Wednesday UK Evening Fixtures Moved Up

Bath and Kempton have both had their Wednesday evening cards moved to earlier in the day to avoid a timing clash with England's Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Sunday. Bath was due to end at 8:35 p.m. and Kempton's final race was slated for 8:50 p.m. The semi-final match begins at 8 p.m.

“Having received applications from both The Jockey Club and Arena Racing Company, the BHA has approved the alternation of race times at both Kempton Park and Bath on Wednesday evening to avoid a clash with England's Euro 2020 semi-final match against Denmark,” the British Horseracing Authority said in a statement. “We wish Gareth Southgate and the England team the best of luck.”

The post Wednesday UK Evening Fixtures Moved Up appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Fresh Off Saudi Cup Win, John Gosden Joins TDN Writers’ Room

Three days after racking up yet another monumental win in a career chock full of them, legendary trainer John Gosden joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Tuesday morning. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Gosden explained how he got Saudi Cup hero Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) to be as brilliant on dirt as he is on turf, what made his five-time champion Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) such a phenomenon, how his roots of training in California in the 1980s informed the rest of his career and much more.

Asked about what it takes to get a horse to perform at a top level on multiple surfaces as Mishriff has done, Gosden said, “I think you've got to have the individual. You've got to have a horse that obviously handles the surface, but also the one that has the courage to face the kickback. And I think that's very much the issue. I had many good turf horses in California that could work a mile in a great time on the main track on their own in the morning, but put them in a race in the afternoon and they couldn't tolerate the dirt. They lose their breathing, their rhythm, everything. So, you need a horse with courage.”

Regarding what else made the difference for Mishriff against top American dirt horses Charlatan (Speightstown) and Knicks Go (Paynter) in the Saudi Cup, Gosden commented, “I think one thing is very clear, and I think Bob [Baffert] might have said this: the long straight at Riyadh made a big difference to us, because we are used to straights of two, three, four furlongs in distance. To that extent, he really relished the two-and-a-half furlong straight, which I think in the end just caught Charlatan out in that last 100 meters. So that type of track very much suits him.”

On what he's looking at for the rest of Mishriff's campaign and whether or not it will include a shot in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, Gosden said, “We plan obviously to be running him here in races like the Eclipse Stakes. We may even consider looking at a race at the end of the year like The Arc. As regards to Del Mar, of course, that's to be discussed on the agenda. Having trained and had a lot of fun at Del Mar, I know it very well. The track and the finish line is quite a long way away from the clubhouse turn. It's quite a short straight. So that would probably be something that would be a positive for horses like Knicks Go and Charlatan and maybe not such a positive for us.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers conducted their 2021 fantasy 3-year-old draft, checked in with TDN European Editor Emma Berry for more on the Saudi Cup and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, reacted to the huge news of three top stallion farms suing The Jockey Club over its 140-mare cap. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

The post Fresh Off Saudi Cup Win, John Gosden Joins TDN Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Southwell to Switch to Tapeta Surface

Southwell Racecourse’s fibresand surface will be replaced by Tapeta this spring and the project will be completed by the summer of 2021, the Arena Racing Company announced on Monday. A planning application was submitted for the new surface because the fibresand has come to the end of its operational life. Fibresand was first laid down in 1989, the start of all-weather racing at the Nottinghamshire venue. Tapeta, developed by Michael Dickinson and Joan Wakefield of Tapeta Footings, has already been laid down at Wolverhampton and Newcastle-also ARC courses-since 2014 and 2016, respectively. It is also in use in North America at Presque Isle Downs, Golden Gate Fields and Turfway Park Stateside, as well as Woodbine in Canada. This project follows the construction of floodlights in 2019 and the development of a flood alleviation scheme to protect the racecourse.

“Racing at both Wolverhampton and Newcastle has benefitted hugely from the installation of Tapeta, as we have worked closely with Michael Dickinson, Joan Wakefield and their team on the maintenance and upkeep of both surfaces,” said ARC Chief Executive Martin Cruddace. “Tapeta represents the next generation of artificial all-weather racing surface, in terms of its appeal to both trainers and jockeys, and it offers a number of benefits regarding its safety record, relative lack of kickback and fairness for horses.  In addition, it has the ability to handle very low temperatures and significant rainfall.

“The installation of Tapeta will give us an opportunity to look at the flat programme at Southwell and possibly introduce some Fast Track Qualifier races for the All-Weather Championships, for example. This work represents another significant step forward for racing at Southwell, which we intend to be one of the finest all-weather tracks in the world.”

The post Southwell to Switch to Tapeta Surface appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Breeders’ Cup Winner Tarnawa Remains In Training, To Target 2021 Arc De Triomphe

The Aga Khan's 4-year-old Breeders' Cup Turf winner Tarnawa will remaining in training through her 5-year-old season, according to the Irish Times. The daughter of Shamardal gave trainer Dermot Weld his first Cup winner this year, and the trainer hopes to target the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2021.

“The plan is for Tarnawa to stay in training next year, which is good news,” Weld told the Irish Times. “We will look forward to training her for [an] autumn campaign again which will hopefully include the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.”

An eight-time winner from 14 career starts, Tarnawa has three G1 wins to her name.

Read more at the Irish Times.

The post Breeders’ Cup Winner Tarnawa Remains In Training, To Target 2021 Arc De Triomphe appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights