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Irish Cesarewitch To Carry €600,000 Prize Fund

One of the most valuable staying contests of the European season will be staged at the Curragh on Sept. 25 when the Irish Cesarewitch is run for a total prize find of €600,000.

A group of supporters of Ireland's flagship racecourse have united under the banner of 'Friends of the Curragh' to back the prestigious two-mile contest in a three-year sponsorship commitment. The race will now take place earlier than usual, with permission having been granted by the European Patter Committee to move the G3 Loughbrown S. to a later date in October.

The Friends of the Curragh Irish Cesarewitch will now take place on the second day of a new two-day Autumn Festival which also features the Goffs Million.

The new initiative was brought about by former Horse Racing Ireland chairman Joe Keeling, who said, “I am very pleased to have been involved in the redevelopment of the Curragh into a world-class facility for which a number of people deserve great credit and thanks. I am delighted to play a small part in supporting this new initiative and hope it will build a race which attracts national and international interest. The two-mile track at the Curragh is a great test of a horse's speed and stamina and the race will take plenty of winning.”

Up to 30 runners will be permitted for the 0-110 handicap, and the winners of several staying Premier Handicaps run at more than 12f through the season will be exempt from the ballot at the final forfeit stage.

Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of the Curragh Racecourse, added, “This is a really exciting initiative and we are delighted to stage such a high-value race. Joe's passion for and commitment to the Curragh is palpable and he is the driving force behind the creation of this race. We hope that trainers and owners from Ireland and overseas will target this race and we look forward to a full field doing battle over the Curragh's longest distance.”

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Horton Planning First Royal Ascot Raid

James Horton, who made a dazzling start to his training career with a treble at Redcar on Easter Monday, is now focusing his attention on saddling his first runners at Royal Ascot.

A former assistant to Sir Michael Stoute in Newmarket, Horton is now training at John and Jess Dance's Manor House Farm stables in Middleham. He plans to run Sunday's York sprint winner Asjad (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) at the Royal meeting as well as the G2 July S. third Sam Maximus (GB) (Showcasing {GB}).

“The Wokingham is the plan next,” said Horton of 4-year-old Asjad, who was bought from Shadwell at the Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale and has won two of his three starts since joining his stable.

“I think Ascot will suit him, I think he wants a level track. I probably shouldn't have run him at Newmarket, he hated the track and I probably brought him back a bit quick after Redcar. So he'll have a nice bit of time now between York and the Wokingham and that will be plan A.”

The G1 Commonwealth Cup is on the cards for Sam Maximus, who has made just one start for Horton, finishing third in the Listed Carnarvon S. on May 14 at Newbury after being group-placed at two for Tom Dascombe.

“He was only just up to a race when we ran him, he kind of needed a race to bring him forwards,” said Horton, who has now saddled seven winners from his 25 runners to date.

“I thought he ran really well and he just got tired in the last half-furlong, he had a real good blow and I think he should step forward from that.

“He's in the Commonwealth Cup and the two that finished in front of him at Newbury will probably run in it. They were match-fit and we went there half expecting to blow up, so I'd like to think he could get closer to them with another effort and the plan is to run him at Ascot and go from there.”

He added, “The programme for 3-year-old sprinters kind of maps itself out. We'll then see if he can mix it with the best sprinters or maybe have to go back and find a little Listed race somewhere.”

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Philippa Winter Appointed Mayor Of Newmarket

At a meeting of Newmarket Town Council on Monday evening, one of the most popular members of Newmarket's racing community, Philippa Winter, became Mayor of the town, a position which she will hold for the next 12 months.

Philippa Winter's late husband John was one of Newmarket's most successful and respected trainers from the late 1960s and through the '70s and '80s. Based in Highfield in Newmarket's Bury Road, John Winter, younger brother of the National Hunt legend Fred and son of the former leading jockey and trainer Fred Winter Snr, trained for several of the sport's leading owners and prepared some very successful horses including Realm (GB) (Princely Gift {GB}), Double-U-Jay (GB) (Major Portion {GB}) and the top-class full-brothers Balidar (GB) (Will Somers {GB}) and Balliol (GB).

Philippa Winter has been one of Newmarket's most active Town Councillors in recent years, most notably as the Chair of the Community Services Committee, in which role she has done a lot of work to improve the appearance of the town. The vote to appoint her as the town's Mayor was unanimous and reflects the respect which she has earned from her colleagues. She succeeds the outgoing Mayor Michael Jefferys, who will now serve as her deputy.

She is the latest of several figures from within the racing community to serve as the town's Mayor in recent years, following both Rachel Hood (wife of multiple champion trainer John Gosden) and John Berry, whose roles within the sport include both trainer and occasional TDN columnist. Another recent Newmarket Mayor with strong connections to the sport has been popular local businessman Andy Drummond who, through his company Lettergold, has been a long-standing and loyal race-sponsor at Newmarket.

Philippa Winter stands as an independent on Newmarket Town Council, a body on which the majority of the Councillors are independents.

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Observations: Eldar Eldarov Returns At Newcastle

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Tuesday's Insights features debuting Tabarin (Ire) (Frankel ({GB}) and 'Rising Star' Eldar Eldarov (Dubawi {Ire}).

2.25 Saint-Cloud, Debuntates, €27,000, 3yo, c/g, 12fT
TABARIN (IRE) (Frankel {GB}) debuts for the Niarchos Family and Francis-Henri Graffard and is a son of the G3 Prix Vanteaux winner and G1 Prix Saint-Alary runner-up and G1 Prix Vermeille third Mare Nostrum (GB) (Caerleon). A half-brother to the operation's GI Canadian International and G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the March-foaled bay encounters a dozen rivals.

6.00 Newcastle, Novice, £7,300, 3yo/up, 10f 42y (AWT)
ELDAR ELDAROV (Dubawi {Ire}) makes his eagerly-awaited second start, having achieved TDN Rising Star status with his impressive debut win at Nottingham in October. KHK Racing's £480,000 Arqana Breeze Up sensation from the family of Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and many other Kirsten Rausing celebrities holds entries in the G2 King Edward VII S. and Irish Derby and Roger Varian will know more about how ambitious those targets are after this comeback.

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