It may be months before details of the raid on an Irish stud are known but in the meantime shooting the messenger won’t helpAccording to one report on Monday morning, it could be “a matter of months” before any detail emerges about what, exactly, officials from Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine found when they raided Ballintogher Stud in County Kildare last Tuesday. Even the results of blood and hair tests by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), on samples from thoroughbreds that were on site when the DAFM investigators arrived, are still working their way through the system.But that has not stopped battle lines being drawn as Ireland’s closely knit racing and breeding industries face up to...
Disgraced trainer Gordon Elliott set to be back in the winner’s enclosure at the home of jump racingSix of the seven runners in the televised Grade Two Ballymore Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham on Friday were winners last time out and it promises to be one of the most informative novice events over timber in the first half of the winter campaign.Paul Nicholls’s Gelino Bello, who recorded a comfortable success on his hurdling debut at Aintree last month, heads the market but the memory of Ireland’s dominance at the Festival in March is still fresh and Off Your Rocco (3.30) and Blazing Khal both promise to be stern opponents. Continue reading...
The football super-agent Kia Joorabchian has built a big string on the Flat and has high hopes of victory at Del MarThe football super-agent Kia Joorabchian has built a three-figure string on the Flat in the last couple of seasons and will have hopes of seeing his purple colours record their biggest success to date on Friday, when his runners on day one of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup meeting at Del Mar include Go Bears Go and Hello You in the Juvenile Turf Sprint and Juvenile Fillies’ Turf respectively.Joorabchian’s list of clients includes Philippe Coutinho, whose €142m transfer fee to join Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018 was the second-highest in history at the time, and his Amo Racing Club...
The winners of last year’s Gold Cup and King George VI Chase face off in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down RoyalThe winners of last year’s Gold Cup and King George VI Chase face off in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday, when Frodon (2.50) and Bryony Frost look overpriced at around 3-1 to get the better of Minella Indo and Rachael Blackmore.Frodon was a long way behind Minella Indo at Cheltenham in March but clearly failed to get home over the extended three-and-a-quarter miles. He showed all his familiar enthusiasm and accuracy until his stamina gave out, however, and back at three miles and on a sharper track, his impeccable jumping and front-running style could make...
Aidan O’Brien’s heavily backed colt can land a gamble and give the trainer his tenth win in the Vertem FuturityThe last four winners of the Vertem Futurity for two-year-olds have gone on to win Classics aged three and Luxembourg (3.10) will be a short-priced favourite for next year’s Derby if he can give Aidan O’Brien his 10th success in the final Group One of the British season at Doncaster on Saturday.Luxembourg is a son of Camelot, who won this race in 2011, and showed an exceptional turn of foot to win the Beresford Stakes by nearly five lengths last month. The money has been coming for him all week and it will be a big surprise if the gamble goes...