GISW Arklow (Arch), one of the most accomplished horses competing at the 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover at the Kentucky Horse Park this week, is adding another achievement to his resume as he advanced in the Field Hunter preliminary round under amateur rider Gina Gans, the Retired Racehorse Project said in a release late Thursday night.
The former Brad Cox trainee, who earned over $3 million during his racing career, turned in three relaxed rides over two days of competition and has made it to the weekend. The 9-year-old will have the opportunity to take part in his division's Finale Championship on Saturday.
“He's just so fun,” said Gans. “When we had the big gallop up the hill today [in the Mock Hunt], he really took a big hold of me… but when we got to the top of the hill, he stopped in the check and just looked around. I think that's really hard for a lot of Thoroughbreds to be able to turn it on and switch it off–you show him something and he gets it and he's calm and cool. The biggest difference is the brain on him. His brain being so good makes such a difference–he could do anything.”
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Friday's G2 Challenge S. heroine Matilda Picotte (Ire) (Sioux Nation), who was Classic placed earlier this year, will be offered by Clonanny Bloodstock at the upcoming Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale from Nov. 24-25. The multiple group winner will sell on Nov. 24, opening day of the sale.
A daughter of the stakes performer Hallie's Comet (Ire) (One Cool Cat), the 3-year-old filly was bred by Mighty Universe, Ltd., and raced for trainer Kieran Cotter and the Matilda & Kilmichael Racing Partnership. Placed in both the G2 Airlie Stud S. and the G2 Lowther S., she claimed the Listed “Bosra Sham” Fillies' S. at Newmarket last October. At three, she was second in the G3 “Priory Belle” 1000 Guineas Trial S., and third in the G1 1000 Guineas back in Newmarket. Third later this year in the G3 Fairy Bridge S., Matilda Picotte won the G3 Sceptre Fillies' S. before doubling up at the group level with Friday's win.
Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby said, “Matilda Picotte demonstrated real star appeal at Newmarket this afternoon and is a hugely appealing international racing and breeding prospect so we are thrilled and grateful to connections that she will take her place among the stellar lineup for this year's Goffs November Sale. We look forward to welcoming the world to Kildare Paddocks for Europe's first major breeding stock sale of the year and are excited to reveal the outstanding catalogue in the coming days.”
The Rogues Gallery's Rogue Lightning (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) will be offered at the Goffs QIPCO British Champions Day Sale prior to racing at Ascot on Saturday, Oct. 21.
Bred by Airlie Stud, the crack sprinter won the Listed Scarbrough S. over the minimum trip at Doncaster last month, prior to being a fast-finishing fifth in the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye at ParisLongchamp on Oct. 1. The 3-year-old gelding is rated 119 by Timeform.
The full catalogue for the boutique horses-in-training sale will be available on Monday and entries are still being accepted until midday on Oct. 16.
The last time the G1 Shuka Sho was staged at Kyoto Racecourse in 2020, Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) validated a quote of 1.4 (2-5) favouritism to become the fifth winner of the Japanese Fillies Triple Tiara in the modern era. Closed for two years for reconstruction, racing returned to Kyoto this spring and Sunday afternoon, the fans will pack the grandstand to watch Sunday Racing's Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) try to add her name to the list at what will be a similarly skinny price, if not shorter.
The daughter of two time Australian champion and dual Group 1 winner Yankee Rose (Aus) (All American {Aus}) is sparingly raced to date, having made just five trips to the post and having tasted defeat on only one occasion, a desperately unlucky runner-up effort to the re-opposing Ravel (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) when badly held up for a run in the G3 Artemis S. last October. Liberty Island locked up champion 2-year-old filly honours in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in December and returned to action in the Apr. 9 G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), coming from a seemingly unlikely position to defeat Kona Coast (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) (video, SC 3). The G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) was a much more straight-forward task, as Liberty Island turned on the afterburners in the final 200 metres to score by a half-dozen lengths from Harper (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and Dura (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) (see below, SC 5).
Liberty Island reportedly won the Oaks at 468kg, but was a reported 520kg when she returned to training in September. She recently tipped the scales at 490kg, but jockey Yuga Kawada remains bullish on his ride.
“I'd heard so many reports about how big she'd gotten, so I'd been thinking she was going to be too big, but she wasn't,” the leading rider commented this week. “In a good way, I found it hard to even feel the difference. She didn't feel heavy either when she started working, but since it was a week out, I did think she would improve from then.
“Since she's so talented, it's always hard to find a training partner,” he added. “This week, so call it a partner or a pacemaker, we put another horse in front and worked this one, being careful to keep her in good balance. I did feel improvement from last week.”
Dura was better than 100-1 when rallying from far back in the Oaks and went on to frank the form of the race with a one-length success when favoured in the G3 Queen S. (1800m) at Sapporo July 30.
“She had a prep that should tie in nicely with the Kyoto 2,000 meters, and physically she's much more powerful than she was in the spring,” said assistant trainer Atsushi Nishioka. “I hadn't been confident she'd do well in either the Oaks or the Queen S., but this time I'm looking forward to her performance. On top of that, I'm looking forward to seeing how close she can get to Liberty Island.”
Shadai's Masked Diva (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) is one of the more progressive types in the field, with three wins from her four starts, including a convincing 1 1/2-length success in the G2 Rose S. in her group-stakes debut last month. As of this writing, the dark bay is the second choice in the markets at better than 17-1, such is the expected dominance of Liberty Island.
Moryana (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) was well-beaten in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and was absent from the first two legs of this series, but gained a berth in the Shuka Sho with a half-length defeat of Oaks sixth Hip Hop Soul (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in the G2 Shion S. over Sunday's trip Sept. 9.
3yo filly MASKED DIVA working the Ritto chip slope this morning, considered the main rival to LIBERTY ISLAND in the G1 Shuka Sho on Sunday
Ran a world record time for 1800, / 9F winning last start
