Essential Quality was the favorite for a reason. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) In the shadow of a scandal surrounding one of the biggest names in horse racing, Essential Quality took home the win at the 2021 Belmont Stakes on Saturday. The heavy favorite pulled away late in the race, holding off Hot Rod Charlie …
Stradivarius receives “quite a lot of fan mail” his trainer John Gosden told AFP which is sure to become a flood if he equals Yeats’s record of four Ascot Gold Cup’s (2006-09) on Thursday. The Gold Cup is the flagship race of the five day Royal Ascot meeting, which will welcome 12,000 spectators per day …
Stradivarius and Dettori are the Golden Boys: Gosden Read More »
Legendary flat race jockey Lester Piggott who rode a record nine Epsom Derby winners has died aged 86 his son-in-law said on Sunday. Piggott was admitted to hospital in Switzerland last weekend. “Sadly we can confirm that Lester died peacefully in Switzerland this morning,” said his son-in-law Williams Haggas. “I really don’t wish to add …
Record-breaking Derby winning jockey Lester Piggott dies Read More »
Lester Piggott who died on Sunday aged 86 is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever jockeys and certainly the greatest to be a guest at Her Majesty’s Pleasure. Known as the ‘Long Fellow’ for his height he would keep his weight down by relying on a daily diet of chocolate, champagne and a …
The ‘Long Fellow’ who felt the long arm of the law Read More »
Cricket-loving Michael Stoute, who could train his sixth Epsom Derby winner with Desert Crown on Saturday, is a “Test match rather than a T20 player” in that he likes to be patient with his horses, his close friend Michael Holding told AFP. At 76 years of age Stoute is not about to alter a formula …
Derby maestro Stoute’s talent has stood the test of time: Holding Read More »
Queen Elizabeth II, Lester Piggott and Michael Stoute are indelibly linked to the Epsom Derby and appropriately all three will be foremost on everyone’s minds in Saturday’s renewal which is part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The Queen decided to not attend on Friday the ‘blue riband’ that is named in honour of Piggott, who …
Stoute bids for another crowning moment in ‘Piggott’s’ Derby Read More »
“He is no longer a spring chicken but he has not lost his talent,” Michael Holding told AFP regarding Michael Stoute, the trainer who proved his close friend right on Saturday by winning his sixth Epsom Derby. Whilst Stoute raised his top hat to salute Desert Crown crossing the winning line, three cheers rang out …
The Derby crown fits Stoute, the doyen of the ‘Sport of Kings’ Read More »
Frankie Dettori said he could “chillax” after he bounced back from a “tough week” to get off the mark and win the feature Coronation Stakes on the third day of Royal Ascot with the impressive unbeaten filly Inspiral. The 51-year-old Italian superstar lapped up the adulation and a warm welcome back in the winners enclosure from …
Time to ‘chillax’ as Dettori shows his character to bounce back in Coronation Read More »
The packed stands at Epsom and Royal Ascot are just the images a sport wants beamed worldwide but away from the prestigious meetings racing faces a challenging time in attracting new spectators. Worryingly for the ‘Sport of Kings’ the crown seemed to have lost a bit of its lustre with disappointing crowds for both the …
British racing battles to get new spectators to saddle up Read More »
Three-time British champion jockey Oisin Murphy, who is currently banned from riding, told the BBC he was blacking out from drinking so much last year he considered quitting horse racing. The 26-year-old is barred from riding until next February having received a 14-month suspension in February — backdated to December 8 — after admitting breaching …
Champion jockey Murphy thought about quitting due to blackouts Read More »
