Opera Singer Heads Oaks Entries; Stellar Selection for Coronation Cup

Fifty-eight entries for the Betfred Oaks on May 31 have been revealed, led by last season's champion juvenile filly Opera Singer (Justify). The G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner remains the market leader despite the recent announcement by her trainer Aidan O'Brien that she may miss the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket following a minor setback in training. 

Her stable-mate Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is also among the 13 fillies to have been entered from Ballydoyle. Irish trainers Noel Meade, Jim Bolger and Dermot Weld have one entry apiece while Paddy Twomey has entered Purple Lily (Ire) (Calyx {GB}) and One Look (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}).

Ralph Beckett has the strongest representation among the British-based trainers with nine fillies engaged at this stage. These include the maiden winner Treasure (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), owned by the King and Queen. 

Britain's champion training partnership of John and Thady Gosden, which won last year's Oaks with Lady Bamford's Soul Sister (Ire), has five entries, including Cheveley Park Stud's Regal Jubilee (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who is currently third-favourite for the fillies' Classic. 

Making Dreams (GB) (Make Believe {GB}), the winner of Monday's G3 Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud, is one of four entries for Karl Burke. She races in the colours of Nick Bradley Racing, the syndicate which fielded the 2021 Oaks runner-up Mystery Angel (Ire).

The sole French entry for the race is the Group 3-placed Dare To Dream (Fr) (Camelot {GB}), who is trained by Chantilly-based Irishman Gavin Hernon. 

Friday's card for the Betfred Derby meeting includes the G1 Coronation Cup, which could see a rematch between the first two home in last year's Derby, Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}).

The reigning Coronation Cup champion Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is also among the 23 entries, which include the St Leger winner Continuous (Ire) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and German Horse of the Year Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}).

 

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Euros Here, There and Everywhere Tuesday At Meydan

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Headed by the first appearance from the seven World Cup night horses from the yard of Aidan O'Brien, there was a buzz of activity on both the dirt track and turf course Tuesday morning at Meydan proper as well as back on the Tapeta track a couple of furlongs down the road.

The Ballydoyle septet slowly ambled out of the tunnel near the 1600-metre starting point on the the dirt surface, led by G3 Red Sea Turf H. hero Tower of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}, G2 Dubai Gold Cup), with dual Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}, G1 Dubai Sheema Classic ) and Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}, G1 Dubai Turf) close in tow. They were followed next in line by Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}, Sheema Classic), the G2 UAE Derby-bound Henry Adams (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Navy Seal (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), and Cairo (Ire) (Quality Road, Dubai Turf) caboosing the group.

The seven made their way down the chute in front of the international press and did one circuit of the main tack in the wrong direction before then turning around to canter a lap. As can be the case on their first visit to the track, a few–including Auguste Rodin–appeared a bit warm under their saddle cloths on a morning that was equal parts muggy and breezy, with 'widespread dust' headlining the weather conditions at the time.

“They arrived early on Sunday and they're all in great form,” said Pat Keating, ever at the fore on foreign soil. “They just trotted a lap, then cantered for seven furlongs or so. They might go a little bit further as the week goes on but they're here healthy and well and that's the main thing.”

About the same time the Ballydoyle contingent was spotted, the three Andre Fabre participants jumped onto the turf course at about the 1400-metre marker. Junko (GB) (Intello {Ger}), the somewhat surprising winner of the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase and bound for the Sheema Classic led his longer-winded stable companions Sober (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) and Sevenna's Knight (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in a light gallop. The latter pair go in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup over two miles.

Runners representing John and Thady Gosden did their Tuesday morning trackwork over the Tapeta track. Four-peat Dubai Turf seeker Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) had steady canters, as did the Sheema Classic-bound Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Gold Cup entrant Trawlerman (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}).

Thady Gosden said: “They all got here about 2am on Sunday. They just had an easy day and we might bring them over to the main track on Thursday.

“Lord North is in good form, this is the fifth year–he's actually been over here, he also came in 2020–and he's won the race three times. He's travelled over well, he's an older horse and he's in good order.

“Nashwa had a great season and has done well during the winter. She seems in good form in what will be a competitive race.”

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Equinox Crowned Longines World’s Best Racehorse 

LONDON, UK — Japan stole the show at the Longines World Racing Awards in London, with Silk Racing's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) named the Longines World's Best Racehorse for 2023 while the G1 Japan Cup claimed the title of Longines World's Best Horse Race. The top-rated three-year-old filly in the world was Japan's Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}).

Equinox's top rating of 135 – the highest ever awarded to a Japanese horse – was achieved in his four-length romp in the Japan Cup, his final appearance on a racecourse in which he had Liberty Island and her fellow Classic winners Stars On Earth (Jpn) and Do Deuce (Jpn) behind him. Such a strong first four meant that the 2023 running of the Japan Cup was awarded a rating of 126.75.

Trainers, jockeys, owners and breeders from across the racing world attended the ceremony at the Savoy to celebrate the 11th time that Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) had joined forces to celebrate the best in the sport. 

The Tetsuya Kimura-trained Equinox was the second Japanese horse to receive the accolade after Just A Way (Jpn) in 2014. Ridden throughout his career by Christophe Lemaire, he was unbeaten in 2023, with his other victories coming in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, G1 Takarazuka Kinen (G1), and G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn).

“To be honest it was quite enjoyable,” said Lemaire with no little understatement of his association with Equinox as he accepted his award on Tuesday.

“Each time he ran there was a big expectation but on that horse I had such confidence. I tried to do my job as well as possible and I will miss him a lot. Like most top athletes he had a combination of physical strength and mental strength. His physical strength allowed him to run fast and use his beautiful stride. Also he was very clever, is he understood very quickly what he had to do to win. My job was just to get a good start and put him in a good position to let him express his talent.”

He added, “He was nearly the perfect racehorse and we have to congratulate the breeder for producing such a beautiful horse and the trainer for allowing him to mature and getting the best out of him. 

“Equinox was something special. He had an aura. Most of the people first discovered him in Dubai but in Japan he was already a rising star.”

Masashi Yonemoto, the CEO of Equinox's 300-strong ownership group Silk Racing, was in London to collect his award along with Kimura and Lemaire. A strong Japanese contingent was bolstered by the presence of Masayoshi Yoshida, the president of the Japan Racing Association (JRA), and Masayuki Goto, the JRA's executive adviser of international affairs, who received the trophy for the world's best race, which was a first for the Japan Cup in its 43-year history.

Equinox was rated 7lbs clear of last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, the unbeaten Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}), who was joint-second in the ratings with the G1 Prince of Wales's S. and Juddmonte International winner Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) on 128. They were thus Europe's top-rated runners for 2023, a pound clear of G1 Queen Elizabeth S. winner Big Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who were joint fourth on 127.

Hukum's runner-up at Ascot, Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and Hong Kong's champion Golden Sixty (Aus) were next on 126, while the dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) was awarded a mark of 125 for his victory in the G1 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, the same as Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), who was judged to have run to that mark on three occasions at Sha Tin and was the top-rated sprinter in the world.

There was a five-way tie for tenth place with a rating of 124 having been awarded to White Abarrio (Race Day), Cody's Wish (Curlin), Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) and Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}).

In total, 36 horses achieved a rating in excess of 120. Of these, nine were trained in Britain, seven in Japan, seven in the USA, four in Hong Kong, and three each in France, Ireland and Australia. Frankel was the sire of four of the top 15 horses in Europe – Mostahdaf, Westover, Onesto (Ire) and Triple Time (Ire) – and grandsire of the co-top-rated Ace Impact, who was also the highest-rated three-year-old in the world. 

It was a particularly good year for European three-year-old colts, with Ace Impact being joined by Big Rock, Auguste Rodin, Paddington and King Of Steel among the top 20 horses globally. 

Three of the four top-rated fillies or mares in the world were also trained in Europe and all hail from the Newmarket stable of John and Thady Gosden. Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was awarded a mark of 121 for her G1 Dahlbury Coronation Cup win, while Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was on 120 for her success in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, the same mark given to Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for her G1 Falmouth S. win. The aforementioned Liberty Island tied with Emily Upjohn on a mark of 121.

Also on 121 was the top-rated stayer, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who started his career with Simon and Ed Crisford in Britain before switching to the Australian stable of Anthony and Sam Freedman. With Lucky Sweynesse leading the way for the older sprinters, the top three-year-old sprinter in the world for 2023 was the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup winner Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) on 120.

Four of the top ten races in the world in 2023 were staged in Japan, with the Takarazuka Kinen in fifth spot, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) joint-sixth and the Arima Kinen in eighth. The Equinox factor had a firm say in the rankings of the races, with the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic ranked second with an average rating of 126.50. The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a regular winner of this title, was third on 124.75, just ahead of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on 124.50. The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S was co-sixth, while the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois was ninth and the Juddmonte International tenth. 

The official rankings are compiled by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee, which is co-chaired by Nigel Gray and Dominic Gardiner-Hill, and they are published by the IFHA.

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Shadwell’s Mostahdaf Improves To Second On Longines WBRR

Shadwell's Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) dominated the G1 Prince of Wales's S. by four lengths at Royal Ascot last month and improved his Longines World's Best Racehorse Ranking (WBRR) from 121 to 128 to sit second behind the 129-ranked Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) on the leaderboard, with the latest rankings released by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) on Thursday.

Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who was second as the favourite in the 10-furlong contest, sits on 123 while Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was third home and is weighted on 120.

Following his decisive victory in the G1 St James's Palace S. at Royal Ascot, three-time Group 1 winner Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) is up to 125 for his defeat of the classy Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) (121), the top-rated female in the world, in the G1 Coral Eclipse S. July 8. Paddington joins Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) and Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse {Aus}), who will fight out Hong Kong Horse of the Year honours, to be announced Friday. Triple Time (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) led home a 1-2 finish for his sire in the G1 Queen Anne S. to open the Royal Meeting and is rated on 121.

A pair of American gallopers are also on the rise after victories on the Belmont S. undercard last month. Cody's Wish (Curlin) improved from 119 to 122 after an impressive win in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. and is rated joint-best dirt horse in the world with G1 Dubai World Cup hero Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}). Up To The Mark (Not This Time) cemented his status as America's pre-eminent turf horse with an easy tally in the GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S., for which he was awarded a rating of 121, bettering his effort in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic by one pound.

The next edition of the Longines WBRR will be published on Aug. 10.

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