In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...
The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...
Aidan O'Brien was getting serious for the first time at Naas on Sunday and the early tempo was set by the €1million Arqana May Breeze-Up buy Accredited (Siyouni). Fourth at Dundalk in October, the full-brother to last year's Greenham Stakes third Saracen stayed on to deny the well-backed Sindagan (Mehmas) in the seven-furlong maiden for colts and geldings. From the family of Mohaather (Showcasing), the 2 1/2-length winner is the stable's first turf winner of the current campaign. "He'd done very well throughout the winter and is very straightforward and...