European Racing and Breeding
racingfan
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I know this is a US site with naturally a heavy focus on US racing and breeding, but racing and breeding is international and I couldnt really find a good alternative place for some of my posts and they tended to get scattered all over the place. Hopefully it will also help to cut down on multiple posting as well. I hope you guys will find it of interest
What better way to kick of this discussion thread, than with an introduction to the worlds oldest classic - the St Leger stakes which will be run today
The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race run in the UK, and open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster in northern England, over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards (2,921 metres), and takes place each year in September.
Established in 1776, the St Leger is the oldest of Britain's five Classics and indeed is the worlsds oldest classic race. It is the last of the five to be run each year, and its distance is longer than any of the other four.
The St Leger is the final leg of the English Triple Crown, which begins with the 2000 Guineas and continues with the Derby. It also completes the Fillies' Triple Crown, following on from the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks.
The name derives from Captain Anthony St Leger, an army officer and politician who lived near Doncaster. It was initially referred to as "A Sweepstake of 25 Guineas", and its original distance was two miles. The rules stipulated that colts and geldings were to carry 8 st, and fillies would receive an allowance of 2 lb. The length of the race was cut to 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 193 yards in 1813, and despite some minor alterations has remained much the same ever since.
What better way to kick of this discussion thread, than with an introduction to the worlds oldest classic - the St Leger stakes which will be run today
The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race run in the UK, and open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster in northern England, over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards (2,921 metres), and takes place each year in September.
Established in 1776, the St Leger is the oldest of Britain's five Classics and indeed is the worlsds oldest classic race. It is the last of the five to be run each year, and its distance is longer than any of the other four.
The St Leger is the final leg of the English Triple Crown, which begins with the 2000 Guineas and continues with the Derby. It also completes the Fillies' Triple Crown, following on from the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks.
The name derives from Captain Anthony St Leger, an army officer and politician who lived near Doncaster. It was initially referred to as "A Sweepstake of 25 Guineas", and its original distance was two miles. The rules stipulated that colts and geldings were to carry 8 st, and fillies would receive an allowance of 2 lb. The length of the race was cut to 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 193 yards in 1813, and despite some minor alterations has remained much the same ever since.
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O'Brien has made history with this victory, becoming the first man to ride and train a St Leger winner since Harry Wragg in the 1930s.
Have to go and lie down now, You have to admit O’Brian has a real way with these fillies and the Coolmore production line keeps churning them out
Mogul ran out an authoritative winner of the Grand Prix de Paris on Sunday leaving the likes of this years Epsom Derby winner Serpentine, English King and GermanDerby winner In Swoop trailing in his wake. Mogul ran out a comfortable winner for Aidan O'Brien, with Deutsches Derby winner In Swoop finishing strongly to snatch second from 40-1 outsider Gold Trip.
Another Aidan O’Brian runner, Anthony Van Dyck won for the first time since last year’s Derby when holding off supreme stayer Stradivarius by a neck in a steadily run Prix Foy at Longchamp.
Both Mogul and Anthony Van Dyck are sons of Gallileo
Tarnawa enhanced her claims for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with a powerful late run in Sunday's Prix Vermeille at Longchamp. An Aga Khan homebred daughter of Shamardal, she was no star at two, but progressed nicely last season, striking at Group level, although coming up short in the Epsom Oaks.
These horses may go for the Arc but may also choose other options. O'Brien had suggested that Mogul could drop back in trip for his next run, with several options open to him.
"Mogul is in the Arc, he’s in in Australia and there’s the Champion Stakes so he doesn’t have to go [to the Arc]," he said. "We were thinking of going back to a mile and a quarter.
"He could go to America, he could go to Hong Kong so there’s a lot of options for him. He’s in the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate.
The Galileo filly Shale won the Moyglare Stud stakes Over 7 f. This was Donnacha O'Brien's first Group 1 in Ireland as a trainer. Shale is another Coolmore-bred daughter of Galileo out of the 2012 1,000 Guineas heroine Homecoming Queen.
Moyglare Stud Farm’s filly Search For A Song (Ire) recorded back-to-back wins in The Curragh’s G1 Irish St Leger over 1 1/2 miles. Unlike the UK St Leger, the irish one is for 3-year olds and older
Five-time Group/Grade 1 winner Flintshire got his stallion career off the mark when Talacre struck at the fourth time of asking at Gowran, Ireland, on Saturday.
The Juddmonte homebred is out of the winning Oasis Dream mare Bird Flown, and is therefore a half-sister to this year's Irish 2,000 Guineas hero Siskin, who also won the Phoenix Stakes as a juvenile.
Bird Flown is herself a half-sister to the Listed winner Barsanti, who placed in a further ten black type contests. Her half-sister, Rising Tornado, produced the Ensign Stakes scorer Close Hatches, who in turn is the dam of Juddmonte's three-time Grade 2 winner Tacitus
Apprentice Jockey George Rooke had a night to forget after riding a finish a circuit too soon at Wolverhampton on Saturday, for which he was hit with a 14-day suspension.
Rooke, was riding the well-backed joint-favourite Sophar Sogood in the 2m½f handicap. Leading the field turning into the home straight for the first time, the jockey started to get serious with his mount, stretching out the gap back to his rivals all the way to the line.
Rooke was seemingly unaware of his mistake until the rest of the field swept by him heading out to the back straight, at which point he started riding again. Having expended his mount's energy, he eventually trailed home on Sophar Sogood to finish ninth of ten, beaten 55¼ lengths.
After interviewing the rider and showing him recordings of the incident, the stewards banned Rooke for 14 days.
In Ireland (the Curragh) an O’Brian colt (and another son of Galileo) High Fidelity won the Gp 2 Beresford Stakes (8f) coming from last to first. This race is regarded as an early trial for the Epsom Derby as often won by staying horses.
Galileo has now sired the Beresford Stakes at the Curragh in five of the last six years. High Definition, is a full-brother to last year’s winner Innisfree, bred through trainer Aidan O’Brien’s Whisperview Trading Ltd.
At Newmarket, there were three group races for two year olds
The Gp 2 Royal Lodge stakes (8f) For colts and geldings won by the New Bay son New Mandate
The Gp1 Cheveley Park stakes (6f) for fillies won by Alcohol Free , a daughter of No Nay Never
The Gp1 Middle Park stakes (6f) for colts and geldings won by Supremacy a son of Mehmas
The Royal Lodge Cheveley Park and the Middle Park stakes a regarded as early trials for the 1000 and 2000 Guineas mile classics. However New Mandate is not eligible for the classics as gelded
Next sunday is the Arc !
Serpentine has only run once since his Derby success, finishing fourth behind stablemate Mogul in the Grand Prix de Paris over the Arc course and distance earlier this month.
Mogul is also in contention for Arc honours, but the Coolmore teamWould have to stump up 72,000 euros on Wednesday to add Serpentine to a possible five-strong team in Paris.
O’Brien said: “There is a good chance that Serpentine will be supplemented. He seems to have come out of his race well.
“We also have Mogul, Japan, Love and Sovereign.”
In other words Coolmore have Enable firmly in their sights...