Territories

As always, Ireland and France have been quicker off the mark when it comes to the Flat turf season, and Britain joins them this Saturday with the opening meeting at Doncaster, which always provides plenty of interest, not least through the Brocklesby Stakes. This year, fittingly, the first two-year-old race in Britain is run in memory of Bill Turner, whose name was a standing dish in the Brocklesby entries and who died last August at the age of 78. With six victories between 1996 and 2013, Turner holds the record...

This year's G2 German 1,000 Guineas winner Lady Ilze (Territories) will be offered by Tattersalls Online in a pop-up sale scheduled to get underway at 3pm on Monday, August 4. Bidding will then close at 3pm the following day. Formerly trained in Poland by Krzysztof Ziemianski, Lady Ilze won three of her five starts as a two-year-old, before being transferred to the care of leading German trainer Andreas Wöhler. Following a fourth-place finish in the G3 Schwarzgold-Rennen on debut for her new yard, she then produced a career-best effort at...

The early part of last week was spent covering the JRHA Select Sale in Japan, a trip that is always illuminating, to an auction that remains extraordinary. Number one of the list of most surprising things from the five days spent in Hokkaido was Teruya Yoshida picking up his guitar to serenade guests with a rendition of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads. An excellent choice of song, well performed. The Shadai Farm principal should be encouraged to form a Travelling Wilburys-style bloodstock supergroup. Bluegrass enthusiast and songwriter Arthur...

Lazzat (Territories), a winner of the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest in 2024, has been purchased by Wathnan Racing. He will remain in training with Jerome Reynier and target the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot next month. Bred and formerly raced by Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe, the bay gelding won his first six starts at three, including the Prix Maurice de Gheest, before running a strong second in the Golden Eagle at Rosehill Down Under. Unplaced in the G1 Hong Kong Mile in December, he made his...

We have heard plenty of the major owner-breeders this season, with the six Guineas to have been run in Britain, Ireland and France having gone to Godolphin, Juddmonte, Coolmore, and the Aga Khan Studs. So now it is time to hear from the breeder with one mare, who has just celebrated a Classic victory for the first foal she has bred. Step forward, Lulu Winter, breeder of Lady Ilze, winner of the G2 German 1,000 Guineas for Westminster Race Horses and Andreas Wohler on Sunday. As we speak on Monday...

At the risk of making anyone who knows me choke on their cornflakes upon reading this, I'm rather enjoying the big sprint races this year. The rivalry between Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) and Asfoora (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}) now stands at honours even, though it was hard not to feel that Asfoora was a little hard done by when Live In The Dream (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}) edged left just at the moment the Australian was launching her challenge down the stands' side in the G2 King...

Stick or twist? That's the question faced by many breeders this year. Anecdotally, it appears that some will be pulling back and not covering certain mares, which is understandable after a tricky sales season, not to mention the constant reminders from racecourse managers regarding the "significant headwinds" faced by racing. Unlike America, the foal crop in Britain and Ireland has been gently on the rise in recent years, up to 13,438 in 2023, compared to 12,778 in 2020, though within that combined number for last year, the Irish crop rose...

The Group 3-placed Epic Poet (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 18) and a share in Classic winner Persian King (Ire) (lot 11) are two of the highlights of the Arqana December Online Sale at 3-5 p.m. on Dec. 15. The Jean-Claude Rouget-trained Epic Poet won the Listed Prix Pelleas at Compiegne in July. Third in the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange on Sept. 4, he was most recently second in a pair of listed races at Marseille Borely. Persian King, who won the G1 French 2000 Guineas among his...

A breeding right to young National Stud stallion Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was last year's leading European first-season sire by black-type winners with four, topped the Goffs Online Sale of Stallion Breeding Rights when fetching a bid of £100,000 from Dash Grange Stud. A breeding right to last year's champion European first-season sire Cotai Glory (GB) was purchased by Paul Harley Bloodstock for €40,000, while Joseph Burke purchased a breeding right to Profitable (Ire) for €35,000. Burke, who brokered the deal for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners to purchase Profitable's...

Three stallion shares and a breeding right were offered during Arqana's Online sale on Thursday, and it was a 1/50 share in France's soon-to-be-crowned champion first-season sire Zarak (Fr) that topped the sale on a bid of €380,000 from Martin Schwartz Racing. Schwartz is based in New York but has had plenty of success racing fillies purchased in France, including the likes of GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Zagora (Fr), the Classic-winning Stacelita (Fr), GI Garden City S. winner Alterite (Fr) and GI Spinster S. scorer Asi...

Osarus has unveiled the catalogue for its Breeze Up Sale at La Teste Racecourse on Apr. 27. The breeze will take place the day prior from 2:30 p.m., and will be broadcast live on France Sire TV with individual videos available after on the Osarus website. There are 65 2-year-olds catalogued for the sale, including a Siyouni (Fr) colt out of the two-time winner Letthemusictakeus (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) (lot 17), a half-sister to the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and G1 Coronation S. winner Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal...

The latest installment of our values sires series brings us to the second-crop sires of 2021. While there was a runaway leader, this group gave us plenty to unpack. A handful of rising star sires were crowned, and a few remain on the bubble with plenty to entice us with this year as their first crops prepare for their crucial 3-year-old campaigns. The race for champion first-season sire honours was not much of a competition at all last year, with Mehmas (Ire) jumping out of the gate with a pair...