Bradsell

Aidan O'Brien will rely solely on Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) in his bid to win a record-extending 17th G1 Phoenix S. at the Curragh this afternoon after stablemate Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never) was ruled out of the Saturday showpiece due to to allergies. Last successful with Sioux Nation in 2017, O'Brien has won the Phoenix S. with George Washington, Holy Roman Emperor and Mastercraftsman in the past, and Little Big Bear is a 7-4 chance to follow in the hoofprints of those illustrious former Ballydoyle-trained stars....

Goodwood's trio of Group 1 races all went the way of owner-breeders, results that are both pleasing to see for the people who invest so much thought and money into the sport over generations, and which also highlight how hard it can be for prospective owners to get into horses at the top level. This season, ten European Classics have been won by homebreds, with two of those, Sammarco (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Mangoustine (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}), having been offered for sale by their breeders but bought back. Only...

It hasn't been a bad week for William Haggas. The Somerville Lodge stable cat has recently gone AWOL for fear that he might be entered up at Catterick and would have to live up to the extraordinarily rich vein of form currently being exhibited by the larger quadrupeds whose fetlocks he rubs up against during evening stables. Over the last fortnight 41 horses have been sent out by the trainer and 17 of them have returned home with a trophy to add to the cabinet. Most impressively, 10 of those...