Nobel

On a day that was supposed to be a celebration of the Grade I Travers S., a pall was cast over Saturday's card at Saratoga when two horses broke down on the card and had to be euthanized. Including racing and training, they were the seventh and eighth equine deaths during racing at the meeting. Four horses have died during training. One Saturday fatality was on the turf, the other on the dirt. Both horses were ridden by Tyler Gaffalione. Travers Day continued a very difficult stretch for horse racing,...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today's Observations features a blueblooded homebred of The Queen's. 1.00 Newbury, Novice, £10,000, 2yo, 7fT NOBEL (IRE) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who cost 825,000gns at the Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale, represents the Qatar Racing-Andrew Balding Classic-winning partnership as he makes his debut. A half-brother to the G3 Leopardstown...