Kalpana

On the day that Kevin Prendergast was remembered at the Curragh in the naming of the International Stakes, and a day after Peter Easterby was laid to rest, another great of the training ranks was lost with the passing of Barry Hills. Then came the news from America that D Wayne Lukas had too departed. To read the tributes paid to these men, who did so much to enrich the colour of this storied sport, is something of a treat in itself - their parting gift, if you like -...

THE CURRAGH, Ireland -- The sun came out as he came in. Lambourn, a dual Derby winner, just like his sire before him, and his grandsire before that.  He had to work for it, mind. This was no procession as at Epsom. This time his lead was contested much of the way by Sir Dinadan until Serious Contender looked just that. Turning in, with Ryan Moore already having to coax a little, Lambourn looked far from certain to claim his second Classic. These races are never easily won though, and...

Saturday, The Curragh, post time: 15:30, PADDY POWER PRETTY POLLY STAKES-G1, €180,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 10fT Field: Higher Leaves (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}), Jancis (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), Kalpana (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Magical Hope (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Survie (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), Wemightakedlongway (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Whirl (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). TDN Verdict: Whirl looks set to gain compensation for her narrow and game Oaks defeat and continue the progression she has shown throughout her career. Getting 12 pounds weight-for-age from last year's G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes winner...

Friday, Newcastle, post time: 19:05, JENNINGSBET IN DELVES HOPPINGS FILLIES' STAKES-G3, £65,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 10f 42yT Field: Charlotte's Web (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Diamond Rain (GB) (Shamardal), Golden Ocean (Ger) (Blue Point {Ire}), Imperial Quarter (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Morrophore (Fr) (Kingman {GB}), Tasmania (Ger) (Australia {GB}), Anna Swan (GB) (Almanzor {Fr}). TDN Verdict: Diamond Rain beat the solid yardstick Running Lion in Haydock's Listed Hedge Of Oak Stakes last month and sets the standard, but Charlotte's Web is a proven all-weather performer and a fresh filly having enjoyed a...

Kalpana might have been missing from Andrew Balding's Royal Ascot squad, but the trainer now heads to the Curragh with his stable star in tow and a spring in his step, buoyed by what was a "fantastic" week in Berkshire which yielded four winners from Park House Stables. Top billing went to the two-year-old Humidity who, having been considered Balding's best chance of a winner at the start of the week, duly delivered with a gutsy performance to land the Listed Chesham Stakes on the final day of the meeting....

Juddmonte's Kalpana (Study Of Man) is among 15 fillies remaining in contention for Saturday's G1 Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh. She could take on Coolmore's Oaks runner-up Whirl (Wootton Bassett) and Estrange (Night Of Thunder), Cheveley Park Stud's emerging force in the fillies' middle-distance ranks.  "That's the current plan," Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said of Kalpana on Tuesday morning. "We're just waiting on the forfeits today to see what's in the race and we'll check on France [Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud] tomorrow but Plan A seems...

Kalpana is likely to kick off her campaign in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup later this month after a dirty scope ruled the four-year-old out of her intended return to action in Thursday's G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Fillies' Stakes at York. Trained by Andrew Balding for Juddmonte, Kalpana was last seen winning the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot in October, looking a contender for further top honours in 2025 as she handed out a comprehensive two-length beating to her 13 rivals. Her connections had...

It may not have been obvious at the time but with the benefit of almost 20 years' hindsight it is now clear that the retirement to stud in 2006 of both Dubawi (Ire) and Shamardal was a pivotal moment for the Darley operation, and indeed the European stallion scene. There is now no shortage of their male-line descendants at stud and, in Blue Point (Ire) and Too Darn Hot (GB) in particular, their legacy looks assured within the Darley ranks.  The pair ended last year as first and second in...

On a day where Juddmonte announced its European fees, plans were also released for some of the outfit's top breeding prospects, including the brilliant Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe scorer Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}), who has been retired to the paddocks.  Bluestocking never finished out of the first four in her 13 career starts and won three Group 1 races in 2024, culminating with that memorable triumph in Paris. Meanwhile, emerging force Kalpana (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), winner of the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at...

It's been tricky to focus on the racing of late with all the theatrics at Tattersalls, so let's call this fourteen days and attempt a catch-up in the brief period between the sales starting up again at Arqana on Tuesday. The extraordinary prices of Books 1 and 2 at the October Yearling Sale tell only half the story, and we all know that in any sales season there are tales of the haves and the have-nots. Perhaps the most interesting element of the top end is what feels like a...

It's been a while, hasn't it? We can only apologise for the onslaught of the sales and some extra international travel pushing the Seven Days beat on to the back-burner, but we're home now, almost jetlag-free, and ready for this week's round-up. Quite a lot of Sunday mornings are spent trudging along the Devil's Dyke which separates Newmarket's Rowley Mile from the July Course. The dogs love it, but this walker felt a little wearier this past weekend at the thought that we've now switched back to the Rowley Mile...

A person whose job it is to promote horse racing was, rather disappointingly, being sniffy about the Craven meeting on social media last week. I understand that some people don't like racing at the Rowley Mile and, yes, last Tuesday in particular was a little challenging on the weather front. But if you're a Flat racing person, and particularly one who is being paid to tell other people that they should come racing, then you really should appreciate all that is wonderful about these weeks of Classic trials across Europe....