Fresh Bandersnatch too good
Bandersnatch (Casino Prince) has reacted well to having his races spaced apart and he doubled his black-type tally with success in the Listed Civic S. at Rosehill.
The John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes-trained 4-year-old was able to cross from a tricky gate to lead for Brenton Avdulla and it was all plain sailing thereafter.
“He jumped well and Brenton was able get him to the front and got a breather. It’s been a month between runs for him, he likes that and has done nothing wrong since he joined our stable,” Michael Hawkes said.
Bandersnatch has now won seven races, including the Listed Carrington S. when prepared by Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou.
Filly strikes again
Redoute’s Image (Redoute’s Choice) continued her successful Queensland campaign with a comfortable victory in the Ernie Ward Memorial at Eagle Farm.
The Kris Lees-trained filly had been successful at the Sunshine Coast in her lead-up and was untroubled to continue on her winning way for Craig Williams in the Australian Bloodstock colours.
“Kris likes to send them up here for a kill and she’s really turned the corner and she’s well-bred,” said representative Mel Eggleston.
Redoute’s Image was bred by Hutchins Thoroughbreds and was bought out of Element Hill’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft for $320,000 by Australian Bloodstock and Ronald Rauscher. She is out of a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 winner Typhoon Tracy (Red Ransom {USA}).
Sweet distance victory
Dour stayer Sweet Thomas (Ger) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) successfully defended his Stayers’ Cup title at Rosehill.
The veteran distance specialist hadn’t won in between times, but a solid previous third in the G2 Brisbane Cup showed he was in good touch.
“He was in great shape and had a good trip away and came back in great order,” trainer Matthew Smith said.
Sweet Thomas loped along under jockey Brenton Avdulla and made light of his topweight of 60kg in the run home to overpower Kaapfever (NZ) (Sufficient {NZ}).
Jockeys critical
Three jockeys are in hospital, two of them in a critical condition, following a multiple-horse fall at Darwin.
In the sixth race, Kim Gladwin’s mount Ogrim (Smart Missile) went amiss and brought down Jarrod Todd on Ranceski (Polanski) and Brendan Sweeney’s mount The Unknown (Arlington).
It is believed Sweeney was the most seriously hurt and is undergoing emergency surgery. The last race of the day was abandoned with both ambulances tending to the fallen jockeys.
Thoroughbred Racing NT boss Andrew O’Toole said the fall was another unfortunate racing incident.
“Kim Gladwin and Jarrod Todd were conscious when conveyed to hospital and Brendan Sweeney in and out of consciousness so they took him first,’’ O’Toole said.
“We called the last race off because we were unable to get an ambulance on track with two already in use. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those injured, and also the trainers, strappers and staff of the stables who care for and love the horses.”
Princess too tough
A gun front-running ride by Jonathan Riddell and the pugnacious nature of Pop Star Princess (NZ) (Makfi {GB}) combined to provide the pair with a memorable victory in the feature race at Tauranga on Saturday, the Listed Team Wealleans Tauranga Classic.
The Fred and Lindsay Cornege-trained mare was back to her brilliant best as she did all the donkey work in front on the Heavy 11 surface.
Fred and Lindsay Cornege with Pop Star Princess (NZ) | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
“I’m always confident but never cocky,” trainer Fred Cornege said. “What I enjoy is upsetting the experts and most didn’t have her as the winner.
“She just loves to get into her own rhythm and do things her way. She got her own way and it was just a lovely ride by Jonathan, that is why you put the senior riders on for the big races as he rode her perfectly.”
2021 class excels
The Irish National Stud Thoroughbred Breeding Course’s prestigious Gold Medal was this year awarded to Jake Scott Campbell, of County Kildare, who demonstrated outstanding performance in all aspects of the course with the Silver Medal being awarded to Australian Lachlan Pethica.
Since 1971, the course has hosted students from all over the world with this year being no exception as 24 students from every corner of the global thoroughbred world were awarded their certificates at the Stud, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the course in 2021.
The 2021 Irish National Stud Thoroughbred Course graduates | Image courtesy of the Irish National Stud
Class of 2021: Patrick Campion (USA), Shea Connolly (Ireland), Marianne Gay (France), Hortense Huet (France), Suzanne Hyland (Ireland), Sarah Kelly (Ireland), Eathan Leonard (Ireland), Conor Mahon (Ireland), Olivia Marnane (Ireland), Hannah Moriarty (USA), Alexis Navet (France), Mairead O’Riordan (Ireland), George Prince (UK), Lauren Robinson (Ireland), Mehdi Saci (France), Jake Scott Campbell (Ireland), Ben Shoare (UK), Charlie Sweeney (Ireland), Niamh Walshe (Ireland), Elinor Wolf (USA), Normarie Santiago (Puerto Rico) recipient of the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship, Nathan Trumper (New Zealand) recipient of the NZTBA scholarship, Lachlan Pethica (Australia) and Alyssa Pickles (Australia) recipients of the Thoroughbred Breeders Australia, Basil Nolan Jnr scholarship.
Plan comes together
Trainer Sally McKay made the long trip north from her Invercargill base to Riccarton with a host of doubts as to whether she had done the right thing with her stable runner Palmetto (NZ) (Ghibellines), who made a winning debut on Saturday.
The 2-year-old hadn’t sighted a starting gate until last Monday with McKay unable to get a barrier certificate for him due to the unavailability of starting gates at her Ascot Park base at an opportune time.
Palmetto (NZ) | Image courtesy of Race Images South
In desperation, McKay turned to Riccarton-based trainer Andrew Carston, sending Palmetto to him 10 days ago to try and get him certified to gain a start on raceday.
“I am just stunned. I had told the syndicate who own him not to expect anything as I said he was very green and would probably just benefit from having a run,” McKay said.
Smart 3-year-old doing well
Moonlight D'Oro (USA) (Medaglia D'Oro {USA}), who was taken off the G1 Kentucky Oaks trail with a knee chip following an impressive win in the G3 Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita, and is closing in on a return to Hall of Famer Richard Mandella's barn.
“The surgery went well,” Joe Mishak, MyRacehorse's racing operations manager told TDN America. “She's been doing great, filling out and looking really good. Just biding her time, which is standard operating procedure, especially for the Mandella barn.
“Hopefully, in a couple of weeks if all things remain on course, she should go to an offsite facility to start training and get that foundation at the track. Then a month after that, she'll head back to the Mandella barn in early-to-mid August once she has the fitness.”
Start in balance
Four-time Group 1 winner Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) travelled down the road for a gallop at Newmarket on Friday in preparation for next weekend's G1 Eclipse S. at Sandown, but trainer William Haggas insisted the 7-year-old gelding will only run if 'Soft' is in the going description.
Addeybb (Ire) (yellow silks)
“He hasn't run since Sydney in April so it was nice to get him away. I wasn't trying to get him fitter, it was just a mental thing as much as a physical thing,” Haggas told TDN Europe.
“When you are looking at summer racing you need to be lucky to get rain on the day to make it as soft as he likes it. Running in the Eclipse will depend on how much rain falls. There is a balance between keeping training him and not running him.”
New role on hold
Capable winter stayer Divine Duke (NZ) (Bachelor Duke {USA}) has once again put a potential jumping career on hold with a powerful performance to take out Saturday’s Seeka Kiwifruit Cup at Tauranga.
“He is going really well and just thrives in that type of ground,” co-trainer Andrew Scott said. “He is not an overly big horse so getting the claim was a good assist."
A more than competent jumper, Divine Duke will look to complete his hurdling ticket on Monday at Cambridge although Scott isn’t sure when he will be seen in that role on raceday.
“He’s been jumping at home over the past three years and is pretty good at it,” he said. “While he is going so well on the flat, I don’t think you will see him over the fences, but he will have a crack at it at some stage.”
