In 2011, Farraaj was third behind Wrote in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs. Now 7, Farraaj still runs in top-class races, but has not won for 1 1/2 years.
Thursday at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates, Farraaj tries to end a five-race losing streak in the $150,000 Singspiel Stakes at about 1 1/8 miles on turf.
A two-year redevelopment of Longchamp Racecourse in Paris has led to significant changes to the venues of some major stakes on the French racing schedule in 2016.
France-Galop, the governing body of French racing, recently published the racing calendar for 2016, listing the venues and dates for major races this year. With Longchamp under reconstruction and not scheduled to reopen until September 2017, Paris-area tracks, such as Chantilly and Saint-Cloud, and Deauville, on the northwest coast, have taken greater roles this year.
Veteran Dubai owner-trainer Ali al Raihe stole the show on the first night of the Dubai World Cup Carnival, winning four of the six Thoroughbred races on the card, including the Group 2, $250,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 with Le Bernardin.
Al Raihi trained the first two home in Thursday’s second race, Nawwaar and Kiifah; the impressive winner of race 3, Ertijaal; and finished off the card in race 7 with a victory by Ghaamer, a 37-1 shot in North American betting, in a seven-furlong turf handicap.
Meydan Racecourse in Dubai hosts the first of 11 Dubai World Cup Carnival cards Thursday night, a program highlighted by the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1.
The World Cup Carnival culminates March 26 with the $10 million Dubai World Cup, a card that should draw heavy North American interest again this year.
Gold Actor (16-1) extended his winning streak to four races with the most prestigious win of his career Sunday in the $4,332,650 Arima Kinen Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan.
The Grade 1 Arima Kinen, run at 1 9/16 miles on turf, is the season-ending race of the year in Japan with a field partially determined by a ballot among racing fans.
A Shin Hikari, Highland Reel, Maurice, and Peniaphobia won seven-figure Group 1 races on turf Sunday in Hong Kong on a program in which Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Mongolian Saturday could finish only fifth behind Peniaphoabia in the $2.38 million Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Peniaphobia, second in the 2014 Hong Kong Sprint, led from the start and finished a half-length in front of the 4-5 favorite Gold Fun in a field of 13. Peniaphobia, a 7-2 shot, was ridden by Joao Moreira for trainer Tony Cruz.
The quality of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31 will get a stern test in the Far East on Sunday when the first- and third-place finishers, Mongolian Saturday and Green Mask, start in the $2.38 million Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Shanon Pandora, one of three females in a field of 18, scored a mild upset Sunday in the $4.68 million Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse, the fifth filly or mare to win Japan’s top race in the last seven years.
Shanon Pandora (8-1) finished a neck in front of the 22-1 Last Impact, who was a half-length in front of stretch leader Lovely Day, the 8-5 favorite. Ridden by Kenichi Ikezoe for trainer Tomokazu Takano, Shanon Pandora closed from midpack and overcame traffic in the stretch to reach the front in the final yards of the race at 1 1/2 miles on turf.
Lovely Day has been in peak form in the last six months, winning four consecutive graded stakes across Japan. The races were in preparation for the most important start of his career in Sunday’s $4.68 million Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.
Lovely Day is expected to be favored in the Grade 1 race at 1 1/2 miles, which drew a maximum field of 18 entrants.
There are four foreign-trained runners who are Group 1 winners in Europe this year – Erupt, Ito, Nightflower, and Trip to Paris.
Red Cadeaux, a globe-hopping gelding who raced in eight countries and finished second in the Melbourne Cup three times, was euthanized on Friday as a result of injuries suffered in the Melbourne Cup earlier this month.
Red Cadeaux, 9, sustained a fetlock injury when pulled up in the Melbourne Cup on Nov. 3 and underwent surgery to stabilize the injury. His condition deteriorated in recent days because of a blood-flow issue, according to trainer Ed Dunlop. Following the surgery, Red Cadeaux was treated at the University of Melbourne Equine Clinic.
