Seven Declared For York’s Juddmonte International

Seven contenders will go forward for Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International S. at York after final declarations were confirmed Monday morning. Shadwell's all-conquering Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), undefeated through nine starts to date, will seek to take his record to a perfect ten in the £1,000,000 10-furlong feature and will break from stall six. Guaranteed to start as the odds-on favourite for his first attempt at beyond the one-mile trip, his rivals are headed by Prince Faisal's globetrotting Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), who has not tasted success in four starts since administering a six-length beating to Baaeed's stablemate Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) in last year's renewal. Mishriff will exit from the five hole while Alenquer has drawn gate two. William Haggas is confident Baaeed will take the increased distance in his stride and said, “We've always felt he'd be better over further, but we've got a few people emailing us and casting doubt on whether we should be doing it. I'm looking forward to it, Sheikha Hissa is up for the challenge and I think it would be remiss of us not to give it a go. There's nothing I can do about the competition on the day and if the Mishriff of last year comes to York in the same form he'll be incredibly difficult to beat. He was unbelievably impressive that day. Mishriff ran a very, very good race in the Eclipse and a little bit of a lacklustre race in the King George, so who knows which one will turn up. He'll be a danger as will the others.” Haggas has also declared last year's G1 Champion S. runner-up Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}), who was beaten a nose by Sir Busker (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) in last month's G2 York S. over course and distance. They have drawn stalls three and one. Godolphin's G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hero Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), who finished a head behind Mishriff in Sandown's G1 Coral-Eclipse last month, is the Classic generation's lone representative in the field and will bid to register a fourth win at the highest level in his second try at the distance. He has been allocated stall four. The field is completed by Ballydoyle's G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and G1 Coronation Cup placegetter High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who will start at long odds from the outside berth.

The post Seven Declared For York’s Juddmonte International appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Champion Glory For Galiway’s Sealiway

After a few days where moving the date of the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe had been mooted and widely-discussed, Haras de la Gousserie's Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) proved that the 13-day turnaround from the ParisLongchamp monument to Ascot's G1 QIPCO Champion S. holds no fears with a career-defining success in Saturday's feature. While most of the focus had been on how Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) would deal with being backed up from ParisLongchamp, it was the bargain €62,000 Arqana Deauville August graduate Sealiway who bounced back from a fifth placing there to scoop this prestigious prize after a tussle with Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}). Travelling with enthusiasm in fourth early in the hands of Mickael Barzalona, last year's impressive G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere hero got to Adayar and to the front two out and battled hard to see off the supplemented Dubai Honour and prevail by 3/4 of a length. There was another 1 1/2 lengths back to Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) in third, with the 13-8 favourite Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) a length away in fourth. “It's great to be back in the big time,” Barzalona said of the Cedric Rossi-trained 12-1 shot. “I've been with him since the beginning and he deserved that. The team said he had improved a lot since the Arc run, so although it was a tough race they were pretty confident. He showed plenty of stamina in the Arc, but today he showed plenty of speed and is just an excellent horse.”

Out early as a juvenile last term, Sealiway had won over six furlongs on debut at Saint-Cloud in May and at Chantilly in June before finishing third in the Listed Prix Roland de Chambure over seven at ParisLongchamp in July. Taking Vichy 's Listed Prix des Jouvenceaux et des Jouvencelles by five lengths the following month, the chestnut had run second in the G3 Prix la Rochette back at ParisLongchamp in September prior to his eight-length romp in the Lagardere on Arc day. Fifth after meeting some trouble in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland in November, he returned to be second in the Apr. 18 G3 Prix de Fontainebleau and eighth in the May 16 G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains over a mile at ParisLongchamp before moving up in trip.

No match for the Poulains hero St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) when second in the 10 1/2-furlong G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly June 6, he was reappearing for the first time when finishing off strongly late under Franck Blondel to finish 3/4 of a length behind the fourth-placed Adayar at 58-1 in the Arc. Entitled to come on for that first effort off a lengthy break, he was fresh and keen throughout the early stages as last year's winner Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and Adayar made it honest in front. As he had two Sundays ago, Adayar looked turning for home as if he might be stretching the field, but his finish was not as dynamic as it had been here in July nor at Epsom before that and as Sealiway loomed at his side the game was up. Mishriff tried hard to get on terms with the French challenger before fading, while Mac Swiney had his run interrupted by Dubai Honour and had to switch inside. Sealiway's sole danger late was another who took part in Arc weekend, but the impressive G2 Prix Dollar winner Dubai Honour was never quite able to find that extra surge to get past as the 3-year-olds took command.

William Haggas said of the runner-up, “Dubai Honour was a little bit unfortunate, because he's a hold up horse drawn in stall 10. Adayar missed the break and just as James [Doyle] was trying to get him in, Adayar went hurtling past him and set him alight a bit. No excuse, we were quite far back but that's the way he needs to be ridden. He came with what looked like a winning run, but the other horse outstayed him. He's another that has made great progress. I was thinking that the Hong Kong Cup might suit him. He would enjoy that long straight and seems to run well right-handed. I don't know about Australia for him yet.”

Charlie Appleby said of Adayar, who ended up fifth, “Will said it was the ground. He was always just doing too much really and it paid up the straight. Will just said his exertions paid towards the end. At the end of the day, we made the decision to come here and maybe it was a tougher race than we thought in the Arc. We'll put him away for the winter and we've got a nice horse for next year. We know we can step him back up to 12 furlongs too. We know how to set our stall out next year. Today there was not going to be any natural pace and he was just over-racing and it paid towards the end.” Mishriff's rider David Egan said of the beaten favourite, “He is a better horse on better ground.”

Sealiway is out of the Listed Prix Herod winner Kensea (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), whose full-brother to the winner Seagali (Fr) sold to the MAB Agency for €115,000 at last year's Arqana Deauville September Yearling Sale and whose Seagala (Fr) also by Galiway was a €380,000 purchase by SARL Trotting Bloodstock at the recent Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale. This is the family of the listed-placed Exit To Nowhere pair of Enjoleur (Fr) and Epicurien (Fr), the G2 Prix Malleret scorer Another Dancer (Groom Dancer) and the G3 Park Express S. winner Pollen (Ire) (Orpen).

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO CHAMPION S.-G1, £1,260,000, Ascot, 10-16, 3yo/up, 9f 212yT, 2:08.31, g/s.
1–SEALIWAY (FR), 127, c, 3, by Galiway (GB)
     1st Dam: Kensea (Fr) (SW-Fr), by Kendargent (Fr)
     2nd Dam: Sea Island (Fr), by Gold Away (Ire)
     3rd Dam: Equatoriale (Fr), by Saint Estephe (Fr)
(€62,000 Ylg '19 ARAUG). O-Le Haras de la Gousserie; B-Guy Pariente Holding (FR); T-Cedric Rossi; J-Mickael Barzalona. £714,546. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 2yo Colt-Fr, G1SW-Fr, 12-5-3-1, $1,876,650. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Dubai Honour (Ire), 127, g, 3, Pride of Dubai (Aus)–Mondelice (GB), by Montjeu (Ire). (110,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Mohamed Obaida; B-Macha Bloodstock/Meridian International (IRE); T-William Haggas. £270,900.
3–Mac Swiney (Ire), 127, c, 3, New Approach (Ire)–Halla Na Saoire (Ire), by Teofilo (Ire). O-Mrs J. S. Bolger; B/T-Jim Bolger (IRE). £135,576.
Margins: 3/4, 1HF, 1. Odds: 12.00, 6.00, 40.00.
Also Ran: Mishriff (Ire), Adayar (Ire), Addeybb (Ire), Foxes Tales (Ire), Al Aasy (Ire), Euchen Glen (GB). Scratched: Bolshoi Ballet (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by TVG.

The post Champion Glory For Galiway’s Sealiway appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Adayar Heads Star Cast of Champions

Godolphin's June 5 G1 Epsom Derby and July 24 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will be one of the 10 starters in Saturday's G1 QIPCO Champion S. at Ascot after Charlie Appleby pushed go on Thursday morning.

Fourth in last Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp, the homebred has given all the right signals in the interim period and adds substance to a renewal robbed of Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) who has been re-routed to take the place of the absent Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. Drawn in nine, Adayar is set to re-engage the King George runner-up Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB})–who has stall two–with only Mohamed Obaida's supplemented Aug. 14 G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano and Oct. 2 G2 Prix Dollar scorer Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}) wider out.

Appleby revealed that connections were buoyed by an impressive piece of work on Wednesday.

“It was an easy piece of work to confirm his wellbeing and he did it so well,” he explained. “We discussed it with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and the decision was taken to run. We are all looking forward to the rematch with Mishriff, particularly over this trip. Adayar beat Mishriff comfortably in the King George and then Mishriff came out and dominated the Juddmonte International at York over the distance of Saturday's race. We are happy to meet him over the mile and a quarter, which is the trip where we believe Adayar's potential lies next year.”

Aidan O'Brien revealed that Love returned an unsatisfactory blood result on Thursday, leading to the shift of the June 4 G1 Epsom Oaks, July 17 G1 Irish Oaks and Aug. 19 G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Snowfall to the Fillies & Mares which has attracted a field of eight. Ballydoyle's May 2 G1 1000 Guineas and Aug. 3 G1 Prix Rothschild heroine Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) will take on Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's five-times group 1-winning Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and the Sept. 5 G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp hero Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the 10-runner G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. sponsored by QIPCO.

There will be 20 runners in a wide-open renewal of the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S., where Yoshiro Kubota's 'TDN Rising Star' Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}) bids to atone for a series of top-level near-misses, while the opening G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup sees the G1 Prix du Cadran one-two Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) square up again. The latter has been given the green light by the Gosdens and owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen to attempt to repeat his 2018 win in the race which saw Moyglare Stud's Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) left out of the reckoning by Dermot Weld. Other high-profile absentees alongside her and Love are the Fillies & Mares-targeted La Petite Coco (Ire) (Ruler of the World {Ire}) and Free Wind (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

William Haggas has already had a season to savour and the barometer for his stable's health is the fact that he has a trio engaged in the Champion, headed by last year's winner Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}). Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's title-holder is coming back off a 105-day absence, having finished runner-up in the G1 Eclipse S. at Sandown July 3.

“Addeybb's ideal ground is when it passes an inspection on the morning of the race and he sloshes through that,” Haggas said. “This is going to be soft, but I'm not sure it will be soft enough for him. He stays well and his record right-handed is fantastic, but this is a hugely competitive, fantastic race. We weren't able to get a prep into him, but he's taken a lot of graft this year and his record fresh is excellent. We think we've got him pretty ready.”

Shadwell's Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has suffered three defeats since his impressive wins in the Apr. 18 G3 John Porter S. and May 15 G3 Aston Park S. at Newbury, with a latest fourth in that venue's Sept. 18 G3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup his most deflating. His trainer has long held him in the highest affection and said, “We all know that Al Aasy doesn't find as much under pressure as it looks like he might, so I hope his jockey waits a bit. At Newbury, he went three and a half from home and it exposed him. The horse is much better than that, he should have won there and we'll see what he has to offer as he's a strong stayer at a mile and a quarter. He may not be good enough, but he's talented and he's no mug even in a race of this quality. I love him and he's a very good horse who has been rubbished by everyone, so I'd love to see him run a good race.”

Of Dubai Honour, who is one of six 3-year-olds in the feature, he added, “He won really easily in the Guillaume d'Ornano, but they went really hard there whereas in the Dollar they went slow and he showed a real turn of foot. There's nothing else for him until Hong Kong in December and when I suggested it, the owner nearly bit my hand off. He's an intriguing runner, but Mishriff was awesome at York and I could do without Adayar. He's a bloody good horse and I'd be frightened of him, even over a mile and a quarter. He'll be hard to pass. This year we have nine runners on the day, when we normally have one or two, so we are blessed to have so many nice horses and we've hopefully got them in good shape.”

All bar the retired Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) return to defend their crowns in their respective races this year, with Trueshan and Addeybb joined by the Sprint winner Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and Al Asayl France's The Revenant (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who heads back to the QEII. It is in the latter contest that Haggas saddles what could be his leading contender on the fixture in the unbeaten Baaeed, who could arguably be the most exciting of the eight Group 1 winners in the line-up for what looks the strongest race on the card and the mile championship decider of 2021. Despite his profile, the head of Somerville Lodge is not getting carried away.

“Whilst I've been very impressed with what he's done in such a short space of time, he's got a big task on Saturday,” he said of the Shadwell homebred. “Not only is there Palace Pier, who is a remarkably consistent and tough horse, but there's Alcohol Free, Mother Earth, The Revenant and Benbatl–it's a hell of a strong race with lots of good horses. Without undermining those behind him in the Moulin, we'd had a little hiccup and a rushed preparation for that and I'm pretty sure we didn't see him at his best. The bit none of us know is what he's got left, but Jim [Crowley] is very fond of him and he's a lovely horse to deal with. He's as fit as we want him and ready to go in what is probably the best mile race of the season.”

Nick Smith, Ascot's director of racing and communications, is keen for the 10th Champions Day to play out to an expected crowd of around of 25,000.

“You couldn't have asked for a lot better,” he said after the declarations were made on Thursday morning. “The weather is pretty sound, so it will probably be the best renewal we've had since Excelebration and Frankel kind of bookended the card early on. The final declarations are great. The stayers' race is looking like the race of the year over that trip, which is slightly unexpected after a strong Cadran, but great to see. The Champion S. and the QEII are probably joint highlights with Adayar running now against Mishriff–the King George one and two. You've got to say that now has become the outstanding clash. It's not bad to have Baaeed and Palace Pier as the appetiser, so we're really thrilled. It's going to be a great day.”

On the climax to the close race for the Flat jockeys' championship between Oisin Murphy and William Buick, Smith added, “It will probably go to the wire now. It's an intriguing added dimension, especially if it ended up going to the Balmoral [H]. It's fascinating really. The declarations didn't need another story, but it certainly is another thread. We'll have a crowd of about 25,000 with the weather looking set. It will still seem reasonably comfortable. It will be a tremendous day and a fantastic way to see the season out with a real bang.”

The post Adayar Heads Star Cast of Champions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Dubai Honour Surges To Dollar Success

Mohamed Obaida's Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride of Dubai {Aus}) stepped out of handicap company to garner Deauville's Aug. 14 G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano in his most recent outing and produced a telling burst at the end of Saturday's G2 Qatar Prix Dollar to double his pattern-race tally in impressive fashion. Settled off a steady tempo in ninth after the initial exchanges, the 5-2 favourite made eyecatching headway out wide in the straight to launch his challenge passing the furlong marker and kept on powerfully under a continued drive in the closing stages to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths from Magny Cours (Medaglia d'Oro), completing a clean sweep of the card's stakes races for British raiders.

“It's turning into quite a good day and, beforehand, all my rides looked to have good chances on paper,” explained James Doyle after claiming his third winner of the afternoon. “I was quietly confident, but I've had other days like that at Longchamp where you think you could ride a few winners and nothing happens. It was difficult to assess Dubai Honour's chances as he'd won a strong handicap at Newmarket on quicker ground and the race kind of set up for closers in Deauville last time, but you couldn't knock that performance today. I was in two minds what to do from a tricky draw. I could have pushed him forward to get a position, but I decided we'd be brave and hang on. It's a long straight down to the second winning post and there was never really a moment's worry.”

“He is an exciting prospect and is probably even better on good ground,” added the owner's representative and former jockey Philip Robinson. “There's a possibility he might go to Hong Kong for the International meeting in December. He could also run in between, but nothing is certain at this moment. If he doesn't go to Hong Kong, we'll see him again next year instead.”

Dubai Honour is the first foal bred from the unraced Mondelice (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}), herself a half-sister to G3 Prix Daphnis victor Last Kingdom (Frankel {GB}). Dubai Honour's G1 Phoenix S.-winning third dam Damson (Ire) (Entrepreneur {GB}), who also landed the G2 Queen Mary S. at two, is the dam of G2 Flying Childers S. and G3 Molecomb S.-winning sire Requinto (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) and the second dam of G3 Eulogy S. winner Lilikoi (NZ) (Charm Spirit {Ire}). The next dam Tadkiyra (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) produced G3 Prestige S. victrix Geminiani (Ire) (King of Kings {Ire}) and is kin to four stakes winners including G3 Prix Messidor victor Tassmoun (Kalamoun {GB}) and Listed Chester S. victrix Tarikhana (Ire) (Mouktar {Ire}), herself responsible for G1 Prix Royal-Oak hero Tiraaz (Lear Fan). Tadkiyra is also a half-sister to G3 Princess Royal S. victrix Tashtiya (Ire) (Shergar {GB}), herself the fourth dam of the card's G2 Prix de Chaudenay victor Manobo (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Mondelice has the unraced 2-year-old filly Shishito (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), a yearling colt by Cracksman (GB) and a weanling colt by Invincible Spirit (Ire) to come.

Saturday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX DOLLAR-G2, €200,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-2, 3yo/up, 9 3/4fT, 2:08.14, vsf.
1–DUBAI HONOUR (IRE), 127, g, 3, by Pride of Dubai (Aus)
1st Dam: Mondelice (GB), by Montjeu (Ire)
2nd Dam: Compelling (Ire), by Kingmambo
3rd Dam: Damson (Ire), by Entrepreneur (GB)
(110,000 gns Ylg '19 TAOCT). O-Mohamed Obaida; B-Macha Bloodstock & Meridian International SARL (IRE); T-William Haggas; J-James Doyle. €114,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-1-0, €399,578. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Magny Cours, 128, g, 6, Medaglia d'Oro–Indy Five Hundred, by A.P. Indy. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Andre Fabre. €44,000.
3–Dawn Intello (Fr), 128, c, 4, Intello (Ger)–Gadalka, by Giant's Causeway. (€57,000 Ylg '18 AROCT). O-AB Racing & Ecurie Ades Hazan; B-Viktor Tymoshenko (FR); T-Andreas Schutz. €21,000.
Margins: 1HF, NK, HD. Odds: 2.50, 3.30, 27.00.
Also Ran: Third Realm (GB), Megallan (GB), Cadillac (Ire), Saiydabad, Adhamo (Ire), Patrick Sarsfield (Fr), Kenway (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by TVG.

The post Dubai Honour Surges To Dollar Success appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights