Category: Horse Racing News

Moscato Aims for Sweet Win in A. P. Smithwick

The spring steeplechase season was compressed by the coronavirus pandemic into 21 races at two June race meets, but it had some sweet moments.

Perhaps none was as satisfying as the GIII Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase H. victory by Bruton Street-US’s Moscato (GB) (Hernando {Fr}), named after the sweet Italian wine. Moscato will have an opportunity to make his season even sweeter in Saratoga Race Course’s GI A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase H. Thursday.

Second in the weights to Rosbrian Farm’s Optimus Prime (Fr) (Deportivo {Fr}), 9-year-old Moscato very likely will be favored in the 2 1/16-mile Smithwick off his 11-length victory in the Temple Gwathmey June 13.

The victory was everything that was expected of Moscato since his arrival in leading trainer Jack Fisher’s barn in early 2017. Bred by Kirsten Rausing and formerly trained by Oliver Sherwood, Moscato bolted through the novice division with three New York stakes victories and was American jump racing’s leading earner going into the fall season.

Fisher and the Bruton Street partners-Maryland neighbors Charles Fenwick Jr., Mike Hankin, and Charles Noell entered Moscato for the GI Grand National, but he was scratched on the eve of the Far Hills, N.J., race with an injury that kept him off the racecourse for all of 2018.

He won his comeback race, the 2019 Temple Gwathmey, but did not return to the winner’s circle until his repeat victory last month.

In between, he was unplaced only once, an eighth-place finish in Belmont Park’s GI Lonesome Glory H. behind Wendy Hendriks’ Surprising Soul (Perfect Soul {Ire}), the likely pacesetter in Thursday’s Smithwick.

Bruton Street also entered Pravalaguna (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}), a front-running mare formerly trained by Willie Mullins. Shipped in for last fall’s Far Hills meet, she demolished an overmatched group of fillies and mares in the Peapack S.

The 8-year-old has not started since the Peapack. Fisher also entered Riverdee Stable’s Gibralfaro (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}), who found a sweet spot in the International Gold Cup’s GII David L. “Zeke” Ferguson Memorial Hurdle S. last October.

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Breeders’ Cup Turf Winner Magician Relocated To Italy

Magician, the winner of the 2013 Breeders' Cup Turf and Irish 2,000 Guineas, has been relocated once again, this time to stand in Italy, according to the French racing publication Jour de Galop.

A farm and fee will be determined later for the 10-year-old son of Galileo, whose career will be managed by the partnership of Mattia Cadrobbi, Marco Bozzi and Guido Berardelli.

Magician began his stallion career in 2015 at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., and he was relocated to Coolmore's Castlehyde Stud in Ireland prior to the completion of the 2018 breeding season. He was then moved to Haras de Corlay in France in 2019, where he stood for two seasons.

The stallion's oldest foals are 4-year-olds of 2020, led by Chilean Group 1-placed Calmate, English Group 2-placed Cardini, and stakes winner Miss My Rose.

Magician won four of 15 starts during his racing career for earnings of $2,580,402. His strongest campaign came at age three, in which he won the English G3 Dee Stakes as a prep for a score in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. He finished his sophomore campaign with a half-length triumph in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita Park.

At four, Magician picked up a win in the Irish G3 Mooresbridge Stakes, and finished second in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, Prince of Wales's Stakes, and Arlington Million.

Magician is out of the Group 3-placed stakes-winning Mozart mare Absolutelyfabulous, making him a full-brother to Grade 3 winner Apple Betty and Grade 1-placed stakes winner Outstanding.

Multiple European classic winner Henrythenavigator is in his extended family, along with Irish champion Listen, Group 1 winner Sequoyah, and Group 3 winner Queen Cleopatra.

The post Breeders’ Cup Turf Winner Magician Relocated To Italy appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Longines Irish Champions Weekend to Be Held Without Spectators

The Longines Irish Champions Weekend, held Sept. 12-13, will take place behind closed doors, the Longines Irish Champions Weekend Committee confirmed on Wednesday. The committee’s recommendation, which was made as the COVID-19 pandemic continues,  was approved by the Board of Horse Racing Ireland at their July meeting on Monday, July 20. The Sept. 12 card at Leopardstown features the G1 Irish Champion S., and G1 Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron S. The Curragh plays host on the second day, with four Group 1 races on tap: the Comer Group International Irish St Leger, the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S., the Moyglare Stud S. and the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five S.

“With less than eight weeks to go before Longines Irish Champions Weekend, it was the committee’s view that this was the optimum time to give people certainty,” said HRI Racecourses Chief Executive Paul Dermody. “It is a great shame that our feature weekend of Flat racing will not be enjoyed by racegoers in person this September, but we will ensure a warm welcome for everybody when they return next year. In the meantime, we will be refunding all of those who availed of early-bird and advance ticket offers. We will now focus our attention on providing racing fans with a brilliant at-home experience.”

Added Harry McCalmont, Chairman of the Longines Irish Champions Weekend Committee, “We had dearly hoped that circumstances would allow us have racegoers back on the racecourse for Longines Irish Champions Weekend but that doesn’t look at all likely so it is best to make a call on it now. It is a great pity, but we still have a wonderful weekend of racing to look forward to. The committee would like to take the opportunity to thank the sponsors of all races for their loyalty and we look forward with interest to see the array of horses that will line up at Leopardstown and The Curragh.”

It was also announced on Wednesday that the seven-day Listowel Harvest Festival from Sept. 20-26 would also be conducted without spectators. The Listowel Race Company Committee met on Tuesday evening, and, after consulting with Horse Racing Ireland, decided to hold the festival behind closed doors. The Guinness Kerry National is the featured highlight.

Pat Healy, Chairman of Listowel Race Company, said, “In these unprecedented times, and in line with Government guidelines, the Listowel Race Company has made the extremely difficult decision to race behind closed doors, this means the event will not be open to the general public this year. The health and safety of everyone is our number one priority and with crowd restrictions in place, it would be very difficult for us to run the festival, as it attracts significant numbers of visitors to Listowel each year.”

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