The $750,000 Ashland Stakes (G1) was essentially over as soon as it started as La Cara bounced beautifully from her No. 2 post position, took command, and never looked back en route to victory by about a half-length at Keeneland April 7.View the full article

Then dont..very simple...I will only allow what is relevant that you post, not the constant stirring, so yes you are moderated, because you do not follow my house rules...99% of others do, so stop crying wolf, you caused it to be like it is, not me.

At least less chance of abandoning a meeting lol 

Why would I bother commenting.

Thats because the track was shyte as always when it gets wet...I see you do not comment on how well Ellerslie played last weekend...why not give them some credit...yes it had issues but they have got it running well now and for us as an industry that should be applauded ...should it not???Or you have other agendas???

You just reply to the part that suits...sorry Dougie I am fast losing patience with you...if you continue to post only to stir...then you will lose the privilege here sorry.I can not be bothered with you constant harassment and snide digs of good decent members here.

But isn't that exactly what happened at Wanganui at the weekend?  They moved out further as the day progressed.  Of course the earlier races were influenced more by the cut away inside running rail which was reminescent of previous experiments a couple of decades ago. The winner of the first didn't move off the cutaway rail line and the winner of second dived down to the fence and stayed there to the line.  Arguably if the favourite hadn't of gone so wide it would have bolted in instead of running second. They started progressively moving wider during the day with last being run hard against the outside fence.  

Trainer Mark Casse joins the April 7 BloodHorse Monday podcast to discuss Sandman and the fight against decoupling. Also, OBS president Tom Ventura previews the spring sale and co-hosts Louie Rabaut and Sean Collins recap recent Derby preps.View the full article

Sorry I don't understand what part of my post you disagree with?  I believe the video clip of the Senior Jockey making the comment I refer to was posted on here.  

CM The favoured draw for the Flemington 1200 is the outside fence numbers as invariably the major sprint is around race 7 and ground unused. It is for this reason alone, no other. Favoured  finishing position at Flemington has always been 3 off the fence, just like most courses and the fence primo for 1400 and 1600. Your comments are well wide of the mark, probably just another stupid wind up from you

Sorry but you are just an argumentative Wayne Kerr  ....nothing more to be said

It is Wanganui, where they always head out wide. I have never seen them go so slow early. It was a disgraceful field for a Group 3. Total embarrassment. The group system is a mess and getting worse with the restricted entry races distorting things even more.

Trump can't stop winning he just keeps doing it , this is big , remember only a few weeks ago Iran was refusing to talk to Trump . Trump is speaking again, addressing the subject of Iran's nuclear ambitions. He says they are having direct talks with Tehran over the issue, adding that they will have a "very big meeting" on Saturday. Trump says "doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious" - without spelling out what exactly that means. He adds that it would be in Iran's best interest for the talks to be successful. And a bonus .  BAGHDAD, April 7 (Reuters) - Several powerful Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq are prepared to disarm for the first time to avert the threat of an escalating conflict with the U.S. Trump administration, 10 senior commanders and Iraqi officials told Reuters. The move to defuse tensions follows repeated warnings issued privately by U.S. officials to the Iraqi government since Trump took power in January, according to the sources who include six local commanders of four major militias.

What's wrong with running down the outside of the track if there are better conditions there?  It was only a few weeks ago that a Senior Jockey was arguing that instead of moving the rail let the professionals riding the horses decide. Are you suggesting they should move the outside rail inwards? Anyway they race down the outside of the track at Flemington in Group 1's.  

Multiple grade-1 placed colt Ferocious died April 7 as a result of laminitis. Co-owner Ramiro Restrepo said it had been a downward slide for the son of Flatter since running in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.View the full article

A very busy weekend up here and before I cast my eye over the final day of the Grand National meeting, time to look at the other big racing occasion - the Dubai World Cup - at Meydan. For me, it ranks second behind Arc day in terms of prestige and significance in Northern Hemisphere racing - yes, Ascot as a meeting is stronger but as a single day's racing, Meydan's World Cup night often sets the scene for the Northern spring and summer to come. Five championship Group 1 races on both Dirt and Turf and we started with the Al Quoz Sprint over 1200m on the grass. Representatives from Hong Kong, Japan, Britain and America made us a global race and the money suggested the Hong Kong winner HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE was going to be the one as he went off 11/4 favourite with British challengers BELIEVING (3/1) and WEST ACRE (4/1) also well supported. A race marred by the fatal injury to HOWDEEPISYOURLOVE. BELIEVING needed every centimetre of the 1200m trip to cut down WIN CARMELIAN who ran another huge race for Japan in defeat. The winner was second to BRADSELL in both the Nunthorpe and the Flying Five and then third in the Abbaye and, to be fair, on all three occasions, there was more than a hint 1200m might be a sensible move. I wasn't sure if the horse would be ready but she was and looks a key player in all the big European sprint races. REGIONAL won the 2023 Sprint Trophy and was second in the King Charles III last year. This was another fine effort in defeat and you might imagine over 1200m and on a stiffer track, he'll give the mare something to think about. DANON McKINLEY and PURO MAGIC ran well for Japan in fourth and fifth. I suspect WEST ACRE will drop back to 1000m after this effort while AUDIENCE was run off his feet early and should be better suited by 1400m if not further. The Golden Shaheen over 1200m on the Dirt looked a straight match between the local champion TUZ and the winner of the Breeders Cup and the Riyadh Sprint, STRAIGHT NO CHASER.  A right boilover as the local horse DARK SAFFRON defied the widest draw with a phenomenal first 250m to get over to the rails under Connor Beasley and take full advantage of the 8 lb weight concession from the older colts and geldings. The switch from turf to Dirt has brought huge improvement (on the ratings up 12 lbs) - he won his first Dirt race by seven lengths but it was still a big ask to repeat against these seasoned sprinters. He was a shade fortunate as TUZ ended up trapped on the stands rail and couldn't get through and was a shade unlucky in third behind the Wesley Ward-trained NAKATONI who reversed last year's places with TUZ in this event and with STRAIGHT NO CHASER on Breeders Cup Sprint running. It seems an age since he ran eighth in the 2021 Norfolk at Ascot behind PERFECT POWER, who went on to be the top 3-y-o sprinter the following year. As for STRAIGHT NO CHASER, he didn't face the kickback and a post race vet's report revealed some lameness so perhaps the run can be excused but it was a very disappointing effort. The first of the two big turf races, the Dubai Turf, over 1800m, saw the best horse on turf in the world currently, ROMANTIC WARRIOR, aim to return to the winner's enclosure after that unforgettable defeat on the Dirt to FOREVER YOUNG in the Saudi Cup. He had looked very good in the Jebel Hatta at the end of January and before that in the Hong Kong Cup in mid December where he had seen off LIBERTY ISLAND who re-opposed here and in addition ROMANTIC WARRIOR now faced NATIONS PRIDE from Team Godolphin and last year's winner of this, the French galloper FACTEUR CHEVAL. I didn't see the in-running numbers but the one horse I thought couldn't win on the home turn was SOUL RUSH but the horse never gave up and nor to his credit did Christian Demuro and they get chipping away at ROMANTIC WARRIOR and got up on the jamstick to win a nose. They met in the Yasuda Kinen over a mile in Tokyo last June when ROMANTIC WARRIOR won and SOUL RUSH was third beaten half a length so they've come out almost the same horse but is anyone suggesting SOUL RUSH is the best in the world? You could argue perhaps ROMANTIC WARRIOR has beaten horses over 2000m who don't really get that trip and against milers and over 1800m he's more vulnerable.  The other theory is the Saudi Cup took a lot of him (and the winner) and that could well be right.  On ratings, SOUL RUSH was 6 lbs behind ROMANTIC WARRIOR and MALJOOM 12 lbs behind and the latter, who has always threatened to run a big race somewhere, was a fine third. It's a long time since he was fourth in the St James's Palace but he clearly retains a lot of ability and you'd be expecting to see him in the top European races between 1600m and 2000m this summer. GHOSTWRITER was a strong fourth for Clive Cox - let's not forget he was fourth in the 2000 Guineas, third in the Juddmonte and the Eclipse and a close fifth in the Irish Champion so he's mixed it with some very good horses. I hope they can find him a Group 1 somewhere for him though as we all know they are incredibly competitive. Perhaps a race like the Tattersalls Gold Cup might be an option. The two disappointments were LIBERTY ISLAND and NATIONS PRIDE in a race which posed more questions than it answered. The Sheema Classic over 2400m saw the well-travelled REBEL'S ROMANCE bidding to repeat his success of last year but he faced strong challenges from the Japanese contender SHIN EMPEROR and the French galloper CALANDAGAN who had made such a good impression over this trip at Ascot and had then got close to CITY OF TROY in the Juddmonte at York with a host of very good horses well behind (including GHOSTWRITER and future Arc winner BLUESTOCKING). Another one for Japan as the 2024 Japanese Derby winner DANON DECILE put up his best performance since. He was 46/1 when winning the Japanese classic last year and hadn't really built on it but the strong gallop set by first SHIN EMPEROR (faded tamely) and REBEL'S ROMANCE (a game third) worked to his advantage and he stayed on too strongly for CALANDAGAN who ran a strong race in defeat. The winner got first run arguably  and perhaps CALANDAGAN wasn't at absolute peak fitness on his first run but this was still a fine effort from both first and second. DUREZZA, who had run second in the Japan Cup last autumn, was another for whom the strong gallop was an advantage and he finished third in front of REBEL'S ROMANCE who went out on his shield in a stronger renewal of this race. GIAVELLOTTO was last and ran on for fifth and I suspect he'll be back for 2800m races in the UK starting (perhaps) with the Yorkshire Cup. However, I'm really looking forward to seeing CALANDAGAN over 2400m this year and logic suggests the King George at Ascot or the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud would be the summer target - in the former, he might have to take on the best of the classic generation but he'll be a strong challenge for them. The highlight of the evening was the Dubai World Cup on thr DBirt over 2000m and the Saudi Cup winner FOREVER YOUNG was considered a strong choice to overcome the local challenge headed by IMPERIAL EMPEROR and WALK OF STARS, both Group 1 winners over the course and distance.  An extraordinary race and, not for the first time, a real turn up as the Americans had a 1-2 but with HIT SHOW coming home at 66/1 to give the bookies a nice end to the evening. I'm sure Frankie Dettori must have thought his recent troubles were behind him as he went for home on MIXTO having seen off the local WALK IN THE PARK. HIT SHOW was fifth in the 2023 Kentucky Derby and fourth in that year's Belmont but this was his first run in a Group 1 since and he had been plying his trade in Grade 2 and 3 races in the US so this was a huge step forward but the Belmont form suggested he could be one of those who would see out a strongly run 2000m. MIXTO won the Pacific Classic last summer but he was another who you could argue wasn't in the top rank of American Dirt performers. FOREVER YOUNG ran a strange race - he had a reasonable position but seemed to hit a real flat spot as the field turned for home but then ran home strongly to be third, beaten two lengths. It was still a lacklustre effort and perhaps, rather like ROMANTIC WARRIOR in the Dubai Turf earlier, the exertions of the Saudi Cup had taken their toll. WALK OF STARS was fourth with IMPERIAL EMPEROR tailed off last. They ran 2 minutes 3.9 seconds for the 2000m which was a strong time suggesting they hadn't gone suicidially quick but the gallop had been relentless. On what was otherwise a quiet night for Godolphin, DUBAI FUTURE won the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup convincingly beating the French stayer DOUBLE MAJOR. Favourite TRAWLERMAN had tried to outstay the field from the front but was readily headed 300m out and finished fifth. Arguably the most impressive performance of the night was RAGING TORRENT who made every yard under Frankie Dettori to win the Group 2 Godolphin Mile on the Dirt. I suspect we'll be seeing this one in the big summer and autumn Dirt races on this evidence. The UAE Derby, another Group 2, was Japan's third success of a memorable evening with ADMIRE DAYTONA making nearly all and just holding the strong late challenge of HEART OF HONOUR who ran a blinder for British trainer Jamie Osborne and, who knows, if Aidan O'Brien can try to win the Kentucky Derby, why can't Osborne? Two reputations if not broken then dented would be my take on the evening but with the US, Japan and the locals all having their share of the winners, it was a truly international outcome. 

Godolphin's Verity did not hang around Keeneland long the afternoon of April 6 following her 5 1/4-length victory over a sloppy track in the $400,000 Beaumont Stakes (G2) on opening day of the spring meet.View the full article

For America's Best Racing, Tom Pedulla is interviewing prominent owners, trainers, and jockeys as they travel the Road to the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) May 3 at Churchill Downs.View the full article

Bookended by a strong opening week and a robust Santa Anita Derby weekend, the track's total all source handle topped $510 million. The total handle on just Santa Anita's races increased 5% from the 2023-24 Classic Meet.  View the full article

Tom Pedulla offers takeaways from major Kentucky Derby (G1) prep races held on each coast April 5, the Santa Anita Derby (G1) in California and the 100th Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct. He also looks at international action in Dubai.View the full article