Wandering Eyes

Mia Mischief will look to register another stellar effort against stakes company when she takes aim at the 6 1/2-furlong $150,000 Victory Ride Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies July 8 at Belmont Park. View the full article

Carrol Castille's Elusive Quality filly, named for trainer Steve Asmussen's wife, wins July 5 Iowa Oaks (G3). View the full article

The eagerly awaited Investec Derby (G1) rematch will be without the horse who won the Derby after Godolphin were dramatically forced to scratch Epsom hero Masar (IRE) from the Coral-Eclipse (G1) the evening of July 6. View the full article

Goffs UK has accepted four entries thus far to its inaugural Goodwood Sale after racing at Glorious Goodwood on Aug. 1. The sale is open to high-end horses-in-training and breeding opportunities including fillies and mares, foals and weanlings and stallion nominations. The first four entries are the 5-year-old Belle Vale (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), a half-sister to dual listed winner Mildenberger (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) in foal to Bobby’s Kitten and with a Brazen Beau (Aus) colt foal at foot; a 50% share in Northumberland Vase H. winner Cosmelli (Ity) (Mr Vegas {Ire}), who is to remain in training with Gay Kelleway with the long-term goal of a campaign in Australia; Learned Friend (Ger) (Seeking The Gold), the dam of Group 3 winner Inns Of Court (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in foal to Dark Angel (Ire); and 2-year-old gelding Max Emperor (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) from renowned juvenile consignor Bansha House Stables. View the full article

4th-Sandown, £10,000, Cond, 7-6, 2yo, 7fT, 1:30.46, g/f. KING OF COMEDY (IRE), c, 2, by Kingman (GB) 1st Dam: Stage Presence (Ire), by Selkirk 2nd Dam: Park Charger (GB), by Tirol (Ire) 3rd Dam: Haitienne (Fr), by Green Dancer King of Comedy dwelt slightly at the break, but recovered to track the leaders in fourth after the initial exchanges of this first go. Green when asked to go about business with 2 1/2 furlongs remaining, the 2-1 favourite quickened smartly for one flick of Adam Kirby’s persuader to lead approaching the final eighth and lengthened in good style up the hill to easily account for Persian Moon (Ire) (Makfi {GB}) by 2 1/2 lengths. “We were hoping for a good run beforehand and are thrilled with that performance,” said assistant trainer Thaddeus Gosden. “Like his sire, this fellow is pretty chilled at home, he’d hopefully stay a mile and might step up in trip next time.” The homebred bay is the latest foal and sixth scorer produced by Stage Presence (Ire) (Selkirk) and he is a half-brother to G1 Prix de Diane heroine Star of Seville (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) and G3 Sweet Solera S. victress and G1 Fillies’ Mile third English Ballet (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). Stage Presence is herself a half-sister to three stakes performers headed by G3 Ballycorus S. winner Rum Charger (Ire) (Spectrum {Ire}), who in turn is the dam of four-time Grade I winner Winchester (Theatrical {Ire}). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, £6,469. 1ST-TIME STARTER. O/B-Lady Bamford (IRE); T-John Gosden. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Trainer Joseph O’Brien, the winner of last weekend’s G1 Irish Derby with Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), has started the Joseph O’Brien Racing Club with racing journalist Kevin Blake. The Club will campaign a mix of raced and unraced flat and National Hunt runners, with the objective being to deliver an engaging multimedia ownership experience and plenty of racecourse action without the burden of costs of purchasing horses or paying training fees. For a one-year membership fee of €500, members will receive regular updates on their horses via a dedicated app, will be entered into draws for free racecourse tickets when the horses run, and will have parade ring access. Trips will also be organized to O’Brien’s yard and other studs and racing yards. Members will not own shares of horses within the club, allowing horses to more easily be moved into and out of the club at no additional cost. “We are really excited about growing the Joseph O’Brien Racing Club and giving as many people as possible the experience of what it is like to be involved in ownership,” said O’Brien. “We are well aware of the importance for the future prosperity of horse racing that more people get involved in racehorse ownership. With that in mind, we hope that our Club will deliver an enjoyable and engaging experience at an affordable price that will encourage our members to get more involved in ownership in the future.” Blake said, “This is a very exciting venture that I feel will offer the best value entry-level ownership experience anywhere in the world. It goes without saying that the goal is to have as many winners as possible in the Club colours, but we consider it just as important to deliver a top-class ownership experience to the members. Growing and popularising racehorse ownership at all levels is in the best interests of everyone in the racing industry and we intend on making a positive contribution on that front with this Club.” View the full article

Center stage belongs to Belmont Park, where the Stars and Stripes Racing Festival features five graded stakes. View the full article

The Longines Hong Kong International Races will be worth a record HK$93 million next season, a 10 per cent increase on last year’s event. The Jockey Club announced a raft of prize money increases on Friday, headlined by the boost to its marquee event, with the overall pie for next season going up by about 5 per cent to a total of HK$1.22 billion. Hong Kong’s richest race, the Group One Hong Kong Cup, will now be worth HK$28 million, the Hong Kong Mile goes to HK$25 million while the... View the full article

Ever wondered what happened to Swipe? Despite only winning once, Swipe became the second highest-rated 2-year-old in the U.S. in 2015. The son of Birdstone emerged as one to follow after a black-type victory and two placings in his early 2-year-old campaign. He then ran into another talented juvenile called Nyquist (Uncle Mo). In his next four starts, of which three were Grade Is, Swipe found himself the runner-up behind Nyquist. That included the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland, where Swipe was less than half a length behind the future Kentucky Derby winner. It was a frustrating time for Swipe’s trainer Keith Desormeaux and the owner partnership headed by Big Chief Racing, but very lucky for the Swedish couple Ivan and Berit Sjoberg. Had the winning post at Keeneland been a little further away, Swipe would not be residing at a stud farm in Sweden right now. “We don’t have the resources to buy a Group or Grade I winner. Instead, we must be clever and try to find a horse that has been racing just below top level,” says Ivan Sjoberg, who together with his wife purchased Swipe as a stallion prospect after his short racing career. Swipe landed in Sweden at the end of 2016, and covered around 30 mares in his first year, a rather large book in a country which only produces around 200 Thoroughbred foals per year. Sjoberg said he is hoping that the American recruit will help bring the domestic Thoroughbred breeding industry one step forward, and what he has seen so far is very encouraging. “We could not be happier with his first foals. Swipe himself is a big, strong horse, a typical American dirt horse, and you can see much of this in his first foals. They are absolutely correct, muscular, and with a good attitude. Many of them are real copies of their father.” “Swipe mainly covered mares with American pedigrees, so we have produced some all-American foals here in Sweden. One of our best mares, Day To Shine (Aldebaran), from an old Darby Dan family and sister to Grade I-winner Time And Motion (Tapit), got a fantastic filly. And Swipe covered mares by Monarchos, Orientate, Stormin Fever, Speightstown, and Fusaichi Pegasus.” The Sjobergs’ farm Ravdansens Stuteri has been crowned champion breeder in Sweden on numerous occasions, including five times in the last six years. With more than 20 mares of their own and another 10 boarding mares, the couple run one of the biggest Thoroughbred breeding operations in the region. And with four stallions on the roster, they have also become the busiest Thoroughbred stallion stud in Scandinavia. “I suppose we are quite Americanized,” Sjoberg said. “We have spent a lot of time in Kentucky, and I’m fascinated by the American bloodlines. Since Swedish racing reminds much more of American than British racing, with the bulk of races on the dirt, it makes sense to look at American bloodlines.” However, their two oldest residents would be better known among Japanese racing fans. The Sjobergs stand the Japanese pair Eishin Dunkirk (Jpn) and Philomatheia (Jpn), both 21 now, and also have some young Japanese blood on their roster with Barocci, a son of the worldwide sensation Deep Impact. “There are plenty of well-bred, non-raced stallion prospects on the market, but unfortunately, that has never been an option for us,” said Sjoberg. “But one day, Naoya Yoshida [of Winchester Farm in Kentucky] rang me and said that there would be a horse called Barocci offered at the 2014 Keeneland November sale. Barocci met all our requirements: he had a top-class pedigree and had competed against the best horses of his generation, but failed to win the big races.” “Barocci ran in the best races for 3-year-olds in France. He ran very well in the French 2000 Guineas, finishing sixth despite a very wide draw and getting hampered in running. If he would have been placed we would never have been able to afford him, so we’re quite happy about that,” said Sjoberg. His first crop, born in 2016, consists of almost 20 foals. The 2-year-old season has just kicked off in Scandinavia, and Barocci’s first barrier trial runner impressed in Stockholm on Saturday. “The 2-year-olds look fantastic,” said Sjoberg. “He marks them a lot; he is almost black himself, just like Sunday Silence, and most of them look just the same.” Taking Swedish Breeding To The Next Level… The four stallions are enjoying the Swedish summer in their paddocks at Ravdansen. With more than 250 acres of pasture, the Sjobergs make sure that both their stallions and broodmares thrive, and that the youngsters get a head start in life. “We have a lot of pasture compared to the number of horses,” Sjoberg said. “We have large paddocks and try keep the horses out as much as possible.” “Swedish breeders are just as knowledgeable as breeders in other countries. And there is nothing wrong with the climate. It gets as cold in Kentucky as it gets here. We just don’t have the bloodlines. We need better mares and better stallions. But we can’t afford to purchase the top-class mares for $500,000, or $50,000 for that matter. Raising the level is a very slow process, but we are working on it.” Keen to always improve the quality of their stock, the couple is often seen at the bloodstock sales in Britain and Ireland, and occasionally the U.S., trying to source good-value mares from established pedigrees to bring back to their farm. “At Goffs last year, we bought a Tapit mare in foal to Helmet from Godolphin, and a Dubawi mare in foal to Harzand, and got two beautiful foals this spring. Royal Crystal, the Tapit mare, is now in foal to Swipe, and La Reine de Pearls, by Dubawi, is in foal to Barocci.” With a Breeders’ Cup runner-up and sons of Deep Impact, Mr. Prospector and Danzig on the stallion roster, the Sjobergs seem to be well on their way to the next level of Thoroughbred breeding in Sweden. View the full article

There is plenty high-quality competitive action for us to sink our teeth into this weekend, obviously, Sandown is where most racing fans will focusing their attention with the Coral Challenge and Group 1 Coral-Eclipse among the highlights. Haydock plays host to the Group 2 Lancashire Oaks and the Old Newton Cup. The Coral Challenge is the perfect appetiser to the main event at Sandown on Saturday. This 1-mile handicap looks fiendishly open with Roger Varian’s Daira Prince the current favourite following two wins this season. These wins have been achieved since the son of Dubawi has been gelded and had the aid of blinkers. In such an open race I’ll take a chance on one of the outsiders, Master Carpenter. Rob Millman’s seven-year-old has yet to hit top gear in three racecourse forays this season but on the back of this, the handicapper has given him a chance. This classy sort has won a listed race of course and distance in his youth and finished 3rd in this race off a mark of 104 in 2015. He now runs off a mark of 91 and with Rossa Ryan’s invaluable 3-pound claim Master Carpenter can spring an upset. Selection: Master Carpenter It seems that in a surprise move Saxon Warrior looks a likely starter in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse, this once Triple Crown contender has questions to answer following defeats in both the English and Irish Derbys. As I stated in my Coral-Eclipse Preview, Masar is the justifiable favourite for the race but I feel that his form isn’t rock-solid. In truth, most of the field have question marks over them and they need to answer these if they are to win this Group 1 contest. The one I have sided with is Happily, unsurprisingly Donnacadh has decided to partner Saxon Warrior which leaves steering duties on Happily to the very capable and underrated Wayne Lordan. Following a dual Group 1 winning two-year-old campaign, the daughter of Galileo has yet to get her head in front this season but with the trip seeming to suit well last time and with her receiving weight all round, Happily may just show up the boys! Selection: Happily At Haydock the Group 2 Lancashire Oaks is the feature, where 7 horses go to post and with Aidan O’Brien having runners across numerous tracks, countries and continents, Michael Hussey has a big chance of landing this nice prize on the improving Flattering. However, the horse I like is Luca Cumani’s God Given, she was a Group 3 course and distance winner on her most recent start. The daughter of Nathaniel is now unbeaten in two-course visits and with Jamie Spencer in the plate, God Given is the one to beat. Selection: God Given Crowned EagleThe Old Newton Cup is a target for any trainer with a quality stayer that could be on a nice mark. Mark Johnston and Marco Botti have won four of the last five renewals between them with the likes of Notarised and most recently Dylan Mouth. Mark Johnston has three representatives this year in the form of Sofia’s Rock, Titi Makfi and Rainbow Rebel, all of which would have to show some improved form to feature in this competitive handicap. Atty Persse will be the selection of many but following to bitterly disappointing runs last season, punters will be banking on a gelding operation having the desired effect. It’s Crowned Eagle the sole Marco Botti inmate that peaks my interest, he ran respectably when finishing midfield in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at the Royal meeting and looks very much on an upward curve. Crowned Eagle’s only previous visit to Haydock was on debut when he finished third behind none other than Barney Roy. If his Royal excursions didn’t take too much out of him, the Oasis Dream gelding must have serious claims. Selection: Crowned Eagle MendelsshonAs mentioned it’s not just Sandown where Aidan O’Brien will be represented at the top level this weekend as he has runners at Belmont Park on Saturday, while St James’s Palace Stakes runner-up Gustav Klimt could run in the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville on Sunday. Team Ballydoyle are set to be represented by Mendelssohn, who flopped in the Kentucky Derby after being badly impeded with at the start and he now takes a big drop in class for the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes. He will be joined by stablemate Seahenge who will be looking to win for the first time since a victory in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster. Athena will be the maestro of Ballydoyle’s sole representative in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks and will have the assistance of Ryan Moore in the saddle. She finished third in the Pretty Polly only six days ago and it will be some training performance if she can win after such a quick turnaround. Hunting Horn was last seen winning the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot and he’ll be bidding to back up this victory in the Belmont Derby. Aidan said about his charge: “We were very happy with Hunting Horn at Ascot and he also goes for the Belmont Derby. He added: “Gustav Klimt could run in the Prix Jean Prat on Sunday. He came out of Ascot well and we’re very happy with him.” Another race to note on Sunday is the German Derby at Hamburg where both Andrea Atzeni and Robert Havlin look to have live chances. RaceBets have some fantastic offers all weekend, so make sure out check them out here The post Weekend Preview – Coral-Eclipse & International Group Action appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. paired up to win two of the three stakes for fillies and mares on the July 5 card at Prairie Meadows. View the full article

Last year's Great Lady M. Stakes (G2) was the coming out party for former claimer Skye Diamonds, and she'll return to Los Alamitos Race Course to defend her title July 7. View the full article

A plan launched over two months ago bears its first fruit Saturday afternoon at New York’s Belmont Park, when Australian Racing Stables’s Sarrasin (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) takes in a one-mile (1600m) allowance race, the first of a series of tests connections hope will translate into an appearance in America’s year-end championships, the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs. Last seen finishing a decent fifth to the classy Gailo Chop (Fr) (Deportivo {GB}) in the G1 Ranvet S. at Rosehill in late March, Sarrasin was given a pair of 1200-meter trials at home, finishing off well to take a May 21 hit-out at Warwick Farm (video) before finishing a solid third at Randwick June 12 (video). Less than two weeks later, Sarrasin was on a New York-bound jet, a trip that would take 30 hours via Shanghai and Anchorage. Despite the arduous journey and a recent spate of hot and muggy weather, the 6-year-old has settled in well, so much so that a projected stateside debut in the Forbidden Apple S. (1600m) July 14 was scrapped in favor of Saturday’s heat. “I think by the mere fact that we’ve pushed forward this first run tells you that he’s settled in as well as we could have hoped,” Freedman said by phone Friday morning. “He’s handled the heat well–for horses in Australia, 35-degree (Celsius, mid-90-degree Fahrenheit) heat isn’t that big a deal. Humidity is is a little more stressful for them, but it hasn’t worried him terribly much. He’s been eating, he’s coped with the travel very well and he’s felt good on the track.” In typical fashion for Australian-trained horses, Freedman views Saturday’s race as a stepping-stone to the 11-furlong (2200m) Grade II Bowling Green S. July 28 at Saratoga and the 1 1/2-mile (2400m) Grade I Sword Dancer Invitational S. four weeks later. The latter event offers a fees-paid berth into the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Turf. “In Australia, we take a slightly different attitude to races,” Freedman explained. “The horse will certainly be trying his hardest, but we will be using this race as a warm-up run, as a part of his training program to the longer races. It’s a distance short of his best, but we’d like to see him running on strongly at the end. He continued, “He won’t be contesting the lead, that’s not his style of racing. He’ll be giving some start away to those horses and hopefully his strength at the end will let him take some ground from them. If he can win, he’ll win. We look forward to the next two races. That’s where we start to reach distances that I think are right in his range. Those distances are in his zone.” In a stroke of good luck, Aussie jockey Regan Bayliss has been riding track work in New York and has the call Saturday. “We had Luis Saez on standby for the Forbidden Apple, but he wasn’t available when we shifted gears,” Freedman said. “Regan was already in New York, and it’s just an easier assignment for us to explain how this horse needs to be ridden to someone who rides in Australian-type races all the time, rather than trying to explain to someone not as familiar.” Bayliss’s world travels will continue in England next weekend, where he is scheduled to reunite with Redkirk Warrior (GB) (Notnowcato {GB}) in the G1 Darley July Cup at Newmarket. In the meantime, Freedman will be watching with nervous anticipation from halfway around the world when Belmont race three loads at 4.45am Sunday morning. “What will relax me is if the horse runs and runs well,” Freedman said. “I’m not concerned if he wins or doesn’t win, but if he runs well and shows us that he’s on track to go to these next races, then I’ll start to believe a little bit more. Fingers crossed.” View the full article

She’s a Julie (f, 3, Elusive Quality–Kydd Gloves, by Dubai Millennium {GB}), off at odds of 3-1, ran away in the stretch to record a career high in style in Thursday evening’s GIII Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows. The bay sat in a perfect spot in second through early fractions of :23.17 and :46.78. She set her sights on the leader on the far turn, took over at the top of the stretch, and made it look easy from there, winning by a geared-down five lengths. Cosmic Burst (Violence) was second; Hold Her Tight (Proud Citizen) was third. The final time for 1 1/16 miles was 1:43.33. She’s a Julie entered off a narrow optional claiming victory at Churchill Downs June 3. She was fifth earlier this spring in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks Mar. 24. Sales history: $160,000 yrl ’16 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 8-3-1-1. O-Whispering Oaks Farm LLC; B-Godolphin; T-Steven Asmussen. View the full article

Brown gets Golden chance at second Derby runner View the full article

Mr Fantastic fights his way back to gallant win View the full article

Arhat throws his hat back in the ring View the full article

Song Kisses maiden status goodbye View the full article

Track conditions and course scratchings July 6 View the full article

Horses' body weights July 6 View the full article

Early scratchings July 6 View the full article

Eighteen contenders and two alternates, five of them trained by Justin Snaith, are set for the July 7 Vodacom Durban July (G1) at Greyville. View the full article

In a move it hopes will provide an added handicapping tool for horseplayers, the Stronach Group, working with Equibase, hopes to provide weight information for horses starting at most of its tracks by the end of summer. View the full article

In a move it hopes will provide an added handicapping tool for horseplayers, the Stronach Group, working with Equibase, hopes to provide weight information for horses starting at most of its tracks by the end of summer. View the full article

Almost a month after Justify's Triple Crown-clinching victory in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), trainer Bob Baffert is still taking it relatively easy on his undefeated superstar. View the full article