Ted Durcan

The breeze-up season gets underway this month with the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale - which takes place from April 13 to 15 - followed by the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale - on April 21 and 22. Few trainers have enjoyed better luck than Richard Hughes when it comes to sourcing horses from that sphere.  The Group 1-winning handler has big-race targets for breeze-up graduates Rose Ghaiyyath (Ghaiyyath), America Queen (Havana Grey) and Nobody Knows (Wootton Bassett). Meanwhile, the Group-placed Bella Lyra (Oasis Dream) has recently been sold to continue her...

FAIRYHOUSE, IRELAND - On a day when even the wildest expectations for the opening session of the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale were exceeded, Peter Nolan enjoyed a result he will never forget when his homebred colt by first-season sire Blackbeard was knocked down to Ted Durcan for €165,000. That result represented a shrewd piece of business for Nolan who went with his gut when deciding not to part with the Blackbeard colt as a foal, thus reaping the rewards for sitting on his hands until the yearling sales.  It...

Ted Durcan has quickly established himself as one of the most respected bloodstock agents on the beat since retiring from race-riding with over 1,500 winners under his belt at the age of 45 in 2018.  In a career that spanned 25 years, Durcan achieved Classic success aboard Light Shift in the Oaks in 2007 before partnering Mastery to St Leger glory in 2007. He also enjoyed hugely successful periods abroad and was crowned champion jockey in the UAE on seven occasions.  In many ways, bloodstock has proved to be a...

In this time of back-to-back yearling sales, the logistics for bloodstock agents and trainers may be one of the biggest concerns, but one thing that appears not to be a worry is the strength of the market.  From America to Europe, the yearling season has started in bullish fashion. A proper staying pedigree is required to last to the end of Keeneland's September Sale, which is now well into its second week, while at Fairyhouse, the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale is also in full swing. Plenty of breeze-up pinhookers have...

Former Classic-winning jockey Ted Durcan has been appointed as the UK and Ireland bloodstock consultant for MyRacehorse.  Durcan will select horses for the microshare syndicate from both public auctions and privately. Durcan, who runs Durcan Bloodstock, said, "I am delighted to have been asked to join MyRacehorse to help the team source some exciting and fun horses for the season ahead. "MyRacehorse gives everybody the chance to see how this amazing sport works from the inside out rather than the outside in. This is something that normally would not be...

The first day of the new season of racing at Newmarket will feature a race named in honour of the multiple Irish champion jockey Pat Smullen, who died last September at the age of 43. The Pat Smullen Memorial H. is a Class 2 contest for 4-year-olds and up on the opening day of the Craven meeting on Apr. 13. It is to be run over the Rowley Mile, where Smullen recorded his first British Classic victory aboard Moyglare Stud's Refuse To Bend (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) in 2003. The race...

With more time on their hands than usual, stars of the weighing-room past and present have been reflecting on memorable equine partners over the years. Today, TED DURCAN is in the hot seat... Who is your favourite horse? My favourite horse is easy. I'd have to nominate Somnus (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). He was an absolute dude of a ride at the races. He was the perfect horse: he didn't pull and you could ride him wherever you were happy as long as he had soft ground. I loved riding him and he was very good...

NEWMARKET, UK--The Tattersalls February Sale has once again sneaked into the tail-end of January and, now expanded to two days to incorporate the 401 lots catalogued, it offers the usual mix of broodmares, horses in training and young stock. It took a bid of 105,000gns from Ted Durcan to secure last year's top lot, Magic Illusion (GB) ((Dubawi {Ire}), who was bought from Godolphin to race in Dubai. Another of the jockey-turned-agent's purchases from the 2019 sale was Dramatic Device (GB) (Dansili {GB}), who was bought for 20,000gns and went...