Mon, 10/05/2020 - 16:00

Australia: Pandemic may prove hard to stop

By Steve Andersen

He will not be Horse of the Year, but he has the Name of the Year.

Pandemic, a 4-year-old Australian-bred gelding, has not raced since a fourth-place finish in the Fireball Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on March 7. Way back then, most of the world was days away from the start of the coronavirus lockdown.

Pandemic was given an extended rest after the Fireball.

Mon, 10/05/2020 - 10:32

Declan Schuster's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Wednesday, October 7, 2020

By DRF Staff

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, October 7, 2020)

Sun, 10/04/2020 - 11:33

Sottsass wins Arc for Brant; Enable finishes sixth

By Marcus Hersh

Sottsass surged between horses in the homestretch and won the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe by about a neck over In Swoop as Enable failed for the second year in a row to become the first three-time Arc winner.

Four-year-old Sottsass, third in the 2019 Arc, is owned by Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm, a rare Arc win for an American owner.

The first five home in the race were French-trained, with pacesetting Persian King holding third. Gold Trip was fourth, and the 3-year-old filly Raabihah, who raced in heavy stretch traffic, finished fifth.

Sat, 10/03/2020 - 19:20

O'Brien withdraws his four Arc entrants

By Marcus Hersh

Aidan O’Brien’s four entrants in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday in Paris have been withdrawn from the race for fear they will test positive for a banned substance that mysteriously has appeared in equine feed used overseas.

Sat, 10/03/2020 - 13:40

Australia: Coterie favored coming off win in last

By Steve Andersen

Coterie was once so highly regarded that he started in a seven-figure race in Australia, finishing a respectable fourth in the Inglis Sprint at Warwick Farm Racecourse in February 2019.

These days, Coterie runs in handicaps worth a fraction of that prize money, but appears in races that seem to be a better fit for the 5-year-old gelding.

Coterie won a handicap at a mile on Sept. 16 at Warwick Farm to end a four-race losing streak and will be favored to win for the fifth time in his 25-race career in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs at Canterbury Park in Sydney on Monday.

Fri, 10/02/2020 - 19:22

Chek Lap Kok Handicap next stop for Excellent Proposal

By Marcus Hersh
Hong Kong Jockey Club
Golden Sixty won his most recent start, the Jan. 27 Hong Kong Classic Mile.

Excellent Proposal takes another step down the path to stakes racing when he starts in the featured Chek Lap Kok Handicap on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.

Fri, 10/02/2020 - 16:35

Australia: Gentleman Max makes 126th career start in the Cootamundra Cup

By Steve Andersen

For his first 123 starts, Gentleman Max, the 8-year-old gelding who races in Australia, was trained by Trevor Sutherland.

Gentleman Max was transferred to trainer Keith Dryden in August after Sutherland was suspended by stewards in the state of New South Wales over animal welfare issues. Gentleman Max was third and sixth in his first two starts for the new stable in handicaps at Canterbury Park on Sept. 9 and Sept. 23.

Fri, 10/02/2020 - 15:50

Enable needs to overcome heavy ground to win third Arc

By Marcus Hersh
Racenews Photo
Enable broke a two-race losing streak in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Enable’s greatness has shined on two continents over four seasons. In races between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 miles on turf there has been no better horse, day in and day out, anywhere in the world since Enable came to the fore during her 3-year-old season of 2017. She already has joined the rarefied club of two-time winners of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but if she is to become the first three-time Arc winner, Enable will have to slog through a bog Sunday at Longchamp.

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