Meydan target for world #1 Romantic Warrior, surgery for leading Horse of the Year candidate and Chantal Sutherland’s return action – all this and more in our weekly digest of recent international racing news
Dubai debut for Romantic Warrior
UAE: World #1 racehorse Romantic Warrior has touched down in Dubai ahead of an ambitious campaign in the Middle East in the early months of 2025.
The six-year-old recently broke the all-time record for prize-money earnings when he completed a hat-trick in the Hong Kong Cup. Now trainer Danny Shum is eyeing the G1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan on January 24 before switching Romantic Warrior to dirt for the Saudi Cup [Feb 22] and then either the Dubai World Cup or Dubai Turf.
“We think he can handle the dirt but he’s never raced on it, so fingers crossed he can handle it,” said Shum, speaking to the Dubai Racing Club. “He is such an easy horse. He loves his racing, especially when James McDonald is on board, he’s an amazing horse.” More here
Jawbone surgery for Thorpedo Anna
USA: Star filly Thorpedo Anna, the leading contender for Horse of the Year honors, has undergone surgery to remove a small splinter bone in her jaw.
Trainer Kenny McPeek confirmed the news on X (formerly Twitter), after the HHH Racing Podcast broke the news. “To be clear, she is a very strong filly to gallop, at some point she had a sore inside her mouth we watched and it wouldn’t heal,” said McPeek.
A sequestrum, a piece of dead bone separated from healthy bone in the jaw, was diagnosed. “After the Breeders’ Cup thinking time off it would heal, it didn’t,” McPeek added.
“Scan, X-rays found a small splinter of a bone was the problem and needed removed. It was done standing and expecting it will no longer be an issue. It’s never easy. She’s amazing.” More here
• Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Full Serrano injured and out of Saudi Cup. More here
Chantal Sutherland in Dubai Carnival action
UAE: Chantal Sutherland is set to return to action at Meydan’s Dubai Carnival card on Friday [Dec 20] after an 18-month layoff following a career-threatening shoulder injury.
Sutherland, 48, will artner two-year-old newcomer Pocket Phone at Meydan for UAE champion trainer Bhupat Seemar, for whom she has been riding out recently. She has been sidelined since an incident at Gulfstream Park in May 2023 when her horse spooked at two swans on the track.
“I didn’t think I’d be race-riding this soon but I feel super ready,” commented Sutherland, who more than 1,200 career successes.
• Dual G1 winner Measured Time back at Meydan More here
American Turf granted G1 status
USA: Kentucky Derby day will feature an extra G1 event in 2025 after the American Turf for three-year-olds, won last year by subsequent Belmont Derby winner Trikari, was upgraded to the top level for the first time. As a result, there will be five G1s on Derby day and seven altogether across the Classic weekend at Churchill Downs.
Also among a raft of changes announced by the American Graded Stakes committee was the downgrade of Saratoga’s Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap to G2 status.
In addition, three races have been upgraded to G2, with another nine becoming G3 events. A total of 33 graded stakes have been reduced in status. More here
First female JRA trainer ready to go in March
Japan: Kyoko Maekawa (right) is finally set to become the first female trainer in Japan Racing Association (JRA) history with news that she is to begin training in March 2025.
A list featuring nine new trainers set to commence operations on March 5 was released on Monday [Dec 16] by the JRA. G1-winning jockeys Katsuharu Tanaka and Shinichiro Akiyama are also on the list.
Maekawa, 47, who has worked at the Ritto training centre for 21 years, passed the JRA trainer’s exam 12 months ago and has since been completing an internship with globetrotting pioneer Yoshito Yahagi. More here
• Japan Cup hero Do Deuce defends Arima Kinen title on Sunday [Dec 22] More here
Larry Cassidy retirement announcement
Australia: Veteran jockey Larry Cassidy has brought the curtain down on an illustrious 39-year career featuring 42 G1 wins.
New Zealander Cassidy, 54, has not ridden for more than a year after nearly losing a finger in trackwork incident at Eagle Farm in Brisbane. He also suffered a ruptured disc.
“After more than a year, two surgeries, and numerous, painful physio sessions, I have made the difficult decision to retire,” Cassidy announced on Facebook.
As well as his many big-race successes, Cassidy played a pivotal role in the great Winx’s legendary 33-race winning streak, which began in the G3 Sunshine Coast Guineas in May 2105 – with Cassidy in the saddle. More here
Five-time G1-winning jockey Sam Clipperton, who rode Think About It to win last year’s Everest, stunned the racing community on Monday [Dec 16] when he announced his retirement at the age of 30. More here
Elsewhere in racing …
Argentina: BC Challenge kicks off as Intense For Me claims GP Carlos Pellegrini More here
USA: Saffie Joseph enters 19 on Pegasus Preview card More here
USA: Final legal claim from Medina Spirit DQ dismissed More here
USA: British trainer Stuart Williams sanctioned after Keeneland violation More here
USA: No winter meet in northern California More here
GB: Longines World Racing Awards in London on Jan 21 More here
GB: Death of BHB pioneer Sir Thomas Pilkington, aged 90 More here
GB: G1-winning trainer Rae Guest set to retire More here
Australia: Racing mourns trainer Sam Kavanagh after cancer battle More here
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