Month: December 2020

Frankie Dettori Named Longines World’s Best Jockey For Third Consecutive Year

Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori has won the title of 2020 Longines World's Best Jockey, meaning the legendary rider has received the award for three consecutive years. Dettori, who also took the competition in 2015, has been named the Longines World's Best Jockey four of the last six years.

In 2020, Dettori won five of the world's Top 100 Group or Grade 1 races, with his qualifying victories coming in the Gold Cup (Stradivarius), St James's Palace Stakes (Palace Pier), King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes (Enable), Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes (Stradivarius), and Prix du Haras de Fresnay‐le‐Buffard ‐ Jacques Le Marois (Palace Pier).

The scoring process rewards jockeys for finishing in the top three, giving Dettori a total of 102 points on the year. He narrowly defeated Ryan Moore, the 2014 and 2016 Longines World's Best Jockey, who finished 2020 with 98 points. William Buick was third with 66 points, while Irad Ortiz, Jr., was just behind him in fourth with 64 points.

The awarding of the Longines World's Best Jockey title is based upon performances in the 100 highest-rated Group 1 and Grade 1 races as established for the year by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee. The scoring incorporates races from Dec. 1 of the previous year until Nov. 30 of the current year. Jockeys accrue 12 points for a win, 6 points for placing second, and 4 points for placing third.

Dettori is the only four-time winner of the Longines World's Best Jockey award, which was established in 2014. Historically, a ceremony has been held to honor the winner during the gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races in December, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person ceremony will not take place this year. Instead, Dettori will be honored in mid-January when the 2020 Longines World's Best Racehorse and Longines World's Best Horse Race winners are announced.

The full and final standings for the 2020 Longines World's Best Jockey competition can be found at www.ifhaonline.org.

The Longines World's Best Jockey Award was established seven years ago by Swiss watch brand Longines and the IFHA as a way to quantitatively recognize a jockey as the best among his or her global peers. It marked the first time a rider was honored in such a way.

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Four Stakes Wins Earn Junior Alvarado Jockey Of The Week Title

Four stakes wins over the Thanksgiving weekend led to Junior Alvarado named as Jockey of the Week for Nov. 23 through Nov. 29. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

With no racing scheduled on Thanksgiving Day, Alvarado made the most of the three days of racing at Aqueduct with mounts in 10 stakes races. On Friday, Alvarado scored by a nose with City Man for trainer Christophe Clement in the Gio Ponti over a stubborn Bodecream.

“Every time Christophe Clement brings a horse over, it doesn't matter the odds, they always seem to be fighting to win the race,” Alvarado said.

Also on the Friday card, Alvarado was aboard Feel Glorious, again for Christophe Clement, winning the Forever Together by three-quarters of a length.

“I had the best filly,” said Alvarado. “Turning for home, I put her in the clear to the outside and when she switched leads, she started picking it up.”

Fresh off a successful Friday, Alvarado had the mount on Forza Di Oro for trainer Bill Mott in the Grade 3 Discovery on Saturday. Around the far turn, Alvarado guided Forza Di Oro through an opening and drew off by 3-3/4 lengths.

“When he switches leads like he did today, he gives that next gear, Alvarado said.

On Sunday, trainer Bill Mott gave a leg up to Alvarado in the Tepin aboard Lovestruck who repelled a threat by Invincible Gal to hit the wire in 1:47.14.

“We were expecting the kind of run from her that we saw today,” said Alvarado. “There's still room for her to improve.”

As the leading rider by stakes wins, Alvarado posted a 22.72 percent win rate while in-the-money on 54.54 percent of his mounts. With five wins, three seconds and four thirds from 22 mounts, his purse earnings totaled $383,602.

Alvarado out-polled Rafael Bejarano who was the leading jockey by purse earnings, Irad Ortiz, Jr. who won three stakes races at Del Mar, Joel Rosario who won two stakes races at Del Mar and Tim Thornton who was the leading jockey by total wins with 10.

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2021 UK GSSS Award Shortlists Revealed

The shortlists for the six different categories of the 2021 UK Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards have been announced. A total of 206 nominations were received, with 60 making the shortlists-10 per category and every person on the shortlist that does not make the final three will now receive £250. Finalists, three per award category, will be determined remotely by the judges due to COVID-19. An interactive virtual event will be held on Feb. 22 to announced the winners which will be broadcasted life and free to air on Racing TVG. The shortlisted nominees are as follows:

David Nicholson Newcomer

  • Levi Capell – Willam Haggas
  • Alex Caulkett – Eve Johnson Houghton
  • Ericka Davies – Iain Jardine
  • Rebecca Elliott – Seamus Mullins
  • Jaydon Lee – Nicky Henderson
  • Alice Price – Ben Pauling
  • Alana Stiles – Hughie Morrison
  • Chrissie Sykes – Ruth Carr
  • Jessica Townend – Jedd O’Keeffe
  • Mikaela Wilkings – Susan Corbett

Leadership

  • Jessica Bell – Brian Ellison
  • Alan Berry – Jonjo O’Neill
  • Alex Cairns – James Fanshawe
  • Rebecca Edmunds – Bryan Smart
  • Kayleigh Flower – William Knight
  • Hannah Gregory – Richard Phillips
  • Roddy Griffiths – Emma Lavelle
  • Timothy Hogg – Jedd O’Keeffe
  • Tom Messenger – Dan Skelton
  • Lauren Webb – Daniel & Claire Kubler

Rider/Groom

  • Rakesh Alva – Bryan Smart
  • Jessica Benfield – Charlie Longsdon
  • Emily Bullock – Ruth Carr
  • Lindsay Gallagher – Barry Brennan
  • Maqsood Gill – Jim Boyle
  • Joanna Lacisz – Sir Michael Stoute
  • Sarah Peacock – Tom George
  • Faisal Phillips – Richard Phillips
  • Karl Pierrepont – Henry Spiller
  • Sophie Teague – Nick Alexander

Stud Staff

  • Noel Challinor – Northmore Stud
  • Jack Conroy – Chasemore Farm
  • Natalie Folland – Elkington Stud
  • David Hegarty – Genesis Green Stud
  • Tom Hughes – Hazelwood Bloodstock
  • Martin Languillet – Fittocks Stud
  • Oliver Nash – Mildmay Farm and Stud
  • Antonia Neal – Far Westfield Farm
  • Elody Swann – Newsells Park Stud
  • Ellie Wright – Brick Kiln Stud

Dedication

  • Guinand Bissessur – William Haggas
  • David Crofts – Marcus Tregoning
  • Claudia Fisher – Amy Murphy
  • Roy Fowler – Mick Channon
  • Helen Halliwell – James Fanshawe
  • Debbie Howie – John Gosden
  • Lisa Jackson – Philip Hobbs
  • Joline Saunders – Richard Phillips
  • Jane Smith – John Ryan
  • John Smith – Henry Candy

Community

  • Rob Achner – Jockey Club Estates
  • Simon Bailey – Sports Chaplaincy UK
  • Bee Chapman – William Jarvis
  • Simon Jones
  • Joanna O’Neill – Jonjo O’Neill
  • Richard Phillips
  • Sam Trainor – National Horseracing College
  • Caroline Turnbull – Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association
  • Margo Walsh – The Jockey Club
  • Paul Wright — Weatherbys

 

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Ruled Off In Hong Kong, Multiple G1 Winner Pakistan Star Makes Dubai Debut Thursday

One of the world's most famous racehorses makes a somewhat surprising resurfacing on Thursday when Kerm Din's Pakistan Star contests Meydan Racecourse's 10-furlong The Entisar (Listed), the first in a series of local races pointing toward the 25th Dubai World Cup (G1) in March. A multiple G1 winner in Hong Kong before being ruled off the jurisdiction for various infractions, including refusing to race, he was transferred from trainer Tony Cruz to multiple UAE champion conditioner Doug Watson at the beginning of the year.

“We got him in January and we were going to try to point to a race at the beginning of April, but obviously with COVID(-19), that was nixed,” Watson recalled. “His coat really came on during the summer. Since he started back, he's been no problem and has done everything right at home. His work has been exceptional and it's hard to find anything to really go with him. He's a pretty good work horse and looks like he gets across the (dirt) surface really well. We're just going to have to see how he takes it and if he gets kickback. He's a bit quirky, sure, because he looks at everything, but he hasn't stopped in his training, which is great.”

The 7-year-old German-bred son of Shamardal has been working steadily toward his first engagement, which will be on the dirt—a surface he has trialed on in Hong Kong, but never raced upon. Most of said trials were at shorter distances than the 1 1/4 miles he will travel Thursday evening, but he was remarkably consistent, beating a pair of Hong Kong Cup winners—Time Warp and Glorious Forever—in those runs. Three weeks ago, he went to Meydan to get a taste of the surroundings with a seven-furlong trial from the gate and was accompanied by a pair of stablemates, including recent HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup winner Galvanize.

“We took him over to do a trial in front of the stewards and make sure he would do everything correctly, which he did,” Watson continued. “He broke great and worked with Galvanize and Dehbashi and basically pulled about seven lengths clear of Galvanize at the end of it, which is a pretty good gauge. He took a little kickback under Pat (Dobbs, jockey) and seemed to handle it alright. He trains right-handed at home, but he had no trouble turning left in the work. He didn't hang and Pat really was impressed with him.

“He came back (to Red Stables) and did his last two pieces of work—so I know he's fit enough,” he continued. “It's just a matter of if he wants to do it. We'll see on Thursday night. He moves really well across the dirt, so it will be good to get a race in him to see how he does on it, because turf races don't start until January here. If he really likes it, it does open other doors.”

From 27 starts, Pakistan Star has a 5-5-1 record. In addition to his long-winded G1 wins in the 10-furlong Queen Elizabeth II Cup and 12-furlong Champions & Chater Cup, he has shown ample speed, including a seven-furlong handicap win in which he ran the second-fastest final 400m (1/4 mile) in Hong Kong history (at the time), 21.44 seconds.

While he is not expected to show such foot early on Thursday, it would not be a surprise if stablemate Just a Penny took the initiative. Owned by Mohd Khalifa Al Basti, the 8-year-old nine-time winner has already raced twice this season, including a fifth over seven furlongs and an open-length win over nine furlongs—both at Jebel Ali Racecourse.

Watson said: “The first year we had him, we took him to Meydan and we didn't think he would get beat, but then he ran up the track. Since then, we've kept him mostly at Jebel Ali and he returned there (this season). He always needs that first race—we can't do enough with him at home—and then he won well in his second start. (The Entisar) is an opportunity to give him a start back at Meydan and see how he handles it now. He has plenty of pace, too.”

South American G1 winners Saltarin Dubai and For the Top, Listed winners Montsarrat and Zaman, and local handicap winners Firnas, Casey Jones and George Villiers complete the field. All carry 57kgs (126lbs) in what will be the fifth race of the card, slated for 8:50 p.m. local time (11:50 a.m. USA EST; 4:50 p.m. UK).

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