Wandering Eyes

Fresh from his upset win in the July 14 Los Alamitos Derby (G3), Once On Whiskey will try to keep his winning streak alive in the $500,000 West Virginia Derby (G3) Aug. 4 at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort. View the full article

The opener on Day 2 of the Glorious Goodwood festival gives national hunt enthusiasts a rare summer treat with some quality jump horses reverting to the flat for this two-mile four and a half furlong handicap. Lil Rockerfeller who finished runner-up to Nichols Canyon in the 2017 Stayers hurdle at the Cheltenham festival heads the betting for Neil King. The son of Hard Spun hasn’t been seen on the level since finishing second in a Salisbury handicap in May 2015. He runs off a very attractive mark here and with champion jockey, Silvestre De Sousa in the saddle this tenacious and likeable horse looks sure to be a fan favourite. It looks like it’s going to be a battle of the “Kings” as Alan sends Coeur De Lion from his Barbury Castle base. This son of Por Moi has run some credible races on the flat during the summer including behind the much-improved Stratum at Newbury most recently. Although I think he may be high enough in the handicap for win purposes. Cool Sky won the race last year and is an intriguing runner for Ian Williams. He has to run off a seven-pound higher mark this time around, but he has been laid out for the race and with the aid of Josephine Gordon he’s my idea of the winner. Others to note include Dominating, Imphal and top weight Kloud Gate. Selection: Cool Sky Soldier’s CallThe Group 3 Molecomb Stakes has been won by some smart two-year-olds including Zebedee (2010), Requinto (2011) and Yalta (2016). Rumble Inthejungle one of the leading fancies for this year’s renewal is a son of 2012 winner Bungle Inthejungle. Richard Spencer’s inmate was a snug winner on debut and the ran very well when finishing fourth in the Norfolk at the Royal meeting behind Wesley Ward’s American speedster Shang Shang Shang. Archie Watson sends out the favourite for the Molecomb in the form of Windsor Castle winner Soldier’s Call. This Windsor Castle form is the strongest in the lineup and I find it hard to see him getting beaten. Another horse that must get a mention is Vintage Brut who was a bitter disappointment in the Norfolk Stakes having been bought for £280,000 by current connections following a Sandown listed win. Tim Easterby will be hoping the son of Dick Turpin can regain the winning thread here. Selection: Soldier’s Call The Group 1 Sussex Stakes is the feature on Day 2 of the Glorious meeting and oh what a race is in store. The unbeaten Without Parole heads the market for this 1-mile contest following an impressive display in the St James’s Palace Stakes. This was John Gosden’s colt’s fourth straight career victory and it seems that the sky is the limit for the son of Frankel. If Without Parole can win the Sussex Stakes he will be emulating Frankel who took the race in 2011 and 2012. There is quite an illustrious honour roll with Rock Of Gibraltar (2002), Henrythenavigator (2008) and Rip Van Winkle (2009) all previous winners. Sir Michael Stoute was setting records when winning his sixth King George on Saturday and he’ll be hoping to win another Group 1 with Expert Eye, who was highly touted as a two-year-old but had a slow start to his three-year-old campaign until running away with the Jersey Stakes. Such was the manner of this performance Expert Eye was supplemented for the Sussex Stakes and this may just prove money well spent. The 1-2 from the Summer Mile re-oppose here and even though Beat The Bank may have won a shade cosily, I think Lord Glitters is overpriced. David O’Meara’s consistent performer only has a neck to find with Beat The Bank but he’s more than double the price. Others to note are St James’s Palace runner-up Gustav Klimt and Lightning Spear. Selection: Without Parole Balko Des Flos Winning The 2017 Galway PlateGalway plays host to the “Galway Plate” on their third day of the festival where some seriously classy chasers clash. Last season’s winner Balko Des Flos went on to win the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham festival, so it takes a classy individual to win the race. Henry De Bromhead has won two of the last three running’s of the race. Henry has five runners to try and make it a third victory and the pick of these is probably Calino D’airy who was third in the Grade 1 Manifesto Chase at Aintree when last seen. Gordon has four and the race with the best of these being Jury Duty who was also third in a Grade 1 when last in action at the Punchestown festival. One of Gordon’s outsider Lord Scoundrel won the race two year’s off a mark one pound higher than what he runs off this year and with the underfoot conditions likely to suit, he may just surprise a few people. Others to note are De Plotting Shed, Ruby’s mount Saturnas and Tully East. Selection: Calino D’Airy The post Goodwood & Galway Preview – Wednesday appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. 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. Wednesday’s Insights features a daughter of Embassy (GB), who won the G1 Cheveley Park S. 4.10 Goodwood, Mdn, £25,000, 2yo, f, 6fT ALHAKMAH (IRE) (No Nay Never) represents the Al Shaqab-Richard Hannon-Ryan Moore combination which struck on Tuesday with Watan (GB) (Toronado {Ire}) and is a 420,000gns TATOCT half-sister to the black-type performers Mustadeem (Ire) (Arcano {Ire}) and Muthabara (Ire) (Red Ransom) from the family of Bahri. Another newcomer in the race won 12 months ago by the Mark Johnston-trained Threading (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) is Parliament House (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}), Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum’s stablemate of that subsequent G1 Coronation S. runner-up who is out of the G1 Cheveley Park S.-winning champion Embassy (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}). View the full article

Saratoga Springs’s Vapor Night Club played host to the annual Saratoga Jockey Karaoke fund-raising event Monday night, with an enthusiastic crowd on hand as the jockey colony put forth a number of memorable performances. John and Leona Velazquez took home the “People’s Choice” award for their rendition of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” and the grand prize/Judges’ Award went to Mike Luzzi and Phil Teator for their performance of Kiss’s “I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night (And Party Every Day).” Luzzi and Teator will square off against Joe Talamo, who won the inaugural Del Mar karaoke event with his performance of “Play That Funky Music White Boy,” in a fan vote conducted on the PDJF’s Facebook page. The winner will receive a trophy. Monday night’s event was emceed as usual by Tom Durkin and featured appearances from a judges panel comprised of Todd Pletcher, D. Wayne Lukas , Elliot Walden, Lisa Troutt and Bob Edwards. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Chad Brown. Steve Asmussen. Bill Mott. Todd Pletcher. Those four household names–two Hall of Famers and two will-be Hall of Famers–filled out the top four spots in Saratoga’s trainer standings at the conclusion of Monday’s card. In hot pursuit of the leading foursome are the trio of Robertino Diodoro, Joe Sharp and Brad Cox–three trainers with high-powered, wide-reaching operations who have made the most of their relatively few starters at the young meet. All three barns experienced a somewhat quiet Saratoga meet in 2017, with win percentages well below their normal lofty standards, but have quickly stamped themselves as forces to be reckoned with in 2018. On Tuesday morning, Cox, Sharp and Diodoro sat down with the TDN to discuss what it requires to win consistently at Saratoga. Brad Cox Regardless of how many wins Cox adds through the remainder of the Saratoga meet, there is no doubt that his 2018 season will be defined by the success of Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), winner of four consecutive Grade I races, including the GI Coaching Club American Oaks at the Spa July 22. Emerging from his stable office with his star 3-year-old filly peering out from her stall directly next door, Cox said success at Saratoga is largely about having the right horses-whether they be Grade I winners or $50,000 claimers. “Having horses like Monomoy Girl definitely makes it a little easier,” the Louisville native said with a laugh. “The biggest thing is bringing horses in here that are fit and ready and being fortunate enough to get in the right spots.” With roughly 30 horses settled in at the Spa in 2018 and the remainder of his stable competing at Ellis and Indiana Grand, Cox acknowledged that he doesn’t have the numbers to compete for the training title with the likes of Brown or Pletcher. Nevertheless, any win at Saratoga is well worth the time and effort put forth by his team. “I love Saratoga,” Cox said. “This is a world stage. From the racing to the pedigree and the bloodlines, people pay attention here.” As for Monomoy Girl, Cox said he believes her success is creating a ripple effect that will hopefully propel his stable to further success at meets like Saratoga for years to come. “She’s the best thing we’ve ever had in terms of quality,” Cox said. “Day in and day out, she’s done a lot for our business. People take notice when you’re able to win Grade Is with quality horses.” Joe Sharp Speaking with the TDN after the conclusion of morning training, Joe Sharp said he is well aware that winning at Saratoga requires a strong blend of extensive preparation and a bit of racing luck–two factors that undoubtedly have played a role in his torrid four-for-eight start to the meet. “Obviously we’ve had a great start, so far,” said Sharp, who posted a 2-for-28 record at the 2017 meet. “The last few years coming here, we’ve kind of learned a little bit about what works. Obviously, we’ve had a bit of racing luck, which is really important. The main thing is being able to plan ahead for the meet a little bit and run them in the right spots. We’ve been very fortunate to get off to a great start, and we realize how tough it is up here.” Sharp’s winners have come in many forms, including a horse returning from a 320-day layoff and his most recent score with the 2-year-old Backtohisroots (Mark Valeski). The latter, who was owned and trained by Sharp after RNA’ing for $6,500 as a Keeneland September yearling, led wire-to-wire to take down the winner’s share of a $50,000 purse and was also claimed out of the race for $50,000. “It’s some of the best racing in the country,” Sharp continued. “To be able to compete at this level with guys who are the top trainers in the country is a challenge, but it makes winning that much more rewarding when it all comes together.” The next highlight of Sharp’s meet could come Saturday when he sends out Mom’s On Strike (First Dude) in the GIII Fasig-Tipton Waya S. Owned by Brad Grady and Carl Moore, Mom’s On Strike put forth a fantastic campaign from the autumn through the spring, winning three stakes races, including the GIII Bewitch S. at Keeneland Apr. 27. Last seen finishing a respectable fourth in a tough renewal of the GII New York S. at Belmont June 8, the 5-year-old was freshened with larger goals in mind. “She’s doing fantastic,” said Sharp, who added that regular rider Adam Beschizza will travel to Saratoga to ride the mare. “We opted to kind of give her a little spacing between her last two. We’re going to try to point here toward the Breeders’ Cup in the fall and just keep her healthy and in good form until then.” Robertino Diodoro Stabled on the opposite side of Barn 53 from Cox, Robertino Diodoro is still a relatively new face on the Saratoga scene. Despite being ranked among the top five trainers in the country by wins in 2014, 2016 and 2017–statistics that can be attributed to his multi-circuit operation, which reaches from Arizona to Iowa to Minnesota, and beyond–Didoro did not make his Saratoga debut until last year. The native of Canada won three races from 31 starts, a building block that set him up for a more consistent presence on the New York circuit in 2018. “I know on paper it looks like we had a bad meet last year, but we had eight seconds and some bad racing luck,” said Diodoro, who made a brief trip back to Minnesota centering on Saratoga’s dark day Tuesday. “But at the same time, I think we’ve come a little more prepared this year. We have a few new owners and a few of the regular guys that we have stepped up to the plate. We learned from our first go around that Saratoga is a tough place and you need a little better horse.” Competing primarily in the claiming ranks, Didoro said that he and his assistants are steadily accumulating more and more knowledge about racing in the Empire State. “When you run in New York year round, you get to know the other horses and the other trainers, which more than anything helps from a claiming perspective,” the trainer explained. “When you watch horses in the paddock and watch races, it definitely helps.” Given the expansive scale of his nationwide operation, Diodoro must rely heavily on the talents of his assistant trainers. Back at Barn 53, morning activities appeared to be moving along like a well-oiled machine despite the boss’s temporary absence. “No matter how much horsepower you have, if you don’t have the assistants or the help, you will fail eventually,” Diodoro said. “I definitely give all my guys at the other tracks a lot of credit. Some of these horses came from Churchill, and a couple from Canada. I’ve been lucky to have four really good assistants.” View the full article

5th-Saratoga, $85,000, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, post time: 3:14 p.m. ET FACE IT (Tapit), a half-sister to MGISW It’s Tricky (Mineshaft), kicks off her career here. That fellow Godolphin colorbearer captured the 2011 GI TVG Coaching Club American Oaks at the Spa and has also produced this term’s GIII Gotham S. hero Enticed (Medaglia d’Oro). Face It, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, has drawn the rail and will have the meet’s leading rider Luis Saez aboard. She is coupled with fellow debuter Carnival Lass (Distorted Humor), the first foal out of 2013 GI Alabama S. third Carnival Court (Street Sense). TJCIS PPs View the full article

Chesapeake Trail Riding Club and Fair Hill Thoroughbred Show have joined forces to offer a Thoroughbred Division of the CTRC Competitive Trail Ride Sunday, Sept. 23 at the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area in Eklton, Md. Hosted by CTRC and sponsored by FHTS, the Thoroughbred Division will be a 10-mile ride judged on a Pass/Fail basis with additional scoring to determine final placings. Ribbons and prizes will be awarded for first through sixth place. More information, including the Rule Book, can be found here. Additional questions may be directed to Cate Peloquin at cpenguin57@aol.com or 410-652-3454. View the full article

Trevor Denman burst onto the announcing scene in 1983 when the South African was hired to call the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita. American racing fans had never heard anyone quite like him. He didn’t just announce a race; he painted a picture. He had a collection of colorful terms and he wasn’t afraid to editorialize if he thought a horse was “moving like a winner.” Now 65, Denman works only the Del Mar meets, but with that meet in full swing, he remains as good as ever. Denman was this week’s guest on the Thoroughbred Daily News podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made, and excerpts appear below. TDN: Trevor, when you started calling in the U.S., the way most announcers called a race was pretty routine. They simply told you where the horses were in the race, position by position. You were far more descriptive. Where and when did you develop that sort of style? TD: It all goes back to geography, I believe. The American announcers basically were an extension of the chart callers. And the chart callers are there just for the Daily Racing Form. Their job is not to be colorful at all, it’s to get the guy who’s writing the call down all the information. So, they were, “Seventh by a head, eighth by a half, ninth by two.” And it meant nothing to the public. It meant a lot to the chart callers. And when they transitioned over to race calling, unfortunately, they just brought the chart caller into the announcer’s booth. And that’s what he thought he had to do was just call a chart. So, there was no description whatsoever. That’s just the way it happened. In English racing or South African racing, the tracks are huge; they’re normally two miles in circumference. At a track like Goodwood, they actually run away from you into the woods. It’s extremely difficult to call the races, I’ve called a couple of races at Goodwood. And, of course, the people in the grandstands have no idea what’s going on because the horses are a mile away. So you have you have to be more descriptive. Besides, we had irregular fields in South Africa, we would race twice a week. There would be nine races a day, and six of those races would have a field of at least 20. So you had to be descriptive. If we had gone through, “So-and-so is 17th by a neck, he’s 18th by a head, 19th by two,” it would have been ludicrous. So it was really just a matter of geography of where you were brought up, how descriptive you were. TDN: The public really embraced you. They loved what you did. Why do you think that is? Is it because of this style? Is there something more to that? Not only are you regarded as a good announcer, you’re, well, very popular. TD: I would put that all down to one word: “sagacity.” I think what the people like is when you have sagacity. You know, it’s no good just being a voice, or just being loud, or just trying to make false excitement. I think you have to look at it from the point of view of the guy who’s listening. What does he want? Not what do I want. What does he want? I’m an altruistic person, I’m a Libra. Libras are just naturally altruistic. And I think that’s what it was. Don’t worry about yourself, worry about what the fans want to hear. I think one of the biggest things was we threw humor into it. The American announcers back in the 60s and the 70s were extremely stern. They were dour. There was no humor whatsoever. I don’t think the public actually liked that. In South Africa when we would call when we were younger, you could use a phrase like, “So-and-so’s clear by six, you can head back to the pub and order another one, ’cause this one’s over.” You know, throw some humor in. The people, they loved it. The majority of the people were 20 to 30-year-old males, so they liked that. So, I think sagacity would be my key word, followed by humor. TDN: One of the things you’re also well-known for is certain catch phrases. “He has to sprout wings to catch so-and-so” or “He’s out there moving like a winner, humming like an express train.” Were those things that just popped into your mind? Were they things that you had to work on or did they sort of naturally come to you? TD: Let me tell you a story about those. I picked them up gradually and some of them were really in curious ways. I was in England once at a small jump track and I got to meet the announcer. He was a young guy. To this day I can’t remember his name. Of course, you can’t steal from American announcers. That’s a big no-no. I wouldn’t even dream of taking a saying from an American announcer. But it was a small track, I believe it was Bangor-On-Dee in England. It’s late in the race and one horse draws off by 20 and he says “they would need to sprout wings to catch this guy.” And I said, that’s me, I’m in there. The other one: I was in a taxi cab in New York City. I told the guy to take me to the racetrack and it turned out he knew who I was. He started telling me these racing stories. And he said I bet this horse and it was clear by four lengths and I knew I could ring up the register. I said, “Hello, that’s me, ring up the register.” It came from a cabby in New York City. I knew that people would go for it. I think “humming like an express train” just developed by itself. I think it’s just descriptive of a horse really flying. You know that express trains, especially the old steam trains back in the ’40s and ’50s, when they built a head of steam, that’s what a racehorse looked like when he was flying down the lane. So it’s a combination of a number of different scenarios. TDN: In 2015, while still very much at the top of your game, you decided to walk away from what is one of the most prestigious announcing jobs in racing, Santa Anita. Tell us why. TD: I know there’s been a number of takes on that and I’m telling the absolute truth about this. My wife, Robin and I, we bought a farm in Minnesota in 1996. It’s just on 500 acres and it’s absolutely idyllic. It’s in the middle of nowhere. We can’t see another human being; the closest farmer is just over a mile away and we can just see the top of his silo. It’s just bliss. We decided there’s more to life than horse racing. We loved horse racing, it’s been very good to me, but life is way bigger than horse racing and I always said there will come a day when I just don’t want to do this anymore. It was building up, and then one day I was sitting in the booth at Santa Anita. The Santa Anita booth is a little claustrophobic. It’s a small booth and it’s on top of the rocks. You can look out, but you can’t see anything behind as opposed to the one in Del Mar when you can see the Pacific Ocean behind you. It’s a magnificent scene, so you feel free at Del Mar. Nothing against the Santa Anita booth, but it was a little claustrophobic and I was sitting there on a Thursday afternoon and there was a 20-minute gap between races and that’s when the snowstorm just hit me. It was like an avalanche. I said, what am I doing? I’m sitting in this booth, my life is ticking away second by second, I’m 64 years old, I’ve probably got another 20-30 years on this planet. I’ve got to dedicate my life to myself. I cannot dedicate it to Santa Anita, so I decided then and there, that was it, I don’t want to do Santa Anita anymore. That main thing was to live my life. If there was another factor that influenced me, it was the traffic. Oh my goodness, the Los Angeles traffic has just become diabolical. I lived about 20 minutes from Santa Anita and it was taking me an hour and half to get home. You’re tired, you’re irritable at the end of the day, you get in your car and you don’t go anywhere. You average like three miles an hour. So that was really tedious. So I put them all together and I just said my life is more important than this. TDN: It’s well-known that you are an animal rights activists and one cause you have embraced is the whipping issue. It’s fair to say that racing has made strides when it comes to whipping, but do you believe the real solution is to ban the practice all together? TD: Oh, yes. Categorically. People say, “Oh, jockeys need to carry a whip for safety.” That is absolute rubbish. When a horse bolts at the three-eighths pole, and he bolts to the outside, he is no longer in his mind. The horse has gone insane, you could hit him with an electric shock, he’s not coming back, he’s going to go off the track, he’s going where he wants to go, You see these guys hit them over the head. I’ve never seen a horse straighten up from that in my life. I say you don’t need whips at all. Without them, there would still be Pick Sixes, there would still be nine winners everyday No one would know if they ran in 1:10 or 1:11 for six furlongs. Racing would not change. If you want to let them carry a whip, okay, but they should make the South African rules where you just hit them backhanded, or you tap down the neck. I mean, it’s so simple to do, and they’re doing it in other parts of the world. Even in England, you seldom see a jockey pull his stick. There’s a big meeting in South Africa on Saturday morning and just watch the jockeys, what they do. We could do that tomorrow and not only would it save the horses, it would help the image of horse racing. I have seen so many kids–9, 10, 11 years old–and they watch a horse race and they just say that’s disgusting, I’m not going to the racetrack. Young people are much more sensitive than they were 40, 50 years ago. The fact is that they don’t want animals to be abused. Have you seen circuses closing down? Have you seen zoos closing down? There are still zoos, but animals now have acres and acres of ground to walk on. They’re not in a little steel cage with a cement floor, that’s five-by-five. The thing that bothers me with horse racing–and I just kind of threw in the towel after 30 years because you can’t keep going hitting your head on the wall–is that this is so easy to change. But it’s arrogance and bigotry that won’t allow it to change. Just change the rules and go on with it. Whips are just so overrated, we could do away with it tomorrow. View the full article

The newest organization among the sport’s list of alphabet organizations is the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, which is more or less a think tank. The idea is this: smart people work together, listen to the input of others, come up with ideas to improve the industry and then hope their ideas will be heard and implemented. They’re not going to pretend they’re the smartest guys in the room and they’re not going to go after the issues where, realistically, there’s no reason to hear from them. That includes Lasix and other medication, the Horse Racing Integrity Act, or a system that allows for a national racing license. They also plan to back up their ideas with facts and thorough research. It’s the brainchild of Craig Bernick of Glen Hill Farm, who sat on numerous boards and got tired of seeing nothing substantive getting done to solve the industry’s problems. He has hired Pat Cummings as the executive director. Their offices open today, Aug. 1. This won’t be easy. This is a sport that resists change and each fiefdom looks out for itself first and the overall good of the sport second. Will anybody listen to what they have to say? I don’t know exactly what tops their agenda, but here is a handful of issues I hope they take a serious look at. 1. Examine the Effects Horizontal Wagers Have Had on Handle Once, there was just a daily double. Now we have every conceivable “horizontal-type” wager imaginable, from the Pick Three through the Pick Six and beyond. It appears that fans love these bets, as there are more of them every day and the players are jumping at the chance to make $400 or $500 off of a $4 ticket. Gulfstream’s Rainbow Six leads the way and has produced monster handles, like the $16 million that was bet on the wager on Florida Derby Day, a mandatory payout day. Handling $16 million on a single bet is something to cheer about. Or is it? The factor no one wants to explore or talk about is, what are these bets doing to churn? Churn is a racetrack’s best friend. It is what happens when a bettor keeps cashing tickets and keeps putting that money back into the pools. Even if he or she is doing nothing more than breaking even, every time they cash a bet they have available funds to bet on the next race. Someone could come to the track with $100, lose $40 on the card, but put $500 through the windows on the day. When you play the horizontal bets, you are likely to lose because they are so difficult to hit, which means a depleted bankroll for the remainder of the card and less money to churn through the windows. Even when you do hit, your money has been held up for as long as the horizontal bet takes to conclude. That same person who comes to the track in 2018 with $100, might bet $40 on the first Pick Four of the card. That leaves just $60 for the rest of the day and it’s also unlikely they’ll put much money through the windows in Races 2, 3 and 4 because they’re worried about tapping out. The genie is never going back in the bottle when it comes to the horizontal bets, but someone still needs to look at how they affect churn and whether or not they create less handle. My guess is that they do more harm than good. The TIF needs to get together some people who can do a quantitative analysis of horizontal bets and figure this out. There is every chance that racing has shot itself in the foot by adding so many of these wagers to the betting menu and needs to start scaling back. 2. Encourage the End of Whipping If you step back for a minute and look at horse racing from an outsider’s point of view, here is what you will see: Horses, animals, are whipped in an effort to make them go faster. You can try to twist that sentence around all you want, but you can never escape what is a fact–jockeys hit horses with whips. The insiders see it as “part of the game.” Most everyone else sees it as barbaric. There might have been a time when racing could get away with this. In the 1950s and ’60s, people were not that sensitive to animal rights issues. We’re living in an entirely different world in 2018 and horse racing is constantly trying to fend off animal rights’ activists. If whips were a necessity, they might be worth fighting for. They’re not. Racing would do just fine without them and banning them would be a huge public relations victory. There are so many problems in racing that cannot be solved. This one could be solved with a snap of a finger. To placate people who argue that there’s a safety issue or that the world would come to an end if we didn’t hit horses, let’s start by having one race a day where the jockeys carry whips, but cannot use them unless there is an emergency. 3. Coordinate Post Times Everyone knows this is a problem, tracks tripping all over one another, oftentimes two or more running races at the exact same moment. It drives the bettors crazy and depletes handle at the tracks that are racing simultaneously. This problem isn’t as easy to solve as most people think. Last Saturday, 22 racetracks that are taken by most ADWs were running. Around 5 p.m. Eastern, when the East Coast tracks have yet to conclude their cards and the West Coast tracks have begun theirs, there are simply too many tracks going at once for there not to be overlap somewhere. Still, there is a better way. Start by hiring a national post time coordinator to work with all tracks. The key is to keep the three or four biggest tracks from running against one another. Let’s say the coordinator designates four tracks as “A tracks.” They should get together and agree to schedule their races on a rotating basis so that there is a seven-to-eight minute gap between races going off at these tracks. They also have to stick to their scheduled post times. That means you, Gulfstream. If you tell everyone your race is going to go off at 2:12 and it goes off at 2:19, then the whole system will break down. This will help the A tracks, as Belmont won’t have to worry about running at the same time as Santa Anita and Gulfstream won’t get in the way of a race at Aqueduct. It will also help boost handle at the smaller tracks. It still won’t be possible for each one of them to find a two or three-minute window where no one else is running, but the main thing they have to accomplish when it comes to simulcast world is to avoid running against the premier signals. Finger Lakes will get killed if it runs against Saratoga. It will barely register if it runs head-to-head against Ellis Park. 4. Make Payoffs Uniform Minor thing, but it drives me crazy. Now that many bets can be played in denominations of 50 cents or lower, when they list the probable payoffs or the final payoffs, you’re never quite sure if your trifecta that is paying $61 is for a 50-cent bet, or $1 or $2. No two tracks seem to share the same system. It would be so much easier if all payoffs for every bet were posted with the traditional $2 value. 5. Fixed-Odds Wagering This is another one that will take some study and some experimenting, but there’s no reason not to give fixed-odds betting a try. You can do it on Betfair, but only if you are a New Jersey resident, and that outlet hasn’t gotten any traction. Racing officials in Australia credit the advent of fixed-odds betting for a major uptick in overall handle and believe that younger bettors much prefer fixed odds to the pari-mutuel system. Fixed odds would also help do away with what is becoming a major problem for this sport. We recently saw the winner of the GIII Dwyer S., Firenze Fire (Poseidon’s Warrior), drop from 5-1 to 5-2 during the running of the race. That sort of thing happens way too much and is the result of the computer players waiting until the very last second to send their massive wagers into the pools. Though no one past-posted the Dwyer or did anything illegal, those sorts of late odds drops are destroying people’s confidence in the system and even leaving the winners bitter. It doesn’t feel good to cash a $7 ticket when your expectation was that your winner was going to pay $12. 6. Find More Ways to Reward Small and Medium-Sized Stables With the top six or seven trainers in the country so dominant, everyone else is getting squeezed out. A lot of trainers with 12 or 13 horses in their barn are close to going out of business because they never get any top horses anymore and they can’t make ends meet. The sport can’t afford to have its middle class wiped out, so any sort of races and innovations that help them are needed. The Stronach Group has already come up with some new concepts, like races restricted to trainers with 20 horses or fewer. Recently, Del Mar ran a $150,000 maiden claiming race. The $43,000 purse offered a nice pay day and none of the major barns would dare risk losing a top horse, even for $150,000. There are more things that need to be tried. How about writing races with good purses for trainers who have not won a graded stakes in the last year or have never won a Grade I event? So that people don’t shift a horse around for one race, write another condition where the entrant has to have been under the trainer’s care for at least 90 days. They do something similar in the horse show world and for the same reason, to give new people a better chance of earning money and staying somewhat competitive with their opponents who have better stock. Have your own idea? Visit the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation at www.racingthinktank.com and let them know. View the full article

Stradivarius came into the July 31 Qatar Goodwood Cup Stakes (G1) with connections insisting they were focusing solely on keeping him as the only winner of the race since it acquired group 1 status in 2017. View the full article

Zayat Stables' Gidu will be hoping the cross-Atlantic trip will help him return to form as he competes against 10 other 3-year-olds in the $200,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T) Aug. 3 at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

Three-year-olds have largely dominated the G1 Qatar Sussex S. in recent times and many will expect that trend to continue on Wednesday with the jewel of the Qatar Goodwood Festival attracting John and Tanya Gunther’s unbeaten G1 St James’s Palace S. hero Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}). There are differing messages from his form so far, with those closest to him on his last three starts being the Britannia H. winner Ostilio (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), Sunday’s Listed Pomfret S. disappointment Gabr (GB) (Intello {Ger}) and Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who seemingly failed to move forward when third in the G1 Prix Jean Prat at Deauville on July 8. In the St James’s Palace, there was a half-length between him and the latter but he was forced to take up the running a long way out and is perhaps value for a greater degree of superiority. “Without Parole is in great form and has been working nicely,” trainer John Gosden said. “There is no doubt that he is progressing all the time and is a horse that will get further in time.” The thorn in Without Parole’s side may be Khalid Abdullah’s Expert Eye (GB) (Acclamation {GB}), who seized ante-post favouritism for the 2,000 Guineas when dominant in the G2 Vintage S. here 12 months ago. Stalls issues and a tendency to over-race curtailed his progression thereafter, but in a vintage season for Sir Michael Stoute he has been cajoled back to his best and was one of Royal Ascot’s most impressive winners in the seven-furlong G3 Jersey S. June 20. There is a stamina issue and he bids to become the first winner of the Jersey to prevail here in the same season since Proclamation (Ire) (King’s Best) in 2005. “We’ve always felt he was a horse with huge potential,” Juddmonte’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said. “He’s only had one run over a mile once before, in the 2000 Guineas, and I think we can forgive him that.” With no line to the older milers, this race will answer some questions with the July 14 G2 Summer Mile one-two Beat the Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) and Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper) joined by last year’s Sussex third and G2 Celebration Mile scorer Lightning Spear (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). The latter was runner-up in the G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury on May 19 and third in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot on June 19 and is the standard-bearer on that form. “This horse needs to win a Group 1 because he’s the most beautiful physical specimen with a good temperament and the pedigree,” jockey Oisin Murphy said of Lightning Spear. “He’s been freshened up since Ascot and is in super order. As he gets older, he’s not losing any ability.” Andre Fabre sends across Prince Faisal’s July 1 Listed Prix de Saint-Patrick scorer Orbaan (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who has the most improvement to find but the owner’s racing manager Ted Voute is happy he is in the right place. “Andre Fabre has always thought highly of him and he was entered up in Group 1 contests earlier in the year but each time he could have run, the ground would not have been to his liking. Andre Fabre told me that the horse worked very well during his latest piece of work,” he explained. “It is a big leap from winning a listed race in France to the Sussex S., but there are not many opportunities for him. We thought that there would only be eight or nine runners in the Sussex S. and both Prince Faisal and Andre Fabre wanted to take a chance and see what happens.” Soldier Takes On Molecomb Assignment… In the G3 Markel Insurance Molecomb S. at Ascot, all eyes will be on the June 23 Listed Windsor Castle S. winner Soldier’s Call (GB) (Showcasing {GB}). “He’s been in great form since Ascot and we always felt a quick five furlongs at Goodwood should suit him well,” trainer Archie Watson commented. “I never worry too much about ground until a horse has proven he can’t act on very fast or very slow ground. I’m sure the track needed the rain they had over the weekend, it sounds like the ground will be on the quick side of good and that would suit us fine.” He faces the June 21 G2 Norfolk S. fourth Rumble Inthejungle (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}), while the ninth in that Royal Ascot speed test Vintage Brut (GB) (Dick Turpin {Ire}) bids to get back on track having looked smart when taking the Listed National S. at Sandown on May 24. Rumble Inthejungle’s trainer Richard Spencer said, “You’d like to think with Ascot only being his second run that he will have learned plenty there. He won on very fast ground at Salisbury, it was pretty quick at Ascot and I think the ground is just going to be good on Wednesday, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” View the full article

Stradivarius (IRE) came into the July 31 Qatar Goodwood Cup Stakes (G1) with connections insisting they were focusing solely on keeping him as the only winner of the race since it acquired group 1 status in 2017. View the full article

G2 Coventry S. hero Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}), dubbed a ‘TDN Rising Star’ on the back of an five-length maiden win at first asking, has been ruled out for the season after suffering an injury. The margin was one length in the Coventry at Royal Ascot on June 19 for the Juddmonte hombred. That triumph saw him promoted to ante-post favouritism for next year’s G1 2000 Guineas back at headquarters, but John Gosden’s charge will not be seen again in 2018. Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah, said in a statement to Press Association Sport, “Calyx has had a setback in training which will rule him out from running for the rest of this season. He is expected to make a full recovery and we will look forward to his 3-year-old year.” View the full article

Watan (GB) (Toronado {Ire}) proved a welcome winner in the six-furlong Nginious! Swiss Gin EBF Maiden S. in the Al Shaqab silks at the meeting the operation has such a major stake in. Showing early speed to race close to the early pace, the 6-1 shot worked his way to the front approaching the furlong pole under Ryan Moore and asserted to score by two lengths from stable companion Dirty Rascal (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}). From the first crop of the owner-breeders’ sire Toronado, who took the 2013 G1 Qatar Sussex S. here for these connections, he is out of the GI Vinery Madison S. winner Shotgun Gulch (Thunder Gulch) who produced this year’s listed-placed Rabdan (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Trainer Richard Hannon said, “This is a very special winner, as he is by Toronado and was bred at Sheikh Joaan’s Haras De Bouquetot stud. I didn’t really think he would win like that. He has always shown a fair bit, but he had sore shins so we had to wait with him. Ryan [Moore] was very happy with him and he thinks he will get seven furlongs in time. We’ll take things step-by-step with him, get him home and have a few days off. I think he could get a mile in time. Hopefully, he is a good one as Sheikh Joaan is due a good one.” 5th-Goodwood, £25,000, Mdn, 7-31, 2yo, c/g, 6fT, 1:12.65, gd. WATAN (GB) (c, 2, Toronado {Ire}–Shotgun Gulch {GISW-US, $528,976}, by Thunder Gulch) Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $20,688. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Breeze Easy's Imprimis rebounded from a troubled trip in the June 30 Highlander Stakes (G1T) in his previous start to win the $75,000 Wolf Hill Stakes, fourth of five races in the MATCH Series 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Turf Division. View the full article

Leading trainer Ciaron Maher has entered into a training partnership with David Eustace, his former assistant. Eustace, the 27-year-old son of Newmarket, England trainer James Eustace, had previously spent time with Roger Varian in his hometown and Peter Snowden and Peter Moody Down Under. “For as long as I can remember it has always been horses and training, so to be granted this opportunity by Ciaron is a huge honour,” Eustace told Racing.com. “I am extremely grateful for the faith being shown by Ciaron and we look forward as a partnership to continued success in the future.” Maher noted that Eustace was instrumental in keeping the stable running under Aaron Purcell while he served a six-month suspension that expired earlier this year. “David has been instrumental in the growth and success of the stable over the past 12 months,” Maher told Racing.com. “During my period of suspension under Aaron Purcell, David ensured the seamless running of the yard. He has proven himself as a hard-working professional, learning the Ciaron Maher Racing way but also bringing new ideas to the fore. I am delighted to have David join me on the ticket.” View the full article

Snitzel (Aus), who last year earned his first general sires’ premiership, has defended his title with another wide-margin lead at the conclusion of the 2017/18 racing season. The 16-year-old logged 173 winners and 26 stakes winners that raked in A$29,243,613. Over A$7.5-million of that was contributed by Snitzel’s The Everest winner Redzel (Aus), but even with that one removed from the equation Snitzel would still be over A$5.8-million clear of I Am Invincible (Aus), who just edged Fastnet Rock (Aus) for second. Snitzel’s season certainly wasn’t defined by one horse, however-not by a longshot. In addition to Redzel his 2017/18 representatives included the triple Group 1-winning 3-year-old sprinter Trapeze Artist (Aus); the G1 Golden Slipper winner Estijaab (Aus); and the G1 Oakleigh Plate winner and highly anticipated new stallion Russian Revolution (Aus). Coming in after Fastnet Rock are two late and much-missed members of the Australian stallion ranks, High Chaparral (Ire) and Street Cry (Ire), and they are followed by Not A Single Doubt (Aus), Sebring (Aus) and Written Tycoon (Aus). Lonhro (Aus) and his son Pierro (Aus), the runaway leading second-season sire, round out the top 10. Snitzel also edged I Am Invincible in the leading sires’ of 2-year-olds category, albeit in a much closer race, his A$3,648,965 in juvenile earnings bettering his younger running mate by just over A$200,000. Estijaab was Snitzel’s leading 2-year-old earner, while I Am Invincible’s was the maiden but three times Group 1-placed Oohood (Aus). I Am Invincible, however, was the clear leader by 2-year-old winners with 25. Also coming in ahead of Snitzel (13) in that category were Not A Single Doubt (20), the first-season sire Spirit of Boom (Aus) (18), Snitzel’s late three-quarter brother Hinchinbrook (Aus) (18) and Sebring, Exceed and Excel (Aus) and Smart Missile (Aus), all on 16. Zoustar (Aus) was the wide-margin champion first-season sire by earnings, following in the footsteps of his late sire Northern Meteor (Aus), but it was Spirit of Boom who took the spoils by number of winners with 18 to Zoustar’s 10. Snitzel’s son Sizzling (Aus) made an inspired late run at the end of the season to get up for third in both categories. As previously mentioned, last year’s champion first-season sire Pierro continued right where he left off to take the second-season sires’ title by a wide margin, his A$8.5-million in earnings more than double that of runner-up and old racetrack rival All Too Hard (Aus). Savabeel (Aus) headed the New Zealand premiership with NZ$3.4-million in the bank and 59 winners on the season. He was followed by shuttler Iffraaj (GB) and Darci Brahma (NZ). New Zealand’s runaway leading first-season sire was Shamexpress (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}) with four winners and NZ$117,937 in prizemoney. View the full article

He was pushed to near his limit this time, but Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) dug in to his reserves to prevail in a battle with Torcedor (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in Tuesday’s G1 Qatar Goodwood Cup. Sent off the 4-5 favourite to record back-to-back wins in the race that launched him 12 months ago, Bjorn Nielsen’s G1 Ascot Gold Cup hero raced in a share of third early under Andrea Atzeni as Torcedor set off to test him. Momentarily in trouble two furlongs from home, the chestnut managed to get to the long-time leader a furlong later and assert for a hard-fought half-length verdict, with Idaho (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) six lengths back in third. STRADIVARIUS (IRE), 135, c, 4, by Sea the Stars (Ire) 1st Dam: Private Life (Fr) (MSP-Fr), by Bering (GB) 2nd Dam: Poughkeepsie (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells 3rd Dam: Pawneese (Ire), by Carvin II (330,000gns RNA Ylg ’15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John Gosden; J-Andrea Atzeni. £283,550. Lifetime Record: 12-7-1-2, £1,185,749. *1/2 to Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), Hwt. 3yo-Ger at 9.5-11f & MGSW-Ger, $121,198; Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), GSP-Eng, $167,081; and Magical Eve (Ger) (Oratorio {Ire}), SP-SAf. View the full article

The National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be live streamed on the home page of the Museum's website www.racingmuseum.org Friday morning beginning at 10:30 a.m. View the full article

The strapping Dark Vision (Ire) (Dream Ahead) graduated over six panels in his July 5 debut at Yarmouth last time, doubling up under a penalty tackling the same trip at York last time July 14, and stamped his authority on Tuesday’s G2 Qatar Vintage S. at Goodwood to retain his perfect record in style. Trainer Mark Johnston’s three prior winners of the contest include subsequent Classic-winning sires Mister Baileys (GB) (Robellino) and Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway). The 10-3 favourite was shuffled back through the pack to race at the tail of the field after the initial exchanges of this black-type bow. Making relentless headway once into the home straight, he weaved a passage to find an open lane on the outside passing the two pole and kept on powerfully under a final-furlong drive to comfortably account for G2 July S. fourth Dunkerron (GB) (Kuroshio {Aus}) by 1 3/4 lengths. The previously unbeaten Confiding (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) ran on strongly to finish 1 1/4 lengths adrift in third. Dark Vision is one of three winners, from as many foals to race, and the leading performer produced Listed Ladybird S. second Black Dahlia (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and he is thus kin to Listed Prix La Sorellina, Listed Prix Madame Jean Couturie and Listed Prix Occitanie placegetter Al Hayyah (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and a yearling colt by Lope de Vega (Ire). His third dam South Shore (GB) (Caerleon) is a winning half-sister to dual G1 Lockinge S. hero Soviet Line (Ire) (Soviet Star) and to the dam of MGISP GII Sky Classic S. victor Can’thelpbelieving (Ire) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}). DARK VISION (IRE), c, 2, Dream Ahead–Black Dahlia (GB) (SP-Eng), by Dansili (GB). (€15,000 Wlg ’16 GOFNOV; 15,000gns Ylg ’17 TAOCT). O-Kingsley Park 10; B-SF Bloodstock LLC (IRE); T-Mark Johnston ; J-Silvestre de Sousa. £113,420. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, £128,040. View the full article

Ascot has one, and so does Cheltenham, Punchestown and Aintree, so why not Goodwood? The latest in the portfolio of boutique sales connected to a major race meeting takes place today when the crowds drifting away from more blissful conditions than the deluge which greeted last year’s Sussex S. may be encouraged to stay a while longer and take in a different kind of action in the most stunning parade ring in British racing. The inaugural Goodwood Sale, being conducted by Goffs, consists of 13 lots—well, 12.5 really as only 50% of the Gay Kelleway-trained Cosmelli (ITY) (Mr Vegas {Ire}) is being auctioned as lot 2—and it is truly a mixed sale. Predominantly featuring horses in training with some eye-catching recent form, there’s also a chance to buy a broodmare in foal to Dark Angel (Ire), with the 11-year-old Learned Friend (Ger) (Seeking The Gold), dam of recent G3 Prix Ris Orangis winner Inns Of Court (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), being offered by Glebe Farm as lot 3. Two other breeding prospects feature. Lot 9, the 5-year-old mare Belle Vale (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), a half-sister to Feilden S winner and G2 Dante S. runner-up Mildenberger (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), is in foal to Bobby’s Kitten and will be sold alongside her second foal, a colt by Brazen Beau (Aus). Meanwhile Weeping Wing (GB), an Oratorio (Ire) half-sister to Australian Group 1 winner I’m Your Man (Fr) (Cape Cross {Ire}) is offered by Mount Coote Stud as lot 12 with her colt foal by Derby winner Harzand (Ire). Tom Peacock spoke to Tim Palin of Middleham Park Racing on the syndicate’s decision to sell the G3 Anglesey S. winner Marie’s Diamond (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) (lot 4) in a feature which can be found later in today’s edition, and among the other horses in training to go under the hammer later is the Jim Bolger homebred Sometimesadiamond (Ire) (Vovalised), winner of the listed Yeomanstown Stud Irish EBF S. last Wednesday. Black-type updates don’t come much fresher than that and the 3-year-old filly was only added to the catalogue in the last few days, so will close the sale as lot 13. One final lot of interest to breeders will be the lifetime breeding right to Whitsbury Manor Stud’s exciting young stallion Showcasing (GB), whose best runners to date include the Group-winning sprinters Quiet Reflection (GB) and Tasleet (GB). The sale commences at 6.30pm, the perfect time for a final glass of Pimm’s in the parade ring bar as the sun starts to make its lazy descent over the Sussex Downs. View the full article

A majority decision can have great ramifications for the electorate, as anyone who has cast the briefest eye over British news over the last couple of years will recognise only too well. Fortunately, there are no such spiky 52-48 outcomes when members of Middleham Park Racing are asked to cast their votes. It is not quite exiting the European Union, but whether to sell a horse or not is still a topic which can cause a heated difference of opinion among interested parties. “Our contractual agreement is pretty clear,” says its director of racing, Tim Palin. “A vote goes out to the syndicate members and they vote to sell or to keep. It’s e-mail communication and we stack the votes up. “It’s a 65% threshold and if 64% say let’s sell, then it’s no sell, and if it’s 65 or more, we say yes.” Palin chuckles when reminded of the irony in the wider world. “No politician in the history of British politics has been ever been voted in with 65 or more percent,” he replies. The latest time that Middleham Park took its members to the virtual polling booth was over the recent G3. Anglesey S. winner Marie’s Diamond (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), who heads to today’s inaugural Goodwood Sale. The juvenile son of the Aga Khan-bred mare Sindiyma (Ire) (Kalanisi {Ire}) is among the most accomplished names in the 13 lots listed to go under the hammer in the winner’s enclosure at the West Sussex track after racing concludes. Marie’s Diamond has already provided a handsome return on the track, having been bought by agent Federico Barberini and Middleham Park for €35,000 at Tatts Ireland last September. He has won half of his six starts in the care of Mark Johnston, from a debut success at Leicester to a conditions event at Chester before being partnered by an unstoppable James Doyle to add that Pattern race to his account at the Curragh on Irish Oaks day. Marie’s Diamond had already visited the Curragh three weeks earlier to bustle up Van Beethoven (Can) (Scat Daddy) in the G2 Railway S. “Every new initiative that comes out in racing, we like to support it if we can,” Palin says. “For instance, the optional claiming handicaps that came out, I think they’ve run two of them and we’ve won on. “This is another new initiative that Goffs UK and racing has put out as part of the Qatar Goodwood Festival and we were keen to support it if we had the right product. “I remember when they were trying to get the September (Horses-in-Training) Sale at Doncaster off the ground, we sent a draft of horses to that, and we send a draft every year. “At the Goffs London Sale two years ago we sold Viren’s Army (Ire) (Twirling Candy) for £700,000 and we also sold Great Page (Ire) (Roderic O’Connor {Ire}) at the same sale for £300,000. At the time, the London Sale was relatively in its infancy. “We just felt with Marie’s Diamond that we had a fairly high-profile 2-year-old that might be appealing to the clients that were attending, especially if he was going to go off as favourite or second-favourite for the G2 Richmond S. on Thursday, which now it looks like he might do. I suppose there’s also an element of looking to secure a good return on that €35,000 that our owners invested in him before he started racing. If he does sell and were to run a big race for the new owners on Thursday, we could be helping to kickstart something.” Although Middleham Park’s raison d’etre is to provide entertainment and success to many on a budget, the horses tend to be available at the right price. Toormore (Ire) (Arakan), a £36,000 Doncaster purchase who became 2013 European champion 2-year-old and later joined Godolphin, is a prime example. Only a few days ago it was announced that Tigre Du Terre (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}, who cost just €55,000 at the Osarus sale in September 2016 and took the Coral Charge H. at Sandown for Richard Hannon, would be departing for Hong Kong after what was described by Palin as an “astronomical” offer. Multiple listed-placed Dark Acclaim (Ire)(Dark Angel) also managed an incredible mark-up on his £45,000 breeze-up price in little over a year when changing hands to Avenue Bloodstock for £330,000 at the Goffs London event. Dual juvenile winner and G2 Coventry S. sixth Ninetythreetwenty (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) is also heading to Hong Kong in what was reported to be a private six-figure deal. “It’s probably as busy and high-profile a sales season as we’ve ever had,” Palin explains. “That’s indicative of us having a few good, 100-plus rated horses that generate interest abroad. “I think the vote to sell Tigre Du Terre to Hong Kong was unanimous. Our business model doesn’t necessitate sales but one thing it definitely does do is afford our members the luxury of going into the yearling and horses-in-training sales with maybe a few more quid in their pockets so that they can then start to decide what horses they’d like to replace them with. Obviously not everyone leaves every penny in but we try to encourage people to reinvest because we think that the chap in the street being able to compete at this kind of level in the sport of kings is infectious and something that we aspire towards. “Horses that finished behind Marie’s Diamond at the Curragh were owned by Juddmonte and Michael Tabor. If we can compete with them then that’s a feather in our owners’ caps that they’ve made the right decision in the right horse.” There is still one more decision ahead for Marie’s Diamond, when members decide upon his reserve. “We don’t want to give him away,” Palin says. “We’d be more than happy to race in the Richmond and beyond, and he’s having an entry in the Prix Morny at Deauville. Equally, if we can find a suitor that would like to race him at the sort of price we’re envisaging, then we’d wish them well with the future for the horse.” View the full article

ANDREA ATZENI has found himself the beneficiary of fellow Italian rider Frankie Dettori’s ban this week and heads into Glorious Goodwood with an enviable book of rides. Leading the way is last year’s Goodwood Cup winner Stradivarius, while Without Parole is a fascinating contender for Atzeni in Wednesday’s Sussex Stakes. We spoke to Atzeni about his two headline rides and also got his thoughts on some of his other exciting rides this week. How does Glorious Goodwood compare to the other big meetings through the year? It’s a great meeting. They do an amazing job with the ground and the prize-money is terrific, which is important for everyone involved. It’s a unique track and while I wouldn’t say it’s a difficult track to ride, it’s one where you often need a bit of luck. You have picked up some major outside rides this week in Stradivarius and Without Parole. How do you feel about that? A lot of the bigger yards have retained jockeys so it’s unusual to get great spares like this – they are extremely hard to come by. It’s exciting to get the call and hopefully I’ll repay the faith of Mr [John] Gosden and the owners have in me. Starting with Stradivarius, you won the Goodwood Cup on him last year. How does he compare this year to last? He was only three last year and still quite narrow and weak last year. When I saw him in the paddock at York on his comeback I hardly recognised him. He was a lot stronger and was much more the finished article. He was very good that day and then very brave when winning the Gold Cup at Ascot. He’s the best stayer around. What makes you say Stradivarius is the best stayer around? What are his main attributes? He stays very well but at the same time he’s not short of speed. For a stayer, he can quicken as well. If he turns up in the same form he has done this season then they’ve all got to him to beat. On what he’s done this year he’s the best horse in the race and I think it’s only fair he’s the favourite. Emmaus goes in the Lennox Stakes on day one for you too. How do you rate his chances? I think that’s the best thing we’ve ever done pulling him out of the race in France last week because the ground was just too quick. It was a hard decision as the horse was already there and myself and Roger [Varian, trainer] had flown over as well. They’ve had some rain at Goodwood at that’s what he wants. He’s a big, heavy horse and wants some ease underfoot. This looks the perfect race for him. Without Parole is another exciting ride for you in the Sussex Stakes. Do you think he will take all the beating? He has the class to be the best miler around and it’s a very exciting ride to pick up and I’m excited about him. It’s going to be a tough race, the Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 and they’re always hard races to win, but I’m going there will a lot of confidence in my horse – I wouldn’t swap him for anything else. You have ridden Expert Eye, Without Parole’s main rival, before. How much of a danger is he? I think Expert Eye’s going to be our main danger. I rode him in the Richmond Stakes last year and he gave me an amazing feel. He wasn’t quite the same in the Guineas – maybe he didn’t like Newmarket – but he was right back to his best at Ascot, so he’s not going to be underestimated. Cape Byron is a leading contender for Friday’s Golden Mile Handicap. Is he capable of winning a race of that nature? If he ran the way he works then there would be a big race in him for sure. He’s had his problems and he’s been gelded since Ascot, so I hope that helps him. I do hope he gets to have his day because he works like such a good horse at home and we’ve always thought a lot of him. He is a big, heavy horse so he’ll want the ground to be in his favour. If he pulled it all together this race would be no problem for him because he has a lot of ability. Looking at the rest of the week, who else are you particularly looking forward to riding? Yourtimeisnow is a lovely filly owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. She ran well at Newmarket when she was third and she worked really nicely on Saturday. The maidens at Goodwood can be quite good because of the prize-money, but she goes there with every chance and she’s a filly we like a lot. Second Step is a horse I can’t wait to ride on Friday either in the Glorious Stakes. He was good at Newmarket last time and he was second to Poet’s Word in the same race last year. I’m in a very fortunate position of having some really nice ride and I’m looking forward to it. And, finally, we did not get the chance to see Defoe in the King George last weekend. What is the plan for him now? It was a good decision not to run Defoe in the King George as the ground would’ve been too quick for him. He needs some ease in the ground, so the rain we’ve had is a plus, and hopefully he can have a good autumn and second half to the year. He’s a very talented horse and as long as he gets his ground he’s got a really big day in him. The post Andrea Atzeni previews his Glorious Goodwood chances appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

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