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By John Clay, Lexington Herald LeaderUnlike last Saturday, this time the superstar delivered. Big time. There is only one true superstar on the Thoroughbred racing planet right now, and it isn't that worn-out 3-year-old who dissolved into a Big Brown meltdown in the Long Island heat during last Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Curlin is king of the ...

It's just 35 years since Mill Reef stamped himself as one of the best horses to race in Europe during the 20th century. Paul Mellon's son of Never Bend went on to prove himself an outstanding sire, too, so it's something of a surprise to find that his male line is already in danger of extinction. Recent weeks, however, have indicated that the line ...

The practice of correcting the legs of young horses surgically before they are offered at yearling auctions stirs up controversy. Some people believe it is a good thing because it allows the horses to be sounder when they race. Others say it allows horses with inferior conformation to succeed, making them more likely to contribute their defects to ...

Japanese racing seems to have a new star in the shape of Deep Sky, who followed up his win in the NKH Mile Cup (Jap-I), by producing a blistering finish to land the Japanese Derby.Deep Sky is by Agnes Tachyon. A son of the almost inevitable Sunday Silence, Agnes Tachyon scored his most important triumph in the Japanese Two Thousand Guineas (gr. ...

  Now that the Triple Crown run is over and more than five weeks have passed since the Eight Belles tragedy, I thought it would be a good time to pick the brain of Larry Jones. Thought of by many as not only one of the most talented, but most respected trainers in the sport, Jones gave his take on a few different topics, including Eight ...

In my last post, I started to discuss a yearling that I am sending to the Keeneland September sale.  I introduced the colt (TrueNicks pedigree) and promised to give details on the breeding decisions that resulted in this foal.  I chose to go with Honour and Glory (on SRO) for several reasons.  One, frankly, was because he ...

[image url=''http://cdn.bloodhorse.com/images/content/shaskin_large.jpg'']Steve Haskin[/image] Blood-Horse senior correspondent Steve Haskin returns to Talkin' Horses for a recap of the 2008 Triple Crown, one of the most memorable in recent history. Haskin is an award-winning Turf writer renowned for his Kentucky Derby commentary, with weekly ...

Vision d'Etat retained his unbeaten record with a head victory in the Prix du Jockey-Club - French Derby (gr. I). Vision d'Etat has a pedigree that is obscure by almost any standard. Chichicastenango - the sire of Vision d'Etat - was one of only two stakes winners for his sire, Smadoun. A son of Kaldoun (by Caro), Smadoun started 63 times over ...

We are often asked the question on nick ratings - ''do they work across multiple generations?'' The answer ironically depends on the genuine strength of the affinity between the sire lines in question. Examples of nicks that seem to span generations and withstand the scrutiny of time include Fappiano over In Reality-line mares and Seattle Slew ...

It’s amazing that six weeks can go by so quickly, yet also seem like an eternity. Was it just last month, or was it last year when we saw Big Brown bound past us on the Churchill Downs backstretch during a chilly morning in Louisville? Was it just a few weeks ago, or was it a couple of months ago that we witnessed a coronation off the Northern ...