Andrew Caulfield
Andrew Caulfield writes a weekly column for the Thoroughbred Daily News on pedigree analysis, a fascination which crystallised during the 12 years he spent as one of the principal writers at Timeform, where he was responsible for researching the pedigrees of all the two-year-olds. A former editor of The Thoroughbred Breeder, Pacemaker and The European Racehorse, he was also The Sporting Life's bloodstock correspondent for 12 years, He also wrote a weekly racing column for Japan's Gallop magazine for 20 years. More recently his principal role has been as a bloodstock consultant, primarily for Juddmonte Farms. During his 20-year association with Juddmonte, the farm's star performers have included Frankel and Kingman, winners between them of three Cartier Horse of the Year awards. There have also been two winners of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, three of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, as well as winners of the 2,000 Guineas, 1,000 Guineas, Derby, St Leger, Belmont Stakes and several French and Irish classics.
Tiz Midnight
December 9, 2014
Everything is meant to be bigger (and better) in the USA, whether it's the 24-oz. Prime Porterhouse at Malone's in Lexington or the 6ft 10in John Isner slamming down ace after ace against his hapless opponents on the tennis… [...]
[ Read More ]
Epiphaneia (Jpn)
December 2, 2014
On the latest Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings, covering the period from Jan. 1 to Nov. 9, top place went to the Japanese star Just A Way. Not only that, but the 5-year-old topped the list by a margin of fully four pounds, even though his nearest pursuers included the Classic-winning European colts Australia, Kingman [...]
[ Read More ]
Ocho Ocho Ocho
November 25, 2014
Saturday, Delta Downs DELTA DOWNS JACKPOT S.-GIII, $1,000,000, DED, 11-22, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45 2/5, ft. 1–@OCHO OCHO OCHO, 119, c, 2, by Street Sense 1st Dam: Winner, by Horse Chestnut (SAf) 2nd Dam: Pennant Champion, by Mr. Prospector 3rd Dam: Personal Ensign, by Private Account ($50,000 yrl '13 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo >14 OBSAPR). O-DP [...]
[ Read More ]
Ocho Ocho Ocho
November 25, 2014
Virtually every edition of the Breeders' Cup lingers long in the memory, but anyone who attended the 1988 meeting at Churchill Downs can count themselves especially fortunate. Among the male contestants were numerous luminaries whose names are still very familiar more than 25 years later, such as Alysheba, Seeking the Gold, Forty Niner, Easy Goer [...]
[ Read More ]
Munnings
November 18, 2014
One common misconception in horse-racing is that speed equals precocity, but these two assets don't necessarily go hand in hand–as the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint's roll of honor sometimes reminds us. The latest winner, Work All Week, is a 5-year-old who gained his… [...]
[ Read More ]
Epicuris
November 11, 2014
Blinkered, parochial and close-minded may be adjectives most frequently applied to the American racing industry in recent years, but America certainly doesn't hold a monopoly when it comes to being hidebound in her attitudes. A couple of last week's worldwide Group 1 events illustrate how difficult it can be for a British stud to persuade [...]
[ Read More ]
Hootenanny
November 4, 2014
There was a time when landing the title of leading freshman sire regularly punched the winner's ticket to the top of the stallion ranks. For example, in a 10-year period during the late 1970s and early '80s, the title went to Raja Baba, Roberto, Mr. Prospector, Seattle Slew, Alydar, Danzig and Fappiano. [...]
[ Read More ]
Elm Park (GB)
October 28, 2014
In the 13 years prior to Saturday's edition of the Racing Post Trophy, this Group 1 mile contest had been won by four future winners of the Derby, two of the St Leger, two of the Irish Derby, one of the 2,000 Guineas and one of the French 2,000 Guineas, with a Breeders' Cup Turf [...]
[ Read More ]
Belardo (Ire)
October 21, 2014
If Showtime's hammy television series AThe Borgias@ is to be believed (and I am not sure that it is), Cesare Borgia had more than a brotherly interest in his sister Lucrezia. Apparently it was Cesare who became the model for Machiavelli's famous treatise The Prince, which is said to be largely responsible for the word [...]
[ Read More ]
Alea Iacta (GB)
October 14, 2014
I'm ashamed to say that I have forgotten nearly all the Latin that I learned so painfully as a schoolboy. I still remember enough, though, to recognise the occasional Latin saying used in naming racehorses. Among this year's examples are a couple which appear likely to take very high rank among the year's 2-year-olds. In [...]
[ Read More ]
Found (Ire)
October 7, 2014
But for those pesky Longchamp stewards, the Arc weekend's two Group 1 juvenile races would have acted as the perfect advertisement for the 26 Galileo yearlings scheduled to come under the hammer at Tattersalls over the next three days. [...]
[ Read More ]
Tiggy Wiggy (Ire)
September 30, 2014
To American eyes, one of the strangest aspects of European racing must surely be the handful of races where 2-year-olds are allowed to take on their elders. The best-known examples are two of Europe's premier five-furlong tests, the Nunthorpe S. at York in August and the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp, which forms part of [...]
[ Read More ]