Gleaneagles

We're not quite halfway through the Flat season but Royal Ascot feels like a pivotal point. It's not just the fact that it coincides with the summer solstice (even though summer has really only just arrived in these parts) but it includes the first properly meaningful two-year-old contests along with a set of races for the Classic generation which start to underline the really serious prospects. While the yearling sales may tell one story of the popularity of stallions, one only needs to peruse the stakes race results on a...

DEAUVILLE, France—The Life Of Brian anthem 'Always look on the bright side of life' is one that could easily be adopted by the bloodstock industry. There have been crises in the past—in modern times perhaps none so all-pervading as the one we currently face—but, extraordinarily, the horse traders as a collective always bounce back, even if some individuals are lost from the merry band along the way. Merry would be too strong an adjective to describe the current mood on the Arqana sales grounds but, amid the nervousness of some...