Field of Gold ride up from grabs, Notable Speech added to July Cup field, Nina Baltromei first female Derby winner – all this and more in our weekly digest of recent international racing news
14-day whip ban means Keane misses out on Field Of Gold
GB: Field Of Gold, the number one racehorse in Europe according to Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s Global Rankings, will need a new jockey for his next outing after Colin Keane was handed a 14-day whip ban.
The popular six-time Irish champion, who was recently appointed as retained rider to the Juddmonte operation, has partnered Field Of Gold to a pair of brilliant victories on his last two starts.
The son of Kingman is set to run in the Qatar Sussex Stakes on July 30 – but Keane is banned from July 22 to August 4 after using his whip twice above the permitted six times on winning favourite Windlord in a Listed race at Sandown on Friday [July 4].
“We know six is the amount over here, but when I was in a ding-dong battle it just went out of my head unfortunately,” said Keane. More here
Guineas winner Notable Speech added to July Cup
GB: Last year’s 2,000 Guineas winner Notable Speech is a notable addition to the July Cup on Saturday [July 12] after being supplemented to the £600,000 contest at Newmarket.
Alongside Spy Chief, the four-year-old was one of two Godolphin representatives to be added to the field for the G1 sprint at a cost of £36,000. Notable Speech’s Charlie Appleby-trained stablemate Symbol Of Honour also runs. More here
Coolmore also field three runners. With Ryan Moore on Aidan O’Brien-trained Whistlejacket, teenage prodigy Billy Loughnane gets the leg-up on Al Quoz Sprint winner Believing, who is in-foal to Frankel and having her final start. More here
German Derby: Female rider Nina Baltromei makes history
Germany: Female amateur Nina Baltromei earned a slice of history on Sunday [July 6] when she became the first woman to win a Derby in a major European racing nation.
Baltromei, daughter of the late rainer Walter Baltromei, swooped in the final strides on her mount Hochkonig to deny Convergent in the Deutsches Derby at Hamburg racecourse.
The 18-1 shot’s short-head victory provided her first Group victory of any kind, while trainer Yasmin Almenrader was also breaking her G1 duck after several G2 wins – including this year’s German 2,000 Guineas with the filly Matilda, since sold out of her yard to join Francis Graffard.
The first woman to ride a G1 Classic winner in Europe was Hollie Doyle with Nashwa in the Prix de Diane (French Oaks) in 2022. More here
Melbourne Cup prize boost to A$10m
Australia: Prize-money for the Melbourne Cup has been increased to a landmark A$10m ($6.55m/£4.8m) for the first time for this year’s race at Flemington on Tuesday, November 4.
In a raft of purse announcements, Racing Victoria also announced that every horse in the field for the Lexus=sponsored race will receive at least A$100,000; that figure will be received by connections of horses finishing in the bottom half of the field from 13th to 24th place. More here
The Melbourne Cup now stands at joint-seventh on the list of the world’s richest races alongside the Golden Eagle, which also has a prize fund of A$10m. The world’s richest race remains the Saudi Cup at $20m, with the Everest in Sydney the most vaulable turf race at A$20m ($13.1m/£9.6m).
Flavien Prat lands first New York title
USA: Re
igning Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavien Prat (left) has won his first riding title in New York by leading the way at the ‘Belmont at the Big A’, which ended on Sunday [July 6].
Former French champion apprentice Prat posted 43 wins in the May 1-July 6 meet (where stats included the Belmont Stakes Festival and July 4th Festival staged at Saratoga). Prat, 32, recorded his 2,000th career victory during the meet.
Top trainer was Chad Brown with 27 wins; he has now won 34 titles on the NYRA (New York Racing Association) circuit, while Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables claimed their 30th owners’ title. More here
• Saratoga summer meet kicks off on Thursday [July 10] More here
King’s Cup prize boost as Bahrain strengthens international programme
Bahrain: A doubling in the prize fund to $400,000 for the King’s Cup is the highlight as the Bahrain Turf Club unveils details of the upcoming 2025-26 season.
The King’s Cup {March 6] and its accompanying two-day festival provide the climax to the Kingdom’s international racing season and the prize-money increase follows the upgrading of the race to G3 status.
Bahrain’s international race programme has also been strengthened, creating a clearly signposted ‘Road to the King’s Cup’, a pathway throughout the season for higher-rated horses over both a mile and middle-distances.
The headline race in the first half of the season remains the $1m Bahrain International Trophy, with the G2 contest taking place this year on November 14. More here
Elsewhere in racing …
GB: Memorial service for five-time Classic-winning trainer Barry Hills More here
USA: Ruidoso cancels rest of 2025 amid massive flooding More here
USA: Major California owner-breeder John C. Harris dies aged 81 More here
USA: Keeneland Fall stakes worth record $10.85m More here
USA: Breeders’ Cup announces 2025 board election results More here
USA: Mouni joins Steve Asmussen after $1.7m sale More here
New Zealand: Tragedy as apprentice killed in bike crash More here
Singapore: Jockey who ‘practically jumped off’ faces investigation More here
Australia: Retirement of G1-winning jockey Blake Spriggs More here
• Read previous editions of Seven Days In Racing
View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires