John Oxx

The Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (ITBA)'s Flat Seminar, The Distance Debate, was held in conjunction with the Derby Festival at the Curragh on June 30. The seminar featured a panel of top experts--Kevin Blake, Stuart Boman, Ado McGuinness, Jason Morris and John Oxx, with ITBA Chairman Cathy Grassick taking on hosting duties. The discussion--Sprinters, Stayers and Everything in Between--analyzed breeding for different distances to suit market demands, as well as changes in trends over the past number of years and what the future might look like. The panel's lively discussion...

John Oxx has led the tributes to John Clarke, the former chief executive of the Irish National Stud and advisor to Mrs Tsui, who died on Thursday following a long illness.  Clarke died peacefully in Blackrock Hospice in Dublin and, according to Oxx, will be remembered for leaving a "considerable mark" on the Irish National Stud's history. Oxx said, "I knew John well. He was the chief executive of the Irish National Stud for a long number of years. He enjoyed a long stint there, during which time the stud...

It's a heady time of year to be on Newmarket Heath of a Saturday morning. You can tell by the convoy of smart cars when one of the big strings is about to arrive at the Al Bahathri, with Guineas weekend providing the perfect opportunity for owners to watch their horses work.  This past Saturday, either 2,000 Guineas day, Kentucky Derby day, or Coronation day, depending on your persuasion, was no exception. With the car park double-stacked and trainers and jockeys all about, Joe Foley, waiting for the off with...

Juddmonte homebred Westover (GB)'s seven-length thumping of the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby field last month was the second consecutive Irish Derby victory by a son of Frankel (GB) after Hurricane Lane (Ire) in 2021, but his achievement was also a timely reminder of the potency of his late broodmare sire Lear Fan. Born in 1981, the dark bay has also featured as the broodmare sire of another prominent Sadler's Wells-line runner, the two-time U.S. Champion Sire Kitten's Joy (El Prado {Ire}), who died at Hill 'n' Dale Farm...

Royal Ascot 2022 had everything and from Ryan Moore playing with his rivals like a cat does with a mouse, to Charlie Appleby revealing he is eyeing a tilt at the A$10-million Golden Eagle with Noble Truth (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) after the gelding won the G3 Jersey S., the fifth and final day generated many more talking points. Brian Sheerin has been digesting the action for the week and is back once again to flesh out the major takeaways from Saturday's action.   Appleby Bidding To Snare The Eagle With...

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...

Our concluding part of the series reflecting on one hundred years of the Aga Khan Studs begins in the 1980s with the rise of the legendary Shergar and incorporates some of the most celebrated horses of the modern era, as well as a special anniversary for HH the Aga Khan IV. The text is reproduced by kind permission from the Aga Khan Studs' centenary brochure, written by Emma Berry and John Berry.   Shergar's birth came in the year that HH the Aga Khan IV decided to renew his family...

Trainer John Oxx, who retired at the end of the recently concluded flat season, has been honored with the Contribution to the Industry Award as part of the 2020 Horse Racing Ireland Awards which were announced on Tuesday. Oxx, who held a license for 41 years, was champion trainer in 1995 and will be best remembered as the handler of great champions like Sea The Stars (Ire), Ridgewood Pearl (GB) and Sinndar (Ire). Another recently retired fixture of the Irish racing scene, National Hunt jockey Barry Geraghty, was the recipient...

John Oxx, who announced his retirement earlier this fall, sent out his final runners on Monday. The trio of Monday runners contested a maiden at The Curragh, with the Oxx-trained Earlswood (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) finishing third in what would be the trainer's final race. Curraghglass (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Safecracker (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) also ran for the Oxx yard, but were unplaced. The day prior, Storm Legend (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) had won at Naas. "Those are my last runners and they all ran well," said Oxx, whose...

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. Monday's Observations features a full-sister to Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) et al. 12.30 Curragh, Mdn, €16,500, 2yo, f, 7fT Coolmore's hitherto unraced JOAN OF ARC (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is one of two nominees set to carry the Derrick Smith colours for Aidan O'Brien and faces 16 rivals in this...

One day after announcing his retirement from training, John Oxx opened up about the decision to Sky Sports Racing and reflected on a few of the best he has handled. "It's not something you decide to do overnight--it's been on our mind for a few years," Oxx said. "Now seems the right time as we don't really have enough horses to justify keeping going. It was a pretty easy decision to make as you have to have a viable business. "Trainers love to keep going, of course--we like what we...

This year we have become accustomed to things becoming very different. On Monday it was announced that we shall have to get used to something else: next year there will be no John Oxx training at Currabeg on the edge of The Curragh, with the legendary Irish trainer having revealed his intention to retire at the end of November. Few readers of this publication will be able to recall such a situation, but even for those whose racing memories are restricted to some or all of the 42 seasons in...