The weekly TRC industry digest - a round-up of the international racing news from the past week.
‘Ultimate jockey’ Joe Mercer dies at 86
Europe: Hugely popular former British champion jockey Joe Mercer has died aged 86.
“It’s a very, very sad day to lose my great mate Joe,” said weighing room contemporary Willie Carson. “He was a real stylist in the saddle and rode a lot of good horses. Joe was the ultimate jockey. He was regarded in my time as the ultimate professional. He was liked by everyone; he wasn’t aggressive in any way.
“In the weighing room, he was everybody’s friend. You could see Joe sitting in the corner with a pipe in his mouth, puffing away.”
Smokin' Joe was apprenticed to trainer Frederick Sneyd and won his first British Classic while still an apprentice on Ambiguity in the 1953 Epsom Oaks. He was champion apprentice twice, in 1952 and 1953, before taking the main title in 1979 while first jockey to Henry Cecil .
Mercer was often described as the finest flat jockey of his era never to win the Epsom Derby. He will be best remembered for his association with one of the sport’s greatest horses, Brigadier Gerard, who the Englishman rode in all of his 17 wins from 18 appearances between 1970 and 1972.
He enjoyed fruitful stints as stable jockey for training greats Dick Hern, Henry Cecil and Peter Walwyn. In all, he rode 2,810 winners in 36 seasons in Britain and won eight British Classics, including a memorable 2000 Guineas in 1971 when Brigadier Gerard beat Mill Reef.
Spendthrift in mourning after sudden death of Malibu Moon
North America: Malibu Moon, the foundation sire of B Wayne Hughes’s Spendthrift Farm, died suddenly on Tuesday in his paddock of an apparent heart attack. The distinguished son of A P Indy was 24.
“He started Spendthrift for us,” said Hughes, founder of the modern-era Spendthrift. “Without Malibu Moon, we are not where we are today. It takes a special horse, and he was just that. This is a sad day.”
Malibu Moon has sired 126 black-type winners and 51 Graded winners – including 17 G1 winners – to date. His progeny are led by 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb, 2004 Champion 2-year-old Declan’s Moon, and G1-winning millionaires over the last dozen years that include Gormley, Magnum Moon, Life At Ten, Carina Mia and Come Dancing.
“It’s a sad day for us. This is our first loss of this kind. It’s tough,” said Spendthrift owner and president, Eric Gustavson. “You really develop a love for these beautiful, majestic animals. Even with Into Mischief taking over the mantle as top stallion at the farm, Malibu Moon has always been the man among our stallions.
“It can’t be overstated how important he has been to the development of our farm. To say he will be missed just doesn’t cover it. It’s hard to imagine Spendthrift Farm without Malibu Moon.”
Malibu Moon’s 17 G1 winners all came on dirt, representing the second most by a modern-day sire on that surface, behind Tapit. He was standing stud for his 22nd breeding season in 2021 at a fee of $35,000. He is currently #29 in the TRC Global Sires Dirt Rankings.
NYRA suspension for Baffert
North America: Bob Baffert has been banned from entering horses at any New York Racing Association-owned tracks pending an investigation into the failed drug test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.
The embattled trainer will not be allowed to stable any horses at Belmont Park, Aqueduct or Saratoga, or run any of his horses there. While Baffert had not committed to entering any horses in the Belmont Stakes on June 5, the temporary ban does cover the third leg of the Triple Crown.
A NYRA statement said that, in addition to the Kentucky Derby positive, it had “taken into account the fact that other horses trained by Mr Baffert have failed drug tests in the recent past in Kentucky, California, and Arkansas”.
NYRA’s Dave O’Rourke said, “In order to maintain a successful Thoroughbred racing industry in New York, NYRA must protect the integrity of the sport for our fans, the betting public and racing participants.”
Limited crowds only for Royal Ascot
Europe: Ascot Racecourse has stated that in “accordance with step 3 of the Government’s roadmap” there will be no general admission for spectators at this year’s royal meeting, with a “total maximum capacity for racegoers on all racecourses [being] 4,000 per day”.
The 5-day festival had been expected to be used by the UK government as part of a spectator pilot scheme that would potentially allow 10,000 people to be on the Berkshire course.
As it stands, spaces will be reserved for owners, hospitality and members at Ascot, including the Royal Ascot Racing Club and annual members. A ballot for the royal enclosure will be contested by those ticket holders who rolled over their 2020 bookings to this year.
"There remains the possibility of a larger crowd, but, with just a month to go until Royal Ascot, we now need to begin the process to allocate our current permitted capacity,” said the statement.
Three-year ban for Linda Rice
North America: The New York State Gaming Commission has voted 5-0 to fine trainer Linda Rice $50,000 and revoke her licence for at least three years because of "improper and corrupt conduct in relation to racing”.
Rice was accused by the commission of paying officials - mostly a racing clerk named Jose Morales Jr - to get “regular, continual and improper information” ahead of races.
Rice, who is world-ranked #273, admitted under oath to making payments to a member of the NYRA staff, which she claimed were loans and not rules violations. She also admitted to paying gratuities to the racing office, gate crew and others at tracks.
Rice began training in 1987 and has a lifetime record of 2,107 wins 11,382 starts, with earnings of $85.8 million.
King Of Comedy to stand in New Zealand
Oceania: King Of Comedy is to join the stallion roster at Novara Park Stud in New Zealand this season.
The son of Kingman will stand at Novara alongside resident stallions Sweynesse and Staphanos at an introductory fee of NZ$7,000 plus GST with a live foal guarantee. A service fee announcement for Sweynesse and Staphanos will be made soon.
Stud owner Luigi Muollo had been on the lookout for a son of Kingman, and King Of Comedy “ticked all the boxes of pedigree, racetrack performance, type and commercial appeal”.
King Of Comedy won three races under the care of John Gosden at Newmarket. He was beaten just a neck into second in the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2019, with Too Darn Hot threequarters of a length back in third.
“The fact that King Of Comedy had tremendous ability leading him to at one point being rated the best 3-year-old in Europe, and is a son of the mighty Kingman, will make him an easy choice for breeders. He is a magnificent individual. He is a beautiful bay, very correct and will let down into a lovely stallion,” Muollo said.
Elsewhere in racing …
North America: Street Boss, a son of Street Cry, has sired his 50th stakes winner. More here
Europe: This year's Qipco British Champions Day prize-money will total £4million. More here
North America: Len Ragozin, founder of The Sheets handicapping service, has died at the age of 92. More here