The new season in Melbourne may only be three meetings old but apprentice jockeys are already to the fore. Michael Dee shares top billing with senior rider Nick Hall while fellow apprentices Ben Allen and Beau Mertens sit one win behind on three metropolitan winners apiece. Dee finished second in… Read More »
As premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan prepares to open his satellite stable in Sydney, Zelady’s Night Out will try to kick-start the new venture with a feature win in the Silver Shadow Stakes. Tommy Berry will ride the dual stakes-winning filly when she has her first start as a three-year-old… Read More »
Champion mare Winx headlines nine entries for the Group Two Warwick Stakes as she starts her quest for back-to-back Cox Plate wins. As she looks to extend her winning streak to 10, the Chris Waller-trained Winx is set to face Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Lucia Valentina in the Warwick Stakes… Read More »
Protectionist has won his first European Group One race, leading all the way in the Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten. The 2014 Melbourne Cup winner is unbeaten this year since returning to trainer Andreas Wohler in Germany after an unsuccessful 2015 when he jarred up on hard tracks in… Read More »
Irish trainer Willie Mullins is hoping to continue the incredible story of Clondaw Warrior with a run in the Melbourne Cup. The nine-year-old came up just short in an ambitious tilt to land the Galway Hurdle and American St Leger in the space of just three weeks. Now Mullins is… Read More »
Australia-bound stayer Regal Monarch has signed off his British career with victory at Pontefract. The winner of four races from 2400 to 2600 metres for trainer Mark Johnston, Regal Monarch will join the Chris Waller stable in Sydney to be prepared for the 2016 Sydney and Melbourne carnivals. Regal Monarch… Read More »
New Zealand trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman have another Melbourne spring carnival contender with Saracino confirming an Australian mission. The colt booked his trans-Tasman trip for a tilt at the Caulfield Guineas with victory against older horses in Saturday’s Group Two Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa. Saracino is owned… Read More »
A Group One field will take on Winx in the Warwick Stakes as the mare makes her first racetrack appearance in the lead-up to her Cox Plate defence. Despite some controversy during the week when it was revealed Winx had had a bone chip removed in April, trainer Chris Waller… Read More »
Australian Derby winner Tavago is on target to kick off his spring campaign in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Trained by Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, Tavago is scheduled to have a 1000m jump-out at Cranbourne on Monday. Tavago is one of a number of horses Busuttin and Young now… Read More »
Michelle Payne has even more incentive to get race-fit with the ride on Azkadellia at the Breeders’ Cup meeting in Santa Anita on the line. Payne made history when she won the Melbourne Cup on Prince Of Penzance but was upset last week when she was told she would not… Read More »
Sydney jockey Tim Clark has been booked to ride last-start Caulfield winner Derryn in his Sydney debut. Tom Dabernig, who trains in partnership with David and Ben Hayes, said the Lindsay Park stable intends starting Derryn in the Group Three Up And Coming Stakes at Randwick on Saturday. They will… Read More »
Trainer Liam Birchley will continue to aim O’Reilly Cyrus at the Group One Golden Rose despite her Eagle Farm defeat. O’Reilly Cyrus came from last in the middle stages to be a close up third in a 1200m-race on Saturday, one of four thirds Birchley had on the Eagle Farm… Read More »
John Thompson will take a step-by-step approach with Group One winner First Seal who is ready for a barrier trial ahead of her spring campaign as a five-year-old. The trainer said First Seal would run in a barrier trial at Randwick on Friday ahead of her first-up run in the… Read More »
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne has been offered the ride on Group One winner Azkadellia when the mare competes at the Breeders’ Cup meeting in the United States. Azkadellia’s owner and trainer Ciaron Maher’s racing manager, Ben Connolly, said as long as Payne proved her fitness over the next few… Read More »
A bumper eleven race program has been assembled for Singapore on Sunday, with the best race appearing to be the Graduation event, the third race for the afternoon, with likely types engaged. BONUS #1: $501 FREE BET BONUS at Sportsbet.com.au BONUS #2: $500 FREE BET BONUS at Ladbrokes.com.au BIG… Read More »
Jockey Larry Cassidy will step up his riding commitments after finishing third in his first race for more than a year. Cassidy was forced out of the saddle by recurring knee problems which required surgery. He had one ride at the Gold Coast on Saturday aboard the Les Kelly-trained Forbidden… Read More »
Cox Plate entrant The Gurkha has undergone surgery for an unspecified problem. Owner Coolmore said on Twitter the dual Group One winner and $13 equal second favourite for the Cox Plate had been taken to hospital on Friday night. “Classic-winning miler The Gurkha, last seen winning the Sussex (Stakes at… Read More »
Jockey Mark Zahra has had a mixed day at Caulfield, winning a stakes race before being handed a suspension. Zahra won the Vain Stakes on odds-on favourite Russian Revolution on Saturday. The ride came after he was replaced on winning ride Great Esteem in the Beveridge Williams Handicap because he… Read More »
Chris Parnham has been fined $300 for a celebratory gesture in winning a stakes race at Caulfield. Wins in the city have been lean for Parnham in recent months, and he was escatic to win the Listed Regal Roller Stakes aboard Voodoo Lad on Saturday. Parnham said he’d endured a… Read More »
The win of Miss Rose De Lago at Caulfield has been a shining light for Danny O’Brien after two weeks of intense pressure. The Flemington trainer has spent nine days of the past fortnight in the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal appealing against a four-year cobalt disqualification, with the hearing continuing… Read More »
