Darley

A week on from the blockbuster Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, more records fell at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Monday when the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale concluded with highwater marks for gross, average and a record-tying median. During two sessions, 199 New York-bred yearlings sold for a $23,870,000. The average was $119,950--up 15.1% from a year ago, while the median remained constant at $85,000. With 55 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 21.7%. It was 26.3% a year ago. "This sale hit the quinella," Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning...

Saeed bin Suroor and Oisin Murphy teamed up to snag 2018's G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen with Godolphin's Benbatl (Dubawi) and repeated the dose in this year's renewal of the Munich feature when G3 Hampton Court Stakes runner-up Tornado Alert (Too Darn Hot) made a belated breakthrough in stakes company. "We were uncertain about the [soft] ground, but he loved it and it's fantastic to win a Group 1 on this fellow," commented Oisin Murphy. "He ran very well in the [G1] Derby, he was second at Royal Ascot and...

Jaber Abdullah's once-raced Hope Queen (Night Of Thunder), a granddaughter of storied European champion Attraction, posted a debut success for the Karl Burke stable at Beverley last month and repeated the dose on black-type bow with a battling victory in Thursday's Listed European Bloodstock News EBF Star Stakes at Sandown. "We knew we had a nice filly after she won at Beverley and it's nice to get a Listed win into her," said winning rider Clifford Lee. "Once we got a clear run, I knew I was always going to...

Newmarket's Weatherbys British EBF Maiden Stakes has a rich history and Friday's renewal had the right feel to it as Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) emerged to become the race's fourth straight TDN Rising Star. Whether Godolphin's €1.9million Arqana May Breeze-Up topper will be more Field Of Gold than Epictetus and Arabic Legend remains to be seen, but there was much to like about the way her battled by Ballydoyle's Constitution River (Wootton Bassett) with the pair clear. "He's been straightforward since he's arrived and full credit to the people...

The Godolphin-Appleby-Buick triumvirate was in celebratory mood for a third time on the opening day of Newmarket's July Festival after TDN Rising Star Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) doubled his stakes tally with a decisive success in the Listed Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes. "It's easy to say after the event, but I'd have been disappointed if he'd got beat," Appleby said. "He's a very exciting horse we thought a lot of in the spring and even in the winter to be fair. He shows signs of his father as...

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's Hankelow (Night Of Thunder), a 210,000gns Tattersalls December foal turned 750,000gns Book 1 yearling, created a favourable impression with a taking debut success in Saturday's Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Novice Stakes over seven furlongs at York. Accepting a tow in third after breaking on the lead, the 3-1 second favourite was shaken up to challenge soon after passing the quarter-mile marker and was driven out in the closing stages to prevail by 2 1/4 lengths from Crest Of Fire (Phoenix Of Spain). Hankelow is the...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $118,987, Msw, 6-27, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:10.21, ft, 3 lengths. CHOPSTICKS (f, 2, Essential Quality--Miss Southern Miss {SW & GSP, $220,399}, by More Than Ready) got her picture taken at Churchill Downs on Friday afternoon and became the first winner for freshman sire Essential Quality (by Tapit). The 2-1 second choice here broke from one of the outside posts and vied for a spot midpack up the backstretch as a pair of speedsters went to town on each other. Chopsticks had plenty of pace to run into around...

Godolphin ran one-two in the seven-furlong Newmarket opener just not with the horse the market expected, as Pacific Avenue (Dubawi) stole a march on his Charlie Appleby stablemate and 'TDN Rising Star' Wild Desert (Too Darn Hot) to earn a 'Rising Star' badge of his own. Godolphin's Ancient Truth (Dubawi) won the 2024 edition of this race prior to taking the G2 Superlative Stakes and running third in the G1 Dewhurst Stakes. The son of G1 Cheveley Park Stakes heroine and fellow 'Rising Star' Lumiere (Shamardal) settled in a tugging...

Wathnan Racing's Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), who annexed the 2023 G2 Queen Mary Stakes for George Weaver, returned to the scene of her greatest triumph with a decisive victory in Wednesday's G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes. Her 1 3/4-length tally provided the Gosden stable with a record-extending sixth win in the one-mile contest. Crimson Advocate had previously registered a second stakes win in Goodwood's Listed Conqueror Stakes last month, her third outing and first win for John and Thady Gosden since joining from the Weaver stable, and the four-year-old landed a...

Godolphin's Racing and Nominations assistant at Jonabell Farm for Darley America joins Ferrin Peterson on this week's Boundless Podcast to discuss the many ways there are to get into Thoroughbred racing. The episode is the first episodei n the Boundless students series, designed to inspire young people to get involved in racing and to learn how to break into the industry. Morgan explains that her role is to handle all administrative tasks for the racing side of Godolphin, as well as vaccination and vetwork and HISA paperwork. She also supervises...

Godolphin homebred Wild Desert (Too Darn Hot), who is a half-brother to G1 Middle Park Stakes winners Shadow Of Light and Earthlight, went postward as the even-money favourite for Friday's Betfred Supports Jack Berry House Novice Stakes at Haydock and never gave supporters a moment's worry, coming home with an impressive five-length buffer to attain TDN Rising Star status on debut. Positioned in a close-up second for most of this seven-furlong contest, he loomed large hard on the bridle with three furlongs remaining and quickened clear in taking fashion once...

Juddmonte's TDN Rising Star duo Field Of Gold (Kingman) and Cosmic Year (Kingman), who have drawn stalls nine and five, head a field of nine declared for Saturday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. Field Of Gold is on the wing again and seeks redemption for his G1 2000 Guineas near miss with Colin Keane replacing Kieran Shoemark in the plate. Harry Charlton has provided Cosmic Year with a solid foundation and decides now is the time to make the jump in grade coming back off a win...