Wandering Eyes

Speed-dialler Duric lands Zac Kasa ride View the full article

Invitational Kranji Mile draws 50 nominations View the full article

Forever Young out through fetlock injury View the full article

Horse's test result April 17 View the full article

Undefeated Magnum Moon, winner of the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park, moved up to second; and My Boy Jack, winner of the $200,000 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, jumped to 10th in the latest NTRA top 3-year-old poll. View the full article

The six-session under-tack preview of next week’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s April Sale of 2-Year-Olds kicked off Monday with a pair juveniles sharing the fastest furlong time of :10 flat on a windy day in Central Florida. Less the 20 minutes into the preview, hip 144, a colt from the first crop of Strong Mandate, set the fastest furlong time of :10 flat. Consigned by Randy Miles, the dark bay is out of Callous Effect (Majestic Warrior), a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Miss Frost (Curlin). “We were expecting that kind of work because he has been the ultimate professional all year,” Miles said. “We were expecting it, but with the weather conditions we were really concerned. So we were relieved when he did it. The wind was blowing like 20 mph in their faces today. It was really difficult conditions. The wind is very bothersome to these young horses, so to see him stand up and not let the wind bother him was very satisfying.” On behalf of the longstanding Royal Flush Racing partnership, Miles signed the ticket at $60,000 to acquire the colt from the Brandywine Farm consignment at last year’s Fasig-Tipton October Sale. Royal Flush enjoyed pinhooking success with another first-crop juvenile at last year’s OBS April sale, having purchased a colt by Orb for $30,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and reoffering him in Ocala where he sold for $685,000. Miles said he and his team, which includes his veterinarian wife Lisa Casinella, look for value with younger sires at the yearling sales. “The real good stallions are so hard to buy and we try to budget ourselves on what we spend on these yearlings,” Miles said. “We work really hard at trying to get value so that most everybody who shops at a 2-year-old sale can afford our horses.” Of the Strong Mandate colt, Miles admitted, “We paid a little bit more than we wanted to for him. We were hoping to get him cheaper, but we liked the horse as a yearling and we paid a little bit out of our price range, but he’s paid us back.” Previously based in Virginia, Miles has been in Ocala for much of the last decade. He trained privately for Live Oak Stud for four years before returning to the sales scene four years ago and his primary focus is now squarely in the pinhooking arena. In addition to his 2017 April success with the Orb colt, Miles also and Royal Flush pinhooked a Midnight Lute colt, purchased for $28,000 at Keeneland September, for $310,000 at the 2016 April sale. He credits Casinella with keeping the team on budget at the yearling sales. “She doesn’t let us get into trouble,” he said. “Even when we want one, she’ll say, ‘No, you can’t have that one.'” Miles sent out six juveniles to work Monday and found conditions consistent throughout the day. “We took one of the last horses up today and it was still windy and still just a tad bit bothersome to some of the horses,” Miles said. “The horses probably, in our eyes, worked a tick off of what we thought they would and we’re pretty good at gauging what we think they are going to work. I thought it was consistent all throughout the day. The track didn’t have anything to do with it today. I think it was all the wind.” Equaling the :10 flat time some 2 1/2 hours later was hip 127, a daughter of Quality Road. Consigned by King’s Equine, the bay filly is out of Bridles Prayer (Unbridled’s Song), a daughter of Grade I winner River’s Prayer. She RNA’d for $80,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. Eddie Woods sent out four of the five fastest quarter-mile workers, including hip 30, a filly by The Factor who earned the bullet time of :21 1/5. The gray juvenile, a $35,000 Keeneland September purchase, is a daughter of graded stakes winner Another Romance (Saint Anddan). The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. The OBS April sale will be held Apr. 24 through 27. View the full article

LONE SAILOR (c, Majestic Warrior-Ambitious, by Mr. Greeley) O-GMB Racing. B-Alexander-Groves-Matz, LLC (KY). T-Thomas Amoss. Sales history: $120,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: GISP, 8-1-3-1, $334,237. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: N/A Last Start: 2nd, GII Louisiana Derby, FG, Mar. 24 Accomplishments: 3rd, GI Breeders Futurity S., KEE, Oct. 7 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 42 Lone Sailor won his second career start at Saratoga last September, ripping away to an 11-length romp in the mud over seven furlongs. Since then this $120,000 KEESEP Majestic Warrior colt has competed in six straight route races and hasn’t won again. He wrested control of the lead inside the final furlong of the Louisiana Derby but couldn’t seal the deal, ending up second while beaten only a neck at 9-1 odds. If you plan on banking on that effort as the start of a potential upswing, you’ll be rewarded with odds well north of 60-1 in Louisville. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 5th GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. 2nd Street Sense S. 3rd GI Breeders Futurity 1st Maiden 5th Maiden View the full article

G1 Golden Slipper hero and veteran sire Sebring (Aus) (More Than Ready) tops the Widden Stud roster for 2018 and will command A$66,000 on the back of a pair of Group 1 winners in Egg Tart (Aus) and Lucky Bubbles (Aus). He is joined by Zoustar (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}), who sits on top of the first-season sire table by earnings, mainly thanks to MGSW and Golden Slipper third Sunlight (Aus) and sees his fee jump up to A$60,500 from A$44,000. MGISW Nicconi (Aus) (Bianconi) also had his fee hiked to A$24,750, with four stakes winners this season, including Group 3 scorer State Solicitor (Aus). “Sebring has had a phenomenal last 12 months,” Antony Thompson reflected. “Having sired some 42 Stakes Performers, 17 Stakes Winners including two Group I winners in this period there was an expectation to increase fee given the ongoing success of his progeny. He’s enjoyed a yearling average at both major sales of over $240,000 with a top lot of $1.4 million so we feel his fee maintained at $66,000 represents terrific value.” Added Thompson, “Zoustar has started in spectacular fashion, in fact he is ahead of where Northern Meteor was at the same stage with his first crop. He looks every inch the heir to his late champion sire. Attitude, constitution, class and scope are terms that have been regularly used in reference to his progeny and the exciting thing is, like their sire, they’ll improve further at three.” View the full article

The prep season is over, but that doesn’t mean the intrigue has ended as the racing world locks its focus on the main event, the May 5 GI Kentucky Derby. Please note that the rankings below are independent from the “Road to the Derby” points leaderboard that Churchill Downs will use to determine starting berths; that list can be accessed here. 1) MAGNUM MOON (c, Malibu Moon–Dazzling Song, by Unbridled’s Song) ‘TDN Rising Star’ O-Robert E. & Lawana L. Low. B-Ramona S. Bass, LLC (KY). T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $380,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: GISW, 4-4-0-0, $1,177,800. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 1 Last Start: 1st, GI Arkansas Derby, OP, Apr.14. Achievements: 1st, GII Rebel S., OP, Mar. 17. Equineline PPs. Caulfield on Magnum Moon. KY Derby Points: 150 ‘TDN Rising Star’ Magnum Moon has earned kingpin status based on his entire undefeated, four-race body of work–even if his four-length win in Saturday’s GI Arkansas Derby did leave a couple of loose ends that will linger as open questions into the Kentucky Derby. He broke running, responded to a smooch to seize the lead, and asserted himself assuredly at the head of affairs, a new tactic for him. Even though he got away with splits that were on the slow side (a legit criticism), this $380,000 KEESEP Malibu Moon colt withstood pressure right up until the quarter pole, and when a firing line of four turned for home, Magnum Moon was the only one who was still hand-ridden. He peeled away from the pack convincingly when roused more aggressively, but then ducked out so far at the eighth pole that he ran right out of the head-on shot (jockey Luis Saez later blamed gate marks on the track). Although it cost him nothing but style points on Saturday, such behavior does plant seeds of concern moving forward (especially because Magnum Moon previously drifted out at the sixteenth pole when winning the GII Rebel S.) But I’m willing to treat such imperfections as works in progress that can be smoothed over. His raw versatility in winning with multiple styles at increasing distances over very different kinds of tracks while thriving under pressure is what gives him the tactical edge 2 1/2 weeks out from the Derby. 2) JUSTIFY (c, Scat Daddy–Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper) ‘TDN Rising Star’ O-China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Starlight Racing & WinStar Farm. B- John D. Gunther (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $500,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: GISW, 3-3-0-0, $666,000. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 2 Last Start: 1st, GI Santa Anita Derby, SA, Apr. 7 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 100 The three-for-three Justify has no comparison in this year’s crop when it comes to flash and panache. With style, power, and some off-the-charts speed figures, this $500,000 KEESEP Scat Daddy colt has gone from unraced maiden to Grade I winner in a span of 48 days, and every human counterpart associated with this ‘TDN Rising Star’ is in awe about how much untapped potential he really might possess. I can see why he’ll be the favorite on the first Saturday in May. But endorsing him at an underlaid a price at this nascent stage of his career is likely to be hazardous to one’s bankroll. Justify was in complete control over outclassed foes at the maiden and allowance levels, and after attaining an unpressured lead through the initial half mile of the GI Santa Anita Derby, he only had to spurt away from a not-fully-cranked Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) to wrap up the race under his own terms. That’s a scenario that’s unlikely to develop when he ships away from his home track for the first time in the Kentucky Derby, where the early pace will be hotter, the chaos into the clubhouse turn will be utterly unpredictable, and a solid cast of challengers are likely to be zeroing in on the leaders in rapid-fire succession as the pack corners for home. Then again, if Justify is able to overcome all those compounded adversities, he will truly rate as the once-in-a-generation super-horse that some supporters are projecting he can be. 3) BOLT D’ORO (c, Medaglia d’Oro—Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy) O-Ruis Racing. B-WinStar Farm (KY). T-Mick Ruis. Sales History: $630,000 yrl FTSAUG ’16. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 6-4-1-1, $1,016,000. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 3 Last Start: 2nd, GI Santa Anita Derby, SA, Apr. 7 Accomplishments Include: 1st, GI Del Mar Futurity, DMR, Sept. 4; 1st GI FrontRunner S., SA, Sept. 30. 3rd GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, SA, Nov. 4; 1st GII San Felipe S., SA, Mar. 10. Equineline PPs. Caulfield on Bolt d’Oro. KY Derby Points: 104 You don’t often see the mount on such a highly ranked Derby contender open up so late in the prep season, but that was the case last week when Javier Castellano (who had been aboard for each of this colt’s last two races), informed owner/trainer Mick Ruis he would be accepting a commitment aboard GI Florida Derby winner Audible (Into Mischief) for the Kentucky Derby, citing a loyalty to Audible’s connections. The mount didn’t stay open long, as three-time Derby-winning jockey Victor Espinoza (who had worked “Bolt” earlier this season) was given the call aboard this $630,000 FTSAUG Medaglia d’Oro colt. Bolt now looms as a top-tier threat based on a hard-fought win via DQ in the GII San Felipe S. (the strongest prep race of the year) and a non-taxing second in the Santa Anita Derby. “What I like about him, he’s really kind and calm. Nothing bothers him,” Espinoza told the TDN. “He saves his energy a lot…. Bolt d’Oro reminds me of California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), in that he’s run quite a few times before the Kentucky Derby. It’s easy for me to ride that kind of horse that has that experience.” 4) MENDELSSOHN (c, Scat Daddy—Leslie’s Lady, by Tricky Creek) O-Michael B. Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier & Derrick Smith. B-Clarkland Farm (KY). T-Aiden O’Brien. Sales history: $3,000,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-4-1-0, $1,961,137. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20: 4 Last Start: 1st, G2 UAE Derby, MEY, Mar.31 Accomplishments: 1st, GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, DMR, Nov.3; 2nd, G1 Darley Dewhurst S., NEW, Oct. 14 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 100 Mendelssohn is hardly your typical European invader for the Kentucky Derby. This Scat Daddy colt has already twice made headlines in the United States, once when hammering for $3 million at KEESEP, and a year later when gamely winning the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Plus, American racing enthusiasts are already well acquainted with the dirt prowess of his older sister, the four-time champion Beholder (Henny Hughes). If an 18 1/2-length blowout win can serve as a reminder of one’s relevance, that was certainly the case for Mendelssohn in the G2 UAE Derby. Sure, the Meydan track was conducive to early speed that day and the field for that 1 3/16-mile race did not exactly come up as a robust bunch. But this is a colt who is quick from the gate, does not absolutely need to be prowling on the front end, and is likely to emerge as a relentless Derby stalker. He figures to be able to apply pressure at multiple points in a 10-furlong race while still being in the hunt late when it counts. 5) GOOD MAGIC (c, Curlin—Glinda the Good, by Hard Spun) O-e Five Thoroughbreds & Stonestreet Stables. B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings (KY). T-C Brown. Sales History: $1,000,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo, GISW, 5-2-2-1, $1,855,000. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 5 Last Start: 1st, GII Blue Grass S., KEE, Apr. 7 Accomplishments Include: 1st GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, SA, Nov. 4.; 2nd GI Champagne S., BEL, Oct. 7. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 134 Trainer Chad Brown’s plan all along for 2018 was to have Good Magic peak in his third start off a seasonal layoff. This million-dollar KEESEP Curlin champ is one of potentially eight Derby horses who might attempt to make the race this year off only two preps, so a little historical perspective is in order to illustrate how training methodologies are changing: Between 1984 and 2006, horses with only two sophomore preps were a collective 0-for-38 in the Derby. Since then, horses with only a pair of 3YO preps have won the Derby an attention-getting eight times (2007-12 and 2015-16). Good Magic’s GII Toyota Blue Grass S. win pretty much followed the script of what you’d like to see in a Derby candidate leading up to that third start off the break–the score was convincing enough to establish that he’s a viable Derby threat without having drained the colt to overstate that point. Good Magic is expected to work once at Keeneland, where he is currently stabled, prior to shipping to Churchill Downs to get one breeze over the track there before his Derby start. 6) AUDIBLE (c, Into Mischief–Blue Devil Bel, by Gilded Time) O-WinStar, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing. B-Oak Bluff Stables LLC (NY). T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $175,000 FTNSAR yrl ’16; $500,000 FTFMAR 2yo ’17. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 5-4-0-1, $882,920. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 6 Last Start: 1st, GI Florida Derby, GP, Mar. 31 Accomplishments: 1st, GII Holy Bull S., GP, Feb. 3. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 110 The Audible we’ve seen so far is an opportunist. In winning the GII Holy Bull S. and the Florida Derby, he attained comfortable positions and pounced when the pace and other in-race circumstances unfolded in his favor. No question, it takes athletic ability to do that. But what we don’t know heading into Louisville is whether this $500,000 FTFMAR son of Into Mischief can live up to his name by calling a tactical audible if that chaotic run through the first turn in the Derby doesn’t leave him in a prime position. Audible is considered a win threat based on speed figures, a nice overall progression arc, and the fact that he hails from a high-percentage outfit with Derby-winning experience. The big unknown is how he’ll handle mid-race adversity or a solid late stretch attack from multiple contenders, because we haven’t yet seen him face those types of challenges at the graded stakes level. “He’s coming back in five weeks off a 1 1/8-mile race so I think we’re just trying to have him peak on the day and keep him fit without overdoing it,” said trainer Todd Pletcher after Friday’s :48.74 half-mile work (1/26) at Palm Beach Downs. 7) NOBLE INDY (c, Take Charge Indy–Noble Maz, by Storm Boot) O-WinStar Farm LLC & Repole Stable. B-WinStar Farm LLC. T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $45,000 RNA yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: GSW, 4-3-0-1, $691,600. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 7 Last Start: 1st, Louisiana Derby, FG, Mar. 24. Equineline PPs. Caulfield on Noble Indy. KY Derby Points: 110 Noble Indy won the GII Louisiana Derby with the addition of blinkers, but his running style wasn’t overly modified by the equipment change because he’s a pace-presser who’s been on the lead at the second call in three of his four lifetime starts. What will be the tactics in Louisville? Committing to an all-out assault on the lead might not exactly be this $45,000 KEESEP Take Charge Indy colt’s sweet spot, but having enough early gas to mix it up in the first flight at least theoretically keeps him away from the worst midpack traffic. Noble Indy has already shown he can take a little roughhousing at the start and he re-rallied when the lead was clawed away from him in the stretch fight of the Louisiana Derby. I continue to believe that he’ll be the least talked-about of the four Todd Pletcher-trained horses aiming for the Kentucky Derby. And while that factor will probably be worth a rise of a few points in the mutuels, Noble Indy is at least on par development-wise with several of those stablemates, so I’m banking that he’ll be a juicy overlay in the betting. 8) MY BOY JACK (c, Creative Cause—Gold N Shaft, by Mineshaft) O-Don’t Tell My Wife Stables & Monomoy Stables LLC. B-Brereton C. Jones (KY). T-Keith Desormeaux. Sales History: $14,000 RNA wlg KEENOV ’15; $20,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 10-3-3-2, $645,145. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 14 Last Start: 1st, GIII Lexington S., KEE, Apr. 14. Accomplishments Include: 1st, GIII Southwest S., OP, Feb. 19; 1st, Zuma Beach S., SA, Oct. 9 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 52 There were reasons to bet against My Boy Jack in Saturday’s GIII Stonestreet Lexington S.: He was a closer shortening up to 1 1/16 miles on a track that sometimes helps speed horses, and he had drawn the outermost post in what was clearly a last-ditch attempt to earn Derby qualifying points. Yet he delivered big-time as the 3-2 favorite, and now looms as a sneaky-sharp Derby horse who can be relied upon to deliver a sustained punch from about 4 1/2 furlongs out regardless of where he is placed in a large field. This $20,000 KEESEP Creative Cause colt owns a stamina-strong pedigree, has now run nine consecutive route races, and his connections have consistently mentioned how relaxed and confident he’s grown since his breakout win in the muddy GIII Southwest S. three starts back. “He was very, very comfortable in his stride and that was pretty much a repeat of his last start,” jockey Kent Desormeaux said after the Lexington, adding that the 10 furlongs will suit him “probably even better. We always tend to get a true, honest pace in the Kentucky Derby, and I think he’ll enjoy that.” 9) VINO ROSSO (c, Curlin–Mythical Bride, by Street Cry {Ire}) O-Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable. B- John D. Gunther (KY). T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $410,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: GSW, 5-3-0-1, $620,500. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 8 Last Start: 1st, GII Wood Memorial S., AQU, Apr. 7. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 107 If his aggressively won Wood Memorial S. is any indication, Vino Rosso’s on-track performance could finally be catching up to his lofty expectations. Then again, he has three other Tampa Bay Downs races showing in his past performances that come across as utterly underwhelming–an allowance win against a short field at 1-20 odds, plus two stakes routes in which he never seemed to be mentally or physically in the race. So determining which Vino Rosso will show up on Derby day is a tough guess based on a read of his past performances alone. A more helpful clue emerged last week when jockey John Velazquez committed to ride this $410,000 KEESEP Curlin colt in the Derby, which is notable because he had also ridden last-out graded stakes winners Audible and Noble Indy for top client Todd Pletcher, and he presumably had his choice among all three. Based on the Wood win, Vino Rosso now looks more in his element rating from farther back instead of forcing the issue closer to the action, so the more speed in the Derby the better for this colt. 10) FLAMEAWAY (c, Scat Daddy—Vulcan Rose, by Fusaichi Pegasus) O-John Oxley; B-Phoenix Rising Farms (ON). T-Mark Casse. Sales history: $150,000 yrl KEEJAN ’16; $400,000 yrl SARAUG ’16. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 9-5-2-0, $704,834. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 9 Last Start: 2nd, GII Blue Grass S., KEE, Apr. 7 Accomplishments: 1st, GIII Bourbon S., KEE, Oct. 8; 1st, GIII Sam F. Davis S., TAM, Feb. 10. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 70 Flameaway’s positives: Relishes being involved in pace pressure, doesn’t back down when engaged (even when overmatched), runs well on any footing, and has won at four varying distances. His negatives: Winless above Grade III, untested beyond 1 1/16 miles, and doesn’t rack up commandeering speed figures. Throw all of those handicapping components into a mental blender, and I think the resulting assessment will be that this $400,000 FTSAUG Scat Daddy colt will be an overlooked component on Derby day–certainly not one of the top win threats, but the type of horse who could logically hit the board or even orchestrate a 30-1 upset if circumstances align in his favor. Company lines are also key (beaten only three lengths by Mendelssohn; has twice outfinished Vino Rosso), and note that Flameaway has twice run well in large (14-horse) fields. 11) FREE DROP BILLY (c, Union Rags—Trensa, by Giant’s Causeway) O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC. B-Helen K. Groves Revokable Trust (KY). T-Dale Romans. Sales history: $200,000 KEESEP yrl ’16. Lifetime Record: GISW, 8-2-3-2, $625,220. Apr. 10 TDN Top 12 Rank: 13 Last Start: 3rd, GII Blue Grass S., KEE, Apr. 7 Accomplishments Include: 1st, GI Breeders’ Futurity, KEE, Oct.7; 2nd, GI Hopeful S. Sept. 4. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 44 Free Drop Billy’s past performances don’t tell the whole story about where this $200,000 KEESEP Union Rags has been or–more importantly–where he’s going. Seven months apart, he’s now twice been involved in graded stakes where Sporting Chance (Tiznow) ducked out in deep stretch, with the most recent incident stopping Free Drop Billy cold when he was surging up on the outside in the Blue Grass S. His ninth-place non-effort in the Breeders’ Cup (beaten 29 lengths) still has everyone baffled. And even Free Drop Billy’s lone stakes win, the GI Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland last autumn, is difficult to get a good read on because one of the favorites suffered a catastrophic injury in that race. Yet redemption and a true-to-ability race could be closer than most people think for this still-developing May 3 foal. I envision Free Drop Billy tucking in towards the back in the Derby, tipping out for a prolonged bid, and then seeing how far and long his closing kick will take him into what projects to be a zesty early pace. 12) HOFBURG (c, Tapit-Soothing Touch, by Touch Gold) O/B-Juddmonte Farms Inc. (KY). T-Bill Mott. Lifetime Record: GISP, 3-1-1-0, $227,950. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 15 Last Start: 2nd, GI Florida Derby, GP, Mar. 31. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 40 Hofburg glides toward the Kentucky Derby as a very tantalizing, under-the-radar wild card. He’s only raced three times and hasn’t won beyond the maiden ranks. Yet his Juddmonte Farms/Bill Mott connections aren’t shying away from plunging him into the deep end of the pool. This alone could be a tipoff that they think they have a Classics-worthy colt, because this isn’t an owner/trainer combo that is annually intent on having a horse in the Derby just for the sake of being represented. You can make the cogent argument that the Tapit homebred was involved late in the Florida Derby only because a fortuitous pace meltdown up front paved his way. But what was unmistakable was this colt’s body language–he kept attacking and never looked discouraged when chasing home a far more experienced favorite when second to Audible. According to Daily Racing Form, Irad Ortiz Jr. will replace his brother, Jose Ortiz, in the Derby aboard Hofburg, because Jose has committed to Eclipse Award champ Good Magic. 13) ENTICED (c, Medaglia d’Oro—It’s Tricky, by Mineshaft) O/B-Godolphin (KY). T-Kiaran McLaughlin. Lifetime Record: MGSW & GISP, 6-3-1-1, $595,680. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 12 Last Start: 2nd, GII Wood Memorial S., AQU, Arp. 7 Accomplishments Include: 1st, GII Kentucky Jockey Club S., CD, Nov. 25; 3rd, GI Champagne S., BEL, Oct. 7; 1st GIII Gotham S., AQU, Mar. 10 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 103 In the Wood Memorial, Enticed led the main body of the field behind a breakaway pacemaker, and trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said post-race that “we were a little closer than I thought we’d be.” It’s unlikely that Enticed will be positioned similarly in the Derby though, because there figure to be enough pace-pressers and midpack stalkers to willingly take up that role. If a long, sustained run is the game plan for this Medaglia d’Oro homebred, it’s a plus to know that he’s already uncorked a nice, length-of-stretch rally over the Churchill Downs strip in the Nov. 25 GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. That race ended up being a highly productive key race, turning out three subsequent stakes winners. But will big-framed Enticed benefit from his heat-of-battle bumping with Vino Rosso in the stretch run of the Wood? The unknown answer to that question will go a long way to figuring out how he’ll fare in Louisville, where he’s likely to have to either do some degree of inside fighting or give up ground with a wide bid to attain a contending spot. 14) QUIP (c, Distorted Humor—Princess Ash, by Indian Charlie) O-Winstar Farm LLC, China Horse Club International & SF Racing LLC. B-WinStar Farm LLC (KY). T-Rodolphe Brisset. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP, 5-3-1-0, $482,800. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 10 Last Start: 2nd, GI Arkansas Derby, OP, Apr. 14 Achievements: 1st, GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, TAM, Mar. 10. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 90 ‘TDN Rising Star’ Quip won the “race within the race” in Saturday’s Arkansas Derby. The GII Tampa Bay Derby winner was a prominent pace presence as expected, and hounded eventual open-length winner Magnum Moon right up to the quarter pole when that rival convincingly torqued into another gear to win going away. Jockey Florent Geroux then kept Quip going well enough to win a four-horse photo for second. Although this son of Distorted Humor qualifies on points, Quip’s connections have not committed fully to a Derby berth. 15) SOLOMINI (c, Curlin-Surf Song, by Storm Cat) O-Zayat Stables LLC. B-Glenna R. Salyer (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $270,000 KEESEP ’16 yrl. Lifetime Record: MGISP, 6-1-3-2, $752,000 Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 11 Last Start: 3rd, GI Arkansas Derby, OP, Apr. 14 Accomplishments Include: 3rd GI Los Alamitos Futurity, LRC, Dec.9; 2nd GI Frontrunner S., SA, Sept. 30; 2nd GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, DMR, Nov. 4 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 54 Solomini qualifies on Derby points and his connections said it’s on to Louisville after his third-place effort in the Arkansas Derby. He took the overland route on Saturday and gave up a fair amount of real estate on the backstretch and the far turn, but no one in the four-horse firing line at the quarter pole was going to match strides with Magnum Moon through the lane. This $270,000 KEESEP Curlin colt is officially winless since breaking his maiden on debut Sep. 2, although he did cross the wire first when DQ’d out of the GI Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 9. Having said that, Solomini has never finished out of the top three in his five-race career, always coming close with capable, grind-it-out efforts but never summoning up that one, big, visually impressive flourish of a finish to leap the chasm to elite status. Maybe 10 furlongs and a zealous pace to help tilt the shape of the race in his favor will do the trick. 16) PROMISES FULFILLED (c, Shackleford—Marquee Delivery, by Marquetry) O-Robert J. Baron. B-David Jacobs (KY). T-Dale Romans. Sales history: $37,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: GSW, 5-3-0-1, $337,280. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 17 Last Start: 9th, GI Florida Derby, GP, Mar. 31 Accomplishments: 1st, GII Fountain of Youth S., GP, Mar. 3. Equineline PPs. Kentucky Derby Points: 52 Promises Fulfilled currently rates as the best bet to cross the Churchill Downs finish wire in front–the first time past the stands. After getting roasted in the Florida Derby speed duel, trainer Dale Romans is in regroup mode with this $37,000 KEESEP son of Shackleford, who does own a win and a very good stakes third over the Churchill track that is Romans’ home court. Even if you don’t view Promises Fulfilled as a solid win threat, his presence on the front end will contribute to the fates of other forwardly placed contenders, namely prospective favorite Justify. Romans said on Saturday that jockey Robby Albarado is likely to pilot either Promises Fulfilled or Free Drop Billy in the Derby, but that a second rider for whichever mount goes open has yet to be confirmed. 17) BRAVAZO (c, Awesome Again—Tiz o’ Gold, by Cee’s Tizzy) O/B-Calumet Farm. T-D. Wayne Lukas. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP, 8-3-1-1, $436,528. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: 18 Last Start: 8th, GII Louisiana Derby, FG, Mar. 24. Accomplishments: 1st, GII Risen Star S., FG, Feb. 17; 2nd, GI Breeders’ Futurity, KEE, Oct. 7. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 54 Bravazo’s last seven races have all been at a mile or longer, so stamina is unlikely to be a Derby issue for this Awesome Again homebred. Consistency appears to be his weakness though, because he’s either not too far off the action at the finish wire (five times in his career) or he gets dusted by double-digit lengths (the three other starts). His last race was a clunker (a 21-length, lugging-out eighth as the second fave in the Louisiana Derby), so Bravazo will be looking for a turnaround based on morning works leading up to his long-shot bid in Louisville. 18) FIRENZE FIRE (c,Poseidon’s Warrior–My Every Wish, by Langfuhr) O/B-Mr. Amore Stables (FL). T-Jason Servis. Lifetime Record: GISW, 9-4-1-0, $669,100. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: N/A Last Start: 4th, GII Wood Memorial S., AQU, Apr. 7 Accomplishments: 1st, GI Champagne S., BEL, Oct. 7; 1st, GIII Sanford S., SAR, July 22. Equineline PPs KY Derby Points: 39 The Poseidon’s Warrior homebred demonstrated an admirable, grind-it-out, style at age two and early in 2018 that allowed him to overachieve in spots where the competition was been tough and/or he was up against the grain of the way the pace unfolded. But his pedigree is slanted heavily toward sprinting on both sides, he’s yet to win a two-turn race, and he’s now lost three in a row after taking what turned out to be the easiest (New York) prep path to the Derby. After barely making the qualifying cut on a points basis, it looks like Firenze Fire is on his way to Louisville. 19) LONE SAILOR (c, Majestic Warrior-Ambitious, by Mr. Greeley) O-GMB Racing. B-Alexander-Groves-Matz, LLC (KY). T-Thomas Amoss. Sales history: $120,000 yrl KEESEP ’16. Lifetime Record: GISP, 8-1-3-1, $334,237. Apr. 10 TDN Top 20 Rank: N/A Last Start: 2nd, GII Louisiana Derby, FG, Mar. 24 Accomplishments: 3rd, GI Breeders Futurity S., KEE, Oct. 7 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 42 Lone Sailor won his second career start at Saratoga last September, ripping away to an 11-length romp in the mud over seven furlongs. Since then this $120,000 KEESEP Majestic Warrior colt has competed in six straight route races and hasn’t won again. He wrested control of the lead inside the final furlong of the Louisiana Derby but couldn’t seal the deal, ending up second while beaten only a neck at 9-1 odds. If you plan on banking on that effort as the start of a potential upswing, you’ll be rewarded with odds well north of 60-1 in Louisville. 20) GRONKOWSKI (Lonhro {Aus}-Four Sugars, by Lookin At Lucky) O-Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited. B-Epic Thoroughbreds LLC. T-Jeremy Noseda. Sales history: $75,000 wnl KEENOV ’15; $67,415 yrl TATOCT ’16; $404,492 2yo TATBRE ’17. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0, $135,644. Apr. 3 TDN Top 12 Rank: N/A Last Start: 1st, 32red Burradon S, NEW, Mar. 30. Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: Qualified via European Road to the KY Derby Gronkowski has never run on dirt nor beyond a mile, and he qualified for a berth in Louisville by winning the Europe Road to the Kentucky Derby invite. His most recent score was in the straight-course Burradon S. at Newcastle, a race in which he settled towards the back of the pack and rallied late for a 1 1/4-length, driven-out victory. He will remain overseas for another week and a half prior to shipping stateside Apr. 28. View the full article

Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) returns to the scene of his success in the Listed Zetland S. over 10 furlongs in October, having finished second in the G3 Golden Fleece S. at Leopardstown and fourth in the G2 Beresford S. at Naas the previous month. Saddled with a three-pound penalty, he is closely matched on form lines with Mildenberger (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) who was third in the G2 Royal Lodge S. here in September. John Gosden, whose Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy) captured the Royal Lodge, puts forward the Nottingham maiden winner Msayyan (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who is an intriguing Derby prospect at this stage. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today’s Observations features a half-brother to G1SW Announce (GB) (Selkirk). 1.50 Newmarket, Mdn, £10,000, 3yo, c/g, 7fT AURUM (IRE) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) is a half-brother to the G1 Middle Park S.-winning sire Amadeus Wolf (GB) (Mozart {Ire}) who represents the Charlie Appleby stable responsible for the full-brother Rouleau (GB) who captured the G3 Sirenia S. three years ago. Among those with experience he encounters is Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Elhafei (Speightstown), a John Gosden-trained 525,000gns TATOCT graduate from the Kirsten Rausing family of Alborada (GB) et al. 2.50 Maisons-Laffitte, Mdn, €25,000, 3yo, c/g, 7fT VANBRUGH (First Defence) debuts for Khalid Abdullah and Andre Fabre and is a half-brother to the stable’s former G1 Prix Jean Romanet winner Announce (GB) (Selkirk). Also a half to the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches third Mexican Gold (Medaglia d’Oro), the homebred faces eight here. View the full article

Listed Burradon S. hero Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}) has punched his ticket for the May 5 GI Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and will travel Stateside on Apr. 28, trainer Jeremy Noseda revealed. The Phoenix Thoroughbred runner has won his last four starts, and earned 50 points on the “European Road to the Kentucky Derby”. Successful in the Mar. 7 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” Conditions S., good for 20 Derby points, his margin of victory was 1 1/4 lengths in the Mar. 30 Burradon, worth another 30 points to the winner. “I am delighted with him,” Noseda told Tattersalls. “He’s a lovely straight forward horse to deal with and everything is very much on schedule with our preparation. He leaves for America in two weeks, on Apr. 28, and by the time he leaves quarantine and starts training, it will be Tuesday morning. That’s the plan and I think it is the perfect timing for his arrival. It’s just getting him happy, fit and healthy, and then we have to find out if he goes on dirt or not. I’m pretty confident he’ll handle it well. They either do or they don’t, no matter how much you train them.” View the full article

1994 champion sophomore filly Heavenly Prize (Seeking the Gold–Oh What a Dance, by Nijinksy II) has been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, it was announced Monday. The lone contemporary selection from the 10 finalists chosen by the Hall of Fame’s Nominating Committee, Heavenly Prize received majority approval from the 166-person voting panel to earn her spot in the Hall of Fame. A bay filly bred in Kentucky by owner Ogden Phipps, Heavenly Prize was a Grade I winner at ages two, three and four. The Shug McGaughey trainee captured the Frizette at age two and reeled off three consecutive top-level successes as a sophomore in the Alabama, Gazelle and Beldame. As a 4-year-old, she annexed the Apple Blossom H., Hempstead H., Go for Wand S. and John A. Morris H. She ran second in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in both 1994 and 1995. Heavenly Prize raced once as a 5-year-old, finishing third in the Donn H., which was won by Hall of Famer Cigar. The mare was retired with a career record of 9-6-3 from 18 starts and earnings of $1,825,940. In total, eight of Heavenly Prize’s nine career victories were in Grade I events. Heavenly Prize was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith for her first eight starts and by Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day for her final nine races. As a broodmare, Heavenly Prize produced seven winners from eight starters, including the multiple Grade I-winning turf standout Good Reward and Grade II winner and successful sire Pure Prize–both of whom are sired by Storm Cat. Heavenly Prize also produced stakes winner Cosmic (El Prado {Ire}), stakes-placed Distinctively (Awesome Again), and Just Reward (Deputy Minister), whose daughter Persistently (Smoke Glacken) upset Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in the GI Personal Ensign H. Heavenly Prize died in 2013 at the age of 22 at Claiborne Farm in Paris. Heavenly Prize will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Friday, Aug. 3 at 10:30 a.m. at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is open to the public and free to attend. New inductees in categories selected by separate processes will also be announced soon. The Historic Review Committee choices for the Hall of Fame will be revealed on May 9 and the Pillars of the Turf Committee’s Hall of Fame selections will be announced on May 23. View the full article

After being all alone at the wire in six of her eight grade 1 victories, Heavenly Prize will be all alone among contemporary selections for this year's National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame induction. View the full article

After being all alone at the wire in six of her eight grade 1 victories, Heavenly Prize will be all alone among contemporary selections for this year's National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame induction. View the full article

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced today that Woodbine Racetrack in Rexdale, Ontario, near Toronto, has earned reaccreditation from the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance. View the full article

A total of 24 finalists for eight of the 10 categories for the Irish Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards were selected from almost 350 nominations, Horse Racing Ireland announced on Monday. Each winner will receive a trophy and €5,000, except for the Newcomer Award, who instead will be gifted a trip to Dubai and €2,500, while the winner’s yard, stud or company will each receive a cash prize. The Racecourse Award will be chosen by the Irish Stablestaff Association based on a quality programme survey of all stable staff across all Irish racecourses. The 24 finalists for the eight awards are: Racing & Breeding Support Services (Martin Leahy, Sharon O’Regan, Martin ‘Snowy’ Pearce); Administration Award (Gillian Carey, Denis Hickey, Vicki McWey); Newcomer Award (Georgie Benson, Joanne Eaton, Charlie Sweeney); Horse Care Award (Emma Connolly, Mary Nugent, Sinead O’Sullivan); In The Saddle Award (Audrey O’Neill, James Rath, Josep Sans Sanchez); Travelling Head Person Award (Tina Evans, Jason Forsyth, Camilla Sharples); Leads by Example Award (Tom Daly, Valerie Keatley, Stephen Thorne); and Dedication to Racing & Breeding Award (Pat Farrell, Eamonn Leigh, Tommy Ryan). The winner of the Irish Racing Excellence Award–who will receive a trophy and €5,000, plus €5,000 for their yard, stud or employer– will be presented to one of the winners of the above categories barring Racing & Breeding Support Services and the Newcomer Award. “The contribution from stud and stable staff to the success of the Thoroughbred industry in Ireland plays a vital role in fonfirming Ireland’s global reputation,” said Godolphin’s Charities Strategic Advisor Diana Cooper. “All 24 finalists are fitting examples of Irish racing excellence and Godolphin is delighted to sponsor these awards and recognise and reward their inspirational work ethic and dedication.” View the full article

NEWMARKET, UK–It was enough just to watch the horses pulling up, silhouetted against the East Anglian sky. For even that snapshot of shape and movement permitted no doubt that the breeze-up circuit reaches a new level in the Tattersalls Craven Sale; never mind the way these youngsters stretched through a demanding under-tack show yesterday morning: across the Dip and up the hill, through soft ground and a crosswind. Several had cost more, as yearling pinhooks, than was realised by the top lots in the first two auctions of the European breeze-up calendar at Ascot and Doncaster. After their dress rehearsal on Sunday, John Cullinan of Horse Park Stud was shaking his head. “We’re going to have to be on our ‘A’ game here,” he said. “That’s the nicest bunch of horses I’ve seen at a breeze-up sale. Every horse a proper job: big, scopey, strapping horses winging past, one after the other.” Since 2015, graduates of this sale have included 42 individual group or listed winners. Over the next two evenings, however, consignors will be hoping to stem a worrying tide in year-on-year indices at the sales so far staged by Tattersalls Ireland and Goffs UK. Only every other lot was sold at Ascot; and if that improved to three in four at Doncaster, the median still took a hit. No wonder some consignors are feeling a little queasy as they bring their most precarious punts to market. At least the root problem of overproduction should prove less corrosive here. Cullinan, who has done such good work heading up the Breeze-Up Consignors’ Association, does not want it undone by expanding catalogues as “a dumping ground” for unsold yearlings. Investors, after all, have never had such confidence in the quality and competitive longevity of breeze-up graduates. “Bad horses only devalue our product,” Cullinan stressed. “The sales companies have to limit the numbers coming in, and consignors have to be more discerning.” Even this catalogue has been squeezed up from 152 to 172, before withdrawals, and accommodates no fewer than 20 rookie sires. Nonetheless, it remains the premier showcase for the format. It was here two years ago, for instance, that Cullinan and regular collaborator Roger Marley sold a colt to Peter and Ross Doyle for 170,000gns. Mehmas (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) won two Group 2s and was retired to stud within six months of his sale. He had been pinhooked out of Book 2 for 62,000gns. “Effectively we take 20 per cent of the yearling crop out of the system, sort the wheat and chaff, and put them back into a sale,” he said. “As a result there’s going to be high wastage. The ones that don’t face it, or aren’t sound enough, fall by the wayside; but the ones that are up to the job, we’re adding value to. Pound for pound, I think that makes this a very good value way of buying a racehorse. “Some of the horses here are obviously going to make big six figures; many aren’t even going to make their purchase price. What they cost [as yearlings] is irrelevant. They’re here now with their drawers down! A lot of the rules when you’re buying yearlings go out the window. If they come up quick, and they’re sound, that’s three-quarters of the story. The pedigree only decides what you’ll pay for it.” “But a young horse that will come up here and gallop into a headwind at 11 seconds a furlong? If you asked every trainer in this town to send up their smartest 2-year-old, without a lead, there’d be loose horses all over Newmarket. It takes a brave 2-year-old to come up there on its own, not hang, not look around, do his job.” Paradoxically, Cullinan believes that elite auctions can sometimes be a victim of their own success. “People with limited budgets tend to shop at the smaller sales,” he said. “And I always feel they’re missing a trick. We ourselves will go to Book 1 and try to buy a yearling that falls between the cracks. People coming here to buy the elite horses will expect to pay proper money, but some get left behind and represent very good value. “Last year we sold only 15 out of 25 through the ring. We’ll take our beating on a bad horse. What’s hard to take is a beating on a good one. We’re not protecting them. But if there’s nobody there to buy them, what do you do?” The answer, if he and Marley really like the horse, is to keep it in training themselves. That brings its own risks, but their perseverance could yet be rewarded with Future Proof (Ire) (Dream Ahead), who was unsold at Arqana last year but won on debut for Ger Lyons at Leopardstown on Sunday. Over the years Cullinan has found this medium a reliable signpost to the prospects of a young stallion. Kodiacs, for instance, soon proved to be unusually fast learners. With the sire now in his pomp, Cullinan and Marley are glad to have three in their draft. “The colt out of Dolly Colman (Ire) (Diamond Green {Fr}) [lot 110] is a five-furlong 2-year-old who can run as soon as he gets a name,” he said. “He’s a lovely correct horse, a typical Kodiac, very fast. The one out of Folegandros Island (Ire) (Red Rocks {Ire}) [lot 122] is a different type, he might get seven. He has a brilliant mind and fantastic stride. And the filly out of Graphic Guest (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) [132] is very quick. Her dam got injured in the stalls at the Queen Mary. She’s bred to be fast and does what it says on the tin, a ready-made 2-year-old.” Cullinan also likes a scopey Coach House (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) half-sister to Tasleet (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) [80]. “She’ll be for July onwards but she has loads of talent and the heart of a lion,” he said. The same will doubtless be required of consignors and buyers alike, in setting their reserves and limits respectively. As ever, that is going to raise a conundrum or two. Cullinan’s draft appeared to be in conspicuous demand during the post-breeze inspections; nearly all, it appears, had indeed been on their “A” game. One or two other respected consignors, in contrast, had been disappointed by horses they rate very highly. The times, moreover, were evidently pointing towards one or two lots with relatively unglamorous pages. If nothing else, then, we will find out afresh quite how credible are all those protests about the stopwatch only being one factor among many; whether buyers are still capable of taking a leap of faith with the instincts of a trusted consignor. “The clock is a big part of this game, there’s no point denying it,” Cullinan said. “However it’s only one part of the jigsaw, and I think it’s probably doing a disservice to the buyers to pigeonhole them all that way. Yes, the fast horses are going to make the money. But there’s a lot more trade done below that, so you’ll have guys like Alan King and Anthony Bromley coming here looking for a nice dual-purpose horse. First and second in the 2016 St Leger were breeze-up horses. There is a more discerning market out there now, I believe. People take the overall package into account.” “Say a horse didn’t handle the ground, or there’s greenness, or jockey stage fright. These things can happen. Your opinion of the horse, before you come to the sale, is usually right—but they can’t always deliver on the day. The thing is that when we sell yearlings, all we can say is that we like the horse on the lunge, his attitude, and so on. But we know so much more about these horses. So vendor input is very important, and your track record of calling it right. That’s the added value we’re giving.” View the full article

Despite the supposed start of the British turf season some three weeks ago, there’s been little action of any note since the Lincoln meeting, partly through strange race planning and partly owing to bad weather. Thankfully, Ireland and France have kept us entertained with a decent smattering of Classic trials. How informative these mostly heavy-ground contests will have been remains to be seen, especially now so few British and Irish horses actually take in a trial en route to the Guineas. From a near famine, there’s now a feast of action to look forward to in Britain this week at Newmarket and Newbury, with two of the most exciting appearances at Newmarket not even happening in an official race. Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will be at the Rowley Mile today (Tuesday) to undertake a public gallop before racing at 12.40pm, ahead of his planned seasonal debut in the G1 Prix Ganay on Apr. 29. Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {GB}) brought the curtain down on the old Longchamp when winning the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for owner-breeder Anthony Oppenheimer and John Gosden in 2015 and the same connections look to have every chance of taking home the first Group 1 contest to be run at ParisLongchamp. Ten minutes after the 4-year-old appears at Newmarket, Sheikh Hamdan’s Elarqam (GB) will take his turn over the same stretch of turf on which both his father Frankel (GB) and mother Attraction (GB) won their respective Guineas and where he will bid to do the same on May 5. Godolphin Loves Spring In Paris… Andre Fabre landed his eighth win in Sunday’s G3 Prix de la Grotte, his most significant previous victrix being Golden Lilac (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who went on to win both the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and G1 Prix de Diane. The most recent winner, Musis Amica (Ire), is a grand-daughter of the GI Kentucky Oaks heroine White Star Line (Northern Dancer), who was bought by Sheikh Mohammed for $3 million from the Newstead Farm dispersal at Keeneland in 1985. Fabre also trained White Star Line’s best daughter, the G2 Prix de Pomone winner Whitehaven (GB) (Top Ville {GB}), but it was his colleague Henri-Alex Pantall who oversaw the career of Musis Amica’s dam, White Star (Ire) (Darhsaan {GB}), a dual winner who was placed in the G2 Prix de Malleret. A half-sister to another French Group 2 winner in Harland (GB) (Halling), Musis Amica is an important filly for Godolphin, not just in the continuation of a family which has served the operation well but as the first Group winner for Dawn Approach (Ire), who has his first 3-year-old runners this year. With entries in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, Prix de Diane and Prix Saint-Alary and with only two winning starts under her belt, she has the chance to progress into a very exciting performer for her young sire. Pantall may not have ended up training White Star’s daughter but he has charge of the exciting Godolphin colt Wootton (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who was unleashed for his first start of the year in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau—won last year by subsequent dual Classic winner Brametot (Ire) (Rajsaman {Fr}). A private purchase after winning on debut for owner-breeder Haras de Quietville at Deauville last August, Wootton subsequently landed the listed Prix Isonomy and will now be aim to emulate his sire’s star performer Almanzor (Fr) in claiming some Classic laurels. The British-based wing of Godolphin cranks into action this week with G3 Solario S. winner Masar (Ire), by Dawn Approach’s sire New Approach (Ire), heading to the G3 Craven S. after arriving in Newmarket from Dubai on Saturday afternoon, while Soliloquy (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), out of the dual Australian listed winner Dysphonia (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}), heads to the G3 Nell Gwyn S. On a good day at Longchamp, there was also reflected glory for Darley/Godolphin in the third Group 3 contest of the meeting, the Prix Noailles, which went to Pharrell (Fr), a son of Manduro (Ger) whose year started well with a third G2 Dubai Gold Cup victory for his enigmatic son Vazirabad (Fr). Only four horses at Arqana’s August Sale of 2016 sold for less than Pharrell, a €15,000 purchase by his trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, who said he bought him simply because the Haras de Montaigu consignee reminded him of another chestnut colt by Manduro, the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Ultra (Ire), who has recently joined his sire at Haras du Logis. Sands Shifting In Right Direction… Another inexpensive yearling purchase, Sands Of Mali (Fr) (Panis), enjoyed a fruitful outing in France on Friday when winning the G3 Prix Sigy at Chantilly on Friday. Con Marnane, who bought the colt for €20,000 at the Osarus September Sale of 2016 and resold him at Tattersalls Ireland’s Ascot Breeze-up for £75,000, was understandably emboldened by Sands Of Mali’s G2 Gimcrack S. victory to reinvest in the family at Arqana last December when his yearling half-sister by Kheleyf was offered for sale. Named Kherizzia (Fr), she was put through her paces on the Rowley Mile on Monday morning and will be sold as lot 145 at Tattersalls’ Craven Sale tomorrow (Wednesday). Sands Of Mali is trained by Richard Fahey for Peter Swann’s Cool Silk Partnership, which has also had notable success with another Bansha House Stables breezer, the G2 Norfolk S. winner Prince Of Lir (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who now stands at Ballyhane Stud. Bred by Simon Urizzi, Sands Of Mali’s sire Panis is one of four stallions at Alain Chopard’s Haras des Faunes, which also stood his late damsire Indian Rocket (GB) and is now also home to the former Darley stallion Kheleyf. The little utilised Panis has enjoyed a decent run of late as he is also the sire of Magic Bibou (Fr), who finished second to France’s top-rated 3-year-old colt Dice Roll (Fr) (Showcasing {GB}) in the G3 Prix Djebel, as well as the Chopard-bred Princesschope, who was third in the G3 Prix Vanteaux. All three are members of his 2015 crop which numbered just 28 foals. A Toast To The Barman… A few days after Sir Patrick and Lady Justine Hogan sold their final yearling under their Cambridge Stud banner at the Inglis Easter Sale last week, another reminder of their significant influence on the Australasian breeding industry was provided on Saturday with the G1 Sydney Cup victory of the Who Shot Thebarman (NZ) by a nose from Zacada (NZ). There was doubtless a certain degree of agony in seeing Zacada so narrowly beaten as the Hogans are co-owners and breeders of the 5-year-old, and they also bred his sire Zabeel (NZ), a cornerstone of Cambridge Stud’s success for so many years. However, some consolation will have come from the fact that the admirable winner—the second 9-year-old in as many weeks to have won a Group race after Air Pilot (GB)—is a son of another Hogan-bred, Yamanin Vital (NZ), a five-time winner in Japan who was repatriated in 1997 to stand at New Zealand’s White Robe Lodge. Like Zabeel, Yamanin Vital is a son of the mighty Sir Tristram (Ire), but he was afforded far fewer opportunities during his 13 years at stud than his more famous paternal half-brother. His largest crop of 53 foals was down to 39 in the year that Who Shot Thebarman was born, two years before Yamanin Vital’s death, but he is also responsible for G1 Wellington Cup winner Cluden Creek (NZ) and G1 New Zealand Derby winner Cut The Cake (NZ), while Herculian Prince (NZ) is his other top-level winner in Australia. Who Shot Thebarman’s success on Saturday was unsurprisingly overshadowed by the clamour surrounding his stablemate Winx (Aus) but he has been a stalwart of Chris Waller’s string, lining up in three consecutive Melbourne Cups and posting his best finish when third to Protectionist (Ger) in 2014, as well as winning the G1 Auckland Cup for his previous trainer Mark Oulaghan. View the full article

Eclipse Award-winning filly Heavenly Prize has been elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. View the full article

Japan’s lengthy quest to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for the first time has been punctuated by a variety of near misses, controversies and hard-luck stories. El Condor Pasa (Jpn)’s bold front-running effort looked as if it was going to bear fruit when he was three lengths clear with only 300 metres left to race in 1999, but Montjeu (Ire) emerged from the pack to snatch victory by half a length. Seven years later the legion of fans who travelled to Longchamp to support Deep Impact (Jpn) put so much money on the Japanese superstar that his odds tumbled to 2/1-on on the pari-mutuel. He too was run out of it in the closing stages after leading entering the final 400 metres and was beaten three-quarters of a length. It was just as well that Deep Impact did not win, though, as he was later disqualified from third place after a banned substance was found in his post-race sample. Nakayama Festa (Jpn)’s second to Derby winner Workforce (GB) in the 2010 Arc was another near miss but it wasn’t nearly as controversial as the defeat of Orfevre (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) two years later. Orfevre started favourite, having warmed up with a victory in the G2 Prix Foy, and the 4-year-old seemed destined to become Japan’s first Arc winner as he swept majestically up the outside of the field. Unfortunately, the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown winner’s forward momentum was compromised when he started to idle and hang right. Although Christophe Soumillon reacted quickly in his efforts to straighten Orfevre, the powerful son of Stay Gold hung right across the entire field. He finally hit the rails just before the winning post and Solemia seized victory by a neck. No one doubted that Orfevre was the best horse in the race, especially as he had been drawn 18 of 18. Could anything have made the difference between defeat and victory for Orfevre? One commentator couldn’t understand why Orfevre had not raced in a hood. After all, trainer Yasutoshi Ikee had considered it necessary for Orfevre to wear a hood throughout the preliminaries, until just before he entered the stalls. We can only speculate about whether a hood would have made it easier for Soumillon to keep Orfevre on a straight line. I was also left wondering whether Kenichi Ikezoe’s greater knowledge of the colt, gained from riding Orfevre to so many victories, would have proved more valuable than Soumillon’s greater knowledge of the Longchamp track. Watch Orfevre’s 2012 Arc defeat: Of course, Orfevre returned to Longchamp for another attempt in 2013 and again started favourite following an impressive display in the Prix Foy. And he again finished second but this time no excuses were needed–he simply came up against a better horse on the day in Treve (Fr) at her brilliant best. It was a measure of Orfevre’s talent that he returned to Japan to win the G1 Arima Kinen for a second time, this time by eight lengths, and only the mares Treve and Black Caviar (Aus) were rated above him on the 2013 World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. His career figures stood at 12 wins, six seconds and a third from 21 starts. One of his two unplaced efforts was a lack-lustre display in the G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) over two miles, but this defeat can’t be blamed on the distance, as Orfevre had won the Kikuka Sho, the Japanese St Leger, over a distance only a furlong shorter. The other unplaced effort came on his first attempt at graded level as a 2-year-old, but he could be forgiven that setback as he was a May 14 foal with a middle-distance pedigree. Orfevre has the distinction of being one of only seven Japanese Triple Crown winners and the only one since Deep Impact in 2005. This inevitably raises the question of whether Orfevre was likely to emulate Deep Impact’s extraordinary success when he joined Deep Impact as part of the Shadai team. There were several reasons for optimism. Whereas Deep Impact is a son of Sunday Silence, Orfevre is a grandson, sired by Sunday Silence’s son Stay Gold. This very durable performer was at his most successful as a 7-year-old, when he narrowly defeated Fantastic Light in the G2 Sheema Classic and Ekraar in the G1 Hong Kong Vase. Retired to the Big Red Farm, Stay Gold played a major role in Japan’s quest for that elusive Arc victory, as he was responsible for Nakayama Festa in addition to Orfevre. He also went quite close to siring a second Japanese Triple Crown winner, with the enigmatic Gold Ship (Jpn) taking the first and final legs in 2012, but he was beaten a length and a half in the Derby. Gold Ship went on to further Group 1 successes at the ages of four, five and six, winning at up to two miles. Gold Ship also emulated Orfevre’s win in the G1 Arima Kinen, as had Orfevre’s older brother Dream Journey (Jpn). Dream Journey had also taken Japan’s top juvenile prize, the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity, as well as the Japanese 2,000 Guineas. Remarkably, Orfevre, Dream Journey and Gold Ship all share the same broodmare sire, Mejiro McQueen (Jpn), as does Stay Gold’s Japanese Group 2 winner Fateful War (Jpn). Mejiro McQueen may be an unfamiliar name outside Japan but he was a top stayer, winning the Japanese St Leger and two editions of the Tenno Sho (Spring) over two miles. In other words, Orfevre has plenty of stamina in his background. Indeed he is the type of stallion that many European breeders would dismiss out of hand, but the same could have been said of Deep Impact, who won at up to two miles. Now top European breeders and buyers are highly eager to breed to Deep Impact or buy his stock. Deep Impact became Japan’s leading first-crop sire of 2010. Although Orfevre failed to match him when his first 2-year-olds raced last year, there was no disgrace in finishing third behind two very fast horses, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) and the ex-American Henny Hughes [with his first crop since being expatriated to Japan], who are better qualified than Orfevre to sire precocious 2-year-olds. He still showed plenty of promise; his son Rock The Town (Jpn), helped by having a dam by Storm Cat, a multiple champion sire of juveniles, won the G3 Sapporo Nisai S. in September and then his excellent daughter Lucky Lilac (Jpn) won the G3 Artemis S. in October and the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in December. Lucky Lilac’s dam Lilacs And Lace had won the G1 Ashland S. over 1 1/16 miles in the U.S. Lucky Lilac extended her unbeaten sequence to four prior to contesting the G1 Oka Sho, Japan’s equivalent to the 1000 Guineas. She started odds-on but suffered her first defeat, at the hands of Lord Kanaloa’s daughter Almond Eye (Jpn). Orfevre gained ample compensation two days ago when his progressive son Epoca d’Oro (Jpn) won the 2000 Guineas equivalent–the 10-furlong G1 Satsuki Sho–by two lengths from the Rulership (Jpn) colt Sans Rival (Jpn). A first crop containing the 2000 Guineas winner and the 1000 Guineas runner-up has to be considered a golden start for a stallion whose name translates as goldsmith. The golden theme continues in the bottom half of Epoca d’Oro’s name as his broodmare sire is Mr Prospector’s son Forty Niner, named after the people who joined the California gold rush in 1849. With Lord Kanaloa and Orfevre both enjoying first-crop classic success, as did Rulership in 2017, it is also beginning to look as though Japanese breeding also has a golden future, even though Deep Impact is now 16 years old. Epoca d’Oro is now a winner of three of his five starts. Although his dam Daiwa Passion (Jpn) was a speedy mare who gained her stakes wins over six and seven furlongs, the Orfevre colt has good prospects of staying the mile and a half of the G1 Tokyo Yushun, the Japanese Derby. Forty Niner stayed well enough to win the GI Travers S. over a mile and a quarter and Epoca d’Oro’s second dam was sired by Shady Heights, a Shirley Heights colt who won York’s G1 International S. over an extended mile and a quarter. Third dam Tikanova was sired by Northern Dancer from Cairn Rouge, winner of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Champion S. If Orfevre can build on this very bright start, it’s a certainty that his 2019 fee will be much more than this year’s ¥5,000,000 (€37,690/ 32533), which is an eighth of the price charged for Deep Impact. View the full article

The action continued at the Inglis Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale on Monday where attention turned to breeding stock and it was a mare by Street Cry (Ire) that topped proceedings when selling to George Altomonte of Corumbene Stud for A$300,000. The mare, called Ghenwaa (Aus) was offered as lot 227 and was one of 176 lots to change hands during the session from 222 offered (79%). Aggregate at the close of business amounted to A$6,088,000, which is down 11% on last year’s session despite more horses being offered and sold. Consequently both the average and median also suffered, coming in at A$34,591 (-19%) and A$20,000 (-13%) respectively. Cumulatively, after two days of selling the gross sits at A$9,684,300 for an average of A$31,039 and a clearance rate of 85%. The sale topper was offered by Yarraman Park Stud in foal to Sebring (Aus) and appropriately the successful purchaser Altomonte also bred the G1 Golden Slipper winner Sebring. Ghenwaa is carrying her first pregnancy and as a dual winning half-sister to stakes winner Haybah (Aus) (More Than Ready) her credentials were sound. “She’s a lovely mare,” Altomonte said. “She’s a Street Cry, been well mated, I think she’s a good buy. She checks out pretty well and we’re thrilled to be adding her to our broodmare band,” he added. China Horse Club were also adding to their elite broodmare band and among their purchases were lot 328 Namurian Sunset (Ire) (Thousand Words {GB}) who cost A$160,000 and also lot 368 Perfect Persuasion (Aus) (Encosta De Lago {Aus}) who was the day’s second highest lot at A$250,000. Born in 2004, Perfect Persuasion is a full-sister to the champion filly and MG1SW Alinghi (Aus) and has already produced two stakes performers herself in Papillon (Aus) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and Lady Sharapova (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Michael Wallace of China Horse Club already has a plan mapped out for the Coolmore consigned mare and said, “She is for Russian Revolution and has the proven Encosta De Lago/Snitzel cross that works really well,” he said. “Physically, she matches up really well and has equally put down great types and she is a sister to a champion filly and she should suit [Russian Revolution] and we are excited to get a mare like her for such a high quality sire prospect.” Leading buyer of the day was Kingstar Farm, who purchased 10 lots including lot 356 Pampurr (Aus) (Tale Of The Cat) for A$90,000 from Coolmore Stud. The farm’s Matthew Sandblom explained he was buying to support Kingstar’s own stallions which include Lord Of The Sky (Aus) and Bull Point (Aus), as well as Newgate Farm’s Russian Revolution (Aus), which he has a share in. “We’ve got a couple of stallions to launch this year, Sandblom said. “We need to support our own stallions so we’re here shopping around. I think the value was pretty good. We dipped in and quite a few fell our way.” 241 mares are catalogued for the final day of the Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale on Tuesday which commences at 10a.m. View the full article

Encore Boy’s form reads like that of a 1,000m Happy Valley specialist but jockey Karis Teetan believes a better barrier can help the speedster stretch in distance on Wednesday night. The Class Four King’s Park Handicap (1,200m) is just the second time Encore Boy has raced beyond 1,000m and on the previous occasion he was unplaced. Making a difference this time is a low draw, something Encore Boy hasn’t had the benefit of lately. Encore Boy has jumped from gates 11, 10, nine... View the full article

Strathspey didn’t get the protest decision connections were seeking at Sha Tin on Sunday and that was the right call but there’s no doubt he should have won and the lightly raced three-year-old looks on the rise. The Tony Millard-trained youngster was squeezed out at the start of the sixth race on Sunday and raced back in the field before meeting traffic trouble in the run down the straight. Connections threw in an objection over an incident at the top of the straight when eventual... View the full article

Hong Kong Jockey Club officials say they are open to acting in an advisory role on horse racing in the southern Chinese island of Hainan but have also stressed the many obstacles between the dream and reality of the sport taking hold. Beijing announced on Saturday it would support the development of horse racing in Hainan – along with various types of sports lotteries – as part of a push to open the province as a free-trade port. “If there is a request that we could be of... View the full article