Wandering Eyes

3rd-KEE, $56,809, Msw, 4-25, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :51.91, my. STAGE LEFT (g, 2, Congrats–Diva Delite {GSW, $300,067}, by Repent), a $15,000 KEESEP yearling and a half-brother to leading GI Kentucky Oaks contender Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), GISW, $450,000, continued the torrid run by trainer Wesley Ward in Keeneland’s baby races with another runaway tally here. Quickly clear through an opening quarter in :22.56, Stage Left kicked for home in command, and despite remaining on his left lead in the stretch, splashed home an easy four-length winner. Dalliance (Dublin) filled the second slot at 75-1. Diva Delite had a colt by Warrior’s Reward in 2017 and was bred back to Wicked Strong. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $36,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Ray Sainz; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC. (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. View the full article

Juddmonte Farms' Hofburg, runner-up in the Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) in his most recent start, made his first visit to the track at Churchill Downs the morning of April 25 in preparation for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). View the full article

Breeders’ Cup, Louisville Visual Art and Churchill Downs will combine to host an art competition to commemorate the 35th running of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs. Through the Official Breeders’ Cup Artist Program, local artists in Louisville will have the opportunity to create the official artwork for the 2018 Breeders’ Cup, to be held Nov. 2-3. The competition tasks artists to develop a custom piece of artwork that encompasses the distinctive qualities of Breeders’ Cup. The piece should incorporate the core visual elements of Breeders’ Cup, Churchill Downs and the city of Louisville while showcasing the beauty and pageantry of the horse racing event. “In honor of the 35th running of the Breeders’ Cup and our return to iconic Churchill Downs, we wanted to engage with the local community and celebrate local artists through this new, innovative program,” said Breeders’ Cup CEO and President Craig Fravel. “We look forward to seeing how artists tap into the vibrant culture and horse racing traditions of Louisville to bring the excitement of Breeders’ Cup to life.” All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of esteemed creatives, horse racing professionals and public figures, including representatives of the Breeders’ Cup, Louisville Visual Art and Churchill Downs, among others. The panel will determine the five finalists of the competition, who will each receive a $500 stipend and have their work displayed for public viewing during Downs After Dark at Churchill Downs June 16, 2018. Fans will then be able to support their favorite entries via onsite text messaging or online voting. Out of the five finalists, one winner will be selected as the Official Artist of the 2018 Breeders’ Cup. The winner will receive a $2,500 commission to create a second art piece centered around the lifestyle and culture of the Breeders’ Cup. The final pieces of artwork will be integrated into a series of Breeders’ Cup promotional materials, including the Official Program covers, hotel key cards and event posters. View the full article

Online voting to select the 2018 Mike Venezia Memorial Award winner will open Friday, Apr. 27, the New York Racing Association announced Wednesday. This year, racing fans will choose among a distinguished group of finalists including Javier Castellano, Joe Bravo, Irad Ortiz, Jr., Jose Ortiz, and Manny Franco. Created in 1989, the Mike Venezia Memorial Award is given to jockeys who display the extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship that defined Venezia, who died as the result of injuries he suffered in a spill in 1988. Venezia, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., won more than 2,300 races during his 25-year career. Fans can make their selection at NYRA.com/Venezia with the online voting period to conclude Tuesday, May 15. The winner will be announced the following day and the award will be presented in a special ceremony at Belmont Park Monday, May 28. Previous winners of the award, given posthumously to Venezia in 1989, include Kendrick Carmouche, Mario Pino, Jon Court, John Velazquez and Ramon Dominguez. View the full article

For all the opinions, ideas, and strategies about promoting the future health of the Thoroughbred industry, I think every breeder and stallion owner can agree on one thing: Horses are our lifeblood. That might sound cliche, but it’s the truth. Horses literally and figuratively are the vehicles for the racing and breeding industries. Their treatment is rightfully the focus of public perception and scrutiny, and, therefore, the sustainability of the Thoroughbred business depends on how we take care of our primary resource both during and after their careers. In recent years, the industry has acknowledged the need for Thoroughbred aftercare and has made strides in funding strategies for groups such as the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), a transparent organization that accredits and grants funds to aftercare programs to ensure our Thoroughbreds are cared for after their racing careers are over. TAA’s funding goes directly to groups that retrain racehorses for second careers or in some cases retire and rehome horses that are the focus of public concern. Beginning in 2012, The Jockey Club (TJC) began contributing $25 from every foal certificate fee to the TAA. Most stud farms have pledged 25% of one stud fee for each stallion as voluntary annual contributions to the TAA. The financial burden for aftercare is being spread across every sector of the industry–sales companies, the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, buyers, sellers, owners, consignors, horseplayers, breeders, racetracks, and more–yet it is unlikely that the current structure is the most fair and proportional it can be. If we are to see future growth in aftercare funding, we need to focus on finding the right balance and greater commitment. Though the industry is more enlightened than it used to be about aftercare and how vital it is for racing’s future, much work remains to be done to fully address aftercare efforts for the approximately 20,000 North American Thoroughbreds foaled each year. How much funding are we providing relative to the amount needed? At this point, the answer is: “Still not enough.” In December, TJC announced it would charge $35 for each mare reported bred on the annual Report of Mares Bred, with the money to be used to further support aftercare initiatives, including the TAA. Importantly, the $35 fee is meant to be a supplement to, not replacement for, the important pre-established voluntary contributions from industry participants. It is true that the $35 fee increases the support from stud farms, and it is up to each farm to determine whether they pass it along to individual shareholders and breeders. But the increase is not disproportionate. As the ones who are engaged in the breeding of horses, we breeders and stallion owners have the responsibility to do more for these animals. We have the most to gain by meeting our obligations for aftercare, and we have the most to lose if we fail to do so. As such, Gainesway plans to continue its support of aftercare through the annual 25% of each stud fee as well as the $35 per-mare fee for mares bred. View the full article

The 37th Asian Racing Conference (ARC), with equine welfare a major focus, will be held in Seoul, South Korea on May 13-18. The second conference of the International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) will also take place in conjunction with ARC on May 14, and on May 17, the ARC will hold an entire session on equine welfare. IFAR’s keynote speak will be The National Horseracing Authority of South Africa Chief Executive Lyndon Barends, who will speak on South Africa aftercare approaches. During the Equine Welfare session of ARC, Racing Australia chair Frances Nelson, QC will discuss Australia’s early foal registration initiatives and the emphasis on increasing racehorse traceability, while The Jockey Club President and COO James L. Gagliano is slated to speak into IFAR’s strategic goals and the significance of the Man O’ War Project, which is aimed at assisting veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder via equine therapy. “We are excited to be bringing the second IFAR conference to the Asian region and we thank the Asian Racing Federation and Korea Racing Authority for hosting us as part of the ARC,” said Di Arbuthnot, the chief executive of Retraining of Racehorses and chair of the IFAR steering group. “The Thoroughbred can excel in countless roles besides racing, and our goal with this conference is to share best practices on an international scale for retraining and rehoming these horses and on marketing their tremendous versatility.” View the full article

The patchy trade seen throughout the breeze-up season so far this year continued at the first French auction of the year at Osarus’s traditional venue of La Teste de Buch racecourse. From an original catalogue of 102 plus three supplementary entries, 81 horses ended up being offered for sale on Tuesday, with 49 of those finding a buyer at a rate of 60%, which was in fact up two points from last year’s sale. Though the median figure dropped slightly from €14,000 to €13,000, the average posted reasonable improvement, settling at €23,585, up from €18,156 in 2017. Overall, turnover just breached seven figures, at €1,039,800. Haras de Saubouas took up its familiar position at the head of the list, selling the top lot and the only six-figure juvenile of the day. The filly from the second crop of Haras de Bouquetot stallion Planteur (lot 78), a half-sister to three winners out of the Testa Rossa (Aus) mare Hijaziyah (Fr), clearly impressed Saubouas principal Paul Basquin throughout her sales prep to the extent that he ended up signing the ticket for her on behalf of a syndicate which plans to send her to local trainer Christophe Ferland. “We liked her a lot and wanted to give her a chance in training,” he said. The Pau-based consignor has now been the leading vendor at the Osarus breeze-up for the last four years and this time around sold eight lots for a total of €280,000. They included another who is heading to Ferland’s stable adjacent to La Teste racecourse, lot 74, a colt by Le Havre. Sold for €70,000 to the trainer, the April-born colt is out of the Thunder Gulch mare Grenadia, a listed-placed winner in France as well as being placed in the GIII Pin Oak Valley View S. in the U.S. Wherever his offspring end up in sales, Dark Angel (Ire) regularly plays a prominent role in proceedings and his sole offering at La Teste (lot 40) was the second-top lot of the day, bought by trainer Frederic Rossi for €90,000. The wild-card entry, consigned by Yann Creff, is out of the unraced Manduro (Ger) half-sister to the Aga Khan’s G1 Prix Vermeille winner Shareta from a strong black-type family which also includes the G1 Irish Oaks winner Shawanda (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}) and her St Leger-winning son Encke (Kingmambo). Already named Sharela (Fr), the filly was bred by Haras de Beauvoir. One of the early leaders and another from Creff’s draft was lot 22, a Rajsaman (Fr) half-brother to the G1 Sun Chariot S. winner Sahpresa (Sahm) as well as six other winners. The colt was signed for at €75,000 by Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore Agency along with Sylvain Vidal and he will race for a partnership including Gerard Augustin-Normand. Overseas buyers at the sale included British-based trainers Paul Webber, Gay Kelleway and George Baker. Assessing the day’s trade, Osarus managing director Emmanuel Viaud said, “The figures have improved from last year so I am happy with that. We know that this has been a difficult market this year but our average price has improved and the good thing is that we have welcomed a number of new buyers to the sale this year. George Baker has previously bought at our September Yearling Sale but not at this sale and it was good to see him as well as some new faces from France. “We have had lots of feedback from vendors and we know that it’s important to offer a sale like this in the middle market in France as the market is very strong in Deauville for yearlings and breeze-up horses. We will now be starting our yearling inspections and we will be looking at between 800 and 1,000 horses for a catalogue of around 270 in September.” View the full article

When Leonard Powell was eight, he wasn’t like the other kids. Football. Scuffles. Comics. Cops and robbers. All the usual mischiefs his snot-nosed peers were getting into were quietly shunned by the young Powell in favor of something altogether more…cultivated. “Me and my brother were pedigree buffs,” explained the French-born trainer recently, the mid-morning sun beating through his Santa Anita office window. “During school at recess, at night, we would teach ourselves who was the great grandad of whatever horse won a couple of days ago. We could recite eight or ten generations.” Not that Powell feared rapped-knuckles for insubordination. “My parents encouraged it,” he said. Which is hardly surprising. For, home happened to be the family’s historic 200-acre Normandy stud farm, le Haras du Lieu des Champs–a timbered-barn glimpse into the 18th Century. Some of the farm’s alumni have gone on to be champions. The 2000 Guineas winner Pennekamp was a product of one of their mares. The last three winners of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris were born and raised there. But this is a farm that seems to have played no small part in shaping the humans nurtured there, too. One of Powell’s brothers, Freddy, is head of bloodstock at Arqana. Another brother, Richard, now runs the farm. Powell’s step-brother, Arnaud Delacour, has been rocketing up the charts on the U.S. East Coast after less than six years a licensed trainer. While over here on the West Coast, Leonard Powell, 41, has been steadily carving these past 14 years a niche for himself as a particularly canny and patient operator at the helm of a barn currently some 18-horses strong. “Even if a horse is doing well, I like to give it a spell for six weeks, which is enough time to freshen it up without losing too much fitness,” Powell said, about a strategy he says has been integral to the remarkable success he’s enjoyed with the gelding Soi Phet (Tizbud), now a resplendent 10 years of age, and poised for yet another campaign. Last year, Soi Phet won his sixth stake race, the E.B. Johnston at Los Alamitos. And his career earnings are just over $100,000 shy of the million-dollar mark. Not bad for a horse Powell claimed for $16,000 five years ago. Then there’s the ex-French filly, Fatale Bere (Pedro the Great), who in just four stateside starts has claimed last year’s Surfer Girl S. and this month’s GIII Providencia S.–a tidy score-card made all the more meritorious considering the tactics Powell has to employ to keep the lid on in the mornings. “She’s very, very tough. She gets a lot out of her gallops,” he said, with dead-pan understatement. Another telling feature of the Powell ethos is an Ernest Shackleton-esque readiness to roll up his sleeves and get stuck in. When Powell is not exercising his own horses, he’s out there on his pony. If you can’t find him on the track, chances are he’s bustling up and down the shed-row. Indeed, a good portion of the interview was conducted with Powell lugging around from stall to stall his ultra-sound machine. “I don’t expect any of my help to do anything I’m not willing to do myself,” he said. When this is your modus operandi, what helps is a grounding that’s pock-marked with a little bit of everything–as his is. He rode as an amateur in France on the flat and over jumps, with a handful of victories to his name (including a 120-1 winner). He’s been a stable lad. Foreman. Assistant trainer. He’s got a business degree from the University of Caen, Normandy. But it all started with the family farm, his father “very much” the slave driver, Powell said (with what seems like a note of pride). “You need a lot of patience when you’re in breeding. It teaches you all the basics.” With high school done and dusted, Powell packed his bags-first off, to Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, and what seems a rite of passage for those masochists with big ambitions. “Mandella was tough. Very tough,” Powell said (again the understatement). But he credits this experience as having the greatest impact on his career. “I was a blank book back then,” he said. “I learned about the general care of horses–more than I did in Europe.” At the turn of the millennium, Powell found himself in Sydney, working for trainer John Hawkes, at Warwick Farm. There, he learned most about fitness, he said-more specifically, the art of keeping horses simmering nicely without boiling over. “The work times don’t matter so much over there,” he said. “It’s all about keeping a horse fit instead of grinding and grinding…They’re very good about not going over the top.” When it came to the 2-year-olds, the Hawkes approach was simple, he said: “stress them early” and then back off. “We would train them hard for a week, two weeks, then send them out–then the next batch come in,” he said, explaining the physical and mental imperative of conditioning young horses. “To me, it’s like a kid that misses pre-school–it’s very hard to catch up.” And it was with Hawkes that Powell saw how beneficial “spelling” a horse could be. “Giving a break to a horse when it’s still on top is far more beneficial than weight. Horses age really well in Australia. You can see it with Winx,” he said, admitting that he would use this strategy more often with his own horses–if able to. “It’s not easy because of the economic factor,” he said. “Some owners, it’s not easy to tell them that his horse is sound and healthy, but he needs a break.” On his way back from Australia, Powell had a two-day stop-over in Singapore. “I ended up staying six months.” He worked for trainer Michael Kent, in a land where, when it rained, “it really rained,” he said. “I remember riding out, it had rained so much, I took my riding boots off and it was like a river that’s pouring out.” Kent’s approach was rooted in science. “He checked blood levels all the time.” Kent used a lactate reader–a device to read the lactic acid levels of his horses, “and he was very acute about the feed–had a good feed program.” Which brings us neatly back to Powell’s own magpie-like approach, taking an idea or two from here, an idea or two from there. “I’ve tried to take the best from everybody,” he said. Like Kent, for example, he monitors the heart-rates of his workers. “That gives me a good idea of their fitness.” But the art of training is more than just the repackaging of other ideas, he said–it’s repackaging them into something identifiably yours. “Patrick Biancone told me, ‘When you train, you cannot just do like everyone else. You have to do something different, otherwise people won’t want to have horses with you,'” Powell said. “And I think what makes me different from other trainers is the time we spend on horses,” he added. “We do seven sets when other guys rush to do ten, twelve.” That, and walking, walking, walking. “It’s a great way to keep your fitness without stressing the joints as much…very good for their red blood cells.” The need to separate and differentiate yourself from the competition is perhaps more keenly felt than ever, considering the current economic climate for trainers in California. “We lack owners,” he said. And as for many of those owners already involved, “they’ll tell you that the big trainers are too big, but they’ll still send their horses to them.” So, how do you expand and grow in an industry that’s contracting? “You have to concentrate on quality,” he said. “You have to buy quality horses because they’re the only ones making money.” He prefers to buy his own horses, find three or four partners only. “That way, you’re spreading the risk, but it still feels like your horse.” And he’ll often keep a share himself–or rather, a share in the name of his wife, Mathilde, his sweetheart from their university days, when she was an economics major. They have three daughters: Louise, 13, Blanche, 12, and Jeanne, 8. “The one thing I’m most proud of is the fidelity of my owners–all my owners have been very loyal to me,” he said, attributing a portion of this to the shares he keeps in Mathilde’s name–i.e. there’s nothing like skin in the game to demonstrate sincerity. “I really see the owner-trainer relationship as that of husband and wife. You have to trust each other.” Which in turn pivots us all the way back to the beginning, for there’s an interesting duality to Powell which harkens back to those childhood days, his nose buried in pedigree books. That’s because, for all his forward thinking, the ferreting out of new techniques to bring about that extra length or so of improvement in his horses, there’s a deeper appreciation for the fundamentals of the game, grounded in loyalty and hard work. A respect for the foundational traditions. Just take a glimpse at the bookshelf at his barn: “Les Grandes Courses Francaises 2004,” a faded “International Horseman’s Dictionary,” and a dusty looking “History of the Thoroughbred in California.” One on John Henry. Another on “The British Racehorse.” And the rose bushes decorating Powell’s barn are given extra resonance considering the books he has at home on Sir Henry Cecil. And so, when Powell tells the story of how Richard Mandella–a name synonymous with the “old school” as any–once complimented him after a win, it’s easy to understand why that particular trainer’s words have stuck with him above all others. I had, of course, to do a bit of fact-checking, make sure the anecdote isn’t apocryphal. “He did good–I thought he did a good job,” Mandella said, dusting off the old memories. Then, he added: “I admire him. He’s got a great little family. He does a good job with his horses. And I’ve been impressed with how he conducts his business.” Can’t say fairer than that. 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There was just one seven-figure yearling sold during the second session of Bloodstock South Africa’s National Yearling Sale on Wednesday. That was a son of Ideal World (Kingmambo), himself a son of the blueblooded Group 1 winner Banks Hill (GB) (Danehill) (lot 340) bought by trainer Dennis Drier for R1,000,000 ($80,168/£57,496/€65,837). Consigned by Mauritzfontein Stud, which also provided Tuesday’s top lot, the colt is the second foal of the placed Alouette (SAf) (Spectrum {Ire}). Mauritzfontein and Ideal World also provided the session’s highest-priced filly (lot 232), who was picked up by Jehan Malherbe’s Form Bloodstock for R500,000. GI Kentucky Derby winner Flower Alley, who stands in Japan at Big Red Farm, is the sire of a colt from Wilgerbosdrift Stud that made R650,000 from Worldwide Bloodstock (lot 284). That one is the first foal out of the stakes-placed Square Dance (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), herself a daughter of the G2 Gold Circle Oaks and G2 Dubai City of Gold S. winner Front House (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells). View the full article

Great jockey championships happen in slow motion but if this season’s title race could be said to have had a moment when the vague mirage of a contest between Joao Moreira and Zac Purton took on real form, it was the final race at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. A white-hot Purton had already slammed home four winners to Moreira’s one, closing his deficit to eight wins. But when it looked to all the world like the Magic Man had edged his lead out again when Storm Signal hit the... View the full article

Crossed Baton debuted with a sixth, behind subsequent G2 Royal Lodge S. victor and G1 Racing Post Trophy runner-up Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy), in an Aug. 18 one-mile novice event at Newmarket. He shed maiden status over the same trip at Sandown in his only other juvenile start Sept. 15 and lined up for this black-type bow coming off a snug defeat of the dual stakes-placed Tigre du Terre (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) in a 10-panel all-weather heat at Kempton last time Mar. 31. Sent to the fore after the initial exchanges, the crowd’s second choice made a smooth transition through Tattenham Corner and kept on relentlessly under ever-increasing persuasion inside the final quarter mile to hold the late surge of My Lord And Master (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) for a career high. He follows in the hoofprints of Christophermarlowe (Tapit), So Mi Dar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to provide the John Gosden-Frankie Dettori axis with a fourth straight score in a contest elevated to listed level this year. Crossed Baton is a half-brother to the 2-year-old filly Viadera (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) and a yearling colt by Mastercraftsman (Ire), and he is one of two scorers, and the leading performer, produced by a winning daughter of Listed James Seymour S. victress Quandary (Blushing Groom {Fr}), herself a half-sister to three stakes performers headed by G1 Prix du Moulin heroine All At Sea (Riverman). The homebred bay shares Quandary as a second dam with MG1SW sire Twice Over (GB) (Observatory), G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud victress Passage of Time (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and G1 Falmouth S. winner Timepiece (GB) (Zamindar). Wednesday, Epsom, Britain INVESTEC BLUE RIBAND TRIAL-Listed, £50,000, EPS, 4-25, 3yo, 10f 17yT, 2:11.35, gd. 1–CROSSED BATON (GB), 127, c, 3, by Dansili (GB) 1st Dam: Sacred Shield (GB), by Beat Hollow (GB) 2nd Dam: Quandary, by Blushing Groom (Fr) 3rd Dam: Lost Virtue, by Cloudy Dawn 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £28,355. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $52,089. 2–My Lord And Master (Ire), 127, c, 3, Mastercraftsman (Ire)–Affability (Ire), by Dalakhani (Ire). (65,000gns Ylg ’16 TAOCT). O-T Bridge. £10,750. 3–Dee Ex Bee (GB), 127, c, 3, Farhh (GB)–Dubai Sunrise, by Seeking the Gold. O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. £5,380. Margins: HD, 1 1/4, 2. Odds: 2.75, 5.00, 1.85. Also Ran: James Cook (Ire), Simpson (Ire), Zabriskie (Ire), Miles Christianus (Ire), Technological (GB). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Four-time group race winner Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is currently standing his first season at the National Stud in Newmarket, will shuttle to New Zealand’s Little Avondale Stud this year after that operation purchased his Southern Hemisphere breeding rights. He will stand for NZ$10,000. National Stud Chairman Guy Roxburghe said, “We are hugely excited to be teaming up with New Zealand’s longest-established stallion stud to offer Time Test to breeders there. His first season at stud here in England has been a great success and we really couldn’t have wished for a stronger list of breeding right supporters, all of whom have sent him some really wonderful mares.” Little Avondale principal Sam Williams said, “We are extremely proud and excited to be standing Time Test here at Little Avondale. It has been over four decades since we stood the English-bred Oncidium, who won the [G1] Coronation Cup and went on to become New Zealand’s champion sire. Time Test has a wonderful pedigree by a champion sire and from a very strong female line. He is an impressive, athletic individual with a very kind eye; however, it was his performance on the track that really caught my attention. He had a unique toughness and a super turn of foot. It is these credentials that Time Test brings with him that will appeal to New Zealand breeders.” View the full article

Hong Kong-based jockey Nash Rawiller has been banned for 15 months for tipping, and having bets himself, on horses he rode. The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s charges stated that the 43-year-old Rawiller on two occasions accepted, “pecuniary or other gifts or other considerations for providing tips in respect of horses he rode,” and also that he had an interest in bets placed on horses he rode on multiple occasions. “The Club’s handling of this matter demonstrates the expert nature and strength of the Club’s systems for the prevention and detection of breaches of the Rules of Racing, and our unwavering resolve to ensure the highest standards of the integrity in Hong Kong racing,” said Andrew Harding, Executive Director of Racing for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Rawiller, former stable rider to Gai Waterhouse and the partner of such luminaries as More Joyous (NZ) (More Than Ready) and Pierro (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}), currently sits third in the Hong Kong jockeys’ standings. The ban is effective immediately. View the full article

Trainer Tony Cruz is confident jockey Kerrin McEvoy can handle the pressure of riding Pakistan Star in Sunday’s Audemars Piguet QE II Cup after the Australian was revealed as the problem horse’s new rider. British-based Brazilian Silvestre de Sousa had been booked to ride Pakistan Star but informed connections he could not make the trip on Wednesday. Cruz turned to McEvoy, a winner of more than 1,400 races with extensive international experience and a rider Cruz called “world... View the full article

Twenty-six colts were left in the May 5 G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas at Wednesday’s latest scratching stage, and 20 fillies were left in the following day’s G1 Qipco 1000 Guineas. Aidan O’Brien has left six in the 2000 Guineas, headed by G1 Racing Post Trophy winner Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and G2 Superlative S. winner Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). G3 Craven S. winner Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) remains eligible, as does last weekend’s G3 Greenham S. winner James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) and the Mar. 3 Listed Spring Cup winner Headway (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}), who galloped over the Rowley Mile on Wednesday morning. “His gallop this morning was exactly how I hoped it would be,” said Headway’s trainer William Haggas. “He’s in pretty good shape and just needed a nice blow out. I wanted him to work with two other decent horses to encourage him to relax. He handled the dip well and he’s on top of his game. He needs fast ground so it suited us to bring him here for a gallop rather than race him on soft. We wouldn’t run him in the Guineas on soft ground.” “On pedigree he should stay, he just needs to relax,” Haggas added. “We hope that he can improve and he has a turn of speed that gives him a chance in an open year.” Aidan O’Brien has also left six fillies in the 1000 Guineas, headed by two-time Group 1 winner Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who just missed at the top level on a few occasions last year. Other entries of note include Godolphin’s G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Wild Illusion (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and G1 Fillies’ Mile winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). View the full article

Seven countries are represented among the initial entries for Royal Ascot’s Group 1 races. The potential visitors include 12 from the U.S., three each from Australia and Japan and one, G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize winner Lucky Bubbles (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}), from Hong Kong. Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Communications at Ascot, said, “We’re very pleased with the variety and quality of the Royal Ascot entries this year. Seven countries, including Britain, are represented, and amongst them a Hong Kong Chairman’s Sprint Prize winner, two U.S.-trained Breeders’ Cup winners and a dual winner of the Group 1 Newmarket H. in Australia. One of the great storylines of the 2017 meeting was the owners’ title, which went to the final race, the Queen Alexandra S., with Coolmore just pipping Godolphin. With a record 110 entries from Ireland, a large number of them naturally from the Coolmore team, and after the flying start to the year by Godolphin, it looks like the 2018 competition will be just as competitive.” The U.S. contingent is led by defending G1 King’s Stand S. winner Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) as well as 2017 Breeders’ Cup winners Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic) and Rushing Fall (More Than Ready). Australian Group 1-winning sprinters Redkirk Warrior (GB) (Notnowcato {GB}), Shoals (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and Merchant Navy (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) are expected to face off on the meeting’s final day in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. Japanese trainer Kazuo Fujisawa could send two for the G1 St James’s Palace S.: Godolphin’s Tower Of London (Jpn) (Raven’s Pass) , as well as Fast Approach (Jpn) (Dawn Approach {Ire}). Hong Kong’s Lucky Bubbles will attempt to defend his Chairman’s Sprint Prize title on Sunday, and trainer Francis Lui said, “Royal Ascot is one of the most prestigious race meetings in the world and it will be a great honour for us to participate. As we have a suitable horse to be entered for the meeting, I decided to have an entry and would say that Lucky Bubbles will have a great chance to go.” View the full article

I Am Invincible (Aus), currently second behind Snitzel (Aus) on Australia’s general sires’ table, will stand for A$192,500 this year, up from A$110,000 in 2017. The son of Invincible Spirit has been on an upward trajectory since being crowned champion first-season sire in 2013/14, and his 18 stakes winners this season is also second only to Snitzel. I Am Invincible had five seven-figure yearlings at the recent Inglis Easter sale and was that sale’s second-leading sire by average behind Fastnet Rock (Aus) (three or more sold), with 34 sold averaging A$548,529. I Am Invincible will be joined at Yarraman Park this season by his Group 1-winning son Hellbent (Aus), who is offered at an introductory fee of A$27,500. Hellbent capped his career on Mar. 23 with a win in the G1 William Reid S. over 1200 metres. Yarraman Park also stands Snitzel’s three-quarter brother Hinchinbrook (Aus), whose Seabrook (NZ) won last weekend’s G1 Champagne S. after contesting all three legs of the Sydney 2-year-old Triple Crown. Click here for a video with Yarraman Park’s Arthur Mitchell discussing the service fees. View the full article

Top Australian jockey Nash Rawiller has been banned for 15 months after Hong Kong Jockey Club stewards charged him with accepting money or gifts in return for race tips. The jockey was charged at a Jockey Club hearing at Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday morning and was given two 15-month bans that will be served concurrently. Rawiller was charged with having breached Rule of Racing 59 (2) and (3). Rule of Racing 59 (2) states that “no jockey shall accept or agree to any pecuniary or... View the full article

The last time Blizzard ran over anything further than 1,400 metres, he was four years old and undergoing the regular rite of passage for good horses of that age in Hong Kong, persevering his way through classic events that were not really his forte. He soldiered through bravely with placings in the Classic Mile and Classic Cup before failing in the Derby, then trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai switched him back to sprinting for his next 15 starts. So, with Blizzard coming off a solid fifth in the... View the full article

If there were any questions about Tommy Berry’s readiness to ride again after a trial fall on Tuesday, they were answered at Sha Tin trackwork on Wednesday morning as his Japanese mount in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize on Sunday answered some questions of his own. The jockey fell at Sha Tin when his mount, Agree, collapsed and died in a trial but Berry was confident there would be no interruption to his week as he heads towards Champions Day on Sunday with the sit on the talented... View the full article

Sprint or Mile a Gray area for Lim's Cruiser View the full article

Sky Rocket ready to explore new heights View the full article

Polytrack main hurdle to Aramco's bid for second Leg View the full article

CC Wong suspended two days View the full article

OCALA, FL–The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s April Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds sale got off to a good start Tuesday in Central Florida with steady trade and an increase in average and median over last year’s opening session. A total of 151 of the 210 juveniles offered sold for $15,083,000 compared to last term’s opening session, when 185 of 222 youngsters to pass through the ring sold for a gross of $15,675,700. The average was up 17.8% from $84,734 to $99,887 and the median increased 14.6% from $48,000 to $55,000. “We are off to a good start,” said Tom Ventura, OBS President. “I am very pleased with how the day went. There was a lot of concern about how the buyers would react to the day that was affected by the weather on Monday’s breeze show. The times were a little slower than the rest of the week. We do have a sophisticated buying base here and the results showed that. Our top five horses sold to five different buyers and there was good activity below that.” Fifty-nine 2-year-olds failed to sell for an RNA rate of 28.1%. At the close of business during the 2017 opening session, 53 horses failed to meet their reserves for a buyback rate of 23.9%, but after post sales were included, the buy-back rate fell to 16.7%. The session was topped by an $800,000 Quality Road filly (hip 95) purchased by Frank Fletcher Racing. She was consigned by Eddie Woods, who was Tuesday’s leading seller with 11 horses bringing $2,040,000. Alex and JoAnn Lieblong bought the day’s highest-priced colt in Hip 144, a $550,000 son of freshman sire Strong Mandate from the consignment of Randy Miles. “The market seems fine,” Miles said after the colt went through the ring. “I’ve had four horses sell so far and they all sold except for one. I think it is a good market. We’ve had some big ticket items sell, so it seems fine. We were a little worried early when we first got started. I’m having a good day so I’m not complaining.” Ten juveniles brought over $300,000 compared to 2017 when only five surpassed that number. Selling continues Wednesday through Friday with sessions beginning at 10:30 a.m. Fletcher Strikes for Quality Road Filly Arkansas businessman Frank Fletcher, who has been a major factor in absentia at recent OBS sales, was on hand to personally sign the ticket at $800,000 to acquire a filly by Quality Road during Tuesday’s first session of the April sale. “I’ve been buying colts down here for years and I decided I needed to get on the other side of the track a little bit and buy some ladies,” Fletcher said. “She looked very good.” The dark bay filly (hip 95) is out of Betty Brite (Medaglia d’Oro), who is out of a full-sister to Tiznow. She was consigned by Eddie Woods and worked a quarter during last week’s under-tack preview in :22 flat. Fletcher, whose business interests include the Fletcher Auto Group, purchased a colt by Into Mischief for $400,000 at last year’s OBS April sale and set a then-record at the June sale in 2015 when going to $575,000 for another son of the same sire. “I haven’t been here personally in two or three years, but I’ve bought a lot of horses here,” Fletcher said. “I haven’t been here since they started remodeling, but I love Ocala. This is a great place and hopefully I’ll be able to buy two or three more horses at the sale.” He continued, “We are excited. It’s always a gamble, it’s a gambling business. But it’s a fun business and I travel all over the country going to races–it’s what I do for fun.” Bred by John Gunther, Eurowest Bloodstock and Celebre Investments, hip 95 RNA’d for $190,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. After the buy-back, bloodstock agent Pete Bradley purchased a 50% interest in the filly from Gunther. “She just kept getting better all along,” Bradley said of the filly. “Eddie Woods and Angela did such a great job with her because she was backwards when we bought her. The frame was there and she had the natural talent, but they got her to be what she brought.” Of the filly’s final price tag, Bradley said, “We knew she would sell well, but that was more than we had expected.” Quality Road, sire of last year’s Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly Abel Tasman and champion 2-year-old filly Caledonia Road, was also represented Tuesday in Ocala by hip 127, a bay filly from the King’s Equine consignment who sold for $310,000 to Susan Moulton. —@JessMartiniTDN Lieblong Strikes For Strong Mandate Colt Alex Lieblong had his eye on Hip 144, a son of freshman sire Strong Mandate, before he ever stepped foot on the sales grounds and he was the last man standing at the end of a spirited round of bidding at OBS Tuesday to take the juvenile home for $550,000. “I liked everything about him,” the Arkansas native said. “Anyone that can work :10 flat in that wind is a big step above. Bo [Hunt] breaks a lot of my horses, so when I am buying something off Bo I have complete faith. He did a great job with him and I got to watch the horse train. They’ve done right by the horse all along.” As for the price, Lieblong said, “I’ll be honest with you, I thought he’d go a little higher, but I’m glad he didn’t.” Lieblong plans to send his new purchase to Ron Moquett, who was seated alongside the owner when he signed the ticket. “Ron will probably get that one,” said Lieblong, who campaigned Grade I winners The Big Beast (Yes It’s True) and Embellish the Lace (Super Saver) with his wife JoAnn. “I have to make sure I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings if I say that too quick. He’s had a little illness, but he is getting over that, so this might speed up his recovery.” Hip 144 is from the first crop of GI Hopeful S. winner Strong Mandate (Tiznow), whose offspring have proven quite popular in the sales ring. He was represented by an $825,000 filly at last term’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale and a $775,000 colt at last month’s OBS March sale. “I love him,” Lieblong said of the young stallion. “He’s by Tiznow and I saw him when he won at Saratoga. For a Tiznow to be able to do that early, it pumps me up a little bit because I know the Tiznows are good later on, but when they start doing that early, it shows me a little more athleticism.” Consignor Randy Miles expressed similar sentiments about the Three Chimneys stallion. “We’ve had three at the farm this year,” he said. “They are all good, big, rugged horses and seem precocious. I like them.” Miles bought Hip 144 through his Royal Flush Racing partnership for $60,000 at last term’s Fasig-Tipton October sale. Bred by Robert Lail, the dark bay is out of Callous Effect (Majestic Warrior) and hails from the family of Grade I winner Pharma (Theatrical {Ire}). “We stretched to buy him as a yearling because we liked him so much,” Miles said. “We bought him from Brandywine at the October sale. We got him home and we have loved him ever since.” While Miles was not surprised by the colt’s final prize, he was shocked when he saw who the buyer was. “Bo works on these horses and Mr. Lieblong is a client of ours,” Miles said. “We had no idea he was going to buy this horse. He fooled us. He watched the horse on the farm and saw him here at the barn, but when I saw he was signing the ticket, I was shocked. It was a good surprise. It’s nice when your own people have faith in you, and he does. He has a lot of faith in what Bo does for him.” —@CDeBernardisTDN Daisy Dukes Produces for Eisamans Barry and Shari Eisaman enjoyed sales success as breeders Tuesday in Ocala when a colt by Big Drama sold to Klaravich Stable for $475,000. The Eisamans bred the juvenile (hip 245) under their Eico Ventures banner out of the mare Daisy Dukes (Ghazi). “We’ve had that mare since she was a weanling, so everything that she has done has been for us,” Barry Eisaman said. “She’s been a good mare. She’s retired now.” Daisy Dukes is also the dam of Japanese stakes winner Surplus Singer (Songandaprayer). Her Big Drama colt, who worked a furlong in :10 flat last week, was a standout, according to Eisaman. “He is an outstanding prospect,” Eisaman said. “They got a wonderful, wonderful race prospect. That was a generous amount of money, but I think Big Drama might have been something that would maybe have held some people back. But this is a superior athlete. He’s fast, healthy and correct.” —@JessMartiniTDN He’s Had Enough Juveniles Proving Popular The first crop of juveniles by He’s Had Enough (Tapit), runner-up in the 2012 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, are turning heads in the sales ring this spring. Lane’s End Bloodstock, on behalf of West Point Thoroughbreds and Robert Masiello, went to $370,000 to secure hip 276 from the Grassroots Training & Sales consignment and about an hour later bloodstock agent Gary Young purchased a gray colt (hip 305) by the stallion for $320,000. “He’s had a bunch of good-moving horses,” Young said of He’s Had Enough, who stands at Woodford Thoroughbreds for $5,000. “I tried buying the one that Grassroots had earlier that was really nice and Ciaran Dunne had one at Barretts that was nice. The one that Ciaran had at Barretts and this one here were grays. The one that David McKathan [of Grassroots] had that I tried to buy about an hour earlier was chestnut. But they are good, long-striding horses. They don’t look like they are going to be 5 1/2 furlong horses.” Dunne’s Wavertree Stables sold a colt by He’s Had Enough (hip 40) for $160,000 at last month’s Barretts Spring Sale. Of hip 305, who worked a quarter last week in :21 3/5, Young said, “I just really liked this horse. He looks like Tapit. And He’s Had Enough looks like Tapit. We’ll see.” Consigned by Eddie Woods, the gray colt was purchased by Quarter Pole Enterprises for $40,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton July sale. He is out of Elizabits (Forestry), a half-sister to the dam of graded stakes winner Onlyforyou (Malibu Moon). Grassroots purchased hip 276 for $62,000 at the Fasig July sale. The chestnut, a half-brother to stakes wiinner Discreet Lover (Repent), worked a furlong in :10 flat last week. Asked if he was surprised to have to pay that much for a son of the young stallion, Young said, “Before the 2-year-old sales started I would have been surprised, but there are other people who can tell you, he throws a good-moving horse. He was a nice horse as a racehorse, but he throws a nice-looking horse and a nice-moving horse. I hope we get to prove that right in about five months.” —@JessMartiniTDN View the full article