Europe

Day one of the Goffs February Sale got off to a blisteringly-hot start on Wednesday when the €3,898,500 turnover, which was headlined by a €220,000 Mehmas colt that went the way of Tally-Ho Stud, eclipsed the entire sum this sale generated 12 months ago by €41,000.  Henry Beeby promised that the pinhookers would "be out in force" this week and, true to his word, the majority of the most expensive weanlings sold on Wednesday were knocked down to some of the masters of that craft.  Few do it better than...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features a half-brother to multiple top-level winner Wuheida (Dubawi). 11.48 Chantilly, Debutantes, 3yo, c/g, 8f (AWT) LIBECCIO WIND (IRE) (Kingman {GB}) starts for Godolphin and Andre Fabre in this intriguing affair and is the latest progeny of the Fillies' Mile and Yellow Ribbon heroine Hibaayeb (Singspiel) whose...

HEROS, the UK-based charity dedicated to the retraining and rehoming former racehorses, has announced a new collaboration with Saudi Arabia's recently established Retraining and Riding Academy. The programme has been set up by The Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA), under the guidance of Dr Francesca Compostella in her role as Executive Director of Veterinary and Welfare within the JCSA and Saudi Equestrian Authority. The partnership is designed to help establish global standards of equine welfare, with a focus on the responsible transition of racehorses into new careers and environments....

G3 Prix Antoine de Vazelhes heroine Lovran (No Risk At All) (AQPS) is one of three wildcards added to the Arqana February Mixed Sale, set for February 17-18. Consigned as lot 130, she is a half-sister to the Group 1-placed Kahula (Authorized) (AQPS). Joining her is second out winner Recollect (Recoletos) (lot 365), who hails from the family of Group 1 winners Harzand, Emily Upjohn (Sea The Stars), Seal Of Approval (Authorized) and Hurricane Lane. Rounding out the trio is Mystere Du Repas (Choeur Du Nord). Lot 365A is a...

The high-class chaser Galia Des Liteaux (Saddler Maker) features among 97 lots catalogued for the Tattersalls Online February Sale, which is scheduled to take place on February 17-18. It also features the Southern Hemisphere Session, in collaboration with Inglis Digital Australia, details of which were announced on Monday. Offered by trainer Dan Skelton's Lodge Hill Stables as lot 65, Galia Des Liteaux was last seen finishing fourth in December's Becher Handicap Chase at Aintree. The now-10-year-old achieved a BHA rating of 146 at her peak, notably having won the G2...

A horse has never won two editions of the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup, and Japanese Horse of the Year Forever Young (Real Steel) will try to break into that rarefied air after drawing post position six on Wednesday, ahead of Saturday's race. Also voted a champion in the U.S. after taking the GI Breeders' Cup Classic last autumn, the likeable bay will face 13 rivals at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in a few days' time. "I think six is a good number," trainer Yoshito Yahagi said. "We don't have to change...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- The international contenders may have been out in force on Wednesday morning but there is one horse who dominates the spotlight and he has every right to it. Forever Young first set foot on King Abdulaziz racecourse two years ago when he arrived as a three-year-old to take the Saudi Derby before going on to triumph in Dubai. He was then involved in an almighty tussle at Churchill Downs, where he went down by the merest of fractions to Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone in the...

Tattersalls will extend its sponsorship of the G1 Middle Park Stakes, G1 Cheveley Park Stakes and G2 Royal Lodge Stakes for a further two years after sponsoring the races for the first time in 2025. Taking place on the final day of the Cambridgeshire meeting at Newmarket on Saturday, September 26, the races will be run as the Tattersalls Middle Park Stakes, Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions Cheveley Park Stakes and Tattersalls Online Royal Lodge Stakes. The three races add to an already substantial portfolio of sponsorships for Tattersalls, with other high-profile...

Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia, post time: 20:40, SAUDI CUP-G1, $20,000,000, NH/SH4yo/up, 1800m Field: Banishing (Ghostzapper), Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo), Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), Haqeet (Arrogate), Luxor Cafe (American Pharoah), Mhally (GB) (Sergei Prokofiev), Nevada Beach (Omaha Beach), Nysos (Nyquist), Rattle N Roll (Connect), Star Of Wonder (Uncle Mo), Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Thundersquall (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Tumbarumba (Oscar Performance), Ameerat Alzamaan (GB) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}). Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia, post time: 19:10, NEOM TURF CUP (Presented By HOWDEN)-G1, $3,000,000, NH/SH4yo/up, 2100mT Field: Alohi Alii...

Henry Beeby says that Goffs "can't wait to get going for the year" ahead of the February Sale which features progeny by Havana Grey, Mehmas, New Bay, Night Of Thunder, Sands Of Mali, Sea The Stars, Walk In The Park and Starman as well a brother [lot 53] to recent Grade 2 mares' hurdle winner Feet Of A Dancer (Authorized). Pinhookers resembled happy cows being let out to spring grass for the first time on the eve of the two-day February Sale, which kicks off the Goffs sale season at...

The four-time Group 1 winner Legarto (Proisir) will be offered as part of the Attunga Stud draft at May's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. Trained in New Zealand by Ken and Bev Kelso, Legarto registered her latest top-level success in the Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa on Saturday, regaining the title she'd previously won in 2024. An 11-time winner from 23 career starts, the now-six-year-old also ran out a determined winner of the Australian Guineas at Flemington back in 2023. Legarto is set to make at least one more...

It was another solid day of trade as the 2026 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale came to a close on Tuesday, with a Ghaiyyath colt from Wentwood Grange seizing control and topping the sale when knocked down to McEvoy Racing and Belmont Bloodstock for A$625,000. The colt was record-breaking in several ways. He became Wentwood Grange's most expensive yearling sale result, surpassing the NZ$600,000 paid by Bjorn Baker Racing, Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) and Ridgmont for an Anamoe colt out of Easifar (Pride Of Dubai) at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Sale...