Wandering Eyes

Star Irish jockey Oisin Murphy kicks off his four-meeting Hong Kong stint with a solid book of six rides at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. Murphy spent three months at Sha Tin during the 2016-17 season, collecting four winners (he also returned to pick up another during the Champions & Chater Cup meeting in May), but he has broken out this year winning multiple Group Ones on global superstars Roaring Lion and Benbatl. The 23-year-old has plenty of admirers in Hong Kong and answered the... View the full article

Racing Post NAP 13:40 Ludlow Robinshill has two wins from four over course and distance, both gained with Zac Baker in the saddle and one of these coming in this race last season. He was outclassed when last of five in the 2018 renewal of The Arkle Trophy at The Cheltenham Festival but returns to a Class 3 where has won three from five and races off a 2lbs lower mark than when last successful. A pipe-opener at Kempton last month should see him spot on for today so with conditions and trip in his favour he looks the one to beat. Tornado In Milan has also won this race before, winning the 2016 renewal. He could only manage fourth last season and is 5lbs higher than his last victory, but does have a good record at the course so is unlikely to be too far away at the finish. Vivaccio has two course and distance victories to his name but hasn’t won since 2014 and would perhaps prefer softer conditions, while Sternrubin will be a danger if turning up on a good day, although hasn’t been the most consistent and was only sixth of seven last time out. Robinshill (WIN) – NAP RaceBets Alternative Bet 14:05 Kempton Mia’s Storm will likely go off at a short price for this four-runner affair and with three wins from four over the trip, a good win last time out and a love for fast ground, it’s not too difficult to see why. She is the highest rated of the four and has won at Listed level over fences so should be capable of making her presence felt here. Paul Nicholls and Harry Cobden have both been in excellent recent form and they team up with If You Say Run who was a ready winner at Wincanton when last seen. Today sees a step up in trip but she has won over three miles in a point-to-point so it would be dangerous to dismiss her completely. Another who should make a bold show is Culture De Sivola who has a good record when fresh, is two from two over this trip and races for Nick Williams who has a 36% winning strike rate in the last twelve months at the course. Any rain would aid her chances but she has won on good-to-soft so could pick up the pieces if the favourite falters. Mia’s Storm (WIN) Kempton: 12:55 – Danny Kirwan (WIN) 13:30 – Chesterfield (WIN) 14:05 – Mia’s Storm (WIN) 14:35 – Sister Sibyl (WIN) 15:10 – The Drone (WIN) 15:40 – Nylon Speed (WIN) Ludlow: 12:30 – Final Shot (WIN) 13:05 – The Ogle Gogle Man (WIN) 13:40 – Robinshill (WIN) 14:15 – Mysical Clouds (WIN) 14:45 – Djin Conti (WIN) 15:20 – Thomas Campbell (WIN) 15:50 – Red Admirable (WIN) Musselburgh: 12:45 – Eric The Red (WIN) 13:20 – Cuckoo’s Calling (WIN) 13:55 – Born For War (WIN) 14:25 – Max Lieberman (E/W) 15:00 – Cap St Vincent (WIN) 15:30 – Glorious Lady (WIN) The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Monday 26th November appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Tye Angland is “in a serious but stable condition” and set to undergo surgery on Monday after being injured in a horror fall at Sha Tin on Sunday. His Australia-based manager Andrew Northridge provided the update, with Angland’s wife Erin on her way to Hong Kong from Sydney to be with him. “More information regarding his injuries will be known in the coming days,” Northridge tweeted. Update on @tyeangland Tye had a race fall at Sha Tin, Hong Kong on Sunday. He is... View the full article

Sydney jockey Tye Angland is in a Hong Kong hospital and will undergo surgery after a fall at Sha Tin. View the full article

Saffie Joseph, Jr. was the leading trainer with 15 wins and Edgard Zayas claimed the jockey’s title with 47 wins at the Gulfstream Park West Fall Turf Festival, which concluded Sunday. Joseph bested Victor Barboza, Jr. by two wins, while Zayas held the same margin over runner-up Paco Lopez. Bruno Schickedanz and Thoroughbred Champions Training Center tied for the owner’s title with eight wins a piece. View the full article

Flying Scotsman showed Nov. 25 why his connections thought to pre-enter him in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T). View the full article

QAHIRA (f, 2, Cairo Prince–Motel Lass, by Bates Motel) became the 18th winner for her red-hot freshman sire (by Pioneerof the Nile) and 16th ‘TDN Rising Star’ unleashed by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert this year as she cruised to an easy eight-length debut victory at Del Mar Sunday evening. A $130,000 FTKOCT yearling purchase turned $375,000 OBS June 2-year-old after a bullet quarter-mile breeze in :20 2/5, the May 29 foal was off at 9-5 and ran to the money. Sitting perched just off the speed and out in the clear through splits of :22.65 and :46.25, she took over while well within herself and cruised in the lane to run up the score to about eight lengths in 1:10.59. Slewgoodtobetrue (Jimmy Creed), second in her unveiling at Santa Anita last month, was best of the rest. Qahira is the second ‘Rising Star’ for Cairo Prince in as many days–Mihos earned that distinction for an Aqueduct score Saturday. She is a half-sister to Stormin’ Lyon (Storm Boot), SW, $176,858; and stakes winner Quick Flip (Speightstown) and is the last registered produce of her dam. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O-Baoma Corporation. B-Nekia Farm & Hunter Valley Farm (Ky). T-Bob Baffert. View the full article

FLYING SCOTSMAN (r, 2, English Channel–Padmore, by French Deputy), the even-money favorite for the six-horse GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. at Del Mar Sunday, justified the public’s confidence with a romping victory. Third sprinting on the local lawn Aug. 8, the Calumet homebred stretched out effectively to don cap and gown by a nose going this distance at Santa Anita Sept. 29. He sat in a clear second early as Vantastic (Dialed In) showed the way through splits of :23.02 and :46.92. The chestnut turned up the heat on the frontrunner midway around the bend, seized command in upper stretch and bounded away with powerful strides to put a five-length gap between he and the competition at the wire. Rijeka (Ire) (Roderic O’Connor {Ire}) edged Vantastic for second. The winner is a half-brother to Leigh Court (Grand Slam), Ch. 3yo Filly-Can, MGISW, $778,793; Barracks Road (Elusive Quality), MSW, $369,645; King of Sydney (Diesis {GB}), GSW-Ger & GSP-Fr; Star Hill (Elusive Quality), MGSP, $246,393; and Saturday’s GIII Discovery S. fourth Bon Raison (Raison d’Etat), SP, $150,200. His second dam is English SW/GSP Double Lock (GB) (Home Guard), herself the dam of two group winners. Padmore, who was purchased by Brad Kelley’s Bluegrass Hall while carrying Star Hill at the 2012 Keeneland January sale, produced another Elusive Quality colt in 2017. After failing to get in foal last year, she visited Bal a Bali (Brz) earlier this term. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-1. O/B-Calumet Farm (Ky). T-Jerry Hollendorfer. View the full article

Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Windsor Boys Racing's Moonlit Promise successfully defended her title in the $175,000 Bessarabian Stakes (G2) with a stretch drive Nov. 25 at Woodbine. View the full article

Midway through the 1 1/8-mile dirt test, it became clear Isotherm was overmatched, and Battle of Midway and Dabster, never more than a half-length apart, began their duel to the wire. View the full article

Gary Stevens had never been good at retiring. In 1999, he announced that due to serious knee problems, his career was over. By 2000, he was back. He called it quits again in 2005. This one lasted eight years, or until his restlessness once again got the best of him. He returned in 2013 and did so with a flourish, winning the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic with Mucho Macho Man (Macho Uno) and the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff with Beholder (Henny Hughes). So when doctors told him earlier this week that due a spinal chord issue he risked being a quadriplegic if he continued to ride, he had no choice but to once again say goodbye. And this time there will ne no more comebacks. “The doctor told me, ‘You’re done. You’re not even getting on a merry-go-round,'” Stevens said. Based on his history and what seemed like a problem letting go of the job he loved and was so good at, you might have expected Stevens to have been pouting since the doctors told him no more or looking for a second opinion from someone who would tell him he had a few good years left. That wasn’t the case at all. For the first time since he won his first race as a 17-year-old at Les Bois Park in his native Idaho, Stevens is at peace with the fact that he will never again ride a racehorse. It’s not just that to do so would be extremely dangerous. Unlike with his past retirements, he seems to have come to understand that he had a wonderful career, he’s lucky to have come out of it relatively healthy and that this time, the time had come. But what he’s most thankful for is that his decision to return in 2013 gave him one last memorable run. He says it was the best five years of his professional life, and that is among the reasons he has no regrets that his career is finally over. “Everyone thought I was crazy coming out of retirement [in 2013], and thank God that I did,” he said. “These last five years were the best five years of my career. I finally got a Breeders’ Cup Classic, was able to ride Beholder and finished second in the [GI] Kentucky Derby behind a Triple Crown winner in American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) with Firing Line (Line of David). And I won a Classic [the 2013 GI Preakness with Oxbow (Awesome Again)] for Wayne Lukas. In the Classics, it started for me with Winning Colors (Caro {Ire}) and it ended with Wayne with Oxbow.” For a rider of his credentials, Stevens, 55, was not having a particularly good 2018. He had won just 62 races and not a single Grade I. He was supposed to have five mounts in the Breeders’ Cup but wound up with only one after four of his potential mounts got hurt or sick. Nonetheless, he believed he was about to go on a roll. “Tony (Matos) was my agent and he was getting me rolling,” Stevens said. “I was riding what I wanted to ride and business was picking up. This past weekend looked like it was going to be a huge weekend for me.” But in the handful of days he has had to contemplate his retirement, Stevens has come to realize that even if he hadn’t been hurt, the end was very near. “It was probably time to call it a day anyway,” he said. Stevens seems to know what he is going to do next, but wouldn’t say exactly what his plans are. Expect an announcement shortly. He said he will look into trying to land more acting roles, but his main focus will be on staying a part of the sport. “You’ll be hearing from Gary Stevens again. I promise,” he said. “I won’t be bored.” Field Size at Aqueduct Remains a Problem It looks like it’s going to be another grim winter at Aqueduct when it comes to filling races. Even with many of the top outfits still in town before their annual pilgrimage to Florida, Aqueduct averaged just 6.94 horses per race for the combined 19 races run on Saturday and Sunday. The GIII Discovery S. had a field of four. It figures to get only worse. By the middle of winter, hundreds of NYRA horses are in Florida and hundreds more are worn out by long campaigns, and the 2-year-olds and not yet ready to go. It really isn’t NYRA’s fault. When it comes to racing, New York State’s workmen’s compensation fees charged to owners and trainers are the highest in the nation. It’s among the reasons NYRA has such a tough time getting out-of-town horsemen to come in for anything other than major stakes race. There is, of course, also the horse shortage that is plaguing the entire industry. NYRA has cut 18 racing days from its winter schedule over the last three or four years, but don’t expect there to be any more cuts. The horsemen don’t want to give up any more dates. “If you cut any more, there’s a tipping point,” said Joe Appelbaum, the president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “This isn’t necessarily about the cost of business but opportunity costs. If people feel there aren’t enough chances to run in New York in the winter they may just go some place else.” Appelbaum also points out that NYRA makes a profit during the winter meet, revenue that is used to prop up other meets. If winter racing were to go, you’d likely see purse cuts at Belmont and Saratoga. These are all fair points, but how bad do things have to get before something dramatic is done? Let’s hope not, but it really seems like we are a year or two away from a steady diet of cards filled with three and four-horse fields. This is a tough problem, but it’s time to start coming up with some serious solutions. Seabiscuit? Turf Champion? Okay, I realize there are more important issues to worry about, but it drives me nuts when they gives stakes races names that make no sense. Saturday at Del Mar, they ran the GII Seabiscuit H., a 1 1/16-mile grass race. Prior to moving the race to Del Mar, it was known as the Citation H. It’s terrific that Del Mar named a race after Seabiscuit, but he never ran on the grass. For that matter, neither did Citation. Belmont does the same thing, naming one of its Grade I grass races after Man o’War, who never got near a grass course. There are plenty of dirt races that Del Mar could have named after Seabiscuit. How about, for instance, the GII San Diego H.? Wrona Shocker No one from The Stronach Group has yet offered up a plausible answer why announcer Michael Wrona was fired. It’s hard to imagine it had anything to do with his race-calling skills as he was quite good and seemed popular with the fans. A replacement will be named as soon as Monday. Meanwhile, Wrona has a strong resume and will surely land on his feet with an announcing job at a top track. View the full article

A little over four months after he was purchased for $90,000 by R.A. Stable at Fasig-Tipton's July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale, grade 1 winner Wake Forest was claimed for $8,000 at Gulfstream Park West by his previous owner, Michael Dubb. View the full article

Grade I winner I Want Revenge (Stephen Got Even-Meguial {Arg}, by Roy) passed away in Indiana Nov. 24, according to owner Jeff Jeans, who recently purchased the stallion for $10,000 at the Keeneland November Sale. According to Jeans, I Want Revenge had a fever of 104 degrees upon arriving to a farm in Indiana and was subsequently treated via intravenous therapy. While Jeans said he showed tangible improvement to the treatment, I Want Revenge’s condition eventually deteriorated once more and he died suddenly Saturday. “I Want Revenge did not suffer, there were no signs of him thrashing about,”Jeans wrote in a Facebook post. “He simply passed and dropped where he was standing…We were struck by the tremendous presence this horse had, he simply commanded your attention when you saw him.” Jeans noted that he had to pull a weanling filly from the November Sale due to a virus that led to a fever similar to the one developed by I Want Revenge. I Want Revenge captured the GI Wood Memorial in dramatic last-to-first fashion as a 3-year-old in 2009–a performance that stamped him as the morning line favorite for the GI Kentucky Derby a month later. He never made the starting gate for the race, however, after an ankle filling necessitated a scratch on the morning of the race. Trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr., I Want Revenge added a pair of graded stakes placings in a career that lasted into his 6-year-old season, but the dark bay never returned to the winner’s circle. He retired in 2012 with a record of 3-3-6 from 14 starts and total earnings of $928,000. I Want Revenge entered stud at Pauls Mill Farm in 2014 and spent the 2015-2018 seasons at Millenium Farms. I Want Revenge was slated to stand the 2019 season at the Indiana Stallion Station in Anderson, Indiana. View the full article

Not that anyone necessarily needed reminding, but John Gosden proved at this year’s Breeders’ Cup that not only is he one of the most gifted trainers in the sport, he is among the most durable. Way back in 1984, the then-33 year-old trainer won a race at the inaugural Breeders’ Cup with Royal Heroine at Hollywood Park. Fast forward to 2018, in the 35th Breeders’ Cup, and there was John Gosden back in the winner’s circle with the phenomenal filly Enable GB (Nathaniel {Ire}). This week, they announced that she would race in 2019, and last week, John Gosden was our guest on the Thoroughbred Daily News podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made. Excerpts from that podcast appear below. TDN: John, coming in, you certainly knew no Arc winner had ever come back to win the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf. Did you ever worry that those two back-to-back races were too much for any horse to handle, Enable included? JG: Obviously they come deep into the autumn, and normally you’ve probably had a great deal more racing than she had this year. We obviously had a well publicized injury we had to deal with back in May, which required surgery, but she came through all of that. It was more of a bursa problem at the back of the knee than it was ligament or bone as such. But she came through all of that. We got her back and ran her in a Grade III just to get her started back at Kempton, and she did that well. Our problem was then between that race and the Arc, she had a fever and she was uneasy for a week. So, I think my biggest problem was going to the Arc, running the filly not fully a hundred percent, and she burst away from the field, but she certainly was tiring the last eighth. And the jockey, whisked down and picked her up and got her over the line. And I suppose that took her longer to get over than would be normal, because if you run a horse in a mile-and-a half race at that class and they’re a little short of work due to the time she missed, it is going take her longer. And there’s not doubt that she took longer to get over that. But I was happy with her by the time she got on the plane to go to Kentucky. TDN: As the race developed, Frankie Dettori made a strategic move that he could have been second guessed. Going into the final turn, he was literally nine or ten wide, losing a lot of ground, but he explained later that he was looking for the better footing of the course, which he apparently found. At the time, were you wondering, `what the heck is Frankie doing?’ and were you at some point worried about that decision? JG: He didn’t have much choice. He was being attended by Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) on his outside. And the speed on the inside was going to stop over that ground. The one thing he didn’t want to do was squeeze down closer towards the inside edge and have those horses come back in his face, and, if so, he’d be checked in behind them. He was very clear in his mind that, yes, he wanted to stay away from the fence, but second that he didn’t want to get in behind that speed, which was bound to be stopping. So, he elected to then come take a pull if you look at it very carefully. Coming to the last turn he took a pull and came back around Hunting Horn and came on his outside. So, he knew, although he sacrificed ground and momentum, he knew he would get a clear run. I don’t think he intended to come as wide as he came. But when Hunting Horn opened the door for Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), that pushed him even wider. I was pleased myself they didn’t wind up on the main track actually. I though that was the next stop. TDN: Going back to what you said earlier about the problems you had and the surgery, at that point when she was injured and you had to tell the world that they wouldn’t be seeing her for quite some time back on the race course, could you ever have imagined that the end of the year would end up as successfully as it did? Three for three including winning two of the most prestigious turf races in the world? JG: I suppose you don’t think like that as a trainer. You’re there and you think, if we get back to the races, “Well, that’ll be great in itself.” I suppose you always have faith with a filly like this. Not only does she have the ability, but she has enormous mental strength. I mean, she really enjoys her training. She loves breezing. She loves racing. So, it’s like you’ve got someone who’s up for the job. She’s going to give you everything, and rather like any athlete coming back from an injury, a lot of it is down to mental strength as well as the physical healing. And she manages to combine both. She was that kind of filly and to the extent that whatever you do with her she gives you a hundred percent every time. So, she did make that side of a lot easier than someone who didn’t have that mental fortitude. TDN: Here in the U.S. there’s quite a debate about who should win the Eclipse Award for the Champion Turf Filly or Mare. In many years Enable would be a shoe-in even though she only raced here once, but you have very stiff competition in Sister Charlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) another Breeders’ Cup Winner. Would you like to weigh in on that debate and how do you feel about the possibility of Enable, who’s already won a Cartier Award, winning an Eclipse Award as well? JG: I think I can see the argument on both sides. I mean, Enable comes from being a dual Arc winner and winning the Turf. On the other hand, I have a great appreciation a filly that is trained and raced throughout the year in America and to that extent the Eclipse Award is fully about American racing. There is a very strong argument for the filly that’s been based there, So, put it this way. I’m not the one who has to make that decision. Thank goodness. TDN: You began your training career in California. Why did a Brit decided to start off halfway across the world? JG: I had fallen in love with a girl, who’s my wife, and she was at Cambridge University, and she was a lawyer. But she was always in London and I was either in Ireland with Vincent O’Brien or I was in Newmarket or something and we could never be together. And the great thing about coming to America, we thought we’d come and have a look for a year. She could actually go working in Century City, Beverley Hills, which she did, and I could just drive to the track. So we could be together, and interestingly enough that was one of the main reasons I had worked for Gene Jacobs and others in New York on my school holidays, hot walking, traveling horses, so I had a lot of a feel for American racing. And the other factor is purely financial. To set up in Europe you need to rent a place, buy a place, I didn’t have the money for that. The great thing was I came to Santa Anita and was with Tommy Doyle and things, and I got three stalls in Willard Proctor’s barn. I don’t think Willard was too keen to see me. TDN: You were an assistant trainer to Tommy Doyle, but it’s also known that you watched intently what Charlie Whittingham did and you are, perhaps, more well known for your association with Charlie even than your association with Tommy Doyle, because you had such a fondness for him and an appreciation for what a great trainer he was. What did you learn from him? What are the key lessons you learned from watching this great trainer train horses? JG: When I started training, the easiest thing to do was get my little sets out and go out with him. I also knew where I belonged, right? Right in the back of his set. So, I used to walk out there five sets a day. Walk around with him, walk back. And what would you learn from Charlie? You would learn everything about the understanding of the horse, the animal. He was a lover of horses, dogs, people. His humor was one of the greatest. No one had a better sense of humor. Dry. He was tough, and yet he was very soft and kind underneath, but he really knew how. But when he knew he was in the right place with one, oh, boy. You’d better watch out. TDN: Switching subjects now. You’re a staunch advocate of not allowing raceday medication. Matter of fact, you’ve been a fairly staunch advocate of not allowing raceday medication. It’s not an issue in Europe, but what are your thoughts about U.S. racing considering you have such a background here? JG: Look, I can understand the therapeutic reasons for raceday medication, Lasix or anything. I do understand that profoundly, and the benefit it can give. I just begin to find it difficult to think of any other athletic sport where the athlete is receiving intravenous injection the day of the race. I find that a little hard to mentally get my head around. I know the tracks are demanding and I know there’s a requirement for it and and obviously with anti-inflammatories as well, I do understand it, and I understand the benefits of it, but it’s going to come a time when people are going to increasingly question it, you know? To listen to this entire podcast, click here. View the full article

Superstar Japanese 3-year-old filly Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) appears to have the world at her feet after a track record-breaking victory in Sunday’s G1 Japan Cup. The bay emulated the feat of Gentildonna (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in 2012 by adding the country’s most famous race to her filly Triple Crown sweep earlier this year and like that famed predecessor she now looks likely to head overseas, with possible targets including the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic-a happy hunting ground for the Japanese, and the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-the one that keeps getting away. Almond Eye started twice last year at two, breaking her maiden at second asking, and she has done nothing but win since. She kicked off the season with a pair of victories going a mile in the G3 Shinzan Kinen on Jan. 8 and in the G1 Oka Sho-the first leg of the Triple Crown-on Apr. 8. Victory upped to a mile and a half in the G1 Yushun Himba followed on May 20, and on Oct. 14 Almond Eye became the fifth filly to sweep the country’s filly Triple Crown with a win in the 2000 metre G1 Shuka Sho. Almond Eye was handed gate one for this latest test as the heavy favourite-the same one the last two Japan Cup winners, Cheval Grand (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) and Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}) had jumped from-and she was slightly fractious in the stalls before bouncing out in front. By the time they hit the first turn, she had let a pair of rivals overtake her and sat tucked away in the perfect position in third on the rail. Christophe Lemaire kept Almond Eye three lengths off the lead of Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) down the backstretch and while that Classic-winning rival turned into the stretch with the lead, Almond Eye had crept to within about a length and loomed ominously. Moving off the fence at the 300 metre mark as Kiseki came under the whip, Almond Eye responded when put to a drive by Lemaire and 100 metres later had the lead and was drawing away. She hit the line 1 3/4 lengths the best under a handride, and after Kiseki it was a further 3 1/2 lengths back to Suave Richard (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}). “Personally, I feel relieved to have won,” said Lemaire. “I knew she had the potential to win but you never know what might happen in the 2400 meters. Today, I was a little bit anxious, but I think we saw the best Almond Eye in the race and it was a great show. I don’t really like the inside number one draw because it is very hard to make a plan and can depend on how you break–I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her out of the gate-and it can also be pretty tricky because if you get locked inside a slow pace it can be a mess in the end, and it is also difficult to stay back and move wide to the outside. “She broke well, and I saw that Kiseki was taking the lead, which was good because Kiseki is a good horse and a leader with a good pace, so I had the best leader for Almond Eye and was happy with how the race went. By the first corner Almond Eye was already her usual self and well into the bridle. By the backstretch, I nearly thought the race was over and ours. “This is a very special filly, as I keep telling the press in Japan that she is perfect–her ability, temperament, she can adapt and race from any position, so if she has a chance to race overseas, I think she can race as well as she did today, if not at least be competitive against the world’s best.” An international raider hasn’t won the Japan Cup since 2005, and this year’s challengers Thundering Blue (Exchange Rate) and Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) checked in 10th and 11th. “I thought the ground was too quick and he was a bit too tense before the race in the paddock,” said Thundering Blue’s trainer David Menuisier. “He did show his brilliance in the final stages, but it was a good experience and he will now be given a good rest and we’ll see how he does next season.” Jockey Fran Berry added, “The horse lost his concentration because of the loud crowd. He stretched well in the end but the horses in front were just too fast.” Ryan Moore said simply of the dual Classic winner Capri, “The ground was quick and the pace too fast. The winner finishing at 2:20.60 was too good.” Pedigree Notes Almond Eye is one of seven stakes winners-and two Group 1 winners-for Lord Kanaloa, Japan’s former Horse of the Year and champion sprinter. The son of King Kamehameha is already stamping himself an important outcross sire for Sunday Silence-line mares, as both Almond Eye and his other Group 1 winner, the Mile Championship victor Stelvio (Jpn) also from his first crop, trace back to that breed-shaping sire on their dam’s sides. Lord Kanaloa added another first-crop stakes winner on Sunday in the G3 Keihan Hai S. winner Danon Smash (Jpn), and he has two group winners from his second crop already: Fantasist (Jpn) and Cadence Call (Jpn)-out of daughters of Deep Impact (Jpn) and Heart’s Cry (Jpn), again both sons of Sunday Silence. Almond Eye’s dam Fusaichi Pandora was a top-class filly in her own right, finishing second in the Yushun Himba and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, and Almond Eye is her sixth foal and first black-type winner. Almond Eye’s third dam is the great American mare Sex Appeal (Buckpasser), who produced El Gran Senor and Try My Best. Sunday, Tokyo, Japan JAPAN CUP-G1, ¥574,320,000, Tokyo, 11-25, 3yo/up, 2400mT, 2:20.60 (NTR), fm. 1–ALMOND EYE (JPN), 117, f, 3, by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) 1st Dam: Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) (MSW & G1SP-Jpn, $3,264,457), by Sunday Silence 2nd Dam: Lotta Lace, by Nureyev 3rd Dam: Sex Appeal, by Buckpasser O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Sakae Kunieda; J-Christophe Lemaire; ¥303,024,000. Lifetime Record: 7-6-1-0. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. 2–Kiseki (Jpn), 126, c, 4, Rulership (Jpn)–Blitz Finale (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). O-Tatsue Ishikawa; B-Shimokobe Farm; ¥120,864,000. 3–Suave Richard (Jpn), 126, c, 4, Heart’s Cry (Jpn)–Pirramimma, by Unbridled’s Song. (¥155,000,000 wnl ’14 JRHAJUL) O-NICKS Inc.; B-Northern Farm; ¥75,432,000. Margins: 1 3/4, 3HF, NK. Odds: 0.40, 8.20, 5.50. Also Ran: Cheval Grand (Jpn), Mikki Swallow (Jpn), Satono Diamond (Jpn), Happy Grin (Jpn), Win Tenderness (Jpn), Satono Crown (Jpn), Thundering Blue, Capri (Ire), Ganko (Jpn), Noble Mars (Jpn), Sounds of Earth (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart and video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO. View the full article

Simply Brilliant produced an effort fit for his name as he defied a tough run and miserable conditions to prevail in the Class One Chevalier Cup (1,600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. It was a monster performance from the four-year-old, who was stuck three-wide without cover after jumping from barrier two, but kept finding when required to hold off a gallant What Else But You in the run to the line. Jockey Alexis Badel said the plan was to find him some room – but “not that much”... View the full article

Young jockey Matthew Poon Ming-fai will have to pinch himself when he lines up in next month’s International Jockeys Championship at Happy Valley. The prodigious 23-year-old, who raced to 14 wins this season, managed to fend off the likes of Douglas Whyte and Chad Schofield to gain a position in the field despite riding significantly less due to a host of suspensions. It will see him represent Hong Kong alongside champion Zac Purton, Karis Teetan and Vincent Ho Chak-yiu. Poon conceded he... View the full article

Tattersalls routinely produces a show-stopping finale to its sales year across the fortnight of the December Sale, which starts today with a single session of yearlings. Last year’s record-breaking auction, featuring the final draft from the Ballymacoll Stud Dispersal, broke the 100 million gns barrier, with 6 million gns of that tally being given for one broodmare-in-waiting, the top-class sprinter Marsha (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}). While the mares’ section routinely steals the headlines, the December Sale is a proper bloodstock gallimaufry: the yearlings today progress to four sessions of foals starting from Wednesday then another four days from next Monday featuring fillies in training, broodmares. There’s even a stallion, the current Rathasker Stud resident Es Que Love (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}), who sells as lot 1680 and was represented by his first crop of runners this season. Frankel’s half-brother Morpheus (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) had been catalogued but has been withdrawn and sent instead from Tally-Ho Stud to stand at Haras du Grand Chesnaie in France. The 200 yearlings catalogued have been whittled down to 170 after withdrawals and they are headed, on paper at least, by a son of Frankel out of the Japanese champion Vodka (JPN) (Tanino Gimlet {JPN}), the winner of five Group 1 races among her ten victories, including the Tenno Sho and the Japan Cup. Mount Coote Stud consigns the brother to four-time winner Tanino Frankel (GB) as lot 59. Catridge Farm Stud, which has been led so expertly by David Powell for many years, has its final consignment at the December Sale and among its four yearlings on offer is an Intello (Ger) half-brother to seven winners who is eligible for French premiums (lot 79). Catridge is also selling a No Nay Never filly (92) out of a daughter of the listed Criterium de Vitesse winner Beta (GB) (Selkirk), herself a half-sister to Arc winner Bago (Fr) and multiple Group 1 winner Maxios (GB) from a celebrated Niarchos family which includes Machiavellian. Also among the yearlings is a Teofilo (Ire) half-brother to Red Cadeaux (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}) offered by Drumachon Stud as lot 87. Two full siblings to this yearling, White Desert (Ire) and Amazing Red (Ire), have sold for 220,000gns each when offered as foals at Tattersalls. Four Days Of Foals Thirty-one stallions have members of their first crop on offer and some have already been tested last week at Goffs, where Shadwell’s Irish 1000 Guineas winner Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) appeared to have plenty of admirers. His 21 foals to sell from 24 offered returned an average of €61,286 from a €15,000 covering fee. Another 12 are catalogued this week. Awtaad is not the only Classic winner attempting to make his mark, however. The 2016 Derby winner Harzand (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has nine foals catalogued, while Prix du Jockey Club winner New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) has 13 and Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner The Gurkha (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has 15. Adaay (Ire), the first son of Kodiac (GB) to stand in Britain at Whitsbury Manor Stud, has a sizeable draft representing him at Tattersalls with 33 foals on offer. The only freshman to beat that is Cheveley Park Stud’s Twilight Son (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) with 39. There are three sons of Kitten’s Joy retiring to stud in Europe this season but Bobby’s Kitten was the trailblazer in this regard and 25 of his first crop of foals will be for sale at Park Paddocks. Al Shaqab’s G1 Darley Prix Morny winner Shalaa (Ire) has 13 yearlings catalogued while Vadamos (Fr), a miler son of Monsun (Ger) who has received good support at Tally-Ho Stud, has 12 on offer. There is rarity value for two American-based Coolmore stallions, Air Force Blue (War Front) and Vancouver (Medaglia d’Oro) who have one foal apiece in the catalogue, while the Aga Khan’s French-based Dariyan (Fr) (Shamardal) has two foals catalogued. Away from the first-season sires there is of course plenty to recommend the sale. One of the most poignant moments of last year’s sales season was the sight of Islington (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) being led round the ring by Peter Reynolds as part of the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal. Until that stage the great mare had produced only fillies at stud but after being sold for 270,000gns she foaled her first colt by Kingman (GB). He will be offered by Norelands Stud as lot 975 and is one of 17 foals in the book by Juddmonte’s exciting young stallion. The Castlebridge Consignment has two of the three Dubawi (Ire) foals who remain in the sale after withdrawals. Lot 1006 is the full-brother to Group 3 winner Ghaiyyath (Ire) and half-brother to Grade 1 winner Zhukova (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), and lot 1000 is the son of G3 Fairy Bridge S. winner Lady Wingshot (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}). Luca and Sara Cumani’s Fittocks Stud has the other Dubawi foal and the sole filly (1022), a half-sister to the G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. winner Best Of Days (GB) (Azamour {Ire}). Decorated Family Features There is only one Galileo (Ire) foal entered for Tattersalls and, as a full-sister to the treble Group 1 winner Decorated Knight, lot 1010, who sells through New England Stud, is a rather special package. Four days later her mother Pearling (Storm Cat) (1918) will take to the ring carrying a full-sibling and, even without her celebrated son, the 12-year-old mare is noteworthy as she is a sister to Giant’s Causeway and You’resothrilling. Both have made an immense contribution to the breed, the latter as the dam of the Galileo-sired Group-winning quintet of Gleneagles (Ire), Happily (Ire), Marvellous (Ire), Taj Mahal (Ire) and Coolmore (Ire). Two lots after Pearling will follow her winning daughter by Frankel (GB), named Ambrosia (GB) and consigned by Highclere Stud as lot 1920. Pearling and her daughters are just three of a number of horses of varying ages to have been offered for sale this year as part of a reduction by Blue Diamond Stud, which is owned by Imad Al Sagar and Saleh Al Homaizi. Their Royal Ascot-winning filly Aljazzi (GB) (Shamardal) set a new record when topping the Horses-in-Training Sale at 1 million gns. Another filly to be offered at the December Sale with a memorable Royal Ascot association is Whitsbury Manor Stud’s Heartache (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) (1897). The daughter of listed winner Place In My Heart (GB) (Compton Place {GB}) secured both the G2 Queen Mary S. and G2 Flying Childers S. in a stellar season for the Hot To Trot Racing syndicate in 2017. Michel Zerolo and Eric Puerari’s European Sales Management routinely has a select draft for the mares’ sale at Tattersalls and this year the consignment includes Martin Schwartz’s GI Matriarch S. winner Off Limits (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) (1871). The 6-year-old has won seven races in total, having started her career with David Wachman in Ireland, where she won the listed Cairn Rouge S., before being transferred to the care of Chad Brown in America. At least one mare to have received a significant update since the publication of the catalogue is the Group 3 winner Cabaret (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The 11-year-old mare (1819) is being offered in foal to Siyouni (Fr) from Norelands Stud and she is now the dam of a Group 1 winner following the success of her son Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the Verterm Futurity Trophy at Doncaster. For breeders looking at families with current top-class form, there is also a chance to buy a half-sister to this year’s QIPCO 1000 Guineas winner Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}). Her listed-winning sibling Billesdon Bess (GB) (Dick Turpin {Ire}) is being offered as an in-training prospect from Richard Hannon’s East Everleigh Stables as lot 1896. Four wildcards have been added to the mares’ section since the publication of the catalogue and these include this year’s dual Group 2 winner Signora Cabello (Ire) (1908A). The daughter of Camacho (GB) provided one of the highlights of the season when chasing home Pretty Pollyanna (GB) for second in the G1 Darley Prix Morny. There will be a note of sadness for all those who remember with fondness Kevin Mercer, who died last year. Ten mares and nine foals will form a dispersal from the Mercer family’s Usk Valley Stud next week, including Welsh Angel (GB) (Dubai Destination), the dam of the Group 3-placed Scarlet Dragon (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}) who is offered as lot 1659 in foal to Showcasing (GB). Usk Valley also offers a Sea The Stars (Ire) weanling colt out of the Group 3 winner Gower Song (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) (947). The December Sale can be relied upon to provide memorable moments and it is guaranteed that the ring will be packed for some of the big names of the mares’ sale a week on Tuesday, and for the Juddmonte draft 24 hours later. However, as last year’s final day—when the average only just scraped above 5,000gns—and indeed very selective trade at last week’s Goffs November Sale reminds us, dealing at the lower end of the market has become incredibly tough. View the full article

Visiting jockey Tye Angland has been taken straight to the Prince of Wales Hospital after a sickening fall in the ninth race at Sha Tin on Sunday. The Australian was driven head first into the ground when his mount Go Beauty Go knuckled after the start of the Class Three Chevalier Property Development & Operations Handicap (1,600m). It took almost 15 minutes after the fall for the medical staff to get him onto a stretcher and into the ambulance with the Jockey Club reporting he was... View the full article

The talented Wishful Thinker will take the step up to Group company next start after coming from last to collect the Class Two Chevalier Construction Handicap (1,000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. The Richard Gibson-trained five-year-old has now strung together consecutive wins on the back of his blistering turn of foot. Wishful Thinker was at the tail of the group after jumping, but jockey Alexis Badel did not panic, instead working his way through the field before running over the top of his rivals... View the full article

After suffering a couple tough losses in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) and Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), Signalman muscled his way into the winner's circle Nov. 24 with a score in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2). View the full article

After suffering a couple tough losses in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) and Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), Signalman muscled his way into the winner's circle Nov. 24 in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2). View the full article

Caribou Club continued a standout weekend for Glen Hill Farm and trainer Tom Proctor with a 1 1/4-length score in the $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap (G2T) Nov. 24 at Del Mar. View the full article

The pattern of European imports finding new life in the barn of Chad Brown got another link added to it on Nov. 24 when Lady Paname came surging three-wide down the middle of the course to capture the $400,000 Long Island Stakes (G3T). View the full article

Robert S. Evans' White Flag benefited from a ground-saving trip under jockey David Cohen Nov. 24 and held off a late charge from stablemate Disco Partner to win the $125,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article