Wandering Eyes

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

In the aftermath of the US Supreme Court ruling which clears the way for states to authorize and regulate wagering on sports other than horseracing, the ARCI will consider expanding its portfolio beyond wagering on pari-mutuel horse and greyhound contests to those involving human athletes and teams. When it meets next Tuesday and Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska, the ARCI Model Rules Committee will consider taking the first step in this direction by working on a set of model regulations based upon the existing sports betting rules currently in place in Nevada. “Up until recently, except for Nevada, the only legal sports wagering authorized has been on horse or greyhound racing. The regulatory structure in place for these sports and the processing of wagers can easily be adopted to accommodate wagering on other sports,” ARCI President Ed Martin said. View the full article

The Stronach Group has announced that after monitoring, compiling and televising the weights of horses the past several months at its facilities in California, Florida and Maryland, the information is scheduled to be available in past performances by the end of summer. Prior to be being saddled before a race, each horse steps on a scale in or near the paddock, where their weights are recorded by a racing official. The weights have been posted on in-house simulcast shows before each race. By the end of the summer, weights will also be available on-line and in racing programs with a plus/minus from the previous start, according to The Jockey Club. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has been weighing and recording the weight of horses for several years. “This is something we’ve been working on for quite a while,” Tim Ritvo, Chief Operating Officer of The Stronach Group, said. “We believe this is another tool for bettors to determine when a horse could be at his ideal weight. We also believe horsemen will look at weight to decide how training, feeding and environment affect a horse’s weight and performance. Ritvo continued, “I think this information benefits everyone, from horsemen to bettors to track veterinarians, and it allows further transparency. We hope the added element is beneficial to our customers since we have always considered them the economic engine of the sport.” View the full article

Small fields are among racing’s most serious problems. Too many five-horse races, too many heavy favorites and too many bettors keeping their money in their pockets every time such a race comes up. With the foal crop at its lowest levels since 1965, the problem is only going to get worse. You also have the proliferation of partnerships, where one person might own 20% of one horse in a race and 25% of another in the same race. That means more examples of common ownership of horses in the same race and, yes, more entries. Like most things that are wrong with racing, there is no magic bullet when it comes to small fields. There is, however, an obvious, no-brainer solution that would make things better. Get rid of coupled entries, in all races, in all states, in every situation. Every entry takes away a betting interest. Every time a betting interest is taken away the race becomes less appealing and the handle on it goes down. At least most tracks no longer couple horses trained by the same person, but with different owners and most tracks also no longer have entries in stakes races. That has made the situation better and you’ll usually find no more than one or two entries on any card. The point is there shouldn’t be any. Entries were created with the aim of protecting the betting public. The idea being that the trainer or owner could try to cash a bet by stiffing the stronger half of the entry and making sure the lesser half is ready to fire on all cylinders. They bet the longshot. Perhaps, once upon a time, that may have happened, but it’s a rule more fitting for the movie “The Sting” than the modern racetrack. No one in 2018 is sitting in a smoke-filled room with dodgy characters in the back of a candy store deciding to pull Glow Worm so they can cash a bet on Rocket Boy. It’s a rule that might have made sense in 1968, but is now doing a lot more harm than good. On June 1 at Belmont, J S Bach (Tale of the Cat) and Splashtastic (Tiz Wonderful) were coupled in the wagering in an allowance. The pair was sent off at even-money and both finished off the board. J S Bach is wholly owned by Michael Dubb and trained by Jason Servis. Splashtastic is trained by Rudy Rodriguez and is owned by Dubb, Bethlehem Stable LLC and the Elkstone Group LLC. That makes Dubb the only connection between the two. According to the realdeal.com, Dubb’s Beechwood Organization, the largest developer of residential housing on Long Island, had $205 million in revenue in 2015. So Dubb’s horses needed to be coupled so that a multi-millionaire wasn’t tempted to cash a bet on a horse that might have paid $8 to win and if he bet enough he could have pocketed, oh, maybe $10,000? Please. It happened again Sunday at Belmont in the seventh race. Owned by Chester and Mary Broman, Heavy Meddle (Medaglia d’Oro), who iss trained by Bill Mott, was coupled with the Broman’s Mr. Buff (Friend Or Foe), who is trained by John Kimmel. Because of the entry, there were seven betting interests instead of eight and the Broman pair was sent off as the even-money favorite. Had they been separate betting interests Mr. Buff probably would have been about 9-5 and Heavy Meddle 6-1. What’s a better betting race, an eight-horse field with a 9-5 favorite or a seven-horse field with an even-money favorite? The answer is obvious. (For those betting on the entry, it didn’t matter. Neither finished in the money). We often talk of how European racing does just fine without Lasix. The same is true when it comes to entries. With the exception of France, there are no entries in any major racing countries in Europe and France only couples horses for win wagering. If an entry runs one-two, you only collect on an exacta if you bet the individual horses in the entry to finish first and second. Fortunately, the situation is getting better. Racing secretaries, desperate to have as many betting interests as possible, keep telling state racing commissions that these antiquated rules have to go. Many have listened. New Jersey is the latest state to have done away with entries, a policy that began at the beginning of the Monmouth Park meet. Oddly, there are still entries in harness racing in New Jersey. There are no longer entries in Florida, California, Ontario, Illinois or Maryland. But some important states remain behind the times. There are still entries in New York, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. It’s not uncommon at Parx to see entries in three or four races on a card. Common sense doesn’t always come into play when you’re talking horse racing, but this is just that–common sense. Entries are something out of the past, no longer needed, certainly not helpful. View the full article

With record high temperatures expected throughout Southern California July 6, Los Alamitos and the California Horse Racing Board are preparing to deal with the potential impact on racing. View the full article

Owners of horses of racing age currently not nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program can nominate their runners at discounted rates on or before Sunday, July 15 for competition in this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs. All horses must be nominated in order to compete in any of the 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championship races. The nomination discounts are as follows: • 2-year-olds by a nominated Breeders’ Cup stallion can join the program for US$12,000. This one-time nomination fee makes the racehorse Breeders’ Cup-eligible for its entire racing career. • Runners which are 3-year-olds and up that were foaled in the Northern Hemisphere and sired by a nominated stallion will receive a 50% discount off normal racehorse nomination fees. Three-year-olds and older which were born in the Southern Hemisphere can be nominated for 25% of their regular nomination fee. • All nominated racehorses are eligible for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which will have purses and awards totaling $30 million this year, and for any other racing program of the Breeders’ Cup for their entire racing careers. Following the July 15 deadline, the price for all non-nominated runners reverts back to the standard racehorse nomination fee of US$100,000 or more until Oct. 22, when all runners must be pre-entered for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships races. Owners may nominate their horses of racing age online at https://members.breederscup.com/nominations/hora/horanomterms1.aspx or by calling the Breeders’ Cup Racing department at 859-514-9422. Owners of horses or racing age by non-nominated stallions can also take advantage of discounted prices before July 15. Two-year-olds by non-nominated stallions can join the program for US$18,000; Northern Hemisphere 3-year-olds and older for US$100,000 and Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds and older for US$50,000. View the full article