Wandering Eyes

As a self-made businessman, Mick Ruis has seen a number of his dreams come true. But when it came to running a horse in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), those thoughts were typically interrupted by a dose of reality. View the full article

Only Win has more and bigger options ahead View the full article

Curvature takes aim at four-in-a-row View the full article

Chris McCarron has joined Team Valor International and will be part of the executive team of the far-flung organization. He starts this week and will be involved at Churchill Downs, where the operation races three runners (two in stakes) this week in Louisville. “As a Hall of Fame inductee and as the rider of such legendary racehorses as Alysheba and John Henry, Chris is one of the most recognizable people in racing,” CEO Barry Irwin said. “But it is for his abilities as a communicator, his horsemanship and his drive as an organizer that he has been brought aboard. “I have worked alongside Chris as part of the initiative to introduce Federal legislation to rein in the use of legal and illegal drugs in our sport and I have been very impressed with his communication skills and his passion for the best aspects of our game.” McCarron said “I’m excited to be joining Team Valor International. TVI is one of the most successful syndicate operations in the history of our sport and I hope to add value to the efforts in acquiring and racing some of the finest horses in the world, as well as getting to know its racing partners and helping to introduce newcomers to horse racing.” The legendary rider’s most recent major career achievement in racing came when he realized a nearly lifelong dream of establishing and nurturing America’s first school for jockeys. Named the North American Racing Academy, it is the only school where aspiring jockeys can earn a college degree. McCarron started NARA in 2006 and left it in safe hands in 2014. After retiring from a record-breaking and storied career as a jockey, McCarron served a stint as general manager at Santa Anita. He regularly serves as an on-air personality and is a popular speaker at corporate events throughout the country. Irwin said “I saw firsthand the dedication and energy that Chris brought to the task of establishing the riding academy. I don’t know too many people that had the unique skill set to pull off that venture. We would like to tap into those talents at Team Valor.” The Hall of Fame jockey rode many of TVI’s most successful runners, including Grade 1 winners Golden Ballet and The Deputy, best in the Oaks and Derby at Santa Anita. But their mutual involvement began in 1978 when McCarron upon arrival in California won back-to-back races at Del Mar aboard Irwin’s second racehorse, a filly named Sorcerer. McCarron will continue to be based in Lexington, Kentucky, where he has family and has lived for the past several years. He is, however, expected to travel to races and various promotional events as a spokesperson for Team Valor. Team Valor is in the process of reshaping aspects of the company. Recently, Godolphin Flying Start student Jessica Berry, who graduates in July, was hired as part of the executive team. Also, TVI announced last week that it would start unwinding its involvement in South African racing and breeding which is comprised of 65 horses. The international racing stable currently campaigns horses in the United States, England, France, Germany, South Africa, Canada, Australia and South Korea. Eight individual TVI runners have earned black-type in 2018, with its three biggest European stars ready to return to action this month. View the full article

The directional aviation company Sentient Jet will sponsor Combatant (Scat Daddy) in Saturday’s GI Kentucky Derby in an effort to promote awareness for Homes for Our Troops, a non-profit organization supported by the colt’s owners, Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing. Homes for Our Troops builds and donates specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 veterans. Sentient Jet will host a group of veterans on the backside of Churchill Downs Thursday and at the races Saturday. “As we head into our third year as the preferred private aviation partner of the Kentucky Derby, we are excited to mark this milestone with a special contribution to the community. We are honored to support Team Combatant and the important cause this impressive horse represents,” said Andrew Collins, president and CEO of Sentient Jet. View the full article

Finley'sluckycharm aims to keep her Louisville streak going when she faces six others in the $300,000 Humana Distaff Stakes (G1) May 5, part of the undercard of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). View the full article

There would be no more fitting race for a Churchill Downs Racing Club-owned horse to win than the Churchill Downs Stakes presented by Twinspires.com (G2). On May 5, Warrior's Club will try and do just that. View the full article

While Steve Asmussen acknowledges Combatant will have to run the best race of his career in what the Racing Hall of Fame trainer believes is a particularly tough Kentucky Derby field, he does think some factors are working in his favor. View the full article

As a self-made businessman, horseman Mick Ruis has seen a number of his dreams come true but when it came to running a horse in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) those thoughts typically would be interrupted by a dose of reality. View the full article

LOUISVILLE, Ky – A few hours before being installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the 144th renewal of the GI Kentucky Derby, all eyes were on the unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Justify (Scat Daddy) Tuesday morning beneath the Twin Spires. With temperatures a bit more comfortable in the high 40s and rapidly on the rise (the mercury hit as high as 81 in the afternoon) during the 15-minute training window reserved exclusively for Derby/Oaks horses at 7:30 a.m., the GI Santa Anita Derby hero quickly made his presence felt jogging the wrong way. He was accompanied to the track by Bob Baffert’s longtime right-hand man Jimmy Barnes, who was aboard a stable pony. Under a snug hold while making his first trip to the track since shipping in from Southern California Monday afternoon, the physically imposing $500,000 KEESEP graduate put on a show while displaying that massive stride of his during a routine gallop of about a mile beneath Humberto Gomez. The equally lightly raced Juddmonte homebred Hofburg (Tapit) of three career starts, meanwhile, stood by the chute and took in the hectic scene for a bit, which included a couple of peeks back at the long line of photographers and media lined up by the rail on the backstretch. Hall of Famer Bill Mott watched from horseback as one of this week’s ‘buzz horses’ turned in another very good-looking gallop. The aforementioned Justify wasn’t the only blaze-faced, flashy chestnut to make a striking appearance Tuesday morning. Last year’s champion 2-year-old colt Good Magic (Curlin) wasn’t to be outdone as he came roaring off the clubhouse turn during his 1 1/2-mile gallop. Two-time Grade I winner and Santa Anita Derby runner-up Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) was another who quickly caught the eye. Sporting a pair of bell boots, he had a very nice bounce in his step as he made his way on from the Lukas gap and jogged along the outer rail. Currently on the outside looking in, Derby also-eligible Blended Citizen (Proud Citizen) couldn’t be looking any better physically for two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O’Neill. He was a troubled fifth last time in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. Exercise rider Nick Bush–also the regular a.m. partner of last year’s Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister)-was all smiles exiting the track aboard the unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Magnum Moon (Malibu Moon). And you can certainly see why after watching the GI Arkansas Derby hero train at Churchill Downs the past few days. The fillies were also out in full force and strutting their stuff during this time frame, including leading Oaks contenders and GI Central Bank Ashland S. one-two Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) and Eskimo Kisses (To Honor and Serve) and G3 UAE Oaks heroine Rayya (Tiz Wonderful). It was quite the scene back at the Baffert barn once it was time to get the big horse cleaned up. One of the major story lines of this year’s Derby-and rightfully so-is how the inexperienced Justify will handle everything thrown his way on gameday before a crowd of 150,000 plus. Well, he certainly passed this first test with flying colors as he never even turned a hair as he was surrounded by an American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) type of a crowd back at Barn 33 while getting his bath. Even his barnmate Solomini (Curlin), runner-up in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, had to wait for the seas to part to get back inside his own barn. Welcome to Derby week. View the full article

Like everything else in the brief career of grade 1 winner Justify, his first morning at the site of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was handled with beyond-his-experience poise. View the full article

4th-SRO, €15,400, NWC, 5-1, 2yo, c&g, 1000m, :59.60, gd. BLURY (IRE) (c, 2, Olympic Glory {Ire}–Marablu {Ire}, by Invincible Spirit {Ire}) provided a first win for his first-season sire Olympic Glory (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), a four-time Group 1 winner who stands at Haras de Bouquetot. The colt raced prominently and responded well when asked by jockey Pierantonio Convertino, holding the strong challenge of the favourite Coming Soon (Ity) (Sakhee’s Secret {GB}). The two most recent winners of this race went on to deliver a stakes win. Blury is the second winner out of Marablu (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a juvenile-scoring full-sister to Moonlife (Ire), who won the Listed Fleur du Lys S. and ran second in the G3 Oh So Sharp S. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. VIDEO. O-Genets; B-Azienda Agricola Valdirone (Ire); T-Antonio Marcialis. View the full article

While Steve Asmussen acknowledges Combatant will have to run the best race of his career in what the Racing Hall of Fame trainer believes is a particularly tough Kentucky Derby field, he does think some factors are working in his favor. View the full article

Plusvital has renewed their partnership with The Curragh Racecourse for another year, and the Irish equine science company will sponsor the second day on the opening weekend of The Curragh’s 2018 schedule on May 12. The G3 Plusvital Blue Wind S. will anchor that card, which will also include the Plusvital EnerGene-Q10 H., the Plusvital Speed Gene H. and the Plusvital Racing Syrup Maiden. As an added benefit, the company will offer all runners in their sponsored races either free genetic testing to predict optimum race distance or products from their supplement range. “We have a long-standing relationship with The Curragh Racecourse and we are delighted to sponsor the Plusvital Race Day featuring the G3 Plusvital Blue Wind S. this year,” said Plusvital Sales Director Ciara Watt. “We believe that this partnership reinforces our commitment to both the racing and bloodstock industries, while supporting our valued customers and the industry at large. We wish all connections the very best of luck on the day.” View the full article

Two lots have been added to the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up and HIT Sale scheduled for May 3-4 at Newmarket. Ventura Dragon (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) (lot 94), a winning 3-year-old gelding for trainer Richard Fahey, will be offered by Fahey’s Musley Bank Stables on behalf of Middleham Park Racing. The chestnut is rated 80 and landed his seasonal bow at Doncaster on Mar. 25. The breeze-up wildcard is a filly by Bated Breath (GB) as lot 169A, who is offered by Church View Stables. Her dam is a winning Zafonic half-sister to champion Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa), G1SW Galikova (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}) and four other group winners. The breezes will occur on the Rowley Mile on May 3, with the sale beginning at 10 a.m. on May 4. For the full catalogue, go to www.tattersalls.com/guineas-sale-overview. View the full article

Bob Baffert-trained Justify, who has made just three starts, was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) after drawing post 7. View the full article

The new deadline to nominate yearlings to the European Breeders Fund is now May 31. Any yearling by a sire not registered to the EBF and standing outside Europe can be made eligible to run in the EBF programme of races–worth an additional €5 million in prizemoney–throughout Europe for a cost of $600 per yearling. “We review our nominations process annually and as the yearling sales landscape has changed over the years we felt that it is now possible to move this deadline out to May 31st, giving breeders that intend to race their yearlings or those that are consigning them to a sale plenty of time to nominate,” said the EBF’s Kerry Murphy. “This nomination stage is mostly applicable to breeders using American or Japanese stallions that are not registered to the EBF. Thanks to increasing support the list of internationally registered stallions has grown significantly and we advise breeders to check with us to see if their yearling does need nominating.” To nominate a yearling, go to www.ebfstallions.com or contact the EBF office. View the full article

John and Tanya Gunther’s Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is out of Saturday’s G1 2000 Guineas with a foot bruise. Trainer John Gosden said the homebred, who won a novice race at Yarmouth by six lengths on Apr. 24, is likely to target the G1 St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot. “It could have brewed up from the race at Yarmouth,” Gosden said. “Like any little bruise it comes there and pops into a little abscess form.” “I think with a horse like this we will get a nice race in before Royal Ascot, that is the way to look at it I think,” he added. “He is a very nice type of horse and we will treat him with respect. Hopefully we’ll freshen him up for the Heron S. at Sandown on May 24 and look at the St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot.” The defection of Without Parole means that Gosden’s number one rider Frankie Dettori is free to ride the George Scott-trained James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the Guineas. “I feel for the connections of Without Parole, who clearly has a massive future regardless of missing the Guineas,” said Scott. “I felt it was hugely important to have Frankie on board. He knows the horse so well and he has a lot of confidence in the horse. He is the magic man and if anyone can pull it out the bag he will.” Scott was speaking after James Garfield worked over the Cambridge Road Polytrack gallop on Tuesday morning, and he said, “He didn’t really have a blow and he was bright and fresh after the work. I’m delighted with that.” View the full article

Three-time Group 1 winner Jameka (Aus) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) is a late supplement to the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale scheduled for May 29-June 1, announced the sales company on Tuesday. Purchased by Ciaron Maher Racing for A$130,000 as a yearling out of the INGMAR Sale in 2014, the bay was trained for the entirety of her 24-start career by Maher and is consigned by Ciaron Maher Racing in May. Voted Australian champion stayer in 2017, the half-sister to MGSP Nikitas (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) won the 2015 G1 Crown Oaks, 2016 G1 Caulfield Cup and the 2017 G1 BMW Tancred S. among her six group victories. Out of a half-sister to G1 Canterbury Guineas hero Jymcarew (Aus) (Danzero {Aus}), she also filled the frame in another five Group 1 races, including the G1 Australian Derby and earned $3,665,199. Her fourth dam was GI Matchmaker S. heroine Warfever (Fr) (Luthier {Fr}), a half-sister to U.S. champion older mare Waya (Fr) (Faraway Son). “We are honoured to have been entrusted to offer Jameka at the National Broodmare Sale–she is an absolute queen,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said. “As a racehorse Jameka proved her class from winning a VRC Sires’ Produce S. at two to her barnstorming win in the Caulfield Cup. And who can forget her last run, a 6 1/2-length demolition of Humidor (NZ) and company in The BMW. Ciaron Maher did a remarkable job with Jameka developing her from a Group 2-winning juvenile to one of the stars of Australian racing. We thank him and his team for giving Magic Millions the opportunity to offer their prized mare to a global audience.” View the full article

Richard Ryan has been appointed the new Goffs UK Horses-in-Training Agent effective immediately in advance of the Doncaster Spring Sale on May 22, the sales company announced on Tuesday. “We received a huge amount of interest for this new role and Richard was the outstanding candidate so we are delighted he has accepted,” said Goffs UK Managing Director Tony Williams. “Richard brings a wide network of contacts and a wealth of industry experience to the position, and will be a welcome addition to the Goffs UK team.” Ryan, who has held jobs at stud farms, in the bloodstock sphere and in training, had previously worked as an assistant trainer to Terry Mills and most recently for Ian Williams. His new role will entail finding entries for Goffs UK’s six horses-in-training sales on a yearling basis, as well as provide a Goffs UK presence at British racecourses. “I am delighted to be joining the Goffs UK team and have long admired the company’s progressive and forward-thinking approach,” said Ryan. “They place a great deal of importance on integrity and transparency in all their dealings and consistently provide great value and service to their customers. I always enjoyed the decisions we made with owners when deciding where to sell our horses-in-training and I’m looking forward to experiencing this from the other angle and being part of an energetic and close knit team.” View the full article

Darley’s shuttle stallion and Australian champion 2-year-old colt Sidestep (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}–Destrous {Aus}, by Quest for Fame {GB}) will stand at Telemon Thoroughbreds for the coming season in Queensland as part of an arrangement between Darley and Telemon. The new 240-acre operation will get off the ground in June when Sun Stud’s lease expires on the property. “It’s our privilege to offer a horse the calibre of Sidestep,” said Telemon Thoroughbreds owner Dan Fletcher. “He’d be one of the best 2-year-olds to stand up here in my time. The other horses that were at a similar level at two include Written Tycoon (Aus), General Nediym (Aus), Show a Heart (Aus) and Brave Warrior (Aus) and they all made a massive impact.” A dual Group 2 winner, Sidestep will be available to Queensland breeders for a minimum of the next two seasons at a fee of A$7,700, and those that support Sidestep in 2018, will be guaranteed the stallion’s availability at the same fee for 2019. The half-brother to the G1 Champagne S. hero and sire Skilled (Aus) (Commands {Aus}) was also runner-up in the 2013 G1 Golden Slipper S. and sports a record of three wins in 16 starts and $1,333,448 in earnings. Out of the MGSW Destrous (Aus), herself a half-sister to MG1SP Light Work (Aus) (Danehill), Sidestep’s oldest Southern Hemisphere foals are currently yearlings. Godolphin Australia Managing Director Vin Cox said, “It’s a really exciting opportunity for all breeders in Queensland. I know the quality of the farm where he’ll be standing from my time in Queensland so that was a huge attraction. There’s absolutely no doubt Sidestep is a terrific chance to make it and with his first yearlings currently entering the racing systems we thought it made sense to position him in a market where we know he will be embraced.” Telemon has appointed Joe Heather as general manager, and the veteran horseman will begin his duties on June 1. “I can’t wait to get started,” said Heather. “When the owner of the farm told me Sidestep will be standing at the farm I was over the moon. With his credentials, and large initial crops of Hunter Valley foals on their way through various leading stables including Godolphin’s, he’s a huge chance and Queensland breeders will love him.” View the full article

In some respects, all splendid, he is a genuine throwback. You could dress Luke Lillingston in a hussar’s uniform, put him in a time machine, and walk him straight into Wellington’s tent at Waterloo. Within five minutes–so immaculate are his manners, so trustworthy is his bearing–he would be walking out, jaw set, carrying a map and a set of orders. But just as his residence at Mount Coote is actually far more modern than is superficially apparent, so Lillingston is fully engaged in the challenges of breeding and racing Thoroughbreds in the 21st Century. Though the house was rebuilt in the early 1960s, the reconstruction was faithful to the glorious strictures of Georgian architecture. In much the same way, Lillingston feels a due obligation to the sustainability not only of the family stud–which has reared or raised the winners of 167 stakes races since 1963–but also that of the sport as a whole. So it was that this ardent traditionalist was last year able to dismantle the barriers around one of the Turf’s most privileged enclaves: the winner’s enclosure at Royal Ascot. No fewer than 51 members of his Hot To Trot syndicate had somehow been secured paddock passes; 10 as the official quota, the rest begged and borrowed from Lillingston’s many friends in the game. After Heartache (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) won the G2 Queen Mary S., Lillingston remembers himself “completely away with the fairies, leading this mad happy herd of people” past the course’s director of racing and communications, Nick Smith, to greet their filly. “Absolutely marvellous!” Lillingston exclaimed, seeing Smith. “We got them all in!” “So I see,” replied Smith–as stonily as anyone could permit himself to be, confronted with this most irrepressible, most irresistible of enthusiasts. Heartache’s success represented a spectacular vindication of Lillingston’s determination (along with syndicate manager Sam Hoskins) to show that anyone, in the sport of kings, can be king for a day. “One of the things that is important to me is trying to get more people involved,” he explains. “Hot To Trot very much started by thinking about all those people out there, who love their racing, and how we could give them the chance actually to race horses themselves. Because the idea is not only that you’re entertaining people but that you’re educating them as well. And from that, you hope, there might be a natural osmosis.” “Think of Trevor and Libby Harris, who own Lordship Stud. It’s a lovely farm, they’ve had quite a lot of success, and I’ve been happy to help them for more than 20 years now. But they came in via one of Henry Ponsonby’s syndicates. They’re from an entirely non-horse background, but happened to go racing one evening at Newmarket and saw some delirious owners leading their horse into the winner’s enclosure. And they said: ‘I’d like a bit of that.’ That’s what it’s all about. Whether it’s Elite Racing or Kennet Valley or Highclere, there’s a chance for everybody to get involved in this game at some level.” In the case of Hot To Trot, now extended to a second syndicate, costs are kept manageable (at £2,095 for six horses) by leasing stock from breeders. So while shareholders have no equity in the horseflesh itself, they do get to divide prizemoney. Proceeding from Ascot, Heartache was beaten just half a length when third in the G2 Prix Robert Papin. The winner, Unfortunately (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}), then followed up by beating Havana Grey (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) in the G1 Morny. And the runner-up then filled the same position behind Heartache in what looked a very strong edition of the G2 Flying Childers S., the pair clear. So there would seem to be every prospect of Heartache cutting it at Group 1 level this term. Out of a Compton Place (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) mare, she is a typical speed-on-speed Whitsbury Manor graduate and Clive Cox has an obvious initial goal in the G1 Commonwealth Cup back at Royal Ascot, taking in the Sandy Lane S. at Haydock en route. “She looks terrific, and she’s grown,” Lillingston reports. “She’s not just a one-season horse, we think; certainly to look at.” For all this grass-roots evangelism, of course, Lillingston’s first priority is to extend the rather deeper foundations at Mount Coote. Originally the family seat of a Cromwellian officer named Coote, the estate outside Kilmallock in Co Limerick was bought in 1938 by Lillingston’s grandfather, a Leicestershire hunting man, who had stayed there once as a guest of the first Lord Daresbury. He did not bother to revisit the site before sealing the deal, being perfectly satisfied by what he could remember of “the view from my bedroom window.” Little wonder, when he could gaze across all that velvet pasture and woodland between the Ballyhoura Hills and the River Maigue, on the banks of which cluster a series of exceptionally fertile stud farms, relative to their size. Tragically he was killed soon afterwards, during the Normandy push in 1944, when his son Alan–Lillingston’s father–was just nine. Alan, of course, became one of the most respected horsemen of his generation. He was a champion amateur, notably winning the 1963 Champion Hurdle on the one-eyed Winning Fair, and then proceeded to master a second discipline to win European gold as a three-day eventer. But his most enduring legacy was to give fresh life to the old cobbled stableyard that had previously (bar some minor dabbling in Thoroughbreds by his mother) only housed hunters. “He was helped by his uncle, Geoffrey Brooke at Clarehaven in Newmarket, a special man,” Lillingston explains. “But my father essentially started out with a couple of mares and no money. And then he got a lucky break, when Jocelyn Hambro gave him half of a mare named Trial By Fire. Her son Deep Run became champion 2-year-old of 1968, and the first great stallion John Magnier ever stood.” By which stage Mount Coote was up and running, having already produced another smart juvenile in 1964 Richmond S. and July S. winner Ragtime. Over the following years Mount Coote established a footprint in many key modern pedigrees, not least thanks after its selection by the Whitney family to board its mares in Europe. Mount Coote also bred and sold a filly by Realm, for 6,200gns at Tattersalls in 1976; as Hatta, she became Sheikh Mohammed’s first winner. The partnership with Hambro, meanwhile, came up with a first Classic winner for Mount Coote in One In A Million (1979 1,000 Guineas), subsequently a foundation mare for Egon Weinfeld at Meon Valley. And Tudor Melody stood here before his sale to the National Stud in England, which paid off all debts on the reconstruction of the mansion. “My father took his first horse to Tattersalls in 1958,” says Lillingston. “We had a party for him at the Jockey Club Rooms in 2008, after he had sold horses at Tattersalls for 50 consecutive years, which I think is a fair old achievement. If you go back to the catalogues of the late 1950s, you’ll find very few names that were the same. He did a fantastic job, building it up. Luckily he started breeding horses when the market was really running away, which was undoubtedly lucrative.” “My father was also a fantastic teacher. He got me going on pedigrees when I was about seven or eight. He had shares in horses like Northfields and Home Guard, in some of the early Coolmore sires, and would have retained shares in Tudor Melody. So as a young lad I’d go through The Sporting Life every day and mark out all the horses by those stallions.” That process is being reprised now by Lillingston’s own children, Hugh and Lara, and nor is there any diminution in the quality of the horses in which they can feel involved. In the Prix Vermeille last autumn, for instance, a 14th Group 1 winner graduated from Mount Coote in Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was foaled here. As Lillingston drives the 500 acres of limestone pasture, on his morning feed round, he exudes a gratified sense of his place in the long, patient cycles of husbandry. “Come along ladies!” he calls, as the feed rattles into buckets distributed on compounds of hard standing between the mares’ soggy paddocks. He is a great believer in keeping stock outdoors as much as possible, to absorb the benefits to bone and physiology of the land and climate. He is in his element and, long of shank and straight of back, has become every bit as cherished a figure in the game as was his late father. Again, however, it would be wrong to think of Lillingston merely in terms of continuity. His father made sure of that, sending him off to New York as an impressionable young man to learn how to stand on his own two feet; and to see the business through other eyes. Lillingston has duly adapted his legacy to wear many different hats. The Mount Coote brochure is titled “The Complete Package”, comprising boarding, breeding advice, bloodstock management, sales preparation and consigning. Then there is his association with Lincoln Collins in Lexington, with an ambitious young assistant in his stud office in Charlie Dee. Day by day, then, you never know where a Mount Coote footprint will appear. Most famously, Lillingston and his team realised a European record of 4,700,000gns consigning Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) at the Tattersalls December Sale of 2013. But only the other day Nordic Lights (GB) (Intello {Ger}), bought as a foal by Kern/Lillingston, made it two out of two for Charlie Appleby at the Craven meeting. “The stud is our core business,” Lillingston acknowledges. “We breed 30-odd mares, many with partners: I like doing things with other people. We consign some horses for other people, too, but most of those will have been raised here. We’ve been lucky enough to sell horses for Mrs Tsui, for instance.” “We take our matings very seriously: I think an awful lot about them. I like performance, in the mares we have; if they don’t have it, I like their dams to. But after that obviously understanding pedigrees is very important. I think commercially it’s very challenging. The top of the market was fantastically strong last year, but you’re talking about the top 20%, really, and I don’t think there was a great deal in the way of a trickledown effect.” There is no prospect, however, of extending his repertoire to revive the days of Native Prince, the last stallion his father stood here. Instead Lillingston has built an astute portfolio of seasons, getting aboard on the ground floor with such upwardly mobile stallions as Dark Angel (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}), Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal), Showcasing (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}, Havana Gold (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Cityscape (GB) (Selkirk). “The great thing with horses is that you’ve always got something to look forward to,” he enthuses. Really, those lucky people at Hot To Trot couldn’t ask for a more infectious envoy from the arcane world of the Turf. But Lillingston is candid in his concern that new investment in the industry, on a larger scale, is at the mercy of its own bad apples. “I have met several people in the last year who won’t invest in racing, who won’t participate, because they feel that if they walk in there they’ll be eaten for breakfast,” he says. “And, in some cases, they would be. And that’s awful. There is a review going on, so we’ll see. But I think that if our integrity was better, there would be more confidence in the business. People coming in have to have a fair crack of the whip. Because there’s a shortage of them, there really is.” He hates to be provocative, but is just too decent a man to stand by and say nothing. “I do feel quite strongly about this,” he says. “Because it’s all part of the same thing [as Hot To Trot]: you want more people to come in and enjoy it. I make my living out of it, and feel bloody lucky to do so. The horse is a wonderful animal for people to get together. Have you seen that Guinness advertisement, where the down-and-out from the back streets is put together with a horse on the way to the slaughterhouse? And he says: ‘I don’t know if I saved the horse, or the horse saved me.’ What we have is very special and if people can come in and enjoy it, it can literally change their lives.” View the full article

May is my favorite time of year at Liberation Farm in New Jersey. The harshness of winter on my San Diego toes and fingers has given way to the smiling faces of daffodils and geraniums and fuchsias and to the rejuvenating feel of my hands digging in the softening earth. And of course, it’s Kentucky Derby time, the culmination of every breeder’s dream. It’s a bittersweet time for me, now five years away from weekly trips to the Bluegrass. I don’t miss the airports or hotel rooms, but I greatly miss being around the mares and foals…especially in May…when the newbies jump and dance around in the field experiencing things for the first time, inquisitive, exuberant, inebriated by feeling their own quickness and power like a teenage boy stepping on the accelerator for the first time in his own hot rod. And I miss looking at them and imagining what they’re going to look like when they’re under tack, and whether they’re going to have that same exuberance when they are asked the question at the head of the stretch. This year’s Derby has some nice horses, a much deeper group than we have seen for many years. Two of my personal comforts are represented and both have a big chance…music (Mendelssohn) and red wine (Vino Rosso)…they make a pretty solid hunch exacta. But it looks to me like any one of eight could win if they show up with their “A” game or improve as young 3-year-olds can do. As much as I love this time of year, it nonetheless tugs at my heart and at a semi-buried part of me that would like to have bred a Triple Crown winner before I stepped away. The best I could do was several “early favorites,” a Belmont winner, the dam of two other Belmont winners, and a third in the Derby (and two Kentucky Oaks winners). That said, the thing I miss most is what brought me into the business in the first place…a plain old love of the horse…much like many a schoolgirl’s crush on their first pony. The highlight of my doctoral experience at Berkeley was the day that I discovered nearby Golden Gate Fields and fell in love with the elegance and majesty and athleticism of these special creatures. I miss the tactile connection now, almost as much as I miss a few of the wonderful people who share that same love. I was blessed to be around some very talented horses over the years–champion Meadow Star and over 250 stakes horses and 20 Grade I winners that I helped bring into the world with my knowledge of handicapping and pedigrees. But my favorite was this little guy who never raced. I brought him back from the other side of eternity and it took me six months of daily (sometimes hourly) TLC to help him stabilize and find his own legs after nerve damage during foaling. I fashioned PVC pipe braces with lambs wool inserts and changed them three times a day and dressed his sores that developed from rubbing, waiting for damaged nerves to repair in excruciatingly slow micro-degrees. He had such a will and a playful, determined eye and demeanor, so I persevered and one day he just jumped up and pranced around the stall…so pleased with himself and happy. That for me was much better than any garland of roses. And still is. View the full article

Bob Baffert-trained Justify, who has made just three starts, was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) after drawing post 7. View the full article

John and Susan Sykes' Woodford Thoroughbreds has a deep history with Midnight Bisou, the second choice for the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). View the full article