#Dick Hern

When Sandown Park opened in 1875 as Britain's first purpose-built racecourse with enclosures it was said by a diarist of the time to be "a place where a man could take his ladies without any fear of their hearing coarse language or witnessing uncouth behaviour". That might not always be the case, but one thing visitors to the Queen Mother's…

Rising Star (right): last year's Royal Ascot winner is set to return to the track on January 13 Marco Botti feels he has his "best chances in years" at the upcoming Dubai Carnival which kicks off at Meydan on Friday. Last year's Italian Derby winner Ardakan recently joined the Newmarket trainer and spearheads a three-handed raiding party from…

First published on July 20, 2015, Steve Dennis looks back at the race of the century, when Grundy and Bustino went eye to eye down the Ascot straight Naturally, there has to be a race considered to be'the race of the century', but why this one? What elevated this particular race to the general understanding that, in 100 years, there had never been…

Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum has died at the age of 75, but his racing legacy will live on after an involvement with the sport spanning over four decades. From Nashwan to Dayjur, some of the greatest names of the Turf have carried Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's colours to victory over the years. There are too many to mention, but here is a very select…

The date: Thursday June 20, 2013. The place: Ascot. Royal Ascot, to be precise. A four-year-old filly called Estimate, ridden by Ryan Moore and trained by Sir Michael Stoute, powers past ColourVision in the final furlong and holds off the late challenges of Simenon and Top Trip to land the Gold Cup in a pulsating finish. The cheers of the 62000…

THE QUEEN was never happier than when at the racecourse. During her 70 year reign, the sport was her one true love away from the serious stuff. At any spare moment, she would pore over the form and study the bloodlines of her horses. Nothing got past her on or off the track. Whether Her Majesty was with a trainer, fellow breeder or jockey, she was…

It was the first running of York Racecourse's biggest race - and it produced one of the greatest shocks in European racing history. The Benson & Hedges Gold Cup run at York on Aug. 15, 1972 had more plot-lines than a Shakespeare comedy. This was the first running of the race, now known as the Juddmonte International, one of the classiest races of…

Racing's most eloquent ambassadors are frequently the jockeys and it is they who take centre stage at Ascot in the Dubai Duty Free-sponsored Shergar Cup, an annual team competition in which the stardust is sprinkled on the riding talent rather than necessarily on the handicappers that they must pilot. In particular, the Rest of the World line-up…

The Queen owned numerous superstar horses during her remarkable life in racing. Here are some of the best. . . The Queen had relatively few colts try their luck at Epsom in the Derby and none finished better than Aureole who, but for an inspired Sir Gordon Richards on Pinza, would have carried off the great prize just four days after the…

The Queen of England loves to have winners at Royal Ascot - it's her favourite horse racing fixture of the year, while with this being her Platinum Jubilee year, if Queen Elizabeth II does bag her 25th Royal Ascot winner this week, the roar might even be heard here in America! She's got several horses entred over the five-day meeting, so let's take…

The best sprinter I've seen who conquered everything thrown at him. From Royal Ascot to York, Paris to New York. Apart from the shadows cast by the Belmont Park grandstand 100 yards from the finish on the dirt track. The fastest racehorse in the world, doing what he was bred to do, jumped not once, but twice. Spooked and startled by what he thought…

John Ingles looks at the five best horses owned by Queen Elizabeth II based on their peak Timeform ratings. AUREOLE (Timeform rating 132) As well as being one of the best horses to race for the Queen, Aureole was also one of the very first, as she inherited him as an unraced two-year-old on the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. Trained…

As well as being one of the best horses to race for the Queen, Aureole was also one of the very first, as she inherited him as an unraced two-year-old on the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. Trained by Captain Cecil Boyd-Rochfort at Newmarket, Aureole ran just twice at two, finishing sixth in the Middle Park Stakes after making a…

The door to the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe may not have swung wide-open for Baaeed - but it's at least now ajar with the ParisLongchamp showpiece under consideration for the latest Shadwell superstar. Hamdan Al Maktoum never won the great race during his remarkable ownership career, Sakhee having switched to Godolphin before his triumph in…

Previous runnings of the Supreme Stakes may be crucial to finding the winner of this year's race, with last year's second Double Or Bubble and 2020 winner Happy Power the clear choices in the betting. Double Or Bubble brings standout top-level form to the table, having been a solid fifth behind Alcohol Free in the July Cup at Newmarket last month…

If Accidental Agent does not manage to regain his Queen Anne Stakes crown, connections will no doubt be hoping his rival Mohaather lands the mile Group 1 instead. Accidental Agent is trained by Eve Johnson Houghton for her mother Gaie, who bred and has raced the six-year-old son of Delegator since he was a vendor buyback at just 8000gns at Book 2…