Wed 24 Jan 2018
The announcement of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings yesterday in London highlighted, among other things, how significant the European Breeders’ Fund is to Europe’s racing industry.
In the two-year-old category, 25% of the horses in the top 20 were graduates of British EBF races and 90% of the top ten horses had won EBF races in either GB or Ireland before progressing to stakes racing.
Europe’s third highest rated two-year-old ROARING LION (Kitten’s Joy), owned by Qatar Racing and trained by John Gosden won two EBF races last season at Newmarket before winning the Juddmonte Royal Lodge (Gr.2) and taking second place in the Racing Post Trophy (Gr.1) behind SAXON WARRIOR (Deep Impact).
Gimcrack Stakes (Gr.2) winner SANDS OF MALI (Panis), ranked seventh in the list, was the winner of an EBF novice race at Nottingham in August for trainer Richard Fahey and owners The Cool Silk Partnership. Staying with Northern trainers, Karl Burke trained both UNFORTUNATELY (Society Rock) and LAURENS (Siyouni) to have their first wins in EBF novice/ maiden races before progressing to Gr.1 wins in the Prix Morny and Fillies’ Mile respectively.
Rounding out the top 20, ELARQAM (pictured in the colours of HH Sheikh Hamdan), the regally bred product of FRANKEL (Galileo) and multiple Gr.1 winning mare ATTRACTION (Efisio), ended his juvenile career with a win the Gr.3 Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket having won on debut at York in one of the British EBF’s Sire/ Dam Restricted Maidens. ELARQAM currently holds entries for the British and Irish 2,000gns in 2018 as well as retaining his place in the Epsom Derby picture.
Further along the list, Royal Ascot heroine HEARTACHE (Kyllachy), Mill Reef Stakes (Gr.2) winner JAMES GARFIELD (Exceed And Excel) and July Stakes (Gr.2) winner CARDSHARP (Lonhro) were all featured and are all graduates of British EBF races.
The British EBF invested well over £500,000 in two-year-old races in 2017, from Class 5 to Listed level; boosting prize money and spearheading the running of innovative schemes such as the Sire/ Dam Restricted Maidens, designed to encourage and promote the racing of juveniles with staying pedigrees.
Photo: courtesy of York Racecourse
Wed 17 Jan 2018
The British arm of the European Breeders’ Fund (EBF) has become an Official Partner of The Jockey Club, it was announced today, in recognition of the major investment domestic Stallion Studs make into British Racing via the British EBF.
The partnership is designed to help to heighten awareness within the British Racing industry of the significant contribution the British EBF is making to racing in this country, using the platform The Jockey Club can provide through its 15-strong group of racecourses nationwide.
The vast majority of the £1.6 million per year supplementation of prize money that the British EBF provides is via contributions from the income of stallions standing in Great Britain. EBF enhancements to prize money are always reflected above the minimum value of a race, so owners benefit directly from the fund. The trustees also direct money into parts of the programme that encourage progression or which require support.
Recent Flat racing initiatives include investment in Listed races, the EBF Breeders’ Series of fillies’ handicaps and the sire and dam restricted two-year-old maiden races which support the renewed industry focus on stayers. The 80 National Hunt races which the EBF support have a strong focus on fillies and mares to compliment industry drive in this area.
Founded in 1750, today The Jockey Club is the largest commercial group in British horseracing and stages a range of racing, music and other events and activities at its venues nationwide, including four of the five British Classics, the Randox Health Grand National and The Cheltenham Festival. It is governed by Royal Charter to act as a champion for British Racing’s long-term prosperity, including reinvesting all its profits back into the sport.
Stephen Wallis, Group Director of International and Racing Relations at The Jockey Club, explained why The Jockey Club were keen to initiate the new partnership:
“The European Breeders’ Fund has been an integral part of the landscape of British Racing for more than 30 years. We are proud to stage the largest number of EBF races at The Jockey Club’s racecourses and thus help to facilitate this important initiative for horsemen. We are very pleased to be working with the British EBF now as an Official Partner in the promotion of our sport and in support of our prize money aims. Hopefully the group-wide platform we offer will help to showcase to the industry what a significant contribution the British EBF is making to racing in this country.”
Philip Mitchell, Chairman of the British EBF, commented:
“The trustees of the British EBF are delighted that The Jockey Club is acknowledging British stallion studs and owners’ support of British Racing in this way. We hope that this new relationship will increase the profile of the organisation and further understanding within the industry as to what we do and how we are funded. The Fund is still a vital tool to boost prize money which we could not provide without the support and generosity of the stallion masters.
“We are working with other racecourses and groups on similar projects to the group-wide partnership with The Jockey Club and its racecourses, and hope that the initiative that they have shown in approaching us will pave the way for further industry engagement.”
British EBF/ The Jockey Club
Photo credit: John Hoy (Hoy Cubed Photography)
