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German Freshman Champion Isfahan To Stand At €4,500

Dr Stefan Oschmann, owner of Isfahan (Ger), Germany’s champion first-season sire of 2020, has announced that the son of Lord Of England (Ger) will stand for €4,500 next year.

The winner of the G1 Deutsches Derby in 2016 for Oschmann’s Darius Racing when trained by Andreas Wohler, Isfahan stands at Gestut Ohlerweiherhof. From his 10 first-crop runners he was represented by five winners, including Isfahani (Ger), who landed the G3 Premio Guido Berardelli in Rome on her debut for Henk Grewe.

Dr Oschmann remarked, “It was a very good first season for Isfahan. In addition to being champion first-season sire, he was also leading sire of 2-year-olds by domestic and international winnings of all stallions in Germany.”

He added, “Isfahan was a Derby winner and the focus of his offspring is actually on the Classic campaign for 3-year-olds, so it is very encouraging that he got off to a good start with his 2-year-olds. His sire Lord of England is a stalwart among German stallions and his grandsire Dashing Blade was a multiple champion sire in Germany. Now Isfahan has also won a championship.”

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Arqana Autumn Closes With National Hunt Yearlings

National Hunt yearlings were in the spotlight during the third and final session of the Arqana Autumn Sale on Wednesday, and colts by Doctor Dino (Fr) and Martaline (Fr) filled the top five spots on the leaderboard. Topping trade was lot 708, Haras de l’Hotellerie’s half-brother to listed winner Joplin (Fr) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) on the flat and Thyme White (Fr) (Anodin) over jumps. He was bought by JH Bloodstock for €97,000.

Haras de Montaigu’s Martaline colt out of the dual winner Best Exit (Fr) (King’s Best) (lot 648) was picked up by BLM Bloodstock for €87,000, while another colt from Hotellerie (lot 743) by Martaline cost Saubouas Bloodstock €80,000.

The three-day Arqana Autumn sale saw horses-in-training-a mix of flat and National Hunt-as well as stores and National Hunt yearlings go under the hammer in Arqana’s Deauville main yard parade ring. Tweaking of the sale format due to various COVID-19 protocols mean that year-on-year comparisons are difficult for the Autumn Sale, but nonetheless 482 horses were offered from 558 catalogued this week, with 333 (69%) finding new homes. The aggregate was €7,955,000, the average €23,889 and the median €14,000.

The two days of the sale reserved for National Hunt youngstock (2-year-old stores and yearlings) ended with a contraction in that market of around 30% from 2019 to 2020, with the aggregate from those sessions dropping from almost €7-million to €5-million. Arqana’s Eric Hoyeau and Freddy Powell said in a statement, “The percentage of horses sold was a little more resilient in the yearling session than in the store section. Nevertheless, we can’t ignore the contraction in demand for young National Hunt prospects, partly due to the health crisis currently affecting the world. New faces, notably Irish, have appeared among buyers, but this has not made up for the absence of major players in the market.”

Selling continues in Deauville on Thursday with the single-session National Hunt Breeding Stock Sale.

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Half-Dozen Riders to Fly European Flag in IJC

Six European-based jockeys will square off against a half-dozen Hong Kong-based riders in the Longines International Jockeys’ Championship at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley Racecourse Wednesday, Dec. 9. Carrying prizemoney of HK$800,000 (£77,666/€86,943)–with a first prize of HK$500,000–the IJC is the most lucrative jockey competition in the world.

The foreign contingent is led by the duo of Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle, aged 22 and 24, respectively, and each of whom has celebrated a breakout season in 2020. Among Marquand’s successes this season include the G1 QIPCO British Champion S. aboard Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), whom he also piloted to victories in the G1 Ranvet S. and G1 Longines Queen Elizabeth S. in Sydney. Doyle is set to become just the third female participant in the IJC, joining Chantal Sutherland and Emma-Jayne Wilson, and posted 129 victories this season, most ever for a female jockey in Britain. She earned a breakthrough Group 1 success on Champions Day, winning the G1 British Champions Sprint aboard Glen Shiel (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}).

Ryan Moore, a two-time IJC winner, and William Buick will make the trip to Hong Kong to represent, Britain, while France’s Pierre-Charles Boudot, winner of two races at this month’s Breeders’ Cup meeting at Keeneland, and perennial leading jockey Mickael Barzalona are also set to participate.

The home team, which number six this season instead of the usual four, is led by Joao Moreira and Zac Purton, the top two in the 2020/2021 jockeys’ premiership; defending IJC champion Karis Teetan; and Vincent Ho, who looks to have a pair of live mounts in the Longines Hong Kong International Races Dec. 13. The final two representatives will be announced following the Happy Valley meeting Nov. 25.

Visiting jockeys will undergo multiple COVID-19 tests prior to their arrival in Hong Kong and will go straight into their designated accommodations with strict quarantine protocols in place. They will also be under continuous medical surveillance by the Club’s Chief Medical Office–including daily COVID-19 tests and twice daily temperature checks–and on IJC night at Happy Valley, the visiting riders will occupy a separate jockeys’ rooms away from the Hong Kong-based riders.

In an effort to ensure that no rider draws a book of rides that is either too strong or too weak, the Hong Kong Jockey Club will employ a system whereby a group of handicappers will assess each of the runners before knowing the riding assignments and will render a final opinion following the IJC barrier draw Monday, Dec. 7.

The HKJC is also allocating HK$350,000 to award the trainers whose horses accumulate the most points in an effort to encourage their participation.

“The Hong Kong Jockey Club has succeeded again in putting together an outstanding cast of riders and we are looking forward to a great night of sport set against the backdrop of one of the most iconic racecourses in the world,” said Andrew Harding, Executive Director, Racing, for the HKJC. “We are so pleased that, with strict protocols in place, the event can be a truly international occasion. The prize money increases, which make this year’s edition the richest yet, further reinforcing the prestige associated with the event.”

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Johnson Hopes To Get Sports Crowds Back ‘As Soon As Possible’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs on Wednesday that he hopes to get fans back into sporting venues “as soon as possible” after reports emerged on Tuesday that the government was exploring having spectators return to venues by Christmas in areas with the lowest COVID-19 infection rates.

With the exception of trial events at Doncaster and Warwick in September-with the former having been cut short due to rising infection rates in the area-racing has been staged behind closed doors since its resumption on June 1. Goodwood and Newmarket had also been set to stage pilot events for the return of crowds in August and September, but those events were subsequently cancelled.

A BHA spokesperson said on Wednesday, “We remain in ongoing liaison with [the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] regarding the return of spectators to sporting events, both through direct routes and racing’s seat on the ‘major sports’ group which supports the work of the Sports Technology and Innovation Group. We are currently awaiting further clarity from DCMS on the situation, though we are of course aware that this will be a cross-Governmental decision.”

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