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With the recent announcement that Holy Bull has been retired from stud duty, I thought this would be a good time to recycle and update a column written four years ago, recalling the remarkable story of the The Bull and his owner/trainer Jimmy Croll. I’m sure many people are familiar with the story of Holy Bull and Jimmy Croll, but in keeping with ...

Maiden claiming races are the lowest races on the class scale and arguably the least entertaining to watch. None of the entrants have won a single race, and all are for sale. But are maiden claimers the worst betting proposition in racing? Personal handicapping style dictates your answer to that question. I find plays in maiden ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) The impressive Suburban Handicap (gr. II) victory of Mucho Macho Man on July 7 is in interesting juxtaposition to the pensioning of his grandsire, Holy Bull, which was announced one day later. Though far from a failure, Holy Bull has not been a great sire. But he has been a link back to the past in American breeding, ...

  ORDER THIS PHOTO   Dappled out and looking good, 1985 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Twilight Ridge still commands respect from the other horses at Manchester Farm near Lexington, Ky. Mares and yearlings in nearby paddocks raced to the fence as Twilight Ridge walked by.   ORDER THIS PHOTO ORDER THIS ...

(Originally published in the July 14, 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 Before the end of 2012, Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions across the U.S. could dramatically change the regulatory landscape ...

(Originally published in the July 14, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) For a trainer such as Dale Romans, Mike Bruder is the perfect owner.“He’s smart, he knows the horses, and he knows the business,” Romans said succinctly of his client. “We’re always ...

Trainer Roger Attfield, who will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame this year, was the guest on the latest edition of BloodHorse.com’s popular Talkin’ Horses podcast July 17. Mr. Attfield, a British native who has been based in Canada since the early 1970s, discusses some of his favorite horses and his views on ...

The following guest blog was written by I’ll Have Another’s owner Paul Reddam in response to some of the concerns of the public regarding the colt’s injury and retirement. On a personal note, Reddam has always been extremely conscientious when it comes to the public’s feelings and the passion they exhibit when it comes to horses and racing and he ...

In light of impressive victories by Game on Dude in the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) and Mucho Macho Man in the Suburban Handicap (G1), I've updated my Breeders' Cup Classic rankings. With a second-place finish in last year's Classic and two powerhouse efforts since returning from Dubai, Game On Dude would be my morning ...

With two major stakes winners in the space of 10 days, champion turf horse English Channel (TrueNicks,SRO) has zoomed up the second season sire charts. First Strait of Dover took the near $1,000,000 Queen's Plate, the first leg of the Canadian Triple crown, and then Blueskiesnrainbows, who had already been third in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I), ...