Foundation declines Golden Eagle charity donation
The Kiwi gelding I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel), in winning the $10 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill last Saturday, handed $570,000 to his owner and Waikato Stud principal Mark Chittick to donate to a charity of his choosing. It was revealed on Wednesday, however, that the Starship Foundation, the charity arm of New Zealand’s Starship children’s hospital, had declined the donation.
Initial reports suggested that the Foundation had refused Chittick on the grounds that the money was associated with gambling and racing, but a joint statement from the Starship Foundation and Waikato Stud has revealed time constraints were the problem.
“Mark Chittick’s offer to be involved with and become the beneficiary of the charity component of the Golden Eagle came in at 3pm and required us to make a rapid decision by close of business the same day,” the statement reads. “As with any charity, due diligence is an essential part of our responsibility to accept donations. In this instance, considerations around the size and off-shore nature of the donation regrettably could not be solved within this timeframe.”
The statement added that had more time been a factor, the Foundation’s decision may have been different, and both Starship Foundation and Waikato Stud had ‘a huge amount of respect for each other’s work and industries’.
Chittick’s Golden Eagle charity purse has instead been donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of New South Wales.
Perfect gate for Anamoe
Cox Plate hero Anamoe (Street Boss {USA}) has drawn barrier four for Saturday’s G1 Champions S. (2000 metres) at Flemington. The 4-year-old, who will be ridden by James McDonald, will be gunning for his 12th victory and eighth Group 1 triumph.
Anamoe will once again square off against Cox Plate beaten brigade Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), Mo’unga (NZ) (Savabeel) and I’m Thunderstruck (NZ) (Shocking), while 3-year-olds Elliptical (Dundeel {NZ}) and Mr Maestro (NZ) (Savabeel) present a fresh challenge.
Zaaki won the race last year when it was known as the G1 Mackinnon S.
Large field for Champions Sprint
Saturday’s G1 Champions Sprint (1200 metres) at Flemington has attracted a field of 15, headlined by two-time winner of the race, Nature Strip (Nicconi), and The Everest hero Giga Kick (Scissor Kick).
Previously the G1 Darley Sprint Classic, Nature Strip won the race in 2019 and 2021, and he will jump from barrier 12 under James McDonald. Giga Kick, who will be partnered by Craig Williams from gate seven, is one of two 3-year-olds in the race, with Lofty Strike (Snitzel) set to back-up after his fourth in last week’s G1 Coolmore Stud S.
The Julius Sandhu-trained Lofty Strike has Craig Newitt aboard and will start from stall two.
Outside draw for Cascadian
Dual Group 1 winner Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) will jump from barrier 11 in Saturday’s G1 Champions Mile (1600 metres) at Flemington. The James Cummings-trained gelding, who has won his past two starts, has the services of James McDonald.
Cascadian (GB) | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Cummings won the race in 2018, when it was called the G1 Kennedy Mile, with Best Of Days (GB) (Azamour {Ire}). Cascadian will face 10 rivals in the $3 million contest, including in-form sprinter-miler Private Eye (Al Maher), as well as Cox Plate runners Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) and Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars).
Lunar Flare for Queen’s Cup
Trainer Grahame Begg has accepted with talented mare Lunar Flare (Fiorente {Ire}) for Saturday’s G3 Queen’s Cup (2600 metres) at Flemington. Lunar Flare was a race-day scratching from Tuesday’s G1 Melbourne Cup after showing signs of lameness.
The 7-year-old has the services of Michael Dee, has 56.5kg and will start from barrier 12. Last year’s winner, Chris Waller’s No Compromise (NZ) (Pins), heads the weights with 59kg.
Gold Trip to press on
Tuesday’s G1 Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}) is likely to press on to a Sydney autumn campaign, reports Racing.com. Jamie Lovett, a director of the horse’s ownership syndicate Australian Bloodstock, said the horse was sound without much mileage behind him.
“These guys (Maher and Eustace) have a habit of keeping them up and going for a while, so I’d love to think he's a genuine autumn carnival horse in Sydney and then back here (Melbourne) for the spring,” Lovett said.
Gold Trip (Fr), winner of the G1 Melbourne Cup | Image courtesy of Darren Tindale
Gold Trip is currently a $15 chance for the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. over 2000 metres during The Championships in April, and he’s equal favourite at this very early stage for the 2023 Melbourne Cup.
Interpretation gets all clear
John O’Neill, part-owner of Melbourne Cup runner Interpretation (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), has revealed the 5-year-old is a 'sound and happy' horse. Interpretation was pulled up by jockey Craig Newitt before entering the straight in Tuesday's Cup.
“We’re pretty sure he’s had a heart fibrillation,” O’Neill told Melbourne radio station SEN. “One thing I will say is that we went back to the stall after the race and the horse pulled up 100 per cent, he’s fine. He’s 100 per cent sound, there’s no problem with him, and he was a happy horse after the race.”
Repairs to Flemington oil patch
A Pakenham-based turf company, Evergreen Turf, has reportedly ‘dropped everything’ to assist in the track repairs caused to Flemington on Tuesday morning by an alleged problem gambler, reports Racing.com. Footage on the morning of the Melbourne Cup revealed a man pouring what looked to be oil onto a section of the course proper just after dawn.
“The damaged area, we’re re-turfing it today,” said Liam O’Keeffe, the VRC track manager. “It’s about 11 metres by 12 metres (that needs replacing), so it’s quite a large area. It’s going to take a lot of staff today (Wednesday) to get the work done. Evergreen dropped everything yesterday to come in, and today to help us out so we can run the races.”
Victoria Police told 7NEWS in a statement that it had been called about the incident on Cup Day morning, and the Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives were looking into it.
Golden Gift barrier draw
The barrier draw for the $1 million Golden Gift at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, an 1100-metre sprint for the 2-year-olds, has gifted the Hawkes-trained Gitalong (Zoustar) the inside marble. The colt was unplaced on debut to Barber (Exceed And Excel) in the Kirkham Plate.
Saturday’s field has 14 juveniles going to post (with three emergencies), and the Jukebox filly Shine Your Light, who was third in the Kirkham, has drawn alongside Gitalong in barrier two. Barber, for the Godolphin operation, has drawn awkwardly in barrier 16.
Coincide, an Invader half-brother to the dual Group 1 winner Converge (Frankel {GB}), will start from barrier 13 for the Waterhouse-Bott yard, while Mexico, James Harron’s Capitalist colt, will jump from barrier six. First-season sire Trapeze Artist is represented by two youngsters in the field; Disneck from barrier three and Flying Trapeze, a good fifth in the Listed Breeders’ Plate, from barrier 17.
Walker set for record-breaking season
Mark Walker, Te Akau Racing’s chief trainer, has a strong arsenal of horses aimed at Riccarton’s G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas meeting on Saturday. The stable has nine entrants among the day’s stakes races, including the R. Listed Karaka Million 2YO winner Dynastic (NZ) (Almanzor {Fr}) in the big one, plus Cognito (So You Think {NZ}) and Malborough Bay (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}).
Walker is on-song to have a record-breaking season already, being slightly ahead of the same point last season when Te Akau Racing, under the helm of Jamie Richards, set a benchmark of 160 domestic seasonal wins. At this time last season, Richards sat on 46 victories, and Walker is currently on 54.
Te Akau trainer Mark Walker | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Walker had previously trained for Te Akau Racing for a decade in Singapore, where he was Champion Trainer four times, before returning to New Zealand to take over from Richards on April 1 this year, with Richards relocating to Hong Kong.
Kyneton Cup for Toronado
The Liam Howley-trained Station One gave his Swettenham Stud sire Toronado (Ire) another feather for his cap with a solid victory in Wednesday’s Kyneton Cup at Bendigo. The 4-year-old gelding posted a 1l victory over the Lindsay Park-trained Dark Dream (All American) and third-placed Rousseau (So You Think {NZ}) for Chris Waller. Station One is now back-to-back with two-straight wins for Howley.
The Kyneton Cup made it 12 Australian winners for Toronado in the space of a week and backed up the Group 3 win of Treasured Star in the Asian Beau S. at Ascot last Saturday, along with Laced Up Heels who defeated Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni {Fr}) in the Listed Burgess Queen S. at the same track on Cup Day.
Visitor centre opens at Spendthrift
Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky opened an onsite visitor centre on Tuesday in a ceremony attended by over 200 federal, state and local politicians, as well as prominent local breeders and owners. The B. Wayne Hughes Visitors Centre is home to a trophy and memorabilia room, a gift shop, indoor and outdoor entertainment space and offices.
Some of the silverware on display includes the 2020 Kentucky Derby trophy won by Authentic (USA), who stands at Spendthrift, and also the horse’s 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic trophy. The centre will be open to farm tours that operate regularly in Kentucky.
“We had hoped that Wayne would have seen it in his lifetime,” said Eric Gustavon, Hughes’ son-in-law. “While we’re sad he didn’t, we get him to honour him and his legacy to the farm, to the community and to the horse industry.”
Tapper with two for the Guineas
Kiwi trainer Bruce Tapper, who until last month had never trained a stakes winner, has two horses in the field this Saturday for the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas at Riccarton. They are Specialty (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) and Redmond (NZ) (Ghibellines), both of whom the trainer bred at home at his Timaru property, Clearview Park.
“You wait all your life to have horses like this,” Tapper said, as reported by NZ Racing Desk. “Redmond was under offer at one stage but that fell through, and I’ve decided no more, I’m just going to race them. What else am I going to do other than pay the mortgage? It’s not as much fun as racing them (the horses).”
Specialty (NZ) winning the G3 Barneswood Farm S. | Image courtesy of Race Images South
Specialty and Redmond finished first and second respectively in the G3 Barneswood Farm S. at Ashburton on October 15 for Tapper and his co-trainer, Varma Ramhit. The horses are currently NZ$11 and NZ$31 on the New Zealand TAB futures' market.
Te Akau readies for the Ready to Run
Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis and Mark Walker are doing their homework ahead of the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale on November 16 and 17. In the past, the sale has provided Te Akau with such Group 1 winners as Te Akau Shark (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) and Gingernuts (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}).
“I’m currently doing work on the breeze-ups and Dave (Elllis) is doing the pedigrees,” Walker told NZ Racing Desk. “We’ll establish a shortlist, meet up and work it out with the vets. Much of the buying depends on how strong the market is and whether or not we can buy horses for what we’re prepared to pay. There are always plenty of variables to factor in the sales, but we’ll certainly be trying.”
HKJC meeting cancelled ahead of tropical storm
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) cancelled its Wednesday night meeting at Happy Valley with the approach of Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae. The Hong Kong Observatory was readying to issue a typhoon signal No. 8, which would stop ferries running and close schools and law courts in the city.
“In light of a high likelihood that the Observatory will hoist No. 8 typhoon signal in the next few hours, and that the club needs a few hours to mobilise its employees, as well as the challenges on horse transportation and other factors, the Club has decided to cancel tonight’s (Wednesday’s) meeting,” read a HKJC statement.
