March, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Dubai World Cup: Life Is Good ‘Settled In Well,’ Country Grammer Enjoying ‘Straightforward’ Preparations

After being away from the races for more than 240 days, no one knew what to expect when Country Grammer resurfaced in the Group 1 Saudi Cup. But the 5-year-old entire son of Tonalist showed up in a big way finishing a bang-up second.

Now, Country Grammer seems to be thriving at Meydan racecourse as he looks to give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a fourth victory in this Saturday's Dubai World Cup. After spending Monday jogging quietly in the confines of the International Quarantine track, Country Grammer was on the muscle Tuesday as he passed the wire with great energy under the watchful eye of longtime Baffert assistant Jimmy Barnes.

“Country Grammer is a horse who will run all day and will definitely appreciate the two turns and the 1 1/4-mile distance of this race,” Barnes said. “He has always been a straightforward horse to train and nothing has changed with him here.”

Conditioner Doug O'Neill's fan favorite Hot Rod Charlie has had everything go his way since shipping out to Meydan racecourse on Jan. 19. A winner of the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (G2) in his lone local start, he has strengthened up and certainly looked the part Tuesday coming onto the track around 7:15am accompanied as usual by the outrider pony.

'Chuck,' as he is affectionally called by his owners, had a very happy gallop Tuesday morning as he continues to tout himself around the track on a daily basis.

“We were so happy to be able to run him as a 4-year-old and glad we came over here when we did,” assistant trainer Leandro Mora said. “He is doing so good right now, he loves this track. He is very calm and quiet when making the walk to the track in the mornings but as soon as he steps on the track and the rider sits on his back he knows it is go-time and can get a little excited, but in a good way. Although he did give us a little scare last week when he and the pony were bucking and feeling too good by the wire launching himself in the air.”

After a 13-hour flight from Miami, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and the ownership connections of China Horse Club and WinStar Farm got a chance to see the presumptive World Cup favorite Life Is Good train for the first time at 5am on Tuesday. After backing up to the eighth pole the 4-year-old galloped 1 1/2 miles and, as has been the case all week, he got stronger as the gallop went along.

Amelia Green, the only rider who sits on Life Is Good's back, had to use all her strength to pull him up as he desperately wanted to continue on with his morning trackwork.

“I would be surprised if he wasn't like that to be honest,” Pletcher said. “Our flight was good and as soon as we arrived last night we went to the stables and saw Life Is Good and we were very happy with what we saw of him. He really looks like he has settled in well. I've learned some things over the years of coming here and one of them I think is to do all your work at home. I've breezed horses here in the past and I think maybe its been a little counter-productive so we will just have some gallops with him and participate in the night schooling session tonight and go from there.”

Aero Trem's trainer Antonio Cintra Pereira was happy to let his charge merely canter around the track and has no plans for any kind of serious work this week for the 6-year-old Shanghai Bobby entire, who was fifth in the Group 1 Saudi Cup at Riyadh on Feb. 26.

“Aero Trem is fit and is doing very well. He returned very well from the Saudi Cup and has continued his preparation for the Dubai World Cup and so far everything is going according to plan. So we are looking forward to him running in the big one in five days' time,” Cintra said.

The Bhupat Seemar-trained Remorse has been one of the more consistent names on the domestic circuit with a win and four runner-up placings in his five starts this term, the last of which was behind fellow Dubai World Cup hope Hypothetical, trained by Salem bin Ghadayer, in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 (G1), which is contested over the same track and trip as the Dubai World Cup.

“Remorse is a lovely horse and has gone up from handicaps to Group Ones,” Seemar said. “He's a very honest horse and with a bit of luck and a good draw anything could happen really. He did a half mile gallop worked in company worked well and looks fit and healthy and is good to go.”

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Racing League Reveals Team Managers And Jockey Draft For 2022

The seven team managers for the 2022 Racing League were announced on Tuesday. In addition, there will be a jockey draft held at Doncaster on Saturday, Mar. 26. The second season of the Racing League, featuring prizemoney of £2 million, will begin at Doncaster on Aug. 4 and end at Newcastle on Sept. 15. Other Thursday evening fixtures in the series are at Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Windsor, and Southwell. All six meetings will be shown live on ITV Racing alongside long-term partner Sky Sports Racing.

As part of a new format, teams representing Ireland, London and the South, Scotland, the East, the North, Wales and the West, and Yorkshire will take part. Each team will provide two runners per race, with horses and jockeys determined by the team managers. The seven team managers are:

Ireland – Kevin Blake
London and the South – Matt Chapman
Scotland – Linda Perratt
The East – Rupert Bell
The North – Mick Quinn
Wales and the West – Jamie Osborne
Yorkshire – Leonna Mayor

A total of 123 trainers signed up to be involved in Racing League 2022 and all have been assigned to represent either their preferred or second-choice region. Full details of the competition, including the teams and their respective trainers, can be found at www.racingleague.uk/. For the full list of trainers and their assigned regions, please click here.

Jeremy Wray, Racing League CEO, said, “We are delighted to announce team managers with such a wealth of racing knowledge and experience to represent the teams.

“They will play an important role this year starting with the jockey draft on Saturday which is something new for the sport and adds a really fun element to the competition. One hundred jockeys have registered and those selected will join over 120 trainers who have signed up across the seven regional teams.

“We greatly appreciate the support shown by so many horsemen and look forward to adding further new initiatives for Racing League 2022 over the coming months.”

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Breeze Show Heightens Anticipation For Inaugural Dubai 2-Year-Old Sale

With the spectacular Burj Khalifa as their backdrop, 69 blue-blooded 2-year-olds galloped on Tuesday morning as the inaugural Dubai Breeze-up Sale got underway.

Meydan Racecourse's Tapeta training track was the venue for the breeze which began at 7:45 a.m. and was completed two hours later without a hitch. Henry Beeby, Group Chief Executive of organizers Goffs, took to the microphone to commentate on the action which took place in front of several hundred onlookers.

Those taking a keen interest in proceedings included HH Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Racing Club and a Group 1-winning owner, as well as top trainers Charlie Appleby, Roger Varian, Jamie Osborne, Roger Varian and Ado McGuinness, while jockeys Tadhg O'Shea, Pat Dobbs and Antonio Fresu also kept a close eye on the action.

Tom Taaffe, International Consultant for Goffs, was pleased with the breeze, commenting: “We are delighted with how smoothly it all went and that is down to the organization of Dubai Racing Club and the cooperation of all the consignors,” he said. “The ethos of the sale was for the horses not to be pushed out and timed, but just to be asked to gallop two furlongs so people can see their action and then inspect them up close later in the stable yard.

“The consignors are all delighted at how well their horses galloped and a number of buyers have mentioned to me that it was nice to see them move them like that, without being pushed.”

With the progeny of leading stallions such as Into Mischief, Dubawi, Frankel, Night Of Thunder, American Pharoah, Showcasing, Exceed And Excel, Justify and Arrogate among the lots on offer, bidding is expected to be strong when the sale takes place at 5pm on Wednesday in the Meydan Racecourse Parade Ring.

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Stage Set For Inaugural Dubai Breeze-Up Sale

DUBAI, UAE–The interesting thing about talking to trainers from different parts of the world is that one man's gallop is another man's breeze, or indeed another woman's canter. Even within the specialised sector of the breeze-up sales, a Donny breezer may set a different pace to a Guineas breezer, often deliberately so, and for the inaugural Dubai Breeze-up Sale the focus is more on letting the 2-year-olds stretch out and show their moves over the two furlongs rather than rousting them along at a searing pace.

Not one for the clock-watchers, then, but that's no bad thing, and the 69 horses set to sell on Wednesday evening at Meydan racecourse weren't exactly hanging around as they skipped across the dark Tapeta all-weather surface of the Meydan training track.

As we have come to expect from this seasoned band of breeze-up vendors from Ireland and Britain, an impressive array of young bloodstock was on show on Tuesday morning. The consignors flitted to and fro, some looking a little more pensive than others, but they will have been heartened by the group of potential buyers perched trackside on steps and benches to witness this inaugural venture laid on by the Dubai Racing Club in association with Goffs. Among them was Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum, proudly supporting a baseball cap with the name of his dual Group 1 winner Perfect Power (Ire), who is a shining example amid the breeze-up graduates of 2021. Sitting alongside the sheikh was Richard Brown, the man who bought not only Perfect Power but also his sire Ardad (Ire), another classy breezer, both from their breeder Tally-Ho Stud.

The man in the driving seat for much of the project has been Goffs' Tom Taaffe, who not so long ago could have been found around this time of year sending strapping steeplechasers to Cheltenham. The former trainer appears to have a pretty breezy attitude to life in general, and he must have drawn some satisfaction watching on as the canters, gallops – call them what you will – were conducted without incident.

Up on the balcony of the track's watch tower was 'the voice' of Goffs, group chief executive Henry Beeby, who must have felt almost at home, as if he was on his elevated rostrum in Ireland, only this time a little warmer and brighter. To Beeby's mellifluous backing track the 2-year-olds appeared one by one, around the turn and down the straight, cantering off into the distance with the vast Meydan grandstand as a backdrop. On Wednesday evening they will be auctioned off in its shadow, with the business end of the sale taking place in the Meydan winner's enclosure – a place to which many of their eventual buyers will no doubt hope to return one day.

“It went like clockwork,” said Beeby after the breeze show. “As a group the horses breezed exceptionally well. I think the breeze-up vendors have really risen to the challenge and given us a lovely bunch of horses. It's a new venture and they have taken a chance but the conditions that the Dubai Racing Club has put in place have given them confidence.”

The general consensus among those who put their money into finding horses to bring to Dubai at last year's yearling sales is that the operation has run smoothly so far, with plenty of vendors having reported being very busy through the viewing sessions. Time will tell if that interest turns into a decent return for them on this first date in the 2-year-old sales calendar, but present indications are encouraging.

Mickey Cleere of MC Thoroughbreds was the guinea pig, both as consignor and rider, when breezing lot 1, his colt by Gun Runner, the stallion who was runner-up to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup five years ago. The bay colt is out of the 10-time winner Bank Audit (Wild Rush), whose victories include two at Grade II level.

“We're absolutely delighted to be here and to be a part of this sale,” said Cleere, who has three juveniles catalogued, including the only one by America's champion sire Into Mischief. “The horses travelled over great, the facilities are top class and all the right people seem to be here looking. I think it should be a success looking at the quality of horses here. There seem to be a lot of people with very nice horses, and we think we have nice horses too. The three of them are very different but they are nice and by the right sires with decent pedigrees.”

Cleere's fellow breeze riders included an accomplished gang of Irish jockeys, featuring Gary Halpin, Pat Dobbs, Andrew Slattery and Rory Cleary, while Louis Steward, who is set to ride Volcanic Sky (GB) for Saeed Bin Suroor in Saturday's Dubai Gold Cup, also took to the saddle. And for National Hunt fans of a certain vintage, there was the chance to see Norman Williamson gather up his reins again aboard two horses to be sold under his Oak Tree Farm banner. For all his success at Cheltenham and beyond, Williamson is just as well known in these circles as the vendor of War Of Will (War Front) and last season's European champion 2-year-old, Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Among his offerings in Dubai is a French-bred colt who will become the first son of Godolphin's Group 1 winner Cloth Of Stars (Ire) to be offered at a breeze-up sale. Slated as lot 29, he looked very professional in his breeze on Tuesday morning and hails from a family deep in European black type, his dam Mediteranea (Fr) being a Smart Strike half-sister to the Group/Grade 1 winner and young sire Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) as well as Listed winner Marie De Medici (Medicean {GB}).

American-sired juveniles outnumber their European counterparts in the catalogue, which intriguingly also includes a colt by Shadai stallion Daiwa Major (Jpn) out of the former champion filly Peeping Fawn (Danehill), who owns a pedigree to match her sparkling race record. A three-parts-brother to the Chesham S. winner and G1 Moyglare S. runner-up September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), he is consigned by Willie Browne's Mocklershill as lot 31.

Looking ahead to Wednesday'a main event, Henry Beeby added, “We're very hopeful. With a new venture you never know but I think the conditions we find ourselves in now, with quality horses, the interest pre-sale and at the breeze-up, it's looking in good shape.

“We are very grateful to Sheikh Rashid at the Dubai Racing Club for appointing us. It was a big vote of confidence in Goffs and we appreciate it.”

Uniquely for a Thoroughbred auction, all buyers have to pre-register and, in the style of fine art auctions, will be issued with a paddle with which to bid. The sale is set to commence at 5pm local time. At the time of writing, there have been three withdrawals (lots 7, 35 and 58). For the full catalogue and to view the breeze-up videos, please click here.

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