O’Brien Charts Course for River Tiber, Kyprios

Aidan O'Brien confirmed TDN Rising Star River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) remains on track for Sunday's G1 Prix Morny at Deauville despite missing a piece of work two weeks ago. Campaigned by Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg and Brant, the juvenile was last seen winning the June 20 G1 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot.

“The plan is to run River Tiber [this weekend],” O'Brien told Sky Sports Racing. “He had a setback a couple of weeks ago so there will be a cloud over him when we do run him as we're a bit worried about his fitness, but the plan at the moment is to run.

A runaway winner in his career bow at Navan Apr. 22, the colt followed up with another victory at Naas May 21.

O'Brien continued, “He had a hold-up and missed his second-last piece of work so he had that week off, but he did a piece of work this week so that gave him a chance to go.

“He seems to be in good form since, but the ground that we lost you couldn't make back up with him.”

O'Brien also indicated MG1SW Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), last year's Gold Cup winner, may mark his return in the Sept. 10 G1 Irish St Leger. The chestnut was last seen destroying his rivals in the G1 Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp Oct. 1.

“Kyprios was at the Curragh for a canter last weekend after racing and that went well. He seems to have come out of that well,” said O'Brien. “We're looking at maybe starting at the [Irish] Leger, but that's a tough enough race to come back in so we'd be hoping he could run a good race, come out of it OK and then have a look at something on Arc weekend, something like that, because you couldn't expect him to perform at his best after such a traumatic year. If it all went well we could look at next year with him.”

The post O’Brien Charts Course for River Tiber, Kyprios appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Coventry Glory For Wootton Bassett’s TDN Rising Star River Tiber

Significantly-supported into 11-8 favouritism for Tuesday's G2 Coventry S., TDN Rising Star River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}–Transcendence {Ire}, by Arcano {Ire}) justified that confidence to provide Aidan O'Brien with a landmark 10th renewal of the juvenile feature which had announced his arrival back in 1997. Successful by a cumulative margin of 12 1/2 lengths in two starts at Navan and Naas, the 480,000gns Book 1 graduate could be spotted cruising near the front of the far-side group led by Bronsan Racing's oven-ready purchase Givemethebeatboys (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}).

Students of Ryan Moore's body language would have noted that he sat motionless for the first four furlongs and as he asked the question two out River Tiber picked up as expected to wear down Monday night's Goffs London sensation with just over half a furlong to race. From there the sense of inevitability became reality as he found the line a neck ahead of the Archie Watson-trained Army Ethos (GB) (Shalaa {Ire}), who was a few horse-widths away up the centre with another son of Wootton Bassett in Bucanero Fuerte (GB) 3/4 of a length behind him in third.

There had been trouble in the stalls, with the outsider Buyin Buyin (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle (GB) becoming upset and affecting his next-door neighbough Chief Mankato (GB) (Sioux Nation) in the process, leading to their withdrawal.

“It was a tricky start, with those horses getting upset and he didn't settle like he usually does in the stalls,” commented Moore, who was riding the first winner of an afternoon treble which would ultimately take him to 76 at Royal Ascot. “He travelled really well in the race and I probably put him to sleep a bit too much. I had to wake him up to get to them and I think he had a bit more in hand. We've always loved him and he'll probably go on to be a Dewhurst horse I'd have thought. For me, he stood over all of these–he looked different class.”

Aidan O'Brien, who was about to become the most successful trainer in Royal Ascot history, was not holding back as to his regard for the winner, who probably ranks up with the likes of Fasliyev, Landseer (Ire), Henrythenavigator, Power (GB) and Caravaggio. “He always looked very good,” he said. “He was never disappointing in any of his work and the stronger the work got, the stronger he became. His last piece of work he was almost doing too well, so that was my worry. We knew when he went over five last time that he was going to get six and seven comfortably.”

“You need the best horse to win the Coventry,” O'Brien added of the winner, whose inherent stamina probably made the difference off a hot early pace. “He has matured a lot, put on a lot of weight and just finds it very easy. We always thought he was a Guineas horse. If you think you have a Coventry horse, you almost know you have.”

Archie Watson, who was soon to have his moment in the sun with last year's Coventry winner Bradsell, was delighted with another big performance for a Victorious Racing colour-bearer in Army Ethos. “He's always had so much class from the moment Oliver [St Lawrence] bought him at the Somerville Yearling Sale,” he said. “Hollie [Doyle] felt Ryan got a better tow into the race and she had to do it all herself when they started falling away on our side of the track. For a horse on his second run, it was a massive effort and I'm very proud of him.”

 

Pedigree Notes

The second TDN Rising Star to win the Coventry in successive years and the fourth to win a Royal Ascot juvenile contest since the start of the 2022 meeting, River Tiber is the second foal and first winner for the unraced dam, a daughter of the Swedish listed winner Cover Girl (Ire) (Common Grounds {GB}) who produced the Listed Harry Rosebery S. scorer and G2 Flying Childers S. and G3 Molecomb S.-placed Mister Manannan (Ire) (Desert Style {Ire}) and his Luther Burbank H.-winning and G3 Cornwallis S. and GIII Senorita S.-placed full-sister Shermeen (Ire).

Shermeen is responsible for a trio who represented Coolmore in some form in the G1 Phoenix S. and G2 Railway S. winner and G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. runner-up Sudirman (Henrythenavigator), the G3 Hampton Court S. runner-up Roman Empire (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the latter's full-brother Star Of India (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who captured last year's Listed Dee S. and has gone on to add Australia's Listed Rosehill Gold Cup to his tally. Transcendence's yearling colt is by Mehmas (Ire).

Tuesday, Royal Ascot, Britain
COVENTRY S.-G2, £150,000, Ascot, 6-20, 2yo, 6fT, 1:15.49, gd.
1–RIVER TIBER (IRE), 129, c, 2, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
1st Dam: Transcendence (Ire), by Arcano (Ire)
2nd Dam: Cover Girl (Ire), by Common Grounds (GB)
3rd Dam: Peace Carrier (Ire), by Doulab
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (480,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Westerberg & Brant; B-Pier House Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £85,065. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $144,735. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Army Ethos (GB), 129, c, 2, Shalaa (Ire)–Dream Dana (Ire), by Dream Ahead. 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (20,000gns RNA Wlg '21 TADEWE; 120,000gns Ylg '22 TATSOM). O-Victorious Racing & Fawzi Nass; B-Plantation Stud (GB); T-Archie Watson. £32,250.
3–Bucanero Fuerte (GB), 129, c, 2, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Frida La Blonde (Fr), by Elusive City. 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€165,000 Ylg '22 ARAUG). O-Amo Racing Ltd & Giselle De Aguiar; B-Gestut Zur Kuste AG (GB); T-Adrian Murray. £16,140.
Margins: NK, 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 1.38, 20.00, 16.00.
Also Ran: Givemethebeatboys (Ire), Haatem (Ire), Bobsleigh (Ire), Watch My Tracer (Ire), Spanish Phoenix (Ire), Asadna (Ire), Cuban Thunder (Ire), Fandom (GB), Emperor's Son (Ire), The Camden Colt (Ire), Prince X J (Ire), Ticktyboo (GB), Flag Of St George (Ire), Politico (Ire), Alfa Whiteburd (Ire), Packard (Ire), Zoulu Chief (GB). Scratched: Buyin Buyin (Ire), Chief Mankato (GB).

 

The post Coventry Glory For Wootton Bassett’s TDN Rising Star River Tiber appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Royal Ascot: Inspiral Kicks Off Frankie’s Long Farewell

Frankie. Storms. A New King. It's Royal Ascot again, and all the themes and strands of the week will begin to unravel as soon as Charles III has made his way up the straight mile in his first procession as the ruling monarch. Maybe the forecast thunder will get there first, who knows? It's been a while since the meeting enjoyed the promise of clear skies over the five days and it's no safe bet we'll get that luxury this time. Once the opening Queen Anne is underway, the Italian genie will be steering the same course on the first of his week's arrows, one of the vast array of precious Frankel offerings in Inspiral (GB). She saved him during probably his worst Royal Ascot last year and depending on how Cheveley Park Stud's homebred performs here, the tone will be set for the rest of the week. A win for the filly and it could be that it's Frankie's world Tuesday to Saturday and we're all living in it.

One thing is for sure and that is that Inspiral needs to jump from the stalls a lot faster than she did when dropping the baton in the QEII here in October. Frankel, who also became prone to delivering that slow-breaking party trick late in his career, is on his way to becoming a pre-eminent presence here in his second career. That said, he still has work to do to catch Royal Ascot's true ruler in Dubawi (Ire) whose multiple winners almost every year come over all distances. Sheikh Mohammed's emperor sire is currently staying ahead of his Juddmonte nemesis, so it is fitting that their paths cross instantly in 2023. Godolphin's Modern Games (Ire), whose professionalism and straightforward nature has seen him jump from Charlie Appleby's third-choice miler a year ago to leading light, shades favouritism for the Queen Anne as this is written.

Frankel's influence on the meeting that witnessed one of his incredulous displays continues all week, with the opening fixture's G1 St James's Palace S. hosting his high-achieving son Chaldean (GB), another Dettori posting. There is a touch of The Rock about Juddmonte's no-fuss Dewhurst and 2000 Guineas winner and the way he is going he could end up another Kingsclere legend. First, he has to suppress the Curragh Classic winner Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), the season's stealth bomber. A key component of Team Ballydoyle's opening salvo, which is perhaps a touch light for them, he has to overcome a wide draw as well as a Newmarket Classic winner as he bids for edition number nine for Aidan O'Brien.

Galileo's influence, so longstanding here, is sadly confined on Tuesday to one of the yard's second division performers in Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) in the Listed Wolferton S., a kind of Princes of Wales's S. consolation prize. If his omnipotence has diminished with his reduced representation, then the opportunity is there for a new Coolmore figurehead to emerge. Wootton Bassett (GB) is doing just that at present and his son River Tiber (Ire) heads into a battle of the TDN Rising Stars in the G2 Coventry S. With George Boughey's Asadna (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}). The latter's scintillating time trial at Ripon put him into another dimension where his age group is concerned and recent Royal Ascots have proven how crucial the study of individual sectional time performances have been ahead of these tests.

Despite the Asadna effect, River Tiber has some of the best in the business already excited. As Ryan Moore discussed the operation's new 2-year-old sensation in his betfair blog, it felt almost like a warning. “Confidence is not a word I would use with so many similarly-unexposed promising two-year-olds in here, but I'll just say he is in very good shape for this,” he stated, which could translate as “watch which way he goes”.

Where the premier Royal Ascot sprints are concerned, 2023 marks a special anniversary with it being 20 years since the hemisphere-breaching revolution set in motion by Choisir (Aus). Prior to that moment, the idea of a strong Australasian, North American and Asian presence at this meeting was a flight of fancy, not the perennial certainty it is now. A barometer of how much respect overseas sprinters generate was evident again twelve months ago as Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) and Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) dominated the market for the G1 King's Stand S.

This year's renewal, which seems one for the fillies and mares, is not nearly so pre-destined for export with the Boadicea-like Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) standing firm. Not since Britain celebrated the likes of Habibti (Ire) in the 1980s has a sprinting mare captured the imagination as she did during her golden summer in 2022 and her task is to ward off the chief Antipodean challenger Coolangatta (Aus) (Written Tycoon {Aus}) here. United with Nature Strip's rider James McDonald, having gone the tried-and-trusted Lightning route, she is Australia's apparent flag-bearer. Then there is the seriously-fast TDN Rising Star Dramatised (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), who tries to do a “Lady Aurelia” for the Northern Hemisphere 3-year-old generation.

With all the subplots to a day at Royal Ascot, burning questions remain ahead of Tuesday's action. Will Irad Ortiz Jr be able to impose himself this year after a forgettable intro in 2022? Wesley Ward's Keeneland dynamo Fandom (GB) (Showcasing {GB})–the first horse to be double-entered this week having been confirmed for Wednesday's Listed Windsor Castle S.–and established sprinter Twilight Gleaming (Ire) (National Defense {GB}) can possibly help get him more into the Ascot groove. Can Amo Racing break their Royal meeting duck? The juvenile Bucanero Fuerte (GB), another Wootton Bassett owned in partnership with Giselle De Aguiar, is their first representative of the week in the Coventry. Can the pair of TDN Rising Stars Cicero's Gift (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) and Mostabshir (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) defy the inexperience gap and make their mark in the St James's Palace? Can Willie Mullins tighten his grip on the staying handicaps with the dual-purpose stars Bring On The Night (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) and Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB})? The latter is undoubtedly the classiest hurdler that his trainer has brought here and could conceivably have won Thursday's Gold Cup. Ryan Moore is on both supposed “good things” and a double on top of any earlier successes could see him stake an early claim for a landmark 10th leading rider title. With such firepower this week, what can stop him? Ah, yes. Frankie.

The post Royal Ascot: Inspiral Kicks Off Frankie’s Long Farewell appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Wootton Bassett’s River Tiber A New TDN Rising Star

Some TDN Rising Stars are marginal calls, but Ballydoyle's River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}–Transcendence {Ire}, by Arcano {Ire}) entered the “no-brainer” category at Navan on Saturday with a 10-length blitz of his rivals in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden. Always travelling strongly for Ryan Moore tracking the leader in the five-furlong 164 yards contest won by fellow TDN Rising Star and stablemate Aesop's Fables (Ire) (No Nay Never) 12 months ago, the 5-6 favourite was let loose approaching two out and devoured the uphill climb to the line to leave the well-fancied Ken Condon-trained Zona Verde (Ire) (Calyx {GB}) in his wake.

“His homework has been strong at home and it is great that he brought the same to the track,” stable representative Chris Armstrong said. “He's a lovely horse and you love everything about him–athletic, physical and a good mind. He's one that could go to the winners' race in Naas or maybe something like the Marble Hill at the Curragh, and then hopefully on to Ascot. Something like the Coventry.”

“He's very exciting and another nice horse hopefully for Wootton Bassett,” Armstrong added. “It is unfortunate the rain coming today, but Navan is a lovely track to start them. Aidan has brought a lot of good horses here before–we start them here and they have always progressed plenty from it. It is a lovely track and always well-presented. I suppose his class got him through, he travelled very strongly and when Ryan asked him to lengthen and pick up, the response was there immediately.”

River Tiber, who was a 480,000gns Book 1 purchase, is the fourth TDN Rising Star for Wootton Bassett with the promising 3-year-old colt Padishakh (Fr) also in his armoury for this season. He is the second foal and first winner for the unraced dam, a daughter of the Swedish listed winner Cover Girl (Ire) (Common Grounds {GB}) who produced the Listed Harry Rosebery S. scorer and G2 Flying Childers S. and G3 Molecomb S.-placed Mister Manannan (Ire) (Desert Style {Ire}) and his Luther Burbank H.-winning and G3 Cornwallis S. and GIII Senorita S.-placed full-sister Shermeen (Ire).

Shermeen is responsible for a trio who represented Coolmore in some form in the G1 Phoenix S. and G2 Railway S. winner and G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. runner-up Sudirman (Henrythenavigator), the G3 Hampton Court S. runner-up Roman Empire (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the latter's full-brother Star Of India (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who captured last year's Listed Dee S. and has gone on to add Australia's Listed Rosehill Gold Cup to his tally. Transcendence's yearling colt is by Mehmas (Ire).

https://twitter.com/i/status/1649766618837180416

 

1st-Navan, €16,000, Mdn, 4-22, 2yo, 5f 164yT, 1:19.59, sf.
RIVER TIBER (IRE), c, 2, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
     1st Dam: Transcendence (Ire), by Arcano (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Cover Girl (Ire), by Common Grounds (GB)
     3rd Dam: Peace Carrier (Ire), by Doulab
(480,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $10,550. O-Tabor/Smith/Magnier/Westerberg/Brant; B-Pier House Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

The post Wootton Bassett’s River Tiber A New TDN Rising Star appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights