Nick Luck Daily Podcast

Nick is joined by RTE and Racing TV broadcaster Jane Mangan to discuss the ramifications of the sale of one-time Derby favourite - the portentously named English King - to Australia for 925,000gns, a record at the Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale. Nick talks to agent Paul Moroney, who - with brother Mike and agent Armando Duarte - was responsible for the horse's purchase. With some of the best Irish Jumps horses set to appear at Down Royal this weekend, Jane gives Nick the lowdown on her expectations, while Sean Quinn talks of his Breeders' Cup hopes for the likeable seven year old Safe Voyage, bound for the Fanduel Breeders' Cup Mile.

Nick is joined by Racing Post senior writer Lee Mottershead to discuss all the day's stories from around the racing world, leading on the news that iconic names Ladbrokes and Corals have withdrawn from the on-course betting ring in the UK. Nick talks to the man who has bought the pitches, John Hooper. In an episode that is a triumph for the optimist, Nick and Lee also hear from owner Mike Grech, who has thrown himself back into racehorse ownership with gusto, from James Fanshawe, on the cusp of saddling his first ever Breeders' Cup runner, and from Grant Pritchard Gordon on the success of the Great British Bonus Scheme. JA McGrath drops in for his weekly update from Hong Kong.

Nick is joined by the Daily Mirror's David Yates in an episode which asks how the sport can face down its many existing challenges in light of the news that the BHA and racecourses are considering an approach to government for direct aid. In a packed show, Nick also talks to leading jumps trainer Paul Nicholls ahead of Cyrname's run at the weekend, to Greyhound broadcaster Julie Collier about the Greyhound Derby at Nottingham (in a Tier 3 area), to Sally Anne Grassick in this week's Weatherbys Bloodstock feature on Haras De Colleville, and to 1/ST COO Aidan Butler about the turnaround in the equine injury and fatality rate at Santa Anita Park.

Nick is joined by Rishi Persad to take stock of the diverse action around the globe over the weekend, including the jump racing from Cheltenham, and also to nod towards the Melbourne Cup and Breeders' Cup. In the company of assistant trainer Charlie Johnston, they discuss the significance of the prolific Mark Johnston training his first Group One winners since the end of 2016. Nick is joined at the end of the episode by trainer Ralph Beckett, successful with Muhannak in the 2008 Breeders' Cup marathon, as he outlines running and riding plans for New Mandate and Devilwala in the Juvenile Colts' Turf.

Nick is joined by broadcaster Cornelius Lysaght and Cheltenham's Managing Director Ian Renton to discuss the launch of the new season at Britain's most iconic and profitable racecourse, particularly in light of the controversy that surrounded the 2020 Festival meeting, which garnered negative national headlines as it was run just as the pandemic was taking hold. Later in the show, James Willoughby has some strong views on the Global Rankings Top Trainers' List, brought to you by Thoroughbred Racing Commentary.

Nick is joined by RTE broadcaster Jane Mangan and Channel 7's Jason Richardson to discuss today's news, with particular focus on Aidan O'Brien's Cox Plate runners Armory and Magic Wand, both of whom were placed on a veterinary list and threatened with withdrawal from Saturday's multi-million dollar Australian showpiece. Nick also talks at some length to trainer John Gosden about his somewhat disappointing British Champions' Day and uncovers his running plans for the Breeders' Cup.

Nick is joined by ITV and Racing TV broadcaster Rishi Persad to continue the discussion surrounding which horses might breathe life into the dying embers of 2020. They focus on Siskin, who may yet be the forgotten horse and who is headed towards the Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland. Nick talks extensively to Siskin's trainer Ger Lyons about the horse's career to date, and brings news that Keeneland will be his last run before standing at stud in Japan in 2021. JA McGrath brings his weekly bulletin from Hong Kong, including important news on the quarantining of visiting jockeys for the major HKIR fixture coming up in December, while Joe Osborne drops in to talk about his newly published collection of essays, Poise and Stride.

Nick is joined by the Racing Post's senior writer Lee Mottershead to examine the recent spate of high profile equine retirements, which threaten to render the international autumn and 2021 somewhat threadbare in terms of top class European racehorses. Explaining their respective decisions to call time on the racing careers of Pinatubo, Ghaiyyath and Kameko, Qatar racing manager David Redvers and Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby give Nick their personal and commercial insights. Later, in association with the Weatherbys Global Stallion App, Nick talks to Nicolas De Chambure, fourth generation stud supremo of the renowned Haras d'Etreham in Normandy.

Nick is joined by the Daily Mirror's David Yates and by Great British Racing/British Champions' Day CEO Rod Street to discuss the storylines that made the 2020 edition of British Champions' Day as well as the priorities for the event in the future. Nick also talks to Louisa Carberry, the British-born winning trainer of France's most prestigious jumps race, the Grand SteepleChase de Paris, and gets the lowdown on the Caulfield Cup and its likely bearing on the Lexus Melbourne Cup with Channel 7's Jason Richardson.

Nick is joined by RTE broadcaster Jane Mangan to discuss which horse should be considered the headline act going into British Champions' Day 2020. Jane gives her views on the bold campaigning of Champion Stakes favourite Magical relative to the rarely seen brilliance of Palace Pier, the heavy favourite in the mile division. This dovetails with the weekly analysis of the TRC Global Rankings from James Willoughby, who also discusses the TRC Top Ten Jockeys. William Haggas joins Nick to talk about the chances of Addeybb and One Master, while Pip Kirkby and Louise Norman tell us more about the ROA and Racing Foundation's new Racing Relief Fund.