Kameko

One race after breaking his duck for the 2026 Royal Ascot meeting, James Doyle was riding the wave again as Jeff Smith's Generic (Kameko) brought up a quickfire double in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes. Last seen finishing seven lengths adrift of Constitution River in Chester's Dee Stakes, the Andrew Balding-trained homebred stayed on best in a strongly-run renewal to deny Ballydoyle's 11-8 favourite Endorsement (Wootton Bassett) by a length at 18-1. The Hugo Palmer-trained Glacius (Too Darn Hot) was a head further back in third. "There was a bit of a...

Qatar Racing's 2,000 Guineas hero Kameko will stand for a reduced fee of £15,000 at Tweenhills Farm and Stud next year, with the G1 Sussex Stakes winner Lightning Spear joining him on the roster at £3,000 (from £5,000). In 2025, Kameko covered 136 mares at a fee of £20,000, having been represented by 14 winners from his first crop of juvenile runners in Europe in 2024, including the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner Wimbledon Hawkeye and Qatar Racing homebred New Century, who was successful in the GI Natalma Stakes at...

Fully 10,000 miles from their birthplace at Tweenhills Farm and Stud, Qatar Racing homebreds Buckaroo, Middle Earth and Valiant King now face the most important two-mile test of their lives on Tuesday, with a place in history assured should one of them reach its end as a Melbourne Cup winner. From the lush paddocks of Tweenhills to the manicured turf of Flemington, it's been quite the journey, both literally and figuratively. Between them the trio amassed 27 starts in Europe - Buckaroo and Valiant King with Joseph O'Brien, Middle Earth...

   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 Wimbledon Hawkeye at Kentucky Downs.   Kameko Colt Hits The Target In Kentucky The consistent Wimbledon Hawkeye (Kameko) made his first American foray a winning one when scooping a $1 million-plus payday at Kentucky Downs in the GIII Nashville Derby Invitational Stakes on August 30 (video). Bred by owners the Gredley family's Stetchworth and Middle Park Studs, the James Owen trainee had won...

It's not just the horses that are called upon. Horsemen, too, must measure up to the challenges of our sport. To many, that now means rescheduling the Triple Crown series. To some of us, however, it means the very opposite. Our community was similarly divided in 2023 by the loss of two horses easing to Grade I success, right in front of the Saratoga grandstand. That trauma prompted many to demand that all dirt tracks be dug up. Others, however, urged persevering with the ancestral core of American racing so...

It is nearly 20 years since Speciosa (Ire) became the first Classic winner to emanate from the breeze-up sales. The man who sold her, Willie Browne, had been plying his trade in that sector since 1978, and, as the breeze-ups close in on their 50th anniversary, it is good to see that the Mocklershill maestro is still very much at the top of his game.  In fact, last week's Craven Sale at Tattersalls was a good one for the founding fathers of the breeze-up game. There was Browne turning €70,000...

Qatar Racing has removed its six horses from Andrew Balding's Kingsclere yard. The news was confirmed by the trainer's wife, Anna Lisa, speaking at Newcastle on Friday. Anna Lisa said, "Andrew and Sheikh Fahad just had differences and we just decided that it was probably best to go our separate ways." Balding's association with Sheikh Fahad's operation has been particularly fruitful. Since Qatar Racing was established in 2012, Balding has been training for the operation which has resulted in a quartet of Group 1 winners:  2000 Guineas winner and Group...

A special aspect of British racing is the existence of some spectacular country estates devoted solely to the purpose of breeding and training racehorses. For anyone with a love of the turf, names such as Kingsclere, Manton and Beckhampton have resonated down the years.  We owe a debt of gratitude to those who ensure that they continue in this modern era, with their swathes of land so attractive to developers and their historic buildings so expensive to maintain. Andrew Balding's base at Park House Stables has subsumed its village's name...

A breeding right to Whitsbury Manor Stud's Havana Grey (GB) headlines the catalogue for the Tattersalls Online January Sale, which takes place from Tuesday, January 14 to Wednesday, January 15. The first sale of 2025 also features 64 horses in and out of training, 22 broodmares, five yearlings and three stores, as well as additional breeding rights to Ardad (Ire), Harry Angel (Ire) and Kameko. The 46 horses in training catalogued include the three-year-old Well Enough (Ire), who will be offered by trainer Hilal Kobeissi following his victory in a...

It may be the season to be jolly, but it's also a time of reflection, and there are many ways one can look back on a first-season sires' championship in Britain and Ireland that was ultimately dominated from start to finish by Whitsbury Manor Stud's Sergei Prokofiev.  The cool thing to say about this year's championship was that none of the new stallions seemed to be standing out from the crowd like Blue Point (Ire) and Havana Grey (GB) had done in previous years.  That may well be true, but...

A 1/50th share in first-season sire Hello Youmzain (Fr) (lot 4) brought a sale-topping €250,000 from Laurent Benoit's Broadhurst Agency during Tuesday's Arqana Online November Sale. The son of Kodiac (GB) has 19 winners worldwide. His pair of Group 3 winners are G3 Prix des Chenes hero Misunderstood (Fr), and G3 Prix Eclipse hero Electrolyte (Ire). Kullazain (GB) was third in the G3 Cornwallis Stakes, and Afentiko (Ire) was placed in a French listed affair. He stands for €40,000 at Haras d'Etreham next year. Group 1 sire Kameko's 1/50th (lot...

Kameko has had his fee raised to £20,000 for the 2025 season following a promising season for his first two-year-old runners. The Qipco 2,000 Guineas winner stands alone among this year's first-season sires in being the only member of that class to date to have sired a Group/Grade 1 winner. Kameko's breakthrough came with the win of New Century (GB) in the GI Summer Stakes at Woodbine. The Qatar Racing colt went on to finish fourth in Friday's G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf for Andrew Balding. Kameko is also the...