Mill Reef

I wish I had met Paul Mellon. He does seem to have been a rather good egg. Mill Reef was born the year before me and though I wasn't precocious enough to have enjoyed his racing career live, for some reason, since I started taking a serious interest in racing, he has long been one of my favourite horses. I think a lot of it has to do with Mellon himself.  Can you imagine a modern-day Gimcrack-winning owner writing a poem about his horse, as Mellon did for Mill Reef...

In partnership with the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Tampa Bay Downs will present a screening of the documentary film Mill Reef: A Legacy of Heart on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the racetrack in Tampa, Fla. The event is free to attend and open to the public, but advance registration will be required. Beverages and light fare will be available. To register, click here. Mill Reef: A Legacy of Heart chronicles the legendary racehorse Mill Reef, who was...

With Heather Anderson, TDN Associate International Editor First job in the Thoroughbred industry? Interning at a reproduction centre at Peterson & Smith down in Florida. Biggest influence on your career? My parents. Neither are in the industry, but they gave me a good foundation and the right mind set to succeed. Favourite racehorse of all time, and why? Tiznow. He's still the only dual winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Who will be champion first-season sire in 2023? Land Force. Greatest race in the world? G1 Prix de l'Arc...

The late Vincent O'Brien, a master trainer on the Flat and over jumps, is the first of his profession to be inducted to the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. His name was announced along with three equine stars of the 1970s, Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Brigadier Gerard (GB). Marking the 10th anniversary of QIPCO's sponsorship of the British Champions Series, the Hall of Fame was launched in May with the inaugural inductees Lester Piggott and Frankel (GB). During an illustrious career, O'Brien notched 141 Group 1 wins, with...

Mill Reef (Never Bend), who won the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. 50 years ago, has been honoured with the QIPCO Diamonds & Pearls Award, QIPCO announced on Thursday. Second in the 2000 Guineas, the diminutive Paul Mellon homebred with the big heart would go on to win the Derby and break the course record at Epsom Downs. In the 1971 King George, the Ian Balding trainee drew off to win by six lengths. His regular jockey, Geoff Lewis, stated at the time, "Daylight was second." Retired...

Nothing sacred just appears out of the wilderness; it is always the outcome of an evolutionary process with many layers of development. In racing, France and arguably Europe's self-proclaimed 'monument', the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, emerged from a lengthy spell of planning and forethought into how the country could showcase its own talent in direct competition with its neighbours. With the hippodrome at Longchamp superseding the worn-out Champ de Mars circuit in 1857, the Societe d'Encouragement pour l'Amelioration des Races de Chevaux en France looked to provide some prizes...

TOM MORLEY, TRAINER Favorite:  It's very rare that your family own, breed and train the winner of a Group 1 at Royal Ascot. But when Celeric (GB) (Mtoto {GB}) won the 1997 Ascot Gold Cup having been bred by my Uncle Christopher Spence, owned by he and my father, and trained by my uncle David Morley then to me there can be no bigger favourite. He was the horse that got me hooked, the best day out from school in the world was being able to go to Ascot that...

The Story of Mill Reef By John Oaksey On the first evening of decreed isolation this week, I joked to my husband that he was fortunate to be in lockdown with me. "Well, at least we have the animals," he replied, unreassuringly. We do indeed, and we also have a house full of books, many of them, unsurprisingly, about racing and breeding. Over the next few weeks we will be encouraging TDN readers to share their favourite racing book with us. I'll start off with mine, and if you'd like...