Tough Speed dies aged 29
Armidale Stud have announced the death of their stallion Tough Speed (USA) aged 29. Purchased by the late Denis Whishaw and his wife Robyn in 2004, the Grade 3 winner sired six stakes winners led by Group 3 winner Take The Sit, while Listed winner Banca Mo won 12 times and Listed winner Black ‘N’ Tough won 13 races. “Toughie was one of those horses that quietly became part of the family,” said Armidale Stud principal David Whishaw.
“In his later years, some of the staff would even wander up and have a beer with him in his paddock after he’d sired a winner or covered one of the small group of mares that made up his harem in his twilight years. He had that sort of personality. Despite being a stallion, he was kind-natured, full of character and genuinely loved by the people who worked with him.
Tough Speed (USA) | Image supplied
“Dad purchased him because he believed in him, but sadly he never got to see the full rewards of that decision, passing away during Toughie’s first season at stud. Fortunately for us, Tough Speed went on to justify that faith many times over. We’re certainly very proud of the job he did from the very limited opportunities he was given.
“He left us over 120 winners, 20 stakes performers and countless memories, but more importantly he earned the affection and respect of staff, breeders and owners. His loss will be felt by everyone at Armidale.”
Snowden chasing back-to-back Tatt’s Tiara
Trainer Peter Snowden won last year’s G1 Tatt’s Tiara with Tashi (Sebring) and is back this year with Tuileries (So You Think {NZ}). “They're similar. Tashi had run about seven placing in stakes races and never won one, and that was her maiden black-type win,” Snowden told racingandsports.com.au.
“This filly has won a few stakes races, but it's her first crack at a Group 1. We have always liked her so it's good to see her get to this sort of class now.”
Abounding drifts due to draw
Rob Heathcote was surprised to see his mare Abounding (Rich Enuff) drift to $23 for this Saturday’s G1 Tatt’s Tiara after drawing wide. "She was one of the favourites and then suddenly she goes to $23 because of the barrier draw,” Heathcote told racenet.com.au.
“People say it's not a vintage Group 1 – well try winning one, it's not easy.
Abounding | Image courtesy of Trackside Photography
“She ran second to Tashi in this race last year and I feel she's a better mare now. We're going to need luck. I'm not confident of winning but I'm confident she'll race really well.”
Tabcorp announce DAZN partnership
Tabcorp has announced a global partnership with sports streaming giant DAZN to launch WorldPlay, to run from Round of 32 through to the Final of the Men’s Soccer World Cup. “WorldPlay reflects Tabcorp’s ambition to build new sports entertainment experiences in new categories,” Tabcorp Managing Director and CEO Gillon McLachlan told betsy.com.au.
“It shows how Tabcorp and DAZN can use their local and international sports experience to build new sports entertainment products in new categories. It is free to play, globally scalable, and designed to create fan experiences beyond traditional wagering.”
Hutchinson defies time limit
Apprentice jockey Tala Hutchinson has been given permission by the Racing SA stewards to ride 2-year-old filly Tweeter (Microphone) in Saturday’s Listed Oaklands Plate, three weeks before she is eligible to ride at black type level. “We had to get permission,” co-trainer Dan Clarken told racenet.com.au.
“We knew she had had enough rides, but she hadn't been (metro) riding for long enough. I got on the front foot and rang the chief steward, Matt Santoro, and put my case to him. He got back to me and they were more than happy to let Tala ride this particular horse in this race. Simple reason I think is because she has ridden her the previous two starts.”
Tweeter as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Hutchinson was thrilled with the opportunity, if not with the horse. “The stewards were really good and allowed me to ride for my bosses, that's a big positive,” Hutchinson said.
“I'm not her greatest fan, but it is exciting to be riding. She's just ugly … she's got an attitude, but it's good for racing.”
Race For Rule racing for charity
Racing photographer Ross Holburt will donate 5% of 3-year-old filly Race For Rule (Magnus)’s earnings to charity partner Rule, part of the North Melbourne-based Australian Prostate Centre.
She runs at Caulfield on Saturday and is one of four horses he bred who run for the charity, the others being Dr Davinci (Cliff’s Edge), Prevention (Vino Rosso {USA}) and Genomic (Vino Rosso {USA}). “They're all prostate-related names, the ‘da Vinci' robot is what they use to take the prostate out with,” Holburt told racenet.com.au.
“Genomic is genomic testing and Prevention speaks for itself, same as Race For Rule.” Holburt has had prostate cancer since 2018. “It can be so quick, I was diagnosed in 2018 and I had two years of testing every six months, nice and dormant, and then it went bang … they did a biopsy and said we have to get this out.
“My PSA (prostate-specific antigen blood test) keeps dropping (post radiation), as long as it keeps dropping, all good, I've had two tests since then so everything is good.”
Kenning’s duo give him best chance in Cup
Trainer Bill Kenning has won the Townsville Cup as a jockey, on Only Chance (NZ) (Random Chance {NZ}) who was trained by his partner Julie Bell in 1997. He’s yet to win it as a trainer but he has two solid chances on Saturday with Beau Rain (Sidestep) and Free Carry (Bon Hoffa). “Beau Rain didn’t have much luck in last year’s Cup after drawing badly,” Kenning told racingqueensland.com.au.
“But, all going well he’ll line up again.” That he’s even racing is a miracle after a bad fall as a 2-year-old during a race. He’s now won eight times.
“Tony (Gollan) thought Free Carry was no longer viable in Brisbane, so his owners sent him to me. He ran a blinder in his first run for me.”
Bennett to fly home to Perth
Injured jockey Kristy Bennett will be flown to Perth medical evacuation flight in the next few weeks. “Our family was just in survival mode after the accident, we didn't even know if Kristy was going to make it,” Bennett’s sister Bella told racenet.com.au.
“When she opened her eyes in hospital I screamed for joy and the whole hospital could hear me. We had a picture of Gus on the (bedside) lamp so if she did open her eyes, the first thing she could see was her dog. She started reaching for the picture.
“But it's not like the movies when someone opens their eyes in hospital and everything is back to normal. It is a long road ahead and Kristy needs to re-wire her brain and learn everything again.”
Juvenile winner for Astern
At Tamworth on Friday, Brett and Georgie Cavanough-trained 2-year-old filly Write Me A Letter (Astern) won on debut. She is the second foal and first winner for Take Aletter Maria (Pride Of Dubai) who is an unraced half-sister to Group 3 winner Sylvia’s Mother (Snitzel), dam of stakes placed Wise Inlaw (Wootton Bassett {GB}).
Headwater adds 2-year-old winner
At Balaklava on Friday, Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained 2-year-old gelding Waterorthecan (Headwater) won by 1.75 lengths against the older maidens. He was having his second start, having run behind Tweeter (Microphone) on debut who runs in Listed class on Saturday.
Waterorthecan was sold by Goodwood Farm for $30,000 to Merrick Staunton at the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling sale. He is the fourth winner, from four to race, for Aspen Lass (More Than Ready {USA}) who was unraced.
Double for I Am Invincible at Beaudesert
On Friday, Champion Sire I Am Invincible sired a double at Beaudesert with 3-year-old gelding Yoweri who has now won two in succession. His other winner was Carnegie Hill, who also took his career tally to two.
Hong Kong Champion Miler Award wide open
With Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) likely to win Champion Sprinter, there are three equal contenders for Hong Kong’s Champion Miler for 2025/26 with My Wish (Flying Artie), Voyage Bubble (Deep Field) and Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}).
The winners, and Horse Of The Year, will be announced at the Champions Awards night on July 10.
Half to Diamond Necklace heads Arqana August Sale
A Siyouni half-brother to €1.7-million (AU$2.8 million) Arqana August graduate and dual French Classic winner Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica) leads the 325-strong catalogue for the 2026 edition of the sale in Deauville. The sale will take place from Saturday, August 15 through Monday, August 17.
Set to sell as lot 128, the colt is out of stakes winner Prudenzia (Dansili) and is a half-brother to four stakes winners, with Irish Oaks heroine Chicquita (Montjeu) and Mackinnon Stakes victress Magic Wand (Galileo) joining Diamond Necklace as Group 1 scorers.
GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Balantina (Ten Sovereigns) and G1 Jebel Hatta victor Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) have also flown the flag for Arqana in the past year, as has Constitution River (Wootton Bassett). The winner of the 2026 G1 Prix du Jockey Club, he is represented by a half-sibling, with lot 287, a Kodiac filly, lining up on day three.
Goodbye to the ‘Big A’
The Aqueduct of the modern era became a place for the diehard. It wasn't luxurious and didn't have the class of Saratoga or everything that made Belmont Park the electrifying place to be when a horse was going for the Triple Crown or simply a pleasant, nice place to be on an early summer afternoon.
Everything changed in 1971 when year-round racing was ushered into New York and found a home at Aqueduct. The Big A became a place for racing to function and not thrive. During a season that lasted too long, the sport became a grind. With Aqueduct taking a back seat to Saratoga and Belmont, Aqueduct became the third wheel in NYRA's racing operation and little money was spent on renovations and upkeep.
Aqueduct first opened in 1894, and took its name from a nearby aqueduct that carried water from Queens to Brooklyn. But this incarnation of the track began on Sept. 14, 1959. A crowd of 42,473 attended the first day of racing at a track that people were breathlessly calling the “dream track.”
It is where Secretariat broke his maiden and broke hearts in the 1973 Wood Memorial. It is where Kelso ran 27 times and won the Jockey Club Gold Cup five times.
The dream track is no longer.
There are no more Grade I races at Aqueduct. Even the historic Wood has become a Grade II race and annually takes its lumps for being one of the weakest preps for the GI Kentucky Derby. The Cigar and the Carter also recently lost their Grade I status.
But there will be something to celebrate on Sunday, and not just because a track whose time has come to close will be closing. A new era in New York racing will begin on September 18 when the new Belmont Park opens and downstate racing will be consolidated to just one track. The new Belmont will be everything that Aqueduct is not. It will be modern, comfortable, luxurious, state-of-the-art and able to handle big crowds and small crowds.
Expo 27 - The Next 100 launched
The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association (ITBA) has announced plans for a new two-day showcase event, Expo 27 – The Next 100, due to take place at Goffs next January.
Aimed at bringing every strand of the racing and bloodstock sector together, the event will be staged on Friday, January 7 and Saturday, January 8, combining a trade exhibition with a series of talks and presentations on issues facing the industry.
Details were revealed at a launch at Goffs on Tuesday, where the ITBA confirmed that Expo 27 would be open to members of the public, as well as industry stakeholders, employers, employees, enterprises and organisations.
Noting that the ITBA celebrated its centenary in January 2026, chairman Cathal Beale said that Expo 27 – The Next 100 is the ideal way for the ITBA to begin its second century in existence.
“There's no better time to be asking the hard questions about where this industry goes from here, and looking towards the next 100 years,” said Beale. “I'd encourage everyone with an interest or involvement in the thoroughbred sector to back Expo 27. Contact the ITBA office, get your stand booked or ask about the other ways in which you can be involved.”
Fasig-Tipton Digital sale open
Relative to the longstanding history of selling Thoroughbreds in the United States, the digital sales market can probably be considered just a blip on the radar. With a mere four years under its belt in the digital sales arena, Fasig-Tipton has seen rapid growth in that segment of the market in a relatively short time.
“In reality, the digital sales are still in their infancy,” explained Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. “When you look at the fact that Fasig-Tipton has been around since 1898 and digital sales have been happening for four years, we are 100% in our infancy. And for me to pontificate on where (the digital market) is going to go is crazy.”
Fasig-Tipton has amassed just under 300 head for this season's June digital catalogue, significantly up from 97 catalogued for the sale in 2025.
“You're just seeing horses of racing age sales continue to shrink that are in-person brick and mortar sales. And I think the digital sales are just a little easier to sell a horse from its home stall,” said Aaron.
Funding boost for Ontario Racing
In an effort to protect agriculture and rural jobs across Ontario, the Ontario government will contribute additional funding of C$35 million (AU$54 million) annually for the next five years to the Ontario horse racing industry, Ontario Racing announced Thursday.
Nearly 18,000 Ontarians work in the horse racing sector. The funding increase will be used to create a more competitive racing industry, protect jobs, and address inflation.
“This funding will support generational family businesses–including thousands of horse people, breeders, and their staff that have invested personal capital,” said Ontario Racing's Independent Chair Andrew Gaughan. “It will also support rural labour jobs that have increasingly been at risk. Additional funding will help these businesses, operators, and the spin-off rural industries tackle high inflation and allow the sector to better compete and retain its status as one of the world's greatest horse racing jurisdictions.”
The racing industry in Ontario is responsible for more than C$1.9 billion (AU$1.94 billion) of Ontario's economy and provides approximately C$330 million (AU$337 million) in provincial taxes. Those figures are based on Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) numbers.
