The Racing Hub Round-Up

The Racing Hub’s weekly round-up of top racing stories in a nutshell, plus upcoming fixtures

Racing and Recourses

The BHA has sad that it is to prioritise its investigations into allegations made in a New York court this month against Phoenix Thoroughbred founder Amer Abdulaziz Salman – Abdulaziz was named as a member of a major money-laundering operation for an international cryptocurrency fraud in a court hearing, and that he stole €100m from the operation before setting up Phoenix Thoroughbreds, which is said to have around 300 horses with over 25 trainers around the world plus stallions including Advertise

Brough Scott, who recently chaired his last meeting of the Injured Jockeys Fund, has received the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Annual Award at a fund-raising event for the Sir Peter O’Sullevan Charitable Trust whose beneficiaries include Racing Welfare, World Horse Welfare and Blue Cross  – Scott rode 100 winners, presented racing on ITV and Channel 4, was co-founder of the Racing Post and writes on racing for the Sunday Times

Newcastle will deploy frost covers on Thursday night ahead of forecasts of low temperatures and frost in order to protect Saturday’s fixture with its feature event the Grade 1 Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle

Trainers and Jockeys

Oisin Murphy rode the 41/10 shot Suave Richard, trained by Yasushi Shiono, to a ¾l victory in the Longines Japan Cup, a race with a first prize of £2.17m

Hollie Doyle rode her 100th British winner in a calendar year and became only the third female jockey to do so, joining Josephine Gordon and Hayley Turner – the 100 tally was achieved on the Archie Watson trained The Perfect Crown and Doyle went on achieve a double when Lady Dancealot took her to five short of Gordon’s record of 106 winners achieved two years ago

Trainer Sue Smith ended a 215-day spell without a winner when Informateur won by 10l in a 2m4f handicap hurdle at Uttoxeter, and then send out a second winner when Silva Eclipse took a 2m7½f handicap hurdle, to give the West Yorkshire handler and jockey Danny Cook the much welcome double

Two-times Irish Flat champion jockey Donnacha O’Brien  (pictured) has quit the saddle to take up training – son of trainer Aiden O’Brien and brother to Joseph, who used to ride and has already become  a successful trainer, Donnacha, 21, rode his first winner on Quartz, trained by his father, at Dundalk in September 2014, and gained his first Group 1 victory on Intricately in the 2016 Moyglare Stud Stakes. He also won the race in 2017. He won last year’s Irish Derby on Latrobe, and has won three British classics, twice in the 2000 Guineas, on Saxon Warrior last year and Magna Grecia this year, and the Oaks last year on Forever Together. Other big British wins include the Cheveley Park Stakes, Middle Park Stakes, the Vertem Futurity Trophy and this year’s Champions Stakes at Ascot on Magical 

Khadijah Mellah, who won the Magnolia Cup charity race at Goodwood after only a few short weeks gaining race riding and race savvy experience was named the Sunday Times Young Sportswoman of the Year – Mellah, 18, was the first Muslim woman to ride in a race wearing a hijab

Horses

Cyrname’s (pictured) 2¼l victory over Altior in Ascot’s Grade 2 Christy 1965 Chase has seen the BHA handicapping team raising his mark to 177, making him the top-rated British chaser – Altior stays on 175 and trainer Nicky Henderson said after the race that he’d wait at least two weeks before deciding if he goes for the Ladbrokes King George Chase on Boxing Day at Kempton

After his striking win in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, Lostintranslation has been given a rating of 173, up 12lb – the Colin Tizzard trained seven-year-old gelding is now favourite for the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup, with Paddy Power going 9/2

Trainer Willie Mullins is hopeful that he can soon start to make entries for Kemboy – he said negotiations were taking place between Horse Racing Ireland and members of the Supreme Horse Racing Club, Kemboy’s original owner, which has been banned from registering and entering horses after allegations of oversubscribing shares, something with which the members themselves were not party and who are now aiming to start the syndicate anew

Betting

The future of the Irish tote, a wholly owned subsidiary of Horse Racing Ireland, is under review, which may lead to the sale of part or all of it to the private sector – according to the Irish Times there has been discussion with a number of third parties concerning Tote Ireland which, last year saw 33.3% drop in total Tote betting, down to €69.2m, leading HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh to say: “If we continue to operate the way it is it will struggle going forward with such a small and competitive market involving bookmakers online and exchanges.”

The Irish National Professional Bookmakers Association warned that its members might not stand at Tuesday’s Punchestown meeting, and at other fixtures beyond that, in a row with both the Association of Irish Racecourses and Horse Racing Ireland – the bookmakers did, however, attend and will enter into talks next week to raise grievances concerning race planning, race intervals, and the charges they pay to get into meetings

Fitzdares bookmakers will cease to take bets by credit card in the new year

British fixtures

Fixtures are subject to short-notice alterations. ITV/ITV4

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