Anmaat

Shadwell's Anmaat is likely to be retired after sustaining a setback preparing for his title defense of the G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes later this month, according to racing manager Angus Gold. The Awtaad gelding won half of his 18 starts including the 2023 G1 Prix d'Ispahan and last year's Champion Stakes. In 2025 alone, he has run second three times at the highest level for trainer Owen Burrows in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, the Prince Of Wales's Stakes and in the Irish Champion Stakes. Gold told the PA news agency,...

The majority of the season's stars have held their ground after the latest acceptance stage for Britain's richest race day, the QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 18. In the £1.3-million QIPCO Champion Stakes, the 2024 winner Anmaat (Awtaad) will lock horns with the G1 Princes Of Wales's Stakes/G1 Juddmonte International Stakes hero Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and G1 Eclipse Stakes winner Delacroix (Dubawi). Also entered in that contest is the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Calandagan (Gleneagles), 2024 G1 Irish Champion Stakes scorer...

Tom Marquand has been confirmed as the partner of Goodwood Cup hero and ante-post favourite Scandinavia (Justify), who is set to head a field of seven in Saturday's G1 Betfred St Leger. With Ryan Moore on the sidelines and Wayne Lordan suspended, Sean Levey will partner dual Derby hero Lambourn (Australia) and Mickael Barzalona picks up the ride aboard Great Voltigeur fourth Stay True (Galileo). In addition to the Ballydoyle trio, Ireland is represented by Queen's Vase victor and Great Voltigeur runner-up Carmers (Wootton Bassett), who will be partnered by...

Ryusei Sakai is savouring a second tilt at the G1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, with last year's third Shin Emperor (Siyouni) featuring among 12 horses standing their ground after Tuesday's confirmation stage. Japanese raider Shin Emperor, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, delighted connections in an early workout on Tuesday, with Sakai saying afterwards, "He worked this morning on the Curragh Racecourse with his partner horse and he felt very well, very comfortable. I was very happy with the gallop. He is a more mature and stronger horse...

Chris Hayes is poised to ride Anmaat in Saturday's G1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. The son of Awtaad has been ridden by Jim Crowley in each of his last nine starts, with the highlight of their association coming in October last year when springing a 40/1 surprise in the G1 Champion Stakes at Ascot. More recently, Crowley has partnered the seven-year-old to finish second in both the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes in two starts this season. However, Shadwell's number one rider...

Delacroix (Dubawi) and Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder), first and second, respectively, in last month's G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, headline nine confirmations for Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International at York. The Aidan O'Brien-trained Delacroix is one of three possible runners from Ballydoyle, along with dual Derby hero Lambourn (Australia) - who also holds an entry in the G2 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes earlier on the card - and high-class filly Whirl (Wootton Bassett), the winner of the G1 Pretty Polly Stakes and G1 Nassau Stakes. Meanwhile, G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes...

Field Of Gold (Kingman) and Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) have joined Forever Young (Real Steel) at the top of the LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2025, after producing blockbuster performances to win at Royal Ascot. Juddmonte's Field Of Gold won the G1 St James's Palace Stakes by three and a half lengths, while stablemate Ombudsman ran out a decisive winner of the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes, by two lengths from last year's G1 Champion Stakes winner Anmaat (Awtaad) [123]. Both horses are now rated 127, matching the figure...

Saturday's G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown is shaping up to be the race of the season so far after a plethora of Group 1 winners were confirmed on Monday, headed by the John and Thady Gosden-trained Ombudsman. The son of Night Of Thunder came of age at Royal Ascot when winning the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes and only has one defeat on his record from six career starts. That came over this course and distance in May when Almaqam (Lope De Vega) produced a dominant performance from the front to...

There are few, if any other, 12-week-old babies with races named after them but Victor Veitch will have his name in lights early in life as the namesake for the EBF fillies' maiden which opens the card at Newmarket on Friday evening. In fact, Newmarket's entire meeting is sponsored by Victor's grandparents, Derek and Gay Veitch of Ringfort Stud in Rhode, Co Offaly. The second and third races on the card will be run in the name of two Shadwell Group 1 winners, Minzaal (Ire) and Anmaat (Ire), both of...

On December 3, 1995, the G1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle was won by the Aidan O'Brien-trained Thats My Man (Ire). It is unconfirmed, but those may well have been the words uttered by John Magnier when he decided to appoint O'Brien to uphold the good reputation of his surname at Ballydoyle. This he has done with aplomb. From that December day at Fairyhouse until Sunday at the Curragh, A P O'Brien has been the name printed alongside 400 Group or Grade 1 winners. From his roots in National Hunt, he...

by Tom Frary Things may not have gone to plan with Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) on Sunday, but The Aga Khan and Jean-Claude Rouget will be looking to put that experience behind him quickly as TDN Rising Star Erevann (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) takes aim at Monday's G1 Prix d'Ispahan at ParisLongchamp. Successful in the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein here in October, having finished in the frame in the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville in August, the son of the high-class Ervedya (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) enjoyed the perfect sharpener...