Leopardstown | Horse Racing Free Tips

Half-Brother To Tepin Set To Debut Friday In Ireland

Harvard, a half-brother to Eclipse Award winner Tepin, will make his debut on Friday at Leopardstown in Ireland, Racing Post reports.

The 2-year-old Galileo colt will race for the Coolmore partnership of Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, and Michael Tabor, and he is trained by Aidan O'Brien. Wayne Lordan will have the mount.

The entries for the race can be viewed here.

Coolmore has invested heavily into the accolades of Tepin and her bloodline since the mare's Hall of Fame-caliber racing career. The group privately purchased her dam, the unraced Stravinsky mare Life Happened, in 2016. A year later, they dropped $8 million to take Tepin herself back to Europe, where both mother and daughter have joined the broodmare band of Coolmore's all-world sire Galileo.

In addition to Tepin, Life Happened is the dam of multiple Grade 2 winner Vyjack and Grade 2-placed Prime Cut. She was a finalist for Kentucky Broodmare of the Year in 2016.

Tepin, a 9-year-old Bernstein mare, was named champion turf female in 2015 and 2016, with notable victories in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland, as well as the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, Jenny Wiley Stakes, First Lady Stakes, and Just a Game Stakes. Arguably her greatest achievement, though, came when she traveled to England for the world-class Royal Ascot meet and beat the world's best turf milers – male or female – in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes.

Tepin retired with 13 wins in 23 starts for earnings of $4,437,918. She sold to Coolmore in 2017 pregnant to leading sire Curlin, and she produced a filly for Coolmore the following year.

Harvard is the second Irish-born foal out of Life Happened to reach the racetrack, following the War Front filly Repossession, who sold to LNJ Foxwoods as a yearling for $750,000 and finished out of the money in her lone start as a juvenile last year.

Daughter of Chicquita Debuts at Leopardstown

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday’s Insights features a daughter of G1 Irish Oaks heroine Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}).

1.00 Leopardstown, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, f, 8fT
NICEST (IRE) (American Pharoah) is a daughter of the G1 Irish Oaks heroine Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) who debuts for the Tabor/Smith/Magnier axis and Donnacha O’Brien. A half-sister to the group-placed Secret Thoughts (War Front), she is from the immediate family of Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
4.55 Sandown, Mdn, £6,400, 2yo, 7fT
THUNDER SUN (FR) (Siyouni {Fr}) was a 450,000gns purchase at Tattersalls October Book 1 for Saeed Suhail who starts out for the Sir Michael Stoute stable. A half-brother to last year’s G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis winner Danceteria (Fr) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), the January-foaled bay is out of a group-winning half to Lope de Vega (Ire).

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Longines Irish Champions Weekend to Be Held Without Spectators

The Longines Irish Champions Weekend, held Sept. 12-13, will take place behind closed doors, the Longines Irish Champions Weekend Committee confirmed on Wednesday. The committee’s recommendation, which was made as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, was approved by the Board of Horse Racing Ireland at their July meeting on Monday, July 20. The Sept. 12 card at Leopardstown features the G1 Irish Champion S., and G1 Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron S. The Curragh plays host on the second day, with four Group 1 races on tap: the Comer Group International Irish St Leger, the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S., the Moyglare Stud S. and the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five S.

“With less than eight weeks to go before Longines Irish Champions Weekend, it was the committee’s view that this was the optimum time to give people certainty,” said HRI Racecourses Chief Executive Paul Dermody. “It is a great shame that our feature weekend of Flat racing will not be enjoyed by racegoers in person this September, but we will ensure a warm welcome for everybody when they return next year. In the meantime, we will be refunding all of those who availed of early-bird and advance ticket offers. We will now focus our attention on providing racing fans with a brilliant at-home experience.”

Added Harry McCalmont, Chairman of the Longines Irish Champions Weekend Committee, “We had dearly hoped that circumstances would allow us have racegoers back on the racecourse for Longines Irish Champions Weekend but that doesn’t look at all likely so it is best to make a call on it now. It is a great pity, but we still have a wonderful weekend of racing to look forward to. The committee would like to take the opportunity to thank the sponsors of all races for their loyalty and we look forward with interest to see the array of horses that will line up at Leopardstown and The Curragh.”

It was also announced on Wednesday that the seven-day Listowel Harvest Festival from Sept. 20-26 would also be conducted without spectators. The Listowel Race Company Committee met on Tuesday evening, and, after consulting with Horse Racing Ireland, decided to hold the festival behind closed doors. The Guinness Kerry National is the featured highlight.

Pat Healy, Chairman of Listowel Race Company, said, “In these unprecedented times, and in line with Government guidelines, the Listowel Race Company has made the extremely difficult decision to race behind closed doors, this means the event will not be open to the general public this year. The health and safety of everyone is our number one priority and with crowd restrictions in place, it would be very difficult for us to run the festival, as it attracts significant numbers of visitors to Listowel each year.”

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Lord Kanaloa’s Know It All Strikes At Leopardstown

Not having the rub of the green when runner-up in the G3 Leopardstown Fillies Trial S. over seven furlongs last time June 9, Qatar Racing’s Know It All (GB) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) took a sizeable step forward to dominate Wednesday’s G3 Derrinstown Stud Fillies S. over another furlong at that venue. Always travelling with ease in a pocket on the rail tracking the leading duo, the 3-1 second favourite struck the front approaching the furlong pole en route to a 2 1/4-length defeat of Celestial Object (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), with TDN Rising Star Ridenza (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) 1 1/4 lengths away in third.

“She’s a really nice filly who was a bit unlucky the last day and had a tough draw today, but I thought Ben [Coen] gave her a great ride,” trainer Johnny Murtagh said. “It’s a tough place around here and sometimes you can be unlucky, but you have to ride the good ones like that. At the start of the year, I didn’t know whether she’d get a mile but now seven or a mile makes no difference. She didn’t have a hard race last time and I was delighted. Her work had been good since, she’s not short of speed and she’s a big, powerful filly who travels well. I think there’s more to come–I entered her in the [G1] Matron [S. at Leopardstown Sept. 12] and that could be the big one for her. I’ll speak to Sheikh Fahad, but she could end up there.”

Mick Halford said of the returning Ridenza, “They didn’t got fast enough for her, as she’s a big-striding filly but it was important to get her in and get her settled. She paid the price in the final furlong and could have been second, but at least we now have her back and we know where we are with her so we can go from there.”

Know It All, who had also won the Loder Irish EBF Fillies Race, finished seventh in the G2 Debutante S. and third in the G3 Weld Park S. all at The Curragh as a juvenile, becomes the first European black-type winner for her sire, who stands at the Shadai Stallion Station. She is a half-sister to the speedy G3 Flying Five and G3 Dubai Airport World Trophy winner Astrophysical Jet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and to Coral Wave (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) who captured the G3 C L Weld Park S. that Know It All was third in and also the Listed Flame of Tara S.

Her unraced dam is a daughter of The Queen’s Highbrow (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}), who was runner-up in the G2 Ribblesdale S. prior to producing the GII San Luis Rey H., GII Sunset H. and G2 Jockey Club S. winner Blueprint (Ire) (Generous {Ire}). She is also the second dam of the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. hero Kingdom of Fife (GB) (Kingmambo) and the G1 Coronation Cup and G1 Prix Royal-Oak winner Ask (GB) (Sadler’s Wells). The third dam is the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Prix de Diane heroine Highclere (GB), responsible for the talented racemare and amazing producer Height of Fashion (Fr) (Bustino {GB}), which links the winner to the likes of Nashwan, Nayef and Deep Impact (Jpn). Common Knowledge is 20 now, but she has still produced a filly foal by Roaring Lion. Her 2-year-old colt Mindpower (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) was purchased by Roger Varian for 120,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1.

Wednesday, Leopardstown, Ireland
DERRINSTOWN STUD FILLIES S.-G3, €50,000, Leopardstown, 7-1, 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:42.41, gd.
1–KNOW IT ALL (GB), 128, f, 3, by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)
1st Dam: Common Knowledge (GB), by Rainbow Quest
2nd Dam: Highbrow (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
3rd Dam: Highclere (GB), by Queen’s Hussar (GB)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Qatar Racing Limited; B-Qatar Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-Johnny Murtagh; J-Ben Coen. €30,000. Lifetime Record: 6-2-1-1, $71,782. *1/2 to Astrophysical Jet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), GSW-Ire, GSW-Eng, $174,376; 1/2 to Coral Wave (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), GSW-Ire, $117,963. Werk Nick Rating: D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Celestial Object (Ire), 128, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Sea Siren (Aus), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). O-Newtown Anner Stud Farm Ltd; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Jessie Harrington. €10,000.
3–Ridenza (Ire), 128, f, 3, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Raydara (Ire), by Rock of Gibraltar (Ire). O-H.H. Aga Khan; B-His Highness the Aga Khan’s Studs S.C. (IRE); T-Mick Halford. €5,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1 1/4, 1. Odds: 3.00, 10.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Amma Grace (Ire), Faire Croire (Ire), Schroders Mistake (Ire), So Wonderful, Tango (Ire), Apricot Moon (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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