William Haggas

One of the last longstanding British-based breeding operations, Anthony Oppenheimer's Hascombe and Valiant Studs, is very much enjoying an upswing since the momentous 2015 campaign of Golden Horn (GB). As John Gosden's dynamo performed heroics in the G1 Investec Derby, G1 Eclipse S., G1 Irish Champion S. and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, he brought the red, black and white silks back to the fore. Shortly after, it was the turn of Cracksman (GB), a descendant of the late Sir Philip's 1982 1000 Guineas heroine On the House (Fr)...

British-based jockey Tom Marquand, who has been based in Australia through the winter and who partnered the William Haggas-trained Addeybb (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) to victory in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. at Randwick last Saturday, has been fined A$2,000 for breaching COVID-19 protocols when hugging stablehand Safid Alam after dismounting. Alam was fined A$500. Racing NSW sought medical advice on whether the breach should affect Marquand's eligibility to continue race riding. After considering medical advice and hearing that neither Marquand or Alam has displayed COVID-19 symptoms, stewards are satisfied that...

With their own domestic racing programmes decimated by COVID-19, many Europeans naturally looked to Randwick's card in Sydney to get their weekend fix of high-class racing. There was further reason to focus on 'The Championships' with Newmarket-based William Haggas having a fancied runner in two of the Group 1 races, the G1 Schweppes Sydney Cup and the G1 Longines Queen Elizabeth S. Happily, his representative Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB} won the latter race, the meeting's showpiece feature. This triumph (which, of course, is likely to be the final British-trained overseas...

"It ended up being a pretty good day," says Tom Marquand with no little understatement. The day in question came less than a fortnight ago in Australia when the English jockey landed his first Group 1 victory aboard the William Haggas-trained Addeybb (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in the Ranvet S. That same afternoon at Rosehill, Marquand also guided Addeybb's stable-mate Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) to glory in the G3 Manion Cup. With Australian racing currently taking place behind closed doors, there was no thunderous applause to herald Marquand's breakthrough moment,...

The temporary suspension of racing in Britain has been a blow but two British-trained runners flew the flag high on the other side of the world when William Haggas's stable enjoyed a group-race double at Rosehill in Sydney in the early hours of Saturday. He may have had only a few hours' sleep but Haggas was all smiles on Newmarket Heath later that morning after Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) won the G3 Iron Jack NE Manion Cup followed by a hard-fought victory for yard favourite Addeybb (GB) (Pivotal {GB})...

Cheveley Park Stud's seemingly ageless Pivotal (GB) added Group 1 winner number 31 to his haul in Australia on Saturday when the William Haggas-trained, Tom Marquand-ridden Addeybb (Ire) took the 2000 metre G1 Ranvet S. at Rosehill by a half-length. Back in third was another son of Pivotal, Godolphin's Avilius (GB). Avilius is a triple Group 1 winner himself and took this race last year. Pivotal, at age 27, is still covering a select book of around 30 mares at Cheveley Park for a private fee. Cheveley Park Managing Director...

NEWMARKET, UK—It's hard not to feel like Christmas has just been cancelled. The Flat turf season doesn't revolve around Newmarket, of course. There are more than 14,000 horses in training in Britain and only about 2,500 of those are based in the East Anglian town, but that does make it the busiest training centre and, as the place where it all began, Newmarket lays claims to being the sport's unofficial HQ. Having emerged from the wettest and windiest of winters with the start of the turf now just days rather...

The grass gallops are now open on Newmarket's Warren Hill—a sure sign that spring is on the way, and formerly part of the traditional countdown to the start of the Flat season. These days, however, the top-class Flat action barely stops throughout the year which means that before the wraps come off the British turf season at Doncaster on Mar. 28, a number of the town's trainers will already have had some of their leading lights in action around the world. This spring promises to have a more international outlook...