National Hunt

The National Hunt Breeders' Summer Party was launched by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA) on Thursday. The event, incorporating the TBA's NH Breeders' Awards, will take place at Pulton Hill Vineyard near Cirencester on Tuesday, July 21. Sponsored by Gallagher, the party will bring the British National Hunt breeding community together. It will be hosted by Alice Plunkett. Tickets are priced at £50 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the TBA website. Naomi Mellor, chief executive of the TBA, said, "We are delighted to be...

The initial one-dozen entries for the Goffs Punchestown Sale, set for the winner's enclosure after racing on Thursday, April 30, were released on Friday. The sale features 12 lots, 10 of them four- and five-year-old winners, nine of them won on debut. Six of the nine debut winners are geldings, including Aladin Du Rheu (Choeur Du Nord), Chanson Du Jury (Jukebox Jury) and Monjeu De Chaillac (Jeu St Eloi). Of the trio of fillies to win at first asking, All Noise is by Maxios, while Music Maker is by Mahler...

The catalogue for the Goffs UK Spring Store Sale is now online and features 211 two- and three-year-old stores. Set for Monday, May 18 beginning at 10 a.m., the sale is followed by the Goffs UK Sprint HIT/P2P Sale on Wednesday, May 20 and Thursday, May 21. Past graduates have landed a trio of Grade 1 races this term via Storming George (Order Of St George), Bossman Jack (Jack Hobbs), and Talk The Talk (Born To Sea), while White Noise (Kingston Hill) prevailed in the G2 Mares' Novices' Hurdle at...

A total of 90 lots have been catalogued for the Tattersalls Online March Sale on March 18-19. The sale is headed by the 13-lot Point-to-Point & National Hunt Bumper Session. There are also 62 horses in- and out-of-training, five two-year-olds, three stores, two broodmares, two yearlings, a 1/50th share of Nando Parrado (lot 89) and a breeding right in Invincible Army (lot 90). Some of the highlights are Bon Bon Fizz (Pour Moi) (lot 10), who won a bumper by 15 lengths at Thurles; Aintree Grand National entry Harry Des...

Dedicated National Hunt social media channels across Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook were launched by Coolmore on Thursday. As the cornerstone of Coolmore's heritage since the 1850s, these new channels will be the primary hub for Coolmore National Hunt news, race results, stallion updates, and sales information; as well as being an exclusive window into the daily operations at Coolmore's National Hunt bases of Grange Stud, Castlehyde, and The Beeches Stud. The launch reflects Coolmore's deep-rooted pride in National Hunt racing and its commitment to supporting the sector at every...

The first reported foal for four-time Group 1 winner Luxembourg is a colt born at Cleaboy Stud and Coppice Farm. Out of Raffles Monte (Martaline), the bay was bred by Sean Gorman. The dam is a half-sister to Grade 3-winning hurdler Raffles Sainte (Saint Des Saint), out of listed-winning chaser Loxlade (Sholokhov) and from the family of French Champion Hurdle winner Vaporetto (Lear Fan). "Right colour, right physical, we couldn't be happier with him," said Gorman. Luxembourg, by Camelot, was a Group 1 winner every year from two through five,...

Stewards will be able to declare a horse a non-runner in any race without starting stalls if they deem that contender has been denied a fair start after a rule change was made by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). Beginning next Wednesday, the rule change brings both NH and Flat together. There was already a similar rule in place since last May for horses jumping from the starting stalls. Stewards will be able to deem a horse a non-runner if they believe the horse did not get a fair start...

Goffs has catalogued 75 lots for its upcoming British NH Breeders Showcase, which takes place Friday, Oct. 31. In its third year, the sale will offer 65 NH foals in addition to 10 breeding stock lots, several of which at offered in foal to NH sires. The sale will feature foals by Bathyrhon, Capri, Choeur du Nord, Cracksman, Frontiersman, Jack Hobbs, Jeu St Eloi, Logician, Moises Has, Order of St George, Poet's Word, Postponed, Stradivarius, Subjectivist and Yeats. The breeding stock segment of the sale will follow the foal session....

A number of changes to the upcoming 2025/2026 National Hunt programme, including a minimum rating requirement for Grade 1 novice and juvenile hurdles, were announced by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) on Thursday. Horses will only be allowed to run in the top-level contests should they have achieved a rating of 110 or higher, either through a published handicap mark or as assessed by the BHA handicapper to have to raced to that level in at least one hurdle run. There is also an increase in the number of weight-for-age...

A 10-strong dispersal of owner/breeder Niall Farrell's stock is the highlight of the Goffs Doncaster Summer Sale. The mixed NH sale, consisting of 134 lots will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, July 21 at Doncaster. Farrell's dispersal will be handled by Mill House Stud, with Protektrice (Turgeon), a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Protektorat (Saint Des Saints) in foal to Jack Hobbs with a Golden Horn filly at foot, one of the star attractions. Lot 122 is followed by Bitumen Belle (Oscar)(lot 123), a half-sister to the...

A total of 390 lots have been catalogued for the two-day Goffs February Sale, which begins on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The mixed catalogue features both Flat and National Hunt horses including short yearlings, 2-year-olds, horses-in-training, stores, and fillies and broodmares. Some of the Flat-bred short yearlings on offer were sired by Baaeed (GB), Blue Point (Ire), Sioux Nation, Camelot (GB), Dark Angel (Ire), Havana Grey (Ire), Mehmas (Ire), and No Nay Never (Ire) among others. Among the National Hunt short yearlings, sires Blue Bresil (Fr), Goliath Du Berlais (Fr), Nirvana...

Goffs is set to offer something different to the National Hunt sphere by adding two-year-old store horses to the historic Arkle Sale in 2025.  Traditionally, the sale has been dominated by three-year-old unbroken stores-including the odd smattering of four-year-olds-but Goffs chief executive Henry Beeby says that the addition of two-year-olds is a reaction to market demands. Beeby said, "We pride ourselves on being flexible and progressive in meeting market demands whilst taking a measured approach and the introduction of two-year-old stores to the Arkle Sale comes in response to long...