Latest news with #Grade1
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Be Your Best and Skippylongstocking give Ortiz and Joseph a stakes double at Santa Anita
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Be Your Best led all the way to earn her first Grade 1 victory in the $300,000 Gamely Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths Monday at Santa Anita. Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Be Your Best ran 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:46.26, the fastest time in the race for fillies and mares since 2017, when Lady Eli won in 1:45.29. The 5-year-old Ireland-bred mare and Ortiz traveled from the East Coast to compete. It was Florida-based trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.'s first career win at Santa Anita. About 30 minutes later, Ortiz rode odds-on favorite Skippylongstocking to a three-quarters of a length victory in the $200,000 Hollywood Gold Cup for Joseph. 'It was amazing to get that Grade 1, then you don't want to go home with Skippy getting beat,' Joseph told track officials by phone. 'So for him to go out there and win a historic race like the Hollywood Gold Cup was truly special.' In the $300,000 Shoemaker Mile, Britain-bred King of Gosford and jockey Flavien Prat won. King of Gosford ran the distance on turf in 1:33.52 and paid $10.80, $4.80 and $3.60. Mi Hermano Ramon was second and Cabo Spirit was third. In the Gold Cup, Skippylongstocking ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.64 and paid $3.60, $2.60 and $2.10. He increased his career earnings to over $3.6 million with 11 wins in 32 starts. Midnight Mammoth returned $7.20 and $3.60 and Extensive paid $2.40 to show. It was Skippylongstocking's eighth graded stakes victory at six different tracks. 'He's just a hard-knocking horse who takes his track with him everywhere he goes,' Joseph said. 'He's a sound horse and he's very strong mentally. We'll be forever grateful for him.' In the Gamely, Be Your Best paid $6.20, $3.80 and $3.00. Lady Claypoole returned $8.20 and $4.60 and Liguria returned $5 to show. 'She is a very good filly and she showed it,' Joseph said. 'This is really big for us.' Be Your Best has six wins in 20 career starts and earnings of over $1 million. ___ AP horse racing:
IOL News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Eight On Eighteens' victorious gallop in the Daily 2000 Grade 1 race at Hollywoodbets Greyville
Daily News' editor Ayanda Mdluli presents jockey Richard Fourie with an award for his winning ride on board Eight On Eighteen in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 race at the Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse on Saturday. Image: Leon Lestrade/Independent Media ANOTHER segment of KwaZulu-Natal's programme of horseracing in winter, also known as the Champions Season, galloped to life on Saturday with the running of the Grade 1 Daily News 2000, which drew a large gathering of punters and socialites to the Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse. From the moment the entry gates opened early on Saturday, the atmosphere was electric. Fans eagerly placed their bets and anticipated an afternoon of world-class racing. The highlight of the day was the main race, where Eight On Eighteen, a horse owned by Nick Jonsson and trained by Justin Snaith, galloped to victory and drew a roar of approval from the crowd. The win marked a significant milestone for all involved and highlighted the event's continued legacy of excellence in the South African horse racing calendar. Looking dapper in a blue suit, the Daily News' editor, Ayanda Mdluli, took to the podium to hand over the trophies to the triumphant jockey. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ In an interview before the big event, Mdluli reflected on the significance of the occasion and expressed his gratitude to those who made it possible. 'As the Daily News editor, I am proud to be part of this prestigious event. I would like to thank everyone who has supported me, especially my mother, and of course, our loyal readers. We've recently launched the new Berliner-formatted Daily News, and the response has been phenomenal,' said Mdluli. The main race commenced promptly at 15:18, triggering a surge of excitement throughout the racecourse. Punters rose to their feet, clutching tickets, shouting the names of their favourite horses as the action unfolded on the turf. An elated Jonsson expressed his appreciation for the Daily News' long-standing partnership with the event. 'It's incredibly exciting that Eight On Eighteen clinched the main race. We're grateful to the Daily News association with this event for 20 years. It's a wonderful experience to own a share in a winning horse, and now we're focusing on preparing our horses for the Durban July,' said Jonsson. The winning jockey, Richard Fourie, shared on his emotional connection with the horse and his pride in the result.
Japan Forward
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Forward
Victoria Mile: Ascoli Piceno Secures Victory with Tremendous Burst of Speed
Jockey Christophe Lemaire claimed his 54th JRA Grade 1 title and took sole possession of the record for most Victoria Mile wins (four). Ascoli Piceno, piloted by Christophe Lemaire, wins the 20th Victoria Mile on May 18, 2025, at Tokyo Racecourse. (©KYODO) Race favorite Ascoli Piceno was victorious in the 20th Victoria Mile on Sunday, May 18. It was her fifth graded title following the 1351 Turf Sprint (G2, 1,351 meters) on February 22 in Saudi Arabia. The daughter of Daiwa Major was unbeaten in her three starts as a 2-year-old, including the Niigata Nisai Stakes (G3, 1,600 meters) and the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1, 1,600 meters), which earned her the season's Best Two-Year-Old Filly title in 2023. Her victory in the Victoria Mile at Tokyo Racecourse gave trainer Yoichi Kuroiwa his second JRA G1 title. Jockey Christophe Lemaire scored his 54th JRA G1 title. For Lemaire, Sunday's effort produced his fourth Victoria Mile title — the most in JRA history — after previous victories aboard Admire Lead (2017), Almond Eye (2020) and Gran Alegria (2021). Keita Tosaki has three wins in the race. Ascoli Piceno (17) is seen with a slim lead at the end of the race.(©SANKEI) Ascoli Piceno was eased back after the whole field broke in a straight line then led by Alice Verite (Kenichi Ikezoe's ride), who opened the gap from the rest of the field along the backstretch. Positioned well back in second from last before attempting to make headway through the last two corners and caught behind traffic soon after entering the straight, Lemaire shifted his mount to the outside. And he gave the filly the green light. The Daiwa Major filly responded with terrific speed as soon as she hit the top of the hill for a victory by a neck's length. ( Watch the race on the JRA's YouTube channel .) Winning jockey Christophe Lemaire (©SANKEI) "The break wasn't too sharp and it took some effort to get her into the speed," Lemaire said after the race. "I did have a little concern [about] how the filly would perform as the race favorite starting from an outside stall. But she did have plenty of energy left when needed. "And, while it did take her some time to reach her top speed, I was thrilled by how she showed her mental strength and potential in fighting to the very end." In the 20th running of the Victoria Mile at Tokyo Racecourse, Ascoli Piceno's path to victory was navigated on the outside. (JRA/via SANKEI) Queen's Walk, unhurried and settling in the middle to near rear in a field of 17, angled out for the stretch run under Yuga Kawada, and accelerated impressively to reach contention soon after the 200-meter pole. She was the first to pin Alice Verite in a multiple-horse rally with just 50 meters to go before being outrun by the winner from the outside in the last stride. Shirankedo (Mirco Demuro) traveled well off the pace, third from last inside the eventual winner, up to the last corner. Opting to wait for an opening down the center lane down the straight while the top two finishers angled out at the early stretch, the 5-year-old Declaration of War mare turned in a terrific finishing speed, the fastest in the race, from 100 meters out to gain third place. Argine (Damian Lane) and Alice Verite placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Second favorite Bond Girl (Yutaka Take) was 16th. The Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) is the JRA's next G1 race on May 25 at Tokyo Racecourse. Read the full report , including details on each of the Victoria Mile entrants, on JRA News. Author: JRA News
The Independent
04-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
The perfect 10 for Jonbon as Nico de Boinville earns redemption on day two at the Grand National
The relief was palpable. Moments after Nico de Boinville crossed the line aboard a resurgent Jonbon in the highlight of Ladies Day, the Grade One My Pension Expert Melling Chase, weighing room colleague Harry Skelton pulled alongside on a weary Protektorat. The pair shared a handshake and then an embrace. It was more than just a congratulatory acknowledgement, it was two brothers sharing a 'but for the grace of God moment'. As Skelton is all too aware, twenty four hours can be a long time in horse racing, not least a jockey's life. After Constitution Hill crashed out of the Aintree Hurdle on day one, falling in his second successive Grade 1 examination after a similar departure at Cheltenham, de Boinville was inconsolable. Fast forward to day two and the slate, not quite wiped clean, was ready for Jonbon's name to again be carved upon it if he could see off three rivals in the day's feature and land a 10th Grade 1 triumph. In all honesty, there was very little danger as the JP McManus-owned nine-year-old made all to see off Protektorat by three-and-a-quarter-lengths with his closest rival in the market, El Fabiolo (5-2), having fallen at the 11th fence. Having landed last year's renewal from the same runner-up, it was his fourth consecutive success at the Randox Grand National Festival, having won the Top Novices' Hurdle in 2022 and Maghull Novices' Hurdle in 2023. The victory did much to erase a painful Champion Chase defeat for Jonbon with trainer Nicky Henderson paying rich tribute to horse and jockey. He said: 'You've got to admire two things there - the horse is amazing when he's doing that, and Nico. He's been very brave, because it's been a tough little session, and to go out and ride him like that, that's a guy who had no fears. 'They went some clip - I don't know what the time was, but it must have been quick. Whether he's short or long (at his fences) - he's very clever when he dances, isn't he? To be able to do that - when he's long it's great, and when he's short, he's just very quick and in and out. 'It just went all wrong at Cheltenham, and it was proved today, he just loves doing that. That's what he does best. At Cheltenham the start went wrong, and he was on the back foot the whole way. He loves his own space. It was unfortunate, the tape went straight across his face and he went backwards. 'That was some gallop. Not many horses can jump that well that fast. We'll certainly think about going to Sandown again.' Henderson reiterated that the season may not be over for his star hurdler: 'Constitution Hill is fine this morning, he's back home at Seven Barrows in his box, and he trotted up sound, not a bother on him. Our vets and the physios have been all over him. Our intention is take him to Punchestown if we can; we'll see how he is. That's the plan at the moment.' For his part, de Boinville was quick to heap praise on the Seven Barrows collective: 'There was a lot riding on that and Jonbon gets us out of trouble again. You would have said it would be a tough week for us, but all credit to the staff and particularly to the governor and 'JP' and his team. 'They kept the faith in us. We had to pick ourselves up again after yesterday, but luckily I've got really nice horses to ride like Jonbon, and he's an absolute superstar. 'He was a very different horse to the one I rode at Cheltenham. He really enjoyed it out there and you could see that when he's on song he loves his jumping and can come up from anywhere. It's a tough place to be but you just have to roll with the punches and pick yourself up.' El Fabiolo wasn't the only high profile Mullins chaser to trip up, with Dancing City crashing out of the opening Mildmay Novices' Chase when travelling strongly, leaving the way clear for the Paul Nicholls -trained Caldwell Potter to supplement his Cheltenham win with a Grade 1 success in the hands of Harry Cobden. Mullins wouldn't be denied for long though as Salvator Mundo ran out an imperious winner of the Grade 1 Top Novices' Hurdle, while one-time Champion Chase runner-up Gentleman De Mee captured the Topham Chase over the National fences under an inspired ride from Mark Walsh.
