The better class of long-term two-year-old prospects are starting to appear now, with hardly a day when there is not an interesting maiden race or two, and they don’t come much better than today’s Convivial Maiden Stakes at York, with … Read More »

He’s at it again. Following the success of Caravaggio in Sunday’s Phoenix Stakes Aidan O’Brien found a new superlative to describe the colt, this time stating that they had never before had a horse at Ballydoyle “hit a top speed … Read More »

Paul Day will be updating his thoughts on the Olympics on a regular basis, starting today. Please refer to the Guest Contributor section of this page.

I made no secret of the fact that I had recently been through a rough spell of form, but also added that I intended to do something about it. As I put on my Twitter account, I decided to return … Read More »

Tis Marvellous ran out a very comfortable winner of the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte this afternoon, beating last month’s Queen Mary Stakes runner-up Al Johrah by two and a half lengths, with Norfolk Stakes winner Prince Of … Read More »

There was a good word circulating for Godolphin’s Kazimiera before the first race at Ascot today and the daughter of Dubawi won very much in the manner that many expected. She is the first foal of dam Kailami, a daughter … Read More »

It’s good to be back north in the Lakes after a few days in Esher. I paid a visit to Sandown on Thursday evening and came away with a couple of horses for the Weekend Card, which makes a welcome … Read More »

Harzand must rank as one of the toughest middle-distance three-year-olds that we have seen for a long time. Both at Epsom, and at the Curragh yesterday, the son of Sea The Stars looked likely to be caught inside the final … Read More »

Looking back at Royal Ascot last week, in my view the results reflected very favourably on the condition of the ground. Despite the heavy showers and steady rainfall, there were not really any ‘freak’ results and the quality horses were, … Read More »

Even after going to great lengths to acquire an accurate appraisal of the ground at Epsom I have to concede that I probably got it wrong. There is heavy ground, soft ground, good to soft ground, holding ground and, perhaps … Read More »

Hi there! As if having one of the largest fields for the Derby in such an open year were not enough, the uncertainty this weekend is further compounded by a changeable weather forecast. As I write on Wednesday it’s rained … Read More »

There were mixed messages with regard to the future from the weekend action at the Curragh. What the two-day meeting did demonstrate was the importance of the ground on the results, with at least two of the weekend’s top races … Read More »