The blog at Werk Thoroughbred Consultants
By Sid Fernando Just the other day on Twitter, Coolmore’s Ashford division in Kentucky heralded the arrival of Vancouver from Australia and invited inspections. From what we’ve heard at Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., there’s been a lot of interest in this champion Australian son of Medaglia d’Oro from the moment it was announced he was reverse … Continue reading Vancouver has arrived at Ashford
By Frances J. Karon According to an account by Murphy Givens, a chronicler of King Ranch’s Richard King, King Ranch was founded in 1853 by the 29-year-old King, who bought 15,000 acres of land for two cents an acre—an expenditure of $300. King, being a great visionary, may have had some idea that the name … Continue reading Verrazano bridges King Ranch to Coolmore
By Sid Fernando If you blinked, you missed it. Coolmore Stud’s popular Ashford-based Galileo stallion Cape Blanco, who covered more mares (220) in his first year at stud in 2012 than any other stallion in North America, was sent to Japan for the 2015 season, but without missing a beat and with little fanfare Coolmore … Continue reading Magician is a body double for Cape Blanco
By Sid Fernando When Coolmore retired the Australian-bred Choisir horse Starspangledbanner to stud in 2011, it was at the height of Aussie sprinter mania around the world, and Starspangledbanner had all the right credentials. In England, the multiple Australian G1-winning sprinter—who had won up to the mile distance of the G1 Caulfield Guineas—won the 2010 … Continue reading Starspangledbanner sends wow signals
By Elaine Belval About three months ago, I wrote about Coolmore Stud’s Peintre Celebre, and I mentioned it must be tough to be “second-string” to a stallion like Galileo, who also stands alongside him at the Irish nursery. And certainly, in the past five weeks, Galileo has had over 20 SWs, including another G1 win … Continue reading Holy Roman Emperor
By Sid Fernando Indeed, 2011 has been a watershed year for Galileo. His undefeated three-year-old son Frankel scaled even greater heights last week with a thumping of five-time consecutive Group 1 winner Canford Cliffs (since retired to Coolmore) in the QIPCO Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood to cement his status in Timeform as one of … Continue reading Mark of Galileo
By Sid Fernando One of WTC founder Jack Werk’s last claims to fame was the mating recommendation the company made to clients Gulf Coast Farms LLC (Jerry Bailey and Lance Robinson) to send its mare Private Feeling to Smart Strike. WTC will recommend up to 10 stallions for some mares and let the breeder choose … Continue reading Lookin at Lucky
By Elaine Belval Call me strange. I’ll admit it. Nothing captivates me more than the great Cup races of Europe or Australia. And nothing epitomizes a great Cup race than the G1 Royal Ascot Gold Cup, run Thursday. After 19 furlongs, two horses battled head to head in the final furlong! Oh, to have races … Continue reading Rite of Passage for Giant’s Causeway