Bel Esprit dies aged 26
Widden Stud announced the death of Bel Esprit on Thursday. The retired stallion was 26. “Bel Esprit has left a real legacy that will extend well beyond his passing and it has been a privilege to have him in our care,” said Widden Stud’s Adam Henry.
The son of Royal Academy (Ire) won his first five starts in succession ending with victory in the 2002 G1 Blue Diamond. He followed that up with a sixth in the G1 Golden Slipper and was a dual stakes winner in his first two 3-year-old appearances. He added three Group 1 placings in the spring, then placed in the G1 Newmarket Handicap before winning the G1 Stradbroke Handicap at the end of his 3-year-old season.
Retired to stud in 2003, he sired 28 stakes winners led by unbeaten Champion mare Black Caviar, as well as Group 1 winners Bel Mer and Bel Sprinter. As a damsire, he has 24 stakes winners led by Champion First Season Sire Ole Kirk, Hong Kong Group 1 winner Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock) and Group 1 winner Costa Viva (Encosta De Lago). Bel Esprit retired from stud duties in 2022.
Blue Diamond veterinary inspections completed
Racing Victoria passed 17 horses fit to run in Saturday’s G1 Blue Diamond Stakes with two of the juveniles requiring a follow up inspection on Friday. “The Lindsay Park-trained Torture and Tony & Calvin McEvoy-trained Tough Romance both presented with a change in their gait and as a result will be reinspected tomorrow to determine their suitability to race,” said a Racing Victoria press release.
“The Phillip Stokes-trained Stretan Ruler was withdrawn by the stable prior to inspection and will instead run in Sydney on Saturday. The remaining 17 acceptors were passed suitable to race.” A field of 16 will face the starter with Tough Romance (All Too Hard) the current second emergency.
Top two lots at Arqana head to Australia
Recent winner Dante Nonantais will continue his career in Australia after OTI Racing went to €180,000 (AU$300,000) to secure the Florian Bellemere-trained son of Hunter's Light on the second and final day of the Arqana Mixed February Sale on Wednesday.
The 3-year-old gelding was the most expensive of the 170 horses sold at a clearance rate of 78% on the day. Dante Nonantais, the overall sale-topper, was added to the sale as a wildcard following his debut victory on the all-weather at Deauville. He will now head to the yard of Tony McEvoy, winner of the 2025 Melbourne Cup.
“I've bought him for OTI and he will head to Australia,” said the winning bidder Thibault de Seyssel. “He is a superb horse that made a very promising debut and has real potential. His profile should suit Australian racing perfectly.”
Just minutes later, the hammer fell at €120,000 (AU$200,000) in favour of Amy Murphy for Recollect, from the stable of Gavin Hernon. The 3-year-old son of Recoletos won on his second start at Chantilly.
“I've bought him for Henry Dwyer, with whom we have worked for a long time,” Murphy said. “He caught his attention and was strongly recommended by his trainer, Gavin Hernon. We are confident he has the potential to succeed in Australia and we look forward to following his progress.”
The clearance rate for the entire sale stood at 70%, for an average price of €13,709 (AU$22,900) and total turnover of €3,299,750 (AU$5.5 million). A wide diversity of buyers attended, coming from Germany, Australia, Belgium, Spain, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Tunisia and Turkey.
Wodeton to extend to a mile
Trainer Chris Waller will send dual Group 1-placed colt Wodeton (Wootton Bassett {GB}) to the G2 Hobartville Stakes instead of the G1 Newmarket Handicap. “We were going to the Newmarket and just changed our thoughts after his first-up run,” Waller told racing.com.
“It wasn’t bad, but we are thinking maybe he deserves his chance at getting to a mile, rather than the straight six. I want to see him improve, but he has a tricky draw.”
WA’s Group 1 winner Watch Me Rock for Futurity
G1 Railway Stakes winner Watch Me Rock (Awesome Rock) will make his east coast debut in Saturday’s G1 Futurity Stakes. “I’m certain he’s up to them and up to the task. We’ve had a setback with all the drama, but the horse is more than capable. If he can win on Saturday, he’s a superstar,” owner Santo Guagliardo told racing.com.
“(Treasurethe Moment) is a very good horse and will be extremely hard to beat, but if they don’t go hard enough, it might not suit her. It’ll be good to see how he stacks up against the eastern states horses. Whatever he does on Saturday, he’ll come on from it. This isn’t his grand final. If he runs top three, I’ll be rapt — and if he wins, he’s going to be very hard to beat in the All Star Mile.”
Racing Victoria and TABCorp announce deal
On Thursday, Racing Victoria (RV) and Tabcorp announced a long-term domestic, international and digital media rights deal. “We’re really pleased to reach a long term domestic and international partnership with Racing Victoria. This partnership has the opportunity to take thoroughbred racing in the state to more eyeballs than ever before and that’s good for the growth of the industry,” Tabcorp Chief Commercial and Media Officer Jarrod Villani said in a press release.
“We’re delighted with the reacquisition of the international distribution rights. Our international business is continuing to grow and the opportunity to seek new markets to showcase Victoria is something we are very focused on.
“We’re also evolving the look and feel of Sky. The way we present racing is changing and so is our content. Victorian thoroughbred racing is an important part of that evolution and we are excited about the innovative ways we can tell the story of racing in Victoria to the world. Racing Victoria has a great product and we look forward to working together to promote and grow it into the future.”
Maher v Maher in Parramatta Cup
Queensland based Declan Maher will bring Sibaaq (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) to Sydney for the Listed Parramatta Cup where he’ll be up against his older brother Ciaron, who trains Piggyback (Trapeze Artist). The brothers have to contend with five runners from the Chris Waller stable.
“He's an older gelding who's rock-hard fit and it was a case of there's nothing really around for him up here at the moment. The horse has travelled well before and it's a good opportunity for a nice prizemoney race,” Declan Maher told racenet.com.au.
“We're trying to build a bit of momentum and when the horse came to us, I knew he could potentially do that (win a stakes race). It took a few runs to figure him out. That's what it's all about so hopefully he can go down there and sneak a win on those big days.”
Conners closes in on milestone
Trainer Clarry Conners is only seven wins away from 1500 career victories, and he hopes Iceman (Rubick) can help close the gap on Saturday at Rosehill. “I’ve got some nice horses at the moment so I’m on top of the world,” Conners told racingnsw.com.au.
“We’ve wound down a fair bit but I’ll keep going. What will I do? Just sit here and twiddle my thumbs, I’m nearly doing that now. You’ve got to keep going, get out of bed and do something. I’m pretty lucky I have Marc and his son Mitchell there who do a lot of work for me.”
He also runs Okami Star (Justify {USA}) at Canterbury on Friday night. “He’s a nice horse, he’s there all the time. He’s a work in progress, he’s trying, he’s a very big horse and we just have to try and ride him differently or do something different with him.”
Meeting on whips in NSW positive
The NSW Jockey’s Association met with Racing NSW stewards on Thursday to discuss the whip rules in order to gain some consistency. “Discussions over more clarity on the penalty template were positive. I'm sure we will get a positive outcome in due course,” Jockeys' Association President Tony Crisafi told racenet.com.au.
New winner for Anders
Second season sire Anders added winner number 27 when Marc and Mitchell Connors-trained 3-year-old filly Infant Warrior won at Hawkesbury on Thursday. She’d been consistent, placing in three starts leading into the win.
Marc Connors purchased her for $30,000 from Murrulla Stud’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale draft. She is the second winner for Childhood Secret (Charge Forward) who is a winning half-sister to Listed winner Vinland (Sebring).
Farnan adds winner 37
At Hawkesbury, Chris Waller-trained 3-year-old gelding Kokatahi (NZ) become winner number 37 for his second season sire Farnan. Placed twice at two with two more placings at three, Kokatahi was having his sixth start.
Milan Park sold him for NZ$425,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale to Waller and Guy Mulcaster Bloodstock. He is the fourth winner for winning mare Diva Von Tessa (Testa Rossa).
Blacker’s stable lucky in fire
Tasmanian trainer John Blacker was lucky when a fire broke out on Tuesday at his Longford property, thanking the Tasmanian Fire Service. “They definitely saved our place. I made the triple-zero call at 15:23, and they were there within 10 minutes. It was scary; the fire took off quickly,” Blacker told tasracing.com.au.
“There were probably 20 horses up there; all we could do was put them higher up away from the fire.” His star unbeaten 2-year-old colt Aristopolos (St Mark’s Basilica {Fr}) is fine to run in Friday’s Listed Gold Sovereign Stakes.
“He’s done really well; he had a nice gallop on Tuesday, like we normally do when he races on a Friday night. He’s handled his work 100%, and he looks magnificent. We’ve drawn a good barrier, four out of eight, and no doubt we will go forward, and if all goes well, you think we would be winning.”
OTI’s Aksil steps up to G2 Avondale Guineas
Saturday’s G2 Avondale Guineas over 2000 metres will be the first black type outing for Katrina and Simon Alexander-trained 3-year-old gelding Aksil (NZ) (Ace High) who was purchased by OTI last year after his debut win. “We thought he may have been a Karaka Millions horse over a mile, but the more we did with him the more we realised that probably wasn’t his go,” Katrina Alexander told Loveracing.nz.
“He’s just needed a little bit of extra time to furnish and learn how to race, he certainly now looks the type of horse that needs this distance. Last time at Ellerslie, he pulled up well and didn’t blow out a match. He wasn’t fazed at all and he’s trained on well, I don’t have a worry about the extra distance.”
Group 1 target for State Of Valour
Trainer Chad Ormsby will target the G1 Sistema Stakes with State Of Valour (NZ) (Sword Of State) after he runs at Ellerslie on Saturday. “We were really excited about the Slipper at Matamata but track conditions didn’t suit and we could wait a week and head to Ellerslie where you are a good chance of getting a really good track,” Ormsby told Loveracing.nz.
“He has good form, running second to the horse that went on to win that race (Matamata Slipper), which gives us a bit of confidence for Saturday. He is a natural 2-year-old and he has come on nicely since his last run. He has got to raise the bar quite a bit first but they (Sistema and Sires’ Produce) are definitely an option.”
Fogarty promoted to South Island race caller
New Zealand has a new full time race caller in the South Island with 23-year-old Dan Fogarty being promoted. “Dan has followed in the footsteps of our premier Canterbury racecaller Matt Cross who also gained opportunities through the Trackside commentator internship,” Entain Australia and New Zealand’s Head of Live Racing, Kyle Bettler, told Loveracing.nz.
“His ability to switch effortlessly between codes, his professional calls, and his ability to find a winner for punters means now is the right time for him to step into a full-time position.”
Northwest Passage tops Tattersalls Online
Stayer Northwest Passage topped the Tattersalls Online February Sale at 31,000gns (AU$62,000) to Ivan Furtado. Sold as lot 29, the grey son of Ulysses was offered by Crimbourne Bloodstock and sports one win from seven starts. From the family of multiple Group 1-winning sire Tamayuz, the 4-year-old gelding has competed on turf, all-weather and hurdles.
Crimbourne Bloodstock's Charlie Parker said, “We were very happy with today. We have been very lucky with Tattersalls Online, much luckier than we have been in the ring! I just thought he might stand out on there and he did. We are really pleased and this platform is a really good way of doing it.”
Overall, 62 lots sold (61%) from 102 offered for a gross of 496,300gns (AU$994,700). The average was 8,005gns (AU$16,044) and the median was 4,900gns (AU$9827).
Churchill Downs and HISA in legal battle
The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority on Wednesday summoned Churchill Downs Racetrack and its corporate parent, CDI, to a hearing before a panel of HISA board members in an attempt to secure payment of 2025 assessment fees that CDI has allegedly failed to submit on behalf of four racetracks the gaming corporation owns in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, including its flagship track in Louisville.
HISA wants Churchill to pay US$2,408,501 (AU$3.4 million) in allegedly overdue 2025 fees (plus US$93,998 (AU$133,000) in interest). “CDI has not fulfilled Churchill's obligation to remit Churchill's and the horsemen's group share of allocated and assessed fees for calendar year 2025 in violation of HISA Rule 8100(i), HISA Rule 8520(e), and 15 U.S.C. § 3052(f)(3),” the hearing notice stated.
“In fact, CDI has refused to pay one cent of the 2025 HISA assessments allocated to Churchill, Turfway Park, Ellis Park, and Presque Isle Downs. CDI even refuses to pay what it believes it owes for the CDI Racetracks under its own (assessment formula) that is based solely on racing starts. The CDI Racetracks stand alone among Covered Racetracks in refusing to make any HISA assessment payments whatsoever for 2025.”
