Month: July 2023

Lope De Vega’s La Filomena Anchors Trade At Arqana

The second and final day of the Arqana Summer Sale featured both breeding stock and horses in training, and it was one of the latter contingent, La Filomena (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 480), who proved the most expensive at €395,000 on a bid from Stuart Boman of Blandford Bloodstock on behalf of Speriamo Bloodstock's Larry Young.

Offered by Jean-Claude Rouget, who led the way as a vendor during the second day with six sold for a gross of €734,000, the George Kent-bred 3-year-old filly placed at two and has won twice from three starts at three for Peter Brant's White Birch Farm. The full-sister to stakes winner and Group 3-placed Epic Poet (Ire) was also third in the Listed Prix Melisande at ParisLongchamp in June. Under the second dam is three-time Group 1 winner and new Darley stallion Perfect Power (Ire) (Ardad {Ire}).

Boman said of the 210,000gns Tattersalls December foal turned 310,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling, “She's a lovely filly with a great pedigree. This type of filly is hard to find. She is lightly raced and has already shown herself at listed level. Her sire is a good stallion and she hails from a great family that we know well as we bought Perfect Power.”

 

AQPS gelding Jamaico (Fr) (Cokoriko {Fr}) brought €310,000 from Hubert Barbe's Horse Racing Advisory, Thursday's leading buyer, who signed for two lots for a total of €400,000. Consigned by Emmanuel Clayeux, lot 505 has won once over jumps at Auteuil this year and was bred by the Cypres family.

“I've bought him for Caroline Tisdall who has horses in training with David Pipe,” said Barbe. “She really wants to have a good chaser that could run at all the big meetings. He has everything going for him. He made a really nice comeback in a bumper at the beginning of the season and still has a lot of improvement in him. We had to battle a bit to get him, so we are very happy.”

 

 

Full Of Shade (Fr) (No Risk At All {Fr}) (lot 495), another horse from the jumps sphere, went to Pierre Boulard of PB Bloodstock, Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins for €280,000. Consigned by Ballyreddin and Busherstown, the placed 4-year-old filly is a half-sister to graded winner The Reader (Fr) (Lando {Ger}) and listed scorer Vintage (Fr) (Nickname {Fr}).

Boulard said, “She's a lovely mare by No Risk At All, a stallion that we think a lot of. We're really happy with our purchase.”

 

No Risk At All also featured as the covering sire of lot 290, Sideralis (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}), the sale's top-priced broodmare. The Haras de la Vallee-consigned mare went to Jean-Christian Raymond and Thomas Maudet for €145,000.

“Her pedigree speaks for itself,” Raymond said. “She's a daughter of Kapgarde, a very good broodmare sire, and she's in foal to an excellent stallion in No Risk At All. Maurice Rohaut, his son Francois and Jean-Marie Mercier introduced me to Thoroughbreds. She is my eighth mare and I'm very happy.”

The Aga Khan's homebred Hamsiyann (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 473) caught the eye of Toby Jones for €250,000. Part of the Aga Khan Studs' draft, the son of Harasiya (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) won a 2300-metre race at Tarbes in June in the colours of his breeder, his second victory in six starts. He is from the family of G3 Prix de Guiche winner Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who was runner-up in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club.

“He'll join Tony Martin in Ireland,” said Toby Jones. “He's a lovely horse and I really liked the way he won on his last start.”

 

Fabrice Vermeulen's Mqse De Maintenon (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) (lot 487) brought €185,000 from David Hilton and Oakgrove Stud. The dual winner was placed in the Listed Prix des Lilas this term and is a half-sister to the multiple group-placed Shamardal filly Grecian Light (Ire).

“We're delighted,” said Hilton, who manages Oakgrove. “It's a family that we know well and we're very pleased to support it once again. The filly is very talented and I think she still has a lot to offer. We have a good programme for fillies in England and we can't wait to see her race there.”

 

During Thursday's session, 164 sold of 189 offered (86.7%) for a gross of €5,742,000. The average declined fractionally to €35,012 (-1.8%) and the median rose to €14,000 (+27.3%). For the sale as a whole, 346 sold of 411 through the ring (84.2%) for a gross of €11,833,750. The average was €34,202 (-0.6%) and the median was €20,000 (+25%). Guy Petit was the top buyer by aggregate, with five purchased for a total of €453,000 during the two-day stand. The Channel Consignment filled that same role among the consignors, with 22 sold for a gross of €1,435,000.

Arqana President Eric Hoyeau and Executive Director Freddy Powell said, “The two days of sales came to a close with very good results across the board. After an exceptional sale last year, it was sustained across all categories with strong demand for the top-of-the-range profiles, such as the historic top price achieved during the stores section yesterday for a son of Zarak (Fr) offered from The Channel Consignment that was bought for €240,000 by Guy Petit. As usual, we would like to extend our warmest thanks to our vendors, as well as to the many buyers who made the trip to Deauville. We will now turn our attention to August, which this year will host the first edition of the Arqana Series on the eve of the August Sale.”

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Born To Rock Steps Out At Sandown

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features 'TDN Rising Star' Born To Rock (Ire) (Soldier's Call {GB}).

14.30 Sandown, Listed, £40,000, 2yo, 5f 10yT
BORN TO ROCK (IRE) (Soldier's Call {GB}) was denied the chance to sport her TDN Rising Star badge in the G2 Queen Mary S., but is back in action to prove her emphatic Yarmouth debut was no aberration. Laurence Holder's Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained relative of the GIII Miesque S. winner More Than Love (More Than Ready) faces six peers in this Dragon S.

 

15.40 Sandown, Novice, £15,000, 2yo, 7fT
ARABIAN CROWN (FR) (Dubawi {Ire}), a €600,000 Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale graduate, bids to keep up the Charlie Appleby momentum and augment the yard's current strike rate of around 40% with its juveniles. A half-brother to the dual G2 Prix de Royallieu winner The Juliet Rose (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), he encounters a fellow newcomer of note in Juddmonte's Starlore (GB) (Kingman {GB}), a Sir Michael Stoute-trained son of the GII New York S. winner Starformer (Dynaformer) who is responsible for the big-earning stakes-winning stalwart Flavius (War Front) and the dual graded-stakes-placed Oyster Box (Tapit).

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Economic Indicators: Wagering Falls In June For Fifth Time In Six Months

For the fifth time in six months in 2023, wagering on U.S. races was down from the corresponding month in 2022, according to Equibase. Declines in June can be blamed in part on numerous cancellations, some the result of poor air quality created by Canadian wildfires and some due to extreme weather.

For the month of June, wagering fell by 4.05 percent on 9.35 percent fewer race days and and 8.76 percent fewer races. With field size up marginally in June and the number of races down, the average amount wagered per race increased by 10.35 percent from June 2022.

Total purses in June were down but average available purses per race day increased by 10.35 percent. Equibase included a new metric for this month's economic indicator report: in addition to aggregate purses, which is now listed as “purses available,” the monthly reports will also include the actual purses paid out (“purses paid”). The discrepancy can be caused by available purses in some states including state-bred purse enhancements that are not always paid out, depending on where the winning horses were bred.

Second quarter and year-to-date wagering statistics also show declines across the board, with year-to-date wagering down 3.00 percent, fractionally more than the 2.87 percent drop in races run. On the plus side, both available and paid U.S. purses year-to-date are up despite the declines in wagering, with average available purses jumping by 9.46 percent per race day. Average field size for the year, 7.38 runners per race, is up 1.88 percent from the first six months of 2022.

The biggest day of the month was June 10, when the New York Racing Association reported $118,283,455 in wagering on the Belmont Stakes program – a record high for a non-Triple Crown attempt.

The only month this year that has generated higher handle compared with corresponding months in 2022 was March, when wagering, races and race days all increased.

June 2023 vs. June 2022
Indicator June 2023 June 2022 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $934,855,612 $974,337,208 -4.05%
U.S. Purses (Available) $110,957,092 $115,387,638 -3.84%
U.S. Purses (Paid) $107,230,717 $110,913,314 -3.32%
U.S. Race Days 388 428 -9.35%
U.S. Races 3,061 3,355 -8.76%
U.S. Starts 21,521 23,258 -7.47%
Average Field Size 7.03 6.93 +1.42%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,409,422 $2,276,489 +5.84%
Average Available Purses Per Race Day $285,972 $259,143 +10.35%
 2nd QTR 2023 vs. 2nd QTR 2022
Indicator 2nd QTR 2023 2nd QTR 2022 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $3,374,251,997 $3,467,438,817 -2.69%
U.S. Purses (Available) $332,698,719 $343,975,925 -3.28%
U.S. Purses (Paid) $320,777,855 $331,096,968 -3.12%
U.S. Race Days 1,039 1,122 -7.40%
U.S. Races 8,437 9,102 -7.31%
U.S. Starts 60,826 63,868 -4.76%
Average Field Size 7.21 7.02 +2.74%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $3,247,596 $3,090,409 +5.09%
Average Available Purses Per Race Day $320,211 $295,095 +8.51%

 

YTD 2023 vs. YTD 2022
Indicator YTD 2023 YTD 2022 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $6,074,478,517 $6,262,619,225 -3.00%
U.S. Purses (Available) $598,797,368 $588,728,263 +1.71%
U.S. Purses (Paid) $576,368,032 $567,057,608 +1.64%
U.S. Race Days 1,861 1,929 -3.53%
U.S. Races 15,414 15,870 -2.87%
U.S. Starts 113,805 115,014 -1.05%
Average Field Size 7.38 7.25 +1.88%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $3,264,094 $3,246,563 +0.54%
Average Available Purses Per Race Day $321,761 $293,965 +9.46%

 * Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.

The post Economic Indicators: Wagering Falls In June For Fifth Time In Six Months appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Purses Increased For 2023-2024 Meydan Racing Season As More Changes Announced

Purses will rise 27% during the 2023-2024 Dubai racing season at Meydan Racecourse, the Dubai Racing Club announced earlier this week.

The new minimum purse of AED165,000 will be for non-stakes races, while all Group 1 races will be increased to a purse of at least AED1 million. The prize-money of $30.5 million on Dubai World Cup night will remain unchanged. In addition, all Meydan cards will feature nine races except for the first two.

Other changes revealed by the DRC include two new feature race nights: Festive Friday on Dec. 22 and Fashion Friday on Jan. 26, while Super Saturday will be held on Mar. 2, and Dubai World Cup night is set for Mar. 30. Racing at Meydan begins on Friday, Nov. 10.

“The DRC management and board have decided to reshape racing in Dubai, to improve sustainability in line with what is happening in the region,” said Major General Dr. Mohammed Essa Al Adhab, Executive Director of Dubai Racing Club. “Today, many countries are going along with Dubai and the UAE by using racing to showcase their development, a journey which Dubai started much earlier.

“The Dubai Racing Carnival has now become the whole season. Horses can now come to Dubai from the start of the season until the Dubai World Cup.”

Stephanie Cooley, International Manager for DRC, added, “From an international perspective, we still have our quarantine facilities, plus trainers also have the option of shifting over to a local stable. It's a more condensed season but we have retained all of the feature races and aligned them more with some of the bigger races in the region.”

British horses will also now have more travel options when visiting the Middle East.

“Horses trained in the UK have the option of 90 days temporary import, with the option of going in and out,” said Erwan Charpy, Advisor to the DRC. “They can also come on a permanent import and go back with a 30-day quarantine or go back as temporary import. There are discussions to get England to line up with the regulations in the European Union, as since Brexit there is almost no problem with horses going back to the EU without quarantine on a permanent import.

“The import certificate was previously just for the Dubai Racing Club, but now it is for the Middle East, which allows for more freedom of movement.”

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