Godolphin

7th-SAR, 100K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 4:22 p.m. The pricier half of a coupled entry, REBELLIOUS TYPE (Into Mischief) makes his belated debut for the partnership of Spendthrift Farm LLC, Cypress Creek Equine and St. Elias Stable. The 4-year-old son of MGSW Teresa Z brought an even $1,000,000 as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale in 2022 and comes in on a steady work tab for trainer Amelia Green. This is the family of champion 2-year-old filly Storm Flag Flying (Storm Cat) via third dam, MGISW My Flag (Easy...

Godolphin's G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes hero Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) will face five opponents after a select half-dozen were confirmed for Saturday's £1-million G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown. The John and Thady Gosden trainee, who has drawn stall five, encounters fellow four-year-old Sosie (Sea The Stars), who will bid for a fourth success at the highest level for the Andre Fabre stable from the neighbouring stall four. The Classic generation enjoys strong representation and features G1 2000 Guineas hero Ruling Court (Justify) and G1 Prix du Jockey Club victor Camille...

SARATOGA SPRINGS--After Baeza's (McKinzie) lackluster third-place finish in the GI Belmont Stakes last month, trainer John Shirreffs wasn't convinced his horse was as bad as he showed at Saratoga Race Course. Shirreffs is keeping the faith and will ship Baeza back to Saratoga for a date in the $500,000 GII Jim Dandy on July 26. "It seems like all roads lead to Saratoga," Shirreffs said by phone from California Wednesday afternoon. "So far, it's the only race that has been under discussion with [owners] Mr. [Lee] Searing and Mr. [Robert]...

5. Spun Candy, CD, 6/28, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 86 (f, 3, by Hard Spun-Sugar Plum Fairy, by Drosselmeyer) O-Commonwealth Stable 3, On Our Own Stable and Dallas Stewart. B-Brushy Hill Stable (Ky). T-Dallas Stewart. J-Brian Hernandez Jr. Another who showed dramatic improvement--topping her previous high Beyer by 18 points--in her first try over a wet surface. A modest $85k Ocala 2-year-old purchase, she had been knocking heads with tough maidens in her first five starts, including Immersive and Senza Parole. 4. Roofer, BAQ, 6/27, 6 furlongs...

Night Of Thunder currently sits at the top of the sire rankings for Britain and Ireland and, in a year in which he has already been represented by a first Classic winner in Desert Flower, his position could well be strengthened after Saturday with two other star performers lining up at Sandown and Haydock. Coral's sponsorship of the Eclipse Stakes reaches its 50th anniversary this year and the Group 1 contest, which has a roll of honour including such great names as Mill Reef, Sadler's Wells, Giant's Causeway and Enable,...

1st-Churchill Downs, $117,975, Msw, 6-29, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:34.03, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. LEMON ZEST (f, 3, Nyquist--Larkin, by Bernardini) came into this second jump out of a live maiden on debut May 17 beneath these Twin Spires. The winner of that contest, Me and Molly McGee (Vekoma), won a first-level allowance at this venue June 22 after a prolonged duel and earned an 85 Beyer for the effort. The runner-up Spun Candy (Hard Spun) broke her maiden June 28--also at Churchill--and earned an 86 for her troubles while High...

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...

1st-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 12:45 p.m. ET. The news broke this past week that Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas would be stepping down as the head of his stable because of health reasons and assistant Bas Nicholl would be taking over for the man known to many as 'Coach.' In Saturday's opener on the card, the aptly-named TRACK LEGEND (Charlatan) will be unveiled for owner Live the Legacy with Lukas still listed in the program. Out of Canadian champion female sprinter Moonlit Promise (Malibu Moon), the dark...

2nd-Belmont The Big A, $92,000, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 6-27, 4yo/up, 1m, 1:34.40, ft, 5 1/2 lengths. HIGHLAND FALLS (h, 5, Curlin--Round Pond {MGISW, $1,998,700}, by Awesome Again) was last seen running ninth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in a stacked edition of the race, but had come into that contest off a victory two back Sept. 1 in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga. Hammered at the windows here like he could not lose, the 1-5 favorite never gave them any reason to doubt in his...

It has been a strangely discombobulating week in some respects. It started in Westminster last Monday with the All-Party Parliamentary Group issuing its stark warning of the triple threat to the industry posed by potential betting duty harmonisation, affordability checks and an overdue Levy reform. This came on the back of an industry update in Newmarket the previous week at which the TBA chairman Philip Newton warned of a potential catastrophic collapse in the supply chain of young Thoroughbreds in Britain. Then, stepping through the golden gates of Royal Ascot,...

Bringing an end to a three-year winless streak at Royal Ascot for Charlie Appleby, Dubawi's international heavyweight Rebel's Romance landed the required knockout blow in Saturday's G2 Hardwicke Stakes. Always travelling easily behind the genuine pace, the 6-4 favourite took control two out and drew away under William Buick to beat Al Riffa (Wootton Bassett) by 1 3/4 lengths, with Ghostwriter (Invincible Spirit) 1 1/2 lengths away in third. "He's a worldwide superstar--I have a picture of him on my bedside table, he means so much to us," commented Appleby, whose last...

Despite his string dwindling from an all-time high of 250 horses to having just 30 in training currently, Saeed bin Suroor said he was relishing being back on the biggest stage of all after sending out Arabian Story (Invincible Spirit) to win the Britannia Stakes under Oisin Murphy - a man the trainer labelled as 'different class' following the success. Carrying the Godolphin blue, Arabian Story made his first ever start on turf a memorable one in the prestigious three-year-old handicap just over a fortnight after breaking his duck on...