October, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Champion Stakes Winner King Of Steel Pre-Entered In Breeders’ Cup Turf, Classic

Winner of the Champion Stakes on Saturday's British Champions Day, King of Steel may make the trip to California for the Breeders' Cup World Championships in two weeks' time. According to the Daily Racing Form, the 3-year-old son of Wootton Bassett has been pre-entered in both the Turf and the Classic.

While trainer Roger Varian is leaning toward the Turf, he has not committed to the U.S. trip. Varian told DRF he plans to wait to decide until after the colt has had several days to recover from his Champion triumph.

“We'll make a decision later in the week,” Varian said. “It's too soon. That's the reason we can't answer any questions seriously.”

King of Steel won the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier this year, was second in the G1 Epsom Derby, and ran third in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes. Overall, the colt has won three of his seven career starts for earnings of $1,725,512.

Bred in Kentucky by Bonne Chance Farm, King of Steel is out of the British-bred Eldacar (Verglas), a two-time winner in France. AMO Racing purchased King of Steel for $200,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling sale.

Saudi Arabia Beckons For Coolmore’s Carracci After 320k Sale At Tattersalls

The action revolved around Coolmore's 17-strong draft on day one of the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale where the Aidan O'Brien-trained Carracci (Quality Road) was sold to continue his career in Saudi Arabia for 320,000gns

Carracci boasted one of the most attractive profiles on offer at Tattersalls on Monday and the market agreed. Placed in a Group 3 earlier this season, Carracci was last seen finishing a respectable fourth in a listed contest at Dundalk in September.

He boasts a rating of 101 and was described by Aidan 'Mouse' O'Ryan as his pick of the sale after the bloodstock agent signed for the top lot of the opening session on behalf of Saudi interests.

O'Ryan said, “He has been bought for SBS Global and he goes to Saudi Arabia. He is my pick of the sale, I love the sire and he speaks for himself. This horse's form is good, and we were keen to get him. He should be one for the big races in Saudi in the spring.”

As well as making the frame in the G3 Irish 2,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown earlier this season, Carracci also won at two, when beating stablemate Farnborough (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in a back-end maiden at Dundalk.

Incidentally, Farnborough, who bolted up off 86 at Leopardstown on Sunday, went through the ring less than 24 hours later and sold to Hubie de Burgh and Darby Racing for 75,000gns.

Listed winner Salt Lake City (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) also formed part of the strong Coolmore draft when selling to Australian interests Domeland for 100,000gns.

All told, Coolmore sold 17 horses to the tune of 834,000gns. At close of play on Monday, the aggregate stood at 6,273,500gns, which represented a 27% drop on last year's corresponding session. The median was the same at 16,000gns while the average fell 18% to 26,810gns and the clearance rate by 5% to 84%.

Inquisitively's Owner Returns To The European Market For Wootton Bassett Colt

Fresh from a breakthrough Group 3 success with Cornwallis S. winner Inquisitively (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}), Hong Kong-based businessman and owner Sean Wee Gan returned to the European market for promising Wootton Bassett (GB) colt Rascal Recknell (Fr) at 215,000gns.

The owner, who has enjoyed plenty of success locally in Hong Kong with European imports, notably First Responder (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}), was buying through agent Sam Wright and trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy.

It was Wright who sourced Inquisitively on behalf of Sean Wee Gan. The agent has close ties with Philippart de Foy, given the pair worked together at Christophe Clement's almost a decade ago.

The trainer explained, “The plan is the same-keep him in the UK for a bit and then send him to Hong Kong. This horse is a nice big type, he looks a decent prospect. We might run him once this year, but the plan is to give him as much time as he needs.”

Philippart de Foy added, “He has a big frame and plenty of scope. I am surprised he ran in August, but he showed plenty of ability that day. He will hopefully run a couple of times next year and then head to Hong Kong next summer.”

Well-Bred Lope De Vega Filly Joins Paddy Twomey

The well-bred Firebird (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who finished second on her only start at Ayr this month in the colours of the late Sir Robert Ogden, will continue her career for Irish maestro Paddy Twomey.

Twomey secured Firebird for 260,000gns through agent Matt Coleman, who explained that the juvenile will be targeted at black-type races next season.

He said, “She goes to Paddy Twomey. We know the filly well as I looked after the late Sir Robert and Lady Ogden's horses. The filly is a good-looking sort by Lope De Vega, has always shown plenty in training, put in a promising race on her debut and, fingers crossed, she can go on to get some black-type next year.”

Firebird's half-sister Balalaika (Ire) (No Nay Never) made a pretty penny at Park Paddocks last year. She was snapped up by BBA Ireland for 330,000gns after finishing third in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot. Both fillies were trained by Rebecca Menzies.

Coleman continued, “All of the mare's runners have achieved high ratings and this year's Too Darn Hot yearling made 110,000gns. Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}), under the second dam, finished second in the Irish Oaks in July, and was a neck second to Poptronic in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes on Saturday. It is a happening family.”

Australian Buyers Land A Blow

It wouldn't be a horses-in-training sale at Tattersalls without the Australian buyers and Will Bourne, head of bloodstock for Ciaron Maher, got in on the action early when going to 140,000gns for the Jamie Railton-drafted Kings Valley (Ire) (Territories {Ire}).

Kings Valley ran four times–and placed twice–in Britain for trainer Ollie Sangster, who sourced the colt for 65,000gns at Book 3 here last year.

Bourne said, “The plan is to send him to Harry Eustace for now and then ship him straight off to Australia. He has run some really good races, he has been unlucky, he is still a maiden but he is a lightly raced two-year-old.

“He is very athletic, sound, clean-limbed, has good feet, and he ticks a lot of boxes for Ciaran. We spoke to Ciaran and videoed the horse for him and he was very keen on this horse.”

Triumph Candidate? Mullins Lands 100k Night Moon For Juvenile Hurdling

Willie Mullins and Harold Kirk played a major role at the horses-in-training sale here in July when snapping up Ethical Diamond (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) for 320,000gns and the pair were responsible for the first six-figure lot on Monday when snapping up Night Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) for 100,000gns.

Trained by David Marnane, Night Moon earned a 14lb hike when bolting up off a mark of 60 at Listowel last month and will continue his career for Ireland's dominant jumps trainer.

The sale represented a good return for Marnane and owners MRC International, who sourced the horse through the trainer's brother Con for €50,000 at the BBAG September Yearling Sale in 2021.

Marnane and MRC will offer the classy 93-rated sprinter Lady Tilbury (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) at the December Mares Sale from the same batch of yearling recruited in 2021.

Explaining the concept, Marnane said, “We put the ownership group together in 2021 with the idea of buying some yearlings and we'd like to wish Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins the best of luck with Night Moon. It's a great result for the syndicate and we look forward to offering Lady Tilbury here in December.”

Marnane continued, “We bought another batch of yearlings on behalf of the syndicate–upwards of 20–and are always open to new investors. The syndicate has enjoyed a lot of success in a short space of time and we have Jakajaro (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) to look forward to from last year's yearling crop. He is a smart colt going forward and should provide everyone with a lot of fun next season.”

Nicholls And Malone To The Fore For Golden Horn Gelding

The jumps boys were out in force on Monday and Tom Malone, buying on behalf of Paul Nicholls, snapped up proven soft-ground performer Golden Move (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) for 215,000gns.

The sale came off the back of a strong weekend for the sire. Not only did Golden Horn supply the winner of the G2 Long Distance Cup at Ascot through Trawlerman (Ire), but Cais Chorister (Fr) also landed a Group 3 in France.

Golden Move, a winner over 1m4f on soft ground, was bought on spec by Malone.

Speaking after the sale, he said, “He is a lovely animal, he looks like he stays, needs all of the trip he is running over at the minute, he goes on soft ground, is by Golden Horn, who is doing so well, and is the one we wanted today. He goes to Ditcheat and is for sale.”

Buy Of The Day

Gordon Elliott made his mark in the training ranks with bargain buys and it was Silver Birch, the horse he sourced from Paul Nicholls for £20,000, who put him on the map when landing the 2007 Grand National.

While he may be more associated with signing for six-figure point-to-pointers in recent times, Elliott proved that he still has an eye for a bargain by snapping a sister to his own classy hurdler Pied Piper (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) for just 10,000gns.

Without being privy to how Barrier (Fr) (Australia {GB}) vetted, it's hard to see an outcome where Elliott, along with agent and close friend Mouse O'Ryan, didn't find value here.

Lest we forget, Pied Piper is an extremely talented dual purpose horse who boasts an official hurdles rating of 157 and was only narrowly touched off in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket earlier this month.

He should also be a Cheltenham festival winner given Davy Russell was walking wounded when going down by just a head aboard the five-year-old in this year's County Hurdle.

There is so much more to come from Pied Piper this season and, given Constitution Hill is likely to frighten off plenty of challengers in the two-mile hurdling division, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he could sneak a place in next year's Champion Hurdle.

Regardless of what more Pied Piper can achieve, the fact remains that his little sister will retain some residual value as a broodmare being a half to a black-type hurdler while few would bet against her making her own mark in that division for Elliott.

Thought for the day

Trade wasn't exactly straightforward on Monday, which was represented in the figures, but much better can be expected on Tuesday with a strong selection of horses due into the ring on day two.

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Crystal Ocean, Sioux Nation Are England, Ireland’s Most Active Stallions Of 2023

The Weatherbys Return of Mares to Sept. 30, just published, shows the number of live foals registered to date in The General Stud Book for England and Ireland totals 13,438; up from 13,275 in 2022 and 12,920 in 2021.

There are 4,356 foals registered in Great Britain, down from 4,518 in 2022, but up from 4,282 in 2021. Ireland continues to see gains with 9,082 registered, up from 8,757 in 2022 and 8,638 in 2021. This is year's total for the two countries combined is an increase of 163 foals compared to 2022 after an increase of 355 foals from 2021 to 2022.

The total number of broodmares reported at stud in 2023 is 22,600, a decrease of 232 compared to last year after an increase of 112 between 2021 and 2022 (22,832 in 2022 and 22,720 in 2021). Of these, 2,456 were not covered of which 957 were in England and 1,499 in Ireland. There were 5,912 no returns and a total of 210 were barren.

The number of stallions increased by two in England to 113. The number of stallions standing in Ireland decreased by three to 184.

The leading stallion on number of coverings in 2023 was Crystal Ocean, from the Coolmore National Hunt roster, at 335. Behind Crystal Ocean is Sioux Nation at 289, Vadamos at 273, and Affinisea at 268.

In England, 4,356 foals were registered by Sept. 30, a decrease of 162 compared with 2022, comprising of 2,107 colts (48.37 percent) and 2,249 fillies (51.63 percent), compared with 2,248 colts (49.76 percent) and 2,270 fillies (50.24 percent) in 2022.

In Ireland 9,082 foals were registered by Sept. 30, an increase of 325 compared with 2022, comprising 4,665 colts (51.37 percent) and 4,417 fillies (48.63 percent), compared with 4,394 colts (50.18 percent) and 4,363 fillies (49.82 percent) in 2022.

A total of 6,186 mares in England were covered in 2023 to date (82.62 percent of mares reported at stud) compared with 6,610 (82.32 percent) mares on Sept. 30, 2022.

A total of 12,386 mares in Ireland were covered in 2023 to date (81.96 percent of mares reported at stud) compared with 11,398 (77 percent) mares on Sept. 30, 2022.

There were 18,572 total recorded coverings recorded in Great Britain and Ireland combined in 2023 compares with 18,008 on Sept. 30, 2022—a 3.13 percent increase.

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“A Collector’s Item,” Champion Nest Points to Fasig-Tipton November Sale

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners is proud to use the label #EclipseFillies to commemorate the long list of Grade I-winning fillies they have campaigned over the years, but one outstanding racehorse that will soon depart from their racing stable stands out above the rest.

Campaigned in partnership with Repole Stable and Michael House, reigning champion sophomore filly and three time Grade I winner Nest (Curlin – Marion Ravenwood, by A. P. Indy) took Eclipse President and Founder Aron Wellman and the rest of her connections on a journey they will not soon forget.

“There is no question that Nest has taken the queen's position at the top of the Eclipse fillies ranks,” Wellman said. “She breathes different air. The ride she has taken Eclipse and our partners, the Repole and House family, on has been nothing short of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we've all really cherished.”

Nest will be a standout for Fasig-Tipton, too, when she goes through the ring in a few weeks at the Night of the Stars sale.

“We've had the opportunity to offer some amazing broodmares and broodmare prospects in the last decade or so, from Havre de Grace to Songbird to Gamine and so forth, and this year we have another special offering in Nest,” said Fasig-Tipton's Boyd Browning. “She ranks right up there as one of the finest offerings we've had the privilege to present to the marketplace. She's like poetry in motion, watching her run. Anyone that has ever watched a horse race knows just how special she is.”

Purchased for $350,000, Nest was a yearling that Todd Pletcher just kept coming back to when he was going over his short list with the Repole team.

“Physically, she was a medium-sized filly,” Pletcher recalled of the bay bred by Ashview Farm and Colts Neck Stables. “Very good conformation with a great neck, head and shoulder, but what really stood out to me about her was her walk. If I were talking to someone saying, 'Hey, what does a horse that walks really well look like?' she would have been a terrific example.”

By Curlin and out of stakes-winning daughter of A.P. Indy, Nest was always expected to get better with age and distance. So when she came flying out of the gates as a juvenile to win by five lengths on debut and then claim the GII Demoiselle S., Wellman said her precocity was an unexpected bonus.

“To be a graded stakes winner at two as a daughter of Curlin with her pedigree, we felt like we were going into her 3-year-old season with some pretty heavy artillery,” he said.

Nest exceeded any expectations set before her last year as a sophomore as she reeled off five stakes victories, including three Grade I wins, and was named champion 3-year-old filly.

While she came just short of a Kentucky Oaks win–having come off an eight-length victory in the GI Ashland S. and settling for second behind Secret Oath (Arrogate)–her next start was one that her connections believe might be her most underrated performance.

Nest delivers an eye-popping performance in the 2022 GI Ashland S. | Coady

Although they initially planned on giving the filly some spacing before her next race following the Oaks, Nest flourished so well coming out of the race that they decided to go up against colts in the GI Belmont S. Despite stumbling at the start, she overcame a difficult trip to finish second behind stablemate Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo).

“Jose Ortiz had to really use her going into the first turn to get position, and then all the way up the backside and around the far turn she was really hemmed in behind big, burly colts,” Wellman explained. “When she did finally get clear in the stretch, it was just a little bit too late, but she leveled off like you don't see horses do. It was an extraordinary performance even in defeat.”

“What really impressed me was how she came out of the Belmont,” added Pletcher. “We've run quite a few horses in the Belmont over the years and I don't think I've ever had a horse run really well in the Belmont and then just thrive afterwards. She bounced out of the race really quickly and it set her up for two big performances at Saratoga.”

Nest's victories in the GI Coaching Club America Oaks, which she won by over 12 lengths and earned a career-high 104 Beyer Speed Figure, was followed up with another dominating Grade I score in the Alabama.

Nest gets a third Grade I score in the Alabama | Sarah Andrew

“It gives me chills to think about those moments,” Wellman said. “I was able to sit back and appreciate just how incredible of a filly she was and what she was doing for the business in gaining so many fans and what she was doing for my family, the Repole family, the House family, and of course all the Eclipse partners that are so privileged to be associated with her.”

“She displayed an ability you don't see very often of being able to really quicken and finish on the dirt,” explained Pletcher. “She has a high cruising speed, but it's not very often that you see any horse be able to accelerate on the dirt like she has been able to.”

This year, Nest's 4-year-old campaign was delayed due to an early setback from a fever and it was recently announced that she will miss the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, but her connections still celebrated a productive season with a win in the GII Shuvee S. and yet another Grade I placing in the Personal Ensign.

The chapter of her career with Eclipse will come to a close when the 4-year-old sells on Nov. 7 at Fasig-Tipton, going through the ring with Highgate Sales as Hip 163.

“Of course we would love to keep her ourselves, but the economics of the business do not allow for our operation to do that,” explained Wellman. “Emotions will be running high come the Night of the Stars, without question. It's such a privilege and honor, and it's so humbling, to know that Nest will be well represented and looked after there at the Newtown Paddocks at Fasig-Tipton. The eyes of the world will be on her that night and it will be an exclamation point on what has been a career on the racetrack of constant exclamation points.”

Nest's siblings have helped boost her pedigree since she was purchased as a yearling three years ago. Her full-brother Idol won the 2021 GI Santa Anita H. and now stands at Taylor Made and her 3-year-old half-brother Lost Ark (Violence) just won the Jockey Club Derby Invitational S. in his last start on Oct. 7.

“I think anyone interested in having one of the top, top fillies of her generation,” Pletcher responded when asked about who Nest might appeal to on the eve of her sale. “It's a remarkable pedigree and a terrific cross with Curlin over A.P. Indy. It has worked so well many times. If you're looking for a broodmare prospect, this is as good as it gets.”

“When you look at Nest's potential as a broodmare, it's truly remarkable,” added Browning. “Not only is she by Curlin, who speaks for himself as a brilliant stallion, but you go through her pedigree and you've got the influence of Quiet American, Nureyev and A.P. Indy. The potential there is enormous and the possibilities are limitless. She's going to go to someone who is looking for the highest quality–a collector's item–to add to their broodmare band.”

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