Anfields Rocket packed too many guns for the opposition in the Grade 1 WSB SA Classic over 1800m at Turffontein Standside on Saturday (Candiese Lenferna).

How Raymond Planned Rocket Finish

Galileo/Sadler’s Wells Influence On SA Classic Result

Hindsight is an exact science but some will rue missing out on the 25/2 offered about the Grade 1 WSB SA Classic winner, the Grant Maroun-trained Anfields Rocket.

There will be plenty of “I told you” racegoers out there too, because he had shortened into 17/2 by the off.

The naysayers were writing off this Coup De Grace gelding as a sprinter, because of his fine record over sprints.

Presumably the analysis of his staying on fifth from way off the pace in the Grade 2 WSB Gauteng Guineas in his previous start was of a horse who was held up into a hopeless position and then sprinted for home.

This rhetoric must have influenced a few punters and pundits.

Those who like a flutter should always bear in mind the motto of the legendary Phil Bull, the founder of Timeform, “On the racecourse, keep your eyes open and your ears closed.”

A closer look at the Gauteng Guineas shows Raymond Danielson having little option other than to sit in last place, because of Anfields Rocket wide draw and his lack of early pace.

The Galileo in Anfields Rocket actually stood out in the Gauteng Guineas finish – here was a horse of substance scything through the centre and showing no signs of stopping.

He is out of the Galileo mare Milla’s Rocket, who won once in the UK over 1600m and finished second once in a one-mile-and-two-and-a-half furlongs event.

In the SA Classic Anfields Rocket was now going over 1800m and had a plum draw of two.

He had 200m more to get into the race and was going to be closer to the pace from that draw.

Danielson, whose excellent rapport with horses enables him to quickly learn the best way to ride them, had also gathered that this horse needed to be left alone.

He had also always said to the connections after track work that the horse was looking for ground.

On Saturday, Raymond was able to get Anfields Rocket into a midfield position by driving him until the first turn, although he said that at that stage he felt like a horse who would more likely finish last than first.

However, he had learnt from the 1000m sprint race he had ridden in him two races earlier that this horse was “a clever horse who just saved himself for the end.”

So, he then implemented his plan by just sitting on him all the way until beyond the 400m mark.

Anfields Rocket got stronger and stronger as the others began gasping for air.

Danielson got to work at the 300m and gave him a couple of backhanders close to home, but put the stick away as soon as he began shifting away from it.

Anfields Rocket’s resolute finish got him home by a length from Jimmy Don.

It left many wondering why they had mistaken Anfields Rocket for a sprinter.

The win gave the Hollywood Syndicate their second individual Grade 1 winner, and third Grade 1 win.

This trio of achievements have all happened in the space of three months.

And that is excluding their Grade 1-win over hurdles with the Irish-based Il Etait Temps, who will be running in the first race at the Cheltenham Festival next week, the Supreme Novices Hurdle.

Hollywood own the Grant Maroun-trained SA Classic winner Anfield’s Rocket outright as opposed to leasing their dual Brett Crawford-trained Grade 1 winner Make It Snappy.

However, all of their Grade 1 wins this season are sure to have been equally satisfying considering their highly fruitful relationship with the Kieswetter family, whose Ridgemont Highlands Stud farm bred and own Make It Snappy and whose Barnane Stud in Ireland own Il Etait Temps.

Hollywood’s ultimate goal of winning the owners’ championship looked to be a couple of seasons away back in November, because there was a lack of Grade 1 horses among their multitude of winners.

However, that has now all changed and having just been overtaken by Drakenstein Stud in the race for the owners championship, they have now wrested back the lead.

Considering the strength of Drakenstein’s top runners that is probably the equivalent of losing the Comrades lead to Bruce Fordyce at Kloof and then overtaking him down Fields Hill … knowing that there is still Cowies Hill to come.

Nevertheless, Hollywood have hope and led the championship on R9,055,813 to Drakenstein’s R8,597,200 by the close of play on Saturday, a gap of R458,613.

Hollywood bought Anfields Rocket after he had won the Grade 3 WSB Graham Beck Stakes over 1400m.

He was bred by Klawervlei Stud and is by Coup De Grace (Tapit), who did originally stand at Klawervlei but is now standing as a thoroughbred stallion in Namibia.

John Koster did the mating based on the good known cross of Tapit and Galileo.

Galileo was also an influence on the third horse home in the SA Classic, the Alec Laird-trained Billy Bowlegs, who is by the Galileo sire The United States.

In fact a notable aspect to the result of the race was the influence of Galileo’s sire Sadler’s Wells.

The runner up, the Erico Verdonese-trained Jimmy Don, and the fifth placed horse, the Nathan Kotzen-trained Royal Victory, are both by Pathfork, who is out of a Sadler’s Wells mare.

The fourth horse home, the Paul Matchett-trained Eye Of The Prophet, is out of a mare by the Sadler’s Wells stallion Fort Wood.

So, Sadler’s Wells was close up in the pedigrees of the first five home.

Galileo himself has produced two Grade 1 winners in South Africa, the great Igugu and also Mahbooba.

Galileo’s son New Approach currently has an exciting stallion standing here, New Predator, who has had five runners and four winners.

There was at one stage a theory that Galileo’s progeny are not suited to Southern Hemisphere racing but it does not appear to apply to SA racing.

Time To Take The Blinkers Off

Lip Service Won’t Change Racing’s Plight!

Global Team Horseracing

If horse racing’s diminishing fan base constituted a political party, we’d probably be in Parliament right now, cosying up in meaningless conversations to the best of them. Perhaps we’d be trying to form coalitions to survive. We won’t make much progress, however. We’ll become insignificant and gradually fade from the scene.

We, the die-hards of the Noble Sport, are astute at identifying problems and announcing a dire need for change and innovation. Superb, too, at cheerleading from the rooftops of luxury conference centres about the necessity for driving rapid and purposeful changes.

And then, nothing happens.

Lip service comes into play. We nod in agreement, discuss the future of racing with other worried fanatics, write letters to the media and wholeheartedly call for something drastic to be done. More meetings are convened, followed by the doing of, well, not much at all. We are too spellbound by the next major horse race and the fanfare around it and comforted by reassuring accounts of racing’s traditional resilience. There is always a lifeline, right? We’ll be okay, don’t worry!

But all is not well. Here’s a quote worth reading a few times. Please do so.

It comes from business philosopher Peter Drucker, who stated: “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.”

Spare just a moment to think about that.

Overall, innovation in horse racing is essential, now more than ever before, for ensuring not only the safety and integrity of the sport, but for attracting new fans and customers, enhancing the viewing experience, and driving progress and improvement. As with any industry, innovation is necessary for growth and continued relevance in an ever-changing world.

When Global Team Horseracing (GTH) introduced its Live Series concept to South Africa and the world last year, a good proportion of those who have been advocating change and innovation, resisted the thought of team-based racing within short intervals, whip-less contests between colourful teams, and a move away from marketing models with gambling for profits as central themes.

With its first series completed, and triumphantly celebrated with a major Sports Award for its effort, GTH proved that South African racing is indeed receptive to new ideas. There remains, however, a measure of resistance among the racing purists who believe that their daily dose of racing and armchair punting on local races are all but guaranteed because the vested interests from multi-billionaires will keep the ship afloat forever. Why change anything?

The answer is simple. If racing is to remain relevant and competitive in a modern, fast-changing world, no amounts of money spent on traditional thinking will reverse the sport’s declining supporter numbers.

We, all of us who adore the sport of thoroughbred racing, can no longer afford to pay lip service to the concept of radical change. We must embrace it with action!

S’Manga Khumalo victorious on the Sean Tarry-trained Bless My Stars in the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic (Candiese Lenferna).

Tarry’s Affinity With Classic Day Continues

Sean Tarry has an affinity for Classic Day at Turffontein Standside and landed his fourth Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic on Saturday with the Gimmethegreenlight filly Bless My Stars ridden by S’Manga Khumalo.

Tarry had three other victories on the day, including in the Grade 2 WSB Hawaii Stakes.

He will now be targeting Bless My Stars at the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks.

Tarry’s previous successes in the SA Fillies Classic came with Rain In Holland last year, Return Flight in 2019 and Siren’s Call in 2015.

That makes it five Grade 1s on Classic Day overall for the five-times national champion trainer, because he has also won the WSB SA Classic once with French Navy in 2015.

He has now won 65 Grade 1s in all.

Tarry said the Guineas meeting seemed to come too soon every year, coming hard on the heels of WSB Met day in Cape Town, and his horses always improved into Classic Day.

Bless My Stars at 10/1 was a big price in hindsight.

She was badly hampered late in the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas when finishing a 2,75 length sixth, which could have easily been third.

Tarry was not only convinced she would improve over the 1800m trip, but she was now also going to be drawn in pole.

Bless My Stars is bred in the purple, being by a champion sire out of the Silvano Grade 1 Majorca winner Star Express.

Varsfontein Stud would likely have been disappointed to see her going for just R250,000 at the BSA National Yearling Sale of 2021.

It was an astute purchase by Kenneth Pillay’s Kestorm Investments.

She was originally trained by Paul Peter and under his guidance won on debut over 1400m by 6,25 lengths before finishing a 0,35 length third in the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1600m, where she was hampered on the line.

She won second time out for Tarry over 1600m before disappointing in the Grade 3 Fillies Mile, running unplaced.

She ran third in the Grade 3 Three Troikas Stakes over 1400m before her unlucky run in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas.

Khumalo had her handy on Saturday in the box seat behind pacemaker None Other.

He followed the latter in the straight until switching in and hitting the front.

Feather Boa challenged strongly on her outside and with both fillies hanging inward away from the whip, Bless My Stars got up by a short-head.

Tarry also won the Grade 2 Hawaii with the Summerhill Stud-bred Capetown Noir filly Under Your Spell, who was ridden by Louis Mxothwa.

It was an impressive win, not only because she beat the boys.

Wearing her customary compression hood she did not over race at all despite being caught three wide in the running after jumping from a tricky draw of eight out of 13.

She then showed her usual turn of foot to win by a cosy 1,50 lengths from the Grade 1 winner Red Saxon.

She is now likely being targeted at the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes.

Tarry’s other two wins on Saturday were with the Varsfontein-bred Gimmethegreenlight first-timer two-year-old colt Lucky Lad, who impressed in the Beck colours considering he was slowly away, and the three-year-old Drakenstein Stud-bred Dynasty gelding Jet Dynasty, who came from an impossible looking position to get up at the fourth-time of asking in a 1600m maiden.

The stable jockey question for the Tarry yard is up in the air at the moment with Calvin Habib having recently moved to Singapore.

Tarry and Khumalo were at one stage a formidable combination, but Tarry pointed out that there was nothing new about S’Manga’s association with Bless My Stars, so Saturday’s success was not necessarily a renewal of that partnership.

He said the position was up for grabs and could go to any jockey who was prepared to put in the work, although the five-times national champion trainer will obviously demand good results.

Mauritius Turf Club, a 210 year-old organisation, has been brought to its knees.

Mauritius Turf Club Will Not Organise 2023 Races After “Orchestrated” Ousting

The members of the Mauritius Turf Club (MTC) chose unanimously through their Extraordinary General Assembly held on Friday March 3, 2023, not to organize horse racing this season.

This is the first time this will happen in the 210 year existence of the Mauritius Turf Club, but they have not closed down and are hoping for better days ahead.

There has been a push towards the nationalisation of horse racing on the island since the installation of the Lepep government in 2014

The Parry Report, a Commission of Inquiry on Horse Racing in Mauritius done in 2015, concluded with the following couple of recommendations among many others:

the current regulatory and governance functions of the MTC be removed and, instead, become the responsibility of a new independent Sports’ Governing Body called “The Mauritius Horseracing Authority‟ (MHA);
the Mauritius Turf Club should retain responsibility for Race Planning and Race-day operations;

However, when in 2021 the government announced an amendment to the GRA (Gambling Regulatory Authority), claiming an implementation of the Parry report, the impact on the Mauritius Turf Club was far more profound.

Chairman Jean Michel Giraud said at the time, “We are going to face a real nationalization of races through the Horse Racing Division (HRD) and the GRA, which will not only affect betting, but also the organization of races. This Bill aims to remove the last remaining prerogatives of the MTCSL (MTC Sports and Leisure Limited). After having set up a Board Of Appeal, it will now appoint the Stipes, decide which races will be on the cards, how many race days there will be and who will be allowed to race or not. In addition, it will decide about the licenses of trainers, jockeys and who will be eligible to be an owner. In a nutshell, they will have full control of the races. The MTCSL will only be left with the ambulance service, horse sampling and lawn maintenance! The regulator wants to become the organizer. This doesn’t exist anywhere in the world!”.

Then last year MTCSL put in a new license application to the GRA.

The MTCSL then received the conditions attached to the new license.

These conditions were deemed unacceptable and were rejected following a meeting of the directors of the MTCSL.

Therefore the MTCSL were not able to organize the races and consequently the first day of racing scheduled for April 23, 2022, had to be cancelled.

Then what happened was the City Council of Port Louis issued a notice terminating the lease of the Mauritius Turf Club’s (MTCSL) use of the state-owned land on which the Champ de Mars racecourse is situated, a lease which was supposed to be valid until 2028.

They did this soon after the GRA had said they would not change the conditions of the aforementioned license.

They justified their unilateral decision by explaining that the MTCSL could not organise the races since it did not have a “Horse Racing Organiser” license.

The legality of the decision was challenged.

The People’s Turf PLC (PTP) then applied for the use of the Champ De Mars racecourse.

To cut a long story short both MTCSL and PTP ended up organising race meetings during the 2022 season, usually on alternate weekends.

However, in the latest round of troubles to hit the island’s horseracing fraternity MTCSL was informed by the HRD in a letter dated January 4 that its horse import license had been revoked.

They were advised it might be a temporary measure upon some legalities being investigated, but the Le Mauricien summed it up by saying, “More than ever the economic strangulation but also the prevention of the MTCSL from existing and functioning continues inexorably…”

The following report from sport.defimedia.info in February underlines how untenable the situation has become for the MTCSL:

Massive blow for the Mauritius Turf Club Sports & Leisure Ltd (MTCSL). The Côte d’Or International Racecourse and Entertainment Complex Ltd (COIREC) imposes new “non-negotiable” lease conditions for the use of the Champ de Mars. For the Club, these are “abusive” conditions. Several spaces have been taken away from it, in particular the ‘trotting track’ and its car park, access to the Duke Of York Club avenue, the bleachers and the stables which are housed there. Will they or won’t they sign the lease? A decision will be made in the coming days.

The MTCSL does not benefit from the same lease conditions as in 2022 for the use of the racetrack. Last season, the two organizers, the MTCSL and People’s Turf PLC (PTP) took care of the maintenance of the track alternately, from now on, this task has been entrusted exclusively to the PTP.

The new lease proposed to the MTCSL no longer covers the entire Champ de Mars racecourse, but only the grass track and the sand track. The other parts of the Champ de Mars, in particular the ‘trotting track’ and its car park, the access to the Avenue Duke of York Club (except to be used as an Emergency Exit), the bleachers and the stables which are housed there, are excluded. . In addition, the MTCSL will no longer have the right to install its false rails or any structures whatsoever on the track or elsewhere.

The organization finds it “unacceptable” that the rent remains unchanged (Rs 250,000 per shopping day) when it no longer has several spaces. It will have to take charge of 50% of the maintenance of the track, according to a ‘Cost-sharing Agreement’ to be concluded with the PTP for the off-season period and the 2023 season.

According to an executive, the MTCSL alone financed the maintenance of the track from December 2021 to June 2022 and neither PTP nor COIREC considered that the MTCSL should be reimbursed. Regarding safety and insurance, the MTCSL must take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the public, the jockeys and the horses. COIREC excludes all liability in the event of an incident or accident. In addition, the MTCSL must pay compensation in the event of a lawsuit against COIREC. They must subscribe to a ‘Public Liability Insurance’ which therefore covers the entire Champ de Mars. This even if the racetrack is no longer covered by the lease.

A member of the MTCSL did not mince his words against COIREC. “We are putting everything on our backs, because we did not respect the prescribed deadline to make our request for renewal of the lease? It’s bullshit. Everything has been orchestrated and changes have been made so that the PTP can freely enjoy these spaces. They were forced to come up with new terms to fit the reality of People’s Turf PLC. Last year, PTP did not give us access to the interior of the Champ de Mars and blocked the parking lot, even though our contract mentioned these spaces. We had to go to court. All this is done to make PTP legal,” he laments.

In addition, the MTCSL issued a statement on Monday to its employees to update them on the situation. “The future of the MTCSL and its jobs is obviously very uncertain at this stage and we understand the anguish of our employees and the teams still housed with us, both in Port-Louis and Floréal”, said a press release.

MTCSL must sign the lease with COIREC before it can complete its organizer license application. In a letter sent to the Horse Racing Division (HRD) and the Gambling Regulatory Authority) on Monday, the MTCSL is seeking information on the number of days for the 2023 season. They believe this information is essential to any assessment of the capacity of MTCSL to sign the COIREC lease.

It seems completely unreasonable to us to ask us to sign a lease without knowing the number of days allocated to the MTCSL, because on this depends the viability of its operations”, she points out in the press release.

MTCSL has also written to the CEO of PTP. Khulwant Kumar Ubheeram, on Saturday to ask him for his proposal for a ‘Cost-sharing Agreement’, for the maintenance of the track, because the MTCSL is not able to assess the real impact of the lease on its capacity to operate and its finances. This request was reiterated on Monday. The MTCSL and MTC Boards will meet this week to decide how to proceed, once they have heard the responses from PTP and the GRA/HRD.

COIREC said, “We do not favor PTP.”

The MTCSL cannot come and complain and talk about favouritism. We do not favor PTP, but it is in good standing and has met the deadline for renewing its lease, unlike MTCSL. It is up to the latter to decide whether or not to sign the lease for the use of the Champ de Mars and to respect the clauses which are attached”, declares an influential member of the COIREC Board.

The MTCSL’s decision to continue organising the races hinged on the “cost sharing agreement” between them and the PTP. They waited a long time to receive the document and the PTP then requested a non-disclosure agreement, which would prevent it from disclosing the amount of this ‘Cost Sharing Agreement’.

On Friday, the news broke that MTCSL had decided not to organise the races this year.

A press release stated:

“The news has just broken.

MTC President Gavin Glover stated following the decision. “When I woke up this morning, I was aware of the distress that will be upon all Mauritian turfists today and I am not forgetting all the stakeholders who have been to the Turf Club in recent years.” I am, today, before you because the decision that we had to make today is dramatic. The consequences will obviously be important for everyone, but I finished my speech today by saying that 2023 is a nightmare and that when we wake up in 2024, we hope it will be a better year. That means what it means. The MTC is not dead. The MTC will survive and hope for better days. This won’t happen in 2023, but let’s wait and see. We have employees that will suffer the consequences of what will happen. We will support the employees during these difficult times and we will not let them down. The aim of the MTC is not only to organize race days, but also to ensure that equestrian sport progresses in Mauritius. I didn’t become the President of the Turf Club to close the MTCSL. We were here to run and to keep running, but we can’t run under the current conditions. The Club will be open to members on race day. The MTC Annual General Meeting will be held in mid-April with audited accounts to 31 December 2022. This Assembly will have to decide on the direction of the MTC in view of the figures audited as of December 31, 2022. “

Princess Charlene (Pic – JC Photos)

R300 000 Monaco Sport Of Kings Charity Maiden Sprint On Royal Raceday

4Racing

There will be 18 maidens lining up for the R300 000 Monaco Sport of Kings Charity Maiden Sprint over 1160m at Turffontein on Saturday 15 April.

The event takes place on The Royal Raceday and will be run alongside the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes.

At the request of the sponsors, this Maiden Sprint has unique entry conditions and aims to give as many owners of maidens as possible, a chance at winning. The race is open to all maidens which have run at least three times and allows for one horse per trainer at ballot stage, until a maximum field of 18 is drawn – the same rule applying to the three reserve runners. In that way, it gives smaller stables the chance to get a runner into this race.

The Monaco Sport of Kings is a group of businessmen from Monaco who have always shown support for this prestigious raceday and especially to the various charities this event has been able to support in the past.

The Maiden Sprint is another example of their generous sponsorship towards not only the race prize money, but also to the various charities who will receive contributions on the day.

The Royal Race Day is Day four of 4Racing’s “The Championships” season. It is a Ladies Day and more exciting information on the theme, including prizes for the “Best Dressed”, as well as other initiatives at the event will follow in due course.

As this raceday is a premier feature day on the Highveld calendar, the Monaco Sport of Kings Charity Maiden Sprint qualifies as a Racehorse Owners Association “Super Bonus Race”, where the winning owner can walk away with a R40 000 bonus, if they are an ROA member in good standing.

Ends

Illustrated had an eventful breeze-up last year ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale (Fasig-Tipton)

Dollar Seven Figure Horse Beaten A Distance On Debut

By Alan Carasso

Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Gandharvi LLC’s Illustrated (Justify) was led out unsold when bidding stalled out at $290,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

The blaze-faced bay made the decision to retain him look that much better when selling for $1.1 million at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale after breezing an eighth of a mile in :10 flat despite jumping the shadows of the sixteenth pole and of floodlights around the area of the finish line.

His GI Spinaway S.-winning dam Appealing Zophie (Successful Appeal) was purchased by My Meadowview for $1.1 million at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton November Sale and went on to produce GI Belmont S. hero and young stallion Tapwrit (Tapit), MGSW & GISP Ride a Comet (Candy Ride {Arg})–who carried the silks of Len Riggio’s operation–and SW & ‘TDN Rising Star’ Inject (Frosted).

Carrying a full-sister to Tapwrit, Appealing Zophie was hammered down to Barronstown Stud for $1.2 million at FTKNOV in 2018.

Having amassed a worktab dotted with bullet drills, Illustrated was the 5-2 favorite from gate 10 on Saturday in the Maiden over seven furlongs on the Gulfstream Park dirt.

The Todd Pletcher-trained horse had the services of Luis Saez.

He was opposed by LNJ Foxwoods’ Scotland (Good Magic), a daughter of Grade III winner and Grade I-placed Gemswick Park (Speightstown), who was acquired for $675,000 on behalf of the Roth family at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton February Sale. The chestnut gelding also had a series of strong works under his belt, including five furlongs from the gate at Payson Park in 1:01 2/5 (1/9) Feb. 17.

Scotland won the race in good style, but Illustrated, after being prominent early, was done by half-way and faded to be beaten a distance.

There are shades of The Green Monkey in the result, although Coolmore were the beneficiaries this time instead of the victims, and it is also too early to tell whether Illustrated will be an outright failure.

The Green Monkey became a global fascination at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton Calder Select 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale when a drawn-out bidding war between Demi O’Byrne of the Coolmore partnership and John Ferguson of the Darley operation ended with O’Byrne signing the historic ticket.

The Green Monkey had drawn the attention of the global powerhouses after breezing an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 seconds during the under-tack show at Calder Race Course.

The US$16-million price tag remains the world record for a Thoroughbred at public auction.

It was the coup of a lifetime for Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds, who had bought the colt for $425,000 at the previous year’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Select Yearling Sale. The Green Monkey was bred in Florida by Padua Stables, out of the winning Unbridled mare Magical Masquerade.

The Green Monkey, who was ironically also trained by Todd Pletcher, had three starts for a third and two fourths. He retired with on-track earnings of $10,440.

Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds bought a half-interest in the horse upon his retirement, and stood him at its stallion operation, beginning in 2009. Per their agreement with Coolmore, The Green Monkey could have been moved to Ashford Stud if his foals excelled on the track.

The Green Monkey bred 40 mares in his initial book, but he never covered more than 12 in any season following his debut.

His biggest success at stud was Monkey Business, winner of the 2015 filly Triple Crown in Panama. Domestically, The Green Monkey’s top runners were stakes winners Kinz Funky Monkey and Green Doctor.

The Willie Mullins-trained Facile Vega, who runs in the Supreme Novices Hurdle, is being viewed by bookmakers as one of their potentially worst results if he wins at next week’s Cheltenham Festival (Picture: Patrick McCann).

Willie Mullins Interviewed About His Cheltenham Festival String

CLICK HERE to watch the interview, which includes positive comments about the Hollywood Syndicate/Barnane Stud runner Il Etait Temps

Vincent O’Brien in his days as a national hunt trainer (RacingTV.com)

Today’s Question

What Cheltenham Festival feat do the great trainers Vincent O’Brien and Aidan O’Brien have in common. Vincent and Aidan are not relatives but Aidan succeeded Vincent as the trainer at Ballydoyle. Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud. Both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to Vincent O’Brien.

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.