VRC to honour ‘Ollie’
Champion Jockey Damien Oliver, who has announced that he will retire at the of the year, will be honoured on Victoria Derby Day, with the $500,000 G2 Linlithgow S. to be renamed The Damien Oliver.
The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) made the announcement of the change to the 1400-metre race on Wednesday, just hours after Oliver officially confirmed he will retire after Perth’s Summer Carnival.
High-priced Snitzel colt breaks his duck
The Chris Waller-trained Fightertown (Snitzel) is a maiden no longer after he shed his maiden status at Warwick Farm. The 3-year-old won Race 2 - a 1200-metre BM64 - by 1.15l under James McDonald.
Fightertown was offered by his breeder - Emirates Park Stud - at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and was bought for $1.1 million by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier.
He is from the the Listed-winning Midshipman (USA) mare Red Lodge (USA) and she was purchased by Emirates Park for US$500,000 (AU$772,900) at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
“He has always shown a lot of promise, enough to put him in some good races as a 2-year-old,” Waller said on Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“We weren’t getting the best out of him, so he was gelded. It’s probably not the best for Coolmore, but it has put some value on him; he is a very smart horse.”
Wide draw for Nature Strip
Veteran sprinter Nature Strip (Nicconi) will jump from the outside gate in Saturday’s G3 Concorde S. at Randwick.
The 9-year-old will face 10 rivals in the 1000–metre contest, including Group 1 winners In Secret (I Am Invincible), Eduardo (Host {Chi}) and Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai).
Nature Strip won the Concorde in 2021.
Dwyer determined to land Group 1 with Asfoora
Ballarat-based trainer Henry Dwyer is deperate to get an elite-level victory on the CV of his star mare Asfoora (Flying Artie), who resumes on Saturday in the G3 The McCafe Heath 1100 S. at Caulfield.
Dwyer believes the 5-year-old is best suited over 1000 or 1100 metres and has earmarked the G1 Moir S. at The Valley on September 29.
Asfoora | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“The Moir is the go,” Dwyer told Racenet.
“It’s the only Group 1 option over 1000 or 1100 metres in the spring so she’ll go there.”
Asfoora will be ridden by regular partner Mitchell Aitken on Saturday and the mare heads into her fresh-up run on the back of a dominant trial win at Stawell on August 23.
Inside alley for Memsie favourite
I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) - the pre-race favourite for Saturday’s G1 Memsie S. - will jump from barrier one in the first elite-level race in Victoria for 2023/24. The Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained gelding will be hunting a second victory in top company, following his win in this year’s TJ Smith S.
Two of I Wish I Win’s main rivals - Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) and Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) - have drawn wide in 15 and 15 respectively.
Ben Hayes, who trains Mr Brightside in partnership with brothers Will and JD, told Racing And Sports the draw for their stable star isn’t a huge concern.
“We did win a Doncaster from barrier 18, so I have seen stranger things happen,” Hayes said.
“He’s got lots of confidence, so we’re just going to have to hope for a bit of racing luck, but it has made the race very interesting.
“I would probably say they have all drawn hard gates so it will be a real interesting watch.”
Portelli bullish about Brave Smash filly
An impressive first-up run by Kimochi (Brave Smash {Jpn}) has her trainer Gary Portelli optimistic the filly can land a breakthrough stakes win when she tackles the second leg of the four-race Princess Series.
The 3-year-old settled in the second half of the field from a wide gate and launched down the outside for an eye-catching third to Autumn Ballet (The Autumn Sun) in the G2 Silver Shadow S. on August 19.
The performance came as no surprise to Portelli, who had pegged Kimochi as his Golden Slipper S. hopeful before her juvenile campaign was cut short because of injury.
Kimochi | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“I had her fairly highly rated early on, I had her as my Slipper horse,” Portelli told Racing And Sports.
“But after she ran second at her first start at Rosehill – which she should have won, she was held up for a run all the way down the straight – she hurt her pelvis in her box.
“I’ve had a fairly strong opinion of her, and it was good to be vindicated again.
“I know I’m not aiming too high.
“Some of the other horses will be improved out of it as well, but you have to think she will be too.”
Sydney races postponed
The final three races on Wednesday’s Warwick Farm program had to be postponed due to storm activity in the area. Racing NSW is yet to announce whether the races will be rescheduled.
My Bella Mae on Winterbotton path
Dual Listed-winning Perth mare My Bella Mae (Deep Field) will be aimed towards the G1 Winterbottom S. at Ascot in December, her owner-breeder Nino Tufilli has revealed.
The 4-year-old, who has won five of her eight starts, hasn’t raced since a failed Melbourne campaign in the autumn. Following two trials, the Dion Luciani-trained mare will resume in Saturday’s $100,000 Jolly Beggar S. at Belmont.
My Bella Mae | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
“We haven’t really decided yet what’s after Saturday,” Tufilli told The Races WA.
“It all depends on how she goes.
“We’ll wait for a Listed race over the distances we want to go.
“The Winterbottom Stakes is the main goal.”
Aguiar goes to £200,000 for Wootton Bassett colt at Doncaster
Robson Aguiar showered Tuesday's Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale-topping Wootton Bassett (GB) colt with praise by comparing him to his Group 1 winner Bucanero Fuerte (GB), who is by the same sire, and said £200,000 (AU$390,000) could prove to be good value for the colt in time.
Speaking after the sale, Aguiar said: “He really reminded me of Bucanero Fuerte when I bought him as a yearling. He’s got a good loose walk, he’s very athletic and has a good pedigree. If he works out I think he could be another Bucanero Fuerte. I see a lot of value in this horse at that price.”
Wootton Bassett continues to go from strength to strength and the Coolmore shuttler’s exploits on Tuesday came after a sensational August Sale at Arqana where 21 were sold for an average of €378,810 (AU$636,000).
Like Arqana, the trade at Doncaster was strong, with the opening day top-lot one of 18 horses to make six figures. Of the 218 lots offered, 183 sold at a clearance rate of 84 per cent. The aggregate was up one per cent on last year at £9,082,000 (AU$18,000) while the average climbed 10 per cent to £49,629 (AU$97,000) and the median stood at £36,000 (AU$70,000).
Gregory seeks redemption in St Leger
G2 Queen’s Vase S. winner Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) will attempt to return to his winning ways in the G1 St Leger on September 16. Undefeated heading into the Royal meeting, the 3-year-old finished third as the favourite in the G2 Great Voltigeur S. at York on August 23.
Wathnan Racing advisor Richard Brown said: “We said after Ascot that his main target would be the Leger and that (the Great Voltigeur) was the obvious race to take en route. We’d love to have won it, but they went pretty hard up front–those early fractions were pretty fierce. We were initially disappointed, but then you see where the two horses that went with him finished and where he finished. Frankie (Dettori) looked after him when his winning chance had gone and actually when he stood up on him, the horse ran on again on his own.”
Feed The Flame to prep for the Arc in the Prix Niel
Kingman’s (GB) Group 1 winner Feed The Flame (GB) will prepare for a start in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in September’s G2 Prix Niel, according to trainer Pascal Bary.
All three of the colt’s wins have come at Longchamp, with a winning April debut parlayed into another victory in a Class 2 affair later that month. Feed The Flame ran fourth in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club in June, prior to bouncing back in the Grand Prix du Paris on Bastille Day.
“Tres bien, he is very well,” said Chantilly-based Bary. “He’s to run on the 10th of September in the Prix Niel. He needs that (run over course and distance) before the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. He knows the course very well now, he has won there three times.”
Zadorsksy, Into Happiness top Fasig-Tipton August Digital Sale
The Fasig-Tipton August Digital Sale closed Tuesday afternoon (US time), with 84 horses sold for a combined US$2,074,700 (AU$3.2 million). Offerings included breeding stock, horses of racing age, and yearlings. A pair of active race fillies shared top billing, while the gross and number of registered bidders established new records for the Digital platform.
Zadorsky (USA) (Tapiture {USA}) - a 2-year-old filly - sold for US$180,000 (AU$278,000) to Hoolie Racing Stable from the consignment of Legion Bloodstock. The filly was most recently a 2.25l winner in maiden special weight company at Saratoga on August 13.
Into Happiness (USA) - a 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief (USA) - matched the $180,000 top price when sold to KPO Holdings from the consignment of Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent. The bay filly is coming off a three-race win streak, including a pair of victories at Saratoga, the most recent on August 9 for trainer Mark Hennig.
Wellwood happy with Charm Spirit 3-year-old
Itza Charmdeel (Charm Spirit {Ire}) will be looking to complete a hat-trick of wins when he contests Saturday’s Listed Wanganui Guineas.
The Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained 3-year-old has made an impressive start to his career and looks a top chance to add a second stakes triumph in the 1200-metre contest.
“We’re really happy with him and he is still learning and needs room, even in the Ryder Stakes he got trapped between a couple of horses and was quite nervous,” Wellwood told loveracing.nz.
Itza Charmdeel | Image courtesy of Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)
“When he got galloping room, he let down like a pretty smart horse and I really do think he is going to show more over 1400 metres or a mile.”
The stable has no long-term plans for Itza Charmdeel and will decide his immediate future after his run at Wanganui.
“It’s race by race at this stage, he’s been up a little while and we’ll see what happens on Saturday and go from there,” Wellwood said.
