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Gillon Bloodstock at Floors Castle to Launch in January

After the partial dispersal of the late Duke of Roxburghe’s Floors Stud, current stud manager Christopher Gillon will start Gillon Bloodstock @ Floors Castle which will utilise the property and formally begin on Jan. 1. An eight-year veteran of Floors Stud, the 37-year-old began as a stud hand and progressed to his current role. The Floors Stud facilities include a horse walker, lunge rings, turnout paddocks and the most amazing estate for hand walking yearlings. Gillon Bloodstock @ Floors Castle will be taking a limited number of boarding mares, weanlings and spellers. Next fall, Gillon Bloodstock will offer its own draft at all major yearling sales.

During Gillon’s tenure, the stud raised, produced and sold five individual seven-figure yearlings, including in 2020 the 2.1 million guineas Dubawi (Ire)-Cushion (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) yearling colt and the 1.1 million guineas Frankel (GB)-Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) yearling colt.

Ed Sackville who was bloodstock advisor to the late Duke and has worked closely with Gillon commented, “The success the stud enjoyed with this years October sales are a true testament to Chris’s ability and professionalism. I will certainly endeavour to continue to support Chris in his new venture.”

Simon Marsh whose Kiltinan Castle Stud sold the mares and foals on behalf of Floors at the December Sales added, “In all my dealings with Chris he has been thoroughly professional and his attention to detail is excellent as has been borne out through the sale of the yearlings this year as well as the mares and foals that were all prepared by him at the stud.”

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Longines HKIR Notebook: Inferno Out of the Sprint

Barree Stable’s Singapore-based Inferno (Aus) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) has been scratched from Sunday’s G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin after being found to be lame in his left front leg by Hong Kong Jockey Club veterinarians Tuesday.

Very little went as planned for Inferno on his trip over to Hong Kong. The air conditioning in the horse float that transported Inferno from Kranji Racecourse to Changi Airport about 30 minutes away broke down and the horse was subjected to the heat for three hours. He then had to endure the four-hour flight up to Hong Kong and making matters worse, connections were dealing with a foot issue in the 24 hours prior to departure. Inferno galloped well over the Sha Tin all-weather Monday morning, but the decision to come out of the Sprint was not a difficult one for trainer Cliff Brown.

“Inferno became distressed after the air-conditioning in his box broke down. He was melting in the heat at the airport for three hours,” Brown told the Singapore Turf Club’s Michael Lee. “Luckily, [Singapore Turf Club veterinary surgeon] Dr Dan Shaw and [assistant-trainer] Tony Lane were able to hose him down and sedate him as he was getting so upset.

“From the way the trip has unfolded, it was a really bad start, and once he arrived in Hong Kong, things got worse when he didn’t eat properly for three nights. To top all that, the day before he left, he had a small foot issue. I thought it would get right, and he actually cantered fine yesterday, his work was fine.

“But all in all, he was not coming right, and as I needed him to gallop tomorrow, I’ve decided to pull the pin early. We’re coming home. The horse already had this foot issue, and in hindsight, maybe I could have pulled the pin there and then,” Brown concluded.

Inferno is the winner of eight of his nine starts in Singapore, including an impressive score in the Lion City Cup Oct. 25. Hong Kong’s second leading rider Zac Purton now picks up the mount on Amazing Star (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}), who moved off the reserve list and into the field when Perfect Match (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) was taken out Monday. Also joining the field is Stronger (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}), who gives trainer Douglas Whyte a first runner at the HKIR.

Fast Work for Golden Sixty, Classique Legend…

A pair of locally based runners that will carry favourtism in their respective races put in some fast work over the turf course Tuesday.

Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d’Oro), who figures a warm choice in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile, went five furlongs on the turf and was allowed to roll through the final 400 metres, clocking a final sectional of :23.2 with regular rider Vincent Ho in the saddle.

“Both Vincent and me are pleased with his trackwork performance this morning,” said trainer Francis Lui, who saddled Lucky Bubbles (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}) to a runner-up effort in the 2016 Sprint, but is still in search of a maiden HKIR winner. “We will arrange him another gallop this Friday and that will be an easy work.”

Classique Legend (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}), last-out winner of The Everest at Randwick Oct. 17 and the likely choice in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint, was a modest third in a 1000-metre barrier trial last week, but looked to have improved from that after finishing 800 metres of work in :23.1 Tuesday morning.

“He had a nice half-mile gallop, he had a companion lead him out and he quickened up nice, he ran home in 23 (seconds) and he did it nice and easily,” said trainer Caspar Fownes. “Vincent Ho, who galloped him this morning, was very happy with him– he’s getting there now, he looks good–I can’t do any more with him.”

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Quartet of Lesters Nominations for Hollie Doyle

Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year Hollie Doyle, who is also a nominee for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, has been nominated for four Lesters Awards, leading all nominations. Seven Lesters are voted on by members of the Professional Jockeys Association, with the Flat Ride of the Year picked by Racing TV viewers and the Jump Ride of the Year selected by Sky Sports Racing Viewers. Polls have closed and all winners will be announced during a live show at 6 p.m. on Sky Sports Racing on Dec. 22.

Doyle, alongside partner Tom Marquand, champion jockey Oisin Murphy and William Buick are up for Flat Jockey of the Year. Her ride aboard Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in the G1 British Champions Sprint S., her first Group 1 win, is a nominee for Flat Ride of the Year; while she is also up for Female Jockey of the Year alongside Nicola Currie, Bridget Andrews and Megan Nicholls. Finally, Doyal is also nominated for the Flat Jockey Special Recognition Award with Joe Fanning, Robert Havlin and Paul Hanagan.

Champion Jumps jockey Brian Hughes, Richard Johnson, Aidan Coleman and Harry Cobden are in the running for Jump Jockey of the Year. The Jump Jockey Special Recognition Award’s nominees are Leighton Aspell, Adam Nicol, Wayne Hutchinson and Andrew Tinkler.

Dale Gibson, PJA executive director (Racing), said, “Like other awards ceremonies, we were unable to host a Lesters Awards ceremony due to the pandemic so we were delighted when Sky Sports Racing agreed to produce another Lesters special, as they did in 2019.

“Having been lucky enough to win two Lesters myself I know how much it means so on behalf of the PJA and our members, I would like to congratulate all of the nominees and wish them the very best of luck.”

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Longines IJC Gets HKIR Week Rolling

The Longines International Jockeys’ Championship, set for Wednesday evening at iconic Happy Valley Racecourse, marks the true start of Hong Kong International Races week, as 12 of the world’s top jockey’s compete for the HK$500,000 winner’s share of the HK$800,000 on offer. Though the crowds won’t be there, owing to an uptick in the number of COVID cases over the last few weeks, six locally based riders will face a half-dozen of their peers that have jetted in from Europe, with a revised format in the distribution of mounts that should make for a more level playing field.

Three of the six jockeys that will fly the flag for Hong Kong are past winners of the IJC, including Joao Moreira, who was based in Singapore when he defeated now arch-rival Zac Purton to scoop the top prize in 2012. There is a home-field advantage, the ‘Magic Man’ believes, but he is taking nothing for granted.

“There’s no doubt it’s going to be a very interesting jockeys’ challenge,” Moreira said. “I have no doubt local jockeys have the advantage of riding every day on the city track, but don’t forget these jockeys are coming over here, they are high quality jockeys and they are able to adapt very quickly, understand and pick up from everybody, even watching replays. Luck is going to play a lot of luck in this game.”

Among Moreira’s best chances should come in the second leg of the competition aboard Royal Racer (Aus) (Dreamscape {Aus}), whose three career victories have come around the city circuit and who was ridden by Moreira to a course-and-distance success Nov. 25.

Karis Teetan won his first HKIR race in 2018 when steering Mr Stunning (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) to victory in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint, and he defeated Ryan Moore to win last year’s IJC. The Mauritian is looking forward to defending his title and says his victory put added wind in his sails.

“I would say winning the challenge helped me even in Hong Kong, more owners have seen me on the big stage and trainers have noticed, even now and it’s a big challenge and of course to win it was something really special,” said Teetan, currently third in the local jockeys’ premiership behind Moreira (49) and Purton (28) with 25 winners.

Also representing Hong Kong are Neil Callan, Vincent Ho and Alexis Badel.

Moore, who rides Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in Sunday’s G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase and Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup, looks to add to his 2010 IJC title and is joined by the in-form duo of Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle. The latter has landed one of the plum rides in any of the four IJC legs, as she was selected at random to guide the David Hayes-trained Harmony N Blessed (Aus) (Magnus {Aus}) in the final race of the series. The 4-year-old led every step of the way to break his maiden at first asking as the $2.50 (3-2) favourite going 1200 metres at Sha Tin Nov. 22.

The remaining visiting riders include Mickael Barzalona, two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Pierre-Charles Boudot and William Buick.

The Wednesday program at Happy Valley commences at 6.30pm local time (10.30am BST, 5.30am US Eastern time) with the first of the IJC races set to jump at 8.10. Click for the HKJC form guide.

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