Brave Emperor

With an increasing number of international stamps in his passport, the multiple Group winner Brave Emperor (Ire) (Sioux Nation) is fast becoming one of the most admirable horses in training. Only twice in his 16 starts has the Archie Watson-trained four-year-old ever been out of the first three, but more impressive is that 10 of those runs have ended in victory - in five different countries, and counting. On Saturday, his 2024 debut resulted in a win in the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup in Qatar, a local Group 2 staged...

The multiple Group winner Brave Emperor (Ire) (Sioux Nation) will attempt to conquer another frontier with his first run in Qatar at the weekend. Having won races in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, as well as picking up prize-money and black type in Sweden, the Middleham Park Racing representative will make his four-year-old debut in Doha in the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup at the Amir Sword meeting on Saturday, in a race worth more than £225,000 to the winner. Trained by Archie Watson, Brave Emperor has now won nine of...

Middleham Park Racing's Brave Emperor (Ire) (Sioux Nation), who has earned 32 qualifying points on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby, will not make the trip to Churchill Downs in May. Confirming the decision to swerve the expensive journey across the Atlantic, Tom Palin of Middleham Park Racing said, "We have weighed it up and the horse's owners discussed the options. He has earned £108,000 but the costs of getting him to America would wipe out all of his earnings, so the decision has been made not to go,...

Bold Act (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) extended his winning streak to four to land Chelmsford City's Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions S. under talented young apprentice Harry Davies. While the Godolphin colt earned 30 points in this final leg of the European Road to the Kentucky Derby, his trainer Charlie Appleby confirmed to TDN that Bold Act will not be aimed at the American Classic on May 6, heading instead towards a Derby trial at home. "We're delighted he's won but in all honesty he's not a horse we've had on...

Amid much ado about the start of the turf season in Britain on Saturday, it is important not to overlook the day's second-most valuable race after the Lincoln. Chelmsford City's Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions S., worth a decent £100,000, is the last of seven races in the European Road to the Kentucky Derby.  Launched in 2019 by the enterprising team at the Essex track, which continues to punch well about its weight on the prize-money front, the Cardinal's three winners to date (there was no race in 2020 during the pandemic)...