Al Riffa

Joseph O'Brien is plotting a raid on Deauville with top performers Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and Above The Curve (American Pharoah) after their respective performances at the Curragh on Irish Derby weekend.  Al Riffa, winner of the Vincent O'Brien National S. as a two-year-old, made a belated start to his campaign when second in a Group 3 while Above The Curve finished a creditable third in the Pretty Polly S. O'Brien has nominated the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville in August for the colt next.  "He got...

Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), winner of last year's G1 National S. and ante-post favourite for Saturday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas, has been ruled out of the race with "a little setback," the Irish Field reported. While announcing that the Jassim Bin Al-Attiyah-owned colt would not make the Curragh this weekend, trainer Joseph O'Brien remains confident that the colt will make the G1 St James's Palace S. on opening day of the Royal Ascot meeting June 20. He is a 6-1 chance for that mile test ante-post with...

Joseph O'Brien has an array of talent to look forward to this season, headed by G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hope Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Group 1 winner Above The Curve (American Pharoah) and smart additions to the stable in Jumbly (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Mooneista (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) and Ottilien (Fr) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}). But a yard as big as Owning Hill needs a conveyor belt of youngsters coming through the ranks and O'Brien can boast just that. Last season's stats back up such a statement. With...

The insatiable demand for foals was evident in the figures recorded at Goffs last week with turnover rising 16% to €29,561,000 and the average climbing 16% to €40,110. At the top end of the market, Kingman (GB) dominated with three foals by the Juddmonte-based stallion selling for a combined €1,540,000 and one of Europe's leading pinhookers Philipp Stauffenberg signing for the €550,000 top lot by the sire.  Tally-Ho Stud may be best known for being sellers but they pipped Stauffenberg for the biggest spenders title by signing for 19 foals...

There are undoubtedly many good reasons to have a rounded life with interests beyond the breeding, training, buying and selling of a supreme equine athlete who can run faster than his contemporaries. Those of us whose waking hours are mostly consumed by one or more of these bloodstock industry pursuits can rightly be accused of not getting out more, particularly at this time of year. But when the daily non-racing headlines revolve around the British economy in freefall, hurricanes and floods decimating parts of the world, and President Putin looming...

With the leaves on the turn and rugs back on the horses after the hottest summer in many a year, it may feel as though we are coming to the end of the season but by juvenile Group 1 contests in Europe we are really only halfway through. So far, No Nay Never's sons Little Big Bear (Ire) and Blackbeard (Ire) (No Nay Never), both trained by Aidan O'Brien, have claimed three between them - the Phoenix S., Prix Morny and Middle Park S., while the Joseph O'Brien-trained Al Riffa...

Connections of Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), the brilliant G1 National S. winner, are confident that they have a Guineas horse on their hands and are predicting Joseph O'Brien's exciting colt to be even better next year. Khalifa Bin Ahmed Alattiyah, a familiar face on Irish racecourses and on the sales circuit, was at the Curragh on Sunday to see Al Riffa, owned by his cousin Jassim Bin Ali Al Attiyah, tower over his rivals. Not only did Al Riffa provide crack youngster Dylan Browne McMonagle with his first...

Where to begin? The past week has been so wrought with emotion that by the time Sunday arrived with its 15 group races in England, Ireland and France only the dourest of stayers made it through to Doncaster's Mallard Handicap. This is a racing publication, of course, but before we reflect on the action on the racecourse, it would be remiss not to mention the heartbreaking human loss which was so intrinsically entwined with the sport.  Grief engulfed two nations. Wednesday brought the indelibly sad image of Henry de Bromhead...