Blue Door’s speed an asset in Rosebud
Trainer Bjorn Baker thinks his filly G3 Kindergarten Stakes winner Blue Door (Stay Inside)’s speed is an asset in the Listed Rosebud on Saturday at Rosehill. “We'll look to use her natural speed and be forward. We've been really happy with her at home but whatever the result on Saturday I'm confident the best is still yet to come,” Baker told racenet.com.au.
Blue Door | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
“She goes into the race with just the one trial but it was over 1000m and she's done the work at home to be ready. If she can get away with this I'm sure she's got more improvement as well. There's a lot of promising horses there on Saturday so it won't come easy. But I'm confident she's forward enough to make her presence felt.”
Stakes winning mares headline Magic Millions Digital Sale
Listed Scenic Blast Stakes winner Twain's Angel (Toronado {Ire}) leads part two of the Forest View Farm Unreserved Dispersal on the latest Magic Millions Digital Sale which closes next Wednesday. Twain’s Angel won nine times and is a maiden mare.
Macedon Racing are offering Mission Of Love (The Mission), winner of the Listed Caloundra Cup. The unreserved dispersal of Forest View Farm continues with 13 outstanding yearlings by sires including Toronado (Ire), Playing God, Spirit of Boom and State of Rest (Ire).
Pinstriped lines up for fourth PB Lawrence attempt
Trainer Enver Jusufovic thinks Pinstriped (Street Boss {USA}) can win Saturday’s G2 PB Lawrence Stakes at this fourth attempt. He ran seventh last year, and second in 2024 and 2023. “It was encouraging that it was the first time, for a while, that he's really hit the line and gone through the line,” Jusufovic told racingandsports.com.au of his fourth when resuming in mid-July.
Pinstriped | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“He had 62 kilos, first-up after a long break. I thought his run was definitely a passmark. Rather than give him three jump-outs like I normally do and go first-up over 1400 metres, I thought this was a good time to give him a start in restricted class and see how he performed.
“The pace was moderate as he usually needs a good tempo like when he won the Memsie he had Pride of Jenni leading. That's advantageous for him, but it was a good starting point for him and importantly he came through it well.”
Lady Catalina hunts black type in Quezette
Ciaron Maher-trained stakes placed filly Lady Catalina (Written Tycoon) runs in Saturday’s G3 Quezette Stakes. She is the first foal of Group 2 winner Away Game (Snitzel) and cost Resolute Racing and Ciaron Maher Bloodstock $1.8 million from Yulong’s 2025 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft. Away Game was a $4 million broodmare purchase by Yulong.
“She's a winner and is stakes placed and had a gallop at Ballarat on Tuesday, and she seems to be in very good form,” Jack Turnbull, the National Assistant Trainer for Ciaron Maher Racing, told racingandsports.com.au.
“It's usually a good form line type of race. It could be a Coolmore preparation for some, or they could go down the filly's path.”
Caulfield Cup for new Maher purchase
Hopes of a British Classic success for the King and Queen at Doncaster next month have been dashed, with their St Leger entry Point Of Law (Frankel) having recently been sold to continue his career with Ciaron Maher.
Formerly trained by John and Thady Gosden, Point Of Law remains relatively unexposed after just four career starts. Having opened his account at the second attempt in a Newbury maiden back in May, he then finished a close-up fourth in the G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot, before confirming the promise of that effort with victory in the G3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket's July Festival.
“We weren't being geniuses by buying him,” Bourne told TDN about Point Of Law. “He didn't have the run of the race in the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot and then he won the Bahrain Trophy at the July Course. Those races really translate to being proper stayers down in Australia.
“We bought Circle Of Fire out of the Queen's Vase and he went and won a Group 1. We tried to buy Birdman, who was bought out of that race and has won a Group 1 here recently. Saint George was second in the race and he's obviously done very well down here. The form really stacks up.
“We also bought Royal Supremacy out of the Bahrain Trophy. He finished second and he's won a Group 1 down here. So, we're not being too creative by buying the horse [Point Of Law], but he looks like a quality stayer, a raw horse with plenty of ability.”
Point Of Law's first Australian engagement is likely to see him pitched in at the deep end with a start in the G1 Caulfield Cup, which takes place on Saturday, October 17. In the meantime, he will be based with Harry Eustace in Newmarket.
“It's no secret that it's been really tough the last two years. The prices have gone through the roof, but they keep getting the results down here in Australia. Look at our own horses like Duke de Sessa and Gold Trip – they're expensive but they get the job done. To compete in those middle-distance races, we definitely have to explore Europe.”
SA Horse Of The Year finalists announced
Racing South Australia have announced the three finalists for their Horse Of The Year Awards, to be held on September 5 at Wolf Blass Event Centre, Morphettville. Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray-trained Mating Call (Brazen Beau) won the G3 Auraria Stakes and placed in the G1 Australasian Oaks.
Andrew Gluyas-trained Watchme Win (Harry Angel {Ire}) won the Listed Wylie Handicap and placed in the G1 Goodwood Handicap. Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained Aviatress (Smart Missile) won the Listed Doveton Stakes. She’s since been sold and is now trained in NSW by Liam Ruddy.
New winner for Wild Ruler
Second season sire Wild Ruler added winner number 15 when Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained 3-year-old gelding Konomie cruised home to win by 3.2 lengths at Taree on Friday. He was having his fourth start, and second of this campaign.
Sold by Yulong at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale for $60,000 to Sullivan Bloodstock and Bevan Bloodstock, who pinhooked him at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale where Triple Crown Syndications paid $120,000 for him.
He becomes the first winner for Capitalist as a broodmare sire, being the first foal of Madame Louvre who is a winning half-sister to Group 2 winner Xilong (Deep Field).
Harry Angel adds spring 3-year-old winner
At Geelong on Friday, Ciaron Maher-trained 3-year-old gelding Greenwich Boy (Harry Angel {Ire}) won on debut by half a length. Bucklee Park sold him for $70,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale to SCT Syndications and John Foote Bloodstock (FBAA).
Greenwich Boy is the third winner for Meridian (Lonhro) who won twice in her career. Greenwich Boy’s half-brother Silver Samurai (Hellbent) has won his last two in succession in Malaysia and has five wins in total.
Double for Invader at Ipswich
On Friday, Invader sired a double at Ipswich with Greg Cornish-trained Miss Vader winning on debut in the first. Later on the card, Brian Gentle-trained Coincide won for the fifth time in his career and has won his last two starts in succession. Bought for $16,000 via Inglis Digital in 2024, he now has earnings over $200,000 with half of that earned since he went through the digital platform.
Yellow Brick and Antino turn heads at Ekka
Two-time Queensland Horse of the Year Antino (NZ) (Redwood {GB}) was beaten by Yellow Brick (The Mission) at Ekka’s Royal Queensland Show’s traditional Thoroughbred and Standardbred Day last weekend. “Seeing him in a different discipline, it's great to see him like this,” Antino’s former trainer Tony Gollan told racingqueensland.com.au on Friday.
“The guys who got him ready - Letitia at Embrook Stables, and then Phil Bobic and all the crew that have got him ready for the Ekka - they've done a great job. He looks beautiful, as do all the horses out here, and it's been a great morning on Thoroughbred and Standardbred Day.
“He loves being fussed upon, he loves being in the box and having people brush him and play around with him. He's so used to it – the elite horses go away and travel with grooms and get so much one-on-one attention, they absolutely love this sort of life. (Retrainer) Amy Taylor might be taking him after this – Jane is organising all of that, and he'll go into some form of equestrian discipline.”
Ka Ying Rising remains on top of the world
The unbeaten and recently retired Bow Echo is now ranked third at 127 on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. Only Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress) are above him at 131.
Arc hero Daryz (Sea The Stars) and Hong Kong's middle distance star Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) share fourth at 126. Scandinavia (Justify) sits in a joint-sixth at 125–from 123–after winning the G1 Goodwood Cup Stakes. In the U.S., Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) is now ranked 125, up from 122 after taking the GI Whitney Stakes by 4.75 lengths.
Ka Ying Rising | Image courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Vandeek half-sister headlines Tattersalls December foal sale
A Wootton Bassett half-sister to multiple Group 1 winners Gstaad and Vandeek will be among the headline lots at this year's Tattersalls December Foal Sale, which takes place from Tuesday, November 24 to Saturday, November 28.
Maywood Stud's Kelly Thomas said, “We're excited to be offering three outstanding individuals at Tattersalls from a family that has already proven themselves at the very highest level.
“Gstaad has established himself as one of the best milers of his generation and Vandeek was an exceptional two-year-old who has become a flagbearer for Havana Grey, so to be bringing a Wootton Bassett half-sister to both, as well as a three-parts brother to Vandeek, to the December Foal Sale is something that we're very much looking forward to.”
Positive test for trainer in betting plunge
Angel Quiroz, the trainer at the centre of a recent rash of suspicious winners after layoffs, was charged Thursday with an alleged vets' list medication violation for non-inhalation albuterol, a banned substance (when administered by any route other than inhalation), in a sample collected from the horse Bonita Rough on July 10 at Fair Hill Training Center, according to Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) spokesperson, Alexa Ravit, in an emailed statement Thursday.
The charge is posted on HIWU's website, under pending violations.
“This charge letter was served after Quiroz was notified of the positive test, waived the opportunity to request B Sample analysis, and failed to provide a sufficient explanation for the positive test,” wrote Ravit.
Albuterol is a banned bronchodilator, meaning it's designed to clear the airway, helping horses breathe easier. The maximum penalty associated with a banned substance positive from a vet's list sample would be a two-year suspension and US$25,000 (AU$35,400) fine.
Bonita Rough is not one of the Quiroz-trained horses that caused such controversy over the weekend, with implications that have rippled through international betting markets.
Instead, 4-year-old mare Bonita Rough is a full sister to Bravo Rough, who received wagers with UK bookmakers when he was entered in the second race at Mountaineer Park on Monday, but was scratched prior to running. Bonita Rough and Bravo Rough are listed on Equibase as having the same owner-breeders, Long Trail Stables.
Dubois joins Goffs
Louis Dubois has been appointed a USA Agent for Goffs, the sales company announced on Thursday. Dubois will work alongside existing Goffs USA representative Jacob West. Tom Taaffe will continue to focus on the American market as part of his international client relations role.
The appointment will expand the sale company's reach across the USA and encourage greater participation at their sales in Ireland, particularly at Book 1 and Book 2 of the Orby Sale and the new The Chicquita Session during the November Sale.
Dubois said, “I'm delighted to be part of the Goffs team and to work alongside Jacob West. I have a huge amount of respect for Jacob and am very much looking forward to joining forces with him as we develop Goffs' presence in the U.S.
“I have spent the last number of years working extensively in the U.S, particularly with Wesley Ward. I am hugely grateful to Wesley for the opportunities he has given me and I have learned a huge among from him about horsemanship and assessing horses.
“Joining Goffs feels like a natural next step. It is a company that I have tremendous admiration for, and I'm excited to help bring more American buyers to the upcoming Orby and November Sales. A Frenchman representing the Irish in America is a good reflection of just how international the thoroughbred industry has become.”
Saudi Derby upgraded to Group 2
The dates for the 2026-2027 Riyadh Racing Season, featuring the G1 Saudi Cup meeting on February 5-6, has been revealed by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA). The Asian Pattern Committee has also upgraded the Saudi Derby, set for Saudi Cup Day (February 6), from a Group 3 to a Group 2.
The 2026-2027 season in Riyadh will begin on October 16 and end on April 17. A new feature is the Riyadh Crown Series for local-bred horses (December 4, January 22, and March 12). There is also a series for local-bred fillies, the Riyadh Sword Series, on December 5, January 8 and February 6, with the finale also open to imported fillies.
Across the 2026-2027 season, there are 50 race days spread out over six months, with the JCSA racing Fridays and Saturdays.
Said HRH Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal, royal court advisor, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Equestrian Authority and chairman of the Board of Directors JCSA, said “This support has contributed to consolidating The Kingdom's position on the global horseracing map, and the Riyadh Season 2026/2027 comes as an extension of this journey, with a program that carries measurable initiatives that reflect our ambition to provide a stronger and more competitive season, and to continue to raise the level of racing in line with the position that The Kingdom has reached globally.”
Golden Gate racecourse might become public park
When Golden Gate Fields formally closed two years ago, public details surrounding what the future held for The Stronach Group-owned property were scant to none. Over the past few months, however, a picture has gradually formed filling in that gap.
The non-profit Trust for Public Land has the option to purchase the property for US$175 million (AU$248 million), with a plan to transfer the land to the East Bay Regional Park District to manage the process of transforming the Golden Gate property, the former jewel in the crown of Northern California racing, into a public park.
“The East Shore State Park, otherwise known as the McLaughlin East Shore State Park, surrounds Golden Gate Fields. Golden Gate is smack in the middle of it,” said attorney Robert Cheasty, executive director of Citizens for East State Parks, a non-profit organization with a stated mission to create “a necklace of shoreline parks” from the Oakland Estuary to the Carquinez Strait.
