WEDNESDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2019 SMULLEN: HUMBLED BY FIRST ,50,000 SALE BENCHMARKS AUCTION'S PROGRESS by Chris McGrath RACING=S SUPPORT ASCOT, UK--Which would you rather have: the colt who topped the opening session at Keeneland the previous day, or all 127 animals who found a new home at Ascot yesterday? You could have corralled the whole herd of them for less. But the beauty with Thoroughbreds, of course, is that each and every individual that changed hands at the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale--for an aggregate ,1,356,850, up 24% in only the third year of the auction--retains the right to prove their relative valuation all wrong, once broken and sent in training. After all, that's exactly what happened with several graduates of last year's sale. Besides the four fillies who have won listed races, they also included a ,28,000 colt beaten just a neck in the G2 Norfolk S. over the road at the Royal meeting; and, one of the fairytales of the season, the ,3,000 filly Bettys Hope (GB) (Anjaal {GB}), who completed a hat-trick for Rod Millman when scooping a ,122,925 pot in the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury in July. Cont. p4 Ruby Walsh, Charlie Swan, Joseph O'Brien, Paul Carberry and AP McCoy gearing up for the Pat Smullen Champions Race | Racing Post IN TDN AMERICA TODAY CURLIN COLT BRINGS $4.1 MILLION AT KEESEP A colt by Curlin out of NZ champion Bounding (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}) by Pat Smullen brought $4.1 million from Godolphin during day two of Keeneland. I'd like to apologise for being missing for the last couple of Click or tap here to go straight to TDN America. weeks. It has obviously been well documented that I had a setback with my health but we are working our way through things and hopefully we can get back on an even keel in the very near future. I'm working through my treatment and getting a programme together to get back to where I was. I've had fantastic support over the last few weeks with the upcoming Longines Irish Champions Weekend. I was appointed ambassador for this earlier in the year but unfortunately I haven't been able to do a great deal of work in promoting the weekend, but with the power of Twitter and so much help from people in the racing industry we have brought great attention to the whole weekend. It's amazing the support that Cancer Trials Ireland is receiving, especially through the Champions Race. There will be great competition throughout the weekend at both tracks and I think it is especially fantastic that we finally have a Japanese representative in the Champion S. at Leopardstown. It gave me great pleasure to hear that Deirdre (Jpn) will be running. Well done to Pat Keogh and his team for encouraging the connections of Deirdre to participate in our great race. Cont. p2 TDN EUROPE • PAGE 2 OF 9• THETDN.COM WEDNESDAY • 11 SEPTEMBER 2019 I wanted it to be light-heartedCof course it's serious but I didn't want it to be all doom and gloom. Really all we want to achieve is awareness and to raise a lot of money for the charity, and it looks like we're doing both. The most important thing is that everybody has fun doing it. To see AP McCoy, Richard Humbled by Racing=s Support Cont. from p1 Hughes, Ger Lyons and Johnny Murtagh, what they've all been doing on Twitter, it's great fun and it just shows how strong the community is within racing, not just here in Ireland but all over the world. They know that this is something very close to my heart and something that I wanted to do and it's amazing the response that we've had. I will never be able to thank people enough. Joseph Is My Nap I honestly wouldn't be able to say who is the most competitive out of all of those retired jockeys in the Champions Race because they are absolutely ravenous for success and they have been that way all their lives. I suppose I would be disappointed if Joseph O'Brien didn't do it with the number of horses he has in trainingChe should be able to produce something that's going to run for him. I think he's favourite and he's probably a worthy favourite, but it's very amusing to see how seriously AP is taking it. Ted Durcan Deirdre | Emma Berry is a good friend of mine and he's very fit and active on the Newmarket gallops every morning so he's going to have fitness on his side. If I was to nail my colours to one mast I think Joseph I've been very fortunate to travel to Japan on several occasions will pull it out of the bag. and I've always been blown away by the hospitality and the I'm only sorry that the Legends race in Doncaster is so close to quality of racing in the country. This could be very big for Irish this one as that is a great race and very well run. At one stage I racing to have such a high-profile mare running in the Champion was thinking about riding in that myself but then this S. The race will be viewed by millions in Japan and hopefully it opportunity came along. It is a shame that they are in such close will encourage more Japanese to come in the future. proximity to each other and I wish everyone riding in the Leger I'm pleased to see that Charlie Appleby is sending Pinatubo Legends race today [Wednesday] the best of luck. (Ire) for the National S.Cthat will be a huge attraction on the Cont. p3 Saturday. The whole point of the weekend is to showcase Irish racing and I think we have the quality of entries to do that. Jockey Pledges So Touching It's an unbelievable gesture from the jockeys to donate their riding fees from the weekend, started by Chris Hayes and with Donnacha O'Brien, Conor Hoban, Gary Halpin and others all getting involved. It's very humbling for me that I've shared a room with those lads for so many years and they feel that this is something that they want to do. I must admit that it is very touching. We all know that riding fees are hard earned and for them to give them up through the weekend is very special. Friends have been outbidding one another on items for the online auction so there's great fun involved with the whole thing. Joseph O=Brien | Racing Post TDN EUROPE • PAGE 3 OF 9• THETDN.COM WEDNESDAY • 11 SEPTEMBER 2019 Whipping Up an Unnecessary Storm Last week four pretty senior riders in Ireland were suspended for six days in connection to the whip. I said earlier in the season that I didn't want to speak about the whip again but unfortunately the issue has raised its head once more. When they brought out the rule for eight strikes in Ireland I felt that was fair and I believe the riders have to adapt, no Vice President, International Operations question. But sadly I think common sense has been lost by the Gary King Twitter: @garykingTDN authorities. I appreciate that there can't be grey areas in [email protected] something like this but equally there has to be a bedding-down + 1.732.320.0975 period for change. You're asking riders that have been riding for 20 years or so to adapt overnight to a new rule of race riding. International Editor Yes, the onus is on the jockey to do so, but we have a system Kelsey Riley whereby if a jockey goes one over, or hits the horse in the Twitter: @kelseynrileyTDN wrong place, it goes on their record and stays there for 12 [email protected] months. They could have four offences in a short period of time, for four minor infringements in my opinion, and be referred to European Editor the Turf Club for a minimum suspension of six days. Emma Berry I'd like to see common sense playing a part, with stewards in Twitter: @collingsberry having a quiet word with someone to say, >You got your whip a [email protected] little bit high there on one occasion', or >You went one over there and you want to be very careful'. But now it's so black and Associate International Editor white that jockeys records are dreadful, and unfairly so. The Turf Heather Anderson Twitter: @HLAndersonTDN Club has brought only unnecessary negativity on itself and has created these stats for riders which appear extreme, and that's Marketing Manager just not the case. I feel the Turf Club has really dropped the ball Alayna Cullen on this occasion and that common sense has been lost. Twitter: @AlaynaCullen When I'm watching racing, and when I was riding, I am the first [email protected] to get upset about misuse of the whip, and if it does happen riders should be severely punished. But the Turf Club has Contributing Editor created a situation which suggests that jockeys are whip happy Alan Carasso when really we are talking about mostly minor infringements. Twitter: @EquinealTDN I believe that what I am saying makes sense and it would help to take the heat off the situation and not create a negative view Cafe Racing of our great sport which is under enough scrutiny at the Sean Cronin moment.