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Jockey John Velazquez could not have been too happy with the performances of his mounts on Saturday at Saratoga. Although he won the opener, an allowance affair, he had to be content with second placings in the two Grade 1 events of the afternoon.
First, Bonnie Blue Flag looked to have a chance at the top of the straight in the Test Stakes (7 fur.) but that hope rapidly faded as the leader at that time, Champagne D'Oro (Medaglia D'Oro-Champagne Glow, by Saratoga Six) turned on the afterburners and pulled well clear, scoring by 4-1/2 lengths for trainer Eric Guillot, a native of Louisiana. The schooler had recently ruffled feathers when turning up in the Saratoga paddock wearing shorts an attempt that resulted in his summary ejection!
Just over half an hour later, Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's homebred Blame (Arch-Liable, by Seeking The Gold) pulled off a stunning upset in the Whitney Stakes by getting up late to defeat half-money favourite Quality Road, appearing to surprise Velazquez in the process. The runner-up is many people's idea of the best male Thoroughbred in training in North America but today was not his day. The superbly-bred Blame, trained by Albert Stall, was perfectly handled by Garret Gomez the colt has now won six in a row. It must be mentioned that the runner-up was conceding 5 lbs, so Quality Road still ranks as the leader of the handicap division.
A look at whats happening in Europe.
Noverre's son, Summit Surge could bring fresh laurels to his sire as his trainer, Luca Cumani, has decided to tackle Gr.1 company with his six-year-old ward. In view of the lack of suitable opportunities in Europe, Cumani who won the Arlington Million in 1983 with Tolomeo has targeted that stellar event in Chicago on August 21st as a likely target.
The Dubai Duty Free-sponsored Shergar Cup at Ascot pits riders from four teams representing Ireland, Great Britain, Europe and the Rest Of The World against each other in a series of six races. Each race has ten runners which makes for 60 starters and each team has 15 rides. This year's teams consisted of F.M. Berry, Richard Hughes and Pat Smullen (Ireland) all have ridden in India Jim Crowley, Alan Munro and Hayley Turner (GB), Olivier Peslier, Christophe Soumillon and Umberto Rispoli (Europe) and Anton Marcus of South Africa, Yasunari Iwata of Japan and Luke Nolen of Australia (Rest Of The World).
The eleventh renewal run on Saturday, August 7th, saw the Irish team, as expected, taking home the Cup with 80 points, well clear of Europe (67), Rest Of The World (45) and Great Britain (43). One of the Irish riders, Fran Berry, with 35 points outdid Olivier Peslier (28) and the rest to secure the Silver Saddle. Delighted at the result, Berry admitted "It's a dream come true".
Australia and New Zealand
Coinciding with the commencement of the new season in Australasia, the 2009-10 ANZ Classifications (for the period ending July 31, 2010) have been released. These are compiled by the senior handicappers of the principal racing authorities of Australia in association with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing.
Ratings of horses allotted a mark of 115 and over are then confirmed by the World Thoroughbred Rankings Committee, which represents Senior Handicappers from major racing nations across the world.
The highest rating for an individual performance during the season in Australia was 122. This mark was achieved by veteran trainer Bart Cummings' pair of So You Think (High Chaparral-Triassic, by Tights) and the ill-fated Viewed (Scenic-Lovers Knot, by Khozaam), who had to be put down in April this year when suffering from a twisted gut. The former achieved his high mark when recording a wire-to-wire victory in the Tatts Cox Plate, Gr.1, while the latter carried 57 kgs. to a hard-fought success in the world's richest 2400m. handicap, the BMW Caulfield Cup, Gr.1.
Across the Tasman Sea, the best performance by a New Zealand-trained horse was adjudged to be that recorded by the blaze-faced seven-year-old chestnut, Vosne Romanee (Electronic Zone Madison Avenue, by Morcon). His crowning moment came in the Gr.1 Skycity New Zealand Stakes (2000 m.) at Ellerslie, where he took care of the likes of Harris Tweed, Tell A Tale, Red Ruler, Boundless and MacO'Reilly.
A total of 253 horses from eight countries have been entered for the historic Emirates Melbourne Cup (Gr.1), worth A$ 6 million, to be run on November 2nd. As many as 20 of these are owned by millionaire sportsman Lloyd Williams, who has already won the rich event thrice. British-trained entries include Goodwood Cup (Gr.2) hero, Illustrious Blue, Mark Johnston's Eastern Aria (whose dam Badraan is in India) and Luca Cumani's experienced pair of Bauer (runner-up in the 2008 Melbourne Cup) and Purple Moon (who occupied the same spot in 2007).
From Ireland come Dermot Weld's Ascot Gold Cup (Gr.1) winner Rite Of Passage and Profound Beauty, winner a couple of days ago of the ITM/Springpaarden Fonds Ballyroan Stakes (Gr.3). Given that the veteran has twice saddled a winner of the race, his entries deserve the utmost respect. Godolphin have been trying to hoist their flag in the event for several years but have had to be content so far with a trio of second-placed performances from Central Park (1999), Give The Slip (2001) and Crime Scene (2009). This year's team consists of ten contenders, which include Group 1 heroes Cavalryman, Mastery and Campanologist.
