PARIS Paco Boy presented his Breeders Cup Mile credentials at Longchamp on Saturday with a runaway victory in the seven-furlong Group 1 Prix de la Foret.
But members of the syndicate that owns Paco Boy, a 3-year-old son of Desert Style, are split about sending him to Santa Anita for the Cup.
Meanwhile, Yeats suffered his second straight embarrassing defeat, finishing fifth behind longshot winner Bannaby in the 2 1/2-mile, Group 1 Prix du Cadran.
The one-day Goffs Sportsmans yearling sale in County Kildare, Ireland, sold 198 yearlings Thursday for about $3,280,674, for an average price of about $16,569 and a median of approximately $10,350. Last years two-session auction sold 358 horses for an average price of 14,480 euros, about 17 percent more than the 2008 sales average price.
PARIS - Lush Lashes has proven to be perhaps the best but certainly the most versatile filly in the world this year, with Group 1 victories at a mile and 1 1/2 miles. On Sunday at Longchamp she will face six other Group 1-winning females in the $345,000 Prix de l'Opera.
PARIS - Team Valor can add some American flavor to the first day of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Weekend at Longchamp on Saturday when its South African champion filly Captain's Lover seeks a second straight French victory in the $344,000 Prix de la Foret.
In theory the seven-furlong Foret is an ideal prep for the Breeders' Cup Mile, as it always is run at a fast pace. In Captain's Lover, Team Valor's Barry Irwin has a possible BC Mile runner, though no decision will be made about a trip to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup until after the race.
Ireland's Goffs Million yearling sale was the latest to slide in troubled economic times, following a trend seen for much of the summer and fall at yearling sales.
The auction, in County Kildare, ended Wednesday with 444 yearlings sold for about $44,970,670, for an average price of about $101,285. Compared year-to-year in the local auction currency of euros, those figures were down 40 percent and 34 percent, respectively.
Raven's Pass finally got the better of Henrythenavigator at Ascot on Saturday, fighting off that rival's challenge to win the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes by one length.
Raven's Pass, ridden by Jimmy Fortune, raced in fourth as far as the straight and made his ground on the outside with Henrythenavigator right behind.
Tamayuz took the lead briefly, but Raven's Pass headed him going to the final furlong. The favored Henrythenavigator, with Johnny Murtagh up, tried to challenge and got as close as half a length but was soon beaten.
Seventy-four stallions at Australia's Eastern Creek quarantine facility have undergone a second round of testing for equine influenza after one of them had a positive result from initial testing, Australia's federal agriculture minister said Thursday.
Breeders' Cup clues will abound at Ascot on Saturday when Henrythenavigator, Tamayuz, and Raven's Pass clash in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, a Group 1 mile valued at $461,000 in which the winner receives an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Mile. Two other races on the card also are Win and You're In events, the Fillies Mile for the Juvenile Fillies Turf and the Royal Lodge Stakes for the Juvenile Turf.
New Approach, winner of the Epsom Derby and Irish Champion Stake, will bypass both the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders' Cup Classic in favor of the Champion Stakes at Newmarket on Oct. 19, his trainer, Jim Bolger, said Monday.
The decision is another blow to the Arc, which lost Prospect Wells and Saddex last week. Last month it lost Montmartre, whose Grand Prix de Paris victory on July 14 saw him installed as the midsummer Arc favorite. He injured a leg in that race, however, and will not run again this year.
Zarkava confirmed favoritism for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday as she remained undefeated with an impressive victory in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille. Meanwhile, Vision d'Etat maintained his perfect record in winning the Group 2 Prix Niel as Zambezi Sun returned to form with a victory in the Group 2 Prix Foy.