Confirmed to stand at Darley in 2020 are Group 1 winners Blue Point, Too Darn Hot and Microphone and are respectively sons of champion stallions Shamardal (USA), Dubawi (Ire) and Exceed And Excel.

Too Darn Hot and Microphone will stand at Kelvinside, New South Wales while Blue Point will stand at Northwood Park, Victoria. Service fees for all three will be announced later this month.

Blue Point was Europe’s champion sprinter, Too Darn Hot was Europe’s champion 2 and 3-year-old while Microphone was Australia’s champion juvenile, a combination to surely satisfy Australasian breeders’ appetites for class and precocity.

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New for 2020: Three Champions by Champions

“As a group they are unsurpassed as the finest selection of first-season stallions to be offered by Darley in Australia,” Managing Director of Godolphin Australia Vin Cox said.

“Microphone, Blue Point and Too Darn Hot represent true class, these three stallions are absolutely mouth-watering prospects.

“Announcing any one of these horses in their own right would be pretty exciting, so to have three of them of this calibre with the pedigrees they have, by these sires and the race performances is quite extraordinary.”

Royal Ascot star

An exceptional short course performer, in 2019 Blue Point did what no European-bred horse had done in almost 100 years - winning Royal Ascot’s two Group 1 sprints, the Diamond Jubilee and the King’s Stand S., having also won the King’s Stand in 2018.

Blue Point won the G2 Gimcrack S. at York by 3l on debut as a 2-year-old in 2016 and following placings in both the G1 Middle Park S. and the Dewhurst S. later that season he returned at three with victory in the G3 Pavilion S., where he broke Ascot’s six-furlong track record.

As a 4-year-old, he dominated Dubai’s top turf sprints and recorded his first triumph in the King’s Stand S., the season prior to him winning Royal Ascot’s G1 sprint double.

Blue Point retired with a Timeform rating of 131, and stood his first season alongside his sire Shamardal at Kildangan Stud.

Stunning Dewhurst victor

Too Darn Hot earned a Cartier 2-Year-Old crown through scintillating victories in each of his four starts in 2018 and added the Cartier 3-Year-old title in 2019.

A son of the all-conquering Dubawi, Too Darn Hot possessed the juvenile brilliance so sought after in Australia with four scintillating victories in a nine-week period. He opened his account with a 7l maiden victory at Sandown, scored by 4l in the G3 Solario S. at his next appearance and then claimed the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster.

Too Darn Hot subsequently confirmed his champion status with victory in the G1 Darley Dewhurst at Newmarket, defeating the future Royal Ascot Group 1 winner Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) and G1 Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

He then triumphed in the G1 Prix Jean Prat over 1400 metres at Deauville before conquering the best older horses in G1 Sussex S. at Goodwood.

Too Darn Hot was crowned the champion 3-year-old of his year and retired with a Timeform rating of 132. He was the winner of six of his nine starts, with his only defeats coming when tried at a mile and beyond.

“To be able to offer Australian breeders these two prospects is a huge privilege,” said Alastair Pulford, Darley Head of Sales Australia said.

“We’ve seen what the Darley shuttle stallions have done for Australian racing with horses like Street Cry, Teofilo, Medaglia D’Oro and recently Night Of Thunder making a massive impression.

“The sires of both these horses, Dubawi and Shamardal stood with distinction on the Darley stallions’ roster in Australia and the availability of such a quality pair as Too Darn Hot and Blue Point is set to give Australian breeders access to elite outcross bloodlines that are already proven in Australia.”

Australian juvenile hero

Microphone won’t race again and enters stud as last season’s champion 2-year-old of an elite crop and is a son of yet another champion stallion, Exceed And Excel.

A four-time winner in his juvenile season, Microphone raced on six occasions as a 2-year-old and was never out of the money. He claimed the Listed Talindert S. at Flemington before winning the G2 Skyline S. at Randwick.

His strength and resilience shone through in heavy conditions when he was the first colt home when runner-up in the G1 Golden Slipper S.

Microphone then produced a sterling winning performance in the G1 ATC Sires’ Produce S. and accounted for the Group 1 winners Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible), Kiamichi (Sidestep), Castelvecchio (Dundeel {NZ}) and Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel).

He returned as a 3-year-old to win the G2 Autumn S. before narrowly beaten in the G1 Randwick Guineas.

“Microphone was a genuine champion colt from a stellar crop that has since proven itself against older horses,” Pulford said.

“He’s by the world’s best sire of 2-year-olds, there are stakes winners right through his maternal family and he’s a very good-looking horse in the mould of his father.

Gallery: The newest recruits to the Darley Australia 2020 roster

“This trio is as good as any group of new stallions Darley has offered in Australia. They all bring something different to the table. They have different sire lines, different looks, slightly different aptitudes and they should be extremely popular and hopefully very successful.

“All three are sons of essentially the best stallions we’ve stood leading up to Street Cry and Lonhro and it makes it so much more exciting to be able to offer the three best sons of the three best horses.”

“We’re in difficult times and I think the Easter Sale was refreshingly strong and encouraging for all concerned. It’s a great tribute to the industry that people can stand up and buy horses in quite uncertain times,” Cox said.

“Business must go on and people have to breed their horses and our business is very much about the future.

“We’ll let the dust settle a bit and assess the market and the general industry before we do announce the service fees. We’ll be relatively conservative and we’ll do that in another couple of weeks.”

Group 1-winning mare Youngstar has been confirmed as a wildcard entry for the Inglis Chairman’s Sale to be conducted on Friday, May 8 as a virtual auction with online and phone bidding.

That unique process was embraced by buyers at this week’s Australian Easter Yearling Sale and the Chairman’s catalogue, which is now available online, with the main catalogue featuring 55 mares and fillies.

They are headlined by the multiple Group 1 winner In Her Time (Time Thief), G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Booker (Written Tycoon) and the G1 Australian Oaks winner Unforgotten (Fastnet Rock), also placed four times at the elite level.

They are now joined by the Chris Waller-trained Youngstar, who won the G1 Queensland Oaks over 2200 metres at just her seventh career start, which at the time was her fourth consecutive victory. She then finished third in the G1 Queensland Derby a fortnight later.

During a career which netted in excess of $1 million in prizemoney, Youngstar proved herself one of the best middle-distance horses in the country, finishing a 1l second to mighty mare Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G1 Turnbull S.

“We got a great deal of satisfaction from her racing career, but we’re a racing partnership, not a breeding partnership and the plan all along was to enjoy her racing career and sell her as a broodmare, and that time has come,” Youngstar’s purchaser and part-owner Olly Koolman said.

“She’s going to be a very commercial proposition to the lucky buyer.”

“The genetics are there with her, the family is obviously getting continued upgrades through her little sister Funstar and she’s by a fantastic stallion in High Chaparral, who is already recognised as a fantastic broodmare sire – a large number of yearlings at the Easter Sale this week were out of High Chaparral mares.

“It’s a very commercial pedigree and it’s come a long way since we purchased her.’’

Other choice offerings in the Chairman’s Sale includes Cleanup (Dehere {USA}), dam of the G1 Doncaster Mile winner Nettoyer (Sebring), and in foal to The Autumn Sun; the Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed Noire (Foxwedge) and the Group 2 winner Samara Dancer (Hinchinbrook) in foal to freshman sire Trapeze Artist.

The dual stakes winners Sprightly Lass (Snitzel) will be offered in foal to Pierro; Sword Of Light (New Approach {Ire}) is in foal to Fastnet Rock, Lubiton (Snitzel) in foal to I Am Invincible and Meryl (Epaulette).

The catalogue further features high quality mares in foal to leading stallions including I Am Invincible, Exceed And Excel, Not A Single Doubt, Fastnet Rock, Pierro, Dundeel (NZ) and Zoustar.

International covers

There are also mares with international coverings by Frankel (GB), Kingman (GB), Lope de Vega (Ire) and Medaglia D’Oro (USA) and first-season sires including Justify (USA), The Autumn Sun and Trapeze Artist.

“To be entrusted with the opportunity to sell this calibre of bloodstock comes with significant responsibility, but we have already had significant interest in the sale,” Inglis’ New South Wales Bloodstock Manager Chris Russell said.

“We are genuinely excited to promote these mares to domestic and international investors in coming weeks ahead of the auction.

“This catalogue is filled with world-class athletes with some of the best and most commercial bloodlines in the world, many in foal to several of the best stallions in the world.

“It’s becoming increasingly rare for people to want to sell nice breeding prospects or mares, so we are delighted to have the opportunity to sell these for our vendors.’’

The 2020 Chairman’s Sale will begin at 3pm on Friday, May 8 online at inglis.com.au. It will again be accompanied by a Sale Day Live broadcast hosted by Caroline Searcy.

Applications for a wildcard spot in sale will be accepted up until 5pm on Friday, April 24, to submit contact a member of the Inglis Bloodstock Team or follow the below link.

RV’s action was prompted by the Council’s decision to write to the Victorian Government requesting the two fixtures be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“These will be the same biosecurity protocols, together with further recent enhancements, that were in place for the successful Warrnambool race meeting on Friday, March 27,” RV said.

“Having not been presented with the opportunity to discuss this matter with councillors prior to their reported decision, we look forward to the opportunity to provide them with a detailed overview of the strict measures that we have in place.

“RV and the Warrnambool Racing Club (WRC) share the reported views of the WCC that we don’t want people staying in Warrnambool at the time of these race meetings, not only for the health of the local community, but for that of industry participants and staff.

“It is for this very reason that the event was completely restructured by RV and WRC last week so there are different groups of participants and essential staff attending each race meeting, thus meaning that they don’t have to stay locally nor interact with the local community.

“There will be no industry staff staying in Warrnambool and RV and the WRC are telling any participants that don’t live locally to drive to the racecourse and back home on the same day and not stay locally. This is as important for their health and ongoing livelihoods as it is for that of the local community.

“RV and the Warrnambool Racing Club are fully aware of the seriousness of this pandemic, which is why the industry sought to lock out crowds prior to Government restrictions on social gatherings coming into force.”

Latest from Europe

Derby switch best option

Courtesy of TDN Europe

Trainer Andrew Balding said he would rather see the G1 Investec Derby go ahead on a different date and on a different racecourse than usual, rather than no Derby at all.

Jockey Club Racecourses revealed earlier this week that the Guineas Festival, originally set for May 2 and 3, and the Investec Derby Festival on June 5 and 6 would definitely be pushed back, with dates to be decided when it is clearer when racing will resume.

“Obviously it’s not quite the same test, but at the same time that is what happened in the war years and it’s not unprecedented,” Balding, who trains Guineas hopeful Kameko (USA) (Kitten’s Joy {USA}), told Sky Sports Racing.

“I would much rather see a Derby run somewhere than no Derby at all. I think that would be a shame for the whole industry. The Classics are the most important races of the year and very much need to be restaged if they possibly can at whatever venue they can.

“Obviously it’s a work in progress, but it’s still a long summer and there’s a lot of hope there we can get some sort of season together that would resemble what it would have done had this not happened.”

Balding said he is keeping his runners ticking over while awaiting news.

“We’ve just reduced the workload a little bit with all the horses to be honest. The 2-year-olds are doing as they ever would at this stage of the season, we rarely have a 2-year-old runner before June anyway, so I can’t say they’re too affected.

“With the older horses, we’ve had to reduce the intensity of the work to some degree and just sit and wait and hope for happier times.”

Generous Yulong gesture

The staff of BBA Ireland has received an unexpected, but very welcome surprise, when a large shipment of face masks arrived from China courtesy of Yuesheng Zhang’s Yulong Investments.

Zhang, who is developing a worldwide bloodstock empire including a major presence in Australia, has about 60 horses in Ireland between training yards and studs.

Wuhan is where much of the racehorse population in China winters, and is also the city where COVID-19 was first reported. With coronavirus cases dropping in Wuhan and restrictions lifting, Zhang decided to turn his focus to his friends abroad in need.

“Last week we got notification that a package was coming from China, and a large shipment of high-quality face masks arrived for all the staff in BBA Ireland,” said BBA Ireland agent Michael Donohoe, who has conducted plenty of business on behalf of Yulong in Europe.

“It was entirely Mr Zhang’s initiative and is a wonderful show of solidarity from China. Mr. Zhang is, like the rest of us, eagerly awaiting the resumption of the flat season.”

Further restrictions imposed

Racing has been permitted to continue in Japan, albeit under stricter measures, despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declaring a state of emergency earlier this week due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the nation.

Japan Racing Association meetings have been held behind closed doors since late February, but there will now be further restrictions put in place. According to Racing Post, jockeys will have to serve their usual pre-race quarantine in isolation rather than in communal quarters, and from April 18 they will not be permitted to ride at more than one racecourse during a single weekend.

Tighter rules have also been enacted on the movement of horses; horses below stakes level will have to campaign in their home regions until at least the beginning of May. This will, additionally, reduce the movement of stable staff.

The Japanese Classic season gets underway this weekend with the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) at Hanshin Racecourse.

Latest from the USA

Groom loses life

Courtesy TDN America

Martin Zapata, who spent the last two years working as a groom for trainer Tom Morley, died on Tuesday due to complications from COVID-19, according to the New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association. The 63-year-old Panama native tested positive on March 24.

“Martin was a beloved member of our team for the past two years who always greeted you at the door with a huge smile. He’ll be sorely missed by all those in the New York racing community and further afield as well as his family in Panama,” said Morley, who started a Gofundme in Zapata’s memory.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our community. Martin was a well-regarded horseman who always demonstrated great care and joy in his work. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends,” said NYTHA President Joe Appelbaum.

The New York Racing Association still plans to begin the Saratoga meeting on July 14, but it has delayed the opening of the Oklahoma Training Track and Saratoga stabling area, which were scheduled to open April 15, due to the coronavirus.

The New York Racing Association is working with the New York State Gaming Commission and public health agencies to determine an appropriate date to safely open the Oklahoma for training and stabling.

Meals racing out

The commercial kitchen at Keeneland Racecourse will serve as the epicenter for a production facility that will use displaced Lexington-area hospitality workers to prepare and deliver free meals to people and organisations that need them in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marc Therrien, the executive chef and managing director of Keeneland’s hospitality, is overseeing the association’s integration of volunteer efforts with FoodChain and Nourish Lexington, which are two charitable groups collaborating to use the skills and talents of local chefs, businesses, farms, funders, and non-profit agencies in order to feed community members.

“FoodChain has been co-ordinating meals from their headquarters, but they can’t do it alone,” Therrien told TDN from his home Tuesday afternoon.

“Keeneland’s been helping them out since last Friday, but the Nourish Lexington program kicks off on April 8. There are groups popping up all over the place that have this need for meals - churches, school children, emergency workers, all sorts of things.”

Cover image courtesy of Tattersalls

Owner-operator of Twin Hills Stud at Cootamundra with wife Amber, Tait was buoyed by the outcome of the virtual Easter Sale and said it showed the positive, longer-term outlook of the participants.

“I thought they were fabulous results for the industry in Australia and a great advertisement. Everyone is facing tough times, but the results indicate people realise that this moment will pass and racing in Australia will still be strong.

“Racing horses in Australia will still be better than it will be anywhere else in the world and our industry will remain vibrant after the COVID-19 crisis is passed.

“I think the sale results reflected that. We weren’t selling horses at the sale so we were very much a third party observer. Inglis did an amazing job in recreating an atmosphere of what we know as a normal thoroughbred auction.

“I think that was a tremendous thing - well done to Inglis and well done to the vendors that sold their horses well.”

Tait will stand four stallions at Twin Hills in 2020 and while the level of business may not be comparable to recent years, he is nevertheless in an optimistic mood.

“I think the general economic conditions aren’t going to be as they were last year so that is going to play a part in people’s decision-making,” he said.

Gallery: Twin Hills Stud stallions

“But again, I’ll come back to what I said before, we have an incredibly robust and vibrant industry and that is going to remain.

“While yes, the global economy is taking a hit over what is happening and we are not going to be immune to that, mares have to be bred and people have invested in their mares and they will continue to invest in service fees.

“It won’t necessarily be what it was, last year or the year before, but life will move on.”

The latest addition to the Twin Hills roster is the G1 Rosehill Guineas and G1 Golden Rose S. winner Hallowed Crown, the highest-rated male descendant of Street Cry (Ire) in Australia.

“He’s a great stallion for us to get. He’s only got first crop 3-year-olds so the sky’s the limit hopefully, but we’ll see,” Tait said.

Hallowed Crown, who began his stud career at Darley, received a boost last weekend when his daughter Colette completed a hat-trick of wins when she claimed the G3 Adrian Knox S. to earn favouritism for Saturday’s G1 The Star Australian Oaks.

“If he could get a first crop Group 1 winner it would be an amazing result. It is very competitive race and Colette is obviously a talented filly,” Tait said.

“She is running against Group 1 winners this weekend, which she didn’t have to last weekend so it will be a more difficult task, but she is certainly in with a great chance.

First out of blocks

Just days prior to the James Cummings-trained Colette winning the Adrian Knox, Twin Hills was the first stud in Australia to announce its 2020 service fees.

“We had made our decision and there wasn’t anything that was going to happen at the Easter Sale that was going to change it. I felt it was the right time to announce them,” Tait said.

“I’m glad that I did and got our message out there before everyone else did and hopefully that will hold us in good stead.”

Newcomer Hallowed Crown will stand at $11,000 incl GST alongside Group 1 producer Smart Missile ($22,000 incl GST), Denman ($8800 incl GST) and Odyssey Moon ($6600 incl GST).