Paul Blockley, a British trainer, was warned off for two and one half years by the British Horseracing Authority on corruption charges. The punishment is yet to start. Trainer Blockley has not talked about whether he is appealing. On Sunday, he was in the limelight again for a very different reason. He sent out Zafisio, a two year-old, to win the Group I Criterium International at Saint Cloud in Paris. Dominic Boeuf rode the 28-1 chance. Taking the runner-up berth was Prince Siegfried, another British runner, who was ridden by William Buick. It was a 2000-metre race on the grass.

"Absolutely fantastic, "Paul Blockley exulted. "I deserve a bit of luck for all the other stuff I have been having."

William Buick and Dave Probert are tied at 49 wins apiece end of Sunday in the race for leading apprentice jockey. Jockey Buick did a brief stint in the United States. I watched them in the summer in England and they are talented riders.

On Sunday, the Grade I Tenno-Sho Autumn was run at Tokyo Racecourse. Daiwa Scarlet tried start to finish tactics and was forced to a photo be the late-charging Vodka. The magic eye revealed that Vodka had won by the narrowest of margins.. A neck behind in third was Deep Sky. Yutaka Take was the winning jockey. The judges took a long time before announcing the verdict.

A field of 24 will line up for the Melbourne Cup to be run on Tuesday, November 4 at Flemington Racecourse. Aidan O’Brien sends out three runners. John Murtagh is aboard Setimus, one the better fancied runners, and will leave from post 10. Alessandra Volta, to be ridden by Wayne Lordan, has post 11. Colm O’Donoghue will be on Honolulu and they have post 24.

Luca Cumani has Mad Rush who ran into road problems in the Caulfield Cup. Damien Oliver will ride Mad Rush.

Dermot Weld saddles Profound Beauty who will have Glen Boss aboard. The Melbourne Cup will be run at 3 P M local time on Tuesday. It will be 10 P M on Monday in Chicago. It will be 9 30 A M on Tuesday in India.

British rider John Egan will be on Yellowstone. After repeated veterinary examinations, Yellowstone worked to the satisfaction of the stewards and has been permitted to run. Jockey Egan, in a TV interview, referred to the Aussie vets as ‘tinpot hitlers.’ He has created a controversy and will appear before the stewards Monday morning. There is a possibility that Egan may not be allowed to ride Yellowstone.

Efficient, the 2007 winner, has been ruled out of the Melbourne Cup. Efficient is suffering from an injury in his off foreleg. Owner Lloyd Williams has two runners in the race. They are Zipping who was second in the Cox Plate. The other is C’est La Guerra who was the New Zealand Derby winner in 2007.

All The Good is the Godolphin runner who won the Caulfield Cup and Saeed Bin Suroor had high hopes of landing the Melbourne showpiece. A hairline fracture of the cannon bone has taken All The Good out of the big race. Bin Suroor said, “He’ll miss the race. He was the perfect horse. I believed in my heart that this was the horse that would run very well in the Melbourne Cup.”

Aidan O’Brien has 22 Group I wins this year. The record of 25 is held by Robert Frankel who trains in California.

Here is news about Yeats. After two poor races at Longchamp in the Prix Cadran in 2007 and 2008, the O’Brien-trained star came away victorious in the Prix Royal Oak on Sunday, Oct 26. John Murtagh flew from Los Angeles to Paris soon after completing his commitments at Santa Anita. Trainer O’Brien has confirmed that Yeats will race in 2009 when he will be eight. Yeats will go in the Ascot Gold Cup and will try to win it four years in a row.

Here are some important retirements. Midnight Lute is off to the breeding stud. Winner of the BC Sprint in 2007 and 2008, Midnight Lute looked sensational in this year’s win despite setbacks that interrupted his training regimen. Bob Baffert has said that Midnight Lute is the best horse he has ever trained. Midnight Lute, winner of six races from 13 starts, will be at Hill’N Dale Farm at Lexington, Kentucky.

Ramonti, a multiple Grade I winner for the Godolphin stable, has been retired. Ramonti raced only once this year. He had a nagging leg infection. Ramonti won several high profile G I events. John Ferguson, adviser to Sheikh Mohammed, was full of praise for Ramonti. “He was a brilliant racehorse. He had a tremendous record. It was a great pity he was not able to run more this season.”

Henrythenavigator, second in the BC Classic behind Raven's Pass, has been retired. He will stand in the Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky. The Kingmambo colt was out of Sequoyah, a Saddler' Wells mare. Henry, a star in the O'Brien yard, won six times in 11 starts for earnings of $2,750,538. Henry's haul include the English 2000 Guineas, the Irish 2000 Guineas, the Sussex Stakes and the St James Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. As a freshman he won the Coventry Stakes. Henry's stablemate, Duke of Marmalade will also be retired.

Big Brown’s stud fee has been determined. The dual Classic winner failed in the Belmont Stakes. He was withdrawn from the BC Classic after suffering an injury. The fee is $65,000.

Ginger Punch, winner of the BC Distaff in 2007, will be a broodmare in the Stronach stable. The Robert Frankel-trained mare was beaten by Zenyatta this year.

Curlin is back in Kentucky. He is the richest horse in the world. His account stands at $10,501,800, Steve Asmussen expressed his thoughts. “I have nothing but admiration for Curlin. Mr Jackson (the owner) tried different things with him. We raced him on the grass and the pro-ride at Santa Anita. Fans wanted to see him and Mr Jackson allowed that to happen.”

Desert Code, winner of the BC Sprint, will take his chances in the Hong Kong Sprint on Dec 14. Kip Deville, second to Goldikova in the turf mile, will also head to Hong Kong.

Another horse who is Sha Tin-bound is Eagle Mountain who was second to Conduit in the BC Turf over 2400 metres.

Donativum, it has been revealed, will go in the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes at Kempton in England on March 18, 2009. Kempton is an all weather facility outside London. The winner of the race gets a berth in the Kentucky Derby. Donativum won the BC Juvenile with Frankie Dettori. John Gosden is the trainer.

Jockey Dean Mckeown has been suspended for four years (in England) for laying 11 horses to lose. Since the decision, Mckeown has won a race. He is planning to appeal. Pending the appeal, he can ride.

I decided not to go to Australia. There are health questions that demand attention. I am taking care of them.

I have been reading reports about equine flu in India. I am hoping the situation will be sorted out. I will be in India in early January.

Sources: Racing Post and TV reports.