Sydney's champion jockey James McDonald earned many plaudits during his recent six-week stay in England. Perhaps the highest accolade was passed on by Lambourn trainer Charles Hills after McDonald had steered Dutch Connection (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) to a well-judged victory in the G2 Lennox S. at Goodwood. In the winner's enclosure, Hills revealed how [...]

It is often observed that the current sky-high quality of Japanese racing owes a huge debt to the efforts made by the Yoshida family to upgrade the country's stallion ranks with imports through the final decades of the 20th century. The high-point of this influx was the arrival in Japan in advance of the 1991 [...]

One of the ironies of the modern racing world is that the ongoing slump which German racing has been enduring in the current century has been accompanied by a boom for German bloodstock. The extent to which the sport's financial woes have created problems for German racing is shown by a glance at the jockeys' [...]

The early results of this term's bunch of European first-season sires are providing the usual interest. Several young sires have already made smart starts, while the most celebrated of the freshmen, Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), currently has statistics of one winner from one runner, courtesy of the victory at Newbury which ensured that Cunco (Ire) [...]

With the benefit of hindsight, it now seems ironic that the two best Australasian gallopers to have raced in Europe during the final quarter of the 20th century were stayers. Balmerino (NZ) (Trictrac {Fr}) came to England in 1977 to join John Dunlop's stable, having already amassed a rich haul of victories for Brian Smith [...]

In an ideal world, the Thoroughbred would be a super-tough breed as well as a super-fast one, passing durability down through the generations as well as class. However, our racehorses are fragile animals, the Formula One cars of the horse world; brilliantly fast, but prone to having things go wrong. If a racehorse breaks down, [...]

The final Group 1 race-day of the Sydney Autumn Carnival provided yet more reminders that the influence of great mares is a gift that keeps on giving. Two ever-fruitful families tasted big-race success at Randwick with English (Aus) (Encosta De Lago {Aus}) taking the weight-for-age feature, the G1 All-Aged S., and (He's) Our Rokkii (NZ) [...]

As the flat season kicks into gear in Europe, few events have done more to whet the appetite than Aidan O'Brien's announcement that he is likely to saddle only one colt in the G1 QIPCO 2,000 Guineas. It is not unusual for O'Brien to run several colts (or fillies) in a Classic, so there is [...]

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, was Great Britain's pre-eminent politician in the third quarter of the 18th century, dominating British politics as, variously, Leader of the House of Commons during the Seven Years' War, Lord Privy Seal and Prime Minister. Subsequently known as William Pitt The Elder, he was a very hard act to [...]

It is a fact of human nature that we take what we have for granted while being seduced by the apparent potential of the unexplored. As they say, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” One of the many ways in which this truism finds form in the bloodstock world [...]

Darley sires often enjoy red-letter days at this time of year, as Godolphin invariably does very well during the Dubai International Carnival. However, even by Darley's usual high standards, 'Super Saturday' was special: not only did Darley sires provide both the Group 1 winners at Meydan, but they were also responsible for the winners of [...]

Australian racing nowadays benefits from significant overseas investment in ownership, which has proved a great boon to the country's bloodstock scene. Equally significant, though, is the strength of syndicate ownership, which draws upon the rich seam of passion for the sport which permeates the full breadth of Australian society. Consequently, every season sees umpteen high-class [...]