Entries open for Magic Millions Horses In Training Sale
The 2025 Magic Millions Horses in Training Sale will be held on Thursday October 9, and entries for the sale are now open. “This is a sale that produces for vendors each year,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said in a press release.
“A sign of a healthy market is a strong clearance rate and that is where this sale is clearly the market leader in Australia. Our team, led by the herculean David Chester, each year is able to present vendors with a strong buying bench that is active at all levels of the market. Vendors will also benefit from having Magic Millions representatives on the ground in China (Amy Feng), Hong Kong (Thomas Yeung), Korea (Yoo Jae-Hyong) and the Philippines (Ancy Palma).
Barry Bowditch | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“Last year we opened the sale up to both two and 3-year-olds and this year we will also include 4-year-olds - the thirst for racehorses from a number of countries is very strong. We want our vendors to know that we will leave no stone unturned in attracting prospective buyers to keep the trend of being the best clearing sale of its type in Australia.” Entries close August 1 with breeze ups to be held in late September and early October.
Collett aiming for second in premiership
With James McDonald leading the Sydney Metropolitan Jockey’s Premiership on 81, the battle for second is still tight with Zac Lloyd on 58 and Jason Collett on 55. “I'm really happy with the way the season has gone so far,” Collett told racenet.com.au.
“Obviously, winning the Doncaster was huge. It's such a big race. I want to try and win any Group 1 but to achieve that was such a huge. On the whole, I'm third in the premiership, I'm happy with the stake money I've earnt so it's been a good season.” He has five rides at Canterbury on Wednesday including 2-year-old colt Kilbrannan (Pierata).
Jason Collett | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“I've had a wee bit to do with the family. Obviously, he is a half-brother to Fireburn and Kintyre and he is a similar type. He's got a good attitude and shows a bit of ability. He trialled quite nicely when I rode him at Warwick Farm leading into his first run.
“Stepping up a bit further this week will help. He's a raw type and whatever he does this week, he will improve again. There's a hot favourite in this race of Chris Waller's (Central Coast) but I do like this horse going forward.”
Caulfield Guineas aim for Impending War
Lindsay Park-trained 2-year-old colt Impending War (Impending) will be aimed at the Caulfield Guineas via the Listed Taj Rossi Final. “The Elvstroem Classic has been a good horse's race over time and he will head to Flemington on Saturday in a 1400-metre VOBIS race,” syndicate manager Rob Slade told racing.com.
“We feel he has a lot of potential and is untapped. I'm thinking he's more of a Caulfield Guineas horse, but the Hayes boys have done a gene test on him and it showed he should be able to run up to 2400 metres. From the outset when he was broken in, he has been a natural.” He is unbeaten in two starts.
Snitzel juvenile wins at Ballarat
Trainer Lindsey Smith’s 2-year-old colt Lofty Thoughts (Snitzel) won at Ballarat on Tuesday at his third start. Third on debut, he ran last in the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (c&g) and hadn’t raced until resuming with this victory.
Sold by Arrowfield Stud for $200,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale to Matt Vella Bloodstock, he is the 21st juvenile winner for Snitzel this season, and Snitzel has a comfortable lead on the Australian 2YO Sires Championship. Lofty Thoughts is the fourth winner for stakes placed Mount Zero (Northern Meteor).
Horseshoe Hill resumes with victory
Third on debut in the R. Listed Magic Millions Wyong 2YO Classic, 2-year-old filly Horseshoe Hill (All Too Hard) resumed for trainer Bjorn Baker on Tuesday with a win at Hawkesbury.
Sold by Widden Stud at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $200,000 to her trainer, Cunningham Bloodstock and Clarke Bloodstock FBAA, she is raced by Ridgmont and partners, and is the second winner for Group 2 winner Miss Rose De Lago (Encosta De Lago).
Dartboard finds a home
Ballarat trainer Brady Cross might be the seventh trainer that 5-year-old gelding Dartboard (Shooting To Win) has had, but this is home for the half-brother to Anamoe. “He's been an absolute ripper for us. He came to me as a 19-start maiden but he'd run five or six seconds in those starts,” Cross told racenet.com.au.
“He had been around the mark in Darwin but he'd miss the start up there and get back and fly home.” Now the winner of four races including his last start, he’s dual nominated for Sandown on Wednesday or Geelong on Friday.
“I'll just work out which race I'll run him in. He'll get 62kg if he ran at Geelong but, two starts ago, apprentice Sarah Field rode him really well so we might send him there if we decided to claim. We're having a bit of a think at the moment.”
Harry’s Bar on song for Canterbury
Trainer Paul Murray has 4-year-old mare Harry’s Bar (Harry Angel {Ire}) on song for her second career win on Wednesday at Canterbury. “I think she will be very competitive again. I’m very impressed with her work, she’s going enormous, and whatever beats her will win,” Murray told racingnsw.com.au of the mare who has a win and five placings from eight starts.
“She always puts herself there, she’s got a lot of gate speed and can put herself in that position. She’s a very easy horse to ride, she knows when to go and when not to. She’s very adaptable that way.”
Trial win for Bluff Knoll winner
Trainer Embroja-Lee Altieri began her career with a horse gifted to her by mentor David Harrison, Gemma’s Son (Snippetson), and she won WA’s slot race, the Bluff Knoll with him in 2024. After a strong trial win on Monday, he will be set for the Listed Beaufine Stakes on July 5. “I don’t think there will be anything like the Bluff Knoll. Just being the first one and the way he won,” Altieri told racingwa.com.au.
Embroja-Lee Altieri | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
“He had a little hit out with our apprentice two weeks ago but today (Monday) was a bit more of a hit out. He’s had foot problems, and the plan all along has been to bring him back for the softer tracks. I might be a bit biased but I’m confident that he will go close first up.
“He’s definitely well in himself and is showing no signs of slowing down. He still loves his work and is really happy.”
Riding For Disabled race day at Cambridge
Waikato Thoroughbred Racing will host the fifth annual Riding For the Disabled race day on the Cambridge Synthetic on Wednesday. “The Cambridge RDA Raceday is one of the most rewarding events on our calendar,” WTR chief operating officer Andy Cruickshank said.
“It’s a day when the wider racing fraternity comes together not just for the love of racing, but to give back to an organisation that makes an extraordinary difference in people’s lives. We’re proud to continue to facilitate this day, having been started by the Cambridge Jockey Club prior to the merger, and to help raise vital funds for a cause that resonates so strongly in our community.
“Whether you’re a racing fan, a supporter of RDA, or just looking for a great reason to get out of the office on a Wednesday, this is a day not to be missed. Bring your team, bring your friends, and bring a few coins to contribute to the cause.” Last year, the race day raised NZ$25,000 for the charity.
Mystik Dan will stand at Airdrie Stud
Mystik Dan (USA) (Goldencents {USA}), the winner of the G1 Kentucky Derby in 2024, is set to stand stud at Airdrie Stud in Midway, Kentucky, upon the conclusion of his racing career, according to a press release from the farm Monday morning.
A three-time Graded stakes winner with earnings to date of more than US$4.4 million (AU$6.7 million), Mystik Dan has been campaigned throughout his career by trainer Kenny McPeek for the ownership group of Lance Gasaway, 4G Racing LLC, Daniel Hamby III and Valley View Farm LLC. The first foal out of his owner's four-time winning Colonel John (USA) mare, Ma'am (USA), Mystik Dan's immediate female family includes Grade 1 winners Laragh (USA) and Siphonic (USA) as well as the multiple Graded-stakes winning millionaire Summer Front (USA).
“His historic win in the Kentucky Derby will ensure that name recognition will never be an issue for Mystik Dan,” said Airdrie's Bret Jones, “but what we really want is for breeders to focus on some of the other performances that showcase how genuinely talented he has always been. His win at two, where he opens up seven lengths going 5 1/2 furlongs and runs a near-100 Beyer is as impressive as any juvenile race you'll ever see. And it's that same brilliant turn of foot that he showed when winning the Southwest by eight lengths that allowed him to open up a clear advantage in the Derby stretch despite being close to a pace that sent every other forwardly-placed horse to the back of the field.”
Threats to British racing detailed in new report
On the eve of Royal Ascot, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Racing and Bloodstock (APPG) has delivered a stark warning regarding the sport's future in Britain, which it fears “risks being tipped into terminal decline”.
At a launch in Westminster in the shadow of the British government's seat of power, MPs Dan Carden and Nick Timothy, co-chairs of the APPG, delivered a report demanding urgent action to stave off the threat from a “triple whammy of challenges that represent no less than an existential threat to the sport”.
Entitled Securing Racing's Future: The Threat to British Horseracing, the report highlights the potential damage to racing's financial structure from the proposed harmonisation of gambling duties as well as affordability checks on punters, which it claims has already led to a £1.6bn (AU$3.3 billion) fall in betting turnover on racing. It also highlights the need to reform the Levy to include bets placed domestically on overseas racing, as is the norm in other major racing jurisdictions.
The proposed unified Remote Betting and Gaming Duty across sports betting, pool betting, and online casinos and slots is likely to be close to the current 21 per cent rate for the latter. Currently, the tax on sports and pool betting is 15 per cent. This has prompted fears of a loss of more than £40 million (AU$83 million) per year to operators, which would in turn affect the revenue flow to areas such as prize-money and equine welfare via the Levy.
Described in the report as “a national institution woven into the fabric of our culture”, racing is the second-largest spectator sport in the country. Thoroughbred racing and breeding and their subsidiary businesses have been assessed to contribute more than £4bn (AU$8.3 billion) annually to the British economy, supporting around 85,000 jobs, many of which are in small, rural communities. Polling undertaken for the report found that 53 per cent of the public consider horseracing to be an important part of British culture, while 56 per cent support the implementation of a law requiring greater reinvestment into British racing.
Historic low fatality rate at Turf Paradise
The 2024-2025 race meeting at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Arizona, concluded on Kentucky Derby day May 3 with the lowest ever fatality rate in the 69-year history of the track, according to a release.
For the entire meet, the track recorded a fatality rate of 0.73 per 1000 starts and from the beginning of 2025 through the end of the meet, post a rate of just 0.24. The 2024 Jockey Club national average was 1.11/1000, while the 2024 HISA national average was 0.90/1000, the release stated.
“Such accomplishments come about because of teamwork and collaboration,” said Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms. “A heartfelt thanks to our track crew and track veterinarian, to our horsemen and the HBPA and to our regulatory partners, the Arizona Department of Racing and to HISA. Zero fatalities is our next goal.”
There was one fatality on the main track and three on the turf course among the 6981 starters to race during the race meet.
