Europe

From a small but select offering, the Tattersalls Online Breeze-Up Session boasted a 93% clearance rate for the 14 lots sold. The top price achieved was a 30,000gns Ardad colt, consigned by John Bourke's Hyde Park Stud and sold to Tylicki Bloodstock.  Ironically, the Ardad colt is a half-brother to Iriseach (Ubettabelievit), something of a flag-bearer for this sale given he was Grade III-placed in America after being sold by Hyde Park Stud through the platform 12 months ago.  Tattersalls Online Sales Manager, Katherine Sheridan said, "The Online Breeze Up...

Friday's G1 Betfred Oaks looked a competitive renewal beforehand, but in the end it was Shapoor Mistry's homebred Thundering On (Frankel) who held sway in a show of dominance. Sweeping from last to first with Dylan Browne McMonagle ice-cool careering towards his first Classic success, the well-backed 5-1 shot brushed aside Legacy Link (Dubawi) to win by 3 3/4 lengths. "It was effortless, she's so, so talented," the rider said of the winner who had only been breaking her maiden last month in the Salsabil. "We were coming into the...

A little over five years since he last rode in France, Pierre-Charles Boudot has been completely exonerated of the rape charges that were brought against him in the spring of 2021.  The Amiens Court of Appeal confirmed a general dismissal of the charges against the jockey after a long and drawn out legal battle.  Speaking to Jour de Galop, Boudot's lawyer Maître Florence Gaudillière said, "After five years of investigation, justice has finally exonerated Mr. Pierre Charles Boudot. A very motivated dismissal was rendered today by the Amiens Chamber of...

And so it comes down to this: 14 runners are set to go to post for the Betfred Derby, which, with a newly elevated prize fund of £2 million, is the co-richest race in Britain in 2026. Five British-breds will take on six horses born in Ireland, two in Germany and one in France, with their origins representing the broad spectrum, from a homebred for one-mare owner Jennifer Dorey to four colts representing the most powerful bloodstock operation in the world, Coolmore. Ten of them were sold either as a...

O'Moore Park (Walk In The Park) (lot 11) led the way during Thursday's GoffsGo Online June Sale. The Willie Mullins trainee sold for £66,000 on the bid of D P O'Dwyer Bloodstock and Martin Keighley Racing. He has placed at Grade 2 level over fences. O'Dwyer, who signed for three lots in Thursday's sale, said, "He's been bought for Martin Keighley to train for an existing client. He will be targeted at all the Cheltenham meetings over the winter before going onto the big spring festivals. Hopefully he can provide...

Coolmore and Westerberg's Endorsement (Wootton Bassett) attempted to make all and hit the board behind James J Braddock (Zarak) and Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) in last month's G3 Derby Trial at Leopardstown and boosted the hopes of those G1 Derby candidates with a seven-length romp in Thursday's Listed King George V Cup back at the Foxrock venue. "His form is solid, it was nice to see him running well and Ryan [Moore] was very happy with him," commented Aidan O'Brien. "We didn't know how far he'd stay because a mile-and-a-quarter is...

Hurdler Sony Bill topped the Tattersalls Online June Sale at 64,000gns when selling to Lodgedown Stables. The son of Battle Of Marengo (lot 42) placed third in the G2 Leopardstown Juvenile Hurdle for Willie Mullins and carries an IHRB hurdle rating of 136. Stayer Anniversary (Sea The Moon) changed hands for 56,000gns to The Brushmakers. Consigned by Ralph Beckett's Kimpton Down Stables, the four-year-old maiden winner is out of G3 Prix Miesque heroine Lixirova (Slickly). The fourth edition of the Tattersalls Online Breeze-Up Session was topped by a Cotai Glory...

Unless Thundering On can oblige for Joseph O'Brien, or perhaps Venetian Lace for Charlie Johnston, then there will be a familar name on the trophy for the 2026 Betfred Oaks, with three trainers who each have previous in the Epsom Classic being responsible for the remaining seven runners between them. Aidan O'Brien is triple-handed in his quest for a remarkable 12th Oaks victory, likewise Ralph Beckett, who struck first with Look Here in 2008 and then Talent in 2013. More recently, O'Brien and the Gosdens have dominated, with all but...

Fit for a King and Queen. Epsom's Derby Festival had been at low tide for a while, but there are a good few now who are seeking to bring back the old buzz via the masses to experience at first hand all of its glory. They are working hard against the gravitational pull of sports who grasped the understanding of modern-day demands quicker than horse racing and it helps when you have Charles and Camilla continuing the work of Queen Elizabeth II in promoting the great event. Friday and Saturday's...

Aoife Dempsey, Head Girl for Ted and Katie Walsh, received the prestigious Irish Racing Excellence Award - the top accolade at the Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards (ITIEA) supported by Godolphin, the Irish Stable Staff Association, HRI Equuip, Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association and the Racing Post. The awards took place in the Keadeen Hotel in County Kildare on Tuesday evening. Dempsey, originally from Kiltullagh in County Galway and now living in Kildare, has worked for the Walshes for three years. Previously, she worked for trainer Ross O'Sullivan for three years...

Saturday, Epsom Downs, post time: 16:00, THE BETFRED DERBY-G1, £2,000,000, 3yo, c/f, 12f 6yT Field: Action (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Alderman (GB) (Study Of Man {GB}), Ancient Egypt (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), A Taste Of Glory (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), Balzac (Ger) (Japan {GB}), Bay Of Brilliance (GB) (New Bay {GB}), Benvenuto Cellini (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Christmas Day (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Item (GB) (Frankel {GB}), James J Braddock (GB) (Zarak {Fr}), Maltese Cross (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Pierre Bonnard (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Poker (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Rebel Rocker (GB) (Cityscape...

Former Jockey Levi Williams has been jailed for the manslaughter of a pensioner he punched outside a pub, causing him to fall and strike his head on the ground. Williams, 27, was sentenced to three years in prison for the manslaughter of Richard Wingrove, 71, who died in hospital 10 days after Williams punched him in Newmarket, Suffolk. Prosecutor Jane Oldfield told Peterborough Crown Court that Mr Wingrove, who walked with a stick, and his son Jamie Wingrove, had been drinking in pubs in the town's high street on March...