David Aykroyd

Atoning for the eclipse of the Aykroyds' Derby hope Pride Of Arras, their other prized homebred Amiloc (Postponed) maintained his unbeaten sequence in Friday's G2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. Sent off the 11-8 favourite for the mile-and-a-half "Ascot Derby", the Ralph Beckett-trained Listed Cocked Hat Stakes winner followed Ballydoyle's Galveston (Frankel) before taking over two out and asserting for a 3/4-of-a-length verdict under Rossa Ryan. Zahrann (Night Of Thunder) closed to be second, two lengths ahead of the tiring Galveston. "Rossa said the ground felt quick on...

As the only runner in Thursday's G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes with a sole outing to his name, David Aykroyd's Pride Of Arras had a bit to find but at the end of York's time-honoured Derby trial he had little to prove. Set alight by Rossa Ryan heading to the two pole, the Ralph Beckett-trained Sandown maiden winner surged by a wall of closely-matched peers to take total control a furlong from home. At the line, the 18-1 shot who descends from Juddmonte's G3 Park Hill Stakes winner...

Longtime owner and breeder Helen Groves passed away last Friday at her home in San Antonio, Texas. She was 94. Groves's love of horses began while she was growing up on the historic King Ranch founded by her great-grandfather, Captain Richard King. A skilled rider, she raised and campaigned many champion cutting horses. Known as the "First Lady of Cutting," Groves was inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1998. She also owned Grand Prix jumpers ridden by Olympian Michael Matz. Groves's passion for breeding and racing on her...

Market forces, bull markets, bear markets, online markets, and now the Wuhan wet market: it's all a bit of a shambles really. The original Shambles were just that, wet markets in numerous English market towns where butchers gathered to slaughter and sell their produce. These were narrow streets with a gutter down the middle for the blood and guts. The most famous Shambles is in York, where even in the 19th century 25 butchers still plied their trade side by side. When Old Mother Hubbard went out to get the...