The racing world has lost one of its most popular and respected characters with the passing at the age of 77 of former Grand National-winning jockey Pat Buckley, who ranks as one of the most influential administrators in the history of racing in the United Arab Emirates. Born and raised in Ireland, Pat Buckley spent [...]

The British racing press room has lost one of its legends with the passing of former HWPA Racing Journalist of the Year Paul Haigh, who has died aged 76. In truth, Haigh, who received his crowning accolade at the Derby Awards ceremony in 1993, was never much seen in the press rooms of British racecourses [...]

As we settle into 2021, formerly male-dominated jockeys' tables from around the world tell us how well the process of gender equality is advancing. Jamie Kah currently holds a clear lead in the premiership in Melbourne; Rachael Blackmore is vying for first place in the Irish jumps table with Paul Townend, the pair well clear [...]

While he isn't one of the very best horses to have raced in Great Britain during 2020, Euchen Glen (GB) (Authorized {Ire}) has to be a contender for any Horse of the Year award. The star of Jim Goldie's Scottish stable, Euchen Glen put up one of the best handicap performances of 2018 when taking [...]

This year we have become accustomed to things becoming very different. On Monday it was announced that we shall have to get used to something else: next year there will be no John Oxx training at Currabeg on the edge of The Curragh, with the legendary Irish trainer having revealed his intention to retire at [...]

The saddest news of the week is the death of Mick Curran, whose face anyone who follows the sport will know because if you have seen any photographs of Golden Horn or Kingman in a winner's enclosure, you'll have seen Mick's smiling face there by the horse's side. Mick's fate is a salutary reminder that one [...]

   In Part II of a two-part series, John Berry looks at Juddmonte's lasting influences from the late 80s through to the present on the 40th anniversary weekend of Prince Khalid Abdullah's first Classic win with Known Fact in the 2000 Guineas. Click here for Part I. When the mighty Dancing Brave (Lyphard) retired to [...]

In Part I of a two-part series on the 40th anniversary weekend of Known Fact's 2000 Guineas win, John Berry takes us through the first decade of Prince Khalid Abdullah's racing and breeding dynasty. Under normal circumstances, the European Classic year would be springing into life this weekend with Newmarket staging the G1 2000 Guineas [...]

With their own domestic racing programmes decimated by COVID-19, many Europeans naturally looked to Randwick's card in Sydney to get their weekend fix of high-class racing. There was further reason to focus on 'The Championships' with Newmarket-based William Haggas having a fancied runner in two of the Group 1 races, the G1 Schweppes Sydney Cup [...]

Joe Crowley, one of the most popular and respected as well as one of the most significant figures in Irish racing in recent decades, has passed away at the age of 91. He enjoyed notable success as both trainer and breeder, while further glory has been brought to his farm at Owning Hill near Piltown [...]

Somewhere along the way, the Sport of Kings became the racing industry. That was inevitable because that's the way of the modern world in which most people have to earn a living. However, for many it remains a sport in which the joy comes from taking part, with the wins being the icing on the [...]

Through the 2019 season we seemingly never had to wait too long for the next big-race triumph for a son or daughter of a mare by Pivotal (GB) (Polar Falcon). It is no surprise, therefore, that the 27-year-old Cheveley Park Stud patriarch has ended the year not merely completing a hat-trick of titles as Champion [...]