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With all the attention currently (and deservedly) lavished on Frankel, it's probably worth giving a perspective on Brigadier Gerard, the horse that he's supplanted as miler of a lifetime. ''The Brigadier'' had more humble beginnings than Frankel. Bred by John Hislop (an outstanding amateur jockey and noted breeding and racing writer), was by ...

The Diamond Jubilee Stakes (gr. I) was probably the most eagerly awaited contest of the Royal meet, as it featured Australian wonder-mare Black Caviar, officially rated the world's number one sprinter, trying to extend her undefeated record to 22. Starting for the first time outside her native land, Black Caviar started at 1-6 to defeat her 13 ...

The expression ''pace makes the race'' is a common one in the U.S., but it also sums up the feature race on the fourth day of Royal Ascot, the Coronation Stakes (gr. I), run over a mile for 3-year-old fillies. On soft ground, the 1,000 Guineas (gr. I) winner, Homecoming Queen, made the running from Samitar, who was successful in the Irish version ...

Despite being run over 2 1/2 miles, the Ascot Gold Cup (gr. I) resulted in a three-way photo finish. In a Godolphin one-two, and after surviving a stewards' inquiry, the verdict went to 4-year-old Colour Vision, over Halling's son Opinion Poll, and Saddler's Rock. The defending champion of the race, Fame and Glory, made a smooth move from the rear ...

New Zealand-bred So You Think (NZ) (TrueNicks) came to the yard of Aiden O'Brien with a ranking as the official high-weight on the International Classifications in the long-distance category, as well being highly-rated at shorter distances. However, that long-distance rating, which was earned with a brave third under top weight in the Melbourne ...

''He's not a horse, he's a bloomin' steam engine...'' We were reminded of that statement, made by the legendary jockey Fred Archer, after being run off with on the Newmarket heath by the mighty St. Simon. Frankel didn't quite bolt off on Ascot heath yesterday, although it did take Tom Queally about half a mile to pull up after the finish of the ...

A couple of recent observations drew our attention to E Dubai (TrueNicks,SRO), who we've noted before as a very good value-for-money sire. One was the upset victory last weekend of the progressive 3-year-old filly My Gi Gi in the Honeymoon Handicap (gr. II). The other was a look at the leading Beyer speed figures, where we noticed that in among ...

A few weeks ago, when looking at the emerging French second year sire Turtle Bowl, we noted that he conformed to something of a recent trend in France, the appearance of a number of good sires with relatively unfashionable pedigrees, other examples that come to mind including Linamix (by Mendez), Muhtathir (by Elmaamul), and Chichicastenango (by ...

Memorial Day weekend's racing in the U.S. was highlighted by an epic Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) duel between Shackleford and Caleb's Posse. However, it also featured a notable achievement by a former Metropolitan Handicap victor, Ghostzapper (TrueNicks,SRO), who was represented by graded winners on all-weather, turf, and dirt. On Saturday at ...

The astonishing start to his stud career made by Japanese sire Deep Impact continued last weekend when he enjoyed a group stakes double that included a victory by his son Deep Brillante in the Japanese Derby (gr. I, video below). Deep Impact is a son of the Halo stallion Sunday Silence, whose status as not only the greatest Japanese stallion of ...