Simon Sweeting
There can be few crueller blows than Classic dreams being dashed after a winter fuelled by expectation and excitement. This was sadly the case for all those connected with last year's champion two-year-old Gewan (Night Of Thunder), who suffered a fatal injury in April while being prepared for the 2,000 Guineas. Trained by Andrew Balding for Forz Europe, the colt would have been an obvious prospect for that same owner's fledgling stallion operation at Ace Stud. Gewan's breeders, Charlie Wyatt of Dukes Stud and Simon Sweeting of Overbury Stud, were...
If seeing top-class racehorses in the flesh is the kind of thing you're into, then the inaugural NH Stallion Open Weekend - organised by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (TBA), in association with the British EBF - had just about everything that you could ask for, with the exception of the muscle-bound sprinters that have proliferated at Flat studs in recent years. A total of 20 stallions, mostly of the more stamina-laden variety, paraded for onlookers across the two days, with seven different farms opening their doors. It was a star-studded...
As updates go, being a half-sister to the Cartier Horse of the Year is not a bad one, especially when the mare in question is carrying to Calandagan's sire, Gleneagles. Caliyza has plenty more in her favour to boot. She's a dual winner by the late Le Havre and, only five, she is in foal for the first time. Offered as lot 1452 by Overbury Stud on Monday during the first of two Sceptre Sessions, the Aga Khan Studs-bred mare is returning to Tattersalls just 12 months after being bought...
Golden Horn, the sire of this year's dual Group 1-winning stayer Trawlerman and Champion Hurdle heroine Golden Ace, will stand for the unchanged fee of £10,000 at Overbury Stud in 2026. "Golden Horn has had an impressive year under both codes. To sire winners of the Champion Hurdle, Triumph Hurdle and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot within a few months is simply exceptional, and his 15% stakes horses to runners ratio on the Flat is outstanding," said the stallion's owner, Jayne McGivern. "Golden Horn has every right to command...
The TDN's Emma Berry will succeed Simon Sweeting as chair of the British EBF in January 2026. Berry, who joined the Thoroughbred Daily News as European editor in 2015, previously worked as deputy editor of Pacemaker magazine, deputy editor and racing editor of Horse & Hound, bloodstock editor of Thoroughbred Owner Breeder and associate editor of Bloodstock Notebook. She also completed a stint for Darley at Dalham Hall Stud for three years. A small owner-breeder with two broodmares, Berry sits on the BHA Flat Pattern Committee and is a member...
YORK, UK -- What a day, or perhaps that should be, oh, what a Night. Fresh from providing the €3m top lot at Arqana on Monday, Night Of Thunder was by Wednesday ruling the Knavesmire, courtesy of his sons Ombudsman and Gewan. In Ombudsman, Godolphin and the Gosdens have the classic late improver, who set about his racing in the middle of last season and burst onto the Group 1 scene in impressive fashion at Royal Ascot. The narrowest of defeats in the Eclipse next time out did little to...
The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) allocation to the new disease surveillance, veterinary science and education programme starting in 2025 is rising to £2.76m [from £2.32m]. The Racing Foundation and the British European Breeders' Fund (BEBF) are supporting specific projects with an additional £220,000, bringing the total funds available to £2.98m. The news comes following continued support from the Racing Foundation, the TBA, the Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust and the BEBF. That support is said to underline the importance that the industry places on advancing the health and welfare of...
Karl Burke, who has sent out more Royal Ascot-winning two-year-olds in the last decade than every other trainer bar Aidan O'Brien, has emerged as a fierce opponent to planned changes to the Windsor Castle Stakes, describing the new race conditions announced by the British Horseracing Authority's Flat Pattern Committee (FPC) as a "ridiculous idea". In a press release issued by the FPC on Tuesday, it was revealed that the distance of the Windsor Castle will be increased to six furlongs from 2026. In addition, the Listed contest will be restricted...
The British EBF has released details of its programme for 2025, featuring 700 races and £2 million of contributions to horse racing's prize-money from 35 British stallion studs. Headlining the Flat racing initiatives is the British EBF 2yo Series, with a total prize fund of £2.3 million and two finals. They will each be worth £100,000, with the fillies' race set to take place at Goodwood on Wednesday, September 24, before the colts and geldings take centre stage at York on Friday, October 10. Over 170 restricted maiden and novice...
On the morning of Sunday, June 7, 2015, a small gathering at John Gosden's Clarehaven Stables celebrated the previous day's Derby one-two of stable-mates Golden Horn (GB) and Jack Hobbs (GB). The two colts posed either side of their trainer, with their regular riders, the late Michael Curran and Taffy Williams, proudly at their sides. Golden Horn would end the season as Horse of the Year, thanks to his subsequent triumphs in the Eclipse, Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Only the fillies Arabian Queen (GB) and...
The British EBF is to refocus part of its National Hunt prize-money contribution to support the junior hurdle programme, it was announced on Thursday. Now in their fourth year, Junior National Hunt Hurdle races are designed to enhance the potential of young horses through earlier jumping education. Racing against their own age group, the development of the programme aims to mirror the early education options available to National Hunt trainers in Ireland and France. Open exclusively to three-year-olds from October to December and four-year-olds from January to April of the following...
British horseracing's most active sponsor, the British EBF, welcomed the appointment of two new Trustees to its board this month, it was announced on Tuesday. Whatton Manor Stud's Ed Player joins the British EBF Trustees, alongside being a committee member at Nottingham Racecourse. After eight years at Schroders Investment Management in London, Player returned to his passion of racing and joined the family-run Whatton Manor Stud. Over the last 20 years, Player has helped oversee a significant expansion in the acreage of Whatton Manor, leading to a similar increase in...