Group 1 winner Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}-Roodeye {GB}, by Inchinor {GB}) will stand at Nunnery Stud in 2021, Shadwell announced on Monday. The 2020 G1 Sussex S. hero was retired earlier this year after sustaining bone bruising in his near hind fetlock joint. A fee for the bay will be announced later.
Richard Lancaster, Shadwell Stud Director, said, “The entire team at Shadwell are delighted to be standing Mohaather at Nunnery. He put up arguably the best performance of any miler this year when defeating a top-class field in the Sussex S., backing up what was an ultra-impressive performance in the Summer Mile at Ascot. His explosive turn of foot will live long in the memory.”
Bred by Gaie Johnson Houghton, Mohaather was knocked down for 110,000gns to Shadwell at the 2017 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 2. As a juvenile he won two of three starts, culminating in a score in the G3 Horris Hill S. at Newbury. Returning at three, the Marcus Tregoning trainee added another Newbury Group 3, this time the Greenham S. from two starts. In three 2020 appearances the 4-year-old delivered in his final two, taking the July 11 G2 Summer Mile S. and the G1 Sussex S. at Goodwood at the end of the month. The highest-rated son of Showcasing at 123, Mohaather retired in August with a mark of 8-5-1-0 and $371,699 in earnings.
Added Lancaster, “It’s important to remember Mohaather was also a group winner at two and three and he has the physical prowess to match his racecourse exploits. He is particularly attractive–a beautiful dark bay–and is an extraordinarily well-balanced individual with a superb walk. You can see how he generated that speed: he has a great hindquarter and second thigh.”
Mohaather, out of the SP Roodeye, is a full-brother to American MGSW & GISP Prize Exhibit (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), and a half to the SP Harbour Master (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) and the dam of G1 Queen Anne S. hero Accidental Agent (GB) (Delegator {GB}). Roodeye in turn is a half-sister to the G1 Prix Morny runner-up Gallagher (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}), while under the third dam is the G2 Gimcrack S. victor Bannister (GB) (Inchinor {GB}). Dead Certain (GB) (Absalom {GB}), a European highweight from five to seven furlongs and the winner of the G1 Cheveley Park S., is also a member of the female family tracing to the winning Sirnelta (Fr) (Sir Tor).
Last time, we talked about Blackjack terms, such as “Action” and “Color Up.” Let’s continue forward with part two in our Blackjack terms series. We’ll pick it up with “Comps,” which happen to be my favorite thing in a casino. Let’s get started.
Comps – This is the main reason for playing for many people. A Comp is basically anything you get for free from the casino. It could be food, rooms, cash, travel, drinks and so forth. Here’s a tip. Most casinos comp players based on the data from a player’s card. Whenever you walk into a new casino, ask about their player’s card and get one-they are free.
Cut Card – When you cut the deck in Blackjack-at real live tables-you use a cut card. This card is the same size as a regular card in the deck and it’s usually red. It’s also plastic. Slide that baby in the right place and let’s win some hands!
Discards – These are the cards that have already been played. In a real live game, you’ll see the discards off to the side of the table.
Double Deck – A Blackjack game typically uses 1-8 decks of cards. A Double Deck game of Blackjack uses two decks of cards. In a real live game, this game is hand shuffled and dealt from hand. Shoe games start with four or more decks.
Double Down – You’re so money! Even non-gamblers know this phrase. When you double down, you double up your original bet and take one final card. You can double down on your first two cards only. While online casinos typically make you double your bet on a double down, live casinos will allow you to “double for less,” which means you can put any additional amount down-up to the amount of your original wager.
Double Exposure – This is a variant of Blackjack. You’ll find that there are various Blackjack rules that a casino may or may not use-like surrendering. In this variant, both dealer cards are dealt face up. Sounds like easy money right? Not so fast. These games also have additional rules-usually something like dealer wins all ties. You may like this type of game though, so check it out. Make sure you ask about the rules differences before playing.
Draw – Most everyone says, “hit,” but draw is the same thing. When you draw a card, you’re not getting out a pencil and sketch paper to make an art masterpiece; you’re taking one additional card for you hand.
Edge – Do you have an edge? The edge just means who has the best ability to make money over the long haul. As a gambler, you take steps to reduce the house’s edge and increase your chances of winning. A Blackjack example of this would be card counting. Another example would be playing only certain types of Blackjack games, such as single deck.
We’ll pick up our Blackjack series next time with “Even Money.”
It's no secret the COVID-19 pandemic has proven disruptive and dangerous to the business and sport of horse racing, but some international authorities say some good things have emerged from this unprecedented time.
In the first digital presentation released Monday as part of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) annual conference, a panel of racetrack officials and racing authorities gathered to talk about the challenges and lessons from the pandemic so far. This year's 54th international conference is being conducted virtually for the first time, with conference materials being released gradually over the next two weeks. This year's focus will be on COVID-19 and its impacts on racing. In most years, the IFHA conference is held on the day after the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at the France Galop offices in Paris.
Readers are familiar with the challenges faced by American racetracks starting in March and April, as some had to shut down, close to fans, or delay major races. In other countries, cross-border travel restrictions caused significant headaches even when racing resumed.
Andrew Harding, executive director of racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said that organization was particularly taxed, as racing in Hong Kong relies much more heavily on horse movement than in other countries. It's also a lot more concentrated population of participants, with a much smaller pool of jockeys, stewards and trainers licensed to keep horses running, so Harding and his colleagues knew they had to be as strict as possible with biosecurity measures.
“If one of [the stewards] were to become infected, in normal circumstances they'd all be sitting in the same room together. In one fell swoop, we'd lose all our stewards,” he said, pointing out that would be the end of racing while officials were quarantined.
Hong Kong jockeys were divided into four clusters and had their jockeys' quarters separated to keep riders in bubbles. Stewards were also given separate rooms to minimize the risk of disease spread. Additionally, licensees were required to provide Hong Kong racing officials with a daily log of their temperatures. Jockeys were required to provide officials with an activity schedule so they could be advised what their potential risk for exposure might be, and to provide a guide for contract tracing should a COVID-19 positive occur.
In the United States, many racing fans have become frustrated by what seems like an uneven application of government regulations to different businesses. For a period of time this spring, Santa Anita Park was closed to fans and required jockeys to live on-site to reduce exposure, while crowds of people poured into the Los Angeles County Arboretum across the street. William Derby, chief executive and clerk of course at York Racecourse, told panelists the same is true in England, where he's aware of nearby bars and pubs beginning to bustle while fans are still not permitted at the track. In fact, York had to erect 3.5 kilometers of fencing to keep people away from the racecourse despite it being on public land. Still, Derby pointed out, local and national governments are overwhelmed, dealing with basic safety questions for hospitals and schools, and patience is key.
“Sport takes its place in the queue, despite the fact [racing] is a very important employer; 18,000 jobs in the UK rely on it,” he said.
Still, some good things have come out of the pandemic. Stephen Cook, director of content for IMG Productions, said that as soon as racing fans were barred from coming to the track, his team had to think of ways to recreate the experience for them remotely — including filming horses whenever possible in their stable yards and in workouts to create a sense of familiarity before they headed to the track.
“It's helped us jump probably a couple of years ahead on something we'd be behind on if this hadn't happened,” said Cook.
Of course, racing was one of very few live sports that was able to carry on or return quickly after initial shutdowns in the spring. Olivier Delloye, CEO of France Galop, said that after racing resumed in France, it took just five weeks for handle to regain its 2019 averages. From early June until now, wagering has consistently been up 10 to 20 percent over last year.
“We didn't expect that,” Delloye said. “We were all worried that even if the betting shops would reopen, even if people were opening new digital accounts, people would think of many other things than going to bet on horse racing.”
The panelists are certainly not seeing a cloudless sky ahead, however. Delloye and Derby both worry tremendously about ownership retention, as owners have been hit particularly hard in the wallets by the spring shutdowns. For Cook, questions remain about whether racing will be able to capitalize on its time in the spotlight and turn temporary interest into long-term loyalty once the virus is controlled and other sports return. In the more near term, Harding worries about how many racing authorities can outlast the ongoing disruptions COVID-19 is causing.
'”As hard as it's been in the UK and France, there are some countries where they haven't been able to operate in a manner that's profitable,” he said. “How long that's sustainable is troubling to me. That will have an impact globally.”
Hong Kong has no breeding program of its own, so potential future impacts of the current economic downturn on the international foal crop is another long-term concern.
All in all, Keeneland president-elect Shannon Arvin said she looks to the future with a mixture of realism and optimism, uncertain of what comes next, but hopeful racing's new lessons will carry it through.
“We don't know how long this will last,” she said. “Somebody asked me this morning, 'Will we have fans back in April?' I don't know the answer to that.
“I think there are definitely silver linings to the pandemic, and I think we need to keep looking for them. I think the perseverance that so many in our industry have shown and that resiliency is shining through ad showing us the silver linings. Winston Churchill said, 'Never let a good crisis go to waste.' I think about how the Keeneland sales actually started, which is during World War II, because we weren't able to ship horses up to New York so we started our own sale. Now of course, that's such a critical part of our business as well as a key piece of the industry and the marketplace. I'm excited to see what innovations come of this.”
The University of Louisville (UofL) Equine Industry program launched the first-ever Racing Investigator Certificate Program Monday. The two-day program, an initiative of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI), was conducted online, but the ARCI is working with UofL and the University of Arizona’s Racetrack Industry Program to hold future programs in person.
“The job of a racing investigator is a specialty involving knowledge not only of police procedures concerning interrogation and evidence gathering, but also of horse racing, the backstretch, and the horses themselves,” said ARCI Chair Tom Sage.
The participants will receive certification upon successfully passing an examination on the material presented, including basic horsemanship skills, safety procedures, racing terminology, overview of officials and their duties, constructing a condition book and drawing for races, equine medications, veterinary records, investigatory tools and techniques, evidence gathering, methods used by those attempting to avoid detection when violating medication testing procedures, and much more. The contents were produced through the efforts of the late John Wayne, who was considered to be one of the foremost authorities on racing regulation in the U.S.
“There is a tremendous amount of expertise and experience that is required to do this job properly,” said RCI President Ed Martin.
The ARCI suggests commissions and racetracks include a requirement for the present Racing Investigator Certificate as essential for employment. Initially expected to include 30-35 participants, the program already has exceeded expectations with more than three times the number of registrations than anticipated.
