Westerberg

Coolmore and Westerberg's TDN Rising Star Avec Toi (No Nay Never) put his perfect three-for-three record on the line in Sunday's G3 Qatar Prix La Rochette at ParisLongchamp and, carrying a penalty for annexing last month's G3 Prix Francois Boutin, was forced to pull out all the stops to remain unbeaten at the end of the seven-furlong contest. "It was a tactical race, so we didn't have many options to do something else other than make the running," said Christopher Head. "It was a nice fight with a very nice...

Saturday's opening mile maiden at The Curragh has been a key race for Aidan O'Brien and Darkness Falls (Camelot) followed some smart predecessors with a seven-length success to become the stable's latest TDN Rising Star, Presented by Hagyard. Having won the John Ormonde Wexford Sand Irish EBF Maiden nine times out of the last 10 renewals, including with Hawk Mountain, Mogul and Saxon Warrior, the Ballydoyle handler put forward a strong trio of Camelot-sired 2027 Derby hopefuls with Ryan Moore on the 4-6 favourite. Third on debut behind the subsequent Futurity...

Resolute Racing, Coolmore and Westerberg's Giant Sequoia (Frankel) made a breakthrough tackling seven furlongs at the Curragh in June and returned over the same strip at the Co. Kildare venue to continue Aidan O'Brien's utter domination of Saturday's G2 Coolmore Stud City Of Troy Tom Cooper Irish EBF Futurity Stakes with a record-extending 19th renewal. "We are very proud of him," said Resolute Racing's John Stewart. "From the moment he was born, our farm manager Noel Murphy said, 'This horse will win the English Derby,' and now it looks like...

Coolmore and Westerberg's undefeated Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica) will attempt a fifth straight Group 1 triumph in Sunday's G1 Sumbe Prix Jean et Louis Romanet at Deauville. Accompanied on the trip by stablemates Beautify (Wootton Bassett) and Moments Of Joy (Justify), her 10 opponents also include last term's G1 Prix Vermeille heroine Aventure (Sea The Stars), G1 Irish Oaks fourth Rebel Moon (Lope De Vega) and G2 German 1000 Guineas victrix Timeforshowcasing (Showcasing). Elsewhere on Sunday's card, Ballydoyle will send forth three contenders, all by No Nay Never, for...

Peter Brant, Coolmore and Westerberg's TDN Rising Star Haffner (Justify) bounced back off a defeat in last month's G2 Vintage and the Aidan O'Brien trainee found plenty under forceful urging to make a stakes breakthrough in Wednesday's G3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes at York. "He ran a lovely race at Goodwood, but Ryan [Moore] thought he was a little bit babyish," commented O'Brien after collecting a fourth rosette in the seven-furlong Breeders' Cup Challenge Series qualifier. "He's a very good mover and we always thought the quicker the better for him...

Coolmore and Westerberg's TDN Rising Star Avec Toi (No Nay Never) maintained his unbeaten record and followed up a first stakes victory in last month's Listed Prix Roland de Chambure with a dominant performance in Sunday's G3 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Francois Boutin at Deauville. "He really is an incredible horse and what a machine he is," beamed trainer Christopher Head. "He's been like this since the beginning of the season and we just don't know his limit. It's sky high and he's probably the best horse I've ever...

Getting his head in front at the third attempt on Sunday, Ballydoyle's Shakespeare (Dubawi) was adding his name to a rich list of winners of the seven-furlong Curragh maiden. Beaten here and at Leopardstown so far, the son of the Nassau heroine Lady Bowthorpe (Nathaniel) who cost 1.3million gns at Tattersalls October Book 1 was sent straight to the front by Ryan Moore in this Guidenstown Stud Irish EBF Maiden won recently by Delacroix, Diego Velazquez, Al Riffa and Thunder Moon. Maintaining to the line, the colt who races for...

Aidan O'Brien trainee Sergei Diaghilev (Wootton Bassett) was one-for-two heading into this second stakes start and delved into deep reserves to secure a career high in Friday's Listed Coolmore Stud Churchill Stakes, formerly known as the El Gran Senor Stakes. He had previously beaten a quality field when shedding maiden status over six furlongs at the Curragh in May and followed up that debut score with a ninth, within five lengths of the winner King Of Cloughan, in June's Listed Windsor Castle last time. "For some reason it never happened...

Aidan O'Brien nominee Man's Best Friend (No Nay Never) shed maiden status at Naas just last week and overcame traffic problems to pounce late and supply the trainer with a third renewal of Thursday's G2 Markel Richmond Stakes at Goodwood. "The last day at Naas was only his second run and he is a baby of a horse," said O'Brien, whose previous winners of the contest were Pyrus (Mr. Prospector) in 2000 and Land Force (No Nay Never) in 2018. "We thought bringing him here today was going to do...

Leopardstown's track was very much playing to front-runners on Thursday evening and Wayne Lordan took full advantage of that bias to steer Florida Bay (Mehmas) to success in the G3 Japan Racing Association Tyros Stakes. Fading into fourth last time behind the Silver Flash runner-up Dancing Destiny in Naas's Pat Smullen Stakes at a mile, the 7-2 shot had the ideal conditions here to dominate on the lead and was strong to the line to provide Aidan O'Brien with a 17th renewal and a Stakes double on the card. TDN...

The Curragh's Barronstown Stud Maiden has been a testing ground for some of Aidan O'Brien's best colts for some time now and Saturday's edition followed the trend with a stable one-two-three led by Giant Sequoia (Frankel). Third on debut behind stablemate Aix La Chapelle over this course and seven-furlong trip earlier this month, the son of the Oaks runner-up Pink Dogwood (Camelot) made no mistake this time to record a 2 1/4-length success from Hawk Mountain's brother Oklahoma (Wootton Bassett). There was another 3 3/4 lengths back to Shakespeare (Dubawi),...

One of the first of several exciting juveniles to represent Ballydoyle on a weekend that always matters, Abraham Lincoln (Wootton Bassett) came through his test in style to become the stable's latest TDN Rising Star, Presented by Hagyard. Sent off the 11-8 favourite for the six-furlong Keadeen Hotel Irish EBF Maiden which opened The Curragh's three-day Derby Festival, the €2.3million Arqana Deauville August graduate who represents Coolmore, Westerberg, Peter Brant and his breeder Jean-Philippe Dubois tracked the leading trio travelling easily under Ryan Moore. Sent to the front a furlong...