Shared Content Archive

The cobalt doping controversy in Australia continues to gather pace and it was announced on Thursday that Racing NSW stewards have issued a total of fifty two charges against six individuals in relation to positive cobalt samples taken fromMidsummer Sun (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) after his win in the Listed Gosford Gold Cup in January. As the trainer of Midsummer Sun, Sam Kavanagh faces twenty four of those charges along with the veterinarian at the center of the case Dr Tom Brennan who faces eleven charges. Dr Brennan is alleged to have...

G1 Middle Park S. winner Charming Thought (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) has been conspicuous by his absence this year but his trainer Charlie Appleby issued a positive update on the 3-year-old colt's condition on Thursday. The Godolphin runner suffered a training setback in the spring but Appleby is already lining up potential late season targets and commented, "Charming Thought is back cantering and the plan is to aim him at the G2 Park Stakes at Doncaster in September. He looks a totally different horse to look at compared to how he was...

By Steve Sherack It felt much more like a Breeders' Cup program was on the horizon later this weekend rather than a potential Triple Crown sweep on an unseasonably brisk and rainy Tuesday June morning in Elmont, New York.  With heavy overnight storms leaving the main track a sloppy and sealed mess, Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati) was the first local GI Belmont S. contender to head out for a spin just a tick before 6 a.m. The well-put together GI Preakness S. runner-up galloped once around Belmont's mighty 1 1/2-mile...

Able Friend (Aus) (Shamardal), the world's joint top-rated racehorse, is on track for the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot June 16 after running on nicely to finish a close second in a 1600-meter barrier trial Tuesday morning at Sha Tin Racecourse.  Winner of six straight, including the G1 Champions Mile May 3, the massive chestnut won the break from gate nine, but he immediately switched off and allowed himself to be taken to the back of the field while ridden cold by Joao Moreira. With the dogs out about...

Ryan Moore, Coolmore's number one jockey, will ride Giovanni Canaletto (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in Saturday's G1 Epsom Derby. The colt, one of three in the lineup for trainer Aidan O'Brien, is a full-brother to Ruler of the World (Ire), whom Moore rode to victory in the Derby in 2013.  Giovanni Canaletto finished third on debut last October and broke his maiden three weeks later. He was second in The Curragh's G3 Gallinule S. on seasonal debut May 24, and has been the subject of heavy recent market support; he is currently the...

Donegal Racing's Keen Ice (Curlin) put in his final breeze early Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for Saturday's GI Belmont S. The Dale Romans trainee covered a half-mile in :50.20 with regular exercise rider Tammy Fox aboard.  "I thought he looked great and he worked great; it looked perfect," Romans said. "He's doing so good that it's scary. It's all a matter of whether or not he's good enough. There's not another fear to have. With a lack of pace [Keen Ice] will be laying closer. This is a race...

Godolphin's Toscanini (Ire) (Shamardal), third as the favorite in Monday's G3 Lacken S. as Naas, remains on track for Royal Ascot, where he will target either the G1 Commonwealth Cup over six furlongs or the G3 Jersey S. over seven.  "[Jockey] James Doyle was happy with Toscanini but said that he was never comfortable on the ground--he just rolled around on it--and there was a very strong headwind," said trainer Mick Halford.  "He finished his race well but the ground went against us and I am sure that there is better to...

The Triple Crown is on the line, and American Pharoah has one huge stat in his favor: he has beaten, it looks like, every horse set to line up against him; plus, the long-range forecast says it could rain on Saturday. Of course, he still has to be moving forward after his first two Triple Crown wins; and--huge if--he has to get the trip. His daddy, WinStar's Pioneerof the Nile, was never tested for America's version of an extreme distance, as he never ran again after being eased in the 2009...

A flashy colt by Stratum (Aus) out of Delaware stakes winner New Edition (Stormy Atlantic) (lot 1648) is set to join the training ranks in Hong Kong after being secured by agent George Moore for A$225,000 to top the opening session of the three-day Magic Millions National Yearling Sale Tuesday.  The session witnessed a very selective market, with 31% of the offerings failing to find homes. A total of 133 lots changed hands for A$3,235,000, compared to 132 sold for A$4,991,000 during this session a year ago. The average dropped...

Saturday evening millions across America will tune in to NBC to witness American Pharoah's bid for the Triple Crown. Interest in the GI Belmont S. is certain to extend across the globe, however, and for the first time exclusively, viewers in Britain and Ireland will be able to tune in to extensive Belmont S. coverage on Racing UK.  Racing UK also enjoyed exclusive rights to air the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. last month, an arrangement that turned out to be quite popular among its 50,000 subscribers. The...

Jockey Frankie Dettori, who will partner G1 Epsom Derby favorite Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) for the first time in that June 6 Classic, told At The Races Golden Horn's John Gosden stable companion Jack Hobbs (GB) (Halling)--runner-up to the favorite with Dettori aboard in the G2 Dante S. May 14--is one of the rivals he will fear most Saturday.  "I'm scared of Jack Hobbs; the horse has improved since the Dante and he stays well,” Dettori said.  Godolphin bought an interest in Jack Hobbs after the Dante, meaning one of that operation's...

Sir Owen Glenn's Criterion (NZ) (Sebring {Aus}), who is preparing for the G1 Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot, pleased trainer David Hayes in workout at Ascot Tuesday. A three-time Group 1 winner in Australia--including the A$4 million G1 Queen Elizabeth S. Apr. 11--the 4-year-old was last seen finishing third in the G1 QEII Cup in Hong Kong Apr. 26.  "He's a horse that thrives on not a lot of work but we just felt that with it being six weeks between runs, we'd give him a look at Ascot and...