Lope de Vega (Ire)

Tom Lacy received a heartwarming reception at the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Awards last week. And rightly so. A legendary figure in Irish racing, Lacy rode 50 winners on the Flat and found only Arkle and Flyingbolt too good aboard Height Of Fashion in two Irish Grand Nationals.  As a trainer, Lacy sent out hundreds of winners from Rhode, County Offaly, including Ingabelle (GB), who later became a hugely important foundation mare at Ballylinch Stud. His sons Barry and Tony rode multiple winners for the stable down through the years....

6th-Lingfield, £100,000, Hcp, 1-21, 4yo/up, f/m, 10f (AWT), 2:05.12, st. AL AGAILA (IRE) (f, 4, Lope De Vega {Ire}--L'Amour de Ma Vie {GSW-UAE, SW-Fr, GSP-Eng, $322,632}, by Dansili {GB}), sent off the 10-11 favourite for this Winter Oaks having won the course-and-distance Winter Oaks Trial with ease last month, tracked the leading trio throughout the early stages. Earning the advantage approaching the furlong pole, the bay held on to score by a head from Morgan Fairy (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). Simon Crisford said, "It was a tactical race and...

Whether it was Bayside Boy (Ire) at Ballylinch, Minzaal (Ire) at Derrinstown or King Of Change (GB) and Dubawi Legend (Ire) at Starfield, one of the main takeaways from this year's Irish Thoroughbred Stallion Trail was that the pedigree buffs and bloodstock fans love nothing more than getting a glimpse at the new stallions this country has to offer.  "Don't dream of putting a picture of that lad up on Twitter otherwise I'll have Eddie O'Leary tweeting that it's not the only pig down in Ballyhane," - Joe Foley. Few...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Observations features a half to Group 1-winning sprinter Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). 1.10 Lingfield, Novice, £8,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 8f 1y (AWT) SPRING PROMISE (IRE) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is one of two representatives of the Charlie Appleby stable and a half-sister to last year's G1 Platinum Jubilee...

Value is relative. A homebred yearling by a lowly stallion who goes on to reap rich rewards on the track, or one by a more fashionably expensive name who brings a bonanza return in the sale ring could each be considered to have offered 'value' for their breeders. In a slight departure from the norm for this annual series, we will be looking at the profitability of stallions in four key price brackets according to their yearling sales returns of 2022 set against their fees at the time of covering,...

Having provided the winners of this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Prix de Diane, Prix Jacques le Marois, Grand Prix de Paris and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Frankel (GB), unsurprisingly, has been named the champion sire of France in 2022. He ceded his position as champion in Britain and Ireland to Dubawi (Ire), whom he finished in front of when it comes to overall European earnings. Of the winners of the above named Group 1 races--Alpinista (GB), Nashwa (GB), Inspiral (GB) and Onesto (Ire)--all bar Alpinista remain in training...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Observations features a half-brother to an Italian Classic hero. 13.44 Newcastle, Nov, £6,800, 2yo, 8f 5y (AWT) Hugo Palmer trainee IMPERIAL ACE (IRE) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), a 125,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 son of G3 Premio Verziere victrix Cottonmouth (Ire) (Noverre), is kin to a trio of...

There was an exciting newcomer in action at Kempton on Monday as Yoshiro Kubota's Dragon Icon (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) made light work of the seven-furlong British EBF Novice S. A full-brother to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and GII Jessamine S. winner and $3million Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November Sale sensation Aunt Pearl (Ire), the Roger Varian-trained bay travelled strongly towards the rear with the anchor down throughout the early stages. Building a head of steam in early straight, the 4-1 shot struck the front passing the furlong pole and stayed...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed 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 full-brother to GISW Aunt Pearl. 16.15 Kempton, Nov, £14,000, 2yo, 7f (AWT) Yoshiro Kubota's hitherto untried 360,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 acquisition DRAGON ICON (IRE) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is a Roger Varian-trained full-brother to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Aunt Pearl (Ire)....

Lot 928, a daughter of Lope De Vega (Ire) and the Poet's Voice (GB) mare Poet's Vanity (GB) who won the G3 Oh So Sharp S., was the first foal to break the 500,000gns barrier when selling for exactly that amount to Juddmonte Farms. Consigned by Langton Stud, the bay is kin to G3 Ballyogan S. heroine and G1 Golden Jubilee S. third Lesson In Humility (Ire) (Mujadil). She, in turn, has two stakes winners to her name, including the Group 3 winner and G1 Irish Derby second Tiger Moth...

Roster stalwart Lope De Vega (Ire) enjoyed another excellent year with his progeny and will remain at a roster-topping €125,000 at Ballylinch Stud in Ireland. Now the sire of 103 black-type winners since reaching his centennial earlier this year, the chestnut also sired a 1.8 million guineas yearling during the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales. No less than 26 of his progeny have won stakes worldwide in 2022, led by dual Group 1 winner turned $2.7-million Keeneland November alum Dreamloper (Ire). He is also the sire of G1 Prix Vermeille heroine...

Dreamloper's owner-breeder Olivia Hoare has admitted to being overcome with emotion ahead of a trip of a lifetime to the Breeders' Cup to see her dual Group 1-winning homebred bow out from racing on the biggest stage of all. Trained by Ed Walker to win two top-flight races at ParisLongchamp this season, Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is likely to race for the final time in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile given the 5-year-old is entered up in the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale next week. The decision to...