Epsom

Choosing her own third birthday to bring Aidan O'Brien a record 41st British Classic, Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}--Lillie Langtry {Ire}, by Danehill Dancer {Ire}) inched out TDN Rising Star Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in a thriller for Friday's G1 Cazoo Oaks at Epsom. Third in the 1000 Guineas and runner-up in the Irish equivalent, the homebred who was a 13-2 shot to emulate her full-sister Minding (Ire) arrived from rear to grab the lead inside the final two furlongs and had her nose in front on the line...

Lent extra poignancy this year for being run in memory of Lester Piggott, the blue riband of the turf features colts with the whole range of backgrounds, from a £3,000 yearling to regal homebreds.   ROYAL PATRONAGE (FR), Wootton Bassett (GB)--Shaloushka (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) Owner: Highclere Thoroughbred Racing - Woodland Walk Breeder: Emma Capon Bloodstock Trainers: Charlie and Mark Johnston Sales History: A 62,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling. Pedigree Notes: He is the first foal of his Aga Khan-bred dam, a winner at up to 1 1/2 miles whose...

They might be making history as the first husband and wife to ride against each other in a British Classic, but Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle insist they "won't give each other an inch" when they go head to head in Friday's G1 Cazoo Oaks. The childhood sweethearts have been riding against each other since their pony racing days and tied the knot in Hertfordshire in March this year before jetting off to compete at the Dubai World Cup just a few days later. And while they encounter each other...

There are more than a few echoes of the past when it comes to G1 Cazoo Oaks contender Rogue Millennium (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Bred by Shadwell, and trained from Kremlin House Stables in Newmarket, she will arrive at Epsom on the back of just two runs, both this season. Such a profile was no hindrance for the 2005 Oaks winner Eswarah (GB) (Unfuwain), trained for Sheikh Hamdan by Michael Jarvis. But while comparisons of yesteryear are understandable, Rogue Millennium, trained by the late Michael Jarvis's son-in-law Tom Clover, is a...

Kick-starting a new weekly Q&A series in TDN Europe, former champion trainer John Oxx, whose spellbinding career will forever be remembered through his masterful handling of Sea The Stars (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), Sinndar (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and Ridgewood Pearl (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), sat down with Brian Sheerin to talk all things racing and breeding. The dual Derby-winning trainer speaks about Epsom, how delighted he is that Sea The Stars has a top-notch miler in Baaeed and his life in retirement.   Brian Sheerin: There are few weeks in...

More than 50 international broadcasters will cover the G1 Cazoo Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse, an official part of Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, on June 4. The £1.604-million contest will be shown live by 32 broadcasters, and there will be 15 on-site news and lifestyle broadcasters, plus various news agencies for the two-day stand. These broadcasters were secured by The Jockey Club, Racecourse Media Group and HBA Media. In America, both Good Morning America (ABC network) and NBC News will broadcast live from the course, while Jess...

"A few minutes, only a few minutes, and the event that for twelve months has been the pivot of so much calculation, of such subtle combinations, of such deep conspiracies, round which the thought and passion of the sporting world have hung like eagles, will be recorded in the fleeting tablets of the past. But what minutes! Count them by sensation and not by calendars, and each moment is a day and the race a life." Words to make you put down your cup of coffee and summon up the...

Eydon (Ire) (Olden Times {GB}) has been confirmed to start in Saturday's G1 Cazoo Derby at Epsom, according to trainer Roger Varian. "I'm pleased to say the horse is in great form and following discussions with his owner, Prince A A Faisal, we plan to run in the Derby at Epsom on Saturday and not the [G1] Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on Sunday." Kicking off the season with a runner-up finish going a mile at Newcastle in February, the dark bay took the nine-furlong Feilden S. Apr. 14...

The flag at Somerville Lodge in Newmarket is at half-mast. For the inhabitants of that famous stable it is of course a deeply personal gesture as Maureen Haggas and her family mourn the death of her father Lester Piggott. Over the decades they will have become accustomed to the fact that the head of their family was also a racing icon--a man not just whose name is the first jockey a random member of the public can call to mind, but for many longstanding fans of racing the man who...

Hollie Doyle has described Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) as being "everything you want in a racehorse" ahead of her bid to become the first female rider to win a Classic when she partners John and Thady Goden's rapidly-improving filly in the Cazoo Oaks at Epsom on Friday.  Doyle is well used to breaking boundaries at this stage, with her tally of 152 winners in 2021 surpassing her own record of winners in a calendar year for a female jockey. She has also ridden two five-timers, became the first woman to...

Steve Cauthen, the American jockey who enjoyed huge success when riding in the UK-including Derby victories aboard Slip Anchor and Reference Point--remembered the greatest of them all, Lester Piggott, who died on Sunday, aged 86.  Recalling what started out as a frosty relationship between the pair, Cauthen, who will form part of ITV Racing's presentation team at this year's Derby meeting, paid a glowing tribute to his great friend and rival.  Cauthen said, "As time went on, obviously we became competitors, as I started to get chances on better horses...

The International Thoroughbred Breeders' Federation bi-annual Conference, hosted by the ITBF and the British Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, will take place at Newmarket June 6-10. Last held in Lexington in 2018, the conference, which was slated to be held in Paris in 2020, was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 70 delegates from 23 countries across six continents are expected to attend. The programme of events takes place over a week and offers members an opportunity to network with other nations as well as raise breeding and wider Thoroughbred industry...