International Snippets

[imaufo]

One proud tradition can't be reined in

February 20 2003


In the glory days of the Baghdad Jockeys Club, the purse was $US4000 ($A6780) and Iraqi horses, and their trainers, were sought throughout the Gulf. Those days have sadly departed, thanks to sanctions and two decades of war, which saw owners emigrate, veterinary medicine and feed become endangered commodities, horses sold, and prize earnings whittled down to just $US40.

Now, though, as Baghdad stands at the brink of war, proud tradition somehow endures. "This is the point of origin of horses - Mesopotamia - we go back 6000 years," says Maki Mustapha, the club's secretary.

The club - the oldest in the Middle East - was founded in 1920. Until two decades ago, Mr Mustapha says, it was considered the finest course in the region. It has since been supplanted by Dubai, a status underlined by its tottering premises, the concrete pillars for a larger stand abandoned midway through construction after the track moved to the edges of Baghdad in 1986.

On race days, three times a week, men in traditional robes and keffiyehs throng the pen, while dapper gents in suits repair to the clubhouse after placing their bets inside.

The horses are Arabian thoroughbreds mostly, bred in the northern hills around Mosul. The jockeys, in their worn and faded silks, are from anywhere in the region: Iraq, Egypt, Sudan. But it's as serious an enterprise as it ever was. Khalid Najafi, son of a family that has been breeding racehorses for 70 years, has had 38 winners this year, and has ambitions for more.


Last week, he wandered from the members' enclosure for a final word with the rider of number three in the seventh and final race of the day, Ruba. "Treat her patiently," he said. "Don't push her too hard."

After the cloud of dust lifts from the track and the spectators have stopped screaming, Ruba has come in second. Najafi shrugs. He will be back for the next meeting.

- Guardian


This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/19/1045638359855.html

[imaufo]

New Zealand Thoroughbred Marketing Update reports on some of the key issues presented at the 29th Asian Racing Conference in Auckland:

:o Major Expansion Plans for Korean Racing

:o The number of racehorses in training in Korea will increase from 1400 to 2300 in the next three years. Korea Racing association representative Park Yang-Tae announced a number of exciting projections of growth for racing in Korea at yesterday’s final session of the ARC on “The State Of
Racing”.

:o Other growth areas include:-

* Increased attendance from 16.2 million (2002) to 23 million (2006).

* The building of a new racecourse (Busan) to be completed in December 2004. This will compliment the existing racecourses at Seoul and Jeju.

* An increase in betting turnover from $US6.3 billion (2002) to $US10.3 billion.

* An increase in the number of foals from 915 (2002) to 1015 (2006).

* Increasing the number of off-course betting centers from 28 (2003) to 48 (2006).

:o Betting figures being returned in Korea are huge judging by figures presented to this week’s conference by Yang-Tae. The average number of people attending race-meetings either on-course or at one of the 28 offcourse betting centres on a given day is 200,000 and each of these patrons are wagering an average of $US 400 per person a day. Park Yang-Tae said the racecourses in Korea had been developed as a “family park” not merely a place for betting for adults.

“We have developed the inside of the racetrack into a family park which includes children’s playground, promenades, soccer fields and horse-back riding. ‘Racing fan days’ offer free admission and drinks to patrons.

“We have made efforts to enlarge the racing fan base and diversify betting methods. Focusing on younger generations and family fans has been an important commitment,” he said. A number of customer-orientated facilities at the racecourses have been developed such as a parking lot, straight walk-way with roof and a nursery room. Yang-Tae said there were further opportunities for racing to develop given the growing leisure and gambling market in Korea and the introduction of a five-day working week (introduced in July this year).
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:o Study Highlights Horse Wastage

Massey University researcher Dr Nigel Perkins revealed some interesting statistical data as part of his “racetrack wastage” study when he addressed the ARC.

During a three-year study of a population of more than 1500 New Zealand racehorses, Perkins and his team proved that the most serious cause of wastage in the performing thoroughbred is musculoskeletal related, with 35% forced out of work by fractures. Next most common cause of loss was shin soreness (25%), just over double the rate for ligament and tendon problems.

This latter group had the highest non-return rate, with 62% failing to make it back to trials or races. In the musculoskeletal category, 52% never returned to the racetrack, while just 17% of the clinically less serious shin sore group did not make reappearance.

http://wattacroc.com/dogs/dog17.gif
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:o Horses Need to be Treated Like Humans

Humans look after our own feet with quality running shoes so why not treat horses the same way.
That was the message from Mr Yutaka Mizuno, Ph. D, - the director of the racehorse hospital at Japan’s Miho Training Centre – to the ARC.

“Running shoes are known to reduce the shock of ground contact and also maintain the active force peak during the stance phase as well as having adequate grip feature to avoid slipping or from tripping over,” Mr Mizuno said.

“Our Polytrack woodchip track has resulted in a remarkable decrease in the numbers and the incidence rate of fractures in horses which may be credited to the high shock-absorbing character of the surface,” he said. “From this point of track characteristics the implementation of the Woodchip track resulted in a great success in preventing accidents during training.”

New Zealand Thoroughbred Marketing News

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[Handy Harry]

In England, the Sagitta 1,000 Guineas threatens to overshadow the colts version (2,000 Guineas) as the biggest race of the weekend at the famous Newmarket meeting. The Jockey Club could not have received a stronger lineup of fillies if they'd offered five times the prizemoney, issued gold-plated invitations and paid all expenses.

Favourite at 3-1 is Celtic Swing filly Six Perfections, winner of a high-rating Prix Marcel Boussac (France's top race for two-year-old fillies) last October. Six Perfections is trained by Pascal Bary and will be ridden by Thierry Thulliez.

Breathing down her neck is Interncontinential, another of the Khalid Abdullah string - this one by Danehill and a sister to champion mare Banks Hill. She'll be ridden by jockey Christophe Soumillon, who made such a big impression in Hong Kong during the winter.

In a race of rare depth, third favourite at 9-2 is Soviet Song, a filly by Indigenous' sire Marju and a winner of the Meon Valley Stud Fillies' Mile at Ascot at the back end of last season.

Many owners and trainers are keeping a watchful eye on the weather around Newmarket before determining weekend plans for their top three-year-olds.

The canny dual Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Dermot Weld, for example, has not yet committed Refuse To Bend for the 2,000 Guineas, hoping to get some easing in the track with rain late in the week for the unbeaten Sadler's Wells colt.

Champion trainer Aidan O'Brien, meanwhile, could be double handed in the 2,000 Guineas, with the growing possibility that Tomahawk may join favourite Hold That Tiger.

[Handy Harry]

Irish trainer Dermot Weld has reaffirmed his desire to chase back-to-back Melbourne Cups with Media Puzzle by ruling out a start in the gruelling Ascot Gold Cup for the star stayer and stablemate Vinnie Roe.

Despite being among the original list of entries for the Gold Cup on June 19, Weld said Media Puzzle, which suffered a tendon scare in Dubai in March, would be set for a return in The Curragh Cup on June28 before being aimed at the Melbourne Cup.

"It was a warning to us to be careful and we have decided to take heed of it even though there is no damage to the tendon," Weld told the Racing Post.

"However, I am not now going to train him for the Ascot Gold Cup and his main program after The Curragh Cup will be the Irish StLeger and the Melbourne Cup."

Vinnie Roe, a dual Irish StLeger winner which was fourth in last year's Melbourne Cup behind Media Puzzle, was likely to be aimed at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe this year in preference to the Ascot Gold Cup.

[Handy Harry]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39232000/jpg/_39232707_hawk203.jpg

Hawk Wing destroyed a top-class field to win the Group One Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes in a rain-swept contest at Newbury.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt was much touted last season but was ultimately disappointing after a succession of second place finishes.

But Coolmore's decision to keep the four-year-old in training this season reaped immediate dividends as the 2-1 favourite romped to an 11-length victory in the one-mile contest, the first Group One race of the season for older horses.

Where Or When, who had beaten Hawk Wing in last season's Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, was a distant second with Olden Times third.

And second favourite Domedriver, who beat Rock Of Gibraltar in the Breeders' Cup Mile last October, was well back in fourth.

The threatened wet weather had put Hawk Wing's participation in the contest in doubt but the rain stayed away until just before the race.

Expected pacemaker Desert Deer refused to enter the stalls so Mick Kinane took the initiative on Hawk Wing and led right from the off.

He just has pure natural ability
Aidan O'Brien on Hawk Wing
The race was over as a contest well before the furlong marker as Hawk Wing had been gradually winding up the pace to leave his rivals trailing in his wake.

He became only the second Irish-trained winner in the history of the race and the first since 1967.

Winning trainer O'Brien was relieved that it all came right on the day for Hawk Wing.

"Obviously we were worried (about the prospect of soft ground). He broke the track record over seven furlongs at two at the Curragh on very hard ground, and any horse that does that has to has a big liking for it," admitted O'Brien.

"But looking back on it he just has pure natural ability. This year he has been working like a dream."

Next stop for Hawk Wing could be Royal Ascot, where the options are the one-mile Queen Anne Stakes or the mile-and-a-quarter Prince of Wales's Stakes.

"There are a lot of things open to him," said O'Brien. "It's unusual that you could have a horse with that type of pace that could stay all those different distances."


Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes (Group One)
1m, Newbury
1 Hawk Wing (A O'Brien) M Kinane 2-1f
2 Where Or When 7-2
3 Olden Times 10-1
6 ran. Dist: 11l, 8l

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39102000/jpg/_39102269_obrien203emp.jpg

Aidan O'Brien
Date of birth: 16 Oct 1969
Started training: 1993
Base: Ballydoyle
Champion trainer:
Twice (2001-2)
Classic wins: 7 (all except 1,000 Guineas)
2002 wins: 10 (UK)
2001 wins: 20 (UK)
2000 wins: 10 (UK)
Despite only being in his early 30s, Aidan O'Brien has already rewritten the trainers' record books.

A successful riding career, capped by his status as Ireland's amateur champion for the 1993/4 season, was cut short at the age of 23 when he opted to apply for a licence.

It was in jump racing that he first made his mark as a trainer, sending out two winners on his first day and breaking prize money records as he won the jumps title in his first season.

He broke the record number of wins for a year in only his second campaign and then decided to try his hand at the Flat.

That opportunity came about when he was asked to take over the famous Ballydoyle stables in County Tipperary, which had previously been the home of racing legend Vincent O'Brien (no relation).

In that year, O'Brien the younger produced a combined total of 176 winners in Flat and National Hunt - a new Irish record until he broke it himself the following year.

The major successes started to come in the 1997 season when he trained the winners of the Irish 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas and the Irish Derby.

The following season, he picked up his first English Classic when King Of Kings won the 2,000 Guineas.

He continued to train jumpers - notably Istabraq, whom he saddled to three Champion Hurdle crowns.

After Istabraq retired in 2002, O'Brien gave up the jumping game but his grip on the Flat was strengthening yet further.

In 2001, his domination stretched across the Irish Sea and he became the first overseas-based trainer since O'Brien Sr to became Britain's leading trainer.

That year he enjoyed unprecedented success, winning 23 Group One races.

They included an Oaks-Derby double with Imagine and Galileo, the latter going on to add victory in the Irish Derby to his CV.

O'Brien also made in-roads in the US, where Johannesburg won the Breeders' Cup juvenile event.

In 2002, O'Brien retained both his English and Irish champion trainer's crowns despite the fact that his yard was hit by a coughing bug during the summer.

That he was top dog in England with just 10 wins - earning £2.8m in prize money - proves the quality of his string.

His successes included Derby winner and runner-up High Chaparral and Hawk Wing, who came home 12 lengths ahead of the field.

Another of his inmates, Rock Of Gibraltar, set a new record of seven consecutive Group One successes.

O'Brien is backed by the Coolmore operation, which undoubtedly gives him a huge advantage.

But his skill at getting his horses to peak at the right time and his attention to detail - a section of the Ballydoyle gallops is modelled on Epsom's famous Tattenham Corner - mean that he currently has no equals in the training game.

Story from BBC SPORT:

[Handy Harry]

Epsom Downs (Surrey,U.K.): The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Kris Kin (Kris S.- Angel In My Heart) was brilliantly ridden by Kieren Fallon to win the Derby here on Saturday.

http://www.indiarace.com/NewsAround/2003/images/KRISKIN.jpg

Owner, trainer and several punters who backed the horse down to 6-1 from the opening price of 12-1 in a nationwide plunge were full of praise for Fallon who contributed to the
one-length success over The Great Gatsby with what the Newmarket maestro described as "One of the great rides ever seen at Epsom".

Fallon, had his mount in the midfield as the running was cut out by The Great Gatsby and Dutch Gold and coming down into Tattenham Corner there was still plenty of distance between Kris Kin and the race leaders.However, three furlongs from home Fallon pulled Kris Kin off the rail in sixth place before driving his mount past his five rivals for Derby glory and the 852,600 pounds first prize for owner Saeed Sohail who had supplemented the winner in the race at a cost of 90,000 Pounds.


This was the third Derby success for Stoute following the victories of Shergar and Shahhrastani in the eighties and the second for Fallon (Oath 1999).Stoute admitted he was hopeful of success when his ward came down the hill.He said: "Two furlongs out I was sure he was going to run a big race and get pretty close.But it was not until near the end that I realized that he was going to win".

The jubilant Fallon had this to say: "Kris Kin got a couple of bumps but was man enough to hold his position when it got very rough.Coming round the home turn to the straight, I knew when I dug deep he was going to answer. Sure enough he found a winning gear like a true champion."

Pat Eddery made a gallant effort to give Aidan O'Brien a third successive Derby aboard The Great Gatsby who ended as a commendable runner-up."I couln't have asked for better,"he said."I could have done with a little bit softer ground, but he's run a great race and I can't complain."

John Oxx, trainer of the fast-finishing third-placed Alamshar, would not fear taking on Kris Kin again."We're as happy as we can be with the result and there's not much between them.
It just depends on who has improved the most on the day. The winner just kicked on well and found a length more than we did today ,"said the Curragh-based trainer.

David Elsworth, trainer of the fourth-placed Norse Dancer, said: "He was left quite a lot to do but saw the race out well.One's a little frustrated in a way - there's only one Derby and it's the only chance he'd get.All in all, I'm disappointed with the result but delighted that my horse has run so well."

The biggest disappointments of the race were Refuse to Bend, the 3-1 favourite and the strongly fancied Brian Boru.Both appeared to be travelling better than the winner downhill and rounding Tattenham Corner.The latter was the first to crack, and his jockey Mick Kinane said: "He didn't run well and that's pretty disappointing."

Although Refuse To Bend fared a little better, he failed to get the trip according to his jockey Pat Smullen: "He possibly didn't stay ; I'd say that was the biggest factor,"said Smullen.

KRIS KIN (Kieren Fallon up) winning the Epsom Derby 2003




Manificent win for KRIS KIN

Finishing Order:

Kris Kin (1), The Great Gatsby(2), Alamshar(3), Norse Dancer(4), Balestrini(5), Dutch Gold(6), Let Me Try Again(7), Graikos(8), Magistretti(9), Shield(10), Summerland(11), Alberto Giacometti(12), Refuse To Bend(13), Franklin Gardens(14), Dunhill Star(15), Brian Boru(16), Strength 'n Honour(17), Unigold(18), Lundy's Lane(19), Prince Nureyev (20)

Winning Time: 2:33.35 Secs

Distances: 1L, sh, 1-1/2, 3/4L, 4L, 4L,1-1/4L,hd, 1L,1/2L,1-1/4L,1/2L, hd, 2-1/2 l, 2 l, nk, 3L, 4L, 7L
ALL 20 ran.

http://www.indiarace.com/NewsAround/2003/images/ManificentwinforKRISKIN.jpg

[imaufo]

Clarry Conners' Belle Du Jour, temporarily in the hands of Irish trainer Dermot Weld is set to race tomorrow at Cork in Ireland.
Race details are:

Going : Yielding to Soft
3.30 Kerry Group Ballyogan Stakes (Group 3)
5f. 1st - €48,750, 2nd - €15,000, 3rd - €7,500, 4th - €3,000 5 Declared

1 90-7608 Minashki Miss I T Oakes 100
b c Ashkalani (IRE) - Blushing Minstrel (IRE)
4, 9-5 (13)(C)(D2) (Mrs Christine Kiernan) (Drawn 4) N G McCullagh

2 4 Belle Du Jour Dermot Weld
M by Dehere (USA) from Delightful Belle (NZ)
6 9-9 (B)(22) (Strawberry Hill Stud Syndicate) (Drawn 5) Pat Smullen

3 31-1 Miss Anabaa R Guest
b f Anabaa (USA) - Midnight Shift (IRE)
4, 9-2 (13)(D) (C J Mills) (Drawn 2) F M Berry


4 13247-3 Marino Marini Aidan O'Brien 110
gr c Storm Cat (USA) - Halo America (USA)
3, 8-12 (70)(C)(D) (Mrs John Magnier) (Drawn 3) Michael Kinane


5 370-356 Ryan's Academy G T Lynch 95
b c Ali-royal (IRE) - Bradwell (IRE)
3, 8-12 (B)(30)(D) (Paul D Carty) (Drawn 1) T P O'Shea

Probable SP
6-4 Marino Marini (USA). 3-1 Miss Anabaa (GB). 5-1 Belle Du Jour (AUS). 10-1 Minashki. 16-1 others.

[Seabiscuit]

Only 5% of Brits went racing in 2002 and 69% of Brits could not care less about British racing. The reasons for this is that it is boring and high rates of betting commission in the past. Sounds to me that the Brits need a revolution along the lines of Betfair to spark things up a bit and turn the ship around.

BHB unveil results of hefty market research


by Howard Wright



OVER 8,000 people can’t be wrong; British horseracing does have a future for attracting spectators and punters, provided the concerns of the major consumers – existing or potential - are addressed.

That was the key message to emerge from the racing review committee’s latest deliberations, on The Racing Experience, which were presented to the BHB’s annual meeting in London on Thursday by commercial managing director Nigel Smith.

Reflecting on what he described as the most exhaustive market researchconducted by the racing industry, Smith said: “We’ve put the consumer – which includes racegoers, punters, sponsors and bookmakers – at the heart of the research, just as any other retailer would, and it’s been done in a way that puts money in the till.

“In addition we’ve created an agenda for change. It’s only a starting point, but we’ll make it happen.

“If we want to get access to a bigger market, and to help racing recover some of its lost revenue, change has to happen.”

In terms of racegoers, the research produced findings broadly in line with other recent studies – just over five per cent of the adult population, or 2.5 million, went racing in 2002, but 69 per cent of the population claim not to be interested in racing.

Smith explained: “Racegoing is a low frequency activity, with a few high frequency users and many racegoers who on average go just once a year or less.

“Nevertheless, we found that over nine million racegoers in Britain are open to the idea of going racing, and even among the 30 million adults who say they are closed to racing, 13 million are closed for reasons that we believe are manageable by racing.”

Finding solutions to persuade more people to go racing, Smith said, involves examining the problems.

“Themain barriers to more race going are the perceptions that it involves a high cost and takes a long time, and the fact that most people are simply not aware of where and when racing is taking place. Racing doesn’t do a good job of selling itself.

“There’s also a poor understanding of racing, most occasional racegoers are intimidated by the thought they have to have specialised knowledge, even down to what to wear.

“The biggest area of disappointment is in food and drink, with major issues about quality and value for money.”

Smith is convinced there is the potential for huge benefits from relatively small changes in race-going behaviour.

He said: “If racegoers attended only one and a half more times a year, the incremental profit to racecourses would be £87m a year. If the one-third of potential racegoers who say they are likely to go racing once a year actually did go, the incremental profit would be £36m.

“If just ten per cent of those who are closed to racing for reasons that we can manage were to go only once a year, the incremental contribution would be £10m.

“This represents a potential upside to British racing of £133m per year, which is not a forecast but a graphic illustration of the benefit of investing more money in gettingpeople to go horseracing.”

[imaufo]

The Shergar Cup jockeys' challenge has been run and won by the Rest of the World team at Ascot.

Captained by Frankie Dettori, who was joined by Shane Dye, Sweden's Fredrik Johansson, Andreas Suborics (Germany), Japan's Yutaka Take and Hong Kong's Douglas Whyte they were decisive winners.

There were six jockeys on each side and they rode in five of the six races on the Ascot card.

Points were awarded to the riders of the first five horses home in each race and after the Rest Of The World team won four races, they ran out easy winners in the annual event.
Shane Dye rode one winner while Douglas Whyte scored a double.

Pat Eddery captained the Great Britain & Ireland team and he had the services of Kevin Darley, Kieren Fallon, Darryll Holland, Michael Kinane and Johnny Murtagh.
The feature race of the day was the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint (Class B) (1200m) which was won by Whyte on Move It from Royal Beacon (Yutaka Take) with Coconut Penang (IRE) (Pat Eddery) third.

By: Jo Adams - Monday, 11 August 2003

[Handy Harry]

Catching up with Roxy 4/16/03 -


Legend is a word used too often. Few people accurately fit the description, especially when it comes to sports gaming.

Roxy Roxborough is that rare exception. Founder of Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) and the world's most prominent oddsmaker at one time, Roxborough has been away from Las Vegas the past five years living in semi-retirement in Thailand.

But while Roxborough no longer is affiliated with LVSC and setting odds for Nevada's hotels, he still does make betting lines. Roxborough makes odds for Kentucky Derby.com and is a consultant for Canbet and several other Internet sports books.

An avid horseracing bettor whose goal is to visit every racetrack in the world, Roxborough comes to the United States in the spring to attend the Triple Crown races. The rest of the time he spends in Bangkok.

"You can live anywhere and follow any sport now," Roxborough said this week during a stop in Las Vegas. "That's why you're getting a lot of ex-Americans living all over the world able to bet and follow sports.

Building his reputation in the late '70s as one of the first to beat baseball totals by handicapping weather elements and wind conditions, Roxy now pays more attention to international cricket, Formula One racing and soccer than baseball, hockey and college sports.

"Making odds is really just a numbers game," Roxborough said. "The sports stars are interchangeable. They come, they go, they get injured and they retire."

To Roxy, it doesn't matter what the sport is, or who the players are. It's all about numbers and doing your homework.

Roxy started LVSC in the early '80s just as the late oddsmaker and bookmaker Bob Martin was retiring. Martin was the No. 1 oddsmaker in Las Vegas during the late '60s and '70s. Nevada's gaming industry desperately needed someone like Roxborough to make odds, monitor the line, provide information and give advice.

Around 80 percent of Nevada's hotels were LVSC clients, along with books in the United Kingdom, Australia and government-run lotteries in Canada and Oregon.

International Gaming & Wagering Business magazine named Roxborough one of the 25 most powerful figures in gaming in a 1995 article. An articulate and intelligent voice, Roxborough was the state's leading spokesman for sports gaming. Often he appeared on national TV programs and was invited to speak in Washington numerous times during debates and committees hearings.

His departure from Las Vegas left a tremendous void in the Nevada sports betting industry. No bookmaker or oddsmaker has the influence or voice Roxborough had. In addition, Las Vegas Sports Consultants is now on the selling block and in danger of folding.

Always seemingly to be one step ahead of the crowd, some believe Roxborough departed Las Vegas because he could see things were going downhill. He realized sports books in Nevada were going to be hurt by stricter state regulations, the emergence of Internet betting sites and casino owners emphasizing slot and video poker machines.

"There's an incredible amount of stress on you," Roxborough said about being a high-profile oddsmaker. "People like to critique you on a daily basis, which isn't fair.

"If you put out a game four and it goes to eight and the team wins by 30, you're an idiot. That comes with the territory. But I don't miss that day-to-day stress and second-guessing. I do miss working with the people. Some of the people in the industry were great."




Prescription sporting (http://www.therx.com/nm/templates/article.asp?articleid=931&zoneid=3)

[Handy Harry]

Worlds TOP 100 races ( by Godolphin) (http://www.godolphin.com/nashama/jewels_top100.asp)

[imaufo]

Probe launched into horse mix-up



The Jockey Club is to investigate the wrong running of a horse which resulted in its death.

Trump Card, who ran at Plumpton last month instead of Investment Force, was put down after breaking two legs.

Trainer Charlie Mann told the Racing Post: "Our horses always go on the walker before they go racing and for some reason they were put in the wrong boxes afterwards."

It is the third wrong runner mix-up at Mann's yard in the past three years.

Jockey Club spokesman John Maxse said: "Charlie Mann will face a disciplinary panel inquiry and we are, in conjunction with Weatherbys, who handle inquiries into the identity of horses involved in mix-ups, investigating the matter.

"There is a hold on Investment Force running until we have reached a stage whereby we can say for sure what happened on the day."

Mann added: "It's all very unfortunate, especially as it had such a tragic outcome, and it is not something I am proud of, but the first thing I did when I discovered what had happened was to ring the National Trainers' Federation and the Jockey Club.

"There was no question of us trying to pull any strokes."

Mann was fined £1,000 by the Jockey Club in January after Perouges Prince, due to make his debut for the yard at Kempton the previous November, was prevented from running after failing to match the description in his passport.

The horse was subsequently found to be Look To The Future.

Mann had also been involved in another mix-up with the juvenile hurdler Storm Wizard at Newbury in April, 2001.

Maxse stressed that cases of mistaken identity were extremely rare.

"There are 80,000 runners a year and in the last three years we have had just 12 cases of identity mix-ups," he said.

"Until the latest incident all the previous 11 cases had been spotted prior to the race."

Since 1999, every horse foaled has had a microchip implanted. Every debutant is checked, as is a horse when it changes stables and those that are routinely tested.

But the two horses in this case, Trump Card and Investment Force, did not have a microchip as they were born before the system was introduced.


Story from BBC SPORT:

[Handy Harry]

Dalakhani Named Cartier Horse Of The Year





Thursday, 13 November 2003: The Aga Khan's brilliant Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and French Derby winner Dalakhani has been named Horse Of The Year at the 2003 Cartier Racing Awards in London.

The three-year-old Darshaan colt, trained by Alain de Royer Dupre in
France, retires to stud with a remarkable record of eight wins, four of them in Group 1 company, from nine starts.

The Cartier Awards, the most prestigious in Europe, are determined by points earned in Pattern races, votes from a panel of leading journalists and votes public from readers of The Daily Telegraph.

Dalakhani amassed a total of 609 points and also won the the Cartier
3YO Colt Award with 568 points from Alamshar - also owned by
His Highness the Aga Khan - coming home second with 379 points.

Falbrav, runner-up for the Cartier Horse Of The Year Award, was rewarded for his four G1 wins and two G1 placings in Europe and America, with the Cartier Older Horse Award with 501 points.

Russian Rhythm, winner of the G1 1000 Guineas, G1 Coronation Stakes and G1 Nassau Stakes, received the Cartier 3YO Filly Award with 499 points from Six Perfections.

The remarkable 10-year-old Persian Punch, England’s most popular horse, won the Cartier Stayer Award for another grand season that included wins in the Goodwood Cup, Doncaster Cup and Jockey Club Cup.

Choisir’s rival Oasis Dream took out the Cartier Sprinter Award for his wins in the G1 July Cup at Newmarket and York's G1 Nunthorpe Stake. Choisir polled 302 points to finish second to Oasis Dream (449 points).

The Aidan O'Brien-trained One Cool Cat, winner of the G1 Phoenix Stakes and G1 National Stakes, won the Cartier 2YO Colt Award while the unbeaten Attraction picked up the Cartier 2YO Filly prize for her five wins.

The Cartier Award of Merit was presented to Lord Oaksey for his contribution to the European industry over almost 50 years.

As an amateur, known as John Lawrence, he rode more than 200 winners from 1956 to 1975 and began writing for The Daily Telegraph in 1957.

He presented racing on both ITV and Channel 4 and was the founder of the Injured Jockeys' Fund in 1964.

[tmhmy-ET-SING]

Hope did not ruffles any feathers. cheers, mate:) :rolleyes: ;) :o :( :D

[imaufo]

December 17, 2003

London: The first five horses home were disqualified for taking the wrong course in an amateur riders' race at Towcester on Monday and the £2555 ($6000) prize was awarded to the sixth horse to finish.

The drama unfolded in the gg.com Amateur Riders' Handicap Chase. First past the post was the 7-2 co-favourite Lord Broadway but the prize went to the 20-1 shot Stormhill Stag.

Three fences in the home straight were omitted because of low sun and, as the field passed them by, confusion arose when the runners approached a hurdles wing in the middle of the track.

The hurdles themselves had been removed in advance of the next race and the leaders went the wrong side of the wing, which effectively meant they had all run out. The jockeys, all amateurs, were not fined or banned because the glare was so bad.

PA


This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/16/1071336963047.html

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Irish bred galloper Masafi has done what no other galloper has done before – win seven races from seven starts in 18 days.
Masafi took the record off David Chapman's sprinter Chaplins Club, who won seven out of nine starts in 19 days in 1985.

Masafi hadn’t raced since November 2003, when he resumed at Lingfield UK on March 14 running second, a short head behind Marnie.


His incredible record then started on July 12 when he won at Southwell over 1600m, beating Mexican by four lengths, ridden as he has been in all seven wins by Seb Sanders (33).


Four days later on July 16 he went out an 8/11 favourite beating Third Empire by a length at Carlisle over 1900m.

July 19 saw him start at 9/10 over 2000m and this time he scorched home by seven lengths from Forge Lane.


On July 22 bookies were not going to let him get away and they sent him out at 1/7.

No worries to this three-year-old though, he won by three lengths from Little Eye over 1900m.


Ok, time for a rest? No way. Next day July 23 off he went back to Southwell where this time at 1/10, he scored a length and a half victory from Arran over 1600m.

It was holiday time after that win – and after a five day break, Masafi headed out to Musselburgh on July 28, started at 9/13 and again scored an emphatic victory, this time by seven lengths from Joey Perhaps.


This was considered a ‘low-grade handicap’ but no matter, to win your sixth start in 17 days is quite a feat for any horse.

The following day July 29 (who said horses can’t back up?) he headed back to Carlisle.


Bookies thought that perhaps this was it, he couldn’t win seven straight and sent him out at the lucrative odds (well for him) of 4/6.


This was without doubt his toughest ask to date, but despite an increase in weight of 10.5kgs since his first win, he was too strong and recorded a length and a half win from Goodbye Mr. Bond over 1900m.

Masafi is trained by Sir Mark Prescott at Heath House, Newmarket, who has had no qualms about racing the youngster this many times.

Prescott is renowned as being shrewd, clever and capable of winning big race gambles.

Masafi must be a dream come true for Prescott followers. No matter how short a horse is, a consistent winner is a consistent winner.

Masafi (Desert King(IRE) from Mrs Fisher(IRE) (Salmon Leap (USA)) will attempt to make it eight straight at the August 4th meeting at Brighton in the John Smith´s Brighton Mile Challenge Trophy (Class D) (Rated Stakes) (Handicap).

“The only thing we are concerned about is the handicapper," said Prescott.

"He’s certainly well enough to run."

Masafi's owner-breeder Graham Waters is no stranger to records. He owned Spindrifter who has the record for 10 consecutive wins on the Flat as a two-year-old in 1980 and won a total of 13.

By: Jo Adams - racenet.com.au...Sunday, 1 August 2004

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Interactive stallion directory (http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/isd/)

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Godolphin's Sulamani won his sixth Grade/Group One victory in the 67th Pattison Canadian International (2400m) on turf at a misty Woodbine, Toronto, on Sunday and will now retire to stud.

It was a most convincing success by the five-year-old Hernando horse who cruised up to challenge in the straight and ran on strongly to win by a length and a half from a strong field.

Frankie Dettori, Godolphin's retained jockey, was happy to bide his time as Burst Of Fire made the initial running.

He tucked away Sulamani on the inside and the partnership still had some seven lengths to make up with three furlongs to go.

A gap appeared in the straight and Sulamani was switched wide to make his challenge, taking the lead half-way inside the final furlong.

The international performer, who has now won at the highest level in Canada, England, America, Dubai and France, beat Simonas in a time of 2m 28.64s.
Frankie Dettori commented:

'I was concerned turning for home as I was pretty boxed in but, when Kieren (Fallon on Simonas) kicked, he opened the race up for me and I knew my horse had tremendous acceleration and would get him.

'Simonas had first run and he managed to take three lengths out of me but I managed to close the gap and go past him pretty easily. Sulamani has a tremendous turn of foot and won really well.'

Saeed bin Suroor, the Godolphin trainer, said:

'Sulamani won very well and we are delighted with him.
'He has won another big race and it is a great result for the horse and for Godolphin.

'Sulamani is a very tough horse who has travelled the world.'

Simon Crisford, the Godolphin racing manager, added: 'Sulamani is going to retire to stud and all the details will be announced shortly.

'He has achieved so much that we felt that now was the right time to stop with him. He had great campaigns this year and last year.

'He has won five Group/Grade Ones for Godolphin and six in total, gaining more than US$5 million in prize money in five different countries on three continents.

'Sulamani was as impressive as he has ever been today - he showed a really good turn of foot and won very easily.'

Godolphin

By: Racenet - Monday, 25 October 2004

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Sunday, 21 November 2004:

Plans for an international assault with Melbourne Cup heroine Makybe Diva are taking firmer shape and next year's international carnival at Dubai looms as the launching pad.

Makybe Diva has been invited to contest the $2 million Dubai Sheema Classic (2400m) on March 26 and Dubai's international agent in Australia, Bruce Clark, said trainer Lee Freedman is in the process of mapping out a program that should be finalised in the next month.

"She's been invited so now it's up to connections to sort out a program that can include Dubai, which we are keen for them to do," Clark said.

"Lee has (accepted the invitation) in principle but it's a matter of working out the logistics.

"He's very keen to go so we should know a definite program in the next month.

"The Sheema Classic is the race we'd love her to run in and take on Ouija Board who has just been crowned Horse of the Year in Britain."

The Australasian representation at the international carnival in Dubai in recent years has been minimal but not unsuccessful with champion New Zealand mare Sunline finishing a close third in the Dubai Duty Free (1777m) in 2001.

Clark said several trainers including Clarry Conners and Rick Hore-Lacy had expressed an interest in taking runners to Dubai this year to compete in the lesser support races.

Meanwhile, Clark confirmed jockey Damien Oliver would return to his home state of Western Australia over the summer to partner exciting mare Ellicorsam.

Oliver rode her to victory in the Group Two Lee Steere Stakes at Ascot and will retain the mount in the Group One Railway Stakes at the same venue on December 4.

He also added that reports last week former New Zealand jockey Michael Walker had linked with Gai Waterhouse were premature.

"Nothing has been officially confirmed and it's still a long way off happening yet," Clark said.

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Brazilian jockeys hit with one-year bans </B></B>
by Paul Eacott

</B>
</B>FIVE Brazilian jockeys have been hit with one-year bans after an investigation by the Jockey Club Brasileiro discovered irregularities in five races at the Hippodromo La Gavea track on November 19.

Alex Mota, Jorge Leme, Acedenir Gulart, Marcos Aurelio, and Cesar Gustavo Neto were all handed their suspensions last week after irregularities were found in all five legs of that Rio track’s Quinexata wager, according to a report in the Thoroughbred Times.

Following an extensive investigation, it was found that the jockeys had combined to invest $738 on the card’s Quinexata wager, which consists of correctly picking the top two finishers in the final five races on the card. The potential payout for a successful wager could have been as much as $144,000.

After proving their participation in the race-fixing and gambling scheme scandal, the Jockey Club gave all five riders a one-year suspension for an infraction of article 41, letter "C" of the National Code of Racing, which prohibitsprofessionals from placing wagers.

Mota, Leme, and Aurelio each received an additional six-month suspension for failing to make an effort for an entire race.

The wager placed by the five jockeys did not go exactly as they had planned after they failed to include the runner-up in the last leg of their Quinexata ticket, which paid only about $1,328.

The Jockey Club Brasileiro racing commission announced that it would extend its investigation another 15 days, with the police set to be called in to proceed with the legal aspects of the investigation. </B>
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