Visitor's draw for Sir Sway in Moir
Co-trainer Jason Jaensch is philosophical about Sir Sway (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) getting the visitor’s draw in Saturday’s G1 AJ Moir Stakes. The South Australian-trained galloper ran second in the G1 Goodwood Handicap at his last start. “We're pushing ahead for Saturday, it's good to see him back,” Jaensch, who trains in partnership with mother, Sue, told racenet.com.au.
“It's not ideal, but I suppose it's one of those things, he's drawn bad barriers before and come away with a bit of luck from them. We'll just take it, Lachie (Neindorf) can sit there and ride him how he pleases.”
Outside draws for favourites in Moir
The punters' current picks for the G1 AJ Moir Stakes, Niance (NZ) (Swiss Ace) and Baraqiel (Snitzel), have drawn 12 and 10 respectively. “It is what it is, there was only two marbles left. The options were barrier 12 and barrier 13, so I think we got the best part of the deal. There's a lot of speed drawn inside us, it's a very, very good race. Extremely competitive, hopefully we get a clean run. We've got a good jockey, a fit horse and hopefully we're able to get the job done,” Niance’s trainer Grahame Begg told racing.com.
Niance (NZ) | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“It's not too bad, with the scratching (of emergency Esha) he could come into barrier nine, he's won at The Valley from barrier 10, actually, before. You've got to take what you can get. In these 1000-metre races, anything can happen. You've got to give respect to Niance, she's drawn outside of us. And Esha, if she gets her start, is a very good filly and 50kg definitely helps her chances,” Baraqiel’s co-trainer Will Larkin said.
Ambitious task for Apocalyptic
Trainer Michael Freedman has set a massive task for promising 3-year-old filly Apocalyptic (Extreme Choice) when she resumes in Saturday’s G2 Furious Stakes. She ran second at her only start at two. “A big track like Randwick should suit her. Obviously, she’s taking on some good fillies who have the score on the board,” Freedman told racingnsw.com.au.
Michael Freedman | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
“Her only start was a 2-year-old race back in December so I don’t know if that’s relevant in terms of a form reference. But it’s a nice race to kick her off in and then we’ll see where we get to after that.”
Pathway to The Everest features on Saturday
Saturday’s Sydney meeting features the G3 Concorde Stakes, one of the key lead ups to The Everest. “This meeting always has a significant bearing on TAB markets for many of the major features across spring,” Australian Turf Club Head of Racing and Wagering, Nevesh Ramdhani told racingnsw.com.au.
Jimmysstar (NZ) | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}) will kick off in this race with trainer Ciaron Maher plotting a similar path as Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai). “I was toying whether to kick him off in this race or in two weeks’ time but just the way he’s prepped up, it would be a similar preparation to what Bella did,” Maher told racing.com.
“He can run here, and then in the Premiere, and then two weeks into The Everest.”
Zany Girl to take on mainland fillies
Tasmania’s Listed winning juvenile of last season Zany Girl (Needs Further) won her first 3-year-old outing and now will head to Victoria for Saturday’s Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes. “We’re very excited about having her in that race on Saturday,” Managing Owner Joe O’Neill from Prime Thoroughbreds told tasracing.com.au.
Zany Girl | Image courtesy of Tas Racing
“Her return race in Hobart when she won suggested to us that we should have a throw at the stumps against the better fillies in Melbourne. You never know, she has done a very good job this filly. She won her first three starts, and we kept her in work for the Magic Millions and Gold Sovereign. She had a long campaign, but when she was at her top, she was dominant.
“She’s a very smart filly, and she’s a lot stronger now, she’s grown, and you just never know where they can go. We put a nomination in for the Thousand Guineas just in case.”
Clean Energy retired
Group 3 winning 4-year-old mare Clean Energy (Zoustar) has been retired after a lacklustre trial at Hawkesbury last month. Unbeaten at two, including the Listed Bill Carter Stakes, she won the G3 Typhoon Tracy Stakes at three, and retires with three wins and two thirds from six starts with earnings just under $300,000. A $2.6 million yearling purchase by Yulong from Widden Stud’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft, Clean Energy is a full sister to Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Sunlight and Group 3 winner Sisstar. Sunlight’s first foal is Listed winner Dawn Service (Justify {USA}).
Double for Better Than Ready at Ipswich
Queensland sire Better Than Ready enjoyed a mid-week city double at Ipswich on Wednesday. Tony Gollan-trained 4-year-old mare Immediate won easily in race two, winning over 1100 metres by 3.1 lengths to take her record to a win and four placings from six starts.
In the last of the day, Rob Heathcote-trained 6-year-old gelding Better Be Nordy took his record to four wins from 23 starts with earnings over $120,000.
Dundeel colt wins in West Australia
Grant and Alana Williams-trained 3-year-old colt Hasani (Dundeel {NZ}) broke through for his first victory in the first at Belmont on Wednesday, winning by 0.3l at his third start. He is the ninth foal and second winner for Premardal (Shamardal {USA}) who won three Listed races in Perth including the Listed Jungle Dawn Classic twice.
Xentaro proves it was no fluke
Promoted to a victory last start after El Alamein (Rommel) was disqualified for being the wrong horse, 3-year-old gelding Xentaro (Nicconi) franked the form of having finished second on track by winning again at Belmont on Wednesday for trainer Neville Parnham.
Xentaro winning the Handicap at Belmont Park | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
Xentaro now has two wins from four starts and was a $115,000 purchase by his trainer from J Farms’ Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale draft. The second foal and second winner for Route Eighty Eight (Written Tycoon), Xentaro’s dam is a city winning half-sister to Listed winner Winning Partner (Dawn Approach {Ire}).
So You Think filly wins in New Zealand
Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray-trained 3-year-old filly Transcend (So You Think {NZ}) won at Ruakaka on her seasonal debut on Wednesday. She ran second in her only start at two. “She is still doing a couple of little bits wrong, but once he got her out into the clear she came home really well. She has to improve on her ringcraft a wee bit, but there is plenty of time to do that, we will get there,” Murray said.
Sold by Rushton Park for $80,000 at the Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale to Devcich Bloodstock, she was on-sold as a yearling at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale by Henley Park for NZ$150,000 to TAB Racing Club and Ritchie Murray Racing.
Hong Kong unveils new grandstand facilities
The Hong Kong Jockey Club has unveiled part of their HK$14 billion (AU$2.75 billion) grandstand upgrade ahead on Sunday’s season opener. “The club has invested more than HK$10 billion into a multi-year racecourse master plan to systematically revitalise Sha Tin and Happy Valley racecourses,” Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the club’s CEO, told scmp.com.
“It is our plan to invest another HK$4 billion in the next phase to transform our racecourses. This is a key enabler of the club’s vision to develop our racecourses into world-class sport and entertainment venues.
“Champions Connection and Genso Eki, with their cutting-edge digital technology and vibrant, modern settings, will redefine the arrival and racecourse experience for racegoers, particularly the younger generation, cultivating a greater interest in the sport of horse racing.
“We look forward to seeing these new attractions make a big contribution to racing tourism, an important pillar of Hong Kong’s tourism development with significant economic and social value.”
Havana Gray and Dark Angel joint sale toppers at Somerville
The slimmed-down Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale resulted in meaty rises in the median and average on a day when Jenny Norris, consignor of Windsor Castle Stakes winner Havana Hurricane at this sale 12 months, backed up those exploits by sending out a Havana Grey filly (lot 39) to command joint top-lot status at 160,000gns (AU$344,000) to Rabbah Bloodstock.
Norris Bloodstock shared the spoils with Guy O'Callaghan's Grangemore Stud, who sold a Dark Angel colt (65) out of Listed-winning speedster Measure Of Magic to Highflyer's Anthony Bromley on behalf of owner Phil Cunningham. That buying team followed on from last week's Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale spending spree to also end this sale as the leading buyer.
“We did not expect her to make quite that much,” Norris beamed. “But we had targeted this sale to be a standout. The pedigree is strong enough to go later, but the pedigree has done so well here that we'd keep that trend going. It's a good start to the Tattersalls season for us – let's hope she goes on to become a Royal Ascot winner!”
As for the sale on the whole, it followed on from the momentum built up at Doncaster last week, with the new one-day format getting a resounding thumbs up from buyers and vendors alike. The proof is in the eating given the average climbed 21% to 34,254gns (AU$73,500) and the median by 14% to 25,000 (AU$53,000). The clearance rate was up a massive 11% to 90% while the 7,878,500gns (AU$16.9 million) was a little over 1 million gns down on last year, that ended up being a massive result given the catalogue was slimmed back by 43% (194 horses).
Tattersalls chairman Edmond Mahony said, “This is the fifth year of the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale, and it has proved to be a record-breaking edition, with a joint record top price, a record number of six-figure lots, a new benchmark for the average, and a clearance rate of 90%.
Edmond Mahony | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
“The sale has quickly established itself as an important fixture in the European yearling sales calendar, and there has been plenty of positive feedback from consignors regarding the high level of inspections over the past couple of days.”
Global Symposium to focus on falling foal crop
The 51st annual Global Symposium on Racing, hosted by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, will include a panel titled “Strength in Numbers: Innovative Approaches to Boosting U.S. Thoroughbred Breeding” to address the ongoing issue of declines to the foal crop. The session will bring together leaders from racing and breeding to discuss ideas to reinvigorate regional Thoroughbred breeding programs. Panelists will highlight successful models ranging from innovative incentive programs to targeted policy reforms, with an emphasis on collaborative, multi-state efforts.
New levy imposed on English breeders
It would be fair to say that Monday night's annual general meeting of the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) was not a laugh a minute, but, as TBA chairman Philip Newton outlined, there is not much cause for levity in British racing and breeding these days.
Philip Newton | Image courtesy of Thoroughbred Breeders' Association
Rising costs, stagnant or falling prize-money in the lower tiers, and continued declines in the British (and global) foal crop were all cited as areas of concern, while Newton, who has been instrumental in the development of Project Pace, which seeks to make a Premier League-style package out of a select number of Britain's best racing fixtures, also spoke of the potential of this venture.
To date, Project Pace has received a Levy Board grant of £232,500 (AU$476,000) to develop a strategy that Newton hopes will deliver “transformational funding”. He promised to provide greater details of these plans after imminent consultation with key rights holders. The TBA also released details of its new Equine Welfare Levy, which will mean a mandatory extra charge to breeders of £60 (AU$123) per foal registered from 2026, replacing the old voluntary levy.
“The breeding industry, and as a follow-on, the racing industry, is facing change that it hasn't seen before, and which threatens its very existence,” Newton warned in his address to around 50 TBA members in attendance at the Jockey Club Rooms.
“I see it very much as my, and the TBA's, responsibility to ensure that the industry – that's the full racing industry – understands the treacherous waters it is steering towards, and the consequences of not changing course.”
Johnson joins BHA board
National Trainers Federation (NTF) chief executive Paul Johnson has been appointed to the Board of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). He assumes the role with immediate effect, while the process continues to implement agreed governance reforms, working towards the establishment of an independent board of directors.
Paul Johnson | Image courtesy of National Trainers Federation
Joining the Board as one of the two member-nominated directors, Johnson has been nominated by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, Racehorse Owners Association and licensed personnel. He takes over from John Ferguson, whose term on the Board has concluded.
