Arkansas Derby Review
Arkansas Derby (G1) The form lines on the Road to the Kentucky Derby often begin to merge together at this time of the year. If any clues were needed, the fact that both Wayne’s Law and in particular The Puma ran so well in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream gave a clear boost to the […]
Florida Derby Review
Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill “n” Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1) “I like him, there’s a lot to like and there is no reason to think that he won’t improve again”. Those were the exact words that I wrote about Commandment when he won the Fountain of Youth Stakes in February and yet on […]
Dubai World Cup Night Review
Dubai World Cup Night Review The season in Dubai has now reached its conclusion with a thrilling World Cup Night. Dark Saffron winning the Golden Shaheen for the 2nd year in a row. Ombudsman dominating the Dubai Turf. The World’s best racehorse (Calandagan) winning the Dubai Sheema Classic under an incredibly confident ride from Mickael […]
Curlin Florida Derby Preview
Curlin Florida Derby Presented By Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms At Xalapa – (G1) Data recorded for Commandment when he won the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes When first looking at the early prices for this year’s Florida Derby, I was slightly surprised to see that there was very little margin between COMMANDMENT and CHIEF WALLABEE. […]
Dubai World Cup Preview
Dubai World Cup Preview We have reached the climax of the racing season in Dubai. It has been 30 years since the first Dubai World Cup, won by US Hall of Famer Cigar and there is a chance to see another star in this year’s renewal. This card is packed full of quality and as […]
Twinspires Louisiana Derby (G2)
Twinspires Louisiana Derby (G2) EMERGING MARKET made it 2 wins from 2 starts for Chad Brown and took an enormous step forward from last month’s debut win at Tampa Bay Downs to win the Louisiana Derby. Despite being drawn widest in stall 9, he certainly received a lot of market support and having broken smartly […]
Fast Track Harry
Fast Track Harry Sometimes Racing can bring you back down to earth with a bump. Having tipped a couple of winners earlier in the week, I was feeling fairly confident about my sole selection on Newcastle’s Thursday evening card. For what it’s worth, Heavenly Heather ran a perfectly respectable race and clearly wasn’t suited by […]
Gaelic Warrior
Gaelic Warrior Gaelic Warrior (Paul Townend) wins the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup at Cheltenham Racecourse 13.03.26 Photo © Francesca Altoft focusonracing.com “How did he get beat in the Fred Winter off a mark of 129?” Everyone else seems to want to insert that line into their assessment of this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner so […]
Cheltenham 2026 – The Novice Chases
Cheltenham 2026 – The Novice Chases There were 28 races at Cheltenham last week and that left me with a lot of racing to choose from for this week’s column. I watched it all back over the weekend and began to make copious amounts of notes, the vast majority of which will probably prove to […]
Ryanair Chase
Ryanair Chase A first winner of the week for Henry De Bromhead and it is a deserved Grade 1 success for Heart Wood, who was 2nd in this race to Fact to File 12-months ago. He’s had a different campaign this year and having won the New Year’s Day Chase at Tramore, he was kept […]