Hawk Mountain

Staged a week earlier than its customary slot, Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club is threatening a serious case of oneupmanship over the Derby this year due to the presence of a true A-lister in the line-up. It is rare that the Chantilly Classic draws the very best from outside it's own country's frontier, but in enticing Constitution River away from Epsom it could end up with the trump card of Europe's "Derbys" in 2026. We've come a long way since the "sad, mad, bad" reaction of the press...

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...

Thursday, Newmarket, post time: 15:35, BETWAY CRAVEN STAKES-G3, £95,000, 3yo, Open, 8f 0y Field: Avicenna (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), Commander's Intent (Fr) (Victor Ludorum {GB}), Hankelow (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Hawk Mountain (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Hidden Force (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Oxagon (Fr) (Frankel {GB}), Venetian Prince (GB) (St Mark's Basilica {Fr}). TDN Analysis: Ahead of one of the most head-scratcher 2,000 Guineas for some time, a fascinating Craven where nothing can be safely ruled out and which has surprisingly attracted a Group 1 winner in Hawk Mountain. While it is...

Wednesday, Newmarket, post time: 15:00, EARL OF SEFTON STAKES-G3, £95,000, 4yo/up, 9fT Field: Damysus (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Boiling Point (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), King's Gambit (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Persica (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Prague (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Skukuza (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}). TDN Analysis: Hopes that Damysus could make his mark at four are high considering he captured the same Listed contest at Deauville as had his esteemed stablemate Ombudsman 12 months earlier. Following up in the G3 Darley Stakes over this course and distance in October, Wathnan's...

Breeders' Cup hero Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) is as short as 8-1 in the betting, as the entries for the G1 Betfred 2000 Guineas and G1 Betfred 1000 Guineas were released on Tuesday. There are 52 colts entered and 57 fillies at this entry stage. Sharing those odds with George Boughey's G2 Royal Lodge Stakes hero Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder), the G2 Coventry Stakes winner is one of nine in the race for Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore partners. Also narrowly second in a trio of Group 1 races last year--the...

Following the publication of the entries on Tuesday, ante-post favourite Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) is among 88 colts in contention for the Betfred Derby, which takes place at Epsom Downs on Saturday, June 6 and offers record prize-money of £2 million in 2026. Pierre Bonnard, who was last seen winning October's G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, features in a bumper list of 24 entries for Aidan O'Brien, the most successful trainer in the history of the Classic with 11 wins. The Ballydoyle contingent also includes the first three from last year's G1...

Saturday, Doncaster, post time: 14:05, THE WILLIAM HILL FUTURITY TROPHY-G1, £200,000, 2yo, c/f, 8fT Field: Action (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Benvenuto Cellini (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Hawk Mountain (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Oxagon (Fr) (Frankel {GB}), Rochfortbridge (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}). TDN Analysis: A small field, but some quandaries with the line-up not yet confirmed. Heavy ground could see one of the big two Ballydoyle hopes taken out and it is not a given that the Champions Juvenile winner Benvenuto Cellini and the Beresford winner Hawk Mountain will take each other on, as...

Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) is one of nine Aidan O'Brien-trained colts to stand his ground for the G1 William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster on Saturday. The impressive Killarney winner went on to take the G2 Champions Juvenile Stakes. Other entrants hailing from Ballydoyle include G3 Zetland Stakes hero Pierre Bonnard (Camelot), the group-placed Action (Frankel), the stakes-placed Frescobaldi (No Nay Never), G2 Beresford Stakes winner Hawk Mountain (Wootton Bassett), New Zealand (Frankel), G3 Killavullan Stakes victor Dorset (Wootton Bassett), Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Basilica), and G3 Eyrefield Stakes...

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,...

Hawk Mountain won the G2 Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club Beresford Stakes in front-running fashion at The Curragh on Saturday, his first stakes victory and the 52nd group winner for the late Wootton Bassett. The Coolmore partners colourbearer defeated G2 Futurity Stakes runner-up Geryon (Lope De Vega) by 3 1/4 lengths, with that rival just overtaking Al Haarith (Lope De Vega) by a head in the dying strides. Sent off at 5-4, the son of Group 1 scorer Hydrangea (Galileo) cut out the running against the fence while pressed by...