Browse by Tags
Photo courtesy Shadwell Stud Distinguished 28-year-old Danzig stallion Green Desert was pensioned earlier this week . Sire of nearly 100 stakes winners, among them 14 group or grade I, he has already made a strong impact as a sire of sires. His best stallion sons include Cape Cross, Oasis Dream, Invicible Spirit, Volksraad, Desert Style, Shinko Forest, Desert...
Read More...
Withdrawn from the English 1,000 Guineas (gr. I) after misbehaving in the stalls, and unplaced in the French 1,000 Guineas (gr. I), Immortal Verse turned a corner with a win in the Prix de Sandringham (gr. II). In the one mile Coronation Stakes (gr. I, video below), she delivered a very impressive performance sweeping from last-to-first to win by 2¼ lengths....
Read More...
Royal Ascot occupied most of our attention last week, but we wanted to note a few interesting pedigrees from last week before they get too distant in time. In Australia, the Stradbroke Handicap (gr. I, video below) saw Sincero (TrueNicks A++ ) become one of the few 3-year-olds in that country this season to defeat his elders in a major race this year. Sincero...
Read More...
If the modern horse is not supposed to be as tough and durable as the stars of bygone eras, it’s clear that Banimpire (TrueNicks A++ ) and her connections didn’t get the message. The daughter of Holy Roman Emperor was making her seventh start of the season (six of them in not much more than three months) when gamely defeating the Galileo filly Field of Miracles...
Read More...
It was generally considered that one of the absolute bankers of the meeting would be So You Think in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (gr. I, video below). The New Zealand-bred had become a superstar in Australia, and was a highweight in the long-distance category on the International Classifications, as well as being highly-rated at shorter distances. He’d scored...
Read More...
One of the most eagerly awaited contests of the week was the first day’s opening contest, the Queen Anne Stakes (gr. I, video below). Run over the straight mile, it brought together the 6-year-old mare Goldikova, winner of three straight runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. I), and the 4-year-old colt Canford Cliffs, coming off four consecutive group I wins...
Read More...
John Donnelly , an employee of Darley America and keen pedigree student, has penned the following guest post for TrueNicks. He takes a slightly different look at the influence of Northern Dancer on the Epsom Derby. With the 50th anniversary of Northern Dancer's birth, May 27, 1961, just recently passing, and the Epsom Derby being run and won, we thought that...
Read More...
It wasn't exactly the best of times or the worst of times, but there were some strange and contradictory contrasts in the two English 1½ mile classics, the Oaks and Derby (both gr. I). In the Oaks, the winner – by a sprinter/miler, out of a mare by a sprinter – was ridden for stamina, while the Derby saw a son of a French Derby winner out of a mare by a French...
Read More...
Complimentary TrueNicks Enhanced reports are available for the Epsom Derby (gr. I) field listed below. Click on the horse's name or letter grade to view the report. To help analyze which horses may have the profile for the 12-furlong Derby distance, each cross's average winning distance is included in the table—see the full report for addition cross-specific...
Read More...
With the game triumph of Roderic O’Connor in Saturday's Irish 2,000 Guineas (gr. I) following hot-on-the-heels of the smooth victory of Golden Lilac in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches-French 1,000 Guineas (gr. I) one week ago, and Frankel’s runaway English 2,000 Guineas (gr. I) win three weeks ago, the cross of Galileo and mares by Danehill has become the classic...
Read More...
In the week following the runaway 2,000 Guineas (gr. I) victory of Frankel – which simultaneously confirmed his brilliance and the extreme improbability of him staying the Derby trip of 1½ miles – there were a number of significant Derby and Oaks trials in Europe. Not surprisingly, the Sadler’s Wells line was a dominant force in these, and the most recent week...
Read More...
In the week that saw the passing of the mighty Sadler’s Wells, it was appropriate that his grandson Frankel (TrueNicks A++ ) should produce a dominant performance in the first English classic of the year, the 2,000 Guineas (gr. I, video below). The son of Galileo was equipped with a pacemaker, but set such a rapid pace that he was soon alone in the lead. Around...
Read More...
Officially rated the best long distance runner in the world last year was So You Think. He earned a figure of 122 as an extended distance performer on the basis of a third under top-weight in the Melbourne Cup (gr. I). However, he was actually rated 126 as a middle distance runner, a standing earned with five straight victories during the Australian 2010-2011...
Read More...
Following his sensational trial in the seven-furlong Greenham Stakes (gr. III, click for video ) on April 16, last season's European champion 2-year-old Frankel looks ready for Saturday's English 2,000 Guineas (gr. I). The son of Galileo – who has taken over from his sire Sadler’s Wells as Europe’s leading classic sire – is from a stout family. His dam is a half...
Read More...
Leading bloodstock news, on Valentine's Day no less, was that the union of two of the highest-rated horses of each sex in modern times—namely the 2008 Prix de l'Arc winner Zarkava and the 2009 winner Sea The Stars —has resulted in a colt foal, born Friday night at the Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval in France. The colt is Zarkava's second foal as she produced a...
Read More...
More Posts
Next page »