Vale Sue Hutchinson
The Australian Turf Club (ATC) extended their condolences to all those who knew former employee Sue Hutchinson who died on Sunday. “She has served the industry with great integrity and distinction for over 40 years, including closely with Racing NSW. Sue retired from the Australian Turf Club in 2020 in her capacity as Racing Services Manager but continued to work as Clerk of Scales until 2023.
“She was instrumental in the success of the ATC racing department and has been a valuable member of the team, maintaining many friendships amongst staff and industry over the years.
“Sue’s contribution to the industry will be recognized over the coming weeks as we remember a dedicated and hardworking colleague. She will be missed by everyone who knew her.”
Te Akau wins another trainer’s premiership
Te Akau Racing have had a stranglehold on the New Zealand Trainers’ Premiership in recent years and the 2023/24 season was no exception. With just one meeting to go in the season, Mark Walker has once again reigned supreme, teaming up with new training partner Sam Bergerson to record 169 victories, 69 wins ahead of their nearest rival, Stephen Marsh.
Mark Walker | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
“It was a good season overall and we are certainly looking forward to this coming season,” Walker told Loveracing.nz. “We have a lot of quality rising 2-year-olds and a lot of rising 3-year-olds that are unraced, and there are a lot of untapped horses that look quite exciting.”
Vale Darryl Taylor
The Clarence River Jockey Club announced the death of local trainer Darryl Taylor. He was 83. “It is with great sadness in advising the sudden passing of former Grafton horse trainer Darryl Taylor,” said Clarence River Jockey Club CEO Michael Beattie.
“Darryl had enjoyed the comradery of many of his old mates in the last couple of weeks at the recent July racing carnival and to me it seems a fitting way for DT as he was affectionately known to have spent his final few days.”
Retirement for trainer Hardy
A training career spanning 50 years will come to an end for Coffs Harbour stalwart Trevor Hardy at his home track cup meeting on Friday. “The weather hasn’t been much good up here and the track’s been pretty wet. We can just hope for the best,” Hardy told racingnsw.com.au about his runner Aheadofhistime (Deep Field).
Trevor Hardy
Third Lion City Cup Lim’s Kosciuszko
Trelawney Stud bred Lim’s Kosciuszko (Kermadec {NZ}) made his third consecutive win in Sunday’s Listed Lion City Cup look easy. “He’s done everything he possibly could and he’s just a little superstar,” winning trainer Daniel Meagher told Loveracing.nz. He has now won 21 of his 27 starts including his last four in succession.
“He has his little issues and needed to be kissed and cuddled, but come race day, he just performs like no other. It’s very special to have him and I don’t know if I’ll ever get another one.”
He will be set for the Raffles Cup on August 11, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup on September 7 and the Grand Singapore Gold Cup on October 5, before being exported to Australia where Meagher will set up at Pakenham.
The Lion City Cup was won a record four times by Rocket Man (Viscount) from 2009-2012 but Lim’s Kosciuszko won’t get a chance to equal this with racing ending in Singapore this season.
Assassin pays wedding bill
Queen Assassin (Better Than Ready) helped pay the expenses for young trainer Nick Walsh’s upcoming wedding with a record-breaking win in the Lightning H. at Townsville on Sunday. Ridden by Justin Huxtable, Queen Assassin smashed Roweiner Dance's (Sidestep) previous track record by 0.85 seconds with a sizzling time of 54.32 seconds.
“That will help pay for the wedding,” Walsh told racingqueensland.com.au on Monday. “The Lightning has been a race I’ve wanted to win for a long time, and I’ve now finally ticked it off the bucket list.” The 4-year-old mare has won eight of her 15 starts with earnings over $185,000. Walsh purchased her for $22,000 from Lyndhurst Stud at the 2021 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Autumn Angel won’t head to Cups
G1 Australian Oaks winner Autumn Angel (The Autumn Sun) won't pursue a start in the Caulfield Cup, according to syndicate manager Wylie Dalziel. “We leave it to Moods and his team, and we let them steer the ship and work in with his camp,” Dalziel told racing.com.
Autumn Angel | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
“She's in Queensland in pre-training and she's not too far away from coming back to Pakenham. Moods visited her last week and said she's in really good order and spelled nicely in Queensland's warmer weather. She'll be back down here soon. He'll let us know shortly what he's thinking but he's looking at keeping her in mares' class and not tackling races such as the Caulfield Cup this year. At this stage he'll keep her to her own sex and keep her to a mile and 2000 metres.”
Autumn Angel has won four of her 11 starts with earnings over $1.18 million.
Juvenile quinella for Deep Field at Muswellbrook
Monday’s Muswellbrook meeting saw 2-year-old filly Dravid (Deep Field) win at her second race day start for trainer Brett Cavanough who quinelled the race with 2-year-old colt Naftali (Deep Field), who is a half-brother to Artorius, in second. The Paul Perry-trained Backward Glance (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) was third.
Treble for Blake Shinn at Pakenham
Jockey Blake Shinn continued his good run of form with a treble at Pakenham on Monday. He won on Hayes trained Daring Spirit (Charm Spirit {Ire}), and two wins for Tony and Calvin McEvoy on Carnival Row (Trapeze Artist) and Alectrona (The Autumn Sun).
Of note, all bar one of the nine winners on the card were 3-year-olds (the other was a 4-year-old).
I Am Immortal gets fourth winner
Gary Colvin took 2-year-old filly Southern Dancer (I Am Immortal) to Albury’s Monday meeting for her second start and she won by 1.97l for jockey Holly Durnan. She is the fourth individual winner for her first season sire.
Treble at Albury for Souquet
Jockey Nick Souquet rode a treble of winners at Albury on Monday aboard Super Sunny Seeya (Rubick), Vegas Dream (American Pharoah {USA}) and Fil (Rebel Dane).
Second Rothschild for Mqse De Sevigne
Placing her name among some of the elite to have graced Deauville's August Festival, Baron Edouard De Rothschild's Mqse De Sevigne (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) made it a third Group 1 at the meeting as she recorded back-to-back renewals of the G1 Prix Rothschild on Sunday.
“She fully dominated today; it was quite impressive. As we said before, we will go with the program we have mapped out for her which is the Prix Jean Romanet here again as last year and then the Arc. [Half-brother] Meandre won races over 12 furlongs and the family really stays. I think she's settling now, so she's not going to waste energy in the beginning of the course and I think it would be wrong not to try,” De Rothschild said.
Winner of seven of her 16 starts, Mqse De Sevigne has now matched the achievement of her aforementioned half-brother Meandre (Fr) (Slickly {Fr}) in winning four group 1s, with his being all over a mile and a half in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Grand Prix de Paris, Grosser Preis von Berlin and Preis von Europa. The dual Listed-placed dam Penne (Fr) (Sevres Rose {Ire}), who also produced the Listed-placed Dogma (Fr) (Mount Nelson {GB}), is descended from the Prix de Diane and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches-winning champion Apollonia (Fr).
Calif wins German Group 1
Victorious Racing's €400,000 (AU$662,000) Arqana Arc sale acquisition Calif (Ger) (Areion {Ger}), who collected ParisLongchamp's G3 La Coupe when last seen, made a breakthrough at the highest level when annexing Sunday's G1 Grosser Dallmayr Preis – Bayeriches Zuchtrennen at Munich.
“This is a very special victory,” said jockey Adrie de Vries after registering his first win in the 10-furlong contest. “I chose Calif for my boss Fawzi Nass and Sheikh Nasser, so I am naturally very happy that he has now landed a Group 1 victory. I saw that Rene (Piechulek) was coming (aboard Fantastic Moon) and it took a while for Calif to get going. I thought Fantastic Moon was going to go by, but then my horse really took off.”
Calif, who becomes the second elite-level winner for his late sire, is a son of G3 Hamburger Stutenmeile victrix and G2 German 1000 Guineas runner-up Cherry Danon (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and thus kin to the stakes-winning trio Celebrity (Ger) (Shamardal), Chilly Filly (Ger) (Makfi {GB}) and Cherry Lady (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}).
Wootton Bassett filly remains unbeaten in Group 3
Two-for-two entering Deauville's seven-furlong G3 Prix Six Perfections on Sunday, the €110,000 (AU$182,000) Goffs Orby Book 1 graduate 2-year-old filly Angeal (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) showed that she is not shy of a battle, emerging the other side with her perfect tally intact.
“I'm delighted she remains undefeated with a great performance,” Christopher Head said. “She has a lovely temperament, and she never gives up when she has to fight. With her lovely pedigree, to win a group race was most important and it is mission accomplished. We'll now take our time to prepare her for the one-mile G3 Prix d'Aumale and then the G1 Marcel Boussac.”
First stakes winner for Earthlight
Darley shuttle sire Earthlight gained his first stakes winner when Patrice Cottier trained 2-year-old filly Daylight (Fr) (Earthlight {Ire}) backed up a May 2 debut score at Chantilly with a third back there in June's G3 Prix du Bois and rebounded in style to win Sunday's G3 Prix de Cabourg at Deauville.
“We never made it a secret that we keep this filly in high esteem,” said Pauline Chehboub. “After she won so impressively at Chantilly, we ran in the G3 Prix du Bois and she was not disgraced when finishing third. She was not quite ready for that, she was not mature enough, so we gave her time and skipped the G2 Prix Robert Papin to target this race. It was the correct decision and now we will have more ambition and target the G1 Prix Morny. From day one we had that race in the back of our mind for her.”
Daylight is the second of two foals and lone scorer produced by Listed Criterium du Languedoc victrix and G3 Prix de la Grotte third Latita (Fr) (Silver Frost {Ire}).
G1 Mercury Sprint won by Surjay
With a top notch second in the Mercury Sprint last year behind an exported Isivunguvungu (SAf) (What A Winter {SAf}) and with an ideal run in transit, the best in the race, 6-year-old mare Surjay (SAf) (Vercingetorix {SAf}) secured redemption in 2024 with a win. The 69.86s for the 1200-metre race was the fourth fastest run since the change to Greyville in 10 editions.
Owner Suzette Viljoen told SAHorseracing.COM, “That was such a special win as Captain's Ransom also won it.” Captain’s Ransom (SAf) (Captain Al) won this race in 2022.
Surjay now has five wins from 26 starts and this was her first at Group 1 level.
Dominant win by Quid Pro Quo in G1 Douglas Whyte
Quid Pro Quo (SAf) (Lance {SAf}) solidified her status as the best 2-year-old filly in South Africa with a remarkable victory in the G1 Douglas Whyte S. to take her record to five wins from seven starts with all five wins in succession.
It was her second win at Group 1 level, having previously won the G1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship and the G2 Golden Slipper for trainer Barend Botes.
Another juvenile Group 1 winner for Gimmethegreenlight
Australian-born Champion South African sire Gimmethegreenlight who is a son of More Than Ready (USA) added another Group 1 winner when 2-year-old filly Vj’s Angel (SAf) (Gimmethegreenlight) avoided Quid Pro Quo and instead took on the colts in the G1 Champion S.
Trained by Tony Peter, she has four wins from seven starts. Gimmethegreenlight’s have won this race four times, in 2023 with Sandringham Summit (SAf), in 2019 with Got The Greenlight (SAf) and in 2016 with Gunner (SAf).
G1 Champions Cup won by Dave The King
Under the guidance of renowned trainer Mike De Kock, Dave The King (SAf) (Global View {USA}) has matured impressively, securing his second consecutive Group 1 victory in the G1 Hong Kong Jockey Club Champions Cup.
Champion jockey elect Richard Fourie expertly guided Dave The King into a smooth rhythm after what De Kock called “a bit of a messy start.” Taking on the leaders early in the race, Fourie maintained the lead comfortably to the finish line. De Kock told SAHracing.com, “When he gets to the front, it will take a good horse to beat him.” Dave The King has won six of his 21 starts.
