Wandering Eyes

Humble and understated as he is, even John Size must shake his head where it comes to his stable’s domination of this year’s 1200-metre features at Sha Tin. Heading into Sunday’s G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize, the barn had won each of the previous five group races, had filled the top three on two occasions and two of the top three on two others. That he would saddle the trifecta in Sunday’s race is scarcely surprising, even if the least exposed of his entrants Ivictory (Aus) (Mossman {Aus}) would prove best of the lot, defeating G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint hero Mr Stunning (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) and Beat the Clock (Aus) (Hinchinbrook {Aus}). Once beaten and making the step up into Group 1 company off a record-setting Class 2 win at Happy Valley, Ivictory showed good speed here as well, but was content to take back into the box seat when William Buick rolled forward on Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal) to put Peniaphobia (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) to the sword. That eventuality would have had Zac Purton salivating, and he took full advantage, getting first run on the dueling pacesetters before staving off late bids from his more accomplished barnmates. Fine Needle (Jpn) (Admire Moon {Jpn}) was a gap away in fourth. “It’s a big jump actually, from a Class 2,” Size told journalist Steve Moran. “I’m thrilled and relieved to see the first three favourites in the finish. Ivictory had given us all the signs. He’d won six of seven before today and his past two were emphatic including a track-record time at the Valley, but there was still the possibility it might be one run too early for him. But as it turned out he got the run of the race and showed that he was up to it.” WATCH: Ivictory makes the grade in the CSP Pedigree Notes: Ivictory is the 39th black-type winner, 25th graded winner and sixth Group 1 winner for his sire (by Success Express) and is out of a daughter of SW & MGSP Tyrolean, also the dam of MGSP Echo Effect (Aus) (Reset {Aus}). Inca Lagoon is responsible for the once-raced juvenile filly Ancient Aztec (Aus) (Albrecht {Aus}) and was sold for A$6,000 in foal to Star Witness (Aus) at the 2016 Inglis Weanling and Broodmare sale in 2016. That produce, a colt, fetched A$55,000 from Kristen Buchanan Racing at this year’s Inglis Sydney Classic Yearling Sale. Inca Lagoon foaled a Reset (Aus) colt in 2017, but missed to Dissident (Aus) for the current breeding season. Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong CHAIRMAN’S SPRINT PRIZE-G1, HK$16,000,000 (£1,464,825/€1,683,955/A$2,698,593/US$2,039,221), Sha Tin, 4-29, 3yo/up, 1200mT, 1:08.63, gd. 1–IVICTORY (AUS), 126, g, 4, by Mossman (Aus) 1st Dam: Inca Lagoon (Aus), by Hussonet 2nd Dam: Tyrolean (Aus), by Danehill 3rd Dam: Yodells (Aus), by Marscay (Aus) *1ST GROUP 1 WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (A$67,500 Wlg ’14 MMNWNL; A$80,000 Ylg ’15 MMGCYS). O-Michael T H Lee & Dr Henry Chan Hin Lee; B-J Woods (NSW); T-John Size; J-Zac Purton; HK$9,120,000. Lifetime Record: 8-7-0-0, HK$14,159,250. Click for the eNicks report & five-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: C. 2–Mr Stunning (Aus), 126, g, 5, Exceed and Excel (Aus)–With Fervour, by Dayjur. (A$110,000 Wlg ’13 INGGSW; NZ$250,000 Ylg ’14 NZBPRE). O-Maurice Koo Win Chong; B-; T-John Size; HK$3,520,000. 3–Beat the Clock (Aus), 126, g, 4, Hinchinbrook (Aus)–Flion Fenena (Aus), by Lion Hunter (Aus). (A$70,000 Ylg ’15 INGMEL; NZ$200,000 2yo ’15 NZBRTR). O-Merrick Chung Wai Lik; B-Miss J Henderson (NSW); T-John Size; HK$1,600,000. Margins: HF, NK, 3 1/4. Odds: 17-10, 17-5, 13-10. Also Ran: Fine Needle (Jpn), Lucky Bubbles (Aus), Peniaphobia (Ire), Amazing Kids (NZ), Thewizardofoz (Aus), Blue Point (Ire). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. View the full article

Juddmonte Farms’ Hofburg (Tapit) completed his serious preparations for the GI Kentucky Derby with a four-furlong breeze in company in :48.20 at Churchill Downs Sunday morning–the lone Derby contender to drill at the Louisville oval Sunday. Meanwhile, Solomini (Curlin) worked six furlongs in 1:14.60 and Instilled Regard (Arch) worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 at Santa Anita. Working under exercise rider Penny Gardiner, Hofburg broke off behind workmate Villamay (Animal Kingdom), a debut winner at Tampa Bay for Juddmonte and trainer Bill Mott last month, and clicked off splits of :13.20, :24.60 and :36.20, according to Churchill Downs clockers, with gallop-out times of 1:01.20 for five-eighths and 1:14.80 for six furlongs. “He looked like he went off well and he joined his company a little bit early–the company was maybe going a little slow the first eighth of a mile–but he looked smooth as silk coming by me,” Mott said. “Approaching the wire he looked really good, switched leads, went into the turn and galloped out well around the turn.” Mott continued, “He has a lot of energy. That’s not something we made him do, we just let him do it. We wanted him to work out pretty good around the turn and keep going and just have a steady gallop-out, which is what he did and he does that as well as anything.” Back at Santa Anita, Solomini–owned by Zayat Stables and the Coolmore partners–worked in company, with Solomini maintaining an advantage on the inside of workmate Once On Whiskey (Bodemeister). Santa Anita clockers recorded gallop-out times of 1:28.20 for seven-eighths and one mile in 1:42.80. “He worked really well,” Zayat Stables racing manager Justin Zayat said afterwards. “Bob told me he was happy with him and Martin really liked the work, which is always a good sign. The plan was to not do anything too stressful with him. Bob was just letting him stretch his legs a little bit.” Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was similarly pleased with Instilled Regard’s work. “It was a very good move for my horse,” he said. “Very good. Drayden was up and he’s worked him before for me and we gave him a target to run at. He ran him down and looked good doing it.” View the full article

One of the surprise packages of the current racing season in Hong Kong has been Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock {Aus}), and the hard-knocking gelding added Sunday’s G1 Champions Mile to his previous victories in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile and the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m). In scoring by a deceptively easy one-length margin. Within the context of Time Warp’s subpar performance in the QE II Cup, the former Anthony Cummings galloper has tossed his hat into the ring for local Horse of the Year honors. A bit slow to muster from gate one, Beauty Generation gradually worked his way to the front and, as has been his custom this season, galloped his rivals into the ground. He joins the likes of Good Ba Ba, Able Friend (Aus) and Maurice (Jpn) to complete the Hong Kong Mile/Champions Mile double. “I’m not sure I’d put him in the same group as those horses, but he is a good horse and he has done everything right,” trainer John Moore, now a seven-time Champions Mile winner, told HKJC’s Andrew Hawkins. “If he is able to get to the front, he is a real grinder at the very highest level. What more can he do than win races? He’s not brilliant like Able Friend, but he’s a top horse in his own way.” WATCH: Beauty Generation too strong in the Champions Mile Pedigree Notes: Beauty Generation is out of a half-sister to SW & MGSP Victory Trump (Aus) (Euclase {Aus}) and to SW & GSP Savage Attack (Aus) (Made of Gold). He has a 2-year-old half-brother by Echoes of Heaven (Aus) and a weanling half-sister by Tavistock (NZ). Stylish Bel was most recently covered by Tarzino (NZ). Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong CHAMPIONS MILE-G1, HK$18,000,000 (£1,647,735/€1,894,561/A$3,035,686/US$2,294,091), Sha Tin, 4-29, 3yo/up, 1600mT, 1:34.31, gd. 1–BEAUTY GENERATION (NZ), 126, g, 5, by Road to Rock (Aus) 1st Dam: Stylish Bel (Aus), by Bel Esprit (Aus) 2nd Dam: Stylish Victory (Aus), by Durham Ranger 3rd Dam: Romantic Peace (Aus), by Mikado (Aus) (NZ$60,000 Ylg ’14 NZBSEL). O-Patrick Kwok Ho Chuen; B-Nearco Stud Ltd; T-John Moore; J-Zac Purton; HK$10,260,000. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Aus, 22-9-3-4, HK$41,930,720. *Formerly Montaigne (NZ). Click for the eNicks report & five-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. 2–Western Express (Aus), 126, g, 5, Encosta de Lago (Aus)–Alsatia (Aus), by Marauding (NZ). (A$80,000 Ylg ’14 INGMEL). O-Larry Yung Chi Kin; B-F Peisah (NSW); T-John Size; HK$3,960,000. 3–Southern Legend (Aus), 126, g, 5, Not a Single Doubt (Aus)–Donna’s Appeal (Aus), by Carnegie (Ire). (A$280,000 Ylg ’14 INGEAS). O-Boniface Ho Ka Kui; B-Corumbene Stud (NSW); T-Caspar Fownes; HK$1,800,000. Margins: 1, 3/4, NO. Odds: 9-10, 20-1, 15-1. Also Ran: Beauty Only (Ire), Singapore Sling (SAf), Pingwu Spark (NZ), Seasons Bloom (Aus), Blizzard (Aus). Scratched: Helene Paragon (Fr). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. View the full article

5th-LLD, €18,000, Mdn, 4-29, unraced 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:13.63, gd. BAYLAGAN (FR) (c, 2, Toronado {Ire}–Al Waghaa {Fr}, by Muhtathir {GB}) was sharply into stride and raced prominently from flagfall in this newcomers’ test. Joining the front rank at the top of the straight, the 51-10 chance came under pressure to gain a narrow advantage approaching the final furlong and kept on gamely under whipless rousting to deny Alissachope (Fr) (Kheleyf) by a short head in a bobbing finish, becoming the first winner for his Haras de Bouquetot-based freshman sire (by High Chaparral {Ire}). Kin to a yearling colt by Planteur (Ire), he is the first foal produced by Al Waghaa (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}), who is a full-sister to the dual stakes-placed Maroon Machine (Ire), and a half-sister to the dual stakes-placed Place Vendome (Fr) (Dr Fong), who in turn is the dam of G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains-winning sire Style Vendome (Fr) (Anabaa) and stakes-winning G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains and G1 Criterium International placegetter Prestige Vendome (Fr) (Orpen). Sales history: €45,000 Ylg ’17 AROCT. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, €9,000. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. 1ST-TIME STARTER. O-Al Shaqab Racing; B-Faisal bin Khalid Al Thani (FR); T-Simone Brogi. View the full article

European champion Cracksman returned to the track in style April 29, with a convincing success in the €600,000 Prix Ganay - Prix de l'Inauguration de ParisLongchamp (G1) at ParisLongchamp. View the full article

A career that has featured as many stops and starts as a post-race expressway journey from Sha Tin back to Hong Kong Island reached a pinnacle Sunday afternoon for ‘TDN Rising Star’ Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal), who punched through between horses entering the final 300 metres of the G1 Audemars Piguet QE II Cup and flashed home to scoop Hong Kong’s second-richest prize by three resounding lengths. It was a coming-out party two years in the making. From day one, when he produced a last-to-first rally to post a highly improbable debut success, Pakistan Star has always had the inherent talent necessary to scale heights such as this one. Except over and over, he’s proved his own worst enemy, dancing to the beat of his own drummer. Dating back to his under-tack breeze prior to the 2016 Hong Kong International Sale–where he fetched HK$6 million from businessman Kerm Din–Pakistan Star made it clear he intended on doing things his own way, damn the consequences. He nearly refused to work on that occasion, and that particular quirk had raised its ugly head again and again, both in trackwork and in races, forestalling a true opportunity for him to realise his considerable talent and for his worldwide fan base to revel in it. As recently as nine days ago, he had to trial to the satisfaction of local stewards after his rogue behaviour was on display in the Apr. 8 G2 Chairman’s Trophy. It took all of Joao Moreira’s persuasion to keep Pakistan Star running that afternoon and somehow he managed to fly home to finish fourth. In the aforementioned trial, the oft slow-starting gelding made the running beneath Tommy Berry, but got bored or otherwise disinterested and nearly pulled himself up in the stretch before finishing with renewed vigour. Both Berry and trainer Tony Cruz, who went so far as to recruit the ‘horse whisperer’ Monty Roberts to work with the horse in December, insisted all would be well in the QE II Cup. They were not wrong. WATCH: ‘TDN Rising Star’ Pakistan Star kicks clear in the QE II As if his playing up weren’t enough of a story line, there was even drama involving just who would be in the saddle Sunday. Silvestre de Sousa, who was in the irons for runner-up efforts in last year’s Hong Kong Derby and for this event, was originally booked, but had to back out earlier in the week. Kerrin McEvoy was tabbed to replace de Sousa, but he was restricted from flying from Australia owing to an ear infection, and Cruz reached out to visiting jockey William Buick. Pakistan Star hopped at the break from gate one, but he was still able to ease onto the back of the pace, set ultimately by favoured stablemate Time Warp (GB) (Archipenko), but who was forced do some work to clear Japanese raider Danburite (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}). Last year’s G1 Satsuki Sho hero Al Ain (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was well spotted early, while second favourite and 2018 Derby hero Ping Hai Star (NZ) (Nom du Jeu {NZ}) raced last but one with only Gold Mount (GB) (Excellent Art {GB}) behind. Time Warp, front-running winner of the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup and G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup over the course and distance previously, was allowed to do his thing and took them down the back and into the turn, as positions behind were unchanged, even as the field bunched up entering the final half-mile. Time Warp led on the swing for home, but Danburite ultimately proved the fly in his ointment and the chalk was one of the first beaten. Meanwhile, Buick was patient atop Pakistan Star, praying for the gap to come and hoping his charge could produce his trademark acceleration. Both happened simultaneously at the 300m, and Pakistan Star put the race to bed in the next few strides before strolling home a comfortable winner. Gold Mount weaved his way through to complete a 1-2 for the Cruz yard, while Eagle Way (Aus) (More Than Ready) ran with credit in third. Ping Hai Star came down the centre to be fourth. “He’s showed his class today, he was very straightforward through the race, got a beautiful run and the only thing going through my mind was if the split was going to come or not,” Buick told HKJC’s David Morgan. “As soon as it came, he was fast to go in there and won very well, he felt like a very fast horse.” While the May 27 G1 Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) is a logical option for Pakistan Star, Cruz may look further afield. I’ll work out with his owner where else we might take him– Royal Ascot or something,” the local legend commented. “He needs racing, he’s only had four races–he’s had more barrier trials!” Pedigree Notes: Bred by Gestut Wittekindshof, Pakistan Star caught the eye of the HKJC’s Mark Richards at the 2014 Arqana August Yearling Sale and plucked him out for €180,000. Despite those aforementioned antics at the HKIS breeze-up, he realised a nice profit for the Club and was turned over to Cruz. The winner’s dam is a multiple stakes-winning daughter of Group 1 winner Next Gina, while third dam Night Petticoat won the 1996 G2 Preis der Diana and was responsible for highweight and 2002 G1 Deutsches Derby hero Next Desert (Ire) (Desert Style {Ire}) as well as four other black-type earners. A Mastercraftsman (Ire) half-sister to Pakistan Star fetched €235,000 from Bertrand Le Metayer at last year’s BBAG September Yearling Sale–third-highest price at the auction–and Nina Celebre foaled a filly from the first crop of Golden Horn (GB) in 2017. Pakistan Star is the 115th stakes winner, 59 graded winner and 19th individual top-level scorer for his sire, a son of the late Giant’s Causeway. Other Group 1-winning sons of Shamardal in Hong Kong include Able Friend (Aus) and Dan Excel (Ire), each of whom won the Champions Mile. Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong AUDEMARS PIGUET QEII CUP-G1, HK$24,000,000 (£2,196,403/€2,525,042/A$4,047,211/US$3,058,828), Sha Tin, 4-29, 3yo/up, 2000mT, 2:00.21, gd. 1–PAKISTAN STAR (GER), 126, g, 5, by Shamardal 1st Dam: Nina Celebre (Ire) (MSW-Ger, SP-Ity), by Peintre Celebre 2nd Dam: Next Gina (Ger), by Perugino 3rd Dam: Night Petticoat (Ger), by Petoski (GB) ‘TDN Rising Star‘ *1ST GROUP 1 WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (€180,000 Ylg ’14 ARQAUG; HK$6,000,000 HRA ’16 HKIS). O-Kerm Din; B-Gestut Wittekindshof; T-Tony Cruz; J-William Buick; HK$13,680,000. Lifetime Record: 15-4-5-0, HK$29,956,200. Click for the eNicks report & five-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+. 2–Gold Mount (GB), 126, g, 5, Excellent Art (GB)–Dolcetto (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). (10,000gns Ylg ’14 TATOCT). O-Pan Sutong; B-Mrs L H Field; T-Tony Cruz; HK$5,280,000. 3–Eagle Way (Aus), 126, g, 5, More Than Ready–Wedgewood Eagle (Aus), by Lure. (A$200,000 Ylg ’14 INGEAS). O-Siu Pak Kwan; B-Segenhoe Thoroughbreds Australia Pty Ltd (NSW); T-John Moore; HK$2,400,000. Margins: 3, 1 1/4, 1. Odds: 19-5, 33-1, 21-1. Also Ran: Ping Hai Star (NZ), Al Ain (Jpn), Dinozzo (Ire), Danburite (Jpn), Time Warp (GB). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. View the full article

Blamed, winner of the Sunland Park Oaks, has been withdrawn from consideration for the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) after a hairline fracture in her right hind pastern was discovered the morning of April 29. View the full article

The Kentucky Derby Museum’s new stable area will be named in honor of Penny Chenery, the owner of GI Kentucky Derby winners Riva Ridge and Secretariat. The Helen B. “Penny” Chenery Stable will house the Museum’s resident Thoroughbred and companion animal and will be built as part of the Museum’s $6.5 million dollar expansion project. The announcement came during the Museum’s 3rd annual Fan Fest Day with Penny’s daughter, Kate Tweedy, in attendance. “Our family is both humbled and thrilled with the Kentucky Derby Museum naming this wonderful new barn in our mother’s honor,” said Tweedy. “Mom was truly in her element in any horse barn, and she would have been delighted to share her legacy with such a worthy endeavor providing enjoyment to horse lovers and sparking interest in racing for generations to come.” Construction on the stable and the rest of the Museum’s expansion will get underway mid-May. Construction will be completed by Breeders’ Cup held at Churchill Downs in November 2018. The Museum will remain open throughout the entire project. The Museum also opened its latest exhibit, Winning Colors: Famous Fillies. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Winning Colors’ Kentucky Derby win in 1988. The exhibit showcases the emergence of the Kentucky Oaks as a premiere race and highlights the careers of several famous fillies, including the only other two fillies to win the Derby, Regret (1915) and Genuine Risk (1980). View the full article

Six days ahead of the Run for the Roses, Instilled Regard covered five furlongs in 1:00 4/5 at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

Chocolate Martini, a $25,000 claim at Fair Grounds Feb. 2, takes aim at the $1 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) for trainer Tom Amoss and Double Doors Racing's David Walker and Amanda DaBruzzo. View the full article

Rainbow Line (JPN) got through between horses in the final yards to win the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1) April 29 at Kyoto Racecourse, narrowly defeating Cheval Grand (JPN) and Clincher (JPN). View the full article

TDN International Editor Kelsey Riley will be riding in the Mongol Derby in August 2018, and will be regularly blogging about her preparations and ultimately, her 1000-kilometer, 10-day ride across Outer Mongolia. Every rider chooses a charity for which they raise money as part of the process. Kelsey has chosen the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances Program at the Blackburn Correctional Complex in Lexington, KY. To learn more about Blackburn, click here. “Don’t worry, you won’t even notice how bad you smell until you get back to the city.” That was just one of the pearls of wisdom afforded me last week by 2013 Mongol Derby veteran Shelley Bates, shortly after she informed me that my plan of three clothing changes over my 10 day, 1000 kilometre journey across the Mongolian steppe was far too many–one at most, maybe none, but a change of socks every day, she suggested. What luxury. While in England last week for the event of the year–no, not the Craven meeting, but rather the wedding of my friends Matt and Amanda Prior–I took the opportunity to travel down to Surrey to meet the woman known simply among Derbyists as The Guru: endurance trainer Maggie Pattinson, who operates On The Hoof Distance Training and has been at the forefront of the Derby organization and crew since the event was inaugurated nine years ago. Maggie has been sending us Derbyists invaluable guides on what to wear and pack as well as how to train physically, mentally and health-wise. My training up to this point has revolved around galloping racehorses, which has undoubtedly been fantastic for strength, fitness and dealing with, ahem, strong-willed horses, but I was eager to test my stamina. Fortunately, Maggie was happy to let me saddle up her quarter horse cross Cheyenne and go for a ride with Shelley, who is preparing for a 100-mile ride in three weeks’ time. Our ride took us around the scenic Hankley Commons military training grounds, which has also been used for movie sets– including James Bond films The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day and Skyfall–and around the top of the Devil’s Punch Bowl, a nature area punctuated by a deep crater in the earth (Go Pro video). We went through wooded areas, down roads, along the bottoms of deep ditches and across a few flat straights. All the while, I pestered Shelley with questions pertaining to Derby survival: what is the food like? How do I manage chafing? And, most importantly, what about those wild dogs notorious for chasing Derbyists?? “Turn the horse to face them, and they will most likely back off,” she said. “And if they don’t, make sure you hold your feet up high enough that they can’t get them.” Hold your feet up high. An ominous task for a 5′ 8″ rider on a 12-hand pony. My day with Shelley and Maggie was a fantastic opportunity to pick their brains about all things Derby and to get a gauge on my stamina in the saddle. “How far did we go?” I asked after jumping off Cheyenne at the end of the afternoon. Surely 50 kms? 60? Hell, it could have been 100!’ Shelley, cheerily: “about 20kms!” Twenty kilometers: that’s 2% of the Derby distance. Great. On the bright side, I bounced out of the ride in great form with no soreness, so am therefore thrilled with my fitness level just over three months’ out. My goal for the next few months will be to fit in a few 40 km rides–the Derby is made up of 25 40-km legs, and I think going into the adventure knowing what 40 kms feels like will be an advantage mentally. They say your body can handle just about anything, it’s your mind you have to convince. Psychological training will be just as pertinent as physical over the coming months. My week in England also allowed me to spend a few mornings riding out with my good friend, trainer John Berry. The last time I had visited John it was the dead of winter, and Newmarket felt like a ghost town as we trotted the trails rarely seeing another horse and rider. This time, I got to make my debut on the Newmarket Heath during Craven week, the official opening of the flat season in racing’s Headquarters. I was surely gawking like the tourist I was at the giant strings passing all around us and the amazing views across Warren Hill–a very different sight than the flat ovals of American racetracks! (Go Pro video) On the fundraising side, donations for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances Program at the Blackburn Correctional Complex have continued to trickle in steadily. We are at nearly $11,500 and while I’m thrilled, we still have work to do. Head on over to my fundraising page and show some love to the horses at Blackburn and a great program that supports ex-racehorses and the local community in Lexington. View the full article

Wesley Ward winning 2-year-old races at the spring meet at Keeneland which concluded Friday, is about as unusual as night coming after day. But Ward took things to a new level at the recently concluded spring meet, putting together an historic, unprecedented run. On opening day of the meet, pigs flew. Ward went 0-for-2 in the two 2-year-old races that were run. Both went to the Bret Calhoun barn. Ward didn’t lose another 2-year-old race at the meet. Ward’s run began on the third day of the meet when he captured a race with the filly Stillwater Cove (Quality Road). That left nine 2-year-old races remaining at the meet, and Ward won every one of them. On Thursday, he won the first of two juvenile races with Mucho Amor (Mucho Macho Man) and finished his streak in style. In Thursday’s sixth race, the final juvenile race of the meet, he finished one-two. The win went to Shang Shang Shang (Shanghai Bobby). Remarkably, neither of Ward’s winners on Thursday were the favorite. During the streak, Ward did lose a 2-year-old race at Aqueduct, but won another with What the Luck (Lookin at Lucky) on April 19 at Aqueduct. That’s eleven 2-year-old winners in 18 days. “I once won five races in a day at Woodbine, but when it comes to streaks nothing like has ever happened to me,” Ward said of the 10 straight 2-year-old wins at Keeneland. “Whenever I enter a horse I always feel I have a chance, but you know the percentages. I usually win about 20% of the time, so I know how hard it is to win one race, let alone 10 in a row. Everything just kind of came together with the 2-year-olds. We have a lot of depth, so we really benefitted when they split some of the races and it seemed like every time we wound up in the right spot. A lot of things had to come together and they all did.” He’s not even done. There will be two 2-year-old races Thursday at Belmont and Ward will run two horses in each race. He said he is high on all four. For the Ward juveniles who win early, Royal Ascot is often their first big target. The trainer said he is not sure which ones he will take and won’t be sure until giving them a chance to work on the grass. He said, however, he could take as many as six or seven to England. There, they will be joined by a handful of older horses, including Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy). She won the G1 King’s Stand there last year and the GII Queen Mary in 2016. Keeneland Stats Prove Once Again That Takeout Matters At the 2017 Keeneland fall meet, which included large fields, great racing and only minimal weather problems, the all-sources handle was off by 8.4%. At the 2018 Keeneland spring meet, which included large fields, great racing and only minimal weather problems, the all-sources handle was up 7.24%. The difference? The takeout. What else could it possibly have been? To the surprise of most everyone in the industry, Keeneland raised its takeout level for the 2017 fall meet. More often than not, takeout increases don’t affect the handle but it appears that horseplayers finally rebelled when Keeneland raised its prices last fall. Wisely, Keeneland, for the spring meet, lowered the takeout rate for win, place and show bets back to their earlier levels. The bettors returned and supported the meet unlike they have in years. All-sources wagering on Keeneland racing totaled $157,172,604 for the 16-day spring meet, ranking just behind the record of $158,640,591 set during the 16-day 2013 spring meet. Keeneland experimented with a higher takeout last fall, and it didn’t work. Rather than digging its heels in, management did the right thing by lowering the take in several pool and it reaped the rewards. Horseplayers, after losing round after round in the takeout wars, have finally won one. They showed Keeneland they were not willing to take additional punishment at the windows without fighting back and that they would react positively if management showed that their complaints were heard. Let’s hope this goes down as a watershed moment in the battle over takeout, which remain egregiously high throughout the sport. Hopefully, other tracks were paying attention. One more thing: If Keeneland did so well by lowering the takeout rates in the win, place, show and exacta pools, shouldn’t they at least consider lowering the bite in the horizontal bets like the Pick 4? The rates for many of those bets remained the same as they were at the increased levels during Fall 2017. Keeneland has won back the love of the nation’s players, but they can still do better. If the results of the just concluded spring meet mean anything, lowering the take on the horizontal bets will not only win over more fans but also increase business. Advertising on Silks? Why on Earth Not? If you had been watching any of the New Orleans Pelicans playoff games last week you might have noticed that their uniforms included a patch for Zatarain’s. Zatarain’s is a food and spice company based in New Orleans. It’s not just the Pelicans. This year, the uniforms of all NBA teams include a small circular patch in the upper right hand corner for a sponsor. Yet, when Benson’s Lone Sailor (Majestic Warrior) runs in Saturday in the GI Kentucky Derby the owner will not be permitted to sell any advertising on her silks. So what’s good for the NBA is not good for horse racing? Why? The NBA gets it. A small, unobtrusive patch on a uniform does not cheapen anything and is a nice revenue source for a team. Horse racing does not. Not allowing some sort of advertising on silks is something that stuffy people decided on a long time ago. It’s a rule that is out of touch with the times. Gayle Benson certainly doesn’t need whatever money a patch on her silks might bring in, but that’s not the point. Most owners lose money and anything the sport can do to make things easier on them financially cannot be a bad things. Plus, racing is a sport that needs cache and it would look a whole lot cooler if it can prove it can attract companies like General Electric, Disney and Harley Davidson to align themselves with the sport. Those are among the companies that have affixed their logos to NBA uniforms. View the full article

Taking until his third start to get off the mark, Naturally High did so in style by six lengths over 10 furlongs at Chantilly Apr. 3 and came forward again to win this intriguing Classic trial. Anchored last of all by Theo Bachelot, the bay was unleashed wide in the straight and overtook all rivals in just over a furlong and finally the outsider Not Mine in the dying strides. Trainer Pascal Bary is aiming high. “We really liked him last year and although he ran badly first time we kept the faith,” he explained. “He had strengthened a lot during the winter and although I was worried he was so far back in the race, he has a nice turn of foot. We’ll keep him fresh now and run him next in the [G1 Prix du] Jockey Club.” Naturally High is out of the G3 Prix Vanteaux winner Just Little, who was also third in the G3 Prix de Sandringham for the Jean-Claude Rouget stable. She has got off to a fine start as a broodmare, with her first foal turning out to be the G2 Ajax S. third Justwantacontact. Her 2-year-old filly by Siyouni (Fr) named Justfirstlady (Ire) was a €150,000 AROCT purchase by Rouget, while she also has a yearling colt by Lope de Vega (Ire). Sunday, Longchamp, France PRIX DE SURESNES-Listed, €55,000, LCP, 4-29, 3yo, 10fT, 2:03.69, gd. 1–NATURALLY HIGH (FR), 128, c, 3, by Camelot (GB) 1st Dam: Just Little (Fr) (GSW-Fr, $171,077), by Grand Slam 2nd Dam: Just Wood (Fr), by Highest Honor (Fr) 3rd Dam: Just Rainbow (Fr), by Rainbow Quest 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (€120,000 Ylg ’16 ARAUG). O-Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard; B-Oceanic Bloodstock Inc & Mme Ariane Gravereaux (FR); T-Pascal Bary; J-Theo Bachelot. €27,500. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-0, €47,900. *1/2 to Justwantacontact (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), SW-Fr & GSP-Aus, $214,904. 2–Not Mine (Ger), 128, c, 3, Dabirsim (Fr)–Next Holy (Ire), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). (€36,000 Wlg ’15 ARQDEC; €130,000 Ylg ’16 ARAUG). O-Ecurie Normandie Pur Sang. €11,000. 3–Stable Genius (Fr), 128, c, 3, Siyouni (Fr)–Anjella (Ger), by Monsun (Ger). (€28,000 RNA Ylg ’16 ARAUG). O-Antoine Gilibert, Hubert Guy, Haras d’Etreham, Ecurie des Charmes, Meridian International SARL & Benoit Chalmel. €8,250. Margins: HD, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.50, 15.00, 2.80. Also Ran: Masterpiece (Fr), Solesili (GB), Mount Pelion (Ire), Assiro (GB). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Blamed, winner of the Sunland Park Oaks, has been withdrawn from consideration in the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) after a hairline fracture in her right hind pastern was discovered the morning of April 29. View the full article

Hofburg was the lone Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) hopeful on the Churchill Downs grounds to put in a timed workout April 29, going in company with Villamay during a half-mile breeze in :48 1/5. View the full article

After all the idiosyncratic excuses and lunatic losses and bets flushed in so many circumstances over the journey of the past year, the love of Hong Kong’s punters for a flawed genius exploded in full voice as Pakistan Star set the perfect seal on an inaugural Champions Day on Sunday. Racing fans have had a monkey grip relationship with Pakistan Star since he set the internet aflame as a baby – the more they pulled away, the tighter they were bound to him. He had simply stopped... View the full article

When Tony Cruz mentioned the words “Royal Ascot” in the giddy moments following Pakistan Star’s awe-inspiring win in the Audemars Piguet QE II Cup it seemed anything was possible but when reality set in it was clear the world may have to wait for now. Pakistan Star’s transformation from potential-laden but troubled talent to the best horse in town was already the story of the day, but when Cruz cheekily suggested Royal Ascot, the trainer teased at a tantalising next... View the full article

Mick Channon doesn’t wait to be asked what would, to most trainers, be too fatuous a question to dignify with an answer. “I think she’ll win,” he declares. “I don’t know what Aidan’s bringing to the table. But I’m not frightened of anything I’ve seen up to now. She’s still got to get the trip, I suppose, so there’s always that question mark. But I think she’ll win.” He is known for plain talking, of course. But in a world of polite equivocations, such bald confidence is far more startling than any of the salty epithets excised from this record of his conversation. To be fair, Channon had been no less adamant when saddling Dan’s Dream (GB) (Cityscape {GB}) for her recent trial at Newbury. “Realistically, she was probably rated something like 78 which shouldn’t be good enough,” he says. “But I told the 2-year-old handicapper, I told everyone, going out the paddock I said: ‘This’ll win.’ Her work has always been first-class. Last year she looked a very good filly before she went wrong. I remember arriving at Newmarket for the first meeting last year, and Angus Gold came up and said: ‘What’s this I hear about you having a flying machine by Cityscape?’ And I said: ‘Who’s been talking to you then!'” In his 70th year, Channon has been on the scene long enough for his confidence to deserve every respect. In fact, he has become so familiar in his second calling–this tall, hobbling figure, cheerfully grousing and cursing–that it now seems more remarkable that he should ever have been an international footballer than that he mastered so very different a walk of sporting life. His old club, Southampton, is on the brink of relegation from the Premier League. As the four-wheel drive bounces alongside the all-weather gallop, where the next crop of fillies are cantering towards a breathtaking panorama across Oxfordshire, an owner asks him whether he’d forfeit the vividly contrasting form of his yard for the survival of the “Saints”. “They can look after themselves,” he grins, without hesitation. For Dan’s Dream heads towards the Qipco 1,000 Guineas on Sunday riding a remarkable wave. The day before her trial, Channon sent out five winners: three at Bath and two, including Adorable (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) in what has often proved a significant maiden, at Newbury. The yard has not missed a beat since the opening day of the turf season, when Izzer (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) won the Brocklesby. A couple of weeks beforehand, in fact, he had even won a race at the Cheltenham Festival with one of a handful of jumpers stabled at West Ilsley. One possible reason suggests itself in the poached condition of the grass gallop alongside the car. Many trainers have been kept off the turf by a wet spring, but Channon evidently had no choice. “That was flooded, couldn’t get on it for two months,” he says, gesturing at the all-weather. “We’ve ripped this to pieces but it’s come back well last two weeks.” Could that account for his flying start? “Could be a help,” he shrugs. “But more likely it’s the quality of the horse, I think you’ll find. We’ve known from early on that the 2-year-olds are a far better bunch than we’ve had for a while. Over the years we’ve had some very good batches, but they are patchy and the last couple of years been pretty moderate.” On the numbers, 2017 was a mediocre season overall and Channon did brief “Jack and Gill”–that is to say, son and assistant Jack and agent Gill Richardson–to seek fresh impetus when they browsed the yearling sales. “I said we’re going to have to try and buy some cheaper horses, and some sharper horses,” he recalls. “Let’s get up and running. Because our clientele, they’re basically looking to have some fun–and that’s what we have to try and deliver.” Channon has always known how to ignite a precocious youngster and is enjoying the flying start at stud by one such graduate in Bungle Inthejungle (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), the Rathasker Stud rookie who has already had four winners. “Maurice [Burns of Rathasker] is a good owner of mine and he came and saw him and he loved him,” Channon recalls. “Everybody says he must have been a right little running 2-year-old. But he was a big strong brute of a horse, a monster. Wouldn’t be the prettiest, but he had an engine. And a great temperament. Unfortunately he didn’t train on, he put so much into his 2-year-old career. But I said he’d be champion first-season sire on winners.” Training the stock of stallions or mares who have passed through his hands gives particular pleasure to Channon, whose first ventures on the Turf were as a breeder. “That’s a full sister to Epsom Icon (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}),” he says, pointing. “Made up into a smashing filly. Epsom Icon was much lighter. And they say the foal that’s come back from Ireland is a smasher. Turning out to be a real good mare. And that one is out of half-sister to Imperial Dancer (GB) (Primo Dominie {GB}). Done nothing yet but she’s a lovely filly. Thirteen grand! I saw her come in and thought, ‘I can’t let her go.'” He finds due release in his continued involvement at Norman Court Stud, which he sold to his very first owners, the Trant family. “Between us we’ve probably got well over 1,000 acres there to move the mares and yearlings around,” Channon says. “I knew the place as a kid, growing up, and it’s a smashing little stud. It’s produced winners going back to Phil Bull’s time. In the early days a lot of the Meon Valley horses boarded there, too.” “The breeding has always been the fun side. That’s where I came from, originally. I started off trying to breed Flat horses and ended up with winners of the Hennessy [Steeplechase] and the Schweppes [Hurdle], that’s how good at it we were! And we’ve gone on from there.” He most certainly has, in a fashion that must prompt particular admiration in Sir Ian Botham and Gareth Edwards, whose prowess on in cricket and rugby respectively once caused them to share the back pages with Channon the footballer. Now, thanks to their involvement in the charity profiting from the Dan’s Dream fairytale, they could be back in the headlines together. True, Silvestre De Sousa dismounted at Newbury and immediately advised Channon that the filly might be too fast to last an eighth furlong. “But he did have a ride in the Guineas!” Channon smiles. “So I put him on the spot!” Pending talks over the weekend, Channon was plainly convinced that the filly should be supplemented to the Guineas at today’s forfeit stage. Even if De Sousa turns out to be right, regarding her stamina limitations, there would be ample time to let Dan’s Dream regroup before the Commonwealth Cup. “What she’s got is cruising speed and a turn of foot,” Channon says. “Even when she got knocked [leaving] the gate at Newbury, she still settled. I’ve always been confident she had class, she’s always been push-button. This time last year I was thinking Ascot. But she pulled a muscle behind, and then it was stop-start all the way to Goodwood. So I gave up, said to the owner: ‘I’m going to send her up to you now, turn her out, feed her, and send her back January 1.’ But I’ve always thought she compared with those good fillies, a Queen’s Logic (Ire) (Grand Lodge) or a Flashy Wings (GB) (Zafonic).” Those names remind you that Channon, for all his no-nonsense style, has always shown particular sensitivity with fillies. Yes, there have been top-class colts, too–not least the triple Arc runner-up Youmzain (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire})–and Channon said he feels that he has only done so well with fillies because they tend to be more affordable. Either way, while his last Group 1 winner was Samitar (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, he feels overdue a change of luck in the Newmarket original. “When you look back, Nahoode (Ire) (Clodovil {GB}) should have won,” he says. “She finished fifth, beaten a length and a half, and never came off the bridle. Music Show (Ire) (Noverre) won the race on her side. Flashy Wings, it went heavy, and for Lahaleeeb (Ire) (Redback {GB}) it went like a road when they wanted it the other way round. And Queen’s Logic had an abscess in her foot, and because I thought she had the rest of the year I said we’d wait for the Irish Guineas, there was no point taking a chance. And the annoying thing [given her subsequent premature retirement] is that I could have run her. Because she would have gone through it that day, wouldn’t have bothered her once her blood was up.” “Talk about being patient, I shot myself in the foot that day. If they’re good, I can be patient. If they’re not, I’m the most impatient person in the world. We do have a lot of runners. We don’t spare them, we run them, don’t we! But it’s easy to be patient if they’re good.” “This run we’re having, with the horses in good nick–the good thing is that a lot of the ones that have been winning are moderate horses, and to hit the jackpot with them; Well, it’s always easier with good horses, isn’t it? I’m not a racehorse trainer, I’m a racehorse dealer basically. That’s what we are now, when you look at it realistically. All right, there’s your John Gosdens and your Aidan O’Briens and a few others. But the rest of us are basically trying to make horses valuable, to move them on. The art of training is to maximise the ability the horse has got, whether that’s a selling plater or a Group 1 horse. And if you pick the right races you’ll probably win five in a day!” Channon said he doubts whether there is anything self-sustaining about stable momentum, in terms of buoyant staff morale. But while he shares concern about the demographic changes that have made recruitment such an issue in the industry, he is certainly satisfied with those he has got. “The staff have been brilliant,” he says. “But it’s not just my staff. People in racing in this country are unbelievable really, it’s amazing how hard they work in the conditions they do. When I was a kid on Salisbury Plain, I used to able to write my name on the ice on the inside of the window. But all the kids now come out of centrally heated homes. Go out there in the winter when there’s two dead polar bears on the gallops and a penguin nicks your scarf, it’s hard-and most of them are absolutely fantastic.” “But the rewards can be great. It’s very difficult to get people from the city, the way Franny Norton come out of Liverpool; and Geoff Lewis, he was a bellboy at the Savoy and they pushed him because he was a little fella. And he became a champion jockey. So it’s there for you–if you want it. He went out and did his time in Epsom and made a great life for himself, and a great name for himself. Frankie Durr was the same, going back a few years. They all got off their arse. [And you see that in] the foreigners we have riding here. They’re prepared to work, they don’t mind the cold, and there’s a few of them are bloody good; you won’t believe how they improve.” One way or another, the place is buzzing right now. And, in Dan’s Dream, the feelgood factor could go into overdrive. But Channon is too seasoned to be getting carried away, too familiar with the glib exaggeration of sport’s fickle fortunes. “I remember this little winger, played for Nottingham Forest,” he says. “And he always used to say: ‘I’m only fat when we get beat.’ And the same applies when we’re racing. If they’re getting beat, it’s the end of the world. But if they’re winning…” He raises his eyebrows expressively. A man who means what he says, and says what he means. His effing and blinding, of course, only reflects a deeper candour, an admirable honesty; but perhaps people don’t always see the wood for the sheer colour of the trees. Nobody, at any rate, can say they haven’t been told. “I think she’s a good thing,” he shrugs. View the full article

Beauty Generation started this season way down the pecking order in his own stable, let alone overall, but now sits in the box seat for Horse of the Year honours after a third top-level victory of the term. Yet another tough on-pace display from the robust gelding in the Group One Champions Mile was probably enough to seal the award after Group One wins in the Hong Kong Mile and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup. If Beauty Generation does win, it would mean trainer John Moore has trained the... View the full article

As far as group 1 reintroductions go, Sunday’s Prix Ganay was nothing other than straightforward for Anthony Oppenheimer’s G1 Champion S. hero Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) as he treated the ParisLongchamp crowd to an early-season treat. Positioned behind the Godolphin pacemaker Wren’s Day (Medaglia d’Oro) by Frankie Dettori, the 3-5 favourite avoided a tactical conundrum and although it took until just before the furlong pole to properly master that surprise package, he strode away in his Frankel-esque style to win by four lengths, with last year’s winner Cloth of Stars (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) finishing 3/4 of a length behind his little-known stablemate Wren’s Day, a 24-1 shot, in third. For John Gosden, it was mission accomplished with a welcome minimum of fuss. “That was a perfect race with a good even regular pace and they did not just quicken at the end,” he said. “He quickened very nicely and it was a great race for his first start of the season. The plan is definitely to come here for the first Sunday in October and he will run again soon, possibly in the [G1] Tattersalls Gold Cup [at The Curragh] or the G1 Prince of Wales’s S. [at Royal Ascot]. He will have a summer freshener before the Arc.” Oppenheimer added, “The new Longchamp is a lovely place and we are very happy to be here. We’ll definitely come back for the Arc.” Having provided Frankel’s take-off as a sire at Ascot six months ago, Cracksman could ensure the Juddmonte giant stays on an upward trajectory throughout 2018. His dam, the soft-ground loving Rhadegunda (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), was also responsible for the G3 Solario S. scorer Fantastic Moon (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and her 3-year-old Military Band (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) is held in some regard by Saeed bin Suroor despite finishing unplaced in Newmarket’s Wood Ditton S. earlier this month. The third dam is the 1000 Guineas and Sussex S. heroine On the House (Be My Guest), whose descendants include the G2 Royal Lodge S. winner Leo (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and who is related to the G1 Coronation S. winner Rebecca Sharp (GB) (Machiavellian) and these connections’s G1 Epsom Derby, G1 Eclipse S. and G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}). Sunday, Longchamp, France PRIX GANAY – PRIX DE L’INAUGURATION DE PARISLONGCHAMP-G1, €600,000, LCP, 4-29, 4yo/up, 10 1/2fT, 2:09.44, gd. 1–CRACKSMAN (GB), 128, c, 4, by Frankel (GB) 1st Dam: Rhadegunda (GB) (SW-Fr), by Pivotal (GB) 2nd Dam: St Radegund (GB), by Green Desert 3rd Dam: On the House, by Be My Guest O-Anthony Oppenheimer; B-Hascombe & Valiant Studs (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. €342,840. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 3yo-Eur at 9.5-11f, G1SW-Eng & G1SP-Ire, 8-6-1-1, €1,924,970. *1/2 to Fantastic Moon (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}), GSW-Eng. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Wren’s Day, 128, c, 4, Medaglia d’Oro–Season’s Greetings (Ire), by Ezzoud (Ire). O-Godolphin SNC; B-Darley (KY); T-Andre Fabre. €137,160. 3–Cloth of Stars (Ire), 128, h, 5, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Strawberry Fledge, by Kingmambo. (400,000gns Ylg ’14 TATOCT). O-Godolphin SNC; B-Peter Anastasiou (IRE); T-Andre Fabre. €68,580. Margins: 4, 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 0.60, 24.00, 3.50. Also Ran: Rhododendron (Ire), Finche (GB), Wild Chief (Ger), Air Pilot (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Kerm Din heard the whispers as punters peered over newspaper form guides at him in the street, and he read the headlines about his banned racehorse. He wondered how Pakistan Star had gone from a racetrack hero to Hong Kong racing’s very own pantomime villain in the space of 12 months. “For the past year I’ve been hearing things as I walk by people in the street or at the track,” Din said. “But today was beautiful, today the people were asking me to sign things for... View the full article

Ivictory threatened to run out of rating for most of the last 200m of the Chairman’s Sprint Prize after being tossed in at the deep end by John Size, but he swam instead of sinking to give the yard a clean sweep of the season’s short Group Ones and a new season’s prize money record. Size has dominated the sprint stakes races this season so comprehensively that only the first of them, the Group Three National Day Cup, eluded him, he has had the quinella in most of them and his... View the full article

G1 Ladbrokes Blue Diamond S. winner Written By (Aus) (Written Tycoon {Aus}) is thriving during his current spell away from training according to his trainer Grahame Begg. The 2-year-old tasted defeat for the first time when fourth to Estijaab (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) in the G1 Longines Golden Slipper in March and will continue his down time for another month. “He’s done very well,” Begg told Racing.com on Sunday. “He’s been out just on a month now after his run in the Slipper and he’s got another 3-4 weeks out. He’s up at Cootamundra at Twin Hills Stud, they’re looking after him a treat, and he’s getting out into the paddock in the day, and boxed and rugged at night. I’ve got a trip planned not this week but the week after to go up and visit him,” he added. Begg has already chosen a spring target for Written By and will aim the top finishing Slipper colt at the G1 Coolmore S. at Flemington in November. The last running of the 1200m race was won by Merchant Navy (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), subsequently the subject of a major stallion deal by the race sponsor Coolmore Stud and Begg is cognisant of the situation he finds himself in as the custodian of a future sought after stallion prospect. “Definitely his target will be the Coolmore on Derby Day. His whole spring preparation will be tailored around that. There’s been a lot of [stud] enquiries, but nothing’s changed, nothing will come into play until after the spring.” View the full article

If the after card to the Group Ones on Champions Day was intended to highlight the next crop of stars, the operation was a success, even if one patient died. Boom three-year-old sprinter Hot King Prawn came to his first run beyond 1,000m and first around a bend, touted as the next big thing to take on his stablemates Ivictory, Mr Stunning and Beat The Clock next season. His unbeaten record went by the wayside but he still did nothing to dissuade his trainer or anyone else that he’s on... View the full article