John Berry

In John Berry's comprehensive and most interesting tribute to Alec Head he made a small but important error. The fact that I found it attests to retirement providing too much time on my hands. But I make this correction in an amusing story about my own connection to Alec. Of course, it must involve his inseparable friendship and business partnership with another monumental name in international breeding and racing circles, Comte Roland de Chambure. Deep in the third page of John's article, he describes two outstanding colts, Riverman and Lyphard, stating "both...

I think we must thank Mr. Berry for his  long and exhaustive writing about The Queen, and not only as a breeder and racehorse owner, but also as a monarch who had, via the horses, a unique way of influencing politics, without "doing" politics. Her long and varied travels globally had always a hint of the horses. Whilst maintaining her staunch support of being politically correct, she did manage to convey to the greater public the importance of uniting people rather than dividing. Mr Berry's writing in the TDN today...

In the concluding part of the series reflecting on the Queen's long attachment to thoroughbred racing and breeding, John Berry considers the prospect of a royal Derby runner in the year of the Platinum Jubilee The most significant addition to the royal roster of trainers came in the autumn of 1966, when some of that year's yearlings were sent to the West Ilsley stable of Major Dick Hern. This was the start of a wonderful partnership, which in time saw Hern become as synonymous with the royal string as formerly...

A significant milestone in British history is reached on Sunday as the Queen becomes the country's first monarch to reign for 70 years. Throughout that time, Her Majesty has remained a fervent supporter of the Turf. In the first of a three-part series, John Berry looks back at the Queen's strong ties to horseracing. Racing, the king of sports, has been the sport of kings and queens since the dawn of time. In Great Britain, the monarch's love of the sport can be traced back at least 500 years to...

Roy Rocket, the one time co-record holder for the most number of wins at Brighton, has died. He was 11. That's the style in which I would normally start an obituary, for a horse or human who has left their mark on the racing world. I wouldn't normally be writing an obituary for a middle-of-the-road handicapper. And I wouldn't normally be writing at four o'clock in the morning, but Roy wasn't normal, he was special, and he died yesterday. And when something terrible has happened, for days afterwards my brain...

As we settle into 2021, formerly male-dominated jockeys' tables from around the world tell us how well the process of gender equality is advancing. Jamie Kah currently holds a clear lead in the premiership in Melbourne; Rachael Blackmore is vying for first place in the Irish jumps table with Paul Townend, the pair well clear of third-placed Sean Flanagan; reigning Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year Hollie Doyle, who finished second in the British jockeys' table in 2020, looks to have a realistic chance this year of becoming Britain's first...

It was a record-breaking year for video production at the TDN, and for video views, with over 3.8 million TDN videos and advertisers' commercials shown on our platforms. We took a look to see what you were watching the most. Here are our top 10 videos of the year, as watched on the TDN's YouTube Channel and the TDN site combined. Click on the red links below to watch. Zenyatta and Her Candy Ride Filly at Lane's End. 108,960 views. She may be the fan-favorite of all time. Meet the...

The Australian & New Zealand Thoroughbred By Ross du Bourg There have been a handful of events through history which could trigger a sentence ending "... and nothing was ever the same again." The emergence of a previously unknown virus in Wuhan in the final quarter of 2019 might end up being in this list. One which is already there, alongside German soldiers marching into Poland on September 3, 1939, is Danehill starting to cover mares at Arrowfield in September 1990. Stallions were, admittedly, already being shuttled to the antipodes...