New York Times: Do you still beat your wife, or not?

You are damned if you answer yes or no to the headline above. The New York Times has a front-page article today (“Many Derby owners silent on drug issue”) that puts the owners of Derby contenders in an uncomfortable position. Click here  to read it.

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Trainer Kelly Ackerman had faith in Join in the Dance

I’ve known Illinois-based Kelly Ackerman since he started training in 1990, and here’s a telling fact about his style: He’s never had a first-out 2-year-old winner despite a gaudy 23 percent or so win clip. So last spring when he told me he had two good 2-year-olds in the barn, I paid attention. One of [...]

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Japan’s Chichicastenango (Fr) is eMatings sire of week

The gray stallion with the obscure pedigree who rose from the bottom ranks in France to sire a French Derby (G1 Prix du Jockey Club) winner last year had the only G1 winner of the week in the Northern Hemisphere — Vision d’Etat in the Prix Ganay Grand Prix Air Mauritius at Longchamp on Sunday. Click here [...]

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Anonymous letter takes big swipes at Stacy and Ray

There’s an unsigned letter presumably making the rounds in Kentucky — and elsewhere — that’s addressed to “Bloodhorse Trustees & Industry Leaders” and makes for interesting reading because it takes some accurate shots at the principals (and principles)  involved. Stacy Bearse, the publisher of The Blood-Horse, is the primary target, and Ray Paulick, former editor [...]

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Jack Werk on Green Desert and Invincible Spirit

Just as  Montjeu and Galileo, two sons of Sadler’s Wells, are the titans of classic racing in Europe — and elsewhere that turf and 2400-meter racing are preeminent — Green Desert, a son of Danzig, and his sons Cape Cross, Invincible Spirit, Desert Style, Desert Prince, and Oasis Dream rule the opposite end of the spectrum in Europe: [...]

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Montjeu (Ire) is again the eMatings stallion of the week

Montjeu (Ire) is again the stallion of the week, for the week ended Sunday April 19. On April 19, Montjeu’s 3-year-old son Fame and Glory (GB) made a winning season debut in the G3 P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes over 10 furlongs at Leopardstown to remain undefeated in three starts and to stay on target [...]

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Overdose makes the front page of The New York Times!

Click here to read the front-page story of Overdose from the April 20 edition of The New York Times.

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Unrivaled, by Neo Universe, wins Japanese colt classic

  Sons of the late Sunday Silence have taken over where their sire left off in Japan. The latest to strike is 9-year-old Neo Universe, the sire of Sunday’s Satsuki Sho (Japan Group 1 2000 Guineas equivalent) winner Unrivaled. Click here to see a video and chart of the 2000-meter race from Nakayama in Japanese [...]

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Overdose and Soumillon win by 8 at Kincsem Park Sunday

Making his last start in Budapest before embarking on an ambitious assault of the world’s best sprint races, local-star Overdose and new partner Christophe Soumillon  dazzled a home crowd of 20,000 at Kincsem Park Sunday. The colt won his season debut in a 1000-meter Hungarian Group 1 race by eight lengths from seven outclassed opponents with the [...]

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Overdose makes season debut at Kincsem Park Sunday

Celebrated Hungarian-based sprinter Overdose (pictured above in this post and in the blog header), undefeated in 11 starts in Europe, makes his much anticipated season debut Sunday at Kincsem Park in Budapest, Hungary. Leading European rider Christophe Soumillon will fly in to to ride Overdose in the 1000-meter Hungarian Group 1 race. There are questions surrounding the [...]

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Double Eagle wins Governor’s Cup again in Nuwara Eliya

Monaro India Stable’s Double Eagle received an inspired ride from jockey Ashok Kumar to win the 123rd Governor’s Cup, Sri Lanka’s most prestigious horse, for the second consecutive year at the Nuwara Eliya Race Course on Monday. Click here to read the story by M. Shamil Amit in the Daily Mirror.             [...]

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Half-sister to Grade 1 winner wins and does not get claimed!

How’s this for the state of the breeding industry: A half-sister to a Grade 1 winner runs for a $12,500 tag and DOES NOT get claimed! She did, however, win the race at 6.50-1! Here’s the chart: 5th Race – Golden Gate Fields – Thursday, April 16th, 2009 Conditions: 5 1/2F Dirt. FOR FILLIES AND [...]

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Understanding the derivative markets that caused the crash!

Got this email (no doubt circulating): Understanding the banking and derivative markets (and some parts of the horse business) “See if this makes more sense. Josh Coles, a nutjob, is the proprietor of a bar in Lexington. In order to increase sales, he decides to allow his loyal customers — most of whom are unemployed alcoholics — [...]

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Major Nargolkar on Belong to Me stakes winner’s dam

Re the post below on the Indian Belong to Me stakes winner Astral Flash (Ind), Major S. Nargolkar (retd.), former keeper of the Indian Stud Book, wrote in: “Nice to see Astral Flash get a mention on the blog. At the 2005 Keeneland Sale, Ms. Ameeta Mehra picked up four in-foal mares. She selected two [...]

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Stakes winners off the beaten path, with US connections

My blogger friend from Japan, Futeki-san, and I are interested in global racing, and we especially try to report about places that don’t get mainstream coverage. With Futeki-san’s help from his excellent website, I’m listing below exploits of horses with connections to North and South America. Astral Flash (Ind) (Belong to Me): Won Indian Group 3 [...]

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