2022 Notes

At a virtual ceremony at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket, Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Knicks Go (by Paynter) was named the best horse of 2021 in the Longines World Racing Awards, ahead of Adayar (by Frankel), Mishriff (by Make Believe) and St Mark’s Basilica (by Siyouni). A panel of European handicappers named Godolphin’s Native Trail (by Oasis Dream), winner of the National Stakes and Dewhurst, Europe’s champion two-year-old of last year, with Cheveley Park Stud’s Inspiral (by Frankel) and Tenebrism (by Caravaggio), owned by a Coolmore partnership, topping the rankings of two-year-old fillies. Britain’s most successful racehorse trainer Mark Johnston announced that he would hold his licence jointly with his eldest son, Charlie, while Derby-winning trainer Roger Charlton announced a similar joint-licence arrangement with his son Harry. Trainer Tom Dascombe left Manor House Stables in Cheshire, owned by former England footballer Michael Owen, moving later in the spring to Uplands in Upper Lambourn, the former base of National Hunt trainers Fred Winter and Charlie Brooks. Hugo Palmer subsequently moved from Newmarket to take Dascombe’s place at Manor House Stables. In management changes at The National Stud in Newmarket, Tim Lane left both his role of stud manager and the organisation, with Joe Grimwade joining as head of stud operations on an interim basis and stud chairman Lord Grimthorpe, formerly racing manager to the late Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, assuming the role of executive chairman. In further ‘musical chairs’ developments, Lord Grimthorpe was also appointed racing manager to Imad Al Sagar, with Ted Voute and Gerry Meehan also joining Al Sagar’s Blue Diamond Stud in Newmarket as chief executive officer and yearling manager respectively. These moves saw Tony Nerses, Al Sagar’s long-standing and widely-liked aide-de-camp and also the buyer of Derby winner Authorized, leave the organisation. Dai Burchell and Mick Quinn both retired from training racehorses. RIP: Josephine Abercrombie, the last of the grand ladies of thoroughbred racing and breeding in America and the owner of Pin Oak Stud in Kentucky; William (‘Billy’) Turner, who trained Seattle Slew to win the Triple Crown in 1977; Ivor Herbert, racing and food writer and trainer of a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner; David Powell, American-born owner of Haras du Lieu des Champs in France; Andry Muinos, owner with her husband Max of Ela-Mana-Mou and To-Agori-Mou; Mick Ryan, trainer of the winners of more than 700 races, including Coronation Stakes and Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Katies; Richard Duchossois, industrialist, philanthropist and owner of Arlington Park and Churchill Downs racecourses; Snowfall (by Deep Impact), 16-length winner of the Oaks in 2021.

Oisin Murphy, last year’s champion jockey, was fined £31,111 and suspended for 14 months by the British Horseracing Authority for failing two racecourse alcohol breath tests and breaking Covid-19 rule protocols in 2021. Le Havre (by Noverre), for many years one of the leading stallions in France, was retired from covering duty at the age of 16, and died weeks later. Sir Mark Todd was temporarily suspended from training after a video emerged of him striking a horse with what appeared to be a branch. In America, The Jockey Club announced that it would rescind controversial legislation that would limit stallion book sizes to 140 mares in the future. The stewards of the Kentucky Horse Authority formally disqualified the ill-fated Medina Spirit (by Protonico) from the 2021 Kentucky Derby, handing the race to runner-up Mandaloun (by Into Mischief), and suspended the licence of trainer Bob Baffert for 90 days – unsurprisingly, this saga continued to rumble on throughout the year. Duncan Taylor, for many years the head of his family’s Taylor Made Sales Agency, stepped down to take up a consultancy role within the firm. French jockey Vincent Cheminaud, who won the Prix du Jockey Club on New Bay and had previously been champion National Hunt jockey in France, moved to the USA. At the Saudi Cup meeting in Riyadh, there were four Japanese-trained winners on the card, but the winner of the world’s richest race, the $20 million Saudi Cup, was the locally-trained Emblem Road (by Quality Road). At the annual Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association awards, David Minton, Aisling and Gabriel (‘Spider’) Duignan and Julian Lloyd were among those recognised for their contribution to the industry. RIP: Matt McCormack, trainer of Horage and Prince Ferdinand and previously head lad to Peter Walwyn in the era of Grundy and English Prince; Robert Chugg, National Hunt breeder and consignor.

A lightning strike in an electrical storm in Lexington caused a fire at a barn owned by trainer Wesley Ward, killing three horses including Strike The Tiger, who was Ward’s first Royal Ascot winner and had been a stable pony since being retired from racing. The chair of the British Horseracing Authority, Annemarie Phelps CBE, announced that she would be stepping down from the role. The Thompson family, best-known in racing as the owners of Cheveley Park Stud in Newmarket,won the Gold Cup at Cheltenham with A Plus Tard. The inaugural Dubai Breeze-Up Sale, staged by the Dubai Racing Club and Goffs, was topped by a son of Curlin, sold by Johnny Collins’ Brown Island Stables for the equivalent of €620,000. At the Dubai World Cup meeting, five races were won by horses owned, bred and trained in Japan, while the $12 million feature race on the card was won by Country Grammer (by Tonalist), trained in America by Bob Baffert and ridden by Frankie Dettori. In the UK, The Jockey Club announced preliminary plans to build a floodlit all-weather course, to be used for both racing and training, on land behind the Rowley Mile racecourse in Newmarket. RIP: Anthony Penfold, bloodstock agent and sales consignor, for many years racing manager to Prince Fahd Salman; Jimmy Lindley, one of the leading jockeys of his generation and later a much-loved TV presenter for the BBC; Norman Mason, former nightclub bouncer and self-made owner of bingo halls, pubs, amusement arcades, nightclubs and Grand National winner Red Marauder; Sir Robert Ogden, quarrying and mining entrepreneur, philanthropist and racehorse owner and breeder; Andrew Turnell, leading National Hunt jockey and trainer; Go For Gin (by Cormorant) and Grindstone (by Unbridled), the two oldest living winners of the Kentucky Derby.

Amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen won the Grand National on his father’s horse Noble Yeats. Owner and breeder Dietrich von Boetticher denied reports which were circulating in German and racing media that his family’s famous Gestüt Ammerland was closing. A colt by Oasis Dream topped the Craven Breeze-Up Sale at Tattersalls in Newmarket when bought by clients of Shropshire-based trainer Dave Loughnane for 525,000 guineas. A son of the first-season sire Tasleet was the highest-priced lot at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up Sale at Doncaster, sold to clients of Blandford Bloodstock for £230,000. In Paris, a fixture at Auteuil racecourse was called off after industrial action in a dispute between France-Galop and trade union members. In America, last year’s Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide (by Ghostzapper) was retired from racing after suffering an injury, to stand in 2023 as a stallion at his owner Godolphin’s Jonabell Farm in Kentucky next year. Mike Caddy’s Heatherwold Stud near Newbury was placed onto the market for sale. Coroebus (by Dubawi), ridden by James Doyle and trained by Charlie Appleby, won the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, beating his Godolphin stablemate Native Trail. RIP: Desmond Stoneham, known as ‘Mr French racing’ for the help he gave to countless people in the sport in that country; Julie Cecil, Newmarket racehorse trainer, Newmarket racehorse trainer’s daughter and Newmarket racehorse trainer’s wife.

Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Cachet (by Aclaim) won the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, a first Classic success for trainer George Boughey and the second leg of a 24-hour Classic double for jockey James Doyle. Moyglare Stud Farm’s homebred Thoughts Of June (by Galileo) became her late sire’s 348th Stakes winner – a new world record – when winning the Cheshire Oaks. In America, the 80/1 shot Rich Strike (by Keen Ice) was a surprise winner of the 148th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, while 86-year-old trainer D Wayne Lukas won a fifth Kentucky Oaks with Secret Oath (by Arrogate). The New Zealand-bred six-year-old mare Verry Elleegant (by Zed), winner of the 2021 Melbourne Cup, was moved by her owners from Chris Waller in Australia to be trained by Francis-Henri Graffard for a racing campaign in Europe. Winning the Yorkshire Cup marked a record-breaking 18th Group success for Bjorn Nielsen’s eight-year-old entire Stradivarius (by Sea The Stars). The unbeaten Baaeed (by Sea The Stars) returned to racecourse action, beginning his four-year-old season by winning the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury. The Arqana Breeze-Up Sale returned to Deauville, with Bahrain-based clients of agent Oliver St Lawrence buying the top two lots, colts by Zoffany and Siyouni, for €550,000 and €520,000 respectively. At Longchamp, the Godolphin homebred Modern Games (by Dubawi) won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains. On the same card, Mangoustine, owned by former San Antonio Spurs basketball player Tony Parker in partnership with Ecurie des Monceaux, Lordship Stud and Qatar Racing, secured a first Classic success for her sire Dark Angel with victory in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches. At Kempton Park, Salisbury Plain-based trainer Jimmy Fox saddled his first winner in nearly three years with a horse backed from 33/1 to 11/4. At the Tattersalls Ireland Breeze-Up Sale at Fairyhouse, the €500,000 barrier was broken for the first time as former National Hunt jockey Katie Walsh sold a filly by Saxon Warrior for €520,000 to a client of bloodstock agent Stephen Hillen. Early Voting (by Gun Runner), trained by Chad Brown, won the Preakness Stakes. At The Curragh, Moyglare Stud’s Homeless Songs (by Frankel) won the Irish 1,000 Guineas and Native Trail won the Irish 2,000 Guineas. Wiltshire-based trainer Martyn Meade announced that he would hold a joint licence with his son Freddie. Fellow trainer Mick Channon placed West Ilsley Stables on the market for sale, citing frustrations with planning permission regulations that restrict his plans to develop and modernise the property. RIP: Lester Piggott, famously described by his friend Sir Peter O’Sullevan as “an iconoclast who went on to become an icon”; Major Christopher Hanbury, owner of Triermore Stud; Larissa Kneip, Luxembourg-born thoroughbred breeder, trainer, consignor and owner of Haras de Saint Arnoult in France; Flatter (by A.P. Indy), who had stood as a stallion at Claiborne Farm for nearly two decades; Billesdon Brook (by Champs Elysees), former 1,000 Guineas winner; Rail Link (by Dansili), winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 2006; Jacqueline Quest (by Rock Of Gibraltar), disqualified winner of the 1,000 Guineas and later dam of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Line Of Duty.

At Epsom, Tuesday (by Galileo) gave Aidan O’Brien a record-breaking 41st British Classic victory in the Oaks, his tenth winner of the race. Desert Crown (by Nathaniel) won the Derby for owner Saeed Suhail and trainer Sir Michael Stoute under jockey Richard Kingscote. The Aga Khan’s homebred Vadeni (by Churchill) won the Prix du Jockey Club. Mo Donegal (by Uncle Mo) led home a 1-2 for owner Mike Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher in the Belmont Stakes. Top lot at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of Royal Ascot was the three-year-old colt Hoo Ya Mal (by Territoires), who had been runner-up in the Derby nine days beforehand and was sold for £1.2 million to clients of Australian trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, bidding through bloodstock agent Johnny McKeever. Group 1 winners at Royal Ascot included Baaeed in the Queen Anne Stakes, Nature Strip (by Nicconi), trained in Australia by Chris Waller to win the King’s Stand Stakes, and State Of Rest (by Starspangledbanner), whose success in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes was his fourth Gr. 1 in as many countries and and a first winner at the meeting as a trainer for former jockey Joseph O’Brien. Coroebus won the St James’s Palace Stakes, Kyprios (by Galileo) continued Moyglare Stud’s excellent season when giving Aidan O’Brien an eighth victory in the Gold Cup and Perfect Power (by Ardad) won the Commonwealth Cup. Inspiral made a belated but successful seasonal debut when winning the Coronation Stakes and Godolphin’s Naval Crown (by Dubawi) won the Platinum Jubilee Stakes. Trainers John and Thady Gosden and jockey Frankie Dettori announced a temporary split, but it turned out to be short-lived and little more than a storm in a teacup. Nashwa (by Frankel) won the Prix de Diane for the Gosdens under jockey Hollie Doyle. Westover (by Frankel), previously third in the Derby at Epsom, won the Irish Derby for trainer Ralph Beckett and owner Juddmonte Farms. La Petite Coco (by Ruler Of The World) gave Paddy Twomey his first Group 1 winner as a trainer when victorious in the Pretty Polly Stakes at The Curragh. RIP: Alec Head, breeder and trainer of equine and human champions and one of the true greats of French racing; Matthieu Vincent, France-Galop’s director of racecourses and training centres, Peter Goulandris, breeder of Pas de Deux, Terimon and Infamy at Hesmonds Stud; Rio De La Plata (by Rahy), three-time Group 1 winner and sire.

Vadeni won the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park. Alpinista (by Frankel), homebred by Kirsten Rausing of Lanwades Stud and trained by Sir Mark Prescott, won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Jockey Robert Hornby won both of the Group 1 races at Newmarket’s July Meeting when successful on Prosperous Voyage (by Zoffany) in the Falmouth Stakes and Alcohol Free (by No Nay Never) in the July Cup. The British Horseracing Authority announced an overhaul of the rules relating to jockeys’ use of the whip. Tenebrism won the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville and Onesto (by Frankel) became his sire’s 25th Gr. 1 winner when successful in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. Prince Faisal’s racing manager Ted Voute announced that David Egan would no longer be the owner’s retained jockey. No runners were declared for a race at Newbury, in a move that has never been officially explained but can only be described as a boycott organised by trainers in protest at prizemoney levels. In further management changes, The National Stud in Newmarket announced the promotion of Anna Kerr to chief executive officer. Magical Lagoon (by Galileo), owned by Yueshang Zhang, won the Irish Oaks and Pyledriver (by Harbour Watch) won the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. The stallion Golden Horn (by Cape Cross) was moved from Godolphin’s Dalham Hall Stud to stand on a dual-purpose basis at Overbury Stud in Gloucestershire. Tattersalls announced a partnership with South Africa’s Cape Thoroughbred Sales, centred on the Premier Yearling Sale in Cape Town in January. At what we all know as Glorious Goodwood, but is now called the Qatar Goodwood Festival, Baaeed’s run of success continued in the Sussex Stakes, Nashwa won the Nassau Stakes and the riders in the ladies’ charity race, the Magnolia Cup, ‘took the knee’ in support of social activism group Black Lives Matter. RIP: George McGrath, twice champion jockey of Ireland who rode Sadler’s Wells to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas; Kitten’s Joy (by El Prado), the most influential turf sire of his generation in America; Swain (by Nashwan), twice winner of the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and beaten only by bad luck in both the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Dubai World Cup.

Jockey Silvestre de Sousa announced that he would be moving to Hong Kong, to ride there on a full-time basis. Fellow jockey Megan Nicholls announced that she had given up race-riding to concentrate on media work instead. Lambourn trainers Harry Dunlop and Joe Tuite both announced plans to end their training careers, citing economic pressures. Meanwhile Ollie Sangster, son of Ben and grandson of the late Robert, said that he intended to train from his family’s Manton House estate, and Ben Brookhouse, son of owner-breeder Roger, announced that he would be applying for a training licence, too. Trainer James Ferguson announced a move to Kremlin Cottage Stables in Newmarket, the former base of Hugo Palmer. Derby winner Harzand (by Sea The Stars) was transferred from the Aga Khans Studs to stand as a National Hunt stallion at Kilbarry Lodge Stud. Little Big Bear (by No Nay Never) won the Phoenix Stakes at The Curragh, giving his trainer Aidan O’Brien a 17th success in the race. Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick won both the Saratoga Derby (with Nations Pride, by Teofilo) and the Saratoga Oaks (with With The Moonlight, by Frankel). Inspiral won the Prix Jacques le Marois, Baaeed won the International Stakes and Alpinista secured her fifth consecutive Group 1 when successful in the Yorkshire Oaks. In the space of 12 days, the five-year-old mare Highfield Princess (by Night of Thunder) won both the Prix Maurice de Gheest and the Nunthorpe Stakes. The top lot at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in Deauville was a colt by Siyouni, purchased by clients of Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi for €2.1 million. Blackbeard (by No Nay Never) followed in his father’s footsteps when winning the Prix Morny and Aristia (by Starpangledbanner) won the Prix Jean Romanet for owner Elisabeth (‘Bunny’) Roberts. Mark Johnston trained his 5,000th winner. A filly by Night Of Thunder topped the Goffs Premier Yearling Sale at Doncaster when sold by Tally-Ho Stud to Blandford Bloodstock for £240,000. RIP: Dr Catherine Wills, art historian, philanthropist and thoroughbred owner and breeder; Baroness Manton, widow of former senior steward Lord Manton, twin sister of Evie Stockwell, and owner with Hugo Palmer and Richard Fahey; Jim Wilson, leading amateur jockey of his generation and winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Little Owl.

Plans to build a park commemorating Secretariat in Paris, Kentucky, with a statue of the Triple Crown winner, were announced by Claiborne Farm and local businesses and residents. In the same week, Flightline (by Tapit) produced a performance with echoes of ‘Big Red’ himself when winning the Pacific Classic at Del Mar by more than 19 lengths. American bloodstock agent Jason Litt bought the top lot, a €450,000 son of Kingman consigned by Gestüt Fährhof, at the BBAG Premier Yearling Sale in Germany. Dreamloper (by Lope De Vega) recorded her second Gr. 1 success of the season when winning the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp but the race was marred by the fatal injuries suffered by Godolphin’s 2,000 Guineas winner Coroebus. Martyn Meade announced that the stallions Advertise (by Showcasing) and Aclaim (by Acclamation) would move from The National Stud to his new Manton Park Stud near Marlborough. Luxembourg (by Camelot) beat Onesto and Vadeni to win the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, while the five-year-old mare Pearls Galore (by Invincible Spirit), homebred by her owner Andreas Putsch of Haras de Saint Pair, secured her first Gr. 1 victory when winning the Matron Stakes on the same card. The Bahraini-owned Eldar Eldarov (by Dubawi) won the St Leger for trainer Roger Varian. On the same day, Kyprios won the Irish St Leger, the Aga Khan’s Tahiyra (by Siyouni; a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Tarnawa) won the Moyglare Stud Stakes and Al Riffa (by Wootton Bassett) won the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes for trainer Joseph O’Brien. Keeneland’s September Sale was the highest-grossing auction in the company’s history, with 3,000 yearlings selling for more than $400 million, and 30 of them making $1 million or more. Mandaloun was retired from racing, to stand at his owner Juddmonte Farms’ American base just outside Lexington. Eric Alston and Freddy Head both announced their retirement from training racehorses. Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick won both the feature Gr. 1 events on the same card at Woodbine, with the successes of Modern Games (by Dubawi) in the Woodbine Mile and Mysterious Knight (by Dark Angel) in the Summer Stakes. Newmarket trainer Roger Varian saddled seven winners in one day, at cumulative odds of 35,000/1. Blackbeard won the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket, while on the same card Lezoo (by Zoustar) gave her sire a first European Gr. 1 winner from his first Northern Hemisphere crop when successful in the Cheveley Park Stakes. The filly also became the first top-level winner bred by Andrew Black’s Chasemore Farm. Stradivarius was retired from racing, to stand at The National Stud in Newmarket, while Nurlan Bizakov’s Sumbe operation, which owns three studs in France and the UK, announced that Mishriff will stand as a stallion at its Haras de Montfort et Préaux from next year. The Orby Sale at Goffs was topped by a €2.6 million No Nay Never full-sister to this year’s leading juvenile Blackbeard, sold by ‘Flash’ Conroy to a client of British bloodstock agent Richard Knight. Trainer Francis Henri-Graffard expressed his exasperation as international challenger Verry Elleegant was effectively denied the opportunity to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe by red tape and bureaucratic regulations. Christophe Soumillion was banned for 60 days after effectively elbowing fellow jockey Rossa Ryan out of the saddle during a race at Saint-Cloud. A few days later, the Aga Khan Studs ended their retainer with Soumillon. RIP: Her Majesty The Queen, the world’s most famous racehorse owner and breeder; James Delahooke, bloodstock agent and the architect of Juddmonte Farms’ success; Evie Stockwell, successful owner and breeder and John Magnier’s mother; Henry Ponsonby, pioneer of racehorse syndication in the UK; Broken Vow (by Unbridled), perennially a leading sire in America and the bedrock of Pin Oak Stud; National Defense (by Invincible Spirit), formerly an Irish National Stud stallion, at Widden Stud in Australia.

The five-year-old mare Alpinista won Europe’s most prestigious race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Other successes on the same card at ParisLongchamp included those of the Sumbe homebred Belbek (by Showcasing) in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère and Blue Rose Cen (by Churchill), who became her trainer Christopher Head’s first Gr. 1 winner with victory in the Prix Marcel Boussac. Racing prospects for the Middle East took centre stage at the Arqana Arc Sale, which was topped by the three-year-old colt Schwarzer Peter (by Neatico), sold by trainer Markus Klug for export to Saudi Arabia for €1 million. At Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, various market factors combined to propel the demand for horses to extraordinary heights: 16 yearlings sold for seven-figure amounts, prime among them a colt by Frankel sold by Watership Down Stud to Godolphin for 2.8 million guineas. Trade at Book 2 was topped by a colt by Sea The Stars, sold by Fiona Marner’s Windmill Farm (home to just five mares) to clients of Stroud Coleman Bloodstock for 800,000 guineas. Last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso, also third home in this year’s renewal of the race, was retired from racing to stand as a stallion at Gestüt Auenquelle in Germany. Chaldean (by Frankel), owned by Juddmonte Farms but bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, won the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. Jack Channon announced that he would be taking over his father’s training licence at West Ilsley Stables. Carvaggio (by Scat Daddy) was moved from Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky to continue his stallion career in Japan. Last year’s Champion Stakes winner Sealiway (by Galiway) was retired to stand at his owner’s Haras de Beaumont, a new stud farm near Deauville founded on land purchased from the Head family’s Haras du Quesnay. At Ascot’s Champions Day fixture, the stallion New Bay sired the winners of the two feature events, with Bayside Boy’s success in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes followed by that of Bay Bridge in the Champion Stakes. On the same card, Emily Upjohn (by Sea The Stars) won the Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes, Kinross (by Kingman) won the Champions Sprint and William Buick and Charlie Appleby were crowned champion jockey and trainer respectively. Three-time Group 1 winner Perfect Power was retired from racing, to stand at Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket, while the stallion Galileo Gold (by Paco Boy) moved from Tally-Ho Stud in Ireland to the Haras de Bouquetot in France. King Of Change (by Farhh), who previously stood at Derrinstown Stud, was acquired by Starfield Stud in Co Westmeath in Ireland. On the racecourse, Auguste Rodin (by Deep Impact), a Coolmore homebred, cemented his Classic claims for 2023 when giving his trainer Aidan O’Brien a record 11th success in the Futurity Stakes at Doncaster. On the same day, Proud And Regal (by Galileo), trained by O’Brien’s son Donnacha, won the Criterium International at Saint-Cloud. Dubai Mile (by Roaring Lion) became his late sire’s first Gr. 1 winner when successful in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud. France’s champion female jockey Marie Velon secured her first Classic success when riding Iresine (by Manduro) to victory in the Prix Royal-Oak. Ballydoyle’s two-year-old Blackbeard was retired to stand at Coolmore Stud after suffering an injury that ended his racing career. The Sprint Cup and Gimcrack Stakes winner Minzaal (by Mehmas) was retired from racing, to stand at his owner Shadwell Stud’s Derrinstown Stud in Ireland. The stallions Ruler Of The World (by Galileo) and Morpheus (by Oasis Dream) were both moved from France to stand at stud near Siena in Italy. The Haras de Beaumont announced that it will stand the stallion Intello (by Galileo), who had previously stood at both Cheveley Park Stud and the Haras du Quesnay, in 2023. On the same day, Arqana announced that it would stage a dispersal of the Haras du Quensay’s bloodstock at its breeding stock sale in December. Jim Bolger’s stable jockey and son-in-law, Kevin Manning, retired from the saddle at the age of 55. RIP: Liam Ward, who won the Irish Derby on Nijinsky; Rock Of Gibraltar (by Danehill), seven-time Group 1 winner and long-serving Coolmore stallion.

In the aftermath of his victory at Ascot on Champions Day, Bayside Boy was retired to stand as a stallion at his birthplace, Ballylinch Stud. Europe’s principal racing and bloodstock entities, Coolmore and Godolphin, enjoyed three winners each at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland: trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore won the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf with Meditate (by No Nay Never), the Juvenile Turf with Victoria Road (by Saxon Warrior) and the Filly & Mare Turf with Oaks winner Tuesday. Godolphin’s trainer Charlie Appleby teamed up with jockey William Buick for success in the Juvenile Turf Sprint with Mischief Magic (by Exceed And Excel) and the Mile with Modern Games, while Rebel’s Romance (by Dubawi) won the Turf for Appleby under jockey James Doyle. Flightline ensured ‘World’s Best Racehorse’ honours with an easy success in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, after which he was retired to stand at Lane’s End. M V Magnier secured the top lot at Fasig-Tipton’s ‘Night of the Stars’, buying Gamine (by Into Mischief), in foal to Quality Road, for $7 million. The sixth annual edition of Bloodstock Notebook was published at the December Sales at Tattersalls.