OTI Racing

Recent winner Dante Nonantais will continue his career Down Under after the leading Australian ownership group OTI Racing went to €180,000 to secure the Florian Bellemere-trained son of Hunter's Light on the second and final day of the Arqana Mixed February Sale on Wednesday.  The three-year-old gelding was the most expensive of the 170 horses sold at a clearance rate of 78% on the day. Meanwhile, the clearance rate for the entire sale stood at 70%, for an average price of €13,709 and total turnover of €3,299,750. A wide diversity...

After Newmarket received a proper drenching on Thursday, Goodwood hopefuls Docklands (Massaat) and Asfoora (Flying Artie) took to the soft turf of the July Course for a spin ahead of their major-race targets next week. Partnered by Ted Durcan, the five-year-old Docklands, hero of last month's G1 Queen Anne Stakes, looked relaxed both pre- and post-work and had an easy stretch over Newmarket's undulations, making the most of a rare chance in an otherwise dry, hot summer to gallop on grass.  "It was as much a mental exercise for him...

It has been a strangely discombobulating week in some respects. It started in Westminster last Monday with the All-Party Parliamentary Group issuing its stark warning of the triple threat to the industry posed by potential betting duty harmonisation, affordability checks and an overdue Levy reform. This came on the back of an industry update in Newmarket the previous week at which the TBA chairman Philip Newton warned of a potential catastrophic collapse in the supply chain of young Thoroughbreds in Britain. Then, stepping through the golden gates of Royal Ascot,...

ASCOT, UK -- There may be cause for concern when it comes to the tumbling number of foals bred in Britain but, with Ascot festooned with the Union Jack, the first three races represented a terrific result for the United Kingdom, falling to horses bred in England, Wales and Scotland.  In front of the King and Queen, first Docklands then Gstaad and American Affair testified to the strength of Thoroughbreds produced in the country, with British-based Irishmen Richard Kent and John McGrandles being the breeders behind the first two Group...

There is always a story at Royal Ascot and this year's meeting opener, the G1 Queen Anne Stakes, delivered an immediate slice of drama as Harry Eustace trainee Docklands (Massaat) provided the Newmarket conditioner with a thrilling first Group 1 triumph, by a pixel, despite Australian rider Mark Zahra dropping his whip in the closing stages of the straight one-mile test. The Queen Anne is a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar this coming November. Last year's runner-up, who annexed the Britannia Handicap...

Harry Eustace is plotting a two-pronged assault on some of Australia's biggest races with Docklands (GB) (Massaat {Ire}) and Sea King (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Being owned by Australian-based syndication company OTI Racing, Docklands was always slated for a trip to the Southern Hemisphere. Last year's Britannia Stakes winner has performed with credit in some high-class contests this season, notably when returning to Royal Ascot to fill the runner-up spot behind Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes. Sea King was last seen finishing a...

Pack away your hats and spend a joyful week in jeans and trainers. Royal Ascot was fabulous, as it always is. Though we may have tipped into the meeting being padded with too many handicaps, the results throughout the five days provided plenty of great storylines, even beyond the headline-hogger that is Frankie Dettori.  Unquestionably, though, the best race anywhere in the world in the last week came at Hanshin on Sunday. In the Takarazuka Kinen, Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) ran the kind of race that few horses can...

Trainer Willie Mullins's True Self (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}), who ran a brave third in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh on May 23, is eyeing international targets. Owned by Three Mile House and OTI Partnership, the mare sports wins under both codes, and has captured the 2019 and 2020 editions of the G3 Queen Elizabeth S. at Flemington. A winner of the Neom Turf Cup at Riyadh on Feb. 20, she will resume later in the summer and is targeting the GI Mister D S., formerly the Arlington...

Trainer John Hammond, who trained G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heros Montjeu (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Suave Dancer (Green Dancer), has been appointed racing manager to Gerard Augustin-Normand, Jour de Galop reported on Wednesday. Sylvain Vidal remains an advisor to Augustin-Normand, who raced Le Havre (Ire) (Noverre) and stands him at Haras de Montfort et Preaux. The rest of the staff maintain their current positions. Augustin-Normand told the JDG regarding the appointment, "I always appreciated and followed the work of John Hammond. More recently, I have appreciated his human...