AROUND THE WORLD
Volume 1 | Week 1
🏆 TOMMY’S REPORT
“Morning, everyone. The kettle’s boiling, the saddles are being tightened somewhere in the world, and while most of us were sleeping, racing kept rolling on. Here’s a few stories that caught my eye this week…”
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🇫🇷 FROM FRANCE
The French certainly know how to throw a party, but Longchamp’s Bastille Day celebrations were interrupted by a colt with a name that barely fits across a race book.
Thesecretadversary spoiled the script in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat, lowering the colours of a couple of well-fancied Classic winners. Spare a thought for whoever had to engrave that trophy.
The biggest smile, though, belonged to trainer Fozzy Stack, who finally landed his first Group 1. Moments like that don’t come around every Saturday, and I’d reckon there wasn’t much sleep in that stable afterwards.
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🇬🇧 FROM THE UK
There’s always something brewing at Newmarket.
Richard Hughes believes he’s got a filly with plenty of gears, and judging by the whispers, she’s one to keep tucked away in your notebook.
Further north at Ayr, an old campaigner named Glasses Up chalked up career win number twelve.
Now that’s the sort of horse I admire.
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🇺🇸 FROM THE USA
Across at Saratoga, Bob Baffert has Nysos on track for the Whitney.
Mind you, racing plans have a habit of changing quicker than the weather, so I’ll believe it when the saddle’s on.
Meanwhile, Leading Change kept his unbeaten record intact with another impressive victory in the Indiana Derby.
Some horses win races.
Others quietly announce themselves.
This fellow might just be doing the latter.
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🇵🇱 FROM POLAND
Poland isn’t the first country most people think of when racing’s mentioned, but perhaps it should be.
Trainer Krzysztof Ziemianski, a third-generation horseman, has built a remarkable reputation buying inexpensive French yearlings and turning them into local stars.
It’s another reminder that good horsemen don’t always need the biggest cheque book.
Sometimes a sharp eye is worth far more.
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😄 NEIGH BOTHER #1
Now here’s one that gave me a chuckle.
A young American galloper named River Crossroad RVF looked to have his race completely won before deciding he’d had enough.
Instead of heading for the winning post…
…he headed for home.
Straight through the opening where the trackwork horses leave each morning.
The remarkable thing?
A few starts later he did exactly the same thing again.
I’d love to have been in the float going home.
I suspect the horse thought he’d done absolutely nothing wrong.
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😄 NEIGH BOTHER #2
Over at Ascot, jockey Kaiya Fraser discovered racing can bite…Quite literally.
A wayward newcomer named Mr Twig escaped before the start, took a bite out of Fraser’s thigh, dragged him off another horse, delayed the race…..and Fraser still climbed back aboard and won.
When asked afterwards how he felt, Fraser simply replied,
“It hurt.”
I’d say that’s one of the great understatements of the week.
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🇦🇺 FAIR DINKUM ABROAD #1
Australian sire Extreme Choice continues making friends overseas.
One of his daughters broke her maiden stylishly at Deauville in France, and her connections made no secret of why they’d bought into his bloodlines.
It’s always nice seeing a little bit of Australia flying the flag abroad.
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🇦🇺 FAIR DINKUM ABROAD #2
The Melbourne Cup might soon welcome something we’ve never seen before.
Parchment Party is shaping as the first American-trained runner to tackle Australia’s great race.
The Cup has always had a habit of attracting dreamers from every corner of the globe.
Perhaps this spring another one joins the parade.
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🇦🇺 FAIR DINKUM ABROAD #3
Australian speedster Asfoora, trained by Victoria’s Henry Dwyer, is heading to York for another crack at the famous Nunthorpe Stakes.
We Australians have had plenty of success taking our sprinters north, and I’d love nothing more than seeing Asfoora give the locals another hurry-up.
I’ve got a soft spot for Henry’s stable, so if she happens to salute…I’ll even crack a cold VB.
Just don’t tell the doctor.
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“Well, that’s about enough wandering for one morning.Until next week… keep your binoculars handy, your stories flowing, and if you’re lucky enough to be heading to the races, take a moment to look beyond the winning post.The best stories usually start long before the gates open.”
