Prince Of Arran

We head towards a weekend featuring the final British Classic of 2021, the Arc Trials and Irish Champions Weekend with the last week having offered plenty of food for thought across Europe. Torquator Tasso (Ger) paid a posthumous tribute to his champion sire Adlerflug (Ger) by adding victory in the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden to his 2020 win in the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin. Second in last year's Deutsches Derby to another son of Adlerflug, the recently retired In Swoop (Ire), the 4-year-old beat this year's Derby winner...

The first three home in last year's Red Sea Turf Handicap have all returned to Riyadh for this $2.5 million staying contest over 3,000 metres. The trio is led by the George Strawbridge homebred Call The Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}), whose victory over Mekong (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Prince Of Arran (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}) was followed through the French summer with wins in the G3 Prix de Barbeville and G2 Prix Kergorlay.  Freddy Head, who arrived in Saudi in time to see the 7-year-old have an easy canter on Thursday...

Fresh off placing in his third consecutive G1 Melbourne Cup when third at Flemington on Nov. 3, Saeed bel Obaida's evergreen 8-year-old gelding Prince Of Arran (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}) is to race on the Saudi Cup card in late February before heading to Dubai. Prince Of Arran finished third behind Call The Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Longines Turf Cup on the Saudi Cup card last year. First up, though, is likely to be a prep race at Kempton, according to trainer Charlie Fellowes. "He's going to Saudi Arabia,...

The Lexus Melbourne Cup went to Joseph O'Brien for the second time in four years as the Jim Bolger-bred Twilight Payment (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) gave owner Lloyd Williams his seventh victory in Australia's storied race under a bold front-running ride from Jye McNeil. It was a clean sweep of the top three places for European raiders and, in an echo of 2017 when Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}) held off Johannes Vermeer (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), O'Brien's father Aidan had to settle for second best when Irish Derby runner-up Tiger Moth...

Despite Haydock's G1 Betfair Sprint Cup looking a fascinating renewal, Saturday belongs to Frankie's "Queen" as Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) goes through the motions in Kempton's G3 Unibet September S. She came here to beat Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) en route to Arc glory two years ago and there is nothing of that calibre in this line-up, with those brave enough to take her on including Saeed bel Obaida's Prince of Arran (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}). Third in this last year before taking the G3 Geelong Cup and...

NEWMARKET, UK—This week would normally be one of Newmarket's finest. Top-class racing, the Tattersalls July Sale, stallion parades and parties. As Britain reawakes from lockdown, the business end of the bloodstock world has managed to operate almost normally and racing has been back in action since early June behind closed doors, meaning that we have a July Week of sorts, albeit one without all the fun. The rearranged breeze-up sales have just two fixtures left, Wednesday's belated Guineas Sale at Tattersalls which leads straight into two days of a reduced...

Godolphin's Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) will break from the rail in his attempt to add yet another rich international prize to his roll of honor in Saturday's $2.5-million Longines Turf H. at Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh. The 3000 metre event is the richest of the three turf contests on the Saudi Cup card. Cross Counter has over £3.5-million in the bank and looks to build on his victories in the 2018 G1 Melbourne Cup and 2019 G2 Dubai Gold Cup while making his first start since...

The venue may be largely unfamiliar on the world stage but many of the runners lining up at King Abdulaziz racecourse in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon are well known across the world of racing and they include, of course, a strong challenge from Europe. The main event, the $20-million Saudi Cup over nine furlongs on the dirt, has attracted a highly competitive American contingent, including Maximum Security (New Year's Day) and Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), and they will be taking on two seasoned campaigners from Europe headed by the well...