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Turfling
Europe
Wednesday 2 September 2026
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The lead
Galopin Des Champs dies less than a week after retiring
Galopin Des Champs has died at the age of ten, less than a week after Willie Mullins announced his retirement. Ruby Walsh, who gave the news on Tuesday, said the horse suffered an injury in his field that morning and could not be saved. He was found with a severe injury high on his near front leg, and X-rays showed extensive and unrepairable damage (Racing Post, Sky Sports).
He won back to back Cheltenham Gold Cups in 2023 and 2024 and three consecutive Irish Gold Cups at Leopardstown for Greg and Audrey Turley. Paul Townend rode him in every one of his Grade 1 wins and said he was a horse of a lifetime, a superstar nobody will forget. Mullins called the loss devastating for the owners and heartbreaking for those closest to the horse (Racing Post).
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Things to know today
| 1 |
Constitution Hill is among 101 entries for the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on 3 November, one of 23 international entries drawn from four countries. Nicky Henderson says the horse does not qualify as things stand and must finish in the first three in Saturday’s Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton, and find six or seven pounds in the ratings, to become eligible. Joseph O’Brien has 11 entries and Aidan O’Brien five, among them the Derby winner Christmas Day (Racing Post, PA Media) |
| 2 |
Aidan O’Brien has named Minnie Hauk as the one he has always trained for the Arc, and says Benvenuto Cellini and Diamond Necklace could join her. The Irish Derby winner runs in the Group 2 Prix Niel at Longchamp on Sunday and would go on to the Arc if the ground came right, with the Breeders’ Cup and Hong Kong the alternatives. Diamond Necklace could be aimed at the Opera or the Arc, and Gstaad contests Sunday’s Prix du Moulin (Racing Post) |
| 3 |
Frankie Dettori has pulled out of the Betfred Leger Legends race at Doncaster on 11 September. The 55 year old broke four ribs and fractured a thumb in a car crash at the beginning of July and says he is not fit enough, but that he will be there to support his fellow riders for the Injured Jockeys Fund and hopes to take part next year (Racing Post) |
| 4 |
The Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association held its 109th annual general meeting and launched its 2025 annual report, chairman Philip Newton saying the challenges facing British breeding are very real but that the conversation has changed. The Great British Bonus has distributed more than 25 million pounds since 2020. Kelly Thomas of Maywood Stud joins the board and Jess Westwood of Molland Ridge Stud was re-appointed, while Simon Cox leaves to become chairman of the British Horseracing Authority on 1 October (Thoroughbred Daily News) |
| 5 |
Gordon Elliott says Romeo Coolio is on course to return at Down Royal next month, potentially in the BetVictor Champion Chase. The three-time Grade 1 winner was pulled up in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham in March, which the trainer puts down to a back problem that has since been dealt with by summer surgery (Racing Post) |
| 6 |
Wathnan Racing’s Storm Force won the six furlong novice stakes at Lingfield on Tuesday for Richard and Peter Fahey under James Doyle, a second win since the 230,000gns purchase returned from 445 days off the track. Doyle said he had been slightly worried about the quick comeback after so long away, but that there had not been many options for the horse (Racing Post) |
| 7 |
Tommie Beau won the Cavendish Cup Handicap Chase at Cartmel on Monday for the 16th win of a career made up entirely of handicaps over three miles or further. The 11 year old, trained by Seamus Mullins and ridden by the conditional Ben Macey, was bought for 11,000 euros in 2018 and has now won four times at Cartmel. Owner Simon Prout said the track is going to name a race after him (Racing Post) |
Seven items against a cap of fifteen, leaving room for anything today’s racing adds. Saturday’s Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton is not repeated in The week ahead below because item one already carries it.
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International
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America
Churchill Downs asks the FTC to review HISA
Churchill Downs chief executive Bill Carstanjen has written to the Federal Trade Commission asking it to require, or itself initiate, a formal independent review of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s governance, information security and disclosure practices. The letter, addressed to chairman Andrew Ferguson and commissioner Mark Meador, raises an August betting episode involving horses from a single training centre, a medication positive it says was disclosed late, and a portal weakness that let a third party reach confidential medication records. It puts 11 questions to the authority. No hearing has concluded in any of the matters raised (Thoroughbred Daily News).
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Australasia
Well Written goes for a seventh straight win at Ellerslie
Yulong’s unbeaten mare Well Written returns in the Group One Proisir Plate over 1400 metres at Ellerslie on Saturday, looking for a seventh win from seven starts for the Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh. The Written Tycoon mare won the New Zealand 1000 Guineas over a mile. Danny Rolston, head of racing for Yulong, said Marsh had given good reports on her all the way through and that the build-up to the Group One had been a seamless one (Breednet).
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Asia
Romantic Warrior retired with a front leg injury
Romantic Warrior has been retired, the Hong Kong Jockey Club said on Wednesday, after detailed diagnostic imaging and assessment of his front leg at the club’s veterinary hospital. He won 24 of his 31 starts and 15 of them at Group 1 level, among them four consecutive Hong Kong Cups, the 2023 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley and the 2024 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo, and he was last seen winning the Standard Chartered Champions and Chater Cup at Sha Tin in May. Trained by Danny Shum for Peter Lau, he was bought for 300,000 guineas out of Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. He goes to Conghua for three months before moving on through the club’s RESTART aftercare programme (Thoroughbred Daily News, Sporting Life).
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The Asia box was added after publication, when Romantic Warrior’s retirement was announced on Wednesday. The America and Australasia boxes stand as first published.
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Markets overnight
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FTSE 100 10,789.28, down 0.32 per cent (Yahoo Finance) |
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DAX 25,970.11, down 1.10 per cent (Yahoo Finance) |
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CAC 40 8,301.85, down 0.39 per cent (Investing.com) |
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EUR/USD 1.1591, down 0.23 per cent (Investing.com) |
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GBP/USD 1.3544, down 0.03 per cent (Investing.com) |
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Gold 4,476.50 dollars an ounce, down 0.54 per cent (Investing.com) |
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Brent crude 95.20 dollars a barrel, up 7.73 per cent (Investing.com) |
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Bitcoin 77,883.90 dollars, down 0.87 per cent (Investing.com) |
Every figure above is linked to the page it was read from. All eight are Tuesday 1 September closes. London and Frankfurt are taken from quote pages that state the closing time; Paris, the two currency pairs, gold, Brent and Bitcoin are taken from dated daily rows. Gold is the December futures contract and Brent the November contract, so both are settlements rather than the spot readings quoted at the London equities close. Bitcoin trades around the clock and carries its last completed daily session. Nothing has been estimated, interpolated or carried forward from Tuesday’s edition.
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The week ahead
| 2 September |
The Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale at Park Paddocks, 286 yearlings catalogued for the single day |
| 6 September |
The 156th Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden, over 2,400 metres |
| 12 September |
St Leger day at Doncaster, closing the four day Leger festival |
| 4 October |
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp |
| 12 October |
Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale opens at Park Paddocks, running to 14 October |
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This week
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Turfling
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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