Flemington Kickstarts Run of Australian World Pool Meetings

Kicking off the World Pool meetings, last weekend's Turnbull Stakes Day at Flemington drew HK$133.4 million (approx. A$26.6 million) in wagering. The card consisted of five races from Flemington combined with four from Newmarket and one, the Gran Premio Latinoamericano, from San Isidro.

Defending G1 Melbourne Cup champion Gold Trip took the featured G1 Turnbull S. The combined Win pool on the five World Pool races (A$6,545,489.82) was almost nine times the combined pool on the five non-World Pool races with the Victorian tote ($743,831.06).

Meanwhile, the combined Duet (Quinella Place) pools on the final five races (A$6,732,853.78) represented a 36.8% increase on the same pools for the first five races (A$18,226.68).

The first ever World Pool on a Sydney meeting will take place Oct. 14 when nine races from Randwick, including the A$20-million The Everest, will be available for betting on six continents. World Pool meetings will follow in Melbourne for Caulfield Cup Day (Oct. 21), Cox Plate Day (Oct. 28) and Victoria Derby Day (Nov. 4). British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse will also be included Oct. 21.

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Ozzie Kheir Buys Breeders’ Cup Winner And Cox Plate Contender Victoria Road

Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) will contest the A$5-million G1 Cox Plate in the colours of Ozzie Kheir next month, Racing.com reported on Friday.

Bred by Trevor Stewart and trained by Aidan O'Brien for Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, the colt is currently traveling to Australia where he will spend his two-week quarantine in Melbourne. O'Brien will continue training the son of G3 Abernant S. and G3 Charge Sprint S. victress Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) through his intended starts in the 2040-metre Cox Plate and the 2000-metre G1 Champion S. in the coming weeks. He will then change yards to Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

“We are extremely excited to have secured this very talented Northern Hemisphere 3-year-old with Japanese bloodlines,” Kheir told the publication.

“Having already won a Grade I at the age of two and being lightly raced, it gave us confidence as a group to proceed with a deal to acquire Victoria Road from Coolmore.

“The Coolmore family have always been a pleasure to deal with, our last significant acquisition being Sir Dragonet (Ire) in 2020. We have now traded together on some high-profile horses and there is a mutual respect for each other where we strike a fair price and terms to suit both. Recently Yes Yes Yes (Aus) and Coolangatta (Aus) have been sold to Coolmore.”

The 115,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate also won the G3 Prix de Conde and the Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage at two. At three, he was third in the G2 Dullingham Park S. in two starts. From 10 starts, Victoria Road has won four times with earnings north of $680,000. His second dam is the hugely influential blue hen Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}).

Added Kheir, “Mathew Becker was instrumental in landing the deal on Victoria Road as I, personally, didn't think we could buy him.

“So, when the opportunity come about on the terms and price, I believed it was really good buying for this loyal and fantastic group of owners we race with.

“We have a runner ready to go in the business end of the spring, provided he travels well, but more importantly, a colt for the future to race in Australia and continue to add to his value with most of, or potentially all, his downside covered by his previous Grade I win as a stallion prospect.

“He will be trained by Ciaron and Dave after his couple of runs in Australia with Aidan O'Brien. It gave us great confidence that Aidan was wanting to continue to travel Victoria Road for our group to compete in the Cox Plate. Victoria Road is currently in the air on route to Werribee [International Horse Centre].

“Our short-term plan post-spring is to target the All-Star Mile and Australia Cup before attacking the Sydney Autumn.”

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Dark Angel’s Top Ranked New Group 1 Winner Down Under

Yeomanstown Stud's Dark Angel sired a new top-level winner overnight, his 13th, when Top Ranked (Ire) (known as Top Rank in the Northern Hemisphere), proved inseparable with Ellsberg (Aus) (Spill The Beans {Aus}) at the finish of the A$1.5-million Epsom H. over heavy ground at Randwick on Saturday. It was a neck back to Hinged (Aus) (Worthy Cause {Aus}) in third in the 1600-metre feature.

A winner of the G3 Superior Mile S. in England in 2020, the 6-year-old entire is out of the winning Countess Ferrama (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), a daughter of the dual Group 2 winner Madame Dubois (GB) (Legend Of France). Countess Ferrama is also a half-sister to G1 Gran Criterium winner Count Dubois (GB) (Zafonic), G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hero Indian Haven (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), and the stakes-placed dam of group winners Imperial Stride (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) and High Pitched (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}).

Dark Angel's good day was not limited to Top Ranked, as he also sired his 93rd stakes winner earlier in the day at Flemington, when Visinari (Fr), third in Newmarket's G2 July S. before being sold Down Under, claimed the Listed Paris Lane H.

Euro-breds also enjoyed a brace of near misses out of the highest drawer, with Le Don De Vie (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), bred like his paternal half-brother, the decorated Aussie Group 1 victor Zaaki (GB) by Kirsten Rausing, a nose back of No Compromise (NZ) (Pins {NZ}) in the Metropolitan H. at Randwick. The ÂŁ460,000 Goffs London Sale alumni has joined the ranks of listed winners since switching to the Southern Hemisphere. Rausing has a great chance in the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with her homebred Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) on Sunday. Juddmonte-bred Maximal (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), second in May's G1 Doomben Cup, earned his second Group 1 placing in Flemington's Turnbull S. for an ownership group, of which Juddmonte is part-owner.

Godolphin homebred Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {GB}), a two-time Australian Group 1 victor, added the G2 Peter Young S. to his ledger, as well on Saturday.

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McEvoy Gets Melbourne Cup Call Up For Deauville Legend

Jockey Kerrin McEvoy will ride likely G1 Melbourne Cup favourite Deauville Legend (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the two-mile race at Flemington on Nov. 1, trainer James Ferguson announced.

“McEvoy has been confirmed,” said Ferguson, who has worked with McEvoy in years' past. “He's won the race three times and knows his way around Flemington. He's a very good friend of mine and we have worked together a lot in the past.”

The two-time group-winning gelding is due to enter quarantine shortly. Racing in the colours of K K Ho, Deauville Legend won the G2 Great Voltigeur S. in mid-August.

“He's in good nick and it is very exciting to have a horse that is favourite for the Melbourne Cup going over there,” added Ferguson. “We were right to give him a little bit of time off between now and then because he has had a long season and I think he will be going down there as fit as we can get him.

“He will probably be doing a racecourse gallop on Friday and we will then send him into quarantine on Monday.”

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