Europe

Fresh off a win with Douvan (Fr) (Walk In The Park {Ire}) in Punchestown's G1 Ryanair Novice Chase, trainer Willie Mullins snapped up two of the three top-priced offerings at the Goffs Punchestown sale Thursday evening. The top lot was the 4-year-old gelding Getabird (Ire) (Getaway {Ger}) (lot 13), winner of a maiden point-to-point last weekend, who cost €200,000. A short time later, Mullins went to €100,000 for Vent D'Automne (Fr) (Denham Red {Fr}) (lot 17). Both purchases were for owner Harold Kirk. The only other six-figure purchase was the...

The 2-year-old roadshow returns to Newmarket today when Tattersalls stages its 170-lot Guineas Breeze-Up Sale, which is preceded by around 80 horses-in-training set to sell from 10 a.m. at Park Paddocks. A brace of Group 1 winners on either side of the world advertised the sale's merits in 2015, with the Ed Dunlop-trained Trip To Paris (Ire) (Champs Elysees {GB}) going from strength-to- strength to land the G1 Ascot Gold Cup and Godolphin's Contributer (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) triumphing in the G1 Ranvet S. in Sydney. Clutches of hardy spotters...

Douvan (Fr) (Walk In The Park {Ire}) justified favouritism to win Punchestown's Thursday feature, the G1 Ryanair Novice Chase, by 11 lengths, in the process handing trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Ruby Walsh another feature win. Douvan, a 6-year-old gelding owned by Rich Ricci, was completing a major festival triple, having won the G1 Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy at Cheltenham in March and the G1 Doom Bar Maghull Novices' Chase at Aintree three weeks ago. "We've seen a few not able to do the three Festivals this week, so...

Stepping into black-type company for the first time when a nose second in the Listed Prix de Liancourt over 10 1/2 furlongs at Longchamp in September, Marypop was fourth back there in the G2 Prix de Royallieu at a mile and a half on Arc weekend before returning to win the Apr. 3 Listed Prix Zarkava with authority back over the former trip at Saint-Cloud. Keen initially before being held up in mid-division, the lightly-raced chestnut was left with a lot of ground to make up in the straight but...

Fresh off a victory with Create A Dream (Oasis Dream {GB}) at Ascot Wednesday, American-based trainer Wesley Ward has entered four juveniles for The Curragh's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. Aug. 7. The quartet includes Create A Dream; Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) and Silvertoni (Tapit), both debut winners at Keeneland this month; and Angelo's Ashes (Exchange Rate), who was second on debut at Keeneland. "They are four very nice 2-year-olds and could all run at Royal Ascot, and then we are planning to be represented in the Keeneland Phoenix S.," Ward...

Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Air Force Blue (War Front) will face 12 rivals as he bids to provide Aidan O'Brien with a record eighth renewal--eclipsing the mid-19th century tally of John Scott--of the G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday. According to reports, the imposing bay has come through his spring preparations without a hitch and, despite the current unseasonal cold snap producing slightly easier ground than is customary for the year's first Classic, he is set to start the shortest-priced favourite since Frankel (GB) (Galileo...

JP McManus's Carlingford Lough (Ire) (King's Theatre {Ire}) was able to fly under the radar and into the Punchestown winner's enclosure when causing an upset at 12-1 to win the featured race on the second day of the Punchestown Festival, the G1 Bibby Financial Services Ireland Punchestown Gold Cup, by 4 1/2 lengths. Djakadam (Fr) (Saint Des Saints {Fr}) checked in second, while Cue Card (GB) (King's Theatre {Ire}), the 4-6 favourite, could manage no better than fourth. The win was a career-best for longtime trainer John Kiely, who said,...

Thursday's G3 Prix Allez France at Chantilly, which serves as the first major stand-off between the fillies and mares in Europe, plays host to the returning We Are (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), who goes unpenalised following a winless but respectable 2015 campaign. Successful in the previous year's G1 Prix de l'Opera, having been stripped of the G1 Prix Saint-Alary due to increased testosterone as a result of a subsequently removed ovarian tumour, George Strawbridge's bay showed that she retained her ability when third--after being promoted from fourth--in Deauville's G1 Prix Jean...

Opponents of Gifted Master will have to think hard about how to stop this machine after yet another trail-blazing performance which had the Royal meeting's G1 Commonwealth Cup stamped all over it. Expected to play second fiddle to Ballydoyle's Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) under his three-pound penalty gained by winning the G3 Autumn S. over a mile at Newmarket in October, the bay was quickly into stride after an awkward break to carve out a significant lead by the time he'd traveled a furlong. Despite the close proximity of...

Shadwell will continue to support European racing, as well as initiatives and welfare, in 2016. Shadwell has extended its sponsorship of Newmarket's Cambridgeshire meeting Sept. 23; Ayr's Listed Harry Rosebery S. and the Ayr Bronze Cup Day card; and the G2 Prix de Pomone at Deauville Aug. 13. Shadwell has also sponsored a community project encouraging local primary school students in Newmarket to learn about the town's multiculturalism and racing industry, and will offer 100 beneficiaries of Racing Welfare and the Injured Jockeys Fund to go racing for free on...

1st-ASC, £14,000, Cond, 4-27, 2yo, 5fT, 1:02.28, g/s. +CREATE A DREAM (f, 2, Oasis Dream {GB}--Anabaa's Creation {Ire} {SW & G1SP-Fr, GISP-US, $330,826}, by Anabaa), who was withdrawn by Wesley Ward from Doncaster's curtain raiser for the juveniles, the "Brocklesby", earlier this month due to the soft conditions, was true to type for one of the trainer's GB runners and headed straight for the lead. Although her advantage was being whittled late on by The Last Lion (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), the 5-1 shot had already done enough and hit the...

The participation of Denford Stud's Illuminate (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) in the G1 Qipco 1000 Guineas Sunday hinges on the weather, according to trainer Richard Hannon, who told At The Races the dual group winner would only participate in the Classic if the rain goes away. Hannon noted Illuminate, the winner of last year's G3 Albany S. at Royal Ascot and the G2 Duchess Of Cambridge S. and second in the G1 Cheveley Park S., last worked in company with Group 1 winner Toormore (Ire) (Arakan {Ire}), who won last week's...