David Powell

David Powell, a former American journalist who relocated to France in the 1970s and purchased Haras du Lieu des Champs in Coupesante in 1980, passed away in the early morning hours Sunday after a long illness, according to his son, Richard. He was 73 years old. In addition to Richard, who bought the 222-acre farm from his father in 2013, Powell was the father of Freddy, the executive director at Arqana; Leo Powell, a trainer in California; and stepfather to trainer Arnaud Delacour. During his career, Powell was a longtime...

The latest Auctav Flash Sale saw winning 3-year-old gelding Icone d'Aubrelle (Fr) (Cokoriko {Fr}) bring €150,000 from Highflyer Bloodstock. A winner at Bordeaux-le-Bouscat, Icone d'Aubrelle is from a versatile Aga Khan female family that has performed with credit on the Flat and over jumps. "He's not a particularly precocious horse but he has a lot of improvement. I really liked when he won in Bordeaux after making a huge mistake at the penultimate hurdle. He will have a break for six months to let him grow and strengthen. He will...

I read with interest the article about using speed figures to "flag" trainers who may be using performance enhancing drugs. Whereas it may be a useful tool to focus on which trainers to keep an eye on, we should not jump to conclusions too hastily : there are plenty of other reasons a trainer might frequently improve a horse he has received. He may have treated the horse for ulcers, any physical discomfort ranging from the cervicals to the sacro iliac, improved his shoeing, or just given him more work...

At a time when travel and nostalgia have become poignantly conflated, there is something especially striking about the way Richard Powell is seeking to promote his Normandy farm overseas. You may have noticed a series of pastel evocations in TDN, in the mold of those vintage posters that prompted generations past to book a steamer cabin across the pond. The images are allowed to speak for themselves, accompanied by no more than a video link. Click that, however, and you see that no artifice is necessary to present Haras du...