The weather looks promising ahead of the May 16 Black Eyed Susan Stakes (G3) and the May 17 Preakness Stakes (G1), as sunny skies have helped dry the main track. There is a 40% chance of rain Friday, with a high of 82 degrees.View the full article

Ascoli Piceno and Stellenbosch renew an old rivalry in the May 18 Victoria Mile (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse.View the full article

Thanks for the kind words, my friend. It's a busy time up here as we approach the Derby and Oaks (the latter just three weeks away) and there's not much time to breathe before Royal Ascot.

At the next Asian Racing Conference Matt Ballsey will be salivating about these stake increases. Will be totally silent about multiple race winners competing for a derisory $17,000. Maidens at fourth or fifth tier meetings in Victoria or NSW race for double that amount.

The Road, presented by Gainesway and Darby Dan FarmView the full article

Same as Auckland real boring to watch . I record all the races now , watch the start and fast forward to the last 800m . I did watch the main races in full tonight though Side Show B and Marketplace they were worth it 😀

So true PS they are a class above the rest . I bet Craig couldn't believe his luck getting that run through and what a run by Choc's . Great result that everyone was hoping to see 

When we sent Mauna Kea to the ready to run sale, the word around was that Mr Wolf disliked the chestnuts, and as he was the biggest buyer at that time they wouldn’t sell well. He didn’t sell, but that was a great result. That’s him in my profile picture, 8 wins including a Group3, and a real buzz in our lives. As someone else said in this thread, it’s all bullshit. There’s plenty of other physical attributes to judge a 2yo on, but colour doesn’t determine their likely success on the racetrack. Thank you Boris for all the fun.

he's pretty brave the choc's . A lovely horse. but the death seat outside Marketplace is just a bridge to far. on several occasions now. those 2  horses tonight seemed way too good for Telfer's Colt. MP and the Choc's Would be the NZ Derby Quinella late in year if the Aussies don't turn up. they have the Velocity to have a crack at too Cup week for some Big Bucks.

Thanks for posting these races Stodge. They are a real spectacle and I am thoroughly enjoying watching them.

How incredibly sad. I have just seen this. I saw the headline and thought they had announced a lift to the $17,000 races. Instead just pissing some more money away into races that don't need it and will create zero extra turnover. A $120,000 race as a lead up to a $110,000  race. How stupid does that look? And Ballsey has stamped his name all over it.  Just towing the party line. Yet another halfwit in charge.

Tomorrow sees the first Group 1 for the older horses in the British season - the Lockinge - over the straight mile at Newbury. This is one of the three Group 1 races run over the straight mile - we have the Queen Anne at Ascot and the Queen Elizabeth II (also at Ascot) still to come and it seems odd to me we have two of the three run at the same venue. We also have a straight mile at Doncaster but running a Group 1 straight mile at the Leger meeting would clash with the Moulin and we don't want to annoy the French (thought dome would argue that's what we British have been doing for the last 1000 years or so). Nine go to post and this looks a strong renewal. Last year's 3-y-o mile form is strongly represented primarily by NOTABLE SPEECH and ROSALLION who between them won the English 2000 Guineas, Irish 2000 Guineas, St James's Palace and the Sussex (two each). NOTABLE SPEECH  beat ROSALLION inn the English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket while ROSALLION was clearly the superior in the St James's Palace turning a length and a half deficit into a six length advantage. We know both horses enjoy quick ground - for both it's been a long absence but as we saw with INISHERIN on Wednesday, the good ones can come back after a break. If one or both is back on song they will take a lot of beating but for all the Godolphin horses are running well, I just favour ROSALLION. DANCING GEMINI was second in the Poulains last year and I fancied him for the Derby but he didn't see out the 2400m and finished sixth to CITY OF TROY. He failed in the Eclipse but this season, back to a mile, he has looked good in winning at Doncaster and Sandown. A straight mile holds no fears, he's match fit and if both of the classic winning colts from last year aren't on song, he's the obvious one to benefit. TAMFANA was fourth in the English 1000 Guineas and third in the Diane. She won the Sun Chariot over the straight mile at Newmarket but was six lengths behind CHARYN in the Queen Elizabeth II at Ascot on Champions Day. She was second to DANCING GEMINI at Sandown last month and held on that form but the Menusier horses have needed a run and she will be a player but my worry is the ground - all her form is on slower turf. The one that interests me at a price is FALLEN ANGEL - she was favourite for the English 1000 Guineas last year having won the Moyglare in 2023 but disappointed. However, she redeemed herself at The Curragh winning the Irish 1000 Guineas and after a summer break returned with a fine second to PORTA FORTUNA in the Matron at Leopardstown. 2000m on soft ground in Paris proved too much on her final run. This is a serious race and you really need to look at these in the paddock to see if the likes of NOTABLE SPEECH and ROSALLION are ready for this first outing or whether this will being them forwrd for later targets (the Queen Anne and the Sussex to name but two). On a strict line of form, it has to be ROSALLION - DANCING GEMINI is the percentage call on this season's form only and if you want a play for each way at a price, FALLEN ANGEL. It's a race to enjoy and from which we will learn a lot for the mile pattern races to come both in Britain but also France and Ireland. I wouldn't normally mention a handicap but we have the London Gold Cup over 2000m which in its day used to be run at the now defunct Alexandra Park in north London (a course known as the "frying pan"). It almost always produces a decent 3-y-o to follow - last year's winner, KING'S GAMBIT, runs in the opening Group 3 Aston Park over 2400m. As an aside, in last year's London Gold Cup, KING'S GAMBIT beat PONIROS who went on to win the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. As for KING'S GAMBIT, he was placed in a couple of Group 2 races before running seventh in the Champion Stakes at Ascot. He went to Bahrain for the huge pot in the Amir Trophy and was fourth, beaten two lengths, by REBEL'S ROMANCE. They've since relieved him of his meat and two veg and are now putting on blinkers so they are serious about him as a racehorse this season. He faces recent Sandown winner AL AASY, SUNWAY, who will have come on a lot for his opening run and the 2023 Ascot Gold Cup winner, COURAGE MON AMI, who has been off nearly two years and will presumably be using this as a prep for Ascot. This is a strong Group 3 and another race to take seriously for future form reference. Just a mention for a race in Europe on Sunday, otherwise a quiet day. You'll recall ZARIGANA, who many consider an undeserved winner of the Pouliches last weekend. The filly who beat her in the Marcel Boussac last autumn, VERTICAL BLUE, also from the Graffard stable, who sprang a 33/1 shock when winning the Group 1 (ZARIGANA was 1/2 favourite) runs in the German 2000 Guineas, a Group 2, in Cologne. There are no British or Irish runners and I'm not really au fait with German 3-y-o form but you'd think a Group 1 winning French filly would have a pretty good chance.

I'll do the York review as one piece covering all three days.  The Derby betting was transformed by the Dante yesterday - I hope those who followed my each way bet on DAMYSUS got a nice return (and I pointed to the winner as well). PRIDE OF ARRAS was cut from 50s to 4s (some move). The current prices are: 5/2 DELACROIX 7/2 RULING COURT 4/1 PRIDE OF ARRAS 5/1 THE LION IN WINTER 10/1 DAMYSUS 10/1 TWAIN 14/1 LAMBOURN 20/1 BAR As for the Oaks: 11/4 DESERT FLOWER 7/1 MINNIE HAUK 8/1 FALAKEYAH 10/1 GISELLE 10/1 WHIRL 16/1 BAR  

First two races…. So so slow…. Watch the first 200m… go make scones and two cups of tea….. come back and watch the final 300m….

Is the EPL winner Liverpool? if so Insider you got a win.

It's Friday night and I have had one too many beers to understand that! See my posting from three years ago, but only four above for something easier to understand. 😊

Friday What can you say about Wootton Bassett that hasn’t already been said? Well, if recent evidence is anything to go by, quite a lot as it happens.    Plenty was expected of his first Irish-bred crop following a big-money transfer to Coolmore for season 2021. And rightly so given that the move also saw his stud fee leap from €40,000 to €100,000.    That punchy increase may well have raised a few eyebrows at the time, particularly considering that only a few years earlier he had stood for a mere €4,000.    However, that initial six-figure fee now looks like money well spent. Not only because Wootton Bassett currently stands at €300,000, but because this upward trajectory has been underpinned by sustained high-level success.    That debut Coolmore-conceived crop yielded a record-breaking ten Group race-winning two-year-olds. This double figure tally surpassed the previous benchmark of seven, which was shared between Danehill and Galileo. Not bad company to be keeping, then.    Moreover, four of those ten did not just win any old Pattern race, they struck in Group/Grade 1 company. The top-tier quartet were Camille Pissarro (Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere), Henri Matisse (Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf), Tennessee Stud (Criterium de Saint-Cloud) and Twain (Criterium International).    And the early indications are that those exploits are just the beginning of something much more significant.    That record-breaking juvenile cohort has picked up at three more or less where it left off at two. The crop contains at least one European Classic winner after Henri Matisse showed an irresistible turn of foot to strike in Sunday’s Poule d'Essai des Poulains.    Just to emphasise the point, Wootton Bassett also sired the third home in that race too. Camille Pissarro’s fast finish suggests he has every chance of landing further Group 1 laurels in the not too distant future as well.    Henri Matisse is one of four Group-winning three-year-olds Wootton Bassett has already come up with this season.    The most recent of those arrived on Wednesday when Whirl, a Group 3 scorer last year in the Staffordstown Stud Stakes, ran out a near five-length winner of the Musidora at York.    Although connections expressed some uncertainty over her intended target, that effort saw the filly trimmed into second favourite for the Oaks and the French equivalent, the Prix de Diane. She is as short as 7-1 for the former and around 4-1 for the latter.    The promising Maranoa Charlie, a commanding winner of last year’s Prix Thomas Bryon, notched his second Group 3 success in the Prix Djebel last month. Having bypassed the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, connections will test his top-level sprinting credentials in today’s Prix Texanita at Chantilly.    Swagman may not have won a black type event at two, albeit he was runner-up to Hotazhell in the Tyros Stakes, but he wasted no time righting that wrong by landing Sandown’s Group 3 Classic Trial on his seasonal reappearance. Bigger things surely await.    And, truth be told, these sorts of results are no great surprise. While Wootton Bassett was far superior at two than three himself, his stock have rarely had that issue.    His roll of honour is headed by 14 Group/Grade 1 winners, including the likes of Almanzor, Al Riffa, Audarya, Incarville and King Of Steel, all of whom benefitted from a bit of time and/or distance.    And if that was the case with Wootton Bassett’s French-bred stock, the more Classical influences running through his books of mares bred at Coolmore seem certain to sustain that trend.    His debut Irish book contained 234 mares. There was an abundance of quality to underpin the quantity as 125 (53 per cent) of those have black type to their name, and 55 (24 per cent) won in Group company.    Access to this sort of mare power is on another level to the opportunities Wootton Bassett had in France, even in his later years at Haras D’Etreham once he was proven as a precious upgrader of stock.    It has taken only a few months of the three-year-old season for his first Irish-bred crop to become his most successful in terms of stakes winners, despite his older French-conceived generations having much more time on their side.    From 140 starters, the class of 2022 has yielded 23 black type runners (16 per cent strike rate) and 14 stakes winners (ten per cent). His previous best was the 2017 crop that yielded 13 stakes winners. Given recent form, it is not hard to imagine the class of 2022 will be adding to these figures in the not too distant future.    And this year’s two-year-old crop, his second bred in Ireland, is already up and running with four early winners on the board. Two of the quartet are currently ante post favourites for Royal Ascot juvenile contests.    Coolmore homebred Albert Einstein was propelled into favouritism for the Coventry Stakes after a striking winning debut at Naas over the weekend. Over at Ascot on the same afternoon, Godolphin’s Military Code took his record to two from two and now sits at the head of the Norfolk Stakes market.    And there should be lots more where that pair came from, too. Wootton Bassett’s current juvenile crop is from a book that, on paper at least, promises even more than his first Irish crop.  This year’s two-year-olds result from Wootton Bassett covering 245 mares in 2022. Of those, 129 have black type (four more than the previous year, 53 per cent) and 58 (three more, 24 per cent) won at Group level.    While these stats paint a picture of uncommon strength in depth, what really hammers things home are the pedigrees behind those numbers. Classic aptitude is a running theme throughout.    According to Weatherbys data, 16 members of Wootton Bassett’s current juvenile cohort are out of a Group 1-winning dam. This includes fillies out of Awesome Maria, Channel (named Dawn Eclipse), Fairyland, Happily, Peeping Fawn (Astir Beach), Qemah, Roly Poly (Garden Party) and Skitter Scatter (Splish Splash), while there are colts out of Chicquita (Claret), Hydrangea (Hawk Mountain), Marvellous (Regents Park), Miss Yoda, Nickname, Precieuse (Beverly Wiltshire) and Shale.    There are also siblings to ten Group 1 winners, including half-sisters to Alson, Continuous (Musical Chimes), Hong Kong hero Waikuku, Tiger Tanaka (Philly Bassett), Onesto (Lalagoula), Raging Bull (Mombasa Vase) and a sister to Zellie, along with half-brothers to Pretty Gorgeous (Listentodwindblow) and Cloth Of Stars (Extravagant).    There is also the auspiciously named Simply Astounding, who is out of a Group 1 winner in Minding and a half-sister to another in Henry Longfellow.    This is, of course, merely the tip of the iceberg. Among the other noteworthy members of this crop that don’t feature above is the youngster out of Park Bloom who became the most expensive yearling colt sold in European sales history when knocked down to Amo Racing at 4,300,000gns at Book 1 last year. The colt has been named Poker and is in training with Karl Burke.    It is a similar story in Wootton Bassett’s more recent books, too.    His yearling crop is from a book of 218 mares, 98 (45 per cent) of which have black type, including 41 Group winners (19 per cent). Eleven of those are out of a Group 1 winner, and the same number boast a Group 1-winning sibling. Two youngsters fall into both categories, namely the half-brother to Ghaiyyath and the half-sister to Found.    His current foal crop, meanwhile, is the result of covering 223 mares in 2024, including 118 black type performers (53 per cent) and 53 Group winners (24 per cent).    All told, since Wootton Bassett made the move to Ireland, the Return of Mares lists the son of Iffraaj as having covered a combined 920 mares between 2021 and 2024. A whopping 36 per cent (332) of those matings were with black type winners. Make no mistake, this gives Wootton Bassett a serious amount of ammunition for the coming seasons.   And only time will tell how strong this year’s book of mares will prove. Given the matings were made in the afterglow of last year’s record-breaking season, both on the track and in the sales ring, it would be a shock if the standard was not at least on a par with recent times.    It is not only in the northern hemisphere that Wootton Bassett is on the charge. Despite only having one southern hemisphere-bred crop of racing age on the ground, the Coolmore resident is due to stand the upcoming breeding season for an Australian record fee A$385,000 (£185,991/€220,528).    While his unprecedented European results might have been enough to tempt breeders to part with such a lumpy service fee, he has also sired eight winners (36 per cent strike rate) and six stakes horses, including Golden Slipper runner-up Wodeton, in his initial Australian-bred crop of two-year-olds.    He has had a relatively limited number of older European imports run in Australia, but he has come up with a Group 1 winner nonetheless as Royal Patronage won the Canterbury Stakes for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott earlier this year. Six seven-figure yearlings this southern hemisphere sales season certainly can’t hurt his chances, either.    Having once been a largely unconsidered commercial option, we could soon be saying it is Wootton Bassett’s world and we are merely living in it. As his biggest and best-bred crops continue to come online, this story looks sure to run and run. 

J Dunn on tonight…. Punted….. why does he not always drive….when he trains them…. 

1. Doomben R3    2, 14 2. Doomben R4    2, 7 3. Doomben R5    7, 13 4. Scone R7          5, 6 5. Doomben R6    3, 6 6. Flemington R6  1, 11 BB 7. Scone R8           1, 2        8. Doomben R7     3, 7 9. Flemington R7  5, 14 10. Scone R9         1, 5 11. Doomben R8   2, 14 BB 12. Doomben R9   4, 6 Thank you Leigh and John Never in the history of the comps, have I performed so badly, that Iv'e now lost all confidence. Maybe tomorrow will be a turnaround 🤨  

I hope so Janitor . If I was having a bet in the race would put $100 to win on Betters Anvil and Got the Chocolates and hope he gets bad luck