Top News Europe | Horse Racing Free Tips

Zoffany’s Thunder Moon Cuts a Dash In the National

Sunday’s G1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National S. at The Curragh looked of vintage variety on paper and although it lost a notable in Ballydoyle’s Battleground (War Front), an incident-packed renewal ultimately witnessed a colt to quicken the pulse in TDN Rising Star Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). Purchased by Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez from Anne Marie O’Brien following his scintillating debut success over this course and distance Aug. 9, the 15-2 shot tracked the pace but was holed up with nowhere to go inside the final two furlongs. Declan McDonogh was looking for racing room down on the rail and it came in plenty of time as the fleet-footed bay darted through a gap to cut down St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the final 75 yards. Surging to the line, he had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over that rival’s fast-finishing stablemate Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who snatched the runner’s-up spot by a short head. “I was always going to ride him cool down on the fence from the one draw and take all the chances,” McDonogh explained. “They didn’t go hard enough to get a spread on them and so they bunched up a little bit and I had to check him. He was always giving me the feel that he was going to run them down and he was very impressive. He did extremely well to recover and win smoothly–he has the makings of a smart colt.”

Thunder Moon had won a Dundalk barrier trial July 29 prior to his emphatic 3 3/4-length defeat of the useful yardstick Colour Sergeant (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) here last month, but was still the least-experienced member of the line-up in what is always an daunting test for greenhorns. It is unknown how the Listed Chesham S. and G2 Vintage S. winner Battleground–who was taking out after a bout of coughing–would have fared, while Zhang Yuesheng’s Aug. 9 G1 Phoenix S. hero Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) had little luck in running and finished with gusto to be fifth. The other 2-1 joint-favourite, Godolphin’s July 11 G2 Superlative S. scorer Master of the Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), had his chance and looked the winner when swooping two out but had raced keenly from the break and probably paid for his exertions. Even Khalid Abdullah’s Masen (GB) (Kingman {GB}) was compromised, as he reared in the stalls and when given the go-ahead to start did too much on the front end. Added to that, Wembley and St Mark’s Basilica were tardy from the gates and the eventual runner-up lost almost as much there as he was beaten in the finish.

Despite the unsatisfactory nature of the way the contest unfolded, there was enough overall quality to make this a race to follow closely and few would bet against the winner coming out on top when meeting any of these rivals in the future. McDonogh had words of warning for those who hope for a second shot at Thunder Moon. “He was only in third gear through the race and didn’t even feel like he was in top gear at the line, so he’s a very exciting colt,” he said. “Even when I checked, he didn’t lose a whole lot of momentum and was straight back into his stride and powered on again. He has a great will-to-win and a great heart–he really wants to please you. I won this on another horse for Kevin Prendergast [Kingsfort (War Chant)] who had only won a maiden beforehand and it takes a proper one to do that. If he has a nice tempo to run at over a mile he’ll relax and stay well. I’d say the ground was as slow as he wants it, he has a real fast-ground action and I think fast ground will suit him really well as he’s a strong traveller. It’s been a long time since I rode one like him–he has a lot of qualities and has the mind to go with it.”

Thunder Moon’s family is that of the day’s G1 Irish St Leger heroine Search For a Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), with his third dam being the high-class Moyglare distaffer Trusted Partner (Affirmed). It was a granddaughter of that G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine, the unraced Small Sacrifice (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), who caught the eye of Anne Marie O’Brien at the 2007 Goffs November Mares Sale and she showed her keenness of judgement by securing her for only €18,000. A half-sister to the G3 Horris Hill S. third Aahaykid (Ire) (Intikhab), she went on to produce the Listed Sir Henry Cecil S. winner Table Rock (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) who was later renamed Anticipation (Ire) in Hong Kong. Small Sacrifice is a full-sister to Out of Thanks (Ire), who produced the G3 Sirenia S. winner Love Lockdown (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}), while another of her half-siblings Tiny Petal (Ire) (Grand Lodge) threw the G1 Criterium International hero Vert de Grece (Ire) also by Verglas. This is the family of the GI Matriarch S. heroine Dress To Thrill (Ire) (Danehill) and her full-sister Polished Gem (Ire) who just this week further enhanced her mighty reputation. Small Sacrifice’s yearling colt is by Caravaggio.

Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
GOFFS VINCENT O’BRIEN NATIONAL S.-G1, €250,000, Curragh, 9-13, 2yo, 7fT, 1:28.53, gd.
1–THUNDER MOON (IRE), 131, c, 2, by Zoffany (Ire)
1st Dam: Small Sacrifice (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells
2nd Dam: Trust in Luck (Ire), by Nashwan
3rd Dam: Trusted Partner, by Affirmed
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Mrs C C Regalado-Gonzalez; B-Whisperview Trading Ltd (IRE); T-Joseph O’Brien; J-Declan McDonogh. €150,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $189,183. *1/2 to Table Rock (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), SW-Eng & SP-HK, $643,136. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Wembley (Ire), 131, c, 2, Galileo (Ire)–Inca Princess (Ire), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. €50,000.
3–St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), 131, c, 2, Siyouni (Fr)–Cabaret (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). (1,300,000gns Ylg ’19 TATOCT). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Robert Scarborough (FR); T-Aidan O’Brien. €25,000.
Margins: 1HF, NO, HF. Odds: 7.50, 22.00, 9.00.
Also Ran: Master of the Seas (Ire), Lucky Vega (Ire), Charterhouse (GB), Laws of Indices (Ire), Mac Swiney (Ire), Military Style, Masen (GB). Scratched: Battleground. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

The post Zoffany’s Thunder Moon Cuts a Dash In the National appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Anthony Van Dyck Denies Stradivarius in the Foy

Coolmore’s 2019 G1 Epsom Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was winless in seven starts, six of those attempts coming at the highest level, since registering that Blue Riband success and revelled in his old gusto to outbattle Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in a pulsating renewal of Sunday’s G1 Qatar Prix Foy at ParisLongchamp. He lined up as the 19-5 second choice, coming back off a second to Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the June 5 G1 Coronation Cup at Newmarket and a fifth in Royal Ascot’s G2 Hardwicke S. last time, and led a steady tempo for the most part. He looked set to be swamped, but was up for a battle when tackled and headed by Stradivarius off the home turn, reclaiming the initiative with 300 metres remaining and staying on strongly under a continued drive to hold that rival’s renewed effort by short neck.

“We knew there was no early speed in the race and hatched a plan to move forward early,” revealed winning rider Mickael Barzalona. “We jumped off easily and I found myself in front, so I let him find a rhythm and go along bit by bit. I had a bit of trouble getting him to stretch out, but once he sensed the danger of Stradivarius he fought back gamely and found more with every stride. We know Stradivarius makes up ground easily, but sometimes gets caught for a bit of acceleration so I wasn’t too worried. I gave him a breather turning for home before winding him up and I think he enjoyed that. He has every right to a place in the line-up for the Arc as he gets into a good rhythm and just keeps galloping in a straight and true line.”

Owner Bjorn Nielsen has not discounted a tilt the Arc for his star stayer Stradivarius and said, “They have basically walked there and Frankie thought he should have gone in front. The race has turned into a sprint and we were only beaten a neck. To be beaten in such circumstances isn’t too much of a worry and certainly not a disgrace. I don’t know if he will run in the Arc, I need to speak with John [Gosden], but given how that race was run I wouldn’t rule it out. The ground conditions on the day will not play a huge part. He goes better on good ground, but can handle soft if needs be.”

Anthony Van Dyck is the fourth of five foals and one of three winners for G3 Blue Diamond Prelude victress Believe’n’succeed (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), who also produced by G1 Railway S.-winning New Zealand champion sprinter Bounding (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}) and a yearling filly by Galileo (Ire). His dam, full to MGSW sire Kuroshio (Aus) and the stakes-winning Agulhas (Aus), is a daughter of GI Alabama S. and GI Test S. heroine November Snow (Storm Cat). November Snow is a full-sister to GSW sire Scatmandu from a family featuring GI Carter H. hero Morning Line (Tiznow).

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX FOY-G2, €90,000, ParisLongchamp, 9-13, 4yo/up, 12fT, 2:33.27, gd.
1–ANTHONY VAN DYCK (IRE), 129, c, 4, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Believe’N’Succeed (Aus) (GSW-Aus, $157,067), by Exceed and Excel (Aus)
2nd Dam: Arctic Drift, by Gone West
3rd Dam: November Snow, by Storm Cat
O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Mickael Barzalona. €51,300. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Eng, MGSW & MG1SP-Ire, GISP-US, 17-6-3-3, $2,107,750. *1/2 to Bounding (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}), Ch. Sprinter-NZ, G1SW-NZ &, GSW-Aus, $578,367. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Stradivarius (Ire), 129, h, 6, Sea the Stars (Ire)–Private Life (Fr), by Bering (GB). (330,000gns RNA Ylg ’15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John Gosden. €19,800.
3–Nagano Gold (GB), 129, h, 6, Sixties Icon (GB)–Never Enough (Ger), by Monsun (Ger). (3,500gns Wlg ’14 TATFOA). O-Syndikat V3J; B-J Knight & E Cantillon (GB); T-Vaclav Luka. €9,450.
Margins: SNK, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 3.80, 0.60, 17.00.
Also Ran: Skyward (Fr), Way To Paris (GB), Ziyad (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post Anthony Van Dyck Denies Stradivarius in the Foy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Galileo’s Shale Gets Her Revenge In the Moyglare

Much has been made of the ability of the average Galileo (Ire) to endure more than a fair amount of engagement in battle, but there continues to be example after example as the weeks of the flat season roll on. There seems especially to be something in The Curragh’s hallowed turf to bring out those mystical qualities from within his charges and on Sunday it was Shale (Ire) who was drawing on it to garner the G1 Moyglare Stud S. Having beaten Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) in the G3 Silver Flash S. at Leopardstown Aug. 6 only to lose out to her in the Aug. 22 course-and-distance G2 Debutante S., Donnacha O’Brien’s juvenile starlet was back in the ring to win on points as it came down to a slog. Tracking the Debutante third Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) throughout the early stages, the 9-2 second favourite was the first to come under a ride as Ryan Moore started to niggle before the halfway point. TDN Rising Star Pretty Gorgeous was tracking her every move and after Shale had earned the lead passing the two-furlong pole she was set upon by her arch-rival. John Oxley’s Joseph O’Brien trainee was in front briefly 200 yards from the line, but by the time they reached it Shale had the call over the 11-10 market-leader by 3/4 of a length, with Oodnadatta (Ire) (Australia {GB}) 1 3/4 lengths back in third. “She’s an incredibly tough filly and she’s done it very well,” commented Donnacha, who ironically had ridden Intricately (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) for Joseph when winning this in 2016. “I know how much Joseph thinks of his filly, so I was surprised to beat her at Leopardstown. She was the first off the bridle and I didn’t think she was going to do anything at halfway, but she found a lot for pressure, toughed it out and was going away at the line. These Galileo fillies can keep improving and she has with every start.”

There was little sign when Shale was sixth on debut behind Oodnadatta in a seven-furlong Leopardstown maiden June 21 that she would hit these heights, but that has turned out to be a smart contest from which the subsequent G3 Marble Hill S. winner Minaun (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) sprang, among others. Off the mark over a mile on testing ground next time at Gowran Park July 8, the daughter of the emphatic G1 1000 Guineas heroine Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) may have been in part benefitting from a front-runner’s bias back at Leopardstown as she held Pretty Gorgeous at bay in the Silver Flash reverting to this trip. When she was put in her place so readily in the Debutante last time, that looked to be the deciding blow in the contest but Shale’s doughtiness ultimately told in this championship bout.

“The ground was a little bit more in our favour today,” Donnacha added. “She’s a very low mover, so you would think she wants quick ground but her mother was the same and when they are very clear-winded and tough they tend to go on most conditions. I definitely thought she’d be closer today, but I wasn’t going to say that I thought she’d go and win as we don’t look under the bonnet at home. She has a few options–it could be the [G1 Prix] Marcel Boussac or Newmarket [for the G1 Fillies’ Mile] and after that she could go to America for the Breeders’ Cup. She’ll be even better when she goes back up in trip.” Pretty Gorgeous’s rider Declan McDonogh said, “It was a bit messy early, but I headed the winner and she then got a bit tired. I’ve no excuses–she ran a blinder.”

Homecoming Queen, who took the 2012 renewal of the Newmarket mile Classic by nine lengths, is another of the Coolmore broodmares locked on to Galileo and she now has three black-type performers including the stakes-placed First of Spring (Ire) and the G2 Futurity S. third Berkeley Square (Ire). Her dam Lagrion (Diesis {GB}) produced the mighty Arc hero Dylan Thomas (Ire), the juvenile champion Queen’s Logic (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and the G1 Epsom Oaks second Remember When (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) whose son Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is this year’s G1 Epsom Derby hero. His G2 Kilboy Estate S.-winning full-sister Wedding Vow (Ire) was also runner-up in the G1 Nassau S., while Queen’s Logic produced the G2 Diadem S. and G2 Lowther S. winner and G1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp and G1 Haydock Sprint Cup runner-up Lady of the Desert (Rahy). Homecoming Queen’s 2019 Galileo is a colt.

Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
MOYGLARE STUD S.-G1, €250,000, Curragh, 9-13, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:27.19, gd.
1–SHALE (IRE), 128, f, 2, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Hwt. 3yo Filly-Eng at 7-9.5f, G1SW-Eng & GSW-Ire, $458,335), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)
2nd Dam: Lagrion, by Diesis (GB)
3rd Dam: Wrap It Up (Ire), by Mount Hagen (Fr)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Donnacha O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €150,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $241,134. *Full to Berkeley Square (Ire), GSP-Ire; and First of Spring (Ire), SP-US. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Pretty Gorgeous (Fr), 128, f, 2, Lawman (Fr)–Lady Gorgeous (GB), by Compton Place (GB). (€55,000 Wlg ’18 ARQDE; 525,000gns Ylg ’19 TATOCT). O-John C Oxley; B-EARL Ecurie Haras du Cadran, Enrico Ciampi, SAS I.E.I. & Ecurie La Boetie (FR); T-Joseph O’Brien. €50,000.
3–Oodnadatta (Ire), 128, f, 2, Australia (GB)–Bewitched (Ire), by Dansili (GB). O-Robert Scarborough & Susan Magnier; B-Robert Scarborough & Carradale (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. €25,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 4.50, 1.10, 22.00.
Also Ran: Bubbles On Ice (Ire), Thunder Beauty (Ire), Aunty Bridy (Ire), A Ma Chere (Ire), Divinely (Ire), Snowfall (Jpn), Teresa Mendoza (Ire), Mother Earth (Ire), Elanora (Ire), Star Image (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

The post Galileo’s Shale Gets Her Revenge In the Moyglare appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Champion Aim For Pyledriver

Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) will turn back to a mile and a quarter for the Oct. 17 G1 Qipco Champion S. after finishing third in Saturday’s G1 Pertemps St Leger.

“He’s come home safe and sound,” said trainer William Muir on Sunday. “I wondered whether the race might have taken a bit out of him, but he’s eaten everything and he’s in great shape.”

Pyledriver won the G2 King Edward VII S. and the G2 Great Voltigeur S. earlier in the season.

“I don’t want to be dogmatic and say he didn’t stay,” Muir added. “He didn’t stay quite as well as the first two, but I felt he was closing again at the line and at the end of the day he’s been beaten a length and a neck,” Muir added. “He couldn’t quite go through the gears like he did at York. It didn’t help that he got a bump and ended up out on a wing on his own, but that’s racing. The Champion S. was the plan and I don’t see any reason to change it. I think he’ll be fine back at a mile and a quarter and if it did come up heavy ground, he’d handle that and it would mean you’d nearly need to stay a mile and a half well to win, which he obviously does. He is still a bit weak, which I’ve been telling everyone all year. He’ll be some horse next year, I promise you.”

The post Champion Aim For Pyledriver appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post