Marquand, de Sousa share IJC honours
Tom Marquand and Silvestre de Sousa were named joint winners of the International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on Wednesday.
Each of the four legs went to a different jockey, with none among Marquand, de Sousa, Vincent Ho and Derek Leung able to add a scoring place that would have separated them from the pack.
The joint champions were named on countback, with Marquand and de Sousa sharing HK$700,000 (AU$134,000) on account of both riders registering a fourth placing earlier in the evening.
Jamie Kah, who won Race 3, which wasn’t a part of the IJC, finished fifth, Hugh Bowman was tied for sixth, while Zac Purton came home in last place.
Winx to be given a break
Champion mare Winx (Street Cry {Ire}), who foaled a lovely Pierro filly in October, will have a season off from breeding.
Winx’s connections revealed the 11-year-old is not in foal to Arrowfield’s super sire Snitzel, as was planned.
“It’s not the update we were hoping to provide, sadly it wasn’t meant to be this year for Winx and Snitzel,” the statement read.
“Winx is doing very well with her Pierro filly, and the decision has been made to give her the year off.”
The four-time Cox Plate heroine lost her first foal, by I Am Invincible in 2020.
Golden Sixty draws four, Law Of Indices widest
The barriers for the G1 Hong Kong Mile were drawn on Thursday, with fancied Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro {USA}) drawing ideally in gate four. The inside marble was taken by the Japanese entrant, Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}), while the widest gate went to the sole Australian competitor, Laws Of Indices (Ire) (Power {GB}) for Annabel Neasham and James McDonald.
The rest of the field comprises locals California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner) in barrier two, Waikaku (Ire) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) in nine, Beauty Joy (Sebring) in five, More Than This (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) in three and Excellent Proposal (Exceed And Excel) in barrier seven.
Salios (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) and Danon Scorpion (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) in barriers eight and six respectively whip in the field as the two other runners from Japan.
Clarken partners with Niki O'Shea
Morphettville trainer Will Clarken announced on Thursday his new training partnership with Irish-born, Adelaide-based trainer Niki O’Shea. The co-trainership will kick off in January.
In a statement released by Clarken, he admitted that the time was right to invite a full-time second trainer into his ranks, and O’Shea’s years as a professional rider and experience in the training ranks were critical to his appointment.
‘Initially, Niki will focus his attention on overseeing the on-course Morphettville stables and the Murray Bridge stables when they are completed later in 2023,’ the statement read. ‘Given the size of Clarken Racing operations, working with a co-trainer will allow both of us to travel to learn more about innovations in training techniques to improve the performance of horses in the Clarken Racing stable.’
Star siblings for Karaka
The upcoming 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale at Karaka will feature a number of siblings to well-credentialled performers this January. High on the list is Lot 328 for Waikato Stud, an Ocean Park (NZ) half-brother to the Golden Eagle winner I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel).
Additional siblings include Lot 437, an Ocean Park half-brother to I’m Thunderstruck (NZ) (Shocking) who will be offered by Epona Park, and Lot 310, a half-sister by Darci Brahma (NZ) to the G1 Doncaster Mile winner Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars). Annabel Neasham’s Mo’unga (NZ) (Savabeel), a dual Group 1 winner and Karaka graduate himself, will have a Super Seth half-brother offered by Waikato Stud as Lot 91, while a close relation in Lot 77 features in the same draft alongside a full brother (Lot 323) to Waikato resident and Group 1 winner Noverre (NZ).
I Wish I Win (NZ) wins the 2022 Golden Eagle | Image courtesy of Karaka News Desk
Karaka 2023 will offer over 100 siblings to stakes winners in its catalogues, with Book 1 to occur from January 29-31, and Book 2 from February 1-3.
Snowden eyes a sentimental Ingham win
Co-trainer Peter Snowden has the 6-year-old French-bred gelding Huetor (Fr) (Archipenko {USA}) in this Saturday’s G2 The Ingham (formerly the Villiers S.), and it could be a sentimental win for the trainer after a long association with Jack and Bob Ingham, in whose honour the race has been renamed.
“I’ve never met two nicer men in my life,” Snowden told Ray Hickson at Racing NSW. “They were so good to myself and my family when I came to Sydney. Because of them and the job, I never looked back.”
Huetor is a winner of six races in 16 starts, including the G1 Doomben Cup in May when he beat Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) to third. He was last seen when unplaced in the G2 The Q22 in the winter, the gelding missing the spring after a serious eye infection that almost cost him his sight.
Coffey reunites with Detonator Jack
The Kiwi-bred 4-year-old Detonator Jack (NZ) (Jakkalberry {Ire}), whose six starts for the Maher-Eustace partnership have included four wins and a third in the G1 South Australia Derby this year, will line up in Sandown’s BM100 Tile Importer H. over a mile this Saturday. He will be ridden by Harry Coffey, who was aboard for the horse’s debut win at Bendigo in March.
“He’s a lovely horse and with John Allen getting suspended, it has allowed me to reunite with him, so I’m really looking forward to it on Saturday,” Coffey said. “He was a bit of a lad early on, but I think they’ve ironed that out pretty well and he’s putting it all together now.”
Detonator Jack was last seen when running second at Ballarat on November 19 in a BM84. The stable is hoping to improve the horse’s overall good formline.
Legarto leads the NZ Filly of the Year
Undefeated filly Legarto (NZ), a 3-year-old daughter of Proisir, has a comfortable lead in the New Zealand Bloodstock (NZB) Filly of the Year Series with her last-start victory in the G1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas last month. She has now four wins from four starts for Matamata trainers Ken and Bev Kelso, with 18 points accrued in the series.
Closest to her in contention is the Wrote (Ire) filly Best Seller (NZ), who sits on 13 points with her G3 Gold Trail S. win and second to Legarto in the 1000 Guineas.
Legarto (NZ) currently leads the NZB Filly of the Year Series | Image courtesy of Karaka News Desk
The fourth leg of the Series takes place on Saturday with the G3 Eulogy S. over 1600 metres at Awapuni, which will be worth six points to the winner. All 11 fillies in the field will be making their Series debut, with the winner moving into third place on the points table.
Guineas placegetter on Karaka Million 3YO road
Three-year-old filly Prowess (NZ), another high-profile daughter of Proisir, is on a path to the R. Listed Karaka Million 3YO Classic at Pukekohe next month. The filly was third to Pier (NZ) (Proisir) in G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas last month.
“She’s a big, immature filly and will only do better with time,” co-trainer Robert Wellwood told NZ Racing Desk. “We’ve got a ring around the Classic and we haven’t firmed anything up yet, but she will certainly have one run before that.”
Prowess (NZ) at Wanganui last April | Image courtesy of Peter Rubery, Race Images Palmerston North
Prowess was a NZ$230,000 NZB National Yearling Sale purchase from Hallmark Stud in 2021. The filly has had four starts to date for two wins and two thirds.
Sealed With A Kiss for the Oaks
Promising 3-year-old filly Sealed With A Kiss (NZ) (Tarzino {NZ}), who won first-up on debut at Hastings on Wednesday, could be on her way to the G1 New Zealand Oaks in the autumn, according to her trainer, Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker.
“She’s an exciting filly and it was a really good win, considering it was only 1200 metres and given her pedigree,” he told NZ Racing Desk. “She’s a big, scopey filly with a bright future that David (Ellis) bought at the Ready to Run Sale, and we’d like to think she could keep developing and stepping up to be an Oaks contender.”
Sealed With A Kiss was a NZ$250,000 purchase for Ellis at last year’s NZB Ready to Run Sale from the draft of Lilywhites Lodge.
Angelone joins training ranks
Longtime Snowden Racing employee, Andrew Angelone, has left after taking out his trainer’s licence.
Angelone spent two-and-a-half years with the Snowdens at Darley, before running the stable’s Melbourne base for five years.
“It’s just good timing; I have a young family, a five and a 7-year-old and I have always been gearing up to get my licence,” Angelone told Racing.com.
“We have just bought a property about 30 minutes outside of Hamilton, it’s 90-acres and I will be training off that.
“At the moment there are three stables with yards attached and 10 paddocks set up for horses.”
