Brussels

Venetian Sun is Starman's first Group 1 winner
Venetian Sun “In Great Form” As Commonwealth Cup Entries Out

G1 Prix Morny heroine Venetian Sun (Starman) is one of 25 horses remaining in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot on Friday, June 19. She was a G3 Albany Stakes winner at two at Ascot. The Karl Burke trainee failed to stay in the G1 1000 Guineas, but made up for that effort with an impressive win in the G2 Sandy Lane Stakes over Division (Kingman) later in May. Sean Graham, racing manager to part-owner Tony Bloom, said of the filly, "Venetian Sun is in great form and came...

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Nina Carberry and Joe Hernon
EFTBA Out In Force At MEP Horse Group Meeting

A meeting of the Members of European Parliament (MEP) Horse Group was held in Brussels on March 5 and arranged by the European Horse Network (EHN). The European Federation of Thoroughbred Breeders' Associations (EFTBA) was well-represented at the meeting by chairman Joe Hernon and Veterinary Advisory Committee chairman Des Leadon. There were also a number of MEPs and members of the EHN on hand. Nina Carberry hosted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Much of the discussion was on the future of the equine sector as well as negotiations...

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Distant Storm
Distant Storm, Zavateri and Gstaad Among 14 in Contention for Dewhurst Cracker

The first two from last month's G1 National Stakes at the Curragh, Zavateri (Without Parole) and Gstaad (Starspangledbanner), feature among 14 confirmations for Saturday's G1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes, along with Distant Storm, one of three potential runners for Charlie Appleby as he seeks a fourth win in the race since 2019. Last seen winning the G3 Tattersalls Stakes over Saturday's course and distance, Distant Storm heads the betting for the Dewhurst at a general 2/1, although his trainer will be keeping an eye on the weather in the coming days,...

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Royal Fixation
'Horse Of A Lifetime' Royal Fixation Poised For Cheveley Park

Opulence Thoroughbreds is still in its infancy as a syndicate and their flagship filly Royal Fixation (Palace Pier) has already struck gold for them by winning the Lowther, but a follow-up in Newmarket's G1 Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions Cheveley Park Stakes on Saturday would see her enter new territory. Having met with defeat once when runner-up to Venetian Sun in the Duchess of Cambridge, the Ed Walker-trained daughter of the burgeoning first-crop sire currently heads the market for the six-furlong joint-feature on the card and Opulence's racing and communications manager Ed...

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Zeus Olympios
Black-Type Analysis: Opera Ballo Eyeing Joel Target, as Middle Park and Cheveley Park Each Boast Nine Runners

Friday, Newmarket, post time: 15:00, THE BOYLE SPORTS DAILY RACING REWARDS JOEL STAKES-G2, £125,000, 3yo/up, 8fT Field: Flight Plan (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Prague (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Victory Dance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Detain (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Opera Ballo (Ire) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}), Snow Master (GB) (Ardad {Ire}), Zeus Olympios (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}). TDN Analysis: With only one blot on his copybook, Godolphin's Opera Ballo remains an exciting prospect at this trip and beyond and the Listed Heron Stakes and Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes winner will be...

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Brussels as a yearling
Brussels Takes Aim At Valuable Donny Prize

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. Thursday's Observations features the return of a Wootton Bassett 'TDN Rising Star'. 1.50 Doncaster, Cond, 2yo, 6f 111yT BRUSSELS (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) takes a class drop for this Weatherbys Scientific £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes in which stablemate Camille Pissarro managed to get beaten 12 months ago before going to...

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The Wootton Bassett yearling Brussels
The Newmarket July Festival: Five Things To Watch Out For

Think Newmarket July and the image conjures up the panama hat, the beautiful tree-graced pre-parade ring, steel bands (in the old days), ice cream, great racing. Here are five things to concentrate on during the next three days of action on the track. This Ballydoyle Wootton Bassett Thing One of the big stories of 2025 has been the thrusting of Wootton Bassett onto the leading stage of international racing theatre and while the current Classic crop is doing much for his burgeoning reputation, it's his two-year-olds who are threatening to...

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Drawn To Dream before selling at Arqana
Black-Type Analysis: Island Hopping Faces Stiff Test In Stanerra

Wednesday, Fairyhouse, post time: 18:00, DARLEY IRISH EBF STANERRA STAKES-G3, €42,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 14fT Field: Comic Book (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Drawn To Dream (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}), Enfranchise (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Goodie Two Shoes (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), Lemsairbat (Fr) (Bated Breath {GB}), Royal Entry (Ire) (Fracas {Ire}), Santorini Star (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}), Island Hopping (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Umala (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}). TDN Verdict: A race that Ballydoyle have supplied the winner of in five of the last 10 runnings, but Island Hopping is not one of...

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Royal Ascot Two-Year-Olds Under The Spotlight

The furore surrounding the changes to the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes shows no signs of abating, but for this year at least the six two-year-old races at Royal Ascot remain much as they've always been, which is beneficial for trends followers studying the data in an attempt to find winners next week. We lost one of the so-called bankers when Albert Einstein, last seen winning the G3 Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh, was ruled out of the meeting due to a sprained joint, but his absence shouldn't detract too...

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