Deirdre

A new direction in the extraordinary odyssey of the Japanese mare Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}-Reizend {Jpn, by Special Week {Jpn}) began on Monday when the 6-year-old left her adopted home of Newmarket to begin her stud career in Ireland. Her first mating is planned to be with Coolmore's champion sire Galileo (Ire). Bred by Northern Farm and raced by Toji Morita, Deirdre's first three seasons of racing were restricted largely to Japan, where she won five races, including the G1 Shuka Sho. She also took third in the G1 Dubai...

The second running of the £500,000 Bahrain International Trophy on Friday has drawn a competitive international lineup, with little separating the leading fancies in the betting. Each of the 14 runners, including five Group 1 winners, has of course been meticulously primed for a run at this sizable pot, but that statement perhaps applies to Global Giant (GB) (Shamardal) more than any other. The international favourite has had this race as his primary target since being bought privately from Ed Dunlop's yard last year by Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al...

NEWMARKET, UK—Champion jockey Oisin Murphy was in Newmarket early on Wednesday to ride work on Japanese globetrotter Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) ahead of the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. a week on Sunday. The 6-year-old mare has been based in Britain for more than a year, during which time she has raced in Ireland, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. She also made two appearances on British racecourses last year at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood, where she became the first Japanese-bred runner to win a Group 1 race in Britain when landing...

In the midst of a hot streak for Japanese-bred runners in Britain, 2017 G1 Japan Cup winner Cheval Grand (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) is gearing up for a second British start of the summer in the G1 Juddmonte International at York on Aug. 21. The 7-year-old entire kicked off 2019 with a second in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic on Mar. 30, after which he was beaten 13 lengths by Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on July 27, an effort assistant...

We've had two really good festivals over the last week and the quality of racing at Goodwood was superb. Again John Gosden and Frankie Dettori took centre stage but I think the highlight was really Deirdre (Jpn) winning the Nassau Stakes. Japan is such a great racing nation and I think we'll see more and more Japanese horses coming in this direction to race and that's only good for the sport and for international racing. I hope that the connections of those Japanese horses racing in this part of the...

There is more than a hand's difference in height between Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) and Love So Deep (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) but what the diminutive Love So Deep lacks in stature she makes up for in feistiness, while the regal Deirdre studies those around her with her calm, kind eye. By Monday morning the air of jubilation surrounding the two fillies had still not dissipated at Abington Place where each has been prepared this summer. The stable, once home to Harry Wragg and then his son Geoff and now...

In the week that Japan lost Deep Impact (Jpn), there was a piece of consolation as the country's Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) swooped late to cause an upset in Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau S. at Goodwood. Seemingly shy of her best so far this season, Toji Morita's 5-year-old who had captured the 2017 Shuka Sho was 20-1 taking on the Classic generation but had an ideal pace scenario settled towards the rear as the free-running Mehdaayih (GB) (Frankel {GB}) tanked along in front under Frankie Dettori. That rival looked to...