all-weather racing

Following a couple of notable performances in the last seven days, the time has come for a long overdue trip to France and a dive into an all-weather scene which is just as vibrant nowadays as that on this side of the Channel. For every Notable Speech (GB) there's been an Ace Impact (Ire), who made a successful debut on the all-weather at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in January 2023, before retiring at the end of that year as the unbeaten winner of the Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de l'Arc de...

The WhatsApp group titled TDN Europe was abuzz on Wednesday evening of last week, after the Charlie Appleby-trained Opera Ballo (Ire) had announced himself as potentially something out of the ordinary with a jet-propelled performance in the first division of the one-mile maiden at Kempton. "Big day for Ghaiyyath!!" pinged the first message from Brian Sheerin, barely seconds after Opera Ballo had powered past the line in a different postcode to his eight rivals, becoming the second first-time-out winner for his Kildangan Stud-based sire in the space of a few...

After two consecutive weekends on the road viewing stallions, everywhere from Tally-Ho Stud to Haras de Bonneval, I now find myself chasing my tail in an attempt to catch up with the key all-weather action I've missed since the last edition of Winter Watch went to print over a fortnight ago. It would be hopeless trying to do justice to every three-year-old who has won a maiden or novice in that time, nor has that ever been the brief for this column. The main idea has always been to focus...