Above The Curve | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Curragh: “She’s Ready to Rock and Roll.” Is Pretty Polly-Bound Via Sistina the Real Deal?

Very few elite contests are won in the style that Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) displayed in last month's G2 Dahlia S., but Becky Hillen's star mare has to do it again at the next level in Saturday's G1 Yulong Pretty Polly S. at The Curragh. Granted more ease in the ground, trainer George Boughey is intent on pitching her against the best of the Irish in the 10-furlong test. “I've never seen her look so well and she's been training super, so it's all systems go as long we get a little bit more rain,” the trainer said of the former Joseph Tuite-trained 5-year-old, who signed off last season with a win in the G3 Prix Fille de l'Air. “She's travelled over good and she's ready to rock and roll. It's been the plan for a while and we look forward to taking them on.”

Joseph O'Brien, who was responsible for two of the last four winners, saddles TDN Rising Star Above The Curve (American Pharoah), who took all of the attention away from Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) when winning last month's G2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud. Last year's G1 Prix Saint-Alary winner is one of two Coolmore hopes alongside Ballydoyle's Never Ending Story (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) who is backed up 13 days after after her second in the G1 Prix de Diane at Chantilly.

Al Riffa In International Return…
It has taken a while, but Jassim Bin Ali Al Attiyah's G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. winner Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is back in action in the G3 Paddy Power International S. on the Pretty Polly undercard. Not sighted since winning the track's juvenile feature in September, he is giving Joseph O'Brien all the right vibes as he faces another long-absent colt in Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Alfred Munnings (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), last seen finishing a disappointing sixth in the Listed Chesham S. at last year's Royal Ascot.
While Alfred Munnings has to dust off the cobwebs, stablemate and fellow TDN Rising Star Matrika (Ire) (No Nay Never) is back just eight days after her runner-up finish in the Royal meeting's G3 Albany S. as she takes in the G2 Airlie Stud S. Three of Aidan O'Brien's last four winners of this had also been in action in Berkshire, but if this proves too quick a turnaround it may be that it benefits another with Coolmore involvement in the Joseph O'Brien-trained Grand Job (Justify) who was second in Matrika's course-and-distance maiden last month.

Return Acts At Newmarket…
The July Course's season got underway on Thursday and the action there on Saturday is not to be missed, with Charlie Appleby taking the wraps off last year's G3 Gordon S. winner and promoted G1 St Leger runner-up New London (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Listed Fred Archer S. “New London has had wind surgery since his last run and we have been very pleased with him at home,” his trainer said. “He has been for two racecourse gallops and this looks a good starting point for a campaign that should progress through the summer and into the autumn.”

The Fred Archer also sees the comeback of Shadwell's talented Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who looks to become the latest in a sequence to defy a lengthy lay-off having been sidelined since his win in Ascot's Listed Buckhounds S. last May. Interestingly, William Haggas also brings back another of Sheikha Hissa's stars missing in action of late in Aldaary (GB) (Territories {Ire}) in the card's G3 Criterion S.

“We need soft ground for Aldaary, I declared him when it was raining,” Haggas said of last year's impressive Listed Spring Trophy winner who has been off for the same 420-day stretch as Al Aasy. “The ground is on the slow side at Newmarket, but whether that remains the case we'll see. We can make a decision as late as we need to, but as long as it's not fast I'd say he'll probably run because he needs to get going. Al Aasy is the same, he likes a bit of cut in the ground, but he needs to start. They've both been training well, so I'm hopeful they'll run well.”

In the fixture's opening Listed Maureen Brittain Memorial Empress Fillies' S., Charlie Appleby tests the waters with TDN Rising Star Star Of Mystery (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) who dazzled at Haydock 16 days ago. She faces Ballylinch Stud's What A Question (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), a key member of the Charlie Johnston juvenile academy who was impressive at Goodwood on her debut a day after her Godolphin rival.

The post The Curragh: “She’s Ready to Rock and Roll.” Is Pretty Polly-Bound Via Sistina the Real Deal? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Newcastle: Nashwa Looking to Get Back on Track in the Hoppings

Friday sees an above-average renewal of Newcastle's G3 Hoppings Fillies' S. as Imad Al Sagar's G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Nassau S. heroine Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) looks to start her 2023 campaign in earnest on the Tapeta. Disappointing when too fresh in the G2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud last month, the Gosdens have opted to go back to basics with one of the cream of last year's TDN Rising Stars. This is no foregone conclusion with Shadwell's G2 Dahlia S. runner-up and Listed Rothesay S. winner Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in attendance, while the extended 10-furlong trip could bring out the best in another TDN Rising Star, last year's G1 Fillies' Mile third Bright Diamond (Ire) (El Kabeir).

Al Sagar's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe is hoping for a return to form from Nashwa. “She had hard races in the Opera and at the Breeders' Cup and really needed her first run back in the Prix Corrida,” he explained. “We wanted her to hopefully get back to her level with the plan then possibly being to head to the Nassau. Imad has shown patience, these fillies pretty much tell us when they are ready so it is a question of hopefully getting everything lined up in the right order.”

Weekend Action Shapes Up…
Ahead of what promises to be an intriguing three days of action, The Curragh's G1 Yulong Pretty Polly S. will see nine fillies and mares in the line-up including Coolmore's 2022 G1 Prix Saint-Alary-winning TDN Rising Star Above The Curve (American Pharoah) and the highly impressive G2 Dahlia S. winner Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) from the George Boughey stable. The draw was also made for Sunday's G1 Deutsches Derby at Hamburg, with Gestut Karlshof's Straight (Ger) (Zarak {Fr}) in pole position after his five-length dismissal of TDN Rising Star Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}) in Cologne's G2 Union-Rennen earlier this month. He is drawn in eight, with Wanja Soren Oberhof and Sebastian Weiss's Mr Hollywood, who had previously won Munich's G3 Bavarian Classic, in stall four. Liberty Racing 2021's G3 Baden-Baden Derby-Trial winner Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) has stall 16 to contend with, but six of the last 10 winners of the Classic were coming from double-figure stalls including his sire who was drawn 15 in 2014.

The post Newcastle: Nashwa Looking to Get Back on Track in the Hoppings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Above The Curve Makes All For Prix Corrida Triumph, Nashwa Eclipsed In Fourth

Last term's G1 Prix Saint-Alary and G2 Blandford S. heroine Above The Curve (American Pharoah–Fabulous {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) encountered stellar opposition in Sunday's G2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud and halted a three-race losing streak with a pillar-to-post victory in the 10 1/2-furlong contest.

Coolmore and Westerberg's 'TDN Rising Star' was undone by Saint-Alary runner-up Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and the reopposing Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) when third in October's G1 Prix de l'Opera before running seventh in both November's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and this month's G2 Mooresbridge S. on seasonal return last time.

The eventual winner was swiftly into stride and held sway at a comfortable pace. In command throughout, the 47-10 chance was shaken up when threatened at the top of the straight and stayed on relentlessly under a drive inside the final quarter-mile to hit the line strong with a two-length buffer from Mqse De Sevigne (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}). German raider India (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) kept on well to finish one length adrift third while 'TDN Risng Star' Nashwa, who held every chance turning for home, faded out of contention in the latter stages and finished another 1 1/4 lengths back in fourth.

“I am delighted to win this race for Joseph O'Brien and in these famous silks too,” said Maxime Guyon. “We used to ride together and know each other very well indeed. He said that she is a very straightforward filly with a huge action and to go on if nobody wanted the lead. She travelled beautifully and quickened well. She had the race in the bag quite early.”

Hollie Doyle, reflecting on a satisfactory return to action for G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Nassau S. heroine Nashwa, added, “She's a big, burly mare and I think she just got tired. She's grown a lot and has put on a lot of weight. She had a busy year last year and was coming back off her first proper break. She probably needed the run and I think she'll come on for it.”

Pedigree Notes
Above The Curve is the third of six reported foals and one of two scorers produced by an unraced sibling of eight black-type performers headed by MG1SW sire Giant's Causeway (Storm Cat). She is a full-sister to G3 Irish 1000 Guineas Trial and G3 Weld Park S. third Thinking Of You and her dam Fabulous (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was bred to Justify last year, has the unraced 3-year-old filly Deadly Nightshade (Justify) and a 2-year-old filly and yearling filly by Justify to come. Descendants of the April-foaled bay's MGSW second dam Mariah's Storm (Rahy), herself kin to G1SP sire Panoramic (GB) (Rainbow Quest), also include MG1SW sires Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Decorated Knight (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), Classic heroines Joan of Arc (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Marvellous (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), MG1SW distaffer Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and elite-level performers Vatican City (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Coolmore (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Taj Mahal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

Sunday, Saint-Cloud, France
PRIX CORRIDA-G2, €130,000, Saint-Cloud, 5-28, 4yo/up, f/m, 10 1/2fT, 2:14.17, gd.
1–ABOVE THE CURVE, 126, f, 4, by American Pharoah
1st Dam: Fabulous (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Mariah's Storm, by Rahy
3rd Dam: Immense, by Roberto
O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (KY); T-Joseph O'Brien; J-Maxime Guyon. €74,100. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, GSW-Ire & SP-Eng, 9-4-1-2, €444,496. *Full to Thinking of You, MGSP-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Mqse De Sevigne (Ire), 126, f, 4, Siyouni (Fr)–Penne (Fr), by Sevres Rose (Ire). O-Baron Edouard de Rothschild; B-SC Ecurie de Meautry (IRE); T-Andre Fabre. €28,600.
3–India (Ger), 126, m, 5, Adlerflug (Ger)–Ivory Coast (Fr), by Peintre Celebre. O-Gestut Ittlingen; B-Gestut Hof Ittlingen (GER); T-Waldemar Hickst. €13,650.
Margins: 2, 1, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.70, 8.10, 4.10.
Also Ran: Nashwa (GB), Baiykara (Fr), Romagna Mia (GB). Video, sponsored by TVG.

The post Above The Curve Makes All For Prix Corrida Triumph, Nashwa Eclipsed In Fourth appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Luxembourg The Star of Bank Holiday Bonanza

High-quality racing across Ireland, France and Germany awaits the racing fraternity on Monday, with The Curragh's G2 Coolmore Stud Sottsass Irish EBF Mooresbridge S. seeing the return to the fray of Ballydoyle's key older campaigner Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). Plagued by muscular issues last term, the 2021 G1 Futurity Trophy winner still managed to upstage Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) in Leopardstown's G1 Irish Champion S. on one of his better days in September and connections will be hoping that a clear run can see him shine even brighter in the weeks ahead.

Mare Trouble…
Interestingly, Luxembourg who comes with the customary “will-improve” tag, encounters the mare Insinuendo (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) who so nearly upset the odds when he was returning from his first injury-enforced rehab period in the G3 Royal Whip over this course and distance in August. These races don't always come easy and that is certainly the case this time, with another femme fatale lying in wait in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary and G2 Blandford S.-winning TDN Rising Star Above The Curve (American Pharoah), not to mention the G2 Prix de la Nonette winner Trevaunance (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}). Like Vadeni and Bay Bridge on Sunday, Luxembourg might have to wait a bit longer for that familiar taste of success…

Off To A Flier…
The Curragh's card gets swinging with the Listed GAIN First Flier S., the first of its kind for the domestic juvenile crop of 2023 which includes the Paddy Twomey-trained TDN Rising Star Noche Magica (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}). Having made such an instant impact at Cork earlier this month, Mohammed Ahmad Ali Al Subousi's slick traveller looks ready-made to be one of the top early 2-year-olds as Royal Ascot looms. Interestingly, Aidan O'Brien has a pair of newcomers engaged including His Majesty (Ire) by No Nay Never, sire of last year's winner Blackbeard (Ire). Does the title give a clue as to the regard in which the 325,000gns son of the group 3 scorer Czabo (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}) is held?

The Next Stop…
There is a chance that by the time the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains comes around, Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) will have a fitness and experience edge as well as possibly a class edge over several of his peers. Already the winner of the historic Madrid Handicap at Naas, he preps for the ParisLongchamp Classic in the Listed Coolmore Stud Blackbeard Irish EBF Tetrarch S. in which he is joined by the stable's Drumroll (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), a full-brother to Saxon Warrior (Jpn) who opened his account first time at Navan in March. The Tetrarch used to be an important Guineas trial and it can still promote a future star of that ilk as the 2016 winner Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) testified.

Muguet Offerings…
Saint-Cloud stages its traditional May 1 la Fête du Travail fixture, where another Classic trial on the wane is the Prix Greffulhe, newly downgraded from group 2 to group 3 status despite its honour roll which features Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). That future luminary was incredibly 12-1 last year, but there doesn't on the face of it appear to be one of his ilk lining up this time. This therefore is surely a must-win for Ballydoyle's Greenland (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), who trailed the under-rated Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) when third in the G3 Prix la Force at ParisLongchamp last month. That aperitif is served before the feature G2 Prix du Muguet, where The Aga Khan's exciting G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein-winning TDN Rising Star Erevann (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) starts his big year in preparation for Royal Ascot's G1 Queen Anne S.

See The Classic Stars…
Not to be undone by its French and Irish counterparts, Munich hosts a tantalising renewal of its showcase 10-furlong G3 WETTSTAR.de – Bavarian Classic in which Wanja Soren Oberhof and Sebastian Weiss's TDN Rising Star Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}). Winning his Mulheim maiden by 16 lengths last month, the Henk Grewe-trained bay takes on Liberty Racing 2021's G3 Preis des Winterfavoriten winner Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) and Stall Nizza's mightily-impressive G3 Herzog von Ratibor-Rennen scorer Alpenjager (Ger) (Nutan {Ire}) in a Deutsches Derby pointer to savour.

The post Luxembourg The Star of Bank Holiday Bonanza appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post