John and Thady Gosden

Autumn plans for leading older horse Ombudsman are beginning to take shape, with a third clash with Delacroix (Dubawi) in the G1 Irish Champions Stakes all but ruled out in favour of an appearance on QIPCO British Champions Day. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the son of Night Of Thunder has been one of the star performers of the summer, having registered Group 1 victories in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes and Juddmonte International either side of a narrow defeat to Delacroix in the Coral-Eclipse. After gaining revenge on...

For a long while in Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International Stakes, it looked as if we would have another pacemaker summer shock but ultimately the class of Godolphin's Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) told once again and common sense prevailed on the Knavesmire. Blessed with the best acceleration of the sextet, the Gosdens' 7-4 favourite was the first to claw back the operation's rabbit Birr Castle (Cloth Of Stars), who was proverbially in another district under Rab Havlin turning for home, and register a 3 1/2-length defeat of...

With the two only realistic contenders of the three runners contesting Wednesday's Listed British Stallion Studs EBF Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury, Darley's first-season sire Palace Pier was almost guaranteed to make his breakthrough in black-type company and so it proved as Morris Dancer led home A Bit Of Spirit for a neat one-two. Runner-up in the Vintage at Goodwood last month, Godolphin's homebred surprisingly drifted to 11-10 second favouritism to see off the Clive Cox-trained 5-6 market-leader and after taking over from that peer approaching the furlong pole drew away...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wednesday's Observations features a daughter of the dual Group 1 winner Izzi Top. 6.15 Kempton, Novice, 2yo, 2yo, f, 7fT IZZ'NT SHE HOT (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) is the ninth foal out of Meon Valley's Pretty Polly and Jean Romanet heroine Izzi Top (Pivotal), whose three black-type performers...

Field Of Gold (Kingman) will bypass the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York later this month as he continues his recovery from the setback sustained when suffering a shock defeat in last week's Sussex Stakes. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Field Of Gold was sent off the 1/3 favourite to complete a Group 1 hat-trick at Goodwood, but at no stage did he look like pegging back the Juddmonte pacemaker, Qirat (Showcasing), ultimately finishing three and three-quarter lengths behind that rival in fourth. The next day the Irish 2,000...

William Buick will deputise for the suspended Colin Keane aboard Field Of Gold when the outstanding son of Kingman lines up in next week's G1 Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Field Of Gold will be bidding for a third consecutive success at the top level, having established himself as the leading three-year-old miler in training with dominant performances in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes. Keane was in the saddle for both of those wins, with his appointment as Juddmonte's...

When it comes to Sandown's G1 Coral-Eclipse, there has been a shift of power to the Classic generation in recent times with seven of the last ten going their way. Saturday's renewal will either see a fifth consecutive success for the 3-year-olds or a break in the sequence and the onus is on Ombudsman to reestablish the reputation of the older horses. Godolphin's son of Night Of Thunder is the key protagonist on his emphatic Prince of Wales's Stakes success last month and to date has no blemish on his...

Miguel Clement, the 34-year-old son of the late Christophe Clement, is sure to win many major races during his career, but the one he will surely never forget was when Deterministic (Liam's Map) took the GI Manhattan Stakes June 8. The win came just 13 days after his father passed away from cancer. But for this one race and one moment in time it was as if nothing had changed. Christophe Clement collected three Manhattans over the course of his career and Miguel almost pulled off a one-two finish as...

Fortino (Chi) (Midshipman), winner of the Chilean Triple Crown and the nation's Horse of the Year in 2023, was victorious in China on June 21, taking out a 1600-meter handicap at the Yulong Jockey Club. Drawn one, the chestnut entire raced behind the speed while close up and held his spot at the fence into the final 800 meters. Sent through to challenge nearing the straight, Fortino wrested command and reported home about three-quarters of a length to the good (see below, SC 6). The final time for the contest,...

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,...

The Coolmore partners were named the leading owners at Royal Ascot for the third consecutive year and sixth in total, as the five-day stand wrapped up on Saturday. Although they had five victories--the same as runner-up Wathnan Racing--they claimed their latest title by virtue of a countback of placed horses. For Sue Magnier, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Westerberg, Gstaad (Starspangledbanner), True Love (No Nay Never), and Charles Darwin (No Nay Never) took the G2 Coventry Stakes, G2 Queen Mary Stakes, and G2 Norfolk Stakes, respectively. Garden Of Eden (Saxon...

Thriving for a searching pace made by the Ballydoyle runners, Godolphin's Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) leapt to the fore to win Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes. Anchored behind by William Buick early, the John and Thady Gosden-trained 7-1 shot powered past labouring rivals and beyond the reigning Champion Stakes title-holder Anmaat (Awtaad) to score by two lengths in a show of finishing power. There was a 2 1/2-length margin back to See The Fire (Sea The Stars) in third, with the 13-8 favourite Los Angeles (Camelot) looking to have...