Newlook nabs Chairman’s Quality
Five-year-old import Newlook (Fr) (New Bay {GB}) scored his second stakes win in the G2 Chairman’s Handicap at Randwick on Saturday. Trained by Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, the gelding proved too strong for Campaldino (NZ) (Ghibellines) in the home straight, winning by just over a length to bring up Rachel King’s second stakes win of the day after taking home the G1 Kindergarten Stakes on Blue Door (Stay Inside).
Best Bloodstock and Busuttin Racing paid €480,000 ($802,000) to purchase the gelding at the 2024 Arqana Deauville Autumn Mixed Sale, where he was offered by Lerner.
Chidiac streaks away with Country Championships
Brett and Georgie Cavanough clinched their first $1 million Country Championships Final on Saturday at Randwick, courtesy of the services of Zac Purton, who guided Chidiac (Better Than Ready) to victory by a length. The 5-year-old mare was third in the $2 million Kosciuszko in the spring and was too strong in the home straight for her competition.
"I've got to try and hold it together a bit, (it's) very special today to do it with Georgie," said Brett Cavanough, who was only joined on the trainer's ticket at the start of the season by his daughter. "She tipped her all week, she had faith in her."
Passed in as a yearling in Baramul Stud’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft, Chidiac races in the Gerry Harvey colours and claims her sixth win in 11 starts. She is a granddaughter of G2 Yallambee Classic winner Magically (Danehill {USA}) and is one of five winners for her dam from six to race.
Three in a row for Ambassadorial in G3 Easter Cup
Caulfield’s G3 Easter Cup over 2000 metres was won by Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Ambassadorial (Fiorente {Ire}) who put 1.5 lengths on his opposition. Danny O’Brien-trained See What I See (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young-trained Immediacy (NZ) (Tarzino {NZ}) crossed the line together for second and third.
“A big thank-you to Anne Peacock and Jane Chapple-Hyam for sending us the horse and giving him the opportunity with us,” Tony McEvoy said.
“What we need to know is whether he runs a mile-and-a-half. If he does that, it opens a brand-new chapter for him.” He will run in the 2400 metre Listed Mornington Cup next.
Winner of his last three in succession, the 5-year-old gelding was a winner at this second start at two. With Saturday’s Group 3 win, he took his record to six wins from 25 starts with earnings over $520,000. Sold by Widden Stud at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for $22,500 to J Chapple-Hyam, he becomes the 13th stakes winner for G1 Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente (Ire) who died in 2023.
Ambassadorial is the first foal of stakes placed Showcase (Big Brown {USA}) whose other two runners are city winners, and she has a yearling colt by In The Congo, and a filly foal by Maurice (Jpn).
Fiorente sired a double at Clare in South Australia with Fiora Blue and Crown And Anchor.
Hughes wins the G3 Victoria Handicap
Breeding fans will recognise the dam of G3 Victoria Handicap victor Hughes (Russian Revolution). No More Tears (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ})’s second foal is G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Ozzmosis, a son of Zoustar whose first foals are currently weanlings.
Coming off a last start Echuca Cup victory, Hughes won Saturday’s G3 Victoria Handicap at Caulfield by 1.5 lengths for trainer Gavin Bedggood. Now the winner of nine of his 25 starts, Hughes has earnings over $550,000. He is the new track 1400m record holder at Caulfield.
The first foal of No More Tears, Hughes was sold by Sledmere Stud at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale to Roll The Dice Racing and Rogers Bloodstock for $140,000. He becomes stakes winner number 15 for Russian Revolution. Group 3 winner No More Tears has also produced the winning 4-year-old gelding Olufsen (Zoustar), unraced 3-year-old gelding Occupation (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and unraced 2-year-old colt Ozzbourne (Zoustar). She missed for 2024 and has a colt weanling by Zoustar.
Russian Revolution celebrated a double on the card at Caulfield with his other winner being Russian Meteor who has now won five times with earnings over $280,000.
Zoustar’s Zoupurring wins Listed Hill Railway Stakes
Zoustar had a stakes double at Randwick with Joliestar and Plaintiff, while over at Oakbank, he showed his depth as a sire to collect his 78th individual stakes winner when Zoupurring won the Listed Hill Railway Stakes. Trained by Michael Hickmott, Zoupurring won by half a length from Great Maximus (Magnus) with Winning Revolution (Winning Rupert) in third.
Winner of eight of his 30 starts with earnings over $350,000, Zoupurring was sold by Rosemont Stud for $100,000 to Bennett Racing at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. He is one of six winners for unraced Tara’s Spur (Flying Spur).
First winner for shuttle sire Aclaim
Shuttle sire Aclaim (Ire), who stood for one season in Queensland, sired his first Australian winner on Saturday when Written Aclaim won at the Gold Coast for trainer Marcus Wilson. Placed in his first two starts, and fifth last start in the QTIS 2YO Jewel, Written Aclaim was purchased by his trainer for $28,000. He was sold by Figtree Thoroughbreds at the Magic Millions March Yearling Sale.
The 2-year-old colt is the second foal of Writer’s Block (Written Tycoon) whose first foal is Listed winning 3-year-old filly Foreign Press (Invader). She missed the year after Written Aclaim and has a Spirit Of Boom colt weanling.
Trapeze Artist double at Wyong
Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained 3-year-old filly Tupakara (Trapeze Artist) has five stakes placings under her belt including third in last season’s G1 Champagne Stakes and finally broke through for her first win at Wyong at her 12th start on Saturday. She has earnings over $310,000.
Sold by Sledmere Stud at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, she was bought by TFI and Kia Ora Stud for $150,000.
Trapeze Artist made it a double on the card with the win by Easiest Choice in the next, and the 4-year-old mare took her record to two wins from four starts.
New stakes winner for Overshare in Listed Gore Guineas
Kelvin Tyler-trained 3-year-old filly Better Shared (NZ) (Overshare) bounced out of a maiden victory last start to claim Saturday’s Listed Gore Guineas. Unplaced in three starts at two, Better Shared is now unbeaten at three. She becomes the third stakes winner for Overshare, whose best is Group 1 winner Lady Laguna.
She is raced by her breeders Rayner and Lynn Bonnington racing as Little River Thoroughbreds in partnership with Allan Tyler and Marie Tyler, having been passed in as a weanling. Better Shared is one of the three winners for Eagle’s Reach (More Than Ready {USA}).
“We are just over the moon and couldn’t be happier, especially as we were quietly confident she would run well,” Rayner Bonnington said. “When we saw this race had been rescheduled it seemed to fit in nicely for her as the win she had to break maidens was good and she had trained on well since then.”
South African breeder’s success in Britain leads to Royal Ascot
It has been a highly encouraging start to the year in Britain for the select racing interests of Mary Slack, whose colours have been carried to glory by the G3 Winter Derby winner Sky Safari (Zoustar) and last Saturday by her half-sister, the Listed Snowdrop Fillies' Stakes winner Pina Sonata (Pinatubo).
The owner-breeder runs an altogether larger operation in South Africa, where she owns Wilgerbosdrift, one of the country's largest stud farms based in the Western Cape. She and her daughter Jessica Slack-Jell are also credited with stepping in to rescue the South African racing industry from financial collapse some five years ago.
Slack's broodmare band in Britain numbers just four and resides at Lofts Hall Stud, owned by Hugo Lascelles, who acts as her racing manager. A trip to Royal Ascot is now under consideration for the 4-year-old Pina Sonata.
“She haș come out of her race very well indeed. We're very pleased with her,” Lascelles told TDN. “There are a couple of options for her in Ireland and England soon. But maybe the Duke of Cambridge Stakes could be a possibility going forward. That's a fair way off.”
Tattersalls launch OTTB online sale
The Treo Eile Summer Sale, an online sale dedicated to retrained thoroughbreds, was announced by Tattersalls Online in collaboration with Treo Eile on Friday. The sale will take place on July 27-28 in conjunction with the Tattersalls Ireland July Show on July 24-26.
The sale will provide a high-quality platform to showcase the versatility of retrained racehorses, while offering a transparent and commercial route for their transition into second careers.
This collaboration reflects the shared commitment of Tattersalls and Treo Eile to equine welfare, integrity and innovation. Entries will be open to retired or unraced thoroughbreds that meet defined performance criteria across key disciplines including eventing, showjumping, dressage, working hunter and showing.
Tattersalls Online sales manager Katherine Sheridan said, “We are thrilled to partner with Treo Eile on this exciting new initiative which further strengthens Tattersalls' commitment to thoroughbred aftercare. Retrained racehorses continue to demonstrate their adaptability and talent across a wide range of disciplines. This collaboration provides a dedicated, trusted platform to connect these horses with new owners and reinforces our shared focus in supporting the thoroughbred beyond a racing career.
“Staging the sale alongside the Tattersalls Ireland July Show enhances engagement with the new concept and underscores our partnership with Treo Eile, with the Tattersalls Ireland Treo Eile Pathway Series final also taking place that weekend.”
Remember Mamba lives up to big name
He was named in honour of a legend and Keeneland has become the latest stepping stone to creating his own. Remember Mamba (Kitten's Joy) showed all the telltale signs of inexperience late, but his turn of foot was more than enough to run down the leaders and claim the G3 Transylvania Stakes on opening Friday at Keeneland.
“To be honest, I saw his first two races but from Los Angeles so I didn't have any idea,” said C R K Stable's Lee Searing. “[I thought], 'OK, we got a front-running horse, or what have we got?' And then he didn't break that good and at the top of the stretch he wasn't there for a minute, then all of a sudden here he comes. I was looking at the first finish line, not the second finish line, so I thought we ran a really nice third.”
When asked about the colt's name, Searing said, “Out of high school, I followed Kobe (Bryant) and when he signed with the Lakers, we started going to every Lakers game. We followed that for 10 years or so, saw his big games, saw his last game. I've never really met him, but I've named three or four horses with that connotation in it. This one looks like a really nice horse, and what a perfect name for the horse.”
Three-quarter share in unbeaten gelding for Inglis USA Digital
The Inglis Digital USA Sale, which opened Friday and concludes next Wednesday, April 8 at 2 p.m., offers an eye-catching entry in undefeated Shane's Wonder (Eastwood) from Bob Hutt's Uptowncharlybrown Stud LLC.
Shane's Wonder won his debut at Parx, going six-furlongs against state-bred maidens, by 11.5 lengths, and followed that up on March 25 with a six-and-a-half furlong win against open allowance company by 3.25 lengths. Paramount Stud will consign the horse on behalf of owner-breeder Hutt and his partners, who are offering a 75% interest in the 3-year-old gelding.
“Shane's Wonder could be any kind of horse,” said Inglis Digital USA's CEO Kyle Wilson. “We're glad Bob chose to work with us and the fact that he wants to stay in as a minority partner just solidifies the fact that he really believes in this horse and wants to keep having fun. That's a major benefit of this platform.”
