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Ghaiyyath Half-Brother Anchors Goffs November Foal Sale

The Goffs November Foal Sale catalogue, which includes a Kingman (GB) half-brother to €1.1 million Goffs November alum and MG1SW Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), is now online.

Scheduled for Nov. 16-18, the three-day sale features 759 foals going under the hammer at Kildare Paddocks in Ireland. The sale will be conducted using the “rising tide” format.

The Ghaiyyath half (lot 683), also a half to GI Man O’War S. heroine Zhukova (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and out of Classic scorer Nightime (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), hails from the draft of The Castlebridge Consignment.

Other Goffs November graduates that have gone on to top level success in 2020 are Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never) and River Boyne (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), with a supporting cast featuring Group 2 winners Dark Vision (Ire) (Dream Ahead), Lemista (Ire) (Raven’s Pass), Ubettabelieveit (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Aloha Star (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), Dandalla (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) and GSW & G1SP Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}).

Quality pedigrees abound in the catalogue, among them a full-brother (lot 636) to Classic heroine and champion Sea of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) from Oak Lodge & Springfield House Stud; and lot 707, an Footstepsinthesand (GB) half-brother to G1 Phoenix S. hero and Goffs November grad Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) offered by Baroda Stud. Also flying the flag for Kingman is a Moyglare Stud-consigned colt out of a SP full-sister to GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. winner Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) as lot 748. Ballintry Stud sells a full-sister to GII Mrs. Revere S. victress Nay Lady Nay (Ire) (No Nay Never), and GSW & G1SP Arizona (Ire) (No Nay Never) as lot 659; and Swordlestown Little brings a Frankel (GB) sister (lot 673) to MGSW & G1SP Terebellum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Finally, a Make Believe (GB) colt (lot 750) out of MGSW Uncharted Haven (GB) (Turtle Island {Ire}) will sell from the draft of Ballylinch Stud. He is a half-brother to MGSW & G1 Oaks third High Heeled (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and the dam of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner and GI E.P. Taylor S. heroine Just the Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}).

Established sires are also well represented, among them Kodiac (GB), Dark Angel (Ire), Invincible Spirit (Ire), Lope De Vega (Ire), Zoffany (Ire) and Night Of Thunder (Ire), as well as younger sires Mehmas (Ire) and New Bay (GB). There are also plenty of stallions bringing their first foals to the sales ring including Saxon Warrior (Jpn), Roaring Lion, Zoustar (Aus), US Navy Flag, Havana Grey (GB) and Expert Eye (GB).

During the first part of last year’s sale, 524 weanlings grossed €25,721,800, with an average of €49,087 and a median of €30,000. Topping the sale was a full-brother to Ghaiyyath, who went to Godolphin on a bid of €1.2 million.

“We are delighted with the consistent level of quality throughout this year’s November Foal Sale catalogue which is simply unmissable for buyers seeking world class foals to resell or race,” said Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby. “Goffs November is one of our true success stories and has enjoyed a level of trade that has been unrivalled in recent years. We pride ourselves on providing excellence for all buyers whatever their budget. In this year like no other, we have taken great heart from the fact that Irish foal vendors have overwhelmingly maintained their support of the November Foal Sale with drafts of real depth, diversity and quality.

“We look forward to welcoming vendors and purchasers back to Kildare Paddocks. The November Foal Sale is dominated by Irish buyers while we are also working to ensure the attendance of valued foal purchasers from the UK and further afield along with key international end-users. In addition, Goffs Online will allow participation from all corners of the globe as international buyers link in with agents on the ground to chase the best foals on offer.”

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Amazing Journey for D’Angelo, Breeders’ Cup Hopeful Jesus’ Team

When trainer Jose D’Angelo is asked why he left his native Venezuela to come to the United States, he might well have spoken for countless immigrants when he responded, “If you have dreams, you must follow your dreams.” D’Angelo, 30, was off to an auspicious start after he began his own training operation in his homeland eight years ago. He became the youngest conditioner to win the prestigious Clasico Simon Bolivar when aptly-named Dreaming of Gold delivered the gold in 2014.

Spendthrift Secures Breeding Rights to Jackie’s Warrior

B. Wayne Hughes’s Spendthrift Farm has acquired the breeding rights to undefeated multiple Grade I-winning juvenile Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music–Unicorn Girl, by A.P. Five Hundred), recent winner of Belmont’s GI Champagne S., a ‘Win and You’re In’ event to the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keenland next month. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the J & J Stables-bred colt has earnings of $402,564 in four career starts for owners Kirk and Judy Robison.

“Jackie’s Warrior is proving to be one of the fastest 2-year-olds to come around in the last decade or more, and we are extremely excited to follow his racing career and witness the special things he can accomplish before he joins us at Spendthrift,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “For such an imposing colt, Jackie’s Warrior is extraordinarily athletic and light on his feet. We could not be more impressed by the way he continues to run good fields off their feet and pour it on late when he lengthens that beautiful stride of his.”

Jackie’s Warrior was a dominant 5 1/2-length winner in Saturday’s Champagne, completing the mile event in 1:35.42. He earned a 100 Beyer for the win, marking the fastest Champagne since Daredevil in 2014.

Last month, Jackie’s Warrior established a new stakes record in Saratoga’s GI Hopeful S., drawing off to a 2 1/4-length victory. His final time of 1:21.29 for seven furlongs is the fastest in the last 28 years the Hopeful has been contested at the distance. The juvenile earned a 95 Beyer for that win, marking the fastest Beyer in the Hopeful since 2007, and his two most recent Beyers are the two fastest by a juvenile so far in 2020. The bay becomes the first horse to complete the Hopeful-Champagne double since Practical Joke in 2016, and first to win the Saratoga Special, Hopeful and Champagne in New York since 2-year-old champion Dehere in 1993.

“A month after lowering the 28-year-old stakes record in the Hopeful [1:21.29], he comes back and runs a mile in 1:35 [.42] in the Champagne and did not look the least bit tired at the wire. We are obviously very happy to be associated, and we wish Kirk and Judy Robison and the Asmussen team the best of luck in the Breeders’ Cup.”

Kirk Robison confirmed that neither Spendthrift nor Myracehorse.com would be involved in his racing career, but he will retire to Spendthrift at the end of his career.

“I wanted to control his racing career and I got that,” said Robison. “They agreed to that. Steve Asmussen and I are going to manage that. I get all of the purse money during his racing career.”

He continued, “Judy and I are very grateful to campaign this exceptional colt, and Spendthrift will give Jackie’s Warrior every chance to be a leading stallion when his racing career is over. Few do what he has done in four starts-four wins over three different tracks, three in graded stakes, two in historic Grade I races and recording a 100 Beyer speed figure in the Champagne. He is a lifetime horse and is just getting started. Steve Asmussen and his team have done an exceptional job in his development. We are excited to be part of his unlimited promise.”

The colt’s connections also plan to support aftercare throughout his racing career.

“Judy and I are pledging 2% of Jackie’s Warrior’s potential purse earnings from the Juvenile to New Vocations for their tremendous work in Thoroughbred aftercare,” said Robison.

In June, Jackie’s Warrior won on debut at Churchill Downs by 2 1/2 lengths, running five furlongs in :57.49. He followed up that effort with a three-length victory in the Saratoga Special, covering six furlongs in 1:09.62.

“In this day and age, to win the Saratoga Special, Hopeful and Champagne in the fashion in which he did it is truly remarkable,” said Asmussen.

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IFHA Conference Concludes With Racing Administrators’ Session

The virtual International Conference of Horseracing Authorities, organized by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, came to a close on Wednesday with the release of its fourth and final session, where racing administrators around the world looked at how COVID-19 has impacted racing, the positives and negatives that have come out of the pandemic and what must be done to ensure racing thrives moving forward.

The IFHA Conference is typically held in-person in Paris, France the day after the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but in light of the pandemic this year it was conducted as a series of videos released throughout the first part of October.

Rishi Persad moderated Wednesday’s fourth session, which was split into two panels comprising Victoria Carter (New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing), Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (Hong Kong Jockey Club and IFHA), Annamarie Phelps (British Horseracing Authority), Horacio Esposito (Organizacion Sudamericana de Fomento del Pura Sangre de Carrera), Drew Fleming (Breeders’ Cup) and IFHA Vice-Chairman Brian Kavanagh (Horse Racing Ireland).

The panelists discussed the ways in which racing has increased its focus on digitalization, the importance of strong relationships with government and how a likely decrease in foal crops will affect racing products.

Engelbrecht-Bresges and Fleming provided updates on the work being undertaken in the lead-up to two key international racedays: the Hong Kong International meeting in December and the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland in three weeks’ time.

“We’ve had a very good response from major trainers around the world who would like to come, and we have special quarantine facilities now in place for grooms who will come,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said. “They’ll fly over two weeks earlier, then their horse will fly over and they’ll take it over. And we’re talking about introducing a special health protocol for jockeys that they maybe only have to do one week [of quarantine]. All our jockeys are tested four times a week for COVID and we want to introduce with overseas jockeys coming that they’re tested twice before they leave. When they arrive in Hong Kong they’ll go into a special dedicated Hong Kong Jockey Club facility to quarantine for a week.

“We have five or six top international jockeys who have committed to come for our international races if the [pandemic] circumstances don’t change.”

Fleming said Breeders’ Cup continues to work with the government and homeland security to secure the necessary paperwork to allow horsepeople to travel with their Breeders’ Cup runners. He also touched on some of the ways his team will be bringing the Breeders’ Cup to those watching at home.

“At the Breeders’ Cup this year we’re planning to have what’s called a back camera, which is a camera that’s on two cranes that swings across,” he said. “We’ll have more television cameras than we’ve ever had so we can get all angles of every horse as much as possible. We’re going to have a virtual reality camera in the walking ring. Some of that will be on television but a lot of that will be through the second screen, your mobile device.

“Someone told me, and it’s resonated with me for a long time, that the average person scrolls on their screen the height of the Empire State Building every single day. So you need to make sure what’s on the screen is really creative and innovative to really capture the audience’s attention.”

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