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5 days ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
Derby week is always a huge occasion in the racing calendar, but for Epsom and its owner the Jockey Club, the stakes feel especially high this year. Having already ruled out the possibility of a radical overhaul to the Derby festival in 2026, the track has left itself with little room to manoeuvre, and therefore open to criticism, should this year's meeting fail to build on the marginal gains made last year.
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6 days ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
Pride Of Arras has the ideal temperament to deal with the razzmatazz of Saturday's Betfred Derby, according to his big-race rider Rossa Ryan, who is keen to keep his own emotions intact as the Epsom Classic edges closer.
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1 week ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
British racing is crying out for strong leadership, according to one senior trainer in Newmarket who believes the sport's governing body is in disarray after Charles Allen delayed the start of his tenure as BHA chair amid renewed tension over the sport's governance.
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1 week ago | 
racingpost.com | Keith Melrose |Lewis Porteous
A decent field is the least you could ask of a 0-85 worth £30,000. Races like this can also draw the more interesting horses in the pool, although this one has not come up strongly in that regard. This may be partly down to it being a race for apprentice riders. The received wisdom is that less-experienced jockeys pair better with more experienced horses. But you would not hesitate to put Mason Paetel, Jack Dace or Jack Doughty on an improving four-year-old with almost £16,000 to be won.
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1 week ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
Whoever said top-level horses don't stick around for long enough on the Flat should probably take Saturday off, as a healthy selection of golden oldies occupy centre stage at Haydock. Indeed the Group 3 Betfred John of Gaunt Stakes (3.33), which shares top-billing with the Lester Piggott Fillies' Stakes on a Haydock card which forms the centrepiece of ITV's coverage, has the same sort of feel as a veterans' chase about it, with three of the top four in the betting aged between six and eight.
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1 week ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
The New Lion achieved something only Altior in 2016 and Constitution Hill in 2022 have managed in the last decade when he was rated the best novice hurdler in Britain and Ireland in the end-of-season Anglo-Irish jumps classifications on Wednesday. Hurdlers based in Ireland have been dominant in the novice and juvenile division in recent years, so credit where it is due to The New Lion for becoming only the third British-based novice to top the standings with a rating of 159.
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1 week ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
For all that 'unassuming' would be a positive description, it doesn't quite do Danny Muscutt justice. Take an initial request for an interview as a case in point. More than happy to have a chat, the jockey was far from convinced there would be anything worthwhile to talk about. Pleasingly, the reality disproves the rider's fears. In the last five years, Muscutt has established himself as one of the top talents in Britain's weighing rooms, with more than 450 winners since the start of 2021.
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2 weeks ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
A welcome 10mm of rain on Wednesday has left the going good to firm, firm in places for Friday's meeting at Bath, with course officials pleased to see further rain forecast for the weekend and beyond. Without a conventional irrigation system, Bath has always been susceptible to firm ground and one of the driest springs on record has not helped matters this year. However, clerk of the course Ben Hicks is "very confident" the track is in good shape for Friday's seven-race card.
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2 weeks ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
The changing face of Newmarket's training fraternity is impossible to miss on a cloudless morning on Warren Hill. From sunrise each day, Newmarket's famous gallop is the beating heart of the town, with a conveyor belt of thoroughbreds rising to the summit. "Watching a thoroughbred gallop on a glorious day is a magical feeling," says Derby-winning trainer Michael Bell, who has been at it for 37 years but gets a bigger kick now out of training than he ever has.
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2 weeks ago | 
racingpost.com | Lewis Porteous
WhatsApp messages were pinging on Thursday as trainer Harry Charlton and big-race rider Oisin Murphy began to mastermind a plan they hope will help Cosmic Year breach the defences of his rivals in Saturday's Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas. Trainer and jockey were satisfied with a draw in stall five after a field of nine were declared for the Curragh contest, and Charlton is confident he is going to Ireland with a legitimate shot at providing Beckhampton with a landmark 40th Classic success.
