Alexios Komnenos | Racing Post

By Tom Frary

Registering an upset when 50-1 for his impressive winning debut at The Curragh last June, Alexios Komnenos pushed Churchill (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) when a neck runner-up to that luminary in the G3 Tyros S. over seven furlongs here the following month before being sidelined with a potentially catastrophic infection. Nursed back to health with some enterprising vet work, the bay was an encouraging third on his return in The Curragh’s Listed Celebration S. over a mile last time July 1 and took a step forward to beat some smart rivals in style. Tardy from the gates, he quickly recovered to track the honest pace set by Custom Cut racing against the rail in third before being produced to challenge the long-time leader approaching the furlong pole. Receiving a smack on the nose with that rival’s jockey’s whip soon after, he responded gamely to take command and assert from the even slower-starting Music Box.

Trainer Fozzy Stack revealed the problems that the winner and the specialists surrounding him had had to overcome in the prior months. “All the staff put a lot of work into him along with the all the vets at O’Byrne and Halleys–it’s a miracle he’s here,” he said. “Hopefully he’ll be okay in the morning. A week before the National Stakes in September he had an infection in his hind suspensory and so they had to split it to flush it out and even flew in some special maggots from England to get rid of the rest of it. They gave him a 10 percent chance of racing again. It must have been something going around his system. There wasn’t a cut or a mark or anything. We’ll leave him at a mile for the minute. He was six months doing nothing and it’s only his fourth run. He probably doesn’t kill himself when he gets to the front, so hopefully he’ll improve. The dream lives on a bit longer.” Jockey Chris Hayes added, “He’s a very good horse considering the troubles he’s had and hopefully he’ll stay safe for a couple of weeks and be able to run in the [G2] Boomerang [Solonaway S. at Leopardstown Sept. 9]. My only worry was getting there too soon, as he pricks his ears and drops the revs and when they do that they are vulnerable, but he was by far the best in the race.”

Alexios Komnenos hails from the same Moyglare family as the card’s opening race winner Chiara Luna (War Front), with her G2 Ribblesdale S.-winning dam Princess Highway (Street Cry {Ire}) being out of the fellow Ribblesdale heroine Irresistible Jewel (Ire) (Danehill). They descend from the GI Acorn S. heroine Aptostar, a hugely important matriarch for Moyglare Stud with the likes of Royal Diamond (Ire) (King’s Best), Mad about You (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), Profound Beauty (Ire) (Danehill) and Carla Bianca (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) all under her auspices. Alexiade, who was bought by Drumlin Stud for a bargain 10,000gns at Tattersalls December 2013, has a yearling colt by Canford Cliffs (Ire) and a colt foal by Camacho (GB) to follow.

Thursday, Leopardstown, Britain
INVESCO PENSION CONSULTANTS DESMOND S.-G3, €63,000, LEO, 8-17, 3yo/up, 8fT, 1:43.98, gd.
1–ALEXIOS KOMNENOS (IRE), 127, c, 3, by Choisir (Aus)
1st Dam: Alexiade (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire)
2nd Dam: Aptostar, by Fappiano
3rd Dam: Stark Drama, by Graustark
*1st stakes win. (16,000gns RNA Wlg ’14 TATFOA; €28,000 Ylg ’15 GOFORB). O-Werrett Bloodstock PTY Limited & Ms Genevieve Britton & David S McGuinness; B-P. Motherway (IRE); T-Fozzy Stack; J-Chris Hayes. €37,170. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-1, $73,749. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Music Box (Ire), 124, f, 3, Invincible Spirit (Ire)–Liscune (Ire), by King’s Best. (90,000gns Wlg ’14 TATFOA; 700,000gns Ylg ’15 TATOCT). O-Michael Tabor & Mrs John Magnier & Derrick Smith; B-Bernard Cooke (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. €11,970.
3–Custom Cut (Ire), 136, g, 8, Notnowcato (GB)–Polished Gem (Ire), by Danehill. (€5,800 2yo ’11 GO11; 100,000gns RNA HRA ’12 TA12; 95,000gns HRA ’13 TA13). O-Frank Gillespie & Pat Breslin; B-Moyglare Stud Farm, Ltd. (IRE); T-David O’Meara. €5,670.
Margins: 1HF, NO, 3/4. Odds: 6.00, 10.00, 12.00.
Also Ran: Morando (Fr), Intricately (Ire), Diamond Fields (Ire), Flight Risk (Ire), Sea Wolf (Ire), True Valour (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

Frankel Son of Moonstone Off the Mark At Leopardstown

 

Nelson | Racing Post

By Tom Frary

4th-LEO, €17,500, Mdn, 8-17, 2yo, c/g, 8fT, 1:45.46, gd.
NELSON (IRE) (c, 2, Frankel {GB}–Moonstone {GB} {G1SW-Ire & G1SP-Ire, $613,532}, by Dalakhani {Ire}), a son of the 2008 G1 Irish Oaks heroine and G1 Epsom Oaks runner-up, was unlucky when sixth on debut behind stablemate and TDN Rising Star Delano Roosevelt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) here July 27 and beaten by a potential top-notcher when second to His Highness The Aga Khan’s Riyazan (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) over seven furlongs at The Curragh Aug. 7. Quickly placed on the lead by Donnacha O’Brien, the 1-2 favourite was followed throughout by stablemate Christopher Robin (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and left that rival behind when kicking in early straight. Staying on strongly all the way to the line, he had three lengths to spare over that 400,000gns TAOCT relative of the G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner New Bay (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) there. “It was a good run first time and he was probably beaten by a fair horse last time,” his rider said of the half-brother to last year’s G1 Epsom Derby runner-up US Army Ranger (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), GSW & G1SP-Eng, MGSP-Ire, $615,008. “I liked him there and he quickened the whole way to the line, but the winner quickened that bit better. He appreciated the step up to a mile here and seems a big galloper.” Aidan O’Brien added, “He had a lovely run first time and came forward again and could maybe go for the [G2] Beresford [S. at Naas Sept. 24] or something like that. He should be ready for that after three runs.” Of Christopher Robin, who was six lengths clear of the remainder, he said, “He ran a lovely race and he’s a lovely horse. He was just ready to come and you’d be delighted with the way he kept coming. They went an even pace and it was a very good run out of him, because it wasn’t a dawdle. It was a good run for a first-timer.” Moonstone has proven an instant hit in her second career, with her first three foals before US Army Ranger being the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial winnerNevis (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), SW-Eng & Aus, $133,913, the Listed Rochestown S. scorer Stubbs (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), SW-Ire, SP-Eng & Nor, $110,592, and the G3 Munster Oaks winner Words (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). Moonstone’s three black-type-winning half-siblings include L’Ancresse (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) who was runner-up in the G1 Irish Oaks and GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and her G1 Prix Saint-Alary-winning full-sister Cerulean Sky (Ire) who produced the G2 Doncaster Cup-winning sire Honolulu (Ire). The family also features Orchestra (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who like U S Army Ranger captured the G3 Chester Vase before placing in a Derby, in his case the Irish one, and it would be no surprise to see Nelson staking his own Classic claims in that Chester trial next May. Also connected to the fellow Ballydoyle representative Catcher In the Rye (Ire), who was runner-up in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains, Moonstone has a 3-year-old colt by Fastnet Rock (Aus) who has yet to race. Lifetime Record: 3-1-1-0, €14,280. 
O-Mrs John Magnier & Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien.

 

War Front Daughter of Princess Highway Wins On Debut

Thursday, August 17, 2017 

 

1st at LEP, Mdn, 17500

Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden

(6f)

Winner: Chiara Luna, f, 2 by War Front

 

 

Chiara Luna | racingfotos.com

By Tom Frary

1st-LEO, €17,500, Mdn, 8-17, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:17.40, gd.
CHIARA LUNA (f, 2, War Front—Princess Highway {Hwt. 3yo Filly-Eng at 11-14f, GSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW-Eng, $252,740}, by Street Cry {Ire}), the first foal out of the stable’s G2 Ribblesdale S. winner and G1 Irish Oaks third, was well supported into 4-5 favouritism and raced in third early. Gaining a narrow advantage with a furlong remaining, the homebred asserted in the final yards to score by 3/4 of a length from Modern Love (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). “It was a nice performance for her first start for a filly that’s bred to go much further,” trainer Dermot Weld said. “She’ll learn a lot. Hopefully next time with that benefit and over a bit further you will see a progressive filly. You could see the stamina coming through and we ran her too short to teach her. We’ll see how she comes out of the race and see how she progresses, but obviously the [G1] Moyglare [Stud S. at The Curragh Sept. 10] is a very logical possible next target for her. If for any reason we thought she needed more time, we’d probably wait for the [Sept. 24 G3] CL & MF Weld Park Stakes over the stiff seven at Naas, but the Moyglare is the most likely next race for her. Princess Highway was a real mile-and-a-half mare and this filly will be best at a mile, I’d say, this year.” The dam, whose 2016 filly is by Medaglia d’Oro and who also has a foal full-sister to the winner, has been bred back to Medaglia d’Oro. She is one of three pattern-race winners for the G2 Ribblesdale S. and G3 Blandford S. winner and G1 Prix de l’Opera runner-up Irresistible Jewel (Ire) (Danehill) alongside the G1 Irish St Leger hero Royal Diamond (Ire) (King’s Best) and G3 Gladness S. scorer Mad About You (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) who placed in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, G1 Pretty Polly S., G1 Moyglare Stud S. and G1 Prix Marcel Boussac. In recent weeks, the winner’s stablemates Rose de Pierre (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Making Light (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) have further enhanced this outstanding family along with the card’s feature G3 Desmond S. scorer Alexios Komnenos (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $12,686. 
O/B-Moyglare Stud Farm (KY); T-Dermot Weld.

fonte : TDN

The weekend’s racing gets underway at Busan on Friday afternoon with a 10-race card from 14:30 to 21:00. Notes on all races (1-6)  for overseas simulcast below:

Race 1: Class 6 (1000M) Allowance / KRW 40 Million

Verdict: (8) BLESS YOU, (2) BEAUTIFUL ACT and (4) ATOMIJI raced each other all the way back in May, finishing 3^rd, 4^th and 9^th respectively. However, it’s Atomiji who has appeared to come on the most since then and Thomas Gillespie’s filly gets the nod here. She beat (11) BUSAN BOLT last time and that one can challenge again as can (12) Read more of this post

Un fine settimana da vivere intensamente prima della scorpacciata di York dal 23 Agosto prossimo. Nel mondo, in questo weekend, ci sono tantissimi appuntamenti da non perdere. Notizia sponsorizzata dalle #GoffsUk Premier Yearling Sales in programma il 29 e 30 Agosto a Doncaster con catalogo disponibile QUI. Per info Gianluca Di Castelnuovo newracingfactory@gmail.com, cellulare +39 3332927168.

• A cominciare da oggi con Clairefontaine che ospita il Prix Pelleas Lr, una Listed per 3 anni maschi, con favorito Cristian Demuro che sarà in sella a Bay Of Poets (Lope De Vega) per i colori Godolphin, reduce dalla buccia di banana ad inizio mese a Deauville, quando si fece scappare in avanti Farshad. Ok, tecnica relativa, ma pur sempre qualcosa di interessante..come per esempio festeggiare una ricorrenza. Oggi, alle 19,20 ora italiana, a Newmarket si corre la famosa maiden che lanciò Frankel (Galileo) e Nathaniel (Galileo), divisi da una testa. Incredibile poi quello che ha riservato il futuro a quei due. Oggi non ci sono figli di Frankel in pista ma uno è Global Style, figlio invece di Nathaniel, pagato €250,000 da puledro ed iscritto alle migliori corse per i 2 anni in autunno ed anche nel Derby. 
• La giornata di sabato comincia subito forte perchè in mattinata, ora italiana, esattamente alle 7,00, si corrono le Bob Ingham Warwick Stakes G2 di Randwick sui 7 furlongs dove tornerà in pista la campionessa Winx (Street Cry), favorita ad 1/12 contro 7 avversaari, ma soprattutto alla ricerca della sua 18° affermazione consecutiva in Australia, come prova di rientro verso il Cox Plate G1 della primavera australiana, già vinto due volte dalla campionessa. Winx, 6 anni, è allenata da Chris Waller e di proprietà di un team che fa capo a Magic Bloodstock Racing, R G Treweeke & Mrs D N Kepitis. Attualmente vanta 27 corse disputate, 21 vittorie (di cui 12 di G1) e 3 secondi posti. IL CAMPO PARTENTI QUI.
• Il pomeriggio di sabato in Europa si incentrerà su Newbury con le Denford Stakes Lr e le Geoffrey Freer Stakes G3 con al via anche Frontiersman (Dubawi) per capire se potrà puntare all’Arc e soprattutto le Hungerford Stakes G2 sui 1400 metri con in pista ancora Kaspersky (Footstepsinthesand) che dovrà confermare il recente secondo posto di Ascot nel Summer Mile G2. L’italian bred è a 6/1 ed avrà in sella Martino Harley in una corsa con 11 partecipanti. TUTTO NEWBURY QUI.
• Sempre sabato ma a Deauville un antipasto della domenica che vedrà il Morny G1 come portata principale. Sabato si corrono il Prix de la Nonette G2 per femmine con un bello scontro tra le 3 anni ancora in odore di Arc de Triomphe, ed il Prix du Calvados G2 con una italiana al via. Nel Prix de la Nonette ci sono Sobetsu, Senga, Shutter Speed e Ibiza montata da Cristian Demuro, con queste che verosimilmente si giocheranno la vittoria contro avversarie ancora non espostissime. Nel Calvados G3 per femmine di 2 anni sui 1400 ecco 11 femmine al via tra cui Bonita Fransisca (Pedro The Great), terza nel Primi Passi G3, presentata da Andrea Marcialis con Cristian Demuro in sella. Tre femmine inglesi temibilissime al via per Appleby, Hannon e Paul Cole che sono Spring Cosmos, Musical Art e Model con linee buone. IL PROGRAMMA DI SABATO A DEAUVILLE QUI.
• Sabato notte a Del Mar, ore 1,30 in Italia, sarà la volta delle $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic Stakes G1 con al via di nuovo Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song) che affronterà 7 avversari sui 2000 metri nella prova da $1 milione che servirà più che altro a cancellare la brutta prestazione di Del Mar al rientro il 23 Luglio scorso. Ma di questo parliamo in altro post. 
• Domenica infatti ci sono Irlanda, Germania e soprattutto Francia di rilevante interesse. In Irlanda i 2 anni avranno a disposizione le Futurity Stakes G2 sui 1400 metri, mentre in Francia il Morny G1 alla fine ha chiamato a raccolta 8 puledri ma in una edizione davvero interessante. C’è Nyaleti (Arch) contro Different League (Dabirsim) in uno scontro con riferimenti inglesi buonissimi. Poi Havana Grey(Havana Gold) che non sbaglia un colpo, Unfortunately (Society Rock) reduce dalla vittoria nel Papin G2 e 2 femmine di cui si parla un gran bene che sono Zonza (Alex The Winner), imbattuta in 3 uscite con Cristian Demuro in sella, e Tantheem (Teofilo) per Hamdan Al Maktoum. Come detto c’è poi il Darley Jean Romanet G1 per femmine anziane sui 2000 metri con 9 cavalle al via, magari una di queste viene a Roma in autunno, e poi l’interessantissimo Darley Prix Kergolay G3 con in pista, tra gli altri in una edizione non facilissima, anche Way To Paris (Champs Elysees) reduce dal secondo nel Gran Premio Milano G2. In pista ci sono una schiera di anziani di spessore come Red Cardinal (Montjeu), Endless Time (Sea The Stars), Pallasator (Motivator) e Nearly Caugth (New Approach). TUTTO IL PROGRAMMA DELLA DOMENICA QUI.

Insomma, è un mega weekend da vivere intensamente!