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With Britain en fete in the midst of the Platinum Jubilee festivities, the Oaks and Derby fell slap-bang in the middle of a four-day bank holiday and, despite the absence of Her Majesty the Queen at Epsom, the meeting still offered much cause for celebration. Sir Michael Stoute is never one to blow his own horn, though he is often heard humming on Newmarket Heath while watching his horses work. And as one of British racing's senior trainers, on the royal roster to boot, he was a most fitting winning...

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...