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Over past two years, Arctic Bright View, a pure, white son of Panoramic, has experienced an exciting adventure to Tinsel Town and back, and he lives to tell the tale.  Out of the Airdrie Apache mare Arcticanna, Arctic Bright View just emerged from training in Hollywood, Calif., where he was leased by Disney to portray Silver in ''The Lone ...

The charm of horse racing lies primarily in the animals that do it—their beauty, grace, power and their degree of class. But there is an undeniable attraction to the colorful human beings that make it happen. The purpose of this blog is to share my stories about some of these characters. My requisites in the selection: I had dealings ...

(Originally published in the June 29/July 6, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) By Evan Hammonds - @BH_EHammonds on Twitter After more than a week of the news floating around in the online realm, the New York Racing Association officially announced ...

So, we’re breeding fragile horses who cannot stand up to rigid racing and training programs. At least that’s what we keep hearing. The days of tough, durable horses are over, replaced by brittle-boned steeds with weak lungs and delicate constitutions who need to be coddled and cloistered away from the rigors of racing as often as possible. At ...

The final day of what had otherwise been a wonderful Royal Ascot was marred by the death of Thomas Chippendale, who collapsed and died—apparently of a heart attack—shortly after winning the 1 1/2-mile Hardwicke Stakes (Eng-II). Successful last year in the King Edward VII Stakes (Eng-II) over course and distance, Thomas Chippendale was a son of ...

Day four at Royal Ascot kicked off with the six-furlong Albany Stakes (Eng-III) for 2-year-old fillies. The winner, Kiyoshi, looked to travel nearly as far sideways as forwards in the last couple of furlongs, but still scored impressively from favorite Sandiva (by Footstepsinthesand), with Frankel's half sister Joyeuse third. Kiyoshi is by ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) Day two of Royal Ascot saw racing fans treated to both youthful brilliance and raw staying power. The former was contributed by No Nay Never, who became the latest in a series of triumphant juveniles for American trainer Wesley Ward when he ripped off a new juvenile course record of :58.80 while capturing the Norfolk Stakes ...

In 1998, I made several visits to Michael Dickinson’s Tapeta Farm and witnessed first-hand the struggle Dickinson and his crew had getting Da Hoss back to the Breeders’ Cup Mile off only one minor race in two years. I wound up covering the Mile; my final assignment for the newly purchased DRF, for whom I had worked for 29 years. My family and ...

U.S. trainer Wesley Ward, who nearly took yesterday's Queen Mary Stakes (Eng-II) with Sweet Emma Rose, by City Zip (TrueNicks,SRO), gained compensation with the Scat Daddy (TrueNicks) colt No Nay Never in the Norfolk Stakes (Eng-II). Ward's 2-year-olds usually break like greased lightning, but No Nay Never dwelt leaving the stalls. He was was soon ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) Animal Kingdom's quest to become the first grade or group I winner on three different surfaces--and on three different continents to boot--fizzled ingloriously June 18 in the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot. Nonetheless, it was a noble attempt and a sporting gesture by the colt's owners. It was also one of the ...