Sealiway

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--In its short history, the Saudi Cup meeting has not been short of drama. It has also not been slow in ensuring Group 1 status, which it carries this year for the third running of the world's richest race.  It is a deserved uplift. Last year's winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup, Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), was a Classic winner coming into the race, and won another two Group 1s in Dubai and Britain following his success in Riyadh. What's more, he had the subsequent Breeders'...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--Defending champion Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) will jump from the outside stall in the 14-runner field for Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup. "Obviously it's not ideal," said the 5-year-old's co-trainer Thady Gosden after selecting barrier 14 for Prince Faisal's homebred. "But last year he was drawn in 12 before winning so hopefully on Saturday he'll jump well and get into a good place in the back stretch. It's a very competitive-looking renewal of the race. He comes here in good form and still shows plenty of enthusiasm."...

Defending winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) as well as Breeders' Cup winners Knicks Go (Paynter), Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Marche Lorraine (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) are among the entries for the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup which takes place on Feb. 26 at Riyadh. Connections of the 5-year-old Mishriff recently confirmed he is on track for the race, and the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Marche Lorraine is expected to conclude her racing career there. Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go and Dirt Mile victor Life Is Good are...

G1 Champion S. winner Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), whose trainer Cedric Rossi was indicted by French police last week for equine doping and fraud, will join trainer Francis Graffard. Sealiway is among 200 horses on their way to new yards after Rossi and family members Charley and Frederic Rossi and Jessica Marcialis, as well as a stable manager and veterinarian, were forbidden by police to participate in racing or be on the grounds of a racetrack or training centre during the indictment, which could last as long as a year....

Around 200 horses formerly trained by Frederic, Cedric and Charley Rossi will need to be relocated from their Calas training stable in Marseille after their indictment Thursday, when a judge in Aix-en-Provence banned the three from any participation or presence in racing and training for the duration of the indictment. The Jour de Galop reports in their Saturday edition that some decisions on the futures of those horses have already been made. The three Rossis, along with a veterinarian, a stable manager, and Charley's wife Jessica Marcialis, a jockey, were...

Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) will begin what connections hope is the start of a "big international campaign" in the US$20-million G1 Saudi Cup on Feb. 26. It will mean a switch to dirt for the last-out G1 QIPCO Champion S. winner--trained by Cedric Rossi--but with the race elevated to Group 1 status in just its second year and maintaining its position as the most valuable in the world, the positives far outweigh the negatives. A top-level winner as a juvenile, Sealiway finished second to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr})...

On the heels of his front-running, 2 3/4-length defeat of Medina Spirit (Protonico) in the Nov. 6 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar, Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter) has been assigned a rating of 128 and sits atop the latest edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR). With his victory in the $6-million centerpiece of Breeders' Cup weekend, the 5-year-old improved on his previous best ranking of 124. Knicks Go ranks one point higher than the trio of G1 Investec Derby/G1 King George & Queen...

It has been quite the run for the Chehboub family's Haras de la Gousserie this autumn. First Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) won the G1 Prix de l'Opera on Arc weekend. Then Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), whom they race in partnership with the colt's breeder Guy Pariente, took some fairly notable scalps on QIPCO British Champions Day when landing the G1 QIPCO Champion S. The gallant stayer Skazino (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}), winner of three group races at ParisLongchamp this season, only narrowly failed to keep the good times rolling when finishing...

Christophe Soumillon will be reunited with the Aga Khan's Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 3. Soumillon, the Aga Khan's retained rider in France, was aboard Tarnawa for wins in last year's G1 Prix Vermeille and G1 Prix de l'Opera, but was replaced last minute by Colin Keane for Tarnawa's victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland after testing positive for Covid-19. Keane was in the saddle for Tarnawa's comeback score in the G3 Ballyroan S. on Aug. 5 and for...

Guy Pariente is a happy man as we meet in his office, just 10 days ahead of the Arqana August Yearling Sale. He has just been delivered the golden horse statue that symbolises his first title as champion breeder in France, earned in 2020. The award came as a landmark achievement, yet by no means as a surprise to the 65-year-old.  "It's been ten years since I set myself the goal of topping the breeders' rankings. Everyone thought I was joking, but I wasn't. In 2019 I came third, so...

Europe's Derby circuit heads from Epsom to Chantilly in the space of 24 hours, with Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club offering a different type of test to its English counterpart without compromising on the degree of challenge. Run right-handed over 10 1/2 furlongs, with the draw all-important heading straight to the first turn, the €1.5 million prize is on its own as a unique "Derby" experience. Since the distance was shortened--controversially to some--from the traditional mile and a half in 2005, a trio of colts have completed a...

For the eleventh time, Aidan O'Brien was responsible for the European Champion 2-year-old, with St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) having topped the official classifications for 2020 on a mark of 120. The colt, a half-brother to 2000 Guineas winner and young Coolmore stallion Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), is the seventh consecutive winner of the G1 Darley Dewhurst S. to be named as the top-rated juvenile in Europe. St Mark's Basilica's stable-mate Wembley (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was runner-up in both the Dewhurst and the G1 Goffs Vincent...