Johannesburg

DEL MAR, USA -- October 2001 was a sobering time to be in New York. Some seven weeks on from the devastating attack on the World Trade Center, the city was shrouded in sadness and America was a nation united in grief for the thousands who lost their lives on 9/11. Horseracing, often referred to as the great triviality, doesn't usually feel like that to those who work in the sport, but it did feel trivial, almost intrusive, to be at Belmont that year for what was a first visit...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Rattle N Roll (Connect)'s very promising and then down-a-bit career path is on a solid upward trajectory approaching the historic $1 million GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. With six wins--five of them in graded stakes--and just over $1.6 million in earnings, Rattle N Roll has been a big success for the Mackin family's Lucky Seven Stable. After a two-month break from competition, the chestnut will face seven others in the 1 1/4 miles Gold Cup, long one of the premier races...

Del Mar, CA--While the bridge between the European turf and the American dirt is one that is rarely crossed nowadays, it has historically been the path to some of the greatest payoffs-at both the parimutuels and in the realms of international ratings and stud value-at the Breeders' Cup World Championships. In 1991, Sheikh Albadou forged the path when backing up a win in the G1 Nunthorpe S. and runner-up efforts in the G1 Sprint Cup and G1 Prix de l'Abbaye into a first victory for a European-trained runners in a...