Oaks

The Classic Generation At the start of June, with France and Germany having already crept cautiously back into play after the COVID full-stop, Britain joined in with the beginning of a flourish of catch-up fare. In under a week of racing, we had a new star to gaze at, and time experts were in awe of Bjorn Nielsen's English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}). While he looked super-slick in the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial, he was to be given the justifiably dreaded number one draw at Epsom and gave up any...

The Oppenheimer Family's Hascombe and Valiant Studs has bred the winners of each of the British Classics bar one, and next Saturday it has an opportunity to complete the collection with Frankly Darling (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Investec Oaks. Kicking things off in 1982 was On The House (Fr) (Be My Guest), who was campaigned by Anthony Oppenheimer's father Sir Philip Oppenheimer and won the G1 1000 Guineas. The family also bred the G1 2000 Guineas winner Footstepsinthesand (GB) and G1 St Leger winner Harbour Law (GB), who...

In its latest update on Wednesday, the British Horseracing Authority's Flat Pattern Committee revealed that plans remain for the G1 2000 Guineas and G1 1000 Guineas to be staged on June 6 and 7, respectively, while the G1 Investec Derby and G1 Investec Oaks are both set for Saturday, July 4. The G1 Eclipse S. will take place on July 5, and Royal Ascot remains on its original dates of June 16 to 20, though some changes to the order of races "will be confirmed as soon as possible." The...

Given that his own sire had overcome a pretty mediocre family to become no less potent, it might seem misplaced to insist on due credit for the other genetic contributors to the legacy of Deep Impact (Jpn). On the face of it, after all, the career of Sunday Silence might suggest that the bull--in his case, Halo--really can be more than half the herd. For some of us, however, even the most successful sire-line can only ever be one strand in a complex mesh--and, as such, there will always be...