So far in 2017, Europe's Group 1 Classics have shown that there is more than one path to Classic glory. The G1 Investec Derby winner Wings of Eagles was a €220,000 yearling purchase at Arqana, while the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and G1 Prix du Jockey-Club hero Brametot was picked up for only €26,000 [...]

To say that making a stallion is very much a numbers game is too simplistic, as the quality of the mares covered can be far more relevant than their quantity. That said, it can be very hard to compete against the most in-demand stallions who enjoy the benefit of both quantity and quality. For example, [...]

Such has been the dominance of Galileo (Ire) in Britain and Ireland's mile classics this year that there appeared to be every chance that the eight-time champion sire would also dominate the Investec Oaks and Derby. After all, he was represented by the odds-on favourite, Rhododendron (Ire), in the Oaks and his influence pervaded the [...]

After a couple of weeks when everything seemed to revolve around Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, the opposition finally got a look in over Deauville's Classic weekend (when one of the three Group 1s, the G1 Prix Saint-Alary, was actually sponsored in honour of Galileo's son The Gurkha). The Saint-Alary was that rare beast–a Group 1 middle-distance [...]

Game of Thrones aficionados have known for several years that Winter Is Coming. It looks as though a select group of optimists also knew that Galileo's daughter Winter was coming into very good form in the run up to the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas. Having been available at odds as long as 33-1 at the [...]

I don't know how much Sheikh Mohammed paid for Park Appeal after this filly completed her unbeaten juvenile campaign but one thing's for sure–he has rarely made a better investment. Not that the purchase of this daughter of Ahonoora yielded any immediate dividends. The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, two weeks after her change of [...]

A fascinating aspect of the shuttle stallion concept is that horses are often perceived quite differently in the two hemispheres. For example, this year's Coolmore reverse shuttlers include Pride of Dubai (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}), who is priced at €15,000 in Ireland and A$44,000 in Australia; and Vancouver (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro), who is available at [...]

What a difference a few years can make. In an article for the Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder in July 2013, I mentioned the imbalance between the breeding industry in France and its counterparts in Britain and Ireland. I pointed out that the French cupboard had been left comparatively bare when American studs regularly plundered France's [...]

One of the many 'isms frowned upon in these politically correct times is ageism–discrimination on the grounds of age. Well, no one could accuse the writer of a well-known American folk song of being politically correct, as he insisted that the old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be. This sentiment is widely [...]

A couple of weeks ago, I had my fingers firmly crossed that American Anthem would win the GII Rebel S. No, it wasn't my money which had helped this promising colt start a warm favorite. I simply wanted an opportunity to report that his sire, Bodemeister, was on the verge of justifying some of the [...]

With the Kentucky Derby's history dating all the way back to 1875, it has featured just about every conceivable twist and turn in its storylines. For example, the 1971 contest produced a shock when the Santa Anita Derby winner Jim French was totally outpointed by Canonero II, a raider from Venezuela. The Canonero story could [...]

I can't claim that it seems like only yesterday, but I remember very well making a visit to the famous Darby Dan Farm one very hot day in July nearly 30 years ago. This was long after the farm had been home to two of the world's all-time-great racehorses, Ribot and Sea-Bird II, but there [...]