Churchill

KILDARE, Ireland--The fourth and final day of the Goffs Foal Sale saw prices return to a more affordable level for the average working man or woman, and while there were no dizzying highs there was a decent level of trade for those present. With an extra day of foals compared to last year, Thursday was always going to test the resilience of the market and not surprisingly the clearance rate dropped a couple of points from the day before to 79% while the session topper, a Mehmas (Ire) colt, fetched...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 7th-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 7:03 p.m. ET SIR LONDON (Malibu Moon) was led out unsold on a bid of $135,000 at the 2020 Keeneland January Sale, but improved over the next 17 months and was knocked down to agents Alex Elliott and Ben McElroy for $700,000 after breezing a furlong on his wrong lead in :10 flat (see below) at this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale. The priciest of 24 juveniles (32 ring) for his late sire in 2021, Sir London is a...

"The lads had him as a king before he came here." So said Aidan O'Brien back in April when reflecting on Galileo's Classic season of 2001. Pedigree and physique were aligned and soon the third 'p', performance, would complete the holy trinity of the Thoroughbred.  Two decades on and Galileo has not only rewritten the record books but, in doing so, has surpassed his own remarkable sire Sadler's Wells, who in turn was the most influential son of Northern Dancer. And much in the way that those names are so...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today's Observations features a half to a Classic-placed filly. 2.00 Leopardstown, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, 7fT HOWTH (IRE) (Churchill {Ire}), who hails from a Ballydoyle stable with a potent strike-rate in the juvenile department with six individual winners so far in 2021, is a stand-out on pedigree as a half-brother...

With the 2-year-old season now officially underway, we continue to survey the judges and learn who the most anticipated first-season sires are. Today, Hubie de Burgh shares his thoughts. He says, "all the chat is about Churchill (Ire), who has the numbers. He had some very nice stock. The horse I like is Profitable (Ire), who also has plenty of stock to run for him. I bought two by him which both trainers like very much. The other horse I like is Almanzor (Fr). He threw a really good- looking,...

Continuing our series featuring feedback on the European stallion with first runners this year, bloodstock agent Ghislain Bozo of Meridian International shares his view with a particular focus on the French scene. He said, "Generally speaking it is always tough to get a strong idea of the first-season sires at this stage but of course we are always keeping our ears open. I'm always a little but careful when the talk is too hot but this time there has been no strong word like we might have had in the...

Agent Matt Coleman of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock has had plenty of success buying decent 2-year-olds from the breeze-up sales, such as G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. winner Sands Of Mali (Fr) (Panis) and G2 Norfolk S. winner Prince Of Lir (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}). He gave us his view on what we might expect from the first runners for this year's freshman sires. Coleman said, "I guess Churchill (Ire) is the headline act of the first-season sires and I have heard some good words on his stock from Ireland. He...

It's that time of year: with just weeks to go to the start of the turf season, thoughts are turning to which of this year's freshman sires will be making a splash with their first runners. With 26 European first-crop stallions to consider, we have asked the views of those who have seen a good range of young stock at the sales. First in the hot seat is bloodstock agent Ross Doyle. He says, "We have a system where we see every single horse at the foal sales and the...

The start of the Flat season may be more than two months away but there is already plenty of interest in the freshman sires of 2021, and Darley's Profitable (Ire) has been made 3/1 favourite by Fitzdares to take the championship. Ed Guiver, Head of Racing for Fitzdares, said, "We love pricing this market, which would be impossible to price were it not for the Weatherbys Stallion Book used alongside the Weatherbys Return of Mares. "It was hard to split the front four in the market but Profitable by the...

The wait is very nearly over for the young pretenders we will examine in this fourth installation of our multi-part Value Sires series: stallions with their first runners in 2021. While the full verdicts must be delayed until these are given a fair shake with their first full seasons with 2- and 3-year-olds, the reality is that the first juvenile races in the coming months will be akin to a perpetual Christmas morning in the bloodstock world, with each of us eager to unwrap the packages we have been examining...

The coronavirus pandemic may have come into full force halfway through the 2020 covering season but, generally, breeders appear to have stuck to their plans and carried on with their matings. The total number of coverings did drop slightly to 19,961 (from 20,819) with 19% of the mares in production being sent to a stallion with a book in excess of 200. This year, according to the recently published Return Of Mares from Weatherbys, there were 17 stallions in Britain and Ireland in that bracket, 12 of which are standing...

6th-Churchill Downs, $84,814, Msw, 10-25, 2yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.85, ft, 1/2 length. CLAIRIERE (f, 2, Curlin--Cavorting {MGISW, $2,063,000}, by Bernardini), given a 7-2 chance for trainer Steve Asmussen in this unveiling, was four wide into the first turn and remained under restraint despite showing some eagerness to get on with it early. Three wide on the far turn, she began to close on the leading pack, headed by the Norm Casse-trainee Super Quick (Super Saver). Fanned out eight wide turning for home, the bay inched ever closer to the...