Northern Dancer - small in stature but a giant among thoroughbreds
Few horses were ever as animated and filled with a zest for life as the great racehorse and sire, Northern Dancer. Frank Mitchell looks at why this unfashionably bred thoroughbred went from being an unwanted yearling to one of the influential thoroughbreds of all time.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 46
Best in show - is the popularity of youngstock shows growing across Europe?
France have led the way in promoting one of their most successful breeds, the AQPS. With the National Hunt market becoming ever more competitive and commercial, isn't it time other countries also tried something new?
David Crosse - View from the saddle
For some across Europe it may be hard to believe, but we’re still in the midst of the Triple Crown season in England. Deep down I’d love to be two stone lighter for the summer so I could ride in some of these races. But I’m watching from the sidelines and getting drawn in by the marketing that is taking over our major flat races.
For some across Europe it may be hard to believe, but we’re still in the midst of the Triple Crown season in England. Deep down I’d love to be two stone lighter for the summer so I could ride in some of these races. But I’m watching from the sidelines and getting drawn in by the marketing that is taking over our major flat races. Every race seems to be part of a series nowadays but I don’t get it. The one thing I do get is our Triple Crown. It’s the greatest and toughest test exclusively for three-year-olds in European racing. The Guineas at one mile, the Derby at a mile and a half, and the St Leger at a mile and six furlongs – the last horse to win this triumvirate since World War II was Nijinsky in 1971, ridden by the great Lester Piggott and trained by Dr Vincent O’Brien.
Of the three races, the Epsom Derby is probably the ultimate test of the Classic generation due to the unique track. I've been lucky enough to ride over the course in a jump jockeys’ flat race a couple of times and it's only when you walk and ride the course that you appreciate what it takes for a horse to win it. To me, it’s definitely the ultimate test of a racehorse.
I'm not saying the Triple Crown is the be all and end all but in the same breath it cannot be made irrelevant. Racing must do all in its power to keep it as important as it is. For example, Sea the Stars could have won the Triple Crown in his Classic year but his trainer John Oxx decided not to run in the final leg as it was considered too long. Maybe it was felt that the lack of speed connected with winning a St Leger would affect the horse’s reputation as a sire?
Has the St Leger become an afterthought because it’s run in September? Over in America their Triple Crown is billed as the ultimate test of a racehorse. It is made up of three races over five weeks run in the same time span as between the 2000 Guineas and the Epsom Derby - the Kentucky Derby, run over a mile and a quarter, the Preakness Stakes, run over the shorter distance of a mile and a three-sixteenths, and the last leg, the Belmont Stakes, run over a mile and a half. There has been no Triple Crown winner since 1978. This year California Chrome won the first two legs of their Triple Crown. Before the Belmont, the horse was a national news story almost daily leading up to the race.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 46
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Author: David Crosse
Greek racing - on the up?
The first racecourse located in Athens was established by William Reese, an Englishman coming from Smyrna, Turkey, following the Asia Minor catastrophe. This was a time when Greek expatriates, forced into displacement, moved to Greece – specifically, to a large extent, to Athens.
Starting stalls - Under starters orders
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 42
Australian racing - Mitchell Lamb introduces us to the tough Australian racehorse
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Heat - how racehorses handle summer temperatures
Although it can be safe to run in the heat, high temperatures combined with high humidity can have profound effects on a thoroughbred’s performance and health.
How would you like to win a $1 - million Grade 1 stakes race and not have a win photo to hang on the wall? The intense heat and humidity the day Big Red Mike won the 151st Queen's Plate at Woodbine Racetrack is why there is no "official win photo" taken by photographer Michael Burns. Trainer Nick Gonzalez, winner of more than 1,000 races, still recalls that day in 2010.
"It was 100 degrees in the shade. We had the Queen and a big crowd. Mike is a very excitable horses, so it was stressful even before the race began" says Gonzalez, who trains primarily out of Woodbine and Fort Eire with his assistant, wife Martha.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 38
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Author: Stacey Oke
How do the Australians do it?
Frankel apart, all the talk has been of Black Caviar, the Australian super filly who has swept all before her, winning 21 successive races prior to her Royal Ascot engagement. The five-year-old hopes to join the impressive band of Australian horses that have made waves on the European stage.
Elite athletes - equine or human - need to be structurally sound with the power to perform. Feed them well, keep them fit and ready and will get them on to the track to do what they were born to do - win races. It's the method that saw the legendary Australian trainer Tommy Smith win 34 Sydney training titles and a world record 279 Group One races - "bone and muscle" was coined to describe how Smith's runners would invariably seem to be rock hard fit, in superb condition and always hard to get past in a tight finish.
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THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN - EUROPEAN TRAINER - ISSUE 38
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Author: Mitchell Lamb
