI Fourstardave H. in August and was fourth in the GI Woodbine Mile a month later. Third when switched to the main track for the GIII Bold Ruler H. at Aqueduct Nov. 2, the ‘TDN Rising Star’ was a respectable third in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf S. Jan. 26. Shadwell Stable’s Qurbaan (Speightstown) has been in the money in each of his fourth U.S. starts for Kiaran McLaughlin, starting with a win in the GII Bernard Baruch H. at Saratoga in September. Third in the Shadwell Turf Mile here, he rallied for second in the GII Fort Lauderdale S. at Gulfstream Dec. 15 and was third in the Tampa Bay last time. View the full article

Year after year, Yorkshire trainers unearth elite runners despite relatively limited budgets. Yet while the top owners will sometimes snap up the odd maiden winner, with their wares advertised, even the most sustained improvement thereafter tends not to be rewarded at the next round of sales. Many owners, agents and managers appear to be under the impression that when you leave Newmarket Heath, you fall off the end of the world. Perhaps they are members of the Flat Earth Society. How gratifying, then, that John Quinn’s latest diamond sifted from the rubble—a G2 Queen Mary S. winner found in Book III for just 20,000gns—should for once have prompted a vote not just of thanks, but of confidence. Phoenix Thoroughbreds, who bought into Signora Cabello (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) just before her Royal Ascot success last summer, not only went to 900,000gns to buy out their partners back at Tattersalls last autumn (returning her to Malton until she joins their expanding broodmare band). They also took the logical next step. If this is what Quinn could do in the basement of the market, why not try his skills a level or two higher? After 25 years with a licence Quinn remains perfectly aware that a handful of yearlings, however well bred, is still only a handful—and hardly likely to transform his brand overnight. Nonetheless it is a boost to the whole yard to receive one or two youngsters of different calibre. A Frankel (GB) filly out of GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf and G1 Irish Oaks runner-up L’Ancresse (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), for instance, purchased for €480,000 at Deauville straight after Signora Cabello had pulled four lengths clear of the colts when a close second to Pretty Pollyanna (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) in the G1 Prix Morny. “She’s a beauty,” says Quinn. “If there’s ever one that came our way that might be a good 3-year-old, that could be her.” Then there was a €135,000 Kodiac (GB) colt from the same sale, out of a half-sister to the dam of champion Wootton Bassett (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}). At Doncaster, moreover, Dermot Farrington told Quinn and his son Sean, who sieves the catalogues, to let him know if there was anything they particularly liked. And there was: an Exceed And Excel (Aus) filly. Sure enough, Farrington signed the docket at £70,000. From the same Goffs UK catalogue, Phoenix sent up a £125,000 colt by Signora Cabello’s sire. And just the other day Farrington offered him a 180,000gns Gutaifan (Ire) filly out of the mare whose first cover, by Gutaifan’s sire Dark Angel (Ire), had produced the lightning Battaash (Ire). “I said I’d try and find a box for her,” Quinn says wryly. “To be fair, the filly winning at Ascot was fantastic for all of us. Because as a trainer you need something to happen, you always need that next horse to come along. I couldn’t say she’d win the Queen Mary, because there were 22 runners and all beauties. But I told them I felt she was a very decent filly.” He is immensely grateful that Phoenix have followed through, while acknowledging that it’s just one encouraging turn of the wheel in a career of long attrition. “It’s a great help to us,” he says. “Because we knew that unless somebody jumps out of the woodwork, we can’t afford the Galileos and Shamardals. And I think the North is deemed nearly a different country, when it comes to people sending their bluebloods up here. But a lot of the lads up here have done really well, and you are now seeing more of the big owners sending horses North, which is great.” The Exceed And Excel filly at Doncaster was always going to make their shortlist, as a full-sister to a juvenile who had already won three races for William Haggas in Queen Of Bermuda (Ire). Because Quinn remembers a call from Sean when they were at Tattersalls 18 months ago. “It was Book III, I had bought plenty of yearlings and hadn’t as many sold as I would have liked,” he says. “And then Sean is on the phone saying that there are these two fillies I must come and look at. Sean’s a big help to me, a big pedigree man. So I went down. One turned out to be Queen Of Bermuda, and the other was Signora Cabello. Unbelievable.” Quinn agreed to take one last punt, and they went with the one of the pair that had a little more substance. So the other filly slipped by at 17,000gns, only to be pinhooked at the breeze-ups to join Haggas for 230,000gns. The Quinns will be back on the breeze-up circuit next week, being no less adept at picking out value in that market. Having found G2 Superlative S. winner Red Duke (Hard Spun) for £140,000 at Doncaster in 2011, three years later they famously turned up a subsequent Group 1 winner in Ascot’s bargain basement for £50,000 in The Wow Signal (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}). Quinn rewinds to a drink with Eddie O’Leary at the Cheltenham Festival. Gigginstown were having a tough week until no less a horse than dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}) registered the first of his four Festival scores in the Triumph Hurdle, with two Quinn runners behind. “In life, you need a bit of luck, don’t you?” Quinn reflects. “I’ve known Eddie years. We were in a little members’ bar on the ground level, and he said, ‘I have a Starspangledbanner going to Ascot and, though he’s crooked in front, I think he’s a very good horse.’ I watched the breeze on the telly and he did go really well, and Sean was down there and said he was a fine horse, not correct in front but he had good knees, which are very important.” Quinn rang O’Leary, only to be dismayed by the reserve. But O’Leary offered to keep a leg, and then stalwart patron Ross Harmon stepped in. The following month, The Wow Signal bolted up at Ayr by nine lengths and 11, and the third horse came out and won at Goodwood a fortnight later. Suddenly the phone was hot and The Wow Signal was transferred to the Al Shaqab silks in time for his G2 Coventry S. success. “Then in the Prix Morny he beat two champions in Hootenanny (Quality Road) and Ervedya (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) on soft ground,” Quinn says. “Yet it had been like flint at Ascot. He was phenomenal, probably the best we’ve had. But he ran no race when favourite for the Lagardere, and wasn’t ever really right again. It just felt like the engine had been taken out.” Sadly The Wow Signal’s stud career proved equally fleeting, as he died a year ago of laminitis. Nonetheless Quinn believes in the sustainability of the breeze-up model, having even won a Grade 2 juvenile hurdle a couple of seasons ago with one Arqana graduate. But he cautions that the breeze-up market’s increasing obsession with times may end up working against everyone’s interests. “Last year we bought half a dozen from the breeze-up sales,” he says. “And two or three of them had very sore shins shortly afterwards. We didn’t get as good a run with them as in other years. Of course these are things you can get, that just happen. But I do think that the lads’ hands are getting forced by the clock. A lot of us now are beginning to realize that it’s just one aspect. You’ve got to move with the times a bit, but you’ve also got to put your own bit of ‘feel’ into it. We’ve all bought the ones that have broken the clock but have not been the best racehorses. So you just want a see one that moves well and gallops out.” Having learned the ropes under Jimmy FitzGerald, alongside Richard Fahey among others, Quinn was for a long time one of the leading dual-licence trainers in the land. In recent years, however, his emphasis has shifted away from jumping—and he has duly achieved a personal best, in terms of domestic prizemoney, in each of the past three Flat campaigns. Partly, of course, it is a matter of sheer economic necessity, with greater trading opportunities overseas. “Because by the time you’ve paid your staff and your overheads—and without beating the drum, the prizemoney is derisory—you need to be turning them over to keep the show going,” Quinn explains. “The margins are getting tighter all the time. Everything has gone up: hay, straw, diesel. “But we’ve been very lucky over the years. When we’ve needed it most, a good one has come along. When the recession hit, it was very sticky. We went from 58 horses to 38 as quickly as one could snap your fingers. I’d lost my two best horses, and I said: ‘I think I’m in a bit of trouble here.’ Then we got an order for a fun horse. We’d seen Countrywide Flame (GB) (Haafhd {GB}) win at Hamilton, and went over to Kevin [Ryan]’s to have a look. He wasn’t very big, but Kevin said he’s very sound. And he superseded everything we thought.” In fact Countrywide Flame ran all winter before winning the Triumph Hurdle, and proceeded to finish second in the Cesarewitch before making the frame in the Champion Hurdle itself. “As a 5-year-old!” Quinn exclaims. “I thought, ‘I have a right horse.’ But then he got a bone degenerating disease, and eventually we had to put him to sleep. But he came along when we needed him, and it’s been the same with the other good ones.” Happily, Signora Cabello is back to keep the Quinn team—spread between his base in the hamlet of Settrington, and rented boxes at the historic Highfield yard that housed six Classic winners—in lights this season. She is all set to resume in a listed race at Bath on Friday. “I think she’d had enough come the Cheveley Park,” Quinn says. “Obviously she was prepped for the sale, and then when she came back I gave her another month off. She’s training nicely now and hopefully she’ll be lucky for them this year. I think she’ll make a very good broodmare, as she has a very good pedigree and a very good mind. She does have that offset knee, but moves very straight through it. I hope she’s trained on: one never knows, but she has that good mind and while I wouldn’t say she’s grown massively, she’s certainly strengthened up.” On his office wall hangs a circled target, as therapy for trainers. Steps one and two, on the adjacent instructions, are to line up and bang the forehead at the indicated area. Step three? “Repeat step two as necessary or until unconscious.” Yet for all the frustrations of his calling, Quinn not only retains the zeal of the lad who led up Mister Donovan at Cheltenham in 1982—the first Festival winner owned by J.P. McManus—but finds his antennae ever sharpened by experience. “You only begin to know a bit about horses as you get older,” he suggests. “There’s so much to learn. Because one thing I am sure about in this game, no-one has ever written the book: how to buy them, how to train them, everything. If you did it would just blow up, blow the nose off you. Yes, you do get pigeonholed: you’re up North, you can train this not that. You know what I mean. So you have to keep producing the good one, to stay in the mix.” He is grateful that his family is similarly immersed in the business. It would, he says, be “a lonely old furrow” otherwise. But when you remark on the myopia of so many professionals about the North, he shrugs. “You only ever need one,” he says. “One good one. So you just never know.” View the full article

John Messara of Arrowfield Stud received the sixth Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit, which recognises distinguished horsemen and horsewomen for lifelong contributions to Thoroughbred racing, during a ceremony in Sydney, Australia on Apr. 11. Both Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities sent representatives to Australia to celebrate Messara’s achievements. Owner and chairman of Arrowfield Stud in New South Wales, Messara launched Australian breed-shaping champion stallions Danehill and his son and grandson, Redoute’s Choice (Aus) and Snitzel (Aus), respectively. Messara was Chairman of Racing New South Wales from Dec. 2011-Dec. 2016, inaugural Chairman of Racing Australia from Jan. 2014-Dec. 26, Vice-Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation from 2014-2016, President of Thoroughbred Breeders Australia from 2007-2008 and inaugural Chairman of Aushorse from 2001-2008. In addition, Messara has received a Life Membership of the Australia Turf Club (2016), the inaugural Heroic Award (2011) from Thoroughbred Breeders NSW, and he was appointed by the Australian governement as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2008. “I’m very grateful to receive the Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit because it is presented by my international peers, and much of my work over the past four decades has focused on elevating Australian racing and breeding and communicating our success around the world,” said Messara. “I acknowledge especially the unflinching support of my wife, Kris, and our four children; all of my team, past and present, at Arrowfield; the Boards and Executives of Racing New South Wales and Racing Australia; and two excellent Ministers for Racing, the Honourable George Souris AM and the Honourable Troy Grant. I’ve also been blessed by an incomparable dynasty of champion stallions that has shaped my career and the entire Australian Thoroughbred industry over the past 30 years. Danehill, Redoute’s Choice and now Snitzel–thank you.” “It is a great honour and pleasure to recognise tonight Mr. John Messara’s dedication to Thoroughbred racing, a sport dear to the brand,” said Walter von Känel, president of Longines. “Our commitment to equestrian sports is based on common shared values: tradition, elegance and performance. It perfectly embodies our long-time partnership with the IFHA, of which Longines is the proud official partner and official watch.” Added IFHA Chairman Louis Romanet, “I have the utmost respect for John Messara, and it is an honour for me to be in Sydney for the presentation of the seventh Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit. He is a very deserving recipient of the prestigious 2019 Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit.” 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. Friday’s Insights features a quintet of ‘TDN Rising Stars’. 4.10 Newbury, Cond, £16,000, 3yo, 10fT In a contest which witnessed the lone defeat of MG1SW distaffer Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Godolphin’s hitherto undefeated SPACE BLUES (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}) heads a five-strong team of ‘TDN Rising Stars’ making seasonal returns. The Charlie Appleby trainee, half-brother to MGSW Shuruq (Elusive Quality), posted an impressive score over an extended mile at Nottingham in his only start last November and is opposed by 10 fellow winners in this fascinating affair. They include the John Gosden-trained duo Turgenev (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who ran seventh carrying the Princess Haya of Jordan silks in Doncaster’s Oct. 27 G1 Futurity Trophy last time, and Gestut Ammerland’s Oct. 13 Listed Zetland S. fourth Waldstern (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Khalid Abdullah’s twice-raced Headman (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who earned Rising Stardom for Roger Charlton at Newcastle in November, and Michael Pescod’s Floating Artist (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), a last-out sixth representing the Richard Hannon stable in Newmarket’s Sept. 27 G3 Somerville Tattersall S., complete the decorated quintet. View the full article

Ashwood Training Center, formerly Victory Haven Training Center, is scheduled to reopen May 1 after significant construction and improvements over the past year. Located on Russell Cave Road, Ashwood Training Center features a six-furlong track, nearly 300 stalls, 30 turnout paddocks, indoor and outdoor arenas, a walking machine and open land to ride horses away from the track. Managing the day-to-day operations is owner Marc Ricker, a third-generation horseman from Paris, Kentucky. Ricker grew up working on his family’s Sunny Oak Farm before moving to Florida to pursue a career in private equity. Upon his father’s passing in 2013, Ricker made the move back to Kentucky to help his mother with the family farm. He began leasing the property from Lucian Anderson three years ago. “Growing up on a farm and loving horses, I was glad to come back,” he said. “This facility has so much to offer horsemen, all in a quieter environment than a traditional racetrack. Trainers can choose to send their horses to the track, work in one of the arenas or take them out over the gently rolling hills around the property. Kenny McPeek’s facility is next door and he also allows horses stabled at Ashwood to walk over and use his turf gallop.” Ricker and his team are also offering those looking to lease stall space at Ashwood the option to do personalized improvements to make their barns more user-friendly and customized to their trainers’ needs. “Ideally, we’d like to have a week or two notice before someone moves in so we can go through the space and go over improvement requests,” said Ricker. “Each new lease is given a move-in allowance to personalize his or her space.” In addition to traditional breaking and training amenities, the farm also features a rehabilitation division, which includes an Aquatread and Theraplate and can offer laser and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapies. “Our goal is to be one of the premier training and rehab facilities in the region,” said Ricker. “Matt Frazier partners with us to handle the rehabilitation side of the farm. He’s an excellent horseman and has a deep understanding of how to bring horses back to perform at their best after an injury.” A licensed trainer of both Thoroughbreds and Quarter horses, Frazier also came up in the horse industry under the tutelage of his father, Dan Frazier. “We never had the money to buy the best horses, so my dad would pinpoint proven runners who needed some attention for physical issues. We’d rehabilitate them and move them up,” explained Frazier, who has trained the likes of Stinkin Rich, Indiana’s all-time leading Quarter Horse earner, and Skyline Lover, an 11-time stakes/graded stakes winner. Ricker and girlfriend Kathryn Kinder also operate Alliance Bloodstock, a sales prep and consignment division of the farm. Much like Ricker and Frazier, Kinder also got her formative experience on her family’s farm. With a background in both show horses and Thoroughbreds, she eventually took on the role of broodmare manager for her father, Ralph Kinder’s farm. “Sales prep and preparing young racehorses are surprisingly similar. The biggest difference is taking the yearlings to the walking machine or hand-walking them instead of sending them out to the track to train,” said Ricker. Ashwood Training Center currently has stalls available for lease and is also open to ship-ins by appointment. Ricker and Kinder are planning a spring open house on May 11, as well as several other events throughout the year. “Our open house event will include a breeze show, crawfish boil and live music, and after that event we plan to host breakfast trackside for horsemen and the public alike who want to see the facility or simply learn a bit about what goes into the day-to-day training of young racehorses,” said Ricker. “We have a great area that’s away from the barns and perfect for events.” Added Kinder, “Later this year we’re planning to have a few rodeos, which will have live music and food vendors, and maybe some concerts as well.” For more information on Ashwood Training Center or to schedule an appointment, go to ashwoodtrainingcenter.com. To stay updated about their events throughout the year, follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/AshwoodTrainingCenter . View the full article

With some valuable conditioning under belt from her one-mile comeback race, My Miss Lilly will try to notch a second stakes victory at Aqueduct when she faces five rivals in the $200,000 Top Flight Invitational for fillies and mares April 13. View the full article

Catholic Boy, a grade 1 winner on turf and dirt last year, is targeting the $250,000 Dixie Stakes (G2T) May 18 on the Preakness Day undercard at Pimlico Race Course for his 4-year-old debut, according to majority owner Robert LaPenta. View the full article

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Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost.Small field ahead for the Champions Mile – hoping Beauty Generation can continue his fine form this season – @Georgejmoore8All things being equal, the Group One FWD Champions Mile will be nothing more than a track gallop for Hong Kong’s superstar.He faces just six local rivals, all of whom he has handled with ease previously, so he should win with a leg in the air… View the full article

It is young horses that keep Chris So Wai-yin hungry for success and the affable trainer cannot help but be impressed with the progress of his lightly raced Mr Croissant.The three-year-old cruised to victory in just his second start last month, but it was the manner he did it which impressed So the most.Jumping from barrier 13 under English jockey Ryan Moore, Mr Croissant sat three-wide without cover but still found enough energy late to surge to the line.While he steps up in grade on Sunday in… View the full article

It’s a week of farewells for expat New Zealand trainer Chris Waller. The leading Sydney horseman will say goodbye to the best horse in the world, Winx, after Saturday’s Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), while another stable star in The Autumn Sun was officially retired on Thursday. The son of Redoute’s Choice won eight of his nine starts for Waller, including five Group One races. The five-year-old capped his career with a win at elite-level in the Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) where he... View the full article

Consensus will be attempting to put a ray of sunshine into an emotional week for the family of popular trainer Trevor McKee when she chases a Group One win at Randwick on Saturday. McKee, 81, passed away last Friday and on Thursday, after attending a memorial service at Ellerslie racecourse (the burial place of their world-class mare Sunline), son Stephen will be packing his bag bound for Sydney on Friday in the hope of a big run from Consensus in the Gr.1 A$1 million Coolmore Legacy Stakes (160... View the full article

Having ventured into the thoroughbred breeding industry just 10 years ago, Greg Tomlinson’s Nearco Stud has quickly made its mark with Hong Kong Horse of the Year Beauty Generation one of a number of high-class gallopers carrying the NS brand. Regularly reinvesting at the sales while also retaining a number well-bred fillies each year has seen Nearco Stud’s portfolio grow significantly, particularly over the past five years. That growth has now presented breeders with the opportunity to tap ... View the full article

The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained Sir Charles Road will be looking to continue his love affair with Sydney on Saturday when he lines up in the Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick. The Matamata galloper has a great association with Randwick, having won the Gr.2 Chairman’s Quality (2600m) there last year before running third in the Sydney Cup behind Who Shot Thebarman. The five-year-old gelding returned this year to finish fourth behind Gallic Chieftain in the Chairman’s Quality... View the full article