Tatura abandoned
Friday’s Tatura meeting in Victoria was abandoned shortly before the commencement of Race 1 when Racing Victoria stewards found the track condition unsafe, with multiple wet patches detected.
The Tatura Racing Club has fronted up to take the blame, with club manager Jon Dight blaming a lack of diligence in attending to two wet patches on the track in the lead-up as the likely reason the track presented as not fit for racing.
“Sometimes in life, you have to put your hand up and admit we made a mistake,” Dight told Racing.com.
“We are probably aware of these spots; we probably didn’t do enough due diligence to ensure they were right to go for Friday.
“To discover them later today (Friday) is disappointing. From a club perspective, we would like to apologise. It shouldn’t happen; we let it happen.”
Racing Victoria steward, Michael Williams reported he was disappointed to see the state of the Tatura track on arrival on Friday after following up continuously with the club since earlier in the week.
Neasham star in doubt
On Friday morning, it was reported by Racing NSW stewards that Annabel Neasham’s star galloper Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) returned a slightly elevated white cell count, although he appeared clinically normal.
Zaaki (GB) | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
A second blood test was taken from Zaaki on Friday afternoon with the results to confirm whether the grand galloper would take his place in Saturday’s G1 King Charles III S.
Mazu has a gear change
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Mazu (Maurice {Jpn}), who will contest the $20 million The Everest, had his piece of 'eve-of-race drama' when the 5-year-old gelding shifted his off-fore plate on Friday morning.
Racing NSW reported that due to Mazu shifting the place that saw some of the hall wall come away, synthetic hoof filler (Equilox) had been applied to refit the plate.
Doyle booked for Cup ride on Future History
It was confirmed on Friday that record-breaking British jockey Hollie Doyle has been booked to ride the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Future History (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).
Twice a winner in France, the 5-year-old Showcasing (GB) gelding has been on an upward trajectory in his six starts in Australia, culminating with victory in the G3 Bart Cummings at Flemington handing him a golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup.
Emperor out to claim throne
Hong Kong’s Champion Stayer, Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will return to action in Sunday’s G2 Sha Tin Trophy H.
His trainer, Douglas Whyte, is hopeful Russian Emperor will run a bold race.
Russian Emperor (Ire) | Image courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
“He’s (Russian Emperor) summered well; he’s actually come the best this season than he has the past two. He’s really enjoying himself and is good in his action, and more so, he’s very, very healthy,” Whyte told Punters.
“Sunday’s race is too short; there is no expectation. He’s starting off his campaign, so I would just like him to run home and finish off, and I’ll be pleased.”
Distance is no issue for Alligator
Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) will look to win at 2000 metres for the first time when he tackles the G1 Might And Power S. at Caulfield.
The six-time Group 1 winner's regular partner, Tim Clark, remains confident he can be successful.
“There is no Zaaki this year; it probably does make it a bit easier for Alligator Blood to run out a strong 2000 metres. He and Zaaki had similar racing patterns, and they’re probably each other’s worst enemies,” Clark told Racing.com.
“Going to the Might And Power this year, it’s probably not as strong as last year; it looks an excellent race for him.
“I have no doubts about Alligator Blood running out the trip.”
In Secret set to peak
Godolphin are chasing their first victory in the $20 million The Everest. In Secret (I Am Invincible) runs for Godolphin's slot and Cylinder (Exceed And Excel) will represent the powerhouse operation running for James Harron Bloodstock.
Godolphin’s Head Trainer, James Cummings, is confident both runners are up to the task.
“In Secret will probably need something to bring her into the race, but Zac Purton has been airborne. It’s great to have him in the team, and we are looking forward to seeing In Secret produce the best run of her preparation so far,” Cummings told Punters.
In Secret | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Cylinder has trained on beautifully since the Golden Rose, and I think we are cooking with gas there.
“He has been placed in a Golden Rose and Golden Slipper, so he is no stranger to high-pressure environments.”
Mazu back in Berry's good books
Tommy Berry admits after riding Mazu (Maurice {Jpn}) to a debut win, he jumped off, never wanting to ride the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained galloper again.
“Mazu was still a colt back then and was almost unmanageable. He was a horrible horse to ride,” Berry told Punters.
“I remember after winning on Mazu, I told my manager, Paul Joice, that I didn’t want to ride the horse again.”
Come Saturday, Berry and Mazu will reunite in a quest to win the $20 million The Everest.
“I got a call a few weeks ago asking where I was at and if I was interested in riding Mazu.
“Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity to ride Mazu; he is a high-quality animal and a 5-year-old now.
“I think these good sprinters, when they get to five, they start to come into their own.”
Steparty excites Allen
On the eve of Steparty’s (Artie Schiller {USA}) biggest test in the G1 Caulfield Guineas, his jockey John Allen declared, ‘The best is still ahead’.
“This guy (Steparty) has a lot of scope. He’s still a big, raw horse; I believe he will get better as he gets older, so definitely has potential to be very good,” Allen told Newscorp.
Steparty | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“I’m not sure whether he’ll be capable of stepping to a Derby trip, but he has the versatility to head to the Cox Plate if he wins Saturday or even drop back in trip for the Coolmore. He’s that type of horse, and he’s got a lot of options.
“I’m very wary of a lot of the opposition but still pretty confident in my horse.”
Father and daughter training duo chase $1 million payday
Tony and Maddysen Sears will pursue a $1 million payday with Yellow Brick (The Mission) in Saturday’s Silver Eagle at Randwick.
The $20,000 bargain buy provided the father and daughter training duo plenty of thrills, albeit Tony Sears admitted they were disappointed when Yellow Brick was beaten in the Weetwood H.
“I don’t even know half of the field on Saturday. People say it’s not that great of a race, but I don’t know - how you can say it when it is a million-dollar race?” Sears told Punters.
“We were disappointed he got beat in the Weetwood, but under the circumstances, he ran very fast time and couldn’t keep going with the weight up the hill.
“There was never any discussion around him leading in the Weetwood, and I can guarantee he won’t be leading on Saturday.
“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t run a good race; we have always planned to come here.”
Waller nominates Cup hopes for Japan
Champion Trainer Chris Waller has nominated his G1 Melbourne Cup hopes Soulcombe (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Francesco Guardi (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) for the G1 Japan Cup in late November.
The Waller-trained pair were among the 11 foreign nominations for the 2400-metre showpiece.
Williams delighted to ride Yellow
Melbourne-based rider Craig Williams heads to Sydney on Saturday to ride his pal Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) in the G1 King Charles III S. and Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never {USA}) in The Everest. However, Williams is equally looking forward to riding the Queenslander Yellow Brick (The Mission) for the first time in the Silver Eagle.
“I raced against him (Yellow Brick) in Brisbane, and he was a really good horse,” Williams told RSN.
Yellow Brick | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
“After the Epsom, it only franked his form because Rediener was one horse that actually beat him up there.
“I’m delighted to have my first ride on him, and from what they’re talking about and seeing his profile and his videos, I’m really excited to feel what he’s like underneath.”
Curlin’s fee set at US$250,000
Hill 'n' Dale Farm's multiple leading sire Curlin (USA) will have a stud fee equal to Spendthrift Farm's Into Mischief (USA) at US$250,000 (AU$395,800) (life foal stands and nurses).
Farm stalwart Curlin, who has defined himself as one of the most preeminent sires at stud today, had his fee raised from US$225,000 (AU$356,200).
Curlin's champion son Good Magic (USA) will stand for a 2024 fee of US$125,000 (AU$197,900) (life foal stands and nurses).
Tapit to stand for US$185,000
Three-time leading North American sire Tapit (USA) will stand for US$185,000 (AU$292,900) (stands and nurses) on the heels of another strong season for his offspring both on the racetrack and in the sales ring.
Ace Impact retired to Haras de Beaumont
Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}), the brilliant winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Prix du Jockey Club, will not race on and is set to take up stud duties at his part-owner Kamel Chehboub's Haras de Beaumont from 2024.
Speaking to TDN at Tattersalls, Chehboub said, “When we established Haras de Beaumont the idea was to target exceptional future stallion prospects. Ace Impact has won the French Derby, he's won the Arc, he's unbeaten. As we all know, to race on for another year is taking a risk for the horse, and a lot of breeders want to use him. He's a true champion; there is a demand for him. For France it is fantastic news, and from day one that was part of the project.”
Cristian Demuro, who rode Ace Impact in five of his six starts, said, “He's a horse from another planet. You only come across horses of this calibre every 10 years. To win an Arc as a 3-year-old, in which his powers of acceleration shone to the fore, while retaining his unbeaten record, is extraordinary.”
Following Ace Impact's wins in the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville in August, and ultimately the Arc, there was speculation that, even if retired this year, he could see out his career with a trip to the Japan Cup for a showdown with Japanese superstar Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}).
Chehboub said, “We had a discussion with our partner, and we felt that to go to Japan was a very long journey for him, although we'd have loved to take on Equinox. But he has delivered everything we have asked of him. We are obviously very proud to have him, and to retire him to our farm. It's a very exciting next step.”
Insinuendo to be offered at Goffs November
Three-time Group winner Insinuendo (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) will be offered at the upcoming Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale which takes place Friday, November 24 to Saturday, November 25. The 6-year-old, from a Group 3-winning dam, will be consigned by Rathbride Stables on behalf of her trainer Willie McCreery. Owned by the Deegan Racing Syndicate, Insinuendo's most recent win was in the G3 Park Express S. at the Curragh this past March, a race in which she finished second to G1 1000 Guineas winner Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) a year prior.
In addition to winning the 2021 G2 Kilboy Estate S. at the Curragh and the G3 Blue Wind S. at Naas in the same season, she was a neck second to Group 1 winner Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in last year's G3 Royal Whip S. at the Curragh and third behind Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the 2022 G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot.
Sibilia Spain heads to Arqana December
G2 Prix du Muguet winner Sibila Spain (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) has been added to the Arqana December Vente d'Elevage and is set to go under the hammer during the first evening of the sale Saturday, December 9 when consigned by Haras de l'Hôtellerie. A winner of the Listed Prix de Liancourt at three, the Christopher Head-trained mare finished fourth in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary and G1 Prix de Diane. In the spring of her 4-year-old campaign, she went on to take her first group win in the Prix du Muguet.
Offered carrying her first foal by Dubawi (Ire), the 5-year-old is out of the Listed winning and G1 Irish Oaks runner-up L'Ancresse (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) and a full sister to group winner and G1 Ascot Gold Cup-placed Master Of Reality (Ire).
The Arqana December Vente d'Élevage catalogue will be available Monday, October 30.
Cigar Mile winner Americanrevolution to Rockridge Stud
China Horse Club Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC's Americanrevolution (USA) (Constitution {USA}) has been retired from racing and will stand in 2024 at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, New York, his connections announced in a release late Thursday afternoon. The Todd Pletcher trainee was a four-time stakes winner at three, culminating in the GI Cigar Mile H. as he registered a Beyer Speed Figure of 105.
“This is the best horse to retire in New York in a very long time,” said Rockridge Stud's Lere Visagie. “We all know we need top-class horses standing in New York to keep mares home. The winner of one of New York's most historic Grade Is for older horses is the way to do it. We can't wait to get started.”
Keeneland November Sale supplements seven Horses
Keeneland has supplemented seven horses, including stakes winner Her World (Ire) (Caravaggio {USA}), carrying her first foal by Uncle Mo (USA) as Hip 239, to Book 1 of the 80th November Breeding Stock Sale on Wednesday, November 8, the auction house said in a release Thursday.
Additional supplements to the November Sale are: Hip 238 a weanling colt by Yaupon (USA) who is a half-brother to 'TDN Rising Star' V V's Dream (USA) (Mitole {USA}), the runner-up G1 Darley Alcibiades S.; Hip 240 is a weanling filly by Essential Quality (USA) consigned by Lane's End, agent. She is the first foal out of Anukis (USA) (Pioneerof The Nile {USA}); Hip 241 is the stakes-placed Badge Of Silver (USA) mare Oaks Lily (USA), who is in-foal to Olympiad (USA). Consigned by Vinery Sales, agent, she is the dam of a weanling colt by Justify (USA) who is cataloged to Book 1 as Hip 85.; Hip 242 is Excused, a 7-year-old Australian-bred daughter of Medaglia D'Oro (USA) in-foal to Constitution (USA); Hip 243 is stakes-placed Fearless Angel (USA), a 3-year-old daughter of More Than Ready (USA) and Hip 244 is a weanling colt by Into Mischief (USA) from the family of champion Storm Song (USA) (Summer Squall {USA}) and European superstar Order Of St George (Ire).
With a catalogue of 3576 horses over a total of nine sessions through Thursday, November 16, Keeneland will continue to accept supplements to Book 1 until the auction begins. The Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age Sale will take place the following day.
