Frank Mitchell

Fans of the sport and others involved in racing have to listen to a lot of foolishness from those with a dim view of the breed. Many of us can hear the darling, nasal whine of the PETA-phile: “Thoroughbreds are too fragile; they’re born to break down.” Phooey. Clearly, some horses are hustled off fo…

The weekend proved a time of positive results for second-crop sire Classic Empire (by Pioneerof the Nile). In addition to having Classy Edition finish second in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes at Gulfstream, the stallion’s son Morello went a step better and won the G3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct by 4 ½…

The story of the 2022 Dubai World Cup was the string of successes earned by the racehorses and highly adventurous owners from Japan. They won five races on the card and placed in several others, including a third in the Grade 1 Dubai World Cup itself.

September is upon us — the slow slide into autumn where every sunny day is a bonus. The cold weather is getting closer and with it the real fear of a unique winter during which many people won’t be able to afford the cost of heating their homes.

From one of finest families in the stud book, Alpinista (by Frankel) has added more luster to the line on Oct. 1 with her victory in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. That victory was her eighth in succession, with the last six being all G1s.

Gina Romantica, winner of the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, is the fourth graded stakes winner from her dam, the Unbridled’s Song mare Special Me. The daughter of Into Mischief (by Harlan’s Holiday) is the second Grade 1 winner from the mare. All of them were bred by Machmer Hall, Carrie Brogden, and Craig Brogden.

I should be ashamed to say it but I’m thoroughly enjoying the World Cup. I realised I was hooked when I decided to watch Argentina against Saudi Arabia.

On Nov. 26, Bolt d’Oro’s son Instant Coffee became the stallion’s fifth stakes victor with a 1 1/4-length success in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. Instant Coffee is his sire’s third graded winner, and the sire has nine racers who are stakes-placed.

The historical record on different lines of descent in the Thoroughbred shows that the winnowing out of male lines has gone on from the beginnings of the breed.

The great proliferation of gray coloring in the Thoroughbred came through The Tetrarch, bred in Ireland by Edward Kennedy, who reportedly purchased Roi Herode because of a fascination with the Byerley Turk line through Herod.