Tag: Shared News Europe

Making Waves: Florida Graded Success For Galileo And Dubawi

In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column reflects on success at Gulfstream Park for Warm Heart and Francesco Clemente.

 The highlight of recent weeks has been the Coolmore partners' Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who won her third top-level race in a third different country when taking the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. in Florida in late January (video). Trained by Aidan O'Brien, the Coolmore-bred set a new course record, and is now bound for a date with Justify.

The late Galileo has sired 65 winners from 177 runners (37%) in America. She is also his 28th stakes winner in the U.S. (16%). His final crop just turned two.

 

 

Dubawi Entire Lands McKnight

Peter Brant homebred Francesco Clemente (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) earned a career high in the GIII William L. McKnight S. on Pegasus World Cup day at Gulfstream Park for trainer Chad Brown (video).

Listed-placed at four at Goodwood last May for John and Thady Gosden, he then ran second in the GII Hollywood Turf Cup S. in November two starts later before his graded win. His dam, Justlookdontouch (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), also responsible for stakes winner and multiple group-placed Abingdon (Street Cry {Ire}), is a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine Islington (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). Francesco Clemente is also from the former Ballymacoll Stud family of G1 Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}) and fellow Group 1 winners Greek Dance (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Mountain High (Ire) (Danehill).

Darley kingpin Dubawi now sports a record of 40 winners from 78 runners (51%) in the US. With Francesco Clemente's Grade III win, Dubawi's American stakes winners number 22 (28%) with 17 striking at the graded level.

 

 

Bells Are Ringing At Santa Anita

Phil D'Amato trainee Bellabel (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) showed no rust after a lengthy layoff and won the GIII Megahertz S. at Santa Anita earlier this month (video).

Bred by Fergus Cousins, the dark bay sold for €33,000 as a yearling to BBA Ireland and finished her Irish career with one win at handicap level in September of 2021 for Jessica Harrington and It's All About The Girls. A graded winner in America and placed in two Grade I events in 2022, she was reoffered at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale, but was a $425,000 buy-back. Racing for Agave Racing Stable, Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT, Michael Nentwig and Ray Pagano, the mare was making her first start in over 13 months. Out of the winning Fashion Line (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), Bellabel's latest half-sibling is a two-year-old filly by Profitable (Ire) named Miss Birkin (Ire), and a yearling full-brother. This is the extended family of G2 Prix de Royallieu winner Princess Yaiza (Ire) (Casamento {Ire}).

Belardo's best runners are based in America, among them is the Grade I winner Gold Phoenix (Ire). He has five winners from seven runners (71%) in the US.

 

 

Churchill Filly Off The Mark At Gulfstream

Poolside With Slim (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) proved that second time was the charm in a Gulfstream maiden for trainer George Arnold (video).

Bo Bramagen bought the Kilweelran-bred filly for €110,000 out of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale in 2022, and she races for Bromagen and Patrick Lewis. Her unraced dam Kissepal (Ire) (Epaulette {Aus}) now has two runners and two winners from two foals of racing age. Kissepal, a half-sister to multiple group winner and G1 Cheveley Park S. second Besharah (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), has a yearling filly by Mehmas (Ire) still to come. GIII Affirmed H. hero Nonios (Pleasantly Perfect), placed in both the GI Haskell Invitational S. and GI Awesome Again S., is also in this family.

Coolmore's Churchill has seven winners from 12 runners (58%) in the US. His group winner The Foxes (Ire) was runner-up in the GI Belmont Derby in 2023.

 

 

Repeat Winners

Kingman (GB)'s Equitize (GB) won for the second time in three starts when taking a Tampa Bay Downs allowance for trainer Chad Brown (video). A debut winner last March, the Klaravich Stables runner was unplaced in Aqueduct's GII Hill Prince S. in November.

The post Making Waves: Florida Graded Success For Galileo And Dubawi appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Kizuna’s Queen’s Walk Rallies To Victory At Tokyo

Sunday Racing's Queen's Walk (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) rallied to victory in the 1600-metre G3 Daily Hai Queen Cup in Tokyo on Saturday. She was just a neck to the good of Epiphaneia (Jpn)'s Arsenaal (Jpn).

Stranded widest of all when breaking from gate 13, the filly soon perched well off the inside third from the rear as Morino Red Star (Jpn) (Declaration Of War) set a solid pace on the front end through an opening quarter in :23.80 and a half-mile in :47.10. Sweeping out into the centre of the course for the stretch drive, Queen's Walk unleashed a sustained closing move to reel in Morino Red Star. Rouge Suerte (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), located dead last for the majority of the contest, also produced a strong closing kick even wider on the course, and, at one point, appeared to be the eventual winner's main danger. Arsenaal, much nearer the front end with a stalking trip, also had plenty left in the lane and her finishing burst carried her just a neck short of Queen's Walk at the line. Rouge Suerte's bid flattened out in the final 50 metres and she made do with third, another 1 1/4 lengths behind the top pair.

Second on debut versus Kyoto newcombers over 1800 metres in November, the dark bay won going that trip at Hanshin on Dec. 23. Saturday was her 3-year-old bow.

Pedigree Notes

The Japanese Champion 3-Year-Old Colt when he won the G1 Japanese Derby in 2013, Kizuna has now sired 26 stakes winners. His best runners to date have been the dual champion Songline (Jpn) and G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner Akai Ito (Jpn). His total group winners have increased to 14 with Queen's Walk's victory.

Queen's Walk is a half-sister to G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. hero Grenadier Guards (Jpn) (Frankel {GB}) (click here for Emma Berry's piece on Frankel's growing influence in Japan), who won the G2 Hanshin Cup and was also third in the G1 NHK Mile Cup. Their dam, the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint heroine Wavell Avenue (Harlington), is also the dam of the winning Astrophyllite (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), 3-year-old filly Sopers Lane (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), and a juvenile filly by the late Duramente (Jpn). She was bred to Lord Kanaloa's champion 3-year-old colt and G1 Japanese 2000 Guineas winner Saturnalia (Jpn) last spring.

 

Saturday, Tokyo, Japan
DAILY HAI QUEEN CUP-G3, ¥72,660,000, Tokyo, 2-10, 3yo, f, 1600mT, 1:33.10, fm.
1–QUEEN'S WALK (JPN), 121, f, 3, by Kizuna (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Wavell Avenue (GISW-US, $1,190,008),
                                by Harlington
                2nd Dam: Lucas Street, by Silver Deputy
                3rd Dam: Ruby Park, by Bold Ruckus
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Sunday Racing;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Mitsumasa Nakauchida; J-Yuga
Kawada; ¥38,462,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, ¥46,862,000.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Arsenaal (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Epiphaneia (Jpn)–Sambre et Meuse
(Jpn), by Daiwa Major (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP
   BLACK TYPE. O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn);
¥15,132,000.
3–Rouge Suerte (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Ryzhkina (Ire),
by Storm Cat. 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
O-Tokyo Horse Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥9,566,000.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, 1. Odds: 2.10, 3.30, 4.20.
Also Ran: Success Calla (Jpn), Morino Red Star (Jpn), Sunset View (Jpn), Teleos Sarah (Jpn), Cosmo Dinner (Jpn), Safira (Jpn), Karenna Otome (Jpn), Rouge Salinas (Jpn), Bright Again, Gabby's Sister (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.

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A Taste Of Home At Jebel Ali?

Three-time stakes winner Home Brew (Street Sense), who races in the colours of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is the highest-rated horse in Saturday's AED700,000 G3 Jebel Ali Mile Sponsored by Shadwell.

Trained by Michael Costa, who has been enjoying a successful season in the UAE, the 5-year-old entire won the Bourbon Trail S. at Churchill Downs in his final start for breeders Gary and Mary West. He resurfaced in these new colours at Meydan in November, but ran unplaced that day. Saturday is his first start back and he leaves from the widest gate, stall 13.

Despite his ample backclass, Home Brew faces a stiff challenge in the form of four-for-six Swing Vote (GB) (Shamardal). Rabbah Racing's representative won a pair of Chantilly contests last spring, and enters on the back of two victories over this track and trip–defeating the Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum-owned duo of Tenbury Wells (Medaglia d'Oro) on Dec. 13 and the In Crowd (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) on Jan. 20.

Shadwell homebred Monaada (Giant's Causeway) broke his maiden in March of 2022 on turf, but lost his way a bit after a pair of wins in England later that year. Saturday's affair will be his first start since December of 2023.

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Willie Browne’s Unbeaten Port Augusta Sold For “Proper Money” To Hong Kong

Willie Browne's unbeaten Port Augusta (GB), who racked up wins over six and seven furlongs at Dundalk over the winter, has been sold for “proper money” to Hong Kong.

The legendary breeze-up handler has described his recent upsurge of form on the track as “a breath of fresh air” and, while the 77-year-old admitted to being sorry he couldn't hold on to a horse as talented as Port Augusta, he revealed the son of Zoustar (Aus) fulfilled what he was bought to do by getting sold. 

A 75,000gns Book 1 yearling, Port Augusta missed his engagement in last year's Craven Breeze-Up Sale back at Tattersalls after pulling out of the pre-breeze with a small splint. 

After being given the necessary time to recuperate, the colt went some way to proving his ability by landing back-to-back races at Dundalk, providing Browne with plenty of enjoyment in doing so. 

He explained, “I would think he will suit Hong Kong very well. He is a very sound horse and rattles off quick ground. He has a lot of pace and he stays. We haven't seen the best of this horse, not by a long way. I feel we have only been scratching the surface with him over six and seven furlongs at Dundalk and, if he got a fast pace to aim at over a mile, he could be a serious horse. He's out of a very good race mare [Ship Of Dreams (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire})] and he's very good-looking himself. 

“I thought I might be able to hold on to him and take him to Dubai but he wasn't bought for that and came to me to get sold rather than to race. I got my days in the sun with him and it's good money to get. Proper money.”

Browne added, “He went to the Craven and did the preliminary canter but was slightly lame that evening. We couldn't figure it out. We thought he had given himself a little twist or something. On the morning of the breeze proper, he was still a little off and we discovered that he had a tiny splint halfway down the inside of his shin. We had to withdraw him and give him time. It's probably been a blessing in disguise for this horse.”

Browne may be best known for his breeze-up exploits but his Tipperary stable has been represented by some classy performers in recent times. Spirit Gal (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), winner of the Listed Star Appeal S. at Dundalk, famously took Browne to the Breeders' Cup in 2022 before transferring to Andre Fabre. In the past three seasons, Browne has sent out a hugely respectable tally of 15 winners domestically. 

“To say I am enjoying it would be putting it mildly now,” the veteran operator chuckled. “It's been a breath of fresh air. We've been terribly lucky to get a half dozen nice horses at the same time over the winter. Sure I didn't know myself. They've all done their job and the next trick is to try and replace a few of them, which isn't easy.”

Asked if would consider buying a few more yearlings specifically to race rather than to breeze, given how much he has enjoyed his trips to the races in recent times, Browne replied, “I'd say not, to be honest, and there's two reasons why. Number one, I am too old to start doing that and number two, it's very hard to separate the two in terms of deciding that this yearling is for racing and this one isn't. You would only complicate the thing too much and then you would become known as a trainer. It could affect the main business, which is the breeze-ups.

“No is the short answer. I wouldn't buy specifically to go down the road of racing but what I would love is for somebody else to send me a horse. But I'm not stupid enough to think that, at 77 years of age, there'll be a queue of people wanting to send me a horse. For me to go buying yearlings and start putting them into different boxes wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be good for business.”

At 77 years of age, Browne has made it clear that he is not going to go reinventing himself or anything crazy like that. But one thing's for sure, the man who has blooded many top-notchers under the banner of Mocklershill still gets as big a kick out of the game as ever before. 

He concluded, “It's not that easy to explain what the kick of training winners is because it's very different to breezing horses. Once you breeze them, okay you follow them for their new connections, but your input is finished. When you're training them and get them ready for a race and go out the next morning and look at them in the box and admire them, it's a great feeling. There's huge job satisfaction when you can prepare your horse to go and win a few nice races. That's my idea of heaven.”

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