Europe

Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), the champion three-year-old stayer in Europe who won the St Leger at Doncaster followed by the Irish edition at the Curragh, has been retired to Chapel Stud where he will cover a limited book of mares. His stud fee has been set at £5,000. Trained by Roger Varian and campaigned by KHK Racing, Eldar Eldarov won five of his 10 starts and amassed over £1 million in prize-money. His career was cut short after he sustained neck injuries in a stalls accident in Dubai last...

Former leading owner John Dance has appeared in court to deny taking more than £64 million from wealth management fund clients for himself. The 50-year-old businessman, who lives in Murton Village, Newcastle, pleaded not guilty to nine criminal charges including fraud by abuse of position, fraud by false misrepresentation and money laundering. The alleged offences cover the period from February 2014 until March 2023. Dance, once a part-time DJ and former nightclub owner, was the principal partner at wealth management fund Vertus Asset Management, which later became the firm WealthTek....

It was inevitable really. Kizuna (Jpn), the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winner of 2013 and champion first-season sire in 2019, has now followed the example set by his feted sire Deep Impact (Jpn) to become Japan's champion sire for the first time. The Shadai stallion had finished in the top four in the championship in the three previous years and took the laurels this time from 2023 champion, the late Duramente (Jpn). He in turn had finally ended the 11-year domination of Deep Impact, who was also the champion freshman...

While racecourses in Britain and Ireland battle the elements to keep racing going during the cold snap, officials Down Under have been dealing with a more unusual threat to the action on the track after it emerged that the Gold Coast meeting has been relocated to the Sunshine Coast after a 500-metre section of the track was found damaged on Friday.  Racing Queensland officials have sent samples for urgent testing to identify the cause and have not ruled out the possibility of foul play by anti-racing campaigners. "Racing Queensland and...

The G2 Zabeel Mile Sponsored by Phi Advertising is the official feature on Friday's 'Sword Of Honour' raceday at Meydan, with last year's winner San Donato (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) featuring in a nine-strong field as he tries to emulate Safety Check (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the only previous dual winner of the race in 2015 and 2016. Successful in 2024 when trained by Doug Watson, the nine-year-old San Donato is now with Michael Costa and shaped with plenty of encouragement on his first start for the stable when filling...

After a stormy first day of 2025, Newmarket Heath was bathed in frost-speckled sunlight by January 2, but local trainer Rae Guest is now setting his sights on sunlit uplands of a different kind.  This he is doing in his usual quiet way, to the extent that his decision to call time on his training career took even some of his longest-standing owners by surprise when he contacted them prior to making an official announcement in December. The prophetic victory, two days after the news broke, of his filly Sunlit...

The $80,000 Al Riffa Cup and $80,000 Al Dana Cup will both offer plenty of international interest as the Bahrain Turf Series continues with round two on Friday. On the opening day of the Bahrain Turf Series, George Scott saddled two winners and a second in the supporting races on the card. Now, the Newmarket trainer is hoping Rocket Rodney (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}) can repeat his 2024 win in Friday's Al Riffa Cup, round two in the sprint division. "Rocket Rodney helped kick start my career again back in...

The 2020 Derby winner Serpentine (Ire) has been retired from racing, part-owner Nick Williams confirmed to Racing.com on Thursday. The son of Galileo (Ire) was a 25-1 shot when providing trainer Aidan O'Brien with a record eighth Derby win, having gained his first career victory in a maiden at the Curragh only seven days earlier. His pillar-to-post success at Epsom, when beating Khalifa Sat (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}) by five and a half lengths, was also achieved in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, causing the Classic to be run...

New year but the same old brief for Winter Watch, with the horses who officially turned three on January 1 set to continue under our supervision in the hope that the all-weather programme might yet throw up another Classic contender or two. Remember, Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) didn't make his racecourse debut until January 27 last year. We've seen plenty of interesting action since the last column before Christmas, and some interesting action we didn't see quite so much of because of the fog. All of it is going...

James Harron Bloodstock (JHB) and Tony Fung Investments (TFI) will partner for the 2025 yearling sales. TFI will participate in acquisitions for both the JHB Colt Partnership and the JHB/Michael Freedman Filly Partnership. "As the market continues to evolve, so must we," said James Harron in a statement. "Historically, we've been fierce competitors in the sales ring with Tony and his team. However, given our shared focus on acquiring and developing elite horses to maximize on-sale value and build enduring stallion equity for our partners, this partnership is a natural...

Without a doubt, one of the great privileges of working in racing journalism is being able to get close to the equine stars and hear first hand from the people who bred, own, train, or ride them, as well as the countless people who look after retired racehorses and give them a meaningful life long after their last race is run. At TDN, we try to bring our readers a wide range of stories, from the paddocks, breeding sheds, sales rings, training grounds and racecourses around Europe and beyond. We...

Banstead Manor Stud is famed around the world as the HQ of Juddmonte, not least for housing the mighty Frankel. However, its incarnation as the home of the Juddmonte sires does not represent its debut as a source of racing success. During 2025 it will celebrate its centenary as a leading stud because it was first thrust into the spotlight in 1925 when Henry Morriss bought the property specifically to stand that year's Derby winner Manna. Previously Banstead Manor had been part of the massive Cheveley Estate, which at the...