Bedtime Story

The Breeders' Cup teams for Aidan O'Brien and Francis-Henri Graffard are taking shape, with both set to send strong representation to the two-day event at Del Mar on October 31 and November 1. Leading the Ballydoyle cavalry is Minnie Hauk, winner of the Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks and runner-up in the Arc. The daughter of Frankel is training toward the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf. "Our races have been nicely spaced out this year and she came out of the Arc well; everybody seems happy with her so that's...

Saturday, Ascot, post time: 16:05, THE QIPCO CHAMPION STAKES-G1, £1,417,500, 3yo/up, 9f 212yT Field: Almaqam (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), First Look (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Fox Legacy (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Ombudsman (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Prague (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Almeric (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Delacroix (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Devil's Advocate (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), Mount Kilimanjaro (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). TDN Analysis: The Champion Stakes as it should be but not always is, with...

Is there an adequate Japanese proverb that conveys the nation's unflinching endeavour to win the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe? Perhaps "Ishi no ue ni mo san nen", to sit patiently on a cold stone for three years which relates to the power of perseverance, or "Nana korobi ya oki", to fall seven times and get up eight, or "Mateba kairo no hiyori ari". The latter points to waiting out the unpredictable to choose the right route and ultimately prevail. Since the country's first real go in 1999...

One of two British-trained horses in the G1 Yorkshire Oaks after declarations on Friday, Estrange (Night Of Thunder) and her team are hopeful that some rain will increase her chances in the August 21 showpiece. A homebred for Cheveley Park Stud and trained by David O'Meara, the grey has won four of her five starts, with a victory in the G2 Lancashire Oaks last out at Haydock in July on her resume. "It depends which forecast you look at, and I am probably guilty of looking at the one I...

Thursday, Goodwood, post time: 15:05, QATAR NASSAU STAKES-G1, £600,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 9f 197yT Field: Running Lion (GB) (Roaring Lion), See The Fire (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Bedtime Story (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Cercene (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Whirl (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). TDN Verdict: Three-year-olds have generally dominated of late and after the performance of Kalpana at Ascot on Saturday it is hard to make a solid case against Whirl continuing that trend. The way she put away the Juddmonte filly in the Pretty Polly suggests she has improved since the...

A rematch between Minnie Hauk (Frankel) and Whirl (Wootton Bassett) in Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh is unlikely, according to trainer Aidan O'Brien, who was responsible for six of the nine fillies left in the Classic on Tuesday. Just a neck separated the two stablemates when they met in the Oaks at Epsom, with Minnie Hauk edging ahead in the final strides to get the better of the gutsy Whirl, who has since gained a first Group 1 success of her own when seeing off her elders...

Following on from our look at the Classic colts in yesterday's edition, the focus has turned to the fillies. This year's Betfred 1,000 Guineas has the potential to be an absolute barnstormer of a race, and anyone not currently spending their waking hours wondering who's better between Desert Flower and Lake Victoria is hereby banned from reading TDN.  It's not all about that pair, obviously, and Lake Victoria may not even be ready to return in a fortnight's time, but just the thought of seeing those two go head to...

Royal Ascot was tremendous in myriad ways. Sun up, crowd up, and a spread of results which drew in some of the world's biggest owners and trainers alongside syndicates and smaller yards. Then on Sunday morning came the news that QIPCO is to significantly reduce its sponsorship of British racing from next year. British Champions Day will still be run in its name, and the company owned by Sheikhs Hamad and Fahad Al Thani will remain as an official partner of Ascot racecourse, but Newmarket's Guineas meeting, Ascot's King George...