Energumene

The cleverest Premier League football club tycoon is also a devoted racehorse owner committed to "expanding" his racing empire. QED: put Tony Bloom in charge of UK racing and tell him to replicate the miraculous transformation of his Brighton & Hove Albion FC. One day last week Bloom addressed the Gimcrack dinner as an owner of Lake Forest, the Gimcrack Stakes winner. A couple of nights later, Brighton finished top of their Europa League group to cruise through to the last 16 in their first ever European campaign. To Bloom,...

CHELTENHAM, UK--On Wednesday morning, the front page of Jour de Galop referred to how Constitution Hill (GB) and Honeysuckle (GB) had restored the smiles of English National Hunt breeders, but the French breeders were smiling again by the end of the day, especially thanks to Energumene (Fr) (Denham Red {FR}), winner of the G1 Queen Mother Champion Chase for the second year running.  The 9-year-old, one of four winners so far for Willie Mullins at the Cheltenham Festival, was joined by fellow French-breds Impaire Et Passe (Fr) (Diamond Boy {Fr}),...

CHELTENHAM, UK--It is a rare moment when a beaten horse elicits a more rousing reception than a winner, but then Tiger Roll (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}) is the rarest of beasts. An enigma sometimes, but scintillating on his many days in the sun, he retires a proper champion of a horse after giving his all for one final run in relentless rain.  Nobody could claim that the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase is a championship race - in fact there are those who call for its exclusion from the Festival - but...