Stradivarius

Friday's action at York exemplifies the great diversity of European racing, with the lengthy spectacle of the G2 Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup followed just over an hour later by the untamed velocity of the G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe S. While vastly contrasting in distance and style, both races which represent important links in the chain of the European Pattern have one major factor in common and that is the ability to showcase the people's most beloved equine characters. Very few of those who descend on York's famous "Knavesmire" need...

For so long virtually untouchable in the stayers' division, Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) heads to Tuesday's G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup with a distinct air of vulnerability surrounding him as he attempts a fifth consecutive victory in the prestigious two-miler. Since his emphatic success over Nayef Road (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}), with the latter receiving 15 pounds weight-for-age, in this 12 months ago Bjorn Nielsen's chestnut has had five starts with just a Group 3 win and a second in a Group 2 to...

   It's Thursday at Royal Ascot, which can only mean that it's time for Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) with the Gosden titan now bidding for a record-equalling fourth renewal of the G1 Gold Cup. As Yeats (Ire) did before him, Bjorn Nielsen's stayer supreme just keeps coming back to deal with the latest set of opponents looking to stretch him. In his inaugural triumph in 2018, it was the French doyen Vazirabad (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}) who felt his breeze as Frankie's favourite winning post loomed, while a year...

Godolphin's Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was officially named Longines World's Best Racehorse on Tuesday having been assessed to have posted the top two performances of 2020. His high mark of 130 was gained in the G1 Juddmonte International S. at York, which was also named Longines World's Best Horserace for the first time. The former Charlie Appleby trainee also recorded a mark of 127 in the G1 Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup which, in a pandemic-disrupted season, was moved from Epsom to Newmarket. Bred by the Weld family's Springbank Way Stud...

The Classic Generation At the start of June, with France and Germany having already crept cautiously back into play after the COVID full-stop, Britain joined in with the beginning of a flourish of catch-up fare. In under a week of racing, we had a new star to gaze at, and time experts were in awe of Bjorn Nielsen's English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}). While he looked super-slick in the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial, he was to be given the justifiably dreaded number one draw at Epsom and gave up any...

TDN's International Editor Kelsey Riley joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the upcoming G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Amidst heavy rainfall in Paris, Champion Enable (GB) and 3-year-old filly Love (Ire) will go head-to-head this Sunday.

Newmarket's Henry Cecil Open Weekend could not take place in its traditional format this year, but a wide array of HQ trainers nonetheless participated in virtual format. John Gosden was chief among them, and he gave an update on the town's most popular equine resident, Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), as she gears up for an attempt at a third win in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 4. "Enable is very happy and well," Gosden said. "She has been fine since the race at Kempton [the Sept....

As if Saturday's action did not sate to the full, it is time to gorge while you can on Sunday with another seven top-level contests across Ireland, France and Germany. First up on the schedule is the delayed G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris for the 3-year-old Arc aspirants, which affords the opportunity to welcome back the shock G1 Epsom Derby hero Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) for the first time since his authoritative success in the July 4 blue riband. It will be fascinating to see how he copes with...

Trainer Aidan O'Brien has announced plans for two of his 3-year-old stars of 2020, G1 Investec Derby upsetter Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G1 Irish Derby hero Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}). Serpentine will make his next start in the G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp on Arc Trial day Sept. 13. "The lads [owners Coolmore] wanted to keep him at a mile and a half, with a view that he could go for the Arc or something like that," O'Brien said. The Grand Prix de Paris replaces the...

Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who won his second consecutive Group 1 on Sunday when turning back Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G1 Coral-Eclipse, leads the latest edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2020 with a mark of 127 for that latest effort. Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) finished 2019 as the world's highest-rated stayer, and he maintains that position after earning a rating of 125 for his third victory in the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. Japan's Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and...

For the past few years, we have celebrated the highs and sometimes lows, of the Royal Ascot meet with A Tip of the Top Hat awards. Originally over these five days, we presented `The Down the Stretch' awards, but the homestretch at Ascot is a gradual uphill tussle. I think it is much harder for a thoroughbred to pull, to dig down deep on the incline in the final three furlongs. Very trying and tiring. Thus, the Up The Stretch Awards. Here are the 2020 STRECHIE winners. The winner of...

Back in April, when major sporting events across the world were being cancelled left, right and centre, the management team at the Queen's racecourse took the decision that, if racing had resumed in time, Royal Ascot would go ahead behind closed doors. The announcement was met with incredulity in some quarters, particularly by those keen to blame the spread of coronavirus on the Cheltenham Festival, but thank goodness Ascot stuck to its resolve to go ahead, even in extraordinary circumstances. Of course the meeting lost some of its lustre, just...