Ka Ying Rising does it again
Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) launched himself into history with victory Hong Kong's G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday night. He now holds the record for consecutive victories by a Hong Kong-trained horse at 18.
TTR will cover the whole Hong Kong meeting in the next issue.
Observer primed for Guineas
Ciaron Maher-trained Observer (Ghaiyyath {Ire}) will run on Saturday in the G1 Australian Guineas. The G1 Victoria Derby winner won the G2 Autumn Stakes when resuming for the autumn. “Sixties was good the other day, but he'll (Observer) improve and be even stronger, he was good first-up but he'll be much better at the mile and beyond,” Maher told racenet.com.au.
Observer | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“He's come through his first-up run in good order … he showed he's good enough to win. He's a bit more relaxed this time around. He's only strengthened and got better I feel.”
Sepals to kick off in Newmarket
Trainer Cliff Brown will resume Group 1 winner Sepals (Calyx {GB}) in the G1 Newmarket Handicap on March 7. “He’ll get a big weight in the Shaftesbury Avenue over 1400m, he’ll get a slightly lesser weight in the Newmarket,” Brown told racing.com.
Sepals | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“I just want to see him finish it off and run well, we’re not heading there thinking we’ll be winning but I just think it’s a good kick-off point for him. I think he’s going really well. I thought his trial was good, it’s the first time out of all his trials that we’ve made him do a bit. When you look at the sharp horses that were around him, I thought his trial was excellent.”
Warwoven set for Skyline
Jockey Rachel King will return from a stint in Japan to ride Bjorn Baker-trained Warwoven (Sword Of State) in Saturday’s G2 Skyline Stakes. “I am really happy with him. He had a really good hit out on Wednesday morning with Paradoxium. He was probably going slightly better but he is also slightly fitter so from that point of view, I am very happy with him,” Baker told racenet.com.au.
Warwoven | Image courtesy of Trackside Photography
“He had a good day out at the races last Saturday, he is going into the race without a trial but he looks fantastic and we are very happy, particularly how he is moving. Rach will be back from Japan to ride him.” Paradoxium (Extreme Choice) will trial on Monday and be set for the G2 Todman Stakes.
Freedman on protest technology
Trainer Michael Freedman’s win with Ninja (Farnan) on Saturday in the G2 Hobartville Stakes wasn’t enough to undo the bad feeling he has over the failed protest in the Magic Millions Guineas the start prior. “My fear at the minute is protests like that one may be decided by a jockey who can pretty much cause as much interference as they want, as long as they win the race by a margin that's big enough that the stewards don't feel like they can overturn it,” Freedman told Radio TAB's Past The Post show on Sunday.
Michael Freedman | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“I think the broader issue with protests in general, not just that one, is that we're at the stage now where I feel there needs to be technology involved, like we see at the cricket with umpires' decisions and like we see in various football codes all around the world.
“There's now technology available to try and assist in these sorts of decisions and try and assist the participants that if they disagree with a decision, they've got another outlet to go to.
“The stewards have got a job to do and under those circumstances when the horse is clearly a short-priced favourite, a lot of money's been wagered on him and there's a lot of money at stake for everybody involved, so I certainly don't envy the stewards' job. And they've got to sort of, to the best of their ability and their opinion, make a judgment call.”
Messara’s Derby longshot runs at Scone
On Tuesday at Scone, trainers Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich will run 3-year-old gelding Are You Kidding (Castelvecchio) who comes off a 5.75 length maiden win last start. He holds nominations for the G1 Randwick Guineas and G1 Australian Derby. “It’s his first prep and it’s always difficult to do it in one shot but he is definitely a horse that can stay and I think he should run well again,” Messara told racingnsw.com.au.
“They’ve lumped him with a fair bit of weight for a horse that’s only won one in the bush. It was on a heavy track the other day but he is good on all surfaces. He should be pretty well on the mark. If he runs well again with a heavy weight against older horses he’ll come to town and run in the Tulloch Stakes or something like that.”
Vale Major General Guy Watkins
On Sunday, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced they were deeply saddened by the recent passing of Major General Guy Watkins, who was CEO from 1986 to 1996. “ He will be fondly remembered as a charismatic and influential leader who played a key role in the Club’s development,” said the press release.
“During his tenure the Club realised significant milestones including the launch of the Hong Kong Invitation Cup in 1988 as the city’s first international race. Later renamed the Hong Kong Cup, it put the city on the global racing map and laid the foundation for today’s world-renowned Hong Kong International Races meeting.
“A desire to expand racing was the inspiration behind the redevelopment of Happy Valley Racecourse between 1993 and 1995. This saw the site’s two tracks merged into one and extended to accommodate more runners, increasing turnover and boosting the quality and competitiveness of races. It established an iconic racing venue in the heart of the city that now attracts thousands of local and international visitors each week.
“During this period the Club also supported many significant charity and community initiatives. They included construction of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 1991 to inspire a shift towards a technology-driven economy. The Major General played a crucial role in supporting the university’s early development and strategic direction as a member of its governing body.
“Importantly, it was also during his tenure that The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust was established in 1993 to bring the Club’s community contributions under one roof. This new entity was better equipped to reflect the evolving nature, scale and scope of the Club’s donations to improve the lives of Hong Kong people. Today the Trust is the largest charitable donor in Asia and one of the biggest worldwide.”
Brazen Beau filly wins at Ballarat
At Ballarat on Sunday, the Hayes brothers won the juvenile race with 2-year-old filly Medicinal (Brazen Beau). She debuted in the G2 Blue Diamond Prelude (f) and this was her second start.
The Godolphin bred and owned filly is the second foal of Tisane (Hallowed Crown) who is a winning half-sister to Group 1 winner Camarilla (Elusive Quality {USA}) and her Listed winning full brother Induna. Camarilla is the dam of Group 1 winner Guelph (Exceed And Excel) and Group 2 winner and recently deceased sire Ghibellines. Guelph is the dam of sire Encryption.
New winner for Bivouac
Second season sire Bivouac added a new winner when Rebecca Kerwin-trained 3-year-old gelding Bush Battle won his maiden at Roma on Sunday by 2.3 lengths. He was an Inglis Digital purchase by Smith Racing for $2000. Bivouac now has 35 winners and four stakes winners.
Bush Battle’s dam, Peppermint Candy (Denman) has a 2-year-old named King Candy (Wild Ruler) who ran fifth in the Listed Gold Sovereign Stakes on Friday.
Hanseatic adds new winner
At Pinjarra, second season sire Hanseatic added his 22nd winner when 3-year-old filly Seastic won at her third start for trainer David Harrison.
She was sold by the Western Breeders’ Alliance at the Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale for $5000 to Bridge Patrol Lodge. She is the first foal of Ballistica (Smart Missile) who won three races including one in Sydney.
Alabama Lass trials nicely on Sunday
Trainers Ken and Bev Kelso were pleased with the trial of their Group 1-placed mare Alabama Lass (Alabama Express) on Sunday. “We don’t know what went wrong in the Manikato, she disappointed, and was disappointing again in the Railway,” Ken Kelso said.
“After the Manikato we did all the tests, dynamic scopes, an ECG, x-rays, and we couldn’t find anything wrong with her. It’s a mystery really. Today was a day to see where we are at and she looked more like her old self. If we can’t find anything wrong and her work is good leading up to next week then we will press onto the King’s Plate.”
Trump announcement continues uncertainty
The uncertainty felt by stakeholders within the European bloodstock industry appears likely to persist into the summer after US President Donald Trump announced a 15% “global tariff” which will be in place for around five months.
Trump's “reciprocal tariffs”, imposed on most of the rest of the world last April under an emergency powers law, were overturned by the US Supreme Court on Friday in a major blow to the President's economic agenda.
Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump initially said that the Supreme Court decision affirmed his ability to charge more tariffs under different statutes and that he would impose a 10% levy. However, in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, he confirmed that he would be increasing this to the higher rate of 15%, “effective immediately”.
Ironically named Tariff Mindset (USA) (Tiz the Law {USA}), owned by Klaravich Stables, won on debut at Aqueduct on the same day as the announcement. He never truly looked like validating favoritism until the final jump, when Flavien Prat threw him across the line for a highly improbable debut victory.
Champion South African mare dies foaling
Ebony Flyer, a triple Grade 1 winner from six to eight furlongs when racing in South Africa for Team Valor International (TVI) and Gaynor Rupert, has died from complications after foaling a Bradsell filly on February 4. The daughter of Jet Master was euthanised on Saturday at Rossdales Equine Hospital in Newmarket.
The late Ebony Flyer | Image courtesy of Team Valor International
Bred in the Western Cape by W. J. Engelbrecht Jr., Ebony Flyer and her dam were purchased privately in a deal struck by TVI CEO Barry Irwin after her 3-year-old half-sister Captain's Lover (Captain Al) emerged as a leading contender for the G1 Cape Fillies Guineas. Irwin, who had bought Captain's Lover as a yearling, struck gold, as not only did Captain's Lover win the Guineas in 2007, but Ebony Flyer then followed suit in 2010, thereby providing their dam Sunshine Lover (Badger Land) with the rare distinction of producing a pair of Classic winners of the same race.
Ebony Flyer eventually retired as the winner of eight of her 13 career starts. She reportedly suffered from breathing issues following her Guineas triumph and required no less than three surgeries, before returning in 2012 to win both the G1 Majorca Stakes and G1 South African Fillies Sprint.
Irwin said, “We have raced champion females around the globe, including in England and Ireland, but the only other filly we had in her league was Ipi Tombe. Had she been able to breathe, there is no telling how good she would have become or how far she would have raced.”
As a producer, Ebony Flyer foaled seven winners from nine runners, including two black-type runners in South Africa, namely the Grade 3-placed Cot Campbell (Trippi) and Listed-placed Black Silver (Silvano). A foster mare has been found for her Bradsell filly who is said to be doing well.
