Barry Mahon

ASCOT, UK -- It was a day that rippled with history, from the banners strung around the course bearing the names of King George greats to the stable which provided this year's winner. It has been 55 years since Mill Reef won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes - and even longer since Supreme Court won the inaugural running for former Kingsclere trainer Even Williams in 1951. Poignantly, in a year which began with the passing of Mill Reef's trainer Ian Balding, Kalpana has brought Kingsclere full circle...

Classic winners Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) and Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) headline 12 confirmations for the £1.5-million Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday, with the outstanding three-year-old milers on course to meet for a third time this season in Europe's richest mile race. The unbeaten Bow Echo has emerged victorious from both of their previous encounters, first when winning the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket and then when following up in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. The son of Night Of Thunder will be attempting to become...

Field Of Gold is set to be reassessed in the next few days as he continues his recovery from the bacterial infection that ruled him out of Saturday's G1 Lockinge Stakes, with Barry Mahon, Juddmonte's European racing manager, adding that "it could be tight enough" for the son of Kingman to make Royal Ascot. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Field Of Gold was a dual Group 1 winner last year, having followed a runner-up finish in the 2,000 Guineas with impressive victories in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St...

The prospect of testing conditions for Saturday's William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster could scupper plans for two of the four entries not trained by Aidan O'Brien, including the Andrew Balding trainee Item, who is set to bypass the final Group 1 of the British Flat season if the ground is heavy. The son of Frankel is unbeaten in two starts to date, having followed up his debut victory at Kempton with a dominant performance at Bath last time, drawing right away in the final furlong to win by...

Just a handful of lots into the final day of Book 1 saw the twelfth seven-figure yearling of the Tattersalls October Sale when Juddmonte went to 1,050,000gns for the Night Of Thunder colt out of Quschi (Encosta De Lago). Bred by Andrew Stone of St Albans Bloodstock, the Newsells Park Stud-consigned colt (lot 364) is a half-brother to GII Glens Falls Stakes winner Mrs Sippy (Blame) and to Listed winner Phantom Flight (Siyouni), from a family cultivated by Lord Howard de Walden and including his homebred champion Grand Lodge.  Earlier...

Juddmonte homebred Kalpana (Study Of Man) will follow the path of dual G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Enable (Nathaniel) when she lines up in the G3 September Stakes at Kempton next month before a start at ParisLongchamp. Already a winner of the 2024 edition, the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes second was also under consideration for the G1 Prix Vermeille. Trained by Andrew Balding, the 2024 G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes heroine has placed in all three 2025 starts, with a third in...

Field Of Gold (Kingman) will bypass the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York later this month as he continues his recovery from the setback sustained when suffering a shock defeat in last week's Sussex Stakes. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Field Of Gold was sent off the 1/3 favourite to complete a Group 1 hat-trick at Goodwood, but at no stage did he look like pegging back the Juddmonte pacemaker, Qirat (Showcasing), ultimately finishing three and three-quarter lengths behind that rival in fourth. The next day the Irish 2,000...

William Buick will deputise for the suspended Colin Keane aboard Field Of Gold when the outstanding son of Kingman lines up in next week's G1 Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Field Of Gold will be bidding for a third consecutive success at the top level, having established himself as the leading three-year-old miler in training with dominant performances in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes. Keane was in the saddle for both of those wins, with his appointment as Juddmonte's...

French ace Calandagan (Gleneagles), G1 Coronation Cup winner Jan Brueghel (Galileo), globetrotter Rebel's Romance (Dubawi) and star filly Kalpana (Study Of Man) headline the confirmations for Saturday's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Worth a record £1.5m in 2025, the King George is Britain's richest all-aged contest and the most valuable race ever run at Ascot. Francis-Henri Graffard is chasing back-to-back victories following Goliath's surprise win in 2024. This year the trainer will be represented by Calandagan, who gained a deserved Group 1 success in the...

Juddmonte's Kalpana (Study Of Man) is among 15 fillies remaining in contention for Saturday's G1 Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh. She could take on Coolmore's Oaks runner-up Whirl (Wootton Bassett) and Estrange (Night Of Thunder), Cheveley Park Stud's emerging force in the fillies' middle-distance ranks.  "That's the current plan," Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said of Kalpana on Tuesday morning. "We're just waiting on the forfeits today to see what's in the race and we'll check on France [Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud] tomorrow but Plan A seems...

Kalpana is likely to kick off her campaign in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup later this month after a dirty scope ruled the four-year-old out of her intended return to action in Thursday's G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Fillies' Stakes at York. Trained by Andrew Balding for Juddmonte, Kalpana was last seen winning the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot in October, looking a contender for further top honours in 2025 as she handed out a comprehensive two-length beating to her 13 rivals. Her connections had...

Ante-post favourite Field Of Gold (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) could be Juddmonte's sole representative in the Betfred 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, Barry Mahon revealed on Wednesday. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Field Of Gold is currently one of four entries for Juddmonte in the first British Classic of the season, alongside stable-mate Detain (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Andrew Balding's G3 Greenham Stakes winner Jonquil (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and the unbeaten Cosmic Year (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who made it two from two for the Harry Charlton yard when recently...