Dahlia

If you are a student of pedigrees, you'll know of Franco Varola and Abram S. Hewitt. If not, take my word for it that they were two giants in the field of pedigree research, and both were excellent writers. Varola, an Italian whose first name was Francesco, is known for two iconic books, "Typology of the Racehorse" and "The Functional Development of the Thoroughbred," both of which examined influential stallions by aptitude and classified them as "chefs-de-race" within the dosage framework originally developed by Lt. Col. J.J. Vuillier at the...

There is no question that world racing will be all the poorer in 2021 without those marvelous mares, Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). For all of us with a keen interest in breeding, their future careers will be watched with great interest, Enable starting off with a visit to Kingman (GB) and Magical going to Dubawi (Ire). But how have brilliant racemares fared in their second career down through the years? They are certainly a select bunch with only 42 having attained a Timeform mark of...

For Christmas 1973, I received a green sports jersey and a pair of white shorts, a white they'd never be again. We lived in Kilmallock and those were the colours of our county, Limerick. My younger brother was far from as fortunate and less than enamoured with his red and white of Cork, our neighbouring county and foe, just a few miles up the road. I'd also got a book, an annual of the sporting year. It was hardback, thick and as big as me. I was six and, by...