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...
With the $30.5-million Dubai World Cup meeting now less than a week away, a quartet of American-based gallopers took to the Meydan main track Saturday morning to post their final major preparations. Defending G1 Dubai World Cup champion Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}) is one of two in the main event for Wathan Racing (and one of an impressive six runners across the evening) and the 6-year-old tuned up for the 2000-meter feature Saturday, covering a half-mile in :48 2/5, per trainer Brad Cox. "Cooled out great, he's handled the...
Trainer David Fawkes issued an upbeat report on Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Reef Runner (The Big Beast) as he continues his preparations for the G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan Racecourse on Mar. 28. "He's doing excellent," Fawkes said. "Obviously I've got to do a lot by video or telephone, but watching him train, he loves it there and he's doing great." The 5-year-old is taking everything in his stride according to Fawkes in spite of the intermittent military activity taking place around him at the sprawling facility, which is...