Australia

The early part of last week was spent covering the JRHA Select Sale in Japan, a trip that is always illuminating, to an auction that remains extraordinary. Number one of the list of most surprising things from the five days spent in Hokkaido was Teruya Yoshida picking up his guitar to serenade guests with a rendition of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads. An excellent choice of song, well performed. The Shadai Farm principal should be encouraged to form a Travelling Wilburys-style bloodstock supergroup. Bluegrass enthusiast and songwriter Arthur...

The racing Gods looked down and smiled on us at Royal Ascot last week in delivering one of the greatest results imaginable when Joe Murphy and his son - also Joe - landed a breakthrough Group 1 triumph in the Coronation Stakes with Cercene.  It was a triumph for the grass roots operators and one that many thought was impossible in this day and age. The Murphys run a high-class but humble outfit on the outskirts of Fethard in County Tipperary. Success over the might of Francis Graffard and Aidan...

Gary Carroll has admitted to still being on a high after landing the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot aboard Joe Murphy's Cercene (Australia) and revealed that the breakthrough success at the highest level was made even sweeter given it came for the Fethard-based trainer who has been one of the rider's biggest supporters down through the years.  No trainer has supported Carroll quite like Murphy. The pair are operating at a 10 per cent strike-rate since they first teamed up together back in 2009. There have been 1,077 rides and...

ASCOT, UK -- Plaudits have rightly been dished out to popular 70-year-old trainer Joe Murphy, who notched his first Group 1 victory in sensational style when Cercene outpointed the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Zarigana to land the Coronation Stakes. Appropriately enough for a daughter of Derby winner Australia, the filly is owned by Queenslander Shane R Stafford, who is now based in Ireland.  Stafford, who describes himself as "just a boy from the Bush", said as he was about to be called up to collect his trophy from the...

The story of the legendary three-times Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) could scarcely be more international in nature. The bay was produced by an American-bred daughter of Distorted Humor who was raced to Group 2 success in Ireland, was sold on to Australian interests and was subsequently bred to the outstanding Medaglia d'Oro, who was on his dual-hemisphere missions at the time. Sold as a yearling on the Gold Coast in Queensland and as a ready-to-run prospect in New Zealand, Golden Sixty plied his trade in...

Grade I winner Starlust has booked a spot at stud in the Hunter Valley at Riverstone Lodge. The GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint hero will stand for A$27,500 (inc GST) after a Royal Ascot campaign. Out of G3 Prix de Saint-Georges heroine Beyond Desire (Invincible Spirit), the son of Zoustar was bred by Branton Court Stud in Great Britain. Sold for 55,000gns out of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 2 to Dermot Farrington on behalf of Jim and Fitri Hay, Starlust is currently trained by Ralph Beckett and is...

World Pool set a new record turnover mark with almost half a billion Hong Kong dollars bet across 13 races in Australia and Dubai on April 5, the organisation announced on Tuesday. The globally commingled pools powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club hit HK$472.4m (£47.6m/A$100.5m) across six races on Randwick's Doncaster Mile Day card--the first day of The Championships--and seven races from Meydan on Dubai World Cup Day. The total exceeded last year's three-meeting composite World Pool card, which included races from Australia and the UK on King Charles...

The British Racing School (BRS) has launched a Gap Year Programme, targeting students completing their A-Levels this year and looking to explore a career in horseracing. The year-long course begins on June 30, 2025 and offers the unique opportunity for school-leavers to spend time training at the BRS in Newmarket and work at racing yards in both Britain and Australia. Students will initially attend a seven-week coaching programme in working with and riding thoroughbreds at the BRS. This is followed by a paid industry placement at a British racing yard...

By international sire of sires More Than Ready, the 2024 GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile winner More Than Looks will shuttle to Australia from Lane's End in 2025, commencing stud duties at Yulong in Mangalore, Victoria for the Southern Hemisphere season. Bred by Hinkle Farms and campaigned by Victory Racing Partners, the Cherie DeVaux trainee collected several stakes wins including at three the GIII Manila Stakes at Belmont Park and the Jefferson Cup Stakes at Churchill Downs. Last year, More Than Looks was the runner-up in the GI Fourstardave Handicap...

For this third part in our series on value sires in Europe, we are approaching the level where the word value perhaps becomes more meaningful in that we are dealing with stallions in the €10,000 to €19,999 fee bracket.  In this mid range, some sires are passing through, either on their way up as popularity and commercial demand soars, or dropping in fee during the sometimes notoriously difficult years in a stallion's career. Notably that often comes in the third and fourth seasons at stud when they are no longer...

The 2025 edition of the Aushorse Investor's Guide was released last weekend. The annual Investor's Guide assembles the latest information on the Australian industry and is essential reading for anybody involved in racing or breeding globally. "The industry in Australia is in a strong position with the firm foundations of a great funding model and deep support from across society, which is borne out in the number of people here who want to be involved in ownership," said Tom Reilly, chief executive of Aushorse. According to the Investor's Guide, one...

Irish raiders dominated the turf races at the Breeders' Cup on Friday and on Saturday morning it was the turn of William Haggas to strike for England with a "mind-boggling" win in Sydney's A$10 million Golden Eagle with Lake Forest (GB) (No Nay Never). Fellow European challenger Lazzat (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) was half a length back in second for Jerome Reynier and Nurlan Bizakov after making the running. Owned by Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy, Lake Forest continued a phenomenal run of success for the Newmarket trainer with his Australian...