Wandering Eyes

After its popularity earlier this year, Young Guns returns with all new questions for young professionals. Today we speak with trainer Carla O’Halloran who is a trainer based in Chantilly, France. TDN: Tell us about your career to date? Carla O’Halloran: Showjumping until I was 16, amateur rider in Spain and Italy (champion in 2003 and in 2007, respectively) and jockey in France while working for Alain de Royer Dupre before starting my career as a trainer. TDN: If you could be one person in the industry for a day who would it be and why? COH: Maybe John Gosden, I could spy on all of his good horses on a day out at work. TDN: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? COH: Never give up. TDN: What is the best aspect of your current job? COH: It’s a privilege to be surrounded by horses every day. It’s a passion, to dream about better things in the future, hoping to have a nice horse for your next season. TDN: If you weren’t working in the horseracing industry what would you be doing? COH: Travelling the world. TDN: If you had 24 hours to get someone interested in the horseracing industry how would you do it? COH: Take them to a day at the races knowing we have a good runner, it’s a great feeling seeing the horses win, it’s impossible to explain, you would have to be there! TDN: What was your biggest achievement in 2018? COH: We probably didn’t achieve what we expected, let’s try in 2019. TDN: Who was your horse of 2018 and why? COH: Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), for her victories in the Arc and the Breeders’ Cup. TDN: What is your New Year’s resolution? COH: Hopefully to buy a stable yard. View the full article

For a jockey who has been widely praised for her determination, Nicola Currie has not been immune to periods of self-doubt. A comparatively late-bloomer at 25, she struggled without any tangible reward for some years and even briefly dropped out of race-riding altogether as she contemplated her future. Thrown a lifeline by trainer Richard Hughes, her turning point came in an apprentice handicap at Kempton on Dec. 20, 2016. The horse’s name, by sheer serendipity, was Believe It (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}). “I think it was probably after I rode my first winner, I then realised ‘right, I can actually do this’,” Currie recalls. “You kind of go out, and in your head you’re not very good. Another ride, another ride, great, but you ride to ride and to learn and not for the winners. When you do get that winner, you get that ‘sh*t, this is actually amazing and I could actually make a go of this’. To be able to watch the TV and go ‘I looked a bit better there’, and ‘I could do that better’. Seeing myself progress, that gave me the kick up the bum more than anything.” In another neat piece of symmetry, Currie notched the 100th winner of her career on that very same date, at Southwell last Thursday. She still rides out for Hughes once a week and is continuing a useful link with Newmarket trainer Phil McEntee. But the securing of a formal arrangement with Jamie Osborne, for whom she had that soul-searching tenure as well as her biggest victory to date on the well-backed Raising Sand (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) in a £180,000 handicap at Ascot, has clearly created particular satisfaction. “I was absolutely stone-dead useless when I started there, he gave me my first few rides and I just wasn’t dedicated enough at the time,” she says. “It took going to a bigger yard with Richard Hughes, which was fantastic, as the help he can give you is second to none after what he’s done, along with my jockey coach John Reid. “I’d just come to Lambourn, I wanted to be a jockey but I didn’t know what it took. I thought you’d just swan in and I needed that kick up the bum, which I got. Jamie has been good to me, he knows what it’s like, and for him to come back and see that I’ve realised you have to put every ounce of your time and effort in to make it work…he’s almost given me a second chance.” It was only in the early stages of 2018 when Currie started to get more widely noticed through a horse who became the face of the all-weather season. Spare Parts (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), bought for a pittance by McEntee and owner Steve Jakes, gave her five wins and a ride on Finals day last Easter. “Phil would watch the apprentices throughout the summer and at the start of every winter he would pick out who he thought was progressing,” she explains of the link. “His horses kind of need claiming off and luckily he’d been watching me ride and asked me. “We had a lot of winners together and the publicity that came from Spare Parts was just unbelievable. So many people followed him and, being a front-runner, when you won on him people noticed.” Currie speaks adoringly about Spare Parts, the handicapper with the amusingly mundane stable nickname ‘Graham’. “He’s the most laid-back, placid horse you’ll sit on. He’s very genuine, and it’s difficult to find genuine horses. Not every horse wants to gallop to the line and win, and if a horse joins you, you’ll feel him try to find another gear even if he hasn’t got one. The will he has to win…I’ve not sat on many horses that do that, even good ones. “Phil’s daughter Grace rides him every day and he’s been going around Newmarket with antlers on his head. We still get messages every time he runs, saying people are watching out, best of luck and so on. It’s brilliant, it really is.” There has not been a triumphant resumption of the Spare Parts tale in three chapters this winter but his jockey urges his supporters to keep the faith. “Everyone comes up to me and says he won’t win off his mark, but I’m almost certain he will. He’s grown upwards and outwards, he looks like a different animal to last winter. We forget that when we got him he’d had a few runs in his old yard under his belt, with the break he’s going to take that bit longer to get back into it. We’ve been disappointed but he’ll come back.” McEntee’s yard is one of those which should supply a steady stream of chances but Currie, who lost her claim in mid-November, is only too aware of the choppy waters post-apprenticeship. She talks candidly of the same risks prevalent to most freelancers in even taking a week’s holiday lest a rival should swoop on one of her rides. “It’s tough, there are so many good jockeys now, you can be forgotten about in a few days.” Nonetheless, Currie has the ability to stand out from the crowd. Open and friendly with a soft Scottish accent, she is a rare sporting success story from the isle of Arran. Her exploits have prompted the locals to switch the racing on in her local pub, and a small fan club has evolved. She is also very much part of the small wave of female rising stars, being awarded Lady Jockey of the Year at the recent Stobart Lesters, and can take encouragement from the strides that the likes of Josephine Gordon and Hollie Doyle have made. Much like her close friend Gordon, she does not exactly wear her brand of feminism overtly, but it is certainly visible. View the full article

Jockey Joel Rosario has been riding at a career peak, piling up grade 1 wins, including three Breeders' Cup triumphs at Churchill Downs. View the full article

Me Tsui Yu-sak gave himself a late Christmas present with a double at Happy Valley on Wednesday night and he might collect an even larger gift if Telecom Brothers can hold his lead in the Hong Kong Airlines Million Challenge. The trainer took out the opener with Starlit Knight (Silvestre de Sousa) and then capped off his night when Telecom Brothers (Victor Wong Chun) rattled off his third-straight win in the Class Three Venus Handicap (1,200m). The latter is in a rich vein of form and now... View the full article

The Grade 1 Paddypower Chase is the feature race on Day 2 of the Christmas festival at Leopardstown. This two-mile one-furlong contest looks to be an absolute cracker, with Footpad, Ballyoisin and Great Field all set to face the starter. Footpad tops the market and was one of the standout two-mile chaser last season including when winning […] The post Leopardstown Preview – 27th December appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

The marathon Welsh Grand National is the cornerstone of Chepstow’s racing calendar and provided one of the stories of last season when young James Bowen steered Raz De Maree to success. Last seasons’ winner seems like a logical starting point when trying to dissect this race. Gavin Cromwell’s stable star is an out and out stayer […] The post Welsh Grand National Preview – Blue To Blow His Rivals Away appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

15:05 Kempton – King George VI Chase One of the biggest national hunt races outside of the Cheltenham Festival and very much seen as a precursor to The Gold Cup. This Grade 1 event is the jewel in the crown on a packed Boxing Day of racing and this year’s renewal looks to be one of […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Wednesday 26th December appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Leopardstown is one of three Irish meetings on Boxing Day and we have taken a look at three of the key races. Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle This reminds me of last season’s Champion trainer title as it looks like a battle between Gordon and Willie as they are responsible for the first five horses in the […] The post Leopardstown Boxing Day Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

All eyes will be on Kempton tomorrow, as the course plays host to a quality card. The ITV racing team are showing four of the races live and I have trawled through the form to try and pick some festive winners. The first action we can enjoy is the 32 Red Novices’ Handicap Chase, where thirteen […] The post Boxing Day Preview – Native To Have Rivals Crying A River appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Absolute magnitude is a computation the Thoroughbred racing community finds itself taking a stab at following a 2018 season that saw some scorching luminaries light up the landscape in a very different but no less brilliant fashion. View the full article

Trainer John Moore joked his luckless horse Happy Dragon needs to “visit a temple” to turn his form around at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. While there will be no trips to the nearest holy centre, Moore will be praying his lightly raced galloper can get a change of luck with in-form jockey Silvestre de Sousa in the saddle after threatening to break through all season. Happy Dragon will line up in the Class Three Mars Handicap (1,650m) on Wednesday as one of five horses that Moore... View the full article

The first horse to have its picture taken in the new winner's circle at Oaklawn Park was Chindi, who, after earning more than $1 million on the track as a late-running sprinter, is still active as trainer Steve Hobby's ultra-popular stable pony. View the full article

Bran Jam Stables and David Clark's Fahan Mura will get a class break when she takes on seven other fillies and mares Dec. 29 in the $150,000 Robert J. Frankel Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

Singapore next stop for van der Merwe View the full article

Horses' test results December 20 & 22 View the full article

A year after he won the American Oaks (G1T) with Daddys Lil Darling, trainer Ken McPeek is sending another promising Kentucky-based filly out west to seek grade 1 glory. View the full article

Sagamore Farm's Recruiting Ready led every point of call and was able to hold off a late challenge by Skyler's Scramjet in his return to the races in the $100,000 Gravesend Stakes Dec. 23 at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

Champion and dual G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) will visit fellow Arc victor Sea The Stars (Ire) at His Highness the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud in 2019, Al Shaqab Racing announced via Twitter on Sunday. The daughter of Trevise (Fr) (Anabaa) is currently carrying to Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}), who stands at Haras de Bonneval in France. “Arc-winning champions Treve and Sea The Stars are set for a date this spring,” Al Shaqab Racing said via Twitter. “The star mare is in foal to the Aga Khan Studs’ Siyouni.” While Treve’s first foal, a yearling colt by Dubawi (Ire) is unnamed, her weanling filly by Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) has been christened Paris (Fr). View the full article

An epiglottic entrapment may have knocked Phoenix Thoroughbreds' Dream Tree out of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), but after surgery to repair the issue, she'll be back to try for her first grade 1 win of 2018 in the La Brea Stakes. View the full article

Amy Meagher, Marketing Coordinator at Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, answers our questions. TDN: Tell us about your career to date? Amy Meagher: I don’t have a family background in the industry, but my parents were very much supportive of my interest in horses and encouraged me to start riding ponies at a young age. Growing up in County Kildare I regularly went racing and that’s where I developed my desire for a career in the industry. While studying Equine Science at the University of Limerick, I gained hands on experience with Thoroughbreds working at Ashford Stud in Kentucky and also at Newtown Stud in Naas. After graduation I worked for a time as Marketing and Advertising Assistant for the Irish Racing Yearbook, followed by a six-month internship with Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. I joined the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM) team as Marketing Coordinator in September 2017. TDN: If you could be one person in the industry for a day who would it be and why? AM: There are plenty of industry brains I would love to pick, but I think it would be especially insightful to be Miss Patricia O’Kelly of Kilcarn Stud for one day. Miss O’Kelly is absolutely iconic. It’s remarkable what she has achieved for so many years, consistently producing top-class racehorses and sale-toppers. Even to scratch the surface of her expertise and depth of knowledge on the bloodstock industry would be phenomenal. TDN: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? AM: Over the years I have received two pieces of advice that have resonated with me. The first was given to me by a teacher while I was preparing for an exam. She said “Don’t forget the five Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” The next best piece of advice was “Set your bar high and strive to exceed it.” TDN: What is the best aspect of your current job? AM: I like all aspects of my job, the role is rewarding and challenging in equal measure. When I’m in the office I enjoy researching markets and producing new content for our social media channels. I’m very lucky because I regularly get out and about with my job. ITM has a presence at every Irish-based bloodstock sale and I love going to Goffs and Tattersalls, as well as hosting events for our international clients. TDN: If you weren’t working in the horseracing industry what would you be doing? AM: I have never really considered pursuing a career in any other industry. From a young age I have always aspired to work in horseracing in some capacity. I think I would still work in marketing with a focus on digital marketing. I also find sports psychology really interesting, though I don’t think an industry change is on the horizon for me. TDN: If you had 24 hours to get someone interested in the horseracing industry how would you do it? AM: I believe there’s more to racing than just the winning post and I think most people who are involved in the industry are in it because of the love of the animal. With that in mind, I would take a holistic approach with a view to telling the wider story behind the racing and breeding industry. I think visiting a stud farm, a sales complex, a breaking and training yard and obviously attending a race meeting would help tell the whole story and hopefully spark interest. TDN: What was your biggest achievement in 2018? AM: It has been a year of soaking up knowledge and applying the learning I have received from the highly experienced people in ITM and the remarkable industry people my role has afforded me the opportunity to meet. I’m pleased to have reached some of my professional and personal goals, building sound foundations for a much larger goal I have set myself for 2019. Milestones of note in 2018 include co-hosting my first international event with ITM and running in my first charity race. TDN: Who was your horse of 2018 and why? AM: Justify, without a doubt. The Triple Crown is the one of the greatest challenges in horseracing and it takes a very special horse, with a rare combination of pedigree, attitude, training and versatility to win it. For Justify to win six races in quick succession, while making history as the first horse in 136 years to win the Kentucky Derby without having raced as a juvenile, as well as becoming only the second undefeated horse to win the Triple Crown is, in my opinion, beyond extraordinary. TDN: What is your New Year’s resolution? AM: Generally, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I think it’s far more productive to set and review goals year round, rather than pile on the pressure in January. I also think it’s important to remain open and receptive to the changes a New Year might bring. View the full article

In the sphere of longitudinal lines, order is given to and connections are made within a world of complex variety. It is no coincidence that Ghislain Bozo, son of the famed stud manager Antoine, named his agency Meridian International when taking the plunge in 2002 to bring together the divergent racing and breeding forces of the globe. Responsible for buying the likes of the Beverly D heroine Royal Highness (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), Danedrop (Ire) (Danehill)–dam of the brilliant Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB})–and being involved in Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) as a yearling, the 49-year-old has been at the forefront of the drive to thrust France into the heart of international competition. His career trajectory is one of those epics that cannot be told in brief, but the main point is that he was not pushed into racing and breeding by Antoine and Claire Bozo, who stood at the helm of the beautified Haras du Mezeray. Instead allowed breathing space to probe the world and find his own metier, he gained a rich source of experience that underlines the success of Meridian International during the first two decades of this millennium. And experience is the keyword. It is one that Ghislain uses often as he seeks to define his method of dissecting what he terms as “quality” in the Thoroughbreds that he scans with his keen eye. “Horses have to have speed and generosity, tenacity and quality,” he states. “What quality is is not so easy to describe. It’s in the head and the coat of the horse, its attitude. It’s what makes a horse different from another. It is one way to look at horses that works well and something you define as you gain experience.” That experience had its roots way back in his infant and childhood years at Haras du Bois Roussel, Haras de Mortree and at Mezeray, and although he admits that “we lived around horses, but I was not passionate, to be honest,” the enchantment of such glorious surroundings and the atmosphere of a historic stud farm is forceful and seeps into the material of those who live within its confines. After extensive travels in the States, India and Germany, where the world of business was his focus, he honed an outlook trained on further afield than just France. Eventually, the pull of the trade in horses that had lured his ancestors proved too much and he took up a position at UNIC, which is his birth country’s promoter of the domestic horse industry around the world. After setting up the French Racing and Breeding Committee, it was his business orientation which truly set him on the way to renown. A meeting in the early 2000s with Lucien Urano, who had made his name with French trotters under the auspices of Ecurie des Charmes, proved a waymark as the move to reinstate Ecurie des Monceaux as a major operation with international significance began. “I introduced my brother [the established Henri] to Mr. Urano and he developed the farm for him and we bought him quite a lot of young mares and yearling fillies. Among those yearlings were three Group 1 winners in the first three years, so we had quite quick success there and that really got him started,” Ghislain reflects. “Henri did a good job and launched the stud and that’s how it began. Mr. Urano gave me a real opportunity to succeed and it gave me a stronger exposure to top bloodstock. I then did an MBA in Paris, which really gave me more confidence in business and then I started Capital Pur Sang with Nicolas de Chambure which enjoyed success with a small amount of capital.” It was under Capital Pur Sang that the filly Dream Peace (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) was purchased for €250,000 at the 2010 Arqana Horses In Training Sale before going on to win the G2 Prix de la Nonette and prove herself a genuine top-level performer. Sold for 2.7 million guineas at the 2013 Tattersalls December Mares Sale, she was a benchmark for the operation which also bought into the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere hero Wootton Bassett as he entered stud. “I met more clients through that platform, including Laurent Dassault who is among my main clients today along with the top breeding operations of Ballylinch Stud, Haras de la Perelle, Gestut Brummerhof and Ecurie des Charmes.” With his entrepreneur spirit, it is no surprise that Ghislain wants a shake-up of France’s status quo which he sees as partly focused in the wrong direction. “There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic, but at the same time we are in a transitional phase,” he explains. “When it comes to the French scene, we are in a pivotal moment and we need to make the necessary reforms. We have a very good system in the PMU, which is very beneficial to the industry, but we have to change a very French way of thinking concerning the redistribution of premiums which has some pernicious effects. It brings a little bit of laziness in the selection, as you have average horses getting a return due to the premiums. We need to keep that system but make it more efficient with selectivity in mind. That will balance the offer and encourage investment in better stock and therefore enhance our competitiveness. “France has a long racing history and a complex racing institution. We need to restructure this institution and get people to adapt. There is now a strong awareness among French professionals and hopefully we will move forward. There are a lot of good fundamentals like Chantilly, probably the best training centre in the world, beautiful racetracks, racing programs and fantastic breeding operations, so it is more a question of adapting better to the current world. We need to reduce the number of racetracks and concentrate on attracting new crowds and business people in the best possible comfort. That’s why France Galop wanted to invest in the new ParisLongchamp, which was a really good thing and necessary. It will take time, but hopefully we will get there.” With the UK government in disarray regarding the act of collective self harm known as Brexit, like most others Ghislain is cautious about the aspect of losing the benefits of easy trade with Britain. “I am also very concerned about Brexit and I think everyone can be,” he adds. “I’m sure long term we can find ways to overcome the issues, but it is still a concern.” “As far as bloodstock is concerned, there is a very strong polarisation in ownership, with a few people with a lot of money but it goes around them a bit too much. Every country needs to widen that base of ownership through marketing and better prize money for better organization and better redistribution. The cost of producing a horse has become extremely expensive and stallion fees are probably unreasonable, so we need to be careful with that inflation. What we do have in France is a lot of new, young people and operations in the racing and breeding industry and that is quite exciting. There are reasons to be optimistic as well.” Looking to 2019, Ghislain is keen on a set of fillies with elite pedigrees. “I have two I bought in partnership with David Redvers for Qatar Racing, and for Laurent Dassault and a Chinese client on my side. One is called Sparkle Roll (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) [a half-sister to last year’s Epsom Derby hero Wings of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}) who took a Haydock maiden impressively in September for the John Gosden stable] and the other is with Francois Rohaut and is called Big Brothers Pride (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) [a half to this year’s G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Polydream (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) who took a Chantilly contest on her sole start in October]. There is also Mythic (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) from the family of Wings of Eagles who I bought for Ecurie des Charmes and who is in training with Alain de Royer-Dupre. She won her only start impressively [at Angers in November]. We also bought a very nice filly, Solage (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), with John O’Connor for Ballylinch Stud and Ecurie des Charmes [for €1-million at the recent Arqana December Sale] and we hope for the best with her. She is a beautiful and well-bred filly.” The acquisition of four such high-profile fillies is evidence that Meridian International is building all the time. Through a trained acumen and a keen sense of what constitutes a choice Thoroughbred, there is a suspicion that Ghislain Bozo can take the family name to new heights. He has what it takes to not only survive, but excel in these unsettled times. View the full article

River Boyne (Dandy Man {Ire}) will face 10 rivals as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the GII Mathis Brothers Mile S. Wednesday at Santa Anita. A two-time graded stakes winner, the dark bay colt just missed out on a top-level score when second, beaten a half-length, in the Dec. 1 GI Hollywood Derby last time at Del Mar. He was unable to hold off Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the late stages of that 1 1/8-mile race, and cuts back a furlong Wednesday. The consistent River Boyne, trained by Jeff Mullins, has won five of eight starts this year, including the Nov. 4 GII Twilight Derby and the Aug. 5 GII Del Mar Derby. Todd Pletcher ships Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) west as the Zayat Stables runner looks to rebound from recent lackluster efforts. Winner of a pair of stakes last spring, the gray colt was far from disgraced when sixth in the June 22 G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. Back stateside, he was fourth in the Aug. 3 GII Hall of Fame S. and was seventh over the main track in the Aug. 25 GI H. Allen Jerkens S. before finishing fifth in the Oct. 6 Belmont Turf Sprint and seventh in the Nov. 3 Showing Up S. at Gulfstream Park West last time out. Zayat Stables will also be represented by the Richard Baltas-trained Desert Stone (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who broke his maiden over the Santa Anita lawn in May and added a optional-claimer over course and trip in June. Third in the Twilight Derby, he is coming off an eighth-place finish in the Hollywood Derby. View the full article

Battle of Midway (Smart Strike), the 9-5 morning-line favorite will be looking for his third straight victory when he goes postward in Wednesday’s GII San Antonio S. at Santa Anita. The bay colt was an open-lengths winner of the Comma to the Top S. over the Arcadia oval Oct. 28, but had to outbattle a determined Dabster (Curlin) to win the Nov. 25 GIII Native Diver S. at Del Mar last time out. “He hasn’t missed a beat [in his training],” Dan Ward, assistant to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, said of Battle of Midway’s preparation for the San Antonio. “He ran a good race last out. He had to go head and head all the way, so that should have him plenty fit. He’s worked well here at Santa Anita and he’s run well here, so he’s ready to go.” Battle of Midway will break from post two in the nine-horse 1 1/16-mile race and Dabster will be just to his outside in post three. The Bob Baffert trainee, 5-2 on the morning-line, will once again be ridden by Joe Talamo. “He’s a fun horse to ride,” Talamo said of Dabster, who worked a bullet four furlongs in :46.60 last Friday in the company of GI Malibu S. contender Solomini (Curlin). “He shows up every time, and even when he loses, he really tries hard. It should be a good race with him and Battle of Midway. They’re two good horses. Hopefully, we can flip the page this time.” Gift Box (Twirling Candy) will be making his first start for trainer John Sadler and Hronis Racing. The 5-year-old has not been out since winning a Mar. 24 optional-claiming race at Aqueduct for W. S. Farish and trainer Chad Brown. Third in the 2015 GII Remsen S. and fourth in the 2016 GI Travers S., the handsome gray is looking for his first graded stakes tally in the San Antonio. He turned in a bullet five-furlong work in 1:00 Dec. 19 at Santa Anita. View the full article

Before a crowd of over 100,000, Blast Onepiece (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) held off favoured Rey de Oro (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) by a neck to capture the G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama on Sunday. The 2500-metre event was the first Group 1 victory for the Silk Racing colourbearer and his trainer, Masahiro Otake. Drawn in stall eight, the 8-1 third choice perched out in the middled of the course as Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) charged up to show the way while shadowed by Oju Chosan (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) and Mikki Rocket (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}). Blast Onepiece was seventh 800 metres out as Kiseki rolled through the first 1700 metres in 1:43.5. Rallying with 600 metres to travel, the Northern Farm-bred surged up into fourth a quarter mile from the winning post, but Kiseki still hung on gamely to the lead as rivals began to inch closer. Collaring the longtime leader inside the final 100 metres, the colt just withstood the late bid of 6-5 crowd’s pick Rey de Oro who lunged late, but missed by a neck. Cheval Grand (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}), who tanked along near the rear of the field for much of the race, got up for third 1 1/4 lengths behind, with Mikkie Rocket rounded out the superfecta another 1 1/2 lengths back. “As I had drawn a middle gate, I was a bit worried of being caught between horses so I settled him toward the outside,” said pilot Kenichi Ikezoe. “He ran well and though we were closed in by the race favorite at the end, he held on really well. I’ve been telling everyone that he is a Group 1 horse and I’m happy that I was able to prove it.” A winner of his first three trips to the post, including the Mar. 24 1800-metre G3 Mainichi Hai, Blast Onepiece ran fifth in the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at the end of May, but bounced back in the G3 Niigata Kinen over 2000 metres at Niigata on Sept. 2. Fourth trying 3000 metres for the first time in the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger), the colt was the only 3-year-old in the Arima Kinen field and toted 121 pounds to victory, the same as fillies Mozu Katchan (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) (eighth), who won the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup and Smart Layer (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) (13th). Pedigree Notes… One of 24 black-type winners for his sire, Blast Onepiece is MG1SW Harbinger (GB) (Dansili {GB})’s fourth Group 1 winner and first from his 2015 crop. He joins Mozu Katchan, Deirdre (Jpn) (G1 Shuka Sho) and Persian Knight (Jpn) (G1 Mile Championship). Both Mozu Katchan and Blast Onepiece share King Kamehameha (Jpn) as a broodmare sire. After foaling Blast Onepiece, the three-time winner Tsurumaru Onepiece, herself a daughter of Fantasy S. bridesmaid Tsurumaru Glamor (Jpn) (Fuki Kiseki {Jpn}), produced the juvenile filly Victoria Piece (Jpn) (Victoire Pisa {Jpn}), who has already won at Kokura in two starts to date and a yearling filly by Orfevre (Jpn). Tsurumaru Glamor is a half to G2 Nikkei Sho victor and G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) runner-up Al Nasrain (Jpn) (Admire Vega {Jpn}). This is also the family of French Group 2 winner and G1 Italian Oaks third Summer Trip (L’Emigrant). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Sunday, Nakayama, Japan ARIMA KINEN-G1, ¥574,800,000 (US$5,179,733/£4,100,196/€4,552,748), Nakayama, 12-23, 3yo/up, 2500mT, 2:32.20, gd. 1–BLAST ONEPIECE (JPN), 121, c, 3, Harbinger(GB) 1st Dam: Tsurumaru Onepiece (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn) 2nd Dam: Tsurumaru Glamor (Jpn), by Fuji Kiseki (Jpn) 3rd Dam: Elatis, by El Gran Senor 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Masahiro Otake; J-Kenichi Ikezoe. ¥303,360,000. Lifetime Record: 7-5-0-0. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Rey de Oro (Jpn), 126, c, 4, by King Kamehameha (Jpn)–La Dorada (Jpn), by Symboli Kris S. O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥120,960,000. 3–Cheval Grand (Jpn), 126, h, 6, Heart’s Cry (Jpn)–Halwa Sweet (Jpn), by Machiavellian. O-Kazuhiro Sasaki; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥75,480,000. Margins: NK, 1 1/4, 1HF. Odds: 7.90, 1.20, 21.70. Also Ran: Mikki Rocket (Jpn), Kiseki (Jpn), Satono Diamond (Jpn), Sakura Empereur (Jpn), Mozu Katchan (Jpn), Oju Chosan (Jpn), Makahiki (Jpn), Mikki Swallow (Jpn), Ridge Man (Jpn), Smart Layer (Jpn), Perform a Promise (Jpn), Clincher (Jpn), Sounds of Earth (Jpn). Click for the Racing Post chart. JRA Video. View the full article

Members of the TDN staff reveal what TDN Rising Star they’re most excited to see race in 2019. This is a fairly obvious choice, but what I liked most about Improbable (City Zip) was his clear development between each start of his three-race juvenile campaign. Though he got the job done at 2-5 first out at Santa Anita Sept. 29, I felt that he ran the second best race, laying off a sizzling speed duel and just getting up by a neck over one of the tiring pace actors. Shipped to Churchill for the Street Sense S. Nov. 2, he overcame some early traffic and left no doubt as to his potential when scampering away in the stretch to a 7 1/4-length romp. Given his initial two-turn test in the Dec. 8 GI Los Alamitos Futurity, the chestnut appeared to be struggling with the track pretty significantly, tugging at the bit and trying to bear out on the first turn. Once he found his footing, however, he strode clear powerfully, leaving his fellow ‘Rising Star’ stablemate Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) in the dust to the tune of a five-length score. The Beyers for his three races reflect his progression on the eye test, as he graduated from an 85 in his debut to a 93 in the Street Sense to a 96 at Los Alamitos. With his copper color, white blaze and trademark Bob Baffert blue shadow roll, Improbable aesthetically evokes memories of Justify taking the racing world by storm over the winter and spring. I see similarities in their strides as well, with each colt looking like they’re jumping twice to their opponents’ once when they lengthen their gait. The main difference between the two, at least so far, is running style. Justify came right out of the box running, rattling off splits of :21.80 and :44.37 on debut, and he was never worse than second at any call in any of his six career races. Improbable, though far from slow early, does his best running from behind the speed and figures to be able to use that tractability to his advantage as we move into Derby season. —Joe Bianca, Associate Editor View the full article