Lazzat

Group 1 scorer Lazzat (Territories) will miss a title defence in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in June after picking up an injury during his victory in Thursday's G3 Prix du Palais Royal. Trained by Jerome Reynier, he is expected to make a full recovery. The Wathnan Racing colourbearer had a busy campaign after his Royal Ascot heroics, finishing second later that summer in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, as well as the G1 British Champions Sprint Stakes two starts later. Second in the...

To the casual observer at Longchamp on Thursday evening there would not have appeared to be too much wrong with French racing. A lively, sell-out crowd of 10,000 was on course for two reasons: top-class horse racing and an after-party which shimmered through to the small hours while the Eiffel Tower sparkled in the distance.  The 'JeuXdi' initiative of post-racing DJ sets is not new. For some years now Thursday nights at France's flagship track have been filled with young revellers. The difference this week was that for the first...

Thursday, ParisLongchamp, France, post time: 19:33, PRIX AGA KHAN IV (PRIX D'ISPAHAN)-G1, €250,000, 4yo/up, 9 1/4fT Field: Daryz (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Leffard (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), Sosie (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Divine Chrisnat (Fr) (Bow Creek {Ire}), Qilin Queen (Ire) (Pinatubo {Ire}). TDN Analysis: Daryz drops back from the Ganay in which he was so impressive as he tackles last year's winner Sosie. Both are top-class at a mile and a half and have the pace to make a mark over shorter, with Daryz possibly possessing a...

In its fledgling years, Wathnan Racing may have made a major splash at Royal Ascot in particular, and added a 66/1 winner of the Dubai World Cup to its list of achievements in 2025, but the team now has another major prize in its sights the on the other side of the Atlantic. Commandment (Into Mischief) won last weekend's Florida Derby to take his string of victories for Brad Cox to four and put himself firmly in the reckoning for the Kentucky Derby on May 2. Billed as 'the greatest...

By Emma Berry and Tom Frary Whatever your preference, as long as you are a fan of the Flat, there is something to whet your whistle this weekend. From early this Saturday morning there is top-class fare to entertain us. Have your alarm set for Dubai Honour (Pride Of Dubai) and Vauban (Galiway) in the G1 Tancred Stakes at Rosehill, where 4,800,000-guinea Yulong purchase Barnavara (Calyx) also makes her return in the G2 Neville Selwood Stakes. For those with the stamina of a Gold Cup contender, the GI Florida Derby...

Reigning Japanese Horse of the Year Forever Young (Real Steel) will break from stall 6 under Ryusei Sakai in a field of nine for Saturday's $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup sponsored by Emirates. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who drew the gate number during the post-position ceremony at Meydan Racecourse on Wednesday morning, said, "I wanted middle to outer, so I'm pleased." Last year, Forever Young could manage only third in the Dubai World Cup behind Hit Show (Candy Ride), who is drawn alongside Forever Young in gate 5 as he tries...

At an unspecified date in the future Saudi Arabia will have a brand new racecourse at Qiddiya City, which will eventually host the Saudi Cup, according to an announcement made earlier this week. But for now the world's richest race belongs in Riyadh. Development has continued apace at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, which has now been in operation for 24 years. Much has changed, even in the short history of the Saudi Cup, both to the infrastructure at the racecourse and in the status of some of the contests. The Saudi...

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. Monday's Observations features a newcomer from the Jerome Reynier stable. 14.30 Cagnes-sur-Mer, €21,000, Mdn, 3yo, 8f (AWT) Nurlan Bizakov's LASHKER (Pinatubo) is a homebred half-brother to the dam of G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes and G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest hero Lazzat (Territories), while his second dam is...

Of late, the chance of spotting a potential luminary at the provincial tracks of France or the all-weather in England has become very real and now that January is nearing the midway point it is essential to pay close attention. Monday sees Cagnes-sur-Mer kick off its six-week flat programme aside the Mediterranean and it begins with the Prix de Caucade which has unveiled a recent jewel. It was in this 7 1/2-furlong three-year-old debutantes race for fillies in 2019 that Jean-Claude Rouget unveiled Siyouni's future E. P. Taylor heroine Etoile...

Saturday, Ascot, post time: 16:05, THE QIPCO CHAMPION STAKES-G1, £1,417,500, 3yo/up, 9f 212yT Field: Almaqam (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), First Look (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Fox Legacy (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Ombudsman (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Prague (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Almeric (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Delacroix (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Devil's Advocate (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), Mount Kilimanjaro (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}). TDN Analysis: The Champion Stakes as it should be but not always is, with...

After a summer of toing and froing and ding-dong battles, Ascot's feature G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes brings it all to a satisfyingly gladiatorial climax on Saturday. Having revelled in Ombudsman's dramatic surge at the end of the Prince of Wales's, Delacroix's huge move coming off Leopardstown's bend in the Irish Champion and the relentless power of Calandagan at the close of the King George, it all comes together in a perfect blend on a perfect sunlit autumn afternoon for the latest QIPCO Champions Day. The headline race is a qualifier...

The majority of the season's stars have held their ground after the latest acceptance stage for Britain's richest race day, the QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 18. In the £1.3-million QIPCO Champion Stakes, the 2024 winner Anmaat (Awtaad) will lock horns with the G1 Princes Of Wales's Stakes/G1 Juddmonte International Stakes hero Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and G1 Eclipse Stakes winner Delacroix (Dubawi). Also entered in that contest is the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Calandagan (Gleneagles), 2024 G1 Irish Champion Stakes scorer...