Newmarket

13.30 Goodwood, Cond, £30,000, 3yo, 8fT DEVIL'S POINT (IRE) (New Bay {GB}) is dropped in class by trainer David Menuisier following a lacklustre return when a distant third in the G3 Prix Djebel last month. Entered in the G1 Commonwealth Cup, Clive Washbourn's G1 Futurity Trophy runner-up has only two to beat and should be able to get back on track. 13.50 Newmarket, Mdn, £40,000, 3yo, f, 10fT MAGIC DREAM (IRE) (Shamardal) bids to build on her highly encouraging debut second at Newbury last month in this maiden won 12...

Team Ballydoyle's crack colt City Of Troy (Justify) has 10 peers to overcome in Saturday's G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in his quest to follow the hoofprints of the wonderhorse with which he has drawn early comparison. With the stable removing all of his understudies including the similarly-unbeaten Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) on Thursday morning, the assembled cast will be the smallest for the time-honoured Rowley Mile Classic since 2017 when Ryan Moore enjoyed his last winning ride on Churchill (Ire). Three of the colts dispatched by Coolmore's...

Aidan O'Brien is to be inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame during the QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket on Saturday.  The 54-year-old Irishman follows his Ballydoyle predecessor Vincent O'Brien, along with Sir Michael Stoute and Sir Henry Cecil, as the fourth trainer to be nominated for inclusion in the official Hall of Fame for British Flat racing, which was launched in 2021. He said, "It is incredible, and a privilege for us, as it is something we would never have expected. "The people, and horses, that...

Were you at the Rowley Mile on October 17, 2014? Those autumn meetings are always special, and that particular Group 1 race day saw Belardo (Ire) beat Kodi Bear (Ire) in the Dubai Dewhurst S. some 35 minutes after what now looks to have been a rather special running of the Dubai Fillies' Mile.  If you were there that day you can reflect on the fact that you saw the dams of this weekend's favourites for the Qipco 2,000 Guineas and Qipco 1,000 Guineas finish first and second in the...

Owner Jeff Smith has his eyes fixed on a breakthrough Classic victory and could have his strongest hand yet with Ghostwriter (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and See The Fire (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) on course for the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas respectively.  First up for his shot at Classic honours is the Clive Cox-trained Ghostwriter, who was unbeaten during his two-year-old campaign, finishing off by dazzling over the Guineas track and trip when claiming the Royal Lodge S. That kind of profile has Smith excited for when his son...

Donnacha O'Brien has a lot to look forward to as he launches into his fifth year of training since retiring as a champion jockey in Ireland. The 25-year-old, who operates under the nom-de-course Bawnmore Racing, is off to a fast start already this spring as he had his first 2-year-old winner of the year at Dundalk on April 13 with Usdi Atohi (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) and just this past weekend at the Curragh, his 4-year-old trainee Yosemite Valley (GB) (Shamardal) claimed the listed Lester Piggott Gladness S. But there...

Bookmaker William Hill has been named the official betting partner of the QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket from May 3-5, the racecourse announced on Thursday. Already an official betting partner of the Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree earlier this month, the bookmaker will have its name attached to 15 races across the three-day stand. Among the sponsored races are the G2 Jockey Club S. on Friday, the G3 Palace House S. on Saturday and the G2 Dahlia S. on Sunday. Two £100,000 Heritage Handicaps on Saturday's card will also...

The Roger Varian-trained Al Musmak (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) will bid to defy his outsider status when he lines out in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday week. The colt brings smart form to the table with a Listed win in Haydock's Ascendant S. sandwiched between creditable placed efforts behind Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) at Ascot and then on his final start of the year when second to Ghostwriter (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the Royal Lodge. A return to the Rowley Mile for the opening...

Twenty-one colts have stood their ground at the latest forfeit stage for the G1 Qipco 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday, May 4. They include the outstanding juvenile of 2023, City Of Troy (Justify), last seen winning the G1 Dewhurst S. on the Rowley Mile by three and a half lengths. City Of Troy is one of four entries left in the 2,000 Guineas for Aidan O'Brien, the most successful trainer in the history of the Classic with 10 wins. The potential challenge from Ballydoyle is completed by Diego Velazquez...

With no standout member of the line-up, Thursday's G3 Craven S. at Newmarket may offer more clues as to the 2000 Guineas prospects of those in absentia who share the stables of the main contenders. Ballydoyle are perhaps scouting the local opposition to City Of Troy with Cambridge (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), while Godolphin saddle Native Approach (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}) possibly with a view to weighing up where their Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) sits. Andre Fabre is here again with Baron Edouard De Rothschild's TDN Rising Star Alcantor...

NEWMARKET, UK -- The action on the Rowley Mile on Wednesday wasn't restricted to the seven scheduled races on the card, with a host of potential Classic runners taking part in racecourse gallops just before the first race of the day. The headline act was the Karl Burke-trained Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), who is currently co-favourite for the Qipco 1,000 Guineas on May 5. She was put through her paces by Danny Tudhope. "I was very happy with her and Danny was delighted," said Burke of Steve...

One of the more exposed fillies in the line-up for Wednesday's G3 Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn S. at Newmarket, Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum's Pretty Crystal (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}--Pretty Baby {Ire}, by Orpen) emerged on top of a battle with Dubawi's other runner Dance Sequence (GB). Sent off at 18-1, the homebred whose five juvenile efforts included a second in the G3 Princess Margaret S. raced prominently under Oisin Orr throughout the early stages. Getting to Kathmandu (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}) a furlong out, the Richard Fahey-trained chestnut had Godolphin's Dance...