Europe

Coolmore and Westerberg's G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation Stakes placegetter Opera Singer (Justify) and supplementary entry Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) are the leading lights left after 10 of 12 overnight nominees stood their ground for Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau Stakes. Opera Singer, last term's impressive G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner, is on course to make her first start beyond the one-mile distance while it will be dual Group 1 winner Emily Upjohn's first visit to the Sussex Downs venue. The latter's Team Gosden stablemate Inspiral...

Star miler Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) will miss the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday due to a respiratory infection. Runner-up to Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the 2,000 Guineas on his three-year-old debut, Rosallion went one better in the Irish edition before turning the tables on his Newmarket conqueror when landing the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. Richard Hannon's colt was again set to clash with Notable Speech, who disappointed at the royal meeting, and the St James's Palace runner-up Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi...

The catalogue for Goffs Orby Book 1 is now available online and features some exceptionally-bred horses.  A total of 516 lots will be offered on October 1 and 2, while all yearlings at Orby Book 1 and Book 2 are eligible for the Goffs Two Million Series in 2025. Offering a guaranteed minimum prize fund of €2 million, the Two Million Series will be headed once again by Europe's Richest 2YO Race, the seven-furlong Goffs Million worth €1 million with prize-money to tenth place. In addition, the enhanced Goffs One...

Ballydoyle's miracle horse Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is back at the scene of one of his finest hours on Tuesday as he descends on the Sussex Downs for another tilt at the G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup. Denied a follow-up to his memorable 2022 success over Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) due to last year's potentially catastrophic injury, the Moyglare homebred announced his return from the brink and how with another dynamic display to win a second G1 Gold Cup at the Royal meeting last month. It could be...

It's not easy to write a column while watching the Olympics, especially as Britain attempts to out-battle France for eventing gold at the Palace of Versailles, but here goes. It was France which had the upper hand at Ascot on Saturday or, correctly speaking, Francis-Henri Graffard, whose return from Chantilly to the Berkshire track with the rampaging Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) should have been eye-popping enough to ensure that his runners are never again sent off at such generous odds in Britain. We can now savour the prospect of once...

Putting an indifferent debut effort at The Curragh firmly behind him, Ballydoyle's Rock Of Cashel (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Best In The World {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) made all to take the often-informative seven-furlong maiden on the opening card of the Galway festival and become the stable's latest TDN Rising Star. Only eighth as the 7-4 favourite in the Barronstown Stud Maiden on Irish Derby day, the half-brother to the brilliant Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was quickly away under Wayne Lordan and placed straight on the front end. Harrassed throughout,...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Tuesday's Observations features a son of an American stallion from the family of a Canadian champion. 14.23 Deauville, Mdn, €30,000, 2yo, c/g, 6fT Fabrice Chappet trainee IRONICO (Gift Box) will become the first European runner for his Lane's End Farm-based freshman (by Twirling Candy), whose two prior winners made...

Mark Boylan has quickly carved out a reputation as being a talented and respected racing journalist based in Ireland. He has been based with the Irish Field since January 2023 having spent a number of years working for the Racing Post prior to that. Not to be pigeon-holed, Boylan also works closely with trainer Ciaran Murphy and has interest in race planning and bloodstock. Of course, few people will forget how he first shot to prominence in the sport, given he was something of a child singer sensation who wrote...

Two-for-two entering Deauville's seven-furlong G3 Prix Six Perfections on Sunday, the €110,000 Goffs Orby Book 1 graduate Angeal (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Curvy {GB}, by Galileo {Ire}) showed that she is not shy of a battle, emerging the other side with her perfect tally intact. Educated at Saint-Cloud over the past two months, the Christopher Head-trained daughter of Coolmore's GI E. P. Taylor Stakes heroine who races for Christophe Brun, Ecurie Normandy Spirit and Gerard Larrieu was settled in second from the outset by Aurelien Lemaitre. Getting to the front at the...

Patrice Cottier trainee Daylight (Fr) (Earthlight {Ire}--Latita {Fr}, by Silver Frost {Ire}) backed up a May 2 debut score at Chantilly with a third back there in June's G3 Prix du Bois and rebounded in style to register a first black-type score for her freshman sire (by Shamardal) in Sunday's G3 Prix de Cabourg at Deauville. The 29-10 third choice was swiftly into stride and stalked the pacesetting Naana's Diamond (Ire) (Invincible Army {Ire}) in second through halfway. Coming under pressure approaching the quarter-mile marker, she quickened to the fore...

Placing her name among some of the elite to have graced Deauville's August Festival, Baron Edouard De Rothschild's Mqse De Sevigne (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}--Penne {Fr}, by Sevres Rose {Ire}) made it a third group 1 at the meeting as she recorded back-to-back renewals of the G1 Prix Rothschild on Sunday. Sent off the 7-10 favourite as the race's undisputed leading lady having also garnered last year's G1 Prix Jean Romanet here and this term's G1 Prix d'Ispahan at ParisLongchamp, the Andre Fabre-trained homebred was allowed to coast behind the early...

Victorious Racing's €400,000 Arqana Arc sale acquisition Calif (Ger) (Areion {Ger}--Cherry Danon {Ire}, by Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), who collected ParisLongchamp's G3 La Coupe when last seen, made a breakthrough at the highest level when annexing Sunday's G1 Grosser Dallmayr Preis - Bayeriches Zuchtrennen at Munich. The eventual winner was steadied to track the leaders in fourth passing the judge first time and held that position until turning for home. Thundering forward in the straight, the 19-5 second favourite was shaken up to launch his challenge with 300 metres remaining...