Hawthorne goes the distance at Arqana
Dean Hawthorne and Badgers Bloodstock were active all week at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale earlier this week, and on Saturday at the Arqana equivalent, the duo got stuck into unfolding action, purchasing three lots for a total aggregate of €1.63 (approx. AU$2,660,500). The first acquisition of their frenetic spending spree was dual winner Sparklia... Read More
Mystery surrounds the buyer but no mistaking the price as Place Du Carrousel smashes Arqana record at €4,025,000
Prix de l’Opera (Gr 1, 2000m) heroine Place Du Carrousel (Lope De Vega) produced a bidding battle for the ages in Deauville on Saturday evening. And the contest took an age, too. The outcome of almost a quarter of an hour’s worth of bidding was the hammer fell at €4,025,000 (approx. AU$6,586,000), making the Haras... Read More
Victorian sires to the fore for Inglis Premier 2024
The resurgence of the Victorian stallion ranks will be on show at next year’s Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, where a host of the progeny of the state’s most sought after sires will go under the hammer. At a time when Victoria’s lucrative Vobis scheme has also undergone a rejuvenation, pumping millions of dollars back... Read More
Fabre works his magic with Junko in Vase
Having saddled Flintshire (Dansili) to land the Hong Kong Vase (Gr 1, 2400m) back in 2014, his last success at the meeting, legendary French trainer Andre Fabre was again celebrating in the winner’s enclosure at the HKIR as Junko (Intello) produced a stellar performance to secure the 2400-metre Group 1 yesterday. A homebred for Wertheimer... Read More
Romantic Warrior toughs it out in Hong Kong Cup
James McDonald labelled yesterday’s Hong Kong Cup hero Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) as the ‘toughest horse I have ever sat on’, as the Danny Shum-trained son of Acclamation (Royal Applause) backed up his last-start Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) victory with yet another gutsy success. Jumping from barrier seven, Romantic Warrior settled in midfield behind leader... Read More
Lucky Sweynesse lights up Sha Tin with rousing Hong Kong Sprint success
Atonement was the word Zac Purton used in a press conference earlier this week to describe the goal for Lucky Sweynesse (Sweynesse) in this year’s Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m), and the pair proved all class to land the 1200-metre dash and banish any bad memories from last year’s renewal. Having been all the... Read More