Washington DC

Irish racing and breeding has lost a much-loved member of its community with the death on Saturday of Pat Hyland of Oghill House Stud. He was 78. With his brother Hugh and nephew John, Hyland ran the successful Kildare farm which incorporates the family's own broodmare band along with a thriving boarding operation. His brothers David and Paul are also involved in the business and are the breeders, respectively, of G1 Racing Post Trophy winner Marcel (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) and Washington DC (Ire), one of the stand-out performers from the...

NEWMARKET, UK—The popularity of first-season sires is no new phenomenon but it is a feature of the market which apparently gains more and more traction, and three freshmen were responsible for four of the top ten lots as pinhookers wasted no time in assembling their prospective yearling drafts for next season. The first session traditionally represents a quieter start to the four-day auction, which builds towards the better pedigrees on Friday. With shorter sessions throughout the sale this year, there were 135 foals sold on Wednesday, compared to 168 on...