Coolmore

Barry Fowler and Steve Weston's Dundalk maiden winner Usdi Atohi (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}--Eria {Ire}, by Zoffany {Ire}) finished last of six in May's G3 Naas Fillies' Sprint when last seen and bounced back in style to register a first black-type triumph in Wednesday evening's Listed Coolmore Ten Sovereigns Tipperary Stakes. The 20-1 outsider was swiftly into stride and stalked the tempo in second from flagfall at the Limerick Junction venue. Shaken up soon after passing the quarter-mile marker, she engaged Powerful Nation (Ire) (Sioux Nation) entering the final furlong...

Ballydoyle representative Henri Matisse (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Immortal Verse {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}) finished the right side of a short-head verdict tackling six furlongs at the Curragh in May and pounced late over the same course and distance to garner a record-equalling 14th renewal of Sunday's G2 GAIN Railway Stakes for Aidan O'Brien. The victory moved O'Brien alongside legendary former Ballydoyle incumbent Vincent O'Brien on the honours board. The Aug. 10 G1 Phoenix Stakes and Sept. 15 G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes entry was sluggish from the traps and trailed...

Christopher Head trainee Angeal (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Curvy {GB}, by Galileo {Ire}), a €110,000 Goffs Orby daughter of GI E. P. Taylor Stakes victrix and G1 Irish Oaks third Curvy, continued on a winning roll and went two-for-two in Sunday's seven-furlong €34,000 Prix Amber Rama at Saint-Cloud. 1st-Saint-Cloud, €34,000, Cond, 6-30, 2yo, 7fT, 1:27.43, g/s. ANGEAL (IRE) (f, 2, Wootton Bassett {GB}--Curvy {GB} {GISW-Can, GSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW-Eng, $555,392}, by Galileo {Ire}), who graduated over six furlongs here in her May 20 debut last time, broke sharply from the outside...

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. Friday's Observations features a daughter of Group 1 winner Quiet Reflection (GB).   17.30 Curragh, Mdn, €20,000, 2yo, f, 7fT LAKE VICTORIA (IRE) (Frankel {GB}) makes her debut for Ballydoyle in the maiden won 12 months ago by Frankel's future G1 Fillies' Mile heroine Ylang Ylang (GB) and is...

Irish Derby weekend kicks off at the Curragh on Friday and there are no shortage of potential talking points. From highly-regarded juveniles, intriguingly-bred newcomers, stars of the future and potential banana skins, all of the ingredients are there to make the action on the track absorbing and informative. Here are some things to keep an eye out for.  Twomey Tipped To Begin Derby Weekend With A Bang The opening two-year-old maiden on Friday has the potential to be a cracker and the Paddy Twomey-trained Admiral Churchill (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) is...

Coolmore stallion Tale of the Cat (Storm Cat--Yarn, by Mr. Prospector) died Monday from "the infirmities of old age" according to an announcement released through the Coolmore website. Born in 1994 for the breeding partnership of Indian Creek, Philip Freedman and Hugo Lascelles, Tale of the Cat was a $375,000 Keeneland September grad in 1995 for trainer John Forbes, who signed the ticket on behalf of Phantom House Farm. He was a 11 1/2-length winner on debut at Monmouth Park and quickly moved up the ranks, contesting the GI Buick...

Six winners across the week saw Coolmore, Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore sweep the leading owner, trainer and jockey titles at Royal Ascot for a second successive year. O'Brien received a thirteenth leading trainer award at Royal Ascot and increased his lead as the most successful current trainer at the meeting, ending the week on 91 career victories. Moore, crowned leading jockey at the meeting for an eleventh time, surpassed Frankie Dettori as the most successful current jockey at Royal Ascot. His career haul of 85 places him second on...

Turning the Listed Chesham Stakes into her own Royal Ascot procession on Saturday, Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star Bedtime Story (Ire) (Frankel {GB}--Mecca's Angel {Ire}, by Dark Angel {Ire}) recorded the widest-margin win of the week by some way to enter the 2025 Classic conversation. Content to follow the leaders in the group racing up the centre, the 11-8 favourite who had won a Leopardstown maiden earlier this month was let loose by Ryan Moore two out and surged clear for an emphatic 9 1/2-length success. Pentle Bay (Ire) (New Bay...

Coolmore's G3 Naas Fillies Sprint victrix Fairy Godmother (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}--Scintilating {GB}, by Siyouni {Fr}) looked booked for the also-ran slots in Friday's G3 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, but unleashed a spectacular burst inside the final furlong to double her pattern-race tally in impressive fashion. The 425,000gns October Book 1 yearling and well-backed 15-8 favourite raced off the pace, nestled in the pack, through halfway in this straight six-furlong dash. Bustled along passing the quarter-mile marker, she made an exaggerated manoeuvre to the stands' side approaching the...

When Aidan O'Brien resurrected City Of Troy (Justify) to win the Derby, he was rightly hailed as a genius. Sadly, it didn't take long for that piece of brilliance to be overshadowed by an expose-style documentary carried out by Ireland's national broadcaster [RTE] which concentrated on horses being sent to slaughter.  Admittedly, the documentary featured mostly non-thoroughbreds but the build-up and reaction to the programme has dominated the mainstream coverage of this sport in recent times. Not O'Brien's moment of magic that arguably should have been celebrated more than it...

ASCOT, UK -- It takes a good one to overcome adversity, and there can be no argument brooked when it comes to the talent of Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). It is writ large in form figures which predominantly feature the figure 1. But those bare statistics frame a year-long gap in which the horse was missing in action, with those around him fearing the worst as he battled to overcome an infection in a hind joint which nearly claimed his life.  "I saw him all the way through it and...

While copper has its origins in his moniker, Ballydoyle's star stayer Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}--Polished Gem {Ire}, by Danehill) was all gold after adding to his 2022 triumph in a thrilling renewal of Thursday's G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, becoming the first to regain his crown in the 2 1/2-mile contest since Kayf Tara (GB) (Sadler's Wells) did so at the turn of the century. His one-length victory provided Aidan O'Brien with a record-extending ninth edition, while Ryan Moore, now on four, remains some way shy of Lester Piggott's...