Gubbass

Tom Lacy received a heartwarming reception at the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Awards last week. And rightly so. A legendary figure in Irish racing, Lacy rode 50 winners on the Flat and found only Arkle and Flyingbolt too good aboard Height Of Fashion in two Irish Grand Nationals.  As a trainer, Lacy sent out hundreds of winners from Rhode, County Offaly, including Ingabelle (GB), who later became a hugely important foundation mare at Ballylinch Stud. His sons Barry and Tony rode multiple winners for the stable down through the years....

The furious intensity of last weekend's European action gears down a notch with the 50th renewal of Newbury's G2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef S. the main ingredient in Saturday's hangover cure. Ten juvenile colts are declared for the £75,000 six-furlong test won in recent years by subsequent top-level luminaries Excellent Art (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), Dark Angel (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), Lord Shanakill (Speightstown), Ribchester (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}), and Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). This year's cast features Poseidon Thoroughbred Racing's Dhabab (Ire) (No Nay Never), who drops in trip...

The village of Rhode in the Irish heartland of County Offaly may be better known for its peat but it can also boast a growing reputation as home to some of the stars of the racing and breeding world. The most recent comet to shoot to prominence having been raised on its turf is Gubbass (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), winner of Saturday's Weatherbys Super Sprint for Richard Hannon and owner Jassim Bin Ali Attiyah. The youngster was bred at  Ballyheashill Stud in Rhode by Barry Lacy and his father Tom, the...

It has been quite the week for two young stallions from Tally-Ho Stud. We barely stopped hearing about Mehmas (Ire) last season during his record-breaking assault on the freshman sires' championship, and the big question is always how a stallion will follow up on that early promise. It can be a long way to fall after a reputation is so swiftly created, but in the case of the 7-year-old son of Acclamation (GB) it looks very much as if he is consolidating his position as a stallion to follow with...