Camelot

The Castlebridge Consignment's Camelot (GB) colt out of Attire (Ire) (Danehill {Ire}) (lot 366) received an excellent update over the weekend when his 2-year-old full-brother Luxembourg (Ire) won the G2 Beresford S. at The Curragh for the Coolmore partners and Westerberg, and it was Coolmore principal MV Magnier who extended to €1.2-million to purchase the yearling at Goffs Orby on Wednesday.

Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}-Senta's Dream {GB}, by Danehill), the winner of this year's GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. and GI Beverly D. S., has died after suffering complications from a fractured pelvis. "Unfortunately she had fractured her pelvis and that displaced overnight," said trainer Aidan O'Brien. "It's terrible really, when it displaced it caused internal bleeding and we didn't have any choice as she was in a lot of pain. It's such a shame." Bred by Aidan and Annemarie O'Brien's Whisperview Trading, Santa Barbara won her lone start at...

Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) worked through traffic late to break through in her fourth straight attempt at the highest level and complete the first half of the GI Belmont Oaks/GI Belmont Derby double for the Coolmore contingent Saturday. Deemed a 'TDN Rising Star' off a 2 1/2-length debut success at The Curragh last September, the buzzed-about bay could only manage fourth in the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket May 2 and again in the G1 Cazoo Oaks at Epsom June 4--both as the favorite. She was most recently...

Richard Knight has launched Wesellbloodstock.com, a sales platform for high-end horses in training and broodmares. Wesellbloodstock.com describes itself as not an auction site, but as a mediator for vendors and potential purchasers. There is no commission charged to purchasers; vendors pay a 5% commission, with 10% within that commission going to Retraining of Racehorses. Horses offered on Wesellracehorses.com must pass a preliminary vet report (x-ray and scope and, for broodmares, a vet report including pregnancy diagnosis). Professional photos and videos will also be provided of each offering. The first horse...

If there was a lesson to be learned in the last week, it is not to issue press releases on April Fool's Day. The great news that the Derby has a new multi-year sponsor, after being dropped by Investec last year as the pandemic took hold, was sidetracked by its release date. It can be hard to tell real news from fake news these days but Cazoo, an online car dealership with an amusing name but serious credentials, is indeed the new sponsor of the 'Derby festival' (if we must—I...

Fighting Irish (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) has been retired to Niccolo and Vita Riva's Haras d'Annebault in Normandy for the 2021 covering season, where he will stand for a fee of €3,000. To support his stud launch, owners Daniel Macauliffe and Anoj Don, who are standing the 6-year-old in  association with Haras d'Annebault, are offering a €50,000 bonus for the breeder of the first Group-race winner in the UK, Ireland or France from his first crop of foals. The duo also plans to support Fighting Irish with mares at stud and...

In a temporarily upside-down world, a comforting air of normality can be found in a perusal of the end-of-year stallion tables. To Benjamin Franklin's certainties of death and taxes, in this smaller world we can add just about the only sure thing in racing and bloodstock: Galileo (Ire) is champion sire. Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid to the King of Tipperary is the fact that, even at his home at Coolmore, the operation which naturally has free-flowing access to the supersire via some of the best mares...

In an industry that involves cycles of frequent change, one thing that can be relied upon as a constant is the presence of Tinnakill House Stud at Goffs's major sales, and Dermot Cantillon and Meta Osborne's Co Laois nursery reliably returns this weekend with a select draft of mares and foals for the Goffs November Foal and Breeding Stock Sales. Tinnakill's 17 foals slated for the first three days of the sale include eight during Sunday's premier session. Lot 600 is one of 13 foals by Invincible Spirit (Ire) set...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today's Observations features a half to a young Group 1-winning sire. 11.25 Deauville, Debutantes, €22,000, 2yo, c/g, 7 1/2f (AWT) VERDERON (IRE) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is a notable newcomer for Godolphin and Andre Fabre on the Polytrack, being a 500,000gns Tattersalls December Foal Sale purchase. The half-brother to...

NEWMARKET, UK-They say that necessity is the mother of invention. The very fact that Tattersalls is contriving to stage the December Sale, while adapting to the strictures of lockdown, attests to that axiom. And so, too, did the fact that the highest bid of the second session was made online--by someone who was actually on site, and could have dived into the ring in an emergency. That resourceful gentleman proved to be Gerard Lowry of Oneliner Stables, who emerged from the cloak of cyber anonymity after the hammer came down...

Wootton Bassett (GB), one of four new sires on the Coolmore roster for 2021, will stand for €100,000 off a glittering season on the track that saw him sire two new Group 1 winners and 10 stakes winners. Coolmore announced its purchase of Wootton Bassett in June from Haras d'Etreham, where the son of Iffraaj had stood since retiring to stud in 2012. After standing for as low as €4,000 in his third season, Wootton Bassett had been priced at €40,000 the past two seasons. Just a week after the...

This year's Listed Lingfield Derby Trial winner and G1 Derby favourite English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) is headed Down Under to continue his racing career, having been secured by Ballymore Stables and Paul Moroney Bloodstock for 925,000gns, with Armando Duarte signing the ticket. The 3-year-old colt, who finished fifth in the Derby, was bought by Bjorn Nielsen for €210,000 at Arqana's October yearling sale in 2018 and was trained for him by Ed Walker.