Archive for May, 2010
Canford Cliffs reaches his peak in Irish 2000 Guineas
May 22nd
If revenge is a dish best served cold, then Richard Hannon and Richard Hughes will be feasting from a cold platter for some time to come. A week after Paco Boy was dishing out large portions of humble pie, when he sauntered to victory in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, Canford Cliffs made it double [...]
Kingsgate Native at home in Temple Stakes
May 22nd
Making plans for racehorses tends to be something of an open-ended arrangement. When the Cheveley Park Stud bought Kingsgate Native two years ago the plan had been for him to be added to their stallion roster. That, however, never came to fruition; he was sent back into training with Sir Michael Stoute and a gelding [...]
Steinbeck a novel choice for Irish 2000 Guineas
May 21st
The away fixture at Newmarket may not have been a success but Aidan O’Brien is a man who always appears more at ease at home. O’Brien has six runners for the Abu Dhabi Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh on Saturday and Steinbeck looks to be the pick. He has been drawn in stall six, [...]
Are Racing For Change backing a loser?
May 21st
When Racing For Change was launched it came with a catchy title and some interestingly-worded “strategic goals” that formed their mission statement. One of these core principles was to “define and launch a strategy that leads with distinctive premium-branded racing events, products, championships and finales”. Well, it sounds good even if it requires an honours [...]
Aidan O’Brien still playing the numbers game
May 20th
The old adage was that if a trainer had three colts that he believed were good enough to run in a Classic, the chances were that he did not have one who was good enough to win. Aidan O’Brien might find life a shade easier if he could whittle them down to just three. His [...]
Godolphin finds new Derby candidate
May 20th
As recent events around Westminster have underlined a week is still a long time in politics, and with plenty of horse-trading involved. The same is true of Godolphin. Last week they were picking over the wreckage of Chabal’s dismal performance in the Dante Stakes at York, but the coalition of trainers who are brought together [...]
Martin Garcia makes most of lucky break
May 19th
For most young jockeys in America the winner’s enclosure at Pimlico after the Preakness is something they have been aiming for most of their lives. To ride into that arena, after victory in one of America’s totemic races, and then watch as the winning colours are painted on the horse and jockey that sit atop [...]
Does Aidan O’Brien have a hidden trump card?
May 18th
After six weeks of trial races for the various Classics, untapped potential is the rarest of commodities in most yards. Trainers have spent their times sifting for those nuggets of equine gold, although many are left with little more than a handful of silt and a lowering of their sights. But Aidan O’Brien is different. [...]
Special Duty awarded second Classic
May 17th
The old adage used to be that the fittest horse wins the Guineas, the luckiest the Derby and the best the St Leger, but fortune has certainly smiled on Special Duty. Criquette Head-Maarek’s filly now holds an unusual distinction of being the winner of two European Classics, both of which were claimed in the stewards’ [...]
Lookin At Lucky crowned in Preakness
May 16th
The prospect of a US Triple Crown champion was put into cold storage for at least another year after Lookin At Lucky won the 135th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. Lookin At Lucky had been anything but that in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, where he got the worst [...]
Recent Comments