15.30 Chelmsford, Cond, £100,000, 3yo, 8f (AWT)
CAPULET (IRE) (Justify) is a big draw for Chelmsford in this Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions Stakes which acts as part of the “Road To The Kentucky Derby” series. Runner-up in Leopardstown's G2 Champions Juvenile S. and third in the G2 Royal Lodge S. at Newmarket last term, Ballydoyle's relative of the Derby hero Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is among the stable's prime Derby candidates in 2024 and will be tested by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's recent Listed Burradon S. winner Cuban Tiger (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) over a trip probably shy of his optimum.

The post Capulet Returns At Chelmsford appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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On Good Friday, as tradition dictates, a handful of the town's racing stables will invite the public in for a look behind the scenes as part of the annual Middleham Open Day, organised by Racing Welfare. Spigot Lodge promises to be the first port of call for many visitors, with trainer Karl Burke expecting to welcome between 200-300 people during the course of the morning.

Hoping to beat the rush, the TDN descends on Spigot Lodge the week before the Middleham Open Day, but already Burke is a man in high demand. Having welcomed David Craig and the Sky Sports Racing cameras to film a feature the previous morning, today our visit clashes with that of Derek 'Tommo' Thompson, the veteran broadcaster and commentator who warmly greets all comers in the now-customary fashion, “Are you well?”

Allowing Tommo first crack at Burke provides the opportunity for a quick tour of the stable yard, giving just a taste of why Spigot Lodge is proving such a popular destination with us media folk as the start of the Flat season proper looms on the horizon. In every corner you look there's a familiar name, from the hard-knocking older sprinter that is Spycatcher (Ire) (Vadamos {Fr}) to the exciting three-year-old Classic contender that is Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}).

Put simply, Burke has never assembled a stronger team of horses, across all departments, than the one in his care right now, certainly on the evidence of last year when he celebrated career-best figures in Britain, with 119 winners and £3,130,725 in total earnings.

“And if you count the European money earnings it was close to £4 million,” Burke points out as he pulls up a stool in the kitchen after bidding farewell to Tommo, ready to reflect on a record-breaking year for the team in 2023 and to look ahead to what 2024 might have in store.

“I never ever thought we'd get to those sorts of figures,” he adds. “I think the only blank month we had last year was March. We didn't have a winner in March, but apart from that we had a great all-weather season and it just followed on through the year.”

Already this year Burke is ahead of where he was at the same stage in 2023, with 12 winners on the board–including a first of the season on turf when Liamarty Dreams (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) scored at Doncaster on Sunday–compared to 10 in the first three months of last year.

The big cards are all still to be played, of course, but the omens are certainly good ahead of what promises to be another successful year for the team. Happily, Burke can also look forward to taking a front row seat in the coming months having returned to familiar surroundings in recent days, making his first appearances on a racecourse since last summer.

In a year when Burke's powerful string rose to virtually every challenge thrown at them in 2023, their trainer was forced to watch on from afar as he fought his own battle with illness, out of the public eye as the likes of Fallen Angel did their bit to keep his name in lights.

“Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with cancer just before Royal Ascot last year,” Burke recalls. “I didn't have any symptoms or anything. I had a routine test and they found it, luckily. They were able to get me in and operated on in early-July, so I haven't been racing since then really.

“I was just getting over the operation, which was fairly severe, and then they wanted me to have a course of chemo as a belts-and-braces job. That took me up to Christmas time, so it hasn't been easy, but we've got a great team here and things ticked along nicely.”

When he felt up to it, the day-to-day routine of a trainer's existence was a huge comfort to Burke during his illness, simply being around the animals to which he's devoted over 30 years of his life in this profession.

Burke's soft spot for Fallen Angel is certainly clear for all to see, with the smile coming easily to him when he's asked to pose for a picture with the grey filly who ended the stable's four-year wait for a Group 1 winner when landing the Moyglare Stud S. at the Curragh last September. A second in the space of six weeks then came along when Poptronic (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) caused a 22/1 upset in the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares S. at Ascot.

That proved to be Poptronic's swansong for the stable, later being sold for 1.4 million gns at the Tattersalls December Mares' Sale, but Burke need look no further for a flagbearer this year than Fallen Angel, who is quickly having to get used to all the media attention that comes with being one of the best fillies of her generation.

Leading 1,000 Guineas contender Fallen Angel at Spigot Lodge this morning. Look out for a @theTDN feature with @karl_burke next week, with less than seven weeks to go until the first Classics of the season. pic.twitter.com/rJAcEewRnd

— Adam Houghton (@hought94) March 20, 2024

“There were always high hopes for her and she was a lovely stamp of a filly,” Burke says of Steve Parkin's homebred. “And she's out of a good mare, Agnes Stewart, who was a Group 2 winner. You never can say you're definitely going to win a Group 1, but she just improved all the way through.”

Expressing his belief that Fallen Angel should still be unbeaten, Burke adds, “Even when she got beat at Sandown, Danny [Tudhope, jockey] came in and was kicking himself that he didn't make more use of her because she stays very well. She'd always been quite a strong traveller and he was just trying to teach her by holding on to her a little bit, but I think she probably would have won that day as well if we'd kicked her in the belly a bit earlier.”

Fallen Angel made no mistake on her next two starts, first winning the G3 Sweet Solera S. at Newmarket and then following up in very similar fashion when making the breakthrough at the top level at the Curragh, still appearing full of running at the line as she fought off the speedy Vespertilio (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) to win by a length and a quarter.

Sure to be suited by stepping up to a mile, Fallen Angel now has the G1 Qipco 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Sunday, May 5, firmly in her sights, attempting to provide her trainer with a first British Classic success in a race that looks a whole lot more winnable following the news of the likely defection of Aidan O'Brien's Opera Singer (Justify)–not that Burke was afraid of going head-to-head with the winter favourite for the race.

“I was looking forward to taking on Opera Singer,” he reveals. “Darnation ran against her on fast ground in France, which Darnation wouldn't want, and we were still upsides her a furlong and a half out. I know where Fallen Angel is with her [Darnation] on fast ground. Darnation is very much a soft-ground filly, so I didn't think for a minute that Opera Singer was unbeatable.

“There will be plenty of horses that pop their heads up above the parapet from now until Guineas day. I'm sure there are a few horses lurking around that are going to show improved form and will be challenging us. My main aim is to get her there in one piece and, hopefully, that's what we'll do.”

Fallen Angel is set for a racecourse gallop at the Craven Meeting which Burke hopes will put her spot on for the 1,000 Guineas, while Darnation (Too Darn Hot {GB}) could also come into the reckoning for that race if conditions fall in her favour. According to her trainer, she isn't one to underestimate, either, in the event that that happens.

“I'm sure that on soft or heavy ground, she's going to be a handful for any horse,” Burke says of the filly who counted the G2 May Hill S. at Doncaster amongst her three wins last season. “A lot of horses just can't manage that ground, but she seems to thrive on it.

“She carried a little niggle all of last season and I think that's one of the reasons why she didn't perform on firmer ground. But she's come through that and she's working nicely. I'm not sure what the plan is–it will be dictated by the ground really. It was in my mind to go for one of the trials if it came up heavy, but there's not a mile trial for fillies without going up to France and I don't really want to do that with her first-time-out.”

Darnation | Adam Houghton

One exciting three-year-old at Spigot Lodge who has already been in action in 2024 is the 'TDN Rising Star' Night Raider (Ire). In fact, the quick circuit of the stable yard on this particular morning involves only a brief stop at his empty box, the son of Dark Angel (Ire) already having departed ahead of his run at Southwell that evening.

“It's a big day for him,” says Burke, who later follows Night Raider on the 230-mile round trip to Southwell for his first racecourse visit of the year. “I've just seen him on the horsebox and he's roaring away. He's got that little immaturity still about him, so another day out won't do him any harm. Today, whether he wins easily or is in a battle, the idea is to give him a little squeeze and make him go and stretch in that last furlong.”

As it turns out, Night Raider has absolutely no difficulty dismissing a 93-rated rival from the Charlie Hills stable in that novice event, responding quickly when that little squeeze is applied as he powers clear to win by five lengths.

Unbeaten in two starts, by a cumulative margin of 14 lengths, the feeling remains that we've only scratched the surface of Night Raider's potential. He's clearly held in high regard by Burke, too, with the only uncertainty in his mind being about what to do next ahead of a possible tilt at the G1 Qipco 2,000 Guineas on Saturday, May 4.

“We'll make a decision whether we go for a trial or a racecourse gallop,” he sums up. “The trial is more likely to be the seven-furlong conditions race at Newmarket, for horses that haven't run more than twice. I don't want to try him in the Craven over a mile where there could be cut in the ground and it could turn into a slog. And if we wait for Newbury, it's literally two weeks before the Guineas which is getting close.

“We've got decisions to make, but he's a beautiful horse and the Guineas and the start of the season is not the be-all and end-all for him–he's going to get better and better as the season goes on.”

Burke's Southwell trip might have resembled a return to some sort of normality for the trainer, but he's still finding his feet in certain aspects at home, notably when it comes to getting to grips with the latest intake of juveniles in his care.

“There are a few nice horses out there,” he says of the class of 2024. “I was away for a month in the winter, which I've never done before, and obviously before Christmas I wasn't as on it as I usually would be with having the chemo. But I'm recognising the horses now and seeing how they've developed. I'm just catching up with that and I must admit now that, when I see the string, we've got some lovely fillies out there.”

It was the two-year-olds which underpinned Burke's success last season, making up 68 of the yard's 119 winners in Britain, whilst pocketing nearly £1 million in prize-money. This year the team of juveniles won't be quite so numerically strong, according to Burke, but he still expects to have plenty of early runners despite a less-than-ideal preparation, chiefly because of the exceptionally wet weather the whole country has endured in recent weeks and months.

“We won't have quite as many two-year-olds this time around because we've kept a lot of the nice two-year-olds from last year,” Burke explains. “We have 139 boxes here and we're pretty limited above that, so we had to cut back somewhere and it ended up being the two-year-olds. But we seem to have a nice bunch and still good numbers.

“I've been saying to a few people that I felt the three-year-olds and older horses were probably a week or two ahead of where we'd usually be with them, but we're probably a week or two behind with the two-year-olds. We're probably better off having it that way round, because there are loads of races for the two-year-olds and they've got plenty of time.”

Pinatubo (Ire) is a first-season sire expected to waste no time in having two-year-old winners in 2024 and Burke is excited to see what his half-brother to Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) can do having been sent to Spigot Lodge by Parkin. “He looks a lovely colt,” says the trainer. “There's a lot of scope about him–a lot more scope than Dramatised had.”

Burke also puts in a positive word for a filly by Sergei Prokofiev, but it's another Whitsbury Manor Stud resident who is the main subject of his affections, namely Havana Grey (GB), whom he trained to win the G1 Flying Five S. back in 2018.

“It's been unbelievable really,” Burke says of the success Havana Grey has enjoyed at stud, notably with the dual Group 1-winning two-year-old Vandeek (GB), the star of his second crop. “And fair play to Ed Harper from Whitsbury. When we were looking to try and sell him, we had a price in our heads, us and the owners. All the big studs came over to see him and liked him, but they didn't want to pay the price that we had in mind. We stuck to our guns and fair play to Ed. He said, 'I think I'm paying plenty for him, but I want him.'

“His constitution was brilliant,” Burke adds of Havana Grey. “All he did was eat and sleep and he was a very sound, tough horse. I think he's passing on that toughness to his progeny.”

As for the current inmates at Spigot Lodge, there is arguably no finer embodiment of toughness than the six-year-old Spycatcher, who did his trainer proud in 2023 when winning the G3 Prix de Ris-Orangis at Deauville before being beaten just a short head when bidding for a first Group 1 success in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at the same venue.

Spycatcher | Adam Houghton

Spycatcher, who occupies the box that was once home to Burke's multiple Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), will be back for more in 2024 with the aim of breaking his top-level duck, so too the four-year-olds Flight Plan (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and Royal Rhyme (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), both of whom acquitted themselves well in good company last season.

There's certainly plenty to be excited about if you're planning a visit to Spigot Lodge during the Middleham Open Day, albeit Burke's own enjoyment of the event isn't necessarily what it once was since the introduction of racing on Good Friday.

“We've got three meetings, so we're going to be stretched to the limit,” he explains. “We've had to limit our opening window to two and a half hours, because we just can't do it any other way. We're going to have lads everywhere and horses travelling. You can't be loading horses up when you've got 200-300 people walking around.

“It's unfortunate because it does have a place. It's a good selling point to try and get new blood into the game, but it certainly hasn't made it easier with so much racing on Good Friday.”

It's a message that rings especially true at a time when the fixture list seems to grow year-on-year, despite a general decline in foal crops in Britain, not to mention the increase in the number of horses being bought to race overseas.

It provides an interesting talking point on which to end the chat with Burke, who clearly remains as passionate as ever about a sport which means everything to him and his family, ably assisted at Spigot Lodge by wife Elaine and daughters Kelly and Lucy.

“I think that's a big problem [the loss of horses overseas] and I don't know how you halt that,” he says. “Obviously, prize-money comes into it, but we're so far behind as a country on prize-money compared to a lot of the other major racing nations that we're never going to catch them up.

“Any increase in prize-money will help, but how do you go about persuading people not to sell their horses? I think in a perverse sort of way, while the Middle East programme that's there doesn't really help British racing, there's a case for owners keeping those good middle-distance horses and high-class sprinters and going out in the winter to the Middle East to compete for that prize-money.

“That's probably as good a selling point as any. The likes of Richard Fahey have obviously had great success, so the more that they build their programme, it will probably help to a degree to persuade owners in Britain to keep those horses.”

The post Burke Looking Forward With Fallen Angel After Cancer Fight appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Frankel took the BBA Silver Cigar Box for the second time in three years as Britain's leading sire by total earnings in 2023 with £7,143,651. Frankel, who was crowned champion sire in Britain and Ireland, sired 11 individual Group 1 winners in 2023, with his notable runners on home soil including the Classic winners Chaldean (GB) and Soul Sister (Ire), plus G1 Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami (GB) and the G1 Prince of Wales's S. and G1 Juddmonte International winner Mostahdaf (Ire).

Kingman led all British-based sires by number of winners in 2023 and earned the Barleythorpe Stud Silver Cup for the first time. Kingman's representatives in Britain and Ireland last year included the dual Group 2 winner Kinross (GB), G3 Jersey S. winner Age Of Kings (Ire) and G3 Thoroughbred S. winner Epictetus (Ire), while Feed The Flame (GB) (Grand Prix de Paris) and Sauterne (Fr) (Prix du Moulin de Longchamp) both won Group 1 races in France.

Too Darn Hot (GB) earned the Tattersalls Silver Salver as leading British-based first-season sire by Flat earnings with £865,571, boosted by the victory of Fallen Angel (GB) in the G1 Moyglare Stud S., while Havana Grey (GB) won the British European Breeders' Fund's Stallion Special Merit Award in a year when his G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. winner Vandeek (GB) also featured among the leading juveniles.

Voted for by an industry panel, the Stallion Merit Award recognises British-based stallions who reward breeders through value for money, accessibility and performance, without, necessarily, the advantages of large books of mares or the high fees such popularity commands.

The Queen's Silver Cup for leading British-based Flat breeder was awarded to Shadwell, who enjoyed notable success in 2023 with the homebred Mostahdaf, plus Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who won the G1 Nassau S. and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., respectively.

European bloodstock manager for Shadwell, Stephen Collins, said, “We are delighted to be the recipient of the Queen's Silver Cup for leading British-based breeder in 2023.

“It's a testament to Sheikh Hamdan's vision and legacy which is being carried on by Sheikha Hissa with great success and we are very much looking forward to this prestigious event [the TBA Flat Breeders' Awards Evening held at Chippenham Park on Wednesday, July 10] later in the year. Last year is going to be hard to follow but hopefully Shadwell will have a successful 2024 with some promising horses coming through.”

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Havana Grey topped the standings with a profitability index of 10.75, comfortably ahead of the next best stallion, Sioux Nation, on 6.61. Those figures were calculated by dividing each sire's 2023 yearling average by their covering fee of 2021, when the offspring in question were conceived.

It was another hugely successful year on the racecourse for the progeny of Havana Grey, with the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. winner Vandeek (GB) emerging as the star of his second crop of two-year-olds. The sire's burgeoning reputation was later reflected at the sales where his 65 yearlings sold for an average of 90,951gns/€107,914, a significant return on their investment for any breeders who sent mares to him in 2021 when his fee was just £6,000. His fee has been increased to £55,000 (from £18,500 in 2023) for his sixth season at Whitsbury Manor Stud in 2024.

Sioux Nation has also been given a fee increase by Coolmore (from €17,500 to €27,500) having built on the success of his juveniles in 2022 when he was second only to Havana Grey among that year's first-season sires. Several members of that crop became Group winners in 2023, headed by G2 Challenge S. heroine Matilda Picotte (Ire), and those who invested in one of his 30 yearlings to sell last year will be hoping for more of the same. They made an average of 55,676gns/€66,060 having been conceived at a fee of just €10,000.

Cotai Glory (GB) and Twilight Son (GB) both operated at basement fees in 2021–€5,000 and £5,000 respectively–and there was certainly value to be had for those breeders who took advantage. Tally Ho Stud resident Cotai Glory had a 2023 yearling average of 25,914gns/€30,747 from 54 lots, giving him a profitability index of 6.15, while Cheveley Park Stud's Twilight Son wasn't far behind on 6.00 having seen his 25 yearlings make an average of 28,595gns/€33,928.

The top five was completed by Sergei Prokofiev (Can), who joined Havana Grey at Whitsbury Manor at a fee of £6,500 in 2021 and will be represented by his first runners in 2024. Those two-year-olds shouldn't be underestimated if the way they performed at the sales last year is anything to go by, making an average of 34,624gns/€41,081 from 84 lots sold.

With a profitability index of 5.59, Sergei Prokofiev was one of only two first-season sires to make the top ten along with Ghaiyyath (Ire) on 4.68, the multiple Group 1 winner who stood at the much higher fee of €30,000 when covering his first mares at Kildangan Stud in 2021. Big things are expected from his first runners in 2024 after his 65 lots caught the eye in a big way at the yearling sales, fetching an average of 118,457gns/€140,549.

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The grey is now the sire of the dual Group 1-winning juvenile Vandeek (GB) and other group winners Jasour (GB), Elite Status (GB), Mammas Girl (GB), Rumstar (GB), Eddie's Boy (GB), and Lady Hollywood (GB) among his best runners.

There are also breeding rights in Cracksman (GB) (lot 92), the sire of the undefeated G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Ace Impact (Ire); and Group 1 wire Harry Angel (Ire) (lot 94) catalogued. Of the 57 horses in/out of training, one of the choicest lots is the 120-rated hurdler Level Neverending (Ire) (Flemensfirth) (lot 34). In foal to Cracksman is Renzia (Ger) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), a half-sister to the Group 1-placed Stormy Len (Harlan's Holiday).

The sale begins at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 17 and ends at noon the following day.

The post Breeding Right To Havana Grey Anchors Tattersalls Online January Catalogue appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A breeding right to the son of Havana Gold (Ire) topped the Online November Sale at 280,000 guineas This season's leading second crop sire has sired 16 Group/listed winners and 31 group/listed performers in his first two crops, led by the dual Group 1 winning 2-year-old Vandeek.

Additional breeding rights on offer: Territories (Ire), sire of this Year's Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup winner Regional (GB), Aclaim (Ire), Alkumait (GB), Cloth of Stars (Ire), Inns of Court (Ire), Land Force (Ire), Le Brivido (Fr) and Time Test (GB).

Among the other notable entries for the December sale, listed-placed Cloudbreaker (Sea The Stars) (lot 59), a half-sister to a pair of listed winners and broodmare Happy Hiker (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) (lot 99), selling in foal to Classic winner Saxon Warrior (Jpn). Included among the foals is a filly by Group 1 winner Mohaather (GB) (lot 72). The half-sister to listed-placed Whim (GB) (Nayef) is out of Group 3 winner Whazzis (GB) (Desert Prince {Ire}).

To view the complete catalogue, click here.

The post Havana Grey Breeding Right Heads Tattersalls Online December Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Keen Rides Out The Storm At Del Mar

It was another stakes victory for the Phil D'Amato barn with the former European runner Unconquerable Keen (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) in the Stormy Liberal S. at Del Mar on Saturday (video).

Bred by Nicholas Hartery, the 4-year-old gelding managed a pair of victories in his native land in the colours of his breeder and trainer Michael Halford before changing hands. Now, raced by CYBT, Omar Aldabbagh, and Michael Nentwig, the son of Queenie Keen (Ire) (Refuse To Bend {Ire}), herself out of a half-sister to the stakes winner Duty Paid (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}), is the 26th stakes winner for his sire worldwide.

The son of Danehill has sired seven winners from 13 runners in the U.S. (54%). His other stakes winner in that jurisdiction is GII Santa Ana S. heroine Tuttipaesi (Ire), while both Enchanteresse (Ire) and Laugh Out Loud (GB) have been stakes placed.

Repeat Winners

No Nay Hudson (No Nay Never), a winner of the William Walker S. in May, returned to take a Gulfstream contest for trainer Wesley Ward on Dec. 1 (video). He currently races for Andrew Farm and For the People Racing Stable, LLC.

Featured in the same May edition of Making Waves is current dual Grade I winner Program Trading (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) who races in the Klaravich Stables' colours. He secured a victory in the GI Hollywood Derby for trainer Chad Brown on Dec. 2 (video).

Already the winner of a Del Mar maiden in September, Zona Verde (Ire) (Calyx {GB}) earned her first stakes victory in the GIII Jimmy Durante S. at Del Mar on Saturday (video).

Almendares (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), third in the GII Del Mar Derby in September, won for the fourth time in his career at Del Mar on Sunday (video). Already a Stateside winner in July, the gelding races for trainer Phil D'Amato and an ownership group of CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig and Ray Pagano.

The post Making Waves: Clodovil Gelding Earns Stakes Badge In California appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A filly (lot 727) from the family of Gilt Edge Girl (GB) (Monsieur Bond {Ire}) by Havana Grey (GB) topped the session and the two-day sale at €65,000 from the consignment of Erenagh House Stud. Earlier in the day, lot 538, a son of Blue Point (Ire), brought €50,000 from the same duo from the draft of Rochestown Lodge Stud.

Across the two days, the clearance rate dropped a point to 76% with 387 yearlings of 508 marked as sold. The aggregate was €3,240,300. Both the average and the median dropped, with the former reaching €8,373 (-11%) and the median at €5,000 (-9%).

“The gateway to the world for Irish breeders” is often how Goffs is promoted and it was certainly true that Kildare Paddocks welcomed a truly international group of buyers this week,” said Goffs Group chief executive Henry Beeby. “This followed another concerted and coordinated campaign by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing and the Goffs Buyer Attraction team who have travelled endlessly to promote the three sections of the Irish National Yearling Sale over the last couple of months.

“We are indebted to our overseas agents for their sterling work alongside ITM that has succeeded in attracting visitors from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and, of course the UK whilst we are not forgetting the home team as the top six lots were bought to stay in Ireland.

“Whilst celebrating our overseas clients we acknowledge that the last two days have been challenging for many and that is symptomatic of the issues facing the industry at the moment. Indeed, our sale has followed the trends at other recent sales at this level and it only goes to underline the importance of overseas investment in our produce. How blessed we are to have ITM working with us, not just to bring people to Ireland but also to ensure they have a positive experience and want to

return. ITM are great ambassadors for Irish bloodstock and they complement the work of Joey Cullen, Hayley O'Connor, Tom Taaffe, Mark Richards and the superb Goffs overseas agents in making sure that a trip to Goffs is hassle free, memorable and productive. To put that into context 88 lots from the last two days head to Italy and another 62 will be spread across Eastern Europe which graphically illustrates their contribution to the market whilst their positivity and enthusiasm ensured a lively atmosphere from start to finish.

“We now turn our attention to our market leading November Sale which features the cream of the Irish foal crop and some beautifully bred mares and fillies headed by the iconic Niarchos Draft of 41 blue bloods from one of the world's leading owner breeders over the last half century. If ever Goffs was going to be the centre of the bloodstock world, it's going to be later this month and we can't wait.”

The post Filly By Havana Grey Tops The Second Day Of The Goffs Autumn Yearling Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Into a split approaching two out, the writing was soon on the wall for his rivals as the 625,000gns joint-topper of the Tatts Craven Breeze-Up took command a furlong later. Putting to bed any fears that he lacked the versatility to excel first time on this kind of fast ground, the beau ideal was quickly into the clear to score by 2 1/4 lengths from the sponsors' TDN Rising Star Task Force (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who denied Ballydoyle's G2 Coventry S.-winning fellow TDN Rising Star River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) the consolation prize by a head.

“He's beautiful with a wonderful temperament and all of the talent to match,” Simon Crisford said. “That race took a lot of winning today and the Prix Morny was an exceptional race. When he hits the front he does tend to idle and look around a bit, but I couldn't see anything running him down so I was pretty hopeful in the last 100 yards.”

“We came here pretty confident, we knew we had something special,” Crisford Sr added. “He's been working exceptionally well and he's been such a kind horse to go with it, everything was great. He was flat out asleep today until noon today. We couldn't get him up to come to the races. His mind is so good, which is important as it makes our job easy. This is something really special. He is one of the best two-year-olds in the world and has never let us down.”

Make that 2 Group 1s for VANDEEK!

The @gainsboroughHQ colt takes the Middle Park under @the_doyler! pic.twitter.com/wZ2kmke2sg

— World Horse Racing (@WHR) September 30, 2023

Crisford was also not discounting a return to the track for the G1 Dewhurst S. in a fortnight and added, “I think we're going to let the horse tell us as much as he can and we'll take it from there. He's a tall, leggy horse and he stands over a lot of ground, he could easily go further. Never say never, I think the person that will decide whether he comes back for the Dewhurst is the horse himself. If he tells us he wants to come here then we will.”

James Doyle added, “I think he has shown all the qualities you need in a potential champion. He has shown he can do it on soft ground and fast ground on a variety of tracks. It didn't go entirely to plan, as we kind of missed the break so I just came across and used Ryan as a bit of a target as I wasn't convinced the ones drawn around us were the ones to be tracking so it actually panned out okay. By zooming across, I set him alight a bit so he took a bit of managing early. He is just a big ball of speed and when the gap came, he went through it pretty good.”

Ralph Beckett said of the runner-up, “He is a horse that we have crept here with, as you can see he is not the finished article by any means. This is a horse that has done it all on his own as we have not been keen to turn the screw on him. I think it is unlikely he will show up in the Dewhurst, but I'm really pleased with what he has done today. He has split two very good horses, so I'm delighted. He handled it very well today, better than I thought he would. He learnt again today. I'd say on the back of today I'd be keen to turn up here on the first weekend in May and you might not see him again until then.”

Pedigree Notes

Vandeek's dam Mosa Mine is a daughter of Baldemosa (Fr) (Lead On Time), who is kin to the G1 Prix Robert Papin heroine Balbonella (Fr) (Gay Mecene) who in turn produced the G1 July Cup-winning champion sprinter and leading sire Anabaa as well as the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Always Loyal (Zilzal) and the successful sire Key Of Luck. She is also the second dam of Danzig's G2 Gimcrack S.-winning sire Country Reel and the ancestress of the latter's daughter Baine (Fr) who was second in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

Saturday, Newmaket, Britain
JUDDMONTE MIDDLE PARK S.-G1, £291,580, Newmarket, 9-30, 2yo, c, 6fT, 1:10.76, g/f.
1–VANDEEK (GB), 128, c, 2, by Havana Grey (GB)
   1st Dam: Mosa Mine (GB), by Exceed And Excel (Aus)
   2nd Dam: Baldemosa (Fr), by Lead On Time
   3rd Dam: Bamieres (Fr), by Riverman
(52,000gns Wlg '21 TADEWE; 42,000gns Ylg '22 TADEY; 625,000gns 2yo '23 TATBRE). O-KHK Racing; B-Maywood Stud (GB); T-Simon & Ed Crisford; J-James Doyle. £165,355. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, 4-4-0-0, $550,438. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Task Force (GB), 128, c, 2, Frankel (GB)–Special Duty (GB), by Hennessy. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Ralph Beckett. £62,690.
3–River Tiber (Ire), 128, c, 2, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Transcendence (Ire), by Arcano (Ire). (480,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg & Brant; B-Pier House Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. £31,374.
Margins: 2 1/4, HD, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.25, 7.50, 2.75.
Also Ran: Givemethebeatboys (Ire), Starlust (GB), Sketch (Ire), Lake Forest (GB), Elite Status (GB), Jasour (GB).

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His chief threat is Shadwell's G1 Prince Of Wales's S. hero Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). The John and Thady Gosden-trained colt will be accompanied by stablemate Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who bids to rebound off a third-placed effort in the G1 Nassau S at Goodwood.

King Power Racing's Derby fifth The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) will have his first start since last month's GI Belmont Derby Invitational in New York where he finished an unlucky second.

Opening day on the Knavesmire will also feature the five-runner Sky Bet G2 Great Voltigeur S., in which Wathnan Racing's undefeated G2 Queen's Vase victor Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) will line out in advance of a possible tilt at next month's G1 St Leger.

The pattern-race action gets under way with the seven-furlong G3 Tattersalls Acomb S., which has attracted six juveniles headed by another Wathnan Racing acquisition, Ballymount Boy (Ire) (Camacho {GB}).

He was last seen finishing second to G1 Prix Morny hero Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) in this month's G2 Richmond S. at Goodwood. The Adrian Keatley trainee will exit from gate two for his first start in fresh silks.

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