Thu, 06/28/2012 - 16:27

Europe: Camelot towers over Irish Derby field

Aidan O’Brien has trained the winner of the Irish Derby for six years in a row, and among his three entrants for this year’s edition of the race is Camelot, currently the leading 3-year-old in Europe by a vast margin. The calculus seems crystal-clear: Camelot will win Saturday evening’s Group 1 race at The Curragh.

Mon, 06/25/2012 - 14:26

Black Caviar suffers muscle injuries, still plans fall campaign

Getty Images
Black Caviar (left) holds off Moonlight Cloud to win the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Black Caviar’s narrow victory in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday at Royal Ascot came despite the mare racing with muscle injuries, it was discovered Sunday. The undefeated Australian mare, 22 for 22 in her career, has entered quarantine and will return home in coming weeks, but immediate post-race speculation about imminent retirement was premature, with Black Caviar’s connections now contemplating another campaign this fall, which is spring on Southern Hemisphere time.

Sun, 06/24/2012 - 15:30

Breeders' Cup berths awarded to winners in Japan, France, Argentina

Gus Dupat
Calidoscopio, ridden by Pablo Falero, wins the 1 1/2-mile Clasico Belgrano on Saturday at Palermo Racecouse in Argentina and qualifies for the Breeders' Cup Marathon at Santa Anita.

Major stakes on three continents on Saturday and Sunday offered automatic berths to Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita in November, but it was uncertain whether two of the winners would travel to the United States this fall.

Orfevre, the winner of the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown, won for the first time in three starts as a 4-year-old in Sunday’s Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse. At Saint-Cloud racecourse in Paris, Meandre pulled an upset against three rivals in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

Sat, 06/23/2012 - 11:11

Royal Ascot: Black Caviar just holds on to notch her 22nd straight win

Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Black Caviar, foreground, just lasts in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot to remain undefeated in 22 starts.

Black Caviar remained undefeated winning the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday, closing day at Royal Ascot. Of that there can be no dispute. The devil is in the details, though, and the way in which Black Caviar won for the 22nd time in her career should lend itself to international racing chatter for weeks, if not longer.

Black Caviar’s winning margin, a nose, was the shortest in her career, and just the second time a horse has been within one length of her at the finish, but jockey Luke Nolen must shoulder some of the blame for the race's closeness.

Fri, 06/22/2012 - 16:29

Royal Ascot: Fallen for You best in Coronation Stakes

Nearly a year of frustrating results ended emphatically on Friday when Fallen for You won her first stakes in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Royal Ascot.

Fallen for You finished 3 1/4 lengths in front of Starscope, giving trainer John Gosden a sweep of the first two positions in the one-mile race.

By Dansili, and owned by breeder Normandie Stud, Fallen for You won for the third time in her six-race career, fulfilling expectations that Gosden had in 2011. He blamed himself for her fifth-place finish as the

Thu, 06/21/2012 - 16:58

Hanshin: Orfevre has work cut out in Takarazuka Kinen

Orfevre, the winner of the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown, is finding racing more difficult as a 4-year-old this year. Winless in his first two starts of the season, Orfevre is part of Sunday’s $3.4 million Takarazuka Kinen over about 1 3/8 miles on turf at Hanshin Racecourse.

Once again, he faces a formidable list of rivals. This time, there is more at stakes than the winner’s share of approximately $1.65 million. The winner receives an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 3.

Thu, 06/21/2012 - 16:22

Royal Ascot: Black Caviar on edge for Diamond Jubilee

Frankel held up his end of the bargain, delivering a sensational win in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes on opening day of the Royal Ascot meet. Now it is Black Caviar’s turn, as the second international racing superstar to grace the Ascot meeting takes to the track in the closing-day Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday.

Wed, 06/20/2012 - 12:38

Royal Ascot: So You Think defeats Carlton House in Prince of Wales’s

The 10th Group 1 stakes win by So You Think in Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot was part of a family day for trainer Aidan O’Brien.

His son Joseph won his first career race at Royal Ascot aboard So You Think, who won by 2 1/4 lengths as the 4-5 favorite, defeating Carlton House, owned by the Queen of England.

Earlier on the six-race program, Aidan O’Brien won the Group 3 Jersey Stakes with the 20-1 shot Ishvana, owned by his wife, Ann Marie.

Tue, 06/19/2012 - 12:52

Royal Ascot: Fame and Glory eyes Gold Cup repeat

The Group 1 Gold Cup, a 2 1/2-mile race, headlines Thursday’s action at Royal Ascot, with Fame and Glory widely expected to win for the second year in a row.

Fame and Glory, a 14-time winner trained by Aidan O’Brien, won the 2011 Gold Cup by three lengths over return rival Opinion Poll and had a useful prep race winning a listed stakes May 20 at Navan.

The Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes matches Shirocco Star, The Fugue, and Twirl, respectively the two-three-four finishers from the Group 1 Epsom Oaks.

Tue, 06/19/2012 - 10:37

Royal Ascot: Frankel dominates Queen Anne Stakes

Martin Lynch/Racing Post
Frankel pulls away to an 11-length romp in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Imagine the New York Yankees playing a semi-pro team from rural Wisconsin, and you will get an idea what Frankel is doing to the other milers who have dared face him in England.