RACING NEWS: A FINAL decision on whether Sea The Stars will run in the Breeders' Cup Classic could be made within the next 48 hours, with John Oxx yesterday reporting the colt to have emerged in very good shape from his Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroics.
The world’s best racehorse remains an odds-on favourite with some bookmakers for the €3.3 million highlight on the Pro-Ride synthetic surface at Santa Anita on November 7th.
Owner Christopher Tsui has described Sea The Stars as “50-50” to try to make it seven Group One wins in a row in America, and Oxx indicated that, physically, the colt is ready to run again this season if he is asked.
“He has come out of the Arc in very good shape, as well as he has come out of all his races. He has recovered at the same rate, lost the same amount of weight and put it back on, and he’s very fresh and well,” the Curragh trainer said yesterday.
“His coat has gone a bit – that’s why he sweated a bit at Longchamp because he’d gone a bit hairy – but that is not an issue. It’s just a normal physiological response to the changing of the seasons.
“We haven’t had an opportunity to discuss the issue yet. There were sales last week and we have to talk to the owners, so there are time difference issues there as well. But we may know more by the middle of the week,” he added.
Sea The Stars remains a 4 to 5 favourite with William Hill, but many firms are not pricing him for the big race until a decision has been made on whether the horse is retired or has one more start.
Dermot Weld has confirmed the Group One Premio Lydia Tesio at the Capanelle racetrack in Rome in two weeks will be the next start for his smart filly Chinese White, who was a late withdrawal from a Group One target at Longchamp on Arc day.
“I wasn’t 100 per cent happy with her before Paris,” Weld aid yesterday. “I didn’t think she was one 100 per cent sound. It may have been a blessing in disguise, as it was fast ground at Longchamp and, if in doubt, you don’t run. She goes to Italy now.”
There is free admission to the final Curragh meeting of 2009 this afternoon where Weld could provide the winner of the finale, Duc De Savoie, who should improve for his comeback effort at Listowel.
Townend guides Treacle to victory
TREACLE, TRAINED by Tom Taaffe and ridden by Paul Townend, won the Ladbrokes.com Munster National Chase at Limerick yesterday.
The eight-year-old chestnut stole the show in the three-mile handicap with a masterclass in jumping.
Taaffe’s 7 to 1 chance ate up acres of ground once the field straightened for home, joining Dashing George and Paddy Pub at the business end.
Although eventual runner-up Dashing George touched down after the last with a narrow advantage, the momentum was with the lightly-raced Treacle, a recent scorer at Listowel.
Townend’s partner then maintained a feisty gallop towards the line to score by a neck.
Paddy Pub was third, while Operation Houdini ran a fine race to take fourth. Green Mile, the 11 to 2 favourite, disappointed.
Warne cashed in on Berties Dream’s penultimate-flight fall to win the Listed Newenham Mulligan Novice Hurdle.
