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Classic Hope Vespertilio Put Forward To Fill Jannah Rose Void By Al Shira’aa

Al Shira'aa boss Kieran Lalor has admitted that it will be hard to top last season's achievements in winning the G1 Prix Saint-Alary with Jannah Rose (Ire) but nominated the Willie McCreery-trained Group 2 scorer Vespertilio (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) as being the operation's best chance of delivering big-race riches in 2024.

Meanwhile, the decision has been made to retire the powerful owner-breeder's flagship performer Jannah Rose, with a visit to superstar stallion Dubawi (Ire) pencilled in for the four-year-old this spring.

Lalor explained how retiring the Group 1-winning daughter of Frankel (GB) became one of the most difficult decisions he has faced as racing and bloodstock manager at Al Shira'aa but said the outfit still has so much to look forward to on the racetrack this season with Vespertilio primed to lead the team into battle.

He said, “Jannah Rose has been retired. We made that decision in mid-January and I tell you, it was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make. Generally speaking, our fillies race on as four- and five-year-olds if they are sound but, aside from Mutamakina (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), she's our only Group 1 winner and is very important to us.

“Not only that, but Dubawi is not getting any younger so we thought it was the right time to retire her. She's our first European Group 1 winner and has a very exciting future as a broodmare.”

Casting his mind back to that Saint-Alary victory, Lalor simply said, “Unbelievable. A day I will never forget. The fact that it was her first Group 1, it was very, very exciting. I remember being in Toronto for Mutamakina's EP Taylor. I was on my own and there wasn't another soul in the place because it took place during Covid. So, while that was our first Grade I, it was quite a lonesome celebration. We had some celebration after the Saint-Alary, though.”

Kieran Lalor with Jannah Rose's breeder John Hayes at Longchamp | Emma Berry

Vespertilio showed rare brilliance when coming from last to first in the matter of a few seconds to win the G2 Debutante S. at the Curragh last season. McCreery's ace performer followed up on that victory with a game second to Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) in the G1 Moyglare S. at the Irish Champions Festival, with the pair pulling well clear of their challengers.

Lalor says that he is optimistic that Vespertilio can confirm herself a top-notch filly in the making this season and nominated the Irish 1,000 Guineas as her most likely destination before explaining why she may not need a prep for the race.

He said, “The way she won the Debutante was extremely impressive. She was so relaxed at the rear of the field and, without being insulting, made everything else in the race appear ordinary by the way that she quickened up past them in the finish.”

Lalor added, “She's so chilled out. Even in her training, she just drops her head and trucks along-she wouldn't jump out at you in her training. That's why we think she could go straight to a Guineas rather than taking in a trial. It will be ground depending. I think she likes a bit of fast ground, at least a bit of good anyway, so she could go straight to either the French or the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

“She's obviously French-bred so there's definitely an attraction to that. But on the other hand, she loves the Curragh, and that would appear to be her main target at the moment. You know, that would be a safer bet as it's on home soil and it's essentially a trip across the road compared to travelling over to France.”

It is not the policy of the powerful owner-breeder Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan to race the colts that come through the system but, when Atlantic Coast (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) kicked a wall and was therefore forced to miss the Goffs Orby Sale in 2022, he was put into training with Joseph O'Brien. It has turned out to be for luck with the dual winner, including at Group 3 level, on course to take in the Irish or French 2,000 Guineas this season.

Lalor said, “Atlantic Coast is doing great. He ran very well on Irish Champions Weekend when third behind Diego Velazquez (Ire) (Frankel {GB}, who could be anything, before winning the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes at Leopardstown. We're looking at either the French or Irish 2,000 Guineas and he can handle a bit of cut in the ground. He'll probably go for a prep beforehand.”

High-class older filly Ocean Jewel (Ire) (Sioux Nation) looks set to be on her travels, with top-flight races in America pencilled in for the Group 3 winner, with Lalor explaining that there are 13 two-year-olds that will be added to the system this year.

He said, “Ocean Jewel could run on the opening day at the Curragh but Willie and I have spoken about racing her in America where you are guaranteed nice ground. She's developed into a lovely filly and is from a very good family. I think she will get the mile pretty easily and we'd love to win a Group 1 with her.”

On the youngsters, he added, “We have 13 two-year-olds and shopped the sales pretty hard last year. It was a very difficult sales season and we might have ended the year as the champion underbidder! We bought five lovely fillies who will add to the nice group of homebreds that we will be putting into training. We're trying mostly to focus on those Classic types and, while we haven't picked trainers for the youngsters yet, we have some lovely types.

“We have the American Pharoah half-sister to Onesto (Ire), the Wootton Bassett (GB) out of a sister to Saxon Warrior (Jpn), the Siyouni (Fr) half-sister to Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and the Sea The Stars (Ire) filly out of Jumooh (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) and then we have a blast of our own homebreds who we are very excited about as well.”

Al Shira'aa has quickly established itself as a leading international player. The modus operandi is quality over quantity and, in a week where a host of Classic plans have been hatched for some of the less-exposed fillies in training in France and decisions made to send some of the more ground-dependant runners to continue their careers stateside, there seems to be unparalleled levels of excitement building for the upcoming campaign even in the absence of the star performer Jannah Rose.

Lalor said, “We've Saadiyat (Ire), a lovely Lope De Vega (Ire) filly who is a sister to Broome (Ire), Point Lonsdale (Ire) and Diego Velazquez, who was with Carlos Laffon-Parias last year. She is going to head out to America this year to Christophe Clement. Foxtrot Zulu (Ire), a Saxon Warrior half-sister to Going Global (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), is going to join Christophe as well. I think they will prefer the ground out there.”

He added, “And then we have Rumi's sister Jannah Pearl (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}) who is entered for the French Oaks. She is yet to run but we're not too far away with her. The Siyouni (Fr) half-sister to Native Trail (GB), named Native Pearl (Fr), is actually a very good filly. We ran her once last year on bottomless ground and that was a mistake. She is a much better filly than that and will be entered in the French 1,000 Guineas and the French Oaks.

“A filly we have a lot of hope for this year is [Waldgeist's half-sister] Caelestis (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). She's a filly who has just taken a bit of time mentally but she's won her maiden we're hoping for some good black-type from her this year. It's going to be very hard to match the achievements of last year but God loves a dreamer.”

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Final Day Of The White Turf Meeting Cancelled At St Moritz On Sunday

The final day of the White Turf meeting at St. Moritz has been cancelled, the Rennverein St. Moritz announced on Friday.

The statement read, “Due to the current weather conditions and the resulting condition of the racecourse, the Rennverein St. Moritz has decided with a heavy heart to cancel all races this coming Sunday, 18 of February. This decision was taken by the board of the Rennverein St. Moritz in close consultation with See-Infra AG as well as partners and sponsors. The event site will remain open on both days and admission is free of charge.”

There was a track inspection on Friday via drone that revealed various cracks and damp patches that had not frozen overnight. As a result, racing on Sunday–featuring the crown jewel of St. Moritz, the Grosser Preis von St. Moritz, was cancelled and Saturday's Family Day was held with a reduced programme. For more information, please visit the White Turf website.

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Learning to Thrive

We all have days when we feel a bit low or even depressed. For many people that feeling will pass, but for some it can persist to a point where it becomes overwhelming and perhaps life-threatening.

For Keith Haggins, the latter had become the norm towards the end of his 30-year stint working in the bloodstock business, leading him, eventually, to seek help. As is becoming better known and more openly talked about in everyday life, help with mental health struggles is now fairly widely available and comes in a variety of formats. What works for some may not be so beneficial for others.

Haggins was not so keen on the idea of therapy in its traditional counselling format, but happened upon an eight-week online course called the Thrive Programme. Its website promises “a totally fresh approach to achieving lasting happiness, health and success” through focusing on managing thoughts, emotions and behaviour.

Sounds too good to be true, right? This is what Haggins thought initially too, but he found the course so beneficial to his own situation that he left stud work to retrain as a coach on the programme in the hope of helping others.

“I must emphasise how much I loved working in the industry and I want to pay something back to an industry that has given me so much,” he says, while admitting that there is plenty about the racing and breeding business that he misses.

“I worked in the industry for 30 years and then retrained as a Thrive coach, but I'm still absolutely passionate about everything horsey and the whole industry, not just the horse side, the agricultural side. That's obviously a huge part of it.”

The Irishman, who now lives in Sussex, England, worked at Kildangan Stud and then spent six years assisting Jacqueline Norris before moving to the UK, where he later worked as manager of the late Lady Rothschild's Waddesdon Stud.

He says, “A few years ago I struggled with my mental health and found myself in a deep dark hole for a while and that's when I discovered the Thrive Programme. There's some incredible support out there and some great help, but it seems to be geared for people who are in crisis or who are in the depths of depression, feeling suicidal, suffering from drug addiction or whatever it is. The message is 'when you get to that point, give us a shout and we'll help you'.

“But the Thrive Programme is based on learning and education, developing a skill set, so to speak. You don't need to be very academic to understand the programme as it is delivered in a simple way, it strips away all the complex terms we so often hear and delivers it in plain English. You also don't need to be in trouble to do it. You don't need to have a major significant issue going on in your life right now.”

One of the hardest parts of seeking help if you are struggling is having to admit the fact to those around you. Thrive makes it easier in that regard as the course can be completed at home and doesn't requite participants to be off work or travel to appointments.

“Asking for help is the hardest part, because that's the day you have to accept the fact that something's not quite right,” says Haggins. “That's difficult for a lot of people to get to that point. What drew me to the Thrive Programme is it's not therapy, it's not counselling. It's a training programme and it's structured with a start and middle and an end. And you can either do it at home on your own or with a coach, and then you become your own coach effectively, or whatever you want to call yourself at that point, but you learn the skills you need to do it yourself.”

Through years of experience, Haggins recognises the specific pressures involved in working with horses.

“It's not a nine-to-five, 40-hour-a-week job, especially at management level,” he says. “To be able to fulfil that role and have quality of life when that life revolves around the stud season can be hard. The calendar is very unsocial for parents, impossible really, sometimes. When the children are off on holidays, it's sales, preparation, and so on. And it is a never-ending cycle of, 'I can't go in October half-term because we're in Book 1, Book two. I can't go at Easter because we're foaling.'

“I know the industry, and when somebody comes to me and tells me about their struggles or battles, it's not that I understand it, I've walked in those shoes.

“People have said, 'Why did you give up on that industry?' I did it for 30 years. I don't think I gave up, really. That's a full lifetime career.”

The next stage of Haggins's career is vastly different, but through his more recent experiences he hopes to be able to help those still working in the racing and breeding industry.

“The Thrive Programme is already established in the Metropolitan Police, in a couple of leading companies, and it's in many schools up and down the country,” he explains. “I'd love to see it available to kids in the likes of the racing schools to National Stud courses, and any other training establishment where people can benefit from it. I don't want to appeal just to people in crisis. I want to appeal to everybody.

“It can be tailored to any individual or groups in a variety of different ways. It's a lot of questioning, a lot of understanding. Where did that come from? Why do you think that or how could you think that differently? And when people start talking about that, it can inspire others.

“People don't tend to look for help until something's wrong but making this something that people can come across and do when things are good, it's much better. But obviously it is also there for people when they are struggling.”

The learning-based approach was what drew Haggins to the Thrive Programme initially, and in a time in which mental health is spoken about almost as frequently as physical health, then this is perhaps as important as educating people in the benefits of eating your five-a-day, or why too much sugar is bad for you.

“For me, that's how the world works,” he says. “Life is a journey of learning, and what I learned by doing the Thrive Programme is what got me better and got me to the point I'm at now where life is amazing.”

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Newly Upgraded Amir Trophy Attracts Deepest-Ever Field

Officials at the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club announced in early 2023 that the purse for the country's richest Thoroughbred test, the H.H. The Amir Trophy, would be receiving a boost from an even $1-million to $2.5 million. A strong renewal won by the Hong Kong-based former Ballydoyle galloper Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) helped to ensure that the 2400-metre contest would be accorded Group 3 status for the 2024 running, and the Amir Trophy has accordingly attracted the most competitive field in the history of the race.

Shadwell's Israr (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}) will take a fair bit of beating for John and Thady Gosden as he ventures to the Middle East for the second time in the space of the last few months. Having claimed the scalp of Derby hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G2 Princess of Wales's S. on Newmarket's July Course last summer, the homebred son of Taghrooda (GB) (Sea The Stars {GB}) was sent to Bahrain for the G2 Bahrain International Trophy Nov. 17, running with credit to finish runner-up behind the classy Spirit Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and just ahead of Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who re-opposes Saturday.

Simca Mille (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) is one of three elite-level scorers in the Amir Trophy field, having broken through with a half-length defeat of Sisfahan (Fr) (Isfahan {Ger}) in the Grosser Preis von Berlin last August. A midfield 10th behind Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Oct. 1, the chestnut was acquired privately by Wathnan Racing and prepped for this with a fast-finishing defeat of the commonly owned Haunted Dream (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) over 2200 metres Jan. 20. Mickael Barzalona takes the ride for Alban de Mieulle, while Oisin Murphy has the call aboard Haunted Dream.

Zeffiro (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is one of three in the race for Japan and has Joao Moreira in the saddle, who partnered the bay to a victory in the G2 Copa Republica Argentina over an extended mile and a half at Tokyo in November. Damian Lane was at the controls when Zeffiro ran Junko (GB) (Intello {Ger}) to a length in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase in December. Yuga Kawada rides dual Group 2 winner Satono Glanz (Jpn) (Satono Diamond {Jpn}) and multiple group scorer North Bridge (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) will have Yasunari Iwata in the irons.

Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) makes the short trip over from Dubai for Charlie Appleby. The 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Turf hero was well held by Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in last year's G1 Dubai Sheema Classic after an interrupted preparation, but he was back to something approaching his best form when taking out the Listed Wild Flower S. over the Kempton all-weather Dec. 13. Godolphin is also represented by the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Passion And Glory (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), a latest sixth in listed company in Bahrain behind Isle of Jura (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), a repeat winner at Sakhir on Friday.

The final day of the Amir Sword Festival has five Thoroughbred races with a combined $4.2 million and three races for Purebred Arabians. The Amir Trophy, the seventh the program at Al Rayyan Racecourse, jumps at 4.15pm local time (UTC +3). Noted commentator Mark Johnson will provide English race calls.

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