Apprentice Oisin Murphy will join Andrea Atzeni as a retained rider for Qatar Racing. Atzeni will replace Jamie Spencer as the No.1 jockey for Sheikh Fahad with 18-year-old Murphy, who rode in Australia during the northern hemisphere winter, the No.2. Their positions come into effect from from January 2015. Murphy,… Read More »
Sole Power has confirmed his status as the undoubted short-course star of Europe by winning his second Nunthorpe Stakes at York. The silence was deafening in the grandstands in 2010 when he claimed the 1000m Group One contest as a 100-1 shot for relatively unheralded Irish trainer Eddie Lynam. Things… Read More »
Tapestry has ended the unbeaten streak of Taghrooda in the Yorkshire Oaks. After Taghrooda’s performances in the English Oaks and the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the latest Group One was expected to be little more than a warm-up for a probable challenge for the Prix de l’Arc… Read More »
Dual British champion Jamie Spencer will retire from riding at the end of the season to take up a position with Qatar Racing. The 34-year-old is currently the retained rider for the powerful operation but will work closely alongside Sheikh Fahad Al Thani and his bloodstock advisor David Redvers providing… Read More »
Gordon Lord Byron will make his return to action in Saturday’s Renaissance Stakes at the Curragh after connections decided against a trip to York. The sprinter, who numbers the George Ryder Stakes in Australia among his Group One wins, has been off the track since suffering a back injury when… Read More »
Dual Derby winner Australia has collected his third successive Group One race to give trainer Aidan O’Brien a fifth win in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York. The winner of the English and Irish Classics, Australia eased away in the final furlong (200m) under the trainer’s son Joseph O’Brien to… Read More »
Unbeaten filly Avenir Certain has stamped herself as a contender for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with victory at Deauville. The Jean-Claude Rouget-trained three-year-old won the French 1000 Guineas and the French Oaks earlier this season but dropped down in class for a comfortable win in the Group Two… Read More »
Kingman has reigned supreme in the Group One Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville despite trainer John Gosden’s fears the ground would be too soft. Gosden and Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, walked the Normandy course several times before confirming Kingman would start. Just as he… Read More »
Dandino will have his final lead-up to the Caulfield Cup when he attempts his defence of the American St Leger at Arlington on Sunday. The seven-year-old Marco Botti-trained entire is set to follow the same program as last year when he finished second at Caulfield before his fifth in the… Read More »
John Gosden is keeping a close watch on the ground at Deauville and has yet to confirm Kingman a definite starter in Sunday’s Prix Jacques le Marois. The Newmarket trainer walked the course before Western Hymn finished fourth behind Gailo Chop in Friday’s Group Two Prix Guillaume D’Ornano. Gosden’s concerns… Read More »
A new Group One sprint for three-year-olds at Royal Ascot has been unveiled by the European Pattern Committee. The six-furlong (1200m) race, which will be introduced from next season, is one of a number of changes to the European program which attempts to address the current lack of opportunities for… Read More »
Leading jockeys James Doyle and Silvestre de Sousa were among those to praise the new surface at Wolverhampton as racing took place on Tapeta for the first time in Britain. Wolverhampton replaced its Polytrack with the synthetic surface that is the brainchild of former Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Michael Dickinson…. Read More »
The number of horses from the stables already caught up in the morphine controversy has risen to eight. The initial stage of a British Horse Racing Authority inquiry has suggested contaminated feed as the source of the positives. Seven horses had been reported to have tested positive for the banned… Read More »
Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s domination of the Phoenix Stakes has continued with Dick Whittington causing a minor upset in the Curragh feature. The Group One contest has been won by some of Ballydoyle’s leading juveniles over the years, with Johannesburg (2001), George Washington (2005), Holy Roman Emperor (2006) and Mastercraftsman (2008)… Read More »
Australian Craig Williams won the first race in the Shergar Cup at Ascot but the Rest of the World team failed to capitalise on the good start in the teams event. Europe won the challenge by one point from the female riders’ team despite captain Frankie Dettori failing to win… Read More »
Trainer Freddy Head will rely on Thawaany as he aims for his seventh win since 2006 in Sunday’s Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville. While Thawaany could not be held in the same regard as Head’s two previous three-time winners of the Group One, Marchand D’Or and Moonlight Cloud, the… Read More »
Australia, Cirrus Des Aigles and Taghrooda feature among a stellar list of 37 entries for the Champion Stakes at Ascot in October. With a total prize fund of STG1.3 million ($A2.37 million), the prestigious event is the richest mile-and-a quarter race in Europe. Cirrus Des Aigles is set for his… Read More »
Disgraced jockey Fergal Lynch has been given a one-year probationary licence to ride in Britain. Lynch, 36, admitted to stopping a horse from winning at Ripon in August 2004, supplying inside information about six of his rides, and associating with the disqualified Miles Rodgers. The former champion apprentice was fined… Read More »
Peter Chapple-Hyam has expressed his sadness after hearing of the death of Rodrigo De Triano, describing him as the best horse he has trained. The Japanese Racing Association confirmed the five-time Group One winner, raced by the late Robert Sangster, died of pneumonia, aged 25. Rodrigo De Triano stood at… Read More »
Treve has enjoyed a light work-out for the first time on turf since her bruising Royal Ascot experience. Trainer Criquette Head-Maarek was satisfied to get last season’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner back on a grass surface as the filly continues her rehabilitation from pulled muscles sustained during the… Read More »
