No Arc bid for Verry Elleegant
Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) will not contest this Sunday’s G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after connections opted not to front up the supplementary fee for the Group 1.
This comes after days of speculation that she would not make the field, after she sat outside the order of entry for the race, due to her revised handicap rating.
Her Australian mark of 120 has been lowered to 113 by French authorities, who have made the assessment with the benefit of Verry Elleegant's two defeats in preparatory starts under local trainer Francis-Henri Graffard.
However, the mare could run the G1 Prix Royallieu this weekend, for which she still held an entry.
Weather watch for Maximal
The need for good ground could lead John O’Shea to send Maximal (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) to Melbourne for the G1 Turnbull S.
Maximal (GB) | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“We’re just desperate for good ground,” O’Shea told Racing.com. “All his good performances in this country have been on top of the ground.
“I think he’s well-treated at the weight scale. It’s a race that I’ve had in mind for him for quite a while.”
Hinged ready for Epsom task
Following her third-place finish behind Anamoe (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G1 George Main S. Hinged (Worthy Cause) looks the pick of Chris Waller’s three-pronged attack at the G1 Epsom H. on Saturday.
The daughter of Worthy Cause will line up alongside Fangirl (Sebring) and Kiku (Zoustar) in the Group 1, but Waller is confident that Hinged has all the credentials to hand him a fifth winner in the time-honoured contest.
"She has won her own Group 1, she has been placed in the Flight Stakes as an early 3-year-old, she has been placed in a Coolmore against the older mares and she was placed the other day in a weight for age," Waller said.
"She's got the right credentials to be winning an Epsom. Hinged gets a pull in the weights, she gets 2.5kg off Fangirl for beating her last start, so she is all of a sudden the talk horse and she looks well-suited."
Cummings backs She’s Extreme to bounce back
Anthony Cummings believes there were genuine excuses for She’s Extreme’s (Extreme Choice) sixth-place finish in the G1 Golden Rose S. last weekend and he is backing his 3-year-old filly to bounce back when she tackles the G1 Flight S. this weekend.
Cummings said Daumier (Epaulette) was annoying the filly in the G1 Golden Rose S. and therefore she never got into any rhythm.
She's Extreme | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
"He was erratic and a bit keen and kept running into her and she got a bit aggressive," Cummings said. "She just didn't get into a rhythm, so she didn't have a base to accelerate from and it made her look a bit dour at the finish.
"Going to a mile is something that's quite comfortable for her….and having had that run, the improvement that comes naturally from racing will see her competitive on Saturday. She is proven at the trip and at this level so she should be hard to beat."
Injury puts paid to Forgot You’s spring campaign
The Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young-trained Forgot You (NZ) (Savabeel) will take no part in the spring after it was reported on Wednesday the 4-year-old has picked up an injury.
"He was obviously due to kick off a couple of weeks ago and did a suspensory, so we'll just get him back, rehab him and hopefully he can be back in about six months' time," Busuttin told Racing.com.
Forgot You (NZ) has sustained a suspensory injury | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Busuttin wouldn't commit to a return date to the races for Forgot You, but suggested that it would likely be later in 2023.
"It will come up too soon, the autumn," he said. "Perhaps Brisbane (winter carnival) or back in the spring next year, I guess."
Star Patrol swerves spring
Clint McDonald has decided to swerve the spring with his exciting sprinter Star Patrol (Starspangledbanner).
"Everything's fine with him, we just felt, he's been in work since December last year up in Sydney and we just thought, we didn't have a full tank of fuel and we decided to bite the bullet, give him the spring and then come back and set him up for the autumn on the better tracks and a good break underneath him, just give him that chance," McDonald told Racing.com.
"Otherwise, if you go through the spring, you only get three weeks out, so the horse wouldn't have had a long time in the paddock, we just felt he needed to have a good break and come back."
Star Patrol hasn't raced since his third-placed effort in G3 The Heath at Caulfield on August 27, a performance that indicated to McDonald that he was in need of a spell.
"We just thought it just wasn't himself," he said. "He was just a little bit quiet; he'd lost a little bit of weight; we just weren't 100 per cent happy with his condition. We thought the horse ran well but he just wasn't at the top of his game."
Chittick eyeing Cox Plate bid with I Wish I Win
New Zealand import I Wish I Win (NZ) is proving to give his owner-breeder Mark Chittick a fair bit to think about.
The last-start winner of the Listed Testa Rossa S., I Wish I Win, who is trained by Peter Moody, will shoot for G1 Toorak H. glory on Saturday week, but it is the next assignment which is proving a difficult choice for Chittick.
The $10 million prizemoney of the Golden Eagle is acting as a big lure to head to Sydney, however, Chittick’s heart is telling him to remain in Melbourne to tackle the $5 million G1 Cox Plate.
I Wish I Win (NZ), winner of the Listed Testa Rossa S. | Image courtesy of NZ Racing Desk
“It is a hard one and a good problem to have. We stand two Cox Plate winners at Waikato Stud, and one of those being his father,” Chittick said. “It has always been a dream for me to breed a Cox Plate winner let alone win it ourselves.
“When betting shops start talking about Cox Plates, it starts to get pretty exciting. There is something about that race. It is legendary. We are in it for the long game.
“It has all got to pay its way and if you had a chance in a race like the Golden Eagle it would certainly help to pay a few bills. But if I had to toss up either way I would probably lean towards the Cox Plate.”
Vale Foreteller
Multiple Group 1 winner Foreteller (GB) (Dansili {GB}) was put down on Tuesday after he sustained an injury in his paddock at Vinery Stud.
The gelding won 11 of his 59 career starts, spearheaded by victories in the G1 Ranvet S., G1 Makybe Diva S. and G1 Underwood S. He retired the winner of $1,995,654 in career prizemoney.
Foreteller (GB) | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“We pass our heartfelt condolences on to Foreteller’s ownership group and thank them for entrusting him with us where he was a much-loved and appreciated member of the Vinery family. He will be greatly missed by those who worked with him and will be remembered not only as a great racehorse but as a great friend,” a Vinery Stud press release read.
Wangaratta meeting added
Racing Victoria has added an eight-race meeting to Wangaratta this Sunday to accommodate the many horses that were impacted by the cancellation of the Swan Hill, Kilmore, Echuca and Gunbower meetings this week.
Racing.com reported on Wednesday that the additional meeting at Wangaratta would help to ease ballot pressure, as well as providing racing for those horses left stranded by the cancelled meetings. Racing Victoria confirmed it will split races on Sunday if an adequate number of acceptances is received.
The Wangaratta meeting will occur alongside the already scheduled Bendigo meeting, with acceptances to be confirmed on Thursday morning.
Mishriff to stand in France
Treble Group 1 winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) will retire to France to stand at Sumbe's Haras de Montfort et Preaux at the conclusion of his racing career later this season. The 5-year-old is set to run in Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, with a tilt at the Breeders' Cup also on the cards.
A statement released by Sumbe on Tuesday afternoon (local time) read, “We are delighted to announce that we have reached an agreement with Prince Faisal that Mishriff will stand as a stallion at Sumbe in 2023. Prince Faisal is a very successful owner/breeder and has raced many champions who have gone on to become excellent sires."
"We believe this is great news for French breeders after the recent loss of two incredible stallions, Le Havre (Fr) and Wootton Bassett (GB) [to Ireland]. Since the untimely death of Le Havre earlier this year we have been actively looking for a nice stallion prospect."
HKJC expects renewed vigour
The South China Morning Post has reported that the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is expecting 'greater enthusiasm' from its owners when it comes to purchasing horses, all in light of the Hong Kong government's recent decision to scrap hotel quarantine.
More than two years of COVID restrictions on movement have finally been lifted, and Andrew Harding, the HKJC's executive director of racing, said this would advertly improve the local buying bench.
"They (owners) want to travel with their trainers and go overseas to source horses," he said. "It's part of the ownership experience and it hasn't been available to them. Now that it will be, I think w'll see a greater enthusiasm."
Hong Kong's strict COVID measures have resulted in smaller field sizes, reduced turnover and a shrinking of the city's overall horse population, according to the South China Morning Post. Quarantine measures related to COVID were lifted as recently as Monday.
