Australia

This is a story about young friends: some who have become a little less young, but who have kept themselves from growing too old, too soon, by supporting and mentoring the next generation. Poignantly, however, it starts with a man who was himself cruelly denied his share in that gratifying, repeating cycle among horses and horsemen. Because it was his lamented friend Alex Scott who, hearing that Luke Lillingston was off to New York, made an introduction that proved critical to his career. "This was, what, 38 years ago now,"...

The Irish Flat season is a matter of weeks away, with the opening day of the season kicking off at the Curragh on March 15, where the €100,000 Irish Lincoln takes centre stage. There will be Classic clues aplenty on April 12, when the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas Trials, along with the Ballysax Stakes, a key Derby trial, takes place at Leopardstown. TDN Europe's Brian Sheerin has had a look at some of the under-the-radar three-year-olds who could have a big role to play that weekend and indeed for the...

Galileo and Dubawi, two titans of the sport whose fates have been so entwined for the past two decades that the marrying of their superior bloodlines to one day give us a champion sire was perhaps as inevitable as it is satisfying for us bloodstock nuts. On 12 occasions, in 2008 and then every year between 2010 and 2020, Galileo topped the end-of-year sires' table in Britain and Ireland. On four of those occasions Dubawi filled the runner-up spot, before the Darley stalwart finally enjoyed his day in the sun...

And on we go, to a sector of the market that will have great appeal to the shrewd and smaller breeders (you can certainly be both), with the next part of our Value Sires series devoted to those standing in the bracket of £7,500 to £14,999 (approximately €8,500 to €17,000).  There are always deals to be struck in the stallion market, and perhaps that is especially true within the lower price tiers, where your bartering power may also depend on your previous support of a particular stallion or stud, and...

No Nay Never heads the Coolmore roster for the 2026 breeding season at €100,000, while the G1 Coral-Eclipse and G1 Irish Champion Stakes winner Delacroix, a son of Dubawi and the outstanding racemare Tepin, has been introduced at €40,000. Only the late Wootton Bassett has sired more individual Group-winning juveniles in Europe this year than No Nay Never, whose standout two-year-olds have included the G1 Cheveley Park Stakes heroine True Love and the G2 Norfolk Stakes winner Charles Darwin. The G1 City Of York Stakes scorer Never So Brave has...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Wednesday's Observations features several bluebloods at Kempton. 14.50 Kempton, £8,000, Mdn, 2yo, f, 8f (AWT) Godolphin homebred ABASHIRI (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is a daughter of G1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine Sobetsu (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and thus a full-sister to last year's GI Jenny Wiley Stakes runner-up English Rose (Ire). The...

Scandinavia, removed from G1 Melbourne Cup contention last month by connections, failed to pass the required Australian veterinary scans leading up to the Race that Stops the Nation, according to trainer Aidan O'Brien. The son of Justify won the Goodwood Cup and the G1 St Leger and will instead target the G1 Gold Cup next June. "He didn't pass the scans," O'Brien told Matt Chapman of At The Races. "That's the long and short of it. He is a three-year-old and obviously three-year-olds do have different bone structures than four-year-olds...

We should have seen it coming really. Night Of Thunder burst onto the scene in 2019 to be champion first-season sire with seven stakes winners to his name. Not all leading freshmen go on to put themselves into contention for champion sire honours, of course, but six years later this is exactly what the prolific Night Of Thunder has done, and he looks almost certain now to follow the achievement of his own sire Dubawi, who was champion in 2022. Dubawi, who turns 24 in January, took longer to get...

Harry Eustace's eyes light up as soon as the Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale is mentioned. And why wouldn't they? It was at that sale where the 37-year-old's Group 1 winners Docklands (Massaat) and Time For Sandals (Sands Of Mali) were sourced and the Newmarket-based handler openly admits to having 'kept powder dry' for the action at Fairyhouse next week.  "We've had a lot of luck out of Fairyhouse, particularly with the filly [Time For Sandals]," he explained. "It's a sale that I have always worked hard at because it...

 On Saturday at Leopardstown, they will run the Matron Stakes as part of Irish Champion Day, one of the roughly one dozen Group races that Coolmore sponsors all over the world annually. We sat down at the Keeneland September Sale and spoke with Coolmore's Director of Sales David O'Loughlin about why giving back through race sponsorships and breeding incentive funds is important to the farm. TDN: Explain the scope of Coolmore's involvement in sponsoring races around the world. DO: At the moment, we're sponsoring races all over the world and...

Leanna Packard has been appointed Head of Marketing and Partnerships at TBA and Aushorse to take effect Sept. 1, the company announced Wednesday. Originally from the United States, Leanna is a graduate of The Ohio State University and began her career in marketing at WinStar Farm in Kentucky before relocating to Australia. For the past eleven years, she has served as Marketing Manager and Racing Coordinator at Newgate. In her new role, Leanna will lead marketing across both TBA and Aushorse, manage sponsorships and partnerships, and drive stakeholder engagement initiatives...

Juvenile colt Gentlemanlike caught the eye of Mandore International Agency's Nicolas de Watrigant for €250,000 during Arqana Online's August Pop-Up Sale on Wednesday. De Watrigant signed for a French partnership consisting of Alain Jathiere, Gousserie Racing, Ecurie David Layani and Gerard Augustin-Normand. He was originally sold for €12,000 from the Baroda Stud draft during the Arqana October Yearling Sale last year to owner/trainer Igor Endaltsev. Consigned by Endaltsev on Wednesday, the Al Shira'aa Racing-bred son of Group 1 sire Australia and the Kodiac mare Samskara won his only start by...