Zoffany

There is a new name over the door at Copper Beech Stables, one of the finest training establishments in Ireland, with trainer Cormac Farrell confirming that he has taken over the yard from Michael Halford. It was last February when Halford, who had sent out almost 500 winners from Copper Beech Stables in 16 full seasons, including Group 1 scorer Casamento (Ire), announced that he had taken the decision to combine forces with Tracey Collins under the banner of Conyngham Lodge.  Farrell, a respected trainer in his own right but...

Against the backdrop of one of the most eagerly anticipated King Georges in recent history on Saturday, bloodstock agent Sean Grassick and trainer Kevin Coleman enjoyed something of a red-letter day of their own when Uluru (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) ran out a taking debut winner at Gowran Park.  Uluru was one of eight yearlings that Grassick purchased on behalf of Atomic Racing at the sales last year and was considered just about the most talented juvenile the commercial syndicate had to go to war with this season.  Despite showing signs...

Breeze-up king Willie Browne, who sold G1 1000 Guineas heroine Speciosa (Ire), G1 Ascot Gold Cup winner Trip To Paris (Ire) and many more top-notchers, is allowing himself to believe that recent graduate Sakheer (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) could be the real deal after he coasted to an effortless victory at Haydock on Thursday. The 76-year-old bought Sakheer for $65,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sales in 2021 before producing the colt to top the Arqana Breeze-up Sale in May of this year. Sakheer was bought by Oliver St Lawrence for...

TATTERSALLS, Ireland--Justin Timmons revealed the heightened importance to the Dolmen Bloodstock consignment selling well at the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale after he welcomed his first-born into the world in the early hours of Wednesday morning before making the dash to Barn B on the eve of what he described as the biggest sale of his year. Dolmen Bloodstock consigned the top lot at last year's sale, a Dark Angel (Ire) colt who fetched 410,000gns, and now that there are nappies to pay for, Timmons is hoping for another profitable...

By Emma Berry and Brian Sheerin DEAUVILLE, France--It wasn't until the wild-card selection after the end of the main catalogue that the day's top lot walked the ring at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale, and that honour went to Willie Browne's Mocklershill team and their colt by the late Zoffany (Ire), who sold for €550,000. Oliver St Lawrence had kept his powder dry for much of the day, but having warmed up with a €520,000 bid for a Siyouni (Fr) colt from Longways Stables, he went strong again for the session...

NEWMARKET, UK--On both sides of the Atlantic, the yearling sector in 2021 has shown an especially heartening vigour in the middle market--and you can't get much closer to its centre of gravity, on this side of the water, than Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale at Tattersalls. Despite losing the stimulus of Shadwell, which last year corralled 36 lots from this auction for 5,327,000gns, Wednesday's third and final session rounded off a quite astonishing performance overall. Never mind its giddy elevation on last year's sale, which had itself rallied...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today's Observations features the return of a recent 'TDN Rising Star' 14.50 Chantilly, Cond, €34,000, 2yo, 7fT Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani's once-raced OSMOSE (FR) (Zoffany {Ire}) attained 'TDN Rising Star' status with an impressive takedown of a Deauville debutantes' heat last month and steps up to seven...

Master horseman Jim Bolger may have been ensconced in Ireland during this weekend's Guineas Festival, but his influence was felt far and wide across the Rowley Mile. The fact that Bolger bred, trained and raced the 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire})-in addition to the small feat of breeding his sire and first two dams and training his grandsire and third dam-has been well documented in the following days. But Bolger's fingerprints were likewise on the G1 1000 Guineas the next day: he had trained the winner...

8th-Belmont, $92,000, Alw, 4-30, (NW1$X), 3yo/up, f/m, 6fT, 1:09, gd, 3 lengths. MINAUN (IRE) (f, 3, Zoffany {Ire}--Bee Eater {Ire} {SP-Eng}, by Green Desert) cost a mere €8,000 at the 2019 Goffs Sportsman's Yearling Sale--an event that takes place immediately after the company's premiere Orby sale--and showed a fair amount of promise on career debut, running the future GSP Oodnadatta (Ire) (Australia {GB}) to 1 1/2 lengths in a seven-furlong test at Leopardstown for Henry de Bromhead last June. She was allowed to take her chance against a trio of...

Zoffany (Ire) (Dansili {GB}-Tyranny {GB}, by Machiavellian), a Group 1-winning racehorse and sire, has died aged 13 at Coolmore Stud due to liver failure. "Zoffany was a great servant and he'll be a big loss," said Coolmore's David O'Loughlin. Bred by Epona Bloodstock, Zoffany was a 220,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling. He won on debut in April of his 2-year-old campaign and proved an honest and tough performer throughout the season, winning five of his six starts including the G3 Tyros S. and G1 Phoenix S. for the Coolmore...

In a temporarily upside-down world, a comforting air of normality can be found in a perusal of the end-of-year stallion tables. To Benjamin Franklin's certainties of death and taxes, in this smaller world we can add just about the only sure thing in racing and bloodstock: Galileo (Ire) is champion sire. Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid to the King of Tipperary is the fact that, even at his home at Coolmore, the operation which naturally has free-flowing access to the supersire via some of the best mares...

Bahraini-based by globally successful trainer Fawzi Nass has cemented a reputation as a shrewd buyer of European horses in training both at public auction and privately, and his latest project Simsir (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) came good on his first start for his new yard on Friday, winning the £500,000 Bahrain International Trophy at Sakhir from John Gosden's Global Giant (GB) (Shamardal) and Aidan O'Brien's G1 Irish Derby winner Sovereign (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The 4-year-old gelding Simsir was plucked privately from the yard of Mick Halford just this fall, having previously...