Australian Bloodstock

Classic-winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy is making the most of his week-long trip to Europe by riding in the Shergar Cup on Saturday followed by the G1 Preis de Diana in Dusseldorf on Sunday. A treble winner of the Melbourne Cup, McEvoy joins Christophe Lemaire, Takeshi Yokoyama and Jason Collett on the Rest of the World team for Saturday's unique fixture at Ascot, which welcomes back McEvoy's former Godolphin colleague Frankie Dettori to the Shergar Cup for the first time in six years.  The Australian spent four years riding in Britain,...

Mickley Stud's first-season sire Massaat (Ire) (by Teofilo {Ire}) had his first winner on Thursday as the Australian Bloodstock acquisition Mascapone (GB) prevailed at Chelmsford. Not seen since finishing fourth in Doncaster's Brocklesby Mar. 26, the 7-4 favourite was anchored in rear early by Jamie Spencer in the opening six-furlong maiden. Delivered to the front with 150 yards remaining, the David Simcock-trained bay asserted to score by 1 1/4 lengths from Lady Lavina (GB) (The Last Lion {Ire}). Australian Bloodstock's Jamie Lovett, who purchased Mascarpone privately, told TDN Europe, "He...

Spendthrift Farm will discontinue its operations in Australia and put its property there up for sale, it was announced Wednesday. "This has been a very difficult decision for us," said Eric Gustavson, owner of Spendthrift. "We have a wonderful team in Australia and will be working closely with them to help make this as smooth a transition for them as possible. The Thoroughbred industry in Australia is one of the finest in the world, and we have great respect for the job they've done in building it. We've been fortunate...

British-based Quantum Leap Racing has teamed up with Australian Bloodstock in the 4-year-old Rodrigo Diaz (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) with the aim of sending the 96-rated stayer to the Melbourne Cup. The winner of four of his 10 starts for David Simcock, Rodrigo Diaz was a 55,000gns Tattersalls December Yearling Sale purchase by Jeremy Brummitt, an agent with a good track record in buying European yearlings for the Australian market. The gelding will now race in a 50-50 partnership between the two syndicates.  Quantum Leap Racing, which was established by...

SARATOGA SPRINGS N.Y.--While Tapit ran the ring during Monday's session with the two top-priced yearlings, it was Curlin day at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale Tuesday with a trio of colts by the Hill 'n' Dale stallion reaching seven figures. Hips 174 and 153 topped the session and the sale at $1.5 million and Hip 159 tied Monday's Tapit topper, Hip 80, at a cool $1 million. "It's really pretty simple: quality sells," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "We had a remarkable group of horses on offer tonight and the...

It is a sign of the times that one of the success stories of the racing summer involves a French trainer based in England, winning his first Group 1 race in Germany for a horse owned by a group of Australians. Step forward David Menuisier, a graduate of such centres of racing excellence as the training yards of Richard Mandella, Criquette Head and John Dunlop now making a name for himself from his adopted West Sussex home of Coombelands. This was the place from which Guy Harwood honed the prodigious...