Miesque

When he succumbed to colic in October 2011, aged just 14, there was a poignant sense that Bernstein had never quite lived up to his glamorous billing. He was a celebrity even as an embryo, carried through the Keeneland ring at the 1996 November Sale by a $1.9 million mare--La Affirmed (Affirmed), the second most expensive broodmare auctioned in America that year--as a full-sibling to two graded stakes winners by Storm Cat. On his safe delivery, his dam's purchasers at Brushwood Farm sent Bernstein back the following November to defray...

It very quickly became clear that the stallions launched in 2019 included an above-average proportion equipped to last the course. And the start being made by their second crop of sophomores has only reiterated that impression. Thanks to the contentious prohibition of his ban by a gaming corporation, GI Arkansas Derby winner Muth is ineligible to give Good Magic a second GI Kentucky Derby from two attempts. (Though the Hill 'n' Dale sire might yet manage that with the same mare who gave him the first one, with Mage's brother...

One of the reasons that the Racing League has struggled to catch on is that the organisers have underestimated the attachment that regular racegoers and viewers have to certain sets of silks. We all have our favourites, often depending on when we were born and who the leading lights were at the time.  Some have now faded from everyday use, and for this fan the Ballymacoll Stud colours are much missed. Certain silks have such resonance that one almost doesn't need to have a race card handy to have an...

First job in the Thoroughbred industry? Actually, my first job in the Thoroughbred industry is my current one, manager of our racing operation. Biggest influence on your career? Without hesitation, my dad from the beginning. I have a very high regard for him, and for what he has done. He is a self-made man. Favourite racehorse of all time, and why? Miesque, she had everything. A magnificent racehorse with a sturdy character, and in addition, she was a wonderful mare. Who will be champion first-season sire in 2023? Ten Sovereigns....

French trainer Freddy Head will retire from training at the end of the year, Jour de Galop reported on Saturday. Best known during his training years as the trainer of the 14-time Group 1 winner Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa), Head also celebrated top-level success with Marchand d'Or (Fr) (Marchand De Sable), Tamayuz (GB) (Nayef), and Moonlight Cloud (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), among others. He was also the first person to ever win a Breeders' Cup race as a jockey and a trainer, aboard Miesque (Kingmambo) in the 1987/88 GI Breeders' Cup...

The Niarchos Family will be honoured with the Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit for 2021. The award recognises distinguished horsemen and horsewomen for lifelong contributions to Thoroughbred racing, with previous winners including the Magnier Family and Aidan O'Brien; the Romanet Family, Jim Bolger, Alec Head and Seth Hancock. The late Stavros Niarchos, a Greek naval officer in World War II who made his fortune in the shipping business, first became involved with Thoroughbred racing in the 1950s before taking a break and returning with a major commitment in...

There is no question that world racing will be all the poorer in 2021 without those marvelous mares, Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). For all of us with a keen interest in breeding, their future careers will be watched with great interest, Enable starting off with a visit to Kingman (GB) and Magical going to Dubawi (Ire). But how have brilliant racemares fared in their second career down through the years? They are certainly a select bunch with only 42 having attained a Timeform mark of...