Venetian Sun

G1 Prix Morny heroine Venetian Sun (Starman) is one of 25 horses remaining in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot on Friday, June 19. She was a G3 Albany Stakes winner at two at Ascot. The Karl Burke trainee failed to stay in the G1 1000 Guineas, but made up for that effort with an impressive win in the G2 Sandy Lane Stakes over Division (Kingman) later in May. Sean Graham, racing manager to part-owner Tony Bloom, said of the filly, "Venetian Sun is in great form and came...

It seems hard to believe now that the form of the Ballydoyle stable was being questioned prior to the 2,000 Guineas, before Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) acted as the pivot to a major upturn and sequence of wins in key races in early May. That he slammed Godolphin's genuine Group 1 performer Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) and the rest by upwards of eight lengths in that Newmarket Classic and still managed to be convincingly beaten is the remarkable story of this year's renewal and he gets the chance to excel in...

Bloodstock agent Barry Lynch provided an peak behind the curtain about what life as a bloodstock agent is really like in the latest installment of the TDN Conversations podcast. 

The Coolmore partners' G1 Fillies' Mile heroine Precise (Starspangledbanner) has been awarded a mark of 113p by Timeform for her Newmarket heroics. She leads the rankings for her age and sex, with Aidan O'Brien stablemate and G1 Cheveley Park Stakes winner True Love (No Nay Never) is second at 111. G1 Prix Morny victress Venetian Sun (Starman) is third for Karl Burke at 110p, while another O'Brien runner, G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica) is fourth at 109p. Group winner and G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes second...

Roll up, roll up. It's the bloodstock equivalent of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, live and exclusive in Newmarket for three days only.  Yep, it's Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and doors open this year on Tuesday, October 7. That is indeed if there are any doors left, as they were blown right off last year with the most sensational yearling trade ever witnessed in Europe. Turnover reached a new high of almost 128 million gns, and while on first glance that tally is only just above...

Ryusei Sakai is savouring a second tilt at the G1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, with last year's third Shin Emperor (Siyouni) featuring among 12 horses standing their ground after Tuesday's confirmation stage. Japanese raider Shin Emperor, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, delighted connections in an early workout on Tuesday, with Sakai saying afterwards, "He worked this morning on the Curragh Racecourse with his partner horse and he felt very well, very comfortable. I was very happy with the gallop. He is a more mature and stronger horse...

When it comes to the 2025 crop of first-season sires in Europe, there's one stallion who is now operating in truly rarefied air, fittingly so for a horse going by the name of Starman. With 16 individual winners on the board in Europe, the son of Dutch Art is currently six clear of Nando Parrado and eight clear of A'Ali, with Palace Pier, Space Blues and Supremacy then locked in a three-way tie for fourth with seven winners apiece. Lucky Vega has six, while Ubettabelieveit and Victor Ludorum each have...

ASCOT, UK -- It was a day when so many of those engaged at Royal Ascot were thinking also of a great man gone away in Ireland. Kevin Prendergast would undoubtedly have revelled in the splendid results for some of his fellow Irish trainers on Ascot Heath as they in turn paid tribute to him. And there was even a winner for his old friend Awtaad, the last of the trainer's Classic winners, whose son Ethical Diamond triumphed in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes after another, Ascending, had won Tuesday's...