The Weekly Wrap | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Weekly Wrap: While The Light Lasts

Last orders are being called for the European Flat turf season. Cheltenham and Aintree have been knocking loudly on the door but there are still some important scores to settle on the level, and in Paris, where this correspondent was fortunate enough to be billeted this weekend, the major Group 1 action was conducted in a blaze of life-affirming autumnal glory that may almost sustain us until the spring.

The four Group 1 races around the world on Saturday, in England, France and Australia, went to the offspring of Irish-based stallions, with State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) getting the ball rolling in the Cox Plate.

A combination of travel difficulties and the stringent new veterinary checks means that there are fewer European horses in town for the key races in Melbourne this spring but that didn't stop Moonee Valley's flagship race going to the sole international challenger, trained by Jospeh O'Brien, who has already lifted the Melbourne Cup twice in his relatively short career.

Bred at Tinnakill House by Dermot Cantillon and Meta Osborne, the 3-year-old State Of Rest has already clocked up more airmiles than many of his older stable-mates and it was perhaps a bold move to take him to New York for the GI Saratoga Derby off the back of one third-place finish this season in a listed race at the Curragh. But it was one that paid off handsomely for his owners in the Teme Valley Racing syndicate. He had the Belmont Derby winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) behind him that day in fourth and 77 days later he returned on the other side of the world to cause a bit of a stir in the Cox Plate.

It was a great day for Irish racing, as not only was he bred and trained in the country, but State Of Play was ridden by one-time journeyman jump jockey Johnny Allen who has carved out a great career for himself on the Flat in Australia.

In his post-race interview conducted after a prolonged enquiry into possible interference between State Of Play and runner-up Anamoe (Aus), Allen remembered his former boss, the late Joe Crowley, who was also the grandfather of Joseph O'Brien.

“I'm sure if he's looking down from above he'd have a smile on his face,” said Allen, before adding, “There were too many Paddys in [the enquiry] and the boys were saying they couldn't understand us.”

Sweet Success For Sansgter

Ten years after Joseph O'Brien rode Camelot (GB) to victory in the then-Racing Post Trophy for his father, Aidan O'Brien was in the limelight again at Doncaster when sending out his tenth winner of the renamed Vertem Futurity, appropriately enough with a son of Camelot, Luxembourg (Ire).

In many ways Luxembourg weaves some old and new strands of the Coolmore/Ballydoyle empire neatly together. The colt, who is now 9/2 favourite for next year's Derby, was bred by Ben Sangster, whose father Robert bred Luxembourg's great grandsire Sadler's Wells. Both man and horse have played such significant roles in the development of Coolmore.

Luxembourg carries the colours of one of the syndicate's newer members, Georg von Opel, who races under the Westerberg banner, and whose significant investment in bloodstock in recent years is certainly deserving of a colt with such promise.

The same can be said for the likeable and reserved Ben Sangster. Not one to blow his own horn, he can certainly permit himself a quiet smile of satisfaction following a successful autumn on the track and in the ring. At Goffs in late September, Sansgter sold Luxembourg's full-brother for a sale-topping €1.2 million. Three days later at Newmarket he enjoyed a Group 1 victory as an owner in partnership with his wife Lucy, son Ollie, and James Wigan when Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), trained by Sangster's step-sister Jane Chapple-Hyam, won the Sun Chariot. Bought by Liam Norris as a foal for 55,000gns as an intended pinhook, Saffron Beach was never really supposed to run for the partners, but a foot issue scuppered her appearance at the yearling sales. Bad luck turns to good luck.

Now Sangster can spend the winter dreaming of becoming the breeder of a Derby winner, having already notched one Epsom Classic in this regard with the Oaks heroine Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

Jane Chapple-Hyam is likely to be high on Ballylinch Stud's Christmas card list after this season for not only has she provided resident stallion New Bay with his first Group 1 winner in Saffron Beach, but last week she sent out an exciting youngster from his second crop in Claymore (Fr), a €5,000 yearling purchase-turned-£10,000 breezer who stormed the Rowley Mile for a four-length novice victory over Godolphin favourite Noble Order (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) on Wednesday.

It was a good week for New Bay with four new juvenile winners, while his G2 Champagne S. winner Bayside Boy (Ire)–another in the Teme Valley Racing ownership–finished third in the G1 Vertem Futurity after filling the same spot in the G1 Dewhurst S.

A Day To Remember For Ferguson…

Marc Chan's Angel Bleu (Fr), bred by Pan Sutong at Ecurie Des Monceaux, has been highly tried this season but has answered almost every call. Having made three starts for two wins before Royal Ascot, the son of Dark Angel (Ire) was perhaps a touch unlucky in the G2 Coventry S when finding himself short of room as he attempted to make his run, and he has thrived since then. Runner-up on his next start at Ascot in the listed Pat Eddery S., he bounced out three days later to take the G2 Vintage S. at Goodwood in soft sound and has relished even more testing conditions when taking back-to-back Group 1s in France. Three weeks after his Prix Jean-Luc Lagardare victory he battled home to take the Criterium International by a head from Coolmore's Ancient Rome (War Front).

Angel Bleu's trainer Ralph Beckett indicated at Saint-Cloud on Saturday that a return to France may well be on the cards for the youngster for the Poule d'Essai des Poulains next spring.

It was another good day weekend for the Brits in Paris with all three Group 1 contests falling to cross-Channel raiders. For James Ferguson, only in his second season of training, it was a day he will never forget as the diminutive El Bodegon (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) led his rivals a merry dance when making all in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud to give his trainer a first Group 1 success.

Bred by Cecil and Martin McCracken, the tenacious El Bodegon joins his full-brother Best Solution (Ire) in being something of an outlier among Kodiac's stock as a colt who clearly relishes a decent trip. Those reserves of stamina are doubtless drawn from his dam's side, as he has Eva Luna (Alleged) as his third dam, with her offspring including the St Leger winner Brian Boru (GB) (Sadler's Wells) and his full-sister Soviet Moon (Ire), who is the dam of Derby and Arc winner Workforce (GB) (King's Best).

Best Solution, who was second in a strong renewal of the same race in 2016, which was won by subsequent Arc winner Waldgeist (GB), with fellow subsequent Group 1 winners Capri (Ire), Wings Of Eagles (Fr) and Rekindling (GB) behind him, became a stalwart of the Godolphin operation, landing two Group 1 races over a mile and a half in Germany en route to winning the Caulfield Cup. He is now standing at Gestut Auenquelle alongside Soldier Hollow (GB).

“Pretty incredible,” was how Ferguson described his first Group 1 winner as El Bodegon returned to the winner's enclosure. “We love the horse and we planned this as his next race after his previous win in France, but to be ahead with a furlong to go wasn't really part of my plan. I thought he would have to work very hard but he has obviously improved with every run and he takes travelling very well.”

He added, “This horse is not overly big but he has a lot of presence and it's very exciting to wonder what we might have for next year. You have to aim high when you have a horse like this.”

Prior to starting out on his own, Ferguson, who turned 32 on Sunday, served time as a pupil assistant to Sir Mark Prescott and also as assistant to Charlie Appleby at Godolphin. Touchingly, Appleby, along with William Buick and Godolphin's managing director Hugh Anderson, were among the first to embrace their former colleague at Saint-Cloud after their Godolphin representative Goldspur (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) finished third to El Bodegon.

And Also For Hornby…

The weekend's action in France also provided a memorable couple of days for Ralph Beckett and Rob Hornby. Beckett posted a Group 1 double when the Julian Richmond-Watson homebred Scope (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) landed the Prix Royal-Oak 24 hours after the victory of Angel Bleu at Saint-Cloud.

The win was extra special for Hornby as it was his first Group 1 success on his first ride at Longchamp. The jockey, who was sidelined last December with a serious shoulder injury after a nasty fall at Wolverhampton, had clearly done his homework, however, and was spotted out walking the track before racing.

He said, “It's unbelievable. I'm just delighted for everyone involved and for the whole team–it's been a Group 1 double on Saturday and Sunday.

“He had to dig deep off the elbow. They came at him on either side, but he just stuck his neck out; he's really thriving. I'd like to think that there's more to come next year. If it all keeps going the right way we could have a very exciting horse to look forward to.”

Hornby continued, “I'm very grateful to Mr Beckett for the opportunity and to everyone who has supported me the whole way through–Andrew Balding, who I was apprenticed to, and Jonny Portman, there are so many people to mention. My agent works very hard, we all work hard, so when it pays off on days like this it's very special.”

Last year's Prix Royal-Oak runner-up Valia (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) returned for a second attempt, finishing sixth this time around having won the G2 Prix Radio FG at the track back in July. The 4-year-old Aga Khan-bred filly also provided a footnote in history as the final Group 1 runner for her illustrious trainer Alain de Royer Dupre, who retires at the end of the season and has notably been training for the Aga Khan for 40 years. He will be succeeded at Aiglemont by his former assistant Francis Graffard.

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The Weekly Wrap: It’s All About The Horses

Those who work in racing know all too well the endless hours devoted to getting horses ready for the racecourse, and fans of the sport were able to see that for themselves during the first National Racehorse Week in Britain. The brainchild of National Hunt trainer Richard Phillips, the inaugural week-long spotlight on the racing industry included racing stables being open to the public all over the country, starting at Epsom and Malton, and culminating in Newmarket's popular Henry Cecil Open Weekend. It can be deemed a huge success.

This past Sunday alone, 30 trainers opened their doors throughout the morning at 'HQ', with a rare chance to see behind the scenes at Godolphin's Stanley House Stables proving immensely popular and attracting around 1,200 visitors in the 90 minutes in which it was open.

I live in one of the smaller stables in Newmarket and our yard had a constant stream of visitors who clearly loved being able to see and get close to the horses in their home environment. It may be easy for those of us who work with horses on a daily basis to forget sometimes what drew us to this life in the first place. Having the chance to see our stable through the eyes of our guests on Sunday morning really made the day extra special, bringing a reminder, amid all the politics and other background noise, that really racing is only ever about the horses.

We particularly enjoyed welcoming budding jockey Joshua Myers, who was first taken to a racecourse at the age of seven back in August 2014 on a day when our filly Indira (GB) happened to win at Ripon. Waiting near where the horses were being washed down after the race, Joshua asked if he was allowed to stroke Indira. So began his passion for the sport.

Seven years later, Joshua has now ridden in two pony races and clearly has his heart set on a future in racing. Over the weekend he travelled to Newmarket from Yorkshire with his family and as part of his tour came to our yard to meet Indira's first foal, now a 2-year-old.

As Joshua's younger brother got in on the photo with him and the horse, their dad said to me, “Oh no, I hope I haven't got two racing-mad sons.” I hope he has.

He's Apples

As we head into arguably the most important few weeks of the European Flat turf season, it's tight at the top of the British trainers' championship between Andrew Balding, Charlie Appleby, and John and Thady Gosden. While Aidan O'Brien has a commanding lead in Ireland, chased determinedly by his son Joseph, the excellent form of the stables of Jessica Harrington, Ger Lyons and Johnny Murtagh in particular have brought an interesting depth to the season.

Appleby may be narrowly behind Balding at present but he is without question the trainer of the moment. Currently operating at a 41% strike-rate and having sent out Group 1 winners Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) the previous weekend in Britain and Ireland, not to mention a 1-2 in the G2 Park S. with Glorious Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and D'Bai (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), his half of the Godolphin operation rolled on to North America this weekend with all guns blazing.

All three Grade I contenders at Woodbine–Walton Street (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}), and the 2-year-olds Wild Beauty (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Albahr (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})–were triumphant in their assignments, notably with erstwhile Godolphin stable jockey Frankie Dettori in the saddle for all three.

Meanwhile in New York, Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) won Belmont Park's Jockey Club Derby Invitational S. with Jamie Spencer, who flew home overnight in time to record another important victory in the team showjumping competition at Newmarket's open weekend with his talented daughter Chloe and trainer George Scott.

That quartet of Godolphin winners and Jockey Club Oaks fourth Creative Flair (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) netted almost $1 million in prize-money for the stable which has two of the favourites for Europe's richest race, the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, in a little under a fortnight's time.

Important Call Up For Graffard

There was major news from the French training ranks over the last week with the announcement that Francis Graffard is to succeed his former boss Alain de Royer-Dupre at the Aga Khan's Aiglemont training centre at Gouvieux at the end of 2021. Graffard will continue to operate his own significant Chantilly stable, which in recent years has been responsible for a stream of top-class horses, including the Classic winners Channel (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and In Swoop (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}).

The impending retirement of de Royer-Dupre will bring to a close a near-40-year tenure at Aiglemont, during which time he has overseen the careers of such champions as Dalakhani (Ire) and Zarkava (Fr). He too has run a separate public training stable from which base the famously flighty Irish Oaks winner Chicquita (Ire), champion racemare Pride (Fr), and Melbourne Cup winner Americain were trained.

Stallions In The News

Wootton Bassett (GB) continues to play an ever more prominent role as a sire of note and with his biggest crop to date set to start appearing in paddocks around Europe from January, he is enjoying a decent season on the track, especially with his juveniles.

In recent weeks his new stakes winners have included Atomic Jones (Fr), Royal Patronage (Fr), Zellie (Fr) and Attagirl (GB), and on Thursday the Fabrice Chappet-trained Topgear (Fr) extended his unbeaten run to three when landing the G3 Prix Eclipse for owner Hisaaki Saito. A €200,000 purchase at last year's Arqana Select Sale by Sebastian Desmontils, Topgear is entered for the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc weekend.

Wootton Bassett may now have departed for Ireland, but France can still boast the services of Le Havre (Ire), who is also enjoying a good spin. His major Arc hope Wonderful Tonight (Fr) has sadly been retired through injury but Le Havre was represented by another two stakes winners on consecutive days last week when Hunscote Stud and Chris Humber's homebred Ville de Grace (GB) landed the listed John Musker Fillies' S., and Waliyak (Fr) added the G3 Prix Bertrand de Tarragon to her previous listed success for Roger Varian and Fawzi Nass. A Saxon Warrior (Jpn) half-sister to Ville De Grace is scheduled to sell at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale through Stauffenberg Bloodstock as lot 385.

We can also expect to see Le Havre's daughter Beholding (GB) lining up in Pattern races before too long following her 12-length victory at Kempton on Friday. This followed on from her previous 10-length win in novice company at Lingfield. Her Siyouni yearling half-brother is also entered for Book 1 though breeder Newsells Park Stud as lot 109.

Updates Give You Wings

It is 15 years since Dark Angel (Ire) won the G2 Mill Reef S. before going on to take the G1 Middle Park S., and on Saturday his son Wings Of War (Ire) landed the first part of that double for Isa Salman Al Khalifa–also the owner of the aforementioned Beholding–and trainer Clive Cox.

Wings Of War has a strong 'O'Callaghan feel' to him, having been bred by Guy O'Callaghan of Grangemore Stud, whose parents Gay and Annette own Yeomanstown Stud where Dark Angel has stood throughout his career. Moreover the colt is the first foal of the listed-placed Futoon (Ire), a mare by Kodiac (GB), the flagship stallion of Tally-Ho Stud, owned by Guy's uncle and aunt, Tony and Anne O'Callaghan. Wings Of War is not only following the example of his own sire in winning the Mill Reef but his dam is out of a sister to Galeota (Ire) (Mujadil), who won the same race in 2004 and went on to be runner-up in the following year's G1 Golden Jubilee S.

Guy O'Callaghan is also the breeder of Dark Angel's son Birchwood (Ire), the G2 Superlative S. winner who is now a first-season sire in France. His Grangemore Stud draft for Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale includes the full-brother to Wings Of War (lot 577), who is set to sell during the opening session. An update on that colt from O'Callaghan can be found in our accompanying preview for the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale, in which he sells a draft of four yearlings over the next two days.

She Was A Star

In less than two hours on Saturday the full-siblings Foxes Tales (Ire) and Astadash (Ire), both by Zoffany (Ire), went agonisingly close to pulling off a Group 3 double in Britain and Ireland. King Power Racing's 3-year-old Foxes Tales had already landed the G3 Rose of Lancaster S. on his previous start and he was beaten just a neck by Solid Stone (Ire) (Shamardal) when backing up in the G3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup at Newbury.

For breeder Luke Barry of Manister House, arguably what happened a little later at Gowran Park was even more important when Astadash won the G3 Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies S. in the colours of Barry's mother Elizabeth and wife Rebecca. The 4-year-old has now been retired and will replace her mother Starfish (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the paddocks at the Co Limerick farm.

Replace might be too strong a word to use as the celebrated Starfish has set a very high bar for her daughter to follow. Her second foal was the dual Group 1 winner La Collina (Ire) (Strategic Prince {Ire}), and as well as Astadash and Foxes Tales, the mare also produced the listed winner and Group 2 runner-up Fox Chairman (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) and Listed winner Entsar (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) among her nine winners from nine foals of racing age. Even those who didn't garner black type were multiple scorers, including the 11-time winner Black Night (Ire) (Excellent Art {GB}). Starfish died earlier this year at the age of 18 after foaling a Kingman filly.

“She never missed,” said Luke Barry of Starfish in Newmarket on Monday morning as he oversaw his draft for the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale.

“Saturday was very special. Astadash has been so consistent and she will come home now. It's fantastic to have a group-winning daughter of Starfish for the farm. We couldn't afford to go and buy a filly like her, and to have bred and raced her is very special.”

Starfish's offspring have been as consistently successful in the sales ring as on the racetrack, with four of her yearlings selling for in excess of 260,000gns at the October Sale. King Power Racing paid 450,000gns and 400,000gns respectively for Fox Chairman and Foxes Tales.

“She always produced very good-looking stock who came back here to Book 1 year after year,” said Barry, who also celebrated being a Royal Ascot-winning breeder this year following the victory of Foxes Tales in the Golden Gates H.

“We're very excited about him as well,” he added. “I know the team behind him have big hopes that he could make up into a Group 1 horse for next year.”

The post The Weekly Wrap: It’s All About The Horses appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Weekly Wrap: Like A Hurricane

It's a childish game but I've long amused myself by seeing how many song titles can be weaved into headlines and this weekend's results provided an open goal for a Neil Young classic, not once but twice.

Two hurricanes blew across Town Moor on Saturday at the opposite ends of the distance spectrum. Hurricane Ivor (Ire) (Ivawood {GB}) is an admirable sprinter who has bounced back from a blistering debut for Fabrice Chappet and subsequent illness that ruled him out of much of his juvenile season. He has been creeping up the ratings this year on the back of some consistent performances for William Haggas, culminating in his gutsy Portland H. win under top weight. Like his sire Ivawood, Hurricane Lane races in the purple and green-starred silks of Fiona Carmichael, and he surely deserves another shot at some black type.

Of far greater significance at this stage, however, is the hugely impressive winner of the Cazoo St Leger, Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). Within the space of an hour, he and St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) became the 24th and 25th horses to have won Group 1 races in Britain, Ireland and France in the same year since the Pattern was devised 50 years ago.

Already proven to be highly effective over a mile and a half, Hurricane Lane's hoped-for next start in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe should see him try to reverse the Derby form with his stable-mate Adayar (Ire). Debate will rage about which son of Frankel is better, but these two Godolphin colts have lit up the middle-distance division for the Classic generation with their consistency at the highest level.

Adayar's defection from the G2 Qatar Prix Niel was a disappointment, as was the late scratching on a vaccination error of Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and while the latter has claimed the GI Belmont Derby this season, he still has something to prove on European turf.

One thing is for sure, the Cartier Champion Three-Year-Old Colt title will be one of the hottest contests of the year, with Adayar and Hurricane Lane facing stiff competition from the outstanding St Mark's Basilica, who is surely the odds-on favourite for this honour, as well as the boldly campaigned Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}). In another year, any one of the quartet would be a worthy winner.

The Ger and Jessie Show

Aidan O'Brien may have this year's star package in the Irish Champion S. winner St Mark's Basilica but the Group 1 honours on Irish Champions Weekend were shared around pretty fairly, with five different stables winning the six top-level races.

Jessica Harrington was queen of both Leopardstown and the Curragh, winning the G1 Coolmore America Matron S. with No Speak Alexander (Ire), who delivered an important first Group 1 winner for Shalaa (Ire), as well as for Dandy Man (Ire) as a broodmare sire.

Bred by Mount Armstrong Stud and raced by Noel, Charles and Paul O'Callaghan, No Speak Alexander is the first foal of their listed winner Rapacity Alexander (Ire), who is a full-sister to Dandy Man's Hong Kong Group 1 winner Peniaphobia (Ire).

Another first was notched for the Harrington team in the following race, the G2 Clipper Logistics Boomerang Mile when Real Appeal (Ger) became the first European group winner for the former shuttler Sidestep (Aus), a son of Exceed And Excel (Aus) who spent three years at Haras du Logis.

Bought as a €9,000 foal by Con and Theresa Marnane, Real Appeal won three races in France as a juvenile, including the listed Prix La Fleche, and was subsequently sold for £265,000 to Zhang Yuesheng at the Goffs London Sale.

Sidestep stood his first three seasons in Australia for Darley but is now leased to Telemon Thoroughbreds in Queensland. He made an eye-catching start in the southern hemisphere where his first crop included the 2019 G1 Golden Slipper winner Kiamichi (Aus).

Perhaps the most satisfying of four wins over Irish Champions Weekend for Harrington was that of the Niarchos family's Discoveries (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. This is a family which has really helped to raise the profile of her stable on the Flat, with full-sister and erstwhile stable star Alpha Centauri (Ire) and half-sister Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) having each landed Group 1 races for Harrington in recent seasons.

Huge interest will doubtless be paid to the full-brother of Discoveries and Alpha Centauri who is consigned to the Goffs Orby Sale as lot 347 by Camas Park Stud. His was a page which hardly needed an update–only two dams fit as it is, leaving off his mighty great grandam Miesque–but it has been given another dose of proper black type nonetheless.

Harrington's quartet of wins on Irish Champions Weekend was matched by Ger Lyons, who was a welcome sight back at the races for the first time since the pandemic struck. He timed his run well as he was present to enjoy the success of Atomic Jones (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who remained unbeaten when winning the G2 KPMG Champions Juvenile S. The same ownership trio Sean Jones, David Spratt and the trainer's wife Lynne Lyons, was celebrating again later in the afternoon when Camorra (Ire) (Zoffany {GB}) led home a one-two for the stable in the G3 Paddy Power S.

Breeders Behind The Stars

The breeding plaudits for the weekend must be split equally between Bob Scarborough and Philippa Cooper, who were each responsible for two group winners at Leopardstown and Doncaster respectively.

When Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) won the 2000 Guineas, Melbourne-based Scarborough could have been forgiven for thinking that he'd hit the heights as a breeder, but little did he know that the best was yet to come from his Galileo mare Cabaret (Ire). Two years after foaling Magna Grecia, she produced St Mark's Basilica, who is now the winner of five consecutive Group 1 races in three countries. But he was not the sole highlight on Saturday for Scarbrorough's northern hemisphere breeding operation, which is based at Norelands Stud in Co Kilkenny. No sooner had the dust settled on a dramatic Champion S., than Camorra bounced out to give the breeder another boost in the following race, the G3 Paddy Power S. The 4-year-old is the top-rated runner of Mauralakana (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}), who won the G1 Beverly D S. in Scarborough's colours in 2008.

Cooper also enjoyed a group double in consecutive races, with Hurricane Lane's St Leger victory following yet another win for the admirable Glorious Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). The 6-year-old has now won eight races, six of them at group level, the latest coming on Saturday in the G2 Park S.

Lynams Pinpointing Success

'Fast Eddie' Lynam will be paying close attention to the notes in the foal sales catalogues of his wife Aileen and daughter Amy this season after Romantic Proposal (Ire) (Raven's Pass) became the second group winner for the stable to have been pinhooked by the duo. The first was Soffia (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), who won two group races at the Curragh for Lady O'Reilly.

Winner of the listed Dubai Duty Free Dash in June and also twice group-placed this season, Romantic Proposal beat a strong field in the G1 Flying Five S. to give Steve Parkin of Clipper Logistics a memorable weekend and another valuable future broodmare prospect for his Yorkshire-based Branton Court Stud.

Originally bought as a foal from breeder Julie Lynch of Fastnet Stud for €25,000, Romantic Proposal returned to Goffs for the Orby Sale, where she was bought by Parkin's bloodstock advisor Joe Foley for €55,000.

The Breeders' Cup Classic winner Raven's Pass now boasts a strike-rate of 8.4 stakes winners to runners and has never had a foal crop larger than 80, which was the tally from his first year at stud in 2010. He has now had a Group 1 winner in Japan, Dubai, France and Ireland and is also having some success as a broodmare sire, notably through Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and the G2 Mill Reef S. winner Kessaar (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), whose first yearlings are now at the sales.

There is much to recommend Romantic Proposal beyond her sire, however, as her dam Playwithmyheart (GB) (Diktat {GB}) is a winning half-sister to the G1 Prix de la Foret winner Toyslome (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}). Some stouter influences are also found in the presence of Ascot Gold Cup and St Leger winner Leading Light (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), whose grandam River Jig (Irish River {Fr}) is Romantic Proposal's third dam.

Blazing A Trail

There was a disappointing lack of British runners in the Irish Champion S. but Charlie Appleby ensured that Champions Weekend was not an entirely domestic affair when sending out Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) to land an upset in defeating Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and Ebro River (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S.

It was a notable first Group 1 success for breeder Jose Delmotte of Haras d'Haspel, who bought Native Trail's dam Needleleaf (GB) (Observatory {GB}), a full-sister to G1 Sprint Cup winner African Rose (GB), from Juddmonte for 60,000gns through his friend and advisor Marc-Antoine Berghgracht.

Native Trail has already been through the sale ring three times, initially when sold by his breeder for €50,000 to Sam Sangster as a foal and most recently when consigned by Norman Williamson at the Craven Breeze-up Sale. There he was sold to Godolphin for 210,000gns, having been bought at Tattersalls as a yearling for 67,000gns.

His two previous victories, including the G2 Superlative S., gave an important boost to his Kingman half-sister when she went through the Arqana August Sale the following month. Unsurprisingly, it was Anthony Stroud who signed for the filly, as he had done for Native Trail, but this time at €950,000.

Varian The Party-Pooper

Charlie Appleby wasn't the only British trainer responsible for spoiling the fun for Ballydoyle over the weekend as the Roger Varian-trained Teona (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) sprang quite a surprise when getting the better of odds-on favourite Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille.

There's something rather satisfying about seeing Derby winners feature as sire and broodmare sire of top-class horses, and Teona's dam Ambivalent (Ire), also trained by Varian, is one of six Group 1 winners for the somewhat overlooked Authorized (Ire). Both mother and daughter have carried the colours of Ali Saeed.

Varian may also have caused a bit of consternation in the palace on Saturday when his Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) halted the upwardly mobile progression of the Queen's Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) by winning the G2 Champagne S. by a head.

Bred by Ballylinch Stud, Bayside Boy had previously been runner-up in the listed Denford S. to Masekela (Ire) (El Kabeir), who in turn was beaten a short-head by Native Trail in the Superlative S.

David Egan was on board Bayside Boy and notched a double at Doncaster for his boss when also winning on Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's Title (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). Not far away at Chester the same day, we were reminded of a different type of sire power when John Egan, David's 53-year-old father, rode a double of his own, including in the day's feature race, the listed Tote+ Stand Cup. There's life in the old dog yet.

Double Bubble

The first of the Arc Trials at ParisLongchamp went the way of Bubble Gift (Fr) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who completed a notable double within eight days for owner Zak Bloodstock and trainer Mikel Delzangles. The previous Sunday his three-parts-sister Bubble Smart (GB) (Intello {Ger}) had won the G3 Prix Gladiateur.

Both horses were bred and are raced by the Hakam family under a breeding operation established by the Moroccan-born Zakaria Hakam, who died 10 years ago. His children Ali and Amina and their mother Mouna Bengeloun have carried on the tradition, now racing their homebreds, which are raised at Haras de Maulepaire, under the name of Zak Bloodstock.

It has been a successful season for the family, with 4-year-old Bubble Smart having notched a hat-trick of wins, and the year-younger Bubble Gift adding the Niel to his victory in the G2 Prix Hocquart in the spring. He was just over nine lengths behind Hurricane Lane when sixth in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris.

Their dam Bubble Back (Fr) (Grand Lodge) remained winless in her five-start racing career but she has proved a worthy broodmare, with her earlier offspring including Bubble Chic (Fr) (Chichicastenango {Fr}), who was runner-up to Reliable Man (GB) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and won the G3 Darley S. at Newmarket before being sold to race on in Hong Kong, where he won two listed contests.

It is pleasing to see the talented Mikel Delzangles back in the limelight this season, and his group-race success continued on Sunday when the Aga Khan's Sagamiyra (Fr) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) landed the G3 Qatar Prix du Pin. The 4-year-old filly was beaten just a head by Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) on her previous start in the G1 Prix Rothschild in August.

Raiders Of The Lost Arc

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe has long represented something of a holy grail for Japanese owners and trainers and the latest of their raiders to put his name in the reckoning for Europe's richest race is Deep Bond (Jpn). The 4-year-old is a member of the first crop of Japanese Derby winner Kizuna (Jpn), the champion freshman sire in Japan in 2019 and a son of the late Deep Impact (Jpn).

Both Deep Bond's sire and grandsire staked their own claim to the Arc, with Deep Impact finishing third in 2006 and subsequently being disqualified when a banned substance was detected in his post-race sample. Kizuna beat Derby winner Ruler Of The World (Ire) to win the G2 Qatar Prix Niel of 2013 before finishing fourth in the Arc behind Treve (Fr), with his fellow Japanese-trained runner Orfevre (Jpn) taking second that day.

Deep Bond, who is inbred 4×4 to Halo, may not be the only Japanese contender for this year's Arc as the highly regarded treble Grade 1 winner Chrono Genesis (Jpn), a 5-year-old daughter of the 2004 Arc winner, Bago (Fr), is also an intended runner. The presence of Japanese runners in any race internationally always adds some spice and they are usually accompanied by a large throng of supporters, though that will sadly be scuppered this year by ongoing travel restrictions.

Pat Smullen Remembered

Wednesday, Sept. 15 marks the first anniversary of the passing of Pat Smullen. We were fortunate to have had Ireland's multiple champion jockey as a TDN columnist throughout the 2019 season and one thing that stood out in his weekly missives was how pleased he was to see his fellow jockeys do well, even though he had been forced to curtail his own brilliant riding career through illness.

It is doubtless this generosity of spirit that made Smullen so popular along his peers and so revered by the young jockeys on their way up, many of whom would ring him regularly for advice and feedback on their own burgeoning careers.

It was hard not to have a lump in the throat watching and listening to his weigh-room colleagues pay tribute by singing Stand By Me with the Newbridge Gospel Choir during Sunday's broadcast from the Curragh. Two years earlier the racecourse had been the scene of an equally emotional occasion when Smullen raised €2.5 million for Cancer Trials Ireland, predominantly through the Pat Smullen Champions Race.

One of the nine retired champions in that race was his former arch-rival Johnny Murtagh, who won the last of eight Group 1 races over the weekend, the Irish St Leger, with the Ebor winner Sonnyboyliston (Ire) (Power {GB}).

Reflecting on their competitiveness in the saddle back in April 2019, Smullen said, “I think our relationship is a lot better since both of us have not been riding. I genuinely feel that his ability to train horses is unquestionable.”

On this and many other things he was unquestionably right.

The post The Weekly Wrap: Like A Hurricane appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Weekly Wrap: Euro Delights Aplenty

We head towards a weekend featuring the final British Classic of 2021, the Arc Trials and Irish Champions Weekend with the last week having offered plenty of food for thought across Europe.

Torquator Tasso (Ger) paid a posthumous tribute to his champion sire Adlerflug (Ger) by adding victory in the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden to his 2020 win in the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin. Second in last year's Deutsches Derby to another son of Adlerflug, the recently retired In Swoop (Ire), the 4-year-old beat this year's Derby winner Sisfahan (Fr) (Isfahan {Ger}), who hassled the winner all the way to the line to boost the 2021 Classic form in Germany.

Torquator Tasso owns an intriguing pedigree, with both his sire and dam being female-line descendants of Anatevka (Ger) (Espresso {GB}) through the full-sisters Alya (Ger) and Allegretta (GB), both by Lombard (Ger). He thus has a double shot of the the family that can be credited with doing more to raise the profile of German breeding internationally in recent decades than any other. Torquator Tasso's owner Karl-Dieter Ellerbracke has indicated that the Arc is now the likely target for his colt, and that he may well stay in training next year before joining Ellerbracke's Gestüt Auenquelle. The stud is currently home to the veteran Soldier Hollow (GB) and Torquator Tasso's eventual arrival will give breeders another option for tapping into the Adlerflug/In The Wings line which has worked so well in Germany of late.

The Grosser Preis success was also another major feather in the cap of Marcel Weiss, who for the last two years has been training the Auenquelle horses at Mulheim. He had previously served his time as feedman for several trainers, including Heinz Jentzsch and Jens Hirschberger.

Half an hour later and some 500 kilometres away in Paris, Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) continued his unbeaten progression to the top with his first Group 1 strike in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. He is the 15th Group 1 winner for his sire and the second to have won at the top level over a mile after Zelzal (Fr), who landed the Prix Jean Prat before it was reduced in distance.

Anatevka and her daughter Allegretta of course appear in Baaeed's pedigree as the third and second dams of Sea The Stars, and on the bottom line the Queen's former star Height Of Fashion (Fr), who has been the bedrock of the late Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell Stud, appears again in another top prospect as Baaeed's fifth dam.

William Haggas's star pupil Baaeed is out of Aghareed, a listed winner in her racing days for John Hammond and a daughter of Kingmambo. It is a cross which has been seen to good effect with Sea The Stars, whose Group 1-winning sons and young French-based stallions Cloth Of Stars (Ire) and Zelzal are both out of Kingmambo mares.

Ryan On Point For Major Owner

It was a day to remember for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid and Kevin Ryan on Saturday at Haydock, where the freewheeling tactics of Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) paid off when narrowly denying the even-money favourite Starman (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) in the G1 Sprint Cup. The 5-year-old former Gimcrack winner has been in good form all summer and was most recently second to Winter Power (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {Ire}) in the G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe S. at York.

The owner/trainer duo had started the day well when supplying the latest stakes winner in a tremendous season for Frankel (GB) through Triple Time (GB) in the listed Ascendant S. The 2-year-old's dam Reem Three (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}) can very much claim her fair share of the credit, however, as she has been a wonderfully dependable broodmare for the sheikh, providing six black-type performers by six different stallions, including G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein victor Ostilio (GB) (New Approach {Ire}).

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid has enjoyed a decent run of late, with seven winners from 17 runners over the last fortnight. They include the smart-looking 2-year-old homebred Razzle Dazzle (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}), who has two black-type entries at Doncaster later this week.

Intello To The Fore

It was also a good weekend for Haras du Quesnay's Intello (Ger), who was represented by three new group winners in France and Germany.

The lightly-raced Waldbiene (Fr) continued an excellent run for graduates of Andreas Putsch's Haras de Saint Pair when winning the G2 T Von Zastrow Stutenpreis at Baden-Baden on Saturday. A daughter of Waldjagd (GB) (Observatory {GB}), she hails from an excellent family which includes the St Leger winner Masked Marvel (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) and Arc winner Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).

The following day the 11-year-old son of Galileo (Ire) notched two Group 3 winners in just over an hour at ParisLongchamp. The first came with victory for 4-year-old Dawn Intello (Fr), bred by Viktor Timoshenko at Haras de Montaigu, who clearly enjoyed dropping back in trip to 2000 metres for the La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte.

Bubble Smart (GB) then delivered the Prix Gladiateur for her trainer Mikel Delazangles and the family of his late Moroccan breeder Zakaria Hakam to complete a hat-trick of staying wins since June 26. The 4-year-old half-sister to Prix du Jockey Club runner-up Bubble Chic (Fr) (Chichicastenango {Fr}) was raised at Haras de Maulepaire, not far from Le Mans, and her dam is one of around seven mares kept by Ali and Amina Hakam at the stud.

Run by Pierric Rouxel for the Comtesse de Tarragon, Maulepaire also raised arguably the most famous horse to have emerged from the Delzangles stable, the globetrotting multiple Group 1 winner Dunaden (Fr), as well as some notable stars of the jumps scene, including La Bague Au Roi (Fr).

Ardad And Time Test Step Up

Ardad (Ire) leapt to the head of the European first-season sires' table on Saturday courtesy of his second group winner, Eve Lodge (GB), who notched the second victory of her career in the G3 Sirenia S. at Kempton. Ardad's leading performer of the season is the G1 Prix Morny and Gr Norfolk S. winner Perfect Power (Ire).

The Overbury Stud resident has had 17 individual winners at the time of writing, so he is eight behind the leader Cotai Glory (GB) in that category, but ahead on prize-money, largely thanks to his stakes winners.

The freshman who took perhaps the biggest step forward this week is the National Stud's Time Test (GB), who had Group 3 winners on consecutive days and now lies equal with Galileo Gold (GB) for number of black-type winners on three.

At Baden-Baden on Wednesday, the Peter Schiergen-trained Rocchigiani (GB) became his sire's first group winner in the G3 Renate und Albrecht Woesten Zukunftsrennen, swiftly followed 24 hours later by the success of Romantic Time (GB) in the G3 Dick Poole Fillies' S. The William Stone-trained filly had previously beaten Eve Lodge into second when the pair met in a novice race at Yarmouth on July 7.

For Eve Lodge's trainer Charlie Fellowes, it was a case of as one door opens, another closes, and in this case it was a pretty big door. Thirty-five minutes after Eve Lodge became the trainer's first group winner on home soil, his beloved stable star Prince of Arran (GB) ran his final race when finishing last of five in the G3 September S. That race had been intended as a prep run before the 8-year-old went into quarantine for a fourth tilt at the Melbourne Cup, but the stringent new pre-travel vetting requirements for overseas runners ruled him out of a return to Australia.

Fellowes will miss him terribly but he can look back with great pride at the career of a really likeable horse who helped to bring his trainer's name to wider attention internationally. Prince Of Arran retires sound and well with six wins to his name from 49 starts, and more than £2 million in prize-money. His most memorable victory came in the G3 Lexus S. on Derby day at Flemington, where he was also placed three times in the Melbourne Cup. There aren't many like him and he deserves a long and happy retirement.

Baden-Baden Gets It Right For Racing

Following an encouraging day at the BBAG Yearling Sale on Friday, BBAG president Karl-Dieter Ellerbracke then witnessed his Torquator Tasso take Baden-Baden's biggest race on Sunday to set him on course for a tilt at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

In the spring the sales company became a shareholder in its neighbouring Baden-Baden racecourse, a symbiotic relationship which makes perfect sense. There is great relief in German racing that the action is now continuing at Baden-Baden under a 10-year lease to the newly formed Baden Galopp.

For a start, the closure of any racecourse should be met with regret, and it is no secret that German racing is under threat from dwindling prize-money and a reduction in the number of broodmares in the country. Most people who spent time at Baden-Baden racecourse, or at the sales, over the last few days would not have formed that impression, however.

The one problem British racing does not face is a lack of racegoers but there is growing consternation about the unruly behaviour, often fuelled by drink and drugs, at a number of the country's top meetings.

Baden Galopp may be a new company but the people behind it are long-term supporters of and participants in the sport. The meeting they staged over this weekend could be used as the copybook for the perfect racing experience, whether for the sport's professionals or for the casual fan.

For a start, the layout of the racecourse allows visitors to get properly close to the action, both on the track and when the horses are led back in after the race along the fabulous walkway bearing the names of the winners of the Grosser Preis, like racing's own special version of the yellow brick road. There is the history of the great race right there, writ large under our feet.

It was extremely hot over the weekend but plenty of shade was provided by the many lovely old trees in the public areas where there is no segregation, apart from the parade ring and winner's circle area naturally being restricted to owners, trainers and jockeys. But if you want to see the horses you can, very easily, and plenty of people did, as it was three or four deep around the parade ring on both days. The rail in the long home straight was lined with folk throughout the day, and with the jockeys' tendency to bring the horses wide to that stands' rail, the runners whizzed by so close you could almost touch them, much to the delight of the many children watching on (and one very big child with a reporter's hat on).

For time out from the equine action, there was plenty of seating all around the course to enjoy a picnic from the open air bars and bratwurst stands. Not once over the weekend was there any sense of drunken, loutish behaviour. It was truly a wonderful sporting day out that could be properly enjoyed by family members of all ages, not to mention their pet dogs, of which there were many on course throughout the weekend.

There is much to celebrate about the return of racing to Baden-Baden at whatever level your interest in the sport may be.

One notable absentee from the sales and racing in Germany was leading trainer Andreas Wohler, 59, who suffered a heart attack on the previous Friday but has subsequently been released from hospital to continue his recovery. We wish him well.

Mighty Weekend For Spanish Racing

Among those taking full advantage of all the delights Baden-Baden has to offer was a group of 20 friends and family of Angel Saenz, who travelled to Germany from Madrid with their trainer Guillermo Arizkorreta to plunder group races on the Saturday and Sunday.

It was a mighty raid by Spain's champion trainer, who has long been lauded in his home country but deserves the wider recognition that his first Group 3 and then Group 2 wins internationally will bring.

A former amateur rider who cut his teeth with his friend and fellow Basque-born jockey Ioritz Mendizabal, Arizkorreta spent a number of years assisting Luca Cumani in Newmarket, where he honed his perfect English speaking skills. He returns to the town regularly for the sales, and both his group winners, Kitty Marion (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) and Rodaballo (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), had been bought at Tattersalls, the former from last year's July Sale for just 3,000gns by Edgar Byrne, and Rodaballo from Ardglas Stables at the Guineas Breeze-up Sale.

Two such notable wins outside Spain, which has a racehorse population of only around 65o, clearly meant an awful lot to Arizkorreta, who has won multiple Classics at home, including last year's Poule de Potros (Spanish 2000 Guineas) with the Aston House Stud-bred Rodaballo.

He said on Sunday, “We are always very passionate about our racing and our horses, so going abroad and proving that we are good enough to compete in these races is very important for Spain. We are very proud.”

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