Oliveanotherday set for Group 1 debut in Manikato
Trainer Tom Dabernig is worried about the weather ahead of Oliveanotherday (Nicconi)’s run in Saturday’s G1 Manikato Stakes.
“I think it was just a case of straight first time and Good 3 track. I'm not totally blaming the Good 3, but I'm sure that he's best runs for me have been on softer going,” Dabernig told racingandsports.com.au of his last start fifth.
Tom Dabernig | Image courtesy of Dabernig Racing
“He's been very good here at Caulfield, so I'm just hoping that back at Caulfield he'll accelerate off the bend and third-up be better than he was second-up. He was only beaten 1.6 lengths and the winner came from the inside, the horses in the centre didn't figure too much, so it might have been a combination of things. But, I must admit, a Good 3 track would be my concern.”
Pride Of Jenni aims for third successive Feehan
The shift of the G2 Feehan Stakes from Moonee Valley to Caulfield might affect the front running tactics for Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai)’s attempt at a three-peat in the race.
“The old Feehan at Moonee Valley, where she won the last two, that was the perfect race for her,” jockey Declan Bates told racenet.com.au.
Pride Of Jenni | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Caulfield might be a bit more difficult but there's no concerns at all. No matter what turns up, she's going to be hard to beat. She's going very well. All the signs are from her work at home that she's as good as ever.
“Her attitude is as good as ever. There's certainly no signs of her losing any enthusiasm. I guess we'll find out race day where we're at.”
Williams booked for Derby-placegetter in Cup
Jockey Craig Williams will ride G1 Epsom Derby third James J Braddock in the G1 Melbourne Cup in November. Williams won the 2019 Melbourne Cup with Vow And Declare in 2019. Australian-based co-owner Aziz Kheir booked the 49-year-old.
The Joseph O'Brien-trained son of Zarak could be one of as many as 10 runners in the historic race for his trainer. Recent G1 St Leger hero Highwayman (Persian King) is also one of the 10.
“The second quarantine hasn't started yet so we still have to get there,” O'Brien told TDN. “Of the ones that we have entered, they are all being programmed towards the race. “Omni Man (Invincible Spirit) and Starford (Beckford) are going to run in the G1 Caulfield Cup, so they are going down on the first shipment.
“Kizlyar (Make Believe) and Small Fry (Harzand) are both going down in the first shipment as well because they probably need to win in Australia to get into the race. The other ones are on the second shipment with the intention of going there.
“Craig Williams is booked for James J Braddock. Aziz Kheir got that sorted during the week. The other ones are undecided as yet. Highwayman is the obvious one given he is on the back of a Group 1 win, but he has plenty of weight for a 3-year-old.”
Zahrann penalised for Naturalism victory
Ciaron Maher-trained Zahrann (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) has been penalised 0.5kg for both the G1 Caulfield Cup and G1 Melbourne Cup after his G3 Naturalism Stakes win on Saturday.
“Zahrann marked his best performance on Australian shores by winning Saturday’s Naturalism Stakes through a perfect Ethan Brown ride for which he is worthy of a penalty for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups,” said David Hegan, Racing Victoria’s head of handicapping.
“The 0.5kg penalty means he will meet the horses he defeated on Saturday between 2kg and 3kg worse off in both Cups which is an important reassessment but warranted given the strength of his win which follows on from his good form in Europe last year.”
Colvin’s Farnan aiming at Country Championships
Gary Colvin-trained Party Boss (Farnan) will kick off his Country Championships campaign on Tuesday.
“He's a nice horse, I have always had a lot of time for him. He is on the way to the Country Championships,” Colvin told racenet.com.au.
“He was very unlucky in the Country Championships (Qualifier) last year, he just got held up and couldn't get out and wasn't even a length from the winner. I saw that race (at Leeton) and I thought, what's the old saying, ‘you put yourself in the best company and your horses in the worst', so I hope it works.”
Yes Yes Yes filly wins on debut
Matrix Racing-owned 3-year-old filly Trinity State (Yes Yes Yes) won on debut at Grafton on Monday for trainer Matt Dunn. The homebred is out of Tale Of Choice (Redoute’s Choice) who has produced two other winners.
Matt Dunn | Image courtesy of Racing Queensland
Tale Of Choice is a Group 2-placed winning full sister to Listed winner Petronius and stakes placed Raphael’s Cat, as well as a half-sister to stakes placed Port Louis (Maurice {Jpn}).
Dubai in mourning for Sheikh Ahmed
An official 10-day mourning period has been declared in Dubai following the death on Monday of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the younger brother of the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed. Sheikh Ahmed was 76.
Sheikh Ahmed was predeceased by his elder brothers Sheikh Maktoum and Sheikh Hamdan. All four siblings have made a major impact on the world of Thoroughbred racing and breeding over decades, though Sheikh Ahmed cut a more private figure than the founders of Godolphin and Shadwell, Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Hamdan.
Nonetheless, he was a significant owner and breeder in his own right, with his familiar yellow silks with black epaulettes being carried by a swathe of Group 1 winners from the 1983 Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Wassl (Mill Reef) to Saddadd (Pinatubo), who won the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden earlier this month.
This season alone has been a particularly fruitful one for Sheikh Ahmed's racing operation. As early as January 2, the Godolphin-bred Quddwah (Kingman) won the G2 Zabeel Mile at Meydan, following up with a win in the G2 Singspiel Stakes before finishing second to Godolphin's Ombudsman in the G1 Dubai Turf. He returned to Europe to become the final group winner for Sheikh Ahmed in the G2 Solonoway Stakes at the recent Irish Champions Festival.
The three-part-brothers Almaqam (Lope De Vega) and Saddadd have provided several major highlights this season with victory for the former, trained by Ed Walker, in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup followed by an agonising head defeat by Item (Frankel) in the G1 Juddmonte International.
Another horse who has worn his famous colours is Addeyyb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) who won three Group 1 races in Sydney and the G1 Champion Stakes in Great Britain among his 13 career wins.
The youngest son of Dubai's former ruler Sheikh Rashid bin Saaeed Al Maktoum, Sheikh Ahmed was born on July 12, 1950. He graduated from Britain's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and later became Commander in Chief of the Central Military Command in Dubai. He also served as deputy chairman of Dubai Police and Public Security and was group chairman of ARM Holding and Dubai Real Estate Centre.
In 1990, he developed Jebel Ali racecourse which sits 35km outside the city of Dubai and is home to his racing stables.
Little Paradise has Group 1 goals
Jimmy Ting-trained Little Paradise (Toronado {Ire}) will resume in Sunday’s G3 Celebration Cup at Sha Tin with the G1 Hong Kong Mile as a long term goal.
“The horse is good after the break. I just kept him happy and he went up to Conghua and to the paddock and he liked it,” Ting told scmp.com.
Little Paradise | Image courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
“After two trials, his form is coming up – he’s not at the best, but I think it’s good enough for the early part of the season. I think he’s improving, he’s a bit more calm and he’s healthy. His body weight is the same – around 1200-something, which is his best. He should run well and we will just focus on the mile. Step one is the Group 3 1400m and then he’ll step up to the mile.”
Golden Eagle winner aimed at Breeders' Cup
The 2024 Golden Eagle victor and G1 City of York Stakes runner-up Lake Forest (No Nay Never) is targeting a pair of US starts, including the G1 Breeders' Cup Mile this autumn, Sean Graham, racing manager for co-owner Tony Bloom, revealed on Sunday.
Successful in the G2 Lennox Stakes earlier this year, the Bloom and Ian McAleavy-owned gelding is trained by William Haggas. The G1 Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland on October 3 is his first target where he will face his City of York conqueror Notable Speech (Dubawi), before the Breeders' Cup Mile there at the end of the month.
“The plan is to go to America and William is very happy with him,” said Graham. “He might have a race in America before the Breeders' Cup, but the Breeders' Cup Mile is the main objective.
“The horse has been all the way to Australia twice and back and touch wood is a good traveller. If you're travelling a horse for the first time you never know how they will take it but he's a proven round the world traveller and that's a big box ticked.”
Newmarket packed for Open Day
In what other sport can fans get as close to their heroes as they do in horseracing? For one young visitor to John and Thady Gosden's Clarehaven Stables during the Henry Cecil Open Weekend it was a case of being able to look directly up the nostrils of Group 2 winner Gregory before her father picked her up to stroke the gelding's nose.
Gregory and stable star Ombudsman had their fair share of admirers but the largest crowd was outside the box of Gregory's next-door neighbour and Gold Cup hero Trawlerman, who has recently been retired but will be paraded back at his beloved Ascot on Champions Day.
Clarehaven, which was one of 20 yards open throughout Sunday morning, welcomed almost 1000 visitors through its gates inside the first hour, and the footfall was strong across town, with stables large and small making a huge effort – especially in the coffee-and-cake offering – in showing exactly what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to training racehorses.
Newmarket's open weekend, which last year raised more than £100,000 (AU$188,000) for charity, has become an annual pilgrimage for many racing fans. This year, blessed with autumnal sunshine, they came from the length of the country, from Glasgow to Devon, to enjoy a range of events across the two days, including a trainers' race on the Rowley Mile on Saturday along with tours of the National Stud, British Racing School, Rossdales Equine Hospital and the Injured Jockeys Fund's Sir Peter O'Sullevan House.
“My yard was open this year so I was very much glued to that for the morning but everybody told me that numbers felt up,” said Charlie Fellowes, chairman of the Henry Cecil Open Weekend committee.
“I think we had more people through our yard than I ever remember. We had a constant flow all morning and just a really nice atmosphere. Everybody seemed to be enjoying the day. Thanks also to all the sponsors and to all the trainers for opening because without them opening the weekend wouldn't exist.”
Rouget to keep training until after Arc
Jean-Claude Rouget will be able to saddle Arrow Eagle (Gleneagles) in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe before the curtain falls on his training career, Equidia reported.
The conditioner, who was due to cease training later this month unless a buyer is found for his business, will instead train through October 6. The Commercial Tribunal in Pau has accepted a request for a short delay, and the hearing will take place September 29 with the deliberations announced on October 6.
Rouget won the 2023 Arc with Arrow Eagle's older half-brother Ace Impact. Arrow Eagle, sixth in the 2025 Arc, will be Rouget's final runner.
Milestone for Dutrow Jnr
Trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. earned his 2000th career victory in North America as Long Pour (Tom's d'Etat) dominated a salty nine-horse field in Race 7, a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer for New York-breds, at Belmont Park on Sunday.
Dutrow, Jr. entered Belmont Park's nine-race card with 1998 wins, posting a 2-for-2 day with Tapwrits Temper in Race 4 and Long Pour in Race 7 to reach the 2000 mark.
“Sundays are days he likes to watch from either the couch or Don Peppe…I'm not sure where he is, but wherever he is I'm sure he's happy,” said nephew and assistant Blake Dutrow. “We're fortunate the horse ran as well as he did today.
“It's very special. [Thank you] to all the horses along the way that have made it possible and the owners,” he added. “The guy who owns this horse, Kenny Page, is a childhood friend of Rick's that worked for my granddad; Michael Dubb is involved, it takes those kind of people to get to that number. We're fortunate to have those kind of people behind us and the horses that we've had in our barn. It makes it a lot easier to get there when you have that.”
Jockey update after Churchill Downs fall
Jockey Cristian Torres reported Saturday night via X that he was sore but had no broken bones after Saturday's second-race incident at Churchill Downs that also sent jockeys Martin Garcia and Walter Rodriguez to a local hospital. All three riders will be off their Sunday mounts.
Garcia incurred a rib injury, according to his agent Jake Romans, while Rodriguez had concussion-like symptoms and is expected to be sidelined for about a month, according to his agent Cliff Collier.
The incident occurred on the far turn when Lutkenhaus sustained a catastrophic left front leg injury, causing five other horses to lose their riders. Lutkenhaus was humanely euthanized following evaluation by on-track veterinarians, according to Dr. Will Farmer, Churchill Downs Incorporated Equine Medical Director. The other five horses returned to the barn area.
