Wandering Eyes

Eddie Truman, a longtime Southern California trainer who died Dec. 11 at age 77, never met an activity he didn't want to try. View the full article

The Rangiora all weather track was inspected this week following severe winds last Sunday, leaving it in need of repairs. John Denton and the Rangiora track staff will spend Monday/Tuesday undertaking remedial work, including applying a significant amount of new material onto the surface. Current expectation is it will be completed next week and in time for the next all weather meeting on January 1. Rangiora will also host a 10 race programme on the grass this Sunday. View the full article

Port Lockroy. Photo: Bradleyphotos.com.au Annabel Neasham is hopeful that last-start Group 1 winner Port Lockroy will finish his preparation on a high as he tackles the Group 2 Ingham (1600m). The four-year-old, who claimed the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) three weeks ago in Perth, is now back on the east coast and faces a significant weight rise in the $2 million contest. However, Neasham, who trains in partnership with Rob Archibald, believes the entire deserves his chance. “He had to fly back into Melbourne because that was the only option,” Neasham told Sky Sports Radio. “He had just under a week there to break up the trip, and he’s back in Sydney. “He galloped on Tuesday, he’s very fit now so he doesn’t take much work. He won with 53 kilos on his back, and he’s carrying 58 on Saturday now he has that higher rating. “He has confidence, and we think the mile is his sweet spot. It’d be a nice way to end the preparation if we could knock off another big race with him.” Port Lockroy, rated $11 with horse racing bookmakers, is one of two horses in The Ingham for the stable and has a much easier draw in barrier three than stablemate Mighty Ulysses, who is set to jump from gate 20 in the capacity field of 24. Horse racing news View the full article

The Map. (Photo by George Sal/Racing Photos) The Map has returned to work in preparation for another attempt at the Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m), a race in which the mare finished second last season. The six-year-old was last seen finishing ahead of only two rivals as a $71 outsider in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), having earned her place in the Flemington feature by winning the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2800m) in May. Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray’s nine-time winner enjoyed a short break in the paddock following her latest run but is now gearing up for another shot at the South Australian Group 2 feature in mid-March. “She’s back in, she’s come through the run very well and had three weeks in the paddock. “She’s been back in swimming and walking, so we’re more than happy with where she’s at,” MacGillivray told Racing.com. Horse racing news View the full article

Here To Shock. Photo: Bradleyphotos.com.au Here To Shock could be set to head to Pakenham to chase the significant prize money on offer in The Supernova, with an 800-metre jump-out at Flemington on Friday potentially determining whether the 11-time winner lines up just eight days later. Co-trainers Ben, Will, and JD Hayes already have Arkansaw Kid confirmed as a runner in the $1 million contest on December 21, with the Group 2 winner taking Cavallo Park’s slot. Lindsay Park Racing also holds a slot in the race. Although plans are still to be confirmed, Ben Hayes mentioned on Wednesday that Here To Shock is in the mix to fill that slot. “Here To Shock has won almost $2 million in prize money and has been freshened since his unplaced run in the $3 million Big Dance (1600m) on November 5,” Hayes said. “Unfortunately, with 62 kilos in the Big Dance, and the mile, it just sorted him out.” Meanwhile, Hayes noted that Arkansaw Kid has trained on well since his close second to Welwal in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes (1400m). “He still ran really well and did everything correct, so he will head there (to The Supernova) and he’s in great form,” Hayes added. Horse racing news View the full article

Explore a multitude of captivating racing promotions offered by horse racing bookmakers on Friday, December 13. Immerse yourself in the thrill with generous bonus back offers, elevating your betting experience. Delve into these promotions from top-tier online bookmakers to maximise your betting opportunities. The top Australian racing promotions for December 13, 2024, include: Today’s best horse racing promotions Double Winnings All Races At Moonee Valley Get DOUBLE WINNINGS paid in BONUS CASH for your first bet on each race at Moonee Valley. Applies to Win, Place & Top 2/3/4 markets (excludes SRM). Max bonus $50. Picklebet T&Cs apply. Login to pickleBet to Claim Promo Friday Bonus Back 2nd ALL RACES at Canterbury Auto-applied in Bet Slip. Limits apply. Min 6 runners. Fixed odds only. T&C’s apply. Login to UniBet to Claim Promo Moonee Valley R1-3 | Run 2nd or 3rd Bonus Back up to $25 Run 2nd or 3rd in Races 1-3 at Moonee Valley on Friday and receive a bonus back up to $25. PlayUp T&Cs apply. Login to PlayUp to Claim Promo Blonde Boosts Elevate Your Prices! BlondeBet T&C’s Apply. Login to BlondeBet to Claim Promo Same Race Multi – Select 2-4 runners in the same race to get bigger odds Available from approximately 8:30am local track time on race day. Availability dependent on field size. Neds T&C’s Apply. Login to Neds to Claim Promo Odds Drift Protector If the price at the jump is bigger than the price that you took, we will pay you out at the bigger odds Eligible customers. T&C’s apply. Login to Bet365 to Claim Promo Best Tote and Starting Price Guarantees a dividend equal to the highest of the official win dividend paid by the three Australian TAB pools or the official starting price. Maximum stake: $2,000. 18+ Gamble Responsibly. Login to BoomBet to Claim Promo Daily Multi Insurance Any race. Any runner. Any odds. Get a bonus back if your multi loses. Check your Vault for eligibility Login to UniBet to Claim Promo Top 4 Betting. Extra Place. Every Race. Bet and win up to 4th place. Picklebet T&Cs apply. Login to pickleBet to Claim Promo How does horsebetting.com.au source its racing bonus offers? HorseBetting.com.au meticulously assesses leading Australian horse racing bookmakers, revealing thoroughbred bonus promotions for December 13, 2024. These ongoing offers underscore the dedication of top horse racing bookmakers. In the realm of horse racing betting, when one bookmaker isn’t featuring a promotion, another is stepping up. Count on HorseBetting.com.au as your go-to source for daily rewarding horse racing bookmaker bonuses. Enhance your value with competitive odds and promotions tailored for existing customers. Easily access these offers by logging in to each online bookmaker’s platform. For valuable insights into races and horses to optimise your bonus bets, trust HorseBetting’s daily free racing tips. Horse racing promotions View the full article

The Fasig-Tipton Digital Platform launched in March 2022, with 10 lots selling for $856,000, topped by a share in the stallion Almanzor (Fr) that made $250,000. Suffice to say that 33 months later, the platform has found its footing and has increasingly gained acceptance in the marketplace. The just-concluded December Digital sale looked a whole lot different than that inaugural event, as better than 400 horses were reported as sold, resulting in turnover of over $10 million, believed by sales officials to be the highest-grossing sale of its kind anywhere at any time. Year-end statistics further confirm the foothold the Fasig-Tipton Digital platform has secured in the broader sales arena. During 2022, the auction house reported sales on 277 horses for roughly $9.9 million. With the buying public a bit more accustomed to the process in 2023, gross sales increased by 9.1% to $10.8 million, while the raw number of horses that changed hands grew to 465. When bidding closed Wednesday evening following the first digital sale to be held across multiple sessions, a total of 1,417 horses found new homes for annual turnover of $45.5 million. And with that, the Fasig-Tipton Digital Platform seems to have well and truly arrived, both during their monthly sales as well as the pop-up or 'Flash' sales when the situation dictates. “This has been the year of real buy-in from the market,” said Leif Aaron, director of digital sales for Fasig-Tipton. “Every sale we have new buyers participating which is growing the game. We had 85 buyers in this sale that had never bought previously from Fasig-Tipton. “This is a massive benefit to breeders and owners. We are increasing demand, growing the market and providing the same top-class service that we always have.” Aaron paid tribute to his fellow team members who helped facilitate the December Digital Sale in pretty short order. “I'm very proud of our team for what just happened,” he said. “We put this sale together in two weeks–two weeks. Let that sink in, 650 horses from all over the country needing pedigrees, vetting, stallion service certs, vaccinations, questionnaires, past performances, advertising, sales tax laws. It is a massive undertaking and the traditional consignors continue to prove their worth.” The utility of regularly scheduled bloodstock sales needs no real explaining, and the Fasig-Tipton Digital platform has become a primary outlet for those looking to capitalize on race results, pedigree updates and other factors that could contribute to asset appreciation. Case in point: the 2-year-old Good Magic filly Cruz Ramirez, previously sold for $165,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale, won her maiden as the odds-on favorite at Laurel Park on Dec. 8 for NET Racing and trainer Brittany Russell. Looking to quickly cash in on that success, the bay was entered into Tuesday's second session of the December Digital Sale and was sold on to owner George Barnes for $260,000. ELiTE sales consigned. “From a timing standpoint, the horse broke her maiden on a Sunday, we did what we do to get her vetted and all that and the horse sold on the following Tuesday. That's how digital platforms can be best utilized,” said ELiTE's Bradley Weisbord. But to every action, there is always opposed an equal reaction–so say's Newton's third law–and in the case of digital sales, that has the potential to lead to supply-chain issues. “There is no doubt this is going to effect in-person sales,” Aaron commented. “Keeneland has its smallest January [Horses of All Ages] sale in history, it will effect the Fasig-Tipton [Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale in February] numbers also.” Aaron sees it as a balancing-out of the marketplace. “It's what the market is demanding and we are going to provide services to our customers that fit their needs,” he said. “Online is not for all horses and we will continue to work hard in the brick-and-mortar market.” Aaron also believes there can be a trickle-down effect from the success of digital sales. “Growing the regional markets at this point is very important,” he said. “The whole industry needs growth and I feel like Digital has been and will continue to be a huge part of that. It makes assets more liquid and gives everyone more action.” The heights reached by the Fasig-Tipton Digital Platform after just a bit more than 2 1/2 years notwithstanding, Aaron is focused on not getting complacent or taking the success for granted. “2024 has been an incredibly exciting year for us and I am very proud of the Fasig team, our consignors our buyers and sellers,” he said. “We are still working on improving the process, getting better all the time with every sale and doing the best job we can do for our clients. We are rolling out 10 scheduled sales for 2025 and I expect another year of exponential growth.” The post Fasig-Tipton Digital Platform Continues From Strength To Strength appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fresh Start Sport Horses, a CARMA aftercare charity, is hosting a Southern California Holiday Party for the Horses Saturday at Temescal Ranch near Piru. With the party starting at noon, guests are invited to bring a gift, sponsor a horse, or make a donation. Every dollar donated goes to hay, farrier, veterinary care, feed, and supplies, with breakdowns following: Bag of bedding: $12 Bale of hay: $25-$35 Bag of grain: $40 Farrier: $150 Feed for one month: $350 Training for one horse for one month: $750 Full training and care of one horse: $1,400 Click here for the invitation and to RSVP. The post SoCal Party for the Horses Saturday at Temescal Ranch appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Nearly two years ago, just prior to the 2023 breeding season, Ashford Stud's Robyn Murray spoke about Munnings on camera. At the time, she said: “Theoretically the best is still yet to come and we're so excited for him… We would expect all of this to elevate him over the next couple years.” As the horses conceived that season, the year Munnings stood for $100,000, are currently just weanlings, her words seem prescient given the results of last weekend, when undefeated 2-year-olds by the Ashford Stud sire swept both divisions of the juvenile graded stakes at Aqueduct. It's also easy to understand why Adrian Mansergh-Wallace, who has watched the stallion's rise from the early days and has been with Coolmore for more than two decades, speaks of Munnings with a palpable pride etching his voice. “As a stallion he has done it the hard way. He's a horse that's really a rags to riches story in that he started at $12,500 and graded down from there until his first runners hit, but now he's one of those horses that's in the same bracket as your Twirling Candys and ever-reliable stallions. “He has hopefully got two really good prospects, maybe even three or four, for the Classics, so last weekend getting those two Grade II winners up in New York was fantastic. He's a horse we're obviously immensely proud of.” A striking individual, as evidenced by his $1.7-million pricetag at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, Munnings was bred in Kentucky by Dan Tayloe and Glencrest Farm. A member of the first crop of champion sprinter Speightstown, he sent tongues wagging early with a spectacular breeze at the sale, officially working a furlong in :10 but galloping out in a reported :33 or :33 1/5, depending on the watch. Named a 'TDN Rising Star' on debut, Munnings placed in the GI Hopeful Stakes and GI Champagne Stakes at two before reeling off a trio of Grade II events and four more Grade I placings at three and four as a Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith colorbearer. From the wonderful and prolific Lady Winborne (Secretariat) family, he was retired to Ashford for the 2011 season. Munnings has made the most of the years since. “When you look back at what he sold for as a 2-year-old and how he breezed at Fasig-Tipton, you see he had tremendous ability on the track and was very, very fast,” said Mansergh-Wallace. “But he's the sire now of six Grade I winners and numerous Grade II winners around the world. Coming off the weekend he just had, he's an old stalwart of the game. “He's a wonderful servant for Ashford. He's just a very reliable stallion, even though he's now about to be 19, in terms of producing racehorses and sales horses.” Sire of 81 black-type winners to date from his 11 crops to race, Munnings ranks among the top 10 North American-based sires in 2024 on both the general list and the 2-year-old list. Year in and year out, the number of stakes winners among his tally is consistently amongst the assemblage of top sires in the nation. While the chestnut's 2024 runners include GI Aristocrat Franklin-Simpson Stakes winner Howard Wolowitz, Mansergh-Wallace said the results of last weekend were easily the highlight of Munnings's year. Both 'TDN Rising Stars', Godolphin's Poster won the GII Remsen Stakes and Shadwell Stable's Muhimma captured the GII Demoiselle Stakes. Both are three-for-three in their young careers. “I think any breeder or any fan of racing is always looking toward the next generation and the next big thing,” Mansergh-Wallace said. “You've got an undefeated colt and an undefeated filly for such powerhouses and great supporters of ours as Shadwell and Godolphin. Both out of Tapit mares, both impeccably well bred.” And that leads us to the incredible statistic Chris McGrath covered in this week's Breeding Digest: both of the Munnings graded winners over the weekend were out of daughters of Tapit. They weren't the first of his runners on the cross. “Even going back to [MGSW & GISP] Finite and [MGSW & MGISP] Bonny South, who were great fillies for Juddmonte–again out of Tapit mares–certainly we're trying to push on to any breeder who has a young A.P. Indy-line mare that we think this is a nick well worth exploring. It's four Grade II winners now bred on the cross with Tapit mares.” Of the 30 graded winners by Munnings, six–or 20%!–are on that A.P. Indy cross. A total of 14 of his 81 stakes winners (17%) are also bred on the same cross. 'TDN Rising Star' Muhimma stays unbeaten in Saturday's Demoiselle | Sarah Andrew Another curiosity is that trainer Brad Cox has had a number of the really good ones, ranging from the aforementioned Muhimma and Bonny South to other graded winners the likes of Warrior's Charge and Zozos. “I would imagine he's got a soft spot for the horse,” mused Mansergh-Wallace. “Of course, generally the best breeders and owners in the business tend to gravitate toward the best trainers in the business. One thing feeds the next. I do think Brad Cox has been a massive factor in Munnings's success, but so has Chad Brown in producing a horse like Jack Christopher.” 'TDN Rising Star' Jack Christopher, winner of the GI Champagne at two and the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes and GI Woody Stephens Stakes at three, entered stud in 2023 alongside his sire at Ashford. He's standing his third season in 2025 for $25,000. “Jack Christopher is without doubt Munnings's best son,” said Mansergh-Wallace. “We're enormously proud to stand a horse like Jack Christopher We were very impressed with his first foals at the sales. He had great support in his first two years at stud and will continue that in his third year at stud. “If you like Munnings, then at a third of the price, you've got to really like Jack Christopher, who in all fairness was a better racehorse in terms of his credentials. A three-time Grade I winner in three iconic races, he is everything you want in a stallion. He's very, very good looking. He looks exactly like his sire, a carbon copy.” Like so many stallions, Munnings's fee varies annually according to racetrack and sales results. He stood for $75,000 in 2024, when he covered a book of 148 mares, and has been slated to stand for $65,000 in 2025. Mansergh-Wallace said his book will remain at about the same number. “We're mindful of his age, but he's very healthy and very well, exceptionally fertile. You'd imagine he's a horse that instead of tapering off towards the end of his career, he'll be seen to better effect as his career goes on and really now as he's approaching 19. You sometimes think with these older stallions maybe that you're arriving too late, but with a horse like him maybe now is the time to support him because his fee is slightly down but he's still very, very popular. “You couldn't imagine a horse more current than him. On the back of last weekend, I'd say we sold 50 nominations this week in him. You can advertise all you want, but the best results are what happens on the racetrack. That's the best advertisement for any stallion. He's a horse that really has never let us down in that respect.” Munnings | Coolmore Mansergh-Wallace also said Munnings has some extremely well-bred young horses in the pipeline. “I think the fact of the matter is that he's receiving now and has done for the last five or six years support from some of the best breeders in the business. He's receiving support from Juddmonte, Godolphin, Shadwell, Stonestreet, and, of course, Nathan McCauley, who bred Eda out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Show Me.” Eda, winner of the 2021 GI Starlet Stakes and five other black-type events, sold at last month's Fasig-Tipton November sale for $2,550,000 to AMO Racing USA. “Nathan McCauley was one of the first people who ever supported the horse to a big extent,” said Mansergh-Wallace. “He bred mares to him from the very beginning. He's actually booked in five mares this year to him just the other day. And Godolphin, Shadwell, Stonestreet, they're all back on board for 2025 as well.” With 14 'Rising Stars' under his belt and his best-bred crops ahead, it's not hard to be excited by what Munnings may yet do. His top-selling yearlings this year were a $975,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga colt who went to Donato Lanni as agent for SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables and a $700,000 Keeneland September filly purchased by agent Steve Young. Out of mares by Bernardini and Tapit, both are bred on the A.P. Indy cross. While that nick catches the eye, Munnings is anything but a “one-trick pony.” His Grade I winners are out of daughters of Cozzene, Half Ours, Lemon Drop Kid, Lost Soldier, Out of Place, and Uncle Mo. Like so many of the top sires, he may show an affinity now and then, but he's more than capable with a variety of broodmare sire lines. “He's just a very, very versatile sire,” said Mansergh-Wallace. “He gets horses that are good 2-year-olds. They're precocious and they're fast. He's probably as good a stallion–in terms of value–as there is out there.” The post Saturday Sires: Munnings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

He will rehab at Kingfisher Farms in Solvang, Calif., and will be rehomed through Kingfisher Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping off the track Thoroughbreds find their next home.View the full article

It’s Friday night with racing at Auckland and Addington and while Zachary Butcher vies for dual Group 1 glory at Alexandra Park the likes of IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup rivals Republican Party and Mo’unga will battle it out further south in the Summer Cup. The fillies and mares will take centre stage at Alexandra Park with the first ever running of the TAB Queen of Diamonds Trot and the Woodlands Stud Queen of Hearts Pace. Both are Group 1s worth $100,000. Butcher keen to make “great” year even better By Michael Guerin Star driver Zachary Butcher loves nothing more than beating his father David and has done it again by setting a new North Island stakes record. But even some outstanding drives to end the season may not be enough to see him join one of the most exclusive clubs in harness racing. Butcher heads to Alexandra Park tonight for the first of three major meetings to see out the year, with two Group 1s tonight, the new Golden Gait series next Friday and the Auckland Cup on December 31. He starts that stretch almost $1million ahead of his best ever stakes season in New Zealand, having driven the winners of $2,523,376 in a season where he also joined the 1000 wins club. His tally is also a record for a North Island-based harness racing driver, bettering the $2,328,344 his father David’s drives won in 2008-09. “Just goes to show you the great progress harness racing is making with Entain’s help and I am just thrilled to be part of it and getting on such good horses,” says Butcher. His record numbers puts him in with a mathematical chance of becoming only the third driver after Blair Orange (twice) and John Dunn (2021) to drive the winners of over $3million in stakes in a NZ domestic season. But with over $475,000 to go he might need even more than Duchess Megxit and I Dream Of Jeannie in $100,000 fillies and mares races tonight, Duchess Megxit and her stablemates in their $100,000 Golden Gait races next week and Merlin in the $250,000 Auckland Cup. “Regardless of the final number it has been a great year,” says Butcher. He has a legit shot at the Group 1 double tonight with Duchess Megxit a $2.70 favourite in the $100,000 Woodlands Stud Queen of Hearts while I Dream Of Jeannie is the best performed mare in the new $100,000 TAB Queen Of Diamonds for trotting mares. “Megxit has to be a chance but she does have a tricky draw,” admits Butcher. “I think they will go hard early so I will probably try and stay out of that and swoop on them late. “That can always change but she must be going all right because she wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t. She was only 50-50 to start last after coming back from the Oaks.” The Queen Of Hearts should be run at a good tempo with gate speed from Mr Kaplan, Seaclusion and Lady Of The Light while the tactics on Princess Meritaten, who was stunning on her Alexandra Park debut last Friday, will be interesting. Like Duchess Megxit she can fly late but if they both go back at the start that takes some early pressure out of the race and starts a game of cat and mouse they can’t both win. Duchess Megxit is a proven Group 1 filly though so looks the best bet. I Dream Of Jeannie ($6.50FF) has paired with Butcher a few times before with mixed success but at a higher level than tonight’s new mare’s trot. “She is staying at my place and she looks great,” says Butcher. “She is off 10m but could get a good through and she has been going really good races so she can win for sure.” It is good, even first running of the Queen Of Diamonds though and a lot may depend on how keen the favoured front liners like Con Grazia Love and Faith In Manchester want to hold the lead and run along. Both are capable of trotting 3:25 for the 2700m which would make them hard to catch for those coming wide. Tonight also sees Auckland Cup winner Better Eclipse ($2.50FF) return to Alexandra Park for a $60,000 Lincoln Farms Franklin Cup that looks suitable even off a 30m handicap as it has some rugged stayers who could drag him into the race. Butcher drives Invisible in that race and add in Ultimate Racy Girl (R2), I Got Chills (R3), Hezasweetie (R7), Romeo Foxtrot (R8) and Greased Lightnin (R9) and he will be a hot favorite for the driver’s challenge. The return of Republican Party in Summer Cup at Addington By Michael Guerin Trainer Cran Dalgety isn’t letting the rollercoaster of Cup week put him off stable star Republican Party returning to winning form at Addington tonight. The gutsy little stallion produced the run of his career for third in the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup last month, running past Merlin as Swayzee and Don’t Stop Dreaming surged clear. It was a mammoth effort but luck was against Republican Party three days later in the NZ Free-For-All when he was held up across the top by a struggling Kango and couldn’t get out of his three-deep pocket until the race was over. So Dalgety is willing to put that eighth down to luck, or a lack of it, and says Republican Party still had a hell of a week. “His run in the Cup was enormous and it was just a shame he got crossed by Kango early in the Free-For-All, which we weren’t expecting,” says Dalgety. “But we have freshened him up since then and he worked really well on the weekend so we have the real deal ready to go this week. “We considered going to the Franklin Cup up north but he would have been off a handicap I think we are better off here where he is off the same mark, albeit drawn widest at the mobile.” While the East West Fencing Summer Cup boasts a only small field there are enough staying type horses in the race like Franco Marek and Mo’unga to suggest there could be decent tempo to allow Republican Party to be flying late. Whether he can fly fast enough may depend on how quickly those other favourites sort themselves out. A good performance tonight will see Republican Party head to the Invercargill Cup with Dalgety, who trains with his wife Chrissie, not totally dismissing the idea of the Auckland Cup just over a week later. “But we have a fair bit of water to go under the bridge before then.” If either Franco Marek or Mo’unga is able to run to the lead without pressure in tonight’s 1980m mobile either would be hard to beat but Mo’unga, who opened the $2.60 TAB favourite, hadn’t raced since his sixth in the NZ Cup so may be conceding at least a little race fitness and that could be enough to see him driven conservatively. The Summer Cup is the standout of the night but the Peek Exhibition Fillies and Mares Christmas Bonus Mobile Trot is a fun race that pits Freya, dropping out of taking on Keayang Zahara, up against High Step and Rush over 1980m mobile. View the full article

There are 11 horse racing meetings set for Australia on Friday, December 13. Our racing analysts here at horsebetting.com.au have found you the best bets and the quaddie numbers for Darwin, Moonee Valley and Randwick-Kensington. Friday’s Free Horse Racing Tips – December 13, 2024 Canterbury Racing Tips Moonee Valley Racing Tips As always, there are plenty of promotions available for Australian racing fans. Check out all the top online bookmakers to see what daily promotions they have. If you are looking for a new bookmaker for the horse racing taking place on December 13, 2024 check out our guide to the best online racing betting sites. Neds Code GETON 1 Take It To The Neds Level Neds Only orange bookie! Check Out Neds Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit today. “GETON is not a bonus code. Neds does not offer bonus codes in Australia and this referral code does not grant access to offers. Full terms. BlondeBet Signup Code GETON 2 Punters Prefer Blondes BlondeBet Blonde Boosts – Elevate your prices! Join BlondeBet Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GAMBLING WITH? full terms. 3 Next Gen Racing Betting pickleBet Top 4 Betting. Extra Place. Every Race. Join Picklebet Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you really gambling with? Full terms. Recommended! 4 It Pays To Play PlayUp Aussie-owned horse racing specialists! Check Out PlayUp Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Full terms. Dabble Signup Code AUSRACING 5 Say Hey to the social bet! Dabble You Better Believe It Join Dabble Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. THINK. IS THIS A BET YOU REALLY WANT TO PLACE? Full terms. Bet365 Signup Code GETON 6 Never Ordinary Bet365 World Favourite! Visit Bet365 Review 18+ Gamble Responsibly. GETON is not a bonus code. bet365 does not offer bonus codes in Australia and this referral code does not grant access to offers. What’s gambling really costing you? Full terms. Horse racing tips View the full article

South African Champion Group 1 winner Cloth Of Cloud (SAf) (Captain Al {SAf}–Our Table Mountain, by Fusaichi Pegasus) brought top price of 180,000gns during Thursday's Tattersalls Online December Sale. Consigned by Moulton Stud, she was purchased by bloodstock agent Hubie de Burgh. Headlining the inaugural Southern Hemisphere Session, a collaboration between Tattersalls Online and Inglis Digital, Cloth Of Cloud was one of three mares in the session to sell for a six-figure sum. Offered in foal to Champion sire Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) on Southern Hemisphere time, the 11-year-old mare was unbeaten in three starts as a 2-year-old, including the G3 Pretty Polly Stakes and the G1 South African Nursery at Turffontein. The daughter of Fusaichi Pegasus's Our Table Mountain is a half-sister to four black-type performers, including Group 1-winning filly Silver Mountain (SAf) (Silvano {Ger}). “She has been purchased for an existing client who wanted to be part of the Too Darn Hot success story in the Southern Hemisphere,” explained de Burgh. “Cloth of Cloud was a very good race filly during her career on the track and Too Darn Hot has been doing an outstanding job with his progeny in Australia. It's an exciting journey to be embarking on.” Also in foal on Southern Hemisphere time, Newton's Night (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), in foal to Too Darn Hot, was purchased by Ridgeport for 150,000gns. Consigned by Moulton Stud, the daughter of Galileo (Ire) is the dam of this year's listed winning and dual Group 3 placed 2-year-old Treasure Isle (Ire) (No Nay Never) and the granddam of 2024 Royal Ascot second Space Legend (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Rounding out the six-figure mares, Crimson Coronet (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) brought 100,000gns from Avenue Bloodstock. Another mare offered in foal to Too Darn Hot on a Southern Hemisphere cover, the New England Stud consigned 3-year-old is out of listed winner and Group 3-placed Crimson Rosette (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), a half-sister to G1 Ascot Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}). “Crimson Coronet is an extremely good-looking daughter of Zoustar. I was delighted to purchase her from New England Stud, who presented her so well. She has an abundance of quality and strength. In foal to such an exciting stallion as Too Darn Hot–she holds lots of appeal,” said Avenue Bloodstock's Mark McStay. “She has been purchased for an established client of mine, an old friend based in New South Wales. They are commercial breeders, so I'd envisage that her Too Darn Hot produce will be offered to the market in due course. Let's hope she's lucky.” Topping the horses in training section of the Online December sale was the two-time winning filly Tropical Island (GB) (Inns Of Court {Ire}), who sold for 30,000 guineas to Clara Stud. Consigned by Richard Fahey's Musley Bank Stables, the 3-year-old was fourth in the Listed Rockingham Stakes at York and was last seen finishing third in a Class 2 Handicap at Pontefract, earning an official rating of 83. Breeding Rights to Ardad (Ire) and Harry Angel (Ire) both found favour with the former being snapped up by Culworth Grounds Farm for 26,000 guineas and the latter knocked down for 22,000 guineas to Cavalier Bloodstock. The Tattersalls Online December Sale realised a turnover of 728,450 guineas for 42 lots sold, at an average price of 17,344 guineas. Over 270 bidders registered for the sale from countries including America, Australia, Belgium, Britain, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and from throughout the Gulf region. The final sale of the year on the online sales platform, the Tattersalls Online December Sale closed out the 2024 sales season with 699 lots sold for an aggregate of 6,687,950 guineas. The post ‘I Am A Big Supporter Of It’: de Burgh Buys 180k Tatts Online Top Lot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

These are the dog days of the racing season at Woodbine. The weather is cold, the meet is winding down and the circuit's best horses have been turned out waiting for the spring. Some have headed to Florida. But there was a reason to be excited about last Saturday's card, even if it were run in a snowstorm. Owned by LNJ Foxwoods, trained by Josie Carrolll and having sold for €1.4 million at the 2022 Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale, the 3-year-old filly Earhart (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) was a dazzling winner in her debut a month earlier in a Woodbine maiden, earning 'TDN Rising Star' status. But was the first race a ceiling for the sales-topping filly or was she just getting started? Barely visible against the back drop of the snow, she answered that question with an 11-length win. She has a long way to go and much more to accomplish, but she might just be one of the best of her generation, even if she took a strange route to get there. That's how impressive she was. “It's been very exciting,” said Jamie Roth, who oversees her family's stable. “It's been more of relief. It kind of goes to a theme of ours. Give the horse time, don't push things. It's been very rewarding and exciting, but I am trying not to get ahead of myself.” Patience became a necessity as Earhart had one small problem after another. LNJ Foxwoods bred the filly along with Henri Bozo and it took the €1.4 million at the sale to buy him out. The Roths had her with trainer Tim Donworth in France, but there was one small setback after another. “We had her in France training with Tim and he loved her,” Jamie Roth said. “She would start, stop, start, stop. There was always something bothering her. We couldn't really figure it out. With so many stops and with her showing so much ability when she was training, we figured let's just get her back to the U.S. and see what's going on.” Initially, it was more of the same. “The same thing was still kind of happening,” Roth said. “She'd be ok to train and then she would get a little sore. When she was finally ready to go we sent her to Josie Carroll at Woodbine because we wanted her to run on a synthetic track. We knew Josie would take care of her. She is meticulous, communicates well and often. Earhart's mom broke her maiden on a synthetic track in France because the race was in the wintertime when they run over synthetic surfaces there.” Unable to get to the bottom of the various problems, Carroll and her vet decided to do an MRI on the filly. They found the answers they were looking for. “Finally, our vets decided to do an MRI of her withers,” Roth explained. “Turns out she probably had an accident as a foal and there was degenerative cartilage. We did exploratory surgery and took the debris out and have never missed a beat since. I think she missed just two weeks of training. I have to give Josie and her vet all the credit for deciding to do the MRI.” If Earhart is to turn out to be a major star, she will have taken an unusual path to get here. With her having run only on a synthetic surface and never beyond seven furlongs, there's a lot left to prove. Roth said she will be sent to Turfway Park for the winter so she can continue running on and training on a synthetic surface. She'll have at least one start there. Then what? “She will go to Turfway and aim for stakes there,” Roth said. “We'll see. We are open to a lot of options. But we will learn a lot about her at Turfway, where she will obviously run against better competition. We'll start there. She obviously is a very promising filly.” We may see her next in the Jan. 25 Wishing Well Stakes at Turfway, which is run at 6 1/2 furlongs. With another win on a synthetic track, there figures to be a clamoring for her to try dirt. In this country, stars are not made on synthetic surfaces. Roth said that the question of dirt has come up with bloodstock agent Alex Solis, but she is not thinking yet beyond her next race. Some day, she's probably going to have to also prove that she can handle a distance race. “We've been down this road before,” Roth said. “We had a horse named Super Majesty who broke her maiden and won an allowance by a combined 21 1/2 lengths. Her first two races were spectacular. She did win the Grade III Dogwood Stakes, but then things started to change. That's why I try to keep my expectations and excitement in check. But, yes, this is a very exiting filly and Josie thinks this is one of the best fillies she has ever trained.” She's unbeaten and cost a whopping €1.4 million at one of the most prestigious sales in the world. Earhart (her dam is Aviatress {Ire}) could be destined for stardom. But can she run on dirt or, even, turf? No one knows. All of which makes her a fascinating horse to watch in 2025. “Jot Her Down!” – @WoodbineGeller #8 EARHART (FR) ($2.50) soars down the @WoodbineTB stretch in Race 9 and displays an impressive victory for @jcarrollracing and owner @LNJFoxwoods. pic.twitter.com/NqXOL2VT5k — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) December 7, 2024 The post Earhart, the Filly That Can Fly appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Gaming and Getaway Car, second and fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), will meet again in the Dec. 14 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2).View the full article

The 2024 Longines World Racing Awards will be held Jan. 21 in London, England. The ceremony will honor the highest-rated horse in the 2024 Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings as well as the Longines World's Best Horse Race.View the full article

Eddie Truman, a longtime Southern California trainer who died Dec. 11 at age 77, never met an activity he didn't want to try. View the full article

5th-FG, $58K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 3:45 p.m. ET. TANTI AUGURI (Quality Road) makes her debut for an ownership group which includes breeders Anthony Manganaro and Iapetus Racing. Trained by Cherie DeVaux, the homebred's dam is On My Way (Giant's Causeway), who has nine foals to her credit and four winners out of five to race. The first-time starter hails from an extended female family which includes Hong Kong hegemonic hero and recent retiree Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro). Also slated for the starting gate is Twin Creeks Racing's Continuance (Not This Time). Unraced Baffling (Graydar) is responsible for the Rob Atras trainee and her own dam produced one of the top sires of this generation in Constitution (Tapit). TJCIS PPS The post Friday’s Racing Insights: Homebreds Dash Thorough The Turf On Debut In The Big Easy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Delahaye (Medaglia d'Oro), winner of this year's GIII Old Forester Mint Julep Stakes at Churchill Downs, is among 70 supplemental entries for the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, the auction house announced Thursday. The sale, which also includes in-foal mares, broodmare prospects and newly turned yearlings, will take place in Lexington over the course of three sessions Jan. 13-15, 2025. In addition to her marquee success, Delahaye–a $550,000 purchase out of the 2021 Keeneland September Sale–also finished a close third in the GIII Matchmaker Stakes and in the GII Ballston Spa Stakes. Hailing from the family of Grade I winners Swagger Jack and Malibu Prayer, Delahaye has amassed a record of 4-1-3 from nine starts and earned $490,815 and is consigned by Four Star Sales as a broodmare prospect only. Other supplements include: Paris Secret (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), winner of the 2023 GIII Providencia Stakes at Santa Anita who is offered by ELiTE Sales as a racing/broodmare prospect; Poetic, a 9-year-old daughter of Violence, whose first foal Ah Jeez (Mendelssohn) was placed in the GI F. E. Kilroe Mile Stakes. Carrying to Elite Power, she is part of the draft of Grovendale Sales, agent, and catalogued alongside her is her yearling Mitole filly; Pretty Birdie (Bird Song) won the GIII Schuylerville Stakes at second asking in 2021 and was sold during Book 1 of the Keeneland November Sale, when she had never been observed to be a cribber, but was seen to crib post-sale. For that reason, she is being reoffered by Gainesway as agent for the Estate of John Hendrickson. This is the Marylou Whitney family of Kentucky Oaks winner Bird Town and Belmont hero Birdstone; School Dance (Animal Kingdom) was runner-up in the GI American Oaks and GII Royal Heroine Stakes and descends from the family of Grade I winners Al's Gal and Ivar (Brz); Paramount Sales consigns as a racing or broodmare prospect. Additional supplements include mares in foal to American Pharoah, Arcangelo, Corniche, Elite Power, Girvin, Gunite, Life Is Good, McKinzie, Nyquist and Taiba. Nineteen short yearlings also are among the supplements and are progeny of stallions including Classic Empire, Cyberknife, Daredevil, Flameaway, Golden Pal, Greatest Honour, Jack Christopher, Jackie's Warrior, Maclean's Music, Mandaloun, Maxfield, McKinzie, Nashville and Yaupon. With the supplements announced Thursday, the total number of horses cataloged to the January Sale is 1,306. Click here for the Keeneland January catalogue. The post Keeneland Announces 70 Supplements To January Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

He will rehab at Kingfisher Farms in Solvang, Calif., and will be rehomed through Kingfisher Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation (KERRI), a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to helping off the track Thoroughbreds find their next home.View the full article

Bucchero (Kantharos), whose half-dozen stakes winners to date include GI Woody Stephens Stakes hero Book'em Danno, will be available for inspection at an open house at Ironhorse Stallions on Dec. 13 at 58 Dunn Road, Stillwater, New York, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The only New York-based stallion to be represented by a Grade I winner this season and the current leading stallion in the state by progeny earnings, Bucchero is the sire of 100 individual winners, including Beauty of the Sea, successful three times in stakes company and also Grade III-placed in 2024. He is also the leading American-based general sire of all-weather runners, including Ironhorse homebred Cyclonite, who recently won for the second time in four synthetic tries at Kempton Park in England. Having begun his stallion career in Florida before covering his first mares in the Empire State in 2024, Bucchero has been booked to better than 100 mares for his first season at Ironhorse Stallions. Ironhorse is supporting the 12-year-old with no fewer than 10 mares purchased at Keeneland November and Tattersalls December. “We have had a strong response from individual breeders, both in state and those moving mares for the first time into the New York program, along with some larger breeders who have purchased lifetime breeding rights that we have made available on a limited basis, it is an exciting time to be breeding in New York,” said Harlan Malter, managing partner of Bucchero and Ironhorse Stallions. During the open house, visitors will have an opportunity to meet John Dowd, head of operations and bloodstock for Ironhorse Stallions. Light refreshments will be served. The post Bucchero To Feature At Ironhorse Stallions Open House Dec. 13 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Twenty-three horses have been catalogued for the OBSOnline 2024 December auction which begins Thursday, Dec. 12 at noon Eastern time and runs through Tuesday, Dec. 17, closing at noon ET. The catalogue includes 2-year-olds in training, horses with current winning form, broodmare prospects, in-foal mares and one weanling. The OBSOnline December catalogue includes mares in foal to Girvin, Roadster, Rogueish and First Dude. Also on offer are 2-year-olds by Classic Empire, Street Sense, Neolithic, Mendelssohn, Volatile, Audible, Authentic, Vekoma, Catalina Cruiser and Khozan, 3-year-old fillies by Collected, Flameaway, and Girvin and a New York-bred weanling by Mendelssohn. Potential highlights in the catalogue include: Hip 5, Collected Dreams (Collected), a winning 3-year-old filly whose year-younger full-brother Iron Man Cal won the Zuma Beach Stakes and went within a neck of winning the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 1; Hip 9, Mrs. Mendelssohn (Mendelssohn), a winner at first asking in October and recent runner-up in the My Trusty Cat Stakes; Hip 22, Cockeyed (Khozan), who broke his maiden by an impressive six lengths at Tampa Bay Downs Dec. 7. Each horse will have a walking video and radiographs for viewing. To create an account, register to bid and view the catalogue for the OBSOnline December Sale, click here. The post OBSOnline December Catalogue Includes 23 Horses, Goes Live Thursday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Thirty-five years after setting up in the stallion business, Gay and Annette O'Callaghan's Yeomanstown Stud can look forward to an extra special Christmas celebration as the family toasts its homegrown hero Dark Angel (Ire), the 2024 champion sire of Britain and Ireland. For anyone who has watched the tenacity with which Gay works the sales in tandem with his sons David, Guy and Robert, and often with Peter back over from America, it is easy to predict that the celebration won't last long. For soon there will be mares to be foaled, and mares to be booked, not least to the farm's latest recruit, the G1 July Cup winner Mill Stream (Ire). Moreover, it is simply not the O'Callaghan way to sit around slapping each on the back. That said, there must be ample satisfaction in securing a first championship with a horse bred at the farm – from a mare sourced for just €12,000 – who went on to become a Group 1-winning two-year-old and was later bought back for stud duties. Since the stallion wing has been in operation, based at the family's Morristown Lattin Stud but now branded solely as Yeomanstown, only Coolmore, Darley and Juddmonte have stood a champion sire. Frankel (GB) broke the 31-year stranglehold of Coolmore when winning his first championship in 2021. Prior to that it had been passed between Sadler's Wells, Caerleon, Danehill, Danehill Dancer (Ire) and Galileo (Ire), with Sadler's Wells landing 14 of those titles and Galileo 12. Frankel is now a dual champion, with Dubawi (Ire) having been crowned champion in 2022, meaning that the title stayed in Britain for three consecutive years after a long drought. This, then, is a significant achievement as the laurels return to Ireland, but to Kildare rather than Tipperary. “He did it the hard way,” says Gay O'Callaghan of his champion after being herded, along with David, Guy and Robert, into a meeting room at Tattersalls during the mares' sale. Separating these men from the sale ring is no mean feat, so Gay's next line makes this interviewer's heart drop a little, when he adds, “He did it and nobody else did it for him. That's all I can say.” Encouragingly, though, he soon warms to the topic and is spurred on by his sons, the gang of four often completing each other's sentences, which is perhaps not completely surprising from a family which works as such a tight-knit pack. “I think what's especially good is the fact that he's a a sprinter-miler sire,” notes David. “Those 10, 12-furlong races generally have the bigger prize-money, so to be able to do it, generally just between six furlongs to a mile, it makes it extra special.” Gay adds, “You have to win twice as many races.” Fortunately, one of the hallmarks of Dark Angel's offspring tends to be their durability. He was himself kept pretty busy as a juvenile, running nine times from mid-April, with his four wins including the G1 Middle Park Stakes and G2 Mill Reef Stakes. His disappearance from the track after that season was no reflection on his ability, more on the lack of opportunities for three-year-old sprinters at the time. The racing programme has been enhanced in this regard in the intervening years, in part because of the consternation caused by Dark Angel's retirement to stud at the age of three back in 2008. “They're very sound. And they seem to improve from two to three, three to four,” says Gay of Dark Angel's stock. “I mean, if they have a reasonable amount of ability too, they seem to progress and progress on a year-on-year basis. “Take Charyn. From two to three to four, he got better and better. And I have no doubt if he raced next year, he would have won a Group 1 again.” While they agree that they would have loved to see Charyn continue his racing career as a five-year-old, the O'Callaghans, perhaps more than anyone, are aware of the balance that must be struck when it comes to retiring a stallion at the right time to optimise his popularity with breeders. “To rewind to the Dark Angel retiring at two for a second, it's a different landscape now, in so far as, within a couple of years, because of, say, Holy Roman Emperor and him – they were the two high-profile ones around the time – it forced a change in the racing programme,” says David. “The Sandy Lane went from a Listed race to a Group 2, the Commonwealth Cup was brought in, and all of a sudden there was a three-year-old [sprint] programme. Because what had been happening historically was the three-year-olds got swallowed up by the four-year-olds or the older horses for the season. And if they came out of it the other side, they could compete at four, but it actually was to their detriment, and trying to compete with those horses actually finished them. “So, for all that we got criticised, there wasn't a three-year-old programme, and if you'd raced as much as Dark Angel did at two, what were you supposed to do at three? Usually fellas just gave them one or two runs at three and waited until they were four. But we certainly weren't going to wait until the end of his four-year-old career. We needed a stallion.” Guy adds, “And with Dark Angel, obviously Gay had bred him, so we had a very close relationship with the horse, so he meant a lot to us, and it made sense in our minds straightaway. Whereas it shocked a lot of people at the time, for us it was just so obvious.” Another horse close to the family's hearts, Charyn (Ire), has very much been this year's poster boy for Dark Angel, with a season that combined that trademark toughness – kicking off on the opening day of the turf season at Doncaster – and including Group 1 victories at Deauville, Royal Ascot and on Champions Day. He too was bred by the O'Callaghan family, under the banner of Guy's Grangemore Stud. Charyn may now be ensconced at Sumbe's Haras de Montfort & Preaux, alongside another multiple Group 1-winning son of Dark Angel, Angel Bleu (Fr), but there should still be excitement to come from this particular family. Nurlan Bizakov of Sumbe also owns Charyn's two-year-old sister, who commanded 850,000gns at Book 1 last year, while the price for the current yearling climbed even higher. She was sold by Grangemore to Godolphin in October for 2.9 million gns. It may all look so easy now, with Dark Angel having bestowed much kudos on Yeomanstown in his tenure there, but as every stallion master will tell you, the only thing you know about stallions is that you don't know where the next good one will come from. The old maxim is that only one in ten makes it. “One in 20, I'd say,” chips in Guy. His father adds, “The first horse we ever stood was very successful, Common Grounds. Again, from a very humble beginning, covering 43 or 44 mares his first year because he raced in France, and there wasn't as much known about the French racing at that stage as there is now. So I know a few people went to see him, and they didn't like him. “I remember the day we went to see him, we had to stand up in a dung heap and get him to walk around us to see if he could walk or not. But anyway, he wasn't a great walker. But he was quite successful.” Bred by Stavros Niarchos, Common Grounds (GB), a son of Kris (GB), was France's champion two-year-old of 1987, winning the G1 Prix de la Salamandre and finishing runner-up in the G1 Prix Morny. He sired the Yeomanstown-bred Bad As I Wanna Be (Ire), who won the Prix Morny for Brian Meehan in 2000, the year Common Grounds moved to stand in Turkey. “I suppose that would be the biggest mistake we ever made, I think, was selling him,” Gay reflects. “But you learn from these things, because to have got him to that pitch and to sell him was a monumental mistake. I know we were offered a lot of money for him and we had a nice purse but it was still a huge mistake. “But, you know, he wasn't gone out the door when we knew it was a mistake, when we looked around to try and replace him. But anyway, that's history now.” Indeed it is, and the stud business is largely about looking forward, to the next crop of foals, the next batch of runners, the longed-for star act. For Yeomanstown, there is plenty on the horizon. Alongside Dark Angel stands the Classic-placed miler Shaman (Ire), by Shamardal, whose first three-year-olds will be in action in 2025, while Dark Angel's fellow Middle Park winner Supremacy (Ire), one of the first sons of the rising star Mehmas (Ire) at stud, will have his first crop of juveniles at the track. Then there's Mill Stream, who is about to embark on his first covering season. With a number of the top horses each year already under the control of major owner-breeder operations, it is becoming harder for the independent stallion farms to recruit new talent. So just how early in a racehorse's career are they put on the watch list? “I suppose once they get their first group win, and if they are by something good, you kind of follow along,” says Robert. “But you can't go buying a heap of maiden winners and Listed winners in the hope they're going to turn into something. You nearly have to wait until they actually win a Group 1. You can waste a lot of money quickly on promising looking horses that never do anything ever again. That's a high-risk strategy.” David adds, “A prime example would be Kind Of Blue at the end of the season. A lot of people would have loved the idea of him. And he had been knocking on the door. Somebody came in and bought him [Wathnan Racing] and he went and won the Group 1 the next day. So, it's a great success, but in so many of those cases, a horse with a similar profile doesn't win the Group 1 and all of a sudden, you're left carrying the can. The horse is not worth anything like what you may have paid for him. So, you know, well done to them. But it's a very risky business, buying them just before they do it. Inevitably, in the long run, you're better off to wait until it's done, and it makes them harder to buy, but not all that much, as in, potential is always worth an awful lot anyway. “So, it's so hard to get the balance right. But generally, once they have it done, at least there's no doubt. As opposed to, there's so many horses get close and don't quite get over the line.” Peter, Gay and Robert O'Callaghan | Tattersalls Gay speaks from experience when he notes, “I'd say the biggest problem is finding horses that will be sold, because there are two very big outfits that have huge power, and they inevitably turn up with a really good two-year-old or three-year-old. So, in that case, you're getting something that falls in the middle a little bit. Take Mill Stream – Peter Harris is a single owner and he's quite an elderly man now, so I thought he'd race him next year, and so did the trainer.” Mill Stream, just like Charyn, has unquestionably had his best season as a four-year-old, winning the G2 Duke of York Stakes and finishing third in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes before his July Cup triumph. The most expensive yearling by his sire Gleneagles (Ire) in 2021 when sold for 350,000gns to Anthony Stroud by his breeder Jimmy Murphy of Redpender Stud, he was obviously a looker from the start. David says, “Most people actually remember him as a yearling here [at Tattersalls], because he made a big price. He was a very talked-about horse at the sale. “Gleneagles was a champion two-year-old, he was a precocious horse himself and won two Guineas. He was always going to get a few fast ones and this horse is from a very fast family on the dam's side. So, you know, he actually fits into that mould, because he's a big, beautiful horse with strength and scope, so hopefully he'll get the same kind of horses as Dark Angel was getting: sprinters who will stay a mile. You wouldn't imagine he would be pigeonholed as a five-furlong, six-furlong sprinter.” Peter Harris, who turned 90 in March, will also be returning to the breeding fold to support Mill Stream. The former trainer was also a highly successful breeder at his Pendley Farm, which boasts yet another Middle Park winner, Primo Valentino (Ire), as one of its star graduates for Harris. Robert adds, “Since we bought Mill Stream, we've met Peter Harris a few times and his enthusiasm is just amazing. He has a genuine passion for the game.” Mill Stream is out of the Hellvelyn (GB) mare Swirral Edge (GB), a winning two-year-old herself who notched a notable double when her sons Mill Stream and the G2 Richmond Stakes winner Asymmetric (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) won consecutive Listed races in Deauville on the same day in August 2023. The O'Callaghans picked up another member of her family at Tattersalls in July when buying Rare Jewel (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), out of the mare's half-sister Fashion Queen (GB) (Aqlaam {GB}) and in foal to Shaquille (GB), for 125,000gns. “It's such a very good family,” says David. “A lot of very fast, good-looking yearlings came out of that family. It's been on the commercial breeders' radar for a long time, so hopefully they'll appreciate it. And we're well invested in the family now.” Robert admits that, though the brothers may differ when selecting mares, foals or yearlings, when it comes to buying stallions they are “singing from the same hymn sheet”. David adds, “Well, if we can't agree on what stallion to buy, how are we going to expect to get support from the breeders? It kind of needs to be a no-brainer. So it has to make sense on every level for us, and then it will make good sense for them.” One thing that they can certainly agree on is that, no matter the flak they may have taken for it at the time, the best decision ever made by the Yeomanstown team was to bring Dark Angel back to the farm. Gay says, “I suppose basically he did it with a common or garden mares. He didn't have the blueblooded mares at his fingertips the whole time. He was made by small breeders. He didn't cover a lot of mares the first year, about 65, I think it was. There were some articles written, saying that he shouldn't have gone to stud, and that hurt us at the time.” Clearly still affronted by that response, he adds, “That did hurt. But he's 20 at the turn of the year, and he has earned it. He's been everything to us.” The post ‘He’s Been Everything To Us’: O’Callaghans Toast Dark Angel appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The 2024 Longines World Racing Awards will be held at the Savoy Hotel in London on Tuesday, January 21, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), in partnership with Swiss watch brand Longines, announced on Thursday. The ceremony will honour the highest-rated horse in the 2024 Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings, as well as the Longines World's Best Horse Race. Earlier this year Equinox (Jpn) was named the 2023 Longines World's Best Racehorse with a rating of 135, while the G1 Japan Cup, won by Equinox on his final start, was celebrated as the 2023 Longines World's Best Horse Race. The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings are established by international handicappers according to the performance of the horses in top races. The highest-rated race is determined by averaging the rankings of the first four placed horses. The full list and further information on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings can be found here. The post Longines World Racing Awards Scheduled for January in London appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

There was a pair of intriguing newcomers' events staged on Chantilly's Polytrack on Thursday and the fillies' contest saw a taking successful debut for the €700,000 purchase Tigress Of Gaul (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}–Lucerne {GB}, by Frankel {GB}). Sent off the 9-10 favourite for the mile contest, the joint-second highest-priced filly at last year's Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale tracked the leading quartet early under a patient Aurelien Lemaitre. Taking command with 300 metres remaining, the Tim Donworth-trained bay who is owned by Jose Aguirre-Moreno and her breeder Ecurie des Monceaux and whose dam is a half to Invincible Spirit's crack miler and sire Charm Spirit (Ire) asserted to score by 3 1/2 lengths from Cast A Gast (Fr) (Romanised {Ire}). Prix De Sandricourt @fgchantilly Chantilly – Inédites – Femelles – 2 ans – 1600m – 14 Pts – 30 000 € Tigress Of Gaul (Fr) (f) (Siyouni (Fr) @AgaKhanStuds – Lucerne (Gb) par Frankel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Frankel (Gb)) Aurelien Lemaitre @lemaitre60LA Timothy Donworth @TDonworthRacing J…. pic.twitter.com/PdLxSkrGld — French and International Horse Racing (@Vincenzo0612) December 12, 2024 The post Siyouni’s Arqana August Sensation Impresses On Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article