Tag: Tattersalls

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THE VIEW by Gina Rarick, vol 2

A Look Back

BAYLAGAN taking second place in Clairefontaine.

Baylagan (above) ran a solid race to finish 2nd in Clairefontaine. He’s turned a page physically and is turning into a nice horse. Pantomime ran her comeback race and finished only 9th, and then got unlucky with her entry in Deauville falling into the first division rather than the second, so she had to settle for 6 h place. She is a very big mare, and it’s taking a little racing to get her going, but she’ll be back in the money soon.

Poor Aborigene had a horrible time in Le Lion d’Angers. It poured rain the entire day and by post time the track was knee-deep in mud. He didn’t care for it at all and came home without any money and desperately needing a shower.

New claim Radja has joined the team. He’s a four-year-old colt with a solid record behind him who should be effective on the soft ground going into fall. He had a few niggles physically, but hopefully, we’re on the right track with him.

Overall, August has been a slow rebuilding month for us, so we plan to start September with a bang!

The Look Ahead

Lots of action coming up in the next week. Baylagan will start us off in Chantilly on Saturday, Aug. 31, in a 1600-meter (one-mile) claimer. He’s been falling nicely in the handicap ratings, so this race should accomplish two purposes: Bring him down to a rating of 30, which opens doors to some favorable handicap entries, and see how he handles the longer distance. If he can stay a mile, we have lots of options.

Dubai Empire is likely to have his comeback race at Longchamp on Sunday, Sept. 1. He’s not quite ready, but we don’t have good entries behind this one so we’ll have to take it and look at it as a race to advance his fitness. We won’t push him but rather see what he will do of his own accord.

The Racetrack at Craon.

On Monday, Sept. 2, we’ll hit the road for Croan, one of our favorite country tracks, with Starstruck and Glorious Emaraty, who will be having his debut for us. Starstruck will hopefully fall into the second division of the Quinte, but that’s not sure yet. We’ll have to take a crack at it even if she’s in the first division because once again, she is in form. If she’s in the second division, she should have a good chance to win. If she’s unlucky to find herself at the bottom of the first division, either she’ll place, or her handicap mark will come down. But she needs to run. Glorious will run a Class 2 conditions race over a distance of 1,350 meters. The objective here is to see how he races; he needs two more races in France to get a handicap mark, and we’d rather not have him too highly rated to start.

Simon’s Smile, our other English acquisition, will debut for us on Thursday, Sept. 4, just up the road at our home track in Maisons-Laffitte. He’ll try a one-mile claimer for jockeys who haven’t won 12 races this year. Aude Duporte will take the ride. We’re looking forward to seeing both of these English horses run.

And Aborigene will be back in action on Thursday, Sept. 5, at Longchamp, where the ground should suit him quite a lot better than the bog at Le Lion d’Angers!

Contact Me For Details

We are going to Tattersalls sale at Newmarket in late October.  There we look for horses with French premiums and opportunities to improve.  If you or a friend are interested in ownership, please contact me.  We offer you the opportunity to buy your own horse or as we say in the yard “take a leg of a horse” which means anywhere from 5% to 50% of the horse.  We have owners who like to spread the costs, and new owners are always welcome.

Cagnes-sur-Mer is not that far off.  Join us for a day, a week, a fortnight, or the entire six weeks from mid-January to late February on the French Riviera.  Many owners and friends are around, and we enjoy days at the races and sightseeing on off days.  Cagnes is an American-style racetrack where the horses live at the track so you can hang out in the barn area, meet many owners and other racetrack characters and they have a great restaurant there.

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THE VIEW by Gina Rarick, vol 1

A Look Back

After our two wins in July, August is off to a slow start with Starstruck as our only runner so far this month. She came up short in the Quinte handicap, the victim of a horrible outside draw and ground not to her liking. She has come back fine and we’re looking for another race for her.

A Look at Curent Events

BAYLAGAN winning in Chantilly.

Baylagan and Pantomime will run tomorrow in Clairefontaine. Baylagan is in a 1400-meter claimer and Pantomime runs a 2400-meter conditions race. Baylagan should be in the money, although this race is not his objective. We’d like to see his handicap mark come down another notch so we can have some fun with him without risk of him being bought. Pantomime is having her first race back after a short break. She’ll probably need the race to get fit for her objective, which is Aug. 24 on the main Deauville turf track. She has an outside draw of 12 and we’ll let her run the race she wants. If she makes money, it’s a bonus! Then next Saturday, Aug. 17, Aborigine is likely to head to Le Lion d’Angers to run a 2400-meter handicap there. He’s a solid little horse and it is shaping up to be a good entry.

A Look Ahead

Our two new horses from Newmarket in July are settling in and should be ready to race by the end of August. Both Simon’s Smile and Glorious Emaraty had minor problems to solve, but we seem to be on the right track with them and it will be exciting to get them running for us. Glorious Emaraty’s sire, George Vancouver, just got his first black-type progeny and it would be nice to add our name to that list!

I’m happy to report that Quiet Zain is coming back well from the injury he sustained winning his Quinte in July and is now back under saddle. He should be ready to run in October. Dubai Empire is also coming along and hopefully will be fit for September. We’ve had to have plenty of patience for our youngsters who haven’t raced yet – Kako Koritsi, Kallistos and Gold Eagle – but hopefully we’ll get there with all of them over the course of the autumn! Gavotte had her debut in July but unfortunately came back with sore shins, so she’ll need more time before she tries again.

The View From the Yard

We are going to Tattersalls sale at Newmarket in late October.  This is one of the sales we look for horses with French premiums and opportunities to improve.  If you or a friend are interested in ownership please contact me.  We offer you the opportunity to buy your own horse or as we say in the yard “take a leg of a horse” which means anywhere from 5% to 50% of the horse.  We have owners who like to spread the costs and new owners are always welcome.

Cagnes-sur-Mer is not that far off.  Come join us for a day, a week, a fortnight or the entire 6 weeks from mid-January to late February on the French Riviera.  Many owners and friends are around an we enjoy days at the races and sightseeing on off days.  This is an American-style racetrack where the horses live at the track so you can hang out in the barn area, meet many owners and other racetrack characters and they have a great restaurant there.

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July racing update

July was a very busy month at the yard. Avenue du Monde (Champs-Elysees) ran her final race, we attended the Tattersalls Horses in Training sales in Newmarket, two new horses entered the yard from claiming races – Never Compromise (Astronomer Royal) and Surewecan (Royal Applause) – and we ran the racing festival in Vichy.

Avenue du Monde’s last race

Avenue du Monde’s last race before becoming a broodmare was in Vichy on the 20th of the month, the last day of the festival. We were hoping that she would drop to the third division of the handicap that day but ended up in the second with Grey Sensation (Aussie Rules) and Gascon (Heliostatic).  Gascon proved to be the best of the three on the day finishing a good second while Grey picked up fourth and Avenue was just out of the money at sixth.  By then, we were running on a turf that was well worn from the week of racing and the heavy rain that fell the Monday before and again that day.

Ray Of Hope finds his form

Earlier in the month, we took Ray of Hope (Layman) back to Deauville and the fibersand and he ran much better than his previous outing at Longchamp. This time picking up second place, one of two that he would run this month.

Ray of Hope earing the yard its 19th second-place finish of the year in Deauville, the 31 July 2018.

Further notable runs included Gascon again, finishing fifth at Compiegne, Never Compromise was seventh in a Quinte handicap and Mr. Chuckles (Arcano) adding a seventh in the second division of that same Quinte handicap.

The Mickaëls – Forest, and Barzalona – did most of the riding except for Mr. Chuckles who was ridden by Delphine Santiago and Maxime Guyon who rode Gascon in Compiegne.

The best paying horse in July was Ray of Hope with his second place on 4 July, paying €9,90 for a one euro place bet.

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Welcome Bleu Astral!

Bleu Astral at the October 2015 Tattersalls horses in training sales in Newmartket.
Bleu Astral at the October 2015 Tattersalls horses in training sales in Newmartket.

Bleu Astral is the first horse in the High Street Racing stable. Purchased by Gina Rarick for 12,750 guineas (18,600 euros; $20,500) at the Wednesday session of Tattersalls October Horses-in-Training Sale, he is a 3-year-old gelding by classic Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Astronomer Royal out of the In the Wings mare Passion Bleue, herself a 1 1/2-mile handicap winner at Longchamp.

Bleu Astral improved to win his last two starts going a mile in England this year, adding to three previous placings in six turf outings. Bred in France, he is eligible for French owners’ premiums.

Bleu Astral catalog page

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Storm at Sunrise?

We found two nice fillies last week at the Newmarket Horses in Training sale: Surrey Storm and Satwa Sunrise. The meteorological alliteration was completely by accident. Surrey Storm is a two-year-old daughter of Montjeu out of a Listed-winning Dansili mare. She is a first foal and very small, but she’s a scrappy sort and has placed twice in four starts. She has an excellent paper and she should make a very interesting addition to our team.

Satwa Sunrise is a four-year-old daughter of Meshaheer and a Polish Precedent mare. She is a half-sister to Listed winner Mary’s Precedent and has placed twice on the all-weather track, so she’ll be perfect for Deauville and Cagnes this winter. She is eligible for French owner’s premiums, and a half-share is available.

The sales were the usual exhausting work, but it is fun at the same time to see our Newmarket friends and get a change of scenery. And it’s always amazing to see the facilities that Godolphin has going – they own most of the town, it seems, and spare no expense on anything a horse might need. Seawalkers, spas, hyperbaric chambers, swimming pools…it’s all wonderful stuff, but at the end of the day a good horse will succeed without it, and it won’t make a mediocre horse better. Good food, a good routine and letting them have an afternoon nap works, too. At least that’s what the rest of us do.