Desert Crown

As the year winds down, now is a relatively quiet time for horse racing. But there was nothing quiet about 2023, a year, it seems, where the bad news stories overshadowed the good news stories. What resonated most with TDN readers? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be our stories that reported on some of the darker aspects of the sport. Here are the top 10 most widely read stories of 2023 and the number of views they received: 1) Europeans Unleashed As Santa Anita is Struck by Tragedy, by Emma...

Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), the brilliant winner of the 2022 Derby, has been euthanised at Newmarket Equine Hospital after failing to recover from an injury sustained on the gallops in August. "Everything was done to try to save him, we thought he was making progress but then he just started going backwards," said Philip Robinson, assistant racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail. Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, Desert Crown was bred by Gary Robinson of Strawberry Fields Stud. He made just one appearance as a two-year-old to post a...

Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) will miss Saturday's King George VI And Queen Elizabeth II Qipco S. at Ascot due to a leg infection. The 2022 Derby winner, who was off with an ankle injury for a year following his Epsom triumph, was beaten on his return by Hukum in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown in May. Sir Michael Stoute's charge had been reported to be working well in the build-up to a clash with that rival at Ascot and was also set to take on this year's Derby one-two...

Desert Crown (GB) is set to return from his latest injury setback in Saturday's King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. as last year's Derby winner is one of 15 runners still in contention for the £1.25 million Ascot contest. Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the son of Nathaniel (Ire) stormed to Classic glory at Epsom in 2022 before spending almost a year on the sidelines before making his return in the Brigadier Gerard in May where he finished second to Owen Burrows' reopposing Hukum. A further setback ruled...

Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who was ruled out of the Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot after suffering a setback in training, has resumed light exercise in Newmarket.  Last year's Derby winner, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, has raced just four times in three years, and was beaten for the first time on his sole start this season when second to Hukum (GB) in the Brigadier Gerard S. on his reappearance after a 12-month absence. Philip Robinson, assistant racing manager to Desert Crown's owner Saeed Suhail, said, "He's...

Heading into his final Royal Ascot, Frankie Dettori has landed the plum ride on last year's Derby winner Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G1 Prince of Wales's S.  Richard Kingscote has ridden the Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt in all four of his starts to date, including his seasonal resumption when second to Hukum (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. Kingscote is unlikely to be without a big-name partner in the race, however, as he is the intended rider for Bay Bridge (GB) on...

On December 3, 1995, the G1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle was won by the Aidan O'Brien-trained Thats My Man (Ire). It is unconfirmed, but those may well have been the words uttered by John Magnier when he decided to appoint O'Brien to uphold the good reputation of his surname at Ballydoyle. This he has done with aplomb. From that December day at Fairyhouse until Sunday at the Curragh, A P O'Brien has been the name printed alongside 400 Group or Grade 1 winners. From his roots in National Hunt, he...

NEWMARKET, UK--Oh, to be in England now that April's there. So wrote Robert Browning in 1845, though it is unconfirmed that this had anything to do with Classic trials. An unusually wet and cold April did little to lift the spirits this year, so we shall fast-forward to another line of his lovely poem. And after April, when May follows. May is becoming more marvellous by the day. There's York, of course, and who doesn't love York? It is a racecourse which comes close to perfection, from its location in...

In the modern era, only Aidan O'Brien has trained more Derby winners than Sir Michael Stoute. The latter became almost instantly synonymous with the great race, and indeed woven into Derby folklore, when he first won it back in 1981. Few will need reminding that that was with Shergar (Ire), the horse whose infamy threatens to overshadow his brilliance, especially as the years wear on and the number of people who were there to witness Shergar's superiority first hand decreases. Forty-one years later, and with the not insignificant names of...

Richard Kingscote is far too nice. He is also a damn good jockey. And if people hadn't realised that before this year, they certainly do now. The 36-year-old is no newcomer to racing's main stage but until this past season he had to a degree been cast as a reliable sidekick to leading actors such as Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore. Dettori is one of only a few jockeys who is instantly identifiable by his first name alone, and in true 'Frankie style' the recent announcement of his retirement allows...

British jockey Richard Kingscote, winner of the G1 Epsom Derby June 4 aboard favored Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), will spend part of his winter riding at Gulfstream Park's Championship Meet. Kingscote told broadcaster Nick Luck on Nick Luck Daily Podcast Monday that he intends to ride beginning in the middle of January. Gulfstream's Championship Meet, highlighted by the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Jan. 28 and GI Florida Derby Apr. 1, begins Dec. 26. After winning his first Epsom Derby this year for trainer Sir Michael Stoute, Kingscote  also...

An extremely rare opportunity will be presented during the Sceptre Sessions of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale when Desert Berry (GB) (Green Desert), the dam of this year's G1 Derby winner Desert Crown (GB), is offered for sale back in foal to Nathaniel (Ire), the sire of the Classic hero. When Desert Crown passed the line in front at Epsom, he fulfilled a lifetime dream for breeder Gary Robinson of Newmarket's Strawberry Fields Stud, who will offer the 13-year-old Desert Berry as lot 1891 on Tuesday evening of the sale....