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Big Pond was a big deal at Santa Anita Park over the winter, winning the Feb. 18 Spring Fever Stakes after a nose defeat when second in the Dec. 26 La Brea Stakes (G1). Now, she races May 18 in the $175,000 Vagrancy Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct. View the full article

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here is one horse of interest for this Saturday running at Kyoto Racecourse: Saturday, May 18, 2024 1st-KYO, ¥10,480,000 ($67k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m BEL DINAH PHAROAH (JPN) (f, 3, American Pharoah–Gianna Schicchi, by War Front) is out of a half-sister to His Highness The Aga Khan's Shareta (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}), runner-up to Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}) in the 2011 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and winner of the G1 Prix Vermeille the following season. Gianna Schicchi was unplaced in two starts and was offered with this filly in utero at the 2020 Keeneland November Sale, but was led out unsold on a bid of $275,000 and subsequently changed hands privately. The mare is also related to the stakes-placed Shazand (Ire) (Daylami {Ire}), Londres (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Shaywan (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}). The deeper female family includes fellow Vermeille and G1 Irish Oaks winner Shawanda (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}), the dam of 2012 G1 St Leger hero Encke (Kingmambo). B-Tsuji Bokujo The post American Pharoah Filly Down To Debut at Kyoto appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Equine nutritional best practices from foals to racehorses was covered in the third panel of the 2024 OwnerView webinar series held May 14, said co-hosts The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association via a press release Thursday morning. The virtual panel consisted of trainer Cherie DeVaux; Anthony Koch, Hallway Feeds; Dr. Joe Pagan, Kentucky Equine Research; and Bradley Purcell, Claiborne Farm. The guests discussed everything from the feeding late pregnant mares to the importance of water and hay intake. Click here to watch a replay of the Q&A, and here to access previous sessions. Seven additional virtual panels are scheduled for the remainder of the year. The next session covering “Horseman's (Owner) Relations & Owner Liability.” will be held June 11 at 2 p.m. ET. The post Equine Nutrition Focus Of Latest OwnerView Virtual Panel appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kentucky Derby (G1)-winning trainer Graham Motion on the industry's safety efforts.View the full article

Promising apprentice Ace Lawson-Carroll can’t wait to make the most of his opportunity on one of New Zealand’s fastest horses at Trentham on Saturday. Lawson-Carroll, who is apprenticed to Shaun Clotworthy in South Auckland, will ride the Ben Foote-trained Babylon Berlin (All Too Hard) in the open sprint, with his 2kg claim reducing the Group One performer’s impost from 62kg to 60kg for the Happy 80th Birthday Garry Chittick 1100. A multiple Stakes winner, Babylon Berlin has four times placed at the elite level, including a narrow defeat in last season’s Telegraph at Trentham, going down by a long neck behind Levante (NZ) (Proisir). Lawson-Carroll has ridden sprinters the quality of Group One winner Bonny Lass (NZ) (Super Easy) and Sacred Satono (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) on race day in the past, but said he is excited at the prospect of partnering Babylon Berlin. “My boss Shaun is good mates with Ben Foote and that’s helped secure the ride and my riding is going well and I’d like to think that’s been a factor in me getting on her as well,” Lawson-Carroll said. “It’s a great opportunity for me. Hopefully now she can win. She’s got a lot of black type to her name and drawn well on Saturday, she should be right there and hopefully find a good kick on the turn. “She’s a mare who looks to get out and get going and I don’t think the weight is going to be that much of an issue.” Foote is expecting a forward showing from Babylon Berlin, confident his stable star is well recovered from a throat infection and an eye ailment. “Everything seems good with her. She seems back to 100 per cent,” he said. “We had that throat issue and she got a bit of bacteria in her eye and that took a bit to recover, so we’ve just taken our time. “Unfortunately, she’s ready at not the best time of the year and there’s not really a lot around, hence why she’ll head down to Trentham. “We’ll just go race by race with her. She might have one or two races and then we could freshen her up and get ready for the spring or if she did race well at Trentham, we could look overseas. But we’re not making any decisions till after Saturday.” Later on the card, Lawson-Carroll will get the chance to secure his first Stakes win when he rides Lincoln Falls (Dundeel) for Palmerston North-based trainer Lisa Latta in Saturday’s feature, the Listed James Bull Rangitikei Cup (1600m). “I really like Lincoln Falls in the Stakes race. He’s been running some really nice races and is in good form going into this one,” Lawson-Carroll said. “Lincoln Star should be a good chance in the Rating 75 stayers race earlier in the day for the same stable too.” Lawson-Carroll, 19, is in his third full season of riding and is approaching 50 wins. He is ambitious but wants to ensure he gets a thorough grounding in riding before spreading his wings. “It’s a bit harder now, I’m only claiming two kilos, but hopefully I can keep on getting on good horses and riding for good trainers like Lisa Latta and things can keep going like they are now,” he said. “I’ve still got to learn my craft here but if I get the chance to travel further afield I’d grab that opportunity with two hands. I’m always wanting to learn more and improve. “I study the form a lot, not just my horse but the other horses in the field and how I expect different riders to ride their horse. My boss’ son Harrison Clotworthy goes through my past rides with me and that’s been a great help too.” View the full article

Benchmark 56 races rarely feature in fairytales, but for David Dempsey, they may as well be the Melbourne Cup. Dempsey reckons the replay of Not A Brass Razoo’s (NZ) (Darci Brahma) win in the lowly handicap at Gawler last Wednesday will be on loop in his mind when he takes his last breath. Unfortunately, that will be soon. Stricken with terminal cancer and given only weeks to live, the passionate Mt Gambier-based owner paid $4000 for the tried-race mare via Inglis Digital and hoped trainer Peter Hardacre could orchestrate a miracle win in his final days. “Three years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer and I’m pretty much on my last hurrah now,” Dempsey said. “I was sitting at home thinking I only have a little bit of time left and I thought to myself that if I bought a horse online, whether Peter would train it and we’d just go halves. “He was obliging and we came to a gentlemen’s agreement. “I picked Not A Brass Razoo out because it was in my black book, we bid $4000 and bought her.” The miracle win, although not entirely unexpected by the stable, means Dempsey will likely die a happy man. “I bought the horse and three weeks later it has won a race, you wouldn’t dream about how that’s happened,” he said. “Kudos to Peter for getting her over the line because I didn’t even think she’d be up and racing that quick. “I was rapt, it brought a tear to me eye. “I had my two brothers up here, one of my best mates and my partner and we couldn’t believe it. “I said to Peter that I was happy to just race for the prizemoney and he said that if I could get 10-1, I should have something on it, so I did.” Not A Brass Razoo will chase another win at Mt Gambier on Sunday week and Dempsey hopes to be trackside for what could be one of his final outings. Win or lose, he’s just keen to cuddle the mare who has helped put a smile on his face these past few weeks. “She’s going to come down here on the 26th to Mt Gambier and I’ll definitely be out there, no matter how I do it,” he said. “I want to go out there and give her a pat. “I don’t care if she wins or not, she’s done the job now. “More than likely, I’ve got about three or four months left. “It’s all getting pretty bad at the moment. “I see my oncologist next week and I’m going to tell them that I don’t want any more chemo because I’m pretty flat. “I’ve had a fair go at it.” View the full article

Te Akau Racing’s Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson continued to extend their unassailable lead in the National Trainers’ Premiership at Riccarton’s Synthetic meeting on Thursday, recording a winning double courtesy of Caravella (NZ) (Caravaggio) and Treaty Of Paris (NZ) (Tavistock). Caravella kicked off proceedings in the Coca-Cola Open Handicap (1200m) when getting the better of the Les Collins-trained Dear Oh Dear (NZ) (Atlante) by a long head. “It was a great effort to win like she did today,” Walker said. “She’s really started to mature and come into her own now and Dave (Ellis, Te Akau Racing principal) loves buying horses from Wentwood Grange. They’re great breeders and they breed tough, sound, racehorses that continue to improve with age. “She had to do it the hard way, from back in the field, which indicates she’s competitive and capable of winning more races under Open Handicap conditions. “She’s continued to improve consistently through the grades and I think she’ll be competitive at stakes level next season as a five-year-old.” Caravella is a half-sister to Our Abbadean (NZ) (Lookin At Lucky), a dual Group Two winner and twice Group One placed for Te Akau. “She was very unlucky last start at Wingatui, so it was pleasing to see things go her way, and it’s great to have had good success with both her and Our Abbadean,” Ellis said. “It’s a terrific effort to have won four times this season and she seems to have really settled in well and thrived at our stables on the course at Riccarton. “Hunter (Durrant, Riccarton stable foreman) and the staff down there are doing a great job and we have always loved stabling and racing horses in the South Island. “We had her half-sister Our Abbadean in the stable for the Hawkins family at Wentwood Grange, who performed very well. “She ran in all three legs of the Triple Crown during the Hawkes Bay Spring Carnival, and came of age as an older mare when winning the Awapuni Gold Cup (Gr. 2, 2000m) and Travis Stakes (Gr. 2, 2000m). “She was a really good stakes quality mare and the more wins Caravella can get on the board the more valuable she becomes. “It’s a good family and Wentwood Grange is one of the very astute breeders in our industry.” As they did a day earlier at Cambridge, Walker and Bergerson produced back-to-back winners at Riccarton when Treaty Of Paris took out the Fire Fighters Challenge – Phil Leabourn Rating 75 (2200m). “It was a really good win and a lovely ride of Warren’s (Kennedy),” Walker said. “He’s been a slower maturing horse, but now he’s getting some age on him he’s getting stronger and becoming a decent staying type. “He was a magnificent sort of yearling when Dave (Ellis) bought him, now coming to it as a proven racehorse and he’s certainly got a good record on the poly track. “We’ve always rated his ability, but he’s just needed the time to develop, and I think he’ll make a nice Cups horse next year with even more maturity.” View the full article

Actually, it started well before that. A club I was close to, the Amberley Racing Club, moved from its Broomfield venue to Rangiora in 1974 under what was then known as the Centralisation Scheme. That ended well didn't it? Assets confiscated, community control lost and the new venue closed for racing. For what gain to the industry?

Thursday's under-tack show session for Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic May Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale will begin at 10 a.m. ET., which is a two-hour delay from its originally scheduled start time of 8 a.m., the auction company said in an early release. The two-hour delay will provide the track maintenance staff additional time to prepare the surface following rains that affected the Timonium, Maryland area since late Tuesday. The Thursday trials is the second of three under tack show sessions for the sale. The third and final will take place Friday at 8 a.m. The Midlantic May Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale will be conducted this coming Monday and Tuesday, May 20-21, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. Click here to view the live feed. The post Midlantic May Thursday Under-Tack Show Session Will Begin At 10am appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article