Palace Pier (GB)

Five-time Group 1 winner Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}), GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Space Blues (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), and the Classic-winning Victor Ludorum (GB) (Shamardal) all have had their first mares scanned in foal, Darley Europe announced on Monday. Each stallion also has a full book. A crack miler, Palace Pier stands for £55,000 at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket. Also, a winner of the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, Space Blues commands €17,500 at Kildangan Stud in Ireland. Rounding out the trio, Victor Ludorum landed the G1 Prix...

St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), a four-time Group 1 winner in 2021 and five-time top-level scorer overall, was named the Cartier Horse of the Year and Cartier 3-Year-Old Colt during the 31st annual Cartier Racing Awards at the Dorchester Hotel in London on Wednesday evening. The sixth Cartier Horse of the Year for the Coolmore partners since the awards began in 1991, the Aidan O'Brien trainee joins the illustrious company of stablemates Giant's Causeway (Storm Cat) (2000), Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire) (Danehill) (2002), Hurricane Run (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) (2005),...

Dubawi (Ire) (Dubai Millennium {GB}) will stand for an unchanged fee of £250,000 at Dalham Hall Stud and anchors the 2022 roster for Darley Europe. His fee is the most expensive in Europe. He enjoyed a notable success at the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships, with three winners in a single year, the first sire to reach that mark in the 37-year history of the Breeders' Cup. The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf went to Modern Games (Ire), Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Mile was won by new Kildangan Stud resident...

Godolphin's June 5 G1 Epsom Derby and July 24 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will be one of the 10 starters in Saturday's G1 QIPCO Champion S. at Ascot after Charlie Appleby pushed go on Thursday morning. Fourth in last Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp, the homebred has given all the right signals in the interim period and adds substance to a renewal robbed of Snowfall (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) who has been re-routed to take the...

Coming into Sunday's G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois short of his peak having suffered a blood disorder last month, Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) nevertheless had sufficient ammunition to deny Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) and gain membership to an elite club on the honor roll of the feature of Deauville's month-long festival. Meeting the younger generation for the first time, the four-times group 1 winner was the subject of the most interest among the Normandy crowd and started at 7-10 drawn away from the...

Having missed the G1 Sussex S. due to a minor setback, Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is back in the picture as he defends his title in Sunday's G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville. More workmanlike than impressive when last seen in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot June 15, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's TDN Rising Star has a six-pound weight-for-age gift to present to Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) and will need to be at his best to contain...

G1 Cazoo Derby hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) has joined dual French Classic winner and G1 Coral-Eclipse hero St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) on top of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. Both are now rated 127 after the Godolphin silksbearer won the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), third behind St Mark's Basilica and Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) (121) in the Coral-Eclipse, moved up to a mark of 124 after running second to Adayar in the Goodwood feature. Palace Pier (GB)...

Top-class miler Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) will miss the G1 Qatar Sussex S. at Goodwood on July 28, after presenting with poor blood work in advance of the race. The Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum colourbearer has compiled an enviable record of eight wins in nine starts, and was last seen saluting in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot. He had opened his 2021 campaign with a win in the G2 bet365 Mile at Sandown on Apr. 23 and added the G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S....

Dual Classic winner St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who won the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. on July 3, improved his rating from 120 to 127 to top the latest edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. In the process, the Coolmore partners-owned colt defeated MG1SW Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) (121) and the 122-rated Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}). Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}), the previous leader at a mark of 125, sits second, while Australian sprinter Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) is third on 123. G1 St James's Palace...

Royal Ascot 2021 will be a unique experience for an action-starved public and the lucky 12,000-strong crowd witnessed a textbook beginning on Tuesday as the world's leading Thoroughbred Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) provided the ultimate showman Frankie Dettori with the latest in his catalogue of Royal winners in the G1 Queen Anne S., a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile this fall. While odds of 2-7 suggested a total eclipse was imminent, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's TDN Rising Star could only partially overshadow...

   Frankie Dettori left it late to win his second consecutive jockey's title at Royal Ascot in 2020, so this time he will be looking for an instant boost via Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the opening G1 Queen Anne S. on Tuesday. If form is any guide, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum's 'TDN Rising Star' can be fully expected to hand the Italian a 74th winner at the meeting, having been his 73rd on the Saturday of the last renewal when causing a minor surprise in the...

While it is expected that The Queen will be at Royal Ascot on Tuesday, the fact that the monarch is not going to attend each day and that there will be no royal procession means that as far as normality is concerned we are far from out of the woods. In an upgrade on the atmospheric void that was 2020, there will be 12,000 in attendance to create some buzz at Flat racing's magnificent summer showcase which still boasts a strong, if slightly diminished, international element. While French entries have...