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“He Seemed Fine”: How Joe Pride Saved Ceolwulf From A Career-Wrecking Ban CEOLWULF, CHAD SCHOFIELD / G1 King Charles III Stakes // Randwick /// 2024 //// Photo by Jeremy Ng One of Australia’s best horses, Ceolwulf, will return to the races in the G1 Verry Elleegant Stakes a fortnight after he dodged a ban which could have spelled disaster for the rest of his career. At five, there could still be plenty of seasons for the two-time G1 King Charles Stakes winner – who has already amassed more than A$10 million in prizemoney – to race for big money.https://bitofayarn.com But at his last start, the Joe Pride-trained gelding returned to scale with blood present in both nostrils after finishing down the track behind the unbeaten Autumn Glow in the G2 Apollo Stakes. Such a scenario usually triggers a three-month ban from racing in Australia, and a second bleeding attack deems the horse must be retired. Connections didn’t want to have one strike, let alone the thought of being on the cusp of a second.https://bitofayarn.com But as Pride examined Ceolwulf after the race and observed the blood in both nostrils, he was perplexed. Ceolwulf wasn’t distressed, breathing abnormally, or even a little awkward on his feet. He seemed just … fine. What happened next was Pride’s quick thinking saving his horse’s campaign and has put the spotlight on how thoroughbreds are examined when external clues might not lead to the standard conclusion internally. JOE PRIDE / Randwick // 2023 /// Photo by Jeremy Ng Before driving the horse across Sydney back to his stables, Pride asked Racing NSW stewards if he could have the horse scoped on track. The regulator’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Carly Garling, watched the process unfold. “Every horse is an individual and I’d like to think I know my horses well,” Pride said. Pride suspected Ceolwulf hadn’t suffered exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH), which is when blood enters the airways of a horse’s lungs. EIPH usually occurs after a strenuous gallop such as a race, and is manifested with blood from both nostrils. After inspecting Ceolwulf’s airways and lungs, vets couldn’t find any presence of blood. Stewards agreed there could be a possibility of further follow-up tests during the week to ensure Ceolwulf would be cleared to continue racing. On the other side of the world, chief steward Tom Moxon was attending the Asian Racing Conference in Saudi Arabia. He was being kept abreast of the unfolding situation with one of the best horses in the country, including the post-race request for it to be scoped.https://bitofayarn.com “It’s not something we would routinely do on tracks in NSW, but (Pride) was able to arrange for a vet to scope the horse on course,” Moxon said. “It was clear on the scope that the blood on the nostrils wasn’t a result of EIPH, meaning that it was clear it hadn’t come from the lungs and there was no blood in the trachea. I suppose we just wanted to make as informed a decision as we could with the horse’s welfare at the forefront of our minds.” What followed next was a nervous few days as Pride and Ceolwulf’s owners tried to jump every hurdle to make sure the horse was healthy and right to continue his preparation. On Pride’s instigation, Ceolwulf went for a CT scan at Randwick Equine Centre in the days after the Apollo Stakes. Ceolwulf was sedated under the supervision of an equine specialist. The examination assessed everything: the horse’s skull, soft tissue, airways, the list goes on. “We were looking for something in his sinuses where he might have had a growth, something that could have bled,” Pride said. “It might have been an obstruction. There was nothing. https://bitofayarn.com “The horse passed every examination we could have put him through. It was above and beyond what they asked us to do, but he’s a valuable horse.” Pride’s mentor John Size trains in the more extreme climate of Hong Kong, and is known for protecting horses once they suffer an EIPH bleed.  Pride is similarly cautious with his gallopers, but his intuition told him nothing was wrong with Ceolwulf despite the presence of blood after the race. So, what happened? “The most likely explanation seems to be he’s had, and I would call it minor, a head trauma and he’s burst a couple of vessels,” Pride said. “What I have seen happen with horses is they might whack their head on a walker or in the pool, but nothing happens until you gallop them and the extra pressure they’re exerting through that area bursts those blood vessels. “The blood is coming from a very innocent place. “These are horses that are having ridiculously large amounts of money bet on them. The technology is there so let’s embrace it and use it and hopefully improve the game going forward. If something can improve out of this, that’s a positive as well.” 

Bloodstock agent Nico Archdale has shared news of his brain cancer diagnosis and revealed that the outpouring of well-wishes from the racing and bloodstock communities have provided him with the necessary strength to meet what has been a frightful start to the new year with steely determination.  Archdale is perhaps best known for his role working for Saudi Arabian-based Najd Stud. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in late January and has already undergone surgery to remove a tumor from his brain.  The 32-year-old faces a gruelling stretch of Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy over the coming weeks and months. However, he is planning on completing a Hyrox fitness challenge by the end of this year and has set up a Just Giving page – in which all funds will go towards Macmillan Cancer Support – in order for people to track his progress.  Archdale said, “It is not what I had planned for 2026 – it's all been a bit of a shock. I found out at the end of January and luckily I had an amazing support team of doctors who fast-tracked everything in order to give me the best possible chance. I am just trying to keep positive. I have a long journey ahead but hopefully I will get there.” He added, “I have had a lot of messages and that has been amazing. Everyone has been very supportive. John Bourke, who did the Godolphin Flying Start with me, is one of my best friends and he has been brilliant. He flew over from Ireland and stayed with me for a few days. To be honest, everyone who did the course with me has reached out so the support has been amazing from them and a lot of other people within the industry. Also, Clodagh Kavanagh, the course director, has been very good as well. I have had so much support and it has been a massive help.” The Hospital to Hyrox Challenge, as Archdale has labelled it, went live on Thursday and has already raised over £8,000 for the charity.  Speaking about the reasons for setting up the Just Giving page, Archadale explained, “I set up a Just Giving page for a few different reasons. Number one, it was really just a page for my friends, so that they could follow my journey and see how I am. The other reason was to try and spread awareness and even reach out to other people who may be going through similar health issues and maybe help them. The big one is obviously the fundraising and trying to raise as much money as I possibly can for Macmillan Cancer Support. I guess it gives me a bit more strength and motivation to fulfill the challenge of a Hyrox towards the end of this year. Having something like that to aim for will hopefully provide me with the strength I need to beat cancer. There will be times over the next number of months when I am going through Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy where I am bound to struggle but I am determined to battle through and to do this.” On the timeline of his recovery, he added, “I had my brain surgery four weeks ago today and that went as well as I could have hoped. I start Radiotherapy on Tuesday which is every day for six weeks. I have a break of a few weeks after that and then there are a few months of Chemotherapy. We'll have to take things step by step but hopefully things will be all good by then and they will monitor me very closely thereafter. Unfortunately, it's a very rare type of cancer and, if it comes back within the first year, it's not particularly good news for me. Like I said, I am trying to stay positive so hopefully it doesn't come back for 20 years.” Archdale said that the imminent return of the Flat season has provided him with a welcome distraction and, beyond completing a Hyrox challenge later this year, he has set himself another target for 2027. He concluded, “Unfortunately, I was meant to be in Saudi Arabia for the Saudi Cup earlier this month but I couldn't go. We [Najd Stud] had a runner [Ameerat Alzamaan] in the Saudi Cup and she finished 10th. I bought her as a yearling so it would have been pretty cool to be out there for that but the goal is to be there next year.” The post Archdale Shares “Amazing Support” From Bloodstock Community Following Cancer Diagnosis appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack provides analysis for this weekend's trio of GI Kentucky Derby preps–Saturday's GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park and GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct and Sunday's GII Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park. GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. – Commandment (Into Mischief) is a deserving favorite and the horse to beat in this absolutely loaded renewal of the Coolmore Fountain of Youth. He kicked off the New Year in style, splitting horses at the top of the stretch en route to a runaway win in the one-turn mile Mucho Macho Man S. Jan. 3. The bay continues to get better with every start for Brad Cox and figures to sit a fantastic trip beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. from his inside draw in this first try around two turns in a race packed with speed. Produced by GI Spinaway S. heroine Sippican Harbor (Orb), Commandment is bred on the same Into Mischief x A.P. Indy cross as 2025 Horse of the Year and last year's Fountain of Youth winner Sovereignty. The two-for-two, $1.3-million KEESEP yearling Jackson Hole (Nyquist) is still learning on the job and took a major leap forward with a front-running, 'Rising Star' performance around two turns for Todd Pletcher at second asking at Fair Grounds Jan. 17. His final time of 1:44.71 for 1 1/16 miles was faster than Golden Tempo (1:44.98) in the GIII Lecomte S. and the highly regarded Reagan's Honor (1:45.03) in a maiden special weight on the same program. Fellow 'Rising Star' Chief Wallabee (Constitution) heads straight to the big leagues off a visually impressive debut win (came home in a remarkable :11.99) going seven furlongs at Gulfstream Jan. 10, a move you just don't see from Bill Mott. Selection: #4 Commandment (2-1). GIII Gotham S. – Hammond (Charlatan) is very playable at a price off a better-than-it-looks, third-place finish behind his unbeaten Saffie Joseph, Jr.-trained stablemate and FOY-bound Solitude Dude in the seven-furlong Swale S. Jan. 31. Off to a slow start while making his first attempt in two-plus months, he made a sweeping, four-wide blitz from last of six on the far turn into very easy early fractions and just couldn't keep the momentum rolling in the stretch. He'll have much more pace to run into this time around and should only benefit from having that race under his belt if he can handle the stretch to a mile here. Impossible to look past 6-5 morning-line favorite Iron Honor (Nyquist)–and that gaudy 95 Beyer Speed Figure earned as a debuting 2-year-old for Chad Brown at the Big A Dec. 13–in this first attempt versus winners. He defeated two next-out winners going six furlongs that day, including the re-opposing Right to Party (Constitution), who will be motoring home late at a price. Selection: #2 Hammond (5-1). GII Rebel S. – Willing to take a shot against the two likely favorites with the lightly raced and well-drawn Class President (Uncle Mo). Looked like a promising two-turn prospect striding out beautifully for a smart debut win for Todd Pletcher over next-out winner Easterly going a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Dec. 27, then turned back slightly and was a solid runner-up in the aforementioned Swale. Should be forwardly placed beneath John Velazquez and is bred to handle (produced by a MSW & GSP Quality Road mare) every bit of this 1 1/16-mile Rebel distance. Very much looking forward to the 3-year-old debut of GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity runner-up and 'Rising Star' Blackout Time (Not This Time), who will vie for favoritism with the returning GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile fourth Litmus Test (Nyquist). Selection: #3 Class President (10-1). The post Handicapping the Kentucky Derby Preps: Coolmore Fountain of Youth, Gotham & Rebel appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Jockey Club of Canada will present Rose Day with the 2025 Outstanding Groom Award, Tove Morgan with the Outstanding Off-track Worker Award, and Jodie Hiesinger with the inaugural Outstanding Western Canadian Backstretch Worker Award, the group announced via a press release that also included the media finalists for the 2025 Sovereign Awards. Part of the Woodbine Racetrack community for nearly three decades, Day has been a groom for 22 years–13 of them with Sid and Larry Attard. Recognized for her consistently positive attitude and ability to motivate those around her, she has cared for some of the stable's top runners, including Kingsport and One Bay Hemingway. A fixture with some of the most well-respected outfits in Canadian racing, Tove Morgan has spent time with Roger Attfield, Kinghaven Farms, and Adena Springs, and is currently an integral member of the Hill 'N' Dale Canada team, helping to foal out dozens of mares each year. A graduate of the Olds College Exercise Rider program in 2012, Jodie Hiesinger has been an assistant trainer with Rod Cone since 2016, garnering the respect of staff and owners alike. Listed in alphabetical order, the finalists for the 2025 Media Sovereign Awards categories are as follows: Digital Audio/Visual and Broadcast Category FanDuel TV–Emma-Jayne Wilson: The Comeback, aired August 16, 2025 Horse Racing Alberta–The Career of Robertino Diodoro, aired August 15, 2025 Woodbine Entertainment–Free Rein: It Runs in the Family, aired April 11, 2025 Photograph Category Clive Cohen–Love Illuminated, published November 5, 2025 in The Paulick Report Santino Di Paola–The Roar, published August 17, 2025 on HBPA-Ontario.com Jason Halsted–Running under the Harvest Moon, published September 12, 2025 in the Assiniboia Downs Inside Track Will Wong–Corsia Veloce, published December 16, 2025 on OntarioRacing.com Writing Category Jamie T. Attard–A Long Way (and a long wait) to the Top, published March 7, 2025 on CanadianThoroughbred.com Dave Briggs–How divine intervention led No Time to a Woodbine Oaks championship in Memory of Boss Lady J, published July 29, 2025 on TIP.OntarioRacing.com Eric Mitchell and Molly Rollins–Canadian Breeders Shaken by Tariff Threats, published March 14, 2025 on BloodHorse.com Joe Nevills–Kentucky Derby Alum Mohaymen Living A Non-Traditional Stallion's Life In Ontario, published May 6, 2025 on The Paulick Report Natalie Voss–As Woodbine Opens Its Season, Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson Is Waiting In The Wings – For Now, published April 28, 2025 on The Paulick Report   Judging for the Media Awards is performed by media professionals within the industry selected from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The winner in each of the three Media Sovereign Award categories will be announced, along with the other Sovereign Award winners and Canada's Horse of the Year, during the 51st Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony on the evening of Thursday, Apr. 23 at Paramount Eventspace in Woodbridge, Ontario. The post Industry Award Recipients, Media Sovereign Award Finalists Revealed appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Capital Stud's Topgear had his first mares scanned in foal, the stud announced on Friday. The multiple group winner, who scored in the G2 Challenge Stakes, stands for €7,500 this year. “We are delighted to announce that Topgear has had his first mares scanned in foal,” the stud said in a statement. “It's an exciting milestone for this exceptional young stallion and a hugely encouraging start to his stud career at Capital Stud. Early scans have been very positive, and we are grateful to the breeders who have shown such strong support in his first season. “An unbeaten 2YO and the highest Timeform-rated son of Wootton Bassett retired to stud this year, Topgear is out of a Giant's Causeway mare, offering breeders a brilliant outcross option. Correct and good-looking, with a big walk, he has impressed breeders from the outset. “We very much look forward to welcoming his first foals next year.” The post Topgear’s First Mares Scanned In Foal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Coolmore has bought 1,100 acres of land from Shadwell Farm in Kentucky for close to $50-million, according to a source. TDN understands the deal has been completed. Shadwell was owned by the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, brother of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The farm lies close to Ashford Stud, Keeneland Racecourse and its sale grounds, Lexington Blue Grass Airport, and Calumet Farm. The post Coolmore Buys Shadwell Farm for $50m in Kentucky appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Point-to-pointer Amber Dancer (Dragon Dancer) was one of the choicest lots during Friday's ThoroughBid February Sale at £12,000, selling to Matt Coleman and will now be trained by Neil King. Consigned by Willie Mullins, she holds a second-place effort when debuting in a point-to-point Flat race at Duncombe Park earlier this month. Dan Astbury paid £20,000 for Dan's Allstar from the consignment of Tom Keating. The son of Malinas has placed once in three runs in point-to-points and is from the family of G2 Martell Cup Chase winner Scotton Banks (Le Moss). Duce Bigalow (Pour Moi) (lot 12) sold for £19,000 to Maurice Ryan. Offered by Seamus Neville, the seven-year-old gelding has placed thrice in chases and point-to-points. Gordon Elliott's Big Stage (Walk In The Park) (lot 16) has changed hands for £14,000 to a gentleman. Overall, 14 lots sold from 28 offered (50%) for a gross of £116,800. The average was £8,324 and the median was £8,750. James Richardson, CEO of ThoroughBid, gave his thoughts on the sale as a whole, “The February Sale has continued what's been a really encouraging start to 2026 for ThoroughBid. Amber Dancer is a nice British pointer who created plenty of interest as a wildcard entry and it's great to see her purchased by Matt Coleman to be trained by Neil King – she looks a lovely prospect. “It was also pleasing to see strong demand again for Gordon Elliott's consignment, with Big Stage heading to Stuart Coltherd after that impressive win at Ayr, while Dan's Allstar and Moonshine River added further depth to the sale. It will be particularly interesting to see if Dan's Allstar – or indeed any of our eligible graduates – can land the £5,000 Point-to-Rules Bonus in the coming months, which adds an extra layer of excitement for owners.” The post Amber Dancer Highlights ThoroughBid February Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Saturday's GIII Honey Fox Stakes at Gulfstream Park brings with it the next chapter in the feel-good story of Lush Lips (Ten Sovereigns), the first four-year-old start for the Keeneland pin-up girl who remains a Somerset lass at heart. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Lush Lips lines up at Gulfstream as the winner of four of her 11 starts to date. In October, she enjoyed her career highlight when making the breakthrough at the top level in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland. Then, just a few weeks later, she made headlines at the adjacent sales complex when going the way of Dixiana Farms for $3.7 million, with all roads now leading back to Keeneland in the autumn and a tilt at the Breeders' Cup. Certainly, life in the bluegrass is looking good on Lush Lips, but the part of this story which elevates it into the realms of fairytale can be found in her Somerset roots, specifically at the Pocock family's Stringston Farm and in their purchase of the Definite Article mare Divine Grace for just 6,000gns at Tattersalls back in 2002. Whilst Divine Grace was added to their broodmare band for a relatively modest sum, it would be nigh on impossible to put a value on her worth to the Pococks, perhaps not even the telephone digits paid for her granddaughter last autumn. “It was very surreal, really,” Nick Pocock says of Lush Lips' star turn in the Keeneland sales ring. “We bought her granddam for 6,000gns, so to go from 6,000gns to $3.7 million was very much a fairytale. It was amazing the number of people who saw her at Keeneland and told us afterwards what a beautiful filly she was. That gave us a massive amount of pride.” Before Lush Lips came along, Divine Grace was perhaps best known as the dam of the multiple Group-winning sire Electric Beat, plus the Rockfel Stakes third Gray Pearl (Excellent Art). The dam of Lush Lips, on the other hand, the Arcano mare Lamyaa, was nothing special on the racecourse, winning just once in eight career starts for Shadwell after changing hands for 90,000gns as a foal. Lamyaa later returned to Somerset following her €28,000 purchase by the Pococks at Goffs but, with only one of her first four foals managing to win a race, there was little to foreshadow what Lush Lips has gone on to achieve. “The mare needed another winner at the time, really, and there was a bit of a question mark about Ten Sovereigns,” Pocock says of the first time Lush Lips was offered at public auction at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale. She was ultimately knocked down to Mark McStay's Avenue Bloodstock, Medallion Racing and Donnacha O'Brien for £82,000. “Mark McStay, the first time he saw her, he just absolutely adored her. She was always a lovely foal. We were disappointed she couldn't go to the foal sales, but she just tweaked something in her back. There was never a day that she wasn't the standout – she was always the apple of my father's eye.” The rest, as they say, is history, with Lush Lips going on to become the second top-level winner bred at Stringston Farm with her Keeneland success. The first was Rekindling, who provided a memorable breakthrough when winning the Melbourne Cup back in 2017, with it then proving nearly eight years between drinks at the top table. “I think Lush Lips probably rates slightly higher [than Rekindling] because we had so many seconds in Group 1s after Rekindling,” says Pocock. “Melo Melo was beaten in a close finish [to the 2023 Prix Vermeille] and Sydney Opera House went down by a very short nose [in the 2018 Criterium de Saint-Cloud]. It really does make you appreciate it when they do get their heads in front in a Group or Grade 1. “With Lush Lips, it came after a year of us sort of thinking that it was possible. She won her maiden over there by such a distance and then ran into Nitrogen twice. She was unlucky when she was second in the Grade I at Del Mar, so we just knew that, if she got her day, we were going to be very close. It was just great to see it actually happen because she definitely deserved it.” All being well, Lush Lips will have every opportunity to make more headlines in the coming weeks and months, with her Grade I update last autumn already having proved a timely one when her full-brother went through the ring at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. McStay stuck to a winning formula there when buying the colt on behalf of Steve Weston's Parkland Thoroughbreds for 150,000gns. “He was a slightly different type of horse but a very strong and powerful type,” adds Pocock. “It was brilliant to sell him back to Mark. Mark has kept us in the picture the whole way through and we very much felt a part of the team with Lush Lips. It was a bit difficult going up there with a Ten Sovereigns when the horse had moved to Turkey, so it was great to see him get the support that he did.” The most lucrative result for Stringston Farm at that sale came courtesy of You Look So Good (Excellent Art), another daughter of Divine Grace. Already the dam of Melo Melo (Gleneagles), as well as the high-class Treasuring (Havana Gold), You Look So Good's latest filly by Chaldean went the way of SackvilleDonald for 240,000gns. “She was an outstanding filly,” says Pocock. “You Look So Good is a mare who delivered straight up, whereas Lamyaa has taken a year or two. The whole way through the summer, the Chaldean filly was just a star at home and we were just waiting to get to the sales with her. We thought that we had something pretty special and it was lovely to see that we weren't wrong once we got up there.” He continues, “We've struggled to keep daughters of Divine Grace. They seem to find ways of dying, but we have Lamyaa and You Look So Good and we're very appreciative of having them. Divine Grace was a mare where it didn't matter what stallion we sent her to, she would give us a very good racehorse. It's the same with Lamyaa and You Look So Good, they've both just followed on in the tradition.” Pocock is now counting down the days until April when Lamyaa and You Look So Good are both due to foal. Lamyaa is carrying a three-parts brother or sister to Lush Lips by Little Big Bear, while You Look So Good is in foal to City Of Troy. You Look So Good will then visit Gleneagles in a repeat of the mating that produced Melo Melo, with the hope being that she'll produce a full-sister that the Pococks can breed from. Lamyaa, meanwhile, has had her choice of mate narrowed down to either City Of Troy or St Mark's Basilica, with the latter also set to receive another exciting young mare in Sitara's Legacy (Sea The Moon). The unraced Sitara's Legacy, who is reportedly in foal to Auguste Rodin, capped a “dream week” for the Pococks at the December Foal Sale when her Chaldean colt sold to Juddmonte for 180,000gns. “It was a dream sale for us and it came after a very hard year the year before as well,” says Pocock. “To be honest, I don't think we've had such an easy crop of foals before. The whole way through the foal prep, we were kind of waiting for a problem to arise. All six foals we couldn't really fault and to average 110,000gns was unbelievable, really.” Of the 15 mares who call Stringston Farm home, Sitara's Legacy understandably holds a special place in the hearts of everyone there as the final foal out of Sitara (Salse), the dam of their Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling, as well as the Group 1 placegetters Golden Sword and Sydney Opera House. “That was always the intention with her being the last foal of Sitara,” Pocock says of the decision to retain Sitara's Legacy. “It's very nice to carry it on between Divine Grace and Sitara. They've given us some great memories and there are pictures of them all over the house. They've done us very proud and their daughters are continuing it for us as well which is great.” To have had one mare like Divine Grace or Sitara is one thing, but for both of them to have come along at the same time is quite another. Indeed, perhaps the most remarkable thing about this whole tale is that Divine Grace and Sitara were both bought by Nick Pocock's parents, Robert and Wendy, on the same afternoon at Tattersalls over 20 years go, with Sitara proving only the slightly more expensive of the pair at 10,000gns. If Carlsberg did Park Paddocks spending sprees… “It was a day we always try to recreate!” Pocock says of that fateful session from December 4, 2002. “Funnily enough, when my parents bought Sitara it was the most that we'd paid for a mare. I was away in Ireland and I think dad walked out from the ring a little bit shocked that he'd spent so much on a mare. He walked up and spoke to Eddie Fitzpatrick who asked, 'Do you want to know about the sister?' That turned out to be Shouk, the dam of Magical Romance quite quickly afterwards and later Alexandrova. “For a long time, Sitara was kind of broodmare of the month before she'd really had a big winner. We lived off the family and it was great to be involved in such a family – and it still is. They are really good-looking horses who do the job properly, both in the sales ring and on the racetrack. Having that success on the racetrack is so important. It's a bit more than trying to be commercial for us – it's for the pleasure on top.” One filly most definitely holding up that end of the bargain is Lush Lips. Indeed, this Keeneland pin-up girl has already given the Pococks untold pleasure, far beyond what they could have imagined when this Somerset dairy farm first became home to the odd broodmare around five decades ago. “We are farmers, first and foremost,” Pocock sums up. “That's why we sell as Stringston Farm. It isn't a stud and they are a part of farming to us. The whole intent was just to get my parents off the farm back in the day. It was a bit of fun and, originally, the idea was to pinhook some relatively cheap foals and take them up to the old St Leger sale. It kind of grew from there. We were simply lucky to get into two very good mares early on and it's taken us to places that we would never have envisaged going.” The post Lush Lips Continuing the Fairytale for Stringston Farm and Divine Grace Dynasty appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article