Wandering Eyes

Cheveley Park Stud’s Group 1 winner Unfortunately (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}) has his first mares in foal, the stud announced on Monday. A winner of the G1 Prix Morny and G2 Prix Robert Papin as a juvenile, and the G3 Renaissance S. at three, the 2017 French highweighted juvenile colt is standing his first season at stud for £7,500. A half-brother to GSW Look Busy (Ire) (Danetime {Ire}), the 4-year-old is being strongly supported by Cheveley Park and a breeding incentive was recently announced for the bay. View the full article

DAY ONE of the Cheltenham Festival is Champion Hurdle day and everyone is raring to go. The Champion Hurdle looks a brilliant race this year with Buveur D’Air trying to win the race for a third time while Apple’s Jade and Laurina are trying to stop him. I’m trying to get the meeting off to […] The post Gavin Sheehan Cheltenham Festival Day One Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

The first day of the Cheltenham Festival is nearly upon us and opening Cheltenham roar that reverberates around Prestbury Park when the flag drops for the Supreme can nearly be heard. Supreme Novices’ There has been a lot of talk surrounding the opening Supreme Novices’ hurdle with many horses seeming to hold leading chances in […] The post Cheltenham Festival 2019 Preview – Tuesday appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Ya Primo, a scintillating winner of the March 10 Longines Gran Premio Latinoamericano (G1) at Club Hipico, will be sent to the U.S. soon. Sol Kumin, along with Mark and Jose Lore, have purchased 50% and will race him with trainer Chad Brown. View the full article

In its latest paper, “Embracing a Future with Free Racing Data,” The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation’s (TIF) called on industry data collector and provider Equibase to propel racing into the analytics era through a more widespread distribution of data. TIF Executive Director Pat Cummings said, “The founders of Equibase launched the company out of necessity–racing needed control of its own data–but they framed the company’s purpose broadly, as one that should act in the best interests of the industry. In today’s world, we believe the industry would be best served releasing the data and allowing the public’s processing power to have at it. “Racing has a voluminous data set and unlike most other sports, each piece is tied to a financial market, the odds for that race. We should want tech-savvy horseplayers, gamblers from other sports, racing fans, academics and researchers to get their hands into this data and drive analysis of the sport forward. There is little value in keeping this data tied up in rigid formats and not in the hands of the people who could grow betting markets.” In the paper, the TIF recommended that Equibase provide free, raw data feeds for registered, non-commercial users; provide free, basic past performances on all North American tracks; provide responsive channels to regularly address errors and omissions in the data; and partner with universities to study racing data, developing new and advanced metrics for the betterment of the sport. “Despite being one of the most data intensive sports imaginable, the lack of publicly available, well-formatted and affordable data is probably one of American racing’s greatest head-scratchers,” said Marshall Gramm, Rhodes College economics professor and chair, co-founder of Ten Strike Racing and successful handicapper, most-recently ninth in the National Horseplayers’ Championship. “What has been a tremendous oversight to this point can be corrected. There is almost unmeasurable value in getting the raw data into the hands of the public.” The TIF points to successful models in Australasia as indicative of a way forward. “There is an infatuation to pricing racing data, but that sort of model seems to ignore the fundamental business of the sport,” said Gary Crispe, CEO of Racing And Sports Pty. Ltd. Crispe’s Australian-based website offers comprehensive racing data, including free past performances, for more than 15 countries. “Data and its derivatives should be used to drive betting.” The TIF recommendations, however, go beyond that which exists in almost any other jurisdiction. “Offering free, basic past performances would put North America on par with some of the world’s leading jurisdictions and serves as a much-deserved benefit for the sport’s dedicated customers. The real ground-breaker, though, would be providing raw data feeds for non-commercial users,” said Cummings. “This would be a monumental step to propel racing into the modern era, particularly with the widespread availability of data in other sports which goes towards informing wagering decisions in a liberalized sports betting environment.” Members of the TIF Board of Directors will discuss this topic and more of the organization’s work in various sessions on Wednesday at the National HBPA Convention in Clearwater, Florida. For more information on TIF, copies of its white papers and more, visit their website: RacingThinkTank.com. View the full article

THE next four days are the best four days a year if you are a jump jockey, a trainer, an owner or just a fan of racing. It’s the Cheltenham Festival and it’s as good as jump racing gets. It’s often said, but it really is the Olympics of our sports – there’s no better […] The post Gavin Sheehan – Cheltenham Festival Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

The Cheltenham Festival gets underway today with the loudest roar of the week guaranteed to be at 1.30pm as the tapes fly for the first race, the G1 Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The joint-favourite for the opener, Al Dancer (Fr) (Al Namix {Fr}), represents the father-and-son team of trainer Nigel and jockey Sam Twiston-Davies, based just a few miles from the course at Naunton, but the 6-year-old’s origins stretch a little farther afield. Officially bred by SCEA Maulepaire at al, the grey Al Dancer is a result of a mare-share between Haras de Maulepaire’s Comtesse de Tarragon and Marie-Cécile de Saint-Seine, the latter being the breeder of his dam, Steel Dancer (Fr) (Kaldounevees {Fr}). “Steel Dancer had an accident in training and never raced,” says Pierric Rouxel, who manages Maulepaire for the Comtesse de Tarragon. “Marie-Cécile is a good friend and she had a number of horses at the time but she was so sad at the idea of not keeping Steel Dancer as a broodmare prospect that she asked if we would like to share the mare with her. She has turned out to be a very good broodmare.” Indeed, her second foal, Tzar’s Dancer (Fr) (Tzar Rodney {Fr}), won 13 of his 44 races in the colours of de Saint-Seine, including a listed steeplechase at Auteuil, and she has produced two other multiple winners in addition to Al Dancer. The latter, bought as a yearling for €60,000 by Anthony Bromley for owner Dai Walters at Arqana’a mixed autumn sale, has now won five of his eight starts in Britain, including all four this season. Rouxel will be in the crowd today to see him attempt his first Grade 1 victory. He says, “It’s like going to Mecca. We dream of Cheltenham. The atmosphere is incomparable and the quality of the competition is so high, it’s a real European championship for jump horses. We don’t have the equivalent in France.” By the time Rouxel returns to Haras de Maulepaire at Savigné l’Eveque, near Le Mans, Steel Dancer should be about to deliver a foal by Doctor Dino (Fr). He adds, “This year we won’t have a yearling for sale as at long last she foaled a filly and we want to keep her. Her filly is by Great Pretender (Ire) and is an absolute beauty. Al Dancer was also a beautiful yearling, he was black at that time with a lovely head and he would catch anyone’s eye.” Steel Dancer will return to Doctor Dino this year—a mating of convenience in one way as the son of Muhtathir (Ire) stands next door on the sister stud of Haras du Mesnil. The two properties combined were formerly the home of the Comtesse de Tarragon’s parents, Jean and Elisabeth Couturié, and the farm was split in two for their two daughters, with Mesnil now being run by the countess’s nephew, Henri Devin, and his wife Antonia. Both operations have benefited from the burgeoning success of Mesnil’s Doctor Dino. The Comtesse de Tarragon is also the breeder of his daughter La Bague Au Roi (Fr), one of the best jumping mares in training and the winner of two Grade 1 chases this season who will swerve Cheltenham in favour of Aintree. The Devins meanwhile came close to winning a French Classic when their homebred Physiocrate (Fr), trained by their son Henri-Francois Devin, was second in the Prix de Diane in 2015. Their Flat success with the stallion continued last season when Golden Legend (Fr)—who, like Al Dancer, is out of a mare by another of their former residents, Kaldounevees—won the G3 La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte before finishing runner-up in the GI EP Taylor S. “Doctor Dino really did it the hard way,” says Irish-born Antonia Devin. “He just had our mares to start with, then he got a few mares from outside and then he just took off because of his own results, which were very impressive.” His success in both codes has led to increased interest in the 17-year-old from fellow European breeders. She continues, “We’ve never had so much interest from Ireland and England. We’ve limited his book to 150 but he will eventually cover a few more because he’s very fertile and he’s getting them in foal straight away.” The Devins, like their stallion, are truly dual-purpose in their breeding exploits and along with their aunt and Rouxel, they will have a number of runners bred at the farm to cheer home at Cheltenham this week, including dual Grade 1 winner Politologue (Fr) (Poliglote {GB}), who heads for tomorrow’s G1 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, and A Plus Tard (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}). The latter is one of a handful of runners this week for David and Patricia Thompson of Cheveley Park Stud and contests today’s Close Brothers Novices’ Chase. Furthermore the family will be keeping a close eye on Doctor Dino’s elite runners Sharjah (Fr) and Sceau Royal (Fr) in the G1 Champion Hurdle and G1 Queen Mother Champion Chase respectively. “One of the reasons that we liked Doctor Dino so much was that we had used Muhtathir and he had proved he could get jumping stock,” Antonia explains. “And on the damline there’s Sallust, and I’d always liked him as a sire. When I was at the National Stud he was standing there and, being by Pall Mall, he had a lot of speed and it just sort of clicked. Doctor Dino was such a great racehorse and so sound and what he gives to his progeny is that they are straightforward as well as being very sound, and what more can you ask for?” The impressive La Bague Au Roi is another example of Doctor Dino working well with one of Mesnil’s ‘home’ stalllions, in this case the grand old veteran Turgeon (GB), sire of her late dam Alliance Royale (Fr). “Turgeon is 33 now and we’ve decided to retire him even though he still looks in great condition,” says Antonia. “We had a terrific foal by him only last week and we’re very fortunate that Doctor Dino crosses so well with Turgeon, whose stock have a real aptitude for jumping, while Doctor Dino gives them that bit of finishing speed as well.” Next door at Maulepaire, La Bague Au Roi’s dominant female family flourishes still. “We have a half-sister to La Bague Au Roi by Saint Des Saints (Fr) and she has a yearling filly by Doctor Dino and she is going again to him this year,” Rouxel reports. “We also have a Doctor Dino yearling filly out of a half-sister to the dam of La Bague Au Roi. It is a real fillies’ family. Usually we don’t even have to look at the sex of the foal, we just know it’s a filly.” View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost.Group 1 animal in the making – @adamcamptonJust how good can the John Size-trained Champion’s Way be? The three-year-old is unbeaten in his three starts to date and looks a star in the making.While he is just one of a number of exciting young horses to come off the Size production line, he has shown he has an exceptional engine that could take him all the way to the… View the full article

Strange horse names are a dime a dozen in Hong Kong and they’ve been coming thick and fast of late, with the likes of Uncle Steve and Reeve’s Muntjac debuting recently, and Fat Turtle joins the list at Happy Valley on Wednesday.The four-year-old son of Smart Missile has his first start in the Class Three Matheson Handicap (1,200m) and trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen said the gelding has been getting special treatment in the stable on the back of his unique title.“It’s a good name, right?” Lor… View the full article

Mark Richards has been selecting horses for the Hong Kong International Sale for the past decade and he believes this is the best batch ever assembled – and he’s not alone.On Friday night, 30 prospects will go through the ring at Sha Tin hoping to follow in the footsteps of dual Group One winner Pakistan Star and reach the pinnacle of Hong Kong racing.Richards, the Jockey Club’s executive manager of the international sale, has spent years scouring the globe for yearlings that will be suited to… View the full article

Trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen has confirmed Hugh Bowman will ride Furore as planned in this weekend’s BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m), despite the jockey leaving Flemington early on Saturday to be with his wife, Christine, who required medical attention.Bowman left the track to return to Sydney after riding Osborne Bulls in the Group One Newmarket Handicap and also stood down from his rides in Canberra on Sunday, but told Racing Victoria on Sunday that his wife’s health had improved.“Thank you for… View the full article

Jim Cassidy didn’t think he’s survive when a car veered onto his side of the road and crashed head-on with his SUV. View the full article

S John appeals, stay of sentence granted View the full article

Updates on stewards' follow-ups to Friday and Sunday meetings View the full article

Zyrul’s suspension dates amended View the full article

Horses' test results March 9 View the full article

Azhar and Zyrul suspended two days each View the full article

Corms Racing Stable and R.A. Hill Stable's Divine Miss Grey provided jockey Manny Franco with his fourth of five wins on the card while successfully defending her title in Sunday's $150,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational. View the full article

Following stakes-record setting score in Saturday’s GII Tampa Bay Derby by Juddmonte’s Tacitus (Tapit), Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott confirmed the son of champion Close Hatches (First Defence) exited the race in good shape and outlined a few options along the Triple Crown trail for the grey. “The stakes record was a good thing and I think Tampa was a good place for him to get a race in,” said Mott. “It’s a good, safe racetrack and that should be a good conditioner for him.” Looking ahead, Mott indicated there are sevral possibilities: the GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland–both Apr. 6–in addition to the GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park Apr. 13. At two, Tacitus debuted with a fourth at Belmont Oct. 4 before breaking his maiden at Aqueduct Nov. 10. “He’s run in New York [twice], so it’s very possible we could go [the Wood],” said Mott. Following Saturday’s victory, Mott reflected, “We really didn’t know what we had until we got into September and started putting a little more pressure on him and asking him, and I said, well, we’ve got to find out, let’s ask him the question, and he started to respond. The tougher the training got, the better he got. Then we got two races in him and got a win out of him in the fall, and for the size of horse he is and the type of horse he is, I thought it was a big accomplishment to get that completed that early in the season.” Mott confirmed Tacitus will race at least once more leading to Louisville for the GI Kentucky Derby May 4. “He’s got to run,” he said. “This horse is a big, tough horse, and if we had to, we could run him twice more [before the Kentucky Derby], but with this win under his belt maybe that won’t be necessary. We’ll keep all the options open.” In regards to how the Juddmonte-bred colt might handle the step up to Classic distances, Mott added, “We’ve always felt that as the distances increase, that should be beneficial to him,” Mott said of Tacitus’ pedigree influences.” View the full article

Unbeaten as a juvenile with three wins including the G2 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup and the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S., Danon Premium scored in his sophomore bow, the G2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho in early March of last year. His winning streak was snapped when sixth stepping up to 2400 metres in the G1 Tokyo Yushun at the end of May, and the dark bay has been missing since. The 5-2 second choice promptly settled in a relaxed third while saving all the real estate against the rails past the winning post the first time and dropped back to fifth through 1400 metres in 1:25.50. He was traveling ominously well as the field fanned out in the home straight, angled into the three path and swept home an 1 1/4-length winner. Lys Gracieux rallied to take second, 3/4 of a length in front of 2-1 favourite Air Windsor. Pedigree Notes The 2017 Japanese champion juvenile colt, out of the Irish MSW & MGSP Indiana Gal, is followed by the placed 3-year-old filly Premium Gift (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}). Sunday, Chukyo, Japan KINKO SHO-G2, ¥119,820,000 (US$1,078,135/£828,315/€959,543), Chukyo, 3-10, 4yo/up, 2000mT, 2:00.10, gd. 1–DANON PREMIUM (JPN), 123, c, 4, Deep Impact (Jpn) 1st Dam: Indiana Gal (Ire) (MSW & MGSP-Ire, $319,044), by Intikhab 2nd Dam: Genial Jenny (Ire), by Danehill 3rd Dam: Joma Kaanem (Ire), by Double Form (Ire) O-Danox Inc.; B-K.I. Farm (Jpn); T-Mitsumasa Nakauchida; J-Yuga Kawada; ¥62,924,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt-Jpn, G1SW-Jpn, 6-5-0-0. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Lys Gracieux (Jpn), 121, m, 5, Heart’s Cry (Jpn)–Liliside (Fr), by American Post (GB). O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥25,264,000. 3–Air Windsor (Jpn), 123, h, 5, King Kamehameha (Jpn)–Air Messiah (Jpn), by Sunday Silence. O-Lucky Field Inc.; B-Shadai Farm (Jpn); ¥16,132,000. Margins: 1 1/4, 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 2.50, 7.70, 2.00. Also Ran: Persian Knight (Jpn), Al Ain (Jpn), Gibeon (Jpn), Muito Obrigado (Jpn), Suzuka Devious (Jpn), Mozu Katchan (Jpn), Tanino Frankel (Ire), Satono Walkure (Jpn), Shonan Bach (Jpn), Maitres d’Art (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart and video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. View the full article

Trainer Bob Baffert’s top sophomore colts Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Improbable (City Zip) will both be Arkansas-bound for Saturday’s GII Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park, while the highly regarded filly Chasing Yesterday (Tapit) is headed to New Mexico for the Mar. 24 Sunland Park Oaks. All three of those A-list trainees had been scheduled to make their 2019 debuts in cancelled stakes this past weekend at Santa Anita Park. But Baffert, while on a flight out of California himself late Sunday afternoon, confirmed via text that detours were in order in the aftermath of Santa Anita’s recent closure for racing and training. In an attempt to identify and rectify problems related to 21 horse deaths since the meet opened Dec. 26, last week Santa Anita halted all racing and training for a thorough inspection of its racing surfaces. With new protocols in place, the main track will open for light training on Monday, and racing is scheduled to resume Mar. 22. But Baffert wanted his star horses to train sooner than that, so he shipped a contingent some 33 miles south to Los Alamitos Race Course, where he also has stalls. All three of the above-mentioned sophomores had timed workouts there on Sunday morning, as did Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man), who is now targeting the GIII Sunland Derby on Mar. 24. Baffert indicated via text message that he felt better about sending both Game Winner and Improbable to the Rebel after learning that the race could be split into two divisions if it draws an overflow field. Trainers who enter two Rebel horses would have their entrants placed in separate divisions, meaning Baffert’s two undefeated 3-year-olds wouldn’t have to square off just yet if the race splits. They would have had Game Winner and Improbable both started in the Mar. 9 GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita as planned. That race will not be rescheduled. Oaklawn issued a press release on Sunday that said track officials “were confident the Rebel would be split.” “We knew the Rebel was always there, but at first we were thinking not to ship,” Baffert said in the Oaklawn release. “We could come back [for the Apr. 13 GI Arkansas Derby]. We hate to ship twice. It changes things a little bit, but right now we’re going through a little crisis here in Southern California. We never dreamed the day would come they would close down Santa Anita, but we’re getting through it. The main thing is that the 3-year-olds, they worked well. They’re coming up there. I think it’s very nice of them to want to split that race. That’s the key thing.” 2-year-old champ Game Winner worked five furlongs in company with 5-year-old GSW Dr. Dorr (Lookin At Lucky) in :59.80 (12/25). Improbable worked a solo five-eighths in :59.20 (6/25). Mucho Gusto was clocked in :57.80 (2/25) for five furlongs in company with the 3-year-old filly Flor de la Mar (Tiznow). Chasing Yesterday, American Pharoah’s half-sister, earned the five-eighths bullet (1/25) for her :57 solo scorcher. View the full article

Santa Anita Park has canceled four stakes and rescheduled several others as track officials work to reopen the main track and return to racing. Barring further weather setbacks, track management has tentatively set March 22 as the first race day. View the full article

Bob Baffert sent out two of his brightest juvenile stars to work March 10 at Los Alamitos Race Course. The Hall of Fame trainer relocated the horses following the closure of Santa Anita Park to assess track conditions. View the full article

Twin Creeks Racing and Eclipse Thoroughbreds Largent (c, 3, Into Mischief–Life in Seattle, by Unbridled) went wire-to-wire and strode clear down the lane to score a four-length debut victory over the turf at Gulfstream Park Sunday. Sent off at 8-1, the striking bay broke alertly from his inside post and took the lead into the first turn. After setting fractions of :23.18 and :47.71, he shook loose approaching the stretch and came home a much-the-best winner, completing the one mile in 1:35.27. The Rock Says (Uncle MO) was second and Big Torch Key (Lemon Drop Kid) was third. Largent, a $460,000 KEESEP yearling, is out of Life in Seattle who is a daughter of multiple Grade I winner Life at the Top (Seattle Slew). He is a half to multiple stakes winner and graded placed Kona Blend (Dixieland Band). Lifetime Record: 1-0-0-0, $30,000. O-Twin Creeks Racing & Eclipse Thoroughbreds. B-Lazy Lane Farm (Va). T-Todd Pletcher. View the full article

Group 3 victor Fantastic Moon (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}–Rhadegunda {GB}, by Pivotal {GB}), a half-brother to champion and MG1SW Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}), will stand at Haras de la Haye Pesnel in 2019, the Racing Post reported. A winner of two of his eight trips to the post, including the G3 Solario S. at Sandown in 2012, the Hascombe and Valiant Studs-bred will stand for €2,500. The first foal out of the Listed Prix Solitude heroine Rhadegunda, the 210,000gns Tattersalls October yearling’s third dam is G1 1000 Guineas victress On the House (Fr) (Be My Guest), who also lifted the G1 Sussex S. View the full article