Seven Days: Rocking All Over the World

Some of us may be attempting to look the other way but with the Breeders' Cup behind us and the November Handicap now just a matter of days away we are going to have to admit that it is well and truly jumps season.

There is some Flat excitement still in store on the international calendar with the potential appearance of Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) and Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) in the Japan Cup at the end of this month but if National Hunt is not your thing then it surely is never too early to start looking ahead to the next Flat season.

In that regard, one of the most interesting elements will be seeing just how well this first Irish-conceived crop of Wootton Bassett (GB) fares at the age of three. There is no denying that they have looked a pretty spectacular bunch as juveniles. There is that old saying that behind every great man there is an even greater woman (or something along those lines) and the quality of Wootton Bassett's mares, which had already been on the rise owing to the success of his early years at Haras d'Etreham, stepped up another notch or two when he arrived at Coolmore. His Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Henri Matisse (Ire)–who followed another of his sons, Unquestionable (Fr), in winning this race–is out of the brilliant racemare Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), who is also proving to be a gem of a broodmare in producing the Group 1 and Group 2 winners Tenebrism and Statuette to Caravaggio and Justify.

Henri Matisse, already the winner of the G2 Futurity Stakes, follows a rush of Group/Grade 1 winners for Wootton Bassett in the last month or so, starting with Camille Pissaro (Ire) in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and followed by Tennessee Stud (Ire) and Twain (Ire) on the same day at Saint-Cloud the weekend before last.

Wootton Bassett now has a record-breaking 10 juvenile Group winners from his 2022 crop of 213 foals. Let's hope that there's a Classic winner or two among them.

It is worth noting when mentioning Wootton Bassett that he came from the same small Hertfordshire breeders as last weekend's G1 Cox Plate winner Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}, who is currently the top-rated horse in the world. Congratulations to Colin and Melba Bryce of Laundry Cottage Stud for having produced two such notable Thoroughbreds.

Keen on Keane

The clout of British and Irish horses around the world remains indubitably strong as underlined by this weekend's results and the action at last week's Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale. Five winners at the Breeders' Cup meeting between Ger Lyons, Ralph Beckett, Charlie Appleby and Aidan O'Brien was testament to that.

It was also pleasing to see a major international win beyond Europe for 24-year-old jockey Rossa Ryan, and another Breeders' Cup success, from only five rides at the meeting, for Colin Keane. For the sixth time, Keane is now Ireland's champion jockey.

Ger Lyons, for whom he rode Magnum Force (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint to get the meeting off on a great footing from a European perspective, bemoaned Keane's lack of recognition internationally. That will surely be about to change.

On Saturday, my Argentinean friend and colleague Jose Nelson arrived in the press box at Del Mar and said, “Emma, I have to tell you, I have watched that race again and again and I LOVE COLIN KEANE!”

There you go, Ger. The word is out.

The Ralph and Rossa Show

Ralph Beckett and Rossa Ryan have barely been out of the winner's enclosure this year and they can surely look forward to more big days next spring with a formidable team of two-year-olds from this year on the rise. From two to three, the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Starlust (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) has developed into a top-class performer, and he represents the second Group/Grade 1 winner for Steve Parkin's breeding operation this season after Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}).

Too Darn Hot has also been helping Beckett, who had stakes winners on both sides of the Atlantic on Saturday, including the Listed Montrose Fillies' Stakes scorer Smoken (GB), who remained unbeaten on her second start for Andrew Rosen, Marc Chan and Sonia Rogers.

After a season which has included the Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Arc heroine Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}) and seven stakes winners through October alone, Beckett was asked after Starlust's victory how he would maintain his stable's form next year.

“With difficulty,” he replied with a grin.

With some gifted youngsters in the yard, and no doubt some decent yearlings on the way in, including Amo Racing's leading Book 1 Wootton Bassett colt, he may merely be being modest.

Golden Day for Haggas

And let's not forget the success of Lake Forest (Ire) (No Nay Never) in the Golden Eagle at Rosehill on Saturday for the William Haggas team, which has enjoyed notable success with runners down under.

For those of us who appreciate the excellent card on Derby day at Flemington on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup, the introduction of the upstart Golden Eagle, with its $10 million purse, looked a bit like Racing NSW parking its tanks on Racing Victoria's lawn.

However, in six years, it has soon caught on and last year was won by the Keiji Yoshimura-trained Obamburumai (Jpn) for Japan. This time around Lake Forest and Lazzat (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) filled the first two places for England and France, though not without some controversy. Jockeys Cieren Fallon and Antonio Orani each received a month's ban and hefty fines for causing interference.

Farewell then…

The Breeders' Cup marked the end of the racing road for a number of top-class horses that we've been fortunate to be able to follow over the last few seasons.

City Of Troy is about to become the first son of Justify to stand in Europe and at least one major breeder floating around at Del Mar over the weekend already has mares lined up for him. “I'm just waiting to see who much he will cost,” he said. Aren't we all.

Bradsell (GB) and Big Evs (Ire), each handed horror draws in the Turf Sprint, are bound for the National Stud and Tally-Ho Stud respectively, having earned their slots through prior sterling efforts.

We've also seen the last of Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who came so close to winning the Oaks and went on to victory in the British Champion Fillies and Mares Stakes and Coronation Cup. This season has doubtless been frustrating for her connections, not least her swansong in the Breeders' Cup Turf, in which she appeared to be full of running on the rail with nowhere to go.

Ramatuelle (Justify) meanwhile is set to be one of the highlights of the Night of the Stars Sale at Fasig-Tipton on Monday. In theory, she could yet race on, despite her vet scratching at the Breeders' Cup. And that indeed has been a feature of the past week, this extra tension and stress for owners and trainers incurred with the heightened veterinary inspections at both the Breeders' Cup and major meetings in Australia.

It is perfectly understandable that increased scrutiny is deemed a requirement but there will nevertheless be hard-luck stories of horses being ruled out who could have or will go on to win more races while remaining sound.

The current situation will surely mean that some smaller operators who happen upon a big horse will be less inclined to take the chance of travelling to some of these international meetings for fear of being ruled out after expensive trips. Horse welfare must always come before financial considerations–that is a given–but this will almost certainly lead to a situation where only those with the deepest pockets are able to play on the international stage.