Abashiri

Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) and Abashiri (Frankel) are in contention to represent Godolphin in the first Irish Classics of the season at the Curragh this weekend, with both having pleased Charlie Appleby since their respective outings at Newmarket earlier this month. Distant Storm finished third behind Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) and Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) when sent off the 3/1 joint-favourite for the 2,000 Guineas and could be given the chance to upgrade that finishing position in the Irish equivalent on Saturday. Appleby won the 2022 edition of the Irish...

NEWMARKET, UK -- On the kind of morning one dreams about all winter, the wraps came off a clutch of Guineas hopes as George Boughey and Charlie Appleby made good use of the Rowley Mile ahead of the start of the three-day Craven meeting.  Boughey, who trains less than a mile from the racecourse in his new base at the appropriately named Craven House Stables, declared himself to be thrilled with the progress of Betfred 2,000 Guineas favourite Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder), who is already familiar with the track...

Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica) and Precise (Starspangledbanner), both Group 1-winning juveniles trained by Aidan O'Brien, headline 53 entries for the Betfred Oaks at Epsom on Friday, June 5. Unbeaten in three starts as a two-year-old, Diamond Necklace was last seen winning the Prix Marcel Boussac at ParisLongchamp, while Precise rattled off four straight victories as a two-year-old after being beaten on her debut at Fairyhouse, culminating with back-to-back Group 1 wins in the Moyglare Stud Stakes and Fillies' Mile. In total, O'Brien has entered 15 fillies in his quest...

The Albert Einstein bubble might have been burst somewhat at the Curragh on Saturday, but for so many other horses the Classic dream remains very much alive, with less than five weeks to go now until the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket provides the answer to the first of the many questions that have kept us guessing all winter. Even now, the guessing doesn't stop. Two years ago, few people would have had Notable Speech pinned as their Guineas winner at this early stage of the campaign, the all-weather upstart tasked...

Winter Watch will have its time between now and the return of the Flat for real next March, but first let us bask in a snapshot of summer, celebrating our diamonds in the rough who graduated from all-weather unknowns to titans of the turf in the space of 12 months. Last winter's action might not have given us another Classic winner, à la Notable Speech, but once again the flourishing all-weather programme lived up to its reputation as a breeding ground for black-type performers of the future. At the very top...