Irish jockey Kieren Fallon recently showed his conviction about his mount Yeats winning the Melbourne Cup next week. If his prediction comes true, the colt would become the third European-based horse to be victorious at the £2.06 million cup.
“How does the Melbourne Cup winner look, boys?”, Fallon asked the press after a training session. If he prevails at Melbourne, Yeats would follow the steps of Vintage Crop (1993) and Media Puzzle (2002) as European winners.
Godolphin has decided to retire Iffraaj since the five-year-old was unable to recover from an injury that prevented him from competing at the Breeders Cup. Godolphin purchased the colt from Michael Jarvis last autumn.
In July, Iffraaj finished second at Newmarket and won two subsequent races in the Group 2 level, the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood and the Park Stakes at York. The good results gave reasons to believe that the son of Zafonic was in his way to become a high-level performer.
Deep Impact, the Japanese colt that almost became the first non-European horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, will be retired. The Japanese Racing Association informed this week that the five-year-old would be retired this year.
“Deep Impact's owner Masato Kaneko said through trainer Yasuo Ikee that he has taken the decision to retire the horse this year,” the JRA informed in a press release. The Triple Crown winner won 10 starts out of 11 on home soil.
Trainer Marcus Tregoning deciding not to give Sir Percy a preparation run before registering the horse in one of the top middle-distance races that will take place next month. For that reason, Sir Percy will not be among the contestants for the Dubai Duty Free Arc Trial.
“I don't think he's going to have a run before. There's no need because he's had those races earlier on,” Tregoning explained. “He's not difficult that way. He'll be as fit as a fiddle so there's no need to worry about prep races.”
Kieren Fallon’s lawyers submitted a request to postpone the decision of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority concerning the granting of a license to ride at the Breeder’s Cup in November.
“Their attorneys have asked that the issue come before the authority next month,” Jim Gallagher, KHRA executive director, said. The lawyers argued that they needed the time to appeal a decision of the Illinois Racing Board that bans the jockey from riding in Illinois.
Lee Freedman, her trainer, does not expect her to win the Group Two 1400- meter. It will be her first test at weight-for-age against all-comers. But he sure expects a great race from Serenade Rose in the Craiglee Stakes over 1600- meter at Flemington on September 9.
Serenade Rose is the best three-year-old of last season after eight wins, all against her own age and sex.
Britain’s Horseracing Regulatory Authority gave a one-day ban to Jockey Paul O’Neill for head-butting his horse before a race in Stratford on July 23. The Authority watched a TV footage that shows O’Neill lowering the butt of his helmet into the horse’s nose.
Trainer Ed Dunlop and owner Lord Derby informed that they have decided to keep Ouija Board out of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot. They plan to run the mare in the Nassau Stakes on August 5.
For the third time in less than a week, Barbaro underwent a third surgery due to an infection in his injured leg. After the Kentucky Derby winner had a high fever for several hours, the titanium plate and the 27 screws in his right leg were replaced.
Jockey Shane Dye fell off his horse during a race in Hong Kong on Sunday and underwent emergency brain surgery. Dye was conscious after the accident but doctors found a hemorrhage in his brain after he arrived at Hong Kong’s Prince of Wales Hospital.
