StableTalk

Sorry Stodge.
We had to do a complete restore (which took us back in time with Dr Who to the year 2012) and have completely lost all previous Data.
We can rebuild

In the words of that wise little fella "Bob the Builder.... Bob the Builder.... Can we fix it" YES WE CAN!! but you have to start over from scratch in order to do so



I'll delete this post once you start adding stuff and have made it a Sticky so it stays at the top for your convenience

Dee... Could we leave this as/where it is for now - might be handy for other members to see it before it goes. I think I can delete it in about a week or so without killing the forum
Again - Thanks for all your restoration efforts

Thanks for the update. It's words not lives so not the end of the world.

I'll pick up again tonight.

Thanks to you and Wiz for all your efforts.

The past may be a foreign country we can no longer reach but the show goes on with a look back at the weekend's action in Europe with a bit of American action thrown in for good measure.

Saturday's Celebration Mile at Goodwood may only have been a Group 2 race but the five runners had all mixed it with some very good horses this season. AROD set a brutal pace and the first one beaten was favourite THIKRIYAAT who was being niggled by Paul Hanagan with 1000m to go and was then ridden hard with little response from 600m out.

The other 3-y-o, ZONDERLAND, had sat second behind AROD and came to challenge from the 400m pole and moved up to AROD's girth but the winner was coming from off the pace in the space of LIGHTNING SPEAR who had sat last early travelling well and was brought down the outside by Oisin Murphy with a classic last-to-first run and in the end won quite smoothly. ZONDERLAND was a length and three quarters down in second with AROD a head back in third well ahead of the disappointing TOORMORE and THIKRIYAAT.

LIGHTNING SPEAR was arguably the best horse in the race on the basis of his Queen Anne third to TEPIN and he had run well enough when sixth in the Sussex Stakes but had been disappointing in the Marois. I think he needs quick ground to show his best and probably a turning track rather than a straight 1600m. ZONDERLAND ran a solid race - let's not forget he was sixth in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and given the strengths of some of those who finished in front of him that day, he's run well.

The evening saw a fascinating card at Saratoga featuring the Travers Stakes which saw ARROGATE storm home by 13 lengths breaking the track record, running the 2000m in 1:59.30. This was an extraordinary front running performance reminiscent of American Pharaoh at his best but ARROGATE had problems as a juvenile and was beaten first time up as a 3-y-o at lowly Los Alamitos. The plan is the Breeders Cup Classic.

Earlier, the 2400m Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes went to FLINTSHIRE, who went off 1/5 and was greatly helped by the American turf horses who ran the first 800m even quicker than the specialist dirt horses in the Travers. This was all fine for FLINTSHIRE who waited at the rear for the front runners to fall in a heal which they did 600m out and all Javier Castellano had to do was weave a way through and the race was over.

FLINTSHIRE won this race last year while still trained by Andre Fabre and before finishing runner up to Golden Horn in the Arc and then to HIGHLAND REEL at Sha Tin so that's all seriously good form. He's going to run in the Breeders Cup Turf in which he finished runner up in 2014. The thought of him and POSTPONED clashing is one to look forward to.

Yesterday was a quiet Sunday in the UK and Ireland but in France it was the final day of the Deauville August meeting and the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville over 2500m. ERUPT was odds on tow in but it all went wrong as he failed to see out the final 200m and was held in third behind the German raider SAVOIR VIVRE who had run second in the German Derby and who made every yard here.

In Germany itself the Group 2 Goldene Peitsche produced a controversial finish with British raider MARKAZ getting the race in the stewards' room after finishing second to DONNERSCHLAG who won well but had carried WATCHABLE across the course on the home turn. Had this occurred in Britain, I suspect the result wouldn't have been changed but the German rules are much stricter on interference and the horse causing the interference is always placed behind the victim and MARKAZ, who wasn't involved in the interference in any way, was the beneficiary.

That was over 1200m as is Saturday's Group 1 feature at Haydock, the Sprint Trophy, 19 have been declared at the five-day stage including LIMATO, who has been left in by trainer Henry Candy in the event of fast ground which would rule out TWILIGHT SON whose form is on a slower surface. Currently, the ground is on the soft side of good but a dry and settled week is forecast so we'll see.

Finally, just to mention ENDLESS DRAMA, a son of Lope de Vega, who was third in the Lockinge at Newbury in May but has disappointed since, has been sold to race and perhaps stand as a stallion in Australia.

Latest betting on Saturday's Sprint Trophy at Haydock has Commonwealth Cup winner and July Cup third QUIET REFLECTION at 4/1 favourite with July Cup winner LIMATO at 5/1, Diamond Jubilee winner TWILIGHT SON ay 6/1 along with the THE TIN MAN and MAGICAL MEMORY at 7s.

Final decs out tomorrow and I'll do a full preview on Friday.

The ground at Haydock remains Good to Soft as we call it (Dead 4 ?).

Confirming 17 stand for the Sprint Trophy on Saturday.

The big news this morning is the scratching of TWILIGHT SON who will now go straight to Ascot for the sprint on Champions Day in mid October. Trainer Henry Candy has spoken to both that horse's owners and those of LIMATO who apparently want to run at Haydock even though the ground is only good and more rain is forecast.

QUIET REFLECTION, whose stable has been pretty quiet in terms of winners, remains 4/1 with LIMATO now 5/2 favourite.

Pretty much as was forecast, the rain arrived on Saturday morning and on the traditionally over-watered ground at Haydock, turned conditions from good to soft by the time of the Sprint Trophy.

LIMATO was scratched and the way was clear for QUIET REFLECTION, who frankly bolted up in the style of a class act. The 3-y-o filly sat off the pace but was always travelling and relishing the ground and quickened ahead with 300m to go. Only THE TIN MAN was able to give chase but he was always being held by the winner and finished a length and three quarters down.

SUEDOIS won the bunch race for third, a further two and a half lengths back.

QUIET REFLECTION won the Commonwealth Cup on slow ground but was no match for LIMATO on fast ground at Newmarket. Whether connections will be tempted by the Abbaye if the ground comes up slow I don't know but the sprint on Champions day looks the obvious alternative. She's obviously a future broodmare who will be hugely sought after - perhaps a trip to Frankel might be on the cards. I rate her very close to last year's top 3-y-o sprinter MUHAARAR but he was effective on fast ground in a way she isn't and she is effective on slow ground in a way he wasn't.

this will be the big year for frankel wont it?

I'm sure Juddmonte are thrilled by the start he's made. He's had 16 individual runners in the UK and 10 have won. In FAIR EVA and QUEEN KINDLY, he has already thrown a couple of decent fillies.

The colts have been slower, no question, but there'll be more to come as we go into the autumn and more, I suspect, of the likely 3-y-o.

Next year will be the test to see if the 3-y-o can cut the mustard - if he were to sire a classic winner or even a classic placed horse in his second season, that would be a real boost.

One race Frankel didn't win was the Leger and next Wednesday sees the start of the four day Leger Meeting. The first two days are pretty ordinary in truth but there are some nice races on both the Friday and Saturday.

Friday has two Group 2 races at the extremes - the Flying Childers is for juveniles over 1000m while the Doncaster Cup over 3600m is the stayers race of the meeting. I'll update more on these tomorrow.

The current ground report at Doncaster is Good to Soft, Soft in places after half an inch of rain yesterday. The forecast of the week looks pretty good and I would expect the ground to quicken somewhat by the end of the week.

Bits and pieces of news as we start a fascinating week up here building toward a very busy weekend in England, Ireland and France.

Dual Derby winner HARZAND now seems to be a likely runner in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday along with stable mate FASCINATING ROCK in what will be, in effect, his Arc prep race. Potentially, it's a very high class field for the race but we'll know a lot more after final decs on Thursday and the possibility of a clash with dual Oaks heroine MINDING is still possible given the interview Aidan O'Brien gave to At The Races last week which suggested he was thinking more of the Irish Champion than the Matron for his top 3-y-o filly.

Derby fourth and King George runner up WINGS OF DESIRE will miss the Leger and is being kept for a "late autumn" campaign. Not quite sure what it means but could mean the Breeders Cup Turf before a tilt at the Japan Cup.

We'll have the five day entries for Saturday in a couple of hours and the final decs for Friday on Wednesday. The fields for the Moulin and Vermeille on Sunday won't be clear until Friday