The weekly TRC industry digest - a round-up of the international racing news from the past week.
Hamdan’s daughter takes the Shadwell reins
Europe: Following the death of its founder, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, Shadwell Farms will continue under the leadership of his daughter, Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum.
Since Hamadan’s death in March, the future of the breeding operations in Norfolk and Lexington had been uncertain. However, Shadwell racing manager Angus Gold has been over to Dubai to speak with the late Sheikh’s family, who Gold said are “very keen to honour Sheikh Hamdan’s legacy and keep the whole thing going, which is fantastic”.
He added, “It's wonderful for his memory that she has the passion, and her brothers are going to support her taking it forward and we’ll do our best to do the same.”
Sheikha Hissa is a lifelong horsewoman who races a small stable of Thoroughbreds under her own name and is also the author of Tajaarub: From a Horsewoman’s Journey about her personal relationship with horses.
Meanwhile, Shadwell’s long-serving stud director, Richard Lancaster, is leaving the operation, for whom the 69-year-old worked for 35 years.
“I’m extremely proud of everything we built up over my time at Shadwell, and I wish everyone at Shadwell the very best for the future,” Lancaster said. “I’m now looking forward to new challenges ahead.”
Arazi dies peacefully at 32
Oceania: Arazi, one of the most famous Breeders’ Cup winners there’s ever been, has died at the age of 32 due to complications related to old age at Stockwell Stud, Victoria, where he had enjoyed his retirement since 2017.
Stockwell’s Mike Becker told the Racing Post, “The day had to come, but it was a nice and very peaceful way for him to go. It’s been an honour never lost on us to have been guardians to such a beloved horse and a superstar.
“It will be a different place without him to wake up to as he was a cheeky old fella. He lived a great life and was so highly regarded in the U.S. and UK.”
Bred by Ralph C Wilson Jr, owner of the NFL Buffalo Bills, Arazi was bought at the Keeneland Sales in Kentucky as a weanling for $350,000 by American businessman Allen Paulson, who name him for the Arazi aeronautical navigational checkpoint in the Arizona desert.
Paulson, who owned stables in the United States and Europe, sent Arazi to France, where trainer François Boutin took charge of his conditioning. Paulson later sold a 50 percent share in Arazi to Sheikh Mohammed for $9 million.
Arazi was Europe’s champion 2-year-old after a series of victories in top races in France, but he is most famous for his breathtaking win in the 1991 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs under American jockey Pat Valenzuela. It was his first-ever race on dirt and the win was the biggest winning margin in the history of the race.
He was retired to Sheikh Mohammed’s Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket. Later, Sheikh Mohammed purchased Allen Paulson’s share and then moved Arazi to Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky before he was sent to a breeder in Japan in 1997.
Joao Moreira is champion once again
Asia: Joao Moreira will be crowned this season’s champion jockey in Hong Kong after a suspension to reigning champ Zac Purton ruled the Australian out of the final two meetings of the season, rendering Moreira, who leads 149-122 uncatchable.
“It’s a very meaningful win for me, especially because I have been on the bench for three seasons in a row now and I had to find ways to ignite the flame within myself,” said Moreira.
“I had a great determination when we started this season. I was more focused. I worked harder and I was more committed. I was hoping that I could really get there and, with many other factors as well, we did and we can say that now with Zac [Purton] being suspended.”
Sealing a fourth title in Hong Kong, the ‘Magic Man’ adds the 2020-21 crown to his previous three in succession (2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17), although he admitted to it being “such a different season to any other that I have gone through”, during which he struggled with an injury him that “slowed me for a little while”.
This term, Moreira has amassed over £19 million in earnings, including a pair of G1s aboard Hot King Prawn in the 2021 Centenary Sprint Cup and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup on Waikuku. He also joined an exclusive club as just the third rider in the history of Hong Kong to have ridden 1,000 winners in the jurisdiction, alongside Douglas Whyte and Purton.
New British and Irish betting service for India
Europe: Racecourse Media Group (RMG) and Sports Information Services (SIS) are launching the first daily betting service in India via an agreement with pari-mutuel and fixed odds wagering company NorthAlley.
The deal enables British and Irish racing content to be shown live for pari-mutuel betting into local pools via the Hyderabad Race Club’s digital platforms.
RMG has the broadcast rights to 34 British racecourse shareholders, including the likes of Epsom, Newmarket, York and Goodwood, while SIS holds the rights to all 26 Irish racecourses, including the Curragh and Leopardstown, plus Chelmsford City in the UK.
Ian Houghton, Director of International at RMG, said, “We’re delighted to see our racing broadcast in India thanks to this ground-breaking joint venture with SIS and NorthAlley. The service has now fully launched and initial turnover levels on British and Irish races have been encouraging. All being well, we very much hope to roll out the service to other regions in India in future and introduce fixed odds betting.”
Elsewhere in racing …
North America: Catalogs for the July 12 Fasig-Tipton sales in Lexington of breeding stock and horses of racing age are now online. More here
Europe: Denis Egan has decided to step down from his role as chief executive of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. More here
North America: Overnight purses in Maryland will increase 15 percent across the board for the remainder of 2021. More here