Arc

Kick-starting a new weekly Q&A series in TDN Europe, former champion trainer John Oxx, whose spellbinding career will forever be remembered through his masterful handling of Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), Sinndar (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and Ridgewood Pearl (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), sat down with Brian Sheerin to talk all things racing and breeding. The dual Derby-winning trainer speaks about Epsom, how delighted he is that Sea The Stars has a top-notch miler in Baaeed and his life in retirement.   Brian Sheerin: There are few weeks in...

Aidan O'Brien and his son Donnacha are among a group of plaintiffs associated with Ballydoyle and Coolmore who issued legal proceedings against animal feed supplier Glanbia over the contaminated feed debacle on G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe weekend in 2020. The multi-million euro lawsuit was initiated this week and comes after O'Brien's runners could not take part at the Arc meeting due to positive test results from a French laboratory for the prohibited performance enhancing substance Zilpaterol.  None of the five horses who tested positive were trained by O'Brien...

G1 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) will join Francis Graffard in France with a view towards targeting the major races in Europe this season, the connections of the Australian ace have announced. An 11-time Group 1 winner, Verry Elleegant has netted her connections over £8 million and was described by Chris Waller, the man who managed her glittering career in Australia, as an "honour" to be associated with. The statement from the ownership group was released on Thursday, and it read, "Being part of a champion racehorse...

"There's too much racing." That is the familiar cry heard from most people connected to British horseracing. With that in mind, a potential reduction to next year's fixture list should be met with approval. Though that has been the case in many quarters, a leaked British Horseracing Authority (BHA) proposal on this topic has also ruffled a few feathers. The Racing Post reported on Monday that the BHA, in consultation with its fixtures and funding group comprised by racing's stakeholders, is working on a proposal to reduce the 2023 fixture...

The prizemoney investment plans for the Arena Racing Company's Programme Book One 2022, which runs from January through April, were confirmed on Thursday. These initiatives are part of ARC's £21.7 million 2022 prizemoney investment plan. The All-Weather Championships will be held at Newcastle for the first time, as previously announced, and Flat racing will return to Southwell with a new Tapeta surface. The £40,000 Coral Winter Oaks Trial will be held at that course on Dec. 7. There will also be Flat Class 5 and 6 bonuses to the winning...

Bath and Kempton have both had their Wednesday evening cards moved to earlier in the day to avoid a timing clash with England's Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Sunday. Bath was due to end at 8:35 p.m. and Kempton's final race was slated for 8:50 p.m. The semi-final match begins at 8 p.m. "Having received applications from both The Jockey Club and Arena Racing Company, the BHA has approved the alternation of race times at both Kempton Park and Bath on Wednesday evening to...

Three days after racking up yet another monumental win in a career chock full of them, legendary trainer John Gosden joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Tuesday morning. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Gosden explained how he got Saudi Cup hero Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) to be as brilliant on dirt as he is on turf, what made his five-time champion Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) such a phenomenon, how his roots of training in California in the 1980s informed...

Southwell Racecourse's fibresand surface will be replaced by Tapeta this spring and the project will be completed by the summer of 2021, the Arena Racing Company announced on Monday. A planning application was submitted for the new surface because the fibresand has come to the end of its operational life. Fibresand was first laid down in 1989, the start of all-weather racing at the Nottinghamshire venue. Tapeta, developed by Michael Dickinson and Joan Wakefield of Tapeta Footings, has already been laid down at Wolverhampton and Newcastle-also ARC courses-since 2014 and...

In addition to all the Stateside action this weekend--the final leg of the Triple Crown, Fall Stars Weekend at Keeneland and 11 Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" events--the biggest race of the year in Europe will also be run with Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris. Wednesday on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, TDN International Editor Kelsey Riley joined the crew as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about the much-anticipated showdown between Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and...

As the coronavirus outbreak worsens, UK racing's leadership, including racecourses, participants and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), will meet on Monday to discuss the sport's coronavirus plan going forward. In the immediate future, race meetings will likely be held without spectators through at least the end of March and the UK fixture list will also be under discussion. The goal of the meeting is to agree on a programme that is sustainable in the light of possible staff absences, including in critical roles, while protecting the industry's workforce and freeing...

Bradley Hunt and Alex Slade have been appointed to the roles of Chief Finance Officer and General Counsel, respectively, of the Arena Racing Company (ARC), the company announced on Monday. Both are new roles within ARC, and form part of the senior management team. They will answer to ARC Chief Executive Martin Cruddace and the ARC Board. Hunt, previously with Collinson Group as a finance director, has also worked in the past for Cinime, Pias Entertainment Group and Rapp Ltd. He will oversee all financial affairs of the company and...

Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) looks likely to take the next step en route to her historic bid for a third G1 Prix De L'Arc de Triomphe when she lines out for the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in Paris this Sunday. A field of 13 have been left in at this stage including the Andre Fabre-trained Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) runner up to Treve in last years Arc, and the Alain de Royer-Dupre trained Group 1 winner Dolniya (Fr) (Azamour {Ire}). Treve made a very smooth comeback in the G2...