Wandering Eyes

Graded stakes winners Domestic Product and Hades will renew their rivalry in a short field of four 3-year-olds in the $200,000 Dwyer Stakes (G3) July 6 at the Belmont at the Big A meet.View the full article

Despite a 10.3% surge in June wagering, second-quarter betting on racing in the United States closed marginally lower than during the same period last year. View the full article

In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by a trio of victories for Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables and trainer Chad Brown. Klaravich Filly Earns Listed Badge Chad Brown saddled Tampa Bay maiden winner Oversubscribed (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) in the Listed Wild Applause Stakes in the Belmont at the Big A meeting in June, and the Klaravich Stables-owned filly waltzed to a 3 1/4-length victory (video). The two-for-three daughter of Listed Rosemary Stakes heroine and two-time UAE group-placed Zurigha (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) was bred by Rabbah Bloodstock, Ltd. Offered by Barton Sales at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Sale in 2022, the filly was purchased for 400,000gns by Mike Ryan, acting for Seth Klarman's operation. Zurigha's latest produce is a yearling colt by Dark Angel (Ire), and this is the family of G3 Chartwell Fillies' Stakes winner Lily's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Labeling (GB) (Frankel {GB}), both placed at the highest level in Ireland and Japan, respectively. Second dam Noyelles (Ire) (Docksider) is a half-sister to the Group 3-winning bluehen In Clover (GB) (Inchinor {GB}). Darley's Too Darn Hot (GB) has enjoyed an outstanding year internationally with a brace of Classic winners to date and a Group 1-winning Australian-bred juvenile, and Oversubscribed is his 10th stakes winner and first in the U.S. He's sired two winners from three runners in that jurisdiction (66%). OVERSUBSCRIBED pushes down the stretch for Flavien Prat's THIRD win of the day in the Wild Applause Stakes for Chad Brown! pic.twitter.com/Ee34MEy7Qw — NYRA () (@TheNYRA) June 22, 2024 Blue Point Gelding Graduates At Second Asking Klaravich Stables and Chad Brown also teamed up to win another New York race that same day, with Vesting (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) (video). The 3-year-old gelding was making his second start. Bred by Mrs. Sally Rowley-Williams, the bay brought €215,000 as a Goffs November foal when acquired by JC Bloodstock from the Limekiln Stud draft. Sent through the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 by Kilminfoyle House Stud in 2022, the son of the late Wild Child (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) caught the eye of Mike Ryan to the tune of 190,000gns. Herself a daughter of Renaissance Stakes victress Beauty Bright (Ire) (Danehill), Wild Child foaled a Starspangledbanner (Aus) colt, and a yearling filly by Space Blues (Ire) before her death in 2023. Half of Blue Point's four U.S. runners are winners (50%), with GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint hero Big Evs (Ire) the star of the show. The Darley stallion has six worldwide stakes winners, with Irish Classic hero Rosallion (Ire) his other top-flight winner. Another Klaravich Runner Graduates In New York Less than a week after the victories of Oversubscribed and Vesting, Klaravich and Brown prevailed again, this time with Dubawi (Ire) 4-year-old filly Risk Threshold (Ire), who broke her maiden in her third start (video). Alan Spence bred the second offspring of G2 Temple S. scorer Priceless (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), who cost 400,000gns from the Watership Down Stud consignment during Book 1 of the 2021 Tattersalls October sale. The dam's 3-year-old filly Fifth Avenue (GB) (No Nay Never) was a 200,000gns buy-back at Book 1 in 2022, and Priceless also has the juvenile colt Miraculous (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}). Her latest foal is a yearling colt by Sea The Stars (Ire). The 2002 G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner Rebelline (Ire) (Robellino) is under the fourth dam. At the time of writing, 43 of Darley stallion Dubawi's 83 North American runners have won (52%). A total of 22 of those (26%) have won at least one stakes race, with 17 (20%) advertising their talents at graded level. His most decorated offspring in that sphere is four-time Grade I winner In Italian (GB). Centuria Strikes Beneath The Twin Spires Blue Devil Racing Stable's Centuria (Ire) (Advertise {GB}) won at Churchill Downs for trainer Dale Romans at the end of June (video). Bred by Rathbarry Stud, the 3-year-old filly was a €300,000 Goffs Orby yearling when bought by David Hayden for Blue Devil Racing. From four Irish starts for trainer Joseph O'Brien, she was runner-up twice. The first foal out of her winning dam Treeline (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), Centuria is followed by the unraced 2-year-old filly Believeth (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who was a €55,000 Goffs Orby graduate when snapped up by Jackman Bottom Trading Company. Her dam is a half-sister to G3 Prix Quincey winner Stunning Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), while her granddam Stunning View (Dynaformer) is a full-sister to dual Group 1 winner Rainbow View. Manton Park Stud's Advertise has two winners from four runners in America (50%). With his eldest crop just 3-year-olds, his top runner to date is G3 Musidora S. heroine Secret Satire (GB), who is entered in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes on Saturday. Repeat Winners: Godolphin's Ottoman Fleet (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is becoming a Making Waves regular, as he landed last year's GII Fort Marcy Stakes, before taking the GIII Arlington Stakes at Churchill Downs this year. The 5-year-old gelding added the GII Wise Dan Stakes to his resume near the end of June for trainer Charlie Appleby (video). Big Everest (GB) (The Gurkha {Ire}), who races for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Steven Rocco and William Branch, starred in a Belmont at the Big A affair last month for trainer Christophe Clement (video). He took the Danger's Hour Stakes in 2023. The post Making Waves: Klaravich Stables’ Party In New York appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After the anti-climax of the Guineas and euphoria of the Derby, Ballydoyle's City Of Troy (Justify) arrives at Sandown on Saturday with expectations high from a public now ready to fully submerge in his abundant talent. In many ways, the G1 Coral-Eclipse is the ideal framing for all his best qualities, with the mile-and-a-quarter trip allowing him to fully express himself with his blend of speed and stamina and the uphill rise to the line certain to suit his renowned galloping strength. With older-horse heavyweights White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) and Passenger (Ulysses {Ire}) ruled out and some of the kingpins of the division in his own stable, the path seems laid for an emphatic show of dominance and the betting reflects that. Even the shift in Friday's weather poses no threat, with his ability to handle slow ground in the Dewhurst a major plus coming here. Aidan O'Brien, whose seven Eclipse winners are some of the race's finest this century, has always been aware that he is dealing with a rare commodity. “He is a very different, unique horse and with that type of horse there is always pressure as everybody knows what he can do,” he said. “There is a great sense of excitement and anticipation from everybody about what is going to happen on Saturday. It's his first run over a mile and a quarter and his first run on a right-handed track and Sandown is an undulating track. It's also his first run against older horses, so there are a lot of unknowns.” “He has grown up and matured and we have been very happy with everything he has done since Epsom,” he added. “We never thought any distance was a problem to him from when he was a two-year-old. He always gallops through the line, that's what he does and never seems to be stopping in his races. The horse is going to learn more and I'm sure we are going to learn more about him.” Hans Andersen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will ensure the requisite gallop to provide an accurate measurement of City Of Troy. “Hans Andersen will go forward and go an even pace, which will suit everybody,” O'Brien confirmed. “You want an even pace in these big championship races rather than a muddling, messy pace when you don't really know what happened at the end of the race. We want to judge horses against one another.” Wet Stuff Perfect For Fish? Friday's rain has eased the ground, although not dramatically, so perhaps the greatest threat may come from David Fish's Dancing Gemini (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who took Doncaster's Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes last term and was second in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains on soft going. While connections of Ghostwriter (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) won't have welcomed the rain, Roger Teal may feel that it swings things more in his colt's favour. “The horse hasn't had much chance to run on decent ground with all the wet weather, so we are not really concerned about the going or if it stays dry or we get some rain. We are happy to run on both types of ground,” he said. “I think the step back to a mile and a quarter will be right up his street. We've got to respect City Of Troy, but we just have to roll our sleeves up and do what we do.” “Whether it be Saturday or in the future, he is definitely going to have his day in the sunshine,” Teal added. “We had a wide trip [when sixth] in the Derby and were further back than we wanted to be, whereas Ryan went down the inner and gained many lengths on us. If we can be closer to him on Saturday, I can see us shortening the distance between us.” “It's amazing to have a horse of Dancing Gemini's calibre in the yard and for his owner-breeders David and Linda Fish. It's just a dream come true for the horse to be turning out as good as he is. For a yard of our size, it's been brilliant. I don't think we've ever disgraced ourselves and it would lovely to have a few more good horses in the yard but they are very few and far between, that's for sure.” Best of the Rest This renewal does appear to rest with the Classic generation and Iraj Parvizi's G3 Hampton Court Stakes winner Jayarebe (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}) is another who could have a say if City Of Troy suffers another Newmarket-like disappointment. While his Royal Ascot win is some way short of the Derby form, trainer Brian Meehan is happy to have a go in the race he won in 2006 with David Junior (Pleasant Tap). “He's very progressive and apart from Chester, where he didn't handle the track, he's done nothing wrong,” he said. “He's very very good and he's going to keep improving.” Of the older horses, the 2022 G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes hero Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is probably the pick but he needs to up his game after a sixth in the GI Manhattan Stakes at Saratoga last month. The Newmarket Knight Prepares his Diamond Sir Mark Prescott's stable are hitting form and it is intriguing that he has decided to pitch the Elite Racing Club homebred Tiffany (Ire) (Farhh {GB}) into Saturday's G2 Lancashire Oaks at Haydock only eight days after her impressive G3 Hoppings' Stakes success. “It's a risk running her back so soon, but it is a Group 2 and for fillies' only and there's a long gap before another suitable race,” he explained. “I had it in mind to give her a mid-season break anyway. If it comes off I'll look a very clever and skilful trainer and if not why was I running her so soon, so the trainer error element is at risk here.” Qatar Racing's Queen Of The Pride (GB) (Roaring Lion) is back over the course and distance of her G3 Lester Piggott Stakes win and back re-opposing that race's short-headed runner-up Lady Boba (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). One of two for Ralph Beckett here, the latter has scope to turn around that slender defeat. “Lady Boba just got going a bit late last time, she was slightly trapped in behind horses two down and then finished strongly,” her trainer said. Sunday's Derby 20 Confirmed Hamburg's 155th G1 Idee Deutsches Derby will host 20 contenders on Sunday, with the key players looking to be Stall Lucky Owner's G3 Baden-Baden Derby-Trial winner Augustus (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), Stall Helena's G3 Bavarian Classic scorer Wilko (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) who was second to Augustus at Iffezheim, Darius Racing's G2 Derby Italiano hero Borna (Fr) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) and Gestut Ittlingen's G2 Union-Rennen winner Narrativo (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}). Also on Sunday is Deauville's seven-furlong G1 Haras d'Etreham Prix Jean Prat, a wide-open affair with a dozen protagonists headed by Juddmonte's G3 Jersey Stakes runner-up Kikkuli (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches second and fourth Kathmandu (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) and Romantic Style (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}). The post ‘There Is Always Pressure’: City Of Troy Poised For Complete Eclipse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

4th-ELP, 71K, Msw, f, 2yo, 1mT, 2:21 p.m. The latest to the races for extraordinary broodmare Dynaire, TAKE NOTE OF THIS (Ghostzapper) is a full-sister to GSW and track record-setter Wolfie's Dynaghost and a half to GI Sword Dancer Stakes winner Sadler's Joy (Kitten's Joy). From nine foals to race out of the mare, seven have been winners also including SP Lunaire (Malibu Moon) and SP Dyna Passer (Lemon Drop Kid). Take Note of This, purchased for $550,000 as a yearling at Keeneland last September, races for Chief Stipelas Scharbauer out of the Steve Asmussen barn. TJCIS PPS 1st-BAQ, 90K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 12:35 p.m. From the first crop of Tiz the Law, Tiz Freedom was a $500,000 OBS April 2-year-old buy for Taproot Bloodstock with Silverton Hill LLC now listed as the owner. From the family of GI Santa Anita Handicap winner Combatant (Scat Daddy), he debuts Saturday for Bill Mott with Junior Alvarado aboard. TJCIS PPS The post Saturday Insights: Half To GISW Sadler’s Joy Debuts On The Ellis Turf appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

An additional five horses have been added to the catalogue for next Monday's Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale at the company's Newtown Paddocks in Lexington. Catalogued as hip 520 is the 2-year-old filly Fortuna Mia, who won her maiden by four lengths at Horseshoe Indianapolis at first asking May 13 to become the first winner for her freshman sire Vekoma (by Candy Ride {Arg}) and most recently finished third in a muddy renewal of the Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs June 30. Out of a half-sister to Grade II winner Fioretti (Bernardini) and SW Louisville First (Girolamo), Fortuna Mia is being consigned by Paramount Sales, agent. Zen Moment (Will Take Charge) hails from the draft of Highgate Sales, agent, and is catalogued as hip 518. The 3-year-old filly, third in Keeneland maiden company this past April, exits a 1 1/2-length graduation at Churchill June 26, for which she earned a 76 Beyer Speed Figure. Sir Greylind (Speighster) was a debut winner at Keeneland Apr. 13, followed up with a competitive runner-up effort against starter-allowance foes in Louisville over seven furlongs May 9 and exits a strong 5 1/4-length success when sent over a route of ground for the first time beneath the Twin Spires May 31. He is entered for Saturday's GIII Indiana Derby, where he is a 6-1 chance on the morning line. Legacy Bloodstock consigns Sir Greylind as hip 522. Fasig-Tipton will hold its July Sale of Selected Yearlings Tuesday, July 9 beginning at 10 a.m. Online and phone bidding is available for both sales. The post Five More Horses Supplemented To Fasig-Tipton July HORA Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

On this weekend six years ago Roaring Lion got the better of Saxon Warrior (Jpn) to win the G1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes by a neck. This was a truly golden era for John Gosden's stable, with Enable (GB), Stradivarius (Ire), Cracksman (GB) and Too Darn Hot (GB) among Roaring Lion's fellow residents at Clarehaven. Saxon Warrior had been the only horse to beat Qatar Racing's Roaring Lion in an otherwise spotless juvenile campaign. After winning the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes, Roaring Lion was second to the Ballydoyle star – who would end up a Guineas winner – in the G1 Racing Post Trophy. The reversal in the Eclipse heralded the start of a glorious run of four Group 1 victories for Roaring Lion, which took the son of Kitten's Joy to York for the Juddmonte International, to Leopardstown for the Irish Champion Stakes and then Ascot, where, in the colours of Qatar Racing, he won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes on a big day for his owner's Qipco sponsorship brand. The Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs just a few weeks later proved a bridge too far but nonetheless Roaring Lion retired to Tweenhills Farm & Stud as one of the most exciting stallion prospects of 2019. Tweenhills owner David Redvers could see his grey head each morning from his kitchen window and he would hand-walk him daily in preparation for the covering season ahead. It was hard not to feel Redvers's pain when, after just one season in Gloucestershire, Roaring Lion succumbed to colic not long after arriving in New Zealand for his first shuttling stint. It is too fanciful to think that Roaring Lion could follow the example of one-crop wonder Dubai Millennium (GB) in leaving a son as influential as Dubawi (Ire). But he is already represented by a stallion son in Dubai Mile, bred by Lady O'Reilly's Skymarc Farm and his sole Group 1 winner to date. The flashy chestnut landed the Criterium de Saint-Cloud in 2022 after finishing second in the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes, and was later fifth and ninth in the 2,000 Guineas and Derby. He has just covered his first book of mares at Manton Park Stud. Roaring Lion's top female performer is David Howden's homebred Running Lion (GB), the recent winner of G2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot, taking her tally to five. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, she was bred at Tweenhills, as was Running Lion and another of the sire's Pattern winners, the G3 Lester Piggott Fillies' Stakes heroine Queen Of The Pride (GB), who is a leading fancy for Saturday's G2 Lancashire Oaks. At Haydock it will also be worth paying attention to the Aga Khan-bred Sheradann (Fr), who won three in a row last year for Francis Graffard and was bought for €250,000 by Stephen Hillen for Fitri Hay. He makes his first start for 266 days in the competitive Old Newton Cup alongside another treble winner for the sire, Iron Lion (GB). In similar vein is another Tweenhills/Qatar production, Middle Earth (GB), who took the important Melrose Handicap last year before winning the Listed Noel Murless Stakes and returning at four to win the G3 Aston Park Stakes. Qatar Bloodstock owns the colt in partnership with Ciaron Maher, who will eventually take over training duties from the Gosdens and reportedly has designs on the Melbourne Cup. On the eve of this year's Eclipse at Sandown, a timely reminder of Roaring Lion was provided by his grey son Lion's Pride (GB), who took third in the Listed Gala Stakes in the hands of Kieran Shoemark. From a terrific Hascombe & Valiant Studs family and trained, as his sire was, at Clarehaven, Lion's Pride is a half-brother to Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}). A consistent performer, he is already a black-type winner and has finished in the first three on each of his starts. Embesto (GB) meanwhile represents Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum and Roger Varian and made an eye-catching start last year when winning a maiden and a novice race and later dead-heating with Mighty Ulysses (GB) in the G3 Sovereign Stakes. He looks set to reappear at Glorious Goodwood, while Newmarket's July meeting this coming week could feature the aforementioned Running Lion and Middle Earth. From 107 foals on the ground from that lone crop, Roaring Lion has to date had 88 runners and 51 individual winners. Ten of those have earned black type, and he has 6.8 per cent stakes winners to runners. That record will only improve so far, but with some unexposed staying types among his offspring we may yet see another stakes winner or two emerge. Will he leave a lasting legacy at stud? Probably not. But for those of us lucky enough to have watched Roaring Lion at the races during that special summer, or from time to time at exercise on Newmarket Heath, he leaves a memorable impression, not to mention the regret that he was gone far too soon. The post The Lion Sleeps but Pride Lingers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Sunday running at Kokura Racecourse: Sunday, July 7, 2024 10th-KOK, ¥29,450,000 ($183k), Allowance, 3yo/up, 1200mT PROTOPOROS (JPN) (c, 4, War Front–Cavale Doree {Fr}, by Sunday Break {Jpn}), a debut winner going this distance at Chukyo just over two years ago for the Carrot Farm syndicate, was a good fourth in Group 3 company in his next appearance and was last seen annexing a Chukyo allowance in January 2023 (see below, SC 4), having suffered a pelvic fracture according to published reports. The colt's dam, winner of the 2016 G3 Prix du Cavaldos and third to New Money Honey (Medaglia d'Oro) in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for 650,000gns carrying this colt at the 2019 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. Cavale Doree is a half-sister to Horizon Dore (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}), a three-time winner at group level in France and most recently third to Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot. B-Northern Racing The post War Front Colt Returns From Lengthy Absence at Kokura appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Godolphin's Anno Domini (GB) (New Bay {GB}–Alegra {GB}, by Galileo {Ire}), racing under a five-pound penalty, maintained his unbeaten record with a 3/4-of-a-length tally in Friday's Tattersalls £40,000 EBF Novice Stakes at Sandown. 4th-Sandown, £40,000, Nov, 7-5, 2yo, 7fT, 1:30.96, g/f. ANNO DOMINI (GB) (c, 2, New Bay {GB}–Alegra {GB}, by Galileo {Ire}), penalised five pounds for annexing his June 13 debut at Newbury last time, was quickly into stride and tracked the leading duo for most of this return. Taking closer order in the straight, the 11-10 favourite quickened smartly to hit the front entering the final furlong and was pushed out to prevail by 3/4-of-a-length from long-time leader Windlord (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}. “I liked him when he won at Newbury first time and this is more his trip,” commented William Buick. “He is very smooth throughout his races and a bit of juice in the ground suits him well. He came into the race very easily, which he did at Newbury as well, and he just has a look when he gets to the front, but is doing enough. He is going to be a very nice horse for the future. He's very straightforward and a pretty easy horse to handle. He's bred to get further, which is handy, and at home and in his races he's been taught to do things the right way round.” Anno Domini, a G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes entry, is the latest of eight foals and one of six scorers produced by a winning granddaughter of G1 Moyglare Stud S. third and stakes-winning matriarch Alouette (GB) (Darshaan {GB}), herself the dam of multiple Group 1-winning full-sisters Alborada (GB) (Alzao) and Albanova (GB) (Alzao). Alouette's dynasty also includes multiple Group 1-winning Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and G1 St Leger and G1 Irish St Leger hero Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Anno Domini is a half-sister to May's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches runner-up Kathmandu (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), Listed Silver Tankard S. victor Pythagoras (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Listed Montrose Fillies' S. winner Blue Gardenia (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}). Sales history: 125,000gns Ylg '23 TATOCT; 525,000gns 2yo '24 TATBRE. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $34,597. O-Godolphin; B-Exors Of The Late Sir Robert Ogden (GB); T-Charlie Appleby. ANNO DOMINI pic.twitter.com/fwmIGYlRNA https://t.co/pXFqT22RaI — The Horse Racing Tipster (@Racing_Tipster7) July 5, 2024 The post Godolphin’s Anno Domini Goes Two-For-Two With Sandown Victory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Ellis Park's racing and gaming facility will operate as normal July 5 following unexpected water issues that caused the July 4 opening-day racing program to be conducted without fans and the gaming facility to be closed. View the full article

A day after an 'unexpected water issue' caused by Wednesday evening storms forced the closure to the public of Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky, track officials announced Friday morning that it would be business as usual for the afternoon's live program. “Thank you to our staff, the local Henderson community and racing fans for their patience,” said Ellis Park General Manager Matt Pressley. “We're looking forward to seeing everyone out at the track [Friday].” Strong storms passed through the region Wednesday night, causing a power outage to the grandstand that affected the water supply. Power was eventually restored, but water levels were insufficient to operate the facility. The post Ellis Park Reopens To Public For Friday Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Saturday's top tips from the Post's racing teamView the full article

Wathnan Racing's Aesterius (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}–Jane Doe {Ire}, by Hallowed Crown {Aus}) followed up an impressive debut score at Bath in May with a fifth in Royal Ascot's G2 Norfolk Stakes last month and was too good for five rivals to register a career high in Friday's Listed Dragon Stakes at Sandown. The £380,000 Goffs Breeze-Up graduate broke smartly from the outside gate and stalked the pace in second through halfway. Looming large at the quarter-mile marker, the 6-4 pick seized control approaching the final furlong and kept on powerfully to easily outpoint It Ain't Two (GB) (Calyx {GB}) by 1 1/4 lengths. Aesterius is the first of two foals produced by a half-sister to G3 Horris Hill S. victor and G2 German 2000 Guineas third Tawhid (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). His multiple Grade III-winning second dam Snowdrops (GB) (Gulch) is out of the stakes-placed Roses In The Snow (Ire) (Be My Guest), whose descendants include G1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Tiger Tanaka (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}). The January-foaled bay is half to a yearling colt by Cotai Glory (GB). Fifth behind Shareholder in the Norfolk, AESTERIUS lands the Listed Dragon Stakes at @Sandownpark in style for @Archie_Watson, @the_doyler and Wathnan Racing pic.twitter.com/Rv1MJcCi2y — Sporting Life Racing (@SportingLife) July 5, 2024 The post Wathnan Racing’s Aesterius Powers to Dragon Triumph at Sandown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The ThoroughBid Online Yearling Sale will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 13, the company announced on Friday. Nominations are now open. Englemere (Ire) (Goken {Fr}) and Sensorium (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), graduates of last year's inaugural sale, ran in the G2 Queen Mary Stakes and Listed Windsor Castle Stakes, respectively at Royal Ascot. Alpha Magic (GB) (Ardad {Ire}), another alumni, won at Thirsk on debut for Mick and David Easterby on Thursday. Any yearling sold that goes on to win first time out in any International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) country will receive a £5,000 Every 1's A Winner Bonus from ThoroughBid. CEO of ThoroughBid, James Richardson, said, “We're delighted to announce the return of our Online Yearling Sale for 2024. Off the back of last year's encouraging results, in which two Royal Ascot runners were unearthed, as well as yesterday's Easterby debut winner, we are excited to see who goes through our online sales ring come November. “It's another fantastic opportunity for people to make the most of one our bonuses, in this case the £5,000 Every 1's A Winner Bonus, which as the Easterby team can attest, offers anyone the chance land a nice prize should their purchase win first time out in any IFHA member country. “There was a nice buzz about the sale last year, with bidding coming in from across the world, and we look forward to offering vendors the chance to sell globally without the impact of staff and travel costs.” The post ThoroughBid’s Online Yearling Sale Returns For A Second Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

World Pool's globally commingled pools will be in operation in Britain, Germany and South Africa this weekend, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Friday. The G1 Durban July and G1 Garden Province Stakes are both World Pool races at Greyville in South Africa on Saturday for the first time, while the G1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes returns to the World Pool fold at Sandown later that same day. Hamburg Racecourse in Germany will feature the G1 Deutsches Derby and three other races on the card on Sunday–the G3 Hamburger Stutenpreis, Listed Japan Racing Association Trophy, and the HKJC World Pool Handicap. Michael Fitzsimons, executive director, wagering products at the HKJC, said, “We're delighted to have such high-quality racing from Greyville, Sandown and Hamburg on the horizon this weekend–to be featuring Durban July Day for the first time, welcoming back the Eclipse to the World Pool roster, as well as expanding our offering on Deutsches Derby Day. “Commingling some of the world's top race meetings across three different countries all in one weekend is just what World Pool was intended for, and we look forward to providing our global customers with unrivalled value across the three meetings.” For the full wagering schedule, please visit the World Pool website. The post Trio Of Countries To Feature World Pool This Weekend appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Lot 72, a filly by More Than Ready's Gimmethegreenlight (Aus), topped the Bloodstock South Africa KZN Yearling Sale on Thursday. She brought a new record price for the sale of R1,900,000 (£81,497/€96,336/$104,293) on the bid of Mary Liley. Consigned by Klawervlei Stud Party, Ltd., agent, the filly is a full-sister to the two-time winner Lovegrass (SAf), with the duo out of the Listed East Cape Oaks winner Eros's Girl (SAf) (Captain Al {SAf}). The dam is a three-quarter sister to South African champion Captain's Lover (SAf) (Captain Al {SAf}), and a half-sister to Gimmethegreenlight's Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed Universal (SAf) and to champion Vardy (SAf) (Var). A son of Canford Cliffs (Ire) was picked up by Vuyo for R900,000 later in the day as lot 103. Part of the Clifton Stud draft, the son of Irresistable Chris (Brz) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}) is the grandson of four-time Brazilian Group 1 winner Indian Chris (Brz) (Ghadeer {Fr}). The sale grossed R39,075,000 (£1,675,665/€1,981,035/$2,144,363) for 182 sold from 191 offered (95%). The average was R214,698 (£9,206/€10,886/$11,732) (+16%) and the median also increased to R150,000 (£6,432/€7,606/$8,233) (+7%). Leading the consignors was Klawervlei Stud, who sold all 10 lots for a total of R5,850,000. The top buyer was Pound Bloodstock, who acquired 15 yearlings for R3,515,000. For the full results, please visit the BSA website. The post New Record Price At BSA’s KZN Yearling Sale, As Gimmethegreenlight Filly Shines appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Three members from the much-anticipated first crop by undefeated Horse of the Year Flightline (Tapit) are scheduled to go under the hammer during the foal session of the Japan Racing Horse Association (JRHA) Select Sale on Tuesday, July 9, on the northern island of Hokkaido. The foal sale is preceded by the Select Yearling Sale on Monday, July 8. TDN European Sales Editor Brian Sheerin will be providing on-site coverage. Flightline has every chance to make an enormous first impression when lot 347 becomes the first of the three offerings to enter the ring during the first couple hours of business on Tuesday. The Feb. 23 foal, consigned by Grand Stud, is the first from his dam Blue Stripe (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg}), a Group 1 winner and champion in her native Argentina before winning the GI Clement L. Hirsch Stakes and finishing a nose second to Malathaat (Curlin) in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, a race won by her half-sister Blue Prize (Arg) (Pure Prize) in 2019. Emmanuel de Seroux's Narvick International purchased Blue Stripe for $4 million at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Argentinian champion 2-year-old filly Tan Gritona (Arg) (Full Mast) is the dam of lot 419 from Northern Farm. The bay colt, produced on Feb. 13 of this year, is also the first out of his dam, who won the G1 Jorge de Atucha at Palermo and the G1 Polla de Potrancas at San Isidro to secure divisional honors in 2022. Tan Gritona was a winner of three of five starts overall. The last of the Flightline trio is lot 436, a colt out of Grace Adler (Curlin). A $700,000 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling purchase by Michael Lund Petersen in 2020, the daughter of Grade III winner Our Khrysty (Newfoundland) galloped by better than 11 lengths in the 2021 GI Del Mar Debutante Stakes and was another knocked down to Narvick International at FTKNOV, hammering for an even $2 million. Grace Adler's half-brother Pyrenees (Into Mischief) won the GIII Pimlico Special Stakes in May and was runner-up in last weekend's GI Stephen Foster S. To follow are some of the other yearlings and foals by American-based stallions scheduled to sell early next week. Grand Stud consigns the Flightline colt out of Blue Stripe | JRHA photo Yearlings: Lot 67, c, Essential Quality–Red Lark (Ire), by Epaulette (Aus) Consigned by Oiwake Farm A Feb. 9 foal, this colt is the first produce for his dam, once second from five starts in Ireland in 2019 for trainer Johnny Murtagh before upsetting the 2020 GI Del Mar Oaks at 19-1 for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trainer Paddy Gallagher. Red Lark was part of the first book of mares bred to Essential Quality, who hails from the same female family as Japan's Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). Lot 119, c, Justify–Miss Marissa, by He's Had Enough Consigned by Shadai Farm An $11,000 OBS October Yearling, Miss Marissa punched well above her weight for Cammarota Racing and trainer Jim Ryerson, winning the 2021 GII Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and the GII Delaware Handicap the following year. Justify is the sire of 16 winners in Japan, including the listed scorers Yuttitham (Jpn) and Awesome Result. Foals: Lot 355, c, Justify–Sandra, by Bluegrass Cat Consigned by Kimura Hidenori Co Ltd The stakes-placed dam of Haynesfield Stakes winner Water's Edge (Candy Ride {Arg}), Sandra was sold for $200,000 with this colt in utero at last year's Keeneland November Sale. The 10-year-old is a half-sister to MGSW and GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint runner-up Dust and Diamonds (Vindication), the dam of Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), champion Japanese 2-year-old of 2021 and winner of the G1 Tokyo Yushun and G1 Arima Kinen. Dust and Diamonds also accounted for the multiple Grade III-placed Much Better (Pioneerof the Nile). Lot 372, c, Epicenter–Marcy Darcy, by Smart Strike Consigned by Matsuura Farm A $95,000 acquisition by Narvick at KEENOV last fall, Marcy Darcy is daughter of 2009 GI Spinaway Stakes heroine Hot Dixie Chick (Dixie Union), herself the dam of GI La Troienne S. winner Pauline's Pearl (Tapit), MSW/GSP Union Jackson (Curlin) and SP Marsalis (Curlin). The Grade III-winning third dam Above Perfection (In Excess {Ire}) produced 2017 GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) and Grade II winner Positive Spirit (Pioneerof the Nile) in addition to Hot Dixie Chick. Lot 398, c, Gun Runner–Armony's Angel, by To Honor and Serve Consigned by Shunsuke Yoshida Armony's Angel, a half-sister to Grade II winner Conquest Big E (Tapit) and SW Aquapazza (Stormy Atlantic), was sold for $67,000 in foal to Classic Empire at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale. The mare saw her stock improve dramatically when that in-utero purchase, Angel of Empire, won the 2023 GI Arkansas Derby and was third in the GI Kentucky Derby. As a result, Armony's Angel fetched $800,000 from Katsumi Yoshida at Fasig-Tipton November last fall. The Gun Runner half-brother to Angel of Empire | JRHA photo Lot 483, c, American Pharoah–Joy of Painting, by Munnings Consigned by Paca Paca Farm Paca Paca Farm signed the ticket on the Grade III-placed turf router and maiden mare Joy of Painting at $250,000 at Keeneland November in 2022. The mare is a granddaughter of Grade II winner Cat Chat (Storm Cat), the dam of GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes winner In Lingerie (Empire Maker)–now a broodmare in Japan–and second dam of Grooms All Bizness (Fed Biz), a two-time stakes-winning grass sprinter this season. Lot 503, c, Known Agenda–Thank You Marylou, by Birdstone Consigned by Afleet Farm Winner of the GIII Dogwood Stakes in 2014 and placed three times at Grade I level, Thank You Marylou was hammered down to Swynford Management for $27,000 when she was carrying this colt at Keeneland November last fall. The post First Flightline Foals Set For JRHA Select Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Nineteen students graduated this week from the National Stud's Level 3 Stud Management and Sales Consignment course in a ceremony held at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket. Lorenna Rossi was named the top student on the course and received an award named in memory of the late Tim Dunlop. The stud's traditional diploma course was updated in 2023 to run in tandem with the academic year and to include practical work during the yearling and foal sales season. “We are delighted to celebrate the first cohort of students graduating from the Level 3 programme,” said the National Stud's CEO Anna Kerr. “The changes we have made to what was previously the diploma course have achieved our desired objectives and all of these graduates are going on to excellent positions within the industry. This is also the first year we have hosted the graduation at the Jockey Club Rooms, which is such a fitting setting for our graduates to embark on the next stage of their careers.” Award winners for 2024 The Tim Dunlop Memorial Top Student Award: Lorenna Rossi Watership Down Best Practical: Fflur Jones The John Pearce Foundation Award of Merit: Matthew Daubeney The Alborada Trust Most Improved Student Award: Eaun Marlow and Jess Hodgson. Georgina Morgan, who received an award of recognition, is set to join Australis's Hidden Stud for the start of the southern hemisphere breeding season. The National Stud class of 2024 | Dominic James The post Lorenna Rossi Named Top Student at National Stud Graduation appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Second-season handler spent two years as the veteran’s right-hand man, a spell that included Golden Sixty’s famed unbeaten streakView the full article

Entries for NZB’s 2024 Ready to Run Sale of Two-Year-Olds are now open, with the Sale set to be held at the Karaka Sales Centre on 20 and 21 November. Unprecedented results were witnessed at the 2023 edition of the Sale, with the total aggregate increasing by 39% to over $35.1 million and no less than 12 lots that sold for $500,000 or more. NZB’s graduate success continues to confirm the status of the Sale as the best of its kind in the world, with Ready to Run Sale graduates claiming 29 Group One accolades, and 116 stakes wins in the last five seasons alone. The likes of Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’or), Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse), Warmonger (NZ) (War Decree), Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars), Pulchritudinous (NZ) (Wrote), Sharp ‘N’ Smart (NZ) (Redwood) are all known as graduates of the Sale, plus emerging stars like last year’s record sale topper Megastar Heart (Star Turn), Antino (NZ) (Redwood), Snow Patrol (NZ) (Contributor) and Eternal Flame (NZ) (Sacred Falls) to name a few. The ongoing success on the racetrack by graduates has seen an increased buyer demand globally at Karaka for two-year-olds prepared by New Zealand’s expert horsemen and women. As a result, the 2023 Sale turnover of more than $35.1 million was 235% more than the closest Australian competitor equivalent sale with only 157 more horses catalogued. The record average of $156,031 at the 2023 Ready to Run Sale was also a clear 37% more than the closest Australian competitor sale average. NZB’s Managing Director Andrew Seabrook is looking forward to building on the incredible results seen at the 2023 edition of the Sale. “The 2023 Ready to Run Sale was just incredible, but we aren’t stopping there.” “It is consistently the best Sale of its kind for performance on the racetrack and results in the sale ring. “The fact our Breeze Ups are held on turf, on one track only, over two consecutive days, gives buyers such an advantage when analysing data and videos. “Our preparers and horsepeople are some of the best anywhere in the world, and are a major influence on the achieved results on the racetrack and why many purchase a New Zealand-bred or sold two-year-old. “While Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand are our major focus, we also work closely with buyers in other emerging markets to ensure the best possible outcomes. “We look forward to welcoming back all of our international and domestic buyers to Karaka in November where bookings for the hotel are already close to full,” he added. This year’s Breeze Ups will take place on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 October at Te Rapa where all horses catalogued have the opportunity to gallop prior to the entering the auction ring, whilst being timed and filmed for buyer analysis. To nominate your rising two-year-olds for NZB’s 2024 Ready to Run Sale, please visit NZB’s online portal at portal.nzb.co.nz. For entry enquiries, contact the Bloodstock Administrator Mary Jane Harvey (+64 9 298 0055 or email maryjane.harvey@nzb.co.nz). Entries close 5pm 2 August 2024. For any general sale enquiries, contact the NZB Bloodstock team here. View the full article

John Thompson will saddle up two runners at Randwick and both will be sporting a key gear change, one for the first time. Blinkers go back on With Your Blessing (NZ) (Vadamos) for Saturday’s Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap (1200m), while Jojo Was A Man will wear the shades for the first time in the Listed Winter Stakes (1400m). With Your Blessing raced well in blinkers last preparation but Thompson kept them off for his first-up run and he finished a solid fifth to Opal Ridge in the Ortensia Stakes at Scone. Thompson opted to keep them off for his next start in the June Stakes but the gelding disappointed. “He’s a horse that obviously needs them to switch on,” Thompson said. “I trialled him in them the other day at Randwick and he trialled really well. “He’s spot-on and it’s a nice race for him. He loves the wet.” Thompson is hoping the addition of blinkers also does the trick for JoJo Was A Man. The horse was largely consistent earlier in his career and didn’t need them, but after four unplaced runs from a spell, Thompson decided it was time to try something new. And while he hasn’t used blinkers on the gelding before he has thought about them based on the six-year-old’s pedigree. “He is by Al Maher and I’ve noticed a lot of the Al Maher’s do wear blinkers and I think Al Maher wore them himself,” Thompson said. “He has always been a really consistent horse and hasn’t really needed them, but it’s probably time to give them a burl. “Reece Jones is back on as well, he hasn’t ridden him for a while. He galloped him on Tuesday with the blinkers on and he said, ‘put them on, he worked great’ so we’ve put them on.” Jones has a great record aboard JoJo Was A Man, riding him 12 times for five wins and a narrow second to Taksu in the 2022 Winter Stakes. He is also the last jockey to partner him to victory and gets back aboard for the first time in 14 months. View the full article

Enigmatic galloper Crosshaven (Smart Missile) will try to do something he hasn’t done in close to four years on Saturday as he chases back-to-back wins at Flemington. The Ben, JD and Will Hayes-trained galloper last posted successive wins as a spring three-year-old in 2020, when he won the Listed Exford Plate (1400m) and the Gr.3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) in a campaign that saw him finish fourth in the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) and then take out the Gr.3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) on Victoria Derby Day. Crosshaven broke a run of outs when he saluted at his most recent start at Flemington and the earner of more than $1 million will be out to repeat the dose in the Listed Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final (1200m). “If he turns up again, he’s more than capable of winning and he’s giving every sign at home that he’s feeling great,” said JD Hayes. “He’s got lovely fitness under his belt, so hopefully he’s able to reproduce.” It might have been a moment of serendipity when the Hayes brothers discovered Crosshaven’s affection for Flemington’s straight course, after he flew home to run second in the Gr.3 Rising Fast Stakes (1200m) last spring in what was meant to be a fitness-building first-up outing. “He has shown a liking to the straight, he’s run some really credible races there and that seems to be where he puts his most consistent performances down, so we’re glad that it’s down the straight at Flemington on the weekend,” Hayes said. Crosshaven is at $21 with Sportsbet for the seventh race at Flemington. Lindsay Park will also saddle up last-start winner Le Ferrari in the VRC-CRV Winter Championship Series Final, although Hayes conceded that it won’t be easy for him from barrier 10. “It’s an awkward draw but he’s a horse in form,” he said. “He’ll give his all but he’s finding a very stiff race here, so we need a few things to go our way, but if you’re a Le Ferrari fan, he’s maintained from last run.” View the full article

Whether recalling the deeds of past champions or pondering which horse might be the next, there’s no getting away from the allure of the Melbourne Cup. Past and present came together this week when the Victoria Racing Club’s Melbourne Cup Tour arrived in New Zealand. First stop on Monday was Cambridge’s Kingsclere Stables to check out Mark Twain, the son of 2009 Cup winner Shocking who nailed a golden ticket to the big dance on November 5 with his last-to-first win in the Roy Higgins at Flemington in March. On Tuesday the tour proceeded to Matamata and, amongst various others, caught up with retired trainer Jim Gibbs, the original trainer of 1995 Melbourne Cup winner Doriemus. The bonus for Gibbs was that one of this year’s tour ambassadors was none other than recently retired jockey Damien Oliver, who nearly three decades ago partnered Doriemus in the first of his three Melbourne Cups. Doriemus belongs on an impressive list of horses selected by Gibbs at bargain prices, in his case $4,500 when he secured the slightly-built chestnut as a yearling in 1992. After winning two of his three starts as an autumn three-year-old, Doriemus caught the attention of Australian talent scouts and he duly changed hands to clients of the Lee Freedman stable, with Gibbs and his wife Ann retaining a 10 per cent share. By the spring of 1995 the ugly duckling had grown into the equine version of a swan and he became the just the eighth horse to complete the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double. Gibbs was still actively engaged with his Matamata stable, but that didn’t get in the way of enjoying the deeds of his star graduate. “I was training out at Parkvale Farm by then and Lee would send him back here to make the most of the lovely spelling paddocks,” the Hall of Famer recalled. “It was quite something to see how he matured year by year and by the time he was five he was a big, powerful horse and he knew he was good.” Freedman had put his toe in the water with the newcomer, giving Doriemus just one late three-year-old start, which he won, at the Queensland winter carnival and in the late spring he won another two races and finished third in his first major test, the Gr. 2 Sandown Cup. A year later and Doriemus was all horse, finishing second in the Gr. 2 Turnbull Stakes and two weeks later going one better in the Caulfield Cup. In that race he burst through the pack to get up late and score by half a length, but his Melbourne Cup win was far more dominant. Oliver had Doriemus ready to lodge his bid once the field had straightened up and after hitting the lead untested, he raced clear by four lengths over the VRC Derby winner Nothin’ Leica Dane and Irish raider Vintage Crop. Two years earlier that horse had changed the Melbourne Cup landscape with his victory for Dermot Weld and in 2002 Oliver and Weld combined to each add their second Melbourne Cup with Media Puzzle. That was an especially poignant victory for Oliver, coming just a week after his jockey brother Jason had died from injuries suffered in a trial fall. Oliver, who retired last year with an Australian record 129 Group Ones in a career total of more than 3,000, went on to add a third Melbourne Cup – and trail-blazer Gai Waterhouse her first – with Fiorente in 2013, but his first will always hold a special place. “Winning the Melbourne Cup is the ultimate for any jockey and the first one is unique,” says the man they call the GOAT. “Doriemus was just a good, tough stayer with tremendous stamina, and being in my early twenties he meant a lot to my career.” Doriemus contested four Melbourne Cups in all, with Oliver in the saddle when he finished seventh from well back in 1996 and Greg Hall the rider in 1997 when he finished second in both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups to the rampant front-runner Might And Power. That Melbourne Cup is one that Hall would prefer to forget, having raised his whip in celebration thinking Doriemus had nailed Might And Power on the line, only for the photo-finish camera to confirm that he had failed by a nose. Doriemus was retired after finishing well out of the placings in the 1998 Melbourne Cup and lived out his days at Melbourne’s Living Legends Park, where he died aged 24 in 2015. While Oliver is on his first Melbourne Cup tour, the opposite applies to the man known as the Keeper of the Cup, Joe McGrath. As a long-time employee of the Victoria Racing Club, McGrath has played a pivotal role in displaying the Melbourne Cup to what is now a truly international audience. “I came on board for the first Cup tour and 22 years later here I am still doing it,” McGrath said. “The Melbourne Cup has never needed any introduction where ever we’ve taken it in New Zealand and Australia, and as it’s become more international, the rest of the world has also come to recognise and embrace it.” The 2024 Melbourne Cup tour covers 39 destinations across six countries. McGrath and his entourage have already visited the United States and Japan, and still have the United Kingdom and Ireland on their schedule. And anyone lucky enough to hold with their white-gloved hand the golden trophy in McGrath’s possession can rest assured it’s the real McCoy. “For sure,” adds McGrath, “that’s the Cup that will be presented to the next lucky winners on November 5. It weighs a total of 3.85 kilograms, 1.85 kilos of that consists of 18 carat gold and with the price of gold still on the rise, we’ve recently had it valued at A$750,000.” The A$8,560,000 Lexus Melbourne Cup is one of eight Group One races scheduled across the four days of Flemington’s Cup Week programme. Total stakes for those eight races is A$23,775,775. View the full article

Justaskme will contest the Valley D’Vine Restaurant Handicap (1400m) at Hastings on Saturday. Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North) Winter warhorse Justaskme is already a two-time winner of the Listed Opunake Cup (1400m), and New Plymouth trainer Allan Sharrock is using Saturday’s Valley D’Vine Restaurant Handicap (1400m) at Hastings as a springboard into another shot at the local feature on July 20. Justaskme won his first Opunake Cup with a two-length victory over his stablemate London Express in 2021. He finished fourth behind Helena Baby a year later, then triumphed again 12 months ago with a powerful performance under 60kg. The eight-year-old has kicked off his latest winter campaign in good style, making up eye-catching ground for fifth under 59kg in the Listed Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m) and finishing a last-start third in the Listed AGC Training Stakes (1600m) at Wanganui just over a month ago. “He’s had a little freshen up since Wanganui and has done really well,” Sharrock said. “This race fits in nicely in his preparation for the Opunake Cup. He needs a run to get him ready for that race. “I’m probably not expecting him to be overly competitive on Saturday. You don’t have much hope when you’re given 62kg, but that’s life. It helps to take a few kilos off with Elle Sole’s 4kg claim, but that’s also a bit of a disadvantage with this horse because he really needs a senior rider to get him going.” Sharrock’s Hastings contingent also includes the unbeaten Indian Gold in the Livamol Classic On Sale Now Handicap (1200m). The three-year-old son of Ocean Park was an impressive maiden winner over the same distance in his only previous start on June 6. “He’s a nice horse,” Sharrock said. “He’s second-up here and goes up in weight. It’s a much harder race for him, but I think he’s a fair bit better than a one-win horse.” Indian Gold also has the pedigree to extend over longer distances than Saturday’s 1200m. His dam is the High Chaparral mare Chapinta, who won six races up to 2200m, while her half-brother Sangster won a Group 1 Auckland Cup (3200m) and Victoria Derby (2500m). Sharrock’s other runner at Hastings on Saturday is Fleming in the Three Wise Birds Handicap (1200m). The six-year-old has had just five starts in his stop-start career, but has won twice including a jaw-dropping romp by 13 lengths on debut in 2022. This will be Fleming’s first start since last September, but he finished second in a trial at Waverley last month. “I think we’ve got enough work into him,” Sharrock said. “The track conditions on Saturday will suit him. He’s got a terrible draw (11), which is against him, but he’s working well enough to suggest he can be competitive.” Sharrock also has three runners at Te Rapa on Saturday and gave a particular push for Bella Timing in the Jack & June Stewart Memorial (1200m). The daughter of Time Test is a half-sister to Sharrock’s Group 2 winners Tavi Mac and Darci La Bella. Bella Timing has won once in her five-start career and was a last-start second placegetter at Trentham. “I really like Bella Timing, who I’d say would be my best chance there this weekend,” Sharrock said. “She’s absolutely thrived since her last run.” Horse racing news View the full article

Pacheco will contest the TAB Hurdle (2800m) at Te Rapa on Saturday. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Shaun Phelan is set to be represented by leading contenders at both New Zealand race meetings on Saturday, despite the likely scratching of his six-race winner Enchanted Elle. The daughter of Jakkalberry is entered for the Beard Brothers Handicap (2200m) at Hastings, where the 4kg claim of apprentice jockey Rihaan Goyaram would reduce her impost to just 50kg. “Unfortunately, she’s got a bit of a sore foot, so it’s looking like she might have to be scratched from that race on Saturday,” Phelan said. “But we’re still hoping to get her back to something like the Taumarunui Cup (2200m) later in the month, which she won last year, and she could have a hurdle career ahead of her yet as well.” Enchanted Elle’s defection would leave Phelan with two runners at Hastings – Perfectmanz in the Tipsy Towbar Handicap (2100m) and Danzino in the Happy Hire Handicap (2100m) – while promising hurdler Pacheco headlines the Cambridge trainer’s two-strong team at Te Rapa. Pacheco is rated a $3.80 favourite for the TAB Hurdle (2800m), having made a big impression with his maiden hurdle victory over the same course and distance on June 15. The six-year-old son of Makfi has also been racing well on the flat, including a second placing behind subsequent black-type winner Casino Princess at Rotorua in May, along with a close fourth at Ruakaka last Saturday. “His maiden hurdle win was a pretty promising performance,” Phelan said. “There’s been a bit of form out of that race as well, with Mont Ventoux winning his next start by a big margin. “I thought his run on the flat the other day was really good too, so he’s going pretty well at the moment. I couldn’t be any happier with him.” Hastings candidate Perfectmanz contested the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) in March, finishing 12th. His first appearance since then came at Tauranga on June 22, where he finished at the tail of a seven-horse field over an unsuitable 1300m distance. “Perfectmanz is coming up really well,” Phelan said. “He obviously ran in the Derby last prep. This is a big step up in distance for his second run of the campaign, going straight from 1300m to 2100m. But we did something similar last time too, where he ran fifth over 1400m on debut and then won a 2040m maiden in his second start. So I’d expect the big increase in distance to suit him, and he seems to handle wet tracks well.” Danzino is taking a similar step up in distance for his second-up assignment on Saturday, having made up good ground for fourth over 1400m in his resuming run at Tauranga late last month. The Tarzino gelding was a maiden winner over 2200m earlier in the season. “I thought it was a massive run over 1400m fresh up,” Phelan said. “It’s a big jump in distance for him too, but he’s a lovely big 17-hands Tarzino. Getting up over ground should be absolutely ideal. We’re lucky to have Johnathan Parkes booked to ride him too, because I think he needs a strong rider.” Horse racing news View the full article