Dreams of the 2000 Guineas for Naaqoos went up in smoke at Maisons-Laffitte on Friday as the French juvenile champion was beaten by Le Havre in his seasonal debut in the listed Prix Djebel.
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DRF Past Performances
As promised, trainer Ken McPeek entered Theregoesjojo for the Epsom Derby at the late nomination stage on Thursday. Owners Sametowka Stables and Delfiner Partners anted up 8,000 pounds, approximately $11,745, to get their colt into the $1.8 million, 1o1/2-mile classic, which will be run on June 6, the same day as the Belmont Stakes.
But before the possibility of Epsom, McPeek has other plans for Theregoesjojo, a son of Brahms, starting with the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday.
Artiste Royal will return to Hong Kong for the $1.8 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin on April 26.
His trainer, Neil Drysdale, and owners David and Jill Heerensperger have accepted an invitation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club to run in the 1 1/4-mile Group 1 contest, in which he will meet defending title-holder and Arlington Million runner-up Archipenko, recent Dubai Duty Free runner-up Presvis, and the locally trained, six-time Group 1 winner Viva Pataca.
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) announced Tuesday that padded whips will become mandatory in that country on Aug. 1, the same day that the new softer instrument will go into use in Australia. New Zealand has been testing the new whips for the past year. Britain, where jockeys rejected padded whips at the start of the new century, now employs a modified, more flexible whip than that which had been used there for hundreds of years. In the United States, the Delaware Thoroughbred Commission has been experimenting with padded whips since 2006.
Trincot came from last to first to win the Group 2, $175,000 Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp on Sunday, drawing clear for a three-length victory over The Bogberry, as French Derby winner Vision d'Etat was third, a head behind the runner-up.
Mon Mome sprung a 100-1 surprise in the $1.3 million Grand National Handicap Chase at Aintree on Saturday, outsprinting last year's winner, Comply or Die, after those two had jumped the last of 30 fences in tandem. The 12-length victory of the 9-year-old, trained by Venetia Williams, was engineered by Liam Treadwell in his first Grand National ride and illustrated the extraordinary dominance that French-bred horses have assumed in British jump racing.
French Derby winner Vision d'Etat makes his seasonal debut in the Group 2, $175,000 Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp on Sunday, but trainer Eric Libaud has warned that this 1 1/4-mile stakes is very much a prep for more important races down the road.
Rambling Minster can take advantage of a relatively low weight to win the $1.3 million Grand National Handicap Chase at Aintree in Liverpool on Saturday when 40 jumpers set out on the 4 1/2-mile odyssey over 30 of the world's most daunting fences.
The front-running victory of Gladiatorus in the Dubai Duty Free on Saturday has propelled him into first place among horses in training in the World Thoroughbred Rankings through March 29.
A 4-year-old son of Silic (a Breeders' Cup Mile winner) trained by Mubarak bin Shafya, Gladiatorus was switched to Saeed bin Suroor's Godolphin stable almost immediately after his handy 3 1/4-length Duty Free score. He is rated at 126, one pound ahead of Breeders' Cup winners Conduit, Goldikova. and Zenyatta, and two-time Arc runner-up Youmzain.