Stallion Reviews
« Previous Entries Next Entries »A vintage crop?
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010When we think of races involving horses that became successful stallions, the standout event is the 1984 French Derby that famously saw Darshaan defeat Sadler’s Wells and Rainbow Quest. The 1996 July Cup won by Anabaa, had Danehill Dancer and Pivotal back in fifth and sixth places. It is early days yet, but we might soon [...]
A strange sequence of events-1000, 2000, 2010 Guineas
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010Our friends in the States may not agree, but they have their classic programme in the wrong order. Having the Kentucky Derby as the opening classic is like having your main course first. In Europe, we have the Guineas for starters, building up to the main course of the Derby and then we allow plenty of time for digestion, [...]
Dubious about Dubai but not Dubawi
Saturday, February 13th, 2010From the 22nd of January to the 7th of February, Dubawi had six runners on the all-weather. All six won. The six victories earned the lucky owners £15,811, an average of £2,635 or $4,130 per victory. These are the amounts before deductions for the winning trainers, jockeys and stable staff and before entry fees,riding fees and travel costs [...]
M J Kinane-worth remembering
Monday, December 28th, 2009Mick Kinane announced his retirement at the start of December. His decision to retire after his annus mirabilis with Sea the Stars is indicative of a jockey who had a perfect sense of timing. Many of the glowing tributes described him as the ‘best flat jockey that Ireland ever produced’. I’m not convinced he was demonstrably better than Pat [...]
2010- the year of Montjeu?
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009The future looks very bright for Montjeu. We commented on St Nicholas Abbey after his win in the Beresford and he then followed up with a very impressive performance in the Racing Post Trophy. He was priced at 5/2 for Epsom which was understandable given the manner of his success and the fact that Montjeu’s previous [...]
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 [...]
Rain helped this Parade
Sunday, September 6th, 2009Last month, I wrote about the phenomenal success that Oasis Dream was enjoying. Not to be outdone, Pivotal has just had his own super Saturday. It was a potent reminder that he has earned the right to be considered the best sire in Britain and he isn’t going to easily relinquish that title to young pretenders Oasis Dream and Dansili. [...]
No mystery here.
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009The Prix Morny was expected to see Cranford Cliffs prove himself a superstar. Instead he finished only third behind narrow winner Arcano. Arcano is now unbeaten in three runs after winning a Newmarket maiden and the Group 2 July stakes also at Newmarket. His win wasn’t visually impressive and more improvement will be required if he [...]
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 [...]
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