Isaac Shelby

There can have been no ignoring the explosive entrance of the Emir of Qatar's Wathnan Racing to the European racing scene in particular over the last 18 months. The 2023 Royal Ascot winners Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) gave advance warning as to what was to unfold in the ensuing period, with their victories respectively in the G1 Gold Cup and G2 Queen's Vase coming on their first starts in the Wathnan silks after being bought privately from their owner-breeders, Anthony Oppenheimer and...

The Ascot Gold Cup is the main priority for defending champion Courage Mon Ami (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and St Leger third Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), according to Richard Brown, racing advisor for owners Wathnan Racing.  The John and Thady Gosden-trained duo gave the Qatar-based operation the perfect start to their ownership enterprise last season. Both horses hold entries for the Boodles Yorkshire Cup on May 17, while Sandown's Henry II S. a week later is another possible option for the duo to tune up for their main summer assignment....

Leading French 2,000 Guineas fancy Isaac Shelby (GB) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) has been sold to the Qatari-based Wathnan Racing in a deal that was brokered by Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock.  Isaac Shelby won the G3 Greenham S. in the colours of Manton Thoroughbreds on his reappearance at Newbury last month, after which, his trainer Brian Meehan revealed that he would sidestep Newmarket in favour of the French Classic at ParisLongchamp.  The colt remains firmly on course for Sunday's race and will represent an exciting first European runner for...

At Newmarket last Tuesday, a fellow racegoer suggested that the racecourse really should up its game in encouraging more people to attend the Craven meeting. I disagreed politely. For a start, there was a decent enough crowd there, enough for atmosphere but not so many that it was tricky to manoeuvre between pre-parade ring, parade ring and racecourse. And secondly, marketing a midweek meeting accompanied by Arctic temperatures just as many people have returned to work and school after the Easter holidays is not the easiest task. I know we...

In a year of years for Newmarket, Sir Michael Stoute has enjoyed a fair chunk of the town's success and heads to Saturday's feature G1 Darley Dewhurst S. with as exciting a 2-year-old as he has possessed in some time. Juddmonte's 'TDN Rising Star' Nostrum (GB) (Kingman {GB}) enjoyed the perfect Rowley Mile warm-up when taking the G3 Tattersalls S. over this seven-furlong trip Sept. 22 and the descendant of the 1980 Champion S. heroine Cairn Rouge (Ire) surely has significant days ahead of him. Described as "immature and babyish"...

One of the most cheering aspects of an excellent three days of racing for Newmarket's July Meeting was seeing the famous Sangster silks returning to the winner's enclosure aboard a group winner. For racing fans of a certain vintage it is impossible to see those colours originally registered to the late Robert Sangster and not conjure up memories of some of the famous horses to have raced in them, not least the great Sadler's Wells. How far into the league of great horses Isaac Shelby (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire})...