Emma Berry | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Weekly Wrap: Trials And Tribulation

Is the Derby picture clearer or murkier after the last week? We probably can't say for sure until after Thursday's Dante S., which may or may not feature Ballydoyle's erstwhile favoured one High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

At the moment, of those currently at 20/1 or shorter in the betting, there's certainly the potential for there to be a good story attached to the winner and, let's face it, the great old race in its first year of Cazoo sponsorship, certainly could do with that.

Who wouldn't love to see the Derby trophy return to Kingsclere 50 years after the great Mill Reef swept from Epsom glory to the Eclipse, the King George & Queen Elizabeth and on to the Arc? Youth Spirit (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) hasn't shown himself to be of Mill Reef's calibre yet but he cornered nicely at Chester to land the Vase, seeing out the extended 1m4f well despite his relatively sprint-orientated bottom line. He doesn't look terribly big, but then neither was Mill Reef.

The same can be said for Third Realm (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who sealed a good week for Roger Varian and his owner/breeder Sheikh Mohammed Obaid when freewheeling down the hill at Lingfield to overthrow the Godolphin favourite Adayar (GB) (Frankel {GB}). It was also a good day for Third Realm's dam Reem Three (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), who is compiling quite the record at stud, with the Lingfield Derby Trial winner becoming her fifth black-type performer. Another of them, Cape Byron (GB) (Shamardal), landed a competitive sprint at Haydock on Saturday at the age of seven, having also won last year's G3 Bengough S. for the Varian team.

While Third Realm looks to be on course for Epsom, the trainer's El Drama (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), bought as a yearling for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid for 425,000gns, is more likely to head to the Prix du Jockey Club following his win in the listed Dee S. at Chester.

Varian also saddled the runner-up in the Lingfield Oaks Trial, Save A Forest (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), for the Gredley family, but his big market mover for the Cazoo Oaks last week was the twice-raced Teona (Ire), who was last seen winning a Newcastle maiden in November. Despite the margin of that victory being nine lengths, the Ali Saeed-owned filly must be tearing up the gallops to have been cut to around 5/1 for Epsom even before she steps out for her formal trial in Wednesday's Tattersalls Musidora S. Not only does she have the Derby winners Sea The Stars (Ire) and Authorized (Ire) as her sire and broodmare sire respectively, Teona comes from a family which has already brought her trainer Group 1 success. Her dam Ambivalent (Ire) won the G1 Pretty Polly S. as well as being third to Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) in the Coronation Cup at Epsom.

Following some lacklustre performances by Ballydoyle representatives in various trials, normal order was restored somewhat at Leopardstown on Sunday, where Aidan O'Brien claimed a record 14th victory in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial. Following the route utilised for his first two Derby winners, the trainer opted for the Ballysax S./Derrinstown trial double for Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) and, emulating his sire Galileo (Ire) in victory, the dark brown colt shot into clear Derby favouritism as quickly as he accelerated away from his rivals off the home turn at Leopardstown.

He has every right to be at the head of the market following that imperious display but it's worth remembering that O'Brien's three Derby winners in the last four years have been sent of at odds of 40/1, 13/2 and 25/1, and on each occasion he has had at least six runners in the race. There is, then, arguably a case to be made for Urban Sea's female-line descendant Sir Lamorak (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who could be seen at York on Thursday.

There's almost no getting away from Urban Sea when it comes to the Classics, and fans of inbreeding to superior mares will appreciate the appearance of Galileo and his fellow Derby winner and half-brother Sea The Stars in the pedigree of the facile winner of the Newmarket S., Mohaafeth (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), making him inbred 3×3 to the bluest of blue hens. He would also be a poignant, posthumous winner for Sheikh Hamdan.

Thrilling Continuity

One mare quickly propelling herself into that rarefied territory with the help of Urban Sea's son Galileo is You'resothrilling (Storm Cat). The sister to Giant's Causeway was not Urban Sea's equal on the racecourse but she was no slouch, winning the G2 Cherry Hinton S. and G3 Swordlestown Stud Sprint S. as a juvenile. On Sunday, she extended the record of her black-type-winning offspring to seven from seven when Joan Of Arc (Ire) became the latest in the G3 Irish 1,000 Guineas Trial and is now likely to attempt to emulate her sister Marvellous (Ire) by winning the Irish 1000 Guineas.

The 16-year-old You'resothrilling has been mated exclusively with Galileo, but if it ain't broke there's no point trying to fix it. Gleneagles (Ire) followed the mare's first foal, Happily, to become a Classic winner, winning the English and Irish versions of the 2000 Guineas as well as the G1 St James's Palace S. He too has enjoyed a good run of late via his offspring and currently boasts a 33% strike-rate of winners to runners.

Late developer Insinuendo (Ire) landed the G3 Blue Wind S. for Willie McCreery on only her third start on Saturday, while 3-year-old Eaglefield (Ire) made two quick back-to-back appearances at Gowran Park on Wednesday followed by Leopardstown on Sunday, where he held on for the win for the in-form Jim Bolger stable. So far in May, Gleneagles has also been represented by the listed winner Too Soon To Panic (Ire) as well as the smart G2 Prix Greffulhe winner Baby Rider (Fr).

Classic Sires

In the year that Dawn Approach (Ire) moved back to stand at the stud where he was born, he is another former 2000 Guineas winner enjoying something of a purple patch. Of course his own Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) has been the highlight and was one of seven winners from just 12 runners in Britain for the stallion in the last fortnight. During that same period in Ireland, he has added the listed winner Lunar Space (Ire) to his record, along with 3-year-old maiden winner Texas Moon (Ire) and juvenile scorer Strapped (Ire).

The 2014 Derby winner Australia (GB) has been enjoying a similarly good run. Mare Australis (Ire), Broome (Ire) and Sir Ron Priestley (GB) combined for a group-race treble on the first weekend of May, while Freedom Of Speech (Ire) was another winning 2-year-old from the Bolger stable last week.

Sir Ron Priestley is set to make a swift return at York on Friday and is currently favourite for the G2 Yorkshire Cup. A burly horse who is nevertheless light on his feet, he runs in the trailblazing fashion so typical of those from the Mark Johnston stable and it would be no surprise to see him post some bold opposition to Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), not to mention his own half-brother Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), in the top staying races this season.

Follow The Bear

Kodi Bear (Ire) was a smart miler in his day for Clive Cox and owner Olive Shaw and, now at Rathbarry Stud, he is starting to look a good value option for breeders at his current fee of €6,000. During a particularly fruitful spell he has been responsible for the listed-winning fillies Measure Of Magic (Ire) and Mystery Angel (Ire), while Sienna Bonnie (Ire) and Go Bears Go (Ire) have both been impressive winners from his second crop of juveniles in the past week.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the son of Kodiac (GB) has had some success when crossed with mares by his Rathbarry stud mate Acclamation (GB), and two of his three stakes winners to date are out of mares by Acclamation's sire Royal Applause (GB) and son Dark Angel (Ire).

That Dark Angel cross features in Mystery Angel, who heads to Wednesday's G3 Musidora S., and in A Pint Of Bear (Ire), who won for the third time on Monday.

It was also a notable weekend on the international stage for Germany's leading sire Soldier Hollow (GB). A rare foray to Britain for a German runner ended in victory for the Andreas Wohler-trained Axana (Ger) in the G3 Chartwell Fillies' S. at Lingfield. That same day, another daughter of Soldier Hollow, the 3-year-old Reine d'Amour, took the listed Henkel-Stutepreis at Dusseldorf, while on Sunday the veteran son of In The Wings (GB) featured as the broodmare sire of G1 NHK Mile winner Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}) in Japan. The 3-year-old colt is out of Gestut Wittenkindshof's G1 Preis der Diana winner Serienholde (Ger) and was bred by Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm. He joins recent stakes winners Waldkonig (GB) and Wirko (Ger) in being a son of Kingman from a German family replete with class and stamina.

Lanwades Goes Global

Lanwades Stud suffered the loss of Leroidesanimaux (Brz) and Archipenko in 2016 and 2017, but the lingering influence of both stallions has been felt recently, particularly in Australia.

On May 1, Wyclif (GB) (Archipenko) won the listed Port Adelaide Cup and that was followed by a stakes double for Leroidesanimaux down under when Le Don De Vie (GB) won the listed Warrnambool Cup on Thursday and Zaaki claimed the G2 Hollinsdale S. at the Gold Coast on Saturday. All three were bred at Lanwades by Kirsten Rausing.

The breeder has, however, enjoyed black-type success closer to home and in her own colours on consecutive weekends. The G1 Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) got her season off on a positive footing by winning the listed Daisy Warwick Fillies' S. at Goodwood, but she was trumped in some style on Saturday when Albaflora (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) stormed to a seven-length victory in the listed Buckhounds S. The greys are descendants respectively of the Group 1-winning Alzao full-sisters Albanova (GB) and Alborada (GB).

Albaflora was not the only winner for the family and Rausing on Saturday as her 3-year-old Ralph Beckett stable-mate Aleas (GB) (Archipenko) posted his third consecutive win at Haydock in just four starts, and by a similarly impressive margin.

We Must Do Better

The TDN team in New Jersey will keep us abreast of the saga of the latest failed drug test for a Bob Baffert runner. That it was Medina Spirit (Protonico) in America's biggest race of all, and a result which had provided a first major success for a significant new owner to the sport, not to mention the thrill of a lifetime for the horse's small breeder, only makes this story even sorrier.

Racing is in trouble all around the world, and every trainer, owner and breeder is beholden to maintain the highest standards of welfare at whatever level of the sport at which they participate, even if that means resting a horse rather than reaching for the corticosteroids to perform permitted veterinary procedures. In fact, especially so.

Without the horses, racing is nothing. If we continue to allow situations which appear to show horses being abused in the name of our entertainment, then we will have nothing, and that is all that we deserve.

Clutching at straws in the maelstrom of this latest bad-news incident for racing, the one positive aspect is the loyalty shown by Medina Spirit's owner Amr Zedan to the trainer in the aftermath of Sunday's revelations. He ended his verbal show of support for Baffert with the phlegmatic line, “This, too, shall pass.”

It not only shows a temperament which looks ideally suited to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune which racing can often throw at its participants, but a sense of loyalty which is all too often missing in the sport. Let's hope it doesn't turn out to be misplaced.

The post The Weekly Wrap: Trials And Tribulation appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Weekly Wrap: Times Are A-Changin’

It's Craven week, followed by Greenham weekend, both coming on the back of some interesting Classic trials in Ireland and France. It is, as some people prefer to say in midwinter, the most wonderful time of the year.

There's no doubt, however, that the biggest racing story of the year has already happened. However much she wants to play down the gender card, Rachael Blackmore winning the Grand National aboard Minella Times (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) was huge. In fact, Saturday was a big day on both sides for the world for women recording notable firsts.

Around 12 hours before Blackmore's historic victory at Aintree, Jamie Lee Kah posted her first Sydney Group 1 win on the former French-trained Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), in turn becoming the first woman to ride a winner at the top level for Godolphin.

Kah is not new to success: she followed fellow Group 1-winning jockey Clare Lindop in landing the Adelaide jockeys' championship in her native South Australia. In fact, she won it three times, the first when she was still an apprentice. Between winning her first and third championship, Kah took a short time out of racing , prompted in part by the fatal fall of her friend Caitlin Forrest at Murray Bridge in a race in which Kah was also riding.

On a busman's holiday she stayed with her compatriot Jeremy Gask in the UK and spent some time riding out there and in Newmarket.

Thankfully for the sport, she decided to press on with her riding career. Since early 2019 Kah has based herself in Melbourne, where she landed the first of her five Group 1 wins to date on another import, Harlem (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), in the Australian Cup only weeks after her arrival there. She currently leads the Melbourne jockeys' premiership by a wide margin, her 80 wins putting her 26 clear of second-placed Damian Lane, who in turn is 10 clear of Damien Oliver.

There's no doubt that there is still a dearth of female jockeys but, just as attitudes towards them from trainers and owners are changing, that situation will surely change too. Having come into racing from more of a sport horse background, where from my youth the role models Lucinda Green, Ginny Elliott and Liz Edgar loomed large, I've never quite understood the bias against females jockeys in racing. It always seemed ridiculous and now it is clear to see that it was.

In the last decade we've seen Hayley Turner become the first woman to win a Group 1 outright in Britain (not forgetting Alex Greaves's dead-heat on Ya Malak (GB) in the 1997 Nunthorpe). The recently retired Lizzie Kelly became the first woman to ride a Grade 1 winner over fences in 2015, two months after Michelle Payne became the first to win the Melbourne Cup. In the last year alone, Bryony Frost was the first woman to win the prestigious GI King George VI Chase, Jessica Marcialis was the first to win a Group 1 in France, Hollie Doyle was given a retainership by Arab owner Imad Al Sagar, rode a five-timer at Windsor and was named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year. Then there's Rachael, who is now so famous she only needs a first name. Six victories at the Cheltenham Festival saw her become the leading jockey there three weeks ago before her arguably even more important success on Saturday.

Plenty of people have pointed to the fact that she will now have other women and young girls believing they too can be a jockey. That, however, is not the problem. The women have always believed, but not enough men in key positions felt the same. Times are changing, along with attitudes. It can't come soon enough.

Frankel's French Romp

On Friday, it will be ten years since Frankel (GB) stepped out for his first 3-year-old triumph in the Greenham S. ahead of that breathtaking win in the 2000 Guineas. In the intervening decade, his name has rarely been out of the racing news, and that has been particularly true in the past week, notably in France.

Last Monday Big Five (GB) had become Frankel's 100th black-type performer in the northern hemisphere with his easy victory in the listed Prix Right Royal at Chantilly. Then Juddmonte's Wensleydale (GB) dazzled brightly enough in her Saint-Cloud debut for Henri Devin that she became the latest TDN Rising Star.

Another Juddmonte filly, Petricor (GB), was just outdone in the G3 Prix Vanteaux on Sunday but even then it was by another daughter of Frankel, Rumi (Fr), who stepped up notably from her seasonal debut when fourth in the Prix Durban only a week earlier. Hurricane Cloud (Fr), the half-brother to promising young French sire Goken (Fr), provided another winner for Frankel on Sunday's Longchamp card, while O'Reilly (Fr) won on his 3-year-old debut for Jessica Harrington at Leopardstown, where Mehnah (GB), a half-sister to Irish 2000 Guineas winner Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), was beaten a head by Keeper Of Time (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) on just her second start in the G3 Ballylinch Stud 'Priory Belle' 1000 Guineas Trial.

Among Frankel's spate of other winners worldwide, Delaware (GB), who was previously a Group 3 winner for Andre Fabre, notched his first win since joining Chad Brown's stable and he did so in some style, setting a new Aqueduct track record in the listed Danger's Hour S.

Blue Collar Heroes

In the very early skirmishes in the first-season sire championships, Overbury Stud's Ardad (GB) is leading the way as the only stallion with two winners to date. His first came last Tuesday at Bath with Blue Collar Lad (GB), who was bought for just 1,000gns by his trainer Robyn Brisland.

Then on Monday at Windsor, the track where you often find a Richard Hannon hotpot in the early juvenile races, the 150/1 shot Arboy Will (GB) made all the running to outdo that hotpot, Zoltan Star (GB), who incidentally was co-bred by Overbury Stallions with Dukes Stud and is by Ardad's sire Kodiac (GB).

Bred by Anthony Byrne, Arboy Will was unsold at 1,500gns as a foal when offered at Tattersalls, and is out of a dual-winning half-sister to the GII Santa Ana S. winner Madam Dancealot (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}). He became the first debutant 2-year-old winner for his veteran trainer John Bridger who admitted he is “getting near 80”.

Ardad could be in for a big week as among his six entries this week he has two horses set to make their debut at Newmarket's Craven meeting. One of those, Beautiful Sunshine (GB), was withdrawn from the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale by consignor Robson Aguiar and has instead been sent into training with George Boughey for Amo Racing. Aguiar notably enjoyed success last year with another breeze-up withdrawal, The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}), who was trained by Michael Bell to win convincingly on debut at Yarmouth before being sold to Qatar Bloodstock and landing the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot.

Blue Collar Lad and Arboy Will were not the only inexpensive winners over the last week. The Marco Botti-trained Atalis Bay (GB) (Cable Bay {GB}) was bought by his Italian owners Scuderia Blueberry for just 800gns as a yearling at the Tattersalls February Sale. The colt has now won four of his seven starts and landed the conditions race at Nottingham off a mark of 97.

However, there's no doubt that the bargain buy of the week was G3 Ballylinch Stud 'Priory Belle' 1000 Guineas Trial winner Keeper Of Time (Ire), who gave Mehmas an important boost as he bids to build on his exciting start to his stud career last year. John Nolan bought the filly for just €3,000 at the Goffs February Sale from the Phelan family's Tullogher House Stud and she became the first group winner for Johnny Feane. The trainer indicated after the race that Nolan has already had offers for Keeper Of Time, who is not entered in the Irish Classic and could be sold to race on in America.

Eagle To Swoop Again?

Gestüt Schlenderhan and partners suffered a cruel blow last week with the death of German champion sire Adlerflug (Ger) at the age of 17 .

A day later his son Martial Eagle (Ger) carried the Ullmann family colours to a stylish victory at Saint-Cloud for trainer Francis Graffard in the Prix Amour Drake. The colt holds entries for the Prix du Jockey Club and Grand Prix de Paris but he may well be aimed to follow the example of another Graffard-trained and Schlenderhan-bred son of Adlerflug, In Swoop (Ire), in the G1 Deutsches Derby, for which Martial Eagle is currently favourite.

In Swoop, who subsequently finished runner-up to Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the Arc, has remained in training and is entered to return to Longchamp on Sunday in the listed Prix Lord Seymour.

Lord Grimthorpe

Another regrettable piece of news in the last week was the announcement that Lord Teddy Grimthorpe will step down from his position as Juddmonte's racing manager in June.

In a tenure of more than two decades, he has overseen the careers of some of the greatest names of the turf in a pivotal liaison role between stud managers and trainers within the sizeable Juddmonte empire.

Moreover, Grimthorpe has been the operation's faultless spokesman throughout the heady years of Frankel (GB) and Enable (GB) in particular, when press and public interest was at its peak. From a journalist's perspective, and doubtless from many others, he will be much missed.

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The Weekly Wrap: Fools Rush In

If there was a lesson to be learned in the last week, it is not to issue press releases on April Fool's Day.

The great news that the Derby has a new multi-year sponsor, after being dropped by Investec last year as the pandemic took hold, was sidetracked by its release date. It can be hard to tell real news from fake news these days but Cazoo, an online car dealership with an amusing name but serious credentials, is indeed the new sponsor of the 'Derby festival' (if we must—I still prefer the word meeting) and it can only be seen as a welcome development, despite sniffiness in some quarters as to the company's line of business.

Frankly, though, who cares? Of far greater concern is that racing regularly fails to attract big-name sponsors beyond the betting and breeding industries. Investec was an excellent partner for the Derby and was a huge loss to one of the most important meetings in Britain, as was Magners to the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which was run last month without a sponsor.

The fact that Cazoo, which was recently floated on the New York Stock Exchange with a value of $7 billion, wishes to add racing to its sports sponsorship portfolio of two Premier League football clubs, the forthcoming Rugby League World Cup, cricket and snooker can only be good news. Only a fool would think otherwise.

The Look Of Eagles Again?

The Prix Tourbillon was named after the 1931 winner of the Prix du Jockey Club, and heading to that French Classic this year could well be this year's Tourbillon winner Baby Rider (Fr) (Gleneagles {Ire}).

His family has already claimed a European Classic in recent years when Wings Of Eagles (Fr) Pour Moi {Ire}) delivered a 40/1 shock in the Derby in the hands of Padraig Beggy. Like that colt, Baby Rider was bred by Gilles and Aliette Forien of Haras de Montaigu from a half-sister to Wings Of Eagles. His listed-placed dam Gyrella (Ire) is among a growing band of good broodmare daughters of Oasis Dream (GB), who was advertised even more flamboyantly as a damsire over the weekend by Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in the G1 Tancred S. in Sydney.

Trained by Pascal Bary, who has won the Jockey Club six times, most recently with Study Of Man (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Baby Rider has done little to disappoint his owner Jean-Louis Bouchard to date. He was second to subsequent G3 Prix Thomas Bryon winner and Group 1-placed Normandy Bridge (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) on debut last September before winning his only other start last year at Fontainebleau.

Havana Good Time

Havana Gold (Ire) made a decent impression with his first crop of 2-year-olds back in 2017, when his 24 winners were led by Havana Grey (GB), winner of the G3 Molecomb S. and runner-up in the G1 Prix Morny at two before going on to land the G1 Flying Five the following season.

As his support dwindled in ensuing years at stud—as is so often the case for young stallions—those crucial juvenile winners started to dry up. From 11 in 2018, Havana Gold had eight 2-year-old winners in 2019 and just one last year. The good news for his supporters is that he has already doubled that tally in 2021, from his only two juvenile runners of the nascent season and from his biggest crop of foals since year one.

Chipotle (GB) was fast out of the blocks for trainer Eve Johnson Houghton to win the Brocklesby S., and Anadora (GB) followed up by striking on her debut on Friday at Newcastle, where Havana Gold was also represented by 3-year-old novice winner Havagomecca (GB).

Twenty-four hours later, Crohanne (GB), bred on the same Havana Gold-Makfi (GB) cross as Chipotle, set a smart standard when winning the Prix Durban at Saint-Cloud for her young trainer Mario Baratti, a former assistant to Marco Botti and Roger Varian. The first five fillies who finished behind Crohanne all hold entries for the G1 Prix de Diane.

Havana Gold's sire Teofilo (Ire) enjoyed an outstanding year in 2020 with six Group 1 winners in France, Germany, Hong Kong and Australia. Perhaps this year it will be the turn of the son to rise.

Little Money For Jamm

Last year's G1 South Australian Derby winner Russian Camelot (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) was recently retired with a tendon injury following his runner-up finish in the All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley on March 13. Another globetrotting son of Camelot, the aforementioned Sir Dragonet, finished ninth behind him that day and has been kept busy since. A fortnight later he was beaten just over two lengths when fourth in the G1 Ranvet S., and he bounced out a week later to win Saturday's G1 Tancred S. back at Rosehill. This of course follows his victory in the 100th running of the G1 Cox Plate last October for the Anglo-Australian training partnership of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

Camelot's day improved later on in the northern hemisphere when the Paddy Twomey-trained Moll (Ire) got the better of the statuesque Flor De La Luna (GB) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) in the listed Noblesse S. at Cork. The 4-year-old was notching her third win from seven starts and this first black-type success, coupled with a decent pedigree, makes it all the more surprising that she raised a bid of only €3,000 when sold by Coolmore though the Castlebridge Consignment at the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.

Her 9-year-old dam Jamm (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade (Ire}) didn't make it to the racecourse but she is the only blot on the record of her own dam, Starship (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Mated exclusively with Danehill-line sires, the treble winner Starship is a half-sister to the brilliantly fast and precocious Superstar Leo (Ire) (College Chapel {GB}). The family has provided much success for William Haggas and his father-in-law Lester Piggott, who bred Starship and Superstar Leo with Tony Hirschfield.

Starship's seven multiple winners are headed by the G1 Racing Post Trophy winner Rivet (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and, notably, they have made 160 starts between them, with Booming Delight (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and Packing Tycoon (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) both being Group 3 winners. The pair were formerly known as Out And About and Alexander Pope before being exported to Hong Kong, where Rivet also ended up and is now known as Rivet Delight.

A few months after Moll was sold as a yearling, Jamm went to the Goffs November Sale and was sold in foal to War Command to Oakley Stud for €7,000. That same season, Superstar Leo's grand-daughter One Master (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) posted the first of her three wins in the G1 Prix de la Foret. A relatively small investment in a family with such depth means there is always the chance of jam tomorrow.

Out Of The Woods

Sean Woods spent most of the lockdown in 2020 refurbishing Shalfleet Stables in Newmarket, which he bought from Jeremy Noseda following his return from Hong Kong.

The trainer has restarted his career in Britain with a team of 23 horses, mostly juveniles, and he certainly has them in good form. His first runner, the Woods family homebred General Panic (GB) (Outstrip {GB}), impressed on debut at Southwell on Sunday, and 24 hours later Meng Tian (GB) (Territories {Ire}) was denied by just a nose when lining up for the first time at Kempton.

One of the stable's few older representatives, the 4-year-old Caspian Queen (Ire) (Sepoy {Aus}), is declared to make her first start for the trainer at Lingfield on Wednesday and she will be partnered by his nephew, Sebastian Woods, son of former leading jockey in Hong Kong, Wendyll Woods.

One For The Team

From July 29, the Racing League will commence its inaugural six-week run. The competition, which will be staged at the Arena Racing tracks of Newcastle, Windsor, Doncaster and Lingfield, features 12 teams made up of 30 horses from the stables of between two and four trainers, with three assigned jockeys and a manager.

Eleven of the teams of jockeys were announced last week, with the ongoing Covid-related travel restrictions meaning a delay in the announcement of the three French jockeys who will comprise the final team.

With £1.8million in prize-money up for grabs—or £50,000 for each of the 36 races—the competition is a significant addition to the calendar, despite the fact that racing in teams is somewhat against the ethos of the sport. However, the jockeys involved, which include Frankie Dettori, Hollie Doyle, James Doyle, Oisin Murphy and Jim Crowley, will doubtless face some tough decisions right from the start of the competition, particularly if the rule of riding at only one meeting per day is upheld as the British lockdown eases.

The first leg of the Racing League at Newcastle on July 29 clashes with the Thursday of Glorious Goodwood, that day's racing including the G1 Nassau S., G2 Richmond S., and G3 Gordon S. The fourth of the six meetings, at Windsor on Aug. 19, is on the same day as the G1 Yorkshire Oaks and G2 Lowther S. at York's Ebor Meeting.

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The Weekly Wrap: Old Guard, New Blood

When we wrapped up last Flat season, the lofty assumption was that by the start of this new one we would be back to some semblance of normality. How wrong could we have been?

After a brutal winter, the pandemic is only now easing to the point where a limited number of owners were permitted to attend racecourses in England and Scotland from yesterday (Monday).

There are not too many areas within racing in which Britain is ahead of Ireland or France—witness the Irish domination of the Cheltenham Festival and France's enviable prize-money situation. But one of the few consolations for much of Britain at the moment is the accelerated Covid vaccination programme which has hastened the return of owners. May is being pencilled in for the same to happen in France, while there is no clear indication in Ireland as to when owners can be welcomed back to the races for the first time since the initial lockdown began in March 2020.

In England, the two owners per horse rule has been increased to four for the Good Friday fixtures at Lingfield and Newcastle, and from April 12 it is the BHA's intention to increase that limit to six per horse. The planned June return of spectators at sporting events in Britain can't come soon enough. Holidays can be eschewed, but the prospect of another summer not being able to mill around the racecourse, eyeing up the runners in the parade ring and bumping into friends, would be too miserable to contemplate.

With the backdrop of Covid restrictions made even more onerous by the ludicrous amount of red tape and extra expense inflicted on horse movement between the UK and EU by Brexit, it has been a gloomy enough start to the year. This situation will ease, however. What cannot be rectified is the enormous loss for the racing and breeding industry brought about by the sad deaths of David Thompson, Prince Khalid Abdullah and Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.

When Sheikh Hamdan's passing was announced on Wednesday, the notable aspect to the many glowing tributes paid to the founder of the Shadwell breeding empire was the genuine emotion in the voices of those who had worked for him—usually over a period of many years. That in itself speaks volumes of a loyalty between boss and employee, owner and trainer, which can be all too sadly lacking in modern-day life.

It is why, across a blockbuster weekend of racing, the most pleasing result was that of the Lincoln. Of course for Flat racing fans in Britain, the Lincoln meeting is a longed-for annual marker which says goodbye to winter and all those slow jumpers. But these days it has to compete with its glitzier and much richer cousin, the Dubai World Cup.

An hour after winning the Lincoln with Haqeeqy (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), the partnership of John and Thady Gosden, with the ink barely dry on their joint training licence, had added both the G1 Dubai Turf and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic to an impressive weekend haul. But it was the Lincoln which gave perhaps the most important pointer towards the future.

Yes, the steady hand of the multiple champion trainer John Gosden is still on the tiller, but he made it plain when joining the TDN Writers' Room last month that he intends to step back completely in a few years after completing a transition period with his youngest son. Thus, Thady's name appeared on the stable's first heritage handicap winner of the new era, and is was alongside that of Haqeeqy's owner, Sheikh Hamdan's young daughter Sheikha Hissa, who had eight runners from the Gosden stable last season. Add to the mix a first win on turf for one of the most eye-catching young jockeys on the scene, 18-year-old Benoit de la Sayette, who is apprenticed at the Gosdens' Clarehaven stable. In many respects, it's the old team, but one boasting plenty of young blood.

Haggas Goes Walkabout

Three years ago, William Haggas used the Lincoln—a race he has won on four occasions—to set Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) on his way from being a decent handicapper to a Group 1 star. Some may sniff at the gelding's soft-ground form, others may point to the dearth of top-class homegrown middle-distance horses in Australia. But fans of the 7-year-old—and there's one right here—will appreciate his ability to take the travel between hemispheres with apparent ease and perform up here or down there with admirable consistency.

Addeybb was at it again at the weekend, this time not quite managing to avoid having the tables turned on him by the classy galloper but poor speller Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) when attempting to defend his crown in the G1 Ranvet S. at Rosehill. The 5-year-old mare has finished second to him in both Addeybb's Group 1 victories in Australia last year but he was relegated to the runner-up spot this time around.

Haggas loves an international challenge and in December he told TDN that he felt the progressive 4-year-old Favorite Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) was just the sort to send on an Australian mission. He was right, and the trainer duly won the G3 N E Manion Cup on the same Rosehill card for the second year running, following the success of Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) in 2020.

If Haggas was smarting at being beaten by Chris Waller in the Ranvet, the latter did at least provide some consolation for him at Doomben, the scene of the fifth Australian victory for Humbolt Current (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Haggas formerly trained the 6-year-old for his breeder The Queen and, when recommending him to Waller was talked into taking a share in him. Perhaps Haggas can now talk Waller out of running Verry Elleegant back in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S., when Addeybb will be joined at Sydney's Championships meeting by Favourite Moon, who heads next to the G1 Sydney Cup.

The Other Sir Mark

It was a good day for ex-pat trainers at Rosehill on Saturday, as Haggas and Waller, a New Zealander, was joined in the list of winners by British-born Annabel Neasham, who celebrated her first Group 1 success in the Rosehill Guineas with Mo'unga (Aus) (Savabeel {Aus}).

Waller's fellow Kiwis Sir Mark Todd and Peter Vela teamed up in Britain on Friday with the patriotically named Tasman Bay (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), an easy winner at Newcastle on his second start, and a colt with a Derby entry.

Those who have followed British racing for the last 50 years will be of the opinion that there is only one Sir Mark and his surname is Prescott. In fact, if you've been following three-day eventing during much of that same period, you'll know the other Sir Mark better as 'Toddy'.

The latter, who retired from the eventing scene in 2000 with two Olympic Gold medals to his credit, made good use of the break from riding by training the New Zealand Oaks winner Bramble Rose (NZ) before making a comeback and competing at another three Olympics up to 2016.

The potential excitement of Sir Mark Todd, who is already revered as one of the greatest horsemen of our time, turning up at Epsom with a Derby runner might be all too much for some horsey ladies of a certain age to bear.

Winter Warmers

We see plenty of high-priced yearlings change hands at Tattersalls in October, but those who do their homework properly have proved the benefit of hanging around to the end of the month in a bid to try to find a bargain at the Horses-in-Training Sale.

Indeed, two of the busiest and most successful horses of this winter's all-weather season were bought for a total of 15,000gns and have subsequently won 11 races between then since Nov. 24.

Nortonthorpe Boy (GB) (Swiss Spirit {GB}), like the dependable Spare Parts (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) before him, is a product of the Phil McEntee academy which espouses the ethos of letting the horses roll in the mud between racing as frequently as possible. Now three, Nortonthorpe Boy was bred by Eleanor Kent, matriarch of the Kent dynasty of Co Cork. He'd already managed eight starts at two for Tim Easterby, including two placed runs, when he was sent to the sales.

A month after buying him for 7,000gns, McEntee sent his newly gelded recruit to Lingfield for the start of a sequence of 14 runs in the last four months, while has included six victories, most recently at Kempton on Saturday off a mark of 84. For his first win on Dec. 30, Nortonthorpe Boy was rated 58.

Another to have shot up the ratings is Khatm (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), bought from Shadwell by the astute partnership of George Boughey and Sam Haggas for 8,000gns as a once-raced gelding. Khatm won for the first time on his fourth start for Boughey when rated 50. He has now won five times from six starts in the last month to improve his mark to 79 and is entered on Tuesday at Wolverhampton and again at Chelmsford on Friday. He needs just one more victory to join Nortonthorpe Boy at the top of the leaderboard for the winningmost horse in this year's All Weather Championships which conclude on Friday with Finals Day at Lingfield.

A Classic Family In The Reckoning

When winning the G1 Prix Royal-Oak last October, Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) became the second Group 1 winner in three years to have emanated from Susan and Barry Hearn's Mascalls Stud following Urban Fox (GB) (Foxwedge {Aus}).

On Saturday, the 4-year-old backed up that success with a rout in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup and he will be a fascinating contender in the major Cup races this season.

The establishment of Subjectivist's family as a force to be reckoned with is largely down to Mark Johnston. The trainer bought his year-older sibling Sir Ron Priestley (GB) (Australia {GB}) for 70,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and returned a year later to buy Subjectivist for 62,000gns. Johnston duly beat a path to the New England Stud draft again in 2019 to buy their half-sister Alba Rose (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) for 100,000gns, and it is easy to see why. By that stage Sir Ron Priestley had already won the G3 March S. and finished second in the St Leger. Subjectivist followed his example by also winning the March S. and, though he could only finish seventh in the St Leger, he has since surpassed his brother with his Group 1 success.

Though last year's yearling, by another son of Galileo (Ire) as a member of the first crop of Ulysses (Ire), was bought back by Hearn, she too has joined Johnston's Kingsley Park stable from which she will race in the colours of her breeder. Alba Rose, meanwhile, who was third in last year's G2 Rockfel S., could yet become the third Classic runner from the first four foals of her dam Reckoning (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

Pat Smullen Remembered

As our accompanying story details, Pat Smullen will be remembered on the first day of racing in Newmarket in 2021 with a race named in his honour.

It is scarcely believable that almost 18 years have passed since Smullen rode Refuse To Bend (Ire) to glory in the 2000 Guineas, carrying the Moyglare Stud colours with which he would become so strongly associated during his long tenure at Dermot Weld's stable.

A lifelong Irish resident, Pat Smullen was nevertheless revered throughout the racing world, and he will be in the thoughts of his many friends and admirers in Newmarket and beyond as racing returns to the Rowley Mile in a fortnight's time.

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