Tag: Horse Racing

What Was Your Favorite Moment of 2023: Aurelien Voileau

As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to suefinley@thetdn.com.

I think my favorite moment of 2023 was Epsom Derby day. The Derby was a great race which included Passenger for Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd., who was a bit too immature for this big event but who has won the G3 Winter Hill Stakes at Windsor since. The winner, Auguste Rodin, doesn't need any introduction now but what an impressive horse. Winning a Group 1 as a two-year-old and four Group 1s this year in three different countries is very special. I am really looking forward to seeing him on the track again. Well done to all his connections to keep him in training next year.

But that day was also very special to me because my wife, Kelsey Lupo, connected through Jamie McCalmont, was supporting Prosperous Voyage who won the Princess Elizabeth Stakes, trained by Ralph Beckett for Andrew Rosen & Marc Chan. Kelsey was able to walk into the winner's circle with our less than three-month-old daughter Millie that day. Not the first race day for Millie but the first big win for her and definitely a favorite moment of mine this year! –Aurelien Voileau, Assistant Manager to the Niarchos Family

 

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Romantic Warrior To Skip Stewards’ Cup, HK Gold Cup Next

Romantic Warrior (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) , who successfully defended his title in a thrilling renewal of the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin Dec. 10, will be given a short break before building back up in time for an appearance in the G1 City Hong Kong Gold Cup Feb. 25. The not-unexpected decision means the 5-year-old will sidestep a clash with Longines Hong Kong Mile winner and three-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) in the G1 Stewards' Cup over 1600 metres Jan. 21.

Romantic Warrior's nose defeat of a never-say-die Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) came just 43 days after his landmark victory in the G1 W. S. Cox Plate in Melbourne, and trainer Danny Shum is focused on not squeezing the lemon dry.

“He looks great, but I feel he will be a little bit tired because it was a hard run, both two races were very hard. He'll have a short break now,” Shum said. “He'll have enough time to recover if we go to the Gold Cup next–2000 metres is his trip, I think that's a better idea. He's easy to train but he won both of those two races with his fighting heart, he uses a lot of energy. I have to look after him because he uses himself a lot, it's better to give him a bit of a break and go again.”

Romantic Warrior has six wins from seven starts over the Sha Tin 2000 metres, his lone blemish coming when beaten by Golden Sixty in last year's Gold Cup. With earnings of nearly HK$120 million, Romantic Warrior is just the third horse to surpass HK$100 million, along with Golden Sixty and Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock {Aus}).

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Premier Racedays To Kick Off at Cheltenham Jan. 1

Premier Racedays, an undertaking by British Racing to market and promote racing's best racedays, will launch with the New Year's Day fixture at Cheltenham, the first of some 170 such programs to be staged in 2024.

Premier Racedays is part of a two-year series of changes with the aim of growing British racing by 'increasing engagement among new and existing customers, improving revenues across all areas of the industry, promoting investment in the sport through the recruitment and retention of owners, and encouraging the best horses to be bred, trained and raced in Britain.'

Premier Racedays will be supported by marketing and promotional suppoer, racecourse marketing spend and plans for a national promotional campaign, pending the submission of an application to the Horserace Betting Levy Board in line with the body's funding criteria.

Premier Racedays through 2024 will also see the introduction of innovation in the fan experience on an ongoing basis, for those attending on racecourses, betting, and watching on broadcast. Over 90% of Premier Racedays are to be broadcast across ITV and encompass the majority of racing's best and most popular racedays.

The key areas of innovation include customer promotion, broadcast innovation, customer experience, a digital content strategy, promotion of horse racing's equine and human athletes and betting, to offer a variety of incentives around Premier Racedays. Significant work is also in development to improve the ownership experience both on and off-course, with initiatives to be rolled out in 2024.

“British racing's stakeholders unanimously agreed the way to grow our sport is to better showcase and sell our best racing. The pilot of Premier Racedays is the start of this process,” said Joe Saumarez Smith, chair of the British Horseracing Authority. “Due to the way that our sport is structured, the first priority for the sport was to put the building blocks in place in the form of the changes to the fixture list and race programme and secure the improved funding of prize money. There is little point trying to sell Premier Racedays if the product is not, in fact, Premier. “I am grateful to everyone who has been involved in the ongoing development of these plans, including those directly involved in the sport and our partners in broadcast, the media and betting”.

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War Front Filly Makes Her Debut A Success In Big A Opener

1st-Aqueduct, $82,450, Msw, 12-17, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:11.09, ft, 1 1/2 lengths.
RECONCILE (f, 2, War Front–Welcoming {MSP, $179,812}, by Tapit) debuted as a 8-1 shot here. The gray filly seized the lead up the backstretch and kept to the task around the far turn. Accelerating past the eighth pole, the homebred won professionally by 1 1/2 lengths over Bourbon Serengeti (Distorted Humor). A half-sister to GIII Comley S. heroine Raging Sea (Curlin), the winner's dam produced a yearling filly by War Front and foaled a colt by Munnings May 8. She visited Quality Road for next year. Reconcile's third dam is a half-sister to Horse of the Year A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew), GI Preakness S. hero Summer Squall (Storm Bird) and the dam of GI Travers S. runner-up Mambo In Seattle (Kingmambo). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $46,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O/B-R. S. Evans (KY); T-Linda Rice.

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