French Bloodstock
« Previous EntriesArc day 2011- A new French fashion?
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011The French have a reputation for being fashionable. Sunday was Prix de l’Arc day- Europe’s finest single days racing with seven Group 1 races. The results were a breath of fresh air and a delight to those people who love to see diversity amongst the stallion ranks. We have come to expect top class European [...]
French Lessons
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011The increasing success of French bred horses has been the most striking element of National Hunt breeding over the last decade. Mon Mome in the Grand National, Binocular and Hors la Loi in the Champion Hurdle, Kauto Star in the Gold Cup and Master Minded, Voy Pur Ustedes and Azertyuiop in the Queen Mother Champion [...]
Lope de Vega- something to write about
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010Lope de Vega was a celebrated Spanish writer, ranked almost the equal of Cervantes and the author of an incredible 1800 plays (thanks Wikipedia). Last weekend’s French Guineas (Poule d’Essai des Poulains) saw another Lope de Vega defeat Dick Turpin by half a length. The equine Lope is unlikely to achieve evarlasting fame but on [...]
Cheltenham Review (belated)
Saturday, April 10th, 2010It may be old news at this stage but in my defence I was moving house and I was without internet access for a period. Therefore I hope you will forgive me for belatedly reflecting on this years Cheltenham festival. 1. A disappointing Cheltenham Cheltenham 2010 was a disappointment. All the races were run and we [...]
10 days that changed the world (of bloodstock)
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009The last 2 weeks have seen huge amounts of top level action in the UK, Ireland and France. It would be easy to simply write about one top level winner but I aim to please so here are ten items of interest from the past two weeks……. 1.Sea the Stars- His greatness is unquestioned, but is he the [...]
Stewards, disqualifications and breeding- a potted history
Monday, September 28th, 2009The disqualification of Dar Re Mi after her victory in the Prix Vermeille was a decision that ignored common sense (see video www.youtube.com/watch?v=omn4ebLJoLY ). The failure of the appeal against the decision adds insult to the injury. Stacelita was awarded the race and thereby retained her unbeaten record. Cynics will argue that it is probably not [...]
Cavalryman Charges to Glory
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009Since the change in distance of the Prix de Jockey Club, the Grand Prix de Paris has assumed the mantle of the ‘real’ French Derby. Run on Bastille Day, this years Grand Prix de Paris was a weak affair and the winning performance of Cavalryman would have to be rated well below the Derby winning performances of [...]
Vision D’etat
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009Last June I wrote about Vision D’etat after his French Derby success. He was then given a traditional Arc preparation which involved a midsummer break before returning in September when he won the Prix Niel. He lost his unbeaten record when finishing a creditable fifth, beaten only 3.5 lengths behind Zarkava in the Arc itself. [...]
Binocular-difficult to forsee?
Monday, February 16th, 2009Binocular is a very short priced favourite for the Champion Hurdle, especially for a horse who was beaten on his only previous visit to Prestbury Park. That aside his pedigree is interesting and serves as a reminder of some stars of yester-year who had disappeared from the public eye. His sire Enrique ran 8 times [...]
Arc Weekend-winners and losers
Thursday, October 9th, 2008With 7 Group Ones and four Group 2′s spread over the Saturday and Sunday, Arc weekend is as good as it gets in Europe. All age groups, all distances all sexes are catered for with championship honours up for grabs. This years results threw up a lot of surprises with plenty of items to debate. [...]
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