Racing Diary

Hats off to the 46 stallions who make up horseracing's exclusive '90+ club'. The breeding season for thoroughbreds started last Thursday and this elite group can view their six months duration ahead with supreme confidence having achieved 90 per cent or higher fertility rates in 2000.

Deserving of special mention are Petoski, Polar Prince, Puissance, Synefos, and Warcraft who recorded a magic 100 per cent conception rate last year with as many as 36 mares. And, with a name that is perfect for the months ahead, well done Primitive Rising for his 92 per cent effort in 2000.

BOOK BARGAINS galore at the racecourse. Coming to the Last, by Sir Peter O'Sullevan, is going for a knockdown £10 in hardback - that's a signed copy, too. Only a return to television commentary can keep the price from dropping into pride-denting single figures.

PITY the citizens of Florida for whom it goes from bad to worse. First sunshine state jockey Shane Sellers, who is injured, used his recuperation time to perform a country and western set live at Gulfstream Park racecourse this month.

Now, the album he threatened to release is ready for delivery to record shops. The title? A heart-wrenching God's favourite Angel. Sellers admitted before the live performance: "I was a bit nervous." He wasn't the only one.

EVEN THOUGH horses without heart are the curse of punters, there should be no begrudging any of them some cardio-assistance, especially those pregnant with foals. So, good luck to Xena, due to deliver in July, who has been fitted with her own pacemaker after a heart murmur was detected during an examination of the broodmare.

The seven-year-old might have died in labour if the Royal Veterinary College hadn't been vigilant, but after five hours of surgery mother and prospective offspring are doing well. Xena is "back to her old grumpy self" after her operation, according to head vet, Celia Marr.

A TWIN THREAT has emerged to Quixall Crossett's claim to be the worst horse ever to have raced. Needing only one defeat to complete a consecutive century of failure, the exploits of the 16-year-old had made him the early favourite for Racing Diary horse of the year honours.

But a rival record loser has emerged. Peggy's Pet is claiming 111 defeats in a row. As 17 of those were in point-to-point races Quixall Crossett remains undisputed champion for racecourse failure. But only in Britain, mind.

In Australia, Oureone ran 124 times without one success between 1976 and 1983. Once the ton is in the bank, the world record will surely be Quixall Crossett's new goal.