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Australia: Rothfire Ready To Fire In Group 1 Golden Rose

The Sydney “Spring Carnival” hits full stride this Friday night, with the $1,000,000 Golden Rose showcasing an exciting field of newly-turned 3-year-olds. The Golden Rose is the first 3-year-old Group 1 race of the Australian season, which began in August. The seven furlong contest at Rosehill is a ringing endorsement of stud potential but, more imminently, is a worthy guide to The Everest three weeks later, at Randwick.

Last year's Golden Rose runner-up, Yes Yes Yes, went on to win The Everest, the world's richest turf race which was inaugurated a mere three years ago. And last year's Golden Rose winner, Bivouac, is prominent in Everest future-book wagering after a promising 4-year-old debut last weekend. The Everest might include two Golden Rose winners, as this Friday's hot favorite, Rothfire, has already booked an Everest starting berth (under the race's slot-purchase format).

Rothfire comes from humble beginnings in my home state of Queensland. He was bred in the small town of Chinchilla – known as the melon capital of Australia – and early attempts to sell the yearling bore no fruit. He was eventually offered for $10,000 to leading Brisbane trainer Rob Heathcote, who accepted, but the money was irretrievably lost to Nigeria in an online “phishing” scam, forcing a double payment. Even at $20,000, Heathcote has a bargain buy that quickly drew comparisons with his topline sprinter Buffering, winner of the Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night four years ago. Indeed, Heathcote has stated that Rothfire “can take me around the world.”

The gelding boasts seven wins from eight starts. In the first five victories, he was on the pace throughout. However, in his two most recent and significant wins – a season-ending G1 in Brisbane at his only seven furlong test, and the traditional lead-up to the Golden Rose in his seasonal and Sydney debut – Rothfire showed he's not just a spitfire by coming from behind the leader. His regular rider, Jim Byrne, is a veteran of Queensland racing (Byrne and Heathcote have won five Brisbane riding and training titles, respectively). Due to coronavirus quarantine protocols, Byrne is basing himself in Sydney for the duration of Rothfire's campaign. He is doubtless sacrificing numerous hometown winners, which will be more than compensated for should Rothfire (even-money favorite) triumph in Friday's Golden Rose then ascend to The Everest.

Rothfire's main competition on Friday is expected to come from horses who finished behind him last start, but who will appreciate the step up to seven furlongs and have been trained to peak for the Golden Rose. Ole Kirk (8-1), named for the inventor of Lego, can use his seasonal debut placing as a building block. His dam is a full sister to Black Caviar, and Ole Kirk shares some common ownership with the superstar mare who retired undefeated in 25 starts. Stablemate North Pacific (9-2) had two impressive wins – albeit on “heavy” tracks – before finishing third behind Rothfire and Ole Kirk. It is a testament to the remarkable democracy of horse racing that these $675,000 and $800,000 colts are likely to again play second fiddle to a $10,000 gelding nicknamed the “Thrilla from Chinchilla.”

If trying to beat Rothfire, I recommend considering a pair at double-digit odds: Mamaragan (13-1) has the rare distinction of placing in the world's richest 2-year-old race, the Golden Slipper, at just his second career start. King's Legacy (15-1) is a Group One winner at seven furlongs in Sydney and is 2-for-2 when second up. Both longshots have license to improve sharply off their latest unplaced efforts behind Rothfire.

The Rosehill card also includes the Shannon Stakes (G2) and Pendant (G2) which will be broadcast live on TVG this Friday night (First Post: 10:25 p.m. ET / 8:25 p.m. PT) alongside cards from Kembla Grange, Toowoomba and Gold Coast. All races will be live-streamed in HD on skyracingworld.com and major ADW platforms such as TVG, TwinSpires, Xpressbet, NYRABets, WatchandWager, HPIbet, AmWager, and BetAmerica. Wagering is also available via these ADW platforms. Fans can get free access to live-streaming, past performances and expert picks on all races at skyracingworld.com.

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Michael's vast U.S. experience includes; race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network and the 2016 Breeders' Cup on the International simulcast network. Michael also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.

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Australian Jockey Gets Suspended For Going Too Fast (Yes, You Read That Right)

Winx's jockey Hugh Bowman has been handed a 20-day suspension – on his first day back riding in Sydney after a six-week ban for a notorious careless riding incident in July.

Bowman's latest alleged misdemeanor came on Saturday when he was found to have gone too fast on beaten favorite Farnan, the Golden Slipper winner, in the G2 Run To The Rose at Rosehill.

The 40-year-old jockey, who pleaded not guilty, was charged under the rule stating that “a rider must take all reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to ensure that the rider's horse is given full opportunity to win or to obtain the best possible place in the field”. He received the 20-day ban after a two-hour meeting by Racing NSW stewards on Thursday.

Bowman, who has never before been sanctioned over a 'handling' charge, vowed to clear his name. He immediately lodged an appeal against the decision, which is set to rule him out for nearly three weeks and means he will miss four G1 events – including three on the lucrative Epsom Handicap card at Randwick on Oct. 3.

Saturday's card at Rosehill marked Bowman's return to the saddle for the first time since he was banned in July for his role in the horrific fall that left fellow jockey Andrew Adkins in hospital with serious injuries including a collapsed lung and seven broken ribs.

He was called into the stewards' room for his efforts on 7-5 favorite Farnan in the Run To The Rose, the main trial for the AUS$ 1million Golden Rose on Sept. 26.

Bowman was adjudged to have gone too fast in front and not made sufficient effort to restrain the 3-year-old – trained by the Gai Waterhouse/Adrian Bott partnership – before folding in the closing stages to be beaten nearly four lengths into fifth behind Rothfire in the six-furlong contest.

After connections were interviewed at the track, the inquiry was adjourned while betting and sectional times were reviewed. There were no abnormal betting patterns but sectionals revealed that Farnan had travelled 12.8 lengths faster than average in the first 800 meters.

According to Racenet, chief steward Marc Van Gestel labelled the ride “as aggressive as I've seen you on a horse out of the gates” on raceday.

Bowman, whose appeal will be heard next week, strongly disagreed with the stewards' findings, saying he had ridden aggressively to try to control the race.

He will be able to ride at Randwick on Saturday and at the Golden Rose meeting seven days later before beginning his penalty on September 27.

“What can't be determined despite all the mathematical genius is how the horse is traveling underneath me,” Bowman said. “He probably wouldn't have beaten Rothfire in all seriousness but had he come back a length and relaxed for me, it wouldn't have looked so bad.

“I am doing my best to steady him and relax him and slow him back,” he added. “If I start to fight him to slow him down it's not going to help him finish the race off.”

This story has been reprinted with permission from Horse Racing Planet. Read the original here.

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Australian Racing Officials Launch Investigation Into Phoenix Over Cryptocurrency Allegations

Australian racing authorities have launched investigations into Phoenix Thoroughbreds based on allegations the ownership group may have been involved in money laundering, according to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald Thursday. Racing NSW, Racing Victoria, and Queensland Racing Integrity Commission spokespeople all told the Herald investigations are underway.

Racing Australia chair Greg Nichols told the Herald racing authorities had concerns the group's involvement could “compromise public confidence in our sport.”

Phoenix Thoroughbreds founder Amer Abdulaziz Salman was implicated by a witness in the course of federal court proceedings in the States. The witness stated Abdulaziz had been using Phoenix Investments to launder money siphoned from OneCoin. OneCoin purported to be a type of cryptocurrency akin to bitcoin, but investors ultimately saw their capital disappear.

Phoenix Fund Investments has denied all allegations against Abdulaziz, and he has not been charged with a crime or named by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds came onto the American racing scene in 2017, with Abdulaziz spending huge amounts for horses at public auction on the group's behalf. Phoenix was billed by Abdulaziz as the world's first investment fund for Thoroughbreds, designed to operate like a mutual fund. Abdulaziz would later admit the fund, which had been registered in Luxembourg, had been dissolved and never had any actual investors.

French racing authorities banned the ownership group from participating in racing there, and Phoenix announced in August it would voluntarily stop racing in Great Britain. Phoenix still has active racing licenses in the United States.

Astern Yearlings Could Embody Best of a Rich Pedigree

Three years ago, Darley’s Sales Manager Darren Fox boarded a plane for Australia to see if Astern (Aus), their highly-rated son of Medaglia d’Oro, could be a good fit for the American roster.

“Upon making the trip to Australia to make sure he would work physically, it took all of about three seconds of looking at Astern to say, ‘Yes, this horse will work in America,'” Fox recalled. “He has a lot of attributes that we look for and he was, in any jurisdiction, a high-level, high-performing racehorse. So it was really a no brainer.”

Astern joined his sire at Jonabell Farm’s stud barn in 2018 as a shuttle stallion, and is now seeing his first American yearlings take to the sales ring.

Having raced exclusively in Australia for trainer John O’Shea, Astern won on debut before taking the G2 Silver Slipper S. and the G3 Kindergarten S. From there, he won the G2 Run to the Rose followed by the G1 Golden Rose.

“He was an unbelievably impressive winner of that race,” Fox said of his record-breaking victory in the Golden Rose. “He’s rated as the best winner of that race in Australian racing history. And that, of course, is a key stallion-making race for them. So he was a very accomplished 2-year-old and 3-year-old, and [his 126 Timeform rating] makes him the highest-rated son of Medaglia d’Oro anywhere in the world, past or present.”

He added of Astern’s racing ability, “He had very fluid, beautiful, efficient action. His jockey, James McDonald, called him the best-moving horse he’s ever ridden and described it as like being airborne. That’s high praise from a highly-accomplished jockey down there.”

Fox said that he believes Astern has inherited the very best from both sides of his pedigree.

“You can see a lot of his sire about him,” he said. “He’s got a great hip, a better hip than Medaglia d’Oro himself. We can attribute that to his broodmare sire Exceed and Excel (Danehill), who is the leading sire of 2-year-old stakes winners in the world. He gets a lot of strength and precocity from the broodmare sire.”

Astern is out of the winning mare Essaouira, who also produced Alizee (Sepoy), a champion 3-year-old filly and three-time G1W in Australia. He also hails from the family of G1W La Baraka (Euclase), as well as Triscay (Marscay), a champion 3-year-old in Australia with five Group 1 wins to her name.

“His dam is arguably the best broodmare in Australia,” Fox said. “It’s an extremely rich, deep, high-caliber family. A large part of Astern’s appeal is the family he brings to the table.”

In his first year at stud in the U.S., Astern filled a book of 120 mares with a $15,000 stud fee. While still reverse shuttling to his home base in Australia, he bred an additional 180 mare in his next two books.

“While Astern stood for $15,000 in his first year at stud in the U.S., he stood for close to $A40,000 in Australia,” Fox noted. “So we like to think of him as an equivalent to Frosted or Nyquist coming to Australia from the U.S. and being offered to [Australian] breeders at a great value to account for the fact that they are from another jurisdiction.”

At the Australian sales, Astern’s progeny sold for up to $A725,000. Now his first yearlings will take on the American market.

“We’ve been pleased with what we have seen with the Asterns,” Fox said. “We have been impressed by their size and he is definitely stamping them. I love their length of body. They’re very correct like he is, with great bone, and they look like natural athletes. I can see a lot of Medaglia d’Oro coming through, which gives us confidence that this is a stallion who will get horses effective on both surfaces.”

Twenty-eight of his yearlings are cataloged for the Keeneland September Sale. Hip 1736, a filly out of Grade III winner Dancing Solo (Giant’s Causeway) and from the family of dual Grade I winner Voodoo Dancer (Kingmambo), sells out of the Small Batch Sales consignment.

“She’s a big filly with natural athleticism,” said Small Batch Sale’s Fletcher Mauk. “To put condition on her is really easy as she holds muscle a little better than most horses. She has the frame and the natural muscle tone. In the barn, she’s easy to be around and takes everything in stride. It’s fun to watch her exercise. She trains like she enjoys it, sets her head and steps underneath herself, and keeps a nice, steady pace.”

Also at Keeneland, Hip 2455 is out of the stakes-winning mare Alex’s Allure (Sky Classic), whose dam Ava Knowsthecode (Cryptoclearance) has produced five graded stakes winners including Grade I winners Justin Phillip (First Samurai) and Greenpointcrusader (Bernardini).

“Astern’s yearlings are spread the right way throughout the sale, and they’re there to be found,” Fox said. “He’s going to appeal to a large cross-section of buyers. These are fast-looking horses. They will be precocious, but I think they will train on at three like he did. I think they will appeal to both surfaces, given what we’re seeing from the yearlings themselves. He has crossed beautifully with the American mare, and we’re excited to see what that can bring to Astern and his progeny.”

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