Van Gogh

Van Gogh (American Pharoah-Imagine {Ire}, by Sadler's Wells), last year's Cartier champion 2-year-old in the aftermath of victory in the G1 Criterium International, has been retired from racing and sold to stand at East Stud on the island of Hokkaido, Japan in 2022. During a busy seven-race juvenile campaign last year for the Coolmore partners and breeder Diane Nagle of Barronstown Stud, Van Gogh placed in the G3 Tyros S. and G2 KPMG Champions Juvenile S. before breaking his maiden at The Curragh. He finished second in the G3 Autumn...

How High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) would have fared at Epsom will forever be the stuff of conjecture, but Saturday sees Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star return to his safe hunting ground of The Curragh to prove his worth in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby. Renowned for his trademark late flourish at two, he swooped from rear to collar Wordsworth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) on debut over a mile here in August before repeating the trick in the G2 Beresford S. the following month. If his comeback effort when third...

The G1 Cazoo Derby field is currently at 19, with as many as six Aidan O'Brien colts set to compete, including the ante-post favourite dual Group 3 winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G2 Beresford S. hero and G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante S. third High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was the Derby favourite over the winter. French Group 1 winner Van Gogh (American Pharoah), third in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas is possible, although he is also one of 20 left in the G1 Qatar...

There are 19 colts remaining in the 1 1/2-mile G1 Cazoo Derby at Epsom Downs on Saturday, June 5. Leading the way is current favourite and G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial S. hero Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), one of six for Aidan O'Brien and the various Coolmore partners. Joining the G3 Ballysax S. victor from Ballydoyle are: former race favourite High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who won the G2 Beresford S. at two and was third in the G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante S. to Godolphin's Hurricane Lane...

Saturday's Curragh card which features the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas is in doubt after 35 millimetres of rain hit the track overnight Thursday. With a morning inspection called, chief executive Pat Keogh is hoping for a turnaround with the course currently waterlogged in places. "We got a lot more rain than we anticipated overnight. We were forecast 15 millimetres at the most in the last 24 hours," he explained on Friday. "It's come completely out of left field, unfortunately. The track would not be raceable today. We'll just have...

Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), the winner of the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas, is among the 14 entries for the G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas. The bay Jim Bolger homebred won the G3 Killavullan S. at two, and was first past the post in the Listed Ballylinch Stud "Red Rocks" 2000 Guineas Trial S. on Apr. 11 prior to his 2000 Guineas score. He most recently contested the G1 Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp in very soft ground to finish sixth. His Group 1-winning stablemate Mac Swiney...

Group winner and 'TDN Rising Star' High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is likely to step forward in the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial on May 8 trainer Aidan O'Brien has revealed. A winner of a maiden at The Curragh at first asking on Aug. 22, the bay added the G2 Beresford S. to his resume there on Sept. 26 and is currently favoured for the G1 Cazoo Derby on June 5th. "We're thinking of going to Lingfield," said O'Brien. "He needs to start and with all the trials we're just trying...

Godolphin's four-time Group 1 winner Ghaiyyath (Ire) has scooped the top honours at the 30th annual Cartier Awards. The five-year-old son of Dubawi is the third Cartier Horse of the Year for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation following Daylami (Ire) in 1999 and Fantastic Light in 2001. Trained by Charlie Appleby, Ghaiyyath also claimed the Cartier Older Horse category ahead of Addeybb (Ire), Enable (GB) and Magical (Ire). There was further success for the Maktoum family when Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}), owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and...

A fortnight after Harvey's Lil Goil provided American Pharoah with a first top-level triumph as a sire in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, there was another landmark in his remarkable story as Van Gogh supplied him with a first in that grade in Europe in Saturday's Criterium International at Saint-Cloud. Highly tried by Aidan O'Brien this term, the son of the G1 Epsom Oaks heroine Imagine (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) had been second in Leopardstown's G3 Tyros S. and G2 Champions Juvenile S. and in the Oct. 10 G3 Autumn...

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. Sunday's Insights features the MGSP Van Gogh (American Pharoah). 1.25 Curragh, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, 7fT VAN GOGH (American Pharoah) reverts to maiden company after runner-up placings in the G3 Tyros S. and G2 Champions Juvenile at Leopardstown and should be able to make his class tell. Among the unraced...

   While York's Ebor Festival wraps up with its £250,000 feature handicap on Saturday, The Curragh stages the G2 Galileo Irish EBF Futurity S. and G2 A.R.M. Holding Debutante S. for the budding Classic contenders of 2021. Twelve months ago, Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was finishing fifth to Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) in the Debutante which underlines what these vital staging posts can play host to. While Aidan O'Brien was unable to extend his record tally of a dozen winners despite having that ammunition, the fillies' contest...