JC / Railbird

International Archive

Yeats Repeats at Ascot

– Yeats went to post at 8-13 odds and looked every bit the well-bet favorite in today’s Ascot Gold Cup, romping home to take consecutive runnings of the 2 1/2 mile race. The win was the third of the meet for trainer Aidan O’Brien, who’s already considering bringing Yeats back for a third shot at the Gold Cup next year. “This race is the ultimate staying race and a third crack at it would be on the agenda. It would be great to be back again” (Sporting Life).
– Today was Ladies’ Day at Ascot: Topshop topped Dior in the fashion stakes (Guardian), and there are rumors of a palace leak after cream, “untouched as an 8-1 shot all week,” suddenly emerged as the prohibitive favorite for the Queen’s hat color (Times), leaving bookmaker Paddy Power with a £15,000 bill when the Queen arrived at Ascot in a cream-and-chocolate number (BBC).
– Superfecta is agitating for a Ladies’ Day stateside, perhaps on Breeders’ Cup Friday. It’s a fine idea, and would be a nice way to showcase the newly added races to the BC program.

Posted in International on June 21, 2007

Tuesday Evening Notes

– A blanket finish in the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot, with the Godolphin-owned Ramonti coming out a head in front of the rest, giving Sheik Mohammed his first Group 1 winner in Britain since 2005. “We needed that, badly,” said trainer Saeed bin Suroor afterwards (Guardian). Hot favorite George Washington finished fourth. “We were delighted with his run. After going to stud and covering 60 mares you would be a bit fresh, wouldn’t you?,” said trainer Aidan O’Brien of the colt’s effort (Sporting Life Ascot blog).
– Aidan O’Brien had better luck in the Saint James Palace Stakes, in which his starters finished one-two-three (ThoroTimes).
– An intriguing idea from Bill Finley for keeping racing stars in training: “Imagine what would happen if every Grade I race in the country, or even just the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup races, were restricted to horses whose sires were 5-years-old or older at the time the horse was conceived” (ESPN).
– Saying she’s “already proven herself against the boys,” owner Michael Tabor said it was unlikely Belmont winner Rags to Riches would face colts again this year. Rather than run in the Travers, she may start next in the Coaching Club American Oaks and then in the Alabama. “We plan to run her next year, and who’s to say she won’t run as a 5-year-old?,” said Tabor. “We have all the time in the world to consider running her against the boys” (NY Times).

Posted in International on June 19, 2007

Royal Ascot Opens

Royal Ascot opens Tuesday and stud dud George Washington, winner of last year’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, will make his much anticipated return to the races in the Queen Anne Stakes. “He’s good. We think he has matured, we’ve been very happy with him and he is behaving very well,” said trainer Aidan O’Brien of the colt (Sporting Life). George Washington is the hot favorite in the race, at even money on Ladbrokes, 11-4 on Betfair in the early wagering.
On Wednesday, rivals Notnowcato and Dylan Thomas clash in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Times), won last year by Ouija Board, now retired and in foal to Kingmambo. A beautifully illustrated biography written by owner Lord Derby has recently been published about the tremendous mare, who often trounced the best of her peers, male and female, during her 22-race career run in seven different countries.

Posted in International on June 18, 2007

Epsom Derby 2007

Authorized wins “by a street,” giving jockey Frankie Dettori his first Derby victory (Guardian).
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Dettori followed up on Sunday with a win in the French Derby aboard Lawman. Bookmakers wept: “Plenty of customers picked up their Authorized winnings on Sunday morning and many kept the faith in Frankie doing the Derby double, making this a weekend to forget for us,” said David Stevens, spokesman for the bookmakers Coral (Guardian).

Posted in International on June 3, 2007

Epsom Results

– “Bargain-buy Sir Percy was delivered on the line to gain a famous victory in a pulsating finish to the 227th Vodafone Derby at Epsom.” The colt won the race by a head in one of the closest finishes seen in the Epsom Derby in years, with the top four all finishing within a head or nose of each other. The race was marred by the tragic breakdown of second favorite Horatio Nelson, who was pulled up in the stretch after fracturing his right front leg, an injury unfortunately foreshadowed before the race when jockey Kieren Fallon expressed concern that the colt wasn’t warming up well. Trainer Aidan O’Brien and racecourse vet Peter Webbon watched Horatio Nelson trot and determined that he was fit to run. “Thus was the equine Horatio Nelson killed in action, sharing the fate of his illustrious namesake, Lord Nelson, killed in action at Trafalgar.” Owner John Magnier, asked about the pre-race concerns, declined to lay blame on anyone for the accident. “If there was something, it was checked by the people down there and they passed it.”
– At Epsom on Friday, Alexandrova “ran away with the Oaks,” winning by six lengths under a handride from jockey Kieren Fallon. “She just took off with me,” Fallon said. “Any filly that wins in the Oaks is very special, and I’ve been lucky enough to win it three times before today, but I never thought until today that I’d get a feel from a filly in the Oaks like I did from Ouija Board two years ago.” In the Coronation Cup, Shirocco was briefly tested by Ouija Board, but then easily drew away to win by 1 3/4 lengths.

Posted in International on June 4, 2006

Dubai World Cup Results

Godolphin could have its first Kentucky Derby starter since 2002 with Discreet Cat. The colt won the UAE Derby impressively by six lengths, beating a field that included older horses like previously undefeated Uruguayan Triple Crown winner Invasor, and is attracting excited attention as a result. British bookmaker William Hill made Discreet Cat its 5-1 Kentucky Derby favorite, but Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford is warning eager fans to wait before wagering:

And jockey Frankie Dettori sounded a note of caution after the UAE Derby as well: “I don’t know how he’s going to be against the best of the Americans,” he said. “But he showed great determination and focus.”
If Discreet Cat were to run in the Kentucky Derby, it would be only his fourth career start, going 1 1/4 miles against tested competitors like the current leading favorites Brother Derek and Lawyer Ron. However impressive his Dubai win, those are a couple of tough knocks to overcome.
Other Dubai results: Local horse Electrocutionist overcame a slow start from post one to win the World Cup by 1 1/4 lengths. “I knew he was a good horse and a special horse,” said happy owner Sheik Mohammed after. The Americans put in a good show, with Brass Hat finishing second, Wilko third, and Magna Graduate fourth.
Buff Bradley, trainer of Brass Hat, admitted some disappointment at the results, but said, “I got over it, and it took me about 10 seconds … We were so proud of Brass Hat. He made us proud. He ran super.”
Electrocutionist could start in this fall’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, as might David Junior, who turned in an eye-catching performance winning the Dubai Duty Free. “He was swinging away like he was running in a maiden and when I asked him to quicken up, he went away like a rocket,” said jockey Jamie Spencer. “Once he had got out I was never going to get beaten.”
Related: Sources close to Ouija Board’s connections say jockey Kieren Fallon has lost the mount on the “wonder mare” following her poor showing in the Sheema Classic, and Wilko will remain with trainer Jeremy Noseda. The four-year-old returned to Noseda’s Newmarket barn following the World Cup, and may start next in the May 29 Met Mile or the June 17 Stephen Foster.

Posted in International on March 26, 2006

Dubai World Cup Links

Although I have TVG on this morning to watch the Dubai races, I’ll offer no picks or analysis here — I wouldn’t know where to begin handicapping fields with such an international cast. John at Not to the Swift, though, has no hesitations and has picks for each race, and Alan at Left at the Gate likes Magna Graduate for the World Cup. Anyone in need of past performances can get free PPs at the Daily Racing Form.
A Dubai chat room is open on the TBA site today, and TBA member Katrina is actually in Dubai, live blogging races and results on the Dubai Racing Club Carnival blog.

Posted in International on March 25, 2006

Cheltenham Wraps Up

The four-day Cheltenham festival (subject of Bill Barich’s new book, “A Fine Place to Daydream” — more on that next week) ended today, with Irish jumper War of Attrition winning the Gold Cup. “He was something else. He jumped each fence absolutely impeccably. I knew he had plenty in the tank from the way he pinged the last two,” said jockey Conor O’Dwyer. Favorite Beef or Salmon “turned in another lifeless effort” and finished eleventh.
This year’s festival was marred by a high death toll among runners. Five horses died of injuries on Thursday, three in one race alone, bringing the total number of horses killed to nine over the course of the festival, the highest fatality rate since 1996 when 10 died. The Jockey Club has already announced it will investigate the deaths and review safety procedures.
More: “A sub-standard Cheltenham, in the absence of Kicking King, Trabolgan and Feathard Lady? Forget it.”

Posted in International on March 17, 2006

Makybe Mommy

Immediately after winning her third straight Melbourne Cup, Australian champion Makybe Diva was retired to broodmare duty. “The queen of the track is to endure the fate of female aristocrats throughout history: arranged unions and dynastic pressures to continue her line.” A breeding expert estimates that a Makybe Diva foal by Storm Cat could fetch up to $8 million as a yearling.

Posted in International on November 2, 2005

A Nasty Little Pill

“The news that Motivator is still a racehorse and will have his final start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf later this month was an excellent way to start the week, but in the middle of the sugar was a nasty little pill. A couple of hours before post-time in New York on October 29, it seems likely that someone will enter Motivator’s box with a syringe, and administer a performance-enhancing drug to the Derby winner. Had the same thing happened at Epsom on June 4, Michael Bell might well be an ex-trainer by now” (Guardian).

Posted in International on October 12, 2005