Scales Of Justice succumbs to heart attack

Dual Group 1 winner Scales Of Justice (Not A Single Doubt) has died after suffering a suspected heart attack at a beach at Warrnambool.

The 7-year-old, winner of the 2016 G1 Railway S. and the 2019 G1 Memsie S. for trainer Lindsey Smith, collapsed after working on the beach and could not be saved.

"The horse was cantering in accordance with the approved guidelines of beach exercise when the incident occurred," Warrnambool Racing Club confirmed in a statement.

"The horse's rider sustained no injuries.

Vets from the University of Melbourne will conduct a post-mortem examination of Scales Of Justice, who won 12 of his 30 starts and more than $2.3 million in stakes.

"He was a beautiful horse from the first day I laid eyes on him," Smith told RSN.

"You could just see the intelligence in his eye. I know I drive people mad about it, but people who see it they would understand what I talk about.

"He knew my voice and basically knew who was who."

Cojuangco Dispersal catalogue confirmed

Magic Millions has confirmed a 41-lot catalogue of yearlings, race fillies, broodmares and racehorses will be offered as part of the Estate of the late Eduardo Cojuangco Dispersal during the National Sales Series.

All lots will be offered without reserve and the draft will be offered across the National Broodmare Sale, National Yearling Sale and National Racehorse Sale.

The 12-lot Broodmare draft includes eight race fillies and four broodmares, including relations to stakes winners Your Song, Good Standing (Artie Schiller {USA}) and Tactical Advantage (Bel Esprit). Three of the four broodmares are offered in foal to US Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (USA).

The 11 yearlings to be offered on Monday, August 3 are by leading sires such as Exceed And Excel, All Too Hard, Artie Schiller (USA), Hallowed Crown, Shalaa (Ire) and Your Song, and include siblings or half-siblings of Group 1 winners Hallowed Crown and Your Song as well as Needs Further and Tactical Advantage, along with progeny of stakes performing Gooree Park mares.

On offer at the National Racehorse Sale, which will be staged on August 4, will be 18 lots, highlighted by multiple stakes-winner Gem Song (Your Song). Promising colt Camerlengo (More Than Ready {USA}) and lightly raced winners Intimidating (Sebring), Mandirigma (Sebring), Sole Heir (Exceed And Excel), Awesome Lad (I Am Invincible) and Battle Guardian (Fighting Sun) are also part of the catalogue as a well as unraced prospects by sires Hallowed Crown, Lonhro, So You Think (NZ), Tapit (USA) and Fighting Sun.

Strangles outbreak at Geelong

Three Geelong stables have been locked down after a runner at Moonee Valley tested positive to strangles.

Stewards confirmed that the Danielle Loos-trained Naval Envoy (Smug {USA}) raced at The Valley on Sunday with the contagious condition.

The horse was tested on Monday, with Naval Envoy returning a a low-level reading for the disease.

Loos' stables are in lockdown as are horses from Geelong trainers Sonny Coombes and Chris Calthorpe, because their horses have had close contact with Naval Envoy.

The stables will be under a 14-day quarantine and all horses must be tested before they can enter horses again or move their horses without RV approval.

13th winner for Spill The Beans

The late Aquis sire Spill The Beans has produced his 13th first-season winner, with Coffee Coming victorious in a maiden at Dalby on Thursday.

The Harry Richardson-trained 2-year-old filly proved too good in the 1000 metre maiden, scoring at her third start in a race.

She has already paid back her purchase price of $2000 for her owners Frank and Judith Manwaring from last year's Magic Millions National Yearling Sale.

Spill The Beans leads all Australia first-season sires on Australian winners, two clear of Vinery Stud's Headwater.

Thousand Guineas goal with Impecunious

Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young are aiming up at the G1 Thousand Guineas with new stable acquisition Impecunious (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}).

A recent winner at Riccarton for Michael and Matthew Pitman, Impecunious is headed to Australia to the Cranbourne-based Group 1 winning training partnership.

"Michael Pitman (NZ trainer) was saying it was one of the best horses to come out of his stable for some time," Busuttin told Racing.com.

"She won by three or 4l, was as green as grass but won with her ears pricked.

"I watch a lot of New Zealand racing and I saw her win and was on the phone straight away to see if we could get her and luckily, we have."

Sargent eyeing black-type preparation

Black type is on the mind of trainer John Sargent with 3-year-old filly Emeralds (Sebring), who resumes in the Debortoli Wines H. at Randwick on Saturday.

While Saturday's race is only a benchmark handicap, Sargent told Racenet, he is looking to build towards better races through into the spring.

“She has come back a lot stronger and I would hope to get some black type with her at her next few starts to put some value on her resume,” Sargent said.

“Between 1400 metres and a mile is where I think she will be able to get it.

“She has raced in good company and had some wide draws before, that’s why she has had to get back.

“With her, the residual value is in black type so a race like the Golden Eagle isn’t what we are after as much."

NZTBA National Breeding Awards to be held on August 22

The inaugural NZTBA National Breeding Awards, which celebrate the successes of New Zealand thoroughbred breeders will be held at the Don Rowlands Centre, Lake Karapiro, near Cambridge on August 22.

The event is timed to coincide with the annual gavelhouse.com Waikato Stallion Parade weekend.

The awards will include the Breeder of the Year Award and Eight Carat Broodmare of the Year Award, previously presented at the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Awards.

The prestigious Breeder of the Year Award will be renamed this year in honour of one of New Zealand’s most influential breeders, Cambridge Stud founders Sir Patrick and Lady Justine Hogan, with the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association commissioning a bronze trophy by Cambridge artist Nicola Lewis.

The evening will also honour breeders of 21 Group 1 winners this season as well as New Zealand’s three stallion awards – the Dewar, Centaine, and Grosvenor.

Enable's sister breaks maiden

A half-sister to dual G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Portrush (GB) (Frankel {GB}), broke her maiden at Yarmouth on Wednesday.

A homebred for Juddmonte trained by John Gosden, Portrush improved on her debut second at Newbury last month to win by a narrow margin over 10 furlongs.

“Portrush came on nicely from her debut and got a lovely hands and heels ride - he [Rab Havlin] didn't rush her into it. She'll probably be a 1m4f filly in time but we'll see whether we leave her at that trip for one more start. She's probably one to take our time with and build her up gently,” said Thady Gosden, representing trainer John Gosden.

Portrush is the sixth winner from six foals to race from stakes-winning Sadler’s Wells (USA) mare Concentric (GB), who is the dam of Enable.

Benbatl ready to resume

Triple Group 1 winner Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is back in training and eyeing the G1 Juddmonte International at York for a potential return to action.

The 6-year-old, a winner of the G1 Dubai Turf, G1 Grosser Preis Dallmayr and G1 Caulfield S., and the runner-up to Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G1 Cox Plate, showed a new dimension when winning the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge over the dirt at Meydan in February before finishing third in the inaugural Saudi Cup. He was favoured for the G1 Dubai World Cup before that event was scrapped due to coronavirus.

“Benbatl is well. We gave him a break after Dubai,” said trainer Saeed bin Suroor. “In August we will start looking at races for him. He’s in the Juddmonte at York and when we get closer to the race we’ll see how he is.

“Whether he stays in training next year, to go to Saudi Arabia and Dubai again, we’ll have to see how he runs this year and I’ll talk to the boss [Sheikh Mohammed]. He’s a very consistent horse and always shows his class. He’s as good on turf and dirt and ran a big race in Saudi. He was favourite for the World Cup, they all had him to beat.”

Baffert gets 15-day ban

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert has been suspended 15 days for previously announced lidocaine positives found in post-race samples from two runners on Oaklawn Park’s May 2 card, G1 Arkansas Derby division winner Charlatan (USA) (Speightstown {USA}) and allowance winner Gamine (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}).

The Oaklawn Park Board of Stewards has also disqualified both horses from their wins and ordered purse monies to be redistributed in rulings dated July 14 and made public Wednesday.

News of the positives first surfaced in late May, and it was revealed last week that split samples taken from both runners confirmed the original test results. In Baffert’s defense, attorney Craig Robertson said it was believed an employee had inadvertently exposed the two horses to Lidocaine while wearing a pain-relieving Salonpas patch. Robertson also noted the trace amounts of the drug would have had no impact on the performances of the two horses. Lidocaine is a Class 2 substance.

The ruling calls for Baffert to be suspended from August 1 to August 15, but the conditioner told the TDN that he plans to appeal: “We’re definitely going to appeal. We are very disappointed. I thought we did a great job answering this and showing how innocent I am. I understand there is the trainer’s responsibility rule, but the levels, especially with Charlatan, were so low. We showed them the science that showed it wouldn’t have affected the horses at all.”

Royal Ace to stand at Glen Eden

Royal Ace, the city winning son of Casino Prince, will stand at Glen Eden Stud at Moranding near Kilmore in Victoria in 2020.

He will stand for $6600 (inc GST) in his first season and has impressed Glen Eden’s Sonia O’Gorman.

“He has only been here for a short time and he is already proving that he has a great temperament,” she said.

“And he is an athletic, strong individual who will let down to be an impressive stallion.”

Glen Eden also stand Fleet Review (USA), Giant's Steps (Arg), Mint Lane (USA) and Rebel Dane.

Not This Time filly tops OBS sale

A filly by Not This Time (USA) topped the day’s trade at the OBS July Sale selling for US$270,000 (AU$385,870). Consigned by de Meric Sales, Hip 640 was purchased by Mike Mulligan’s Emerald Sales on behalf of owner Tobey Morton.

A total of 155 juveniles changed hands Wednesday for a gross of US$3,869,800 (AU$5.53 million) with an average of US$24,966 (AU$35,723) and median of US$13,000 (AU$18,578).

"It’s a bizarre market,” said Dennis O’Neill, who picked up the day’s top colt, a US$185,000 (AU$264,000) son of Half Ours (USA) (Hip 383). “When I got here, I was the only one here and I was joking when I was looking at horses, I said, ‘Guys, I can’t buy every horse in the sale.’ It was really bizarre how few people were here Monday and then by Tuesday it had picked up.”

He continued, “It was really hit or miss. If you didn’t have anybody on the horse you liked, it was very, very easy to buy. But, I got shut out on two horses which I couldn’t believe because there weren’t many people there. At this sale, I haven’t seen any New York people or California people, so there aren’t a lot of people who travelled out here, which I can understand with the quarantine and everything going on.”