In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...
The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...
Rich Ricci, an owner synonymous with Cheltenham Festival success for the best part of two decades, finally has his hands on the prize that he coveted above all others after Gaelic Warrior (Maxios) produced a coming-of-age performance under Paul Townend to win Friday's Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. The race had a tragic postscript, however, when another Festival mainstay in Envoi Allen (Muhtathir), making his eighth appearance at the meeting, sadly collapsed and died after finishing ninth on what was intended to be the final start of his illustrious career before...
CHELTENHAM, UK -- Craig Kieswetter has been a top-class sportsman in his own right but the former England and Somerset cricketer was emphatic in his assessment of what mattered most to him after his family's Il Etait Temps (Jukebox Jury) won the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase. "I'd rather win at Cheltenham than win a World Cup," said the South African-born Kieswetter, who, with his parents Wayne and Belinda and brother Ross, owns Ridgemont Stud in South Africa's Western Cape as well as Barnane Stud in Ireland. Il Etait Temps,...
CHELTENHAM, UK -- Four times a Cheltenham Festival winner and still only seven years old. From the Triumph to two Mares' Hurdles and now the Unibet Champion Hurdle itself, Lossiemouth's love affair with Prestbury Park, the most hallowed ground in National Hunt racing, continued unbroken on Tuesday as the mare landed her 14th win in a career spanning 18 starts - and counting. The roars of more than 57,000 racegoers carried her home, but in the end it was easy, as Lossiemouth's main danger Brighterdaysahead capitulated between the final two...