Wandering Eyes

Galleo Conti (Fr) (Poliglote {GB}), a juvenile half-brother to MG1SW-chaser Silvinaco Conti (Fr) (Dom Alco {Fr}), topped the first day of the Arqana Summer Sale at Deauville on Tuesday. Lot 165 brought €180,000 from trainer Guillaume Macaire, which was a new record for a store at Arqana. The bay is also a half-brother to Toscana Conti (Fr) (Dom Alco {Fr}) and Ucello Conti (Fr) (Martaline {GB}), listed winners in the jumping sphere and a full-brother to SP Class Conti (Fr). “Pierre [Pilarski] and I are going to partner in this horse,” said Macaire. “I know the family well, as I used to train Silvianaco Conti and Ucello Conti among others. We are looking for quality horses and I couldn’t bypass this one. He is also one of the very least Poliglotes around, so we are thrilled to have him.” After the first day of selling, 118 sold from 190 offered (62.1%), grossing €3,401,700. The average was €28,828 (-1.8%) and the median was €20,000. During the 2-year-old store portion of Tuesday’s trade, six brought six-figure prices, double 2017’s figures, while the aggregate was €2,980,000. The Summer Sale continues on Wednesday at 11 a.m. local time. View the full article

After finishing off the board for the first time in her career, trainer Ralph Nicks reported that the champion 2-year-old filly will be turned out to recover from bone bruising. View the full article

1st-BEL, $75K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, post time: 1:30 p.m. ET VIRGINIA ELOISE (Curlin) was acquired by St Elias Stable in utero for $500K at KEENOV in 2015 and with good reason, as her second dam, the GSW Miss Macy Sue (Trippi) has been responsible for ‘TDN Rising Star’, GISW and freshman sire Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song), GSW & GISP Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway) and fellow Rising Star, SW & GSP Taylor S (Medaglia d’Oro). Her yearling half-sister is cataloged as hip 39 through Lane’s End at FTSAUG next month. TJCIS PPs 4th-LRC, $40k, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, post time: 5:28 p.m. ET BELLAFINA (Quality Road) was led out unsold on a bid of $220K at KEESEP last fall, but progressed over the next six months and was hammered down to Kaleem Shah for $800K at FTFMAR after drilling an eighth in :10 flat. Her stakes-placed dam Akron Moon (Malibu Moon) has already bred this filly’s SW & GSP full-brother Diamond King and her second dam Akronism (Not For Love) was a Grade III winner on turf and synth. New Jersey-bred Lil Miss Moppet (Uncle Mo), a daughter of MSP Winilisious (Lawyer Ron), fetched $200K at FTKJUL last summer and double that price from Phoenix Thoroughbreds at OBSMAR after working her eighth of a mile in :10 flat. TJCIS PPs 6th-LRC, $40k, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, post time: 6:28 p.m. EDT JADE DEE (Congrats), a $90K KEENOV weanling, was knocked down for $270K at FTSAUG the following summer, the second most-expensive of 49 yearlings by her underrated sire to sell in 2016. Owned by Charles and Susan Chu, the bay is out of an unraced half-sister to GISW Mona de Momma (Speightstown). Her third dam includes Mr. Greeley (Gone West) and GI Kentucky Derby hero Street Sense (Street Cry {Ire}). TJCIS PPs View the full article

Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm’s 2014 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild) entered stud in 2016 and saw a warm reception at the weanling sales in 2017, cracking the top five among first-crop sires by average price. With a pedigree featuring a female line that traces back to the great Courtly Dee and a race record that displays both versatility and speed, Bayern could see his stock rise even further as the yearling sales season begins. In the latest in a multi-part series featuring first-crop yearling sires ahead of the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, the TDN‘s Lucas Marquardt sat down with John Sikura of Hill ‘n’ Dale to discuss the young stallion’s prospects. LM: Bayern was a throwback horse in a lot of ways as a 3-year-old. You don’t see that many 3-year-olds start 10 times in a season and build in progression from a seven furlong graded race to the GI Breeders Cup Classic. Can you talk about his durability and versatility, and how that translates to him being an exciting stallion prospect? JS: Bayern was a horse of exceptional talent–he was very fast. I thought his race in the [GII] Woody Stephens on Belmont Day was exceptional. He drew off and won by open lengths. He then competed against the older horses the same year. He won the Breeders Cup Classic. While there was some legitimate controversy about the race, if you look at his race record in total, he was obviously a horse of immense quality. He could win from 7/8ths to a mile and a quarter. For a 3-year-old to beat older horses winning the Classic, it’s really a test of an exceptional horse. LM: He hails from one of the great American families–you can trace him back to Courtly Dee. It’s been a sire-producing family, it’s been a family of great females. Talk about that family a little bit and then talk about the opportunities that presented to breeders. JS: He’s certainly well-bred enough to be a significant sire. He gets beautiful yearlings. He’s really a well made horse. He sold for $320,000 as a 2-year-old. Donato Lanni bought him, Bob Baffert loved him, both as a 2-year-old and loved him as a racehorse. He legitimately thought he was a brilliant, brilliant horse. So, all the right people have endorsed the horse. His first foals sold extremely well and we expect his yearlings to be really well received and he’s a horse we’re really excited about. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"John Sikura Discusses Bayern","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/277543996.hd.mp4?s=0d65401b92aee5d9d5e0b7605cb79fb35a3966bb&profile_id=174","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/275700429.hd.mp4?s=fe667b38920a2ce0903e3f7e6df26fda01ea75e1&profile_id=174","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} LM: I thought it was interesting that his median was slightly above his average, and both were high for a stud fee–which to me indicates there was broad quality across his weanlings. Is that something you saw with his weanlings and now with his yearlings? JS: Yeah, universally we saw quality–we saw them well received at auction. He’ll have a lot more yearlings to sell than he did weanlings, so I would expect as solid as he was selling weanlings, he’ll be as much or more solid when the yearlings are sent to auction. So, he’s a horse that we were bullish about, we supported him with a lot of our own mares and clients supported him. We bred in excess of 100 mares every year, which is really great support for a new horse–and we’re looking forward to next year when his 2-year-olds run. LM: Is he a horse you expected to do very well at the 2-year-old sales next year? JS: He was a brilliant 2-year-old himself. If he reproduces horses of his quality, of his aptitude, you’d expect that there would be 2-year-olds that train fast and go well who are are really well received at auction. We expect that he’ll have several offspring that will fit that mold. LM: He’s a horse that you could say he was an incredible sprinter that could stretch his speed or a true Classic kind of horse that was just incredibly fast. Is he throwing one particular type that you’re seeing? Does he kind of get a run of the gambit in terms of the types that he’s getting, sprinter/miler types and Classic types, or is he throwing one particular type do you think? JS: The Bayern foals–and now yearlings–are very athletic, they’re very balanced, they really fit the picture from head to toe, they look like they are athletes. That’s probably one quality that is consistent–they have good size, they have good scope, they move well, loads of quality. Whether they will be early 2-year-olds or whether they’ll be Classic type horses, time will tell. Certainly in his race record and his ability show that he was an equal performer either going short, going long, one turn, two turn. So I would expect he’d give versatility in his offspring as he was such a versatile, high-end race horse himself. LM: From your recent experience with Violence and Maclean’s Music, can you talk about what it takes to make a young sire and how that relates to Bayern and how heavily you supported him? JS: One of the commonalities of every horse that we stand at stud is that we support them with our own mares. We want to give them the best chance to succeed. We believe that our program of raising horses is exemplified by Grade I winners and outstanding racehorses have been raised here at the farm. We hand select mares, we buy mares that we think suit and fit a particular stallion. We probably bred approximately 20 mares to the horse every year of our own. We’ve had great support, with world class horses–SF Bloodstock has bred very nice mares to the horse. So I think we have a good team, a good partnership, a good group of people that are supporting the horse. View the full article

Co-owner Sol Kumin said Monomoy Girl is expected to run in the 1 1/8-mile Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Saratoga July 22, but added that the Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner will most likely bypass the 1 1/4-mile Alabama Stakes (G1) Aug. 18. View the full article

Zoom and Fish Stable, Charlie Spiring and Newtown Anner Stud’s champion Caledonia Road (Quality Road) will be shut down for the remainder of 2018 and turned out due to bone bruising, according to trainer Ralph Nicks. The bay, named champion 2-year-old filly of 2017 off the strength of a convincing GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies triumph, most recently ran last of five in the GI Acorn S. June 9 at Belmont. It was also announced that Caledonia Road will be offered at public auction later in the year. “It will be tough to let her go,” said managing partner Luc Paiement. “She was a brilliant 2-year-old with a pedigree to be a much better older filly. She has all the makings of a top broodmare.” Bred in Florida by Vegso Racing Stable, Caledonia Road was bought for $140,000 by Zoom & Fish Stable as a Keeneland September yearling. A debut victress last summer at Saratoga, she was second in the GI Frizette S. before her Breeders’ Cup heroics. “She is a one-of-a-kind talent and has international appeal,” said Nick Sallusto of Sallusto and Albina Bloodstock, who also manage Newtown Anner Stud and will be assisting in the filly’s sale. “It is a privilege to be associated with her.” View the full article

Brad and Misty Grady’s Grade I winner Girvin (Tale of Ekati–Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon) has been retired due to a soft tissue injury. Most famous for capturing the GI betfair.com Haskell Invitational S. last summer at Monmouth, the dark bay retires with a record of 10-4-3-0 and $1,642,392 in earnings. “Girvin gave me and my family experiences we will always cherish,” Brad Grady said. “We have been extremely fortunate to be around some superior horses, but Girvin was the best. His racing career has ended, but we are looking forward to another chapter beginning.” Bred by Bob Austin and John Witte, Girvin was bought by Bobby Dodd for $130,000 as Fasig-Tipton October yearling. A debut winner to begin his career in December of 2016, he annexed the GII Risen Star S. and GII Louisiana Derby last winter and finished second to subsequent GI Metropolitan H. victor Bee Jersey (Jersey Town) in the GIII Steve Sexton Mile S. last out. “Girvin did everything we asked him to do,” said trainer Joe Sharp. “We always believed in Girvin from day one, and the memories he gave me and my team will last a lifetime.” View the full article

Sunday Racing Company’s Real Steel (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}-Loves Only Me, by Storm Cat), a winner of the 2016 G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan (video), has been retired due to an injury in his right foreleg, reported Sports Hochi on Tuesday. He will stand at Shadai Stallion Station in 2019. A first out winner in his lone start at 2, it was his only time competing outside of group company in 17 total starts, with a Group 3 win on his resume in his first start at three. Runner-up in both the G1 Japanese 2000 Guineas and the G1 Japanese St Leger split by a fourth in the G1 Japanese Derby from his six appearances that year, Real Steel ran third in the G2 Nakayama Kinen in February of 2016 one start prior to his Meydan victory. Second in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) that fall, he returned to the winner’s circle second out at five in the G2 Mainichi Okan in an abbreviated campaign and was third in this year’s G1 Dubai Turf. The Yoshito Yahagi trainee retires with a record of 17-4-5-2 and $7,508,769 in earnings. Bred by Northern Farm, Real Steel comes from a top-class female family, as he counts dual GI Breeders’ Cup Mile heroine Miesque (Nureyev) as his third dam. Out of the unraced Storm Cat mare Loves Only Me, he is a full-brother to Japanese SW & MGSP Prodigal Son (Jpn) and SP Langley (Jpn). Loves Only Me is a half to G3 Balanchine S. victress I Am Beautiful (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) and European highweight and MG1SW Rumplestiltskin (Ire) (Danehill), herself already responsible for G1 Yorkshire Oaks scorer Tapestry (Ire) and Group 3 winner John F Kennedy (Ire), both to the cover of Galileo (Ire). View the full article

Pounded down into 3-10 favoritism for the Tuesday opener at Indiana Grand, James McIngvale’s VERITAS (c, 2, Goldencents–Tiz the Mambo) made light work of five overmatched rivals to easily become the sixth individual first-crop winner for his sire (by Into Mischief). The last to load, Veritas was away in good order and led after the opening half-furlong, covering the opening quarter in :22.90. Given a bit of a breather on the turn, the April foal was kicked further in front off the home corner and was pushed out mostly hands and heels by Marcelino Pedroza to score by about four lengths. A $15,000 Keeneland November weanling, Veritas was hammered down to Mattress Mac for $40,000 at this year’s OBS March Sale. The winner, produced by an unraced half-sister to Italian Group 3 winner Manbala (Fr) (Linamix {Fr}) has a weanling half-brother by Daaher. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O-James McIngvale; B-Dan Davidson (KY); T-Laura Wohlers. View the full article

Triple Group 1 winner Guignol (Ger) (Cape Cross {Ire}-Guadalupe {Ger}, by Monsun {Ger}), a late scratch due to injury out of the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on Sunday, has been retired, reported Galopponline.de. Trained by Jean-Pierre Carvalho, the 2016/17 G1 Pastorius Grosser Preis von Bayern hero raced for breeder Baron von Ullmann. Also successful in the 2017 G1 Longines Grosser Preis von Baden, the dark bay retires with a record of 16-6-0-4 and $512,970 in earnings. “Guignol was not hurt so badly that he could not start again next season, but he will be seven and we would not want to compromise the health of such a valuable stallion prospect,” said Gebhard Apelt, who manages Gestut Schlenderhan for Baron von Ullmann. Out of G1 Oaks d’Italia heroine Guadalupe, the 6-year-old is a half-brother to German Group 1 winner Guiliani (Ire) (Tertullian), French SP Gauguin (Ger) (Tertullian) and German MSW & GSP Guantana (Ger) (Dynaformer). The last-named already has two black-type winners to her credit in Guardini (Fr) (Dalakhani {Ire}), a group winner in both Germany and France, and German SW Gouache (Ger) (Shamardal). Stud plans have yet to be finalised. View the full article

Royal Ascot hero Accidental Agent (GB) (Delegator {GB}) could return to the Berkshire circuit for the G2 Summer Mile at Ascot on Saturday week. Trained by Eve Johnson Houghton and owned and bred by her mother, Gaie, the 4-year-old caused a 33-1 upset in the G1 Queen Anne S. on opening day of Royal Ascot two weeks ago. The son of Delegator does not hold an entry in the G1 Sussex S. at Goodwood and with connections shying away from stumping up the £70,000 supplementary fee, he could instead drop back to Group 2 level at Ascot. “All roads lead to the QEII [at Ascot in October], it’s just a question of what route we take to get there, said Johnson Houghton. “The [G1] Prix Jacques le Marois [at Deauville on Aug. 12] looks good, but we’ve another six weeks until that and we might run him again beforehand. The Summer Mile back at Ascot is in the mix. He would have to be supplemented for the Sussex S. and while I’ll never say never, I would say it more unlikely than likely. The QEII is a big target and maybe he could go for the Breeders’ Cup after that, but we’ll see.” View the full article

Kentucky invader Red Ruby looks to build off the form that powered the daughter of Tiznow to her first graded stakes win last time out when she starts against nine other challengers in the $300,000 Delaware Oaks (G3) at Delaware Park July 7. View the full article

Co-owner Sol Kumin says Monomoy Girl is expected to run in the 1 1/8-mile Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Saratoga on July 22, but adds that the Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner will most likely bypass the 1 1/4-mile Alabama Stakes (G1) on Aug. 18. View the full article

While Page McKenney settled for second place in the $100,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes (G3) June 30 at Monmouth Park, that outcome was good enough to vault the 8-year-old veteran to the top in the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship series. View the full article

MG1SW Redkirk Warrior (GB) (Notnowcato {GB}) worked well on the Newmarket gallops on Tuesday morning in advance of an intended start in the G1 Darley July Cup at headquarters on July 14. A winner of the G1 Black Caviar Lightning S. and twice victorious in the G1 Lexus Newmarket H. Down Under after a brief career in the Northern Hemisphere, the David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig trainee ran 10th in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot on July 23. “I rode Redkirk Warrior in a light piece of work on the Al Bahathri polytrack gallop this morning and he seemed extremely well in himself,” said travelling head lad to David Hayes Dara O’Meachair to the Newmarket notes team. “He seems to have held his weight reasonably well, we have tweaked his training slightly and it’s now just a case of keeping him ticking over until race day. To be honest we still can’t quite put our finger on the reason for his performance at Ascot and are hopeful that we will see more of the horse we know come next weekend. Regan Bayliss, his regular rider back home, is arriving on Saturday. He has never ridden in Europe before and is hoping to pick up some rides before the July Cup.” View the full article

Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., has canceled its July 3 racing program due to extreme heat . The track is slated to resume racing with its July 7 card. On tap was the Dr. James Penny Memorial Stakes (G3T). View the full article

Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., has canceled its July 3 racing program due to extreme heat . The track is slated to resume racing with its July 7 card. On tap was the Dr. James Penny Memorial Stakes (G3T). View the full article

Little Kim (GB) (Garswood {GB}), who conquered Carlisle’s stiff five furlongs on debut June 7, was a shade over two lengths off Signora Cabello (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) when a close-up eighth in Royal Ascot’s June 20 G2 Queen Mary S. over the same distance in her only other start last time and pounced late to provide Cheveley Park Stud freshman sire Garswood (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) with a first stakes triumph in Tuesday’s G3 Prix du Bois at Deauville. Reluctant to load before stalking the pace in fifth through halfway as ‘TDN Rising Star’ Chelsea Cloisters (First Samurai) set the tone, she came under increased pressure from the quarter-mile marker to go third entering the final eighth and was driven out to gain an advantage nearing the line for a career high. Little Kim is one of two winners and the leading performer produced by Listed Marygate Fillies’ S. victress Primo Lady (GB) (Lucky Story), and she is a half-sister to Listed Mizdirection S. winner and G2 Queen Mary S. third Out of the Flames (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), a yearling colt by Due Diligence and a colt foal by Equiano (Fr). Her family also includes G1 Prix Morny heroine Silca’s Sister (GB) (Inchinor {GB}) and G1 Moyglare Stud S. and G1 Cheveley Park S. placegetter Silca Chiave (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Tuesday, Deauville, France PRIX DU BOIS-G3, €80,000, Deauville, 7-3, 2yo, 5fT, :58.04, gd. 1–LITTLE KIM (GB), 122, f, 2, by Garswood (GB) 1st Dam: Primo Lady (GB) (SW-Eng), by Lucky Story 2nd Dam: Lady Natilda (GB), by First Trump (GB) 3rd Dam: Ramajana, by Shadeed 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (45,000gns Ylg ’17 TAOCT). O-Nick Bradley Racing 35, K Sohi & Elaine Burke; B-Gary Hodson & Peter Moule; T-Karl Burke; J-Ben Curtis. €40,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, €44,740. *1/2 to Out of the Flames (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), SW-US & GSP-Eng, $172,091. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Chelsea Cloisters, 122, f, 2, First Samurai–Postulant, by Pulpit. ($125,000 Ylg ’17 FTKJUL). O-Hat Creek Racing; B-Alastar Thoroughbred Co (KY); T-Wesley Ward. €16,000. 3–Shumookhi (Ire), 122, f, 2, Society Rock (Ire)–Three Knots (Ire), by Chineur (Fr). (£11,000 2yo ’18 TATABR). O-Saeed bin Mohammed Al Qassimi; B-Tally-Ho Stud (IRE); T-Archie Watson. €12,000. Margins: 1, SHD, 1 1/4. Odds: 6.00, 1.90, 21.00. Also Ran: Tudo Bem (Fr), Isalys (Fr), Belladone Spirit (Ire), Primela (Fr), Lovely Miss (Fr), Rope a Dope (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Girvin, winner of the 2017 Betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) who won or placed in seven of 10 starts, has been retired due to a soft tissue injury. View the full article

A good barrier can help the consistent Zero Hedge notch his third victory of the season when he steps out in the Class Three Australian Turf Club Trophy (1,200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. The John Size-trained four-year-old is always around the mark – in his past six starts he has saluted twice and finished within two lengths of the winner on every other occasion. He has come fifth in his past two starts but has been forced to work on both occasions after awkward draws. Two... View the full article

A good barrier can help the consistent Zero Hedge notch his third victory of the season when he steps out in the Class Three Australian Turf Club Trophy (1,200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. The John Size-trained four-year-old is always around the mark – in his past six starts he has saluted twice and finished within two lengths of the winner on every other occasion. He has come fifth in his past two starts but has been forced to work on both occasions after awkward draws. Two... View the full article

Karis Teetan has had another stand-out season of his own but would love nothing more than to help popular trainer Almond Lee retain his licence with a win on course specialist Happy Rocky at Happy Valley. Teetan has 49 winners so far and will finish outright third in the jockeys’ championship but Wednesday night is all about trying to keep Lee in training next term. “Almond is one of the nice guys of Hong Kong racing so I would love to give him one of the wins he needs,”... View the full article

Karis Teetan has had another stand-out season of his own but would love nothing more than to help popular trainer Almond Lee retain his licence with a win on course specialist Happy Rocky at Happy Valley. Teetan has 49 winners so far and will finish outright third in the jockeys’ championship but Wednesday night is all about trying to keep Lee in training next term. “Almond is one of the nice guys of Hong Kong racing so I would love to give him one of the wins he needs,”... View the full article

As a Plan B goes, owning and breeding the winner of what was widely agreed to be the most thrilling clash of the week at Royal Ascot is none too shabby. Bjorn Nielsen has now made welcome room for a Gold Cup within the steadily growing trophy collection of his prized stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who first rose to prominence at the same meeting 12 months earlier when winning the G2 Queen’s Vase. That victory, however, was 20 days later and two furlongs farther than his original target. “I breed stayers by default really,” says Nielsen, whose 13 broodmares and their young stock graze alongside those of the Lloyd Webbers and their select clients at the British and Irish sister farms of Watership Down Stud and Kiltinan Castle Stud. “I’ve had about five of them now—Assessor (Ire), Biographer (GB), Masked Marvel (GB), Michelangelo (GB) and Stradivarius—I didn’t breed them all, some of them were purchased, but all of those horses were really bought or bred with the Derby in mind. “I obviously haven’t got the formula quite right because they’ve turned into really good stayers—not that I mind at all because I love the staying races more than anything apart from the Derby. I think the best race this year [at Ascot]—not the best performance but the best race—was the Gold Cup, no doubt. It’s the most exciting in my mind but the best performance was from Alpha Centauri (Ire).” If Stradivarius provided the main course then no less a satisfying dessert was served 24 hours later by Agrotera (Ire), like the Niarchos family’s Alpha Centauri a daughter of Mastercraftsman (Ire), and another to bear the black jacket and yellow cap of the now familiar Nielsen silks. The sight of the lightly raced 3-year-old scything through the 23-runner field under a classic Jamie Spencer hold-up ride was an equally memorable display. The Sandringham H. may have lost its listed status this year but it surely won’t be long before Agrotera’s name is etched large in black type. “It was a pretty good week, that’s for sure,” says her breeder. “Those kind of weeks aren’t going to happen too often—I’m not Coolmore or Sheikh Mohammed so I know it’s a rarity to breed two winners at Royal Ascot.” Stradivarius hails from a Wildenstein family whose staying credentials have been further embellished in recent years by the G1 Melbourne Cup winner Protectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), and Agrotera’s origins are no less sturdy, despite her two victories at a mile. Her great grandam Sacarina (GB) (Old Vic {GB}) has been responsible for a trio of German Classic winners—all by Monsun—in Samum (Ger), Schiaparelli (Ger) and Salve Regina (Ger), and it is their full-sister Sahel (Ger), bought by the Wertheimers as a yearling, who provided Agrotera’s dam Lombatina (Fr) (King’s Best), bought by Jeremy Brummitt for Nielsen in 2014. Bringing a mare by King’s Best into the fold has given Nielsen the opportunity for some inbreeding to his dam Allegretta (GB) (Lombard {Ger})—a pattern seen in this year’s Derby winner Masar (GB) (New Approach {Ire})—through the use of what must by now be his favourite stallion. Lombatina’s two foals to follow Agrotera, both fillies, are also both daughters of Sea The Stars. He says, “Agrotera is pretty unusual in that she is very stout on her dam’s side and though her dam is by King’s Best, who was a miler, it’s not a family you expect to be really fast. However, I saw that her dam had been out early as a 2-year-old. I would have expected that she would be more one for September time but she won first time up over six furlongs by six lengths in about June, which was quite surprising. She was a very nice individual but she also has a pedigree which makes her easy to mate. There are a lot of options. King’s Best is a three-parts brother to Urban Sea and we’ve tried to double up on one of the best broodmares by using her Guineas-winning grandson. We’ll see what happens.” Even without the replication of Allegretta, what has happened when Nielsen has used Sea The Stars in the past has been more than encouraging. Not only does he own the pre-eminent stayer of the moment in Stradivarius but also the talented Almodovar (GB). Thrice a winner at two and three, he made a comeback from a 589-day lay-off at the age of six to finish just two lengths off another subsequent Royal Ascot winner Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G3 Gordon Richards S. in April followed by a runner-up slot behind Recoletos (Fr) (Whipper) in the G1 Prix d’Ispahan. Frustratingly for his patient owner-breeder, Almodovar has now been temporarily sidelined again. Nielsen is understandably fond of him, not least for his obvious ability but for the fact that he is a grandson of his foundation mare, the dual listed winner and G1 Cheveley Park S. runner-up My Branch (GB) (Distant Relative {GB}). “The My Branch family dominates the band a little bit and it really started with Tante Rose (GB), although I didn’t buy her first,” Nielsen explains. “I remember watching her win her maiden when she was with Barry Hills and thinking to myself that she would be a Group-winning filly. Then when the December catalogue came out I saw that her dam My Branch was in it. At that time she’d had three offspring and Tante Rose was the third. And then the following year Tante Rose came up from Wafic Said’s dispersal and obviously I’d followed her pretty closely having bought My Branch. I took a chance that I could keep her in training and sent her to Roger Charlton after a certain vet told me she’d never run again, but she ran three times and won all three culminating in the Haydock Sprint Cup.” Tante Rose’s half-sister Melodramatic (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) was later also sent by Nielsen to Charlton’s Beckhampton stable. “Roger ran Melodramatic first time out in the Washington Singer, which was a good indication of what he thought of her because he wouldn’t often run a filly first time out against the colts in a listed race,” says Nielsen. “She didn’t turn out as good as we hoped but she was a nice filly. She’s been unlucky as she’s had three foals who have died in various ways but Almodovar is out of her and he’s a seriously good horse. He had some bone bruising but ran very well off a long lay-off and then we went to Paris but Recoletos was just too good for him that day. Unfortunately he has had another small injury but the prognosis is good.” While the wait continues for a further comeback, the bar is being set almost impossibly high by the John Gosden-trained Stradivarius, who will hopefully be seen next attempting to retain his G1 Goodwood Cup crown. “He lost a shoe and was quite lame after the [Gold Cup],” says Nielsen. “There’s a good six weeks between races so I’m pretty hopeful that he’ll show up. John knows how to get him ready for the big occasion.” Having broken his maiden at two in November, just three weeks before his illustrious stablemate Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) over the same mile of Newcastle’s Tapeta course, Stradivarius made a low-key start to his sophomore season by winning a Beverley handicap. It wasn’t long before he posted the first of his Royal Ascot victories before lowering the colours of no less a rival than last year’s Gold Cup winner Big Orange (GB) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}) at Goodwood and running third to Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Crystal Ocean in an epic battle for the St Leger. Nielsen did, however, come close to losing him when he narrowly missed his reserve price at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. “He was a really nice looking yearling, and funnily enough he was a big yearling, which he’s not now.” He recalls. “I had a price on him which wasn’t that far away from where he went in the ring, and I was also made an offer afterwards and I just didn’t sell him. I can’t afford to keep all my colts. I don’t pick and choose and I’ll put what people think are my best colts through the ring and I will sell. I’m lucky that I still have him. There have been others that I’ve bought back before that haven’t turned out so well but I’m unbelievably lucky just to own a horse like him and I’m also very lucky that he came back. Stradivarius and Almodovar are both by Sea The Stars and they both have fantastic temperaments. When they go out on the course they are like police horses, they don’t turn a hair.” With earnings just shy of £1 million at present, Stradivarius’s Gold Cup win puts him in the unique position of having the opportunity to become the first horse to challenge for the Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers’ Million, which was launched in the spring. He needs ‘only’ to add a couple of Cups—Goodwood and Lonsdale—to this season’s haul which already includes the Gold and Yorkshire varieties. Despite the lucrative incentive on offer, Nielsen is sensibly taking a race-by-race approach to the summer targets. “As far as the bonus goes I’ve always really been of the mind that horses aren’t like motorbikes that you can take out and off you go,” he says. “Anything can happen at any time, so I’m not focused on it at all. I’d like to see him get to the Goodwood Cup in one piece and if he won and came out of that then obviously, unless he wasn’t in top order, you’d be pretty much forced to go after the bonus. You don’t turn down £1 million but it’s not something I’m thinking about. I’m thinking about Goodwood only at this stage.” As far as Nielsen’s breeding empire goes, he clearly has another track uppermost in his mind: Epsom. The training centre surrounding the home of the world’s premier Classic may now be diminished in the path of the greater London sprawl but for Nielsen, who moved there as a child in the 1970s, it remains the place which, though not responsible for igniting the racing spark, certainly fanned the flames of an interest which would become a passion. “I was born in South Africa and grew up there for the first 11 years but even before I lived in Epsom, the blue riband of the Turf was very interesting to me,” says Nielsen, who has dual South African and American citizenship but spends much of each summer in Britain, indulging his twin loves of racing and tennis. “When I was a kid they didn’t have TV in South Africa in those days because of censorship but I used to listen on the radio to the commentary of Sea Cottage’s races—he was a great horse in South Africa who won 20 out of 24 starts and was actually shot by a bookmaker who wanted to prevent him winning the Durban July, so his story was fascinating to me. “Then being in Epsom I saw the horses most days walking around town, it was a much bigger training centre back then. I used to go to the Downs the day before the Derby and see Vincent O’Brien and Lester Piggott—they’d take the horses for a spin around Tattenham Corner in those days.” He continues, “There’s more history and more talk about the Derby than any other race so that’s why I’ve always been focused on it. The whole Pattern system is really built around the Epsom Derby. There are plenty of other great races to win but that is the race to win, that’s my focus. For me it’s still the greatest race. It used to be that you won the Derby and then as a 4-year-old you’d try to win the Gold Cup. Obviously times have changed but it would be great to see that again.” In Masked Marvel, purchased as a yearling from breeder Newsells Park Stud, Nielsen has come closest to achieving his Epsom dream. The son of Montjeu (Ire) was eighth in the Derby and went on to win the St Leger in 2011. Now 60, the breeder will continue in his aim, but whether or not he falls short in that particular quest he can take pride in having bred a colt who has been one of the stars of the last two seasons. Whatever the outcome of the new stayers’ challenge, Stradivarius is already one in a million. View the full article

After finishing off the board for the first time in her career, trainer Ralph Nicks reported that the champion 2-year-old filly will be turned out for bone bruising. View the full article