In these politically correct days, I occasionally notice an accusatory look in my children's eyes which translates as “you can't say that anymore.” For example it had escaped my attention that the word actress is apparently now widely considered offensive. If you'll allow me a small digression, the all-encompassing use of the word “actor” was [...]

To the unbridled joy of Rachel Alexandra's countless admirers, the 2009 Horse of the Year appears to be making an ideal start to her broodmare career. Each of her first two foals–the Curlin colt Jess's Dream and the Bernardini filly Rachel's Valentina–were named a 'TDN Rising Stars' during the Saratoga meet in August. And now [...]

Excuse me for dipping into my own back catalogue again, but something I wrote in early-February for Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder has some relevance to the thrilling events in the GI Travers S.: “It has long been said that England and America are two countries divided by a common language,” I wrote. “More recently the [...]

It was another of those weeks where the action on both sides of the Atlantic threw up some highly noteworthy action. For example, there was another hard-fought round in the battle currently being staged by Galileo and Dubawi, the two heavyweights of European breeding. Dubawi appeared to have landed a near knock-out blow in the [...]

There were enough notable performances last week to make it difficult to choose just one stallion to write about. In the U.S., the week belonged to Smart Strike, the two-time champion sire who proved such an asset to Lane's End prior to his demise at the age of 23 in March. Although Smart Strike's stakes [...]

When Air Force Blue (War Front) quickened impressively to take the Keeneland Phoenix S., this son of War Front provided trainer Aidan O'Brien with his 14th winner of this Group 1 contest in the space of only 18 years. With a sample of this size, it is inevitable that not all of the previous 13 [...]

Thinking of buying a filly at the forthcoming yearling sales? Well you could do worse than consider giving her a name containing Maria. During the current decade we have seen Awesome Maria become a multiple graded winner, with the GI Ogden Phipps H. among her successes; we've seen Maria Royal take the G2 Prix de [...]

Forget the Year of the Sheep, 2015 is rapidly developing into the year of a 15-3-hands Thoroughbred stallion named Dubawi. With 14 Group winners in the Northern Hemisphere he is four ahead of the normally indomitable Galileo, and with seven Group 1 winners he is no fewer than six ahead of Galileo. Dubawi's sensational Group [...]

In the BBC's never-ending soap opera “Eastenders,” Peggy–the matriarch of the Mitchell clan–never ceased to stress the importance of family–or faaamly, as it is pronounced with a cockney accent. Although most racehorse breeders are a very different breed from the glowering Peggy, most of them would share her faith in the family, especially the female [...]

Despite the very considerable efforts of the Sadler's Wells male line, the leading sires list in Britain and Ireland is a forceful reminder that the most dominant force at present is the male line descending from the magnificent Danzig. Thanks entirely to his sons Danehill and Green Desert, the legendary Claiborne sire has no fewer [...]

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I can tell you that December 1, 1971 was a day that many would prefer to forget–it was the day that John and Yoko's “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” was released in the U.S. But over in England it was the day that a batch of 3-year-old fillies [...]

Willie Carson may always be best remembered for his achievements in the saddle, which included five British championships and 17 British Classic victories, with four Derby successes among them, but he has also enjoyed some memorable moments as a breeder. Carson achieved one very special triumph–that of winning a Classic on a colt he had [...]