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...
Rocket Man (Vicount), the only Singapore-based horse to win a Group 1 contest abroad, has died. Bred in New South Wales by Dean Fleming, Rocket Man raced in the colours of Fred Crabbia and was trained by Patrick Shaw. His big day in the sun came when he beat the Bob Baffert-trained Euroears in the Golden Shaheen at Meydan in 2011. Rocket Man was reported to have died as a result of colic. He was 20. "It's a very sad day," his former trainer told The Strait Times. "He was...