Tag: Shared News Europe

G60 Scores Four at Longines HKIR Barrier Draw

Two-time reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) was allotted barrier four in a field of 10 mile specialists from Japan and Australia in addition to the locals as he shoots to equal the record of Good Ba Ba (Lear Fan) with a third consecutive victory in Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Winner under a five-pound penalty of the G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Mile when making his seasonal debut three weeks ago, the 7-year-old has won 22 of his 25 starts to date for record Hong Kong earnings of over HK$116 million. With his chief rival California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) expected to make the running from gate two and with a pair of get-back runners in Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}) and 2021 runner-up More Than This (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) drawn one and three, respectively, Vincent Ho should be able to pick his spot and let Golden Sixty do the talking late.

“I got what I wanted,” trainer Francis Lui told South China Morning Post. “He can sit midfield and stay out of trouble. [Golden Sixty] is ready.”

On an afternoon where some HK$110 million is on offer, the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup over the metric mile and a quarter is the day's richest at HK$34 million, not to mention the most interesting from a tactical standpoint. Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) is one of four in the race for Japan and landed the eight hole, with trainer Yoshito Yahagi assuring that the dead-heat winner of this year's G1 Dubai Turf will not be difficult to find.

“I don't care about the barrier draw because I know one thing–he will go to the front,” the colourful Yahagi, conditioner of last year's Cup heroine Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), told the Post.

 

 

 

His compatriot Jack d'Or (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), whose sire won both a Hong Kong Mile (2015) and Hong Kong Cup (2016), could make things at least a bit tricky, as he may be ridden for speed by Yutaka Take from his low draw in two. The once-beaten Hong Kong rising star Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and James McDonald leave from barrier seven in what is clearly his toughest task to date.

For obvious reasons, double-digit alleys are not preferred in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint, and gate 10 is not ideal for reigning champion sprinter Wellington (Aus) (All Too Hard {Aus}), though trainer Richard Gibson was taking it in his stride.

“Wellington, I'm pretty relaxed. He'll be finishing off from that draw, and that's maybe his forte. We're short of options. I haven't even spoken to Ryan [Moore], but at first glance, that's what we'll be doing,” he told SCMP.

Ryan Moore, who subs for the injured Alexis Badel, won the 2020 Sprint from the riverside draw aboard Danon Smash (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Conversely, the up-and-coming Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse {Aus}) saw his already-strong hand fortified when landing a cosy slot in three.

Half of the field of 10 signed on for the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase has shipped in from Europe, led by recent GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf runner-up Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Half of an Aidan O'Brien-trained duo, the 3-year-old breaks from the inside stall and he should find himself in a race that is often times run at a crawl. Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) carries Yutaka Take from gate six, while Mendocino (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}, gate 7) and Bubble Gift (Fr) (Nathaniel {Ire}, gate 6) and Godolphin's Botanik (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}, gate 5) have earned their right to tackle the race. Glory Vase (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) tries to make some history of his own as he goes for a third Vase in four years and second in a row and carries Joao Moreira from the four.

 

 

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Bahrain Turf Series Returns On Dec. 9

The second edition of the Bahrain Turf series, worth £650,000, will begin on Friday, Dec. 9. A total of 19 European horses have shipped in for the series, which pits international challengers against locally trained horses across 10 races divided between Pot A (sprinters) and Pot B (nine-to 10 furlong horses). After the Turf Series concludes, points are added and the owner of the leading horse in each category will earn a £15,000 bonus, and the trainer will receive a £10,000 bonus. The 10-furlong Al Muharraq Cup and the five-furlong Al Manama Cup will both be run on Friday. Open to horses rated between 85 and 100, the Turf Series has attracted the likes of Group 3 winner Marie's Diamond (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) from the yard of Roger Fell in the former, and the stakes-placed  King Of Stars (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) for Mick Appleby is one of several Europeans signed on for the latter. For the full fields and more information, please visit the Bahrain Turf Club website.

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Kayf Tara: A Personal Appreciation of an Old Favourite 

One of the hardest parts of being an animal owner is knowing that our beloved companions are likely to die before us. The death of a famous racehorse provides a different kind of gut punch but it is no less palpable for racing tragics – and within that group I include most TDN readers. 

To love this sport, it is inevitable that certain horses, usually unconnected to us and varied in their levels of greatness, have particular resonance in our lives. For me, Kayf Tara (GB) was one of them, and in his day he was just about as great as they come.

Born at Meon Valley Stud the year after his brother Opera House (GB) won three of the best Group 1 races of the British summer, it was no surprise that Kayf Tara also ended up in Sheikh Mohammed's ownership. But there was no guarantee that he would end up as good, despite the fact that he was by Sadler's Wells and a member of Reprocolor (GB)'s burgeoning family.

The form book now relates that he dazzled in a different way, in all the major staying races, but with a profile that would always make him a hard sell at stud, to Flat breeders at least. It was to the good fortune of British National Hunt breeding that Kayf Tara's retirement coincided with Simon Sweeting taking on Overbury Stud with a mind to starting up a stallion business of his own. Sweeting's own good luck came in the form of Sheikh Mohammed deciding to send him the horse to stand among the Cotswold hills in proper jumping territory. That luck endured as his owner continued to rebuff offers for the horse from across the Irish Sea as his prowess in that sphere started to become apparent. 

Not all breeders loved Kayf Tara instantly though. They criticised his hind leg, and the fact that he remained lithe and a little angular throughout his life perhaps didn't help his cause, but I loved the fact that you could always see the racehorse within, the supreme athlete that he once was. 

In Kayf Tara's early days at Overbury, Sweeting, a former assistant to Henry Cecil, would ride him around the farm. I became a little closer to one of my favourites when I went to work for Darley in 2003. Sure, I had Singspiel (Ire), Machiavellian and Fantastic Light to gaze upon at Dalham Hall but the equine rock star I really wanted to hang out with was Kayf Tara, so I found various excuses for trips to Overbury from Newmarket. Even after moving on from Darley, I never really moved on from Kayf Tara, and Simon and his wife Lara have had to put up with umpteen visits from me over the years, occasionally with a mare in tow, usually with a camera over my shoulder, always with a detour to the biggest box in the corner of their lovely main yard to pay my respects to the stud's most important resident.

I know I'm not the only one who thinks of him as that. Simon, Jo, Dan, and all the team there will feel his absence the most and have no doubts as to his importance in establishing Overbury Stud as a stallion farm of note. Breeders great and small have been helped by Kayf Tara, one of the few British jump stallions who could lure mares from Ireland. Regrettably, the only foal I have ever had die at birth was by him. Superstition and utter stupidity prevented me from sending the mare back that season. 

As his reputation as a stallion grew and more people started taking him seriously, every major winner by Kayf Tara somehow felt like a small personal triumph, however stupid it may sound. I cheered for them as if I owned them myself, and none more loudly than the wonderful Carruthers, bred by one of the greatest human heroes of the turf, Lord Oaksey. Clearly I played no part in Kayf Tara's success: that is all his own and down to the people who worked alongside him throughout his 20 years of active service at Overbury. I just didn't want to hear a bad word about him, and soon enough there wasn't.

It was an immense privilege to be able to see him so frequently throughout his decades at Overbury Stud, especially one last time in September. New boy Golden Horn (GB) was supposed to be the star of the show that day at a special parade to introduce him to breeders, but there was always one brighter star there while Kayf Tara lived and the old boy drew an appreciative round of applause as he too had his moment in the spotlight, even in retirement.

That Kayf Tara should have gone quietly at such an advanced age, in the first proper cold snap of winter, on a beautiful bright morning in the paddock that has been his home for so many a year is the way we should wish for all horses to leave, even though we wish they never had to leave us at all.  

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Alex Eade Named Large Independent Racecourses Secretary General

Alex Eade has been named the successor to Charles Barnett as the next Secretary General of the Large Independent Racecourses. Barnett is due to retire after six years in the post. Eade begins his new role in the new year and has previously been General Manager at Goodwood Racecourse for five years (2015-2019). He also spent six years at Betfair, latterly as Director of Sporting Affairs. Eade is currently Group Commercial Director at Lloyd Webber Theatres, Ltd.

Bridget Guerin, Chairman of York Racecourse, said, “Firstly, I would like to thank and pay tribute to Charles Barnett, who has undertaken the role of Large Independents Secretary General since 2016 as part of a distinguished career of service to the sport. On behalf of the Large Independent Racecourses, I would like to welcome Alex to the role. Following an extensive process which included excellent candidates, Alex's combination of racing, betting and commercial experience and passion for the sport shone through.”

Eade added, “I have been a racing fan since childhood and thoroughly enjoyed working within this fabulous sport during my time at Goodwood. I am therefore absolutely delighted to be returning and honoured to be taking up this role.”

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