#Schnell Meister

Triple Crown winner Contrail looks tailor-made for the Osaka Hai over his favoured trip but faces a speedy rival in Gran Alegria The growing sense of anticipation among Flat racing fans in Britain this weekend is felt just as keenly in Japan where the season is also ready to burst into life. The first Grade 1 race of the turf season, the…

California Spangle, seen at trackwork Dec. 7, tackles champion Golden Sixty and some tough foreign competition in Sunday's Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile. Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club HONG KONG, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Longines Hong Kong International Races take center stage in weekend horse racing, with competition from around the globe…

Salute the Soldier wins Maktoum Challenge Round 3 on Super Saturday at Meydan, with the next stop the Dubai World Cup. Photo by Erika Rasmussen, courtesy of Dubai Racing Club March 8 (UPI) -- Super Saturday in Dubai, the highlight of weekend horse racing around the world, opened the door to World Cup night for some of the horses who have toiled…

Arguably the best horse ever to be trained in Hong Kong, Golden Sixty became a household name during the region's strict Covid lockdown period. J A McGrath traces his career ahead of his hat-trick attempt in Sunday's Hong Kong Mile, one of four Group 1 events at the annual HK International Races at Sha Tin Covid lockdown heroes were uncovered in…

The good news for Japan is that there are no Croatian horses - or penalty shootouts - at this year's HKIR. The bad news is that Hong Kong (and perhaps Ireland) will provide stern opposition in Sunday's four G1 contests and now looks as good a time as any to allocate some Rising Sun Ratings on a scale of 1-3 for the key Japanese contenders. Set to…

Frankie Dettori believes favourite Life Is Good will be a "very tough nut to crack" in the Dubai World Cup. The top jockey has f our rides on the Meydan card, including one of market leader's opponents Country Grammer. Dettori has won the $12 million race on Dubai Millennium (2000), Moon Ballad (2003) and Electrocutionist (2006). "The favourite,…

American Revolution, shown winning the Grade I Cigar Mile in December, is among the likely ones in Saturday's Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs. Photo by Joe Labozzetta, courtesy of New York Racing Association June 3 (UPI) -- Weekend racing is all about the doings on Epsom Downs southwest of London, where the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday…

Channel Cat, shown winning the Grade I Man o' War in May, is among the favorites for Saturday's Grade II Red Smith Stakes at Aqueduct. Photo courtesy of New York Racing Association Nov. 19 (UPI) -- High-class graded stakes racing is spread across North America this weekend, with a turf showdown in New York, a tough mile event for fillies and mares…

The 2000-meter Dubai World Cup concluded the day's festivities at Meydan Racecourse, with American trainer Bob Baffert's Country Grammer, ridden by Italian Frankie Dettori, securing a 1¾-length victory over Hot Rod Charlie in 2 minutes, 4.97 seconds. Country Grammer returned to competition after a nine-month layoff following the Saudi Cup in…

The Yokoyama family's success in high-profile races was also in the spotlight just a few months ago. At last year's Tenno Sho (Autumn), Takeshi Yokoyama, Kazuo's younger brother, won the October 31 race by a length over Contrail at Tokyo Racecourse. Bursting out of the 16 gate aboard second favorite 4-year-old bay colt Titleholder, Yokoyama led…

There are a few names familiar to American racegoers that are heading to Hong Kong for the international raceday next month. Most are from Ireland. The foreign challenge for the four rich turf races includes a quartet from Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle team, all of whom have run in the United States. Heading O'Brien's team is the shock 2020 Breeders'…

Havnameltdown wins Sunday's Bob Hope Stakes for 2-year-olds at Del Mar. Benoit photo, courtesy of Del Mar Turf Club Nov. 21 (UPI) -- One of the more interesting subplots of late-year racing is the emergence of late-blooming 2-year-olds and Del Mar's weekend program featured two of those -- Havnameltdown among the colts and Justique in the filly…

Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The Qatar Prix de l' Arc de Triomphe is the race of the year in Europe -- a 1 1/2-mile test that normally draws the best of what the locals call middle-distance runners. A couple of good ones are missing from Sunday's running, but there's plenty of intrigue left. And that's just the tip of the iceberg on a busy autumn weekend…