A pair of Breeders' Cup wins at the 2019 Championships put an exclamation point on the Hall of Famer's eighth straight season with more than $20 million in earnings. But, the year 2020, like it was for so many, was more about overcoming adversity for the native of Venezuela.

Castellano was the first jockey to test positive for COVID-19–he wasn't symptomatic, thankfully–during the beginning of the pandemic in March and was on the sidelines again after undergoing hip surgery at the end of the year.

“It was tough, not just for myself, but for everybody in the world in 2020,” Castellano said. “I only missed three months. And it seemed like it was forever.”

Castellano returned to action in 2021, but wasn't exactly welcomed back with open arms. Competing in pound for pound the deepest jockey colony in the nation in New York, Castellano rode 105 winners that season, good for $9,804,024 in earnings. After going just 13-for-142 at the prestigious Saratoga meeting, Castellano's career was suddenly at a crossroads.

Javier Castellano entered the Hall of Fame in 2017 | Horsephotos

“I was devastated. I was ready to give up,” said Castellano, a winner of four straight Eclipse Awards as Outstanding Jockey between 2013-16. “I just came back from everything and people didn't give me an opportunity. One moment I thought, 'I think this is it. I can't keep doing what I'm doing.' I was really really depressed.”

He continued, “They didn't care about who you are or what you did in the past. It's amazing. I was a Hall of Fame rider, a four-time leading jockey in the nation in back-to-back years, had six Travers then, 12 Breeders' Cups and won more than 5,000 races. And it didn't mean anything. You have to prove yourself and that you belong.”

Castellano picked himself up off the mat and hired longtime former racing official P.J. Campo to handle his book. He began to right the ship with 163 victories in 2022. By comparison, Castellano rode a total of 212 winners combined the previous two years.

How did he power his way through?

“Mentally, I had to be strong,” said Castellano, a married father of three. “A lot of discipline and dedication. Do the homework every single day. Regroup and try to be very positive.”

The momentum began to build for Castellano after he won three races on Saratoga's opening day card that summer.

“In 2022, we started rolling a little bit in Saratoga,” Castellano said. “I also went out of town for the right people and won some races. I knock a little bit and the door began to open a little here and there.”

Castellano is no longer the one doing the knocking this year.

He put to bed an 0-for-15 mark on the first Saturday in May with a 15-1 upset aboard Mage (Good Magic) in the GI Kentucky Derby, and, just five weeks later, secured his first GI Belmont S. victory with Arcangelo (Arrogate). Castellano became the first jockey to win two Triple Crown races on two different horses in the same year since Calvin Borel did so in 2009. He's won 16 graded races so far this year, including seven at the top level.

“Thank God, I've been very blessed and very fortunate to have one of the best years of my career,” Castellano said. “It was a great achievement to win the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, two Triple Crown races in the same year. I was always missing something on my resume.”

With Castellano's two Classic winners on a collision course this summer, he stuck with the recently retired Arcangelo, who followed up with a convincing win in the GI Travers S., the rider's record seventh victory in the 'Mid-Summer Derby.' The gray, unfortunately, was scratched from the Breeders' Cup Classic–a race Castellano won aboard the sensational Ghostzapper in 2004–earlier this week after developing a foot issue.

Javier Castellano celebrates aboard Ghostzapper following the 2004 Classic | Horsephotos

“He gave me an opportunity to regroup in my career, and, in my life, and enjoy these beautiful moments with my family,” Castellano said.

As for Arcangelo missing the Classic and now off to begin his career at stud at Lane's End, he said, “This is hard, but one decision I fully support. Arcangelo is safe and sound and that's all I can really think about. He has given me so much and I'm so blessed to have been part of the team.”

Castellano's mounts on Saturday's Championship program at Santa Anita include: GI Beverly D. S. winner and E.P. Taylor S. winner Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf; GII American Turf S. winner and narrow GI Saratoga Derby Invitational S. runner-up Webslinger (Constitution) in the GII Twilight Derby; and Time for Trouble (English Channel) in the 1 5/8-mile GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S.

“It could be a good example for anybody,” Castellano concluded. “You never give up. When you want something in life, you have to work for it. When you work for it, you get it.”

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Nations Pride Adds Another Graded Win To His Resume

Autumn in North America is a rich seasonal hunting ground for Godolphin's European raiders, particularly those trained by Charlie Appleby, and Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) scooped Woodbine's GI Canadian International S. recently (video). The royal blue homebred had landed the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational S. and GIII Jockey Club Derby Invitational S. last year.

Also a top-level winner in Germany, the 4-year-old colt is a half-brother to Crystal Of Time (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a weanling colt by Ghaiyyath (Ire), and he has a yearling full-sister. Their dam, the Oasis Dream (GB) mare Important Time (Ire), won at the listed level in Germany and is a daughter of Satwa Queen (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}), who won the G1 Prix de l'Opera. Australian standout Militarize (NZ) (Dundeel {NZ}) and G1 Phoenix S. hero Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) are also in the family.

The best North American runner by Darley veteran Teofilo, Nations Pride is one of four stakes winners in that jurisdiction for the 19-year-old. Seventeen of his 27 runners have won in America (63%), including dual Grade II winner Amira's Prince (Ire).

Bold Act Another Graded Winner In The Royal Blue

Just a few days after Nations Pride won in Canada, Godolphin and Charlie Appleby celebrated another homebred graded winner, this time with New Approach (Ire) gelding Bold Act (Ire) in the GIII Sycamore S. at Keeneland (video).

Successful in the Listed Prix Nureyev in August, the multiple group-placed 3-year-old is out of the listed winner Dancing Sands (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who placed three times at the group level. His year-younger half-sister Dazzling Star (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}) was third in the GI Natalma S., while Dancing Sands's latest pair are colts by Cracksman (GB) and Frankel (GB), respectively. G1 Futurity S. hero and sire Bakharoff (The Minstrel) is under the third dam.

The 13th winner from 23 runners (56%) in the U.S. for his Darley sire, Bold Act is New Approach's fourth black-type winner there. Both Ceisteach (Ire) and Messi (Ger) are Grade III scorers.

Lucky Girl Returns A Winner At Santa Anita

Already a dual American stakes winner, Lucky Girl (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) made it a hat trick for Panic Stable, LLC and trainer Phil D'Amato in the Swingtime S. at Santa Anita a few days ago (video).

Bred by Paul Hyland, the 4-year-old filly was originally a £19,000 yearling buy out of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale by Meadowview Stables. She did not meet her reserve when a £24,000 buy-back at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale in 2021, and duly made one start at Gowran Park for Helen Slattery and trainer Andrew Slattery, where she finished third. The four-time winning dam Abbey Angel (Ire) (Arcano {Ire})'s latest produce is a yearling colt by Kodi Bear (Ire) whose latest trip through the ring resulted in a 110,000gns buy-back during the Tattersall October Yearling Sale.

Former reverse shuttle stallion Exceed And Excel has sired an even 10 black-type winners from his 41 U.S. runners (24%). Of those 41, 22 have earned at least one victory (54%). The Darley stallion's American best are GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Outstrip (GB) and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Mischief Magic (Ire).

Brant's No Nay Never Filly a New York Winner

Peter Brant and Chad Brown's Notinamillionyears (Ire) (No Nay Never) won at second asking during the Belmont at the Big A meeting earlier this week (video).

Bred by Lynch-Bages & Rhinestone Bloodstock, the daughter of Dancing Shoes (Ire) (Danehill) was acquired by BSW/Crow for $450,000 out of the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The winner is a half-sister to GII La Canada S. winner Striking Dancer (Smart Strike) and G2 Gran Premio del Jockey Club hero Raymond Tusk (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}). Emmaline (Affirmed), the winner's second dam, is a half-sister to American champion Bates Motel (Sir Ivor).

Coolmore stallion No Nay Never has sired 43 winners from 78 runners (55%) in the U.S. Breeders' Cup winner Meditate (Ire) is one of three graded winners, and he has nine stakes winners overall in the Land of the Free.

NOTINAMILLIONYEARS wins the fourth race with @iradortiz up for trainer Chad Brown. pic.twitter.com/pBRvqVz6W0

— NYRA ( ) (@TheNYRA) October 12, 2023

Sea The Stars Filly Graduates In California

Red Baron's Barn, LLC and Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners' Star Of The Night (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) won at Santa Anita this month (video). The Sunderland Holding-bred 3-year-old was making her second start for trainer Mark Glatt after a runner-up finish at Del Mar.

Out of the winning Simple Elegance (Street Cry {Ire}), Star Of The Night has juvenile half-brother by Gleneagles (Ire) and a yearling half-brother by the late Le Havre (Ire) who was picked up by Ross Doyle and Ciaran Murphy for €37,000 out of the recent Goffs Orby Book 2 Sale. Lackendarra Stables and Eddie Linehan bought the dark bay for €40,000 out of the 2021 Goffs Orby Sale, and sent her back through the ring at the 2022 Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale where she made 140,000gns on the bid of her current owners. Her dam is one of six winners out of the Pulpit mare Rutherienne, who landed the GI Del Mar Oaks.

The Aga Khan's Studs' Sea The Stars has 17 winners from 37 runners (46%) in the U.S. His sextet of stakes winners are led by GII Fort Marcy S. winner and GI Manhattan S. third Ottoman Fleet (GB).

Repeat Winners

Repeat Making Waves alumni have been in outstanding form in recent weeks, and the GI Beverly D. S. heroine Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) doubled her Grade I tally with a stalking score in the E. P. Taylor S. at Woodbine on Oct. 8 (video). Raced by Tracy Farmer, the Mark Casse pupil is pointing toward the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita in November.

Eternal Hope (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) was the latest Making Waves alum to display her abundant talent in the GII Sands Point S. as the Belmont at the Big A meeting continued on Saturday (video). The Godolphin homebred was winning her second graded race in a row for Charlie Appleby, after taking the GIII Jockey Club Oaks Invitational S. last month.

Klaravich Stables' McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}), best known as the winner of the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. in 2022, also claimed her second graded victory of the year in the GIII Waya S. earlier in October (video). The Chad Brown trainee won the GII Glens Falls S. at the Saratoga meeting in August.

She's a star! It's Fev Rover who takes out the G1 E. P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine for Javier Castellano and Mark Casse! pic.twitter.com/yT9ZM8P3CG

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) October 8, 2023

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19.00 Newcastle, Novice, £6,600, 2yo, f, 6fT
LEVERET (IRE) (Invincible Army {Ire}) is a half-sister to the recent GI Beverly D S. heroine Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}), whose three other group and graded-stakes wins include the G2 Prix du Calvados. Bred and owned by the Barrys' Manister House Stud, the Richard Fahey-trained newcomer has her work cut out against some experienced rivals who have already shown a smart level of form.

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Whether you are a dabbling duck or one that takes a deep dive, there is something for everyone as the Downs–Kentucky and Colonial–plus Woodbine Racetrack and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, all feature high-level grass action.

KENTUCKY DOWNS GRADED SIX PACK

The uniquely designed turf course at Kentucky Downs cards the most graded stakes this Saturday, which will lead off with the GIII Ladies Marathon S.

Going 1 5/16ths, look for MGSP Vergara (Noble Mission) to stalk the pace as she returns to the site where she won last year by a head in the Dueling Grounds Oaks. Standing in her way is GSW Personal Best (Tapit) who broke her maiden at last year's meet before going on to face graded company this spring at Gulfstream Park where the homebred won the GIII La Prevoyante S.

With no overwhelming favorite on the morning-line, expect the GII Franklin-Simpson S. to be an all-out war both on the tote and sprinting down the stretch. Playlist (Uncle Mo), making her first stakes start, will look to go on the offensive early versus the boys, but she will have to contend with Sweet Cherry Pie (Twirling Candy), who has never sampled turf, and GSW Mo Stash (Mo Town), who is cutting back for the first time in almost a year.

Playlist | Coady Photography

“I like to run fillies against colts in sprints,” said Playlist's trainer Wesley Ward. “I don't think it makes a big difference. If you look at the times in the 2-year-olds in training sales, the fillies are always faster as a group. I think they can compete against the colts every time.”

Moving right along, the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf S. pits GISP and MGSP White Frost (Candy Ride {Arg}) against GSW and 'TDN Rising Star' New Year's Eve (Kitten's Joy). After a very solid first half, the former was second in the De La Rose S. Aug. 2 at Saratoga and will face many of those competitors in this spot, while the latter prepped ably by winning this race's preview at Ellis Park Aug. 6.

Back to the speedsters for the GII Turf S. for males, it is going to be a pleasure to see another bout between the top two finishers in Aug. 5 running of the GIII Troy S. at Saratoga. That slugfest upstate saw Cogburn (Not This Time) catch GSW Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}) just before the wire. If this race wasn't tough enough, you will also find 'TDN Rising Star' and Woodbine GII Connaught Cup hero Dream Shake (Twirling Candy) looking to make it three wins in a row.

The GII Ladies Turf S. includes favorite MGSP Bay Storm (Kantharos), as she looks to add to her overall earnings after winning the prep for this race Aug. 5 at Ellis Park, and the experienced GSW and GISP Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}).

Bringing up the graded rear going 12 furlongs will be the $1.7-million GII Turf Cup S., which offers a 'Win and You're In' opportunity into the GI Breeders' Cup Longines Turf. A pair of Brendan Walsh trainees in GSW Verstappen (War Front) and MGISW Santin (Distorted Humor) come calling, but they are going to have to be cognizant of GI United Nations S. victor Therapist (Freud) and GIII Dinner Party S. winner Never Explain (Street Sense).

“I wouldn't completely rule out him going back to dirt again at some point,” Walsh said of Santin. “But he's a heck of a turf horse … he ran a very good second in the Arlington Million. It was a fantastic run. He was up on the pace the whole way and was there to be shot at. And he held in there and ran a really, really good second. I feel he's doing really well coming into here. He got a mile and a quarter at Colonial. I don't see why he wouldn't get a mile and a half. He's a very relaxed horse, maybe a little too laid back if anything.”

KLARAVICH STABLEMATES TRADE BLOWS IN VIRGINIA DERBY

Program Trading | Sarah Andrew

On its closing day Saturday, Colonial Downs hosts the nine-furlong GIII Virginia Derby.

Klaravich Stables has a pair of Chad Brown trainees which pose a major threat to the rest of the field. Activist Investing (GB) (Kingman {GB}) was very sharp at this distance when he cleared the optional claiming ranks Aug. 13 at Saratoga in his lone race this year. He will do battle with GI Saratoga Derby star Program Trading (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) by attempting to relieve his speed-oriented stablemate of his perfect record.

Also present is Salute the Stars (Candy Ride {Arg}), winner of the Monmouth Park Pegasus S. June 17 and surprise longshot from the Aug. 12 GII Secretariat S. at Colonial, Gigante (Not This Time), who is trying to become the first Virginia-bred to win this race.

WOODBINE'S TURF ACE RETURNS

Not to be missed in the GII Canadian S. for older females is the return of last year's victoress Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutalfan {Ire}), who wired the field last out in the GI Beverly D Aug. 12 at Colonial. She will square off against the top three finishers from the GII Dance Smartly S. Aug. 20 at Woodbine, which includes Miss Dracarys (Malibu Moon).

“Javier [Castellano] and I were flying to Colonial Downs, and we were talking about the race [Beverly D],” said Fev Rover's trainer Mark Casse. “He said, 'There's no speed in this race.' I agreed and told him that she can go right to the lead. The nice thing about her, and Tepin [champion and dual Hall of Fame mare] was the same way, is that a great horse can bring their A-game no matter the situation. So, we went right to the lead, and it was over when that happened.”

Also on the graded docket is the GIII Singspiel S., which returns to 1 1/4 grass distance from two years ago. GSP Malibu Mambo (Point of Entry) could be the hot commodity after a sharp late surge against optional claimers in Toronto Aug. 12, but don't count out GSP Palazzi (Pioneerof the Nile). 

DEL MAR SPORTS LONE GRADED DIRT RACE

Julias Dream | Benoit

The GI Del Mar Debutante S., the only graded dirt race on Saturday, is sure to bring some attention with a capacity field of 14. First-crop sire Flameaway is well represented with 'TDN Rising Star' Julias Dream, who broke her maiden by 5 1/2 lengths over the turf at Del Mar Aug. 6. She will take on the top two finishers from the GIII Sorrento S. Aug. 12, Dreamfyre (Flameaway) and Benedetta (City of Light). The lineup also includes Chatalas (Gun Runner) and Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), who both broke their maidens at first asking in Solana Beach July 30 and Aug. 19, respectively.

It wouldn't be Del Mar's surf without the turf and this year's GII John Mabee S. might be remembered as a match between GII Yellow Ribbon H. wearer Closing Remarks (Vronsky) and MGSW Neige Blanche (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}). Still, no one should overlook trainer Phil D'Amato's offerings. After all, he is looking to edge out Bob Baffert for the training title, and both Oakhurst (Mr Speaker) and GSW Turnerloose (Nyquist) will try to help the cause as the Del Mar meet concludes Sunday with a pair of graded races, the GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity and GIII Del Mar Juvenile Turf S.

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Kingman Colt Doubles Up In New York

The Klaravich Stables/Chad Brown axis combined with Saratoga winner Activist Investing (GB) (Kingman {GB}) on Sunday (video). Already a winner during the Belmont at Aqueduct meet third out last October, the son of Astronomy's Choice (GB) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) was bred by Robin Geffen.

Joining the Klaravich fold for 220,000gns out of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, the February foal is the second foal and winner for the stakes-placed granddaughter of Platonic (GB) (Zafonic). Since foaling the winner, the relative of the high class Prudenzia (Ire), Magic Wand (Ire), Chicquita (Ire) et al., has delivered a trio of foals by Darley's Too Darn Hot (GB)–the juvenile filly Wolf Alice (GB), and colts in each of the past two years.

One of 30 winners from 55 to race in the U.S. (55%) for Juddmonte's Kingman, Activist Investing's brethren have chalked up 20 stakes wins in that jurisdiction by eight individual stakes winners (18%).

#1a Activist Investing wins his first race back off a layoff in R5 at Saratoga for trainer Chad Brown with @iradortiz in the irons!

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/ckoqYashNE

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) August 13, 2023

A Soft Touch At Del Mar

Qatar Racing's Gentle (GB) (No Nay Never), making her U.S. debut, graduated in her third start for trainer George Papaprodromou at Del Mar this past weekend (video).

Bred by Ammerland Verwaltung GmbH & Co., she is a one of two winners for her dam, the G3 Prix de Psyche third Light The Stars (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Sold for €200,000 out of the Arqana August Yearling Sale to her owner, Gentle's first two starts were fourth-place efforts over the British all-weather circuit last December and this May. She is a half-sister to 2-year-old filly Light The Moon (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), a yearling filly by Waldgeist (GB), and a weanling filly by Zarak (Fr). Her second dam is the group winner Lady Vettori (GB) (Vettori {Ire}), best known as the dam of G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner-turned star sire Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal).

Coolmore's No Nay Never has sired 38 winners from 74 runners Stateside (51%). A total of nine of those (12%) are stakes winners, with GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Meditate (Ire) the best of the bunch to date.

Honourable Mentions

Tracy Farmer's Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) earned a new career best with a 3 1/2-length victory in Saturday's GI Beverly D. S. at Colonial Downs (video). The Mark Casse trainee is the first top-level winner for her sire.

Great to see former @NBradleyRacing and @RichardFahey charge Fev Rover land her first Grade 1 at @ColonialDowns last night pic.twitter.com/7d4bgH9XL4

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) August 13, 2023

Another horse already featured in Making Waves is Juddmonte homebred Set Piece (GB) (Dansili {GB}). One race after Fev Rover starred at Colonial, it was time for the 7-year-old to earn his first Grade I rosette in the Arlington Million for trainer Brad Cox (video).

The 7-year-old #3 Set Piece powers down the stretch to take the G1 Arlington Million at Colonial Downs with his regular pilot @flothejock aboard for trainer @bradcoxracing and owner @JuddmonteFarms!

#TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/ZAcn41kMvh

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) August 12, 2023

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You probably already knew that the Sanford S. is the only race that the legendary Man o' War ever lost. Or that over a five-year span in the '60s, the great Kelso amassed a staggering record of 63-39-12-2. You also knew that the late '80s warrior Quick Call, who lived to the ripe old age of 35, was denied a third consecutive GII Forego H. by a nose to Lay Down.

And if you are pretty sharp, then you have it down pat that the inaugural running of the Diana S. occurred the same year–1939– that Hitler invaded Poland, which was the last time mounted cavalry saw action against tanks.

Saratoga is dripping with history–it's literally in the water. The track's storied past reminds us of Max Weber's warning that, “Specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved.” In other words, we need the magic to keep us anchored, as we bob along in a digital sea of information.

With the historical juices sufficiently percolating, here's a rundown of the weekend graded action.

GI Diana S. (Saturday)
Besides trainer Charlie Appleby in 2021, no one has been able to dethrone Chad Brown in this Grade I turf event since 2016. The likelihood of another win for Brown appears imminent, were it not for the presence of Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}).

Marketsegmentation | Sarah Andrew

Trained by Mark Casse, the 5-year-old mare is a MGSW who is making her first trip down from Woodbine. “She's coming back a little quick, but I'm going with the old Allen Jerkens line, 'When they're going good, run 'em,'” Casse said.

Out of Brown's four entries, Peter Brant's defending champ and 'TDN Rising Star' In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) looks best, but Marketsegmentation (American Pharoah), a 4-year-old filly owned by Klaravich Stables, is coming off a signature win June 9 in the GI New York S. at Belmont Park.

GIII Kelso S. (Saturday)
Shortening up over the grass, an experienced group of 4-year-olds and up assemble, with 'TDN Rising Star' and GISW Annapolis (War Front) serving as the standout. The Bass Stables homebred, who was second in last year's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational, won the GI Coolmore Turf Mile S. at Keeneland in October en route to a GI Breeders' Cup Mile berth.

Standing in his way is the accomplished grass miler Big Everest (GB) (The Gurkha {Ire}). Making his first graded stakes start, the 5-year-old gelding has won his last six out of seven starts.

“He was the kind of horse that, early on, he fought with the jockey,” said Big Everest's co-owner Dean Reeves. “We learned over time that he was fighting with the jockey because he had speed and wanted to go to the front. So, once we got out of his way and once he was gelded, he doesn't back up and they don't have enough to catch him.”

Also entered is the well-traveled fan-favorite, MGISW Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), whose style for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott makes him extremely dangerous towards the wire.

GIII Sanford S. (Saturday)
Rounding out the Saturday graded action is this 2-year-old NYRA series test, which has drawn 10. Trainer Steve Asmussen watched Gold Sweep (Speightstown) romp home by nine lengths as he posted a 91 Beyer figure in the Tremont S. June 11 at Belmont Park. The Hall of Fame trainer has never won the Sanford.

Others of note include Market Street (Street Sense), trained by D. Wayne Lukas, who broke his maiden in front-running fashion over the slop by 3 3/4 lengths June 29 at Ellis Park. He will be joined by Triple Trea (Bolt d'Oro). The dark bay colt debuted a winner for Barbara Minshall with a late move in early June on Woodbine's Tapeta.

“He's really nice,” Minshall said. “He's very rideable and it looks like there's a lot of speed in the race. Hopefully, he makes his big run and can get the job done. There's some really nice horses in there–the Asmussen horse [Gold Sweep] looks really tough–but he's coming into it in good order.”

GIII Quick Call S. (Sunday)

No Nay Hudson | Coady Photography

The final graded stakes of the weekend on Sunday afternoon pits 3-year-old turf sprinters against one another. Wesley Ward has two entered in this spot with No Nay Hudson (Ire) (No Nay Never), winner last out of the May 13 William Walker S. at Churchill Downs, and Eye Witness (City of Light), a $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase who won the Paradise Creek S. at Belmont Park May 20.

“He's [No Nay Hudson] one we're just trying to get to settle. My main exercise rider, Julio Garcia, has got the horse to relax,” Ward said. “We're doing some nice, easy slow works and he's got a couple races in him now. Fitness isn't an issue. It's just trying to get his mind to where we can get him to settle. He's at Saratoga now and ready to go.”

Facing this pair is Gaslight Dancer (City of Light). The Mike Maker trainee should not be overlooked after winning the Palisades S. at Keeneland in April and the bay colt did finish third behind No Nay Hudson in the William Walker.

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“Fev Rover will work tomorrow and we will then have a think of what to do,” said Nick Bradley, Managing Director of Nick Bradley Racing. “We will look at the entries and either go there or wait for Ascot. At the moment I would say she is likely to go to Ireland.

“It was a great run in the 1000 Guineas and I think the track at The Curragh would suit her more than the Rowley Mile. If you watch her races she generally makes most of her ground up running up hill and The Curragh is a stiffer track than the Rowley Mile.

“Looking at the field so far for Sunday I'd like to think she could be up in the first two or three again on a track that will suit.”

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Twelve months ago, the bay with more than a just quantity of Northern Dancer-Sadler’s Wells-Galileo blood was denied the improbable hat-trick by a combination of factors. Similarly wet ground and a peaking Fabre project in Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) robbed her of the ultimate accolade and a year on the obstacles are both the same and different. While the going cannot be used as an excuse for a daughter of the easy-ground specialist Nathaniel who boasts two King Georges, an Arc and a Yorkshire Oaks on a surface softer than good, there is always the possibility of a dormant threat among the opposition.

Frankie is aware of the obstacles in the way of the mare who is so close to his heart. “For me, if I can win the third Arc, it is all for her. I will work hard to try to achieve that for her as I want her to be remembered as one of the all-time greats,” he explained. “She can only be called that if she wins a third Arc. She came so close last year and we will now roll the dice again. I actually don’t feel as nervous, as last year we were going for three in a row. Now that she has been beaten in the race last year, it takes a bit of pressure off. She has stayed in training for one reason and one reason only, and that is for a third win in the Arc.”

“She picked up a third King George along the way which was great, as that was another record, and I think John has got Enable in the best condition he can. I think we have her where we want her,” her rider added. “There is a lot of rain forecast at the moment and it depends how much we get. For sure it will be soft and it could be the extreme of very soft. That would put stamina into the equation and Stradivarius could come into the picture. He bolted up in the Ascot Gold Cup on soft ground and he is doing really well at the moment, so he would be a big threat which we have to respect. Enable is in a good frame of mind, though. She is aggressive at home, which is always a good sign with her. She seems in a good place.”

John Gosden added, “She travelled fine and everything has been fine. It’s just a shame about the ground. She prefers the easy side of good, so she can show her class, but it is going to be a bit of a slog. It is drying up now and it is tacky, but you might get another shower or two. It is Longchamp, by the River Seine–it is deep. We’re here and we’re trying. Let’s hope she gets a great run round and if she wins, marvellous, if she doesn’t, she couldn’t have done more for racing. These great racemares, they give everyone so much pleasure to see and race.”

(The quartet of Ballydoyle Arc runners were withdrawn late Saturday evening due to contaminated feed.)

As easy as it is to imagine a scenario where Frankie has time to glance around at the furlong pole as she careers towards impressive victory, the mind’s eye can also envisage a decisive home-straight surge from the likes of the aptly-named In Swoop (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}). Western Europe’s weather is currently so dire it could come down to a question of who can swim and the G1 Deutsches Derby hero certainly can. Or can Enable’s comrade Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) with all those Wildenstein staying genes come through as he did in his sensational 10-length G1 Gold Cup success? Just as Enable’s campaigning had led to this juncture, so Bjorn Nielsen’s elite stayer seems to have been steered in this direction with fateful accuracy. Left out of the Arc picture until this year, the best of his kind since Ardross (Ire) who went so close in 1982 has not taken the easy option but can it pay off? As Robert Frost penned, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”

“Enable’s got a pal in there called Stradivarius and he’s a similar, wonderful, consistent performer at Group 1 level. It’s a pleasure to have them both there,” Gosden said. “If he handles the ground, he will run a big race. Frankie has called me and said it’s pretty desperate ground, so I’m going to go to the inside but there are three races before us. May the best horse win, whoever it is.”

Then there is the Fabre factor, with the inclusion of Persian King (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) so leftfield it is almost too bizarre to ignore. Andre is the undisputed King of the Arc and he continues to defy the perceived “knowledge” well into his seventies. Few who witnessed the highly-talented 4-year-old’s powerplay in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp over a mile could have foreseen a tilt at this great stamina test, but when it comes to the master of Chantilly we all bend. No doubt he has seen something in the conditioning of Godolphin and Ballymore Thoroughbreds’ imposing bay that makes this a gamble worth taking. The very fact that he is here is confirmation of where the race still stands in the pantheon of monuments globally. Of the nine French-trained winners since the turn of the millennium, Fabre was responsible for a trio and he is generally the first port of call when it comes to home pride. Persian King also has the assistance of “PC” in the saddle and last year’s Arc weekend demonstrated just what an advantage that can be.

Domestic hopes also reside with Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Raabihah (Sea the Stars {Ire}) from Southern France’s guru Jean-Claude Rouget and the former has vital experience of combat in this particular arena. Toughing it out when third as a still raw 3-year-old in the mud last year, Peter Brant’s flag-bearer has just 1 1/4 lengths to make up on Enable from 2019. It is worth bearing in mind that Waldgeist was beaten further by her in 2018 before emerging stronger a year on to reverse the form. If he is successful, Sottsass will be the first winner of the “new” G1 Prix du Jockey Club to prevail in this since its distance was diminished to 10 1/2 furlongs in 2005. He is the stable’s number one, with Shadwell’s Raabihah untried on ground slower than good-to-soft and needing a significant upgrade on her latest second in the course-and-distance G1 Prix Vermeille Sept. 13.

“I’m of the opinion that Sottsass is on much better terms with himself at this stage of the season,” Rouget commented. “This year, I haven’t managed to get him in the same condition as he is in now, owing to a racing calendar which has been perturbed by the pandemic. However, neither have I wished to go overboard, so as to ensure that that he’s a fresh horse come the Arc, which has always been his objective. Raabihah is similarly in peak condition. Our only question mark is the ground. This isn’t in the sense that she would be inconvenienced by a heavy track–we simply don’t know, because she has yet to tackle very soft conditions.”

ParisLongchamp’s card kicks off with the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, where Marie McCartan’s Jun3 20 G2 Coventry S. winner and Aug. 23 G1 Prix Morny runner-up Nando Parrado (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) steps up to seven furlongs for the first time. Now that Ballydoyle’s St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) has been withdrawn, the Clive Cox runner faces an easier task and his trainer commented, “I’m very pleased, because he is in excellent form and it gives me confidence knowing that he will handle the conditions–that is a great plus, given the weather forecast.”

French representation had looked weak there and only slightly better among the fillies assembled for the G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac before the O’Brien defections, but with John Oxley’s Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) now scratched France’s main contender King’s Harlequin (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) comes firmly into the equation. Racing in the Sangster silks, she has to turn around the form of her defeat when third to Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}) in the G2 Prix du Calvados over seven furlongs at Deauville Aug. 22. Fev Rover’s syndicate manager Nick Bradley said, “She’s in serious form at home. I spoke to Richard [Fahey] on Friday morning and she’s a lot more professional than when Ben [Curtis] last rode her at Sandown.” King’s Harlequin at least has course-and-distance winning form, having subsequently beaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Harajuku (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Coeursamba (Fr) (The Wow Signal {Ire}) in the Sept. 10 G3 Prix d’Aumale. The latter was bought on Saturday evening for €400,000 at the Arqana Arc Sale by Haras du Saubouas on behalf of Mohamed Fahad Al Attiyah.

The G1 Prix de l’Opera Longines is another race to lose out due to the O’Brien withdrawals, with the fascinating rematch between the July 5 G1 Prix de Diane one-two Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) now shelved with the former’s trainer Donnacha forced to bypass the contest. The Niarchos Family’s G1 Coronation S. heroine Alpine Star has since run Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) to 3/4 of a length when runner-up in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois on heavy going at Deauville Aug. 16 and will relish the step back up in trip. Not that the Opera was a two-horse race, as one of the best renewals of recent times also sees Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s unbeaten June 14 G1 Prix Saint Alary and Aug. 22 G2 Prix de la Nonette winner Tawkeel (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) line up alongside The Aga Khan’s impressive Prix Vermeille heroine Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal). Tawkeel’s trainer Jean-Claude Rouget said, “She doesn’t share that characteristic that has bedevilled other members of the same family that I’ve trained, in the sense that they’ve made flying starts to their career which they haven’t backed up,” he said. “She, on the contrary, has done nothing but progress and each time she has astonished me.”

Alongside Love, the card is also missing another celebrity due to the ground in Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) who was understandably removed from the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines picture having flopped when 14th in similar conditions 12 months ago. Impressive when successful on that occasion, Bearstone Stud’s Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead) was back to winning ways in The Curragh’s G1 Flying Five Sept. 13 and on the face of it might only have to reproduce that form to bring up back-to-back successes. “It was soft ground last year and she won it well,” jockey Tom Eaves said. “She has come out of Ireland well and we are looking forward to Sunday. She’s in good form and came to herself at this time last year.” This is far from a strong edition of the five-furlong sprint and the Flying Five runner-up Keep Busy (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) and fifth Make a Challenge (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) look the most realistic threats.

Where the Abbaye lacks depth, there is a fascinating renewal of the G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret to bring the top-level action to a close as Godolphin’s Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal) returns to the course and distance of his easy win in the Sept. 13 G3 Prix du Pin. Not out of second gear when beating the fellow Andre Fabre-trained Tropbeau (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), last year’s G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. winner has come off worse in the draw than the winner of the last two renewals of this, One Master (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). “Earthlight is in the best form he has been in all year,” Andre Fabre said. “Mickael commented after his last piece of work that he feels better than ever, both mentally and physically. He is a laid-back horse, but with a devastating turn of foot and I am hopeful of a very good run here. My only concerns are around the level of form of the 3-year-olds this year.”

At home on easy ground, Lael Stable’s One Master looks as good as ever, but was 3 1/2-lengths second to Ross Harmon’s Safe Voyage (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) in the Aug. 22 G2 City of York S. and there is no obvious reason for her to reverse that. Safe Voyage, who also acts on deep ground, has since won Leopardstown’s G2 Boomerang Mile Sept. 12 and has the extra stamina that may be a prized asset in these conditions.

Click here for the group fields.

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All that said, the opening skirmishes of the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale are bound to be treated as a barometer for what lies ahead. During these uniquely challenging times, vendors and consignors will watch the early returns with far more than even their customary trepidation. Equally, the likelihood of “a buyer’s market” will not assuage the anxieties of core clients such as trainers, nervously awaiting orders, or pinhookers, who have to gamble on a return of economic confidence as soon as next spring.

So while the whole community has demonstrably been at pains to hold its collective nerve and work together, not least the rival sales companies, it is only when the gavel comes down that we can begin to know whether we have merely been helping each other to rearrange the furniture on the Titanic; or have actually managed to board a serviceable lifeboat, with a functioning motor and plenty of buckets.

For the little it may be worth, the ambience on the sales grounds on the eve of the sale seemed positive. The consensus was that there were more prospectors, relatively speaking, than has been the case at sales staged in other sectors since the lockdown. Nobody was foolhardy enough to be making predictions, and the ongoing fidelity of the Maktoums–perennial mainstays of the industry–is being monitored with more angst than ever.

But perhaps there was something auspicious about the change in the weather: horses had been unloaded over the weekend into a bitter north wind, like a sadistic downpayment of the coming winter. On Monday, they were being displayed in the kind of perfect late-summer weather–high, slow clouds occasionally filtering warm sunshine–that could only be more flattering to cricket on the green than it was to the shimmering flanks of a meticulously groomed yearling.

At the best of times, Henry Beeby approaches the sales season with a candid paranoia about picking up any kind of infection that might compromise his resonance from the rostrum. As a friend said to the Goffs CEO: “You must be delighted: nobody’s touching you, everyone’s washing their hands the whole time–and nobody thinks you’re weird anymore!”

But the pandemic has been a rollercoaster to challenge even Beeby’s trademark dynamism.

“An ex-colleague, who has retired, rang me up recently and said: ‘I bet you’d like a bit of foot-and-mouth!'” Beeby says. “And I said: ‘Well, I’m not sure I’d like it. But yes, by comparison, having seemed an absolute nightmare at the time, foot-and-mouth now seems like the mildest of inconveniences.’ When we moved a sale, someone said: ‘At least you’ve given us certainty.’ And I replied: ‘In the COVID world, there is no such thing as certainty.'”

That clearly extends to the next two days. While it would clearly be unfair to invite public commitment to any specific number, even in private it is presumably difficult for the Goffs management to agree what might pass as a tolerable loss of momentum after the relentless bull run of recent years. In broad brush-strokes, however, Beeby explains that the accountants will be measuring the year against an established “worst-case scenario.”

“I’ll be quite open,” Beeby declares. “Our financial year is Apr. 1 to Mar. 31 so, if there could be such a thing, I suppose from that point of view it happened at the right time. It meant we could recalibrate all our budgeting for the year. Rather than base it on the last couple of years, we said: ‘What is the worst year we have had, in terms of ring turnover, in recent memory?’ In Ireland, it was 2010; in England, 2013. So we worked everything backwards from there: if we can hit those targets, having worked out our costs to a break-even position, then we can just tread water and hopefully move forward again after COVID.”

Beeby remarks that last year’s Irish turnover of around €123 million matched almost precisely the business done in 2007, having slumped to €45 million in 2010 after the financial crisis. In other words, a perfect U-shaped recovery had been completed. What the whole global economy is craving now, of course, is a much narrower, steeper “V” revival.

“It does put everything in perspective,” Beeby reflects. “Normally, you’re deeply upset if your sale hasn’t grown by at least inflation. But now it’s a question of leading with the clearance rate, because our primary focus–going into every sale–is to deliver liquidity to the market, to let the vendors sell their horses for a price they can accept.

“The Land Rover Sale was down 36%. In a normal year, that would have me virtually suicidal, though actually, compared to its competitors, it wasn’t too bad. But the clearance rate on day one was 84%. Slightly less on the second day, but it was a question of just keeping the wheel turning, keeping the market going, keeping the liquidity, helping people through their cycles. Because of course a yearling is only a yearling once, and same with your 3-year-old store, or your breeze-up horse.

“So what it needs from us, and from our clients, is adaptability, flexibility, reactivity. It’s about not being afraid to act quickly, to make quick decisions; but equally to be unafraid of saying: ‘No–we need to change it again.'”

And Beeby speaks warmly of how the industry, as a whole, has stepped up to the plate. He is also perfectly aware that a lot of people looked to the sales houses for a lead. He stresses that Goffs and its principal rival Tattersalls already tend to work together, in the interests of their clients, more routinely than people may realise.

“We are competitive, of course we are, but this year in particular it’s been a question of putting that to one side and helping each other,” Beeby says. “Because we know we’re in it together. There was a period of a week or 10 days when I think I must have spoken more to [Tattersalls chairman] Edmond Mahony than some of my colleagues. We’re swimming in a very small pool, most of the clients are mutual clients, and in various categories–be it the breeze-ups, be it stores, be it yearlings–most major vendors sell in all places. So it just makes enormous sense to co-operate and co-ordinate and harmonise.”

The toughest nettle to be grasped, perhaps, was the decision to transfer the Orby and Sportsman’s Sales here to Doncaster from Co Kildare.

“The Orby used to be called the Irish National Yearling Sale,” Beeby notes. “It’s a major event in Ireland. The modern-day Goffs was set up in 1975 to provide high-class facility in Ireland for Irish breeders, so it was a big decision to move. But aren’t we lucky that we had this complex here? First of all, prior to 2007, it wouldn’t have been as easy because D.B.S. [Doncaster Bloodstock Sales] was a separate entity; and prior to 2008, we were across the road with 290 stables that weren’t to a high enough standard for these horses, and certainly the Orby and Sportsmans. So we’re very lucky that we are served by two such high-class sales facilities. And largely people have said: ‘That makes sense, let’s do it.'”

No market, of course, can sustain perennial growth. Nobody could have anticipated quite what it was that eventually broadsided the bloodstock bonanza, but everyone always knew that cycles are inevitable. In our industry, moreover, too many sectors are too interdependent for the headline figures to show “pure” gain. Many Thoroughbreds are sold many times over: in utero, even, and certainly as foals, yearlings, breezers, horses-in-training, breeding stock. And then everything starts over. But an apparently booming yearling market, for instance, always raises the stakes for the breeze-up sector. In turn, that will often mean that even a corresponding boom in the 2-year-old market is illusory; that margins have remained pretty stable.

Certainly pinhookers here are treading warily. “We have seven months for everything to turn round,” said one. “But we don’t even know what things will look like in seven days.”

Another, who had actually come out ahead from the breeze-up sector’s delayed calendar, was hoping that these initial yearling exchanges may be particularly cagey, saying: “If they do wait and see, then I’m hopeful I might get one or two early on. But nobody knows what’s going to happen. If we had another lockdown of racing, then we’re all in trouble. But we’re here. That’s a start!”

And it is in these times, when the soil seems thinnest, that the seeds of subsequent fortune will often be sown.

“Absolutely,” says Beeby. “There will be great opportunities. These horses were bred in pre-COVID times, when things were going really well, and there are some beautiful horses here.”

As detailed by colleague Kelsey Riley in yesterday’s edition, moreover, Premier Sale graduates have been excelling even in the constricted programme contrived after lockdown. As ever, they have been doing so where the emphasis is on speed; but they have been doing so at the highest level, with consecutive wins in both the GI Commonwealth Cup and GII Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot. Already nine graduates of last year’s sale have won stakes.

Beeby feels that the bloodstock market, so far as it has been tested, has so far stood up surprisingly well at a time when owners have been deprived of their customary adrenaline at the racetrack; and when prizemoney dividends have made even less sense than usual of the investment demanded of them. That gives him “quiet hope” for the next two days.

“There’s going to be a market here,” he says with a shrug. “Quite what it is, remains to be seen. But it’s the old cliché. All you can do is your best. We are a very resilient industry. And why is that? It’s because for most of us, it’s not a job, it’s our life; it’s what we live and breathe. Even if we wanted to, most of us probably couldn’t do anything else. I certainly can’t: I’ve done this for 38 years, don’t want to do anything else, and am certainly not qualified to. And I daresay that’s true of most of us here. So what do you do? You make hay when the sun shines. You have a good time, you make the most of it. And when things go badly, you knuckle down and make sure you get through it.

“There was a time, before the breeze-up sales, when the previous year we had already turned over £46 million–and this time it stood at zero. But what’s been heartening has been the calmness of so many people. There’s never really been a sense of panic, which you could have understood. People have said: ‘Just give us something to aim for.’ And even though sometimes we’ve had to change even that, there has just been that feeling that we have to keep the wheel turning. People have been prepared to knuckle down and work together, put their normal differences or individual ambitions to one side. That’s been refreshing.

“We have to keep trying, to keep as much normality as we can in an incredibly abnormal world. And I suppose someday we’ll look back and say: ‘Do you remember 2020?'”

He gives a wry grin. He knows how few of us will do so in tones of nostalgia. But even though his father, DBS stalwart Harry, will be missing for the first time since 1964, he will be avidly following proceedings on Beeby’s mother’s “machine”.

“So the message,” concludes Beeby, “is really to keep calm and carry on.”

The first of 423 lots catalogued over two sessions enters the ring at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

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“She’ll have to go into a Group 1 now, either at Newmarket or back to France,” said Fahey. “She’s a talented filly. Everyone said she’s good on the soft, but I think she wants fast ground–it’s just that she’s very good. She’s a great moving filly and I’m actually surprised she’s running so well on the soft. She’s improving and is just very smart. She’s in the Boussac and we’ll keep an eye on the Fillies’ Mile as well.”

Fahey’s Rhythm Master (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), third in the G1 Darley Prix Morny to Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), will be taking another crack at Group 1 level, the trainer revealed. Owned by John Dance of Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Ire}) fame, the bay won a maiden at Haydock in July, his only other start to date. He is under consideration for the Oct. 10 Darley Dewhurst S. at Newmarket.

“It was a huge ask going from a maiden to a Group 1 and he did show a little bit of inexperience,” said Fahey. “He half missed the start a beat and then had a think when he squared him up to get racing. I’m not saying I’d have beaten the winner, but I’d like to have been on her tail.

“Good horses go on any ground, but I would prefer to see him on better ground. He’s got plenty of options, but I’d just like to see how he comes out of this one first–maybe something like the Dewhurst–we do like him, he’s a smart horse.”

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