Sunday 9th August, 2026 ‘Exciting’ Sun Goddess looks the part in Phoenix Stakes

By John O’Riordan, Press Association

Sun Goddess came from last to first to provide Aidan O’Brien with his 18th win in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.

Johannesburg (2001), George Washington (2005), Holy Roman Emperor (2006) and Caravaggio (2016) are just a few of the big names to have won this Group One prize over the years and Sun Goddess was the 5-4 favourite to add to that tally under Ryan Moore.

The daughter of Sioux Nation – who also won this race for the same connections in 2017 – had won each of her two previous starts over the course and distance, including a Group Two on her latest outing, with a runner-up finish behind George Boughey’s Libertango in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot sandwiched in between.

With stablemate Carry The Flag setting a furious early pace, Moore was content to bide his time aboard Sun Goddess, but she came through stylishly on the far side of the track racing inside the final two furlongs and was well on top as she passed the post a length and a quarter clear of Folsom Blues.

O’Brien said: “She’s a beautiful filly. She ran well at Naas the first day then came back here to win her maiden and then she went to Ascot probably a little under par with the benefit of hindsight.

“Then she came back here a week after and won even though she was in Ascot the week before. She’s obviously very special and everything went really well since Ascot.”

He added: “She has a lot of gears and a very high cruising pace. Ryan said they went fast and he just said when he started to ask her she motored clear. He said she’ll have no problem getting seven furlongs. She’s very exciting.”

Sunday 9th August, 2026 ‘It’s a great day’ – Prescott thrilled with deserved Group One for Tiffany

By Ashley Iveson, Press Association

A trip to the Breeders’ Cup and a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe will be considered for Tiffany after Sir Mark Prescott’s perennial bridesmaid broke her Group One duck in a thrilling renewal of the Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten.

Owned and bred by Elite Racing, the six-year-old had filled the runner-up spot three times in top-level races in Germany between November 2024 and November 2025 and has continued in the same vein this season, finishing second on her reappearance in a French Listed race and again in the rehomed Lancashire Oaks at Newmarket.

But Tiffany finally hit the jackpot under a power-packed ride from Luke Morris, narrowly denying the late thrust of the home-trained Bright Light, with Saeed bin Suroor’s pair of Dubai Future and the long-absent Tornado Alert close up in third and fourth respectively.

Prescott did not make the trip to Germany, but told the Press Association from his Newmarket base: “When people say they’re thrilled for the horse they often don’t mean it, but I do, because when you’ve been three times runner-up in a Group One you deserve it don’t you?

“Luck was on her side today. She got the most beautiful ride and they all came off the rail, which is unusual there. She got a wonderful run through, so she had a bit of luck and a good jockey.

“She was round the inside all the way and I thought we’d need a can opener to get out of that, but most surprisingly the gap came and she got out and it was great.

“Elite Racing are good breeders. They bred Marsha (dual Group One-winning sprinter) and sent her to me and from a very small group of mares they do very well. It’s a great day.”

Connections look set to get even more ambitious later in the year, with a couple of Flat racing’s flagship events now on the table.

“I think the racing manager (Dan Downie) said ‘you can do what you like now’,” Prescott added.

“She’s won her Group One and whether you get brave and go to America for the Breeders’ Cup or you go brave and run in the Arc, I don’t know, but you’ll do something quite brave because she’s done all the rest.

“She’s got lines and lines of black type and now she’s got her Group One, so I think they’ll be quite brave and give her one or two more runs and then probably go to the December sales.”

Sunday 9th August, 2026 Samangan stars in Prix Maurice de Gheest

By Press Association Sport Reporters

Samangan gave Francis-Henri Graffard another Group One success with victory in the ARC Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville.

Always close to the pace-setting Afandy over the intermediate six-and-a-half-furlong trip, the Aga Khan Studs-owned Samangan battled through the final quarter-mile to master Stolen Kiss and just found the post coming in time to foil the William Haggas-trained Division, who flashed home under James Doyle.

The winner had been fourth in the Prix Jean Prat last time out in which True Love was second, but comprehensively reversed form with the Ballydoyle Classic heroine on this occasion.

Nemone Routh, racing manager for the owners in France, told Sky Sports Racing: “He’s a lovely horse, he’s very genuine. He was always going to follow Afandy and then he was really brave.

“He could (go to Ascot on Champions Day), but I think he’s better on good, firm ground, that’s another thing we’ve found this year. I think if it got too soft he wouldn’t go there. He’s a relaxed horse and he can get seven (furlongs). It all depends on the ground.”

Distant Storm boosted star three-year-old milers Bow Echo and Gstaad as he made a winning reappearance in the Prix Daphnis.

Third to Bow Echo in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket before finding only Gstaad too good in the Irish equivalent, Charlie Appleby’s colt had been off since that run at the Curragh.

Returning to the track in Group Three company, Billy Loughnane’s mount was a little tight for room before getting out to give chase to well-backed Italian raider Grand Son Of Dark.

The Godolphin runner had a fair bit to do but always gave the impression he would get there and he duly did, to set up a return to bigger and better things.

Loughnane said: “I ended up a little further back than ideal, but the pace was even which was ideal and when I popped him out the top of the straight he had a target to run at.

“He’s a horse that doesn’t do too much when he’s there, so having a horse to aim at was good and he won cosily in the end. He’s horse that has a nice turn of foot, he takes a bit of time to pick up but when he does he’s electric through the line.

“I was pretty confident I had everything covered.”

Sunday 9th August, 2026 Big Mojo bounces back to winning ways at the Curragh

By John O’Riordan, Press Association

Big Mojo made the most of having his sights lowered with victory in the FBD Hotels And Resorts Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh.

Mick Appleby’s star showed his worth at the highest level last season, winning the Sprint Cup at Haydock as well as finishing a neck second to No Half Measures in the July Cup at Newmarket.

The four-year-old has struggled so far this year, finishing down the field at York, Royal Ascot and on his second attempt at July Cup glory last month, but he had less on his plate in Ireland and stamped his class with a one-and-a-quarter-length verdict over Bucanero Fuerte under Tom Marquand.

A return to Haydock looks to be on the agenda, as does the Breeders’ Cup, and Appleby, saddling his first winner on Irish soil, said of the 5-4 favourite: “He’s done it well. We brought him here just to give him a bit more confidence really. I think he was just lacking a bit in confidence with the big races he’s run in.

“Now that he’s got his head back in front hopefully he’ll go and do it again. He’s as good as ever. He’s just got a bit more laid-back, like me! It’s hard to win these races.

“There are a lot of good sprinters about. He’s done it well enough. He only did what he wanted to do. There’s a lot more there.”

Michael O’Callaghan is confident Push The Boat Out can make his mark at a higher level following his successful debut in the Follow Us On Instagram @ GuidenstownStud Irish EBF Maiden.

Although not that well fancied in the market at 16-1, the Kodi Bear colt quickened smartly to record a comfortable victory under Colin Keane and it came as no surprise to his trainer.

O’Callaghan said: “He’s a horse we’ve held in high regard from the moment we got him, but saying that I did have him slightly undercooked because he’s very natural at home.

“He jumped and travelled with a lot of natural pace and quickened up well. Colin was quite taken by him and said he should have no problem stepping up into stakes company.

“I don’t think he’ll have any problem going another furlong and I think he could be a high-class stakes horse. We’ll see how he is in the morning and see what there is between now and the National Stakes and go from there.”

Aidan O’Brien’s Ibelieveicanfly (13-8 favourite) opened her account at the fourth attempt in the Grand Hotel Malahide Irish EBF Fillies Juvenile Race.

Fourth, second and fourth in her first three races, the daughter of Frankel was fitted with a hood for her latest assignment and came good in some style, rewarding her supporters with a dominant five-length win in the hands of Ryan Moore.

“The better the race, the better she is going to be – she has such a high cruising pace,” said O’Brien.

“In an ordinary run maiden she is just in a gear too high. She has a lot of class. There was plenty of pace on and Ryan was very happy with her.”

O’Brien and Moore doubled up in the Guidenstown Stud Irish European Breeders Fund Maiden with 8-15 favourite Shakespeare.

The son of Dubawi had shown a good level of ability with placed efforts on his first two starts and duly made it third time lucky without too much fuss.

O’Brien added: “He’s a lovely big horse who does everything right. He’s a little bit of a baby. That’s why it took two runs for him to get to where he is.

“He’s still not there. He has a lot of ability and is in the ‘could be anything’ category really.

“Size, power, quality, speed, stamina – he has everything. Hopefully he’s going to be something to look forward to.”

Sunday 9th August, 2026 Setback from Goodwood forces Gstaad to miss Marois

By John O’Riordan, Press Association

Gstaad will miss a potential fourth clash with Bow Echo in the Prix Jacques le Marois at the weekend after picking up an infection following his narrow defeat in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

Aidan O’Brien’s Irish 2,000 Guineas winner has come off second best against Bow Echo three times this season, filling the runner-up spot in the 2000 Guineas, the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and in a Sussex Stakes for the ages a week and a half ago.

O’Brien insisted he would not shirk another clash with George Boughey’s superstar later this summer – but while the latter has the option of heading to Deauville, Gstaad is set to wait for the Prix du Moulin at ParisLongchamp on September 6 after suffering a minor setback.

When asked whether the Marois was a possibility at the Curragh on Sunday, O’Brien said: “I don’t think so. He got galloped into in Goodwood and he got a little bit of an infection in his hind part from it.

“We put him on antibiotics and with the antibiotics we put him on usually we’d be able to run him in seven days, but they had to give him an extra strong antibiotic because the cut was deep so it took 14 days, it wouldn’t be out of his system in time.

“It will probably be the Moulin now before he runs. That’s probably where he’ll go.”

Sunday 9th August, 2026 Libertango showing all the right moves ahead of Lowther

By Josh Luckhurst, Press Association

Connections cannot wait for Libertango’s return to action in the Lowther Stakes at York after becoming the “very best version” of herself during a recent piece of work.

The No Nay Never juvenile has made a fine start to her career, easing to victory on debut at Leicester before seeing off Aidan O’Brien’s odds-on favourite Sun Goddess by a length in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot.

She narrowly suffered her first defeat in the Duchess of Cambridge at Newmarket to Ed and Simon Crisford’s Senorita Bonita, but Rob Speers, racing manager to owner Ibrahim Araci, is adamant Libertango will be force during her Group Two assignment at the Ebor Festival.

“I was with George Boughey on Tuesday and she did her first piece of work back following Newmarket,” Speers said.

“Maybe her preparation on that day, it just didn’t go right. It is one of those things.

“She was beaten by a very good filly, we can all see the the Queen Mary form is very good and I don’t think we quite ran our race in the Duchess of Cambridge.

“She’s been training away nicely, it’s given George a nice break between Newmarket and the Lowther and it’s given him and the team enough time to get to know her.

“She went from the breeze-ups pretty much straight to her maiden, from her maiden to Ascot and then after Ascot it was just three weeks into the Duchess of Cambridge.

“She worked beautifully on Tuesday. She’s physically done very well, she’s much stronger and it might be a blessing in disguise that she didn’t win the Duchess of Cambridge as if she had won, we’d have to take on the boys in the Prix Morny like the winner Senorita Bonita is.

“At least we can stick against her own sex at York and as long as it all goes well, if she runs well or wins, we will be looking at the Cheveley Park and probably the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint as her options for later on in the year.”

He added: “I’m very pleased having seen her and George said to me that it’s the very best version of her that we’ve seen, both physically and maturity. It’s the best we’ve had her, so that’s really encouraging.”

Sunday 9th August, 2026 Cox looking forward to Prix Morny with Orthodox

By Adam Morgan, Press Association

Missing the Prix Robert Papin could prove a blessing in disguise for Orthodox, as trainer Clive Cox looks forward to his runaway Royal Ascot hero returning to action in the Prix Morny.

The speedy son of Havana Grey built on his winning Salisbury debut when impressively romping to Norfolk Stakes success at the Royal meeting, but Cox’s initial plan for a trip to Chantilly was curtailed due to an unsatisfactory scope in the week leading up to the race.

Nevertheless, a trip to France remains on the agenda, but now it is Deauville that is the destination on August 23, with the Lambourn handler thrilled with the condition of his exciting youngster.

Cox said: “He’s been training well and we’re looking forward to the Morny as long as all goes well in the meantime.

“I’ve been very happy and he’s progressing physically as well and giving me a really good vibe.

“I think just because we had taken the Papin route before it made plenty of sense to go there in the debrief after Ascot.

“Obviously we found something we weren’t happy with and had to miss that, but the extra time won’t have done him any harm.

“I think physically he’s still developing, so I don’t see any downside to not taking part in the Papin and as long as we come back in tip-top order I’m looking forward to the Morny.”

Cox previously won the Morny with Reckless Abandon in 2012 and Orthodox’s cause has been further boosted by news usual pilot Rossa Ryan is available to ride after a 28-day suspension he received was shortened to 10.

Cox added: “It’s huge and we’re very pleased indeed that Rossa can ride.”

Coppull is the most recent Beechdown Stables representative to run in the Deauville Group One, finishing fifth behind Venetian Sun on the Normandy coast 12 months ago.

The son of Bated Breath has proven a consistent performer for his team and having finished an eyecatching fourth in the July Cup last time, Cox is now pondering seven-furlong options alongside the obvious next port of call over six, Haydock’s Group One Sprint Cup in early September.

Cox continued: “I was thrilled with his run in the July Cup and I think with a little bit of a cleaner run through the last 100 metres it could have gone our way.

“I’m pleased that he’s in good form and we have covered a few seven-furlong options for him. I’m a little on the fence whether we go in the Hungerford at Newbury or not because we’ve the Haydock Sprint Cup to think of as well.”

Sunday 9th August, 2026 Thesecretadversary primed for City of York action

By Josh Luckhurst, Press Association

Thesecretadversary is all set for the Sky Bet City of York Stakes on the final day of the Ebor Festival.

Fozzy Stack’s stable star has gone from strength to strength, starting his campaign with a Group Three win at Leopardstown before running in the both the English and Irish Guineas and then adding the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot to his CV.

The St Mark’s Basilica colt’s crowning moment to date came last month when he gave Stack his first European Group One triumph in the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville after making all in the hands of Christophe Soumillon.

The Thomastown Castle handler now plans another assault at the elite level over seven furlongs on the Knavesmire on August 22.

“It’s all going according to plan with him, he will be back in York,” Stack said.

“On the day (at Deauville), where he was drawn, the stalls were right up against the rail and Christophe said there wasn’t much pace, so we jumped out to make somebody go a little bit faster and follow them, but we ended up in front.

“The City of York Stakes is the plan.”

Meanwhile, unbeaten stablemate Nola Soul will look to cement his name among the best juveniles in the Coolmore Stud Futurity Stakes at the Curragh, on what could be a remarkable day for his trainer.

“All good with him and if it all goes to plan with him, he’ll run in the Futurity at the Curragh,” Stack added.

“The race at Leopardstown has worked out well as the second and third have both won stakes. The Ascot form seems to be working out as well. Hopefully it bodes well.

“We will see how we get on, he’s quite a big horse so we try to space out his races. He wouldn’t want soft ground so if the weather changes we won’t see him again.”

Saturday 8th August, 2026 Moore shows class with Shergar Cup double to win Silver Saddle

By Press Association Sport Reporters

Ryan Moore advertised his class with a Shergar Cup double at Ascot, helping his Great Britain and Ireland team land the main event while he also picked up the Alastair Haggis Silver Saddle for leading rider at the meeting.

It is 20 years since the leading jockey last took part in the unique challenge – when he was also leading rider – but the movement of the Phoenix Stakes card at the Curragh to Sunday meant he was free to take part and he showed the big crowd just what they have been missing in his absence.

He first struck on Dylan Cunha’s Asgard’s Captain (13-2) who stuck to his task gamely to win the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Challenge by a length and a quarter from Yutake Take on Sportingsilvermine for the Rest of the World.

“Dylan did say he can be a little bit lazy and just help him through it. He’s got a very good attitude, he’s an uncomplicated horse, he stays well. It was very straightforward,” said Moore.

“I am sure all the owners are delighted. They said they were looking forward to it, so it is a good job the horse has performed today.

“I had nothing else on today so it’s nice to be here. It is nice to see the likes of Yutaka (Take) and Christophe (Lemaire) – it is great to see Yutaka still going.”

In the penultimate Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Classic he gave Marco Botti’s Archers Bay (5-2) a textbook ride coming home three and a quarter lengths clear of Lemaire on King Of Berkshire for Team Europe.

Having run in the Italian Derby earlier in the season he looked the class act and so it proved.

Moore said: “It was very straightforward and he won comfortably. Archers Bay is a horse I know actually, from Ballydoyle. Jimmy Quinn does all the work on him at home and he has been telling me how well he was.

“He enjoys fast ground. It probably was not a strong race for the grade, but he travelled comfortably and won easy. He was just a sit and point really.

“It is always nice to ride winners anywhere and I am just fortunate to draw this lad today. He was good.”

In the closing Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile Moore finished third on Ozat behind the Frida Valle Skar-ridden Crown Board (10-1) but her Team Europe were not in contention for top honours by then.

Moore won the Alastair Haggis Silver Saddle with 47 points ahead of Lemaire in second on 35.

Saturday 8th August, 2026 Lex Victoria suggests bright future with Newmarket debut victory

By Adam Morgan, Press Association

It was a case of history repeating at Newmarket as expensive purchase Lex Victoria followed in the footsteps of Zanthos to claim the Tattersalls £40,000 EBF Newcomers’ “Confined” Maiden Fillies’ Stakes.

Like Zanthos, the 4-1 winner is trained by Simon and Ed Crisford for the Victorious Forever team and is by the same sire, Sioux Nation. To complete the symmetry, the €1.1 million buy was top lot at this year’s Arqana May Breeze-Up sale, as was Zanthos who also commanded seven figures 12 months prior.

Ridden on her debut by David Probert, Lex Victoria showed a professional attitude to see off John and Thady Gosden’s Thi Qar by a neck and suggest a bright future.

Chris Wall, racing manager for the owners, said: “Zanthos won this last year and she was top lot from Arqana that year and this is the top lot this year. But although they are by the same sire they are physically different types.

“She’s got a bit more growing to do and she’s got a good mind, she battled well without the jockey getting really into her. She won’t want overexposure to ground as quick as this again, and we did get away with it a little today.”

Zanthos would go on to lose out to Owen Burrows’ Touleen in a novice event at Leicester following victory in this contest last year, before gaining revenge on the Rowley Mile when landing the Rockfel Stakes later in the autumn.

A similar route could now be taken with Lex Victoria, who has also been backed to continue improving into her Classic season next year.

Wall added: “This filly is very much a work in progress and we’ll see what the trainers want to do with her next, whether we pop back into a novice or go up in grade.

“We’ll see how she takes this and we think she is a nice filly for the future and unlike Zanthos who didn’t train on this year, I think this filly will.

“We took Zanthos to Leicester for a novice after this and that didn’t go quite so well but there aren’t too many options and you sort of have to go into a novice before you start looking at the nice black type options at the back end of the year.”

There had been little to cheer for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin on the card until Toby Moore conjured up a fine finishing effort from Man Of Vision to shade a nose verdict over Go Rimbaud in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap.

While his father Ryan was starring in the Shergar Cup at Ascot, the 18-year-old was thrilled to register his first success on the July course aboard the 7-2 chance.

Moore said: “It’s my first winner here and it’s great to do it for my boss, so I’m very happy.

“He battled very hard to be fair to him and won very gamely.”

Billy Loughnane continued his charge for the championship when partnering Michael Attwater’s 15-8 favourite Brave Nation to a head success in the Keep Your Raceday Positive Handicap, while the concluding William Hill Price Boosts Apprentice Handicap went the way of Prince Quattro (100-30) for Mason Paetel and trainer James Owen.

Saturday 8th August, 2026 Calendar Girl makes winning return at Haydock

By Gideon Brooks, Press Association

Owen Burrows is lining up ambitious targets at the back end of the campaign for Calendar Girl after she made a successful belated seasonal reappearance in the Irish Stallions Farms EBF Dick Hern Stakes at Haydock.

The Lambourn trainer has had to wait as first illness and then a lack of fitness derailed a planned Guineas campaign and kept her off the track.

But after being sent off at 13-2, she stayed on resolutely to land this Listed prize by a length and a quarter from Pacific Mission with multiple Group One winner Fallen Angel a neck back in third. Burrows now has options heading into the final third of the season.

“For whatever reason in early spring she was just not healthy and I couldn’t get a clean scope off her. She went and had all May turned out and put on plenty of condition and is 20 kilos heavier than she was. It has taken until now to get her fit,” said Burrows.

“It was disappointing because we would have been looking at a Guineas trial but connections’ patience has been rewarded and hopefully we can build on that now.

“She has got a Sun Chariot entry and there is potentially a Breeders’ Cup. Let’s see how she comes out of this. We had been pleased with her at home and she has been showing all the right signs lately.”

Burrows added: “I don’t know how high she could go. Who knows because Callum (Rodriguez) said in the Oh So Sharp last year that she was only doing enough in front. But she will come nicely forward for this.”

Kieran Shoemark made the trip north for three rides on the Haydock card and might well have wondered why he bothered when the first Silenciosa was last in in Calendar Girl’s and the second, Moonshine, planted herself in the stalls at the start of the Betway Ashton Heath Handicap won by Pellitory (3-1).

Redemption came in fine style with the third and final ride of his afternoon as Arctic Thunder (7-2) followed up a recent small field Salisbury win with an emphatic win for Ed Walker.

“He is thriving and Ed Walker’s horses are absolutely flying at the moment and he looks like he could go in again. I was cursing at the two pole after he hit the front but he hit the line strong and he looked like the step up to a mile suited as well.”

There was an upset in the opening Betway Leigh Handicap with the Lisa Williamson-trained Lc Tiffen pulling off an 80-1 shock under 5lb claimer Molly Gunn.

The three-year-old denied Danny Tudhope on Saxophonist in a driving finish to give Gunn a 24th winner of her career.

“That is a lovely surprise but Lisa said she ran well last time,” said Gunn. “A light weight and a big, galloping, flat track was just what she needed.”

Norcross Brow (4-1) held on under strong pressure from Liam Wright to land the Betway Tanners Bridge Handicap and Home Hero (7-2), trained by Hugo Palmer, bagged the last, the Betway Apprentice Handicap Stakes under Luke Catton.

Saturday 8th August, 2026 Sugar spices up Sweet Solera for Johnson Houghton

By Adam Morgan, Press Association

Sugar Yes Please could have a bright future having run out an appropriately named winner of the Newsells Park Stud Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket.

Trained by Eve Johnson Houghton, the Newbury winner was sent off 11-1 in the hands of Charlie Bishop and flew home late to deny the Kevin Philippart De Foy-trained 6-4 favourite Nuit d’Eclair by half a length.

Johnson Houghton said: “We always knew she would appreciate going up in trip, she just had to relax during her races first. All she wants to do is please but it just means she does a bit too much early but now she has learned to relax and settle into her run and it’s great to see.

“I trained the dam (Alezan) for Mark (Middleton-Heath, owner-breeder) and it’s her first foal and she is by Mohaather who my mum bred, so I feel it is a home-bred and we’re chuffed. We always knew she was good but to win this is great.

“Mark was saying to me she needs a gap and I had to tell him to calm down as there was still another furlong. She showed a lovely turn of foot at the end didn’t she.”

With Group Three honours now secured, Sugar Yes Please could now try to land an even tastier prize before the season is out.

Johnson Houghton added: “We really wanted black type as it’s always important and who knows what we will do now as we have won our Group race.

“She’s still very weak and we’ll probably only give her one more run then see. She’s won one Group race but if she was to go on and get placed in a Group One then it’s adding even more value, so we’ll find a race and see.”

Johnson Houghton and Bishop’s day would quickly get even better when Eabha (15-2) provided the duo with a quick-fire double in the William Hill Epic Boost Nursery Handicap.

“I said to Charlie same again after the first and we knew both of them needed riding the same way,” said Johnson Houghton.

“She was heavily in season when she ran at Chepstow (on her penultimate start) and the form of that race has actually worked out well. It may have just been an off day anyway and horses are sensitive beings and are allowed to be not 100 per cent at their best all the time.

“Since then though she has improved and improved and improved.

“She won at Epsom last time and along with Chepstow it’s given her a great education. Today when she has hit the dip she’s gone ‘oh I know what this is all about’.

“We’ll probably look at some more nurseries and there is one back here next week if it’s not too quick. We might also try to nick some black type later in the year.”

Saturday 8th August, 2026 Bigger targets lie ahead for Sallaal after Rose of Lancaster win

By Gideon Brooks, Press Association

Sallaal continued his progression through the ranks adding the Group Three Betway Rose of Lancaster Stakes to his career haul and teeing up a possible tilt at the highest level in the Qipco Champion Stakes.

The Roger Varian-trained Frankel colt followed impressive handicap and Listed successes with this Group Three prize under jockey Ray Dawson, stretching away from Sea Scout to win by a length and three-quarters.

“It’s probably the slowest he has ever been in a race but he behaved really well and we are delighted with this horse’s progression,” said the winning jockey. “It was kind of a sprint for the last three-and-a-half furlongs and he is not a sprinter, he is more of a stayer.

“He stays very well and has a good cruising speed and as soon as he felt Oisin come to me (on Nahraan) he has run on and was hard to pull up. It will be exciting to see where he goes.”

Sallaal holds entries in the Group One Champions Stakes at Ascot as well as the Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp.

Dawson added: “He is going the right way and Roger has trained him perfectly this season – he hasn’t jumped too high too early and he has progressed from a big handicap to a Listed to a Group Three. There are options for him and I’m sure whatever decision they make will be the right one.”

Saturday 8th August, 2026 Nicholls pays tribute as Big Buck’s dies aged 23

By Adam Morgan, Press Association

Big Buck’s, one of the greatest staying hurdlers of all time, has died at the age of 23.

Owned by the late Andy Stewart, he was part of a golden age for trainer Paul Nicholls as he counted Kauto Star, Denman, Master Minded and Neptune Collonges among his stablemates.

Big Buck’s had always been viewed by connections as a potential top-class chaser, however, a fall at the final fence in the 2008 Hennessy Gold Cup saw him revert back to hurdles and he never looked back.

He won what is now the Stayers’ Hurdle a record four times, the Liverpool Hurdle four times and three times he came home in front in the Long Walk Hurdle.

Big Buck’s, who struck up a great relationship with Ruby Walsh, was a fan favourite as he would often hit a flat spot in his races before powering to victory.

Nicholls told the Press Association: “Ability-wise he was probably as good as anything I’ve ever trained, it’s just a shame he couldn’t jump a chase fence.

“He was a wonderful horse for a wonderful owner who deserved to own a great horse like that. Andy enjoyed the whole journey and shared it with everybody.

“The horse had a brilliant life and had a great time with us and then a great time with Mike and Lucy Felton in retirement, but sadly time caught up with him.

“I was very lucky to have him at the same time as Kauto Star, Neptune Collonges, Master Minded and Denman. He was definitely as good as any of them.”

One of the last surviving members of that halcyon period for the Ditcheat handler, Big Buck’s would go on to pass Sir Ken and win a then record 18 straight National Hunt races when reverting to hurdles, an achievement only eclipsed by Altior since.

However, for Nicholls there will always be the question of how high he could have climbed if remaining over the larger obstacles.

“He won the Graded race at Aintree over fences, jumped 18 fences and jumped them 18 different ways and still won,” said Nicholls.

“It made me think he was a certainty in the Hennessy and he was unlucky that day, but he just wasn’t a natural jumper of a fence.

“If Kauto Star hadn’t been about at that time then we probably would persevered over fences and he had the ability to win a Gold Cup. If he had won the Hennessy that day it would have definitely given us a headache and it would have been interesting where he would have ended up.

“But over hurdles he was invincible. Andy said I was bonkers, but going back over hurdles was the best thing we ever did. History tells you how good he was and Cheltenham, Aintree, Newbury, Ascot – if there was a big staying hurdle race, he won them all – all those Grade Ones on the trot, what a horse.”

Big Bucks would become a standing dish on Thursdays at the Cheltenham Festival, with his famous flat spot often sparking nervous gasps from supporters before hitting top gear and surging up the Cheltenham hill under Walsh.

When asked to nominate just one race in Big Bucks’ decorated career littered with so many great triumphs it was his fourth-straight success in the day three feature, when seeing off arguably the deepest field he met, edging out Irish raider Voler La Vedette, that Nicholls remembers most fondly.

“His fourth World Hurdle was the one that sticks out as being very special,” said Nicholls.

“But we had so many great days with such a brilliant horse and we were all very lucky to be associated with him.”

Saturday 8th August, 2026 Murphy banking on Celeron repeat in Phoenix

By Adam Morgan, Press Association

Oisin Murphy is relishing getting aboard Michael O’Callaghan’s Celeron again when the exciting youngster searches for top honours in the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.

The British champion jockey partnered the son of Mohaather to an impressive Railway Stakes success over course and distance last time out and the colt now attempts to follow in the footsteps of subsequent Classic winner Siskin (2019) and Bucanero Fuerte (2023) who have both done the Railway Stakes/Phoenix Stakes double in the last 10 years.

Murphy said: “I thought Celeron was very good the last day at the Curragh, he had pace to run at and really went to the line well.

“He’s a horse Michael O’Callaghan feels is only going to improve as he steps up in trip and he’s drawn eight of eight, but hopefully it’s a nice fair race.

“He’s the highest rated in the field and I’m really looking forward to riding him.”

Despite Celeron being clear of Sun Goddess on official figures, it is Aidan O’Brien’s talented filly who is likely to head off favourite for the Group One contest the Ballydoyle team have won a record 17 times, most recently with Little Big Bear in 2022.

Having gone close in the Albany at Royal Ascot the daughter of Sioux Nation got back to winning ways in the Group Two Airlie Stud Stakes in late June. Carry The Flag is also in action for O’Brien.

The in-form Joseph O’Brien will saddle both Folsom Blues and his Windsor Castle winner King Of Cloughan who went close in the Prix Robert Papin next time.

Robson De Aguiar’s Tribeca got closest to Celeron in the Railway Stakes and represents last year’s winning owners Amo Racing, while Paddy Twomey’s Princess Margaret Stakes third Velozee and Michael Mulvaney’s The Scallionator complete a field of eight.

De Aguiar holds a strong hand in the supporting FBD Hotels And Resorts Phoenix Sprint Stakes where defending champion Bucanero Fuerte is among a host of Curragh sprinting regulars in the Group Three event.

Charles O’Brien’s Big Gossey and Fozzy Stack’s Bodhi Bear are the others to frequently compete at the Kildare track with the former proving in rude health this term at the ripe age of nine.

However, Clive Cox’s James’s Delight is another to enjoy his visits to the home of Irish racing and the raiding team arrive having seen the form of his Greenlands Stakes third given a handsome boost when Comanche Brave won the July Cup.

Cox said: “His form has been boosted and we’re very pleased by that. We’ve Dylan Browne McMonagle on board again who rode him last time and both the jockey and our lad seem in excellent form.

“He seems to enjoy his trips to the Emerald Isle and hopefully he can enjoy it once again, he’s in good order.”

Mick Appleby’s Big Mojo adds further British interest in a select field of five.

Saturday 8th August, 2026 Murtagh confident Take Charge Star can mix it with the best

By Gideon Brooks, Press Association

Johnny Murtagh believes Take Charge Star can follow his Royal Ascot conqueror Thesecretadversary on to the highest step with a Group One win in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on Sunday.

The Starspangledbanner colt went down by a neck to the Fozzy Stack-trained winner after a spirited duel for the Jersey Stakes at the Royal meeting back in June.

With the winner giving the form a healthy boost in the Prix Jean Prat at the Normandy track next time, Murtagh says he is confident Take Charge Star can make a bold bid to land his own Group One.

“He is fresh and well and arrived over in Deauville on Thursday. He has been going nicely since Royal Ascot and we have had this race earmarked since then,” said Murtagh.

“I said I wouldn’t go to the Jean Prat as sometimes after Ascot I run them back a little bit quick and it is tough going to Ascot so it was always the plan to give him a bit of a break and target this one, but it was great to see the form upheld.

“Seamie Heffernan told me Thesecretadversary was a good horse and he is a Group One winner now so it was good to see the form being boosted.

“Deauville is pretty similar to Ascot in that it is a straight six and a half and it is quite demanding and takes a bit of getting so I thought everything about Deauville would suit our fellow as well so we are looking forward to it.”

Form lines with Thesecretadversary from the Jersey and Prix Jean Prat must be taken with some caution given the half-furlong shorter trip, but they give Take Charge Star a narrow edge over True Love and Samangan, trained by Aidan O’Brien and Francis-Henri Graffard, respectively.

O’Brien believes the shorter test at Deauville will suit his filly, who was beaten half a length into second behind Thesecretadversary in the Prix Jean Prat.

“She had the run over seven, so she’s coming back another half a furlong now. We are happy with her,” said O’Brien who was the last Irish-based trainer to land the contest back with King Charlemagne back in 2001.

Samangan, a length fourth in the same race, goes with a live chance of hitting the podium according Nemone Routh, French racing manager for owners Aga Khan Studs.

“He’ll love this ground and he likes this track,” said Routh.

“He probably ran his best race when fourth in the Prix Jean Prat when he wasn’t there as a lead horse for Rayif, but was there to help Rayif get some cover behind him. We’re probably going there with an each-way chance, but he’s in great form.”

George Boughey takes another shot at a Group One with Rosy Affair who steps up in trip after finishing fourth to Mission Central in the King Charles III and again in the Group Two Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh.

Godolphin’s Middle Park winner Wise Approach bids to bounce back from finishing a distant last behind Venetian Sun in the Commonwealth Cup.