Wandering Eyes

Longtime Southern California-based trainer Eddie Truman died the morning of Dec. 11 at the age of 77. Truman's passing was confirmed Wednesday afternoon by his older brother and former jockey Jerry Truman.View the full article

What Moonee Valley Races Where Moonee Valley Racecourse – Gate 2 Feehan Ave, Moonee Ponds VIC 3039 When Friday, December 13, 2024 First Race 6:15pm AEDT Visit Dabble Friday night racing in Victoria heads to Moonee Valley for a fifth consecutive week, with an eight-race program scheduled. Clear skies are forecast in the lead-up to the meeting, so the Good 4 track rating should stick. The rail will be out 5m for the entire circuit, with the first race set to begin at 6:15pm AEDT. Best Bet at Moonee Valley: Apache Song Apache Song put a space on her rivals in BM64 company at the Moonee Valley 1200m on November 29. Having crossed from a wide draw, the Sioux Nation mare managed to dictate terms before kicking clear and winning by 4.3 lengths. From barrier six, Adam McCabe will likely look to lead the field up again, and in a race where she should be able to dominate proceedings once more, Apache Song looks the goods in the Moonee Valley finale. Best Bet Race 8 – #2 Apache Song (6) 6yo Mare | T: Michael Trotter | J: Adam McCabe (60.5kg) Bet with Neds Next Best at Moonee Valley: Big Me Big Me broke his Australian maiden in style when returning from a spell at Bendigo. The Nick Ryan-trained sprinter put 2.3 lengths on his BM64 rivals on a Heavy 9 and did so despite being forced to travel wide without cover. He draws perfectly in barrier five, and as long as the gap comes at the right time, Big Me should win this. Next Best Race 6 – #4 Big Me (5) 6yo Gelding | T: Nick Ryan | J: Craig Williams (60.5kg) Bet with BlondeBet Best Value at Moonee Valley: Diwali Diwali produced a massive run in defeat when finishing third behind Roaring Engine on December 6. The four-year-old gelding settled towards the rear of the field on his first crack at 2500m and hit the line strongly, picking his way through the field inside runners. This is no harder than what he faced a week ago, and with fitness on his side, Diwali presents great value with horse racing bookmakers. Best Value Race 4 – #5 Diwali (8) 4yo Gelding | T: Lindsey Smith | J: Fred Kersley (60kg) Bet with Picklebet Friday quaddie tips for Moonee Valley Moonee Valley quadrella selections + Friday, December 13, 2024 Field 4-5 1-2-6-9 2-6 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip Horse racing tips View the full article

Snazzytavi will contest Saturday’s Group 2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Top mare Snazzytavi is ready to kick off her summer campaign, which will revolve around further Group One weight-for-age opportunities. Under the guidance of Matamata trainers Graham Richardson and Rogan Norvall, the Cambridge Stud-raced daughter of Tavistock has swiftly moved through the grades to establish herself as an elite-level performer. An effortless winner of the Group 3 Easter Handicap (1600m) earlier this year, she went to another level in the spring to romp away with the Group 1 Livamol Classic (2040m). Snazzytavi subsequently enjoyed time out and has pleased Richardson with her progress since rejoining the stable ahead of her return in Saturday’s Group 2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa. “We tipped her out for a freshen up and she’s had a quiet trial and she’s a very happy horse,” he said. The five-year-old won her 1000m heat at Taupo last month in the hands of regular rider Warren Kennedy who will be aboard again at the weekend. “She’ll go on to the Zabeel Classic (Group 1, 2000m) and then we’ll aim at the Herbie Dyke Stakes (Group 1, 2000m),” Richardson said. “What we do in between times I don’t know yet, maybe she could go back to a mile or we’ll trial her.” The stable will also have another black-type contender at Te Rapa with Rocababy to step out in the Group 3 J Swap Sprint (1400m). The El Roca mare has been in good touch this preparation with a runner-up finish on the course three runs back before she copped a torrid run when unplaced in the Group 3 Counties Bowl (1100m). She then headed to Ellerslie at the end of last month and rounded off strongly to finish second over 1300m. “She’s going very well, I’m really happy with her but it is a strong field,” Richardson said. English jockey George Rooke has retained the ride after handling Rocababy in her last two appearances. Horse racing news View the full article

What Canterbury Races Where Canterbury Park Racecourse – King Street, Canterbury NSW 2193 When Friday, December 13, 2024 First Race 6pm AEDT Visit Dabble Metro racing returns to the bright lights of Canterbury Park Racecourse on Friday evening, with a massive eight-part program set for decision. The rails reverts to the true position the entire circuit, and while the track rated a Soft 5 at the time of acceptances, sunny skies forecast in the lead-up should allow an upgrade into the Good range prior to the opening event at 6pm local time. Best Bet at Canterbury: Sounds Unusual Sounds Unusual producing a promising debut at Newcastle on December 1, charging through the line over 1500m. The son of Unusual Suspect was only getting warm in the final furlong, suggesting the immediate step up in trip should be ideal heading into this second-up assignment. The booking of Nash Rawiller shows intent from the stable, and with gate five allowing the pair to produce a sweeping run turning for home, Sounds Unusual appears poised to go one better. Best Bet Race 1 – #3 Sounds Unusual (5) 4yo Gelding | T: Chris Waller | J: Nash Rawiller (59kg) Bet with Neds Next Best at Canterbury: Husk Husk returns after a 152-day spell and brings some quality form-lines to this BM72 contest. The three-year-old filly finished alongside Manolo Bling at the end of last preparation, who would go on to frank the form in the spring, closing on the heels of Belatrix Star in the Listed Cap D’antibes Stakes (1100m) at Flemington. Her trial suggests she’s returning in supreme order, and with barrier two allowing Tyler Schiller to land in the one-one, Husk appears primed to make a first-up statement at a good price with BlondeBet. Next Best Race 5 – #8 Husk (2) 3yo Filly | T: Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | J: Tyler Schiller (56.5kg) Bet with BlondeBet Best Value at Canterbury: Goodlucktome The Ciaron Maher-trained Goodlucktome has undergone a gelding operation during his 152-day spell, and based on his recent trial, it may have done the trick. The son of Written Tycoon looked to be trucking in behind a wall of horses at Hawkesbury on November 14, leaving punters with the impressive there was plenty left to give in the concluding stages. Barrier eight could be tricky to overcome, but provided Jason Collett can find some cover, Goodlucktome appears primed to break his maiden status. Best Value Race 2 – #2 Goodlucktome (8) 3yo Gelding | T: Ciaron Maher | J: Jason Collett (57.5kg) Bet with Picklebet Friday quaddie tips for Canterbury Canterbury quadrella selections December 13, 2024 4-5-8-10-12 1-3-6-8-10 1-2 1-2-8-10 | Copy this bet straight to your betslip Horse racing tips View the full article

No industry gathering at which Thoroughbred executives discuss pricing issues is immune from the intertwined topic of death and taxes. In the pari-mutuel world, that means talking about takeout, or, more specifically, how the disparate fees that different classes of bettors must pay for the privilege of placing wagers are killing off smaller-scale casual horseplayers. A Wednesday panel discussion at the Global Symposium on Racing hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program in Tucson was the latest Thoroughbred confab at which the takeout issue got batted around like a piñata. But instead of just griping about the problem, a session titled “How Do We Keep Racing Relevant in the Evolving Wagering Landscape?” yielded one very specific suggestion from an economics expert who is also a Thoroughbred owner and horseplayer about how two of the nation's premier boutique-meet tracks could get others in the industry to follow along with lowered takeouts. Marshall Gramm, a professor and chair of the Department of Economics at Rhodes College in Memphis, outlined how Keeneland Race Course and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, in particular, could both be best positioned to experiment with lower takeout rates. In this current era of pari-mutuels, the setting of takeout rates is complicated by opaque contractual agreements related to host fees–the charge advance-deposit wagering (ADW) outlets pay to track operators for the right to import a simulcast signal–plus betting-volume rebates that are individually negotiated and paid by tracks and ADWs to computer-assisted wagering teams (CAWs). CAWs are largely anonymous individuals or entities that are permitted to tie sophisticated wagering technologies directly into tote systems to bet vast sums in the final moments before a race's start that try to take advantage of pari-mutuel market inefficiencies that the general public can't see. Gramm began his takeout riff by responding to an audience member's postulation that tracks like Keeneland and Del Mar might be the least incentivized to lower takeouts, because casual horseplayers seem to flock to those signals regardless of the rates imposed upon them. On the contrary, Gramm responded, he believes those two meets have the most to gain from experimenting with lowered takeouts. “They're the ones who have to do it. The smaller tracks, the ADWs won't let them. If a smaller track reduced takeout, [the ADWs] would make them reduce host fees, so they can't do it,” Gramm said. “Churchill Downs having a higher takeout on [GI Kentucky] Derby weekend?” Gramm asked rhetorically, “I totally get it. That's totally understandable. The Derby's a 20-horse field” and a product that's very much in demand, he said. “But Keeneland is in such a unique position–they don't own an ADW, but they have real market power. So if I were Keeneland, here's what I'd do: I'd lower takeout, especially on tris, supers [and other exotic bets to] 18 %. I'd keep host fees the same.” “All you lose,” Gramm continued, “is the margin on your on-track players. The CAWs, they're getting their rebates cut. But their effective takeout's the same. And then you could go and advertise, 'Hey, we have the lowest takeouts, across every pool, in the country.'” “TwinSpires, Xpressbet, NYRA Bets, they may not like it. But they're not going to cut your signal off. So [Keeneland] and [Del Mar] have a unique opportunity to actually experiment with lowering [the] takeout, and you don't have to move your host fee along with it. I would love to see that happen.” Gramm said he has “tried to press this point” to industry leaders, using the 18% rate for exotics as a number that might be more palatable to bet-pricing executives even when he believes that actual takeout rate should really be several points lower than that. “I'd love it to be 14-16% across the board, and I'd like to lower the [pricing] gap between [CAW] teams and recreational players,” Gramm said. Marshall Gramm | Lucas Marquardt Wouldn't the big-volume CAW teams balk at having their rebates cut, and thus walk away from horse betting? Gramm didn't buy that reasoning. “They're looking at their takeout rate, not the size of their rebate. In fact, the teams should benefit, because if takeout comes down, people will bet more and more into those pools, and they'll churn more. So it's a win/win,” Gramm said. “That would be my message to Keeneland and Del Mar. Let's give it a try. Let's see what would happen. And give it a try over a sustained period of time. Don't do it one meet and say it didn't work; [that lowering] takeout doesn't work. You've got to give it time,” Gramm said. “And remember, there are all sorts of other factors. It's not like we're looking at this in a vacuum. Any sort of theory would say if you lower price, it's going to increase handle. Other factors may be driving handle down. But here is a way that you can have your cake and eat it too,” Gramm said. At a different point in the discussion, panelists were asked to gaze into their crystal balls and predict what the biggest change in horse racing's betting landscape might be five years from now. Matt Feig, the chief operating officer of NYRA Bets, said the “exasperation of the seasonality of our sport” will be a challenge that needs to be addressed. “We're kind of seeing it now, where you get into the fall, which used to be really robust from a wagering standpoint,” Feig said. But now, Feig explained, “there is some stagnation that's happening in [the third quarter of the year]. And that's something that needs to be looked at from an industry standpoint, [by] making sure that we align our track schedules and content to look at the new landscape. Because what's happened three years ago, four years ago, isn't the same any more with the different wagering opportunities that are out there, especially in the fall. “It's going to be important to make sure that horse racing is aligned from a content-filler [standpoint],” Feig summed up. “But also, we have to make sure that we're not on top of [pro and college football] and kind of drowned out by it.” Nelson Clemmens, the owner and chief executive the simulcast service provider AmWest Entertainment as well as a Thoroughbred owner and breeder, touched upon the consolidation and reduction of racetracks as a troublesome trend. “Five years from now, if the worst happens–and we know the dynamics within the industry–we might not have an 'A' track west of the Mississippi,” Clemmens said. “I trust it won't probably be that dire. But the way that we operate, our industry has to [restructure into] a more aligned industry.” Zach Taylor, the North American director of sales for the technology and tote services firm Global Tote, said that, “It's a very real possibility that maybe some tracks aren't here [in five years]. But if it's done in a measured way, organized and planned out, it could very well be a boon for the wagering industry.” Gramm said that one way or another, five years from now will be a benchmark for horse racing, because that time frame will represent roughly a decade since the national legalization of sports wagering. Sports betting initially was proclaimed to be a positive for the racing industry because it was assumed that many tracks would get sports betting licenses, and separately, horse racing would be able to ride the wave of sports betting to a higher profile. But racing's relationship with sports betting–which does not generate direct revenues earmarked for purses like pari-mutuel horse betting does–could turn out to be having an erosive effect on the Thoroughbred industry. “Will we look back on this, and this will be another one of those things that we hoped was going to change the game, like American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown [in 2015] and the [2002] Seabiscuit book [by Laura Hillenbrand]?” Gramm asked. “Or will [sports betting] be something that we'll be able to capitalize on?” The post Different Slicing of Takeout Pie Could Equate to a Way for Tracks to ‘Have Your Cake and Eat It Too’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In what is believed to be a world record for a Thoroughbred auction conducted exclusively online, Fasig-Tipton's December Digital Sale closed its two-day run Wednesday evening with gross sales of $10,031,000. With more than 1,200 bidders registered, 401 horses changed hands at an average of $25,015. “We're ecstatic over the results of the December Digital Sale, and over 2024 overall,” said Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales Leif Aaron. “We've done over $10,000,000 in sales over the last few days, with more than $45,000,000 in gross over the year. We couldn't be happier that buyers and sellers are putting that level of trust in Fasig-Tipton Digital.” In 2024, Fasig-Tipton's digital platform has grossed just over $45,500,000. During the year, 1,417 horses have sold from 1,789 offered, equaling a 79% clearance rate. Wednesday's session topper was Allez Marie (Unbridled's Song) (hip 337), who sold for $750,000 to Three Chimneys Farm. A daughter of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Summerly (Summer Squall) and producer of four stakes horses as well as Dec. 1 Churchill maiden winner Running Away (Gun Runner), she is in foal to Elite Power and was consigned by Three Chimneys. Other top sellers Wednesday included $510,000 purchase and Three Chimneys-consigned Lovely Carina (Pioneerof the Nile) (hip 314), also signed for by Three Chimneys and in foal to Nyquist. Dream Big Racing LLC paid $450,000 for Girls Secret (Giant's Causeway) (hip 308), in foal to Constitution and dam of GSW & MGISP Will's Secret (Will Take Charge). “The team at Fasig-Tipton made selling Take Charge Tressa and Girls Secret a very streamlined, easy process,” said Case Clay, who consigns as Case Clay Thoroughbred Management, agent. In addition to the aforementioned Girls Secret, he also consigned Take Charge Tressa (War Front) (hip 335), a full-sister to MGISW and young sire Omaha Beach and a half-sister to champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway). In foal to Tapit and already a graded producer, the mare sold for $320,000 to Solis/Litt. “It is a very user-friendly platform on which everyone is participating. The sellers were happy with the sales results.” Tuesday's results can be seen here. The digital sale included horses of racing age, racing/broodmare prospects, broodmares, broodmare prospects, weanlings, and yearlings. Full results from both days of the Fasig-Tipton December Digital Sale are available here. The post Fasig-Tipton’s December Digital Sale Sets World Record appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A major selling point for breeding in New York will be on display at Aqueduct Racetrack Dec. 14. Basically, there will be a million reasons.View the full article

Mareworthy Charities has launched Mareworthy Academy, an eight-week program beginning in January and specifically designed to teach aspiring horse owners how to care for horses. “There's a widespread misconception that horse ownership is only for experienced equestrians or those planning to ride competitively,” says Mareworthy Charities Executive Director Kyle Rothfus. “This limiting belief prevents many compassionate individuals from considering adoption, particularly of retired broodmares who have so much love to give. Through Mareworthy Academy, we're challenging these assumptions and opening doors for people who may have never thought horse ownership was possible for them.” The program, which is free, focuses on how retired Thoroughbred broodmares can be the right choice as first horses for new owners. The program offers eight weeks of self-guided e-learning with live sessions; four weeks of hands-on volunteer experience; instruction in horse care, health management, and ownership preparation; real-world application of skills at equine non-profits; and a curriculum ranging from basic care to emergency preparedness. “These magnificent mares have spent their lives nurturing the next generation of racehorses. They deserve retirement with dignity, and many make perfect companions for first-time horse owners who want to provide a loving forever home,” said Rothfus. “By removing both educational and psychological barriers to horse ownership, we're not just teaching skills–we're expanding the pool of qualified adopters who can provide loving homes to retired broodmares. Our goal is to show that with proper education and support, providing a forever home to a retired broodmare is an achievable and rewarding experience for many people who may have never considered it possible.” For more information, visit mareworthy.com/academy. The post Mareworthy Academy Offers Free Horse Ownership Program appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

I read with interest the article of The Thoroughbred Report titled “Dogs Gone: New Zealand bans greyhound racing from 2026,” dated Dec. 12. The article starts with the sentence, “There are only five nations globally where greyhound racing still operates being New Zealand, USA, Ireland, Australia, and Britain, but this is set to change with an announcement by New Zealand MP Winston Peters that greyhound racing will be banned in NZ from 2026.” I was not aware that racing greyhounds is still legal in the United States. According to Wikipedia, “as of 2024, only two tracks currently conduct actual live racing onsite, both in West Virginia.” I would imagine this is a reference to Wheeling Island and the other Mardi Gras Casino resort. (Grey2K confirms that West Virginia is the only state where dog racing is legal.) I have made this point in the past, but the Thoroughbred industry is in grave danger. I know one business analyst that specializes in corporate consulting and he can imagine the Thoroughbred industry being gone in 20 years. To be frank, based on numerous comments on social media dedicated to those who are in the Thoroughbred industry or are fans, whenever this possibility of demise is brought up, someone angrily bashes the observation. I repeat a history lesson: New York once effectively banned horse racing in an act called the “Hart-Agnew Law.” According to Wikipedia, “Numerous Saratoga businesses went bankrupt, hotels suffered a sharp decline in guests, and real estate values collapsed.” What I am saying is doom and gloom is a real possibility. This is a time to engage with those that have expertise in public relations and image management. Unfortunately, there are plenty in the industry that want rah-rah-rah articles that are “upbeat and positive” about horse racing. It is a silly angle: critics of horse racing are not going to be assuaged by relentless rah-rah-rah published by the Thoroughbred industry publications. Rather, this is a time to look outside of the industry for attitudes that may affect the industry. At some time, almost all major businesses have some sort of image problem. Some are minor, some are serious, and some are existential. This is an existential problem. And it isn't just facing bans like greyhound racing bans. It's potential fans gravitating to other forms of gambling or entertainment that they do not perceive as harmful to animals. It's the possibility of states pulling the rug out of subsidies. According to NewJersey.com, in an article published September 17, 2024, “NJ will give $20M in taxpayer money each year to subsidize horse racing purses.” The article continues, “Critics such as Peter Chen, a policy analyst with the progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, took a different stance. He said the subsidies were ill-fitted at a time when New Jersey residents have been struggling with inflation and the cost of living.” Now when one throws in perceptions of animal cruelty into the mix, subsidies could easily go. Heck, there is even a website dedicated to ending horse racing subsidies. They write: “Three billion dollars in casino revenue has already been used to prop up the horse racing industry, and these increased subsidies are now expected to cost taxpayers at least $1 billion every four years. Residents of New York should be the recipients of these casino profits, not the 11 Thoroughbred and harness tracks. Millions of private businesses in the state have operated entirely without casino subsidies. Why does horse racing receive this corporate welfare?” Of course, apart from an outright subsidy, there is the issue of getting a state casino license in the first place because one has horse racing, wherein the applicant might not have been successful had they not been a race track. There are benefits to the Thoroughbred industry, including promotion of green spaces for farms, which economists call an “externalized benefit.” An “externalized benefit” is a benefit created and externalized to others, which is not reflected in profits or otherwise enjoyed by the party that created the benefit. For instance, race tracks help build the surrounding area's tourism, such as at Saratoga. That is the argument for subsidies. But this is not a piece about the wisdom or lack thereof of government subsidies or licensing favoritism for casinos. Rather, it is about the stark reality that this favoritism for race tracks can be greatly abated by the public thinking that the horse racing industry is cruel to the horses. But love blinds, and I have seen countless comments on social media on how horse racing is too hard on its dopers or others that give the business a black eye. It is time to bring in outside consultants that are not so mired in love for the horse racing industry that they do not have a clear head about what needs to be done to preserve the industry. Again, failures do not necessarily mean outright bans: it could be diminished subsidies, withdrawn (or not issued) “racino” licenses so that race tracks can have accompanying casinos, or the simple act of a potential horse race bettor not betting on horses. Perceptions of animal cruelty have real world effects, and New Zealand's new ban on greyhound racing is the latest example. –Rinaldo Del Gallo, III The author is a horse racing fan. The post Letter to the Editor: The Thoroughbred Industry is in Grave Danger appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Eddie Truman, a trainer as renowned for his patience with the Thoroughbred as for a perennially genial disposition, has passed at the age of 77. “A great horseman and an even greater individual,” said veteran trainer Gary Stute. “I never heard him say a bad word about anybody–anybody–and on the racetrack, that's few and far,” Stute added. “Once you met him, you stayed friends with him. The ultimate honest good person.” Over a career spanning nearly 50 years, Truman trained 763 winners and collected $15.7 million in earnings. He had his big days as a trainer. Go West Marie (Western Fame) won four stakes races and was just a length away from winning the 2015 GIII Las Cienegas Stakes. Irish Import Casino King (Ire) (Fairy King) showed up time after time in some ferocious bouts on the turf, including a clear second behind triple Grade I winner Bienamado (Bien Bien) one June at Hollywood Park, a second-place finish in a Grade II at Woodbine and a stakes victory at Remington Park. But it was the skill and patience that Truman deployed with the horses in his care–especially the wayward types–that stood him apart. As he told the TDN earlier this year upon his retirement, “to see a horse get good and see them just develop, get confidence, that was really fantastic to me–more so than even having a real nice horse that just goes out there and wins every time,” said Truman, at the time. “Maybe they weren't great horses, but they would go out there and perform for you,” he said. Truman was born in Kansas, on a small holding where his family rebroke horses ruined under other hands, in the process cementing the foundations of his horsemanship. “We didn't buck-break them out or anything like that. This is where dad had the edge–our horses never bucked. No. As soon as we got them out of the pen, we'd take them out in a plowed field,” Truman told the TDN in February. “It was deep stuff, so they couldn't do too much. But it really taught us, all of us, to be kind, gentle hands, and to let horses relax–correct them, but then give them a chance. It was good.” Good for horse. Good for rider. “We learned some really valuable horsemanship that way,” said Truman. Truman started as a jockey before his voice broke. He rode his first winner, a match race, aged 12. At 16, he followed into the professional ranks his brother, Jerry, already an established jockey. Truman was contracted to the owner of the Chicago Blackhawks. He was the leading rider at Sportsman Park. But weight gains soon put paid to any long career in the saddle. A brief period training was followed by stints doing all sorts–international backpacker, paddock judge, exercise rider. In the early 1970s, Truman was assistant to Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel. In 1974, he took out his license again. “When I started, we got lucky. We claimed a horse that won like six out of nine races. Claimed another one that won four out of five. We would run them where they belonged. Run them up north,” said Truman, in February. “That was one of my favorite games: Claim a horse here [Santa Anita, Hollywood Park] while they were in jail, run them up north, win, come back here, run them for what I claimed them for–I'd already won a race with them–and go on. You build up their confidence. Confidence–it's a big thing. People don't understand that.” Truman was wirily trim as a bantamweight boxer, thanks in part to a lifetime in the saddle, horse and bike. Even into his sixties, Truman could be seen of a morning bobbing on horseback around Del Mar and Santa Anita (sometimes in shorts, to the consternation of anyone with skin on their knees). “The most generous, giving guy you could ever come across who would help anybody. But the things he loved the most were his horses and his bicycle,” said XBTV presenter Zoe Cadman. “I don't think I ever rode as fast to Del Mar [from Sierra Madre] as the year I rode with Eddie. He rode me out the saddle. He was a true machine. I ran into him two weeks ago at the end of his 70-mile bike ride and he wouldn't even blow out a candle.” Truman's passing was reportedly sudden. “He did 60 miles on Sunday. He couldn't have been fitter or stronger,” said Craig Barnfather, a former exercise rider who frequently cycled with Truman. Barnfather credits the former trainer with helping to turn his life around decades ago. “I introduced him to these guys on Sunday. I said, 'Eddie, what did you tell me 32 years ago? Bike or coffin?' He said, 'Yes. This guy was on the fast lane to death.' Everybody else saw me as a dumb drunk. But he never ever made me feel like that,” Barnfather recalled. “All I can say about Eddie is he was everything I wanted to be,” said former trainer Matt Chew. “Upbeat. Positive. Always there to lend a helping hand to anybody that needed it. Just an all-round good guy.” Throughout, Truman balanced his professional and personal lives, never letting the two intermingle. No social gatherings at the barn. No long evening fireside chats on the telephone, all shop talk with the owners. No busman's holidays, families in tow. “I wanted to spend time with my family. So, that's the road I chose,” Truman said, in February. “And I never really regretted my choice that way.” The post California Mainstay Eddie Truman Passes Aged 77 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

9th-Tampa Bay Downs, $32,000, Msw, 12-11, 3yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:24.69, gd, 4 1/4 lengths. INTO AMORE (f, 3, Into Mischief–Embellish the Lace {GISW, $441,540}, by Super Saver) made the trip up off a solid worktab at Palm Beach Downs and was made the 7-5 choice to get her career off to a winning start. Ridden along to take up a chasing role in second down the backstretch beneath Pablo Morales, the homebred was more or less on even terms approaching the stretch and asserted through the final furlong to take it in decisive fashion. Embellish the Lace was one of three to succeed at Grade I level from the first crop of GI Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, taking out the 2015 Alabama Stakes for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong and trainer Tony Dutrow. Super Saver's other top-level scorers from that first crop included Claiborne stallion Runhappy and Competitive Edge. After failing to meet her reserve at $1.9 million at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, Embellish the Lace returned to that venue 12 months later and was hammered down to China Horse Club for $2.4 million. The mare is the dam of three winners from as many to race, and her yearling filly by Quality Road was purchased by the Lieblongs for $500,000 at this year's Keeneland September Sale. After failing to produce a foal this season, she was mated to the CHC part-owned Life Is Good. Sales history: $295,000 RNA Ylg '22 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $18,880. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O/B-CHC Inc (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher. Our homebred Into Amore , daughter of GISW Embellish the Lace, proved patience pays off with a strong debut win today at Tampa! Thank you to the Pletcher team, rider Pablo Morales and the team at WinStar for your hard work and diligence. pic.twitter.com/jRQ0YJ5Q81 — China Horse Club (@Chinahorseclub) December 11, 2024 The post Into Mischief Filly Off The Mark At First Asking at Tampa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

At a meeting of the Arizona Racing Commission Dec. 11, Turf Paradise was granted a second 45-day conditional permit as they continue to perform repairs to the facility.View the full article

Canadian classic-winning jockey Justin Stein announced his retirement from the saddle Dec. 11 after 19 years of race riding.View the full article

2024 marked another successful year for the TDN Writers' Room, which is presented by Keeneland and hosted by the team of Bill Finley, Zoe Cadman and Randy Moss. This week we look back on a few of our favorite guests throughout the year. First, we checked in with Richard Migliore ahead of a historic Belmont Stakes weekend. 'Richie' reminisced on Belmonts past and shared what he was looking forward to most for the first-ever 'Belatoga.' “I can already feel the energy that's been in town,” Migliore said as he called in from the famous Saratoga picnic tables a few days before the big event. “Saratoga always holds that kind of energy and you feel the charm of it, the mystique of Saratoga, but it's amped up even more here. I don't want to say it's going to be a madhouse, but it's going to be on the edge of chaos.” Then ahead of the Saratoga Race Meet, we talked with Flavien Prat, who decided to move his tack to New York in 2022 and wow, does the decision seem to have paid off this year. Prat would go on to established a new record for stakes wins by a jockey at Saratoga. “I'm riding for great connections,” Prat said when asked about his decision to relocate. “I'm very fortunate. My agent is doing a great job so everything is going well right now. It felt like it was the right move at the right time. I was in California for six or seven years and it felt like it was time to do something and explore the East Coast. I had the opportunity to ride for some trainers there so I felt like it was the right time to do it.” Mike Repole's passion for horse racing was as evident as ever when he joined the show the week just after Fierceness's (City of Light) Travers victory. The outspoken owner and breeder discussed his leading 3-year-old colt as well as the changes he's looking to bring about with the National Thoroughbred Association. “I think we're making a lot more progress than people think,” Repole said when asked about his fledgling organization. “There has been more talk over the past 10 months than there has ever been. Many people agree with what I'm saying. The only negative feedback I get is they don't like the style. You know what? Other styles haven't worked for 40 years.” Aidan O'Brien, who had one of the talking horses of the year in City of Troy (Justify), checked in to the Writers' Room ahead of this year's Breeders' Cup. O'Brien not only talked about his star 3-year-old, but he also looked back on Breeders' Cup pasts and shared how much he enjoys the championship meet. “It's unique isn't it?” noted O'Brien. “I think you have to experience it to believe it with the atmosphere and the hype. It's just very special. All the best horses are there and it's the ultimate test.” The TDN Writers' Room is also presented by WinStar Farm, the Pennsyvania Horse Breeders' Association, West Point Thoroughbreds,and XBTV.com. Watch out for a special holiday episode next week on the TDN Writers' Room. To listen to the show as an audio podcast, click here. The post Best Of The 2024 Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kiwi representative Sam Thornley now leads the Australasian Young Drivers Championship after a brilliant effort at Bathurst in New South Wales last night. The Canterbury-based reinsman had a second and a win to go to 43 points after four heats of the championships, eight points clear of his closest challenger Victoria’s Ewa Justice. Heading into the second night of the championships he was fifth. In the first heat last night he was second with Special Spin, behind Justice and Romero, while in the second he got the perfect trip and then took advantage of the passing lane to win with Works For Me. After winning at Menangle on the opening night of the series, fellow Kiwi Crystal Hackett could not get a second victory on her 21st birthday, with her best result being a fourth in the second heat. She is now fifth overall. Standings (after 4 heats) : Sam Thornley (New Zealand) 43 Ewa Justice (Victoria) 35 Jacob Duggan (Tasmania) 28 Will Rixon (New South Wales) 28 Crystal Hackett (New Zealand) 26 Corey Johnson (South Australia) 23 Taleah McMullen (Queensland) 21 Josh Gallgher (New South Wales) 19 Kyle Symington (Western Australia) 17 Kerryn Tomlinson (New Zealand ) 15 The series heads to Penrith today (Thursday) and then Newcastle (Friday) before finishing on Inter Dominion Finals night at Menangle on Saturday. We will have regular updates on hrnz.co.nz and across our social media channels. View the full article

By Jonny Turner Patience paid off when Seacracka ran to an easy fresh-up victory at Oamaru yesterday. The four-year-old made her first outing since October last year a winning one when speeding home in slick closing sectionals to win for trainer Jonny Cox and driver Carter Dalgety. Seacracka competed in good company for the late Katie Cox before she was sent for an extended spell and then joined Jonny Cox’s barn. Judging by her trials leading into her victory, and her Oamaru performance, she’s returned bigger and better for it. “The owners told me Katie had always had a good opinion of her and I had spoken to Katie myself and she had said the same thing,” Jonny Cox said. “Katie had done a great job with her, then she had a decent break, being quite a big girl time was going to be her friend.” “She had been in work for quite a while building into today and she seems to have come up nice.” While clearly talented, Seacracka shows plenty of quirks at home. “She is a funny horse, she tends to walk the fence a lot at home whether she is by herself or with a mate,” Cox said. “We don’t tend to work her as hard as we normally would.” “Without having a race, I thought she might be better to sit in behind them.” “But they went slow and Carter is a smart driver and he got around them.” Seacracka followed in the footsteps of Hooroo, who has also won for Jonny Cox after previously being trained by Katie Cox. Canterbury based owners Bo Houston and Ryan Cockburn race Hooroo and are also in the ownership of Seacracka. With her Oamaru win and a conditioning run under her belt, Seacracka will now be aimed at Group 1 Ascot Park Invercargill Cup Day, where she has the Sires Stakes Southern Solstice in her sights. Cox’s stable star Pinseeker is also on track for his shot at next week’s Group 1 Ascot Park Invercargill Cup. The pacer went to the line hard held, without racing room, in last week’s recent Group 1 The Christian Cullen at Addington. “It would have been nice to have a crack at them, but it is good to know he can be there with those better horses in a race like that,” Cox said. “He has come through the race well and he will be off to Invercargill next week.” Seacracka was among three winning drives for Carter Dalgety at Oamaru. The reinsman also scored with Ebury Street and Jay R Tolkien. The treble gave Dalgety a boost in the New Zealand junior drivers’ premiership. Heading into today’s racing at Winton, where he has five drives, Dalgety is on 55 wins for 2024. Sam Thornley leads the race on 60 wins with Wilson House in second on 56 wins. View the full article

By Jonny Turner The Canterbury raid is on ahead of Group 1 Ascot Park Hotel Invercargill Cup Day. As they have done ahead of several of Southland’s best meetings in the past, Stonewall Stud’s Canterbury team are in the south to compete in the final southern lead up meeting before Invercargill’s big day on December 20. Trainer Amanda Telfer is in Southland with three talented fillies who will be boost their Invercargill Cup Day hopes with victories at Winton on Thursday. As a race winner, Spicey Crunch looks handily placed in Race 8, the Bayleys Real Estate Mobile Pace, against a field largely made up of maiden two-year-olds. The only factor against the pacer looks to be her barrier 8 draw. “She has been trialling up well, in her first trial she led and won quite nicely,” Telfer said. “In her last trial she went back and ran on nice, she was beaten by Lakelsa who is a nice enough mare.” “Being a two-year-old filly, her wee freshen up seems to have done her the world of good and she seems to be back to where we think she should be.” Melody Banner is arguably the best placed horse racing at Winton on Thursday in Race 4, the SBSR Sires’ Stakes 3YO Fillies Southern Solstice Mobile Pace. The filly drops back from taking on top line fillies to race largely lower rated opponents. The three-year-old has been making plenty of mistakes in her recent outings, so it will be up to one of Southland’s best in Nathan Williamson to help her do things right. “I said to Nathan he will have to bring his hands,” Telfer quipped. “We have given her a little freshen up and we will see how she goes.” “When she does things right she is there with the better ones.” “She has two $30,000 races down here week to week, and the trip away might be good for her too.” “So it is a good opportunity to race in two suitable races for good stakes.” Molly Bellwin takes on her stablemate Melody Banner after being freshened recently. Though she’s drawn barrier 7 in a seven horse field, that doesn’t faze Telfer too much. “The draw won’t really matter because she has got speed, but you can’t use her early.” “If she is able to tuck in and run home, she should run a nice race.” View the full article

By Brigette Solomon Driver Jay Abernethy has already scored a winning double at Manawatu this week and hopes his luck will continue tonight with a handy book of five drives that include both Tuesday’s winners. Abernethy’s first win on Tuesday was with the Arna Donnelly trained Rough And Ready who took out the Hawera Harness Racing Is Good To Go Are You? Mobile Pace. Abernethy quickly found the front to dictate the pace throughout. The Somebeachsomewhere gelding was full of running and looked in no danger of being beat in the home straight when he let down to win comfortably by a length over Warloch who tried hard in defeat. It was Rough And Ready’s 16th win and brought his total earnings to just over $179,000. “He was good on Tuesday, once he found the front he travelled really well and won it pretty nicely in the end,” said Abernethy. In the Café Jacko Palmerstonian Mobile Pace over 2000 metres, Rough and Ready is one of four Donnelly trained runners competing in the race, along with Beta Prepare (3), Bad Medicine (4), and Cracker Rock (8). “It’s a similar field tonight except he hasn’t drawn as well, but he should be able to hold his own and hopefully get another good result.” The Fred Mitchell trained Manchester In Time was Abernethy’s second winner on Tuesday with the gelding having no trouble overcoming his 45 metre handicap to take out the Grass Track Racing @ Hawera Is The Only Way Handicap Trot. “He’s been a great horse for Fred (Mitchell) and even though he sometimes feels flat at stages in the race, he just keeps going, he’s such a tough little horse,” said Abernethy, “Fred’s done a great job with him and he’s just got better and better with time.” The four-year-old Peak gelding stepped well and tacked on to the tail of the field within the first 600 metres. Down the back straight on the first occasion Abernethy moved three wide to circumnavigate the field, taking the lead with 1000 metres left to run, and once in front he allowed the gelding to up the tempo over the final lap. Challenged by Royal Action with 500 metres to run, Manchester In Time appeared to be tiring at the top of the straight, but he rallied to pick up again, fighting on to win by 2.5 lengths over Royal Action. It was the gelding’s eighth career win and sixth this season, with five of those at Manawatu over the 2500 metre trip. He races again tonight in race two, The Tank Guy Handicap Trot, starting once again off a 45 metre handicap. “He’s off the back mark again tonight but it’s a small field and similar to what he raced on Tuesday, so I think he’ll go another good race tonight.” Alongside his winners on Tuesday, Abernethy also drove Bet On Polly and Fredastaire to second placings in their respective races, and he is engaged to drive both again at tonight’s meeting. Bet On Polly (7) starts in race three, the Buy Wholesale Vehicles Mobile Pace, while Fredastaire (8) starts in race six, the Orakinetics Mobile Pace. “It’s a shame Bet On Polly hasn’t drawn so well as she went a good race on Tuesday despite still racing a bit greenly and I think she’ll be one that will do a good job for Murray (Gibbs) once she gets the hang of racing,” says Abernethy, “Fredastaire really stuck on well on Tuesday and was only beaten a nose and I think he’ll go a good race again despite the second row draw.” Race one gets underway tonight at 5.04pm. View the full article

In the last two years in particular, the $468,241 Listed Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun–the second of four legs on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby–has been won by horses that went on to become significant players on the world stage. The 2022 renewal was taken by Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits), subsequent winner of the G2 UAE Derby, a participant in the 2023 GI Kentucky Derby and cracking second in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at season's end. Last year's running was won by Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), victorious in the 3-year-old features in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, third in the Derby before closing the year with a good third in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. For the first time since the Speightstown filly Rieno Tesoro accomplished the feat back in 2016, a filly took down the colors of her male counterparts, as Myriad Love (Jpn)–a daughter of the expatriated 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile upsetter New Year's Day–proved narrowly best to remain perfect in three trips to the races. Away alertly from gate 10, Myriad Love dueled outside of a rival passing under the line for the first time, but was content to allow Carrot Farm's Holy Grail (Jpn) (Nadal), the field's other filly, to take up the running into the first turn. Chasing from second down the back of the track, Myriad Love was sent into the lead midway on the second turn and about 400 meters from home and held sway late to deny Happy Man (Jpn) (Danon Legend) and Ryusei Sakai, who was aboard Forever Young last year. Soldier Field (Jpn) (Le Vent Se Leve {Jpn}), whose sire won this in 2017, won a photo for third over odds-on Natural Rise (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), last-out winner of the first leg in the series, the Cattleya Stakes (allowance) at Tokyo Nov. 23. A maiden winner at first asking over seven furlongs at Chukyo Sept. 16, Myriad Love was exiting a facile success in the Listed Edelweiss Sho at Mombetsu Oct. 31. One of two stakes winners for New Year's Day, Myriad Love is out of a half-sister to One Millionth (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}), a two-time listed winner on the tracks of the National Association of Racing. Third dam Difficult produced G1 February Stakes hero Testa Matta (Tapit), now a productive sire in Korea. With the victory, Myriad Love picks up 20 points and assumes the top spot on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. If she were to win the series, which continues with the Hyacinth Stakes in February and the Fukuryu Stakes (allowance) in March, ownership may opt to instead use the automatic invitation to run in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks. Wednesday's Results: ZEN-NIPPON NISAI YUSHUN (Jpn-G1)-Listed, ¥71,400,000 ($468,241), Kawasaki, 12-11, 2yo, 1600m, 1:42.40, gd. 1–MYRIAD LOVE (JPN), 121, f, 2, by New Year's Day 1st Dam: Ladybird (Jpn), by Smart Falcon (Jpn) 2nd Dam: She's Impossible, by Yankee Victor 3rd Dam: Difficult, by Concern (¥27,000,000 Ylg '23 JRHAJUL). O-Asuka Shiraishi; B-Northern Farm; T-Koichi Shintani; J-Atsuya Nishimura; ¥42,000,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $452,576. *1/2 to Steelblue (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}), GSP-Jpn, $230,889. 2–Happy Man (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Danon Legend –Belle Mure (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Shigehisa Tanabe; B-Kuwata Bokujo; T-Ryo Terashima; J-Ryusei Sakai; ¥14,700,000. 3–Soldier Field (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Le Vent Se Leve (Jpn)–I'll Go Back (Jpn), by Ammirare (Jpn). (¥8,250,000 Ylg '23 JBBAUG). O-Honjo Inc; B-Good Luck Farm; T-Hiroto Kawashima; J-Fuma Ono; ¥8,400,000. Margins: 3/4, 1HF, NO. Odds: 4.60, 7.30, 11.90. Click for the goracing.jp chart. The post Filly Myriad Love Beats The Boys In Japanese Kentucky Derby Points Race appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features the highest priced filly at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in 2023. 12.35 Chantilly, Debutantes, €30,000, 2yo, f, 8f (AWT) TIGRESS OF GAUL (FR) (Siyouni {Fr}) is a significant presence in this newcomers' event, having cost €700,000 when the joint-second highest-priced filly at last year's Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale. Owned by Jose Aguirre-Moreno and her breeder Ecurie des Monceaux, the Tim Donworth trainee is out of a half to Invincible Spirit's crack miler and sire Charm Spirit (Ire). The post Debut For Siyouni’s Deauville August Sensation appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

There are four horse racing meetings set for Australia on Thursday, December 12. Our racing analysts here at horsebetting.com.au have found you the best bets and the quaddie numbers for Caulfield Heath. Thursday’s Free Horse Racing Tips – December 21, 2024 Caulfield Heath Racing Tips As always, there are plenty of promotions available for Australian racing fans. Check out all the top online bookmakers to see what daily promotions they have. If you are looking for a new bookmaker for the horse racing taking place on December 12, 2024 check out our guide to the best online racing betting sites. Neds Code GETON 1 Take It To The Neds Level Neds Only orange bookie! Check Out Neds Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit today. “GETON is not a bonus code. Neds does not offer bonus codes in Australia and this referral code does not grant access to offers. Full terms. BlondeBet Signup Code GETON 2 Punters Prefer Blondes BlondeBet Blonde Boosts – Elevate your prices! Join BlondeBet Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GAMBLING WITH? full terms. 3 Next Gen Racing Betting pickleBet Top 4 Betting. Extra Place. Every Race. Join Picklebet Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you really gambling with? Full terms. Recommended! 4 It Pays To Play PlayUp Aussie-owned horse racing specialists! Check Out PlayUp Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Full terms. Dabble Signup Code AUSRACING 5 Say Hey to the social bet! Dabble You Better Believe It Join Dabble Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. THINK. IS THIS A BET YOU REALLY WANT TO PLACE? Full terms. Bet365 Signup Code GETON 6 Never Ordinary Bet365 World Favourite! Visit Bet365 Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. GETON is not a bonus code. bet365 does not offer bonus codes in Australia and this referral code does not grant access to offers. What’s gambling really costing you? Full terms. Horse racing tips View the full article

And breathe. If you listen carefully enough, you can almost hear the collective exhale from all of those invested in the bloodstock industry and its transfer market, as we near the conclusion of another dizzying year on the merry-go-round that is the European sales calendar. The relentless nature of it can have a bewildering effect at the best of times, but this year the sums changing hands were often so astronomical that you could be forgiven for mistaking what were you watching for a mirage. Only during the Sceptre Sessions at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale, when auctioneer Alistair Pim referred to his relationship with Amo Racing founder Kia Joorabchian as “a bromance”, were we sure that we'd been right all along. That exchange occurred during the sale of this year's Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) for 4,800,000gns, on what was the highest-grossing day in European auction history with turnover of 55,168,500gns. Remarkably, it came just four days after another extraordinary session at Park Paddocks during the December Foal Sale, when the total spend of 30,906,000gns was a record for a single day at a European foal sale. So many people put in so many hours of hard work, to make days like that happen, that it becomes an impossible task to do all of their stories justice. Of course, it's the job of those on the press bench to try, but the thing about merry-go-rounds is that you often don't have chance to stop and reflect on all of the events that played out until you eventually step off it. Now, back on terra firma, there was one result from that record-breaking day at the December Foal Sale that we felt it important to go back and acknowledge. To recap, it was another session dominated by the Amo team who topped the buyers' list, just as they already had done at Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale and as they would later do at the December Mares Sale. When it came to the weanlings, Joorabchian spent a total of 4,675,000gns on a group of four, headed by Whitsbury Manor Stud's Frankel (GB) filly out of Suelita (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), making her a full-sister to the Classic winner Chaldean (GB), who equalled the long-held record-high price set by Padua's Pride (Ire) (Caerleon), way back in 1997, at 2,500,000gns. Naturally, it was a transaction which attracted plenty of media attention, but it also had the unintended consequence of rather marginalising the sale of another Frankel filly who had gone the way of Amo just two lots earlier, that consigned by Hazelwood Bloodstock on behalf of breeders Fiona and Mick Denniff. At 850,000gns, the sale was the most lucrative result the Denniffs have been involved in at public auction in over two decades of breeding racehorses, but Fiona is philosophical when reflecting on the circumstances that rather robbed them of their moment in the sun, with any lingering regrets felt more for the filly's sake than her own. Another Frankel foal to light up the sales ring at the #TattsDecember Foal Sale as @amoracingltd pays 850,000gns for the filly out of the Listed winner Auria, sold by @AdrianOBrien2's Hazelwood Bloodstock. pic.twitter.com/OpK3ME1GvF — Tattersalls (@Tattersalls1766) November 29, 2024 “We did always love that filly,” Fiona says of the first foal out of their homebred Listed winner Auria (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}). “She was a complete mini-me of her mother but with the most delightful temperament. Everything we asked of her, she delivered and delivered. We went in hoping that she would be appreciated the way we appreciated her. “I must admit that we went to look at some of the other Frankels, and we thought that we looked very favourable against them, but to make the kind of money she made was stunning. I think I'm still a bit shell-shocked.” She continues, “It was just a shame for her that she was two lots before the Suelita filly because she got kind of lost. I understand why–the Suelita was the big one–but it seemed a shame for the filly because she was so nice and she deserved her moment in the spotlight which she probably didn't get.” The Denniffs themselves are no strangers to the spotlight, having bred a whole host of talented winners at their Nottinghamshire stud, many from the immediate family of the Frankel filly. Auria herself is a half-sister to the multiple Group 2 winner Beat The Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}), as well as the G3 Chipchase Stakes heroine and G1 Sprint Cup third Chil Chil (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). Their dam, the Listed-placed Diktat (GB) mare Tiana (GB), is one of 12 winners out of Fiona and Mick's beloved Hill Welcome (GB) (Most Welcome {GB}), the mare who has done so much for them since they bought her for just 3,000gns at Doncaster back in 2001. Now 26, Hill Welcome is reportedly still going strong in retirement, “rugged up and pampered”. “She has been incredible,” Fiona adds of Hill Welcome's legacy. “For someone to be able to go and buy a mare for that kind of money, and to produce the family that she has produced, it's extraordinary. We feel so lucky and so blessed–words fail me really.” The Frankel filly is not the only member of the Hill Welcome dynasty to have provided the Denniffs with a significant result in the sales ring this year. At the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale they sold a Havana Grey (GB) colt out of Guarded Secret (GB) (Bated Breath {GB})–one of Hill Welcome's few offspring not to win a race–for £140,000, after which an emotional Fiona needed her husband to do most of the talking as she blinked back the tears during the post-sale media debrief. “That was because we'd lost the mare [Guarded Secret],” Fiona is able to muster now. “We bred her and bought her back, and I just thought it was sad because she was a young mare. That was why I was so emotional that day, quite unlike me really. If you'd spoken to us after the Frankel foal, I wasn't anything like as emotional.” Despite the sad loss of Guarded Secret, the Denniffs still have eight mares descended from Hill Welcome on the farm, many of whom they sold as foals or yearlings, before buying them back in their later years. The latest example of that practice is the three-year-old Cuban Melody (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), who is out of the five-time winner Jacquotte Delahaye (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}). She in turn is out of Hill Welcome's Group 3-placed daughter Mary Read (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}), whose other progeny include the soon-to-be-pensioned Dubai Bounty (GB) (Dubai Destination), the dam of the high-class sprinter Kachy (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) among others. Having been sold to Highclere for 155,000gns at Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale, Cuban Melody won once in eight starts for Andrew Balding, before being reacquired by the Denniffs for 34,000gns at the December Mares Sale. The decision to do so wasn't taken lightly, having committed to reducing their number of mares earlier this year, but the Denniffs devotion to this family is such that they simply couldn't turn the opportunity down when it came to the crunch. “There aren't many of them that have escaped me!” Fiona jokes of their monopoly on the family. “I went to see Cuban Melody twice and I thought 'no, I mustn't buy another one back because I need to stick with my reduction in numbers'. But I just couldn't walk away from her. She's beautiful and we loved her before we sold her.” She adds, “We did cut back a lot this year. I have to keep one eye on the economics and I think everyone in the industry, as a whole, will be reducing a little bit. But then I'm retiring Dubai Bounty. She's not getting any younger, so she'll have her final foal in the new year and then Cuban Melody can step into her shoes as it were.” Succession plans might already be in place when it comes to the broodmare band at home in Nottinghamshire, but who each of them will be visiting next year in terms of stallions is still very much up in the air, according to Fiona. The only mating arrangement said to be set in stone is that for Auria, who will understandably return to Frankel in 2025, having been covered by his 2,000 Guineas-winning son Chaldean this season. It's the logical choice given what played out with the Frankel filly at the December Foal Sale, although anyone with even a basic understanding of the Denniffs' usual way of doing things would argue that the decision to send Auria to the Juddmonte behemoth was out of character in the first place. Indeed, embark on a quick scan of the stallions whose names appear in parenthesis throughout this article, and you'll soon discover that the Denniffs have an affinity for those with more of a sprinting background–albeit few would argue that Frankel probably would have won a July Cup had he been given the opportunity to try. “It was a complete departure,” Fiona says of the decision to send Auria to Banstead Manor. “But she was a very good racemare and I wanted to get her to the best stallion that I could possibly get her to. That is Frankel really, isn't it? “I think people forget that Frankel had a lot of speed. He was the most fabulous racehorse and when we were able to send her there it was a no-brainer.” She continues, “I've not really changed what I do. Yes, the thing with Auria would suggest I'm going down a different route, but that's possibly just a natural progression with us trying to improve our own pedigrees and to find what will suit them. “But I've always liked sprinters and, when we started, you couldn't have gone and bought a deep, middle-distance pedigree for three grand. It would have been impossible and I think that would still be the case. I couldn't go clutching my three grand and buy a good enough pedigree that would produce me a middle-distance family. “That is why I started with sprinters. We wanted to hit the ground running and I think with a sprinter you can do that. You need to invest a little bit more into middle-distance horses because they just take a bit longer–that's just a fact.” The post One Out, One In for the Denniffs and their Beloved Family at Tattersalls December appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. 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Since finishing second in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) has undergone what owner Mike Repole described as minor elective surgery on a hind ankle. The news was broken Tuesday by trainer Todd Pletcher at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program's Global Symposium on Racing, at which Pletcher was a featured speaker. “We had two vets look at him and one guy said you'll just turn him out for 60 days and there'll be no issue,” Repole said. “The other guy said maybe we should get it fixed now. I didn't even know if it was the right front or left front and then I find out it is in a hind leg. That's how minor it was. We didn't have to do the surgery. It was elective. People have him retiring and that he's going to break down. Welcome to horse racing. “The surgery was on a Wednesday,” Repole said. “(Senior Advisor, Repole Stables) Ed Rosen asked me on Friday how the surgery went for Fierceness? My reply was I didn't even check in with Todd. Let me check in on him. That's how serious it was. He was under for a full 15 minutes. It was done by Dr. (Larry) Bramlage and Dr. (Wesley) Sutter. I let Todd make the decision on whether he should have the surgery.” Repole said that in no way will the surgery impact what should be a challenging schedule in 2025 for his homebred. “He's coming back 1000%,” he said. “He's 100% fine. I have to win three races next year, the Met Mile, the Whitney and the Breeders' Cup Classic. He'll have races in between, but those are the three races I have to win.” The post Fierceness Undergoes Minor Surgery; Should Still Be on Track for a Spring Campaign appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A 1/60th share in City Light (Fr) will be offered as lot 13 of Arqana Online's December Sale, the sales company announced on Wednesday. The leading sire of 3-year-olds in France by number of winners, the son of Siyouni (Fr) stands at Haras d'Etreham. The share gives the right to two coverings per year. City Light's third crop will race next year, and he has sired 60 winners to date. Mimos (Fr) took the G3 Prix Miesque, while listed winner La Guapisima (Fr) was second in the G3 Preis der Winterkonigin. The sale will take place from 3-5 p.m. French time on Tuesday, Dec. 17. For the full catalogue, please visit Arqana's website. The post City Light Share Late Addition To Arqana Online December Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. NEW HISA/HIWU STEWARDS RULINGS The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the HIWU “pending” and “resolved” cases portals. Resolved ADMC Violations Date: 12/10/2024 Licensee: Roderick Rodriguez, trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Final decision by HIWU. Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Phenylbutazone—a controlled substance (Class C)—in a sample taken from Bernardo's Legacy, who won at Gulfstream Park on 10/26/24. Date: 12/09/2024 Licensee: Moshe Mark, trainer Penalty: A written Reprimand (per 9/26/23 HISA Guidance). Final decision by HIWU. Explainer: Vets' list medication violation for the presence of Omeprazole (GastroGard)—a controlled substance (Class C)—in a sample taken from Chocolate Shake on 10/17/24. Date: 12/09/2024 Licensee: Juan Aguirre, trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); A written Reprimand (per 9/26/23 HISA Guidance). Final decision by HIWU. Explainer: For the presence of Omeprazole (GastroGard)—a controlled substance (Class C)—in a sample taken from Future Flay, who finished sixth at Mahoning Valley on 10/19/24. Date: 12/05/2024 Licensee: Francisco Rodriguez, trainer Penalty: Disqualification of Covered Horse's Race results, including forfeiture of all purses and other compensation, prizes, trophies, points, and rankings and repayment or surrender (as applicable); a fine of $500; imposition of 1.5 Penalty Points. Admission. Explainer: Medication violation for the presence of Methocarbamol—a controlled substance (Class C)—in a sample taken from Wrong Direction, who was third at Pleasanton on 10/19/24. Pending ADMC Violations 12/11/2024, Bonnie Lucas, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Methamphetamine—a banned substance—in a sample taken from Thencomemorning, who won at Delaware Park on 5/23/24. 12/10/2024, Stuart Williams, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Gabapentin—a controlled substance (Class B)—in a sample taken from Pandora's Gift, who finished third in the G2 Franklin S. at Keeneland on 10/13/24. 12/09/2024, Steve Knapp, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Acepromazine—a controlled substance (Class B)—in a sample taken from Duty First on 11/7/24. 12/06/2024, Emma Gaffney, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Triamcinolone—a controlled substance (Class C)—in a sample taken from Fight Til Dawn on 11/6/24. 12/05/2024, Happy Alter, trainer: Pending vets' list medication violation for the presence of Acepromazine—a controlled substance (Class B)—in a sample taken from Love Paradox on 10/11/24. Violations of Crop Rule The HISA rulings website is currently experiencing technical difficulties, a possible fix for which could come around the middle of December, according to a HISA spokesperson. The post Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, Dec. 5-11 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article