Frankel’s Homeless Songs Electric In The Guineas

Kept back from the 1000 Guineas and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, Moyglare Stud's TDN Rising Star Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was finally let loose on unsuspecting victims lined up for what appeared to be a competitive edition of the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas at The Curragh on Sunday. Travelling like the best filly the whole way settled in rear of mid-division by Chris Hayes, the 11-2 shot who had offered tantalising insight into what was to come when taking the seven-furlong G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown Apr. 2 produced explosive acceleration down the outside to chop down the 11-4 favourite Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) a furlong from home. At the line, the Dermot Weld-trained homebred had stretched the measurement of her superiority to 5 1/2 lengths from Ballydoyle's number one, with another from that operation Concert Hall (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) running an eye-catching Oaks trial half a length back in third.

“She is very talented and has a lot of pace, but she's not the easiest to keep right,” her master trainer announced in the aftermath of receiving a warm welcome from the appreciative crowd in the winner's enclosure following his 20th Curragh Classic victory. “I've always had the highest confidence in the filly, but I wasn't prepared to run her until she was right and conditions were right and it is beautiful ground today. Chris got her relaxed and gave her a beautiful ride–the only question was whether she would stay a mile, as she has pace to win a group 1 race over six furlongs, but this was the best place to find out.”

Stamped a TDN Rising Star with a debut defeat of Agartha (Ire) (Caravaggio) in what has turned out to be a prescient seven-furlong maiden at Leopardstown in July, Homeless Songs was returning to the scene of the first of two subsequent disappointments when fifth in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. in September. Only sixth in the G3 Killavullan S. back at Leopardstown the following month, the homebred had come back with a clean slate for the latter venue's 1000 Guineas Trial and swept aside Agartha on three-pound better terms to re-establish her reputation. This was much the same in terms of performance, if super-sized to fit the occasion.

Unsurprisingly, Agartha who was at levels this time was in the thick of it again heading to the furlong pole where Joseph O'Brien's solid yardstick was coming off slightly worse in her private argument with Tuesday. What happened in the next dozen seconds was as dramatic as it gets in a fiercely-contested Curragh Classic, as both high-class fillies were swamped and left for dead by the relentless winner. Homeless Songs covered the mile almost a second faster than the year-older Pearls Galore (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) had carrying the same weight in the preceding G2 Lanwades Stud S. and when weight-for-age is taken into account, the cherry is on the cake where this magnificent display is concerned.

Chris Hayes said, “Where we were drawn is probably the best of the ground. When the draw came out the other day, I was nearly leaping up and down inside in Rosewell! She has an extraordinary turn of foot and the last thing I wanted to do was to be looking for gaps. She likes a little bit of room and you saw what she can do. There was talk that she would be better with a bend and this and that. My only concern coming into today was would I get a clean run of things. Staying a mile and the ground made no difference, as she is a special filly.”

For Weld, the occasion brought rise to many emotions as he pondered the loss of Pat Smullen. “Today would have been his birthday and I saw his picture on the racecard and recalled that he won at stakes level on her dam. He also won this on Nighttime for my late mother in 2006, so it's very poignant,” he said, before his attention was turned back to Homeless Songs' immediate and long-term future. “We'll see how she comes out of this and speak with Eva Maria [Bucher-Haefner], but obviously the Coronation at Royal Ascot has to be considered,” he added. “That is my 27th European Classic and my fifth time to win this race and every Classic is very special and difficult to win. She's a very special filly and she is likely to be around next year–there's every chance.”

Homeless Songs, bred on the same cross as Adayar (Ire), gives Frankel his 21st group 1 winner and hails from a high-achieving family that keeps delivering on the big stage. She is the second foal out of the talented Joailliere (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was denied the chance to show her true merit and ended up only ninth in this in 2015 on her second start after an emphatic debut win. Off until her 4-year-old campaign, she was placed in the G3 Concorde S., G3 Park Express S. and G3 Gladness S. before winning the Listed Frankfurt Sprint Trophy. Kin to the G3 Meld S. and G3 Dance Design Fillies' S. winner Carla Bianca (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) and the G2 Beresford S. runner-up True Solitaire (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), her first foal was the Listed Orby S. winner Reve de Vol (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), who was also placed in the G2 Champions Juvenile S. and G3 Royal Whip S.

Joailliere is out of the Listed Finale S. winner Diamond Trim (Ire) (Highest Honor {Fr}), whose progeny list is headed by the triple group 3 winner and G1 Irish St Leger runner-up Profound Beauty (Ire) (Danehill) who in turn produced the Listed Platinum S. winner and G3 Athasi S. runner-up Rose de Pierre (Ire) to a mating with Dubawi. Diamond Trim is a granddaughter of the GI Acorn S. winner Aptostar (Fappiano), as well as being a half to the G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Irresistible Jewel (Ire) (Danehill), in turn the dam of the Irish St Leger hero Royal Diamond (Ire) (King's Best), fellow Ribblesdale scorer Princess Highway (Street Cry {Ire}) and Mad about You (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) who was second in this Classic. Joailliere's 2-year-old colt Time Tells All (Ire) is by Sea the Stars (Ire), while she also has a yearling full-brother to Homeless Songs.

Sunday, The Curragh, Ireland
TATTERSALLS IRISH 1000 GUINEAS-G1, €595,000, Curragh, 5-22, 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:38.81, g/y.
1–HOMELESS SONGS (IRE), 128, f, 3, by Frankel (GB)
     1st Dam: Joailliere (Ire) (Hwt. Older Mare-Ger at 5-7f, SW-Ger, MGSP-Ire), by Dubawi (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Majestic Silver (Ire), by Linamix (Fr)
     3rd Dam: Diamond Trim (Ire), by Highest Honor (Fr)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Moyglare Stud Farm (IRE); T-Dermot Weld; J-Chris Hayes. €290,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-0-0, $361,287. *1/2 to Reve de Vol (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), SW & MGSP-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Tuesday (Ire), 128, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Lillie Langtry (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). O-Mrs.J Magnier/M Tabor/D Smith/Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €100,000.
3–Concert Hall (Ire), 128, f, 3, Dubawi (Ire)–Was (Ire) (G1SW-Eng, G1SP-Ire, $496,294), by Galileo (Ire).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-D Smith,Mrs J Magnier,M Tabor,Westerberg; B-Was Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €50,000.
Margins: 5HF, HF, NK. Odds: 5.50, 2.75, 7.50.
Also Ran: Star Girls Aalmal (Ire), Agartha (Ire), Purplepay (Fr), History (Ire), Villanova Queen (Ire), Lady of Inishfree (Ire), Panama Red (Ire), Mise En Scene (GB), Freedom of Speech (Ire), Hermana Estrella (Ire), Lullaby (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

The post Frankel’s Homeless Songs Electric In The Guineas appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Inspiral to skip Irish 1,000 Guineas in favour of Royal Ascot

Leading Irish 1,000 Guineas fancy Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will not run at the Curragh on Sunday and will instead chart a path towards the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot on June 17.

The decision was made after the filly was ridden in a key workout by Frankie Dettori over the weekend and the news was revealed by Cheveley Park's Chris Richardson on Monday.

Richardson said that it was the recommendation of joint-trainer John Gosden to go straight to Royal Ascot and bypass the Curragh this weekend.

He explained, “She's not going to Ireland. John's recommendation is let's go straight to Royal Ascot for the Coronation Stakes.”

Richardson added, “Frankie had a sit on her on Saturday and just felt we needed a little bit more time, so we'll give her that and hopefully have her cherry-ripe and spot on for the Royal meeting.”

Inspiral, unbeaten in four starts as a 2-year-old, with that brilliant juvenile campaign culminating with G1 Fillies' Mile glory at Newmarket, was also ruled out of the 1,000 Guineas last month with Richardson explaining at the time that the filly had not been “100 per cent straightforward” in the spring.

In her absence in Sunday's Irish equivalent, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Dermot Weld's Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), herself having skipped Newmarket and more recently ParisLongchamp, are general 5-2 joint-favourites.

The post Inspiral to skip Irish 1,000 Guineas in favour of Royal Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Thoughts Turn To June In Moyglare’s Milestone Year

It is a year of important milestones for Moyglare Stud, most notably the 60th anniversary of its foundation by Swiss businessman and philanthropist Walter Haefner. The 50th running of the G1 Moyglare Stud S. will also take place on Sept. 11 at the Curragh, the famed Irish racecourse and training grounds which have been the beneficiary of significant support from Eva-Maria Bucher Haefner, who took over the running of Moyglare on her father's death, at the age of 101, a decade ago in June 2012.

A passionate equestrian who took up race riding in his 50s and became the 1963 Fegentri champion amateur at the age of 53, Haefner would surely have approved of his daughter's gathering of the reins at the Irish farm and continuing, with manager Malachy Ryan and advisor Fiona Craig, very much in the spirit of his beloved enterprise. Fittingly, in the early days of this noteworthy season, Moyglare Stud has already been represented by a decent smattering of classy representatives and has a couple of potential Classic fillies to savour in the coming weeks.

One of those, Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), has been ruled out of Sunday's Poule d'assai des Pouliches on account of the lively ground, and she will likely take aim at the Irish 1000 Guineas on her home track. She is trained on the Curragh by Dermot Weld, a mainstay of the Moyglare operation for decades, who, in tandem with Walter Haefner, embraced a pioneering approach to racing abroad. Their travels resulted in victory in the 1990 GI Belmont S. for the Moyglare homebred Go And Go (Ire) (Be My Guest), followed the next year by lifting the inaugural Hong Kong Bowl with Additional Risk (Ire) (Ahonoora {GB}), who became the first overseas-trained winner in Hong Kong.

Continuity is a hallmark of Moyglare Stud, and doubtless one which has aided its success over the years. Fiona Craig joined the team in 1990, the year after the purchase of GI Acorn S. winner Aptostar (Fappiano) at Fasig-Tipton's Night of the Stars Sale in Kentucky. More than three decades later she still plays a key role in the operation and is looking forward to a Classic turn for Homeless Songs, a fifth-generation descendant of Aptostar and recent winner of the G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial. The filly's dam Joailliere (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), also trained by Weld, earned multiple group placings and won a German listed contest.

“We ran her mother on firm ground in the Guineas and she didn't run again for 10 months,” says Craig of the decision to swerve Paris on Sunday. “But Joailliere came back as a 4-year-old, and this filly is stronger than her dam. It's a long year and we'd love to race her all year and next year. She's a good filly and she deserves to run in the Guineas.”

She continues, “Mr Haefner always said 'you have to race them' and so Eva has a 6-year-old staying mare still in training.”

That mare is Search For A Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), one of eight black-type winners and two Group 1 winners for Moyglare's celebrated matriarch Polished Gem (Ire) (Danehill). The Irish St Leger heroine of 2019, Search For A Song appeared for the first time this season when running second to her full-brother Kyprios (Ire) in the Listed Vintage Crop S. The 4-year-old colt is one of a handful of horses Moyglare has in training with Aidan O'Brien and owned in partnership with Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor. They include the recent Cheshire Oaks winner Thoughts Of June (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who naturally is a potential candidate for the Oaks on the first weekend of the month for which she is hopefully portentously named.

In the meantime, Kyprios and Search For A Song will appear again on the same day this Friday, but in separate races in different countries, with the latter heading to the Knavesmire for the G2 Yorkshire Cup and Kyprios to the G3 Saval Beg Levmoss S. at Leopardstown.

These siblings, too, descend from a mare bought in America, a favoured venue for the globetrotting Haefner. Their third dam is the dual Grade I winner Talking Picture (Speak John).

Craig recalls, “Walter Haefner loved American racing. He found it faster and more exciting, and that's where most of the broodmares on Moyglare came from, such as Talking Picure and Grenzen. They bought Talking Picture out of the Gluck dispersal in 1978. She came off Elmendorf Farm and was in foal to Hoist The Flag. This is the one branch of the family that is still thriving for us.”

That branch stretches through Talking Picture's daughter Trusted Partner (Affirmed), winner of the Irish 1000 Guineas in 1988. That mare's most vaunted offspring is Dress To Thrill (Ire) (Danehill), a star for Moyglare on both sides of the Atlantic when winning the GI Matriarch S. at the now-defunct Hollywood Park, as well as the G2 Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket. She was also runner-up in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. of 2001. As can often be the case in families, while Dress To Thrill excelled on the track, her lesser-performed full-sister Polished Gem outdid her in the paddocks.

“Dress To Thrill had a very bad foaling with her third foal and was always a bit on borrowed time after that,” says Craig. Dress To Thrill produced six foals and died in 2010 at the age of 11.

“But then there was Polished Gem. Kyprios was her eighth stakes winner but you would not have picked out Polished Gem. Dress To Thrill had all this presence, real pazzazz. She was a bigger, stronger mare. But Polished Gem was more like Trusted Partner, quite weak and light.”

Kyprios's Ballydoyle stable-mate, the grey Thoughts Of June, is half-owned by Moyglare and is out of mare who exemplifies the profile prized by Bucher Haefner and Craig in her combination of talent and toughness. With 17 starts and six wins under her belt, Discreet Marq (Discreet Cat), who was purchased as a filly in training from her breeder Patricia Generazio, won the GI Del Mar Oaks among three graded stakes wins and seven Grade 1 placings.

“Her mum was as brave as they came,” says Craig. “She was with Christophe Clement and I watched her train and race for two years. Then the Generazios wanted to sell and Eva bought her. She was really game and never gave in.

“The Generazios were breeders from New Jersey who bred many good grey horses and they always said to me, 'Have you had a grey yet?' When Discreet eventually had a grey Mr. Generazio said to me, 'That'll be the one'.”

She continues of Thoughts Of June, “But she's only just starting. We are looking at next year and onwards. Moyglare is not really commercial but there comes a point when you have to retire them, but there's not the urgency if they are good and they are racing and enjoying it. Why stop? Some of the horses bred are only starting as 3-year-olds.

“Eva wants racehorses. Her father didn't go racing as much but Eva and her children Chiara and Mischa go racing a lot more and they want to race them. It's so competitive in Ireland and therefore if you have something that can compete it's fantastic.”

Craig adds, “You watch Search For A Song coming down the yard in the morning and she loves it. I don't know whether she will win a Group 1 this year or not, but it seems a pity to put her in a field just yet.”

Mischa and Chiara Bucher race horses respectively in the colours previously used by their grand father Walter–blue and white to represent Switzerland, and green, white and gold for Ireland. The silks now sported by the Moyglare horses of a black and white jacket with a red cap and black star have a rich history as the former colours of Kaiser Wilhelm II, presumably based on the national colours of the German empire.

Whatever their heritage, they are silks which have become readily associated with the Haefner family's bloodstock, carried to success by a stream of top-class horses, including 2000 Guineas winner Refuse To Bend (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), Irish Oaks winner Dance Design (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and Brief Truce (Irish River {Fr}).

“We're very lucky at Moyglare; some of the lads have been there for decades,” says Craig. “The good horses at the moment, are down to these lads and Malachy Ryan. They are the ones that do it day to day and they don't get much of the credit.”

She continues, 'The horses cannot be brought in and mollycoddled. There are big pastures and lots of trees so there are windbreaks but they have to stand out in the rain. They have to be hardy horses to compete in Ireland.

“It's not a beauty contest. Tough horses are what do it–horses that are tough enough to stay out all winter. The breeding business can get very complicated at times and it probably just needs to be kept simple. I am sure if you're a commercial breeder there are things that have to be done. But we're not really commercial–occasionally we sell things to keep the numbers down. It's 500 acres and we try to keep to around 100 horses, in the U.S. and Ireland.”

Craig adds, “We have put the odd good mare into an auction, and Eva's hope and my hope is that they would go on to be successful for someone else. They are probably going to be bred differently to how we would have bred them at Moyglare and I don't view that as a negative. For example, we sold Offshore Boom in 1997 to Joe Crowley. She was the cheapest mare in the draft and then she became the dam of Rock Of Gibraltar, but she wouldn't have been bred to Danehill had she stayed at Moyglare.”

There is no point ruing the occasional one that gets away, particularly if those who remain continue to do the stud proud.

“It's exciting to have the good ones but these things go in cycles, and if you keep doing what you do and you have some fillies, then you have a chance,” Craig says. “Moyglare has been through quite a big transition. When Eva took over the one thing we all realised was that we had to buy some new stock. Our bloodlines are so focused now that it's very hard to find something in England or Ireland that you can breed to. Galileo was such an amazing force of nature and he is throughout the pedigrees. It's equally hard to find stallions in the United States that would work back in Ireland–there's a handful–so what Eva has done in the last few years has left a handful of yearlings in training there with Christophe Clement.”

The strategy paid off in December with the Wait A While S. victory for the Uncle Mo filly Lia Marina, a daughter of Lira (Giant's Causeway), one of nine mares Moyglare has at stud in Kentucky. The Haefner family will always have strong ties to Ireland, too. Eva-Maria's support of the Curragh has been widely appreciated, and Moyglare Stud is involved in the longest-running Group 1 race sponsorship in its eponymous fillies' contest on Irish Champions Weekend.

“Eva likes helping people,” says Craig. “She helped local artists in Switzerland during the pandemic because all their work stopped. And that's why the stable staff canteen at the Curragh is sponsored because they deserve it, and it was also a significant reason for  her upgrading the facilities on the gallops at the Curragh. It was really for the community of the Curragh. All the lads live in the surrounding villages and if you lose the Curragh gallops you lose a whole world of people.”

Moyglare Stud's current crop of horses trained in Ireland also include the Classic-entered pair of Trevaunance (Ire) (Muhaarar {Ire}), who beat Thoughts Of June when breaking her maiden last September for Jessica Harrington, and Eclat De Lumiere (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), a recent fourth in the G3 Blue Wind S. The debutant winner Tough Talk (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) also looks a smart juvenile prospect for Ger Lyons.

“Eva started off with a real enjoyment of breeding and racing, but she became a very good student of it and learnt an awful lot,” says Craig

“I think it's a great satisfaction to her that the stud this year has done what it was bought to do 60 years ago. Her father didn't come to Ireland to buy a farm, he came to buy a show jumper but his flight was delayed and he got chatting in an airport bar and ended up buying a stud farm.”

Despite the hope and joy brought by horses of Classic potential, for Bucher-Haefner and for Craig, two absent friends are never far from their minds. Pat Smullen, Ireland's champion jockey who became synonymous with the Moyglare silks during his long tenure at Weld's stable, had become an advisor to the stud prior to his death in 2020.

“Pat will always be a part of Moyglare,” says Craig of her long-time friend. “He was an integral part of it all. He started off as a young rider but he ended up knowing the pedigrees and the families inside out, and that was the benefit of having someone riding those generations for so long. He won't ever not be a factor at Moyglare just because he's not physically here.”

She added, “Eva said the other day when she was watching Thoughts Of June win at Chester that she had tears in her eyes for her father. She was thinking of him and how excited he would have been, because that is a step to somewhere.”

The post Thoughts Turn To June In Moyglare’s Milestone Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Prendergast keen to keep going after Shadwell boost

Less than a fortnight after it was announced that legendary trainer Kevin Prendergast would remain on the Shadwell roster, the 89-year-old operator confirmed that he was not the retiring kind and spoke for the first time since Hamdan Al Maktoum's passing about his long and successful relationship with the hugely influential owner.

The Shadwell operation has been winding down gradually since Hamdan Al Maktoum passed away just over a year ago and, while major operators like Dermot Weld and Sir Michael Stoute will no longer train any of the horses on what has now become a much-reduced string, Prendergast has spoken of what it means to him to have been left on the training roster. Mark and Charlie Johnston, Ed Dunlop, Brian Meehan and Freddy Head were also axed during the restructuring process.

While Prendergast did not receive any Shadwell 2-year-olds this year, he will train up to five older horses for the team, along with roughly ten others for different owners, which according to the multiple Classic-winning trainer, is just enough to keep things ticking over.
“We only have 15 horses for the season, that's all, but we've enough,” Prendergast said. “We have had a good innings and we'll keep going until the man upstairs calls it all to a halt.”

Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) sent the Curragh into a tizzy when carrying the famous blue and white silks of Shadwell to victory in that memorable Irish 2,000 Guineas of 2016 and that, along with the gallant effort of Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) to finish second in the 2019 Derby, were put forward as the highlights by Prendergast in a relationship that spanned over three decades.

“We were together for over 30 years,” Prendergast said. “We had some great days. We won an Irish Guineas together with Awtaad and were probably a bit unlucky not to win the Derby with Madhmoon. They were the highlights but we had a long and successful relationship together-a lot of great days.

“It was disappointing that Madhmoon got a little setback after finishing second in the Derby. I had a lot of Group and Listed winners for him but, to be second in a Derby and to win an Irish Guineas, they were the highlights.

“He didn't go racing in Ireland, which was a pity, but he used to visit the yard two or three times a year. I don't think he came racing in Ireland for the past 20 years before he died.”

Prendergast added, “He was a proper gentleman. He was extremely modest, very easy to work for and he took the good news and the bad news just the same. If something went wrong, he just moved on from it and was very forgiving and appreciative of all the work everyone did.
“As he said himself, the good days were better than the bad days, but the bad days were made easier when you had him in your corner.”

Prendergast has yet to send out a winner from just 12 runners this season but has a number of entries over the coming days, including the 103-rated and Shadwell-owned Monaasib (GB) (Bobby's Kitten). Regardless of how this season goes, the trainer, who will be forever remembered for managing the career of the 1977 Guineas winner Nebbiolo (GB) (Yellow Gold {GB}) and many others, believes the last of his Shadwell string will leave his Friarstown base by the end of the campaign.

“I was the first trainer in Ireland to train for Hamdan Al Maktoum,” he reflected. “Dermot Weld got some horses more recently and, when they didn't have enough horses to go around, I was left with the horses that I had, which was very good.

“Most of them were sold off, but we were left with four or five and, by the end of this season I would imagine that they will be weeded out as well. We didn't get any two-year-olds.”

The post Prendergast keen to keep going after Shadwell boost appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights