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Jan 24, 2025 | 
theownerbreeder.com | John Boyce
Never before in the past 50 years has there been a more speed-orientated Britain and Ireland champion sire with a profile like Dark Angel, whose stock aged three and up have an average winning distance of 7.8 furlongs.
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Nov 22, 2024 | 
theownerbreeder.com | John Boyce
When assessing young sires it is always advisable not to judge them too harshly after the first year with runners. But by the end of their second year when we have seen their first three-year-olds, the future viability of a sire is usually fairly clear cut.
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Oct 20, 2024 | 
theownerbreeder.com | John Boyce
More often than not, a stallion’s first crop of runners then to be their best, and even with the help of many more and better-bred mares many struggle to repeat what they have done with their first set of runners. When analysing the top 20 stallions this century by percentage of stakes winners to runners, we find it is their combined first crops that have registered the most success as measured by the percentage of Stakes winners among all their combined starters.
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Oct 7, 2024 | 
nature.com | Brooke K Hayes |Marina Harper |Jessica Lewis |Joel Steele |David L. Steer |Ralf B. Schittenhelm | +1 more
AbstractThe type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a molecular machine utilised by many Gram-negative bacteria to deliver antibacterial toxins into adjacent cells. Here we present the structure of Tse15, a T6SS Rhs effector from the nosocomial pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. Tse15 forms a triple layered β-cocoon Rhs domain with an N-terminal α-helical clade domain and an unfolded C-terminal toxin domain inside the Rhs cage.
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Sep 20, 2024 | 
theownerbreeder.com | John Boyce
Given that this month’s issue marks the 20th anniversary of Owner Breeder magazine, it is perhaps a good opportunity to ponder on some of the structural changes that have taken place since 2004 among European stallions as well as looking back at some of the stars of 2004. It seems that with each passing generation of stallions there is always debate about increasing crop sizes and what implications there are for the breed.
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Aug 23, 2024 | 
theownerbreeder.com | John Boyce
This season’s European leading sires’ ranking based on earnings has a strange look to it. Unlike in the past two years, neither perennial leaders Frankel nor Dubawi are among the first three. Moreover, there are plenty of candidates further down the European hierarchy that deserve to have their 2024 accomplishments recognised while some others have hit or surpassed specific career milestones.
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Jul 9, 2024 | 
theownerbreeder.com | John Boyce
It has been another 12 months of huge success for the breeze-up market on the racecourse. Since this time last year we have seen the emergence of the Prix Morny and Middle Park winner Vandeek – bought for 625,000gns at Tattersalls – join an exalted list of Group 1-winning breeze-up graduates. He heads an army of 42 stakes horses that have emerged so far from the big five breeze-up auctions held last year.
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Jun 24, 2024 | 
theownerbreeder.com | John Boyce
There is no question that European racing would benefit from a good sire son of Deep Impact. After all Deep Impact’s influence in his native Japan has been nothing short of profound. And he’s had plenty of success in Europe too, with Auguste Rodin, Snowfall, Saxon Warrior, Study Of Man, Fancy Blue and Beauty Parlour all winning Classics.
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May 28, 2024 | 
newhumanist.org.uk | John Boyce
Back in the mid-1990s, curious to understand the “cult” of violent Irish republicanism, I attended a meeting of the Sinn Féin party in the backroom of a dingy west of Ireland pub. Tattooed young men stood guard at the door as I entered, the walls festooned with “Brits Out” posters and tricolour flags. A portly woman passed around ham and cheese sandwiches while a bearded man made a barely audible speech, punctuated by a smattering of applause.
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May 23, 2024 | 
theownerbreeder.com | John Boyce
First printed in the May edition of Owner Breeder magazine Every new season brings with it a fresh set of aspirations for stallion studs and 2024 is no different to any other. But there is a small cohort of stallions – those that breeders have placed their faith in after initial early successes – that will be held to account more than any others.
