Horse Racing

Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) will begin what connections hope is the start of a "big international campaign" in the US$20-million G1 Saudi Cup on Feb. 26. It will mean a switch to dirt for the last-out G1 QIPCO Champion S. winner--trained by Cedric Rossi--but with the race elevated to Group 1 status in just its second year and maintaining its position as the most valuable in the world, the positives far outweigh the negatives. A top-level winner as a juvenile, Sealiway finished second to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr})...

Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and a team of five from Ballydoyle headed by defending G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase hero Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) are among a list of 49 world-class gallopers that have been extended invitations to the 2021 Longines Hong Kong International Races to be staged Sunday, Dec. 12, at Sha Tin Racecourse. Some 22 of the invitees have already struck at Group 1/Grade I level. Following her history-making performance in the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar Nov....

4th-ZIA, Zia Park Juvenile S., $50K, 2yo, 6f, post time: 3:21 ET After New Mexico trainer Todd Fincher signed the winning ticket at $870,000 on a colt by Quality Road at last year's Keeneland September Sale, Bob Baffert was overheard saying to Fincher and his owner Lori Owens, "You bought my horse." The gray, now named BYE BYE BOBBY gets going in Tuesday's Zia Park Juvenile S., the first of seven stakes on the Zia Park Derby undercard. Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC, the April foal is out of...

1st-Parx Racing, $42,500, Msw, 11-22, 2yo, 1m 70y, 1:43.73, ft, 9 lengths. SMARTEN UP (c, 2, American Freedom--Sarah Cataldo, by Smarty Jones) finished with interest to be runner-up on seven-furlong debut at this track Sept. 25 and was exiting a pace-pressing third in a one-mile test Oct. 20, good for a strong 71 Beyer Speed Figure. Four wide around the first time and right on top of a strong early pace, the even-money chalk punched the breeze down the backstretch. Allowed to poke his head in front at the three-eighths...

A collaboration between America's Best Racing (ABR) and Hipica TV to bring Spanish-language coverage of all 14 Breeders' Cup races at Del Mar Nov. 5 & 6 received 282,000 cumulative views across Hipica TV's YouTube channel. There were more than 88,000 live views on 'Future Stars Friday' and Saturday's live stream attracted better than 200,000 views. The broadcast attracted viewers from the U.S., Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Spain and every country in South America. The shows, branded as 'Breeders' Cup en Vivo', were hosted by Claudia Spadaro, Emanuel...

In a race where the final time was outside the standard of Class 3 handicap horses and well over a full second slower than what typical group-level milers put up, reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) employed a galactic late turn of speed to win for the 15th straight time and for the 18th time in 19 career starts, successfully defending his title in Sunday's G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile at Sha Tin Racecourse. The 6-year-old has not tasted defeat in almost...

6th-Del Mar, $72,500, Msw, 11-20, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:17.45, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. EMPIRE GAL (f, 2, Empire Maker--Double Tapped, by Tapit) opened her account at first asking Saturday at Del Mar with a good-looking victory over 6 1/2 furlongs Saturday. Prominent in the early stages, the bay filly drifted back to a midfield position while racing well out into the track approaching the turn. Given her cue with a little less than three-eighths of a mile to travel, the 34-5 chance advanced four or five wide into the...

Having passed the potentially gut-busting early-season group handicaps, where he'd have been forced to concede plenty of weight, reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) makes his much-anticipated 6-year-old debut in Sunday's G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile at Sha Tin Racecourse. By all accounts, it is a much more mature version of Golden Sixty, who was last seen taking out the G1 FWD Champions Mile nearly seven months ago to run his winning streak to 14, three wins shy of the record held...

A carefully managed career comes to a close Sunday afternoon for three-times champion Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who faces a crack group of Japanese milers in defence of her title in the G1 Mile Championship S. at Hanshin Racecourse. The daughter of the late multiple Grade I and Breeders' Cup winner Tapitsfly (Tapit) has finished outside the top three just twice in her 14 starts to date, including a fourth in the G1 Osaka Hai in April, contested in unsuitably wet ground and over a 2000-metre trip that...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Tokyo and Hanshin Racecourses. The latter venue hosts a white-hot renewal of the G1 Mile Championship S. Sunday afternoon, where Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn} x Tapitsfly) looks to defend her title in her final career start. Among the...

Eight high-profile overseas jockeys will join four Hong Kong-based riders to compete for the HK$500,000 top prize in the Longines International Jockeys' Championship to be held at the iconic Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island Wednesday, Dec. 8. Ryan Moore is set to jet in to make a 15th appearance at the IJC, having dead-heated for the spoils with John Murtagh and Christophe Lemaire in 2009 before winning the title outright 12 months hence. Moore, who has finished on the podium four times since his most recent victory, currently...

The late Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) turned in arguably the most impressive effort in a G1 Dubai World Cup by a horse not named Dubai Millennium (GB), dropping back to last after being roughed up at the break, rallying wide on the turn and galloping past none other than Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) to win the 2017 renewal in jaw-dropping fashion. Taking Names became the first starter in Dubai for his GI Breeders' Cup Classic-winning stallion in Thursday's second race at Meydan, and while much more straight-forward, was similarly impressive...