Ryan Conran has exploded onto the breeze-up scene with She's Perfect (Sioux Nation), who finished first past the post in the French 1,000 Guineas, Group 3 scorer Coto De Caza (Sioux Nation) and Lincoln runner-up Rogue Diplomat (Calyx) just some of the high-profile graduates that have flown the flag for the 32-year-old's Lacka House Stables [...]

Al Pacino's Inch By Inch speech in the film Any Given Sunday resonates strongly with jockey Killian Leonard, who has been making waves on the breeze-up circuit in recent years.  With the Miami Sharks down and appearing almost certainly out in the Super Bowl final, Al Pacino, who plays coach Tony D'Amato, tells his team [...]

The breeze-up season gets underway this month with the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale – which takes place from April 13 to 15 – followed by the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale – on April 21 and 22. Few trainers have enjoyed better luck than Richard Hughes when it comes to sourcing horses from that sphere.  The [...]

Fresh from another dominant display at the Cheltenham Festival, champion jumps trainer Willie Mullins provides the lowdown on leading Dubai Sheema Classic hope Ethical Diamond and more Not content with tightening his grip on the National Hunt sphere following another dominant display at the Cheltenham Festival, Willie Mullins will be taking aim at the world's [...]

The leading Irish trainer also revealed plans for Breeders' Cup winner Balantina, 2,000 Guineas contender A Boy Named Susie and more The temperatures are rising and so too are Donnacha O'Brien's hopes of bagging yet another top-flight success this season, with the gifted young handler revealing that A Boy Named Susie (Starspangledbanner) is on course to [...]

Andrew Balding will bid to chart a familiar path to Classic glory as connections of Gewan (Night Of Thunder) outlined plans for the Dewhurst Stakes winner to take in the Greenham Stakes prior to a tilt at the 2,000 Guineas – meanwhile, 4.8 million gns purchase Barnavara (Calyx) is nearing her debut Down Under for [...]

Aidan O'Brien has talked up the credentials of ante-post Derby favourite Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) but put forward 20-1 chance Montreal (Sea The Stars) as being a potential sleeper in the market for the Epsom Classic.  O'Brien has won the past three editions of the Derby – with Lambourn, City Of Troy and Auguste Rodin – [...]

Aidan O'Brien heaped praise on Albert Einstein at a Ballydoyle press morning on Monday and described the unbeaten Wootton Bassett colt as his number one hope heading into the new season. Albert Einstein is a general 7-1 favourite for the 2,000 Guineas. He also holds a Derby entry, for which he is a best-priced 20-1 [...]

The Flat season kicks off in Ireland at the Curragh on Sunday and Brian Sheerin has spoken to some of the main protagonists ahead of the eagerly-anticipated fixture Robson Aguiar has described himself as a big fan of first-season sire Persian Force and said he expects Force Noir to get the Tally-Ho Stud resident off [...]

Connections of some of the leading European-trained Dubai World Cup entries are said to be taking a watching brief on the conflict in the Middle East before firming up running plans for the fixture that boasts over $30 million in prize-money on Saturday, March 28. On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Shadai Race Horse Company's [...]

Bars and taverns never seem to be lacking in high stool prophets willing to tell anyone who'll listen how they could have or even should have been something they're not.  The well-trodden path is a tempting one. There is security to the predictability and comfort in knowing there will be a cheque in the post [...]

Victorious Forever will break new ground at the Cheltenham Festival when the Declan Queally-trained Carrigmoornaspruce (Diamond Boy), no bigger than 14-1 for next Thursday's Grade 2 mares' novice hurdle, will carry the leading Bahraini-based owners' familiar red and white silks for the first time under National Hunt rules.  Shaikh Nasser bin Hamed Al Khalifa's Victorious [...]