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Ryan Moore: “I Think We’ll See A Better Version Of Luxembourg On Saturday”

Ryan Moore has admitted that G1 French Derby and G1 Coral-Eclipse winner Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) sets the standard in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S. at Leopardstown on Saturday but warned that Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) should not be underestimated in the feature race of Longines Irish Champions Weekend.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Luxembourg got his season off to a promising start when third in the G1 2000 Guineas, but suffered a setback in the build-up to the Derby. He won in workmanlike fashion on his return from a 105-day absence in a Curragh Group 3 last month, but Moore is predicting a world of improvement from that effort on Saturday at Leopardstown.

Speaking on a Zoom call organised by Horse Racing Ireland on Tuesday morning, Moore said, “It obviously hasn't been a straightforward year for him. He had a lovely 2-year-old career and ran a big race in the 2000 Guineas. Unfortunately, he wasn't right after that race.”

Moore has won the G1 Irish Champion S. three times–St Mark's Basilica (Fr) last year, Magical (Ire) in 2019 and The Grey Gatsby (Ire) in 2014–while Aidan O'Brien is the most successful trainer in the history of the race with 10 wins. The number one rider at Ballydoyle believes Luxembourg has what it takes to bolster that record on Saturday.

He said, “Luxembourg needed his run at the Curragh last month and he got the job done. We are hopeful that he'll come forward from that and a-mile-and-a-quarter around Leopardstown with a bit of rain around, I don't think that will be a problem.

“He obviously needs to improve on what he has done this year but I think we'll see a better version of Luxembourg on Saturday.

“It was his first run for a while and he still felt a bit raw [at the Curragh]. He picked up very well, he was a bit idle in front but, when the second horse came to me, he found plenty. It was a good starting point.”

Vadeni heads the market for Saturday's showpiece at odds of 6-4. Trained by Jean Claude-Rouget, who snared the Irish Champion S. with Almanzor (Fr) in 2016, Vadeni has gone from strength to strength this season, building on his French Derby win with a victory against the older horses in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown back in July. Moore admits that form is just about the best on show and respects the French raider.

He said, “He's obviously improved a lot since he stepped into the French Derby and then beat the older horses in the Eclipse. He's probably entitled to be favourite but maybe Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) was a bit unfortunate at Sandown. But Vadeni is still open to improvement and obviously Jean-Claude Rouget targets this race.”

Moore and O'Brien also have leading claims of landing the G1 Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron S. at Leopardstown on Saturday with Tenebrism (Caravaggio). A Group 1 winner at two and three, Tenebrism is set to take on G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and multiple Group 1 winner Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}).

The rider said, “Tenebrism is still a 3-year-old filly, still getting better so I'm sure she'll run a good race. A mile around a bend might suit her better, that's what we'd be hoping. She was still a little bit green when she went to Ascot but the last day (when second to Saffron Beach at Deauville) didn't quite go as smoothly as I would have liked.”

Sunday revolves around G1 Gold Cup winner Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Irish St Leger while Moore can also look forward to Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. and the unbeaten Aesop's Fables (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S.

He said, “Aesop's Fables is one I've always liked. He started off early at Navan, he won comfortably but unfortunately he had a minor setback and we couldn't get a run into him before the Futurity.

“I think the whole weekend is great racing, it's in a really nice place in the calendar. I'm lucky to be a part of it, hopefully it will get stronger.”

Moore added, “I'm very lucky to ride for Aidan. Aidan says it himself, it's the whole team at Coolmore and Ballydoyle that make the whole thing possible. It's the hard work of everyone involved in the operation that makes the success possible.

“They have great owners who put a lot of time, money and effort into it and it's a privilege to ride for them for quite a few years now. I'm very thankful for the opportunity they've given me.”

A cloud hangs over the Irish racing community following the death of Jack de Bromhead, the 13-year-old son of Henry and Heather de Bromhead, who was killed in a freak fall at Glenbeigh horse and pony races on Saturday.

Moore acknowledged that the de Bromhead family will be in everyone's thoughts on Irish Champions Weekend and offered his condolences to all concerned.

He said, “It's the most terrible news. I am struggling to get my head around it to be honest. There are no good words to describe what Henry, Heather and Jack's siblings must be going through. I can only just send them my best. It doesn't get any worse than what they must be going through.”

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Advertise and Aclaim Leave National Stud for Manton

Young stallions Advertise (GB) and Aclaim (Ire) will leave the National Stud to stand at Martyn Meade's Manton Park Stud from the 2023 covering season.

The G1 Prix de la Foret winner Aclaim has made a successful start to his stud career, and was represented by a Classic winner from his first crop when the George Boughey-trained Cachet (Ire) won the 1,000 Guineas.

Advertise, who was trained, like Aclaim, by Meade, was a Group 1-winning sprinter in three different countries and has his first yearlings at the sales this autumn.

“We would like to thank the team at The National Stud for their energy and commitment to Advertise and Aclaim since the start of their stallion careers,” said Meade. “It has been an ambition for these two horses to return to Manton ever since they were trained here and we are now in a position to welcome them home to continue their time at stud.”

National Stud CEO Anna Kerr added, “The National Stud is delighted to have launched the careers of two such exciting young stallions, it has been very rewarding for the whole team to see what a strong start both Aclaim and Advertise have made to their stud careers. They both have bright futures ahead of them and we wish them every success at Manton Park.”

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Homeless Songs “The Most Important One” For Moyglare On ICW

Slap bang in its 60th year, Moyglare Stud has come up trumps with Homeless Songs, one of the most impressive Irish 1,000 Guineas winners of the modern era, who is on course to run in Saturday's G1 Coolmore America “Justify” Matron S. at Leopardstown.

The stud also has Irish St Leger hotpot Kyprios (Ire) Galileo (Ire), Blandford S. hope Trevaunance (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) and Boomerang Mile contender Just Beautiful (GB) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) to look forward to on Irish Champions Weekend but, according to Moyglare's Fiona Craig, Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) is the one that matters most.

“Homeless Songs is the most important one and we're keeping our fingers crossed that there's enough rain so that she can run on Saturday,” Craig said on Monday. “She looks like a Dubawi (Ire)–she's quite heavy-topped and does herself very well. She is quite short-legged and, the thing is, we want her to race on next year.”

Homeless Songs has not run since that memorable Irish Guineas triumph in May with connections opting then to sidestep Royal Ascot with the Classic winner due to what they felt was unsuitably quick going.

The prolonged dry period has been labelled as hugely frustrating by Craig, however, spirits were lifted when Dermot Weld's star filly worked well after racing at the Curragh last weekend.

The forecast has also been kind to those in the Homeless Songs camp. Leopardstown was hit with 66mm of rain over the weekend, with the ground on Monday described as yielding, good to yielding to places.

There is further rain forecast for the week and, provided it arrives, Craig expects Homeless Songs, a warm order at 6-4 favouritism for the Matron, to make her eagerly anticipated return at Ireland's flagship Flat meeting.

“She'd run her heart out on firm ground, she'd try like hell, but the question would be, what would we have left at the end? She's too important to do that. We have been praying for rain all summer and it's just been frustrating.”

Craig added, “She worked after racing at the Curragh last weekend. She worked seven furlongs and that went fine. Chris Hayes rode her and he was very happy. She had a bit of a blow but she hasn't run since the Irish Guineas.

“Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) will be a hell of a tough filly to try and beat but Homeless Songs likes Leopardstown and has won twice around there before. If she's in as good of form as she was in when she won the Irish Guineas, she will give everything a run.”

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Kyprios, the outstanding stayer in Europe this season, is expected to go off at prohibitively short odds in Sunday's Irish St Leger.

Craig said, “It would be brilliant if he could win on Sunday but, don't get me wrong, a filly is always going to be more important for us, which is why Homeless Songs is the one. But Eva [Maria Bucher-Haefner] couldn't be at Ascot or at Goodwood so it would be nice if she could be there to see him win.”

Kyprios has gone from strength to strength this season, winning the Gold Cup at Ascot followed by the Goodwood Cup, cementing a relatively new relationship between Moyglare and Coolmore Stud, who are joint-owners of the 4-year-old stallion prospect.

Moyglare can also call on Jessica Harrington, Ger Lyons and Paddy Twomey on its training roster and, while Weld remains the number one, Craig revealed the new approach to be one that's working well.

She explained, “We're feeling our way with it. Dermot is still the main trainer but he seemed to have lots of other owners so it seemed to be a good idea to have horses elsewhere.

“The ones with Aidan are foal shares with Coolmore so Kyprios, Thoughts Of June (Ire) (Galileo) and Kiss You Later (Ire) (Galileo) are all owned 50-50. The other ones are out of newer mares and obviously it has got off to a great start.”

Not only will the stud celebrate 60 years of success this weekend, but Sunday marks the 40-year anniversary of the G1 Moyglare S., in which the operation will be represented by Harrington's Eternal Silence (War Front).

Speaking on running plans for the rest of the team, Craig said, “It looks as though Eternal Silence will run, although we'll know for sure on Tuesday. The plan had been for Trevaunance to run in France; she will now run in the G2 Blandford S. on Sunday. Just Beautiful will run in the Boomerang on Saturday.”

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Park Paddocks Buzzing Ahead of Somerville Sale

NEWMARKET, UK–There's no let-up in a sales calendar that becomes more packed every year, and the yearling action now switches to Newmarket, with the Tattersalls Somerville Sale sandwiched between last Friday's BBAG Yearling Sale in Germany, and a new French sale at Arqana this coming Thursday and Friday.

This is in effect only the second year of the Somerville, a sale that grew out of the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale, which itself only existed for four years, having been moved to Newmarket during the first year of the pandemic.

That move coincided with a boost in both entries and returns, and the Somerville, with its focus on a sharper type of yearling more usually found at the Goffs UK Premier Sale, was born. Its debut last September could hardly have been more encouraging, and this year's sale is on the rise again in numbers. Even so, judging by a full car park and packed runways between the stable blocks at Park Paddocks on Monday, there should be plenty of people on the ground attempting to buy the yearlings offered from 10am on Tuesday.

As first-year results go, having the G2 Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) as an early flag-bearer was a welcome boost, through sadly that 12,000gns purchase is now on the easy list after picking up an injury in his subsequent start in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S.

Sold from Bearstone Stud, which offered seven yearlings at the sale last year, Bradsell was not the only star performer from that draft. The most expensive member, at 45,000gns, was a colt from the first crop of Havana Grey (GB). Like Bradsell, he too ended up at Archie Watson's stable. Now named Eddie's Boy (GB), he has raced eight times for the Middleham Park Racing syndicate, winning on debut, and later scooping the lucrative pot of the Weatherbys Super Sprint, as well as picking up some Listed black type when third in the Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot behind Little Big Bear (Ire) and again at Sandown in the Dragon S.

Farther afield, Marco Bozzi's 4,500gns purchase New Collection (GB) (Brazen Beau {Aus}) is now a Listed winner in Italy.

Bearstone Stud has returned to the Somerville Sale this year with a draft of nine, including two fillies by Tasleet and Havana Grey, as well as the half-sister to the aforementioned Eddie's Boy, who sells as lot 66 and is by Washington DC (Ire), one of Bearstone's three resident stallions. The stud's owner Terry Holdcroft was not alone among consignors in reporting hectic viewing sessions for Sunday and Monday.

“It's just been absolutely manic,” he said. “We've been very busy. We have five staff here and it's almost not enough but even if we'd brought a couple more there's not room to show them all at the same time. Yesterday it was unbelievable, we were almost having to ask people if they would like to come back later as there was a queue of people waiting to see them.”

Holdcroft added, “The sale has worked well for us and we used to go to Ascot previously, but we are putting better horses in now that it has moved to Tattersalls. It does come a bit quick for us after Doncaster, especially for the staff. But we have brought mostly sharp, 2-year-old types, which is basically what I try to breed, and it's what they are looking for in this sale, and at Doncaster of course.”

Holdcroft also issued an update on one of Bearstone's star graduates, Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead), winner of the G1 Flying Five and GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint two years ago.

“She's very much in foal,” he said. “She went to Dubawi and we're really looking forward to that.”

Eddie's Boy's sire Havana Grey is currently way out in front in the first-season sires' table with 30 winners of 45 races, and three stakes winners to his name. The most recent of those, and his first group winner, came last Thursday with Lady Hollywood's victory in the G3 Prix d'Arenberg at Longchamp. Her rising star of a young trainer, Alice Haynes, was among the many pounding the sale yards on Monday, and if she is on the hunt for another by Whitsbury Manor Stud's Havana Grey she will have 21 to choose from, including one from the farm responsible for breeding Havana Grey in the first place, Mickley Stud. The Shropshire farm offers lot 7, the third foal of the Listed winner Peach Melba (GB) (Dream Ahead) who already has a multiple winner to her name in Instinctive Move (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).

As outlined by Terry Holdcroft, there is a strong focus on speed and precocity in the catalogue, and just over 20% of those slated to sell are by first-crop sires, including Inns Of Court (Ire), Calyx (GB), Eqtidaar (Ire), Masar (Ire), Magna Grecia (Ire) and Land Force (Ire).

Graduates of the Somerville Sale are eligible not just for the £100,000 Tattersalls Somerville Auction S., which is to be run next August 26 over six furlongs of the July Course, but also for the Tattersalls October Auction S., staged over the same distance but slightly later and next door on Newmarket's Rowley Mile. The latter also takes in graduates of Books 3 and 4 of the October Yearling Sale.

With only 17 withdrawals at the time of writing from the 313 yearlings in the book, trade on Tuesday will be continuing long into the evening at Park Paddocks at this sale that seems unlikely to remain in its one-day format for much longer. Long viewing days and a lengthy sale session will seem worthwhile in hindsight, however, if the level of activity over the last few days is carried through on the day that it matters most.

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