Wed, 03/13/2013 - 17:03

Dubai: Little Mike goes back to turf and gets Stevens

Barbara D. Livingston
Little Mike will target either the $5 million Sheema Classic or the $5 million Duty Free.

Little Mike will return to turf racing for the Dubai World Cup card on March 30, according to Carlo Vaccarezza, who bred Little Mike and whose wife, Priscilla, owns the Breeders’ Cup Turf winner. Vaccarezza also confirmed that Gary Stevens will pick up the mount on Little Mike in his World Cup race, replacing Kieren Fallon, who was aboard for Little Mike’s eighth-place finish in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 on March 9.

Wed, 03/13/2013 - 15:50

Cheltenham: Bobs Worth favored in Cheltenham Gold Cup

The lightly raced Bobs Worth was the 11-4 favorite in the future book on Wednesday to win Friday’s $820,000 Cheltenham Gold Cup over 3 5/16 miles, the richest race of the four-day meeting at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Bobs Worth, an 8-year-old gelding, has not started since Dec. 1, when he won the prestigious Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury. Trained by Nicky Henderson, Bobs Worth is unbeaten in four career starts at Cheltenham, including the 2012 RSA Chase over the Gold Cup distance.

Wed, 03/13/2013 - 14:53

Cheltenham: Steeplechase ace Sprinter Sacre dominates Queen Mother Champion Chase

CHELTENHAM, England – Perhaps someday Sprinter Sacre will face a challenge in a two-mile steeplechase in England. So far, no one has come close.

Wednesday, Sprinter Sacre extended his unbeaten streak to eight races in steeplechases with a 19-length win in the $525,000 Queen Mother Champion Chase over two miles at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Sprinter Sacre’s easy win led trainer Nicky Henderson to describe the 7-year-old gelding as “nearly a perfect racehorse.”

Tue, 03/12/2013 - 14:17

Cheltenham: Hurricane Fly delivers as favorite in Champion Hurdle

CHELTENHAM, England – Hurricane Fly won the $596,000 Champion Hurdle for the second time in his career at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday, going past defending champion Rock On Ruby in the final three furlongs to win the two-mile race by 2 1/2 lengths.

Mon, 03/11/2013 - 12:35

Cheltenham: Sprinter Sacre the heavy favorite in Queen Mother Champion Chase

CHELTENHAM, England – Sprinter Sacre, a 7-year-old French-bred gelding, has been so dominant in two-mile steeplechases in England this year that he has been quoted at odds of just 2-5 for more than a month in the future book for Wednesday’s Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse.

He was down to 1-5 with some bookmakers Monday. Of course, there is no value in that price, but there is plenty to admire in Sprinter Sacre.

Sat, 03/09/2013 - 14:14

Australian Cup goes to Super Cool

Super Cool, a Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old, won his second stakes of 2013 in Saturday’s $1,020,000 Australian Cup at Flemington Racecourse, earning a spot on the list of contenders for the Melbourne Cup at the same venue on Nov. 5.

In the Group 1 Australian Cup over about 1 1/4 miles, Super Cool beat a field that included Green Moon, the winner of the Melbourne Cup last November. Green Moon finished fourth of 10 on Saturday.

Sat, 03/09/2013 - 13:37

Cheltenham set for huge crowds at Tuesday opener

The attendance tells part of the story.

In the early 1980s, the National Hunt festival for steeplechasers at Cheltenham Racecourse in western England was run over three days and drew combined crowds of 70,000. In the current age, the event covers four days and draws more than 240,000.

No event is more widely anticipated on the steeplechase calendar, or has greater prestige. Interest is so high that Cheltenham resembles a cross between Breeders’ Cup weekend and the enthusiasm of opening day at Del Mar or Saratoga – spread over four days.

Sat, 03/09/2013 - 13:08

Dubai: Bin Suroor soars, Dullahan and Little Mike flop on Super Saturday card

Godolphin has two primary trainers in Dubai, many of the operation’s top horses stabled with Mahmood al Zarooni, who came out of an assistant’s role in Saeed bin Suroor’s barn to become a head trainer in 2010. But the Super Saturday card Saturday night at Meydan belonged to the veteran bin Suroor, who captured four of the seven Thoroughbred stakes, including the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 with Hunter’s Light, and the Group 1 Jebel Hatta with Sajjhaa.

Sat, 03/09/2013 - 11:34

Dubai: Jakkalberry adds City of Gold to global stash

[bc_video_id:286135:]The older he gets, the more miles he travels, the better Jakkalberry seems to perform. Saturday at Meydan in Dubai, the globe-trotting 7-year-old added another victory to his resume, outkicking heavily favored Await the Dawn and to win the Group 2, $250,000 Dubai City of Gold.

Thu, 03/07/2013 - 16:59

Dubai: Dullahan, Little Mike prep for World Cup on Super Saturday card

Tom Keyser
Dullahan has not started since the Breeders’ Cup Turf in November.

The so-called Super Saturday card at Meydan lives up to its name this year, with excellent horses scattered across seven fascinating and competitive Thoroughbred stakes. But there is very large wrinkle in the proceedings: The Dubai World Cup card, with its enormous purses and prestige, looms on March 30, and no one with a truly top-class runner wants them peaking now.

[DUBAI SUPER SATURDAY: Get PPs, watch Saturday's Meydan card live]