Breeding, as we know, is all about meticulous planning, searching through the generations for that magical mix of the heavenly connections, and matching mare with stallion on type. And then there’s Yonce. Sometimes fortune favours the brave, and sometimes there’s dumb luck. This budding star of the Australian turf, the mare who’s won six from... Read More

There are some extraordinary figures behind Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Roch ’N’ Horse (Per Incanto), and we don’t just mean her breeders, Little Avondale Stud’s Sam and Catriona Williams. For a starting point there’s the starting price – the classic hundred-to-one in the old school, making the five-year-old daughter of Per Incanto (Street... Read More

With a second Group 1 in Saturday’s Canterbury Stakes (Gr 1, 1300m), outstanding mare Forbidden Love (All Too Hard) added another highlight to a twisting, multi-national breeding tale which has taken in England, Argentina, the USA – and even a dash of Scandinavia. The four-year-old, who broke through at the top level a year ago... Read More

As many maths nerds or dodgy politicians know, you can have some great fun with statistics. Have a look at these: Rebel Dane, as a sire, has a stakes-winners-to-runners ratio of 15.4 per cent. In fact, that’s Group winners to runners, since he hasn’t bothered stooping to Listed level. That’s Extreme Choice-esque. Better in fact.... Read More

In snooker, it’s all about precision. And in the making of picket fence builder Corner Pocket, one of two new stakes winners for surging stallion Toronado (High Chaparral) last weekend, Swettenham Stud played all the angles with consummate skill before putting their queue in the rack. The mare Baize (Commands), from which the Lindsey Smith-trained... Read More