Europe

Thursday evening's G3 Ballyroan S. at Leopardstown sees a small field assemble for an intriguing 12-furlong contest. June Judd's Stellar Mass (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) heads a sophomore team of three taking on their elders and makes a swift reappearance off the back of a win in the Listed Her Majesty's Plate at Down Royal 13 days ago. Described by Kevin Manning as "idling all the way up the straight" there, the typically busy Jim Bolger trainee has the credentials to assert here, having previously hit the board behind...

The catalogue has been released for Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, which takes place at Park Paddocks in Newmarket Oct. 4 to 6 and features the siblings to 50 Group 1 and Classic winners. Nineteen of the current top 20 active sires standing in Britain and Ireland are represented, with half-brothers Galileo (Ire) and Sea The Stars (Ire) having 45 catalogued between them. The 21 yearlings set to sell by seven-time champion sire Galileo are sure to be a top draw, and they include the full- or...

Mondialiste (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who shipped successfully to North America last year to win the GI Woodbine Mile, is likely to take another transatlantic trip in two weeks' time for the GI Arlington Million. The now-6-year-old closed out his 2015 campaign with a second to Tepin (Bernstein) in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland, but took a few starts to get back to his best this season, finishing a well-beaten seventh in the G1 Prix d'Ispahan May 24 and 11th, again behind Tepin, in the G1 Queen Anne S....

The 2017 British fixture list was revealed by the British Horseracing Authority Monday. The first list approved since the new tripartite structure went into effect, consisting of the BHA, racecourses and horsemen, features 1,496 fixtures over 363 race days divided between 602 jump (40.2%), 570 flat turf (38.1%) and 324 flat all-weather (21.7%). The four main objectives agreed upon by the triumvirate for 2017 are: increase betting, grow attendance, improve efficiency for participants, and grow consumer and media interest. The fixture list has been tweaked with an emphasis to grow...

5th-NAA, €15,500, Mdn, 8-1, 2yo, 7fT, 1:25.30, gd. WHITECLIFFSOFDOVER (c, 2, War Front--Orate, by A.P. Indy), who was fourth on debut behind stablemate and subsequent G2 July S. runner-up Intelligence Cross (War Front) over six furlongs at The Curragh June 25, was sent off the even-money favourite and soon led. Clear and out of danger with a furlong to run, the $1.15million KEESEP yearling was kept up to his work to register a commanding three-length verdict over Qatar Racing's Lightening Fast (GB) (Frankel {GB}), the son of the 2011 G1...

As executive director of the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium (RMTC) and a practicing veterinarian, I can provide significant insight into an issue that was addressed in the recent editorial by Kevin Blake entitled, "The Real Problem with Drugs in Horse Racing". The article points out the dangers of overuse of therapeutic medication--particularly corticosteroids. While the RMTC agrees that every jurisdiction--domestic and international--should be concerned about the potential overuse of therapeutic medication, it is important to note that the National Uniform Medication Program (Program) developed by the RMTC addresses this...

Last week's G3 Molecomb S. scorer Yalta (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) is likely to be supplemented for the G1 Nunthorpe S. Aug. 19, trainer Mark Johnston told At The Races. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed al Maktoum's juvenile would receive a significant weight break against his elders in that five furlong test. Yalta broke his maiden at Pontefract May 27 before finishing a well-beaten eighth in both the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot and the G2 July S., both over six furlongs, and Johnston told At The Races the...

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 his father Barry had reacted the first time that he saw the New Zealander ride on the Lambourn Downs, "I haven't seen a jockey like that since Steve Cauthen was on these gallops." Praise does...

1st-NAS, €15,500, Cond, 8-1, 2yo, 6fT, 1:12.16, gd. LEO MINOR (c, 2, War Front--Kissed {Ire} {SW-Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), who placed in seven-furlong maidens at Gowran Park June 6 and at Tipperary July 9, was sent to the front after the early strides of this drop to six panels. Maintaining control thereafter, the 7-4 favourite quickened in smart fashion to poach a decisive advantage approaching the final eighth and was pushed out to safely hold the late rush of Noivado (Ire) (Casamento {Ire}) by a half length. "I must tell...

Godolphin's dual Group 2 winner Usherette (Ire) (Shamardal), a disappointing sixth of seven in last month's G1 Falmouth S., will get a late summer break after a scope revealed she bled in that turnover. "She was scoped after the race and she bled a little a bit," confirmed trainer Andre Fabre. "We have given her a little break. She won't be out in August and we will wait for the autumn. Once they have had a bleeding problem it takes a bit of time to get them back and it...

G1 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) has emerged from an eighth-place finish in last Wednesday's G1 Sussex S. none worse for the wear, and trainer Kevin Prendergast said he does not yet have a next start in mind for the Shadwell colourbearer. "He came home fine," the veteran conditioner said. "He's a little bit tired and stiff, but other than that he's alright." Prendergast put the disappointing effort down to the racing surface. "I think the ground was just too fast for him--he's a good-ground horse,"...

An international forum to bring together the various operations globally that facilitate and promote the retraining of racehorses has been unveiled at the 'Lifetime Care for Thoroughbreds: Godolphin Forum' in Newmarket, a three-day conference organised and hosted by Godolphin. The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) will include representatives from Australia, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan and the U.S., and will act as an assembly for discussion and enable sharing of experiences, which will allow best practices to be adopted and advice shared among all the above jurisdictions....