Deauville

He's been a bit hit-and-miss so far in his brief career, but Ballydoyle's Whistlejacket (Ire) (No Nay Never--Adventure Seeker {Fr}, by Bering {GB}) was in front where it mattered to master his peers in Sunday's stallion-making G1 Sumbe Prix Morny at Deauville. Breaking fast to get the stands' rail, the 27-10 favourite was able to force the pace without the kind of pressure he had endured during last Sunday's G1 Phoenix Stakes. The G2 July Stakes winner kept finding for Ryan Moore to get to the line 3/4 of a...

DEAUVILLE, France -- An important marker in the history of Japanese racing was passed in December 2023 when Kyoko Maekawa became the first woman to be granted a training licence in the country. Now 47, Maekawa has worked at Ritto Training Centre in the Shiga Prefecture in western Japan for 21 years. As she completes her apprenticeship alongside the internationally successful trainer Yoshito Yahagi, Maekawa is in Deauville this week to expand her knowledge of the racing and breeding world in other jurisdictions. "I was granted my licence last year...

Relishing the step up to seven furlongs on Saturday, Al Shaqab's G3 Princess Margaret Stakes winner Simmering (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}--Cashla Bay {GB}, by Fastnet Rock {Aus}) mastered her peers with a degree of comfort in Deauville's G2 Prix du Calvados to suggest she can enter elite territory sooner rather than later. Always travelling easily under Dylan Browne McMonagle tracking the pace, the Ollie Sangster-trained 7-5 favourite cruised to the front two out and once committed soon after gave generous response to inflict a three-length defeat on the previously...

DEAUVILLE, France -- One man who has truly made his mark on Deauville's summer season is Nurlan Bizakov. First his unbeaten Lazzat (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) took the G1 ARC Prix Maurice de Gheest, continuing his relentless surge through to the top ranks. To round off that successful day, another homebred, Ramadan (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) won the G3 Prix Daphnis. Next came Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) - already a Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot this year - who strode to success in the following weekend's G1 Prix du...

DEAUVILLE, France--The August Yearling Sale catalogue provides a unique glimpse into the past, present and-perhaps most importantly-the future.  On the cover you have last year's brilliant Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Ace Impact (Ire) alongside what bookmakers deem to be the most likely winner of this year's renewal, Look De Vega (Fr). Both colts were sold at this sale. When you turn the pages, there are over 300 yearlings who could chart a similar path. And the world knows. Not least Japan's superstar trainer Yoshito Yahagi. It was at...

Making an instant impact in Thursday's Arqana Series Des Poulains at Deauville, Peter Maher, Carl Fitzgerald and John Baxter's Maranoa Charlie (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Koubalibre {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) became his sire's ninth TDN Rising Star. Out of a half-sister to the G1 Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), the €220,000 Arqana Deauville August graduate soon had control on the front end under Aurelien Lemaitre. Sent into the clear passing the furlong pole, the Christopher Head-trained 23-10 favourite registered an impressive 3 1/2-length success from Mighty Boy...

All the rage beforehand, Mojave River (Fr) (Mohaather {GB}--Quintessenz {Ger}, by Soldier Hollow {GB}) fared best of the debutantes contesting Thursday's valuable Arqana Series Des Pouliches at Deauville. Sent to the fore from the outset by Maxime Guyon, the Joseph O'Brien-trained 28-10 favourite asserted her superiority in the final furlong to score by two lengths from Bogota (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Mojave River, who qualified for this incentive by selling for €17,000 at the 2022 Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, becomes the ninth winner for her first-season sire. https://twitter.com/i/status/1824055608783331730

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features a pricy son of Into Mischief.   3.25 Dundalk, Mdn, €18,000, 2yo, 8f (AWT) BERNARD SHAW (Into Mischief) bids to build on his highly encouraging debut fourth under John Velazquez in The Curragh's Barronstown Stud Maiden in June in this race won in the last two...

He has been out of action since his powerful display in the G2 Dante Stakes in May, but Isa Salman Al Khalifa's Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) has never been too far from the news given his obvious potential and so it is with more than a small sense of anticipation that the purists await his comeback in Thursday's G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano at Deauville. Some of racing's kingpins have won this 10-furlong staging post in recent years, namely Almanzor (Fr), Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), Dubai Honour (Ire)...

It is 15 years since Gwen Monneraye and Lucie Lamotte launched their La Motteraye Consignment and since then they have built their business up from scratch to being responsible for topping the Arqana August Sale of 2018 with a €1.4m Dubawi colt.  Last year La Motteraye was the fourth-leading vendor with 16 yearlings sold at an average price of €201,563 and it would be no surprise to see them near the top of the table once more. The stud's draft of 30 yearlings are garnered from an international client base,...

Normandy resident and regular TDN contributor Alix Choppin uses her local knowledge to offer overseas visitors some valuable pointers on where to eat, drink and be merry after a long day at the Arqana sales Despite being home to no more than 5,000 souls in the heart of winter, Deauville in summertime turns into a buzzy, sleepless town where restaurants, bars, clubs and countless sorts of hybrid eating/drinking/partying venues combine to make stay-at-home nights an unlikely option. Perhaps one of the most iconic venues, to the extent that its name...

The colt crowned Cartier Horse of the Year in 2021 when he retired as a five-time Group 1 winner; an elite miler who also won five races at the top level, notably at Royal Ascot in both 2020 and 2021; and the GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero of 2021, speedy enough to win the previous year's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest over six and a half furlongs. Those three summations alone should give some idea of the calibre of racehorse we're dealing with when it comes to the 2025 crop...