Michael Donohoe

NEWMARKET, UK--Well, if the astounding yearling market is to make any kind of sense, then this one needs to prove every bit as strong. And the early signs, after the opening session of the Tattersalls Horses-in-Training Sale, are that those who invested so heavily in new stock at the October Sale can pin their hopes on other dividends beyond the notorious limits to domestic prizemoney. Year-on-year comparisons at an auction like this must carry a caveat, granted the random element in the calibre and distribution of the best stock. But...

After one start for local trainer Raffaele Biondi that resulted in a runner-up effort in the May 23 G2 Derby Italiano, Juan De Montalban (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is headed back to Britain and to the yard of trainer David O'Meara after O'Meara and his assistant Jason Kelly went a sale-topping €400,000 for the 3-year-old at Arqana's Summer Sale on Thursday. Juan De Montalban (lot 488) had been bought by trainer Andrew Balding for 85,000gns as a Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling, and sold privately to Italy after posting...

Yuesheng Zhang has built up an Irish stable with enviable horsepower while shopping with a relatively modest budget over the last few years. His stable star is undoubtedly last year's G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. winner Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who looks to someday have a future at stud both in Europe and at Zhang's Yulong property in Victoria, Australia. For now, though, connections have set their sights on the May 1 G1 2000 Guineas in Newmarket, with the colt preparing at Jessica Harrington's yard in good nick....

Miss Amulet (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), who won the G2 Sky Bet Lowther S. last out, has been privately purchased by Michael Tabor and fellow Coolmore partners, Racing Post reported on Tuesday. Previously owned by Colm Griffin, the grey also gained black-type with a win in the Listed Arqana Irish EBF Marwell S. earlier this season. Trained by Ken Condon, Miss Amulet is targetting the G1 Cheveley Park S. at Newmarket on Sept. 26. "I can confirm that Miss Amulet has been sold outright to Michael Tabor and partners for...

Everyone in the bloodstock industry can see the bump in the road ahead. It's just a case of getting across without causing lasting damage to the engine. As such, European horsemen Tuesday applauded the dovetailing of North America's premier yearling sales as the type of wholesome collaboration required to tackle a crisis that transcends borders and oceans, never mind commercial rivalries. True, one or two quibbles could be heard on the other side of the pond. On the whole, however, Monday's announcement by Fasig-Tipton—positioning a two-day sale in Lexington, as...

LEXINGTON, KY--Michael Donohoe's mid-winter trip to Kentucky was made entirely worthwhile on Tuesday when Enaya Alrabb (Uncle Mo), the Grade I-placed 4-year-old he had purchased as a yearling for the Saudi Arabian-based Enaya Racing, topped Book 1 of the Keeneland January sale on a bid of $640,000 from agent James Schenck. The BBA Ireland agent has bought a handful of horses from the U.S. to run successfully for Enaya Racing in Saudi Arabia, like the three-time Saudi stakes winner Madtap (Tapit), and Donohoe explained that when his client learned he...