Today's Edition

Few believed the inaugural £1million bonus put up by Weatherbys Hamilton would be landed, but Bjorn Nielsen's Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) had the ideal blend to make it happen and he finished the job off with guts and determination in Friday's G2 Lonsdale Cup at York. Without the zip he showed in the May 18 G2 Yorkshire Cup, but with all the gameness he displayed when following up in the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot June 21 and July 31 G1 Goodwood Cup, the 4-11 favourite sat...

If it wasn't obvious before, it should be now. Since appearing on the scene four-plus years ago, Sol Kumin's various racing partnerships--notably Head of Plains Partners, Madaket Stables, Monomoy Stables, and Sheep Pond Partners--have become ubiquitous on weekends and astonishingly successful at the highest levels. All told, the Kumin entities have won 38 Grade l races to date. This year has been particularly fruitful, with 10 individual winners of 16 Grade I races, including the Triple Crown, Kentucky Oaks, and Coaching Club American Oaks, with plenty of racing still to...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--John Fielding has been a force to be reckoned with on the harness racing circuit for decades, owning some of the best in the industry such as Pinkman, Father Patrick, Shake It Cerry, Maven and this year's Hambletonian Oaks winner Manchego. One fateful day in the late nineties, Fielding met Standardbred and Thoroughbred breeder Fred Hertrich at a Standardbred sale at Woodbine and the rest, as they say, is history. "He and I, as he always likes to say, were sharing a Lebatt Blue, sitting on a bale...

A criticism often levelled at the racing and bloodstock games is that 'it's not what you know, it's who you know.' There is a fair degree of truth in this assertion, but once in a while someone defies the odds by coming seemingly out of nowhere to reach the top of the tree. In Great Britain in the final quarter of the 20th century Martin Pipe rose from obscurity to a position of utter dominance in National Hunt racing. More recently Mark Johnston has risen to the top on the...

As her sire did in 2009, Sea of Class (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) carried the Tsui silks with genuine swagger on Thursday to collect one of the York Ebor meeting's trio of feature races. Made the 7-4 favourite for the G1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks following her impressive win in the G1 Irish Oaks at The Curragh July 21, the chestnut languished in rear throughout the early stages with James Doyle sitting as quiet as he had in Kildare. Letting all rivals play their cards first in the straight, she...

> After finishing second in Sunday's fourth race at Gulfstream aboard 8-1 shot Musical Heart (Maclean's Music), jockey Tony Maragh has been suspended 60 days and fined $1,000 by the track's stewards for failing to persevere with his mount. In addition, the horse's trainer, Aubrey Maragh, was ruled off the grounds pending an investigation. Tony Maragh is Aubrey Maragh's nephew. The length of the suspension and the amount of the fine are the maximum penalties the stewards are allowed to hand out. The Maragh family was well represented in the...

He has set Saratoga records that will likely never be broken. Fourteen riding titles, 11 in a row. Angel Cordero, Jr. enjoyed the best times of his career here, but also the worst. Those were the years when he literally didn't have enough money to eat and slept on sofas and in cars. They are years few realize Cordero ever endured and years and he would just as soon forget. The story of Cordero is one not just of greatness, but also of perseverance. He came to Saratoga for the first...

Having endured a battle royal in Sandown's G1 Eclipse, Qatar Racing's Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy) simply sauntered through Wednesday's first real clash of the generations in York's G1 Juddmonte International to cast himself as the clear division leader. Always travelling with zest and purpose under cover with Oisin Murphy intent on employing proven hold-up tactics despite the moderate pace, the 3-1 second favourite benefitted from the field's unusual move to the stand's side after the home turn. With the 8-5 favourite Poet's Word (Ire) (Poet's Voice {GB}) momentarily compromised hemmed...

As it seemed to be perpetually during the nineties, Godolphin's royal blue was at the forefront again at York's Ebor meeting on Wednesday with the famous white cap in front at the line as Old Persian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) bested Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the G2 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur S. Tracking the pace-setting Nelson (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in second throughout, the 7-1 shot who had taken the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot June 22 was left in front three out and had his stablemate...

Following the three-day Arqana August Sale, the single session Arqana V.2 Yearling Sale was topped by lot 408, a strapping bay son of first-season sire Anodin (Ire) (Anabaa) in Deauville on Tuesday. The colt went the way of Pierre-Yves Bureau of Wertheimer & Frere, who held off trainer Jean-Claude Rouget for €140,000. Consigned by Haras du Cadran and from the extended family of champion sprinter Tamarisk (Ire) (Green Desert) and dual Arc heroine Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), the son of the winning Cantalupa (GB) (Dr Fong) will hopefully follow in...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Seven fillies have won Saratoga's prestigious GI Travers S. since its inception in 1864, with the most recent being Lady Rotha in 1915. The last filly to even run in the Midsummer Derby was Hall of Famer Davona Dale, who finished fourth as the favorite to General Assembly in the 1979 renewal during a championship season in which she won eight races, five of which were Grade Is. It clearly takes a special filly to even compete in the Travers, never mind win it, and trainer Mark Casse...

John and Tanya Gunther, owners of Glennwood Farm in Kentucky, are not only the breeders of G1 St James's Palace S. winner Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}), but also the breeders of this year's American Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy). At a recent visit to Newsells Park, John and Tanya spoke to TDN and GBRI about their two superstar colts. TDN: What do you remember of Justify as a young horse? Tanya Gunther: He was a foal that stood out from the crowd. He was always very gregarious, and...