Iffraaj

2.30 ParisLongchamp, Cond, 3yo, f, 8fT THE LAST DANCE (FR) (Iffraaj {GB}) puts her Classic credentials on the line in this increasingly important Prix du Louvre conditions event which has hosted the 2021 and 2024 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroines Coeursamba and Rouhiya. Both were beaten in this course-and-distance contest, so Sheikh Omar Esmil Ghrghar, Carlos and Yann Lerner and Antoine Gilibert's impressive Chantilly winner who earned a TDN Rising Star tag remains of interest for next month's Classic as long as she shows up well. Another unexposed Pouliches entry...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Immortalised at Gulfstream Park. Romanised Colt Ageless At Gulfstream Sean Feld and Starry Night Racing's Immortalised (Romanised) made it two wins from three starts, after taking a Gulfstream contest on Thursday (video). Trained by Brendan Walsh, the three-year-old colt was bred by Elevage Haras de Bourgeauville. Sold for €37,000 to Feld Family Finds out of Arqana's Vente d'Elevage in 2023, the February foal...

We have become accustomed to the prevalence of Urban Sea in today's pedigrees, chiefly through her high-flying sons Galileo and Sea The Stars. But another mare whose name pops up on the page of Sea The Stars as well as that of the recently deceased Wootton Bassett is Park Appeal, whose influence should not be underestimated. The daughter of Ahonoora features in the second and third generations respectively of those two stallions, who commanded the highest fees in Ireland in 2025 at €250,000 and €300,000. In the case of Sea...

The boy-made-good story of Wootton Bassett is as time-honoured as life itself. To a degree, it is a rags-to-riches tale, particularly when it comes to the phenomenal trajectory of his stallion career. And it is a story which is ending far too soon. The 17-year-old stallion died on Tuesday at Coolmore Australia in the Hunter Valley after developing acute pneumonia from a bout of choke, a condition in which food blocks the oesophagus, often leading to complications. His passing comes at a time when Wootton Bassett was in his pomp;...

For this third part in our series on value sires in Europe, we are approaching the level where the word value perhaps becomes more meaningful in that we are dealing with stallions in the €10,000 to €19,999 fee bracket.  In this mid range, some sires are passing through, either on their way up as popularity and commercial demand soars, or dropping in fee during the sometimes notoriously difficult years in a stallion's career. Notably that often comes in the third and fourth seasons at stud when they are no longer...

As the 2022 breeding season approaches, we bring our Value Sires series to a close by shining the spotlight on 10 sires with their first crops four and older that appear poised to deliver breeders value. Though it seems at times as if the chasm between the elite proven sires and the unproven pretenders is ever-widening, driven by the often ruthless nature of the auction marketplace, there is still value to be found among the lesser-priced proven sires. We have opted to make the cutoff fee for this exercise £/€20,000,...

Godolphin's Forest of Dean (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) had finished adrift of Marco Botti trainee Felix (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in both starts this term and stepped forward to exact revenge on that familiar foe in Saturday's G3 Betway Winter Derby Trial at Lingfield, providing John Gosden with a record-breaking third renewal of the fledgling 10-furlong test. Successful in four of seven starts in 2019, he was under wraps until running third in a Jan. 11 Wolverhampton conditions heat on belated return before filling the same spot in the Feb....

Land Of Legends (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) provided a throwback result in Thursday's G2 Al Fahidi Fort at Meydan, giving the once-prolific trainer and jockey combination of Saeed bin Suroor and Frankie Dettori-together responsible for so many big-race moments in Dubai--their first wins at the 2021 carnival. Unraced at two, Land Of Legends strung together three wins-a novice race and a pair of handicaps--in the summer of 2019. He managed a pair of seconds in handicap company going a mile on the turf at last year's carnival and had not been...

NEWMARKET, UK—The popularity of first-season sires is no new phenomenon but it is a feature of the market which apparently gains more and more traction, and three freshmen were responsible for four of the top ten lots as pinhookers wasted no time in assembling their prospective yearling drafts for next season. The first session traditionally represents a quieter start to the four-day auction, which builds towards the better pedigrees on Friday. With shorter sessions throughout the sale this year, there were 135 foals sold on Wednesday, compared to 168 on...

Coolmore has purchased champion racehorse and sire Wootton Bassett (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}-Balladonia {GB}, by Primo Dominie {GB}) to join its stallion roster. The 12-year-old has stood at Haras d'Etreham in Normandy since retiring to stud in 2012. Bred by Laundry Cottage Stud, Wootton Bassett was a £46,000 yearling purchase by Bobby O'Ryan from the St Leger Sale in 2009. Trained by Richard Fahey, he went unbeaten through his first four starts in the UK before capping his 2-year-old campaign with a victory in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and thus...