Mark Riley rates Of The Brave as potentially the best horse he has trained after the colt made a winning start to his career in the Debutant Stakes at Caulfield. Of The Brave mustered speed from his inside draw in Saturday’s Listed 1000m race for two-year-olds to take up the… Read More »
Hong Kong-based jockey Zac Purton has ventured to Werribee to partner his spring Cups hope Admire Rakti in a familiarisation gallop. Purton is in Melbourne to ride Sacred Falls in the Caulfield Stakes and took the opportunity to get acquainted with the Japanese stayer who lines up in next Saturday’s… Read More »
Leading French jockey Olivier Peslier and major owners the Wertheimer brothers have brought their association to an amicable end after more than a decade. Peslier has ridden as retained rider for the Wertheimers for 12 years, with the exploits of the wonder mare Goldikova the undoubted highlight of the partnership…. Read More »
Hong Kong star Dan Excel’s Cox Plate campaign is over with trainer John Moore scratching him from his planned lead-up race at Caulfield on Saturday. A Group One winner in Hong Kong and Singapore, Dan Excel was taken out of Saturday’s Listed Weekend Hussler Stakes on Friday because of a… Read More »
Jockey Chris Symons is excited at the prospect of riding the Marco Botti-trained Renew in the Group Two Herbert Power Stakes. The Dansili five-year-old makes his Australian debut in the 2400-metre race at Caulfield on Saturday and needs to win to earn a start in the Caulfield Cup. Symons has… Read More »
THE TOORAK HANDICAP – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW HISTORY: First run in 1881 when won by Josephine. Before 1972 run over one mile (1600m) except for 1931-35 inclusive when run over 8-1/2 furlongs (1700m) and in 1891 when run over nine furlongs (1800m). Between 1940-43 run at Flemington. Group… Read More »
Ever-confident Glen Boss is not giving the Caulfield Guineas to the favourite Rich Enuff. Boss rode God’s Own to win the 2007 Guineas and he believes Chivalry will benefit from a genuinely run 1600m and a deep draw on Saturday. Chivalry made a winning return following a spell when successful… Read More »
The absence of Catkins from the Angst Stakes is a boost to the chances of New Zealand mare Neena Rock who is in Australia on a black-type mission. Even though the Chris Waller-trained Catkins was beaten by Arabian Gold in the Golden Pendant, Neena Rock’s trainer John Sargent was pleased… Read More »
Brad Rawiller had watch Trust In A Gust’s maiden Group One win from the sidelines but is back aboard for what he believes is another winnable feature in the Toorak Handicap. The heavyweight jockey was ruled out of the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes in which Trust In A Gust carried… Read More »
Dissident is looming as Peter Moody’s best chance to win the Cox Plate. But the three-time Group One winner faces a serious examination of his credentials for the $3 million race when contests Saturday’s Caulfield Stakes. “This is probably the best field that has been assembled for the entire spring… Read More »
Almost everything about the way Sweynesse races says he will be strong enough at a middle distance to deliver a Group One win for Godolphin in the Spring Champion Stakes. But one half of a pedigree page that throws some doubt on his stamina will ensure an unblemished spring campaign… Read More »
David Hayes admits to getting it wrong with Zululand’s Caulfield Guineas campaign, leaving the trainer to rely on a gear switch to revive the colt’s chances in the $1 million race. Hayes trained Palace Reign and St Covet to Guineas wins and he is hoping the use of blinkers on… Read More »
It has been a decade since Kathy O’Hara won the Sydney apprentices’ premiership. Thanks to some jockeys’ room camaraderie and Winona Costin’s flying start to the new racing season, O’Hara could be an influential figure in another title. Costin is an early frontrunner in the apprentices’ race and O’Hara will… Read More »
The double-figure odds being offered about the Anthony Cummings-trained High Above in Saturday’s Thousand Guineas might just be an omen. The Sydney trainer has captured three feature races in the southern capital, each time with an unfancied horse. Fiveandahalfstar was a $41 chance when he won the Victoria Derby while… Read More »
Flying Home’s recent eye-catching return to racing has created a programming poser for his trainer Barry Baldwin. The six-year-old started at $26 in an open handicap over 1350m at Doomben when he flashed home for a close third behind class gallopers Lady Echelon and Harada Bay. Baldwin admitted the logical… Read More »
All racing participants want to be a part of the big race days and jockey Darren Gauci is certainly no different. The former pin-up boy doesn’t get the same opportunities he once commanded but he’s looking forward to being at Caulfield on Saturday. The 48-year-old has one ride on the… Read More »
Promising two-year-old filly Picavino is set to end a run of bad luck for trainer Kevin Kemp. Picavino will be having her second race start when she tackles the Tacoma Plumbing Handicap (1050m) at Doomben on Saturday. At her first run she was flattened at the start but came from… Read More »
It sounds like a page-turning novel: Venezuelan authorities say a gambling ring poisons one of the country’s most popular race horses ahead of a key derby, nearly killing the animal and shining a light on an underworld where millions of dollars in bets are made under the table. But the… Read More »
Champion Hong Kong jockey Douglas Whyte will compete during the Melbourne spring carnival for the first time after being booked to ride the Chris Waller-trained Junoob in Saturday week’s Caulfield Cup. Whyte is the latest international star Waller has called on for a major race ride. He lured the Hong… Read More »
Clarry Conners was forced to miss Dear Demi’s last-start win in Melbourne but can’t wait to be trackside to see his stable star tackle a stellar field in the Caulfield Stakes. Conners suffered facial injuries when he was kicked by a horse at Hawkesbury racecourse two weeks ago. He was… Read More »
