Wandering Eyes

Tizbud gelding has won a stakes in four seasons—2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. View the full article

Bruno Schickedanz's homebred mare Scotty's Model earned her first stakes victory in the $100,000 Ballade Stakes May 20 at Woodbine as an 8-year-old. View the full article

For the second consecutive year, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen claimed the top prize in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 bonus program offered to trainers for their participation in stakes races over Preakness weekend at Pimlico Race Course. View the full article

Fownes thrilled to be back for Lucky Ninth Kranji visit View the full article

New Ocean widens Hennessy's horizon to Kranji View the full article

Kranji Mile tracknotes Monday May 21 View the full article

Horse's test result May 19 View the full article

TIMONIUM, MD – The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale kicks off Monday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, with bidding expected to begin at 2 p.m., three hours later than originally scheduled due to the postponement of last Thursday’s final session of the auction’s under-tack show. That rescheduled session took place Sunday after the skies finally cleared out after four days of rain. After a plethora of :10 1/5 co-fastest furlong works, a colt by Union Rags (hip 561) earned the outright bullet for the distance at the under tack show when working in :10 flat for consignor Bobby Dodd Sunday. The bay colt is out of Tanglewood Tale (Tale of the Cat) and is from the family of champion Housebuster. Brad Grady’s Grand Oaks purchased the youngster for $90,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale. “We’ve had one go in :10 flat up here before, but it’s not common,” Grady said. “It takes a special horse to do it and this is a big, pretty horse. He’ll be impressive on the end of a shank, too.” Dodd added, “He’s a very good physical. A big strong, athletic-looking horse.” A filly by Real Solution (hip 556) turned in the fastest quarter-mile breeze Sunday, covering the distance in :21 3/5. Consigned by All Dreams Equine, the filly is out of Sunday Sport (Honour and Glory) and was bred by Ken and Sarah Ramsey. The juvenile is a half-sister to stakes placed Touchdown Kitten (Kitten’s Joy). The under-tack preview’s fastest quarter-mile worker was a son of Mucho Macho Man (hip 278), who covered the distance in :21 1/5 Wednesday. Sunday’s session of the preview was marred when hip 410, a colt by Bandbox, broke down on the turn after completing his furlong work. The chestnut was euthanized on the track. The preview began in balmy conditions last Tuesday and was conducted during at-times heavy rains on Wednesday before returning to sunny skies Sunday. The variable conditions may prove a challenge for potential buyers, according to Dodd. “We had one fairly good day, and then it was a really bad day and then it got really bad and we had to wait until today,” Dodd said. “Today has been a good day, thank God. So it’s going to be a challenge for buyers to analyze all of that. And it’s going to be a challenge for them to get all their work done since the sale starts tomorrow. They are going to have to look at all of these Sunday horses this afternoon and tomorrow morning.” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. credited the hard work of track superintendent Chief Denmeyer and his team in getting the track ready for works Sunday. “I would hate to know how many hours [Denmeyer]’s worked this week, and in particular the last three or four days, to get the track in this kind of condition,” Browning said. “It was remarkable. He told us yesterday that, if things went right, we would be surprised at how good the track would be and he was 100% right. He might have worked all night on the track, I don’t know, but it’s a tribute to people working hard and trying to do the right thing. And we’re very appreciative of his efforts and his entire crew.” Boyd said, despite the changing weather conditions, the track remained fairly consistent throughout the week. “I think the track played as fairly as it possibly could over the three, four, five, six days that we were here,” he said. “The consignors were very cooperative and helpful and understanding that we had to make an adjustment. I think clearly it was the right decision on Thursday to not host the under-tack show from a safety perspective. We were fortunate that we had a nice day today, but the times over the track were pretty much consistent over all three days and that is what you hope for, a fair and unbiased situation throughout the sale. Obviously, conditions change a little bit when you are breezing 600 horses, but overall I thought it went remarkably well under the circumstances.” There was brisk activity at the barns and in the grandstand Sunday as people looked to catch the last of the breezes and check out horses before the auction’s Monday afternoon start. Trainer Steve Asmussen and owner Ron Winchell, fresh off a third-place finish with Tenfold (Curlin) in Saturday’s GI Preakness S. took in the action from the grandstand, while trainer Bob Baffert shopped the sales barns as his Derby and Preakness winner Justify (Scat Daddy) was shipping back to Churchill Downs. The activity bodes well for a good sale, according to Browning. “It feels good,” Browning said of pre-sale activity. “A lot of horses breezed well and there has been a lot of interest in the sale. The consignors have reported that there has been plenty of activity in the barns. Two-year-old sales always have a little polarization, really all sales are having a little polarization in the marketplace now, but I think this is a really good group of horses on the grounds and it seems like a deep and diverse group of buyers on the grounds.” Dodd is expecting much of the same over the next two days, with high interest in the top horses and less demand for the perceived lesser-quality offerings. “I think it will be a good horse sale,” Dodd said. “It’s going to be just like the rest of them, good horses are going to bring the money and the ones that don’t vet or the lesser horses are going to fall through the cracks.” Last year’s Midlantic sale was topped by a record-setting $1.5-million son of Curlin, a recent stakes winner named Curlin’s Honor. In all, 330 juveniles sold during the 2017 auction for a total of $25,237,000. The average was $76,476 and the median was $35,000. Recent graduates of the Midlantic sale include Grade I winners Army Mule (Friesan Fire), a $825,000 graduate of the sale who won the GI Carter H. in April, and Lady Ivanka (Tiz Wonderful), who sold for $80,000 last year before winning the GI Spinaway S. The auction celebrated its most recent graded stakes-winning graduate Saturday at Pimlico when Switzerland (Speightstown), purchased for $500,000 in 2016, won the GIII Maryland Sprint S. “The reason this sale is producing quality horses is because consignors are bringing us quality horses to sell,” Browning said. “They have confidence in the marketplace here. And as the quality of the horses the consignors bring us increases and improves, the success the buyers have buying better stock also results in increased confidence.” The sale’s second and final session begins at 2 p.m. Tuesday. View the full article

The 2018 Inglis Ready 2 Race Sale will return to Sydney and be held at Riverside Stables on Monday, Oct. 15, Inglis announced early Monday morning. The sales company has partnered with Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club, allowing the 2-year-old sale to be part of the events surrounding the A$13-million 1200-metre The Everest, slated for Oct. 13 at Royal Randwick. Interest in the revamped auction has been high, with over 100 entries already received by sires like Fastnet Rock (Aus), Spirit of Boom (Aus), Smart Missile (Aus), Written Tycoon (Aus), So You Think (NZ), Tavistock (NZ) and Deep Field (Aus). One of the many changes to the sale involves the breeze-ups, scheduled for Cranbourne (Sept. 14), in New Zealand for the first time at Taupo (Sept. 17), Warwick Farm (Sept. 21) and an alternative breeze-up session at Warwick Farm three days prior to the sale. Gallops will be filmed with slow-motion cameras and walking videos will be taken to assist in the promotion of juveniles to prospective buyers. On-course stabling is available at Riverside before the Warwick Farm breeze-up session and vendors may leave their drafts there for the three weeks between the breeze-up session and Oct. 15. “We started this five years ago and we believe there is demand for the up-and-going product and we still believe that is right,” said Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster. “We already have horses entered in the sale that have been to Warwick Farm and Cranbourne and are familiar with the tracks and their surrounds. It is a great advantage for young horses to feel comfortable on the tracks when they breeze-up and with Taupo, Cranbourne and Warwick Farm, we have three outstanding grass surfaces to work with.” Added Webster, “Whenever the horses are training, be that at Cranbourne, Warwick Farm or any racecourse they are being prepared at, it is our intention for them to wear their lot number on their saddlecloth to allow trainers, agents, syndicators and owners to become familiar with the horses ahead of the sale, rather than just relying on the final breeze-up. We believe this early recognition of the horses in work will allow local buyers to engage with the sale more readily. In 2017, the sale grossed A$5,525,000 for 79 lots (55%), which averaged A$69,937. The median was A$50,000. Taking pride of place was lot 86, a War (Aus) colt who brought A$420,000. Half-price entries are now being taken, with any made prior to 5 p.m. on June 12 costing only $500 + GST. For more information, go to www.inglis.com.au. View the full article

Coolmore Stud's No Nay Never was represented by his first black-type stakes winner when his daughter Servalan registered a 1 1/4-length score in the listed Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes at Naas May 20. View the full article

Don Alberto's 4-year-old homebred Nuevo Maestro, filly Penn Rose, and defending champion Top Casablanca lead a field of 11 starters entered in the Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella (G1) on turf May 21. View the full article

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Luminate (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) takes her final step towards the G1 Prix de Diane at Saint-Cloud on Monday, with the G3 Prix Cleopatre her stage. Successful on testing ground in the G3 Prix Penelope over the same course and distance at the start of the month, the unbeaten bay will stay further than this in due course and will be tested by the likes of TDN Rising Star Enchanting Skies (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Racing in the colours of Mayfair Speculators when impressing on debut over this trip at ParisLongchamp Apr. 24, she now sports those of Qatar Racing who own her in partnership with Barbara Keller and Ecurie des Monceaux. View the full article

Following a successful Carnival campaign, Godolphin’s Zaman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) is back in action in Monday’s G2 Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen, or German 2000 Guineas, at Cologne. Last seen taking the Listed Meydan Classic Mar. 1, the G2 Vintage S. runner-up has a profile typical of past overseas winners of this Classic and trainer Charlie Appleby is hopeful. “Zaman ran some good races as a 2-year-old and carried that form out to Dubai for the Carnival, where he won the Meydan Classic,” he commented. “The step up to a mile looked to suit him last time out and we have had this race in mind ever since. His preparation has gone very well and conditions should suit.” Last year’s G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte scorer Fighting Irish (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Al Shaqab’s G3 Tattersalls S. fourth Fajjaj (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) make for a solid British challenge, while of the home team the G3 Dr Busch Memorial first and second Kronprinz (Ger) (Lord of England {Ger}) and Weltstar (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) look the most likely to make an impact. View the full article

Saint-Cloud’s Monday card has the G2 Prix Corrida as its main focus, with the returning Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) burdened with a seven-pound penalty for her success in the G1 Prix Vermeille at Chantilly in September. Subsequently second in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot, Al Asayl Bloodstock’s 6-year-old may be caught out over a trip shy of her best on ground possibly too lively. Godolphin’s Kitesurf (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) had Listen In (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) two lengths back in second in the G3 Prix Allez France over 10 furlongs at ParisLongchamp Apr. 29 and race-fitness could prove crucial here. “Kitesurf came out of her win in the Prix Allez France very well and this race is the logical next step for her,” the operation’s Lisa-Jane Graffard said. “We were delighted with her performance last time out, because she was coming back from a lay-off and carrying a penalty. She has done well from three to four and we hope that she has a big season ahead of her.” View the full article

It’s been a week now since the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a federal law barring wagering on team sports, blasting open a legislative void for individual states to pursue, regulate and profit from legal sports betting. Racetrack operators nationwide, largely hoping they will be entitled to an outsized share of the sports betting revenue stream while envisioning their sparsely populated grandstands as the perfect place to hatch a new paradigm in American gambling, are celebrating this landmark victory by partying like it’s 1993. Why 1993? Because that’s roughly the start of what would come to be known as the U.S. racino era. You remember those heady days from a quarter-century ago, when tracks on the verge of sliding off the Thoroughbred grid were seemingly thrown a statutory lifeline in the form of purse subsidies from electronic and casino gaming. But as more and more states got in on the act, the initial giddiness of racinos as saviors of the sport waned to the point where now, 25 years later, too many racetrack/casino marriages are either strained, fractured, or–at the very least–are in need of serious relationship counseling. While tracks in some states have indeed bolstered their short- and medium-term racing products as a result of expanded gaming, in too many jurisdictions the long-range outlook for purse subsidization remains volatile. How many racinos nationwide, give you a strong sense that they “do it right” in terms of not cannibalizing the racing aspects of their businesses while engaged in the lucrative pursuit of more and more gaming? Certainly not more than a handful. Most everywhere else, to some degree, the corporate burden of horses running counterclockwise in circles is tolerated by operators (and states) as a necessary annoyance required by law to maintain gaming licensure. Dates have been cut, purse subsidies have been clawed back, and (with a few noteworthy exceptions) there is little incentive to sink money back into racing-related investments. We’re not too far away from the day when some early adopters of the racino model will be willing to pay large, one-time, upfront severance sums to get their racing “partners” to go away entirely. Now, with sports betting looming as a reality, the proverbial new blood is in the water and every shark in the racetrack/racino/casino ocean is circling the Supreme Court’s decision for a taste. There will be no lack of corporate suitors willing to form “alliances” with racetracks in case states give statutory preference to sports wagering at tracks. But 25 years from now, will we look back on this era too, and question whether the racing industry should have been doing more to solidify its own sport instead of trying to use another form of betting as a crutch? Make no mistake, the state of New Jersey ($9 million in legal fees) and Monmouth Park ($2 million in infrastructure preparation) gambled hugely on winning a quixotic, long-shot Supreme Court battle that, as recently as one year ago, few legal experts thought would even be heard by the nation’s highest court, let alone won by the underdogs. The inertia for pushing this case all the way to the Supreme Court was provided by co-plaintiff New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, whose advisor and attorney, Dennis Drazin, is also the chairman and chief executive of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth. And now that Drazin and New Jersey have beaten the professional and collegiate sports leagues by having the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) declared unconstitutional, they will likely enjoy first-to-market status for sports betting outside of Las Vegas. But in any industry or endeavor, being first to market is not a reliable indicator of success or staying power over the long haul. Entities that come online with a concept a little bit later down the road usually have the advantage of correcting the inevitable mistakes made by pioneers, and a third wave of revisionists is usually willing to pay a premium for being late to the marketplace if it means being able to cherry-pick the best strategies, locations and platforms. Racetracks will try to make the case to legislatures that they are ideal locations for sports betting because they are existing, licensed gambling facilities. This was a popular argument at the dawn of the racino era, when the internet was not widely accessible. But it’s a weak plank now considering how society is used to the convenience and (relative) security of transacting online and via mobile devices. You don’t see the country’s major stock exchanges (which are essentially massive betting platforms) doing the bulk of their business via trading pits and brick-and-mortar brokerages any more because it’s impractical, inefficient and not what customers want. Similarly, any attempt by racing entities to hoard that initial on-track-only status by trying to keep sports gambling from expanding beyond a track’s physical borders would be shortsighted. Mobile/online sports betting might be a little further down the timeline here in the U.S., but it will eventually evolve into the preferred and dominant format (until some other means of communicating and transacting that we cannot yet conceive of gets invented). Thus, the first-to-market rush among tracks wanting in on brick-and-mortar sports betting shouldn’t happen at the expense of having well-thought-out legislative infrastructure in place to accommodate emerging, “next big thing” concepts (like in-race or in-game wagering and betting exchange formats) that will be the real sports betting money-makers in the not-too-distant future. Without that foresight, racino-era history will repeat itself all across the Thoroughbred landscape. Except this time around, those racetracks that bet solely on brick-and-mortar sports betting will be bemoaning the fact that their sports books are in need of subsidies because they’ve become just as empty as their trackside grandstands. View the full article

Almond Eye swept to a convincing, two-length victory in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1) May 20 at Tokyo Racecourse as second-crop sires Lord Kanaloa and Orfevre were represented by two of the first three placings. View the full article

The perpetual debate about what qualities predispose a stallion to success is destined to be infinite, and by its nature is what causes the industry to keep going round anyway. But even Arthur Mitchell, the man who picked out I Am Invincible (Aus) with his brother Harry, admitted of Australia’s latest sire sensation, “You can’t predict these things at all.” It is probably fair to say that few would have predicted I Am Invincible would be leading first-season sire of 2013/14 off a A$10,000 covering fee. And fewer still, four years later, probably would have guessed that this coming breeding season I Am Invincible would be up to A$192,500. And how many can even argue that he doesn’t warrant that almost dizzying upward spiral? I Am Invincible sits second to only the reigning champion sire Snitzel (Aus) (2018 service fee A$220,000) by both progeny earnings and stakes winners this season. Behind him in both categories are the likes of Fastnet Rock (Aus), High Chaparral (Ire) and Street Cry (Ire). He has this season sired 18 stakes winners, 12 of those group winners. Four of those group winners are 2-year-olds, and remarkably that list doesn’t even include Oohood (Aus) who, with A$996,100 in the bank, is surely the world’s most accomplished maiden, having been placed in Australia’s three most important 2-year-old Group 1s. I Am Invincible’s sales averages have risen as sharply as his stud fee: his 52 first-crop yearlings sold in 2013 averaged A$39,950 and this year, with the country’s major yearling sales in the books, his 98 sold have averaged A$441,901. On race record and pedigree, I Am Invincible was a far from obvious candidate to be a champion sire. He was a decent racehorse; he won in February of his 2-year-old season and picked up a listed and Group 3 win at five, his career somewhat impeded by chronic foot issues. He was even a length second to the brilliant sprinter Takeover Target in a Group 1. He is, however, by Invincible Spirit who-while brilliant in the North-never really made it Down Under, leaving just eight total stakes winners from five seasons shuttling. While his first two dams are unraced, the third dam is the five-time winner Sister Pedrille (Aus) (Cardinal {Aus}), whose daughters produced six stakes horses including the G1 Queen of the Turf S. winner Diamond Drille (Aus) (Al Maher {Aus}). Much further back in the family are the champion mare Flight (Aus) and leading French sire Clarion (Fr). Arthur Mitchell said it was I Am Invincible’s looks that drew the Yarraman team to purchase half of him from owners Ray and Brett Gall of Pedrille Thoroughbreds, who had bought him as a yearling for A$62,500. “We knew about I Am Invincible as a 2-year-old and we knew he was a good-looking yearling and we had followed him,” Mitchell said. “We knew he’d had issues with his feet, and we’re still very careful with his feet; we spend a lot of time worrying about them. On paper he didn’t look good enough, but we’d had a bit of a look and he’d run second to Takeover Target in a pretty good sprint.” “We met the owners and we agreed on a price subject to us going to look at him. Harry and I flew down, my brother Bill picked us up and we drove down and said, ‘the rule here is that the horse has to walk out of his box and we’ve just got to love him.’ He walked out of his box and we looked at each other and said, ‘we’ve just got to have this horse. He’s so good-looking.’ He’s the most marvelous-looking horse with the best temperament you’ve ever seen.” Yarraman and Pedrille sold 13 lifetime breeding rights in the horse to get him some extra support from the start. A few of those breeding rights have been offered at public auction in recent years, with Phoenix Thoroughbreds snapping up one for A$575,000 at the Inglis Chairman’s sale last month. Two will be offered as part of the supplementary catalogue of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. “For a 10-grand horse we always got good books to him because we could sell him on looks,” Mitchell said. “We weren’t too fussy what was bred and a lot of the good early winners were bred by us. We sold 13 lifetime breeding rights to help, and [first-crop G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner] Brazen Beau got the stallion rolling. We stood the first four years at 10-grand and when his first 2-year-olds looked good and we knew they could run, we started to creep his fee up.” I Am Invincible went up to A$25,000 off his first season sires’ premiership-the foals resulting from that season are this year’s 2-year-olds-A$50,000 the following year and A$110,000 last year. Last year’s book included the great Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}), and Mitchell said, “he’s absolutely flat out with people trying to breed to him.” The intention was to initially restrict I Am Invincible to 160 mares last year, but the stallion’s good fertility meant that number got bumped up a bit. “He’s very fertile so he got through his main book quite easily, and then in November, people still wanted to breed to him later in the season and he was sitting in his box, so we were inclined to let a few in,” Mitchell explained. “We certainly weren’t pushing him, he did it himself. But this year we would like to bring him back a bit. He’s probably fit to cover 180 mares.” Mitchell said I Am Invincible’s success could stem from the fact that he regularly passes on his good looks and demeanour. “He throws his good looks and he’s a dominant bay/brown stallion,” he said. “His clearance rate at the sales is fantastic. He’s a reliable type-getter, they’ve got good dispositions, they are easy horses to train; I wasn’t sure about them being 2-year-olds, but this year with them being from better mares in better stables they’ve stepped up as 2-year-olds.” I Am Invincible has achieved a remarkable clearance rate at this year’s sales, with 98 of his 103 offered sold for an average of A$441,901 and a median of A$345,000. It is conceivable to think that I Am Invincible would be popular in the Northern Hemisphere considering the prolific reach of his sire there, but Mitchell said it is unlikely the horse will leave his homeland. Northern Hemisphere time covers would be considered, however, “for the right kind of mare.” “I haven’t considered shuttling him, I’ve had numerous offers as you can imagine but I haven’t considered it,” Mitchell said. “With his feet, and he’s a very big horse–he’s 16.3–so he’s a big horse to travel and we just feel it’s safer. We’re not paying off an expensive horse, he didn’t cost a lot by today’s standards, so we’re just as happy to keep him at home.” “I’m not anti-shuttling and I think it’s been a huge thing in Australia and it’s introduced some fabulous blood. Now we have mares foaling to American Pharoah, who is the most stunning horse and we’re all very excited to see his progeny. I think [shuttling] has been a great advancement for Australian breeding with Darley and Coolmore leading the way and now John Messara going the Japanese way to a degree. It all benefits our gene pool immensely.” Yarraman Park also stands Hinchinbrook (Aus), a three-quarter brother to Snitzel, and this year it will add I Am Invincible’s Group 1-winning son Hellbent (Aus) to the roster. While Mitchell said he is a proponent of Australia breeding more stamina-oriented horses, he said Yarraman Park will stick to the speed formula for now. “I think Australia in general has been speed-oriented and on this farm we’re going to stick to speed. It seems to be a formula that works,” he said. “We’re a commercial farm and we do sell most of our yearlings, and we find it easier to sell [speed horses]. Unless you get a top-class proven sire coming through like Pierro possibly is, then you can get a good return in the sales ring [for a stamina-bred horse].” “I think [the Australian focus on speed] is a problem in the respect that we have this fabulous prizemoney in our top staying races and most of it is going to imports, so it would be nice to see more Australian-breds and New Zealand-breds competing at that level,” Mitchell added. “Here, most owners tend to want a faster return. They don’t really want to wait until the horse is four, they’d like to see something happen a fair bit earlier. I think it’s gone a bit that way and syndicates are a huge thing in Australia. I think people like to see action a bit earlier and that probably hasn’t worked in our favour.” Hellbent, the winner of this season’s G1 William Reid S. at five, will start out with the odds much more in his favour than what his sire experienced; he has been fully syndicated and is fully booked at A$27,500. “Hellbent is a horse we bought into as a 3-year-old because we followed him being a son of I Am Invincible,” Mitchell said. “We knew a bit about him and funny enough we heard on the grapevine that the chap who owned him was interested in selling half. We found out the price and thought ‘blimey, that horse could fit our profile.’ We bought half of him and raced him on. We were very unlucky in a few races; he kicked out one day and got hurt when he was odds-on favourite in a Group 2 and he was narrowly beaten in two Group 1s, and this year luckily won his Group 1 very impressively after being narrowly beaten in one two weeks earlier.” “He’s proven he’s a super fast horse with a turn of foot, which is the profile we’re looking for. He’s a good-looking, tough Australian type of horse pretty much in the mould of his father, just not as big, but a nice 16-hand good-looking horse. We’ve been swamped not only for shares but by people looking for nominations. He’ll cover a book far superior to the book his father covered the first few years. Already we’ve been able to help people select the mares they send and his book will be of a very good quality.” Hellbent will have plenty to live up to both in his own sire as well as Hinchinbrook, who was born on the farm and got his second Group 1 winner, Seabrook (NZ), in the G1 Champagne S. on Apr. 21 on the same card that Snitzel sired the G1 All Aged S. winner Trapeze Artist (Aus). “Hinchinbrook is a three-quarter brother to Snitzel and Snitzel was bred here by Francois Naude who is a long-term client of ours,” Mitchell said. “We sold Snitzel to Damion Flower and he went on and John Messara got him for Arrowfield and he’s proven to be an amazing success. When we had Hinchinbrook the owner decided to keep him and race him so we had our finger on him from a very early time, and we were always keen to stand him. Sadly his mother died foaling him in the middle of the EI [Equine Influenza outbreak of 2008].” Hinchinbrook’s success this season doesn’t stop with Seabrook; he has sired six stakes winners, four of those group winners, in 2017/18. “Although another horse who never won a Group 1, he ran behind Black Caviar and Hay List and these great horses in Group 1s,” Mitchell said. “Although he never put his hand up for a Group 1 he was a Group 1 horse. He’s done well and had another price rise this year [to A$55,000] and he’s going to be very popular. He does cover a restricted book–he’ll only cover about 130 mares–we try to keep him to two mares a day. But he’s done a great job and he doesn’t have the numbers some of the other horses have.” I Am Invincible will have five sons at stud this year; in addition to the Group 1 winners Hellbent and Brazen Beau-whose first-crop yearlings have been well received at this year’s yearling sales-there is Newgate’s Singapore champion sprinter Super One (Aus) with his first yearlings next season, and newcomers Kobayashi (Aus) at Aquis and Overshare (Aus) at Spendthrift. Sons of Invincible Spirit, too, have been filling up the planes to Australia in light of I Am Invincible’s success, and his sons at stud Down Under this year will include Group 1 winners Shalaa (Ire), Territories (Ire) and National Defense at Arrowfield, Darley and Sun Stud, respectively, while Cable Bay (Ire) covered 100 mares last year at Woodside Park Stud. Arthur Mitchell and his younger brother Harry, who run the stud together, have a lifetime of experience in the Thoroughbred industry and know Yarraman Park like the back of their hands, having grown up on the land after emigrating from England at the ages of 13 and eight, respectively. While knowledge and experience doesn’t necessarily predispose one to success in the game of standing stallions, the Mitchell brothers’ record of unearthing useful-if not now, extraordinary-stallions from not the most obvious backgrounds speaks for itself. “We’ve been standing stallions at various levels, some ok and some not so good, battling away,” Mitchell said. “And then we got into some better stallions; we got Catbird, who was a Golden Slipper winner, and had a bit of luck with him and a horse called Magic Albert who did very well.” “But this horse is a once in a lifetime horse and he’s exceeded everyone’s expectations,” Mitchell admitted of I Am Invincible. “Our turn came and when it came it came in a big way.” Mitchell was equally as optimistic about the outlook of the Thoroughbred industry in his country. “I do think Australian breeding and racing is in a very vibrant state at the moment,” he said. “Our prizemoney continues to go up and is very strong and competitive. Especially with the Asian influence starting to buy more horses down here, we have some large Chinese-based owners and buyers and stud owners now; I think it’s pretty vibrant and in the next few years at least I don’t see any downside at all.” “Our racing is strong and that’s driven by prizemoney, which is in turn driven by our racing administrators. John Messara and Peter V’landys in New South Wales have been outstanding dealing with government and making sure we get a fair cut of the betting handle. That’s been a huge thing for us. Racing here is viable, even at the country races we have prizemoney of 20,000 at the smallest meetings. It makes it viable for people now to have a horse, or a share in a horse, from all walks of life. That’s been the wonderful thing in Australia even in our big races with our syndicates owning Golden Slipper winners. The man on the street can own a share in a Golden Slipper winner-that doesn’t really happen anywhere else in the world.” View the full article

Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) filly Almond Eye (Jpn) reaffirmed her class and staked her claims to the Japanese Triple Tiara on Sunday, with a win in the G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) going 2400 metres at Tokyo. Successful in the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) last out at Hanshin, the Silk Racing colourbearer was bet down to 70 cents on the dollar and did not disappoint, winning by two lengths over the Sunday Racing duo of 11-1 shot Lily Noble (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}), with 2-year-old champion and second choice Lucky Lilac (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) another 1 3/4 lengths back in third. The trio are eligible for a start in ParisLongchamp’s G1 Prix Vermeille over the Yushun Himba trip in France on Sept. 16, with their entry fees waived and a travel supplement available. They were also the first three home in the Oka Sho, with Lucky Lilac reversing positions with Lily Noble in that Apr. 8 Classic. Later this fall, the 2000-metre G1 Shuka Sho is the third leg of the tiara at Kyoto on Oct. 14. Christophe Lemaire, who was celebrating his 39th birthday as Almond Eye became the 14th filly to snag the double, said, “I had every confidence in her and the race went perfectly for us. She was a little hyped up, but we had a good start and in established a good position. From there she settled well and her turn of foot in the home straight was terrific. The stretch in distance was absolutely no problem for her. She is one special filly with great potential and fit to face international competition if she has the chance.” Sitting about three deep past the stands the first time in sixth, Almond Eye was relaxed under Lemaire, as Sayakachan (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}) scampered well clear of her rivals. That foe’s double-digit advantage held all the way until the third turn, as the remainder began to engage and by 400 metres out, Sayakachan was weakening to the onrushing Lily Noble and Almond Eye on the outside. The latter was always going best of all in the final strides and safely held the runner-up by a comfortable margin. Lucky Lilac closed determinedly with a furlong remaining, but could not catch the top two. The only blip on her otherwise flawless resume was a runner-up performance at first asking at Niigata in August, and the bay quickly put things to right in a Tokyo 2-year-old maiden going a mile in October. A first group victory went her way in the G3 Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen at Kyoto in her 3-year-old bow on Jan. 8, before her Guineas win. Pedigree Notes… Previously the first Group 1 victress for her sire in the Japanese 1000 Guineas, Almond Eye is the best foal and the sixth winner of six foals to race out of the Japanese MSW and G1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup bridesmaid Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn). After the Yushun Himba victress, Fusaichi Pandora, who counts the blue hen Sex Appeal (Buckpasser) as her second dam, has a yearling colt by Rulership (Jpn). Champions and full-brothers El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer) and Try My Best (Northern Dancer) were also produced by the unraced half-sister to fellow champion Malinowski (Sir Ivor) and GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}). (Click here to read an Alan Carasso feature on Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Sunday, Tokyo, Japan YUSHUN HIMBA (JAPANESE OAKS)-G1, ¥249,230,000 (US$224,958/£167,055/€191,044), Tokyo, 5-20, 3yo, f, 2400mT, 2:23.80, fm. 1–ALMOND EYE (JPN), 121, f, 3, by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) 1st Dam: Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) (MSW & G1SP-Jpn, $3,264,457), by Sunday Silence 2nd Dam: Lotta Lace, by Nureyev 3rd Dam: Sex Appeal, by Buckpasser O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Sakae Kunieda; J-Christophe Lemaire; ¥137,461,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. 2–Lily Noble (Jpn), 121, f, 3, by Rulership (Jpn) 1st Dam: Pure Chaplet (Jpn), by Kurofune 2nd Dam: Baptista (Jpn), by Sunday Silence 3rd Dam: Bebop (Jpn), by Amber Shadai (Jpn) O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥51,846,000. 3–Lucky Lilac (Jpn), 121, f, 3, by Orfevre (Jpn) 1st Dam: Lilacs and Lace, by Flower Alley 2nd Dam: Refinement, by Seattle Slew 3rd Dam: Stella Madrid, by Alydar O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥31,923,000. Margins: 2, 1 3/4, 1 3/4; Odds: 0.70, 11.30, 3.10. Also Ran: Red Sakuya (Jpn), Mau Lea (Jpn), Satono Walkure (Jpn), Pioneer Bio (Jpn), Usubenino Kimi (Jpn), All for Love (Jpn), Rosa Glauca (Jpn), Randonnee, Sister Flag (Jpn), Cantabile (Jpn), Toho Artemis (Jpn), Win Lanakila (Jpn), Sayakachan (Jpn), Ohana (Jpn). Scratched: Tosen Bless (Jpn). Click for the Racing Post chart. JRA Video. View the full article

China Horse Club, WinStar Farm, Starlight Racing and Head of Plains Partners LLC’s Justify (Scat Daddy) emerged from his victory in Saturday’s GI Preakness S. in fine condition and will eye a bid to become racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner in the GI Belmont S. June 9, trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday morning. The undefeated ‘TDN Rising Star’ showed no signs that a minor heel bruise he experienced when winning the GI Kentucky Derby two weeks prior had flared up, much to the relief of Baffert. “I don’t see why we wouldn’t go to the Belmont as long as he stays like this,” Baffert said. “He looks good. He looks pretty bright. He ate everything…No foot issues today.” Baffert said he was proud of his colt for withstanding a race-long challenge from champion and Derby runner-up Good Magic (Curlin), shrugging that rival off in the stretch and holding on to defeat a surging Bravazo (Awesome Again) by a half-length. “He did something totally different yesterday,” Baffert said. “He got challenged early. Good Magic was pushing him out the whole way. He had a five-eighths run, so that’s probably why he didn’t have a lot of kick at the end. But Mike said he could have won by more. When he knew he had it he just coasted to the wire. When he was pulling up and the horses came to him, he takes off again. It was close, but for him, what he’s done–[in his] fifth race–it’s pretty incredible.” The Hall of Fame trainer added that despite the Belmont’s grueling 1 1/2-mile distance, he believes it may ultimately prove to be a less stressful race for the hulking son of Scat Daddy. “I think the Belmont will be easier on him, the way it’s set up,” said Baffert. Good Magic also emerged from the hard-fought race no worse for the wear, according to trainer Chad Brown, who added that he would be pointed toward a summer campaign beginning with the GI Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park or the GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga. “So far, the horse looks good,” said Brown. “We put him in a difficult situation in the race and he did the best he could.” While Brown has been on the record as saying Good Magic will not participate in the Belmont, Bravazo is likely headed to New York for a rematch with Justify in three weeks, according to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. According to Lukas, the Calumet Farm colorbearer came out of his race in good order Sunday. “I was very, very pleased with the way he woke up this morning,” Lukas said. “He was very sharp and we made a few turns around the shedrow. He was very sharp. That part was excellent.” With Bravazo vastly outrunning his 15-1 odds to finish second, Lukas joked that he was as pleased as possible with a second-place finish. “If you can be satisfied with second, I am,” Lukas said. “I’m so competitive that second is not good enough in my mindset, but having said that, if you can handle second, it was a damn good one.” Fellow Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, likewise, said he was happy with the way lightly raced Tenfold (Curlin) ran to be third, beaten just 3/4 of a length in his fourth career start. The Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred could also get a crack at the Belmont. “We are definitely considering it–I did decide to move him back to Churchill,” Asmussen said. “I want to feel as good going into the Belmont as we were coming into here, that you would fire your best shot.” Diamond King (Quality Road), seventh in the Preakness, will make his next start in the GIII Ohio Derby June 23 or the GIII Indiana Derby July 14, according to trainer John Servis. View the full article

Regarding the 1 1/2-mile third leg of the Triple Crown, trainer Bob Baffert rolled out the standard horseman's mantra: If all goes well, Justify will run. View the full article

MY GAL BETTY (f, 2, Point of Entry–Gal of Mine, by Mining) broke alertly, deferred professionally and kicked away strongly to graduate on debut in the Woodbine opener Sunday. Backed as the 3-2 second choice, the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Fall graduate was first out of the blocks and led clear early before deferring to slow-starting Golden Garter (Goldencents) when that one rushed through at the rail to take over. Sitting second past a :22.74 quarter, the bay overhauled that pacesetter three-sixteenths from home and skipped clear from there to score by four lengths in :52.38. Odds-on favorite Syllable (Super Saver) nailed Golden Garter late for the place. The victress is a half to So Long George (Arch), GSW, $290,307; and America America (Mister Baileys {GB}), MSW & GSP, $403,050. Her unraced dam was bred to Alternation last spring. O-William Werner; B-Hidden Brooks Farm (KY); T-Roger L. Attfield. View the full article

Regarding the 1 1/2-mile third leg of the Triple Crown, trainer Bob Baffert rolled out the standard horseman's mantra. If all goes well, Justify will run. View the full article

Following in the steps of fellow Scat Daddy colt Caravaggio, Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy) took Sunday’s G3 Goffs Lacken S. at Naas with a degree of comfort as Ballydoyle eye the June 22 G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. Settled behind stablemate Fleet Review (War Front) early by Ryan Moore, last year’s G1 Phoenix S. and G2 Norfolk S. winner who had been fourth on his comeback in Navan’s Listed Committed S. Apr. 22 took control passing the furlong pole and asserted for a 1 1/4-length success as the 15-8 favourite. “He’s very good but he needs fast ground,” Moore said. SIOUX NATION, c, 3, Scat Daddy–Dream the Blues (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Fethard Bloodstock (KY); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Ire & GSW-Eng, 9-4-1-1, €270,032. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Servalan, who was a half-length second to subsequent Listed Rochestown S. runner-up Andre Amar (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) in a May 6 five-furlong heat at Dundalk in her only prior start, lined up for this turf and black-type bow seeking to provide freshman sire No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) with a fourth individual and first black-type winner. Racing at the tail of the seven-runner field after missing half a beat at the kick, she made smooth headway from halfway to challenge wide under pressure at the quarter-mile marker and quickened smartly for mainly whipless coaxing in the closing stages to outgun stablemate Chicas Amigas (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) for a first win of any kind. SERVALAN (IRE), f, 2, No Nay Never–Catch The Eye (Ire), by Oratorio (Ire). (€50,000 Ylg ’17 GOFORB). O-Vimal Khosla; B-Mrs Noeleen McCreevy (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington; J-Seamus Heffernan. €38,350. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, €41,3503 View the full article

Tony Cruz has not given up hope of Time Warp gaining a start in the Group One Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup and will write a letter to the Jockey Club to try and overturn a stewards embargo on the horse. The two-time Group One winner finished last when favourite in the QE II Cup on April 29 with stewards deeming the effort “unacceptable”, requiring him to perform to their satisfaction in a trial before being allowed to race again. Time Warp did not pass that... View the full article