Ross O’Sullivan is readying a strong squad for this season’s Galway Summer Festival after enjoying a fruitful meeting last year.
The stable sent out three winners for the showpiece fixture 12 months ago, all of whom return to the track this time around alongside further hopes both on the Flat and under the National Hunt code.
Donnie Devito, who took the Guinness Novice Hurdle last year, turns his hand to chasing and will take on stablemate and fellow Galway winner Talk In the Park over fences.
“The three winners from last year will go there, unfortunately two of them are taking each other on,” said O’Sullivan.
“Donnie Devito and Talk In The Park will both go for the beginners’ chase on Friday.”
Volantis bids to retain his title in the Guinness Galway Tribes Handicap Hurdle, whereas smart bumper horse turned hurdler Strong Link makes his Galway debut and the Listed winner Chally Chute aims to go one better than last year’s effort in the Guinness Handicap.
O’Sullivan said: “Volantis, last year’s winner of the good handicap which now runs on the Saturday will go back for that. He’s had a prep run on the Flat like last year and much the same preparation as last year.
“Strong Link has won a bumper and maiden hurdle, he goes for the novice hurdle that Donnie Devito won last year.
“The young pretender is Strong Link, he hasn’t put a foot wrong and has good winter form in bumpers.
“He’s transferred that to winning in the summer and because he’s up and coming he’d be the one that we’re really looking forward to.
“Last year Chally Chute was second in the good Flat handicap over a mile and a half, the Guinness Handicap. He goes back for the same race again having won a Listed race.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.77035462-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-22 13:57:352025-07-22 13:57:35Ross O’Sullivan eyeing more Galway Festival gains
Harry Eustace could be in line for another week to remember as stable stars Docklands and Time For Sandals prepare for their respective targets at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
Both horses shone at Group One level at Royal Ascot in June, with Docklands kicking off the meeting with a surprise 16-1 success in the Queen Anne Stakes before Time For Sandals came to the fore at 25-1 in the Commonwealth Cup.
Docklands now heads for the Sussex Stakes on the South Downs next week, where he will face an incredibly strong field that includes dual Group One-winner Field Of Gold.
“Docklands has been super since the race and seems to have come out of it very well. He has done a couple of bits of work since,” said Eustace.
“He obviously came out of it race-fit, so it’s getting him into Goodwood in as good a form as we got him into Ascot.
“We are under no illusions regarding the opposition. We take on the three-year-olds, particularly Field of Gold, which will be the toughest opponent he’s faced so far, but he’s in as good a place as we have ever had him.”
Docklands has been ridden by various jockeys in the past and was something of a chance ride for Mark Zahra at Royal Ascot, with Tom Marquand now set to get the leg up as those former partners are unavailable.
Eustace confirmed: “Tom Marquand will ride in the Sussex. Mark rode him at Ascot and Richard (Kingscote, who rode on his first two starts this year) is off to Hong Kong.
“Finding someone who can commit over two or three races this year is difficult for a yard our size, but I’m obviously keen to get the best available. I have a good relationship with Tom through my time with William Haggas and I think he’ll suit him well.”
Time For Sandals is taking aim at the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood, a step back to five furlongs for the first time since her juvenile season.
Prior to Ascot the filly was second by just a head in the Prix Texanita at Chantilly, a performance that has developed into a good line of form as the winner, Woodshauna, landed the Group One Prix Jean Prat next time out.
Eustace said of his runner: “She’s come out of Ascot particularly well. It was a big effort and the extra few weeks have really helped her.
“The Chantilly form has worked out very well and the winner of that has won the Prix Jean Prat, so her form is beginning to stack up stronger than people maybe thought it did on the day.
“Goodwood, almost more so than Ascot, can be quite a tough place to travel horses because of the box journey up to the racetrack. Mentally, it asks more questions than Ascot, but both she and Docklands mentally are very strong so that part of it I have no concerns about, so it’s a real asset for them.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/b2442ee4-c34a-4637-95bb-2b8c02dd504f.png5401080Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-22 13:17:542025-07-22 13:17:54Eustace’s Ascot heroes hunting more glory at Goodwood
Vespertilio is pencilled in for sprint targets in both Ireland and England after skipping the Minstrel Stakes at the weekend.
The filly was an intended runner in the Group Two at the Curragh on Sunday, but when the going description was changed to good to yielding trainer Willie McCreery opted to save her for more suitable ground.
The Phoenix Sprint Stakes is now on the agenda, over six furlongs at Group Three level at the Curragh, with the Sprint Cup at Haydock a longer-term aim later in the year.
“It was just that the ground changed and I thought that might take the sting out of her sprint,” McCreery said of Vespertilio’s withdrawal.
“We’d said we’d leave it as there are a couple of other races for her. She’s entered in the Phoenix Sprint Stakes at the Curragh, we could go for that, and then probably we’d have a look at the Haydock Sprint Cup.
“She’s come out this year a lot stronger and a lot more like a sprinter I think, hopefully I’m correct.
“We’ve got to give her another go at Group One level at one stage, I think sprinting is her game and I think she’s very, very fast.”
McCreery has another quality filly in Jancis, who is entered in the Valiant Stakes at Ascot on Saturday and will travel across to Berkshire if the going allows.
It is a step back to a mile for the chestnut, who was last seen finishing fifth in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh and prior to that was also fifth in the one-mile Lanwades Stud Stakes at the same track.
“She’s entered in the Valiant on Saturday at Ascot over the mile,” said McCreery.
“We’ll see what the ground is like for her, she needs quick ground so hopefully we’ll get it and we’ll be able to travel over for Saturday.
“I have been trying to stretch her out to a mile and two furlongs to give her more options, but I think a faster trip suits her better so we’ll go back to the mile now.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.81064546-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-22 12:27:082025-07-22 12:50:36McCreery has high hopes this season for Vespertilio
Royal Ascot hero Noble Champion is set to lead Ed Walker’s squad into battle at next week’s Qatar Goodwood Festival.
The Lambourn handler is enjoying an excellent season, highlighted by multiple Group-race victories thanks to the exploits of not only Noble Champion but also the likes of Almaqam – who is bound of this weekend’s York Stakes – Mgheera, Scenic and Ten Bob Tony.
Walker is preparing several high-class operators for various races on the Sussex Downs and is hopeful of adding to his hitherto meagre tally at the track’s feature meeting of the year.
Ed Walker is lining up a strong team for Goodwood (PA)
Speaking at a Goodwood-organised press visit at his yard on Tuesday, the trainer said: “Numerically we are not flying along, it just seems that way as we received a lot of good publicity following a couple of high-profile winners.
“The last month or so has been a bit bread and butter and also frustrating as we’ve had a shed load of seconds and thirds in the last fortnight.
“In our number of winners we are a bit down on last year, so the truth is we are making headlines but not adding to our total – and to date I’ve only had one winner at the big Goodwood meeting.”
Noble Champion, a surprise but impressive winner of the Jersey at the Royal meeting last month, is one of two Walker-trained entries for the HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes on July 29, along with his John of Gaunt Stakes scorer Ten Bob Tony.
Ed Walker is preparing his horses for Goodwood (PA)
However, with both horses in the same ownership, they are unlikely to lock horns.
Of Noble Champion, Walker said: “He needs a good, even gallop like the one he got from Spy Chief in the Jersey, and that horse went on to run a solid race in the July Cup.
“My horse thumped Spy Chief at Ascot and we’re buzzing about him. He’s a very exciting horse.
“We also have Ten Bob Tony in the Lennox, but Noble Champion is more likely to go as he’s OK on the better ground and is in flying form.”
Scenic won the Group Three Bronte Cup at York on her penultimate start before pushing red-hot favourite Estrange all the way in Haydock’s Lancashire Oaks.
The five-year-old, who was purchased by the powerful Wathnan Racing team prior to her neck defeat on Merseyside, is also set to be part of Walker’s Goodwood-bound battalion.
Scenic (left) pushed Estrange all the way at Haydock (Nigel French for The Jockey Club)
He added: “Scenic ran a massive race in the Lancashire Oaks and is heading for the Lillie Langtry.
“She didn’t get the credit she deserved in a muddling race at Haydock and I’m happy to take on the winner again. I think she will run to a higher rating in the Yorkshire Oaks than at Goodwood.”
Other planned contenders for the trainer include Celandine, who ran a race full of promise on her return from 10 months off the track when third in York’s Summer Stakes recently, and the Coventry and July Stakes runner-up Do Or Do Not.
“Celandine and Balmoral Lady are both in the King George Stakes and at this point it looks more like Celandine will go there as she wants it (the ground) like a road. She has bags of speed, but just got hassled by Rage Of Bamby at York last time,” said Walker.
“The owner of Do Or Do Not is very keen to take him to the Vintage Stakes and that’s the plan as it looks like he’s crying out for seven furlongs.
“He’s bred to be a fun horse but he’s very good, and deserves to win one of these Group races.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.80742555-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-22 10:47:272025-07-22 10:47:27Noble to Champion Walker’s Goodwood hopes
Ed Walker is preparing to take the wraps off Almaqam in Saturday’s Sky Bet York Stakes.
The four-year-old has been limited to just two starts so far this year, finishing third in the Gordon Richards Stakes on his initial outing before securing a first Group Three success when beating Ombudsman in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in May.
While Ombudsman has since gone to win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and finish a narrow second in the Eclipse, Almaqam has not run subsequently due to his need for a little ease in the ground – but conditions could be right on the Knavesmire this weekend.
Walker said: “I left him in the King George but didn’t feel Ascot was the right track in which to test him over a mile and a half for the first time against the Ballydoyle horses.
“At York the ground should be ideal, as well as the track and the trip. It’s the natural progression into a Group Two and if he wins well, I will throw him into the deep end and take him back there for the Juddmonte.
“I thought 5-4 was quite a punchy price and it mirrors his reputation being bigger than what he’s actually achieved in beating Ombudsman.”
Walker has high expectations for the son of Lope De Vega, who has won three of his eight career starts and counts a Listed triumph on his CV, as well as a couple of Group race places.
The trainer said: “I’ve always thought the world of him as he’s seriously exciting. My hopes and expectations make the nerves kick in as I think he’s very special, and personally I will be very disappointed if he doesn’t win a Group One as he’s got everything you want in a racehorse.
“I’ve tried to be responsible and not to get impatient, and hopefully his big time will be in the autumn as the Irish Champion is a perfect target after which we might look at the Arc. But 10 furlongs is where we are going for now.
“He’s certainly the best I’ve ever had so far, he’s different gear.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/9f629df6-d43f-4246-8a99-0fa653ac2457-2-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-22 08:43:222025-07-22 08:43:22‘Different gear’ Almaqam primed for York return
John Gosden is looking forward to seeing how Field Of Gold fares when faced with the unique demands of Goodwood in the Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes next week.
The brilliant Juddmonte-owned grey has had a superb campaign so far this year, winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Prior to those runs he has narrowly denied in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and was the winner of the Craven, a superb run of form that leads neatly into the Sussex and very much makes him the horse to beat.
“He’s been a grand horse to train, he’s done nothing but thrive this year,” said Gosden.
“We’ve been pleased with his progress all the way through.
“The Sussex is a different test of a horse. If you’ve ever walked the track, it’s quite a surprise, it runs down into a dip, swings up and around.
“You don’t want too big a field and a high draw because you are literally down the hill looking at the horses getting the shortest run round up the hill, so the draw is a big factor there if you get a large field.
“The horse is athletic, he’s got great balance, and hopefully he’ll handle the track well. It’s very different to the round mile of Ascot or the Curragh, that’s for sure.
“He’s in great order, and we’re looking forward to running him. It’s very much the obvious race to go to for him.”
Field Of Gold could be joined by Lockinge Stakes winner Lead Artist, who proved his suitability for Goodwood when taking the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes at this meeting last year and is also owned by the Juddmonte operation.
Gosden said: “He’s in great form, we’ll see if he runs, no decision on that yet.
“He bowled along there last year and won in good style. We’re not sure if they’ll both run at this stage, we’re a little far off from the race yet.”
Gosden, who trains alongside his son, Thady, will have plenty of other headline runners at the Goodwood fixture, with French Master and Sweet William both going for the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup.
Successful in the Copper Horse Handicap at the Royal meeting, French Master will be up in trip and class, but Gosden said: “We’re hopeful he’ll run a good race. He did a little breeze with Sweet William, there wasn’t much between them, nicely on the bridle, looking after each other. Sweet William was a neck up, actually.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.80692243-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-21 16:27:392025-07-21 16:27:39Field Of Gold ‘in great order’ for Sussex Stakes test
William Haggas looks to have a very useful three-year-old in his armoury after Almeraq blitzed the field in the Fergie & Myra Happel Ayr Gold Cup Trial Handicap at Ayr.
The Shadwell-owned Dark Angel colt was making his handicap debut off a mark of 90 as the 2-1 favourite in Scotland and looked at ease as he stalked the early leaders in the six-furlong race.
He made headway at the halfway stage and moved in front at the two-furlong marker before kicking into top gear to breeze clear of his 17 rivals. Almeraq, who has an entry for the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock in September, powered to the line to complete a five-length success in the hands of Clifford Lee and enhance his growing reputation.
The four-year-old was slashed in price to 3-1 favourite with the sponsors for the Coral Stewards’ Cup at Glorious Goodwood, although Shadwell racing manager Angus Gold sounded a warning note over Almeraq lining in the big handicap on Saturday week.
“I was impressed with his performance and it’s good to see him come back to what we’d thought he might show,” Gold said.
“We always hoped last year that he would be a nice horse and he just had a few little niggles in the spring, which held William up when they wanted to get going with him.
“The only thing I would caution – I haven’t spoken to William, all options are open – but we’ve taken a long time and been very patient with him.
“Hopefully his future is all in front of him and hopefully in the autumn we will get some decent ground, so I’m not saying he won’t run at Goodwood, but I’d be surprised if he bounced straight back in after being so patient with him.
“It’s only 12 days away so let’s see. We’ll see what the weather does and see how he comes out of this.”
There was a shock in the opening racingtv.com/freetrial EBF Maiden Stakes as Chesham Stakes runner-up Thesecretadversary was beaten by debutant Rochfortbridge (28-1). Fozzy Stack’s colt went off as the 2-13 favourite, but he came out of the stalls slowly and was in the rear for much of the seven-furlong contest.
While Thesecretadversary came to the outside with two furlongs to go, Adrian Keatley’s charge proved too much as the 100,000 guineas buy claimed victory by three-quarters of a length, to leave his trainer eyeing up a tilt at the Acomb Stakes at York.
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.81047957-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-21 16:13:022025-07-21 16:13:02Almeraq powers to hugely impressive victory at Ayr
Roger Varian’s Royal Ascot winner My Cloud has further Group-race targets after being ruled out of the Summer Mile.
The four-year-old was the winner of the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot in June, prevailing by three-quarters of a length in a field of 30 to remain unbeaten this season.
He was due to return to the same track to step into Group company earlier this month, but an unsatisfactory scope put paid to that plan and he was withdrawn.
Alternative aims are now likely to be at the latter end of next month, with races both in England and across the Channel in France pencilled in.
“We had to take him out of the Summer Mile because he scoped dirty and he’s had treatment for that,” said Chris Wall, racing manager to owners KHK Racing.
“He’s still not quite ready to race yet, we had hoped he’d be ready to run in a Listed race at Pontefract this weekend, but that’s not going to be the case.
“We’re looking at races at the end of August, we’ve got in mind the Celebration Mile at Goodwood and the Prix Quincey at Deauville at about the same time.
“We hope he’ll be ready for one of those and then we’ll take it from there.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.80705578-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-21 14:02:122025-07-21 14:02:12Goodwood and Deauville under consideration for My Cloud
Derek Thompson will commentate on a race for the final time on Tuesday evening at Wolverhampton. Here, we look at ‘Tommo’s’ take on his near 60-year career in broadcasting.
On where it all started
Derek Thompson first commentated as a 15-year-old (George Selwyn/PA)
My dad, the late Stanley Thompson, he started commentaries in point-to-points and I think it was 1965 and halfway round at Great Ayton he turned the microphone off and said ‘I can’t see them anymore you take over’. I picked up the microphone and switched on and said ‘they go towards the next on the far side’ and that’s how it started.
On becoming involved in the Shergar mystery as a negotiator with the kidnappers
Shergar won the Derby in 1981 (PA)
I never want to go through that again. That was absolutely horrible. It is something I can still remember vividly to this day and it was just awful. Going to Belfast in the height of The Troubles, going into the (Europa) hotel. As soon as I walked in it was ‘would Mr Thompson pick up the hotel phone?’. And that’s where a voice said ‘I’m watching you from the other side of street’ and you think ‘what?’ and do this and do that. We tried to get the horse back, it was just absolutely an incredible time and I talked to the supposed kidnappers of Shergar. I think there were about eight or nine phone calls and it was the last one at half past midnight where I kept him talking for a minute and a half. If I kept him talking for that long they could trace the call, and I said to the policeman who was sitting next to me with the earphones on ‘did we trace the call’ and he said ‘no, I’m sorry the man who traces the call went off shift at midnight’. We never found the horse.
On his now famous line of ‘Are you well? I thought you were!’
I was doing a promotion for a hotel in Bawtry quite a few years ago and I’d done a piece outside the hotel – ‘this is the Crown Hotel in Bawtry, let’s see what it’s like and go inside, blah blah blah’ – and walked inside and there were the girls at the bar, they were the people who worked there. They were looking like they were having a drink at the bar and I walked up and I don’t know why I said it ‘hello, are you well? I thought you were!’. Why on earth would anyone say that? It just went from there, Greg James from Radio One rang me one day and said ‘Tommo, it’s Greg James here’. ‘Greg James? You’re Radio One’. He said ‘yeah, Tommo I want to ask, are you well? I thought you were’ on the radio and it just went on from there.
On the equally famous ‘It’s a man actually, Derek’
When I handed over from the studio to Bob (Robert Cooper, on At The Races) at Hereford, I just looked at my screen in front of me and I just saw the blonde hair, so I said ‘oh, you’re with a beautiful woman’, he said ‘it’s a man actually, Derek’ and that got to Glastonbury. On the stage in the background were signs in bright letters ‘it’s a man actually, Derek’ – I mean what is that? Greg James was there and he sent me a photo and said ‘you’re on the stage at Glastonbury’. Crazy.
On owning horses with his wife, Caroline
In the year @tommoracing steps down from commentating, a moment to savour at his local track. Cheerleader, owned by Tommo and his wife Caroline -and trained by sister-in-law Tina Jackson – lands the Join Racing TV Now Handicap under @jomason90 at 66-1. Well done, Big Fella! pic.twitter.com/pOtTApPZsM
Cheerleader won at Redcar and Catterick. It was my wife Caroline who bought the horse because she wanted to ride and so we put the horse out in the field. She (Cheerleader) just flourished and it was Tina (Jackson), my brother’s partner who trains near Whitby, who said ‘I think you could race her again, I think she could win’. We weren’t going to because we were just going to retire her. Caroline said ‘come on, shall we do it’ and the horse has won twice. We are so lucky and we’ve got a few other shares with My Future Champion who are great syndicate guys, so it’s lovely to be involved that way as well. We’re very lucky, but it’s all Caroline’s fault! She was the one who said we’re going to have this horse. Another time I tried to talk her out of it but she was absolutely spot on, so well done Caroline.”
On his greatest memory from racing
Dubai Millennium winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Sean Dempsey/PA)
Dubai Millennium. I started commentaries in Dubai with Sheikh Mohammed. Henry Cecil had got me over there and my greatest memory was Dubai Millennium winning the 2000 Dubai World Cup by 10 lengths. I still miss him to this day (Dubai Millennium died aged five due to grass sickness) and whenever I go to Newmarket, I always try to go to where he’s buried and I always pay my respects to him.
On working with John McCririck and Alastair Down on Channel 4
Derek Thompson (second right) and John McCririck (right) with their ITV colleagues (PA)
They were the ultimate professionals. People didn’t see the work they did behind the scenes, but I did. It was just a joy to watch. I always remember that Big Mac used to wear two watches and I said ‘Mac, I’ve got to ask you after all these years, why do you wear two watches, one on each wrist?’. He looked at me and said ‘well, in case one stops’. I suppose it’s right because you’ve got to know exactly what time it is. He was a great journalist and a great broadcaster. He brought something to The Morning Line which you couldn’t buy. It was just incredible. I thought he was superb. Alastair Down was a great journalist. He had a way of putting things into words that nobody else could do. Every time I used to read him, I marvelled at the way he expressed himself and it was so good for racing. It attracted a lot of people into racing who were watching it on TV or reading it in print.
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.9223287.jpg11502300Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-21 11:52:112025-07-21 12:10:09Tommo – ‘Are you well? I thought you were!’, and so much more
Derek Thompson felt the time was right to end his commentary career, as he prepares to pick up the microphone for the final time at Wolverhampton on Tuesday night.
Thompson is one of the most recognisable figures in the racing industry having spent time commentating on-course and for BBC radio, while also presenting for ITV, Channel 4, At The Races and Sky Sports Racing during a nearly 60-year broadcasting career.
The 74-year-old was even part of a three-strong party alongside Lord Oaksey and The Sun’s Peter Campling that attempted to negotiate the release of Shergar after the 1981 Derby winner was kidnapped.
He also enjoyed time in the spotlight when what became his famous catchphrase, “Are you well? I thought you were”, appeared on Radio One courtesy of Greg James before going viral, as did an At The Races clip of him when he mistook a man for a woman during an exchange with Robert Cooper.
But now ‘Tommo’ is taking a step back and Dunstall Park will be the last time he calls them home at a race meeting.
Thompson told the PA news agency: “I’ll be brutally honest, it’s not going to be easy because I still love it to this day and I’m so proud that I’m one of about 20 people that do the race calling in the UK.
Derek Thompson is stepping down from commentating (Mike Egerton/PA)
“I’ve been doing it for so many years that it’s time to move on. It’s not getting any easier, but I still love it. I’ve been very lucky, I’m paid to go to the races. Other people have to pay to get in. I’ve got the best seat in the house.
“I’m absolutely stunned by the amount of people that have come up – and that’s not just older people like me, but younger people as well – and said can I have a selfie, can I have your autograph. It’s just lovely. The messages I’ve been getting on social media, thank you so much, it’s lovely, it almost brought a tear to my eye. It’s very moving and it makes me feel very proud.
While Thompson will be putting down his binoculars, he certainly does not plan to be a stranger to the racecourse and hopes to take his affable style around the country.
Frankel’s debut win at Newmarket is one of Thompson’s fondest memories (Nigel French/PA)
Thompson said: “I’ll still be presenting at the racetracks around the country and hoping to organise a little tour called, ‘Are you well? I thought you were’, or ‘It’s a man actually, Derek’, so we’re hoping to continue the fun side of racing because I’m a great believer in enjoying racing.
“The memories, and there’s some great stories, many of which we can’t tell, but the ones we can I’d love to, we’re hoping to start a podcast. I will still be going (racing) because I enjoy working. I’ve been very lucky over the years, working with people like John Francome, Brough Scott.”
Thompson also famously once raced against the then future King in a charity event and remembers the race fondly.
He said: “I beat him, Prince Charles as he was then. I rode a horse for Nicky Henderson called Classified and I beat him at Plumpton.
King Charles III once raced against Thompson (Andrew Matthews/PA)
“There were about 12 runners, it was a two-mile Flat race and it was incredible.
“We occasionally have a chat at the races, Royal Ascot and stuff and we get together sometimes.
“I always say, ‘Sir, I’m sorry I beat you all those years ago and he says ‘don’t worry, I forgave you’, but the (late) Queen goes, ‘but I haven’t, Tommo’. It was incredible.”
Reflecting on his illustrious career behind the microphone, one of Thompson’s favourite memories was calling Frankel’s racecourse debut at Newmarket when Sir Henry Cecil’s charge launched the beginning of an unbeaten 14-race career.
And Thompson has fond memories of the late, great Cecil and the empathy he showed when he was dealing with bowel cancer in 2012.
Sir Henry Cecil with Tom Queally and Frankel (PA)
He said: “I did the first commentary on Frankel when he won at Newmarket – what a horse.
“I used to go and sit with Henry Cecil on the gallops. I remember I had cancer and I was coming out of hospital and I was very weak and I used to go on the gallops at Newmarket.
“I remember him saying, ‘come on, sit down next to me’, and we watched the horses because I could hardly stand up. It was just lovely and I remember watching Frankel coming up there and he was one of my favourite horses. I miss Henry to this day.”
Red Rum’s first Grand National victory in 1973 will forever remain one of the fondest from the many commentaries – in this case radio – Thompson has done during his career.
He said: “The 1973 Grand National, Red Rum and Crisp. I’m the youngest ever commentator, 22, of the Grand National.
Red Rum and Brian Fletcher winning the 1973 Grand National (PA)
“There was Michael Seth-Smith at the first, Michael O’Hehir was at Becher’s, I was at Valentine’s and then I handed back to Peter Bromley and he did the best commentary I’ve ever heard on a race finish.
“Crisp and Richard Pitman were 30 lengths clear passing me and Red Rum got up on the line to win.
“Red Rum was probably the greatest horse of all time. There’s so many – Frankel, Brigadier Gerard, Nijinsky, Shergar, I’ve been lucky enough to see all of those.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.77198123-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-21 11:51:402025-07-21 11:51:40Derek Thompson bringing the curtain down on his commentary career
Jan Brueghel, Lambourn, Rebel’s Romance and Calandagan are among the eight horses left in a potentially star-studded King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
Aidan O’Brien said at the weekend it was probable that Coronation Cup winner Jan Brueghel would be his number one hope, with Lambourn likely to be aimed at the St Leger, possibly via the Great Voltigeur at York.
O’Brien’s Epsom Oaks runner-up Whirl, who has been mentioned in terms of the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, has stood her ground, while the Ballydoyle handler is also responsible for Continuous.
Like last year’s winner Goliath, Calandagan is trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and pushed Jan Brueghel all the way at Epsom. The Aga Khan Studs-owned gelding has since bagged an elusive Group One victory in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
The Charlie Appleby-trained Rebel’s Romance, meanwhile, showed he is as good as ever in recording a popular triumph in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot. Andrew Balding’s Group One winner Kalpana is another representative for the fillies, with Jessica Harrington’s Green Impact bolstering the Irish challenge.
Kalpana will be stepping up to a mile and a half for the first time this season, at the scene of her biggest success to date, the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes back in October.
Her two outings this season have been in Ireland, finishing third in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and second in the Pretty Polly Stakes, both at the Curragh.
Juddmonte’s European racing manager Barry Mahon said: “Kalpana is all systems go for the King George. This has been her intended target since her last run in Ireland and she is in good shape.
“I think her two runs this year have been very solid. We know she is proven over a mile and a half on soft ground, so for her to produce those performances over 10 furlongs on quicker ground is very promising.
“We would be hopeful of a strong showing on Saturday back over 12 furlongs, for all it looks a competitive race. Calandagan is a top-class horse and we all saw what Jan Brueghel did at Epsom. I don’t know if Lambourn will line up as well, but a Derby winner always commands respect.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.80533548-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-21 11:37:562025-07-21 12:30:12Jan Brueghel spearheads stellar list of King George contenders
Andrew Balding’s See The Fire will vie to go on better than last year in Goodwood’s Visit Qatar Nassau Stakes, with victory likely to make the Breeders’ Cup a tempting possibility at the end of the season.
The four-year-old was beaten a neck by Opera Singer when second in the Group One last season, and proved she had gone from strength to strength over the winter when winning the Middleton Stakes at York by 12 lengths in May.
Her most recent run was a fine third in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, and another bid for the Nassau now looks her next step as Balding seeks to pave the way to the Breeders’ Cup.
He said: “She’s a beautifully-bred filly, by Sea The Stars, who won a Juddmonte International, out of Arabian Queen, who also won a Juddmonte International.
“She’s always looked a very smart filly. As a three-year-old, we didn’t really see the best of her until we got to the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, where she was narrowly beaten.”
Of her last run Balding, added: “We thought she ran a super race at Ascot, against the boys, in the Prince of Wales’s. She’s had a little break since then with the view to preparing her for the Nassau again, and hopefully going one better than we did last year.
“The Prince of Wales’s this year was run at a ferocious gallop and it suited the closers. In hindsight, we rode her to sit in behind Los Angeles, and focus on beating him, which left us vulnerable at the end of the race. Having said that, they’re top-class horses and we might not have beaten them whatever we’d done.
“It was still a career-best performance, and she’ll have an easier time, you’d have thought, against her own sex, in the Nassau. It’s never easy at Group One level, but she’s going there in great shape.”
The Nassau Stakes serves as a ‘Win and You’re In’ qualifier for the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, granting the winner an automatic fees-paid berth into the $2million contest at Del Mar in November.
“The win and you’re in incentive is very important for any owner, it certainly pushes the Breeders’ Cup to the forefront of your priorities,” Balding said of the prospect of heading to California.
“The Breeders’ Cup is a hugely important meeting worldwide, but it does come at the end of a long season so it really depends on how she is training at the end of the season, and what happens between now and then, but it’s very much on the shortlist for our autumn campaign.
“It would be lovely to think one day we would have a horse good enough to be competitive in a Breeders’ Cup race, we’ve had a couple of runners so far but no joy, so it’s something very much that we are striving to achieve.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.80138988-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-21 10:55:332025-07-21 10:55:33See The Fire primed to go one better than last year at Goodwood
Aidan O’Brien has confirmed Henri Matisse on course for a rematch with his Royal Ascot conqueror Field Of Gold in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.
O’Brien’s Wootton Bassett colt ended last season in victory at the Breeders’ Cup and struck Classic gold in the French 2,000 Guineas before finding only John and Thady Gosden’s Field Of Gold too good in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
The Ballydoyle handler said: “He’s being trained for the Sussex and is going good so far. We’re very happy with him and he is progressing.”
Also a runner-up at the Royal meeting was Illinois, in the Gold Cup behind Trawlerman, and he too is set for a trip to the Sussex Downs, where he could be joined by an emerging stablemate.
O’Brien said: “At the moment he (Illinois) is going for the Goodwood Cup and it’s possible that Scandinavia could go there as well.
“We were very happy with his run in Ascot. We’d prefer he had another year before he went there (for the Gold Cup), but that is the way it worked out.”
O’Brien also outlined plans for Coventry Stakes winner Gstaad, who will be seen next in top-level action at the Curragh.
He said: “The plan is to go for the Phoenix Stakes (August 9). That is the way we are thinking at the moment.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2.77217926-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2025-07-21 08:55:202025-07-21 08:55:20Henri Matisse ready to renew Field Of Gold rivalry at Goodwood
geegeez.co.uk uses cookies to improve your experience. We assume that's OK, but you may opt-out from the settings. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
