Circus Maximus

Noel Meade has provided an upbeat bulletin on Classic hope Caught U Looking (Ire) and said it would "be a dream" if the daughter of Harzand (Ire) proved herself good enough to compete in the Oaks this season. Caught U Looking, winner of the G3 Weld Park S. at the Curragh last year, will get her campaign underway in the G3 Irish 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown on April 7.  Owned by Tally-Ho Stud's Tony O'Callaghan and popular bloodstock agent Peter Kelly's wife Sabina, Caught U Looking was bought for...

Off the back of a star-studded season, No Nay Never will stand for €175,000 in 2023, which represents a €50,000 rise, while his dual Group 1-winning son Blackbeard (Ire) will join him on the Coolmore roster next year at a price of €25,000. No Nay Never has had an exceptional year. Older filly Alcohol Free (Ire) landed the G1 July Cup at Newmarket, but it has been his Coolmore-owned and Aidan O'Brien-trained juveniles that have set tongues wagging this term. Like his father, Blackbeard landed the G1 Prix Morny in...

We continue our Value Sires Series with a look at stallions with their first foals arriving in 2022, and what looks a very intriguing bunch. Not only do we have Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal), the outstanding 2-year-old who was rated higher than Frankel as a juvenile, but also Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Dubawi's best son yet to retire to stud; the Classic-winning Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who trained on to add the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at four; and the three-time Group 1 and Classic winner Persian King (Ire),...

Freedonia (GB) (Selkirk), the dam of G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac winner Albigna (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), has been scanned in foal to new Coolmore stallion Circus Maximus (Ire). The Niarchos Family, who bred Circus Maximus and raced the treble Group 1 winner in partnership with the Coolmore syndicate, are also supporting the freshman sire by sending him their European Champion 3-year-old filly Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who was named Horseracing Ireland's Horse of the Year in 2018. Among the other well-credentialed mares already tested in foal to Circus Maximus...

The calendar has turned at last, with likely many more than usual looking for a fresh start in a new year. Even outside the midst of a global pandemic, the excitement of a new sire crop typically provides plenty of reason for excitement and optimism, despite the fact the very few of the 30-something young pretenders preparing to stand their first seasons in the UK, Ireland and France will truly 'make it.' But isn't that the point? Those made of thick enough stuff to be involved in the breeding and...

A win in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup Classic moved Authentic (Into Mischief) into a co-topping second in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings with a 126 rating, an increase from 124 which he had received after winning the GI Kentucky Derby Sept. 5. Improbable (City Zip), runner-up in the Classic, earned a 123 ranking, while Global Campaign (Curlin) earned a 120 rating following a third. Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), winner of a treble of Group 1 stakes this season, leads the rankings with a 130 rating, while dual...

Wootton Bassett (GB), one of four new sires on the Coolmore roster for 2021, will stand for €100,000 off a glittering season on the track that saw him sire two new Group 1 winners and 10 stakes winners. Coolmore announced its purchase of Wootton Bassett in June from Haras d'Etreham, where the son of Iffraaj had stood since retiring to stud in 2012. After standing for as low as €4,000 in his third season, Wootton Bassett had been priced at €40,000 the past two seasons. Just a week after the...

Multiple Group 1 winner Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}-Duntle {Ire}, by Danehill Dancer {Ire}) will stand at Coolmore Stud in Ireland next year for €20,000. The French highweight is under consideration for the Longines Hong Kong International Races in December for the Coolmore partners and Flaxman Holdings. The winner of the G1 St. James's Palace S. and second in the G1 Sussex S. in the summer of his 3-year-old year, the Niarchos Family's Flaxman homebred added another Group 1 win in the Prix du Moulin that September prior to a...

Aidan O'Brien has 12 Breeders' Cup trophies on his mantle, and he sends a typically strong team to Keeneland next week with numerous chances to bolster that number. Among the heavyweights are 2020 Group 1 winners Mogul (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who will attempt to give their trainer a sixth win in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. The 3-year-old Mogul earned his first top-level victory in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris on Sept. 13 with the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe second In Swoop...

With Kameko (Kitten's Joy) heading to York, Europe's leading 3-year-old miler status is there for the taking and 'TDN Rising Star' Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) might prove in Sunday's G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois that he already holds the rights to that title. Stepping straight to the highest level from novice and handicap company to land Royal Ascot's G1 St James's Palace S. with relative comfort on June 20, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's unbeaten colt is in that unique position of being open...

Royal Ascot's week-long Ryan Moore-Frankie Dettori battle was underway in some style early on Tuesday, with the former prevailing in a thrilling tussle on the 4-1 favourite Circus Maximus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Queen Anne S., a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland in November. Sent straight to the fore, last year's G1 St James's Palace S. and G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp hero was passed and apparently beaten by Terebellum (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) as Frankie took charge 1...

The G2 Mooresbridge S. at The Curragh on June 13 is shaping up as an exciting contest pitting many of the season's most anticipated older horses against one another. Among the entries for the 10-furlong contest are last year's leading middle-distance 3-year-olds Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), last year's G1 Irish St Leger winner Search For A Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the 2018 G1 Irish Derby victor Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), globetrotting Group 1 winner Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the high-class Madhmoon...