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So, how crazy is this year’s Horse of the Year picture? It’s obvious no one is stepping up to claim the title that is totally up for grabs and no doubt won’t be decided until the free for all that will be the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Not only is the confusion regarding Horse of the Year reflected in the voting on the National Thoroughbred Racing ...

Juddmonte stallion Oasis Dream (Green Desert—Hope, by Dancing Brave) acquired his 59th career stakes winner when his daughter Dream Clover squeezed out a neck victory in the Prix de la Cochere, a listed race for 3-year-old fillies at Chantilly. Trained by Freddy Head for owner George Strawbridge, Dream Clover covered the mile on good turf under ...

With Danedream flashing her credentials for a shot at back-to-back victories in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) with a score in the Grosser Preis von Baden (Ger-I) at the weekend, we thought it was worth a look back at her pedigree from this article we wrote for the International Thoroughbred after her win in the King George VI & Queen ...

Dale Romans, who is having the best year of his career as a trainer having won the Pacific Classic and Arlington Million, both $1 million races, and two other grade I races, was the guest on “Talkin’ Horses with The Blood-Horse” live podcast Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 at 2pm EDT. Currently, Romans is third among North American trainers, with ...

(Originally published in the September 8, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter Too often conducting the people’s work results in sneaky business.We saw an example of this Aug. 27 when the Interim Joint ...

Already off to a good start, Raven’s Pass (Elusive Quality—Ascutney, by Lord At War) added a little gilding to his reputation: a first black-type winner from his first crop of 2-year-olds. At Goodwood on Sept. 4, his son Steeler, won the listed Peter Willett Stakes at seven furlongs for the team of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, trainer ...

Most people would think that winning the Hopeful Stakes with a horse that your friend told you to buy at auction because it wore a hip number that matched your football uniform number was dumb luck.  But Jack Wolf’s good fortune with the horse Shanghai Bobby doesn’t compare in the least with the human Shanghai Bobby’s. Robert Burton won a ...

Early Sunday morning, in lieu of the morning workouts, three turf writers introduced a maiden first-time golfer named Micah to words that they wouldn’t dare use in their columns.  The lesson in blue language took place at the Saratoga Spa Golf Course. Early morning on the Spa Gold Course is where you'll find turf writers now.Photo by Vic ...

Pensioned in 2010, Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector—Miesque, by Nureyev) ruled the Sept. 2 international racing scene, providing two stakes winners on the day, including his 93rd lifetime added-money winner. In Turkey, Kentucky-bred Master of Hounds won the International Topkapi Trophy (Tur-II) over the mile turf course at Veliefendi Race course in ...

An old racetrack goer who’s visited this track for 47 straight summers said the 2009 Woodward Stakes (gr. I) won by Rachel Alexandra was the best Saratoga horse race he’s seen.  Stonestreet’s Preakness Stakes-winning filly beat the boys in the “Year of the Girl.”The New York Racing Association beat the drum for the Woodward that summer−first, ...