Charlie Appleby’s Epsom trial winner was a Derby contender Colt suffered shattering injury after winning Chester Vase An empty winner’s enclosure after the feature race was a miserable way to open Chester’s May Festival, after Charlie Appleby’s Hidden Law, who had just taken the Chester Vase by three lengths, had to be euthanised as the result of a serious injury suffered shortly after crossing the line in an incident that was also broadcast live on ITV4. Appleby reported that Hidden Law had broken a fetlock after apparently taking a false step while ­William Buick, his rider, was pulli ..read more

There was widespread surprise at the failure of Aidan O’Brien’s colt to live up to his pre-race billing at Newmarket Learning to live with regular disappointment is an important part of the process of racing and betting on horses but even so, City Of Troy’s dismal failure to justify odds-on favouritism for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket was a horribly deflating experience. On Saturday morning, we dared to hope that last year’s outstanding champion two- year-old might elevate himself into the ranks of the all-time greats this season. By Saturday evening, some were wondering if we will ever see ..read more

Co-owner: ‘Horse is fine but jockey was never happy’ Outsider Elmalka a welcome winner for De Sousa Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable headed away from Newmarket after the Guineas meeting on Sunday with the favourite for next month’s Oaks and two of the top three in the betting for the Derby, but that does not really tell the tale of a difficult weekend here for Ireland’s most powerful yard. The main positive for O’Brien was the sight of Ylang Ylang running a fine trial for the Oaks as she stayed on into fifth in a blanket finish to the 1,000 Guineas behind the surprise 28-1 winner, Elmalka ..read more

Mystik Dan wins thrilling 150th Kentucky Derby Sierra Leone takes second and Forever Young third Mystik Dan has won the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby in a heart-pounding three-horse photo finish. The bay colt trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez, who went off at 18-1 odds, held off Sierra Leone and the Japanese colt Forever Young by a nose in the $5m race at Churchill Downs ..read more

Charlie Appleby’s 16-1 shot takes first 2024 Classic Hyped City Of Troy’s finishes ninth of 11 As expected, the winner of the 2,000 Guineas here on Saturday remains unbeaten after four career starts. In many other respects, however, the first Classic of 2024 veered wildly off script, as Notable Speech, a 16-1 shot, beat Rosallion by a convincing length-and-a-half. City Of Troy, the most eagerly anticipated favourite for the race since Frankel in 2011, finished ninth of the 11 runners. City Of Troy rode a wave of fevered expectation on to the Rowley Mile, having dispatched all opposition ..read more

It is time for the talking to stop as Aidan O’Brien’s wonder colt returns to race in the first Classic of the season at Newmarket Even in a sport which thrives on optimism and uncertainty, there are few “what ifs?” to match the moment when an exceptional colt from last year’s juvenile crop canters to post for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. For months, fans and backers of the “winter favourite” for the Classic will have followed his progress from two to three via market moves, occasional “no news is good news” updates from the stable, and the online rumour-mill, but six months on from his last ..read more

I have spent long stretches of my life around the racetrack. The methods for training young horses in the US means fatalities are inevitable As Churchill Downs prepares to host the 150th Kentucky Derby on Saturday a darker anniversary looms. One year ago, 12 horses died at Churchill Downs in the days and weeks surrounding America’s biggest race. As hype builds around this year’s runners, those who died fall deeper into the well of memory, if they’re thought of at all. Wild on Ice, a gelding born in 2020 and a Derby qualifier, was euthanized after sustaining a hind leg fracture during training ..read more

One of the most talented and engagingly quirky chasers of recent years died on Sunday in a tragic stable accident There was a keen and widely shared sense of loss among racing fans on social media on Sunday evening as news emerged that Nicky Henderson’s Shishkin, one of the most talented and engagingly quirky chasers of recent years, had died after fracturing a hind leg having become cast in his box at Henderson’s yard in Lambourn. It was a hugely unfortunate conclusion to a storied career in which the hero’s flaws and foibles only added to his appeal ..read more

Nicky Henderson’s horse a double Cheltenham winner ‘He was an absolute superstar, his CV is testament to that’ Shishkin, one of the most talented and popular steeplechasers of recent years, has died after suffering an injury at Nicky Henderson’s stable in Lambourn. The 10-year-old was found to have suffered a fracture to a hind leg after being cast in his box on Sunday evening ..read more

Six weeks after his Cheltenham milestone, trainer will become the first based in Ireland to win since Vincent O’Brien in 1954 “It’s done but not quite dusted yet,” was Willie Mullins’s assessment earlier this week of the race for the National Hunt trainers’ championship, but he knows as well as anyone that the title is as good as won. Six weeks on from one historic achievement, when he became the first trainer to saddle 100 Cheltenham Festival winners, another beckons. Jump racing feels like Willie’s World now, and the rest of us are just living in it. Once the final seven events of the 2023-2 ..read more