Wandering Eyes

The ITV racing team bring us four races from Cheltenham on the first day of the November meeting. There will be pointers galore and most punters will have their notebooks at the ready, with one eye on March. Some big names set to strut their stuff include festival favourite and last season’s Grand National winner Tiger Roll. BetVictor Handicap Chase Bun Doran has a very poor strike rate over fences for a horse with such ability, in fact, his only win over fences came in a small event at Newcastle. A drop back in trip on seasonal debut and a reduced opening mark, all point to a big run from Tom George’s charge. A Hare Breath carries top weight and is a very interesting contender here, it seems that he’s been around forever but this will actually only be his fourth run over fences. The last of these came in the Arkle where he finished well behind Altior. The lightly raced ten-year-old excels over two miles and races off what looks like a lenient mark here. Paul Henderson’s Doitforthevillage is a course and distance winner having won this contest last season off a mark of 135. He is only two pounds higher this time having failed to add to this victory last season and Tom O’Brien in the plate, he must have a big chance. Others of note include Movie Legend and Shanahan’s Turn. Selection: A Hare Breath Steel Plate and Sections Novices’ Chase Mr Whipped had a fantastic start to last season, winning his first three starts but ended the season on a low when pulling up in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Hurdle at the Cheltenham festival. This former point to point winner should appreciate the larger obstacles and looks like a very nice prospect. Jerrysback has only had two runs on the racecourse proper but he has won both of them in very taking fashion. It’s worrying that we haven’t seen Philip Hobbs’ lightly raced six-year-old since February last year but if he continues to progress, then he could be the dark horse in the race. Colin Tizzard started off point to point winner White Moon in a maiden hurdle at Wincanton on his racecourse debut which resulted in a cosy six-length victory. Such was his progression that two runs later, he was lining up in a Grade 2 at Sandown where he trailed in a long last behind On The Blind Side. However, there may have been excuses that day as the German-bred gelding has had a wind operation since that run and hasn’t been seen for 343 days. I think it’s too early to write him off and he’s worth keeping an eye on. The in-form Nigel Twiston-Davies is represented by Count Meribel who was Grade 2 placed last season over hurdles but was found out in the Grade 1 Sefton at Aintree. He won well on seasonal/chase debut at Carlisle but will have to be an improved horse to take this. Selection: Mr Whipped Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase This race should prove very informative for Cross Country race at the festival as it gives us a rare chance to see horses run over this niche track. Jossies Orders is a regular in these cross-country contests and he just thrives over this discipline. So much so he’s record over the course reads 11136 and he took this exact race back in 2015. Enda Bolger the “King of the banks” bids for a third victory in three years here and holds leading claims of doing so. The JP McManus owned gelding had a nice pipe-opener at Galway last month over hurdles and should give his supporters a good run for their money. The standout runner in the field is last seasons Grand National winner Tiger Roll. Gordon Elliott’s Aintree hero is having his first run of the season here and although there will be bigger targets, principally back to back Grand Nationals, Tiger Roll also has a very good record at Cheltenham including victories at the last three festivals, which only enhances his chances, given his good record when fresh he must go close Gordon is also represented by Bless The Wings, who finished second in the festival cross country race two seasons back and wasn’t beaten that far behind Tiger Roll in the Grand National last season. He’s not getting any younger and hasn’t won off the back of a break since 2011, so a watching brief is advised. The other horse of note is Midnight Shot who is tackling the discipline for the first time and if he takes to it, could run well. Selection: Tiger Roll Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle This race has been won by some future starts in the past, including Gold Cup winner Coneygree and Shantou Village. This race looks to have a host of exciting hurdlers and it’ll be very informative to see who emerges on top. The Nicky Henderson trained Pym has only seen the racecourse five times and looked very smart when winning on debut at Ayr. He was found out in two further bumper runs although he did run well on both occasions. Pym won well on hurdle debut at Chepstow but it looked like a weak contest and he was once again beaten at Ascot in a novice event behind Anemoi. The five-year-old son of Stowaway needs to find improvement if he is to feature in this contest. Coolanly jumped off as a 100/1 outsider in the Ballymore Novices’ hurdle and ended up finishing forty lengths behind impressive winner Samcro. He followed this up with with a fine run to finish fifth in the Grade 1 Top Novices’ hurdle behind Lalor. Fergal O’Brien’s inmate was keen early on chasing debut in the Persian War Hurdle and came to grief at the fourth obstacle. If he is none the worse for that fall then he should run well. Colin Tizzard must hold Darlac in very high regard, as he pitches the twice-raced five-year-old at this Grade 2 contest on the back of just one maiden hurdle victory. In fairness, he did make a mockery of the field that day and with the Tizzard stable in red-hot form he’s a horse worth considering. Selection: Coolanly The post Cheltenham Preview – Friday appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Canterbury Park officials have submitted to the Minnesota Racing Commission a request for a 66-day schedule in 2019 that would begin May 3, the day prior to the Kentucky Derby, and conclude Sept. 14. View the full article

Three Diamonds Farm's Bigger Picture will make his 16th consecutive graded stakes start as one of three entrants for trainer Mike Maker as part of a full field in the $200,000 Red Smith Handicap (G3T) Nov. 17 at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

Because of the impact of winter weather moving through the area, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races has cancelled its live racing program scheduled Nov. 15. View the full article

I might have missed it, but I haven’t seen any story that pointed out that Accelerate, in winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic, hit a major milestone–winning four Grade I races at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt in a single year. Winning the Triple Crown is supposed to be one of the toughest achievements in horse racing, right? Well, since the Graded Race era began in 1973, there have been five Triple Crown winners. The number of horses that have won four Grade I, mile-and-one-quarter races on dirt in a single year is only four. It might seem like a fairly unacknowledged accomplishment, but maybe it shouldn’t be.　Grade I races are the ultimate goal for any horse, and one mile and one-quarter on the dirt is still the CLASSIC distance in American racing and will remain so (because of the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup Classic) no matter how much money is thrown at turf races or nine-furlong dirt races (sorry Pegasus). Affirmed did it in 1979 winning the Strub, the Santa Anita Handicap, the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Woodward. Alysheba did it five times in 1988, opening his four-year-old season with the Strub and the Big ‘Cap and ending it with the Woodward, the Meadowlands Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Cigar in 1995 won the Gulfstream Park Handicap, the Hollywood Gold Cup, the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. And now Accelerate has joined the club. The list of top horses that ran in the Graded Stakes era but didn’t hit the magic number of four includes Alydar, Forego, Spectacular Bid, Easy Goer, John Henry, Sunday Silence, Holy Bull, A.P. Indy, Best Pal, Skip Away, Curlin, Ghostzapper and Tiznow as well as Secretariat, Seattle Slew and the two most recent TC winners. Looking back through the DRF Champions book, the only pre-graded stakes horses I could find that probably would have been credited with four Grade I 10-furlong wins in a year were Gun Bow in 1964 (Strub, Gulfstream Park Handicap, Brooklyn Handicap and Woodward) and Round Table in 1958 (Santa Anita Maturity, Santa Anita Handicap, Gulfstream Park Handicap and Woodward). Those that didn’t make the list included Kelso, Dr. Fager, Damascus, Buckpasser, Sword Dancer, Bold Ruler, Swaps, Nashua, Citation and Seabiscuit. As always, no 100% guarantee that my research is error-free, but I’m pretty sure the old eyes got it right. –Jeffrey Tufts Jeffrey Tufts is a former morning line maker and timer on the Southern California circuit. View the full article

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses, including Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) looking for a second Group 1 in the Mile Championship and a pair of pricey Cairo Prince fillies front and center Saturday. Saturday, November 17, 2018 4th-TOK, ¥13,400,000 ($118k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400m DALLAS TESORO (f, 2, Cairo Prince–Copelan’s Angel, by Copelan) was purchased for $60K as a weanling at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale, then was hammered down to prominent owner Kenji Ryotokuji for $235K after breezing a furlong in :10 1/5 at this year’s OBS April Sale. The April foal is a daughter of GSP Copelan’s Angel, the dam of SW Fly Away Angel (Skip Away) and granddam of GSP Sonja’s Angel (Smoke Glacken). This is the female family of GISWs Pure Fun and Chelsey Flower. B-Christiana Stables LLC (KY) 6th-KYO, ¥13,400,000 ($118k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200m MONT PERDU (f, 2, Cairo Prince–Spanish Post, by Flatter) fetched $115K at last year’s Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale and was ticketed for that auction house’s Gulfstream sale this past March, where she also covered a furlong in :10 1/5 before selling for $325K to Katsumi Yoshida. The bay filly is out of a half-sister to five-time SW and dual GSP Spanish Decree (War Deputy) and is bred on a similar cross to this freshman sire’s GSP Pahket. B-Bluewater Sales LLC & Three Diamonds Farm (NY) Sunday, November 18, 2018 11th-KYO, Mile Championship-G1, ¥210m ($1.86m), 3/up, 1600mT MOZU ASCOT (c, 4, Frankel {GB}–India, by Hennessy), impressive winner of the G1 Yasuda Kinen this past June, looks to make it a sweep of Japan’s major mile events in this stepping-stone to the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile Dec. 9. A $275K KEESEP buyback, the half-brother to ‘TDN Rising Star’ Kareena (Medaglia d’Oro) is out of a MGSW half-sister to Pilfer (Deputy Minister), the dam of MGISW To Honor and Serve (Bernardini), GISW Angela Renee (Bernardini) and SW & GISP Elnaawi (Street Sense). Christophe Lemaire returns in the saddle in a race that also includes US-bred Gendarme (Kitten’s Joy). B-Summer Wind Farm (KY) View the full article

Following the addition of G2 Queen Mary S. winner Signora Cabello (GB) (Camacho {GB}) on Wednesday, three more wildcards have joined the Tattersalls December Sale. Italian Group 3 winner Binti Al Nar (Ger) (Aerion {Ger}) will be offered at the Mares Sale as lot 1908B. The 3-year-old filly, trained by Peter Schiergen, is also Group 3-placed in Germany. Binti Al Nar will be offered on Dec. 4 alongside another Italian stakes-winning 3-year-old filly, Intello Kiss (GB) (Intello {Ger}) (lot 1908C). The relative of G1 St Leger winner Sixties Icon (GB) won the Listed Premio Nogara in Milan. A yearling colt by Invincible Spirit (Ire) has been added to the December Yearling Sale on Nov. 26. Lot 144A is a late May foal out of the French listed winner Glory Power (Ire) (Medicean {GB}) and will be offered by Baroda & Colbinstown Studs. View the full article

Dark Angel (Ire) once again heads the Yeomanstown Stud stallion roster for 2019, and he will stay at €85,000 for the second straight year. “Dark Angel has had another sensational year at stud, proving himself once again as an established Group 1 producer,” said Gay O’Callaghan. “He had a new Group 1 winner in 2018 in the form of Hunt, who ran out a good winner of the Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita, adding to his previous three Group 2 wins. The emergence also of Raging Bull, who is among the top rated 3-year-old milers in America having won listed, Group 3 and Group 2 contests; he looks set to be a future star. Battaash and Harry Angel showcased their scintillating speed and durability this season, competing at the highest level. Dark Angel’s influence as a broodmare sire was also seen in the top-class performers Havana Grey and Rumble Inthejungle.” Camacho (GB) has enjoyed a career-best season thanks to the likes of G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches winner Teppal (Fr) and G2 Queen Mary S. winner Signora Cabello (Ire), and he is up to €12,000 from €7,500. Gutaifan (Ire), whose first crop is two next year, stays at €10,000, and El Kabeir, a son of Scat Daddy whose first crop arrives in 2019, stays at €8,000. View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost Joao Moreira’s first ride on Sunday is the aptly named “Quick Return” – @sanjchug There is a nice bit of symmetry with the Magic Man’s first ride back in Hong Kong coming aboard Quick Return – he has only been missing for 20 meetings. While he was always going to be competing at the Hong Kong International Races, Sunday’s... View the full article

Danny Shum Chap-shing is hopeful a switch to the turf can help his promising four-year-old Pick Number One return to the winner’s circle at Sha Tin this Sunday. Pick Number One runs in the Class Two BOCHK Asset Management Handicap (1,200m) and will step out on the Sha Tin turf for just the second time after posting a runner-up finish at the course and distance in his second career start. “That time was in Class Four, now he’s in Class Two. It’s a big difference,”... View the full article

He celebrated his birthday on Tuesday but it’s been a bittersweet week for trainer Tony Millard, with the career of 2017 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse winner Nassa coming to an end. While Millard is preparing to send Singapore Sling around in the Group Two Jockey Club Mile (1,600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday, he is also dealing with the loss of a horse he said had “everything there for the taking”. Nassa set the 1,800m track record in his Sa Sa victory but missed last year’s... View the full article

A protest over the condition of the Woodbine turf course by the track's jockeys forced the cancellation of the first race on the Toronto track's Nov. 14 card. View the full article

Restructuring of Prizemoney and Singapore Racing Fixtures 2019 View the full article

Amirul relishes first chance to ride Lim's Cruiser View the full article

Galvarino close to mending his Crazy ways View the full article

A winning 4-year-old filly by Unbridled’s Song led returns bringing $102,000 from the Army Mule Partnership during Wednesday’s Book 6 session of the Keeneland November Sale. During this 10th session of the 12-day sale, 237 horses grossed $2,903,800 for an average of $12,252 and a median of $7,000. There are no comparable figures from 2017. Cumulatively, 2,286 horses have sold for $187,191,400 for an average of $81,886 and a median of $32,000. Out of a daughter of millionaire Lady Tak (Mutakddim), the session-topping Stormy’s Song earned her ‘TDN Rising Star’ Badge in a blowout win on debut at Belmont Park last June. Hip 3877 was consigned by Hidden Brook, Agent XXX, as a racing or broodmare prospect. “We’re real familiar with the whole family; we bred Stormy Tak [in a partnership],” Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm General Manager Jared Burdine said representing the ownership group. “She’s going to go to [new Hill ‘n’ Dale stallion] Army Mule for a partnership there. We’re excited about him as a stallion.” A filly from the first crop of Tourist was the day’s highest- priced weanling, selling for $50,000 to Stafford Pond Farm. Consigned by Endeavor Farm, agent, as Hip 3567, the filly is out of the stakes-placed Skip Away mare Blondz Away and is a half-sister to stakes winner Colonel Samsen and stakes-placed Summer Share. Lane’s End’s Farm ranked as the session’s leading consignor, selling 33 horses for $585,600. The November Sale continues through Friday with all sessions beginning at 10 a.m. ET. View the full article

Officials at Santa Anita Park have announced the stakes schedule for the track’s upcoming winter/spring meeting, featuring 60 added-money events, eight of which are at the Grade I level. Two of those traditional top-level events anchor Santa Anita’s opening-day program, the GI Malibu S. for sophomore males and the GI La Brea S. for 3-year-old fillies, both contested over seven furlongs. The Dec. 26 card also includes the GII San Antonio S. at 8 1/2 furlongs on the main track, the GII Mathis Brothers Mile for sophomore turf males and the Lady of Shamrock S. for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf. The other Grade I events over the course of the meeting are the American Oaks Dec. 29; the Santa Anita H. and Frank E. Kilroe Mile Mar. 9; the Beholder S. Mar. 16; and the Santa Anita Derby and Santa Anita Oaks Apr. 6. Santa Anita’s winter meet again be comprised of 60 racing dates, while the track’s total offering, to run through Sunday, June 23, will offer fans and horsemen 102 combined racing days, dating back to Dec. 26. View the full article

Jerry Bozzo, who died Nov. 11 at the age of 98, will be remembered as the oldest winning Thoroughbred trainer in history, as well as a gentleman and a scholar. View the full article

Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan signed the $1-million winning ticket on behalf of e Five Racing when Good Magic (Curlin) sold at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and promptly saw his faith rewarded as the colt put forth a memorable career, capped by a championship season as a juvenile in 2017. Having won the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile during his initial campaign for e Five and his breeder, Stonestreet Stables, high hopes followed the handsome chestnut into his 3-year-old season, where he parlayed a win in Keeneland’s GII Toyota Blue Grass S. into a runner-up finish behind Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) in the GI Kentucky Derby and a hard-fought fourth behind that rival in the GI Preakness S. After returning to the Grade I winner’s circle in Monmouth Park’s Haskell Invitational, Good Magic is poised to begin his new career as a stallion at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in 2019. Earlier this month, Ryan returned to visit his star pickup at Hill ‘n’ Dale and discussed his impressions with the TDN. TDN: This is the first time that you’ve seen Good Magic in three months. What is your impression of how he has done? MR: That’s correct. I hadn’t seen him since mid-summer, mid-August–two weeks before the Travers. I’m blown away by his development and how he’s strengthened and deepened. Now that he’s had a chance to let down and be a horse, the depth of his girth and the strength over his top line just amazes me. He was a very fit racehorse–he came off the Haskell and was training up to the Travers and he was an athlete. But now he looks like a mature stallion, and he’s only a 3-year-old, so he’s going to change a lot here in the next 15 months. He’s quite a physical specimen–and he was as a yearling. He was an expensive yearling, because he was a really impressive individual. TDN: Is there a particular trait or tendency that distinguishes Good Magic as a top-notch racehorse and a promising stallion prospect, in your mind? MR: I think his greatest asset was his mind. His demeanor is extraordinary. And every day he trained at Stonestreet, he would train the same way. He would go straight down to the end of the racetrack, never deviate, switch leads on cue every time, and that was every day. He was so dependable, so alive, and so focused on what he was doing. He’s just a horse who is a pleasure to be around. He’s a very smart horse, but his demeanor is extraordinary. I mean, nothing disturbs this horse. He’s completely comfortable with his surroundings and with what he’s doing, and he never wasted any energy unnecessarily, because he was smart. When it was time to fight, time to run, he was there. He showed up. TDN: Does his temperament remind you at all of what you saw from his sire? MR: Mary and I were in Dubai the night Curlin won the World Cup. I’ll never forget it, what a horse he was. He traveled the world, and he was an iron horse…Good Magic is a lot like his sire, he’s just a little bit smaller than his dad–but a lot of similarities. Obviously the courage and the determination and the heart was passed down from Curlin to this horse. And the fact that he was a really good 2-year-old is a huge asset to him. Because he showed brilliance at two, and now he’s a top 3-year-old. TDN: Can you talk a little about his early development as a juvenile-and the unique circumstances that led to him breaking his maiden in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile? MR: We were always of the opinion that he had tactical speed, but he’d be better going two turns–and he really showed up on Breeders’ Cup day. He was always sitting and cruising in a good position, and when Jose Ortiz asked him at the three-eighths pole, the response was immediate. When he turned for home, he kicked on and opened up very, very easily on the field, and it was a fantastic performance. TDN: We understand that Bob Edwards has been buying some mares to support the stallion? MR: Yes, he did. He bought four nice mares, two from Fasig-Tipton, two from Keeneland. And that was his plan to support the horse. He’s also got some nice fillies off the track and some other mares, but Bob and Barbara [Banke] are very committed and I know Barbara is going to support him very heavily as well, so he’s going to get great backing for his owners, and I think the syndicate is a very strong syndicate. He’s going to be very well supported. I think the fee was very fair and there is a great opportunity for breeders to breed to him. TDN: How can you describe the personal excitement in being involved with a horse like this? MR: It’s very special. You know, we’ve been involved in some stallions before, but he is a great favorite of mine–only had one year, but this is one of the best horses we’ve ever bought, and he was good from the get-go. I’m very excited, and I think he’s a beautifully bred horse, by one of the best stallions in the world. It’s wonderful. It’s a great feeling. I think breeders are going to love Good Magic, because he’s such a beautifully made horse, he’s very symmetrical. I know the word balance is overused, but this horse, he’s going to fit a lot of mares because he’s such a well-proportioned horse. Great limbs on him, he’s very correct, and he’s really an easy horse to breed to, in my mind. View the full article

Jerry Bozzo, who passed away at the age of 98 Sunday, Nov. 11, was remembered Wednesday as a gentleman and a hard-working horseman. Bozzo graduated Carnegie Tech (the modern-day Carnegie Mellon University) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A retired aeronautical engineer, industrialist and veteran of World War II, Bozzo sold his Pennsylvania bottle manufacturing company in 1969 and trained and bred horses in South Florida for the better part of a half-century. “My favorite times with Jerry had nothing to do with the horses,” said his colleague and longtime friend Phil Combest. “We were baseball fans and we talked baseball right up to a month ago. He was as sharp as a tack right up to the end. It’s hard to be a Marlins fan, but we both kind of hung in there with them.” Bozzo became the oldest trainer in history to win a race when he saddled Cotton Tooyah to a victory at Gulfstream Park at the age of 96 on June 3, 2017. He surpassed the previous record set by Noble Threewitt, who last visited the winner’s circle a few months after he turned 95. Bozzo had already become the oldest trainer to saddle a stakes winner when his homebred Flutterby won the Sea Lily S. at Gulfstream in 2015 before later finishing second in the GII Princess Rooney S. “He was a great gentleman. It was a pleasure to ride for him, but it was also a pleasure to know him,” said jockey Luca Panici, who rode frequently for Bozzo, including back-to-back victories aboard homebred Gusty Wind during Gulfstream Park’s Summer Meet this year. “I’ve known him since I began riding here at Calder. He was a good horseman and a really, really good gentleman. “I was more happy for him than for me when we won a race,” Panici continued. “Training a horse, having a winner, kept him in good shape. He had an amazing history, being in World War II and his business. He was always a pleasure to be around. More than business, it was a pleasure to talk with him and have a conversation in the mornings.” Per Bozzo’s request, no memorial service has been scheduled. View the full article

Jerry Bozzo, who passed away on Nov. 11 at the age of 98, will be remembered as the oldest winning Thoroughbred trainer in history, as well as a gentleman and a scholar. View the full article

Jockey Benjamin Hernandez earned his first win in the continental United States Nov. 14, when he piloted Scott Zimmerman's Alright Alright to victory for trainer John Toscano in the second race at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

Mind Your Biscuits (Posse–Jazzmane, by Toccet), a six-time stakes winner at distances from six to nine furlongs and a three-time victor at the highest level both at home and abroad, has been retired from racing. The chestnut will enter stud in 2019 at Shadai Farm and retires as the richest horse ever bred in the state of New York, with a record of 8-10-3 from 25 starts and earnings of $4,279,566. A potential final appearance in the GI Clark H., the GI Cigar Mile H. or the GI Pegasus World Cup has thus been ruled out. Multiple stakes-placed in state-bred restricted company early in his career while under the care of Robert Falcone, Jr., Mind Your Biscuits proved he could handle open company with a 1 3/4-length success in the GII Amsterdam S. at Saratoga. Second in the GIII Gallant Bob S. and in the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint (moved up via DQ), he closed the season with a half-length defeat of Sharp Azteca (Freud) in the GI Malibu S. Just touched off by ‘TDN Rising Star’ Unified (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GIII Gulfstream Park Sprint S. to launch his 4-year-old season, with Chad Summers now the listed trainer, Mind Your Biscuits took Dubai by storm with a convincing three-length tally in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in March. Victorious in the GIII Belmont Sprint Championship S. on his stateside return, he rallied late to be third to Roy H (More Than Ready) in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and was runner-up to Sharp Azteca in the GI Cigar Mile H. Narrowly defeated in a Feb. 9 Gulfstream allowance, Mind Your Biscuits returned to Dubai for the 2018 Golden Shaheen and turned in one of the performances of the year, defying the prevailing track bias by rallying from an apparently hopeless position from well off the pace on a leaders’ track to best X Y Jet (Kantharos) and Roy H. Beaten a nose in the GI Met Mile in June, he was tried over route distances for the remainder of the season, finishing a running-on second to ‘Rising Star’ Diversify (Bellamy Road) in the GI Whitney S. before successfully seeing out nine furlongs in winning the GIII Lukas Classic at Churchill in late September. Mind Your Biscuits raced in the name of J Stables and Scott, Hope and Daniel Summers through his run in the Gallant Bob, at which stage Head of Plains Partners and Michael Kisber joined the ownership group. The trainer was listed among the owners for the 2017 Golden Shaheen and thereafter. The Shadai deal was announced prior to the Met Mile and Mind Your Biscuits raced in the black-and-gold Shadai silks for the remainder of his career. WATCH: Mind Your Biscuits from the clouds in the 2018 Golden Shaheen View the full article

Each of the two stakes scheduled for the Ocala Training Center Nov. 20 is expected to feature graded stakes winners. View the full article

Flurry Racing Stables' 11-time winner Mr. Misunderstood leads an eight-horse field as the starting 121-pound high weight in the $100,000 River City Handicap (G3T) at Churchill Downs Nov. 17. View the full article