Europe

Jimmy Hyland, the new CEO of Godolphin Ireland, speaks about champion sire Night Of Thunder, new addition Shadow Of Light and more Sweeping statements about the future are usually best left to Nostradamus and the like but Jimmy Hyland, the new man at the helm at Kildangan Stud, has more than one good reason to look out over the horizon and smile.  We say new, but Hyland put down 38 good years working for the Maktoum family before taking over as CEO from the outgoing Joe Osborne back in October....

Jockey Frankie Dettori has been unable to pay his £765,000 tax debt after his various companies were liquidated, according to a report on msn.com. The legendary jockey declared bankruptcy last March. Companies House published an update to the liquidation of Frankie Dettori Limited and Newmarket Activities Limited, which showed there were no funds to repay the debt. Dettori owes £765,000 to HMRC as of last October and an additional £6,391 to a car leasing company. Once the costs to liquidate his businesses are added in, the debt total is £888,799....

The first reported foal for four-time Group 1 winner Luxembourg is a colt born at Cleaboy Stud and Coppice Farm. Out of Raffles Monte (Martaline), the bay was bred by Sean Gorman. The dam is a half-sister to Grade 3-winning hurdler Raffles Sainte (Saint Des Saint), out of listed-winning chaser Loxlade (Sholokhov) and from the family of French Champion Hurdle winner Vaporetto (Lear Fan). "Right colour, right physical, we couldn't be happier with him," said Gorman. Luxembourg, by Camelot, was a Group 1 winner every year from two through five,...

The £1-million Randox Grand National will become a 72-hour declaration race beginning in 2026, Aintree Racecourse announced on Wednesday. This year's edition is the 178th at Aintree and will be run on Saturday, April 11. The final declaration stage will be Wednesday, April 8. Previously, the final declarations were held on Thursday. The number of reserves for the race, which were reintroduced in 2025, will increase from four to six. Reserves can be brought into the Randox Grand National up to 1 p.m. the day before the race. This year,...

The Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale carried on its momentum from opening day, with another five yearlings fetching seven-figure prices. A $2 million Extreme Choice topped the leaderboard when selling to Yulong Investments, while strong clearance rates continued to rise from yesterday's figures. Five horses sold for seven figures on Day 2, bringing the sale total so far to eight, one less than this time last year. At a glance Yulong splashed out $2 million for the day's top lot, Lot 345, a full brother to G3 Vanity Stakes...

Former champion hurdler Constitution Hill could be seen in action in a new £40,000 1 1/2-mile novice Flat contest at Southwell on February 20, according to trainer Nicky Henderson. A faller for the third time in four trips to the post since his race in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in November, the son of Blue Bresil will hopefully receive a confidence boost in this new endeavour ahead of a try at the Champion Hurdle later this year. Part of the Friday Night Live series, the new race meets...

First foals by Epsom Derby winners Auguste Rodin and City Of Troy arrived in Europe on Monday, Coolmore announced. Group 1-winning juvenile Auguste Rodin's first foal was a bay filly out of the Millenium Stud-owned Only In Dreams (Le Havre). She arrived at Haras de Pierrepont and was described as "a quality filly". The son of Deep Impact stands for €27,500. Also a Group 1 winner at two, City Of Troy welcomed a colt later that same day. Out of listed-winning two-year-old Ritournelle (Camelot), the bay colt was born at...

If seeing top-class racehorses in the flesh is the kind of thing you're into, then the inaugural NH Stallion Open Weekend - organised by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA), in association with the British EBF - had just about everything that you could ask for, with the exception of the muscle-bound sprinters that have proliferated at Flat studs in recent years. A total of 20 stallions, mostly of the more stamina-laden variety, paraded for onlookers across the two days, with seven different farms opening their doors. It was a star-studded...

Day 1 of the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale got off to a strong start, with top lots by I Am Invincible, Snitzel, Frankel, Zoustar and Extreme Choice all drawing keen interest. It didn't take long for the session to produce a seven-figure result, with Lot 59, a striking Frankel colt, selling to Coolmore for a$2 million, as buyers including Ciaron Maher Bloodstock, Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, Glentree Thoroughbreds, and Mark Player quickly made their presence felt. At A Glance Three horses fetched seven-figure sums on Day...

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. Tuesday's Observations features a Joseph O'Brien-trained newcomer. 3.30 Dundalk, Cond, 3yo, 6f (AWT) PASSAGE OF POWER (Into Mischief) is the headline act at Dundalk on Tuesday, being the first foal out of Joseph Allen's 2020 Flower Bowl heroine Civil Union (War Front). Joseph O'Brien has charge of the homebred,...

Being a leading broodmare sire is so often a posthumous honour. It is also one that tends to come on the back of a stallion either having been sent strong books of mares from the outset, or having earned that right through eye-catching early results in his stud career.  Of the top 20 broodmare sires in Europe in 2025, only half of them are still living, and of that 10, eight remain active. It is hardly earth-shattering news to reveal that Galileo's name was at the top of the list,...

Newsells Park Stud has announced 'No Risk Terms' in 2026 for two of its young stallions, A'Ali and Isaac Shelby, with breeders only paying the nomination fee for each sire when their resulting foal is sold at public auction. In the event that the sale price achieved is less than twice the nomination fee, the proceeds will be shared 50/50 between the breeder and Newsells Park Stud, meaning the fee payable may be less than the full nomination fee. Should the sale proceeds exceed twice the nomination fee, the mare...