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Breeders’ Cup Winner Loves Only You, Five From Ballydoyle Headline Hong Kong International Races

Loves Only You is among a stellar line-up of 49 horses selected for the HK$100 million (about US$12.8 million) LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) at Sha Tin on Sunday, Dec. 12.

Fresh off Breeders' Cup success in the United States, Yoshito Yahagi's mare is just one of 22 Group 1 winners set to compete. Returning to Hong Kong in a bid for a second G1 success in the city, the daughter of Deep Impact is looking to cap a superb year and she is just one of the exciting contingent of overseas raiders aiming at this year's “Turf World Championships.”

Featuring prominently once more, Aidan O'Brien will return to Hong Kong in strength with 2020 G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m, or 1 1/2 miles) winner Mogul while stablemates Broome, Japan, Bolshoi Ballet and Mother Earth also feature.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty around many international racing events, the strength of the international presence in this year's line-up confirms that the Sha Tin showpiece retains its pre-eminent position at the top of the agenda for international horsemen.

The LONGINES HKIR is the sport's global year-end spectacular and features the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m, or 1 1/4 miles), the HK$26 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m, or one mile), the HK$24 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m, or six furlongs) and the HK$20 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m, or 1 1/2 miles). The Cup, Mile and Sprint are the world's richest G1 races on turf over their respective distances.

Andrew Harding, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Executive Director, Racing, said: “The LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) is firmly established as one of the world's principal racing events and this year we will welcome an extraordinary line-up from Japan, Great Britain, Ireland and France which includes 16 individual Group 1 winners. To have runners of this caliber in any year would be notable but once again it is truly remarkable given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are delighted that the quality of the selected runners for this year's LONGINES Hong Kong International Races is in keeping with our long-held commitment to deliver sporting excellence and Loves Only You's return to Hong Kong after her historical Breeders' Cup victory is incredibly exciting, as is the arrival of a quintet from Aidan O'Brien's all-powerful Ballydoyle operation.

“Our hometown hero Golden Sixty is looking to enhance his astonishing unbeaten streak to 16 and also set a new all-time winning record of 19 in Hong Kong should he successfully defend his Hong Kong Mile title while star sprinter Wellington's development adds further intrigue and everything surely points to a thrilling afternoon of sport on Sunday, Dec. 12.”

Loves Only You spearheads a strong cohort from Japan, which includes first and second out of the G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) at Nakayama Racecourse last month, Pixie Knight and Resistencia, respectively, with both plotting raids on the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint. Danon Smash returns to defend his crown in the dash, while Glory Vase will attempt to recapture his LONGINES Hong Kong Vase title from Mogul – last year's victor – who also returns from Ireland to represent Aidan O'Brien.

Joining Loves Only You in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup is Lei Papale, winner of the G1 Osaka Hai (2000m) earlier this year who is looking to remain unbeaten over 10-furlongs. Bolshoi Ballet – O'Brien's American G1 winner – plots a course for the Hong Kong Cup, as does Mac Swiney for Jim Bolger and Dubai Honour for William Haggas. Both Mac Swiney – a two-time G1 winner – and Dubai Honour placed behind Sealiway in the British Champion Stakes with the latter getting within a length.

O'Brien will be double-handed in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase as the incredibly consistent Broome – who runs in Sunday's (Nov. 28) G1 Japan Cup (2400m) – journeys to Hong Kong for the first time following his cracking second to Yibir in the G1 LONGINES Breeders' Cup Turf (2400m) earlier this month at Del Mar Racecourse.

The William Muir-trained Pyledriver – winner of the 2021 G1 Coronation Cup (2420m) at Epsom Downs Racecourse – is in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase. While, H H Aga Khan's Ebaiyra – trained by the iconic Alain de Royer-Dupre – is also targeting a Hong Kong Vase raid.

Eyeing a 16th consecutive win and second successive LONGINES Hong Kong Mile crown, Hong Kong's Golden Sixty will face no shortage of stiff opposition including Mother Earth for the Irish mastermind, O'Brien. Her brilliant three-year-old season boasts two G1 titles, winning the 1000 Guineas (1609m) and Prix Rothschild (1600m), while she has also placed in seven other G1 contests in Great Britain, Ireland, France and the United States.

Indy Champ and Vin de Garde join the Japanese brigade bidding to overthrow Golden Sixty, as does Danon Kingly, winner of the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) last June. Trainer Noriyuki Hori is no stranger to success in Hong Kong after the heroics of the great Maurice and he'll be represented by Hishi Iguazu in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup as well as the G1-winning Salios, who also boasts consecutive runner-up efforts to Japan's Triple Crown-winning Contrail. Salios will contest the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.

Joining Golden Sixty – Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the Year – in the home team's defense is Hong Kong's Champion Stayer Panfield, who will be running in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.

Hong Kong's emerging talent has always been ever-present and the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint will have no shortage of juvenile stars. Lucky Patch steps out for Hong Kong following consecutive G2 scores, while Courier Wonder, Naboo Attack and Sky Field bolster the home team's defences with established G1 stars, Hot King Prawn and Wellington spearheading the charge.

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Godolphin Wins Fourth Straight John Deere Award For 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships

Strengthened by victories from homebreds Modern Games (IRE), Space Blues (IRE) and Yibir (GB), for the fourth consecutive year Godolphin has won the John Deere Award, honoring the outstanding breeder of the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The John Deere Award, presented by Breeders' Cup Limited and NTRA Advantage, emphasizes the contributions of breeders to the Breeders' Cup program. The industry's breeders and nominators provide funding for the purses of the World Championships through the annual nominations of foals and stallions.

NTRA Advantage and John Deere will award a John Deere TS Gator Utility Vehicle to Godolphin.

The John Deere Award winner is determined by the breeder who received the highest number of first-place finishes in the 86 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series stakes races held in 10 countries, and in the 14 Breeders' Cup World Championships races (13 Grade 1 races and 1 Grade 2 race), which was held on Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. Each Grade/Group 1 win was worth 10 points; Grade/Group 2 wins were worth six points; Grade/Group 3 wins were worth four points; and listed stakes wins were worth two points.

Godolphin-bred runners earned 68 points by breeding winners of three Breeders' Cup World Championships races and five Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races. Northern Farm, from Japan, finished second in the competition with 40 points, and St. George Stables finished third with 36 points.

In accumulating its 68 points, Godolphin's three Breeders' Cup Champions, all sired by Dubawi (IRE), led the way with Modern Games winning the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), Space Blues capturing the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile presented by PDJF (G1), and Yibir taking the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1). Prior to the World Championships, Godolphin began its march to the 2021 John Deere Award in June with a string of five Breeders' Cup Challenge Series victories. First, Maxfield won the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, and one month later at Ascot, Adayar (IRE) won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes (G1). In September, Godolphin garnered three Breeders' Cup Challenge races on one weekend. On Sept. 18 at Belmont Park, Yibir earned an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf when he won the listed Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes. The following day at Woodbine, Godolphin collared two more “Win and You're In” races, taking the Natalma Stakes (G1) for 2-year-old fillies with Wild Beauty (GB) and the Summer Stakes (G1) for 2-year-olds with Albahr (GB).

“We congratulate Godolphin on their extraordinary group of progeny which led them to their fourth consecutive John Deere Award, and a record three wins by homebreds at the World Championships,” said Dora Delgado, Breeders' Cup Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Officer. “Godolphin's success is emblematic of their longtime commitment to international breeding and racing. We thank them and all participating breeders for their enormous support, which has been vital to the sustained growth of the Breeders' Cup program over the past 38 years.”

“We also thank John Deere and NTRA Advantage for joining us in placing the breeding community in the spotlight by sponsoring this award,” added Delgado.

“Godolphin is delighted to once again be the recipient of the Breeders' Cup/John Deere breeder award,” said Michael Banahan, Godolphin Director of Farm Operations. “The industry is indebted to John Deere for the sponsorship of the Breeders' Cup for many years and so grateful for their continued support. This award goes to all the Godolphin personnel that work incredibly hard behind the scenes to achieve the fantastic results we have had with our homebreds on the track this year.”

“On behalf of John Deere, congratulations to Godolphin as 'Outstanding Breeder of the Year' for the fourth consecutive year at the Breeders' Cup World Championships,” said Auston Till, Manager Partner Sales, John Deere Ag & Turf. “Like John Deere, Godolphin epitomizes excellence. Nowhere was that more apparent than at this year's World Championships, where Godolphin won three races on Thoroughbred racing's biggest stage! As we traditionally do each year, we are thrilled to award Godolphin a John Deere Gator™ Utility Vehicle for this outstanding accomplishment.”

Finishing second in the John Deere Award competition, Northern Farm led Japan's breakthrough at the 2021 Breeders' Cup with its progeny winning two races: Loves Only You (JPN) captured the $2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) and Marche Lorraine (JPN) won the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). Northern Farm also bred Breeders' Cup Challenge Series winners Gran Alegria (JPN), who claimed the Victoria Mile (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse and Chrono Genesis (JPN), who won the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) at Hanshin.

The outstanding 5-year-old mare Letruska accounted for all 36 points accumulated by third-place finisher St. George Stables. Letruska won four Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races, taking in succession the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park, the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, and the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.

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Godolphin Wins Fourth Consecutive John Deere Award

Strengthened by victories from homebreds Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), for the fourth consecutive year Godolphin has won the John Deere Award, honoring the outstanding breeder of the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The John Deere Award, presented by Breeders' Cup Limited and NTRA Advantage, emphasizes the contributions of breeders to the Breeders' Cup program. NTRA Advantage and John Deere will award a John Deere TS Gator Utility Vehicle to Godolphin.

The post Godolphin Wins Fourth Consecutive John Deere Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Inaugural Breeders’ Cup Race Coverage In Spanish Achieves Over A Quarter Million Views

For the first time, Breeders' Cup, America's Best Racing (ABR), and Hípica TV collaborated to present live coverage, entirely in Spanish, of all 14 Breeders' Cup World Championships races. Branded as “Breeders' Cup en Vivo,” the two (2) Spanish Breeders' Cup broadcasts received more than 282,000 cumulative views while streaming live on Hípica TV's YouTube channel over the two-day event.

Future Stars Friday coverage had more than 80,000 live views, and Saturday's broadcast grew dramatically, topping 200,000. The shows provided analysis, commentary, interviews, and race calls in Spanish, and enabled audiences spanning the globe to view the races live, with viewers tuning in from the U.S., Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Spain, and every country in South America.

“As a team, we were absolutely thrilled with the reach of the show, the live engagement with fans all over the world, and the support these shows received from our partners at America's Best Racing and the Breeders' Cup,” said Hípica TV host and racing analyst Claudia Spadaro. “We are confident that this is just the beginning. Our Breeders' Cup viewership numbers make it clear that the audience is out there and that they want more coverage of racing in Spanish.”

Co-hosted by Spadaro, Emanuel Aguilar, Annise Montplaisir, Roberto Rodriguez, and Darwin Vizcaya, Breeders' Cup en Vivo launched on Aug. 28 with a series of six live digital handicapping shows in Spanish covering 14 of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races. Developed and produced by ABR, Breeders' Cup en Vivo was streamed live across both organizations' Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube channels. The Challenge Series shows alone generated more than 75,000 combined views and engagements with a reach of more than 205,000.

“The digital shows were an extension of Spanish-language content that we've made an investment in going back to our launch of the 'La Trifecta' streaming series last year,” said Stephen B. Panus, president of TJC Media Ventures. “We want to congratulate the entire team of hosts and producers who brought the Breeders' Cup shows to life, beginning with the Challenge Series through to the World Championships at Del Mar racetrack, and to convey that we'll continue to invest time, energy, and resources into reaching Spanish-speaking audiences.”

“The 'Breeders' Cup en Vivo' live stream further advances our goal of expanding the global reach of the Breeders' Cup World Championships and bringing in new audiences to enjoy the excitement of Thoroughbred racing at its finest,” said Justin McDonald, Breeders' Cup senior vice president of Marketing. “We thank America's Best Racing, the whole 'en Vivo' team, and Hípica TV for their efforts in making this program an unqualified success.”

About America's Best Racing:

America's Best Racing is a multimedia fan development and awareness-building platform, initiated by The Jockey Club, designed to increase the profile and visibility of North America's best Thoroughbred racing events with a primary focus on the sport's lifestyle and competition. You can follow America's Best Racing at AmericasBestRacing.net as well as on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, and Snapchat.

About Breeders' Cup World Championships:

The Breeders' Cup Limited administers the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred horse racing's year-end championships, as well as the Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The Breeders' Cup is also a founding member of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, an organization composed of industry leaders committed to advancing safety measures in Thoroughbred racing and improving the well-being of equine and human athletes.

The 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, on November 4-5. Breeders' Cup press releases appear on the Breeders' Cup website, breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders' Cup on social media.

About Hípica TV:

Hípica TV is the official Spanish transmission of Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields, Laurel Park, and Pimlico, which host races including the Pegasus World Cup and the Preakness Stakes.

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