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BEAUTIFUL SURPRISE was well held in third and didn't look to see out the trip to me. The winner, WITH THE MOONLIGHT (Frankel - Sand Vixen ex Dubawi) looks a nice type. She's a full sister to DREAM CASTLE, who has run very well in Group company in Meydan and is rated 116 currently.

News this afternoon MOTHER EARTH won't be running in the Golden Eagle - she'll be heading to the Breeders Cup with SANTA BARBARA sidelined due to injury. ST MARK'S BASILICA was reportedly "sore" after his Irish Champion stakes win and his future remains undecided - there's more than a hint he'll be retired. Big change in the ground at Newmarket after rain yesterday and overnight, it's gone from Good to Firm to Good to Soft. No more rain is forecast, however, and I suspect the ground will be near perfect for the start of the Cambridgeshire Meeting on Thursday.

Ran again at Haydock last Sunday in a 1400m nursery. Again, not the most fortunate of runs - got behind having been bumped at the start but ran on very well for third. Really looks like a 1600m horse at the moment. The best progeny of Ribchester up here is FLAMING RIB (by Suddenly ex Acclamation). He won a 1000m nursery at the big York August meeting for a rating of 101 but no entries currently. GISBURN hasn't run since the Coventry. Ribchester sits eighth in the freshman sires list in Britain and Ireland currently. http://www.stallionguide.com/leading-sires/ One

The Mill Reef at Newbury saw WINGS OF WAR put up a battling performance to run down HIERARCHY in the final 150m. I got my money back when GIS A SUB was withdrawn having got agitated in the stalls but I'm not sure his antics did GUBBASS and one or two others any favours. The winner had been slightly disappointing when beaten in the Sirenia but this was a much improved effort and while he'll do well to emulate trainer Clive Cox's last Mill Reef winner, HARRY ANGEL, he's got obvious potential as a sprinter for next season. HIERARCHY is all speed and he and the winner reproduced their Si

A quiet Saturday which we'll come back to you in the next contribution. Looking ahead and next weekend, Newmarket stages its three day Cambridgeshire meeting - the ground is currently Good to Firm and there's no appreciable rain forecast. This meeting often sees the appearance of some of the higher quality juveniles especially those with more staying pedigrees who have taken longer to come to hand. Each day there are fascinating maiden races - the opening race of the meeting is a 1600m maiden for the juvenile colts and geldings. Godolphin have a number entered including newcomers AL

Saturday's final declarations are through and ten go for the Mill Reef at Newbury where the ground remains on the slow side of good. DHABAB got to within a length and a half of NATIVE TRAIL when third in the Superlative at Newmarket last time and that reads very well in the context of this but he's back 200m and I'm not sure. GUBBASS won the valuable sales race over 1000m in July and then ran third in the Richmond at Goodwood and a decent fifth in the Morny at Deauville. This 1200m should suit and he's top rated. FEARBY should go well - I think he didn't enjoy the quick ground at Yo

Thanks for the feedback. I will provide the breeding background for the big winners at least but feel free to ask anything and I'll see what I can do especially if any of the sires in which you're interested have representatives in Group 1 races.

Over on the Stranglers thread "Whatever Happened To..." @Nerulaasked me to include some more breeding information in my ramblings. Okay, we'll give it a go but you can always just watch the races and enjoy the quality of the prose which is the Filet Mignon of writing (IMHO). A bit of fallout from last weekend with an update from Aidan O'Brien. LOVE and SNOWFALL, despite both being beaten on Sunday, both head for the Arc on October 3rd. POINT LONSDALE, also beaten at the weekend, is finished for the season while BOLSHOI BALLET and SANTA BARBARA will head back to America. ST MARK

Arc Trials day at Longchamp and the racing took place on ground described as Good. The Group 1 feature was the Vermeille over 2400m for which the English, Irish and Yorkshire Oaks heroine SNOWFALL went off at 1/5. Prix Vermeille: A huge upset as SNOWFALL was turned over by TEONA who won a Listed race at Windsor last time having finished twenty eight lengths behind SNOWFALL at Epsom (the gap had only been four and a half lengths in the Musidora back in May). So what happened? I've a few thoughts - I wonder if SNOWFALL was a bit short of work - she didn't look unfi

Sunday was a really busy day with significant races in both Ireland and France. At The Curragh, it was the second and final day of Irish Champions Weekend and the ground remained on the fast side of good. Four Group 1 events and plenty of shocks and surprises. The Flying Five over 1000m saw WINTER POWER sent off favourite to follow up her Nunthorpe success: Flying Five: The Curragh is much stiffer than York so where WINTER POWER could blitz a sub-57 second 1000m there, it's more like a minute at The Curragh and those three seconds just mean she can't hold on.

Thanks from me for supporting my babblings as well. Much appreciated and a comment from you would always be welcome.

It is indeed. They hold meetings through the summer especially in August when they race Monday, Wednesday and Friday while the main Deauville course races Tuesdays, Thursdays and at the weekend. Deauville-Clairefontaine is about five minutes by road from Deauville-La Touques (the official name for the track which stages races like the Rothschild, Maurice de Gheest and Marois) and if you want a racing holiday, it's highly recommended. Clairefontaine has jumps races which the other Deauville track doesn't and is a much more relaxed and informal setting. I think they have both a re

Leopardstown yesterday staged the first day of Irish Champions Weekend on watered Good ground. The Champion Stakes looked a serious horse race with the 3-y-o ST MARK'S BASILICA and POETIC FLARE taking on tough mare TARNAWA. Irish Champion Stakes: I backed the third and lost money but what a fantastic horse race. I really thought Kevin Manning had sealed the race 300m down but Ryan Moore got ST MARK'S BASILICA running, albeit not in a straight line and that certainly did TARNAWA no favours. A stewards' inquiry was called but under the Irish rules, Moore had his whip in

A tremendous Saturday of action in both the UK and Ireland. I'll start at Doncaster where a 25,000 crowd turned up for Leger day. Overnight rain had turned the ground Good to Soft, Soft in places. The favourite for the final classic was HURRICANE LANE who, having run third in the English Derby behind ADAYAR and MOJO STAR, won the Irish Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris. On the ratings, he was 6 lbs in front of these and was sent off 4/5 favourite. St Leger: This was a thoroughly dominant performance from a class act. He saw out he trip on the slower ground and it

Before the weekend's drama takes over, a quick reflection on Friday's action at Doncaster. Despite overnight rain, the card started on ground described as Good to Firm, Good in places but a heavy shower immediately after the Doncaster Cup turned the ground to Good, Good to Soft in places. Connections of TRUESHAN must have seethed at the rain not arriving a few hours earlier ad they withdrew the Goodwood Cup winner earlier in the day. This left STRADIVARIUS a very short priced favourite (around 2/5 and 4/11) to see off five rivals. Doncaster Cup: This was little