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Turfling
Europe · Friday 28 August 2026
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The lead
Rouget will stop training at the end of September
Jean-Claude Rouget will stop training at the end of September, the 73-year-old confirming to Paris-Turf that his Pau operation faces liquidation on 25 September unless a buyer for the business can be found (Racing Post). He leaves with two runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Sottsass in 2020 and Ace Impact in 2023, six Prix du Jockey Club and four Prix de Diane (Le Parisien). The string has fallen from 177 horses in Ace Impact’s championship year to about 60, after a cancer diagnosis in 2024 and a run of owner departures, and a planned dual-licence arrangement with Jerome Reynier fell through in August 2024 (Racing Post). Two Group 1 winners from last season, Leffard and Arrow Eagle, hold entries for October’s Arc, so the yard that sent out a first Group 1 winner in Millkom in 1994 may have one autumn left in it yet.
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Things to know today
| 1 |
Rouget’s company faces judicial liquidation on 25 September if no takeover offer is received before then (Le Parisien) |
| 2 |
Gordon Brown called for an increase in Machine Games Duty on adult gaming centres, saying it could raise up to 500 million pounds without touching bingo halls or pubs, with the money going towards help with fuel bills and a resilience fund (SBC News) |
| 3 |
The November 2025 Budget raised Remote Gaming Duty from 21 to 40 per cent and set General Betting Duty to rise from 15 to 25 per cent in April 2027, leaving Machine Games Duty unchanged (SBC News) |
| 4 |
Great Barrier Reef returns in the Group 3 Round Tower Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday, Aidan O’Brien saying the Coventry winner was ready to run in France last week but was not quite right, with the Middle Park a possible autumn target (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
| 5 |
Christophe Soumillon takes the ride on Where Love Lives for Donnacha O’Brien in the Round Tower, and on the supplemented Miss Scott for John and Thady Gosden in the Group 3 Snow Fairy Stakes (The Irish Field) |
| 6 |
Ballydoyle also sends So Lovely to the Newtownanner Stud Irish EBF Stakes and Drop Dead Gorgeous and Garden Party to the Snow Fairy (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
| 7 |
Blue Blossom Cen was beaten a quarter of a length into second on her debut in Wednesday’s two-year-old fillies’ maiden over a mile at La Teste, the Frankel half-sister to quadruple Group 1 winner Blue Rose Cen chasing home Frissonante in a field of twelve for Yeguada Centurion and Patrik Olave (Zeturf) |
| 8 |
Champagne Sunset finished outside the first five in the same La Teste maiden, the 250,000 guineas Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase trained by Christopher Head for Repole Stable (Zeturf) |
| 9 |
Daryz is being aimed at Arc trials day at Longchamp on 6 September, his racing manager Nemone Routh saying the Arc winner looks great and loves the track (Thoroughbred Daily News), with Sporting Life naming the Prix Foy as the race (Sporting Life) |
| 10 |
Jamie Osborne has declared White Birch for the Listed Weatherbys August Stakes at Windsor on Saturday and says his new recruit is ready (Sporting Life) |
| 11 |
William Muir runs Breacher in Saturday’s Solario Stakes at Sandown and says he wants to find out what the juvenile can do (Sporting Life) |
| 12 |
Zavateri is set to line up in the Group 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood on Saturday (Sporting Life) |
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International
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America
Three classic winners meet in the Travers
Ten three-year-olds go to post for the 1.25 million dollar Travers over a mile and a quarter at Saratoga on Saturday evening. Cherie DeVaux’s Golden Tempo makes his first start since June after a bacterial lung infection, and meets Preakness winner Napoleon Solo and Jim Dandy winner Renegade for the first time (Horse Racing Nation).
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Australasia
Autumn Glow takes the Australian title
Autumn Glow polled 110 votes to be named Australian Racehorse of the Year at Royal Randwick on Thursday night, ahead of Half Yours on 69, Sheza Alibi on 67 and Via Sistina on 66. She won seven in a row through the season and was beaten only once, when third in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Just Horse Racing).
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Markets overnight
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FTSE 100 10,792.54, down 0.79 per cent (Armstrong Economics) |
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DAX 26,367.28, up 0.31 per cent (Armstrong Economics) |
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CAC 40 8,319.87, down 1.68 per cent (Armstrong Economics) |
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EUR/USD 1.16517, little changed (Armstrong Economics) |
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GBP/USD 1.35953, up 0.01 per cent (Armstrong Economics) |
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Gold 4,611.75 dollars an ounce, up 0.39 per cent (Armstrong Economics) |
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Brent crude 89.004 dollars a barrel, up 1.32 per cent (Armstrong Economics) |
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Bitcoin 79,707.18 dollars, up 1.22 per cent, taken at 7.15am New York time on Thursday 27 August (Fortune) |
Indices, currencies, gold and Brent read after the Thursday 27 August European close. Bitcoin trades around the clock and carries the time the figure was read.
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The week ahead
| Saturday |
The Group 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood and the Solario at Sandown, with the Round Tower and Snow Fairy Stakes at the Curragh and the Travers at Saratoga (Sporting Life, Thoroughbred Daily News) |
| 6 September |
Daryz is aimed at Arc trials day at Longchamp (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
| 25 September |
The deadline for a takeover offer for Jean-Claude Rouget’s Pau business (Le Parisien) |
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This week
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Reported from official race-day materials, racecourse and regulator publications, and sales results, verified against trade press. Where a fact originates elsewhere, we say so. Market data as of the most recent close, sourced separately from racing content and linked at each figure. Drafted with AI assistance to Turfling’s published editorial standard. Picks are percentages, never odds. Not affiliated with any track, tote board, regulator or wagering product.
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