Wandering Eyes

An unusual but highly anticipated aspect of this year’s Tattersalls July Sale will be the opportunity to purchase a yearling by Galileo (Ire). The sales company has announced that The Castlebridge Consignment will offer six yearling fillies by the phenomenal Coolmore stallion at the mid-summer sale which takes place July 11-13. Among the sextet will be a half-sister to G2 Lowther S. winner Besharah (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and yearlings out of the Australian Group 1 winners Nechita (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and Sea Siren (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), with the latter mare also being a stakes winner in Ireland when trained by Aidan O’Brien. In addition to progeny by Galileo there will also be a mare offered in foal to the him with Castlebridge set to consign South African Group 1 winner Cloth Of Cloud (SAf) (Captain Al {SAf}). Commenting on the entries, Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said, “The Tattersalls July Sale is well established as Europe’s premier midsummer sale and this year’s sale is shaping up to be an outstanding renewal. The star South African mare Cloth Of Cloud presents a very rare opportunity to buy a young Group 1 winner in foal to the extraordinary Galileo and the six Galileo yearling fillies will add an extra dimension to a sale which already annually attracts a global audience.” View the full article

Dubai based Malih Al Basti is developing partnerships with numerous racecourses around the world through the sponsorship activities of his company Al Basti Equiworld and his already significant involvement with York is set to grow with the news that Al Basti Equiworld will sponsor both the G2 Dante S. and G2 Middleton S. at the Dante meeting next year. Al Basti has horses in training in both Ireland and Britain with the likes of Joseph O’Brien, Richard Fahey, David O’Meara and Sir Mark Prescott among others and in addition to already sponsoring the G2 Gimcrack S. at the Ebor Festival, Al Basti Equiworld has also backed the new Owners’ Welcome Building since it opened in 2015, as well as the main Owners and Trainers Restaurant and the Winning Connections Building. Commenting about the agreement, York Racecourse chairman, Lord Grimthorpe said, “The Dante is a race that regularly showcases a real equine talent, so it is very exciting news that Malih and the rest of the team at Al Basti Equiworld share my enthusiasm for this famous contest.” Explaining his increased support of York, Malih Al Basti said, “York Racecourse works hard to support horsemen and I share their commitment to owners, trainers, jockeys and racing staff so I was keen to back their efforts. The Dante and the Middleton are races that echo around the racing world and I am proud that they will now carry our name.” View the full article

For the second consecutive year, recent Hall of Fame inductee Steve Asmussen claimed the lion’s share of the $100,000 bonus offered by the Maryland Jockey Club to trainers for their participation in stakes races over Preakness weekend at Pimlico. Asmussen, who led with 82 points, earned the $50,000 bonus after annexing the Chick Lang S., GIII Maryland Sprint and James W. Murphy S. and was third with Tenfold (Curlin) in the GI Preakness S.Saturday. He also captured the Skipat S. on Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Day program. Graham Motion finished second with 45 points, garnering a $25,000 bonus. Motion won the GIII Stella Artois Gallorette S. Saturday and the GIII Pimlico Special Friday. To be eligible, trainers had to have a minimum of five horses compete in the stakes races (15) during Preakness weekend. Points were accumulated for finishing first (10 points), second (seven), third (five), fourth (three) and having a starter (one) among the 15 stakes (eight graded), worth $3.7 million in purses. A $50,000 Bonus was also offered for trainers having the most points in non-stakes races contested over Preakness weekend, with points accumulated in similar fashion. New York-based Linda Rice finished first with 22 points, earning the top bonus of $25,000. Also collecting bonus money were Maryland-based trainers Mary Eppler (19 points, $10,000); James Lawrence (18 points, $7,500); Cal Lynch (16 points, $3,250); Dale Capuano ($16 points, $3,250) and Motion (15 points, $1,000). View the full article

Faced with conditions sounder than ideal, Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) nonetheless entered Monday’s G2 Prix Corrida with much the best form on offer and justified majority support at the tills with a commanding performance in her seasonal return. The bay enjoyed a fruitful apprenticeship with David Simcock until last year, winning four of eight starts for the Newmarket-based conditioner, before relocating to Francis-Henri Graffard and posting wins in Haydock’s June 10 G3 Pinnacle S., Deauville’s Aug. 6 G2 Prix de Pomone and Chantilly’s Sept. 10 G1 Prix Vermeille. She closed the campaign with a second to Hydrangea (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in Ascot’s Oct. 21 G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares last time. The eventual winner was gradually shuffled back through the pack to sit fifth at halfway after breaking sharply and racing handy initially. Slipping one more spot on the home turn and nudged along at the top of the straight, she quickened smartly to challenge with 300 metres remaining and ran on strongly for continued urging in the closing stages to register a fifth black-type triumph. “I knew she was well and fit enough to do herself justice in this first run of the year,” Graffard said. “She was fresh and a little keen, but still managed to win in very good style. She’s a classy mare and we’ll see how she comes out of this before making a decision about what to do and where to go next. I imagine the locigal step would be to bring her back here for the [July 1 G1] Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.” Bateel is the leading performer produced by G2 Pretty Polly S. second Attractive Crown (Chief’s Crown) and she is a half-sister to Listed Prix Charles Laffitte victrix Basemah (Fr) (Lemon Drop Kid). Her second dam is Listed Prix des Lilas heroine and G3 Prix de Sandringham runner-up Attirance (Fr) (Crowned Prince), whose other descendants include MSW Scandinavian champion Angel Light (Swe) (Most Welcome {GB}). Attirance is herself kin to G1 Prix Lupin runner-up and G2 Prix Greffulhe-winning sire Arokar (Fr) (Akarad {Fr}) and to Listed Prix Le Fabuleux victress La Tirana (Fr) (Akarad {Fr}), who in turn is the second dam of G3 Prix Exbury scorer Court Canibal (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}). Attractive Crown’s last known produce is the 4-year-old colt Maqari (KSA) (Dutch Art {GB}), who won once in Saudi Arabia last year. Monday, Saint-Cloud, France PRIX CORRIDA-G2, €130,000, Saint-Cloud, 5-21, 4yo/up, f/m, 10 1/2fT, 2:10.88, gd. 1–BATEEL (IRE), 130, m, 6, by Dubawi (Ire) 1st Dam: Attractive Crown (GSP-Ire), by Chief’s Crown 2nd Dam: Attirance (Fr), by Crowned Prince 3rd Dam: Arosa (GB), by Silver Shark O-Al Asayl Bloodstock Ltd; B-Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nayhan (IRE); T-Francis-Henri Graffard; J-Pierre-Charles Boudot. €74,100. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, GSW & G1SP-Eng, 14-8-3-0, €640,449. *1/2 to Basemah (Fr) (Lemon Drop Kid), SW-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Bebe d’Amour (Fr), 123, f, 4, Montmartre (Fr)–Prudence Royale (Fr), by Loup Solitaire. O/T-Jean-Yves Artu; B-Jean-Yves Artu, Damien Artu & Mlle Marie Artu (FR). €28,600. 3–Navaro Girl (Ire), 126, f, 4, Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)–Neele (Ire), by Peintre Celebre. O-Stall Nizza; B-Jurgen Imm (IRE); T-Peter Schiergen. €13,650. Margins: 1 1/4, NK, SNK. Odds: 1.50, 8.80, 49.00. Also Ran: Gaining (GB), Kitesurf (GB), Golden Legend (Fr), Listen In (Ire), Haggle (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

This season, results of the progeny of mares purchased at the Magic Millions National Sale have spoken for themselves. In 2015, Katsumi Yoshida purchased Response (Aus) (Charge Forward {Aus}) for A$1.5 million carrying this year’s G1 Golden Slipper winner Estijaab (Aus). A year earlier, Sheikh Fahad’s Qatar Bloodstock had spent A$650,000 on another Charge Forward mare, Solar Charged (Aus). Mated later that year to their stallion Zoustar (Aus), she would produce this year’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Sunlight (Aus). Last year, Olly Tait shelled out A$170,000 for Lipari (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), and that figure looked like a mighty bargain when her 3-year-old colt Levendi (Aus) (Pierro {Aus}) won the G1 Australian Derby this year at The Championships. And it looked like a very mighty bargain just this past Saturday when her 2-year-old Marcel From Madrid (Aus) (Sepoy {Aus}) stayed unbeaten when winning the G3 National S. The Broken Shore (Aus) (Hussonet) was not cheap when bought for A$1.9 million at Magic Millions by Dean Hawthorne from the Teeley dispersal in 2014, but the Fastnet Rock foal she was carrying at the time went on to become this season’s triple Group 1 winner Shoals (Aus), whose full-brother topped this year’s Inglis Easter yearling sale at A$2.3 million. These are just a few in a long line of success stories to emanate from the National sale, and those stories also include international chapters. In 2014 Barbara Banke bought the G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Miracles Of Life (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) for A$900,000, and she went on to win another Group 1 and two Group 2s before joining the Stonestreet broodmare band. From that same Teeley dispersal, John Sikura bought Drifting Cube (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) for A$1.1 million. Expatriated to the U.S., she was bred to War Front and produced a colt that was the joint top-priced weanling at Keeneland November in 2016. Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch, who recently spent a week in Kentucky to take in the GI Kentucky Derby, said, “Most people worldwide are pretty encouraged by what happens here in Australia. They like our bloodlines, they like our speed, and we have a good culture for racing. Wherever you go in the world you feel as if the clientele are engaging in Australia. The world has never been smaller from the point of view of being able to view everything that’s going on in the world racing wise, and they’re engaging in what’s going on down here and they’re liking what they see.” It is hard to imagine potential buyers not liking what they see when they flip open the catalogue for this year’s edition of the National Sale, which begins on Thursday with the two-day weanling sale and continues through June 7 with the National Broodmare Sale, National Yearling Sale and National Racehorse Sale. The crown jewel of the lot, the broodmare sale, contains four Group 1-winning mares off the track: the Schweppes Oaks winner Abbey Marie (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), also a full-sister to dual Oaks winner Absolutely (Aus) (lot 606); triple Group 1 winner (including the Caulfield Cup) Jameka (Aus) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) (lot 1606); Vinery Stud S. winner Montoya’s Secret (Aus) (High Chaparral {Ire}) (lot 736); and William Reid S. winner Silent Sedition (Aus) (War Chant). Coolmore offers two New Zealand Group 1 winners on their third covers: Costa Viva (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) in foal to Pride of Dubai (Aus) (lot 979) and Diademe (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) carrying to Vancouver (Aus) (lot 1007). G1 Tattersalls Tiara winner Miss Cover Girl (Aus) (Monashee Mountain {Aus}) is offered on her first cover to Capitalist (Aus) (lot 1217), and G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Shamal Wind (Aus) (Dubawi {Ire}) is offered on her third cover, in foal to Redoute’s Choice (Aus) (lot 1644). Beneath those top-flight mares, there are an additional 47 Group 2 or 3 winners catalogued, and 60 listed winners. Thirty-one percent of those are straight off the track, and the sale will begin with a session for those fillies directly off the track on May 29. “There are so many stakes winners off the track that people can come to market and buy with confidence,” Bowditch said. “The syndicators, the owners and trainers see this as the go-to sale to–at the end of the racing season prior to the breeding season–offer their stock. And some of them have a bit of racing left in them; their buyers can race them on for a few more months before mating them to the stallion of their choice.” “We have a lot of mares on their first, second, third covers; good strong, solid mares, group-quality mares that we feel should be popular in the market. There’s a lot of elite stock that we’re very lucky to have whether they’re in foal on their first cover or if they’ve produced a nice horse to start with. It’s not only about the elite stuff; we find at all levels of the market the catalogue is young, strong and diverse. Whether there’s a buyer that has a very small budget or a big budget, I think we’ve got plenty of stock there that will fit the bill.” One of the more anticipated first-crop covering sires with mares in foal at the sale is the American Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. He has 12 mares in foal catalogued including two-time Group 1 producer Better Alternative (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}) (lot 911); the regally bred Bossypants (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}) (lot 922), a full-sister to Beneteau (Aus); and triple group winner Sabatini (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) (lot 1363). “Some of our best in-foal mares at the sale are in foal to American Pharoah,” Bowditch said. “Breeders have supported him down here. He was a phenomenal athlete, he is a beautiful horse to look at and I’m glad the breeders down here have seen it that way and have supported him with some of their best mares. We’re excited to be offering a good number of quality mares in foal to him.” Off the back of another strong yearling sale season Down Under, Bowditch said he thinks there is every reason to believe breeders will reinvest at the National sale. “We’ve had great increases across the board at all our sales, so we’re putting money back into the vendors pockets at all ends of the market,” he said. “We’d like to think those breeders that have benefitted from our good yearling sale season will reinvest and renew their product.” The same goes for those who will be shopping the National Weanling sale, including pinhookers who enjoyed a good yearling sale season. Bowditch said an attraction of the National Weanling Sale is that a number of vendors offer all their stock there, instilling confidence that what is in offer is their best. “There are a handful of vendors that sell all their stock as weanlings, namely Burnewang North, Kambula and Kingstar, so when you’re selling everything it creates a very real market, and they’re selling their best. I think that adds confidence to the market, and a lot of vendors are seeing this sale as a serious sale to bring good weanlings to. They’re seeing good trade. The pinhookers have benefitted from good results this season but also the vendors see this as a viable option to get money early.” The National Sale series wraps up with the two-day yearling sale on June 5 and 7, the last day also including the National Racehorse Sale. “The Gold Coast is an amazing place to be this time of year, with blue clear skies, 25 degrees every day,” Bowditch said. “The Gold Coast is looking forward to sharing a fantastic vibe and getting into the sale.” View the full article

There was little evidence in the previous efforts of Ancient Spirit (Ger) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) that he was going to pull off some serious pryotechnics in Monday’s G2 Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen, but none were left in any doubt afterwards that Cologne’s German 2000 Guineas had gone to the best colt by far. Twice caught late on in maidens over 6 1/2 furlongs here on debut in September and over seven at Hannover Apr. 2, the bay had been a non-threatening distant fifth in the G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten over this track and trip in October and notably workmanlike when getting off the mark in the Furstenberg-Rennen also over seven furlongs at this venue last time Apr. 24. There was a moment at the business end of that conditions event, as he pulled an unlikely victory out of the bag, that suggested the homebred had more ability than he was willing to show and he was sporting blinkers for the first time here with Jean-Pierre Carvalho seeking to unlock that potential. Within two furlongs, jockey Filip Minarik knew the headgear was releasing something different as the 21-1 shot was impossible to contain and he duly allowed him to circle the entire field and take control at the head of affairs. Clear entering the straight, he was chased hard by the British raider Fajjaj (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) but it was the Ancient Spirit show all the way as he maintained a relentless gallop to inflict a 4 1/2-length defeat on that useful challenger, with 1 1/2 lengths back to fellow Brit and solid yardstick Fighting Irish (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in third. ANCIENT SPIRIT (GER), c, 3, Invincible Spirit (Ire)–Assisi (Ger), by Galileo (Ire). O-Stall Ullmann; B-Gestut Schlenderhan (GER); T-Jean-Pierre Carvalho; J-Filip Minarik. Lifetime Record: 5-2-2-0, €110,900. View the full article

Castellar, who was just over three lengths off the winner when an Oct.25 debut fifth going one mile here in her sole juvenile start, opened this campaign with a Mar. 22 two-length tally tackling the same trip at Fontainebleau and lined up for this black-type bow returning off a second, again going one mile, at ParisLongchamp last time Apr. 19. Racing in fourth until inching into second at halfway, she made smooth headway in the straight to challenge at the quarter-mile marker and was driven out once seizing control with 300 metres remaining to hold the subsequently demoted Luminate (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) for a career high. “I was disappointed when she was beaten last time as I really thought she would win,” admitted trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias. “However, we learned that she needed further than a mile and that we should not employ exaggerated waiting tactics, and that is thanks to [jockey] Oliver Peslier. If she had won that race then I would have run her in the [G1 Poule d’Essai des] Pouliches, but that would have been a mistake. We are now on the right path with her and will bring her back in the [June 17 G1] Prix de Diane [at Chantilly].” Castellar is the second pattern-race winner for Highphar (Fr) (Highest Honor {Fr}), with the other being this month’s G2 Prix du Muguet hero Recoletos (Fr) (Whipper), who annexed last term’s G2 Prix Greffulhe and G3 Prix du Prince d’Orange and ran third in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club. Her granddam Pharatta (Ire) (Fairy King) landed the GII Garden City Breeders’ Cup H. and also features as the second dam of G3 Premio Verziere victrix Cartaya (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}). Pharatta is also a sibling of G2 Premio Ribot and G2 Grosser Preis von Dusseldorf hero and sire Crimson Tide (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), G3 Give Thanks S. victress Tamarind (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) and Listed Claire Marine S. winner Arosa (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells). The third dam Shademah (Ire) (Thatch) is kin to the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud hero Shakapour (Ire) (Kalamoun {GB}) and is also the dam of the G1 Epsom Derby and G1 Irish Derby hero Shahrastani (Nijinsky II). Highphar’s youngest progeny is an as yet unraced 2-y-o filly by Whipper named Villalar (Fr). Monday, Saint-Cloud, France PRIX CLEOPATRE-G3, €80,000, Saint-Cloud, 5-21, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT, 2:11.70, gd. 1–CASTELLAR (FR), 123, f, 3, by American Post (GB) 1st Dam: Highphar (Fr), by Highest Honor (Fr) 2nd Dam: Pharatta (Ire), by Fairy King 3rd Dam: Sharata (Ire), by Darshaan (GB) 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. O/B-SARL Darpat France (FR); T-Carlos Laffon-Parias; J-Olivier Peslier. €40,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-0, €63,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Amazing Lips (Ire), 123, f, 3, Camelot (GB)–Athenaire (Ire), by Duke of Marmalade (Ire). (€130,000 Ylg ’16 BBAGS). O-Mayfair Speculators SARL; B-Stall Parthenaue (IRE); T-Nicolas Clement. €16,000. 3–Beagling (Fr), 123, f, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Turfontein (Fr), by Kahyasi (Ire). O/B-Mulungu Bloodstock (FR); T-Fabrice Chappet. €12,000. Margins: (SNK, 3/4, 3). Odds: 7.80, 13.00, 32.00. Also Ran: Enchanting Skies (Ire), *Luminate (Ire), Hello Princess (Fr), Princesschope (Fr), Velma Valento (Fr), Berea (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. *Luminate was demoted from second to fifth. View the full article

With viewers perhaps sensing a special horse in undefeated Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Justify, overnight ratings for NBC's Preakness Stakes (G1) increased 12% compared with last year's broadcast. View the full article

Following a career best effort when second in the G1 the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp the James Tate trained Hey Gaman (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) appears unlikely to attempt to go one better in the Irish version, the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh this Saturday. Despite being beaten just a neck by Olmedo (Fr) (Declaration Of War) on May 13 Tate is not ruling out a step up in trip sooner rather than later to take on that Jean Claude Rouget trained winner again in the G1 QIPCO Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on June 3. “That was his first run over a mile but looking at that, we’d have to consider the French Derby along with the St James’s Palace Stakes at Ascot.,” Tate said. “We just thought he got out-speeded a bit. The O’Brien horse [US Navy Flag] went hard early and then stacked them up and the French horses came at him with a customary turn of foot.” Ground conditions will also play a part in where Tate decides to go with Sultan Ali’s colt next. “What he doesn’t want is really fast ground. If it was good to soft at Ascot that would be perfect, but we are tempted by the French Derby so we’ll just have to see,” he added. View the full article

Irish veterinary surgeon Tim Brennan is to face a BHA Disciplinary panel in July over allegations he passed on inside information to his brother Michael Brennan for betting purposes. Brennan has worked as a vet to trainer Willie Mullins for a decade and the allegations surround suspicious betting patterns on the Mullins trained Faugheen (Ire) (Germany) prior to the gelding’s withdrawal from the 2016 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham for which he had been trading at odds on to win. In February of that year Faugheen was ruled out for the season due to a ligament injury but before the information was made public, Michael Brennan is alleged to have placed a number of lay bets on Faugheen with the intention of profiting from the information he allegedly received from his brother Tim. Neither Mullins nor any of his staff are involved in the case and the BHA’s chief regulatory officer Brant Dunshea said, “We cannot comment further on the specifics of the charges against Timothy Brennan as this matter is still to be heard by the independent Disciplinary Panel. However, we can confirm that Michael Brennan, who was a person of interest in this investigation, has been excluded from the sport as a result of his failure to cooperate with the investigation. This failure to comply has resulted in the investigation process taking longer than it otherwise would have done. However, it has ultimately not prevented us from bringing charges and has also seen the individual ejected from the sport in Britain.” Tim Brennan came to prominence in Ireland last year when he was charged with and found guilty of possessing unauthorized animal medications when his car was inspected by Department of Agriculture officials during a routine inspection at Willie Mullins’s yard in 2015. Brennan escaped a penalty owing to infringement being at the lower end of the scale and due to the fact that the medications were therapeutic rather than performance enhancing. View the full article

Trainer Ciaron Maher is hopeful his Group 1 winner Aloisia (NZ) (Azamour {Ire}) will still line up in Saturday’s G1 Queensland Oaks at Doomben despite a recent setback. Last year’s G1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas winner took ill after a flight from Adelaide to Brisbane but her trainer reported she made a swift recovery and it is all systems go pending a gallop on Tuesday. “Just when she got off the plane, she had a little bit of an upset tummy,” Maher told Racing.com on Monday. “The team up there took her to the vets and she was fine the next day. It is not the smoothest prep but she seems fine now and she’ll gallop tomorrow and if all is good, she’ll take her place on Saturday,” he added. Aloisia has not enjoyed much good fortune on the racetrack in her recent efforts. A third place finish is the best she has achieved in her last four starts which have all been in Group 1 company, the most recent being a sixth place finish, beaten only a length and a half, in the G1 Schweppes Oaks at Morphettville May 5. “She’s been really unlucky her past couple,” Maher said. “She can’t draw a gate and Mark [Zahra] he ended up being forward last start and then ended up being shuffled back but then she had some really good sectionals late so I think she’s been going great but just had no luck at all so hopefully that will turn around.” View the full article

The Tony Millard-trained Attention deserves plenty of it after an impressive Hong Kong debut at Sha Tin on Sunday and he is definitely one to stick with going forward. The gelding enjoyed a good career in Australia when trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, winning at Group Two and Group Three level, while also being beaten less than a length by Black Heart Bart when he captured his fifth Group One in the Futurity Stakes in February 2017. His form tailed off in his last Australian campaign, which... View the full article

Thou Shall Sing has shown promise at the trials and that is yet to translate into a victory on race day, but he gets his chance to break through in the Class Four Deauville August Yearling Sales Handicap (1,000m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. The Chris So Wai-yin-trained three-year-old jumped as a $2.80 favourite when he made his debut down the Sha Tin straight in January – all off the back of four impressive trials. He finished second that day, a neck behind Lucky Volatility, and... View the full article

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