Wandering Eyes

Horses worked over the main track at Santa Anita Park March 13 for the first time since racing was suspended the previous week. View the full article

For horse racing to continue to enjoy acceptance from the general public, participants need to actively communicate the industry's many positives, said an expert on racehorse welfare March 13. View the full article

Jockey Catalino Martinez scored the 1,000th victory of his career March 9 after guiding Barbello to a 2 1/2-length win in the first race at Golden Gate Fields. View the full article

Horses worked over the main track at Santa Anita Park March 13 for the first time since racing was suspended the previous week. View the full article

The third day of the festival sees the best stayers do batlle and with the ground softer than many would have expected there could be some surprise results. JLT Novices’ Chase The opening race on the third day of the festival looks to be a match between old advisories Defi Du Seuil and Lostintranslation. The […] The post Cheltenham Festival 2019 Preview – Thursday appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Group 1 winner Quorto (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) has sustained an injury in Dubai where he was wintering and will miss the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas Godolphin announced on Wednesday morning. The Godolphin homebred ‘TDN Rising Star’ is undefeated in three starts to date, including the July 14 G2 Superlative S. and the Sept. 16 G1 National S. when last seen. “Unfortunately Quorto has suffered a soft tissue injury in training in Dubai which will mean he will have to miss the 2000 Guineas,” said trainer Charlie Appleby. “It’s a real shame as we had high hopes for him this year. We’ll know more when he’s scanned for a second time in a couple of weeks. It’s too early to say when he could be back in action but we’ve been here before with these injuries and we’ll see how he recovers.” View the full article

Of the first six foals delivered this year by Linda Wood on her Menoken Farm in Colorado, three ended up as orphans. Just a case of sheer, vile luck: two mares colicked, another suffered horrible foaling complications. Stuff, for want of a more expressive word, that happens to the best. Because Menoken sets the highest standards in the state, home to its leading stallion every year bar one over the past decade. The farm had, moreover, already suffered disappointment during the winter when Our Rite Of Spring (Stravinsky), a mare Wood had found at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale, aborted a foal by one of Menoken stallions, Zip Quik. He’s a son of the late City Zip, whose own loss has come to seem still more lamentable since the rise of Improbable. The GI Los Alamitos Futurity winner is set to make his delayed reappearance at Oaklawn on Saturday, and his performance could yet redress that harrowing start to the Menoken year. Because Our Rite Of Spring is not just a half-sister to no less a horse than Hard Spun (Danzig). She’s also the dam of Rare Event (A.P. Indy), who was sold to Calumet at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale for $150,000. Smart work by Calumet, that, as Rare Event had been preceded onto the dais by her weanling colt by City Zip: a colt we now know as Improbable. (Taylor Made Sales signed a $110,000 docket for him there, before processing him to Maverick Racing & China Horse Club for $200,000 the following September.) So how much did Wood have to give, a year later, for Our Rite Of Spring? Bearing in mind she was carrying a foal by a $25,000 sire in Noble Mission (GB) (Galileo {Ire})? To be fair, she was 16 years old; and she had a June 11 cover. But was she really worth only $5,000? Last May, Our Rite Of Spring delivered her Noble Mission filly. Wood says she’s a cracker: a willowy, pretty thing with a flaxen tail. And everything, in the meantime, has been falling into place. She’s out of a half-sister to the sire of Hidden Scroll and Spinoff, among the exciting sophomores flying Hard Spun’s flag this year. Her own sire, an unknown quantity when she was in utero, has conjured as good a dirt runner as Code Of Honor from his first crop. And, of course, her half-sister Rare Event is dam of a colt who could end the week as favorite for the GI Kentucky Derby. Wood accepts that Our Rite Of Spring now warrants a more upmarket mating than she can offer her at Menoken. When I spoke to her a couple of days ago, in fact, she was all set to load the mare onto a van to Kentucky. It was simply a case of whether the mountain passes would be clear of snow. In the summer, when Wood has done prepping her other yearlings for sale locally, the Noble Mission filly will make the same journey to get the finishing touches from a consignor better known to the Lexington market. Unless, of course, someone comes in for her first. Not that Wood has even begun touting either the filly or the mare. She says she really ought to write to one or two big Bluegrass studs. But she’s had more important things to do. Another 19 mares to foal, for a start. Keep that door revolving for Grand Minstrel (Grand Slam), champion sire of Colorado, and his buddies. A bunch of foals and yearlings to nourish. And, like so many people across this industry, she’s short of good help. But remember she only stumbled across this windfall because she wasn’t enslaved by the same manic imperatives as everyone else, who ran screaming from a June cover by an imported sire. Now it’s a question of whether anyone out there might draw Our Rite Of Spring back into the commercial mainstream. At her age, yes, she’d be worth more in foal. But there’s a limit to how far Wood can stretch for the kind of stallion she now merits. So the mare is “open” for now; and Wood is open-minded. It’s still only March. Whatever dividends might yet fall to Wood, you suspect the Noble Mission filly herself has already come out ahead. I don’t say that she gazes at the snowy Rockies and is filled with poetry. But down on the banks of the Uncompahgre, they reckon to have pastures every bit as rich as the Bluegrass–and a better climate, being less humid. As it happens, Our Rite Of Spring and her foal found their way to Colorado from an exemplary Bluegrass farm; one that does the breed nothing but good. But they could easily have been culled into hands far less benign than those that tend them now. Wood turns young stock out at night, gives them “time to be a horse.” Actually she hadn’t even registered the existence of Improbable until told about his Grade I win in December. She’s since grieved those three mares, but reflects on all these dazing ups and downs as a proper horse person. “It’s a rollercoaster,” she says. “All part of the deal. We’re just lucky to be in this business.” But it would be no kind of business without the democracy of chance that allowed this mare, and her daughter, to slip the Bluegrass net. The odds are always somewhat against you, whether you’re in Kentucky or Colorado. But if you don’t fancy a June cover, presumably that’s because you don’t want to end up with a May foal like–oh, War Admiral or Seabiscuit or Northern Dancer. Improbable, yes. But never impossible. View the full article

A Frustrated-Fat Turtle double helped ease any BMW Hong Kong Derby nerves Frankie Lor Fu-chuen had at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.Lor has three live chances in Sunday’s HK$18 million feature – Dark Dream, Furore and Mission Tycoon – and given this is the first time he’s had a runner in Hong Kong’s most prestigious race, it would be understandable if the second-season trainer was a little on edge.But the affable Lor is taking it all in his stride, going about his business as per usual.“It’s… View the full article

Another first-crop sire had a breakout sale early at OBS Wednesday, with bloodstock agent Mike Ryan going to $850,000 to secure a colt by GI Belmont S. winner Palace Malice. Ryan was bidding on behalf of owner Jeff Drown. The colt, consigned by Pick View LLC, is out of Miss Always Ready (More Than Ready), a full-sister to graded stakes winner More Than Real. Purchased for $160,000 by Marquee Bloodstock at last year’s Keeneland September sale, he worked a quarter in :21 1/5 last week. View the full article

THE third day of the Cheltenham Festival holds fond memories for me as it is the day I rode Cole Harden to win what was then the World Hurdle. Now called the Stayers’ Hurdle, it’s a race that is going to be a cracker this year as is the Ryanair Chase, which I think could […] The post Gavin Sheehan Cheltenham Festival Day Three Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

West Point Thoroughbreds, which teamed up to purchase the $2-million record-setting Tapit colt Tuesday, was quick to return to action during Wednesday’s second session of the OBS March sale, purchasing a filly from the first crop of Grade I winner The Big Beast for $850,000 along with an undisclosed partner and with Lane’s End Bloodstock as agent. Consigned and bred by Ocala Stud, hip 302 is out of Lucky Trip (Trippi), a full-sister to multiple stakes winner Dream of Angels and to Grade I placed Candrea. She zipped a quarter during last week’s under-tack preview in :20 4/5. View the full article

New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program has joined forces with the Godolphin Flying Start program to further expand trainee exposure to all facets of the Thoroughbred industry with the addition of an aftercare component. Each trainee enrolled in the Flying Start program will now complete a week-long rotation at the New Vocations’ Lexington facility. The intention of the time at New Vocations is for Godolphin Flying Start trainees to gain insight on the importance of aftercare within the racing industry. They will achieve this understanding by working directly with New Vocations’ team and by having hands-on experiences in the day-to-day operations of the program’s rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming efforts as well as learning about the administration and management of an accredited organization. “The Godolphin Flying Start program is a highly respected and sought-after program, and we were thrilled to be asked to participate by having the trainees spend a week with us,” said Thoroughbred Program Director Anna Ford. “Aftercare is becoming a very important part of the racing industry, so it’s appropriate for tomorrow’s leaders to experience how we rehab, retrain and rehome the retired racehorses in our program.” “Godolphin Flying Start is delighted to partner with New Vocations to add to trainees experiential learning of a major initiative that is integral to the future of the horse racing industry,” said General Manager Clodagh Kavanagh. “Trainees are motivated by their love of the horse during and after its working life. As young leaders, they are expected to be current and relevant with changes in the industry, and in the world around it. They will be part of shaping the future of horse racing and they recognize the importance of welfare now and in years to come.” In addition to being involved in various areas of New Vocations’ operations, each Godolphin Flying Start trainee will work with two horses at the Kentucky facility. To end the week-long rotation, trainees will create a short video to reflect what they learned and took away from their experience with New Vocations. New Vocations will feature this video, dubbed “Flying Start Friday,” on their social media outlets each week. View the full article

Whether its International racing or Uk and Irish action you are after we cover it all and have Daily Horse Racing offers available for you to get involved in. Check out today’s Horse Racing Offers below. UK Horse Racing Offer – Money Back All Losers if the Favourite Wins! On one race every day we […] The post Daily Horse Racing Offers – Wednesday 13th March appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

There are concerns over the welfare of BMW Hong Kong Derby favourite Waikuku after the rising star was found to be lame in his front left leg. The John Size-trained gelding was examined, and treated, for sensitivity to the sole of his left front foot on Sunday, March 10, the Jockey Club announced in a release on Wednesday. Size confirmed to stewards that Waikuku missed a day of work and has “restricted to slow work since the issue arouse”. The trainer said he intends to gallop the horse on… View the full article

There are concerns over the welfare of BMW Hong Kong Derby favourite Waikuku after the rising star was found to be lame in his front left leg.The John Size-trained gelding was examined, and treated, for sensitivity to the sole of his left front foot on Sunday, March 10, the Jockey Club announced in a release on Wednesday.Size confirmed to stewards that Waikuku missed a day of work and has “restricted to slow work since the issue arouse”. The trainer said he intends to gallop the horse on… View the full article

Hong Kong icon Donnie Yen Ji-dan has ridden – and fallen off – plenty of horses while filming his movies, so he has nothing but admiration for what jockeys do on a day-to-day basis.Yen is the ambassador for Sunday’s BMW Hong Kong Derby (the seventh year he has held the role) and a passionate horse racing fan, even sharing a promotional training session with star riders Zac Purton and Vincent Ho Chak-yiu.The 55-year-old martial arts expert has ridden horses in Hong Kong, China, Mongolia and New… View the full article

Steeplechase racing will be a regular feature at Colonial Downs when the New Kent County track presents its inaugural meet under new ownership and management this summer, the National Steeplechase Association and Colonial Downs Group announced. View the full article

Young keeping Dreamliner’s jets cooled View the full article

OCALA, FL– Heated competition for the perceived top offerings continued to be the trend as the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s two-day March Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale kicked off Tuesday. Topping the session was hip 33, a New York-bred Tapit colt out of MGISW Artemis Agrotera (Roman Ruler). Consigned by Becky Thomas’s Sequel Bloodstock on behalf of breeders Chester and Mary Broman, the :10 1/5 breezer was purchased by West Point Thoroughbreds, Rob Masiello and Siena Farm for an OBS March record $2 million. The Bromans will retain a one-third interest in the colt. The hefty price tag was the second-most ever paid at an OBS sale behind only a $2.45-million Tiznow colt who sold at the 2017 April sale. “I thought it was a very good day,” said OBS director of sales Tod Wojciechowski. “There were some very nice horses up today and the consignors were well-rewarded for those horses… Whether a horse is ready early [for the March sale], needs more time or even waits until June, if you bring a quality horse to market, people will reward you for it, no matter what sale.” With subsequent post-sale transactions yet to be factored into the statistics, a total of $22,134,000 of trade was done Tuesday at an average of $153,708 and a median of $83,500. The RNA rate for the session was 29.8%–significantly lower than it was 12 months ago when it was 38.4% at the conclusion of the first session before post-sale transactions brought it down to 30.3%. Ten horses met or exceeded the $500,000 threshold last year for the auction’s first session–nine hit that mark this time around. There were two million-dollar lots Tuesday, but none at the 2018 March sale. “Our gross was up quite a bit, but yet our average was slightly under last year’s ($157,574) and our median was slightly under last year’s ($95,000),” Wojciechowski said. “What that tells me is, not only were the expensive horses moving, but the lesser-priced horses were also selling.” One noteworthy surprise among the top buyers was the emergence of HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, who spent $1.79 million on four juveniles. Japanese interests also made their presence felt. “His Royal Highness was certainly very active today; the Japanese were very active–a number of groups from Japan,” said Wojciechowski. “We knew they were here, obviously, but it was nice to see them active and able to find horses that they liked.” The sale’s second session begins Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Visit www.obssales.com for more information. Tapit Colt to Carry West Point Black and Gold The stunning, new-look OBS sales pavilion was buzzing less than an hour into the two-day March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale as a striking son of leading sire Tapit out of two-time Grade I winner Artemis Agrotera (Roman Ruler) brought a sale-record $2 million. West Point Thoroughbred’s frontman Terry Finley brought home the top prize and signed the ticket out back. The partnership will include longtime West Point supporter Rob Masiello, as well as Siena Farm. The colt’s breeder Chester Broman will stay in for a third, too. Lane’s End Bloodstock served as agent for the group. “I don’t want to sound like all these other bloodstock agents or buyers around here and say, ‘Oh, he was the best horse in the sale,'” Finley, a soon-to-be first-time grandfather, said with a smile out back. “I hope he was the best horse in the sale, but time will tell. That’s the most expensive horse we’ve ever bought. But we felt good the whole time.” Finley continued, “We didn’t think that we’d have to give that much money. But, man, we were really happy when that hammer fell. With Chester Broman staying in for a third, that really gave us a lot of confidence. The colt came out of a good program with Becky Thomas. We’re ready to rock and roll.” The New York-bred was consigned as Hip 33, by Becky Thomas’s Sequel Bloodstock, agent for Chester and Mary Broman. The flashy gray glided through an eighth in :10 1/5. “What is really awesome about the Tapit colt is that Mr. Broman at the last minute–he really likes West Point and was really complimentary–is staying in as a partner and Steve Asmussen will be training the horse,” Thomas said. “That part is such a win-win. I’ve trained for Mr. Broman for so long. I had Artemis Agrotera–she was close to 16.3 and was massively big. This colt comes in and he’s a big gray version of her. He’s not a typical Tapit. He’s got a lot of substance. He was just one from the very beginning that I took out of company, even galloping in November, because he was way too forward. He’ll be a later 2-year-old–not late though–because he’s very quick.” As for the colt’s breeze at the under-tack show, Finley said, “At the sixteenth pole, he swapped his leads and he went back to his right and just leveled out and did it the right way. When I looked down at the pedigree and saw he was a Tapit out of a Grade I winner, I said, ‘Wow.’ I’ve been thinking about this colt all week.” West Point, Masiello and Siena Farm teamed up last August to purchase the $1.35-million sale-topping Medaglia d’Oro colt at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale. Bloodstock agent Ben McElroy and trainer Simon Callaghan, who did their bidding standing by the ramp inside the pavilion, were underbidder. –@SteveSherackTDN Bromans Stay in on Topper, but Estate Planning Begins The OBS March record-setting topper is a product of longtime prominent owner and breeders Chester and Mary Broman’s New York-bred program. Hip 33, a Feb. 9 foal, is the first produce from Artemis Agrotera, who carried the Broman’s green-and-white silks to wins in the 2013 GI Frizette S. and 2014 GI Ballerina S. The Bromans also owned and bred his second dam SW & MGSP Indy Glory (A.P. Indy), a full-sister to GI Donn H. winner Stephen Got Even. Artemis Agrotera is a half-brother to SP Time Squared (Fusaichi Pegasus), who topped the 2006 Keeneland April 2-Year-Old Sale at $1.05 million. “It was great what happened,” Broman said after taking in the action at the back ring. “We were hoping for over a million. Hopefully, he goes on and becomes a stallion.” While the Bromans did stay in for a third of the topper, the couple were very active sellers at OBS March Tuesday. As part of the Bromans estate planning, the couple will be sending their entire 2-year-old crop through the ring this spring. Becky Thomas’s Sequel Bloodstock consigned the Tapit colt. “I’m getting old,” Broman simply said of his decision to sell. “I’ve got the farm and we still breed mares. They all trained well and should sell for what we expected.” Thomas added, “Because it’s his estate planning–this is not a fire sale–but every 2-year-old of Mr. Broman’s will go through the ring. We had a couple that we didn’t get sold which he will go on to race in partnerships and that actually makes me really happy because he enjoys racing very much.” During Tuesday’s session, the Bromans also sold: Hip 45, a $220,000 Hard Spun filly (purchased by Charles H. Boden, agent for Colts Neck Stables LLC); and Hip 206, a $425,000 Uncle Mo filly (purchased by John Kimmel, agent). The Bromans have campaigned standouts such as GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint upsetter Bar of Gold (Medaglia d’Oro) and GI Florida Derby winner Friends Lake (A.P. Indy). The couple operate Chestertown Farm and have been racing and breeding since the 1990s. Broman is owner, president and CEO of general contractor Clifford Broman and Son in New York. –@SteveSherackTDN Another Flashy Purchase for Larry Best A timely update and powerful :21 1/5 breeze led to the second seven-figure 2-year-old of the day at OBS March. A determined Larry Best of OXO Equine LLC–who did his bidding in front of the ramp inside the pavilion–fought off all challengers to land a Pioneerof the Nile colt for $1.2 million. Hip 194 is out of the multiple stakes placed Golden Artemis (Malibu Moon), who is the dam of My Conquestadory (Artie Schiller), heroine of the GI Darley Alcibiades S. The latter has also produced the very promising 3-year-old colt Bourbon War (Tapit), who came flying home to complete the exacta in the GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park earlier this month. Golden Artemis herself brought $1 million from Denali Stud, agent, at the 2013 FTKNOV Sale before RNA’ing for $1.15 million at the 2015 KEENOV Sale. “He had a great work,” Best said after signing the slip on the Pioneerof the Nile colt. “I like the size of him. He’s an Apr. 30 foal–when he grows up, he’s going to be about the right size. He’s got a lot of speed and his gallop-out was strong. I love the dam. I looked at a Medaglia d’Oro colt out of her [unraced Jafar, $185,000 KEESEP yearling] some years ago. He was really fast and got hurt. But I never forgot the strength of the dam.” Did the Bourbon War update play a role at all? “Yes it did,” Best replied. “I was going to $800,000 until they reminded me of Bourbon War. He’s an awesome horse. That dam side is just very strong and Pioneerof the Nile speaks for itself.” Best has certainly hit the ground running with his high-profile auction purchases in a short period of time, including runaway GII Best Pal S. winner and last weekend’s GIII Gotham S. third Instagrand (Into Mischief) ($1.2-million Fasig-Tipton Florida juvenile), GIII Lecomte S. winner and GI Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity runner-up Instilled Regard (Arch) ($1.05-million OBS March juvenile), MGISP Rowayton (Into Mischief) ($320,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling) and recent GIII Herecomesthebride S. Cambier Parc (Medaglia d’Oro) ($1.25-million KEESEP yearling), who is unbeaten on grass. The Pioneerof the Nile colt was the lone purchase by Best Tuesday. Should we expect to see more fireworks going forward from him this 2-year-old sales season? “As long as I’m still having fun,” he replied. Hip 194, bred in Kentucky by Dattt Farm, sold post-RNA at Keeneland September for $175,000 to Sonny Stokes, Jr. and his son-in-law and former Quarter Horse jockey Leroy McClurge. He was consigned to OBS March by Hoby and Layna Kight, Agent I. This same group teamed up to sell flashy debut winner Bano Solo (Goldencents) for $400,000 at last year’s OBS March Sale. “He’s a really nice horse,” said Kight back at Barn 5 as Best returned to take a closer look at his new purchase. “And I knew everybody liked him–he vetted well. But you just never know.” Kight continued, “He did all the right stuff. He got big, he got stretch, we got the update, and he worked really well. He just did everything you want a horse to do at a breeze show. He did good over here, he just thrived under pressure–that’s the sign of a good horse.” –@SteveSherackTDN Phoenix Snags Well-Related Bernardini Colt Amer Abdulaziz’s Phoenix Thoroghbreds was a major player at the OBS March sale in its two previous renewals, and was back at it Tuesday. By far the priciest of the group’s three acquisitions was hip 240, a Bernardini colt out of Canadian champion grass mare Inish Glora (Regal Classic) who cost $825,000. The :9 4/5 breezer was consigned to the sale by Raul Reyes’s King’s Equine, Agent IX. “Obviously, he’s fast–fast and beautiful,” said Tom Ludt, Phoenix’s head of U.S. operations. “I know who I was bidding against and I was bidding against the right guys. It’s expensive right now, but he’s a really good colt. He galloped out great. That’s what we’re looking for. Now we just need to get him to do it over a little bit longer distance.” Ludt was joined by Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen during the bidding process and said that hip 240 would be heading to Asmussen’s barn. The Apr. 6 foal is also a half to Woodbine Oaks heroine Roan Inish (Elusive Quality) and GSP In Equality (Quality Road). “The good ones are expensive,” Ludt said. “They’re all on the same horses, so it’s tough. You’ve just got to be willing to put up the money and hope you got the right one.” Hip 240 was a $275,000 KEESEP yearling buy by Scott and Evan Dilworth, and Reyes insisted that Scott Dilworth deserved most of the credit. “He picked him out, and he did a very good job,” Reyes said. “All I did was polish the apple–he did the hard part.” As for what caught his eye at Keeneland, Dilworth said, “He was just a big, nice, scopey horse. He just had a lot of definition to him and we liked him a lot.” He added, “I want to thank Raul–he did a tremendous job preparing this colt and getting him ready for the sale. He always does a great job, and John Bassett helped me pick this colt out–he deserves credit also.” –@BDiDonatoTDN Saudi Arabian Prince Building U.S. Stable HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud made a big splash at OBS March Tuesday, purchasing five juveniles for $1.89 million, led by a $650,000 daughter of Speightstown. “He’s just starting to develop a nice stable in the U.S.,” Narvick International’s Emmanuel de Seroux said after signing the ticket on the Speightstown filly out back. “In the U.S., I believe this will be his first group of horses. We stretched for her–we thought that was a big price. We didn’t expect to have to pay that much, but she’s a beautiful filly, a beautiful mover and a nice type with pedigree. She’s a real nice filly.” Hip 92, consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, Agent XI, zipped through an eighth in :10 at the breeze show. Produced by MGSP C J’s Leelee (Mizzen Mast), the Mar. 11 foal is a half-sister to the stakes-placed C J’s Awesome (Awesome Again). Her 3-year-old half-sister It Justhitthe Wire (Bernardini), a runaway maiden winner for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin at Gulfstream in late January, brought $410,000 from Leonard Green at last year’s OBS April Sale. C J’s Leelee is a half-sister to GISW and young sire Capo Bastone (Street Boss). Hip 92 was bred in Kentucky by Carl Gessler, Jr. and Danny Wiginton. No decision has been made for a trainer yet for the Speightstown filly. “She’s going to go to a farm now to relax and then we’ll see what happens,” de Seroux said. “It depends on what Prince Sultan decides.” De Seroux soon struck again on the same owner’s behalf, going to $600,000 for Hip 169, an American Pharoah filly who was consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent V and who breezed in :20 4/5. “She’s a gorgeous type,” de Seroux said. “She’s beautiful–she’s all class, she’s a wonderful mover and we love American Pharoah. I think she has a fantastic future… Based on the market, I thought that would have to be more or less what we would have to pay for her. Hopefully, she’s well worth it.” Prince Sultan’s other OBS March purchases included: a $100,000 Competitive Edge colt (Hip 118); a $300,000 American Pharoah colt (Hip 212); and a $240,000 Tiznow colt (Hip 251). –@SteveSherackTDN Drefong Half-Sister Heading to Japan Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm went to $675,000–the highest price for a filly at OBS March Tuesday–to land a Candy Ride (Arg) half-sister to U.S. champion sprinter Drefong (Gio Ponti). The 2016 GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint hero was retired to stud for the 2018 season to stand at Teruya Yoshida’s Shadai Stallion Station in Hokkaido, Japan. “She was really good, and when we looked at her black-type page, Drefong’s name was on it. We are very excited to buy her,” Northern Farm Shigaraki Manager Yasuhiro Matsumoto said. “She was really good looking and her walk was very nice. We were here for her workout and her form was very good. We’re going to bring her back to Japan and hope that she will have a good racing career.” Matsumoto added, “The early reception to Drefong has been very nice.” The Candy Ride filly was the first of several high-profile pinhooks this spring by owner/breeder/trainer Carlo Vaccarezza (TDN Feature), who bought her for $300,000 as a KEESEP yearling. Vaccarezza signed for 11 head for a total of $1.88 million ($170,909 average) at last year’s Keeneland September Sale, and seven youngsters for a total of $1.675 million ($239,286) at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. Hip 147, consigned by Top Line Sales LLC, Agent II, zipped through an eighth in :10 at the breeze show. She was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, and Carrie and Craig Brogden. Machmer Hall purchased her unraced dam Eltimaas, a half-sister to champion 2-year-old colt Action This Day (Kris S.), for $77,000 at the 2013 KEENOV Sale. “She’s been 100% ever since we had her,” Top Line’s Tori Gladwell said. “Carlo Vaccarezza bought her and like 17 other horses. It’s a great start to the year and we’re really excited about the rest of the horses we have for him.” Japanese interests have had success with Top Line-consigned juveniles in the past, including MGSW Copano Kicking (Spring At Last), a $100,000 graduate of the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale. –@SteveSherackTDN Callaghan, McElroy Get Big Breezer Hip 81 had reportedly been popular back at the barn after a co-quickest :9 4/5 move during Thursday’s first under-tack session, and the money showed up for him in the ring as well, with trainer Simon Callaghan and agent Ben McElroy seeing off all challengers to take home the big dark bay son of Justin Phillip for $550,000. A $70,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling purchase by E J Stable, the Mar. 25 foal was consigned by Hoppel’s Horse & Cattle Co., Inc., Agent I. Patrick Hoppel’s operation had a productive March sale last year as well, highlighted by a $32,000 to $675,000 pinhook score with a Real Solution colt. “It was a key part of it–for me, it was the best breeze of the day; a tremendous gallop-out; and the physical matched the breeze when we went back to see him at the barn,” McElroy said. “He was picked out by a good judge at the yearling sale, and he was a 10-out-of-10 physical. There was nothing not to like… He was just a lovely horse from a nice Phipps family.” Callaghan and McElroy declined to disclose on whose behalf they were bidding, but McElroy signed the ticket as KSI, Ben McElroy, Agent. Callaghan trains the likes of brilliant MGISW filly Bellafina (Quality Road) on behalf of Kaleem Shah. Hip 81 is a grandson of GISW Oh What a Windfall (Seeking the Gold) from the family of Grade I winners Heavenly Prize, Good Reward, Dancing Spree, Furlough, Fantastic Find, et al. –@BDiDonatoTDN Another Pinhook Score for Pokoik & Contessa Owner Lee Pokoik and trainer Gary Contessa have racked up a number of nice pinhook scores over the years, and took another hefty profit Tuesday when hip 169 sold to Narvick International’s Emmanuel de Seroux on behalf of HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud for $600,000. The filly, from the highly regarded first crop of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, was a $350,000 Fasig-Tipton November weanling acquisition and was withdrawn from last August’s Fasig Saratoga yearling sale to be given more time to develop. Turned over to Nick de Meric–who has worked with Pokoik’s youngsters for decades–the daughter of stakes-winning juvenile Flattermewithroses (Flatter) covered a quarter in :20 4/5. “It’s bittersweet–I loved her, and I would’ve been really thrilled to keep her and have her in my barn and win the [GI] Spinaway again this year, but for that kind of money you’ve got to sell,” Contessa said. “That’s our game–we buy them, and sell them. But it’s a bittersweet sale because we think the world of her.” Pokoik and Contessa won last year’s Spinaway with Sippican Harbor (Orb), who they purchased for $260,000 at the 2017 Saratoga sale, but bought back here 12 months ago for $110,000. They also sold eventual ‘TDN Rising Star’ Tijori (Will Take Charge)–who was also a $260,000 Saratoga buy–for $525,000 at this auction last term. For more on Contessa and Pokoik’s past pinhook successes, see OBS March Should be Win-Win for Contessa from TDN‘s 2014 March Sale coverage. As for the price paid for hip 169 Tuesday, Contessa said, “That’s what it took to let go of her–we were thinking $550,000ish, so once we hit that number, I knew that, ‘Well, I get to watch her.’ I’ll probably be sitting on my couch one day watching her win a big race.” He added, “This one’s a nice one–she might be the best one we’ve ever sold.” –@BDiDonatoTDN Thomas Strikes Early for No Nay Never Filly Trainer Jonathan Thomas went to $525,000 on behalf of an undisclosed client early in Tuesday’s OBS March session to take home a filly from the second crop of Europe’s leading freshman sire No Nay Never (Ire) (click for No Nay Never: A Transatlantic Success Story). Purchased for €150,000 by Rabbah Bloodstock at last year’s Goffs Orby sale, the striking bay was consigned to the sale by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables as hip 24. She breezed an eighth in a co-quickest :9 4/5 during Thursday’s first breeze show. ThoroStride Video. “She was a lovely filly,” Thomas said. “We expected her to bring a little more–I’m not saying we would’ve gone for her at that–but, at that price, with what she did, it was definitely a worthwhile purchase.” In addition to being by a buzz stallion in the form of 2013 G1 Darley Prix Morny hero, hip 24 boasts a page full of European black-type. Her winning dam is a full-sister to G1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Amonita (GB) (Anabaa). The Feb. 4 foal was bred in Ireland by Minch & Fullbury Bloodstock. “Scat Daddy has been an amazing influence on the breed, and certainly No Nay Never has gotten off to a great start,” Thomas said. “The marketplace has become very international. A filly like her, with that kind of pedigree, no matter where she sells, she’s going to be an attractive specimen.” He added, “The breeze was beautiful. She had great mechanics. I thought she was a very, very good specimen on the end of the shank and obviously she has the sort of pedigree where if she can run, she has a lot of allure.” –@BDiDonatoTDN Carlisle ‘Strong’ on Quick-Breezing Filly Up-and-coming bloodstock agent Lauren Carlisle signed the biggest ticket of her career Tuesday to secure hip 134 for $425,000 on behalf of Houston, Texas-based Greg Hoffman’s Hoffman Family Stables. The filly from the first crop of GISW Wicked Strong was consigned to the sale by Mayberry Farm, Agent V and earned the co-bullet for a :9 4/5 furlong during the first under-tack preview. She’ll be trained by Tom Amoss. “I loved her–she had one of the best breezes of the day,” Carlisle said. “Her video was very impressive, she had a good mind at the barn, and physically there was not much wrong with her. Hopefully she proves it all right.” While the jury is still out on Wicked Strong, and this crowded freshman sire crop as a whole, Carlisle said she’s been impressed with the Spendthrift stallion’s progeny thus far. “He had good breezes; his horses showed up here,” she said. “I think he’s got every chance to do well. Time will tell.” Hip 134 was a $16,000 KEENOV weanling and $30,000 OBSOCT yearling. She’s a half to the stakes-placed Petecarol (Not For Love). Carlisle, who was active at both the yearling and breeding stock sales last fall, purchased two-time romper Mick’s Star (Point of Entry) on Hoffman’s behalf for $90,000 at last year’s OBS April sale. “This is a good group of horses in my opinion,” the 28-year-old said, noting that she was also the underbidder on the $550,000 Justin Phillip colt. “There are plenty to be bought, but for the ones you really want, obviously like with any sale, I think you have to be aggressive. I also think with the increased purses that Churchill Downs recently announced and with other increases around the country, it’s going to be more competitive to buy horses because people think they can potentially make their money back quicker.” –@BDiDonatoTDN View the full article

Amer Abdulaziz’s Phoenix Thoroughbreds was extended to $825,000 to acquire hip 240, a colt by Bernardini as the first session of the OBS March Sale neared its conclusion Tuesday afternoon. The dark bay is a son of Inish Glora (Regal Classic), a two-time Sovereign Award-winning turf female in Canada and dam of five winners from seven to race, including MSW Roan Inish (Elusive Quality) and GSP In Equality (Quality Road). Bred by Robert Costigan in partnership with Godolphin, the Apr. 6 foal was a $270,000 Keeneland November weanling and returned to the same sales ring last September, selling to Scott and Evan Dilworth for $275,000 as a yearling. Hip 240 was consigned to the March sale by Raul Reyes’s King’s Equine as agent. View the full article

It’s always among the key questions on everyone’s mind as 2-year-olds begin racing when Keeneland opens in April and the first-year sires have their first chance to show off their progeny. In this ongoing series, we have sought the opinion of several top judges as to who will be on top of the podium when 2019 is in the books. MIKE RYAN, Owner, Breeder, Bloodstock Agent LIAM’S MAP “You have to remember that who I think is going to be the best overall sire and who do I think is going to be the top freshman sire are two entirely different things. I think Liam’s Map could be the leading freshman sire. The Liam’s Maps are going to be more precocious and I have seen a number that I really like. I don’t think they’ll be limited to sprinting. I think they will be summer 2 year-olds, but I don’t think they will be limited to summer 2 year-old stakes. I think they will stretch out, as well, like he did. He will have more starters than American Pharoah and Honor Code because I think they’ll be a little sharper and a little more precocious. I love American Pharoah and when it’s all said and done I think he will be the best sire among this group. I am also high on Honor Code. With Pharoah, I was very impressed by his yearlings. I’m impressed by the ones I’ve seen down here at the training centers. I agree with Eddie Woods. I don’t think they will be sprinters, although Niall Brennan and myself have a Pharoah filly who is very fast. I like the way they move. I like the way they handle their training. They do it with ease and they have a lot of class.　I would expect to see some of them run when the races stretch out to 6 ½ and 7 furlongs. I think you’ll see more of them run in September and October when we’re talking a mile and beyond. They’re going to excel when they go two turns. At the same time, I do expect to see some summer 2 year-olds. I expect to see some of them show up at Saratoga and Del Mar. I am extremely impressed with him as a potential sire. I am impressed to the point where I am breeding two mares to him this year.” View the full article

A handsome dark bay colt by Pioneerof the Nile out of Grade I producer Golden Artemis (Malibu Moon) was hammered down to Larry Best’s OXO Equine LLC for $1.2 million, becoming the second horse to breach the seven-figure barrier on the first of two days of trade at the OBS March Sale in Central Florida. The Apr. 30 foal, bred in Kentucky by Dattt Farm and cataloged as hip 194, was offered at last year’s Keeneland September sale and was originally led out unsold on a bid of $190,000, but was sold post-RNA for $175,000 to Sonny Stokes. He was consigned to the Tuesday’s session by Hoby and Layna Kight. Hip 194 is a son of Golden Artemis, twice stakes-placed at the races and the dam of My Conquestadory (Artie Schiller), winner of the grassy GII Summer S. against the boys before defeating her peers in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. The latter is also a stakes producer, as her son Bourbon War (Tapit) ran on strongly to complete the exacta in the GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 2. View the full article

CHELTENHAM, UK—It has been 11 years since high winds threatened the continuation of the Cheltenham Festival and that same year, 2008, was the last time the G1 Unibet Champion Hurdle was won by a 5-year-old. Statistics, not to mention lofty reputations of his fellow contenders, may have weighed heavily against Espoir d’Allen (Fr) (Voix Du Nord {Fr}), but it proved no barrier to success for the mud-lover, who battled home through Storm Gareth to land the first-day feature by 15 lengths. The victory was the eighth in the race and the third in a row for owner JP McManus, who may well have expected to be lifting the trophy again courtesy of Buveur d’Air (Fr) (Crillon {FR}). But in an eventful race, the dual champion fell at the third, bringing down Sharjah (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}) as he tumbled, while eventual runner-up Melon (GB) (Medicean {GB}) continued to pile on the pressure up front. Favourite Apple’s Jade (Fr) (Saddler Maker {Ire}), one of three mares in the race, kept pace with him until weakening with three flights left to jump, leaving Laurina (Fr) (Spanish Moon) looking the main threat before she too found the testing conditions beyond her mettle. Espoir d’Allen, meanwhile, was still travelling like a fresh horse under Mark Walsh and from two out left little room for doubt that he would provide a first championship success for his awestruck trainer Gavin Cromwell. “I’m lost for words,” said Cromwell, who combines training with farriery. “Espoir d’Allen is French-bred and they do mature earlier. He has been winning Grade 3s this season, so to go and do that is fantastic. He wouldn’t stand out in the string on his work, but he’s a gorgeous-looking horse.” Cromwell, who trains a string of around 50 horses in Co Meath, paid tribute to Charlie Swan, the winner of three Champion Hurdles in the same colours aboard Istabraq (Ire), for finding Espoir d’Allen for McManus. He added, “I started training a few point-to-pointers and enjoyed it, and it went from there. We still do a little bit of farriery because it’s the only way to make it pay. The game is full of talented trainers and better trainers than me – right the way through from the point-to-point ranks to the top of the game.” It was also a first champion hurdle victory for jockey Mark Walsh, who said, “For a five-year-old to do that against what we thought was one of the best Champion Hurdles run in the past few years, he is a right little horse. It is unbelievable. “He is the first 5-year-old since Katchit (GB) to win the race and hopefully there will be a few more Champion Hurdles in him yet. “Me and Gavin spoke before the race and the plan was to ride him for a place—we got a place, it was first place!” Espoir d’Allen, a product of France’s AQPS (Autre Que Pur Sang) programme, was bred by Bruno Vagne, who travelled to Cheltenham to see the youngster become the first Grade 1 winner in six generations of his family. “I bought his grandam from my father,” Vagne explained. “I sent her to Maille Pistol (Fr) as I won a nomination to him in an AQPS breeders’ draw, and now their daughter has produced a Champion Hurdle winner. It’s a very versatile family as it includes three-milers, chasers and hurdlers.” Wednesday Inspection Called Heavy rain throughout Tuesday morning and right up until the first race meant the ground was officially changed to soft, and while that may have been inconvenient for many of the runners, of greater concern are the increasing storm conditions predicted for Wednesday. A precautionary inspection has been called for 8am. “Strong, gusting winds are forecast for the area on Wednesday, but their precise strength and location are not possible to predict in advance,” said Ian Renton, Regional Director for the south-west region of Jockey Club Racecourses. “We are currently looking at forecasts of gusts in excess of 45mph, which may present challenges out on the track and around the site, dependent on their direction. We remain optimistic and we will assess the situation in the morning. “It is important to let customers and participants know the exact situation as it stands. While our focus is to race, should the weather conditions not allow this we would stage the whole of Wednesday’s card on Saturday. This would allow for all seven scheduled races to be restaged to provide participants with their opportunity to race at The Festival and with originally advertised conditions, which would not be possible in the two remaining days.” Ireland Vs France The first day of the Cheltenham Festival could be viewed as Ireland’s day, with four of the seven winners hailing from Irish stables, but on the breeding front it was the French who could claim bragging rights. Five of the first-day winners were bred in France, including three of the four Grade 1 winners. Strike one came in the opening race, the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, in which the Willie Mullins-trained Klassical Dream (Fr) (Dream Well {Fr}) was another to relish the softened conditions, tanking to a 4 1/2-length victory in the hands of Ruby Walsh. The win was a poignant one for the gelding’s owner Jo Coleman, who inherited the horse when her husband John died from bone marrow cancer last summer. “It seems such a shock to be here to see John’s horse run, let alone win,” she said. “He bought Klassical Dream two years ago and dreamed he might be a good horse, and he’s proved it. He never got to see the horse run at all.” She continued, “I didn’t really watch the race, I just listened to the boys around me getting more and more excited as it went on. I was too nervous to watch. John was a Willie Mullins fanatic, which is why he put his horses with him. “I don’t know I can put into words how I feel, but it has blown our minds. I’ve brought some of John’s ashes with me in my handbag because he said he wanted to be here, but he knew his time was limited. He’s been at the Festival for the last 20 years and I wanted to make sure he got here.” Willie Mullins, who has trained Klassical Dream to three consecutive wins this season since he joined his stable from France, added, “John Coleman had a lot of cheaper horses with me and then he retired and sold his business two years ago and said, ‘Here’s a few quid, go and buy me a Cheltenham horse’, and this is the horse. Jo and his family are here today and it’s fantastic, a very emotional victory. “Klassical Dream was well within his own cruising speed travelling there, so he looks a real one, especially in this type of ground, and we know he can go up in trip no problem. He’s a very, very good horse. His work last weekend at the Curragh, we came away thinking here’s one who will take a lot of beating at Cheltenham, no matter what he came up against.” Hubert Honoré was at Cheltenham on Tuesday to support Klassical Dream, whom he co-bred with Laure Guillaume from the Septieme Ciel mare Klassical Way (Fr). Though this was the first time Honoré had visited the Festival, it is not the first time his name has appeared on the roll of honour. In fact, it is the third consecutive year that he has featured as the co-breeder of a Festival winner. The 5-year-old follows in the footsteps of the remarkable veteran Pacha Du Polder (Fr) (Muhtathir {Ire}), who on Friday will line up for his fifth appearance at jump racing’s biggest meeting, having won the last two runnings of the St James’s Place Foxhunter Chase. “I thought maybe Klassical Dream would still be a little tender for this type of race because he is only five years old and he was a bit tense before the race, though they tell me he is always like that. He doesn’t look like a powerful horse but he has a good stride. He’s fantastic,” said Honoré, who is more usually engaged breeding Flat horses at his Haras d’Omméel in Normandy. Among the recent graduates of the farm is the G1 Doomben Cup winner Pornichet (Fr) (Vespone {Ire}), who was also third behind Karakontie (Bernstein) in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains before being exported to Australia, where he was won three group races. The breeder added, ” Really I just look at the horses I have in front of me, and maybe once in every five years I have a good jumper.” Mullins rolls on Klassical Dream became the 59th Cheltenham Festival winner for jockey Ruby Walsh and the 62nd for Willie Mullins but the trainer soon notched number 63 when Duc De Genievres (Fr), ridden by Paul Townend, landed the G1 Racing Post Arkle Trophy. The 6-year-old, bred by Colette Serre, is a son of the Haras d’Enki-based Buck’s Boum, a full-brother to one of the most popular horses in recent Festival history, the four-time G1 Stayers’ Hurdle winner Big Buck’s (Fr) (Cadoudal {Fr}). “It’s very early days at the Cheltenham Festival but it’s fantastic to have two winners by this stage,” said Mullins after winning his fourth Arkle Chase. “It feels very good, considering where I thought I was two or three weeks ago, looking at the string and going round our ground and horses we had tried to get runs into and couldn’t. It looks like we’ve got two nice horses there anyway, and a few to come.” Things didn’t all go the trainer’s way, however. The G1 OLBG Mares’ Hurdle, which he has won in nine of the 12 years since its inception, appeared to be at the mercy of red-hot favourite Benie Des Dieux (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}), who brought back bad memories of Annie Power’s shocking fall of 2016 when crashing out at the final flight. Her misfortune meant that trainer-jockey brothers Dan and Harry Skelton recorded their first Grade 1 win at the Festival with the 7-year-old Dubai Destination mare Roksana (Ire). So Easy For A Plus Tard The widest-margin winner of the day was A Plus Tard (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}), who bid a cheery ‘see you later’ to his arrivals in the listed Close Brothers Novices’ Chase as he scorched up the hill for home to give Rachael Blackmore, one of the stars of the Irish season, her first Festival victory. Bred in France by Antonia Devin and trained in Ireland by Henry de Bromhead, the 5-year-old carries the patriotic red, white and blue silks of one of Britain’s biggest breeding operations, Cheveley Park Stud. Though more noted for their exploits on the Flat, David and Patricia Thompson have long had the odd jumper in training and won the Grand National in 1992 with Party Politics (GB). A currently beefed-up National Hunt string sees them with a total of six runners at Cheltenham this week, including three today (Wednesday). In an attritional running of the four-mile National Hunt Challenge Cup for amateur riders, only four of the 18 starters completed the race, which was won by the Ben Pauling-trained Le Breuil (Fr) (Anzillero {Ger}) under a typically patient ride from the crack rider of this division, Irishman Jamie Codd. Pauling’s former boss, Nicky Henderson, is the most successful trainer of all time at the Festival and, despite the disappointment of seeing Buveur d’Air crash out of the Champion Hurdle, did manage to get one winner on the board when Beware The Bear (Ire) (Shantou {Ire}) and Jeremiah McGrath held on for success in the G3 Ultima Handicap Chase. View the full article

Steeplechase racing, a longtime Virginia tradition, will be a regular feature at Colonial Downs when the New Kent County track reopens under new ownership and management this summer, the National Steeplechase Association and Colonial Downs Group announced Tuesday. Colonial Downs will open its 15-date meet Thursday, Aug. 8, and will race on a three-day-a-week schedule through Saturday, Sept. 7. Steeplechase racing will be featured during each racing week. While subject to change, current plans call for two jump races each Saturday of the meet. “The National Steeplechase Association Board of Directors and I are delighted to be a part of the inaugural meet of the new Colonial Downs,” said NSA President Guy J. Torsilieri. “We have a very large constituency in Virginia, and there’s great enthusiasm in the jump-racing community for returning to a tremendous facility.” “Colonial Downs welcomes the return of steeplechase racing to the Secretariat Turf Course, a 1 1/8-mile circuit that is–at 180 feet–the widest in North America,” said Jill Byrne, Colonial’s vice president of racing operations. “Jump racing has such a deep history in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region, so we are thrilled to host a time-honored tradition as racing returns to the Commonwealth.” View the full article

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.), which encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding, has announced the winners from its 2018 performance awards program. The performance awards recognize Thoroughbreds accumulating the most points at all horse shows in each of the award categories and divisions throughout the year. “We received applications representing 560 Thoroughbreds competing in more than 11,500 classes and divisions during the 2018 award year,” said Kristin Leshney, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and the administrator of T.I.P. “Winners will receive ribbons, prize money, and a variety of prizes, including custom Horseware coolers, stall bags, duffle bags, and jackets.” The complete list of winners and participants is available at tjctip.com/PerformanceAwardsWinners. Performance awards will be available once again in 2019 and will be based on results in shows from Dec. 1, 2018, through Nov. 30, 2019. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 20.in View the full article