Sir Michael Stoute

It's a heady time of year to be on Newmarket Heath of a Saturday morning. You can tell by the convoy of smart cars when one of the big strings is about to arrive at the Al Bahathri, with Guineas weekend providing the perfect opportunity for owners to watch their horses work.  This past Saturday, either 2,000 Guineas day, Kentucky Derby day, or Coronation day, depending on your persuasion, was no exception. With the car park double-stacked and trainers and jockeys all about, Joe Foley, waiting for the off with...

NEWMARKET, UK--With a line-up that included Hurricane Lane (Ire), Global Storm (Ire) and West Wind Blows (Ire), the G2 Jockey Club S. was ushered in, appropriately, with a deep rumble of thunder and crack of lightning. The threatened storm didn't amount to much, and by the time Hurricane Lane had blasted away from his rivals to cinch an important comeback victory by six lengths, the sky was brightening as much as the mood of Charlie Appleby. The trainer was visibly relieved to have his 2021 dual Classic winner back in...

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. Friday's Insights features Classic hopeful Infinite Cosmos. 16.45 Newmarket, Mdn, £15,000, 3yo, f, 10fT INFINITE COSMOS (IRE) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is one of the most exciting Oaks hopefuls in the Sir Michael Stoute stable, with the Rothschild colour-bearer having shown abundant promise in her debut second to Sea...

Sir Michael Stoute has described himself as "very grateful" at being inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame where he will join fellow legendary trainers Vincent O'Brien and Henry Cecil. The 77-year-old has saddled more than 4,000 winners, with his six Derby winners at Epsom including Shergar in 1981 and Desert Crown last year. Derby-winning champion Sea The Stars will also be inducted along with Stoute at next weekend's Qipco Guineas meeting at Newmarket. Stoute said, "I am very flattered and most grateful to have been inducted...

Shadwell Stud have been dealt a bitter blow with the news that Commonwealth Cup winner and young stallion Eqtidaar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) has died.  A high-class sprinter for Sir Michael Stoute, Eqtidaar won the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in 2018.  The eight-year-old had achieved his greatest result in the sales ring on Tuesday when a filly consigned by Danny O'Donovan sold for £120,000 at the Goffs UK Breeze Up Sale to Peter and Ross Doyle on behalf of Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing operation.  A statement published by...

In the modern era, only Aidan O'Brien has trained more Derby winners than Sir Michael Stoute. The latter became almost instantly synonymous with the great race, and indeed woven into Derby folklore, when he first won it back in 1981. Few will need reminding that that was with Shergar (Ire), the horse whose infamy threatens to overshadow his brilliance, especially as the years wear on and the number of people who were there to witness Shergar's superiority first hand decreases. Forty-one years later, and with the not insignificant names of...

Saeed Suhail's G1 Derby victor Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), missing since a minor ankle injury derailed his season after Epsom, is pleasing connections after being returned to light training a few days ago. "Desert Crown is in good shape," said owner Saeeed Suhail's racing manager Bruce Raymond. "He was turned out for a bit at Darley. He was there for about eight weeks and it did him really good. "He came back in around mid-November and I saw him last week. He looks a million dollars--you'd think it was...

Richard Kingscote is far too nice. He is also a damn good jockey. And if people hadn't realised that before this year, they certainly do now. The 36-year-old is no newcomer to racing's main stage but until this past season he had to a degree been cast as a reliable sidekick to leading actors such as Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore. Dettori is one of only a few jockeys who is instantly identifiable by his first name alone, and in true 'Frankie style' the recent announcement of his retirement allows...

  Rare are the days that John O'Connor of Ballylinch Stud enjoyed at Ascot on Champions Day last Saturday. No sooner had the G1 QEII celebrations died down after Bayside Boy (Ire) (New Bay {GB})'s victory, a horse the stud bred and co-owns with Teme Valley, when another runner that the stud owns jointly, Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}), lowered the colours of Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Champion S.    It was an afternoon that propelled Ballylinch resident New Bay into the spotlight and...

Caught off guard in Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S. and Sandown's G1 Coral-Eclipse, James Wigan and Ballylinch Stud's Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}--Hayyona {GB}, by Multiplex {GB}) made it third time lucky at the highest level when upsetting the hitherto undefeated Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and a stellar field in Saturday's G1 Qipco Champion S. at Ascot. The race is a qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland next month. Having appeared set fair to join the upper echelons when routing his rivals...

Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), sidelined since winning the G1 Cazoo Derby in June, will be kept in training next season as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. "I took the owner to see him last week," said Bruce Raymond, Saeed Suhail's racing manager. "He is turned out daily at Darley [Stud in Newmarket]--I live just across the road. "He goes out for maybe three hours a day and [trainer Sir] Michael [Stoute] came to see him. He said that while the weather is good, let him eat...

TDN Rising Star Sakheer (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) will be forced to miss Saturday's G1 Darley Dewhurst S. at Newmarket after trainer Roger Varian revealed that the G2 Mill Reef S. winner has scoped dirty. Having been supplemented for the seven-furlong feature on Monday, KHK Racing's emerging luminary will now wait until 2023 to test his Classic credentials. "This is of course very frustrating and disappointing and I am very sorry for owners KHK Racing and everyone connected with the horse," Varian posted on Twitter on Thursday. "He will be put...