Blanc de Blanc

The Albert Einstein bubble might have been burst somewhat at the Curragh on Saturday, but for so many other horses the Classic dream remains very much alive, with less than five weeks to go now until the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket provides the answer to the first of the many questions that have kept us guessing all winter. Even now, the guessing doesn't stop. Two years ago, few people would have had Notable Speech pinned as their Guineas winner at this early stage of the campaign, the all-weather upstart tasked...

Alongside the Godolphin duo of Nation's Hope (Ghaiyyath) and Palladas (Lope De Vega), The Last Dance (Iffraaj) recently made an impressive debut at Chantilly to become the third European-trained three-year-old to be named a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' since our Winter Watch run began back in November. It looked a strong race in which The Last Dance debuted on March 3, facing eight other newcomers over 9.5f of the Chantilly all-weather. They included the Wertheimer homebred Maine (Night Of Thunder), a sibling to two winners of the G1...

While she may not be heading to any Triple Crown races, Amo Racing's progressive filly Blanc De Blanc (Not This Time) was taking all the qualifying points available with a command performance in Friday's Patton Race at Dundalk. Shaping with more professionalism than on her winning debut over this mile and course last month, the Robson De Aguiar-trained 7-2 favourite was able to track stablemate Flanker Jet (Oasis Dream) before striking a furlong out. Pushed out to the line by Donagh O'Connor, she registered a three-length verdict over Whatchadoin (Starman). "She's...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features a pricy auction purchase. 6.00 Dundalk, Cond, 3yo, 8f (AWT) BLANC DE BLANC (Not This Time) comes back to the course and distance of her debut win last month in this "Dundalk Stadium Patton Race" won in the past by the likes of Mendelssohn and Washington...

Winter Watch returns from a brief hiatus to recap some of the key action that you might have missed during what always feels like the longest month of the year. In truth, if there was ever a good time for this column to take a break, then January was probably it, with several of the biggest trainers in the sport having essentially shut up shop during the first few weeks of the new year. John and Thady Gosden, for example, followed a hugely successful December (10 winners from 24 runners)...

Racing for the first time since costing Amo Racing $575,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Sale, Blanc De Blanc (Not This Time) made the perfect start at Dundalk on Friday. In front after the first three furlongs of the mile fillies maiden on the evening fixture, the 9-4 second favourite drifted right in the straight but kept producing for Donagh O'Connor to score by a neck from Astronomically (No Nay Never). Amo Racing's representative Ryan McElligott said of the Robson De Aguiar-trained winner, "You can see by the size of her,...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features a sought-after Not This Time filly. 5.05 Dundalk, Mdn, 3yo, f, 8f (AWT) BLANC DE BLANC (Not This Time) makes her keenly-anticipated debut for Amo Racing and Robson De Aguiar, having cost $575,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Sale. The dam Wonderful (Galileo), who raced for...