Loves Only You, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar in November, was named Japan’s champion older filly and mare in awards announced earlier this week by the Japan Racing Association.
Loves Only You became the first Japanese-based runner to win a Breeders’ Cup race last year. Now retired, Loves Only You also won two Group 1 races in Hong Kong and the Group 2 Kyoto Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan through 2021.
Golden Goal got good at the end of the 2021 Dubai World Cup Carnival and has stayed good into 2022. Second behind Secret Ambition in the Godolphin Mile last March, Golden Goal turned the tables Friday on Secret Ambition and won the Group 2, $250,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 on opening night of the 2022 Carnival.
The undefeated Australian 2-year-old filly Coolangatta will be a strong favorite as she seeks her third win in Saturday’s $1.45 million Magic Millions 2-year-old Classic at Gold Coast Racecourse.
Coolangatta won Group 3 races in her first two starts – the Gimcrack Stakes at five furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Oct. 2, and the B.J. McLachlan Stakes at six furlongs at Doomben on Dec. 26, drawing away with ease on both occasions.
A full field of Dubai World Cup aspirants headlines the first racing program of the 2022 Dubai World Cup Carnival, which begins Friday at Meydan Racecourse and culminates with the Dubai World Cup card on March 26.
The Group 2, $250,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 drew 14 entrants, and while it’s rare for a Dubai race in January to yield true World Cup contenders, this is a solid, competitive bunch on a card that drew 73 horses in six Thoroughbred races. The program (live video and wagering at DRFBets.com) commences at 9 a.m. Eastern with a purebred Arabian race.
Swanston has accomplished enough in his career in Australia to rate among the leading contenders in Friday’s Ballina Cup at Ballina Racecourse without having to carry a burdensome weight.
A 4-year-old gelding, Swanston has won 6 of 21 and has been in excellent form the last two months. Trained by Greg Kilner, Swanston won consecutive starts in handicaps at seven furlongs at Grafton Racecourse on Nov. 28 and at 6 3/4 furlongs at Doomben on Dec. 10 before finishing second to the former stakes runner Wonderful Riri in a lucrative handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs at Doomben on Dec. 26.
Snowfall, Europe’s champion 3-year-old filly of 2021, was euthanized on Tuesday in Ireland as a result of an apparent stall accident, trainer Aidan O’Brien said.
The news was reported by the Racing Post on Tuesday.
Paul Lally:
R1 5-8-7-3
R2 1-11-10-3
R3 4-6-1-7
R4 5-6-10-2
R5 5-6-3-7
R6 5-9-1-
R7 3-2-4-6
R8 8-1-7-5
R9 6-4-9-1
Best Bet R9 N6 Gallant Crown
Longshot R4 N5 Ares
Play R9 QQP 4-6-9
Tom Wood:
R1: 5-8-7-3
R2: 4-3-1-5
R3: 4-1-2-8
R4: 7-2-1-6
R5: 3-6-7-1
R6: 5-9-1-2
R7: 2-3-4-6
R8: 1-3-7-8
R9: 1-6-2-9
BEST: R8 N1 HARMONY FIRE (WIN)
VALUE: R2 N4 THE JOLLY (EW)
PLAY: R6 QQP 1,5,9
The Australian filly Crackalacka returned to racing after a seven-month break in November in the best form of her career.
Crackalacka had a single win in her first six starts, but has won twice in recent months – in six-furlong races at Sapphire Coast Racecourse on Nov. 29 and Dec. 27.
For her first start of 2022, Crackalacka starts in a six-furlong handicap at Moruya Racecourse, a seaside course south of Sydney, with a chance to extend the winning streak.
Zac Purton’s return to race riding could end in nightcap success Wednesday at Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong.
Purton hasn’t ridden a race since he was involved in an ugly spill Dec. 11 in the Hong Kong Sprint that left him with broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and a broken nose. Cleared to ride last week by Hong Kong Jockey Club medical staff, Purton returns to action on Wednesday’s card. When Purton went out, he was leading rider this Hong Kong season; now, he trails Joao Moreira by nine winners, 58-49.
