July, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Earthworms And Rhodococcus Equi: What’s The Connection?

Rhodococcus equi is a bacterium that can cause severe pneumonia in foals. Shed in the feces of infected horses, pigs, and wild boars, it can survive in the soil and is often acquired when foals inhale it, reports The Horse.

A group of scientists in Japan thought there might be one additional critical reservoir that thus far has been missed in the R. equi life cycle: earthworms. Dr. Shinji Takai of the Laboratory of Animal Hygiene at Kitasato University School of Veterinary Medicine, reported that earthworms ingest R. equi with the soil the eat; the bacteria then reproduce abundantly in the worms' digestive system before being released back into the soil through the earthworm's feces.

Dr. Takai notes that the anaerobic state of the earthworm's intestines makes it favorable for the bacteria to reproduce.

Dr. Takai and other scientists took soil samples from two breeding farm pastures, pig pens, the school's forest, and forest and orange groves where wild boars live in Japan. They found R. equi in the digestive content of 170 earthworms and in 47 soil samples.

They then compared the amounts of bacteria in the upper and lower gut of 23 earthworms. They found that R. equi was nearly 40 times more abundant in the lower gut than in the surrounding soil, supporting the idea that the bacterium proliferates in the worm's digestive tract. The bacteria do not appear to infect the worms, but the worms are keeping the bacteria in the soil active.

This doesn't mean that farms should try to eliminate earthworms on their farm, Dr. Takai stresses. The most successful management of the disease is the removal of feces of infected foals, which will reduce the amount of R. equi that earthworms can ingest and put back into the soil.

Baaeed Casts A Long Shadow In The Sussex

Twelve months on from the confirmation of his potency in the G3 Thoroughbred S. at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, Shadwell's Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) returns to the famous Downs as a relative giant as he pursues ever higher ground in Wednesday's G1 Qatar Sussex S. at Goodwood. While his tally of four straight Group 1 wins–in the Prix du Moulin, the QEII, the Lockinge and Queen Anne–is highly commendable, it is still shy of the five achieved by the likes of Dubai Millennium (GB), Enable (GB), Giant's Causeway and St Mark's Basilica (Fr). By the end of the year, it is not inconceivable that he could be matching the seven of this race's 2002 hero Rock of Gibraltar (Ire), even if the nine of Frankel (GB) looks out of reach.

Comparisons with Frankel were being bandied about prior to the June 14 Queen Anne, but his performance there failed to satisfy that on a visual basis. Time-wise, it was the meeting's key moment, however, with startling final sectionals placing him in a league of his own. Running the final two furlongs faster than the King's Stand winner Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}), he was quicker even than Battaash (Ire) had been over the same last quarter mile in the King's Stand in 2020. This is a fast animal and William Haggas's quip that he could win a July Cup was actually close to the mark.

Angus Gold is not being complacent, however. “As far as I know everything is good, he worked very nicely last week and I think they've been happy since, so you can but hope. There's some very good horses in the race and as we saw in the King George on Saturday, you can never take anything for granted,” he said. “It's possibly not his ideal track, but you could say that about a lot of them so I don't see that as a reason for him not to win if he's in good form and gets a good run through the race.”

Connections already have their sights trained on the G1 Juddmonte International at York Aug. 17. “He's done all his winning at a mile and he's shown he's got the speed and the class to win Group 1s at a mile,” Gold added. “For me, it's going to be more interesting to see whether he can be versatile and carry that speed over a mile and a quarter. I know William felt it was too big a gap between Ascot and York and as he rightly said, they're here to race these horses so that's why he's going to Goodwood.”

A Free Hit

Tuesday's G2 Lennox S. win of Sandrine (GB) (Bobby's Kitten) proved that the Andrew Balding stable is in hot form and Baaeed's biggest concern could come from Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never), who has nothing to lose tackling the favourite bidding for back-to-back renewals at a track that plays to her strengths. Very few horses can win this and a July Cup, but that is what she did at Newmarket July 9 where she put upwards of 1 1/2 lengths between her and the Platinum Jubilee crew led by Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). “It took her a couple of runs to find her feet this year, but she's in great form and she looks very well,” Balding said. “She won the race last year and while this looks a very strong renewal, it wasn't a bad one when she beat Poetic Flare. At Goodwood it's not always enough to be the best horse, as you need luck too. We wouldn't want to win that way, but it's a horse race at the end of the day.”

Game Changer

While the loss of Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) from this picture is a blow to Godolphin, it is worth remembering that Charlie Appleby houses the three winners of the English, Irish and French 2000 Guineas and he still has one of them engaged in Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). While the form of his success in the May 15 G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp has yet to be seriously boosted, it is early days and this return to a mile on a fast course should see him in a positive light. “He can do it every which way and can adapt, plus the draw in one is a positive,” jockey William Buick said on Tuesday. “Everyone has to respect Baaeed and rightly so, as he's a fantastic horse and is obviously going to be very hard to beat.”

Appleby added, “The step back up in trip is going to suit him and the quick ground will also be in his favour. He loves it rattling fast. He's a very classy colt, he's a multiple Group 1 winner and a sharp track such as Goodwood will pose no problem when you recall how he handled Del Mar. He will give a good account of himself.”

Rocket Powered?

Goodwood's action on Wednesday also includes a pair of Group 3 contests, with the 2-year-olds lining up for the five-furlong Markel Molecomb S. and the fillies and mares set for the seven-furlong Whispering Angel Oak Tree S. Victorious Racing's June 15 Listed Windsor Castle S. runner-up and July 1 Listed Dragon S. winner Rocket Rodney (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}) is back over the course and distance over which he opened his account in style Apr. 29 and ticks all the boxes, but the lurker could be Rockcliffe Stud's impressive July 15 Newbury maiden scorer Trillium (GB) (No Nay Never). “She's a very good filly who stepped up from her first run to her second when bolting up at Newbury in fine style,” Trillium's trainer Richard Hannon said on his Unibet blog. “That was over six furlongs, but she's got a fantastic turn of foot so I'm not worried about going down to five furlongs and she receives a bit of weight as well for being a filly.” Al Shaqab Racing have a habit of plundering the Oak Tree, with three wins between 2015 and 2017 with French raiders and are here again with the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained June 12 Listed Prix Volterra winner Samahram (Fr) (Sea The Moon {Ger}).

Nashwa Faces Eight In Nassau

Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau S. has attracted nine, with Hollie Doyle keen to renew her partnership with Imad Al Sagar's G1 Prix de Diane heroine Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}). This is one of the weaker renewals on paper in recent times, with the May 29 G1 Prix d'Ispahan winner Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and the May 12 G2 Middleton Fillies' S. scorer Lilac Road (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) key among the older brigade. “Nashwa is just unreal and she's getting better and better,” her rider told QIPCO British Champions Series. “Every time I sit on her between races she's improved again. I rode a piece of work on her last week which was very similar to the work we did before France and she's bigger and stronger once again, and better than ever.”

Click here for the group fields.

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European Star Golden Horn Sold To Stand At Overbury Stud

Golden Horn, Europe's 2015 Horse of the Year, has been sold privately to Jayne McGivern's Dash Grange Stud, and he will be relocated to stand at Overbury Stud in Gloucestershire, England, Racing Post reports.

The 10-year-old son of Cape Cross stood the first seven seasons of his stallion career at Darley's Dalham Hall Stud in England. Blandford Bloodstock brokered the deal.

Though his stud career has been best known for siring runners on the flat, he has also had some success siring National Hunt runners; the specialty of Dash Grange Stud. Of his 22 National Hunt runners, 21 have won or placed, including Group 2 winner Stag Horn.

On the flat, Golden Horn's runners are led by West End Girl, winner of the G3 Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket, and Group 2-placed Golden Pass and Diamantis.

“His statistics make for very fine reading to date,” Overbury Stud manager Simon Sweeting told Racing Post. “As well as ten group or listed winners including 28 stakes performers on the flat, he has also made a fine start to his career as a jumps sire with his first crop 5-year-olds.”

Golden Horn won seven of nine starts, never finishing worse than second, and he earned $6,598,454.

He earned the the Cartier Horse of the Year award as Europe's top runner of 2015 on a campaign that included victories in the Group 1 Investec Derby, Coral-Eclipse Stakes, Irish Champion Stakes, and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He also finished second in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland.

Redesdale Sires First Winner

N Y Riesling became the first winner for his New York-based freshman sire Redesdale (Speightstown) Tuesday at Finger Lakes. He was a well-beaten eighth on debut behind a 'TDN Rising Star' performance from next-out GIII Sanford S. third Andiamo a Firenze (Speightstown), a half-brother to GISW Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior), at Belmont June 3. Favored at 6-5 as part of an entry while facing easier company, the chestnut went straight to the front, ticking off a :22.97 opening quarter. Showing the way into the lane, N Y Riesling kept on finding, edging clear of Bobby Ride (Central Banker) for a 1 1/2-length graduation. The winner has a yearling half-sister by Solomini.

2nd-Finger Lakes, $32,100, Msw, 7-26, 2yo, 5f, 1:00.43, ft, 1 1/2 lengths.
N Y RIESLING (c, 2, Redesdale–El Coyote, by A.P. Indy) Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $20,010. Click for the Equibase.com chart.
O-Dixon, Linda K. and Alejandro, Hector M.; B-Hidden Lake Farm LLC (NY); T-Linda K. Dixon.

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