Oxagon

John and Thady Gosden have shaken up the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club by supplementing Craven Stakes winner Oxagon (Franke) at a cost of €72,000 on Wednesday morning. Owned by owner-breeder Prince Faisal, whose Mishriff won the race for the Gosden team in 2020, Oxagon was last seen finishing sixth in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. Only the Aidan O'Brien-trained Flushing Meadows defected from Sunday's race at the forfeit stage on Wednesday. His Ballydoyle-trained stablemate Constitution River, who also has the option of going to Epsom, for which he is...

It's a case of be ready for anything over the next three days, with Friday seeing the beginning of Newmarket's three-day Guineas meeting, Ascot's card of Royal meeting pointers, the traditional May Day fixture at Saint-Cloud and the first part of an intriguing two-day meeting at Goodwood. Saturday's 2,000 Guineas and Sunday's 1,000 Guineas are at the centre of a storm of activity which will require further analysis when calm is briefly restored next week. Once the draw had been made for Saturday's G1 Betfred 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on...

Whether the Classic picture is any clearer this week than last is debatable but what the last seven days have brought us is some truly impressive performances to savour. And it is hard to pick just one, though it has to be said that Portcullis's Wood Ditton run was visually the most spectacular for all that you could see the colt learning with every stride he took, from being left at the start, to bounding through then clear of his rivals.  His maiden success for the King and Queen played...

John Warren was doing his level best to suppress his excitement, but even a longstanding racing manager who has been privy to the highs and the lows of the sport has to crack after witnessing a performance like that of Portcullis in the Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes at Newmarket. The colt's breeder King Charles III was not present at the Rowley Mile but it's a safe bet that he and Queen Camilla will receive the most glowing post-race report from Warren and Portcullis's trainers John and Thady Gosden. "If I'm...

Wednesday, Newmarket, post time: 15:00, EARL OF SEFTON STAKES-G3, £95,000, 4yo/up, 9fT Field: Damysus (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Boiling Point (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), King's Gambit (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Persica (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Prague (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Skukuza (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}). TDN Analysis: Hopes that Damysus could make his mark at four are high considering he captured the same Listed contest at Deauville as had his esteemed stablemate Ombudsman 12 months earlier. Following up in the G3 Darley Stakes over this course and distance in October, Wathnan's...

Be careful what you read on social media. Or perhaps that should be, be careful how you read what's on social media.  This dim-witted hack got a little over-excited during the week when seeing a post by Ted Voute about Eydon foals. Had Prince Faisal decided to do a Gentleman's Deal with his strapping homebred and cover a few mares while the horse remained in training? Fear not, dear reader, we're on the case. Regrettably, though, instead of bringing you a scoop about Eydon's new dual-purpose career as both stallion...

Saturday, Doncaster, post time: 14:05, THE WILLIAM HILL FUTURITY TROPHY-G1, £200,000, 2yo, c/f, 8fT Field: Action (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Benvenuto Cellini (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Hawk Mountain (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Oxagon (Fr) (Frankel {GB}), Rochfortbridge (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}). TDN Analysis: A small field, but some quandaries with the line-up not yet confirmed. Heavy ground could see one of the big two Ballydoyle hopes taken out and it is not a given that the Champions Juvenile winner Benvenuto Cellini and the Beresford winner Hawk Mountain will take each other on, as...

The prospect of testing conditions for Saturday's William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster could scupper plans for two of the four entries not trained by Aidan O'Brien, including the Andrew Balding trainee Item, who is set to bypass the final Group 1 of the British Flat season if the ground is heavy. The son of Frankel is unbeaten in two starts to date, having followed up his debut victory at Kempton with a dominant performance at Bath last time, drawing right away in the final furlong to win by...

The first two from last month's G1 National Stakes at the Curragh, Zavateri (Without Parole) and Gstaad (Starspangledbanner), feature among 14 confirmations for Saturday's G1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes, along with Distant Storm, one of three potential runners for Charlie Appleby as he seeks a fourth win in the race since 2019. Last seen winning the G3 Tattersalls Stakes over Saturday's course and distance, Distant Storm heads the betting for the Dewhurst at a general 2/1, although his trainer will be keeping an eye on the weather in the coming days,...

Despite having flown to Lexington as recently as Tuesday, there was never any chance of Ted Voute not being at Deauville this weekend, with the jet-setting adviser to Prince Faisal describing himself as "quietly quite excited" about the prospects of Sajir when the son of Make Believe lines up in Sunday's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest. After gaining a second Group 3 triumph in April's Abernant Stakes at Newmarket, Sajir was then conceding 2lb to his conqueror, Topgear (Wootton Bassett), when filling the runner-up spot in the Prix du Palais-Royal...