Precedent counts for an awful lot in the world of horse racing and breeding: if something has happened once, people are generally prepared to bet that it can happen again, and again. So, when Teofilo became Europe's champion 2-year-old of 2006, thanks to Group 1 victories in the National S. and Dewhurst S., everyone took [...]

Having jumped the gun by discussing Camelot's promise in these pages back on May 1, I can hardly write about him again now that his son Latrobe has emulated Camelot's victory in the G1 Irish Derby. I will add, though, that Camelot followed Hurricane Run, Frozen Fire and Fame And Glory as the fourth winner [...]

There was something of a family affair about the most successful stallions at Royal Ascot last week, with the six stallions responsible for two or more winners featuring Galileo, Galileo's son Frankel and Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars. Of course this trio features two of the most extraordinary racehorses ever to have graced the turf, [...]

If I heard correctly–and I think I did–brash presenter Matt Chapman of At The Races described Sunday's G1 Prix de Diane heroine Laurens as “big, buxom and butch.” In this quest for alliteration, Chapman could justifiably have added bold, brave and brilliantly bought to his rather non-p.c. accolade. “Bold” because the strapping daughter of Siyouni [...]

When a stallion proves his dominance by becoming champion sire on more than one occasion, is it safe to assume that he will develop into a noted sire of sires? The evidence over the last 60 years suggests it is, though have inevitably been a few exceptions. During those 60 years we have seen Nasrullah [...]

In the build-up to an exciting three days of middle-distance Classics in Europe, it looked a pretty safe bet that I would end up writing about Deep Impact or Galileo or a combination of the two (as represented by Saxon Warrior). After all, there were four daughters of Galileo in the G1 Oaks field and Deep [...]

History has an intriguing habit of repeating itself, with the latest instance concerning the former Aidan O'Brien champions Giant's Causeway and Declaration of War. Giant's Causeway retired to Coolmore after ending his career with a highly admirable neck second to Tiznow in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic on dirt. He was transferred to Ashford Stud [...]

The great Hasili added another jewel to her crown on Sunday when Champs Elysees became her second son to sire a winner of the G1 1000 Guineas. But whereas Dansili's daughter Miss France was among the leading fancies for the 2014 edition, virtually no-one considered Champs Elysees's admirably tough daughter Billesdon Brook, who became the [...]

When I reviewed Camelot's pedigree for the TDN in October 2011, following the first of his four Group 1 victories, I mentioned that several colts with names linked to the Arthurian legend had occasionally matched their namesakes' fame. Sir Gallahad III had become America's champion sire on four occasions, while Sir Tristram was champion sire [...]

Take a look back at the stallions which covered their first mares in 2014 and you'll find that the highest-priced newcomers in Ireland were Declaration of War at €40,000, Dawn Approach at €35,000 and Camelot at €25,000. Over in Britain, Intello had the distinction of being the highest-priced freshman, at £25,000, with the next in [...]

Japan's lengthy quest to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for the first time has been punctuated by a variety of near misses, controversies and hard-luck stories. El Condor Pasa (Jpn)'s bold front-running effort looked as if it was going to bear fruit when he was three lengths clear with only 300 metres left [...]

Owner-breeders have recently had little to complain about on the first Saturday in May, with many of the last 14 Kentucky Derby winners carrying the colors of their respective breeders. But are we beginning to witness a change? The last three winners, American Pharoah, Nyquist and Always Dreaming, all passed through the sales ring (though [...]