Light Up is spearheaded by a group of industry participants, including Price Bell, Roderick Wachman, Jason Litt, and Dr. Jeff Berk. Kick Collective, the marketing agency behind the Australian-based initiative Kick Up for Racing, is driving the marketing and communications.

“We have been inspired by the impactful work of Kick Up in Australia and believe we have a similar opportunity in the US,” said Price Bell, one of the founding directors of Light Up.

“Kick Up informs the public conversation about horse racing in Australia through grassroots education and engagement. Fundamental to its success is using data and factual information to provide transparency, and accessibility to our horses. This has created a culture of accountability to the horse. We believe we have similar opportunity, to support and inspire the collective voice of our industry participants.”

Established in 2022, Kick Up has quickly become a valuable resource for the Australian racing industry with content focused on addressing the common concerns surrounding horse racing. In addition to a digital presence via its website and social channels, Kick Up has fostered a community who are empowered to address misinformation about horse racing and share positive stories to their networks.

Vin Cox, Managing Director of Godolphin Australia and a Director of the Victorian Racing Club who host the iconic Melbourne Cup at Flemington, said:

“The anti-racing groups are well-funded, well-organized, and have been allowed to shape the public narrative of our industry, unopposed. Kick Up stepped in and empowered and emboldened racing supporters by providing fact-based articles that correct the misinformation being propagated by the anti-racing community.

“The social capital surrounding the Melbourne Cup carnival is now at its strongest in many years, and although anecdotal, I firmly believe that the work done by the Kick Up team has had a hugely significant impact.”

In a similar theme, the primary objective of Light Up is to empower the industry community with accurate knowledge by providing transparent information and distilled research.

Every industry issue Light Up will challenge is guided by a fundamental question: “What is in the best interest of the horse?”

Dr. JR Coffman, a past President of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, captured this sentiment when he wrote, “whenever a question is answered based upon the welfare of the horse, the human principles involved are also best served in the long run. We are here for the horse; to the extent that we are responsive to that concept, we will prosper both as individuals and as an organization.”

Light Up is committed to dismantling the wall of secrecy that often surrounds the industry, empowering participants with the knowledge and confidence to engage in meaningful conversations with the concerned public and external media, and most importantly, provide the information needed to make informed decisions that prioritize equine safety.

The post Striving to Illuminate the Path to Transparency, Light Up Racing Launched appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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There were so many layers to the victory of Without A Fight. The 7-year-old gelding has arguably been in career best form, winning the G1 Caulfield Cup S. last start and joined a rare collection of Thoroughbreds to claim both Cup races in the same season–the latest being the great mare Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm).

The victory also served as back-to-back victories for jockey Mark Zahra, who partnered Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}) to success in 2022 for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

Zahra made the tough decision to jump off Gold Trip (Fr) Outstrip {GB}) after riding in the G1 Cox Plate to stick with Without A Fight. There were opinions aplenty over the matter, but ultimately, Zahra's judgment was proven correct.

There were also plenty of doubts over the son of Teofilo's (Ire) ability to stay the 3200 metres, having finished 13th in the Melbourne Cup last year. However, Without A Fight has proven to be an improved horse this season, racing with great zest in the winter. The gelding added the G3 Lord Mayor's Cup at Eagle Farm and followed that up with a devastating victory in the G2 The Q22.

All those doubts were put to bed when Without A Fight ran away to win by 2.25l from the Chris Waller-trained pair Soulcombe (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and the charging Sheraz (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Co-trainer Sam Freedman was on course to celebrate becoming a Melbourne Cup-winning trainer, telling Racing.com, “Credit to the old man [Anthony Freedman]. He's been incredible through all this. He went to Queensland and looked after Without A Fight, and when he won The Lord Mayor's Cup and The Q22, we set our sights on the Cups.    “There's a lot of little moments, and I'm a lot younger, so I can get pretty worked up sometimes, whereas Dad [Anthony] is more relaxed, calm and collected. He's been a constant support at home. All the team behind the scenes need to be thanked. We couldn't get Without A Fight here without everybody's help.

“Without A Fight has continued to learn and improve; he was a fierce-going horse. Queensland helped him, but he's a horse that just loves to work, and he was fit and well up there. He genuinely loves his work and pins his ears back every time you train him.”

Zahra, becoming the seventh jockey to win the Melbourne Cup on more than one occasion, was understandably jubilant and told Racing.com, “My whole objective and well I thought my biggest opposition was my horse himself (Without A Fight). He can be pretty keen, and I went and worked with him the other day and he was keen. So, going to the gates, he was relaxed, which was a good sign.

“But I really wanted to find the fence, and if I could at any stage, he's a horse that relaxes much better on the fence. Slowly, I gained ground up the inside, and Ollie (Damien Oliver, Alenquer), Gold Trip and Ryan Moore (Vauban) were in front of me. and that was a tick, and felt if I could stay here as long as I can and wait for these three to make their moves, I'm going to follow them.

“I was able to travel and smoke up behind the right horses, and this horse has a good turn-of-foot. I got to the front, but I felt there was no way anything was coming from behind me, and boom! Away we went.

“For it to pay off, it's justified.”

Without A Fight, a son of Teofilo, continues the outstanding influence that stallion has held over the Melbourne Cup, siring three of the past six Cup winners.

Pedigree Notes

The first horse since the mighty mare Ethereal to take out the G1 Caulfield/G1 Melbourne Cup double in the same year, Without A Fight looked a happy horse as he strutted out onto the Flemington track. Coping admirably with the warm weather and the big crowd, the tough and classy 7-year-old wrote his name into the history books with a stunning 23l turnaround on his well beaten 13th last year. That was his first Australian run, and he has come along in leaps and bounds with the benefits of acclimatisation, this historic victory his four from six starts Down Under.

The third Melbourne Cup winner sired by former Darley shuttler Teofilo (Ire)–Twilight Payment (Ire) (2020) and Cross Counter (GB) (2018) the others, Without A Fight is the third recent Cup winner to descend from the acclaimed matriarch Lady Josephine (GB) (Sundridge {GB})–Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}), Vow And Declare (Aus) (Declaration Of War) the others. A dual Group 1 winner over 1400 metres Teofilo–who last shuttled in 2017–calls Kildangan Stud home. A homebred for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, Without A Fight was successful at Group 3 level and twice in listed company in the UK. One of Teofilo's 112 stakes winners, he is out of the talented race mare Khor Sheed (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a Group 3 and dual listed winner. Another three of her foals are winners and she is the grandam of the G2 John C. Mabee S. winner Avenue De France (Fr) (Cityscape {GB}).

Tuesday, Melbourne, Australia
MELBOURNE CUP-G1, A$7,750,000, VRC, 11-07, 3yo/up, Open Handicap, 3200mT, 3:18.37, gd.
1–WITHOUT A FIGHT (IRE), 56.5, g, 6, by Teofilo (Ire)
                1st Dam: Khor Sheed (GB) (MSW & GSP-Eng, GSW-Ity,
                                $235,281), by Dubawi (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Princess Manila (Can), by Manila
                3rd Dam: Halo's Princess (Can), by Halo
O/B-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum (Ire). T-Anthony &
Sam Freedman; J-M Zahra; A$5,060,000. Lifetime Record:
GSW-Eng, GSP-UAE, 23-11-3-4, A$9,464,881. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
   free Arion.co.nz catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Soulcombe (GB), 53.5, g, 4, Frankel (GB)–Ribbons (GB), by
Manduro (Ger). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (190,000gns RNA
HRA '21 TATAPR). O-A Kheir, J A O'Neill, Carty Racing, S A
Lewin, V Kheir, T R Maddern, B D Nettlefold, D Edmonds, A K
Racing, B A Secatore, Mrs R T Secatore, B J O'Brien, Bromfield
Park Pty Ltd, Punt Road End, N A Greenhalgh, Mrs M T
Greenhalgh, Sneesby Racing, Sir M Arbib, B G Arbib & C M
Budgett; B-Pursuit of Success LLC (GB); T-C J Waller; J-J
Moreira; A$1,100,000.
3–Sheraz (Fr), 51.5, g, 6, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Shemiyla (Fr), by
Dalakhani (Ire). O-G C Sneesby, Mrs J T Sneesby, N A
Greenhalgh, Mrs M T Greenhalgh, I Bruce, P Aspropotamitis,
Platinum Dream (S Westwood), Jalana (D Gremmo), G W
Aldridge, A T Avramides, Mrs S Avramides, Muzben Racing (B
Stewart), M Grech, Kirk Thoroughbred Racing (G P Kirk) & G
G's Shout (D Gremmo); B-H.H. The Aga Khan's Studs Haras De
S.a. Le Prince Aga Khan; T-C J Waller; J-Beau Mertens;
A$550,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, HF, 2. Odds: 7.00, 8.50, 150.00.
Also Ran: Ashrun (Fr), Daqiansweet Junior (NZ), Interpretation (Ire), Absurde (Fr), True Marvel (Fr), Vow and Declare (Aus), Military Mission (Ire), Okita Soushi (Ire), More Felons (Ire), Lastotchka (Fr), Vauban (Fr), Future History (GB), Breakup (Jpn), Gold Trip (Fr), Virtuous Circle (NZ), Serpentine (Ire), Kalapour (Ire), Alenquer (Fr), Magical Lagoon (Ire), Right You Are (Aus).
Click for the Racing Australia chart. VIDEO.

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That triumphant breakthrough represented the moment when the Cup became a truly global event, but it had been a major landmark both domestically and internationally since the 19^th century. The respect which the two words 'Melbourne Cup' generated in the Victorian era was shown by the purchase in 1895 of Carbine (NZ), the highlight of whose 33 wins had been when he had won the Cup in 1890, carrying 10 stone 5lb and giving 53lb to the runner-up. By 1895 Carbine had made a promising start to his stud career and his fame was enough to persuade the Duke of Portland to recruit him, at a price of 13,000 guineas, to stand in England alongside reigning champion sire St. Simon (GB) at Welbeck Abbey Stud in Nottinghamshire. He was a great success there, most notably spawning a three-generation sequence of Derby winners, starting with his son Spearmint (GB) in 1906.

The iconic Melbourne Cup | Racingfotos.com

A second Melbourne Cup winner followed hot on Carbine's heels when the 1896 winner Newhaven (Aus) headed north after that season's Sydney Autumn Carnival. His part-owner Mr Cooper had bought a seat on the London Stock Exchange so he arranged that Newhaven would come to England with him. 

The highlight of Newhaven's career in England came when he won the City And Suburban H. at Epsom in 1899, reportedly winning connections £50,000 in bets.  Unfortunately, though, he could not follow Carbine into the ranks of British-based stallions as he was not accepted into the (British) General Stud Book because of doubts supposedly held about the identity of his fourth dam.  Consequently, he had to return to Australia to begin his stud career.

Remarkably, Newhaven was not the greatest Australian horse racing in England during the final years of the 19^th century. That honour was held by Merman (Aus). Having ended the Spring Carnival in Melbourne in 1896 by winning the Williamstown Cup, Merman was brought to England, where he was bought by the famous actress Lillie Langtry for 1,600 guineas.

Merman became a remarkable trouper in his adopted homeland, ensuring that Australian stayers would be revered worldwide for decades. The highlight of his three wins in his first season in England, 1897, came when he won the Cesarewitch H. at Newmarket. At the same meeting the following season he won the Jockey Club Cup, having run well in the Cambridgeshire H. the previous day and in the Cesarewitch H. the day before that. His toughness and class were also in evidence at Glorious Goodwood the following summer, when he won both the Goodwood Plate and the Goodwood Cup. Age and exertion did not weary him because it turned out that he was saving the best 'til last: in 1900, aged eight, he won the greatest staying prize of them all, the Gold Cup at Ascot.

One race which particularly illustrated the strength in depth of Australian horses racing in England at the time was the Epsom Gold Cup (now G1 Coronation Cup) at the Derby Meeting in 1898 when Merman was one of three antipodean imports in the field, alongside Newhaven and the 1896 VRC Newmarket H. winner Maluma (Aus). Furthermore, when Merman contested the Cambridgeshire that autumn, he finished behind the imported winner Georgic (Aus), previously successful in the AJC All-Aged S. at Randwick in 1895.

Two-Way Traffic for Top Stayers

Red Cadeaux, with Robin Trevor Jones and rider Steven Nicholson, was second in three Cups | Emma Berry

It was not all one-way traffic, of course. The Australian Stud Book was built on imports, with such horses differentiated from the colonial-breds by an asterisk printed alongside their names. It was the norm for the Melbourne Cup to be won by a horse with at least one imported parent, but the first winner of the race bred in Europe was Comedy King (GB) (Persimmon {GB}), successful in 1910.

Leading Melbourne-based bookmaker Sol Green had gone to England on holiday in 1906 and bought some horses there. One was the Gallinule mare Tragedy Queen (GB), purchased from the Royal Studs, in foal Persimmon. Green left the mare in England but once the resultant foal, Comedy King, had been weaned he was exported to Australia (forging a path subsequently trodden by the Somerset-born three-time Melbourne Cup heroine Makybe Diva).

Just as Comedy King took Makybe Diva's route to Melbourne Cup glory nearly a century before the great mare won her three Cups, so did the 1924 winner Backwood (GB) foreshadow the legion of Australian owners, trainers and agents who nowadays shop at Tattersalls with future Melbourne Cups in mind. A dual winner at a mile and a half in England, Backwood was bought by Australian owners E. L. Baillieu and W. Clark for 2,500 guineas in the hope that he would win the Cup in 1923. He disappointed badly that year won 12 months later, trained at Flemington by Richard Bradfield.

Hopes were high during the war that the Royal Studs would yield another Melbourne Cup winner, following Comedy King. After three unplaced runs in England for King George VI, the Hyperion horse Helios (GB) was sold to race in Australia. He was shaping up nicely until misadventure struck: he injured himself by over-reaching when pulling up from a track gallop at Flemington, fracturing his near-fore pastern, and had to be retired. The story had a happy ending though, as he became champion sire in 1948/'49 and overall sired the winners of over 1,000 races, with one of his best sons being the 1954 Melbourne Cup winner Wodalla (Aus).

The Melbourne Cup naturally began to feature on the international radar more and more as time passed. By the 1980s, improved air-travel and improved communications were making the world a smaller place.

Sangster Backs the Cup

Robert Sangster's love for Australia meant that the Melbourne Cup came to join the Derby on his list of most coveted prizes. One of the first horses transferred by him from England to Colin Hayes in South Australia was Beldale Ball, whom he had bought out of Michael Jarvis's Newmarket stable in 1979. Beldale Ball thrived under Hayes's care to the extent that he recorded a glorious triumph in the Melbourne Cup in 1980.

Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum too began to focus on Australian racing, the flames of his enthusiasm fanned by the passion of his manager Angus Gold. At Talaq (Roberto) had carried the Shadwell silks into fourth place in the Derby in 1984 at 250/1 when trained in Newmarket by Harry Thomson Jones; two years later, prepared by Colin Hayes, he won the Melbourne Cup.  (The same team would win a second Melbourne Cup in 1994 with Jeune (GB), a Royal Ascot winner bought out of Geoff Wragg's stable specifically to try to win the great race).

Within Australia, Lloyd Williams's Melbourne Cup ambitions were continuing to grow. Prominent in the syndicates which raced the Tommy Smith-trained 1981 Cup winner Just A Dash (Aus) and the John Meagher-trained 1985 Cup winner What A Nuisance (NZ), Williams learned the lessons provided by Beldale Ball and At Talaq. Another horse who caught his attention was Natski (Ire), a maiden race winner at Redcar for Luca Cumani in 1987 who, sold to Australia, was trained by Jack Denham to fail by only inches behind Empire Rose (NZ) in the Melbourne Cup the following year. Also in the field that day was Authaal (Ire), trained by Colin Hayes for Sheikh Mohammed. The son of Shergar had previously won the G1 Irish St Leger in 1986 when trained by David O'Brien.

Williams sent John Meagher, accompanied by Pat Carey, to England to find some suitable prospects and they nearly hit the jackpot straightaway when they selected the Aga Khan's Naiyrizi (Ire), bought out of Luca Cumani's stable after winning at Ascot, Windsor and Doncaster in 1988. During the Melbourne Spring Carnival in 1989 Nayrizi won the VATC Herbert Power H. before finishing a close second to Cole Diesel (Aus) in the VATC Caulfield Cup a week later. Williams has, of course, bought many European horses since then and during the current century has won four Cups with European-bred horses, trained either in Australia or Ireland.

Ireland's Breakthrough

The momentum of interest and competition building, it was only a matter of time before European-trained horses began to contest the Cup. The breakthrough of British-trained horses running in Australasia had come in the late '80s when the G1 Tancred S. in Sydney and the G1 Air New Zealand S. in New Zealand were being promoted as international races. England's two most pioneering trainers, John Dunlop and Clive Brittain, rose to the challenge. The Melbourne Cup had to come next, particularly as it was sponsored by Carlton & United Brewery, which had recently broken into the European market in a major way with the booming worldwide popularity of Foster's Lager. That is exactly what came to pass thirty years ago, on the first Tuesday of November 1993.

Two European trainers each sent a horse to Flemington in 1993. From England, Lord Huntingdon (who had trained at Warwick Farm in Sydney for a couple of years in the late '70s) sent the Ascot Gold Cup winner Drum Taps, the mount of Frankie Dettori. From Ireland, Dermot Weld sent the previous year's Cesarewitch H. winner Vintage Crop, ridden by Mick Kinane. This bold challenge was meat and drink for Weld, who had already become the first European trainer to saddle the winner of a US Triple Crown race (Go And Go (Ire) in the 1990 Belmont S.) and the first to win a race at the Hong Kong International Meeting (Additional Risk (Ire) in the 1991 HK Bowl).

Drum Taps, ridden by Frankie Dettori, found it hard under top weight of 58.5kg, finishing ninth. But Vintage Crop, carrying 3kg less and feeling at home in the rain which lashed Flemington that afternoon, was sublime. Bearing the colours of Dr Michael Smurfit, Vintage Crop came home three lengths in front of Te Akau Nick (NZ), who had recently become the first Group 1 winner trained by Gai Waterhouse by winning the G1 AJC Metropolitan H. at Randwick. As Mick Kinane brought Vintage Crop back to scale, an emotional Weld delighted the local press corps by reciting lines from A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson's 'A Bush Christening' in the winner's enclosure. It was a very special way for the international racing landscape to be changed forever.

European Success Grows

Protectionist, the sole German-trained winner of the Melbourne Cup | Emma Berry

Since then, raiders from Europe for the Melbourne Cup have become the norm. The first leg of Melbourne's 'Cups Double' has also become a regular target, with Europe's breakthrough in that race coming in 1998 when Ray Cochrane brought the Lady Herries-trained Taufan's Melody (Ire) home in front.

Weld and Dr Smurfit won the Melbourne Cup again in 2002 with Media Puzzle. Since then, four other countries have claimed the prize. Japan won it in 2006 with the Katsuhiko Sumii-trained Delta Blues (Jpn). Alain de Royer-Dupre and Mikel Delzangles won it for France in 2010 and '11, courtesy of Americain and Dunaden (Fr). German trainer Andreas Wohler supplied the hero in 2014, Protectionist (Ger). Godolphin won in 2018 with Cross Counter (GB), trained in England by Charlie Appleby. Furthermore, Weld's feat of supplying two winners has been matched by his compatriot Joseph O'Brien, courtesy of Rekindling (Ire) and Twilight Payment (Ire) in 2017 and 2020 respectively, both horses owned by Lloyd Williams..

Any overview of European achievers in the Melbourne Cup wouldn't be complete without mentioning Luca Cumani in dispatches, thanks to a run of narrow defeats, none closer than the pixel or two by which Bauer (GB) was edged out by the Bart Cummings-trained Viewed (Aus) in 2008. Another Newmarket-based trainer to have played a chief supporting role has been Ed Dunlop, whose ultra-genuine charge Red Cadeaux (GB) wrote his name into Cup history as the only horse to finish second in the race three times (in 2011, '13 and '14).

Nowadays, Australian owners and trainers seem intent on buying nearly all of the most likely European Cup prospects. Many were in action at Tattersalls last week and the recent domination of major Australian staying races by European-breds does not seem likely to end any time soon.

The internationalisation of the Melbourne Cup has been a gradual process with many heroes playing their part. Comedy King and Backwood both made special contributions, but none stand taller than Vintage Crop, Dermot Weld, Mick Kinane and Dr Smurfit. The significance of their breakthrough triumph 30 years ago will live forever as the day on which 'the race which stops a nation' became a race which the world watches.

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The 52-year-old enjoyed a dream final week at Royal Ascot when riding Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to Gold Cup glory and partnering a further three winners at the meeting.

Dettori was set to retire after the Breeders' Cup meeting at Santa Anita but the opportunity to ride a first Melbourne Cup winner at Flemington is understood to have enticed the legendary jockey into extending his farewell tour.

He said, “I have achieved all there is to achieve in horse racing and have had a fantastic career, but the Lexus Melbourne Cup has always been one race that I would love to win.

“I am looking forward to returning to Melbourne to ride at the carnival for one final time and hopefully I can finish my career with a Melbourne Cup win.”

Dettori has ridden in 17 Melbourne Cups and been runner-up twice aboard Central Park (Ire) and Max Dynamite (Fr) (Great Journey {Jpn}).

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Inquisitively, a barely-beaten second at Windsor in his May 29 debut, is entered in Wednesday's Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot, and will carry his owners' hopes as well as a bit of history on his back.

Inquisitively sold for 40,000gns euros at the 2022 Tattersalls October yearling sale from the Glenvale Stud consignment to trainer Ollie Sangster.

“He was a very nice yearling,” said Sangster. “It's easy to say that now. Flash Conroy had bought him as a foal, and he actually had a setback the week before the yearling sale, and was lame at the sale. But he was a very nice model and I know Flash and I liked the horse, so I bought the horse under the condition that if I wasn't happy, they would take him back. But the issue was something of a nothing, something he had done right before the sale, and in a few weeks would right itself. In that respect, he's a horse I never would have been able to afford working with a limited budget, and I was able to buy a much nicer physical that I would have been able to buy.”

American bloodstock agent Justin Casse was at the sale, and had inspected Inquisitively, and also had liked him, but left before Book 2.

“He looked like a very precocious type, great hind quarter, good balance, a very good mover,” said Casse. “And Flash is a tremendous judge with whom I've had a bit of luck. He's actually who I bought (G1 Fillies Mile winner) Pretty Gorgeous from.

He was a nice horse and I thought there was value there. And I'm trying to align myself with young people in the industry who I know who have spent time with great trainers or who have learned from the right people.”

So Casse called Sangster and offered to buy half of the horse from him.

In Sangster's case, those great trainers and right people included Wesley Ward, the first American trainer to ever saddle a winner at Royal Ascot, and who has dominated there in recent years, winning 12 races. Sangster spent several formative years with Ward, working at Keeneland in the spring, taking his Ascot horses over, and then coming back with Ward to Saratoga. He has helped Ward out at every Ascot since 2018.

The family connection between the Casses and the Sangsters goes back even further. Justin's father Norman Casse was the breeder of Beldale Ball, who won the 1980 Melbourne Cup for Sangster's grandfather Robert, and he considered it one of his greatest breeding achievements, said Justin, who was born the year of the win and keeps the plaque given to his father for the achievement hanging in his office today.

“To me, the whole thing is interesting,” said Casse. “I've traveled all over the world. I've won the richest race in South Africa. I've won a Group 2 in Australia. And all these things have come full circle in my life to this connection between young Ollie Sangster and my father who has passed away, and our families, and is still going on. And here we are. We have American connections through Australian connections to running at Ascot and it really is a dream come true. My first experience at Ascot, literally the first race on the first day of the first time I was at Ascot was Tepin winning.” Tepin, who won the 2017 G1 Queen Anne S., was trained by Justin's brother Mark. “That experience was extremely special and continues to grow in significance,” he said.

But if Inquisitively isn't quite Tepin, at least not yet, Sangster is serious about giving him a chance.

“His first start was particularly pleasing because he had a very difficult draw,” he said. “Windsor has a bend in the track and he had drawn 14 and had to move a good few lengths to get across, and did the hard work at the front that day. If he had had a nicer draw, he would have won the race nicely. It was visually quite impressive, the times were good and and subsequently the third and fourth finishers out of that race have won their next start. That has confirmed what the times were showing us. He deserves to have a chance there, and the winner of the race (Chief Mankato {GB} {Sioux Nation}) is going to Ascot himself.”

Sangster will also be the trainer of record for Bledsoe (Iqbaal), who Wesley Ward trained to win the opening race of the spring meet at Keeneland. Ward is also the horse's owner and breeder, and owns and stands his sire. Sangster said that Bledsoe arrived at his training center, Manton, in April with the intention of getting a prep in, and while that hadn't worked out, he'll now go into the Windsor Castle off the Keeneland maiden win.

Sangster said he realized how special it was to have two starters at the meet in his first year of training.

“I think Inquisitively is about 25-1, but if someone had asked me at the beginning of the year what my chances of getting to Ascot were this year, they would have been significantly longer!” he said. “It means everything. The reason we get up at the crack of dawn is to have the winners, and hopefully–not that I've had it yet–but a winner on a big stage. We're a close-knit team, and everyone works really hard, and we're looking forward to having a runner. I think we have a little bit of an each-way chance and it's exciting. Hopefully a few people will notice us.”

Casse said it was hard to imagine how emotional a win would be for him.

“You can't put a price on these experiences even though we try to regularly through the auction ring or private sales. But that doesn't always mean that you're going to get there. So I'm just going to try to make the most of it. And listen, leading into the race, the horse is training well against winners. He has not really put a foot wrong to this point. And from the videos that Ollie sends us, I really couldn't be happier. And then of course, these other horses winning flatters our form. So although I think we're going to go in there probably 25 or 30-1, I just get the feeling that we're going to run a big race.”

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Introduced in 2021, the world leading safety standards are part of Victorian racing's effort to minimise the risk of injuries, particularly among international horses travelling to compete in Victoria and for all horses contesting the Melbourne Cup.

The safety standards are reviewed regularly and in determining this year's veterinary protocols, RV conducted a review of their application in the 2022 Spring Racing Carnival – the second successive without a serious incident.

RV's working group, which includes integrity, veterinary, equine welfare and racing experts, also considered feedback from a broad range of stakeholders including Australian and international private veterinarians, regulatory veterinarians, trainers, jockeys, owners, primary service providers, and Victoria's racing clubs.

Upon recommendation of the working group, the RV Board endorsed updates to the following veterinary protocols for international horses seeking to travel via the Werribee International Horse Centre (WIHC) and compete in Victoria in 2023 and beyond:

a) Radiographs (X-Rays) will no longer be mandatory but may be directed to be undertaken at the discretion of RV. X-Rays are now primarily suggested as a screening tool for connections before progressing to advanced diagnostic imaging. A pre-travel CT or MRI scan remains mandatory for each international horse

b) The pre-travel inspection and imaging window will now open Aug. 1 for all international horses and close one week prior to a horse entering pre-export quarantine (dates to be determined based on horse shipments)

In addition to the endorsed changes to the 2023 veterinary protocols, the RV Board, on advice from the working group, also determined:

• A requirement for improved operational communication methods and processes to enhance the experience of connections completing the veterinary protocols. This will include the appointment of a case manager for international contenders
• A renewed focus on attracting Japanese horses to Melbourne for future editions of the Spring Racing Carnival, by improving the understanding of the veterinary protocols by Japanese trainers and owners
• All international horses, including those travelling on a one-way ticket, will remain in WIHC until Champions S. Day Nov. 11 or until after their last Spring Racing Carnival start if earlier

The Victoria Racing Club also announced that nominations for the 2023 Melbourne Cup, scheduled for Nov. 7, will close in early September for all horses. The nomination dates for the Cox Plate and Caulfield Cup are expected to remain in early August when finalised.

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   Foxwedge got the stallion arm of the operation up and running in 2012 and, since then, the roster has grown exponentially, with Capitalist and Extreme Choice some of the more recent additions to the farm.

   In this week's Q&A, Field explained the key principals that helped him build Newgate into what it is today, discussed the thinking behind partnering up with Rathbarry Stud to buy State Of Rest and much more.

Brian Sheerin: You have achieved a lot at Newgate in a little over a decade. If you could take me back to the beginning; what were your key principals in getting Newgate off the ground?

Henry Field: We didn't specifically set out to try and make Newgate a big stallion operation, it just grew organically. When we started out in 2010, we had a leased farm of about 200 acres, a couple of mares and borrowed a bit of money to get up and running. Thankfully, through my good friend James Harron, who had a good client in the Bateman family, they boarded a few mares on the farm. The Bateman family also gave me the opportunity to syndicate Foxwedge (Aus), a good stallion who shuttled between Australia and Europe, and that's what really got us going on the stallion front. At the same time, I had built up a really good relationship with Gavin Murphy and Tom Ryan of SF Bloodstock and we decided to embark on a joint venture at that time and build Newgate with SF Bloodstock as a major partner. Matthew Sandblom, one of my oldest clients, is an educational entrepreneur in Australia, and he also came on board in the partnership with Newgate. Between us all, we built Newgate into what is something pretty cool.

In many ways, you ripped up the playbook. Do you take time to look back at what you have achieved or are you someone who concentrates only on the future?

Always looking to the future and always trying to get better. The key to our success has been our personnel and the team. Obviously our farm is headed by Jim Carey, who I was lucky enough to work with at Coolmore 20 years ago, and I think he's the best stud manager I've ever worked with. I couldn't believe it when he came on board to work with us and he has been a huge part of our success story. On the bloodstock and sales side of things, we have Bruce Slade and Tony Williams, who are very experienced guys. Between us all, we've got a strong team that allows me to grow the business. I obviously work very closely with my partners in growing the business and, having the likes of Jim, Bruce and Tony managing the day-to-day running of things, that allows me to use my time on growing Newgate. It's grown exponentially since we started out.

You obviously built your brand with speed horses in Australia but now seem to be diversifying the business with more stoutly-bred horses. State Of Rest (Ire) is a good recent example of that. That may have come as a surprise to a few people. Why is it that you felt he'd be a good fit for Newgate?

Australian speed sires have been the bread and butter of the Australian sires' table for decades. Most people would agree that what we do best in Australia is speed horses and we probably have the best speed horses in the world down here. It is a high quality product, the Australian speed stallions, and it has really got our product going in Newgate, with Extreme Choice (Aus), Capitalist (Aus) and Deep Field (Aus), who have been so dominant here and in Hong Kong and broader Asia. Russian Revolution (Aus), the champion first-season sire in Australia last season, is another example, so they are all very fast horses, but we had been talking about diversifying over the past number of years as we felt there was an opportunity to bring in a high-class middle-distance horse into the operation. They are hard to get and obviously Coolmore and Godolphin have a stranglehold on the majority of the high-class horses who are retired to stud in Europe each year. Conceptually, I think that horses who can perform well in Australian conditions, they are often the ones who make the best sires and the fact that State Of Rest was good enough to come down and win the Cox Plate, our premier weight-for-age race where he beat our champion three-year-old Anamoe (Aus) and our horse of the year Verry Elleegant (NZ), it showed that the horse had top-class mile-and-a-quarter talent. Not only that, the fact that he did it after landing a Grade 1 in Saratoga, it showed that he had the tenacity and toughness that comes with travelling all over the world and succeeding at the top level, which is very important for us here in Australia. When State Of Rest became available with Rathbarry Stud, we jumped at the opportunity to partner with them to buy him. He went on and confirmed himself an outstanding racehorse when winning Group 1s in France and at Royal Ascot. But we had taken a view that, if we are going to stand a middle-distance horse, it has to be the right one for Australian conditions, and we are confident that State Of Rest is the right fit.

So this had been on your mind before State Of Rest became available?

Yes, we had discussed it with the team and were actively trying to find a middle-distance horse with the right attributes, but obviously they are hard to find. As soon as State Of Rest won the Cox Plate, it became obvious that he was the play. Also, Nick Williams, who is a big owner in Australia and in Joseph O'Brien's yard, told me the massive opinion that Joseph had of the horse before the Cox Plate so that performance did not come as a major surprise and the wheels had been set in motion. What the horse did after the Cox Plate, in winning Group 1s in France and at Royal Ascot, confirmed that he was a great investment for us and our partners in the China Horse Club.

Does State Of Rest represent a new challenge in terms of marketing him in Australia as he is something different for Australian breeders?

I think he will be received extremely well. For a brand like ours, that really specialises in Australian speed, for us to go and buy a Cox Plate winner, I think people take note of that in a very positive way. This is not a decision that was taken lightly. It has been well thought out and I think people notice that and I think they will support the horse heavily. I am sure that State Of Rest will be booked out within weeks of announcing his fee for this year.

You have set the rock-solid foundations with your sprint stallions at Newgate but, along with State Of Rest joining the roster, it seems as though there is plenty to look forward to on the track with the more stoutly-bred Militarize (NZ) (Dundeel {NZ}) shaping up to be a smart runner.

The reality is that the Australian sires' championship is dominated every year by the fastest horses, for the most part.There are some exceptions to the rule and there are some very good shuttle stallions, no more successful than Danehill (Ire) and more recently More Than Ready, so there are examples of very potent shuttle sires. Then there are some very successful middle-distance stallions, the likes of Zabeel (NZ) and So You Think (NZ), along with a horse in Melbourne, Shamus Award (Aus), who started from a low base. We don't want to be long in these types of horses but when there's one we have belief and high conviction in, we're certainly happy to take them on board.

What does the future hold for Militarize? He looks like a smart prospect.

He's more of a seven-furlong to a mile style two-year-old. There are two Group 1 races in the Sydney Autumn Carnival, the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes and the Group 1 Champagne Stakes. We've won both races before and they are the two races we could target with him. Hopefully that will set him up for being an important middle-distance three-year-old for us.

The stallion partnerships are obviously very popular in Australia but what is it that you set out to buy when sourcing a yearling that you hope to stand at stud one day?

For me, first and foremost, they've got to be athletes. I'm far more focussed on buying runners and horses who are built mechanically-muscle tone, athleticism and class-how I like them. I probably work hardest to try and buy the racehorse first and am a big believer that horses can make their own pedigrees. It's a big bonus when these horses have a page behind them, and we'd never underestimate that, but I try to buy the best racehorse we can. The best stallion prospects are almost always the best racehorses.

It's almost becoming a buzz word in Europe, 'we need to be more like Australia,' but in reality, that's one of the few countries where spending a million dollars on a yearling can be justified given the prize-money on offer.

For sure. The reality is, it only makes sense if you are buying stallions and you won't last very long unless you are producing the goods and buying horses who end up on the roster as it's a very expensive game. We don't take for granted that one or two bad years could really put us in a bad spot. We've had a huge amount of success doing it and, alongside China Horse Club and our other partners, we've raced 12 colts who have gone on to be stallions in a seven-year period. We're probably averaging on purchasing 20 colts a year and, at the end of the day, results are what matter so we're lucky to have had success. With success, it gives longevity to the programme.

What would a day in the life of Henry Field look like? You are dealing with a lot of powerful people and there must be a lot of communication involved to keep everything moving in the right direction? If there's a lot of pressure involved, you seem to be dealing with it very well.

Obviously when the horses are winning, and we've been on a massive run with our two-year-olds this year, that makes it feel a lot easier. When they are losing, it can be a bit lonely. The one thing I would say is that we are massively selective when it comes to choosing our partners. Each and every one of them are outstanding and we're all close friends. We've a very strong social group and, even though we have some of the most successful business titans in Australia within the group, we've all got mutual respect for each other. I'll tell you what else is great, whether we have a good or a bad day, we all stay strong. We've been together for long enough that we can ride the ups and downs. We share the ambition to have success, which is imperative to keep the whole thing rolling, but we also have close relationships and friendships with the people who are involved in these partnerships. That's a wonderful thing.

You were in attendance at some of the biggest meetings in Britain last season courtesy of Artorius (Aus) and State Of Rest. What were your key takeouts from that trip?

For Australians, taking  horses to Royal Ascot is probably the ultimate in racing. It was an honour to win the Prince Of Wales's Stakes with State Of Rest and come so close to winning the Platinum Jubilee Stakes with Artorius, who got held up before flashing home and just failing to get there. Bottom line, you need a hell of a good horse to take up there. There's no point in bringing a second-rater. We'll certainly be trying again this year and Artorius will go back for another crack at the Platinum Jubilee. Hopefully with an ounce of luck, he can be winning there this year.

Artorius could be earning a lot more money staying in Australia but international competition is what underpins meetings like Royal Ascot.

I've got great admiration for the Japanese, who you could make the same argument for. They could keep their best horses on home shores and run them for a lot more prize-money but they like to travel. We have an obligation to travel our horses. The quality of Australian racing at this point, especially up to a mile, has never been better. We have some very powerful genetics. There is a lot of wealth in the Australian bloodstock industry and that has created a situation, a bit like in Japan 20 years ago, where the Australians are going over and buying some of the best northern hemisphere mares in the world. I think we are breeding some great horses and almost have a responsibility to bring them all over the world and showcase how good our product is.

And I understand there is an exciting chapter about to be written with Extreme Choice?

We are breeding northern hemisphere mares to Extreme Choice, who is statistically the best stallion in Australia and running at 17 per cent stakes horses to runners. He's obviously had fertility problems but, from his first crop, he's had a Golden Slipper winner and many more top-class runners. He's a phenomenal stallion so we are breeding some mares on the northern hemisphere time to him and have set an ambitious goal for one of them to win a two-year-old race at Royal Ascot. We've set a long range plan with Extreme Choice and look forward to bringing some of his better two-year-olds to Royal Ascot to take on the best juveniles in Europe in a couple of years. That's certainly one of the biggest ambitions for our partnerships, to take on the best two-year-olds in Europe and show them that ours are the best in the world!

You touched on the sales; Newgate enjoyed a great start to the new year at Magic Millions.

We had 54 offered and sold 54 at Magic Millions. We were the leading vendor, once again, and also the leading buyer as we bought 18 colts for our syndicate. They will race in our partnership and hopefully we'll have a lot of success and one or two of those will end up being stallions at Newgate. It was a very busy sale but certainly one I came away from feeling quite satisfied that we did a lot of good business at.

Who would you say your biggest influence has been?

Doing the Godolphin Flying Start programme provided me with a huge head start. From there, I got a great position with Coolmore, where I was given a lot of responsibility and opportunity. To have gained experience with two of the preeminent global stallion operations set me up well for starting Newgate. But as individuals go, I started out in this industry with Gai Waterhouse and she hammered into me the importance of work ethic and integrity. There was no better school to learn the basics than in Gai's. I only spent a short time working with Tim Hyde in Ireland but I think he left one of the biggest impressions on me. He educated my eye and, a lot of the success we have had in buying horses in Australia down through the years, I would attribute that to Tim. It was such an honour to walk around the sales complex with Tim. There are no finer horsemen than him. He took me under his wing for about six months but it was a time I will never forget. I've learned a lot about horses from a lot of good people but he really taught me more than anyone else in this industry. The basis of every horse I buy now, it stems from what I learned from Tim. The other people who have been extremely important to my career have to be my business partners, Gavin Murphy and Tom Ryan of SF Bloodstock. They are two of the smartest guys in the game and they make me look very intelligent. It wouldn't matter what country a mare or stallion is in, they are the sharpest guys I've met at valuing horses and buying and selling. I would definitely say that the SF team have been a phenomenal help in driving the success of Newgate, along with my other partner Matthew Sandblom, a self-made businessman. It's very easy for me to say we've built this great business at Newgate but I can assure you that, without Gavin, Tom and Matthew, there'd be no Newgate today.

How would you define success at Newgate?

Success for us is a continuing focus on being the best we can be. I think in this business, all the marketing and sales that you do, none of that really matters. All that matters is the winning post. If I had to define success for Newgate in two words it would be the winning post. I must add that another lightbulb moment came about five years ago when I was lucky enough to visit Arthur Hancock's Kentucky Stone Farm. Tom Ryan took me out there and their way of raising horses is very organic and natural. It goes right back to how it was done decades back and, over the past five years at Newgate, there would be very few farms with a better record than ours at raising horses. I would credit that to our methodology of raising horses hard and tough. The value of bloodstock had sky-rocketed in the past decade or two and a lot of horses are being raised a bit soft as a result. Arthur raises his horses as naturally as possible and he gets big, strong and tough horses as a result. Certainly at Newgate, there can't be many farms that raise their horses in bigger paddocks and in bigger mobs than what we do. I am sure that has played a major role in our success. All facets of this business are important but the winning post trumps all. Whether that's for your stallions or the racehorses that you are breeding, winning races and winning good races is really all that matters.

What has been your best day in racing?

Being involved in the ownership of two Golden Slipper winners in Stay Inside and Capitalist. Winning Golden Slippers is the ultimate for us so, being involved in the ownership of two of them, that is something that was very special.

Newgate has exploded into a global brand and you've achieved a lot in 10 years but it seems like there is still a lot more to come. You are clearly quite hungry still.

I feel like we've built a great platform. We started off 10 years ago with a dream and now we've got great foundations built. Naturally, if you look at where we might be in another 10 years' time, we're starting from a far better position than when we set out in this business.

The post Henry Field Q&A: “The Winning Post Trumps All” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“Australia is enjoying a golden age when it comes to the Thoroughbred industry,” Tom Reilly, chief executive of Aushorse, said. “We have a great funding model that gives owners a real chance to get a return on their investment and the sport has tremendous backing across society.”

The guide showed that average prize money per race in Australia–almost $46,000–is far higher than other jurisdictions such as America, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The quality of racing matches the prize money. In five of the past seven years, Australia has hosted more of the top-rated Group 1 races than any other jurisdiction.

The guide also revealed that it is more affordable to invest in Australia than in Europe or North America with the price of the top colts and fillies significantly lower than in other yearling markets. The average prices for the top 50 colts and fillies over the past five years in Australia (US$763,289 Colts, $550,110 fillies), compares favorably with Europe (US$980,206 colts, $883,073 fillies) and America (US$1,006,980 colts, $828,520 fillies).

The Investor's Guide has been designed to be easily viewed from mobile devices at Aushorse.com.au, and printed copies, which have also been translated into Chinese, will be posted along with the Aushorse annual magazine.

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The post Verry Elleegant Share Sells Privately After Passing In appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Co-owner Brae Sokolski told the website that the decision was not final, but that the ownership was leaning in the direction of breeding to the sire that has been represented by the world's top-rated turf horse Baaeed (GB) and the legendary stayer Stradivarius (Ire).

“She'll be served to northern hemisphere time and while no final decision has been made on the stallion, Sea The Stars is probably the most likely suitor,” Sokolski said of last year's Melbourne Cup hero.

“Then we will decide whether to keep her there (Europe) and do it again or bring her back. It's unresolved at the moment.”

Having taken races like the G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup and G1 Caulfield while under the care of Chris Waller, Verry Elleegant was sent to the northern hemisphere this spring to be trained by Francis-Henri Graffard. In four European appearances, the 7-year-old was third in the G2 Qatar Prix Foy and closed her career with an unplaced effort in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies and Mares at Ascot Oct. 15.

Sea The Stars resides at the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud in Ireland, where he served mares at an advertised fee of €150,000 in 2022.

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