Oasis Dream

The setting of new sire records in the modern era tends more than not to be a direct consequence of ever-greater book sizes. But they must still be acknowledged as legitimate breeding benchmarks as they will inevitably feature some outstanding performances. Just look at Mehmas (Ire)'s tally of first-crop 2-year-old winners this term. Currently on 56 winners, he is already 17 clear of Iffraaj's old record and in normal circumstances we might be entitled to expect his record to stand for many years. It may well do, but his strike...

NEWMARKET, UK—The popularity of first-season sires is no new phenomenon but it is a feature of the market which apparently gains more and more traction, and three freshmen were responsible for four of the top ten lots as pinhookers wasted no time in assembling their prospective yearling drafts for next season. The first session traditionally represents a quieter start to the four-day auction, which builds towards the better pedigrees on Friday. With shorter sessions throughout the sale this year, there were 135 foals sold on Wednesday, compared to 168 on...

The final day of the Tattersalls December Mare Sale is usually a low-key affair. Take last year for example. That Thursday, 78 mares were sold for just shy of 280,000gns, a sum that wouldn't come close to buying even one of the headline acts during the sale's blockbuster Tuesday session. But Tattersalls prides itself on catering for all levels of the market and plenty of smaller breeders stay through to the end of the sale in the hope of finding a bargain. That was indeed the case for Domenico Zammitti,...

DONCASTER, UK—The weather brightened for the final session of the Goffs Orby Sale but it has to be said that the vibe did not. True, the clearance rate remained at a respectable level, with those vendors who decided to sell continuing to be realistic in their reserves. But there was a high number of withdrawals across the two days, with an extra bunch coming on Thursday morning as Wednesday's results were digested. This, together with a dearth of international participation compared to normal, and minimal activity from the regular major...

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 Wertheimer-bred sibling to a Group 1 winner. 11.25 La Teste de Buch, Mdn, €13,000, unraced 3yo, 10 1/2fT Alain and Gerard Wertheimer's homebred STAMINA (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) is out of G2 Prix de Sandringham third Stormina (Gulch) and thus a half-sister to G1 Prix...

   In Part II of a two-part series, John Berry looks at Juddmonte's lasting influences from the late 80s through to the present on the 40th anniversary weekend of Prince Khalid Abdullah's first Classic win with Known Fact in the 2000 Guineas. Click here for Part I. When the mighty Dancing Brave (Lyphard) retired to stud, his brilliant 1986 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe triumph shining like a beacon in the collective consciousness, it was generally felt that Prince Khalid Abdullah had probably reached the pinnacle of his ownership...

A one-stop shop for stallion nominations? Well maybe it's not quite there yet but, having only launched last autumn during the yearling sales, the stallion nomination trading website buyanom.com has quickly gained a decent following. A browse through its listing pages this week showed nominations available to Dandy Man (Ire), Dark Angel (Ire), Kodiac (GB), Oasis Dream (GB) and Showcasing (GB) among the more established stallions, and these are just a fraction of the those for sale, with the first-season sires available including crack sprinter Soldier's Call (GB) and Arc...

The dams of G2 Coventry S. and Pavilion S. winner Calyx (GB), dual Group 2 winner Headman (GB) and G3 Hampton Court S. winner Sangarius (GB) are among the Juddmonte mares set to visit Kingman (GB) in his sixth year at stud this year. Also on the books of the 2014 Cartier Horse of The Year are Juddmonte's Group 1 winners Capla Temptress (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Romantica (GB) (Galileo {Ire}); Group 2 winner Starformer (Dynaformer); Amser (GB) (Frankel {GB})-a half-sister to Group 1 winners Timepiece (GB) and...

In this TDN series we ask a group of experts for their predictions for the 2020 flat season in Europe. Today we hear from Sophie Buckley. TDN: Who do you think will be the leading first-season sire this year? SB: When I think about who might be leading first-season sire I try and go for one whose stock I think that I will be able to afford to buy. I like the idea of Belardo (Ire) on paper. His dam Danaskaya (Ire) was a top 2-year-old and Belardo himself won...