Victorious Forever

With the Epsom Classics now in the rearview mirror, the countdown to Royal Ascot will soon be uppermost in everybody's thoughts, most definitely if your name is Michael or Anne Gaffney, the breeders of the hugely exciting Senorita Bonita. Already the Starspangledbanner filly has made headlines once this year when stealing the show at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale. Consigned on behalf of the Gaffneys by Mark Flannery of Egmont Stud, she fetched fully 350,000gns more than the next top lot when knocked down to Anthony Stroud for 900,000gns, following...

Staged in the relentless drizzle and mirk that arrived with vicious timing to dampen Derby day, Saturday's G1 Coolmore Coronation Cup came down to survival of the fittest with Victorious Forever's Bay City Roller (New Bay) overwhelming his rivals for a 10-length victory. With the 5-4 favourite Calandagan (Gleneagles) unable to raise a leg and Ballydoyle's leading hope Jan Brueghel (Galileo) struggling from the outset in ever-worsening conditions, it was left to Oisin Murphy to enjoy an armchair ride around Epsom on the four-year-old who had already proven his love...

Victorious Forever's 900,000gns Craven Breeze-Up Sale topper Senorita Bonita (Starspangledbanner) entered the mix for this year's Royal Ascot meeting after securing a last-gasp triumph in Wednesday's British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes at Nottingham. The straight five-furlong dash has been annexed by a trio of Karl Burke Royal Ascot-bound contenders in recent years. "Midway through the race, it wasn't looking good," said Simon Crisford.  "We couldn't get the cover that we wanted and I think she's had to do it the hard way. Her turn of foot was exceptional,...

Victorious Forever's George Scott trainee Mrair (Mehmas), the £880,000 Goffs UK Breeze-Up topper who ran second to a quirky sort at Newmarket just over two weeks ago, confirmed the promise of that debut effort with a dominant performance in Monday's British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes at Lingfield. "I wasn't disappointed, the owner wasn't disappointed [with the debut effort] and we always wanted to get two runs into him before, potentially, going to [Royal] Ascot," explained Scott. "Ryan [Moore] educated him well and he did what he had to do....

Back at the scene of his landmark success in the marathon G1 Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend, Victorious Forever's Caballo De Mar (Phoenix Of Spain) proved the chief slugger of ParisLongchamp once again as he prevailed in a blanket finish to Thursday's G1 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier. On an evening designed to pay tribute to the late Aga Khan IV and which had already provided the perfect outcome via Daryz in the feature renamed in his honour, Caballo De Mar was providing the icing on the cake hailing from the...

Signs at Newmarket on Friday were that the William Haggas stable is taking off and the best of his trio that came home first on the card could turn out to be the Listed King Charles II Stakes winner Saber Strike (Night Of Thunder). Seen only once at two when successful at Redcar in November, Victorious Forever's 230,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase was delivered from last by Tom Marquand to surge by Cerro Blanco (Wootton Bassett) a furlong out and take the seven-furlong contest by 1 1/4 lengths from...

Victorious Forever's Bay City Roller (New Bay) went unbeaten in a three-race juvenile campaign, but was winless in six starts this term, and last year's G2 Champagne Stakes victor powered clear off the front end in Saturday's G1 Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern at Munich to cap a banner season for Newmarket-based conditioner George Scott. "It couldn't have gone any better," proclaimed Adrie de Vries, whose previous win in the contest came aboard Campanologist (Kingmambo) in 2010. "The trainer was extremely confident in the horse beforehand and that is why...

Royal Ascot hero and prolific Bahrain winner Isle Of Jura (New Approach) has been retired from racing after suffering another setback. The five-year-old enjoyed a stellar 2024 season, notably securing the Bahrain Triple Crown, before returning to Britain to provide trainer George Scott with a first Royal Ascot triumph when beating the subsequent G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Goliath in the G2 Hardwicke Stakes. Isle Of Jura spent 15 months on the sidelines following that landmark success, before returning last month with a runner-up finish in...

George Scott and Victorious Forever enjoyed another successful international raid on Sunday when plundering the G3 Premio Gran Criterium at San Siro Racecourse with Gaga Mate (Mehmas). Last seen finishing fifth in Doncaster's Weatherbys Scientific £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes, Gaga Mate was settled in mid-division in the early stages of this seven-and-a-half-furlong contest, before responding generously to jockey Billy Loughnane's urgings when ridden two furlongs out. Assuming command from the long-time leader and favourite Zuender (Amaron) inside the final 100 yards, he stuck to his task well from there to land...

Victorous Forever's Group 1 hero Caballo De Mar (Phoenix Of Spain) is training toward the G1 Prix Royal-Oak on October 26, trainer George Scott revealed. A winner of the G3 Deutsches St Leger in September, the bay won the G1 Prix du Cadran in very soft ground on October 4. "He came out of the race [Cadran] really well, one of his main attributes is his toughness and tenacity," said Scott. "We really want to run him again, and if the ground was soft we'd have supplemented him for Ascot...

Victorious Forever's Simon and Ed Crisford trainee Zanthos (Sioux Nation), a €1-million Arqana Breeze-Up sale graduate, attained TDN Rising Star status in the colours of KHK Racing at Newmarket's July course in August and rebounded off a second behind Touleen (Lope De Vega) earlier in the month to make all for a career high in Friday's G2 BoyleSports Home Of Early Payout Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket. "We just said to Oisin [Murphy] to keep her happy and let her use her stride," explained Ed Crisford. "I thought she was maybe...