The weekly TRC industry digest - a round-up of international racing news from the past week.
Coolmore fees for 2019: huge rise for No Nay Never
Europe: World #1 owners Coolmore have announced their 2019 Irish stallion roster, which includes five new faces and significant increases in price for Camelot and No Nay Never.
The fee for world #2 Galileo remains private for another season, first-season sire Australia (world-ranked 247) keeps his price of €35,000 and the excellent Fastnet Rock (world-ranked 12) will continue to be available at €70,000.
The most eye-catching rise is for No Nay Never, with a quadrupling of his fee to €100,000. The son of the late Scat Daddy, the world #4 sire, has enjoyed an explosive start to his stallion career with his first 2-year-old runners achieving in excess of 25 individual winners, including unbeaten Middle Park Stakes hero Ten Sovereigns. No Nay Never has risen already to #158 in the TRC Global Rankings. Second-season sire Camelot, ranked #40, will stand at €40,000.
Of the new stallions 2000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior is the most expensive at €30,000, while July Cup winner US Navy Flag is introduced at €25,000.
Biscuits setting off for Japan
North America: Three-time G1 winner Mind Your Biscuits, whose notable achievements included back-to-back wins in the six-furlong Dubai Golden Shaheen, has run his last race.
The 5-year-old, the richest New York-bred in history, will stand at Shadai Farm in Japan, as revealed exclusively by Laura King on this site in May.
A number of possible G1 targets had been under consideration as a final appearance for the Chad Summers-trained son of Posse, including the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in January, but this has now been ruled out.
He was last seen trying to stretch out his stamina to a mile and a quarter when running 11th of 14 behind Accelerate in the Breeders’ Cup Classic earlier this month.
Fee raised for world #9 sire Nathaniel
Europe: Nathaniel, sire of the dual Arc heroine and 2018 Cartier Older Horse of the Year Enable, will stand for at Newsells Park Stud for a career high fee of £25,000 in 2019.
The son of Galileo has been available for £20,000 but the outstanding form of John Gosden’s marvellous filly and the Luca Cumani-trained God Given has raised him to the elite level of British-based sires. He is currently world-ranked #9.
Newsells Park’s general manager, Julian Dollar, said, “Breeders’ Cup weekend was the final confirmation that Nathaniel is one of Europe's leading stallions.”
Cheveley Park newboy ‘ticks all the boxes’
Europe: Cheveley Park Stud has released its 2019 stud fees, which includes Unfortunately, the G1-winning son of Society Rock, priced at £7,500 for his debut season.
The Newmarket stud’s roster is headed by Pivotal, sire of 28 top-flight winners and damsire of 21 stakes scorers this season alone, whose price remains private, as does the fee for the evergreen Dutch Art (world-ranked 286), sire of Cartier Sprinter of the Year Mab’s Cross.
Intello is the most expensive advertised sire on the list, at £20,000, while Cheveley’s other son of Galileo, Ulysses, has had his opening fee of £30,000 slashed by £12,500 for his second year on stallion duty.
Managing director Chris Richardson believes that the versatile roll call offers “great value and opportunities” to buyers “at all levels”.
Richardson is “delighted” to be standing Unfortunately – “a very good-looking son of the much-missed Society Rock”. He thinks the horse “ticks all the boxes for both owner-breeders and commercial breeders alike”.
Pegasus TV deal agreed
North America: NBC Sports and race organisers the Stronach Group have reached an agreement for the exclusive U.S. media rights to the third annual running of the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on January 26.
“The Stronach Group is thrilled to once again partner with NBC Sports to bring the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series to life,” said Belinda Stronach, president of the group. “Our live broadcast and streaming partnership with NBC Sports reflects our company’s commitment to collaborating with top-tier partners to showcase the entertainment and excitement of this world-class Thoroughbred horse racing event.”
‘Unsung hero’ Hendershot retiring
North America: Peggy Hendershot will retire as the president of the Federal Political Action Committee (PAC) of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) at the end of the year.
Hendershot has held the top position in the racing industry’s most influential federal political action committee since 2006 and been involved with the bi-partisan organisation from its inception in 2002.
Bill Farish, Horse PAC chairman, called the outgoing president the “unsung hero of Horse PAC” and spoke of how the board has “relied upon her insights” throughout her almost-20-year tenure, adding that the “results of her leadership speak for themselves”.
Award for WinStar
North America: The Bluegrass Sports Commission (BSC) has announced that WinStar Farm will receive the 2019 Jim Host Sports Business Award at its eighth annual sports awards.
Owner Kenny Troutt will be honoured at a ceremony on January 30 at the Lexington Convention Center’s Bluegrass Ballroom.
“Kenny Troutt and WinStar Farm are the gold standard in the horse racing industry,” said Jim Host. “They routinely produce Derby horses every year and this year they did it again with Triple Crown winner Justify. The impact and prestige that Kenny Troutt and his team bring to the Bluegrass is unparalleled. WinStar is very deserving of this award.”
Alysha Collett avoids further surgery
Asia: New Zealand jockey Alysha Collett will be spared further surgery to help mend a fractured heel she suffered in a horrific fall in Singapore last month.
Collett was relieved to learn she would avoid extra surgery, which could have meant inserting screws into her heel, after visiting a specialist on Wednesday.
“I got the best news possible. No surgery will be needed. I’ve just got another three to four weeks without any weight on it and we’ll go from there. There’s no setback, which is amazing,” she said.
Collett broke her back and fractured her heel in a horrific fall in Singapore last month and, while she had surgery to insert two rods and four screws in her lower back to mend a fractured vertabra, her fractured heel was simply put in a cast.
Collett had ridden 11 winners during a planned six-month stint in Singapore, which began in May, and now plans to be back riding in New Zealand next autumn.
“I’m really hoping to be back race riding around March if everything goes smoothly,” she said, adding she was enjoying the company of friends and family in New Zealand. “It’s fantastic to be back home. You never know how much you miss this place till you leave for a while.”
Death of the oldest trainer to saddle a winner
North America: Racing is mourning Jerry Bozzo, who trained a winner at the age of 97 last month to become the oldest known winning trainer anywhere.
He celebrated his 98th birthday on October 25, two weeks after his Cotton Tooyah scored in the fifth race at Gulfstream Park West.
Luca Panici, who rode frequently for Bozzo, including back-to-back victories aboard homebred Gusty Wind during Gulfstream Park’s Summer Meet this year, referred to him as a “great gentleman” who was a “pleasure to ride for ... and to know”.
The retired aeronautical engineer, industrialist and World War II veteran sold his Pennsylvania bottle manufacturing company in 1969. He had been breeding and training Thoroughbreds in South Florida since the 1970s.
Schedule plan for Canterbury Park
North America: Officials at Canterbury Park have submitted a request to the Minnesota Racing Commission for a 66-day schedule in 2019.
The proposed calendar would start on May 3, the day before the Kentucky Derby, and finish on September 14.
The director of racing at Minnesota’s only Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racetrack, Andrew Offerman, is confident of a positive result and is himself “encouraged by the continued advances” and the “well-received investments” in both racing quality and guest experience.
The MRC is expected to act on the request next month.