Australia

Breeders and buyers anticipating the upcoming first 2-year-olds by Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in Europe were provided a boost in recent weeks at the sales in Australia and New Zealand, where the triple Group 1 winner's first Southern Hemisphere yearlings were warmly received. After his three yearlings sold at Magic Millions averaged A$506,666 with a top price of A$800,000, Almanzor went on to be leading first-season sire at Karaka Book 1 with 43 sold for an average of NZ$190,698. Almanzor, who is based at his birthplace Haras d'Etreham in...

Bulletin (City Zip), who took the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs in 2018, makes his Australian debut for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in Saturday's A$125,000 Sky Racing Active H. over 1100 meters at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney. He was scratched from a similar spot last weekend at Randwick. Bred in Kentucky by CresRan and sold for $250,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, Bulletin first raced for the partnership of WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing and was trained by...

In a temporarily upside-down world, a comforting air of normality can be found in a perusal of the end-of-year stallion tables. To Benjamin Franklin's certainties of death and taxes, in this smaller world we can add just about the only sure thing in racing and bloodstock: Galileo (Ire) is champion sire. Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid to the King of Tipperary is the fact that, even at his home at Coolmore, the operation which naturally has free-flowing access to the supersire via some of the best mares...

NEWMARKET, UK—"Not for the first time this year we can reflect on a market which has displayed extraordinary and commendable resilience," said Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony in his closing address for the December Foal Sale. Those sentiments have been repeated often around Park Paddocks this week, just as they were back in October when the trade for yearlings was frankly remarkable given the events of 2020. As the curtain fell on the fourth and final day of foals, again the most noteworthy figure was the clearance rate of 79%, which...

Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}-Prudenzia {Ire}, by Dansili {GB}), a winner of the 2019 G1 Mackinnon S., has been retired from racing and will join Coolmore Stud's broodmare band in Ireland next year, Coolmore Australia tweeted on Thursday morning. The 5-year-old was due to defend her title in the Mackinnon S., but was withdrawn with a foot abscess prior to the race. "Following a foot abscess as she was preparing for a second tilt at the Mackinnon S., Magic Wand has been retired and will join our broodmare band in...

Italy's Societa Gestione Aste held its one-day select yearling sale in Milan on Saturday, with two fillies bringing six figures. A total of 147 youngsters were catalogued with 130 offered after outs, and 84 of those sold for a clearance rate of 64.6% and an aggregate of €1,651,000. The average was €19,655, and the median €11,000. Predictably given the economic climate, figures took a hit from 2019 when 83 yearlings grossed €2,423,000. The average and median had both experienced huge jumps last year to €29,193 and €18,000, respectively. A first-crop...

Con Te Partiro (Scat Daddy), a stakes winner on three continents and a dual Group 1 winner in Australia in 2020, will return to the United States for an appearance in the Breeders' Cup before being offered at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. The 6-year-old will be consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock as a racing/broodmare prospect. A $130,000 purchase by Gatewood Bell's Cromwell Bloodstock out of the 2015 Keeneland September Sale and trained in America by Wesley Ward, the daughter of Temple Street (Street Cry {Ire}) graduated by 5 1/2...

 There are names and there are characters, but at times the name is the character. THE BRUMBY (3, g, Spirit of Boom--Rhiannons Girl, by General Nediym), a maiden winner and stakes-placed in Australia, has been bestowed with a name that reflects his true colors. "Brumby" as a proper noun denotes free-roaming feral horses in Australia, especially in the Northern Territory and Queensland. The young Thoroughbred roamed free over acres of the Queensland outback when the owners, prompted by the rising value of Spirit of Boom's stock, made the decision to...

With their own domestic racing programmes decimated by COVID-19, many Europeans naturally looked to Randwick's card in Sydney to get their weekend fix of high-class racing. There was further reason to focus on 'The Championships' with Newmarket-based William Haggas having a fancied runner in two of the Group 1 races, the G1 Schweppes Sydney Cup and the G1 Longines Queen Elizabeth S. Happily, his representative Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB} won the latter race, the meeting's showpiece feature. This triumph (which, of course, is likely to be the final British-trained overseas...

"It ended up being a pretty good day," says Tom Marquand with no little understatement. The day in question came less than a fortnight ago in Australia when the English jockey landed his first Group 1 victory aboard the William Haggas-trained Addeybb (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in the Ranvet S. That same afternoon at Rosehill, Marquand also guided Addeybb's stable-mate Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) to glory in the G3 Manion Cup. With Australian racing currently taking place behind closed doors, there was no thunderous applause to herald Marquand's breakthrough moment,...

In the coming months, Godolphin Flying Start trainees will provide insight into practices experienced and observations taken on their worldwide travels. First up is current second-year trainee and Australia native Anna Power, who discusses her country's practice of spelling. The Godolphin Flying Start programme is an unrivaled opportunity to learn about Thoroughbred racing and breeding across the world. The cultural differences of the industry in each country have been eye-opening and surprising. For example, prior to my time in America I had never foaled a mare indoors. "It's really all...

Lessons Learned from Australia Racing Prove when a Gambling Pie Grows, It Can Benefit Everyone Back in 2008, Australia began opening up their betting markets. In particular, corporate bookmakers and exchanges were allowed to flourish, offering racing and sports betting customers myriad choice. As we've often noticed in horse racing when presented with something new, in 2010, the sport down under was in full protection mode. They fought the changes in court, predicting "the total destruction of the racing industry as we know it," and "all 50,000 participants in the...