Latest news with #BayOfBiscay
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Greg Sugars' ‘project' horse, Fighter Command, set for 2025 Eureka redemption
Emerging pacer Fighter Command is the strongest lasting equine legacy to Greg Sugars. Before Sugars, who was just 40 and at the peak of powers, passed suddenly on April 26, Fighter Command was his project. A big, raw and highly-gifted gelding with the potential to be a star of the sport. Sugars knew and would tell his close mate, James Herbertson. 'Hes From Heaven and Fighter Command were the same age and came up together. I've always loved Hes From Heaven, but Greg kept telling me Fighter Command was better,' he said. 'We'd still be arguing about it now if he was here.' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Sugars' wife, Jess Tubbs, trains Fighter Command but it is Herbertson who has 'inherited' the driving since Sugars' devastating and unexplained passing. Together, they head to Hobart on Saturday night with Fighter Command, chasing a golden ticket into the world's richest harness race, the $2.1 million TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 6. Sugars will be in the front of their minds. It was Sugars who took the reins 12 months ago at Hobart when Fighter Command won the $80,000 Beautide and snared the resultant Tasracing slot into the TAB Eureka. FIGHTER COMMAND is Eureka bound!! Taking out The Beautide at Hobart tonight the Jess Tubbs trained and Greg Sugars driven gelding is into the worlds richest race on September 7!🤩 — NSWSOA (@NSWStandardbred) August 3, 2024 Excitement turned to heartbreak a few weeks later and just days out from the TAB Eureka when Fighter Command was struck down with a twisted bowel and spent days fighting for his life. His TAB Eureka dream was over and it would be six months before he made it back to the racetrack. Fighter Command has raced eight times on the comeback trail for two wins, a second, a third and two fourths. Tubbs has given him a deliberately slow and meticulous build-up with redemption in mind. 'He's still a big baby and learning, but the motor is there,' Herbertson said. 'Jess has done a great job with him and we've seen progress this campaign. A few starts back there was a scrimmage and he had to duck and weave through them, something he'd have galloped for a year ago. 'But he's still a work in progress. He's not quite there mentally yet. 'It's as much knowing when to switch on and off. Sometimes he'll be keen on the (starting) gate, others he won't want to be there. Then he'll switch off at a stage of the race you want him focused and raring to go. 'It's all those one per-centres he needs to get right if he's going to be the horse Greg thought he could be.' The two biggest guns of the world's richest harness race, Bay Of Biscay and Fighter Command, will head interstate to step-up their preparations on Saturday night. Story: @AdamHSport ðŸ'‡ — Racenet (@RacenetTweets) July 29, 2025 Quirks aside, Fighter Command should win the Beautide. 'I spoke to Mitch Ford (local driver) and he said he should beat the Tassie horses by a fair way,' Herbertson said. 'I guess he did beat them easily last year and he's got his act together a lot more since then. 'But the Eureka will be a different story. It's not far away and it's a race where he'll need to get it all together. 'Bay Of Biscay is the (Eureka) favourite. I'd say this guy has as much talent, but Bay Of Biscay has more manners and is more versatile right now.'
The Australian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Eureka favourites take next step on path to showdown
The two biggest guns of the world's richest harness race, Bay Of Biscay and Fighter Command, will head interstate to step-up their preparations on Saturday night. The Victorian-trained pair head the betting – at $3.50 and $5 respectively – for the $2.1 million TAB Eureka, which is just five weeks away at Menangle on September 6. Bay Of Biscay was nominated to race at Melton and Menangle, but co-trainer Emma Stewart confirmed the Chariots Of Fire winner would head interstate for the Sydney race. The prospect of a 2300m race at Menangle – the same track and distance as the TAB Eureka – was more attractive than a 1720m sprint with less prize money at Melton. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Bay Of Biscay, who flashed home for a luckless second to subsequent Miracle Mile and Inter Dominion winner Don Hugo in last year's TAB Eureka, will become the first pacer to tackle the race twice. The TAB Eureka is restricted to three and four-year-old Australian-bred pacers. Connections have focused everything on this year's TAB Eureka and snared an early slot through WA breeding giant Rob Watson's Soho Standardbreds. The Bay Of Biscay team even declined an invitation to run in the $1 million Miracle Mile in March, which came after winning the Chariots Of Fire a week earlier. 'If all goes well, we'll have a go at the Miracle Mile next year, but we want to win the TAB Eureka first,' managing owner Tim Bunning said at the time. Bay Of Biscay, who boasts 11 wins and seven seconds from just 22 starts, has only raced once since his Chariots Of Fire win on March 1. That was for a narrow win, albeit in slick time, at Melton on June 28. He was set for the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun at Albion Park earlier this month, but plans were aborted when a suitable flight could not be arranged. Top young driver Cam Hart, who has been aboard for Bay Of Biscay's past three runs and is locked in for the TAB Eureka, will take the reins again this week. Fighter Command will head in a different direction for the $80,000 Beautide in Hobart on Saturday night. The Jess Tubbs-trained four-year-old won the Beautide last year, which carries with it a golden ticket into the TAB Eureka through the Tasracing slot. Tubbs described the race as the 'first step towards redemption' after Fighter Command almost died after he was struck down with a twisted bowel and scratched just days out from last year's TAB Eureka. 'We've slowly and steadily built him back-up again and with everything focused on this race (the Beautide),' Tubbs said. 'After what happened last year, we haven't looked beyond this week, but hopefully he wins and we can. 'Herbie (Australia's premier driver James Herbertson) is locked in for Hobart, so we're set to go.' Fighter Command wins last year's Beautide. Picture: Eliza Howlett Fighter Command had almost six months away from the track after the twisted bowel, but he returned with eight starts for two wins, a second, a third and two fourths. So far only Bay Of Biscay (Soho Standardbreds) and Hesitate (John Singleton), are confirmed runners in the TAB Eureka. • Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
2025 TAB Eureka favourites Bay Of Biscay, Fighter Command step-up preparation for showdown
The two biggest guns of the world's richest harness race, Bay Of Biscay and Fighter Command, will head interstate to step-up their preparations on Saturday night. The Victorian-trained pair head the betting – at $3.50 and $5 respectively – for the $2.1 million TAB Eureka, which is just five weeks away at Menangle on September 6. Bay Of Biscay was nominated to race at Melton and Menangle, but co-trainer Emma Stewart confirmed the Chariots Of Fire winner would head interstate for the Sydney race. The prospect of a 2300m race at Menangle – the same track and distance as the TAB Eureka – was more attractive than a 1720m sprint with less prize money at Melton. Bay Of Biscay, who flashed home for a luckless second to subsequent Miracle Mile and Inter Dominion winner Don Hugo in last year's TAB Eureka, will become the first pacer to tackle the race twice. The TAB Eureka is restricted to three and four-year-old Australian-bred pacers. Connections have focused everything on this year's TAB Eureka and snared an early slot through WA breeding giant Rob Watson's Soho Standardbreds. The Bay Of Biscay team even declined an invitation to run in the $1 million Miracle Mile in March, which came after winning the Chariots Of Fire a week earlier. 'If all goes well, we'll have a go at the Miracle Mile next year, but we want to win the TAB Eureka first,' managing owner Tim Bunning said at the time. Bay Of Biscay is the 2025 Group 1 Cordina Chicken Farms Chariots of Fire champion for Emma Stewart and Cam Hart.ðŸ�†ðŸ'¥ The son of Somebeachsomewhere USA out of Nike Franco NZ recorded a mile of 1.49.1 with Charge Ahead and Major Hot NZ filling the minor placings. #ClubMenangle — Club Menangle (@ClubMenangle) March 1, 2025 Bay Of Biscay, who boasts 11 wins and seven seconds from just 22 starts, has only raced once since his Chariots Of Fire win on March 1. That was for a narrow win, albeit in slick time, at Melton on June 28. He was set for the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun at Albion Park earlier this month, but plans were aborted when a suitable flight could not be arranged. Top young driver Cam Hart, who has been aboard for Bay Of Biscay's past three runs and is locked in for the TAB Eureka, will take the reins again this week. Fighter Command will head in a different direction for the $80,000 Beautide in Hobart on Saturday night. The Jess Tubbs-trained four-year-old won the Beautide last year, which carries with it a golden ticket into the TAB Eureka through the Tasracing slot. FIGHTER COMMAND is Eureka bound!! Taking out The Beautide at Hobart tonight the Jess Tubbs trained and Greg Sugars driven gelding is into the worlds richest race on September 7!🤩 — NSWSOA (@NSWStandardbred) August 3, 2024 Tubbs described the race as the 'first step towards redemption' after Fighter Command almost died after he was struck down with a twisted bowel and scratched just days out from last year's TAB Eureka. 'We've slowly and steadily built him back-up again and with everything focused on this race (the Beautide),' Tubbs said. 'After what happened last year, we haven't looked beyond this week, but hopefully he wins and we can. 'Herbie (Australia's premier driver James Herbertson) is locked in for Hobart, so we're set to go.' Fighter Command had almost six months away from the track after the twisted bowel, but he returned with eight starts for two wins, a second, a third and two fourths. So far only Bay Of Biscay (Soho Standardbreds) and Hesitate (John Singleton), are confirmed runners in the TAB Eureka.
Times
14-07-2025
- Times
Swap Île de Ré for this quieter French island that's just as charming
Ten miles off the Vendée coast of western France, Île d'Yeu demands a little extra effort. For starters it's in the Bay of Biscay and when we board the boat for the 45-minute journey from the port of Fromentine, the heavily suntanned deckhand with bandaged fingers takes one look at us and hands me a stack of sick bags. It's true that after a 4am start and a delayed flight, we are not looking our best. But despite my husband Rob turning a shade that would colour match Farrow & Ball French gray, we manage not to disgrace ourselves on the bouncy crossing. 'It's wibbly wobbly like jelly on a plate, Mummy,' shrieks our three-year-old daughter Lyra, somewhat understating things. Our fellow passengers are sturdy, twinkly French people of a certain age, sensibly dressed in form-fitting waterproofs. There is nonetheless a sense of relief when we dock at Port Joinville. With its blue-shuttered and white-painted buildings lining the front, I'm not sure a harbour town has ever looked more appealing. This was the island's commercial centre — coastal shipping then fishing were big business, and there is still a canning factory (the last) in town. We're on the calmer northeast coast of the 23 sq km island, which is 10km from west (Pointe du But) to east (Pointe des Corbeaux). The south coast is uninhabitable, with coves carved by frothing seas and an imposing medieval fortress, Le Vieux Château, that seems to rise out of the rock. Prehistoric sites, including dolmen dating to 4,000BC, show people settled on the island in the very distant past. Like on the Île de Ré, about 124 miles south, the population of Yeu swells in summer from 5,000 to 25,000 but the island feels less developed, less glitzy than its southerly neighbour, with more of a sense of ordinary life going on in the background. We are staying in the middle, in a new hotel, La Mission, in the village of Saint Sauveur, which was once the island's capital. Opened last summer, it's the first outpost outside of Paris for the boutique group Les Hôteliers Impertinents, and it's seriously chic. Michel Delloye and Jacques-Olivier Larant, the owners and childhood friends, spent summers on the Île d'Yeu and they have managed the transformation of what was a 19th-century garrison canton then primary school with style and care. They've made a point of employing locals and keeping the hotel open almost year-round so islanders can enjoy the bars and restaurant off season too. What was the girls' primary school is now a series of 22 rooms in one-storey white buildings — in keeping with the architecture of the island — arrayed around a giant plane tree. The former boys' school is now a rum bar (plus breezy rooftop spot), restaurant and heated pool with 'Ye' tiled into the bottom and a small adjoining spa. The white parasols are fringed with red and the rooms are all smart rattan and jaunty textiles. Our family room has a cheery, thick-piled zigzag yellow rug, Matisse-inspired embroidered cushions by A&N and a mustard checked throw. Were the furnishings for sale, I'd gladly buy the lot. There are cute white bunk beds built into the wall for Lyra and a cot on the mezzanine level next to our giant bed for our baby, Jasper. It's still blowy outside but, as we make our way to the restaurant for supper (and strong gin and tonics), there are bursts of lovely clear island light. We begin to feel away from it all. I'd like to say that our meal is a detangling experience but you know what dinners with young children are like. Messy (and we are seated over a distressingly smart rug). Noisy (even if it's not tears). Shortlived (despite the kindly provided colour-in menu). Some of our fellow diners turn around to look. • 10 of the best things to do in France for families But we are all (especially the baby) captivated by the interior with its giant jellyfish-like pendant lights and ikat-covered ceiling. And Jasper so endears himself to the maitre d', she even allows him to grab her silk shirt. Horreur! The walls are deep red, there's a blue and white tiled fireplace and shelves of ceramics. The chips are salty, the fish perfectly cooked but there is no lingering for dessert — that giant bed is calling. Breakfast is more of a success because we are first through the door and have the buffet of breads, brioche, two types of butter and homemade salted caramel spread to ourselves. Yes, there's fruit and yoghurt and eggs, but is there anything better than French bread and butter? It's expensive to bring a car onto Yeu so holidaymakers usually cycle and La Mission has electric bikes with all manner of options for ferrying children. First, though, a foray into Saint Sauveur. It's properly charming with white houses with orange, burgundy and blue shutters, a Romanesque church with frescoes, Renaults parked next to walls and roses rambling all over the place. Trumpet lilies are in bloom and there's a bakery, which provides us with sandwiches, quiches and prune tart, a local speciality. At the bar-cum-tabac they are doing a busy trade in espressos and tiny glasses of white wine. While buying postcards Lyra and I meet a family from Paris who are relocating to the island for two years. What an adventure. Babies and baskets loaded, we set off. Even though it's relatively flat, we are grateful for the electric oomph (especially when the children fall asleep on the back). It's a brilliant way to get around and see the island, which is lovely in early June with fragrant banks of honeysuckle and flowering gorse in the hedgerows and verges scattered with orange poppies. Jasper, though, is more interested in a thorough investigation of the screw securing his bike seat. • 10 of the most beautiful places in France (and how to see them) Our first stop is La Ferme d'Émilie, owned by the couple Émilie and Pierre Sage. They run an organic 60-hectare farm (farming is having something of a renaissance on the island) a 20-minute cycle from La Mission. A restaurant using its produce and a shop selling it (including homemade ice cream, verbena jelly and slippers lined with wool from their flock of Sologne sheep) is new for this summer. It's a lovely, airy space and Lyra confirms the strawberries are very good indeed. Pierre, who used to work in the oil industry, tells us he is happier with the life-changing career move into farming that he made 18 years ago, but more tired. We can only sympathise. It is an attractive ride on sandy bike paths from here to the ruined Le Vieux Château, which even in the sunshine strikes me as a chilly, foreboding outpost — though I guess that was the idea. It's open for guided tours only but we are still able to cross the drawbridge and peek through the door to see the large cannon. On the horizon to the north, we can see one of the island's five lighthouses, Le Grand Phare, rebuilt in 1951 having been bombed in 1944. It can be climbed but not, we decide, with a preschooler. From here we pedal further south to La Meule, with its tiny harbour lined with fishing huts (Bar de la Meule overlooks the harbour and comes recommended) and overlooked by a tiny chapel built in the 11th century. • 19 of the best holiday villas in France Then it's on to the attractive cove Plage des Soux. The sea is rough but it's sheltered enough for Rob to brave the water. A group of young Frenchmen arrive with their guitars to provide a gap year vibe. It reminds me of Scottish island beaches — bracing but beautiful. On the northeast coast the sandy stretches, some backed by piney forests, are bigger and ideal for shell collecting. We score a very good haul on Plage du la Petite Corniche at low tide when people are out and about shore fishing. But sometimes it's tempting to just keep cycling while the children are captive and (mostly) quiet. After too short a stay, we have a boat to catch. Our return journey is by a bigger vessel (less heave-ho, more gentle roll) on calmer seas and the mood on deck is almost festive with people drinking beer and not a sick bag in sight. Yes, you work a little harder for a holiday on Île d'Yeu, but you won't regret Coad was a guest of La Mission, which has B&B doubles from £181 ( Yeu Continent ferries ( Vendée Tourism ( and Atlantic Loire Valley Tourism ( Do you have a favourite summer destination in France? Let us know in the comments
Irish Times
05-07-2025
- Science
- Irish Times
Jaws at 50: the most significant piece of negative publicity sharks have ever received
The theme music alone of the classic film Jaws is scary but the dramatic footage of the giant fish itself, albeit a mechanical model, would be enough to give anyone nightmares. It is hard to believe that this iconic movie is half a century old this year but it is probably the most significant piece of negative publicity that sharks have ever received. Ask anyone you know what they think about sharks and the reply is rarely positive. The movie was based loosely on Peter Benchley's novel Jaws which describes a renegade great white shark on the east coast of the United States. Previously unknown in Irish waters, there are now confirmed records of this species as far north as the Bay of Biscay but reports around Ireland and the UK are confined to anecdotal sightings. Ireland is a globally recognised hotspot for other shark species, such as the basking shark, porbeagle and tope shark, but great whites have yet to be formally recorded here. Found throughout the world's oceans, great white sharks were historically common throughout the Mediterranean before overfishing caused major declines. In 2024, a team of scientists embarked on a major survey with the goal of documenting the presence of the great white shark in Irish waters. Dr Nick Payne of Trinity College Dublin, who led the expedition, said he was optimistic about the team's chances of confirming its presence off the Irish coast. I have never seen a great white shark but I have had an encounter with the largest fish in the Atlantic Ocean. I was sailing off the coast of Mayo when a pair of fins appeared in the water beside the boat, moving slowly on the surface. As the fins came closer, I realised that they were both part of the same animal, a basking shark. It moved sinuously across the sea with a large open mouth capturing the rich harvest of plankton. Basking sharks were once plentiful around the Irish coastline, migrating into our waters in summer and disappearing in the winter. The location of my sighting was not far from Keem Bay at the very western tip of Achill Island. This is a cliff-bound cove with a beautiful sandy beach at its head. Throughout the early 20th century this was the location for the capture and killing of basking sharks and large quantities of the valuable shark oil were exported to England. [ Eye on Nature: If bees can't see red, why is one drawn to this red poppy? Opens in new window ] A shortage of fuel after second World War led to an increasing market for shark oil for use in certain industrial products. The slow-moving basking sharks swam into the bay to feed on dense swarms of plankton near the sea surface. Here they became entangled in nets set by the islanders who then launched their lightweight curraghs and killed the struggling fish, stabbing them with scythe blades attached to long poles. Over a 30-year period up to the 1970s more than 12,000 basking sharks were landed on Achill – an average of at least 400 fish per year. Not surprisingly, catches declined markedly towards the end of this period and, with the availability of alternative mineral oils, the market for shark oil disappeared, allowing the few remaining animals to survive. Today, basking sharks are back, their population slowly recovering from this classic example of overfishing. READ MORE Other shark species are not immune from the pressures of overfishing either. These species fill ecological niches that are important in maintaining a balance within the ecosystem. Their removal can result in cascading effects that have a negative effect on marine biodiversity right down through the food chain. Irish waters are known to contain 71 cartilaginous fish species (sharks and rays), over half of the European list. Of these, 58 were assessed using the latest international categories in the Irish Red List. Six species were considered to be critically endangered – Portuguese dogfish, common (blue) skate, flapper skate, porbeagle shark, white skate and angel shark. For example, numbers of angel sharks recorded in tagging programmes show a decline of over 90 per cent since the 1980s. A further five species were assessed as endangered while six more species were rated as vulnerable. Sharks tend to grow slowly and produce small numbers of young each year, which can make them particularly vulnerable. [ How plans for new Guggenheim museum have triggered major biodiversity row in Spain Opens in new window ] While there are no longer any vessels fishing commercially for threatened cartilaginous fish in Irish waters, some are taken as by-catch in other fisheries, involving both Irish and non-Irish boats. Ireland is not unique in this as, since 1970, the global abundance of sharks and rays has declined by 71 per cent owing to an 18-fold increase in relative fishing pressure. Sharks could use some good PR to encourage better protection and recovery of the threatened species. Richard Nairn is an ecologist and writer. His latest book is Future Wild: Nature Restoration in Ireland .
