France

The World Pool season has ended with a 24% year-on-year turnover increase to HK$7.4 billion, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced on Tuesday. The largest globally commingled horse racing pools created and powered by the HKJC, the World Pool started and finished the year at Flemington Racecourse in Australia. In total, there were 222 races--up from 154 races in 2022--in eight countries. World Pool was active in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Australia for the first time and expanded its imprint with extra races from the UK and Ireland....

ARCADIA, USA--Whisper it, and a few people have been doing so since the huddle started growing at Clockers' Corner over the last few mornings, but Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) should not be overlooked in a potentially red-hot running of the GI Breeders' Cup Turf on Saturday.  On Monday morning his trainer Fabrice Chappet was one of the few to be found trackside just before sun up at Santa Anita. Though he is fielding his first runner at the Breeders' Cup, he is no stranger to American racing, having worked for...

Stall Salzburg's Group 1 winner Mendocino (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}--Mill Marin {Ire}), by Pivotal {GB}) has been retired and will stand his first season at stud at Haras du Lion in France beginning next season, Galopp Online reported. A fee for the 2022 G1 Grosser Preis von Baden victor will be announced next month. The deal was brokered by Richard Venn. Bred by Gestut Brummerhof, he was offered by his breeder at the BBAG September Yearling Sale in 2019 and made €58,000 when plucked out of the Baden-Baden ring by trainer...

The next round of yearling sales is currently taking place in La Teste de Buch near Bordeaux, with the two-day Osarus September Yearling Sale having got underway on Monday. This auction has been in steady decline in recent years and that appears to have continued through the first session, which recorded a clearance rate of 58%, with 67 of the 115 yearlings offered finding new homes for total sales of €627,750. Few will have made much profit along the way, with an average price of €10,425 and median of €9,000,...

Having succumbed to Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G1 St James's Palace S., Juddmonte's Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) lines up in Deauville's G1 Haras d'Etreham Prix Jean Prat on Sunday with reputation intact 24 hours on from the Eclipse heroics of that ascendant peer. This is an unusual target for a 2000 Guineas winner, but the pace that the Kingsclere star displayed initially at Royal Ascot suggests the seven-furlong contest will be a perfect fit. That early speed also won out in the Champagne, the Dewhurst and the Guineas...

The rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) for Thoroughbred breeding in France has been reduced from 10% to 5.5%, according to a report by Jour de Galop on Tuesday. Furthermore, the tax reduction will be applied retrospectively to Jan. 1, 2023. Loic Malivet, president of the Federation des Eleveurs du Galop (French TBA), said, "This rate of 5.5% is very important because it puts racing back in the agricultural sector, and that's only fair. I thank the minister of Agriculture and the Director of the Horse."

The catalogue for the Osarus Breeze-up Sale is now available online and contains 68 juveniles set to sell on Apr. 27. Among those consigned for the auction will be a filly from the debut crop of Magna Grecia (Ire), who was represented by his first winner at Saint-Cloud last week. Lot 30, offered by Highfield Bloodstock, is out of Bagira (Giant's Causeway), a winning full-sister to the GI Suburban H. winner Frost Giant.  Another with an American stakes winner close up on the page is Lot 8, a Sir Percy...

Europe's first 2-year-old contest of the year, Marseille-Borely's five-furlong Prix de Carqueiranne, takes place Thursday morning and has attracted a final field of eight newcomers. It features a trio hailing from the Fabrice Vermeulen yard, including €10,000 Arqana September graduate Bad Boy (Fr), who will become the first representative of Haras de Saint-Vincent's freshman sire Fas (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). The February-foaled bay is a son of Listed Prix Caravelle third Queendara (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), herself a daughter of Listed Prix Occitanie victrix and G3 Prix de Royaumont placegetter Dance...

Italy's major races will see the most significant downgrades among European countries after the European Pattern Committee announced alterations to the 2023 Flat programme Wednesday, as a host of that country's major races are set to be demoted in status. There will be 827 black-type races run in Europe this year, compared to the 852 in 2022, while group races have been cut by 13 to 412 and listed races drop to 415 from 427. One of the most significant changes to the Irish programme comes in the case of...

A short film called 'Destination France' which promotes Flat and National Hunt racing, was released by France Galop on Friday. Just under three minutes in length, the video features images from the country's training centres, stud farms, sale rings and race meetings. The short highlights the main attractions of the country's horse racing system, and makes a direct correlation to the French lifestyle, which they argue is attractive to foreign ownership. Supported by interviews from a range of industry professionals, including owners and trainers, this video is billed as a...

Gustav Klimt (Ire), who has sired 10 winners in his first crop, will move to Haras d'Annebault in France next year, the stud announced on Twitter. The G2 Superlative S. scorer will stand for €3,500. Also placed in a quartet of Group 1s including the Irish 2000 Guineas, the 7-year-old is a son of Galileo (Ire) and the Danehill mare Massarra (GB), who won at listed level and was second in a pair of group races. His second dam is the blue hen producer and G1 French Oaks heroine Rafha...

France's La Route des Etalons will be held on Jan. 21 and 22 in 2023. La Route features many French stud farms and the best stallions in Normandy, France will be on display for breeders and racing fans alike. For more information, please visit the Route des Etalons website.