Cummings sounds In Secret warning
Godolphin head trainer James Cummings believes gun sprinter In Secret (I Am Invincible) is in good shape ahead of her return, but admits some of her rivals may prove too slick in Saturday’s G3 Concorde S. at Randwick.
“I am happy with the horse, but surely the race will be just too quick for her over 1000 metres,” he told SEN Track.
“She’s come back well and she will be ready to run a race fresh.
In Secret | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“If she can find a way to tack on and be within striking distance when she makes her run with 300 metres to go, it will make things interesting.
“Nevertheless, to be charging to the line and running the kind of race that sets up the rest of her prep - that would be fantastic.
“A win would be a bit scary when you think how much better she will be over six furlongs (1200 metres).”
The two-time Group 1 heroine will be partnered for the first time by star apprentice Zac Lloyd.
“It won’t be the last chance he (Lloyd) gets, so he’s got to make the most of them and really knuckle down,” Cummings said.
Pride: Plenty of fight left in Eduardo
Group 1-winning trainer Joseph Pride is adamant star sprinter Eduardo (Host {Chi}) still has a zest for racing, despite being a 10-year-old.
Eduardo resumes from a spell in Saturday’s G3 Concorde S. at Randwick, where he will renew acquaintances with arch-rival Nature Strip (Nicconi).
“Eduardo has never looked healthier, he is just glowing,” Pride told Racenet.
“This horse has so much energy about him, he doesn’t know how to sit still. He is like that old guy who can still do 1000 sit-ups and blow the young guy out of the park.
“He loves being in the stable, his energy levels are still right up there and honestly, he would be lost without it.
“This horse doesn’t like to be wasting time in a paddock and I wouldn’t want to see that for him, either.
“We pamper him, he has the best life. He knows his place in the stable, he wants to get out early for trackwork every morning, he absolutely loves being a racehorse and just wants to be involved.”
The two-time Group 1 winner boasts five wins and five placings from 12 fresh-up starts.
Forsman confirms Memsie start for Aegon
Group 1-winning Kiwi trainer Andrew Forsman has decided to run Aegon (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}) in a hot edition of the G1 Memsie S. at Caulfield on Saturday. Forsman had initially planned to run the 6-year-old in Saturday week’s G2 Feehan S. at The Valley but has instead elected to run him this weekend, despite the horse drawing gate 13.
Aegon (NZ) | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Forsman is targeting the G1 Turnbull S. at Flemington on October 7 with Aegon.
“I think we have to (run on Saturday),” Forsman told Racing.com.
“Unfortunately, he is not an Alligator Blood, who again has drawn wide but can work forward and put himself in the race, we can’t.
“He just doesn’t have that tactical speed, so he will go back and will just be reliant on a bit of tempo.
“They went hard in the PB Lawrence first-up, which helped, I don’t know if there is going to be the same tempo, but a big field helps for sure.
“But we are realistic, second-up, it's a hard race for him.”
Chittick quashes match-race idea
A potential match race between two of the world’s best sprinters - I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) and Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) - won’t go ahead, after Waikato Stud boss Mark Chittick, part-owner of the former, said their camp would not jeopardise the gelding’s The Everest campaign.
Wagering company Entain, in partnership with the Cranbourne Turf Club, came up with the concept of a $500,000 match race and approached connections of both horses on Wednesday.
Mark Chittick | Image courtesy of Waikato Stud
“I gave them the ‘definitely not’ this morning (Thursday). If it was a few million (dollars), we could think about it,” Chittick told Racenet.
“We just aren’t interested at $500,000 a couple of weeks before The Everest at $20 million – that is the main aim.”
I Wish I Win resumes in Saturday’s G1 Memsie S. at Caulfield.
Talented Embellish 3-year-old sheds maiden tag
Te Akau-owned gelding Talisker (NZ) (Embellish (NZ}) broke his duck at the fifth time of asking, scoring comfortably over 1200 metres at Riccarton-Synthetic.
As a 2-year-old, Talisker was second in the G2 Eclipse S. at Te Rapa in January. He was sent out favourite in Thursday’s maiden, and, after controlling the race from the front, Talisker had little trouble accounting for his rivals.
The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained 3-year-old is the fifth live foal of the winning Redoute’s Choice mare Glenkinchie and his second dam is the stakes performer Distilled (Masterclass {USA}) - a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 hero Racing To Win (Encosta De Lago) and the Group 3 winner and Group 1-producing sire Purrealist.
Talisker was consigned by Landsdowne Park at the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale (Book 1) and made NZ$70,000, with Te Akau’s David Ellis buying.
Diamond winner on track for Guineas
Reigning G1 Blue Diamond S. hero Little Brose (Per Incanto {USA}) will continue on a path to the G1 Caulfield Guineas on October 14. The Lindsay Park-trained colt will tackle Saturday’s G2 McNeil S. at Caulfield, having resumed with a fourth-placed finish in the G3 Vain S. at the same track on August 19.
Little Brose | Image courtesy of Darren Tindale
Co-trainer Ben Hayes said: “He’s a Caulfield Guineas horse for sure. He just needed the run first-up and he’ll run in the McNeil Stakes and keep improving after that.”
Little Brose will jump from barrier 10 under Michael Dee.
Keys pair playing long game with Scheelite
Ken and Kasey Keys hope Scheelite (Real Steel {Jpn}) can return to the winner’s list in Saturday’s G2 McNeil S. at Caulfield, but the father-daughter training duo are eyeing a bigger prize later in the spring - the G1 Caulfield Guineas.
Scheelite’s unbeaten run came to an end in the Listed Vain S. but the colt was only beaten 1.4l.
“I couldn't be happier with his run,” co-trainer Ken Keys told Racing And Sports.
“He got pushed to the inside, which probably wasn’t ideal and if we had run fourth, we would have been over the moon, and I thought we had.
“I have to keep telling myself now, it’s not all about winning, it’s about getting to the Guineas.
“You dream of keeping the ‘picket fence’ going, but then reality sets in.”
Widdup chases stakes triumph with Iffraaj mare
Hawkesbury-based trainer Brad Widdup is confident 5-year-old mare Short Shorts (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}) has the class to take out Friday’s Listed Mona Lisa S. at Wyong.
Short Shorts - a five-time winner and Group 3 placegetter - will be handled by Jean Van Overmeire and should be in the finish if she doesn’t get held up from the inside gate.
“We have had this race targeted for a while,” Widdup told The Daily Telegraph.
“She races well fresh but obviously we have got her as forward as we can have her. We are going up again a bit in grade but I think she is up to it.
“This is her level. She is a black-type mare who ran third in the Dark Jewel which is always a good race.
“She has been very consistent. The only chink in her armour has been wet tracks.”
Third winner of the season for The Autumn Sun
The Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young-trained Kosgei (The Autumn Sun) became his sire’s third winner in 2023/24, after the 3-year-old gelding was too good on debut in Race 2 at Bendigo.
The Autumn Sun kicked off the new season in style when Autumn Ballet won the G2 Silver Shadow S. at Randwick on August 19, and then Autumn Angel broke her maiden in a midweek contest at Sandown-Lakeside on August 23. Autumn Ballet will line up in Saturday’s G2 Furious S. at Randwick.
Bred by Sir Patrick Hogan, Kosgei was passed in twice as a yearling, firstly at the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale (Book 1), then the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale.
The gelding boasts a super pedigree, being from Sara Ann (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}) - an unraced sister to the Group 2 scorer La Sizeranne (NZ). That makes Kosgei a half-brother to the Group 1 hero Tavago (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) and the stakes performer Sweet Anna (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}). Other stakes winners on the gelding’s page include Estelle Collection (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice), Grosvenor (NZ) and National Gallery (NZ).
The Autumn Sun stands at Arrowfield Stud at a fee of $66,000 (inc GST).
Ryan with two-pronged Wyong Cup attack
Fledgling trainer Sara Ryan believes both of her runners will be competitive in Friday’s Listed Wyong Cup.
The local trainer will saddle up The Mediterranean (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Parry Sound (Pierro) in the $240,000 staying feature.
“They are both going really well, and either is capable of winning the race,” Ryan told Racing And Sports.
“To win a Wyong Cup would mean so much to me, it would be fantastic. We want the Cup to stay in Wyong.”
New 2-year-old race on Murray Bridge Gold Cup Day
The Murray Bridge Racing Club has announced a new $50,000 feature for Murray Bridge Gold Cup Day – The Moorundi.
The 900-metre race, which will be run at the Gifford Hill track, will be the opening 2-year-old race of the 2023/24 racing season in South Australia.
Magic Millions will provide the winning trainer a $10,000 voucher to spend at any Magic Millions bloodstock sale around Australia in 2024.
The race celebrates the contributions of the local Indigenous community. In Ngarrindjeri, the word Moorundi means river and refers directly to the Murray River.
“We are thrilled that we have been granted permission to use the name Moorundi for our new feature 2-year-old race on Carlton Draught Murray Bridge Gold Cup Day,” Murray Bridge Racing Club Chairman John Leahy said.
“The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian inhabitants of the lower Murray River and Coorong area, and the river has always been their main aorta of food and sustenance for generations.
“The honour to have the Moorundi name on the first 2-year-old race of the season gives the Murray Bridge Racing Club an opportunity to connect to the proud Indigenous history of our district.”
The Moorundi will be run as part of a huge Cup Day program, which includes the $120,000 Listed Murray Bridge Gold Cup, the $65,000 Murray Bridge Sprint and the $55,000 Gifford Hill Guineas.
£180,000 Pinatubo colt tops Goffs UK, Godolphin buys
Pinatubo (Ire) hardened his reputation as one of the most exciting young stallions in Europe at the Doncaster Premier Yearling Sale when a colt by the freshman sire led the day two trade when selling to Godolphin at £180,000 ($351,885).
With Anthony Stroud and the rest of the regular Godolphin buying team nipping away from Goffs early to make it to Germany for the BBAG Sale at the weekend, Jono Mills was left in charge of securing the Pinatubo colt from Longview Stud.
Mills said, “He was bought on behalf of Godolphin. The buying team are on their way to Germany. I was just talking to Anthony [Stroud] and David [Loder] on the phone and this colt is obviously a lovely Pinatubo and comes from a good farm. He is a lovely individual and we were very keen on him.”
Of the 414 lots offered, 355 sold at a clearance rate of 86% while the aggregate was up 2% to £16,262,000 ($31,790,909). The average also climbed 4% to £45,809 ($89,552) while the median stayed the same on £35,000 ($68,422).
Carolina Reaper Too Darn good
Darley shuttle stallion Too Darn Hot (GB) chalked up his third Group win when the Charlie Johnston-trained Carolina Reaper (GB) was too good in Wednesday’s 150th Zukunfts-Rennen at Baden-Baden, Germany’s first juvenile Group race of the year.
The 2-year-old filly scored by a neck under Jack Mitchell.
“It was a tough race for her,” Mitchell said. “In England, she’s very sharp and she can make the running, but today she just didn’t want to. I had to ride her differently, wherever she was happy, and she just did enough for me.”
Carolina Reaper is the seventh of nine foals and one of four winners produced by the Listed Rosemary S. victress Dark Promise (GB) (Shamardal {USA}), herself a half sibling to four black-type performers headed by the G1 heroine Love Divine (GB) (Diesis {GB}).
‘I'm not as proud to be a horse trainer as I used to be’ - Casse lobbies for synthetic tracks
In the wake of a tragic spate of breakdowns at Saratoga, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse is advocating for a switch from dirt to a synthetic surface. Casse considers synthetic tracks far safer and easier on horses.
“This is sad to say, but I’m not as proud to be a horse trainer as I used to be,” he told TDN America. “I'm not proud of our sport. That’s sad. In my opinion, it’s dangerous and I’m going to do whatever I can do to help it. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn who I piss off or upset.”
Clotworthys turn to blinkers for Guineas contender
Byerley Park-based trainers Shaun and Emma Clotworthy are hoping the addition of blinkers enable Quirky Habits (NZ) to avenge a last-start defeat in Saturday’s Listed Wanganui Guineas.
The gelded son of Belardo (Ire) was narrowly beaten by Itza Charmdeel (Charm Spirit {Ire}), who he faces again on Saturday, when they met in the Listed Castletown Stakes at Otaki at the conclusion of last season.
“He hasn’t done anything wrong and he was very close last time out, he just got bombed right on the line and he’ll have the addition of visor blinkers this time,” Shaun Clotworthy told loveracing.nz.
“He had 10 days off after the Ryder and he’s had a couple of nice bits of work since and in good order and
“He has travelled away before of course and he’s gone left-handed as well, which is a big advantage for him.”
