TATTERSALLS TO HOLD BRITAIN’S RICHEST EVER TWO-YEAR-OLD RACES AT NEWMARKET
Three new races worth £2.2 million to be staged on NatWest Rowley Mile
Three brand new Tattersalls-sponsored Sales Races, restricted to graduates of the 2007 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale (Book One) and carrying a combined minimum total prize fund of £2.2 million, are to be staged at Newmarket starting in 2008/2009.
The three new races will be known collectively as the ‘Tattersalls Millions’ and look set to be the most valuable sales race series in the world.
Top billing goes to a £1-million race for two-year-old colts, geldings and fillies over 7 furlongs, closely followed by an £800,000-race for two-year-old fillies only, also over 7 furlongs. Both will be run for the first time at the Cambridgeshire Meeting in October of next year, each with a maximum field of 30 horses. The £1-million race will be named the ‘Tattersalls Million’ and the fillies’ race the ‘Tattersalls Fillies’ 800’.
The third race is no less interesting - it will be the first Sales Race ever run in Britain for three-year-olds. Worth £400,000 and run over 10 furlongs, the ‘Tattersalls £400,000 3YO Classic’ will be staged for the first time at the Craven Meeting in April 2009 and will be the richest three-year-old race in Britain outside the Classics.
Any horse left in the two-year-old races after the first forfeit will be automatically eligible to run in the three-year-old race the following year at no additional cost.
Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said: “Tattersalls has staged Sales Races at Newmarket since 1990 but these three new races - the ‘Tattersalls Millions’ - will raise the bar to unprecedented heights.
“Prize money is the life blood of racing and in association with Newmarket Racecourses, our October Yearling Sale vendors and of course the owners, we are delighted to be staging the two most valuable two-year-old races ever run in Britain, as well as breaking new ground with the unique ‘Tattersalls £400,000 3YO Classic’.
“Never before will a European yearling sale have offered buyers so many opportunities for such spectacular rewards with 80 colts and fillies from Book 1 of the 2007 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale competing in three races worth £2,200,000 in prize money.”
Michael Prosser, Newmarket Racecourses’ Director of Racing, said: “This is fantastic news for Newmarket and will take the overall value of next year’s Cambridgeshire Meeting to nigh on £3 million. If we run both races on the same day, it will create the richest day’s racing in Europe.
“With three Group 1 races at this meeting - the Shadwell Middle Park Stakes, the Cheveley Park Stakes and the Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes - plus the totesport Cambridgeshire Handicap, the addition of these two new races in 2008 will make it a sensational three days and even more of a ‘must’ for flat racing enthusiasts.
“The three-year-old race will be a fascinating addition to the Craven Meeting and to Britain’s spring flat racing programme as a whole, offering a hugely valuable early-season prize for Tattersalls October Yearling Sale graduates in their classic year.”
Newmarket-based trainer William Haggas said: “£2.2 million of new prize money spread over three races is great news for owners and I would like to congratulate both Tattersalls and Newmarket Racecourses on this new initiative. I am already looking forward to the 2007 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.”
Highclere Thoroughbred Racing supremo Harry Herbert said: “Sales Races have always been a major attraction when we are looking to find new owners for the Highclere syndicates and the ‘Tattersalls Millions’ will without doubt prove to be a huge selling point. We had a fantastic day when TAMARISK won the 1997 Tattersalls Houghton Sales Stakes and, with three races to aim at in the ‘Tattersalls Millions’, we will have an even better chance of repeating that success.”
Leading yearling consignor Simon Marsh of Watership Down Stud commented: “The ‘Tattersalls Millions’ will provide wonderful incentives for owners at all levels of the market and the ‘Tattersalls £400,000 3YO Classic’ is a particularly exciting innovation. It adds a new dimension to the Sales Race concept allowing the later maturing horses to have a shot at the massive prize money as well as the more precocious types.”
Book 1 of the 2007 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale will take place Tuesday, 9th October - Friday, 12th October and is expected to number approximately 750 yearlings.
Full details of the 2008 Cambridgeshire Meeting race programme will be announced later this year.
CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL HELPS ATTHERACES.COM EXCEED 500,000 MONTHLY UNIQUE USERS
Attheraces.com, the fastest growing UK and Irish horseracing and betting website, broke through the half a million barrier for monthly unique users last Friday. 517,127 different users visited the site during the 31 day period up to and including Gold Cup Day, Friday March 16th.
Attheraces.com served 670,878 archive video streams in the same period (+41% versus February 2007) via both its Fast Archive service and special programmes created for the Festival. The video form and instant replay service now contains over 18,000 UK and Irish races all available free of charge.
Total page impressions for the month to date exceeded 53 million, a 61% increase in traffic year on year.
Attheraces.com users were able to access a dedicated Cheltenham Festival microsite, sponsored by Ladbrokes, that featured 100 minutes of special preview programming with detailed analysis, archive footage and stats.
Amongst a number of Festival tipping successes, Irish racing expert, David Duggan advised attheraces.com users to back Sublimity at 40/1 ante-post ahead of his win in the Champion Hurdle.
Matthew Imi, Chief Executive, said:
“Making our horseracing product available to the widest possible audience is of real importance to us and attheraces.com lies at the heart of the company’s cross-platform distribution strategy. We are delighted that attheraces.com remains the UK and Ireland’s fastest growing racing and betting website and are very confident all the key metrics will continue to increase.”
BLUE BAJAN ON COURSE FOR BETDIRECT WINTER DERBY
LATEST STANDINGS IN THE BONUSPRINT.COM ALL-WEATHER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Trainer Andy Turnell reports Blue Bajan on course for a lucrative compensation bid in the £100,000 Group Three betdirect Winter Derby (3.15pm) at Lingfield Park on Saturday, March 24, for which 15 stood their ground at today’s confirmation stage.
The 10-furlong Polytrack contest is the high quality climax of the winter All-Weather season and is the third leg of the European All-Weather Series.
Blue Bajan suffered traffic problems and was beaten a short-head when narrowly failing to collar Cusoon in the Listed Go Pontin’s Winter Derby Trial over the course and distance on February 24, following a three-month break.
Turnell is hopeful his charge, priced at 7/1 for Saturday by the sponsors betdirect, can go one place better in the main event and revealed today: "Blue Bajan is fine after his last run and Michael Hills rides him on Saturday.
"I wouldn’t necessarily be confident of reversing placings with Cusoon - because you can never be confident in racing - but he’s been beaten a short-head the last twice he’s run at Lingfield, so he’s due a bit of luck in running."
The five-year-old has finished runner-up in each of his three starts since winning over 10 furlongs at Ascot in September, chasing home Formal Decree in the prestigious totesport Cambridgeshire at Newmarket before going down by the minimum margin to Nayyir in the Listed iBETX.com Churchill Stakes at Lingfield in November, prior to his latest effort.
Turnell commented: "It would be lovely for him to get his reward in a Group Three. He’s a nice horse and everything has gone to plan."
The Swindon handler added: "He’s unlikely to run in the Lincoln the following Saturday. It wouldn’t be impossible but I think it’s asking a bit much to run in those two races in a week, so it would be most unlikely."
An excellent renewal of the Group Three betdirect Winter Derby looks assured as 15 horses stood their ground today (maximum field of 14), including last year’s winner Sri Diamond (the 11/2 joint favourite alongside Illustrious Blue with betdirect), who returned to action with victory over 12 furlongs at Lingfield on January 6.
The well-regarded Alan Swinbank-trained Alfie Flits, owned by Stoke City footballer Dominic Matteo and former Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers star Gary Flitcroft, was a top-class bumper performer last season, who twice scored in Listed company on the Flat in 2006. He is an 11/1 chance.
The Gary Moore-trained Listed Go Pontin’s Winter Derby Trial victor Cusoon is priced at 7/1 by betdirect.
Group Three winner Hattan, trained by Clive Brittain, ran with credit at the Dubai International Racing Carnival, finishing third to subsequent Group Three winner Quijano in a high-quality 12-furlong handicap at Nad Al Sheba on February 9, before filling the same position behind the smart Book Of Music on February 23. He is 8/1.
The William Knight-trained Illustrious Blue has won five of eight starts since joining the rookie trainer and landed a nine-furlong handicap at Nad Sheba from the South African Group One-placed Great Rhythm, with subsequent Group Two winner Seihali in third, while other recent Dubai runners in the Betdirect Winter Derby include Boo, Cimyla, Luberon and Speedy Sam.
Jane Chapple-Hyam looks set to run Mighty, who scored a hat-trick over the course and distance throughout January and February before finishing third in the Go Pontin’s Winter Derby Trial Stakes on February 23.
The regally-bred Gentleman’s Deal, unbeaten in six All-Weather starts, defeated Grand Passion in a Kempton Listed contest on February 4, while the Richard Hannon-trained pair of Red Spell and Orchard Supreme have both been in good form this winter.
The Group Three betdirect Winter Derby is the highlight of the eight-race card, the most valuable in All-Weather racing, on Saturday, March 24, which also includes the seven-furlong £75,000 Listed betdirect.com Spring Cup (2.40pm) and the £30,000 32Red.com Listed Hever Sprint Stakes (3.50pm) over five furlongs.
Those three contests, along with the Digital Prints From Bonusprint Maiden Stakes (1.40pm) over seven furlongs, will be shown live on Channel Four.
Saturday March 24, promises to be a thrilling day of sport as the fantastic eight-race card brings the curtain down on the 2006/2007 Bonusprint.com All-Weather Championships.
The 2006/2007 Bonusprint.com All-Weather Championships are contested from November 6, 2006 to March 24, 2007, at Britain’s four all-weather racecourses, Lingfield Park, Southwell, Wolverhampton and Kempton Park.
A glance at the leading trainers in the Bonusprint.com All-Weather Championships this winter attests to the increased competition and improved quality of runners on the all-weather circuit in recent times, with Classic-winning trainers such as Mark Johnston, Richard Hannon, Clive Brittain, William Haggas and Sir Mark Prescott regularly taking advantage of generous prize money.
The Bonusprint.com All-Weather Championships offer a total of £80,000 in prizes, with £16,000 split between the stable staff of the top four trainers at the close of competition. The champion trainer collects a generous prize of £15,000, with an additional £7,500 going to his or her staff.
The Bonusprint.com All-Weather champion jockey receives £12,000, while the runner-up takes £6,000, the third £4,000 and the fourth £2,000.
Mark Johnston has enjoyed a profitable winter on the All-Weather with 39 winners and currently leads the trainers’ championship with win and place prize-money of £165,259.
Johnston is hotly pursued by Richard Hannon who has accrued £156,472, while Kevin Ryan is currently in third with £149,258.
Neil Callan has partnered 56 winners this winter and leads the race to be crowned Bonusprint.com All-Weather Champion Jockey. He is nine clear of his nearest rival, Joe Fanning, while Dane O’Neill is currently third with 38 wins.
James Doyle and William Buick are going head-to-head to secure the Bonusprint.com All-Weather Champion Apprentice title, which carries a first-prize of £6,000 and £2,000 for the runner-up.
Doyle, the son of trainer Jacqui Doyle, has 24 successes on the board, one more than Buick, who is the apprentice find of the season.
Latest sponsors prices for the Betdirect Winter Derby: 11/2 Illustrious Blue, Sri Diamond; 6/1 Blue Bajan, Gentleman’s Deal; 7/1 Cusoon; 8/1 Hattan; 10/1 Cimyla; 11/1 Orchard Supreme, Alfie Flits; 14/1 Red Spell; 16/1 Grand Passion; 20/1 Luberon; 33/1 Boo, Speedy Sam - 1/5 odds 1,2,3
JOHN SMITH’S TOPHAM CHASE CLOSES THIS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21
Aintree Racecourse would like to remind connections that entries for the £100,000 John Smith’s Topham Chase close this Wednesday, March 21.
The two mile, five and a half furlong handicap chase has become an early closing race because of its increasing importance.
The John Smith’s Topham Chase also turns into an open handicap and Phil Smith, the senior British Horseracing Board handicapper, will frame the weights especially for the race, using his discretion as he does for the John Smith’s Grand National. The John Smith’s Topham Chase weights will be announced on Tuesday, March 27.
The famous race, first run in 1949 and won by Liberthine in 2006, takes place over the Grand National fences on the second day of the John Smith’s Grand National meeting, Friday, April 13, at Aintree.
Besides the John Smith’s Grand National itself, which has its next forfeit stage on March 27, all the other 19 races at the John Smith’s Grand National meeting - Thursday, April 12 to Saturday, April 14 - will continue to close at the five/six-day stage.
Prize money at the 2007 meeting is a record £2,320,000.
Charles Barnett, Aintree’s Managing Director, commented: "The John Smith’s Topham Chase closes early on Wednesday, March 21, this year which is a new departure.
"We are keen to increase the race’s status further and made the decision to close early to provide more of a build-up to event.
"This famous handicap chase has been part of the John Smith’s Grand National Meeting for close to 60 years and helps set the mood perfectly for the John Smith’s Grand National 24 hours later."
For old articles (from 1st March 2000) go to the Newslink
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