Cercene

Monday, Curragh, Ireland, post time: 16:10, CLEM MURPHY MEMORIAL IRISH EUROPEAN BREEDERS FUND MOORESBRIDGE STAKES-G2, €78,000, 4yo/up, 10f 0y Field: Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Edward Hamilton (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Tiberius Thunder (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Beset (GB) (Expert Eye {GB}), Cercene (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Minnie Hauk (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Shaool (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}). TDN Analysis: This sees the return of the Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks heroine Minnie Hauk, who went so close in the Arc against what we now know is a genuine top colt. She won...

Joe Murphy, Bill Dwan, Richard Brown and Michael Donohoe have led the tributes to racing's "problem solver" John Fleming, who died after being struck by a bus at Dublin Airport on Thursday morning. Fleming, 62, enjoyed huge success as an owner, notably with trainers Michael O'Callaghan and Joe Murphy. His biggest day came last summer when Cercene, who he part-owned, won the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot while Navassa Island carried his own colours to Listed success at Cork earlier this month. He was also a keen trader...

Group 1 winner Cercene will not contest the Breeders' Cup meeting at Del Mar next month and will instead be prepared for her four-year-old season, according to trainer Joe Murphy. She was under consideration for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The daughter of Australia won the G1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. Second in the G3 Athasi Stakes in early May, she ran third in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas prior to her Royal Ascot heroics. Runner-up to Whirl (Wootton Bassett) in the G1 Nassau Stakes, Cercene...

Joe Murphy has raised the possibility of stable star Cercene travelling to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf in November. A winner of the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Australia filly went on to finish second to Whirl in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood over a-mile-and-a-quarter before reverting to a mile when fifth in the Matron Stakes at the Irish Champions Festival.  While unable to land a telling blow, Cercene was only beaten three lengths and Murphy feels she could have finished closer with a...

Harry Eustace's eyes light up as soon as the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale is mentioned. And why wouldn't they? It was at that sale where the 37-year-old's Group 1 winners Docklands (Massaat) and Time For Sandals (Sands Of Mali) were sourced and the Newmarket-based handler openly admits to having 'kept powder dry' for the action at Fairyhouse next week.  "We've had a lot of luck out of Fairyhouse, particularly with the filly [Time For Sandals]," he explained. "It's a sale that I have always worked hard at because it...

Three Group 1 winners this year have emanated from the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale, with their wins coming across four glorious days on the biggest stage of all: Royal Ascot. From the opening-day thrill of Docklands (Massaat) holding off Rosallion (Blue Point) in the Queen Anne Stakes came a dual top-level strike on the Friday of the meeting for Cercene (Australia) in the Coronation Stakes and Time For Sandals (Sands Of Mali) in the Commonwealth Cup. To have bought all three of these horses at Fairyhouse as yearlings would...

Tom Marquand has been confirmed as the partner of Goodwood Cup hero and ante-post favourite Scandinavia (Justify), who is set to head a field of seven in Saturday's G1 Betfred St Leger. With Ryan Moore on the sidelines and Wayne Lordan suspended, Sean Levey will partner dual Derby hero Lambourn (Australia) and Mickael Barzalona picks up the ride aboard Great Voltigeur fourth Stay True (Galileo). In addition to the Ballydoyle trio, Ireland is represented by Queen's Vase victor and Great Voltigeur runner-up Carmers (Wootton Bassett), who will be partnered by...

Ryusei Sakai is savouring a second tilt at the G1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, with last year's third Shin Emperor (Siyouni) featuring among 12 horses standing their ground after Tuesday's confirmation stage. Japanese raider Shin Emperor, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, delighted connections in an early workout on Tuesday, with Sakai saying afterwards, "He worked this morning on the Curragh Racecourse with his partner horse and he felt very well, very comfortable. I was very happy with the gallop. He is a more mature and stronger horse...

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...

Shes Perfect faces a crucial gallop on the July Course at Newmarket, before her connections make a decision on her participation in the upcoming G1 Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes at the same venue. Last seen finishing down the field in the Prix de Diane, Shes Perfect arrived at Chantilly having already proved herself a high-class filly, notably finishing first past the post in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, before being demoted by the ParisLongchamp stewards for causing interference to her closest pursuer, Zarigana. The daughter of Sioux Nation is set to...

Equos Blond, a half-sister to the G1 Coronation Stakes winner Cercene (Australia), will be offered by Arqana Online in a pop-up sale scheduled for Friday, July 4. Bidding will take place between the hours of 3pm and 4pm (French time). The once-raced daughter of Zoustar is out of the winning Acclamation mare Tschierschen, whose other progeny include the G3 Sovereign Stakes third Perotto (New Bay). Tschierschen herself is a half-sister to five black-type performers, including Roodeye (Inchinor), the Listed-placed dam of the G1 Sussex Stakes-winning sire Mohaather. Consigned by Haras...

The racing Gods looked down and smiled on us at Royal Ascot last week in delivering one of the greatest results imaginable when Joe Murphy and his son - also Joe - landed a breakthrough Group 1 triumph in the Coronation Stakes with Cercene.  It was a triumph for the grass roots operators and one that many thought was impossible in this day and age. The Murphys run a high-class but humble outfit on the outskirts of Fethard in County Tipperary. Success over the might of Francis Graffard and Aidan...