Over a rain-affected course at Niigata, the well-related first-starter Via Luce (Ire) defied an awkward draw in gate 15 of 17 to validate $1.90 (9-10) favouritism and become the first Japanese winner for her sire. Beaten for pace despite being asked by jockey Yasunari Iwata, the bay filly traveled several paths off the inside while under a ride on the turn and followed the move of Santa Ana Tesoro (Jpn) (Speightstown) into the straight. Via Luce drew alongside that one inside the final 200 metres and came away late to score by 1 1/2 lengths (see below, SC 15).

The March foal, bred by Katsumi Yoshida, is the first foal for her stakes-winning and three-times group-placed dam Via Firenze (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), a daughter of G3 Shadwell Prix Lieurey winner Via Medici (Ire) (Medican {GB}), who counts 2018 champion Japanese 2-year-old male and dual Group 1 winner Admire Mars (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) as her most notable produce. A foal half-brother by 2017 G1 Tokyo Yushun hero Rey de Oro (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) to Via Luce fetched ¥170 million (£1,049,810/€1,236,766/$1,241,572) at last month's JRHA Select Sales on Hokkaido.

About five minutes earlier at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, the 3-year-old colt Virtuous Circle (NZ) was winning for the second time in three appearances, taking out a 1500-metre handicap as a $26 (25-1) roughie. Settled towards the rear of the field down the side of the course, the son of She Is Stryking (Aus) (Stryker {Aus}) was ridden for luck into the short straight and kept grinding it out to the line for a narrow success (video). Virtuous Circle was last seen defying long odds to graduate at second asking at Mornington Mar. 26.

“He went to the paddock straight after that and he just came back in, and he knows what it's all about,” trainer Liam Howley told Racing.com. “I'd like to think he's a [G1 Caulfield] Guineas horse, but otherwise I thought 2000 metres might be in his hitting zone. Maybe 2400 metres, so maybe he's a Derby horse.

“Mentally he is [ready], but we will space his runs and run next in the [1600-metre G2] Stutt [S.] back here in four weeks. That gives us time to look after him. That gives us two weeks to the Guineas and gives us a read at that point whether he's a Guineas horse or we go to the [2040-metre G2] Vase. Hopefully we are still knocking around in late October.”

Purchased for A$360,000 out of the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Virtuous Circle is out of a listed-placed dam who has also bred Danger Strykes (NZ) (Astern {Aus}), winner in New Zealand of the Castletown S. Virtuous Circle is one of eight Australasian winners for Almanzor.

VIRTUOUS CIRCLE an incredible win!

The @lhowls trained galloper missed the start and still hunted the fence to win the Hugh-Wallace Smith Handicap. @BlaikeMcDougall has 2!#LoveTheValley pic.twitter.com/Fpbtxt1r1c

— Moonee Valley Racing Club (@TheValley) August 20, 2022

The post International Double For Almanzor appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Lion of War is the latest of three foals and lone scorer out of Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial third Momentus (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), herself a half-sister to stakes-winning G2 Joel S. runner-up Sir John Lavery (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The April-foaled bay's second dam Race For The Stars (Fusaichi Pegasus), who annexed the G3 Denny Cordell Lavarack Fillies S., is kin to four black-type performers–headed by MG1SW sire Hawk Wing (Woodman)–out of GSW Canadian champion La Lorgnette (Val de l'Orne {Fr}). Race For The Stars is also kin to the stakes-winning Alexandrina (Conquistador Cielo), whose two black-type performers include GI Canadian International S.-winning Canadian Horse of the Year Thornfield (Sky Classic).

How about that?! Roaring Lion's son Lion Of War absolutely destroys his rivals at @NewcastleRaces! @Qatar_Racing @CierenFallonJr @Johnston_Racing pic.twitter.com/qQEPlX72nX

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 23, 2022

6th-Newcastle, £6,800, Nov, 6-23, 2yo, 7f 14y (AWT), 1:30.69, st/sl.
LION OF WAR (GB), c, 2, by Roaring Lion
1st Dam: Momentus (Ire) (SP-Eng), by Montjeu (Ire)
2nd Dam: Race For The Stars, by Fusaichi Pegasus
3rd Dam: La Lorgnette, by Val de l'Orne (Fr)
(7,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $9,159. O-Qatar Racing Ltd; B-Andrew Whitlock Racing Ltd (GB); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

The post Roaring Lion’s Lion Of War A New TDN Rising Star at Newcastle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Dynastic was also the first winner Down Under for Almanzor, who shuttles to Cambridge Stud from his base at Haras d'Etreham in Normandy. Almanzor's first New Zealand-conceived crop numbers 101 foals, and he has thus far had five runners, which also include the G2 Wakefield Challenge S. third Andalus (NZ). Dynastic, who is owned by Te Akau Racing and trained by Jamie Richards, who soon heads to Hong Kong, was making his second start in the Karaka Million.

Almanzor had his first Northern Hemisphere runners last year. From a crop of 102 foals, he had 10 winners from 39 runners and two stakes horses, including the G3 Prix des Reservoirs second Queen Trezy (Fr). The triple Group 1 winner stands for €30,000 at Etreham this season.

The post Almanzor Gets First Stakes Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Cambridge Stud Chief Executive Henry Plumptre told SEN Trackside, “We have been talking to Nick Smith at Ascot and we have an invitation to go and run in the Queen Anne S. on the opening day of Royal Ascot, as opposed to going up to Sydney for the Queen Of The Turf, which is what she did last year [when second].”

The post Probabeel Possible For Royal Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Almanzor, who is based at his birthplace Haras d'Etreham in France, stands Southern Hemisphere time at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand, where he stood for NZ$30,000 last season. Cambridge Chief Executive Officer Henry Plumptre noted that Almanzor's fortunes have been on a rising tide ever since his stud deal was secured, beginning with a nod of approval from one of the greatest stallion masters there has ever been.

“Almanzor is a great physical type,” Plumptre said. “It's very hard to look at him and find fault with his conformation. The first person we put him in front of when he arrived in New Zealand at the back end of 2018 was Sir Patrick Hogan. Patrick looked at him for five or 10 minutes without saying a word, until he said, 'he's absolutely perfect.' He talked about bone below the knee, substance, forearm, shoulder; and the horse has all those attributes.”

After receiving high grades from the man who cultivated the stud careers of the great Sir Tristram and his son Zabeel, Almanzor went on to post promising results with his first European crop at the foal sales in 2019 and again at last year's yearling sales. His 14 first-crop foals sold averaged £84,522/€96,461, while his 53 yearlings sold at auction last year built on that solid foundation with an average of £87,023/€99,323. In the meantime his sire, Wootton Bassett, was continuing to go from strength to strength.

“At the time [that the breeding rights deal was done for Almanzor] Wootton Bassett was a bit of an unknown quantity,” Plumptre recalled. “We were nervous about that, but having been to Normandy to look at the horse and having talked to Nicolas [de Chambure] about Wootton Bassett and what he had coming through–he was very confident that Wootton Bassett would have a good year in France that year and he was subsequently proven right, because he had two or three Group 1 performers. The following year of course he really went to another level and his service fee rose from €6,000 to €20,000, and €20,000 to €40,000. That was a ringing endorsement of Wootton Bassett in Europe, which helped us enormously with Almanzor.”

The Wootton Bassett saga has, of course, continued, with the 13-year-old stallion adding two new Group 1 winners-Wooded (Fr) and Audarya (Fr)-to his roll of honor last year in the wake of his sale to Coolmore, where he stands this year for €100,000. Meanwhile, a select handful of yearlings was sent across the Tasman last month to get the word out early about Almanzor at Magic Millions.

“One of the things that really helped us with Almanzor was that there were three or four yearlings by him that were strategically placed at Magic Millions,” Plumptre said. “That market was very strong this year and he had a huge sale at Magic Millions. We sent one filly and our clients sent three others. Almanzor managed to get an A$800,000 colt that is going to be trained by Danny O'Brien in Melbourne, and we sold our filly for A$380,000, and we had a very good client from the South Island who sold her colt for A$340,000.

“So it was a very good story before we even got to Karaka, and it got people talking. There was a lot of feedback in Australia from Magic Millions about Almanzor, and I think by the time we opened on the first day at Karaka, most of the buying bench-whether it was online or through an agent or trainer–wanted to get their hands on one of them.”

Almanzor's Karaka yearlings were led by a NZ$560,000 colt headed to Chris Waller, and a colt and a filly were each bought for NZ$420,000, by Bruce Perry and The Oaks Stud and trainer Tony Pike. Cambridge and Etreham teamed to buy a filly who is a half-sister to two stakes winners from Curraghmore for NZ$380,000. Cambridge and Etreham also bought three Almanzor yearlings in partnership in the North last year: a colt from Tattersalls who will go into training with Kevin Ryan, as well as a colt and a filly in Deauville who will go to Almanzor's trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. Plumptre said they will likely look to add one more in Australia before the sales season is over.

“I think everyone down there was surprised by how well Almanzor was received,” said Nicolas de Chambure. “With any shuttle stallion, there is always a bit of a fear that the market down there isn't going to understand or respect them. There is always a bit of a mystery there. The reports we were getting were that he was throwing very good types as he had in Europe, and it was just a question of how people down there were going to value them.”

Plumptre confirmed that Almanzor has been throwing his good looks across the board.

“Everyone knows that stallions can be gorgeous and not for whatever reason throw stock at that level,” he said. “We were very lucky that Almanzor's first crop had a high percentage of yearlings and foals that looked like him, had that substance and bone below the knee.”

De Chambure said he thinks a warming to middle-distance sires in the Australian market has also helped Almanzor's cause.

“Talking to people down there, it sounds like there's a bit of a switch in the market where buyers and syndicators and trainers have a bit more time and budget for the later types and horses that look like they'll be 3-year-old milers or 10-furlong horses,” he said. “People realize how much money there is there and sometimes there is less competition than for the early 2-year-old races. I think it's great to see that those stallions can have a great chance and can be popular at the sales as well.”

Plumptre floated the idea that New Zealand could once again establish itself as the key source of middle-distance horses for Australia.

“I applaud the fact that they [Australia] see themselves as the best producers of sprinting horses in the world,” he said. “But 60% of the racing system in Australia is at a mile and above. So there is still a lot of prizemoney available if you have the right horse at a mile, mile and a quarter, mile and a half or two miles. Traditionally the supply chain for those horses was always New Zealand. It would be fair to say that the depth of stallions in New Zealand has dropped in the past 25 years. There is no doubt that stallions like Zabeel and his son Savabeel, and Tavistock, had all been great influences but there were only two or three of them. In the old days in New Zealand in the 1970s and 80s there were a dozen stallions producing these high-class middle-distance horses.

“There was a time too when the attention of the Australian buyer turned to Europe. The exchange rate was very good and there was a thought process that we could go and buy racehorses with a certain Timeform rating and bring them back to Australia and they would perform at that elite level, and it was cheaper to do that and better value because the European stayer was generally seen as better. I've got no problem with that, but I think it's an expensive way of doing it if we can produce the right thing over here in New Zealand.”

Almanzor could quite possibly be the right thing for New Zealand, and Plumptre and de Chambure each credited one another with their role in establishing the young sire to date.

“You can't underestimate the importance of our relationship with Etreham and Nicolas,” said Plumptre. “There is a very strong bond there which we think is fantastic for the Cambridge brand going forward. Nicolas is making a name for himself at a very famous French nursery, and it's so far been an amazing attachment for us. We're racing a couple of Almanzors with Nicolas here in Australia and New Zealand and we're racing a couple Almanzors in Europe. We've got a lot to look forward to.”

“The folks at Cambridge have done a great job marketing this horse and getting breeders to support him,” de Chambure added. “They took a risk with this horse and it's great to see them doing well with him down there. It was a great result for everyone involved to see the Almanzors selling so well.”

The Cambridge Stud/Haras d'Etreham connection will have another shot to continue its good fortune later this year when dual Group 1-winning sprinter Hello Youmzain (Ire) shuttles South after completing his first season at Etreham. Cambridge and Etreham partnered in the autumn of 2019 to purchase Hello Youmzain after he had won the G1 Sprint Cup, and the bay rewarded the gamble to keep him in training at four with a win in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot last year. As was the case with Almanzor and Wootton Bassett, Hello Youmzain's sire Kodiac has reached another stratosphere since that transaction was completed.

“At the time [of the deal] Kodiac was a good stallion, but last year he had a phenomenal year in Europe with his 2- and 3-year-olds, and Hello Youmzain winning the Diamond Jubilee at Ascot,” Plumptre said. “He went to another level as well, which again helps when you're launching a stallion like that. I think there's enough depth in Hello Youmzain's pedigree as well to suggest he will get milers eventually, and as a type he has scope and length which suggests he will get milers. I don't think he's going to be an out-and-out speed horse.”

Plumptre said the interest in Hello Youmzain has been encouraging ahead of the horse's arrival in New Zealand.

“We've got a very good group of people around him, a very good group of breeders supporting the horse,” he said. “The pedigree is very interesting to people here, it's Danehill with a bit of Invincible Spirit in there through his dam. It's all pretty positive stuff; those are the two lines the Australia market wants. Nicolas is very particular about the type of horse he buys into and I have no reason to believe that Hello Youmzain isn't every bit as good a type as Almanzor, and New Zealand breeders are very big on conformation as they're predominantly commercial sellers, so it's important to put a horse in front of him that has that conformation, scope and substance.”

“Our broodmare band at Cambridge is probably 25 to 30% European, so we have some nice pedigrees to cross with him and we have some very good local pedigrees to cross with him,” Plumptre added of Hello Youmzain. “It'll be most enjoyable to see his first foals in a year's time and see what he throws.”

The post Almanzors Draw Accolades Down Under appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“We are delighted to welcome Hello Youmzain and offer his services to French breeders,” said Nicolas de Chambure of Haras d’Etreham. “He presents a rare profile as no sprinter of this caliber has begun his stud career in France since Anabaa. He is a high-class individual with a strong physique and fantastic movement. He will be supported by a powerful syndicate and should attract mares from Ireland and England.”

Trained by Kevin Ryan, Hello Youmzain’s juvenile season was highlighted with a debut score and two starts on a win in the G2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte, and he returned at three to claim the G2 Sandy Lane S. at Haydock last May. Third in the G1 Commonwealth Cup S. at Royal Ascot a month later, he earned his first Group 1 badge with a win in the G1 Betfair Sprint Cup in September in his final start for owner Jaber Abdullah. Two starts later, the son of Spasha scored in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot as a 4-year-old, and was also runner-up later this season in the G1 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest. Hello Youmzain retires with a mark of 12-5-2-1 and $733,464 in earnings.

Said trainer Kevin Ryan, “He was a lovely horse to train, showed his class and ability at a very early stage and was such a sound horse all the way through his career. He had such a great temperament and proved to be very tough and genuine.”

Hello Youmzain is a half-brother to German/Italian highweight, MGSW-Ger, GSW-Ity, and G1 German Derby third Royal Youmzain (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}); English SW Zuhoor Baynoona (Ire) (Elnadim); and the SP Saglawy (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}). His second dam is a half-sister to G2 Hardwicke S. winner Sandmason (GB) (Grand Lodge), and SW & GSP Sardegna (GB) (Pharly {Fr}). This is also the family of Australian Group 1 winner Summer Passage (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}).

“Hello Youmzain will be an exciting addition to the Cambridge Stud stallion roster and the New Zealand breeding industry next year,” said Cambridge Stud CEO Henry Plumptre. “Cambridge Stud and Haras d’Etreham would like to thank Kevin Ryan and his team at Hambleton Lodge, including jockey Kevin Stott, for giving us an amazing highlight in the Diamond Jubilee at Ascot.”

The post MG1SW Hello Youmzain Retired to Haras d’Etreham appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The post It’s Kodiac Again As Hello Youmzain Prevails In the Diamond Jubilee appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post