Balzac

And so it comes down to this: 14 runners are set to go to post for the Betfred Derby, which, with a newly elevated prize fund of £2 million, is the co-richest race in Britain in 2026. Five British-breds will take on six horses born in Ireland, two in Germany and one in France, with their origins representing the broad spectrum, from a homebred for one-mare owner Jennifer Dorey to four colts representing the most powerful bloodstock operation in the world, Coolmore. Ten of them were sold either as a...

He's run placed in the Blue Riband Trial and the Lingfield Derby Trial as well as partaking of the Derby gallops morning, meaning that no horse in the field for Saturday will have greater experience of the oddities of Epsom than Balzac.  His owner and trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam will be flying the flag not just for Newmarket but also for Australia, and her participation in the Betfred Derby represents long-term planning by the Melbourne native.  She says, "You always say it when you buy a horse, don't you? 'This is...

Across the Epsom Downs the temporary structures that form the Betfred Derby backdrop are going up but of most importance on this sweltering morning is what's coming down the hill. Five Classic hopefuls have arrived for a taster of this most unusual of tracks, though one is back for take two. Balzac, third in the Blue Riband Trial here behind Saxon Street and Rebel Rocker, has subsequently had a spin around Lingfield too, but his trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam is taking no chances with her first Derby runner.  "I bought him...

Tuesday, Epsom, post time: 14:40, THE BETFRED BLUE RIBAND TRIAL STAKES-Listed, £60,000, 3yo, 10f 17yT Field: Balzac (Ger) (Japan {GB}), Menzies (Ire) (Australia {GB}), New Zealand (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Pearl River (GB) (Cotai Glory {GB}), Rebel Rocker (GB) (Cityscape {GB}), Saxon Street (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}). TDN Analysis: Ballydoyle send New Zealand to this Derby prep and his fifth in the Criterium International makes him the clear standard-setter, but the stable's three-year-olds are needing their reintroductions more than ever this year and he could be vulnerable. Balzac won over a...

In this corner of the bloodstock world we like to keep our glass half-full, if not topped up to the brim. With that in mind, it is sometimes preferable to look back, rather than forwards. A dive into history via the pages of the Bloodstock Breeders' Review is always entertaining, if not a regular reminder that the more things change the more they stay the same. Take, for example, Lord Rosebery's speech as TBA president in 1947 when he said, "I was perturbed at the Yearling Sales at Doncaster when...