Luxembourg

Euros Here, There and Everywhere Tuesday At Meydan

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Headed by the first appearance from the seven World Cup night horses from the yard of Aidan O'Brien, there was a buzz of activity on both the dirt track and turf course Tuesday morning at Meydan proper as well as back on the Tapeta track a couple of furlongs down the road. The Ballydoyle septet slowly ambled out of the tunnel near the 1600-metre starting point on the the dirt surface, led by G3 Red Sea Turf H. hero Tower of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire},...

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Sir Alex Ferguson Eyes Another Big Prize for Spirit Dancer

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has long been a racehorse owner but he has also become immersed in the breeding world since his retirement from football. On Saturday, his homebred Spirit Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who Ferguson races in partnership with Ged Mason and Peter Done, lines up in the $2-million G2 Howden Neom Turf Cup on the Saudi Cup undercard. The seven-year-old, trained by Richard Fahey, has been wintering in the Middle East, where he won the G2 Bahrain International Trophy in November before finishing fourth in...

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White Abarrio, National Treasure Lead U.S. Challenge Into Saudi Cup

The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA) has published the likely fields for the Saudi Cup meeting to be held Saturday, Feb. 24, at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The United States is set to be represented by a five-strong entry in the $20-million richest race in the world, a team headed by White Abarrio (Race Day), who will be making his first start since besting Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits) in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Nov. 4. The 5-year-old, trained...

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'Truly Remarkable' Longines HKIR Gives Fans Everything They Could Ask For

Officials at the Hong Kong Jockey Club could offer their devoted fans only limited access to the Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting from 2020 to 2022, a necessity attributable to the Coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, and while the attendance restrictions were gradually eased over the next few years, there were certain parameters and restrictions in place to ensure the show would go on. With things more or less back to normal in the SAR, the patrons--a reported 65,252 of them--poured through the Sha Tin turnstiles Sunday afternoon to...

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Romantic Warrior Holds Off Luxembourg To Defend Hong Kong Cup

Six weeks after dropping his nose down on the line ahead of Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars {Aus}) to win the G1 Cox Plate in Melbourne, Peter Lau's ROMANTIC WARRIOR (IRE) (g, 5, Acclamation {GB}--Folk Melody {Ire}, by Street Cry {Ire}) was the 13-10 favourite to go back-to-back in Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin and held off a stubborn late rally from Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Hishi Iguazu (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) to prevail by a head. Perfectly placed in fourth by James McDonald, who flew...

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Longines HKIR 2023: All Four Favourites Can Be Taken On

Some 44 horses representing England, France, Ireland, Japan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates in addition to a typically deep group representing the home team will line up for Sunday's Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, with record prizemoney of HK$118 million (£12 million/US$15.1 million) up for grabs across the four events. There figure to be clear favourites in each of the four races, but each come with his own set of question marks.   Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) loves the Sha...

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'It's Going To Be Difficult': Golden Sixty Draws Widest For Hong Kong Mile

The obstacles were already considerable for three-time reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) long before connections of the 44 runners for Sunday's Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting took their seats for Thursday's morning barrier draw in the Sha Tin parade ring. Already a nine-time Group 1 winner and victorious in 25 of his 29 career starts, the 8-year-old has not started since defeating Beauty Joy (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}) in the G1 Champions Mile in late April, a 224-day hiatus. Only twice in his...

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Luxembourg, Highfield Princess Among 16 Group 1 Winners Invited to Longines HKIR

Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) are among 16 elite-level winners and 25 overseas-based horses that have been extended invitations to the Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting at Sha Tin Racecourse Sunday, Dec. 9. Winner of this year's G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and a narrowly beaten second to his GI Breeders' Cup Turf-winning stable companion Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in defence of his crown in the G1 Irish Champion S. at Leopardstown Sept. 9, the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup-bound Luxembourg...

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Shadwell's Mostahdaf Improves To Second On Longines WBRR

Shadwell's Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) dominated the G1 Prince of Wales's S. by four lengths at Royal Ascot last month and improved his Longines World's Best Racehorse Ranking (WBRR) from 121 to 128 to sit second behind the 129-ranked Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) on the leaderboard, with the latest rankings released by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) on Thursday. Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who was second as the favourite in the 10-furlong contest, sits on 123 while Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was third home and is weighted...

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Seven Days: Four Hundred

On December 3, 1995, the G1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle was won by the Aidan O'Brien-trained Thats My Man (Ire). It is unconfirmed, but those may well have been the words uttered by John Magnier when he decided to appoint O'Brien to uphold the good reputation of his surname at Ballydoyle. This he has done with aplomb. From that December day at Fairyhouse until Sunday at the Curragh, A P O'Brien has been the name printed alongside 400 Group or Grade 1 winners. From his roots in National Hunt, he...

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Plenty of Bang For Your Buck at Tattersalls

There are undoubtedly many good reasons to have a rounded life with interests beyond the breeding, training, buying and selling of a supreme equine athlete who can run faster than his contemporaries. Those of us whose waking hours are mostly consumed by one or more of these bloodstock industry pursuits can rightly be accused of not getting out more, particularly at this time of year. But when the daily non-racing headlines revolve around the British economy in freefall, hurricanes and floods decimating parts of the world, and President Putin looming...

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Flightline Tops In The World

Based on his devastating, 19 1/4-length victory in the GI TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar Sept. 3, Flightline (Tapit) has assumed the mantle of highest-rated horse in the world according to the latest edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR), which were published Thursday. The 4-year-old 'TDN Rising Star' has been given a rating of 139 for his smashing success in his first start at 10 furlongs and was improving by 12 points, having been rated on 127 following a similarly impressive victory in the GI Hill...

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