Tag: KHK Racing

Unbeaten Star Vandeek Could Return In Sandy Lane

Smart juvenile Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}), who races for KHK Racing, Ltd. is likely to make his 3-year-old debut in the G2 Sandy Lane S. in May, according to co-trainer Simon Crisford.

A multiple Group 1 winner in 2023, the colt won the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. in August and September, respectively.

“He's looking super, he's trotting and we'll probably start him off in the Sandy Lane at Haydock at the end of May,” Simon Crisford told ITV Racing. “One run before Royal Ascot.

“Commonwealth, July Cups–those sort of races we've got up our sleeve. The idea of not starting off in the Pavilion [S., at Ascot] is we'd have to start training him a month earlier. Quite frankly, with the weather we've got at the moment, we're wrapping him up in big, thick blankets.”

Besides his Group 1 exploits, the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained grey was a debut winner at Nottingham last July and added the G2 Richmond S. at second asking at the beginning of August prior to his Group 1 exploits. He is unbeaten in four starts to date.

He added, “He was a little bit on the leg as a 2-year-old. He was tall and lanky and never really looked like a sprinter physically. But now he's beginning to take shape as a sprinter. His temperament is great and there's so much to love about him.

“He's done exceptionally well over the winter and fingers crossed he's got a big season ahead.”

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Havana Grey’s Vandeek Has The Answer In The Middle Park

Ruthlessly efficient and utterly dominant in Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Middle Park S. at Newmarket, KHK Racing's sprinter supreme Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}–Mosa Mine {GB}, by Exceed And Excel {Aus}) sealed his elevated status by becoming the sixth G1 Prix Morny winner to double up here since 2012. Sent off the heavily-supported 5-4 favourite to add to his tally which as well as the Deauville highlight also includes the G2 Richmond S., the Simon and Ed Crisford trainee was over-enthusiastic in the early stages as James Doyle struggled to contain him within a five-strong group racing up the centre.

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.”

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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Curragh Group 1 Double For Dubawi As Eldar Eldarov Takes The Irish Leger

Connections of Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) can be satisfied that Sunday's G1 Irish St Leger went by without drama, but the glory was with KHK Racing's TDN Rising Star Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}–All At Sea {GB}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) as he returned to form to provide his sire with a group 1 double on the Curragh's star-studded card. Putting a largely underwhelming summer behind him, having been seventh in the G1 Gold Cup and fourth in the G1 Goodwood Cup, the 16-5 second favourite enjoyed a perfect tow from Yashin (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) until taking over approaching two out.

With the 4-6 favourite Kyprios in pursuit, the Roger Varian-trained G1 St Leger hero had to keep it up but he kept answering David Egan to beat the Ballydoyle star by 3 1/2 lengths, with Dawn Rising (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) 2 3/4 lengths away in third. The field had been cut to four following the withdrawal of Emily Dickinson (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), but what this renewal lost in numbers it made up for in terms of quality with the market confidence in Kyprios notable.

For Egan, the win was especially important given his connection to the area. “I had my first Classic winner last year, but to do it where I grew up at Osborne Lodge, which is at the five-furlong pole, means a lot,” he said. “It's what dreams are made of and for all the team connected with the horse. My first main job was riding out for Willie McCreery, who I saw today, and he was a great man to learn from and gave me a lot of experience and taught me a lot. He has a tendency to miss the break, but the race went so smooth, he was a race-fit horse today and was as tough as nails.”

Eldar Eldarov, who had earned TDN Rising Star status on his debut at Nottingham in October 2021, also won the G2 Queen's Vase last June but with three of his four outings after the St Leger seeing him finish out of the frame there were the beginnings of doubts as to whether he was going the wrong way. Varian was relieved, but unwilling to accept that he had been disappointing this year. “He's run some great races in defeat this year and it's nice to win two Legers,” he said. “He's entered up in France on Arc weekend and there is the two-mile race at Ascot. He seems to be really best at a mile and six furlongs, but there aren't too many of those races around. He deserves to run one more time this year and it's most likely Ascot.”

Aidan O'Brien said of Kyprios, “A lot of people have done a lot of work to get him to here–all of the vets have done incredible work to get him back. We didn't think we would ever see this day, so to have him back and be happy and for Ryan to be happy is something. He's going to come on a lot and Ascot looks lovely for him. He will have a nice bit of time before now and then and will love going round there. It would be great to see him come back to what he was and this was a great comeback run.”

 

Pedigree Notes

Putting the icing on the cake for Dubawi on the afternoon, Eldar Eldarov hails from a family of Kirsten Rausing's finest performers. Out of the Listed Prix de Liancourt winner All At Sea, whose first foal was the listed-placed A La Voile (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and fourth is this year's G3 Gallinule S. third Kingswood (GB) (Roaring Lion). The second dam is the three-times group 1-winning Albanova (GB) (Alzao), responsible for the G3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup winner Algometer (GB) (Archipenko), the Listed Stand Cup S. scorer Alignak (GB) by the Sea The Stars's son Sea The Moon (Ger) and the listed winner Alwilda (GB) (Hernando {Fr}).

Alwilda has made her name by producing the six-times group 1-winning Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}), while the listed-winning third dam Alouette (GB) (Darshaan {GB}) also produced Albanova's dual G1 Champion S.-winning full-sister Alborada (GB) whose descendants include the G2 City of York S. winner Shine So Bright (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares S. and G1 Yorkshire Oaks runner-up Albaflora (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}).

All At Sea is also connected to the G1 Prix Royal-Oak heroine Allegretto (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Alzao's G2 Nassau S. winner Last Second (Ire) who is in turn the dam of the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulians-winning sire Aussie Rules, as well as the pair of Sadler's Wells group 1 winners Yesterday (Ire) and Quarter Moon (Ire). Her unraced 2-year-old filly by Study of Man (Ire) is named A La Belle Etoile (Ire), she has a yearling colt by Lope De Vega (Ire) bought as a foal for 300,000gns by Brooklyn Bloodstock at Tatts December who is due to sell at next month's Tatts Book 1 Sale, and a filly foal again by Study Of Man.

Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
COMER GROUP INTERNATIONAL IRISH ST LEGER-G1, €600,000, Curragh, 9-10, 3yo/up, 14fT, 3:01.72, g/y.
1–ELDAR ELDAROV (GB), 137, c, 4, by Dubawi (Ire)
     1st Dam: All At Sea (GB) (MSW-Fr, $133,622), by Sea The Stars (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Albanova (GB), by Alzao
     3rd Dam: Alouette (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
TDN Rising Star. (£110,000 Ylg '20 GOFOR; £480,000 2yo '21 ARQDEA). O-KHK Racing Ltd; B-Miss K Rausing (GB); T-Roger Varian; J-David Egan. €348,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng, 10-5-1-0, $1,202,836. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kyprios (Ire), 137, h, 5, Galileo (Ire)–Polished Gem (Ire), by Danehill. O-Moyglare/Magnier/Tabor/Smith/Westerberg; B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €120,000.
3–Dawn Rising (Ire), 137, g, 6, Galileo (Ire)–Devoted To You (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-J P McManus; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien. €60,000.
Margins: 3HF, 2 3/4, 5. Odds: 3.20, 0.67, 3.50.
Also Ran: Yashin (Ire). Scratched: Emily Dickinson (Ire).

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Eldar Eldarov Remains on Track for the Irish St Leger

Last season's Cazoo St Leger winner Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) will try and add the Irish equivalent during this year's Irish Champions Festival.

“The target for him is to go to the Irish St Leger and that is very much still on the cards at the moment,” said Chris Wall, racing manager for owners KHK Racing Ltd. “He's grand and it's all systems go for that.”

The 4-year-old was originally slated to contest the G3 St Leger trial earlier this month, however, was subsequently declared a non-runner after not travelling well.

“We don't know why because he's never had that problem before,” he explained. “He got upset travelling and they thought rather than carry on to Ireland they would bring him home. I think they had got into north Wales just beyond Chester.

“The worry was if you put him on the ferry and it deteriorated into something like colic then you are in the middle of the sea and you can't do anything about it. He just got his knickers in a twist about something so they brought him home.”

Trained by Roger Varian, Eldar Eldarov was second in his seasonal debut in the G2 Yorkshire Cup S. in May before finishing seventh in the G1 Ascot Gold Cup the following month. Most recently, he was fourth in the G1 Goodwood Cup S. on Aug. 1.

Varian indicated that KHK Racing-owned Sakheer (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), the winner of last fall's G2 Mill Reef S., is likely to resurface later this fall in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint Oct. 21. He was last seen finishing 13th in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot June 23.

“He's had a few niggly things after Ascot, but he's back in work and we're hoping to run him in something this autumn,” said Wall. “I don't think he'll be ready for the Haydock [Betfair Sprint Cup Sept. 9], that's not far away now so he won't make that. But we hope we might have him back for a run perhaps in the Champions Sprint and we'll go from there.

“It's been one of those years really where things haven't quite gone his way, but we hope we can get him back on track and if not we'll have to hope things go right for him next year instead.”

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