Today's Edition

Jacket stretched across his square, rugby flanker's shoulders, he stands ramrod at the rostrum and extends those long hands, one clasping the head of the gavel as though a mere pipe, in a gesture that somehow combines scorn and supplication. "In fairness," Alastair Pim says. "We're not selling chickens." A bid duly coaxed, he spins round to the rival protagonist. "Last of the big spenders," he mutters. Then up goes the singsong exclamation: "Goodness gracious me lads, a ridiculous price..." In the moments of the highest theatre--when seven-figure bids strain...

Two weeks ago, Ken Ramsey was sitting with family in his lower-level season seats at Rupp Arena, watching the Wildcats, when a cousin made a pitch about a 51-day cruise he was planning. "We got talking about it, and he just begged me to go on this cruise," said Ramsey. "He brought the itinerary, showed me all the ports. I said, 'Fifty one days! I can't take that much time off!' But I got home and started to think on it. And I came to a conclusion: my money's making...

In the clamour to find the next hot commercial stallion, it's easy to overlook those that have proven time and again that they can produce what we all really want to see--top flight racehorses. The focus here is on Europe as its season comes to a close. The 20 sires on our list are those that have so far produced the best elite racehorses from their Northern Hemisphere offspring. Our measure of greatness is how good their best 10 offspring are. After all, this should be the foremost metric that...

There are those well-rounded fellows who appreciate both the pure adrenaline surge that comes with watching high-class Flat horses as well as the grit and courage displayed by the jumpers. For some, however, even the mere mention of National Hunt racing brings a wince and a sneer. As one who was introduced to racing through the jumping side, I'll never be prised from my devotion to the winter game, but I've developed an equal love of Flat racing. In fact, a good many of the colts I've admired most on...

Firming into 6-5 favoritism in what appeared a salty renewal of the GI Malibu S. on opening day of the Santa Anita winter/spring meeting, 'TDN Rising Star' McKinzie (Street Sense) had to do it tough from his awkward draw in gate 13, but his class kicked in three-sixteenths of a mile from home and the $170,000 Keeneland September yearling--named in honor of the late Los Alamitos executive Brad McKinzie--overwhelmed his 13 rivals to score by 4 3/4 very convincing lengths. Identity Politics (Into Mischief) rallied from near the back of the pack...

So here we are, into a fourth intake of stallions, and we still don't have even a bullet breeze to show whether or not they can produce stock that actually run. But at least the group we consider today is finally on the brink of testing the water, with their first yearlings now broken and preparing to launch on the track as juveniles of 2019. Unfortunately for some, the lack of meaningful evidence to this point means that impetuous breeders have already over-reacted to the few straws in the wind....

After its popularity earlier this year, Young Guns returns with all new questions for young professionals. Today we speak with trainer Carla O'Halloran who is a trainer based in Chantilly, France. TDN: Tell us about your career to date? Carla O'Halloran: Showjumping until I was 16, amateur rider in Spain and Italy (champion in 2003 and in 2007, respectively) and jockey in France while working for Alain de Royer Dupre before starting my career as a trainer. TDN: If you could be one person in the industry for a day...

For a jockey who has been widely praised for her determination, Nicola Currie has not been immune to periods of self-doubt. A comparatively late-bloomer at 25, she struggled without any tangible reward for some years and even briefly dropped out of race-riding altogether as she contemplated her future. Thrown a lifeline by trainer Richard Hughes, her turning point came in an apprentice handicap at Kempton on Dec. 20, 2016. The horse's name, by sheer serendipity, was Believe It (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}). "I think it was probably after I...

In the sphere of longitudinal lines, order is given to and connections are made within a world of complex variety. It is no coincidence that Ghislain Bozo, son of the famed stud manager Antoine, named his agency Meridian International when taking the plunge in 2002 to bring together the divergent racing and breeding forces of the globe. Responsible for buying the likes of Danedrop (Ire) (Danehill)--dam of the brilliant Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB})--and being involved in Almanzor (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) as a yearling, the 49-year-old has been at the...

Before a crowd of over 100,000, Blast Onepiece (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) held off favoured Rey de Oro (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) by a neck to capture the G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama on Sunday. The 2500-metre event was the first Group 1 victory for the Silk Racing colourbearer and his trainer, Masahiro Otake. Drawn in stall eight, the 8-1 third choice perched out in the middled of the course as Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) charged up to show the way while shadowed by Oju Chosan (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) and...

Andrew Kung is one smart fella. He is a graduate student at the University of California, San Francisco and is working his way toward a Ph.D in Bioinformatics, which is the science of collecting and analyzing complex biological data such as genetic codes. Last week, he enjoyed his 30 minutes of fame when he was champion on Jeopardy! Thursday, winning $21,000. But when the subject of horse racing came up, Kung and two other contestants were left scratching their heads when it came to a question that, one would think,...

Santa Anita's always popular day-after-Christmas opener does not disappoint this year, with the co-featured GI Malibu S. for sophomore sprinters as interesting a race as has been assembled all season. Bob Baffert boasts four of the 14 who made it into the main body of the field, with one more on the also-eligible list for good measure. Leading his group is Pegram, Watson and Weitman's McKinzie (Street Sense). Garnering the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction for a track-and-trip romp last October, the bay was (somewhat controversially) promoted to first over stablemate...