Australia

Master horseman Jim Bolger may have been ensconced in Ireland during this weekend's Guineas Festival, but his influence was felt far and wide across the Rowley Mile. The fact that Bolger bred, trained and raced the 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire})-in addition to the small feat of breeding his sire and first two dams and training his grandsire and third dam-has been well documented in the following days. But Bolger's fingerprints were likewise on the G1 1000 Guineas the next day: he had trained the winner...

by Bren O'Brien/TDNAusNZ The Aquis Group and the Fung family have indicated they will end their Thoroughbred racing partnership with Phoenix Thoroughbreds after it was confirmed that Phoenix's prize money had been frozen in New South Wales and Victoria. The Australian Financial Review has reported that Aquis had not been informed that Phoenix's prize money had been frozen in Australia's two biggest racing states and, having failed to get answers from the Dubai-based operation, will seek to end the relationship. Aquis told the AFR that it was left in the...

While he had to work to land odds of 1-2 in Saturday's G3 Holden Plant Rentals Alleged S. at The Curragh, Coolmore and Masaaki Matsushima's Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) managed to collect and maintain his perfect sequence in 2021. Authoritative when taking the Listed Devoy S. over this 10-furlong trip on contrasting soft ground at Naas Mar. 28, the 2019 G3 Ballysax S. and G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial S. winner who was also a close fourth in that year's G1 Epsom Derby is back on an even keel this...

It was a stunning couple of days of trade at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, held this past Tuesday and Wednesday at the auction house's Riverside complex at Warwick Farm in Sydney. The event averaged A$371,236, a 5% increase on the last comparable sale in 2019 (last year's sale was held virtually) and was the highest since 2008. The median price of A$280,000 represented a healthy 7.9% bump over 2019 and seven out of eight horses to go under the hammer changed hands. Turnover for the sale was A$132 million,...

Darley has confirmed the addition of four champions to its Australian roster for 2021. The treble Australian Group 1 winner Bivouac (Aus) will be joined by European shuttlers Pinatubo (Ire), Earthlight (Ire) and Ghaiyyath (Ire), as first reported in TDN AusNZ. The announcement marks a significant show of faith in the Australian market just 12 months after Microphone (Aus), Blue Point (Ire) and Too Darn Hot (GB) made their debut on Darley's Australian roster. "The Australian market is going very well and, at the same time, having access to these...

Chris Waller snapped up the golden ticket into next Saturday's G1 Golden Slipper S. with Shaquero (Aus) (Shalaa {Ire}) after his victory at Rosehill. The Waller-trained Shaquero was successful in the G3 Bowermans Commercial Furniture Pago Pago S. Shaquero won the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast in January and in one subsequent appearance since a break had finished sixth in the G2 Skyline S. Improved for that outing, he settled in the trail and once into the clear 200 meters off the post he accelerated...

Breeders and buyers anticipating the upcoming first 2-year-olds by Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in Europe were provided a boost in recent weeks at the sales in Australia and New Zealand, where the triple Group 1 winner's first Southern Hemisphere yearlings were warmly received. After his three yearlings sold at Magic Millions averaged A$506,666 with a top price of A$800,000, Almanzor went on to be leading first-season sire at Karaka Book 1 with 43 sold for an average of NZ$190,698. Almanzor, who is based at his birthplace Haras d'Etreham in...

Bulletin (City Zip), who took the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs in 2018, makes his Australian debut for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in Saturday's A$125,000 Sky Racing Active H. over 1100 meters at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney. He was scratched from a similar spot last weekend at Randwick. Bred in Kentucky by CresRan and sold for $250,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, Bulletin first raced for the partnership of WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing and was trained by...

In a temporarily upside-down world, a comforting air of normality can be found in a perusal of the end-of-year stallion tables. To Benjamin Franklin's certainties of death and taxes, in this smaller world we can add just about the only sure thing in racing and bloodstock: Galileo (Ire) is champion sire. Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid to the King of Tipperary is the fact that, even at his home at Coolmore, the operation which naturally has free-flowing access to the supersire via some of the best mares...

NEWMARKET, UK—"Not for the first time this year we can reflect on a market which has displayed extraordinary and commendable resilience," said Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony in his closing address for the December Foal Sale. Those sentiments have been repeated often around Park Paddocks this week, just as they were back in October when the trade for yearlings was frankly remarkable given the events of 2020. As the curtain fell on the fourth and final day of foals, again the most noteworthy figure was the clearance rate of 79%, which...

Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}-Prudenzia {Ire}, by Dansili {GB}), a winner of the 2019 G1 Mackinnon S., has been retired from racing and will join Coolmore Stud's broodmare band in Ireland next year, Coolmore Australia tweeted on Thursday morning. The 5-year-old was due to defend her title in the Mackinnon S., but was withdrawn with a foot abscess prior to the race. "Following a foot abscess as she was preparing for a second tilt at the Mackinnon S., Magic Wand has been retired and will join our broodmare band in...

Italy's Societa Gestione Aste held its one-day select yearling sale in Milan on Saturday, with two fillies bringing six figures. A total of 147 youngsters were catalogued with 130 offered after outs, and 84 of those sold for a clearance rate of 64.6% and an aggregate of €1,651,000. The average was €19,655, and the median €11,000. Predictably given the economic climate, figures took a hit from 2019 when 83 yearlings grossed €2,423,000. The average and median had both experienced huge jumps last year to €29,193 and €18,000, respectively. A first-crop...