Jim Bolger | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Improving’ Poetic Flare Can Give Bolger A First Sussex Victory

Jim Bolger has been involved in some iconic Goodwood finishes over the years including Alexander Goldrun's battle with Ouija Board in the 2006 Nassau Stakes and Dawn Approach's duel with Toronado in the 2013 Sussex Stakes. Dawn Approach's son, Poetic Flare, will arrive at Goodwood next week hoping to go one better than his sire and provide the indomitable Jim Bolger with a first success in the Group 1 Qatar Sussex Stakes on July 28 at Goodwood.

The Sussex is a “Win And You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Mile this fall at Del Mar.

The County Carlow trainer believes his QIPCO 2000 Guineas hero, who confirmed himself as the leading 3-year-old miler in Europe when demolishing a high-quality field in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, has improved since Ascot.

“Poetic Flare has been very well since the St James's Palace Stakes. We're very happy with his work and he seems to be improving further. I was expecting and hoping for him to win at Ascot but possibly not as spectacularly as he did.”

Bolger has always held the colt in the highest regard and is thrilled that he has showed his quality this season.

“I felt from the Spring of 2020 that he would be our best 2-year-old and as things transpired, he could only partially prove that. I did view him all along as my Guineas horse so it was very pleasing that he could prove that this year.”

Kevin Manning has partnered Poetic Flare in all his starts to date and will once again be riding the horse who Bolger describes as the apple of Manning's eye.

“Kevin Manning loves him! For him, Poetic Flare can do no wrong. He's a very straightforward horse to ride as you can put him anywhere in the race and he always delivers.”

Poetic Flare's two Group 1 victories have come on good-to-firm ground and Bolger believes he is an even better horse on a sound surface.

“He handles soft ground but he's better on good ground. He is very well balanced, so I don't think Goodwood holds any problems for him.”

Poetic Flare has inherited many of Dawn Approach's attributes, but Bolger is hopeful that he can differ from him by going one better in next Wednesday's £1 million Qatar-sponsored contest, which is part of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

“He's a heavyweight in every regard and is over 500kg. He's a very easy horse to manage as he knows his job and he thrives on racing. He has a great appetite for eating and for working, he's just like his sire Dawn Approach in every way.”

“He has one more bit of work to get through and will then arrive at Goodwood on Monday. It's a very special race and a race I've not won before.”

The post ‘Improving’ Poetic Flare Can Give Bolger A First Sussex Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Poetic Flare Pleases Bolger Ahead of Sussex

Dual Group 1 winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) is giving all the right signals to his trainer Jim Bolger just seven days out from the G1 Qatar Sussex S. on July 28. A winner of the G3 Killavullan S. as a juvenile, the hulking bay returned to take the Listed Ballylinch Stud “Red Rocks” 2000 Guineas Trial S. at Leopardstown on Apr. 11, and battled to a thrilling win in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 1. Although unplaced in the French equivalent on May 16, he pushed stablemate Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) all the way to the wire when second in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh on May 22. The colt added another Group 1 laurel with an impressive 4 1/2-length victory in the G1 St James's Palace S. at Royal Ascot in June.

“Poetic Flare has been very well since the St James's Palace S.,” said Bolger. “We're very happy with his work and he seems to be improving further. I was expecting and hoping for him to win at Ascot but possibly not as spectacularly as he did.

“I felt from the spring of 2020 that he would be our best 2-year-old and as things transpired, he could only partially prove that. I did view him all along as my Guineas horse so it was very pleasing that he could prove that this year.

“He handles soft ground but he's better on good ground. He is very well balanced, so I don't think Goodwood holds any problems for him. He's a heavyweight in every regard and is over 500kg. He has a great appetite for eating and for working, he's just like his sire Dawn Approach in every way.”

Bolger added, “He has one more bit of work to get through and will then arrive at Goodwood on Monday. It's a very special race and a race I've not won before.”

The post Poetic Flare Pleases Bolger Ahead of Sussex appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Grassick: Drugs Are Not Prevalent In Irish Racing

Speaking before the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee at the latest of a series of hearings prompted by trainer Jim Bolger's claim that there would be “a Lance Armstrong” in Irish racing, Irish Racehorse Trainers Association Chief Executive Michael Grassick said he has never been “approached or given information that there were illegal substances being used on horses in training.”

“In my previous life, before I took over the position as CEO of the trainers' association, I was a trainer for 35 years myself and never in my time as a trainer or as CEO of the trainers' association was I ever approached or given information that there were illegal substances being used on horses in training,” Grassick said. “Normally, if that information doesn't come to me it would go to the [Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board]. They are the regulators, so it would be them that would see that sort of information. There are about 350 members who hold a trainer's licence and there's only eight of those trainers that are not a member of the trainers' association.

Bolger first made claims that there is serious doping in Irish racing in a media interview last October, and he made similar comments again to a Sunday Independent reporter this spring but declined to attend the agriculture board's hearings.

“I was surprised [by the claims],” Grassick admitted. “I would have spoke to [Bolger] a couple of months ago, when this first came up. Since Mar. 19 he's no longer a member of the trainers' association. I spoke to him for a long period of time and he had no names of any trainers involved or the names of any drugs. He had no additional information that he could give to me.”

Asked whether he thought there was a problem with doping in Irish racing, Grassick said, “I'd be naive to think nothing ever takes place, but I am personally not aware of anything–nothing has been brought to my attention. Anything would go before the IHRB. It's up to them to investigate if they feel that there is something in Irish racing.

“The amount of testing that goes on pre-race and post-race–if there's anything untoward, it is found. You hear rumours, [but] it's rumours–I can't act on rumours. I can only act on facts and any information that's given to me. As I've said before, if I received any information, I'd go to the IHRB. It's up to them as the regulatory body to investigate.”

Horse Racing Ireland Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh, IHRB Chief Executive Denis Egan and IHRB Chief Veterinary Officer Lynn Hillyer appeared once again at the meeting, with Hillyer addressing an instance of six horses sold from Ireland to the UK who were alleged to have traces of anabolic steroids in their systems.

“I can absolutely and categorically confirm that the six horses originally tested by the BHA were followed up with further testing involving three horses and that is one of the most extensive pieces of work I've ever seen–they went back some three years in terms of hair testing,” she said. “They also undertook sampling unannounced, targeted, intelligence-led– proper stuff–sampling of horses related to those six horses on track over a number of months in England. It was only when that work was completed they were satisfied to say to us that they were happy there was no problem.”

Hillyer addressed the fact that Ireland does not have a system to monitor or register horse movement outside of training.

“You're completely right, we don't have a movement database for horses as is present for cattle, but we would love one and we are working hard on that with other authorities,” she said. “But right here right now, our way to deal with that is to do our homework properly so when we attend a yard, if we have concerns about animals moving, my officers are briefed to literally park behind the horse lorries and make sure they have gone onto the back gate.”

Kavanagh, among other topics, provided an update on racing's response to a BBC Panorama programme slated to air next week focusing on welfare issues of retired racehorses.

“We have had engagement with the production company over the last 10 days, as have our British Horseracing Authority counterparts,” Kavanagh said. “I'm not aware of any legal challenges. We've responded to queries and hopefully that will be reflected in the programme which is due to be broadcast next Monday.

“I think it's very hard to be specific about a programme before it has been published, with regard to promotional material, it's very unspecific and general so until the programme is broadcast, I think it would be wrong to get into a level of detail on something that's going to happen next week.”

The post Grassick: Drugs Are Not Prevalent In Irish Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

IHRB Defends Its Actions in Irish Government Hearings

The first hearing of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board in front of a Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine began in Ireland on Thursday, with the IHRB defending itself rigorously. The IHRB has come under pressure recently regarding concerns over doping in Irish racing following Irish trainer Jim Bolger's claims in a newspaper interview that there would be a “Lance Armstrong” moment in the Irish industry. Irish Government committee members asked questions of Horse Racing Ireland's Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh, IHRB Chief Executive Denis Egan and IHRB Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Lynn Hillyer. The meeting began with an opening statement from Kavanagh.

He stated in part the vital nature of horse racing to Ireland's economy and “as such, the reputation and integrity of the product is of paramount importance, so the issue of drug testing is an important one with significant funds invested annually in this area.

“HRI sees its role as ensuring that the IHRB has sufficient resources, both financial, human and capital to carry out its responsibilities to the level expected of a major racing nation–and we support the IHRB to constantly improve their capacity in this area.”

Kavanagh also cited the increased spending on testing, which has spread to all winners in Ireland, as well as more out-of-competition testing at a variety of venues.

He said, “Spending on doping control has increased by 27% in the last four years, and Horse Racing Ireland has advised the IHRB that funding will never be an issue for meaningful initiatives to improve capability or increase capacity in this area.”

Egan, who recently announced he was taking early retirement, stated, “The IHRB's Equine Anti-Doping programme has developed into a sophisticated and extensive risk-based and intelligence-led strategy, in which it is not just the numbers of samples which matter but from what horse they are taken, where and when.

“Any information received by us is assessed, categorised and actioned as appropriate. It is vitally important to the IHRB that those directly and indirectly involved in the industry understand this and the fact that they can provide any information to us in a confidential manner via the confidential hotline, email or by contacting our officials.”

He added, “We have a top-class anti-doping team headed up by Dr. Lynn Hillyer–and while we continue to evidence that there is no systematic attempt to cheat through doping in Irish racing, we will continue, with the assistance of the industry and those outside, to effectively detect, disrupt and deter such behaviour. It will not be tolerated–we will continue to seek it out–and where discovered, we will take all actions within our power to combat it without fear or favour.”

Dr. Hillyer reinforced Egan's statements and said, “The process is very simple. The information can come in via a number of routes, but once it lands on a desk it is dealt with. We don't care how it comes in, but the important thing is that it comes in. We need to differentiate between information coming in and hearsay. I'm not saying we disregard either, but we have to process it and assess it–that is basically converting information into intelligence, and we work very closely with the BHA now. Every piece of information is logged.

“One of the things that rankled the most reading the piece last week was the six horses sold from Ireland to the UK who were alleged to have traces of anabolic steroids. We were alleged to be doing nothing about it, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The minute that information came to the BHA they acted on it and communicated with us–we were across it and we were prepared to act.

“They did the most extensive piece of work I think I've ever seen. They analysed tail hair, mane hair–they analysed samples repeatedly, and there was nothing.”

Not all of the pertinent questions were asked in the two-hour limit, so another meeting has been called for July 20. In addition, on July 13, the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association and representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine will also meet.

The post IHRB Defends Its Actions in Irish Government Hearings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post