Seems some racing news can get lost at the mo so thought I would add a new thread. Addeybb won a Gr1 in Oz today. Dynamite Dollars RIP, had heart attack according to news.
very sad. Only fortunate news was that the lass who looks after him and rode him in work wasn’t injured in what sounds an awful incident.
Sad to report that Shamardal has went to the big stable in the sky. Champion 2yo, French 2000g and derby winner, Sired 3 undefeated G1 juvenile winning colts in a single crop. Blue Point and Pinatubo amongst his good offspring. I always though this horse was underated.
Agree not good but in the current climate its hardly likely to make the news outside of racing communities
I read, do not know if it is true, that Shamardal was never headed in any race (except his loss on the dirt). Amazing if so.
I remember Shamardal starting his career at Ayr, of all places. Not many good ones start off at the Scottish track and it was Shamardal I thought of when I saw The Wow Signal winning at Ayr in similar fashion in 2014. Impressed, I went out and backed The Wow Signal for the Coventry at 20/1 in the hope that history may repeat itself. Although The Wow Signal did not go on to Shamardal's level of glory, he did also win the Prix Morny. Shamardal was good for me when landing the French 2000 Guineas, completing a double with one of my all time favourite's Divine Proportions, who landed the French 1000. Although Shamardal flopped at Ned Al Sheba I was generally happy that the move to Godolphin was better long term than staying with Mark Johnston, who never quite seems to get the progress at 3YO with his best 2YO's. After the French Guineas Shamardal went on to land the French Derby with arguably his best performance from Hurricane Run, who would later win the Irish Derby, Prix Niel and the Arc. Sublime form. Shamardal then won the St James Palace only 9 days later, a race run at York, rather than Ascot. He was imperious there but I regard his French Guineas/Derby double as his finest work. Sadly we didn't see him again on the racecourse but he has just left arguably his most promising crop and I hope Victor Ludorum will repeat the glories of his father in the French Classics this season if we ever get them. Great memories from Shamardal and being from Giant's Causway he ties in with so much Racing Royalty. RIP Shams
They've been nursing him along for sometime. His 2017 crop couldn't have been surpassed (so far). In 2017 he only covered 65 mares (only! but no comparison with the books of his peers Frankel 196 and Galileo 173) and had 50 foals and they'll be 2yos this year. In 2018 he covered 61 mares and had 51 foals. In 2019 he covered 57 mares. We have no way of knowing if that is his last crop because nothing has been said about whether he covered anything this year. He's been private for about 5 years and when you look at the mares they are all just about owned by Rabbah, Godolphin and Shadwell ( the Aga looks as if he got one in 2018).
Looking at twitter today Juddmonte also got one in (Joyeuse aka Frankel's little sister) produced a colt this year
They are now talking about the 1000, 2000 Guineas being run in early June and the Derby, Oaks being run in early July, in what is being called a "Best case scenario" It seems they are obsessed with Royal Ascot staying on its original date and being run behind closed doors. The Classic trials and the Classics themselves are intended to be run before and after Royal Ascot respectively. I think this is horseshit myself. The Classics must be the priority and having some of these Royal Ascot races eg St James Palace before the Guineas is run is bordering on insanity from a historic perspective. The Royal meeting should not be wagging the dog of the racing program, especially in a scenario where it would be run behind closed doors. I think it makes more sense to have some of the traditional trails at least and then leave enough gap to lead on to the Classics themselves. The rest of the program is less important and if some of those elements are lost then so be it.
You guys in the UK are much better placed to make evaluations on the the importance of staging racing, than outsiders like me. What I can say though, is from where we stand, the importance of specific UK races is not always the same as those of the Brits. For the most, (racing fans apart) there are few races or meeting that the world actually knows about. Far and away the most recognisable race in the UK is Aintree's Grand National, then comes the Derby. There's no contest between the two events as far as the greater "unwashed" are concerned. But what we are beginning see, is a broader knowledge of the Royal Ascot meetings. The reason for this is the the emergence of "home" product that can hopefully can be sent to the Old Dart to be ultra competitive. Outsiders are drawn to UK racing by invitations to compete. Promoting Royal Ascot helps the promotion of UK racing on the global front. Sadly, what can be gained on the other hand, can also lead to losses on the other. We in Australia have paid a massive price for opening up the Melbourne Cup. With the exception of last year, we have not been in a position to win the race in ages, but the race is being targeted by some of the biggest owners in the world. We still enjoy the race, but now our feelings are tinged with a wee bit of sadness. So I can readily understand why the UK fan is a little aggrieved by the staging of the events this year, but hopefully things will return to normal next season.
