United States of America
'Incredibly positive' vibe: Keeneland September Sale
The Keeneland September Yearling Sale, which produced gangbuster results in 2022, returns for its 2023 renewal Monday (US time) in Lexington. Perennially a bellwether of the industry's sales market, the 12-day auction opens with a pair of elite Book 1 sessions beginning overnight and, with the Keeneland barns awash with activity on Sunday, both sales officials and consignors were heading into the sale with plenty of optimism.
“The traffic has been incredibly positive,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “There are quite a few buyers here. It's probably as positive as I've seen it since pre-COVID. The feedback that we are getting is that it's a very good group of horses. The buyers are very satisfied. The sellers are very positive about the feedback they are getting on the stock they have here overall. So, in general, I am cautiously optimistic.”
The 2023 Keeneland September sale has a tough act to follow. Last year's auction surpassed US$400 million (AU$620 million) in gross sales for the first time in its history, while also setting records for average and median for the second year in a row.
“The market has been good, we've had a bull run for the last 15 years, so I don't expect any dramatic changes,” said Brad Weisbord, whose Elite Sales makes its Keeneland September debut this week. “The colts groups seems to have their money together, so they will probably be the high end. The middle market has struggled for a couple of years. The pinhookers have been strong. They made money the last couple of years, which is nice to see, so I don't expect many changes. But we will know at the end of the sale. This sale determines what the yearling market is throughout the whole year, so at the end of this marathon we will really understand how the market is.”
The Keeneland September sale annually attracts buyers from around the world and the buying bench's international flavor should be strong in the coming week, according to Lacy.
“We have been very pleased with the support we have been getting from the international market and especially Japan,” Lacy said. “We have had more Japanese visitors this week and they are staying longer. I think they are finding that we have certain sire lines and pedigrees that have worked internationally for them. We are becoming more affordable and very relevant for their program.”
Lacy continued, “We have Australians here, I think we will have a lot of South Americans here and people from all over the world.”
The Keeneland September Book 1 sessions Monday and Tuesday will begin at 1pm (US time); Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday begin at 11am (US time). Following Friday's dark day, the auction continues through September 23 with sessions beginning daily at 10am (US time).
Debutante winner Tamara eyes Breeders' Cup
'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (USA) (Bolt D'Oro {USA}) was resting comfortably in her stall Sunday morning, the day after capturing the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S.
The daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (USA) (Henny Hughes {USA}) sat closer to the pace than in her maiden victory. When jockey Mike Smith asked her, Tamara breezed past the pacesetter, opened up by the top of the lane and cruised home much the best.
The comments afterward told it all.
“It gave me chills,” winning trainer Richard Mandella remarked.
“I've been here in California for four years,” jockey Umberto Rispoli said as he came off the track following his seventh-place finish in the race. “I have never seen anything like that.”
“You don't often see the offspring of a great mare run anywhere close to what they did,” jockey Mike Smith told FanDuel. “But she's an exception to the rule.”
They were talking about the daughter of Bolt D'Oro (USA) on the backstretch Sunday morning.
“It was outstanding,” trainer Peter Miller remarked. “She looked like her mother.”
Mandella says Tamara came out of the race fine. In regards to a Breeders' Cup prep, he says they would play it by ear.
“There's a chance we might run her in the G1 Chandelier S. October 7 at Santa Anita,” Mandella says. “If it looks like she needs to run again, then we'll run her there. If not we'll point her straight to the Breeders' Cup. But so far she looks great.”
Prince Of Monaco game in Futurity victory
Just one day after Tamara (USA) (Bolt d'Oro {USA)) asserted herself atop her division in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S., Prince of Monaco (USA) (Speightstown {USA}) followed suit with a game performance to give trainer Bob Baffert his 17th win in the GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity.
The colt's victory on Sunday came as absolutely no surprise. An eight-length debut winner at Los Alamitos, the US$950,000 ($1,474,697) Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select grad parlayed that right into an equally impressive route when defeating Muth (USA) (Good Magic {USA}) to take the GIII Best Pal S. Aug. 13.
The winner is owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Robert E. Masterson, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan and Tom Ryan.
Europe
Too Darn Hot's Fallen Angel conquers the Moyglare
The Karl Burke-trained Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) provided her first-season sire with his maiden Group 1 winner when she dominated a competitive renewal of the G1 Moyglare Stud S. at the Curragh.
The filly was an impressive victress of the G3 Sweet Solera S. last month and is a homebred for Steve Parkin’s Clipper Logistics.
Parkin, who had also won Saturday's G2 Solonaway S. with the same trainer and jockey's Flight Plan (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), revealed that the success had extra resonance. “The mother was my favourite mare and we lost her to colic, that's her last foal and she is the spitting image of her, so emotional is an understatement,” he said. “My daughter names all our horses and after the death of the dam she called her Fallen Angel. To win the Moyglare Stakes is unbelievable, the greatest thrill I've had in my life I think.”
Too Darn Hot (GB) is currently serving at Darley, Australia for a fee of $44,000 (inc GST). The son of Dubawi’s (Ire) oldest Australian-conceived progeny are 2-year-olds.
Sea The Moon's Fantastic Moon dominates Niel rivals
The Sarah Steinberg-trained and Liberty Racing-owned Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) bounced back to form in the G2 Prix Niel at Paris Longchamp.
The G1 Deutsches Derby (German Derby) hero was able to easily outpoint the G1 Grand Prix de Paris victor Feed The Flame (GB) (Kingman {GB}).
“We made the correct decision not to run him last time at Baden-Baden because the ground was overwatered,” said Liberty Racing's Lars-Wilhem Baumgarten. “The trainer and the jockey have done a great job and he's a great horse, but he needs good ground. Today's race lacked pace and it wasn't straightforward. However, he's easy to handle and very talented. In my opinion, he's the best winner of the German Derby since his sire Sea The Moon. He's still going strong at the end of his 3-year-old campaign and we're so happy for our syndicate. We have four horses and two of them are Group-class. We'll be making a decision, as to where he goes next, on Monday.”
That decision looks unlikely to include a ticket to next month's Arc, according to Sarah Steinberg. “Rather than the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, we're thinking about other possibilities,” the trainer revealed. “These include the Japan Cup and the Breeders' Cup.”
Galileo's Warm Heart prevails in Vermeille tussle
Coolmore and Westerberg’s Warm Harm (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) continued her super run of form in Sunday’s G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille at Paris Longchamp.
The daughter of the former star Australian mare Sea Siren (Fastnet Rock) has claimed the G2 Ribblesdale S. and the G1 Yorkshire Oaks her last two starts and with James Doyle aboard withstood the persistent threat of Melo Melo (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) by a short neck.
“The race was a bit of a trappy contest,” explained winning rider James Doyle. “She exits the gates very well, but she slipped today and lost her action for a few strides, so I found myself a bit fenced-in and further back than I would have liked. They didn't go very fast and I was worried during the race, but she showed a lot of determination to come out on top.”
O’Brien trains 4000th career success
Ballydoyle maestro Aidan O’Brien trained his 4000th career success and despite having to withdraw City Of Troy (USA) (Justify {USA}) from the G1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S. due to the condition of the ground, he had an ample replacement in the son of star mare Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) - Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).
The trainer was typically keen to deflect praise to the team around him and happier to discuss his 12th winner of one of the races in which he still trails Vincent O'Brien, who had 15 of these throughout his esteemed career.
Aidan O'Brien
“It's pure teamwork all the way and hard to believe,” he said. “I'm so grateful to so many people.. Incredible. Great people, great horses and great teamwork. This horse's pedigree is second to none. Minding was the best mare we ever trained and this was the best outcross that she could go to,” he said. “He travels and he quickens and that is very difficult for other horses to handle. His dam won over a mile, a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half and handled the ground no problem and he's got a lot of her and his dad in him, so he looks a very special horse.”
Flying Five glory for Excelebration's Moss Tucker
The G1 Flying Five provided another surprising result for the sprint ranks when the outsider Moss Tucker (Ire) (Excelebration {Ire}) outlasted his more fancied rivals to take the prize.
Jockey Billy Lee kept asking the Ken Condon-trained 5-year-old and the response was typically courageous and honest. Using the extra stamina he displayed when taking the six-furlong G3 Phoenix Sprint S. here last time, Moss Tucker forged ahead late to deny Get Ahead (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) by 0.5l.
“It's fantastic on the Curragh, on the most important weekend in Irish racing. It's just been a great story with this horse how he has progressed and kept improving,” Condon said. “You're thinking if we got placed it would be a super effort and then the heavens opened about an hour and a half ago which helped us a good bit. He was very good here the last day a month ago. We thought that was a career-best and obviously this is another step in the right direction.”
Lumiere Rock lights up the Curragh with deserved Group 2 success
Joseph O’Brien’s Lumiere Rock (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) was a deserving winner of the G2 Blandford S.
“She has been keeping really good company all season,” O'Brien said afterwards. “She was just beaten at Ascot and narrowly beaten again in France the last day. She really did deserve her win at Group 2 level today and won in the style of a filly who will hold her own in Group 1 company as she gets older.”
Curragh Group 1 double for Dubawi as Eldar Eldarov takes the Irish Leger
Connections of Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) can be satisfied that Sunday's G1 Irish St Leger went by without drama, but the glory was with KHK Racing's TDN Rising Star Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) as he returned to form to provide his sire with a Group 1 double on the Curragh's star-studded card.
For jockey David Egan, the win was especially important given his connection to the area. “I had my first Classic winner last year, but to do it where I grew up at Osborne Lodge, which is at the five-furlong pole, means a lot,” he said. “It's what dreams are made of and for all the team connected with the horse. My first main job was riding out for Willie McCreery, who I saw today, and he was a great man to learn from and gave me a lot of experience and taught me a lot. He has a tendency to miss the break, but the race went so smooth, he was a race-fit horse today and was as tough as nails.”
Aidan O'Brien said of Kyprios, “A lot of people have done a lot of work to get him to here–all of the vets have done incredible work to get him back. We didn't think we would ever see this day, so to have him back and be happy and for Ryan to be happy is something. He's going to come on a lot and Ascot looks lovely for him. He will have a nice bit of time before now and then and will love going round there. It would be great to see him come back to what he was, and this was a great comeback run.”
Asia
Victor The Winner downs Lucky Sweynesse
Racing returned to Hong Kong on Sunday. Although there was no Group racing on the 10-race card there were still plenty of thrills, none more so than the return of the star sprinter Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse) in the Class 1 The HKSAR chief executive’s Cup. The 5-year-old gelding ridden by Zac Purton carried 61kg and was ultimately beaten by the progressive Danny Shum-trained Victor The Winner (Toronado {Ire}).
The reigning Champion Sire of Australia, I Am Invincible, started the Hong Kong season off with an impressive debut winner from the stable of Shum, named Champion Method.
The 3-year-old gelding stepped-out in Race 6 over 1000 metres winning from Ruby Sailing (Starspangledbanner).
Japan, Kawada dominate Korean features
Japanese horses flexed their muscles at the Saudi Cup meeting in February and again in Dubai the following month and a quartet of gallopers that made the short trip over for Sunday's Korea Cup over 1800 metres and Korea Sprint held over 1200 metres, each carried international Group 3 status, made their presence felt yet again in front of a packed house at Seoul Racecourse.
Japan took the first three runnings of the Cup in which they were represented from 2016-2018 and finished third with favored Sekifu (Jpn) (Henny Hughes {USA}) last year as Winner's Man (Kor) (Musket Man {USA}) led home a local 1-2 over Raon the Fighter (Kor) (Bayern {USA}) following a two-year, COVID-enforced postponement of the features. Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach The Crown {Jpn}), last year's G2 UAE Derby hero and G1 Kentucky Derby participant, was joined on the trip over by Gloria Mundi (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), less heralded, but six-from-eight on dirt, including a Group 3 when last seen in May.
With Yuga Kawada in for the afternoon, Crown Pride was bet into $1.30 (3-10) favoritism and made light work of it, taking over at the midway stage, turning back a mild bid from Gloria Mundi nearing the straight and careering away under a hold to take it by 10l over his compatriot. Winner's Man ran on for third, while Hong Kong raider Apache Star (War Chant {USA}) faded into ninth after racing prominently early.
