I Wish I Win the best horse in Australia
The Peter Moody-trained and Waikato Stud-owned I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) has been rated the best horse in Australia in the recently published Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2023.
I Wish I Win (NZ) | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
I Wish I Win scored a rating of 121, which also puts him as the 16th-best racehorse globally. Other Australians to make their mark on the published results include Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) and Anamoe, who both earned 120, placing them as joint 21st best gallopers globally.
Blueblood scores trial victory
The Michael Freedman-trained Moravia (Snitzel) scored a narrow victory from the Listed Gimcrack S. heroine Platinum Jubilee (Zoustar) in Heat 9 over 742 metres on Friday morning at Randwick.
Moravia contested Heat 9 over 742 metres
Moravia is the first foal from the Star Witness mare Our Crown Mistress. She was a dual Listed winner.
Moravia was an $800,000 yearling purchase for Mick Wallace as agent for the Freedman Brothers and The Osher Group from the draft of Edinburgh Park Stud at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Chasing A Quid breaks through
The Gratz Vella-trained Chasing A Quid (Capitalist) broke through at start six to win at Moruya.
The 2-year-old gelding was partnered by Kayla Nisbet and won by 1.30l from Kool Bird (Duporth).
Chasing A Quid is from the winning Bianconi (USA) mare Imaginative. Chasing A Quid is a half-brother to the Listed Challenge S. winner Creative Hero (More Than Ready {USA}).
The gelding was a $60,000 purchase for Vella Lodge from the draft of Berkeley Park at the 2022 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
Smart Charm Spirit juvenile scores on debut
The Clayton Douglas-trained Charmed Passage (NZ) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) scored on debut at Bairnsdale on Friday.
The 2-year-old gelding was ridden by Dylan Turner and won by 0.50l from Miss Margie (Deep Field).
Charmed Passage is from the unraced Fastnet Rock mare Lalonde. She hails from the family of First Seal (Fastnet Rock) who was crowned the Champion Female Sprinter in Australia in 2015/16 and one-time conqueror of Winx (Street Cry {Ire}).
Charmed Passage was a $40,000 yearling purchase by Clayton Douglas Racing from the draft of Kambula Stud and the 2022 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale.
O’Brien trains three winners
The Victorian-based trainer Danny O’Brien trained three winners across Victoria on Friday.
The team saddled-up Calvi (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) at Bairnsdale and the 3-year-old gelding duly saluted with Liam Riordan in the saddle over 2200 metres in Race 6, while at Geelong the O’Brien trained Booboo Boogie (NZ) (Savabeel) ridden by Linda Meech took out Race 5 and the progressive Blackcomb (Vancouver) found her best form in Race 7 with Jye McNeil in the saddle.
Pride’s stable stars ready to return
The Warwick Farm-based Joe Pride is set to welcome stable star Think About It (So You Think {NZ}) on Monday, July 17, while his other star galloper Private Eye (Al Maher) has already returned to work.
Think About It | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
“Think About It comes back into the stable on Monday so it’s exciting,” Pride said.
“Private Eye is still a few weeks off trialling and has only been back in the stable for a week but is ticking over nicely.”
Rae keen to capitalise on home track advantage
A nine-strong team of runners will carry the hopes of local trainers Ken Rae and daughter Kystal Williams at Ruakaka on Saturday, with a trio of promising 2-year-olds set to feature at the finish of the ITM/GIB 2YO Winter Championship Final.
Whiskey Lies (NZ) (Embellish {NZ}) and Dancing Dream (NZ) (Contributer {Ire}) look likely to dominate betting in the feature race for the juveniles.
“This is a big day for the local trainers with the finals of the different events for the winter championships and we’re hoping we can get a slice of the money on offer,” Rae said.
“We do seem to do pretty well when we race here and I would guess our best chance of a win is in the 2-year-old race as we have a couple of proven types who have been in outstanding form.
“It is hard to split them although Whiskey Lies has made a liar of me with his last two wins as I thought the filly (Dancing Dream) was a better horse and would beat him both times.
“She drills him in trackwork every time they step out together, but he seems to know when it is raceday and lifts himself.
“He has done that all the way through, even his trial at Avondale before he won his first race was very disappointing and then he came out and won so he has had me scratching my head a fair bit.”
Berry to return to track work
Racing NSW have accepted an application from disqualified jockey Tommy Berry to return to track work earlier than anticipated next week.
Berry was found guilty by Racing NSW stewards of having improper dealings with a punter; leading him to be disqualified for 12 months, which was then reduced to seven-months on appeal.
“The break has done me the world of good,” Berry told Punters.
Tommy Berry | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“I must say I’ve enjoyed the experience of having a normal job and it’s made me appreciate how hard the average man has to work. It gives you a real perspective. The whole experience has been a good wake-up call.”
Berry can return to riding barrier trials on Sunday, August 27, and then race riding on Saturday, September 24.
Bairnsdale call explained
On Friday, the Bairnsdale meeting's Race 2 encountered some barrier issues when the Erin Maher-trained Sandrine (Magnus) burst through the gates before the opening and finished third.
However, Racing Victoria stewards felt the impact wasn’t enough to strip the race from the Michael Huglin-trained Flip The Switch (Thronum). Although due to the incident at the start, stewards reviewed the footage before declaring the correct weight, having mulled whether to declare Sandrine a runner.
Stewards took evidence from Sandrine’s rider Carleen Hefel, a Maher stable representative and Racing Victoria’s starters.
“The Racing Victoria starters established that shortly after the assistant starter gave the all-clear to effect the start, Sandrine anticipated the start and lunged forward, making contact with the front of its barrier stall,” the RV stewards' report read.
“As a result, the gates of Sandrine opened marginally before the remainder of the field. Following this, the filly got her head up after being eased by her rider. Upon review of the start and the race in its totality, stewards were of the opinion any impact on the remainder of the field was negligible and did not materially affect their performance in the event and were of the opinion Sandrine had not gained an unfair advantage and therefore deemed to be a starter.”
Kingman's TDN Rising Star Nostrum back with a bang in the Henry Cecil
Thursday's Listed Sir Henry Cecil S. at Newmarket looked every bit as strong as the card's Group races and so it proved as Juddmonte's G3 Tattersalls S.-winning TDN Rising Star Nostrum (GB) (Kingman {GB}) put his season on track with a performance that confirmed him as another elite runner for the Sir Michael Stoute stable.
“We've never made any bones about the fact that we think this is a very good horse and it was a frustrating start to the season, but this will hopefully be the springboard for the rest of the season,” Juddmonte's European racing manager Barry Mahon said. “We probably could have been back for (Royal) Ascot, but it made more sense to wait and come here. This has been won by some good horses and it looked a deep renewal and a pretty tight race, so the way he went away from them he has to be a top-class horse. He's in everything, so we'll see how he comes out of it but hopefully it'll be sooner rather than later that he'll be back in Group 1 company. This is a very special race for the Abdullah family to win and it makes it a poignant moment today.”
Emily Upjohn exits Eclipse well, King George still the aim
Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who ran a strong second to Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G1 Eclipse S. earlier this month, has emerged from the race in good order and will continue preparing for the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on July 29, co-trainer John Gosden confirmed on Thursday.
The G1 British Champions Fillies And Mares S. winner, who won the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom on her seasonal bow, was giving her rival seven pounds on the day.
Gosden, who trains with his son Thady, said, “After a race like that you take stock, but I couldn't be more thrilled. She's in great form with herself, I had to canter her again quickly.
“I'm very pleased with her and there's no reason at the minute why she wouldn't go to the King George.”
One of the filly's rivals, 2022 Derby hero Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), is not certain for the race after recovering a setback which kept him out of the Royal Ascot meeting, and trainer Sir Michael Stoute said, “We don't know if we will get him ready in time (for the King George). He is back in fast work, so we will decide closer to the time. It's a little bit tight timewise.”
'I've no doubt she's got enough toe' Falmouth speed test for Nashwa
Whether or not connections of Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock) allow the G1 Pretty Polly S. heroine to run in Friday's G1 Tattersalls Falmouth S. at Newmarket, the elephant in the room is the supplemented Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who could just be ready for a reinvention at the July Festival.
Nashwa (GB) | Image courtesy of PA Media
“She has grown and developed a lot over the winter (and) is a really big, burly mare now,” her rider and number one fan Hollie Doyle explained. “I think she has taken a time to come to hand and has taken a few runs to get straightened out, really. It seems the obvious route to go down after her last two runs and I've no doubt she's got enough toe. Time will tell, because this is a different ballgame.”
Contessa's Becky's Joker upsets Schuylerville in career debut
Much of the pre-race speculation about Saratoga's G3 Schuylerville S. for 2-year-old fillies going six furlongs on the dirt seemed to focus on which Hall of Famer, D. Wayne Lukas or Todd Pletcher, would be the first to win the traditional opening-day feature for the record seventh time, unless another Hall of Famer, Steve Asmussen, got in the way. Instead, that trio had to settle for filling out the superfecta as it was another veteran conditioner, Gary Contessa, who notched his first Schuylerville win with Becky's Joker (USA) (Practical Joke {USA}), the only filly in the field without a start under her belt took out the valuable contest.
Forte to Jim Dandy
Trainer Todd Pletcher has confirmed Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's MGISW Forte (USA) (Violence {USA}) for the G2 Jim Dandy S. July 29 at Saratoga Racecourse.
Forte (USA) | Image courtesy of Horsephotos
The 3-year-old colt will use the race as a prep for the GI Travers S. August 26, which the Hall of Famer won with Flower Alley (USA) (2005) and Stay Thirsty (USA) (2011).
“It was a tough call,” said Pletcher. “We just felt like shipping up here, getting him used to the track, two Travers winners we previously had done that.”
Italy's SGA Sale catalogue features 117 yearlings
A total of 117 yearlings will go under the hammer at the SGA Yearling Sale in Milan on Saturday, September 9.
Past graduates of the sale include the undefeated G3 Premio Regina Elena Italian 1000 Guineas and G2 Oaks d'Italia heroine Shavasana (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who currently races in the colours of Katsumi Yoshida.
The catalogue includes Lot 9, a filly by Almanzor (Fr), who just sired Thursday's G3 Bahrain Trophy S. hero Castle Way (GB); as well as Lot 22, a colt by Derby winner Australia (GB). Darley's Blue Point (Ire), who leads all European first-season sires with 16 winners, is represented by a filly out of Victoria Regina (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) (Lot 36); and there are also a pair of yearlings by Group 1 sire Cracksman (GB); and one by Shavasana's sire Gleneagles (Ire) in Lot 8, a colt out of Calma Apparente (GB) (Rainbow Quest {USA}).
