Melbourne Cup 2008 Blog

Cup win would be poetic for Yeats - Horseracing - Sport - smh.com.au

Link: Cup win would be poetic for Yeats - Horseracing - Sport - smh.com.au.

EUROPE'S champion stayer Yeats collected a second Royal Ascot Gold Cup on Thursday evening, and now the Melbourne Cup is back on the agenda. The Aidan O'Brien-trained six-year-old finished seventh behind Japanese raiders Delta Blues and Pop Rock in last year's Melbourne Cup when carrying the topweight of 59 kilograms.

"Although he won today by less than he did a year ago, I can't imagine they would give him any less weight [in the Melbourne Cup], O'Brien told the Racing Post. "Last year, he came here then went to Goodwood but possibly he mightn't go to Goodwood this time and [instead] head for the Irish St Leger then on to Melbourne.

"If he was in good shape, it really would be something to look forward to. It would be great to go down there but we would be under no illusions. It is not an easy race to win.

"We weren't used to the way the race was run. Races are run more consistently here but we learned a bit about it and because of that we might change the way we ride him."

Yeats started in the red in the Gold Cup and was ridden to perfection by Mick Kinane.

Yeats coming to Australia (maybe)

Link: icLiverpool - Aussie raid the target for Yeats.

A LUCRATIVE trip Down Under for the Melbourne Cup is on the agenda for Yeats after the tough stayer landed a second consecutive Gold Cup victory.

The odds-on chance emulated Ascot favourites like Royal Rebel, Drum Taps, Ardross and Le Moss by claiming the stayers’ championship twice.

Yeats looked a certain winner two furlongs from home and when Geordieland stormed out of the pack to challenge, the market leader found another gear to score by 1½ lengths, with Le Miracle a further 3½ lengths back in third.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “All races are open to him now and we have to discuss where he goes, but it’s very possible he might miss Goodwood and go to the Irish Leger and then the Melbourne Cup.

“But this race is the ultimate staying race and a third crack at it would be on the agenda. It would be great to be back again.”

Yeats wins Ascot Gold Cup...again

Link: Royal Ascot: Yeats may pursue hat-trick of Gold Cups - Independent Online Edition > General.

Anniversaries can distort as well as distil what has gone before. They can lend an illusory, vintage flavour to the past, and staleness to the present. Yesterday, however, the bicentenary of the Gold Cup was gilded by one of its most illustrious winners, a horse worthy not only of this venerable old prize but also of the enduring names already on its roll of honour.

In running away with the race last season, Yeats looked one of the outstanding stayers of recent years, and he reiterated that impression with another commanding display. Nor has he merely outclassed pedestrian rivals. Geordieland would have been a brilliant winner in his absence, cruising through the field in the straight, but unable to reel in the champion who had already thrashed him at Goodwood last summer.

Geordieland reduced the deficit from five lengths that day to one and a half here, and some will deceive themselves that his rider was rather too ambitious, but anyone who had risked backing Yeats at 8-13 never experienced the faintest disquiet. Having relaxed beautifully for Michael Kinane, he emerged from midfield with ominous ease and quickly opened up a decisive lead early in the straight.

US stayer set for Melbourne Cup

Link: US stayer set for Melbourne Cup : thewest.com.au.

Well-performed US stayer Tacit Agreement has been purchased by an international syndicate with the purpose of being set for this year’s $5 million Melbourne Cup.   The six-year-old is by 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled and has won consecutive stakes races at his past three appearances by an aggregate of 31 lengths.   A gelding standing at over 17 hands,

Tacit Agreement was purchased privately by Glenlogan Park Stud proprietor Jon Haseler, the USbased Carondelet Farm and Flemington trainer Danny O’Brien, who will prepare him at Flemington.   The deal was brokered by David Bernsen, of Carondelet Farm, with the aid of John Stuart, of Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services, and Australian bloodstock agent Robert Roulston.

“Tacit Agreement is a pure stayer and with limited staying race opportunities in America, here in Australia he will be able to run for a couple of years for big money, with the first target being the Melbourne Cup,” Roulston said. “The horse will come to Australia aboard the same plane that brings Anamato back after her run in the American Oaks at Hollywood Park. He will clear quarantine and be in Danny O’Brien’s barn at Flemington on August 17.”

Out of graded-stakes performer Don’t Read My Lips, Tacit Agreement is from the female turf family of Champion US grass horse Sunshine Forever.   Since winning America’s only 3200m race last year, the Bob Umphrey Turf Marathon Handicap to pass the Melbourne Cup balloting clause, Tacit Agreement has posted four more impressive stakes wins at the Fair Grounds and Calder.   His last three wins were by 10 lengths on May 5, 15 lengths on May 19 and six lengths on June 9.   Roulston said although Tacit Agreement would run in the Glenlogan Park silks, the group planned to bring several other partners into the syndicate. The gelding will be given a couple of lead-up races in Victoria prior to the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 6.

O’Brien was the trainer of US galloper Honor In War, part-owned by Carondelet Farm, who has been the subject of offers to stand at stud in Australia since his latest start, a third under 60.5kg to Safwa in the JRA Plate (2000m) at Randwick on April 9.   The eight-year-old, a Grade 1 winner in the US, was brought out for the 2006 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley but did not contest the race.   He was scratched on race morning after tests showed he had traces of an illegal substance still in his system.

MELBOURNE

Brisbane Cup winner to try 'The Cup'

Link: Racing and Sports - Leaders in Horse Racing News, Statistics and Technology.

Trainer Paul Perry and larrikin jockey Allan Robinson lifted the spirits of their flood-ravaged hometown of Newcastle when Newport won the Group Two Brisbane Cup at Eagle Farm.

The Brisbane Cup, shortened from 3200m to 2400 metres for the first time, provided a sweet result for Robinson who had to lose more than 1.5 kilos when he arrived in the capital on Monday morning to ride the Encosta De Lago four-year-old at 52kg.

Newport, narrowly beaten in the McKell Cup (2400m) at Rosehill last start, edged out the fast finishing New Zealander Lilakyn by a nose with last year's Queensland Derby winner Ice Chariot a half-length away third.

It was also an emotional victory for both trainer and rider as Perry's father Ron, 87, has been in poor health in recent times.

Perry, who trains more than 70 horses at Broadmeadow, was thankful he made the decision to send Newport to Brisbane six days ago, just before the big wet inundated the Hunter Valley.

"It's been a bit hairy back home," said Perry, who met the Queen when Choisir claimed the King's Stand and Golden Jubilee Stakes sprint double at Royal Ascot in England four years ago.

"I spoke to my foreman, Keyren Forbes this morning and he said a lot of boxes were under water but no horses had been lost."

Tears welled in Perry's eyes when he briefly spoke about his father's illness.

"Dad hasn't been well. He and Robo have been very close for a long time," Perry said.

In typical Robinson fashion, the popular jockey demanded Perry should sling him more after giving both men their first win in the Brisbane Cup.

Perry, who bought Newport for $150,000 as a yearling at the Sydney Easter sales, will now give the four-year-old a break before concentrating on a Melbourne Cup (3200m) campaign at Flemington in November.

"He won in Melbourne last carnival time and he's only lightly-raced so he's worth a chance at the Melbourne Cup," Perry said.

"Allan had a plan how best to ride him today and he wanted to stay close which worked."

Although Kiwi rider Lisa Cropp raised the whip in a victory salute as Lilakyn crossed the line, Perry was always confident Newport had lasted to win.

Peter Pan's 1934 Melbourne Cup

Link: Melbourne Cup odds-on to fetch $1m | Herald Sun.

THE Melbourne Cup trophy of one of the greatest stayers in Australian turf history is on the market with a $1 million price tag.

For the first time in 73 years, Peter Pan's 1934 Melbourne Cup trophy has surfaced in the public arena with its owners keen to cash in and invest the money.

Tim Ritchie, the grandson of Rodney Dangar, who bred Peter Pan, said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a fan to secure what he believed was one of the most famous coveted trophies in horse racing history.

Mr Ritchie, 55, who is a surveyor and property developer on Sydney's northern beaches, felt it was time to let go of the family treasure.

"I have huge admiration for what my grandfather achieved in horse racing and so it was a respectful and timely decision to sell it," he said.

Peter Pan was one of only five horses to have won the Melbourne Cup more than once, picking up the prestigious title in 1932 and 1934.

Racing Museum curator Kathy Peters said the $1 million price tag was ridiculous considering it did not win two consecutive Melbourne Cups.

Bart's horse - Empires Choice - wins Queensland Derby

Link: Australian Horse Breeding and Racing news updated daily, www.thoroughbrednews.co.nz.

Randwick trainer Bart Cummings looks to have unearthed a possible Melbourne Cup horse following Empires Choice’s (NZ) win in the $500,000, Group I, BMW Queensland Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

An 11 time winner of the Melbourne Cup, Cummings believes Empires Choice will be an improved galloper come spring time.

Empires Choice is bred to be a Melbourne Cup winner. He’s a son of Redoute’s Choice from Rosie’s Star, a daughter of former Melbourne Cup winner Empire Rose.

“He’s only getting better with the distance,” Cummings said. “I think he’s got a good future and I really think by the spring he’ll be better again.”

Brisbane Cup - Melbourne Cup exemption

Link: Australian Horse Breeding and Racing news updated daily, www.thoroughbrednews.co.nz.

Monday’s $300,000, Group II, Brisbane Cup, run at 2400 metres for the first time this year, has brought together a quality field and it’s fitting that this race is the first of the Australian Stayers Challenge (ASC) races to be conducted in Brisbane during 2007.

The ASC comprises 34 of Australia’s premier Black Type staying events and was intro­duced by the Australian Racing Board as an incentive for individual States to build staying races over time with the goal of inclusion in the Challenge.

All ASC races carry point allocations, with the horse that earns the most points throughout the Challenge crowned the ‘Australian Stayers Challenge Champion’, with the prize being a coveted exemption from any ballot for the 2007 Emirates Melbourne Cup. Queensland Racing’s racing services manager, Paul Brennan said: “This year’s Bris­bane Cup is the first to be conducted at the reduced distance of 2400 metres and whilst the decision to alter the distance of this race was seen by many as radical move, there is no doubt that the quality of this year’s race vindicates the decision.”