Long Leaf to Rangeview

Stakes winning 2 and 3-year-old Long Leaf will begin the second phase of his career at Rangeview Stud in Western Australia in 2020.

Trained at Lindsay Park, the Fastnet Rock colt won his first three starts including the Listed Merson Cooper S. and the Listed Blue Diamond Preview.

He trained on the following season for multiple Group placings before he ventured across the Tasman to claim top honours in the Karaka Million.

Retired as the winner of four races up to 1600 metres, Long Leaf was a NZ$750,000 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale graduate and is a son of the Stravinsky (USA) mare Fascinating.

The dam is a half-sister to the Group 1 winning half-brothers Tiger Tees (Dubawi {Ire}) and Terravista (Captain Rio {GB}) and to the stakes winners Ball Of Muscle (Dubawi {Ire}) and former Singapore Horse of the Year and sire Super Easy (NZ). Long Leaf’s introductory fee will be announced at a later date.

Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale

The five-day Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale opened with a workmanlike session on Monday in Lexington, with Applauding (USA) (Congrats {USA}) a mare originally led out unsold, ultimately bringing the day’s highest price of US$360,000. The session topper (Lot 135) was consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency and was purchased by Hunter Valley Farm.

Tami Bobo’s First Finds purchased the day’s top-priced short yearling, going to US$310,000 for a son of Quality Road (USA) (Lot 242) from the Denali Stud consignment.

“It was a typical January Sale,” said Keeneland’s Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell. “The horses that stood out, like the Quality Road yearling, were very much rewarded.”

The session missed out on a knockout sale when the supplemental entry Meets Expectations (USA), dam of Eclipse finalist World of Trouble (USA), RNA’d for US$675,000 late in the day.

“A horse like Meets Expectations was a nice one to get added in, but unfortunately she didn’t meet expectations,” said Russell.

In all, 219 horses sold on Monday for a total of US$14,257,800. The average was US$65,104 and the median was US$35,000. With 88 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 28.66 per cent.

Group winner recovering

Quality mare Champagne Cuddles (Not A Single Doubt) is recovering well from a career-ending injury suffered at the Gold Coast.

Nash Rawiller pulled the mare up in Saturday's $1 million Magic Millions Snippets after she was galloped on.

"Champagne Cuddles is recovering well. She's comfortable, walking well and receiving great care. She'll be transported this week to the Ramsey family's Turangga Farm who bred, own, raced her and love her well,” trainer Bjorn Baker said.

Champagne Cuddles won four races, including the G2 Breeders’ Classic and was Group 1 placed in the Golden Rose, the Flight S. and the Stradbroke H.

Millennium market

A trio of Easter graduates dominate early betting for the $2 million Inglis Millennium with TAB all-in betting now available.

Peter and Paul Snowden’s Dame Giselle (I Am Invincible), a dominant winner of the inaugural $1 million Golden Gift is the $6 favourite for the Millennium, which will be run at Warwick Farm on Saturday, February 8.

Cellsabeel (Hinchinbrook), who ran fourth in the Golden Gift on debut for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, is on the second line of betting at $7 alongside Inglis Nursery winner Wild Ruler (Snitzel).

Millennium Day precedes the beginning of the 2020 Inglis Select Yearling Sales Series, which begins with the Classic Sale. A total of 808 yearlings have been catalogued for the sale at Riverside Stables from February 9-11..

Diamond attack

Promising filly Muntaseera (I Am Invincible), who finished second in a Rosehill trial on Tuesday, is one of several runners Ciaron Maher and David Eustace have aimed at the G1 Blue Diamond S.

"I've spoken to the boss and he was very happy with her," Eustace said. "He said she had a decent blow. She's right on track.

"Her target is the Diamond and she may well have a run in Sydney and then come down for the race. That's the most likely scenario at the moment.

"We should have a few runners. Rathlin will go there, so will Tanker and Ideas Man at this stage."

Sydney focus

Joe Pride will concentrate on Sydney targets for Superium (Verrazano {USA}), following his forced scratching from the Magic Millions Guineas.

The Warwick Farm trainer was bitterly disappointed when a Queensland Racing vet decided Superium's action was not satisfactory on Saturday morning, hours before the race at the Gold Coast.

Pride disagreed and will now continue the 3-year-old's campaign in Sydney.

"He will have an easy week and then he may trial on Tuesday and race on Saturday week," Pride said. "My vet has cleared him, but he has had a long trip away and back so we will just make sure he's okay."

Three-peat beckons

Enzo’s Lad (Testa Rossa) is in top order to attempt to complete his third straight G1 Telegraph victory at Trentham on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a good field as per usual and hopefully he will be cherry ripe by Saturday,” co-trainer Michael Pitman said. “When he won it the first year I don’t think he got the credit he deserved.

“The second time around proved that it wasn’t a fluke. If he won it three years in a row it would be a massive effort.”

Samadoubt injured

Group 1 winner Samadoubt (Not A Single Doubt) will be side-lined indefinitely by a tendon injury.

Trainer Bjorn Baker said the gelding will be treated intensively over the next few weeks followed by a long period of rest and rehabilitation.

A bold front-runner, Samadoubt won the G1 Winx S. and the G2 Chelmsford S. during his last preparation and was also runner-up in the G2 Hill S.

Werribee abandoned

Racing at Werribee on Tuesday was abandoned due to smoke haze blanketing Melbourne and surrounding areas.

Air quality at Werribee was described as hazardous with no improvement likely.

The smoke haze is from bushfires in the north and north east of Victoria and the south coast of New South Wales.

Several race meetings in both states have been moved or abandoned over the past few weeks. The forecast for NSW is for rain late in the week.

Petition filed

Trainer Mick Ruis has filed a petition against the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) in the Los Angeles Superior Court for write of mandate and damages.

The petition concerns the victory of Justify (USA) in the 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby, in which the Ruis-trained Bolt d’Oro (USA) finished runner-up to the Bob Baffert-trained runner.

In a post-race urine sample, Justify tested positive for the prohibited substance scopolamine as revealed by The New York Times in a bombshell story in September of last year.

Scopolamine is found in jimsonweed, which is known to contaminate feedstuffs like hay. The CHRB didn’t file a complaint, choosing instead to dismiss Justify’s positive in a closed-door session in August, 2018.

Entries open

Entries for New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2020 South Island Sale and 2020 Karaka May Sale are now open.

The South Island Sale will be held at the Canterbury Agricultural Park on April 17 this year while the Karaka May Sale will be held on the 14th and 15th.

While yearlings at the South Island Sale and Karaka May Sale remain eligible to be nominated for the lucrative Karaka Million Series, weanlings at the May Sale will also be eligible.