Racing Australia has reaffirmed its position on cobalt and will not be making amendments to the Australian Rules of Racing. The Australian Trainers’ Association (ATA) wrote to Racing Australia (RA) in August asking the Veterinary and Analysts Committee (VAC) for its expert advice on cobalt. The ATA letter raised a… Read More »
Brad Rawiller is no stranger to winning Group One races in Perth and the Victorian jockey is excited to head west again chasing his first Railway Stakes success. Rawiller has two feature race rides for Godolphin trainer James Cummings at Saturday’s Ascot meeting including Best Of Days in the Group… Read More »
One of Victoria’s brightest young riding talents has finally broken through for his maiden city success at Sandown. Injury had put apprentice Tom Stockdale’s career on hold and the 20 year-old was beaming after guiding Maracaibo home in the MRC 6 Month Membership Handicap on Wednesday. Stockdale burst onto the… Read More »
Expensive colt Chicago Bull looked certain to be beaten before breaking his maiden status at Toowoomba in an effort jockey Jim Byrne felt was a lot better than it appeared. It was a long way from Chicago Bull’s first start when he ran third in the Group Three Maribyrnong Plate… Read More »
Brenton Avdulla has been booked to ride dual Group One winner In Her Time in the Hong Kong International Sprint at Sha Tin. Trainer Kris Lees confirmed Avdulla would partner the mare in the 1200m feature after riding her at her past two starts in The Everest and Darley Classic…. Read More »
Lindsay Park co-trainer Ben Hayes expects a more professional performance from filly La Girl when she races for the second time in the $250,000 Magic Millions 2YO Clockwise Classic at Ballarat. La Girl finished fourth on debut in the Group Three Ottawa Stakes (1000m) for two-year-old fillies on November 5… Read More »
Kristen Buchanan has a white board in her office, written on it are the names of her horses and races that might suit them. It is a programming schedule and while the horse’s names stay fairly constant, the races ebb and flow according to form and need. One of the… Read More »
An afternoon of near-misses defined Kris Lees’ day at Newcastle but all will be forgotten if the stable can make amends in the $1 million The Gong at Kembla Grange. A week after Newcastle hosted its first stand-alone Saturday meeting in almost 20 years, Kembla will get its turn with… Read More »
The lure of racing for Group One prize money under handicap conditions has enticed the connections of Dr Drill to the Ballarat Cup. Saturday’s Listed Ballarat Cup over 2000m carries a purse of $500,000, an increase of $150,000 on last year’s total prize money. David Eustace, who trains in partnership… Read More »
Hawker Hurricane will return to the scene of his only victory to chase a Magic Millions double at Ballarat. The Mike Moroney-trained Hawker Hurricane’s only win in eight career starts came at the corresponding Ballarat meeting a year ago on debut in the Magic Millions 2YO Clockwise Classic, which is… Read More »
In form Deep Image has earned the respect of two of Queensland’s most knowledgeable racing people as he heads to his stakes race debut. Multiple Group One winners, trainer Rob Heathcote and jockey Robbie Fradd have made it clear they feel Deep Image will be among the best chances in… Read More »
Racing officials hope to have updated retirement data on 1000 Queensland horses by the end of the month after extending an amnesty on reporting details. Data on more than 700 horses has been provided since the amnesty was announced. Retired judge Terry Martin, who is heading an inquiry into the… Read More »
A race meeting at Moe will start and finish two-and-a-half hours earlier than scheduled because of a forecast for hot weather. Racing Victoria has announced revised start times for Thursday’s Moe meeting, which will now begin at 11am with the final race on the eight-race program to jump at 2.30pm…. Read More »
Group One-winning jockey Gary Doughty has been suspended from riding trackwork after a urine sample showed traces of a sleeping pill he says he took more than a day before the test. Doughty trains a team on the Gold Coast and as a former jockey he rides many of his… Read More »
West Australia’s governing body has bought Touchstone Farm to develop its retraining and rehoming program for retired racehorses. Racing and Wagering Western Australia says the breeding and agistment property will be turned into a multi-purpose facility to support the WA Racehorse Welfare Plan announced last week to address concerns over… Read More »
Jockey Ben Thompson is set to leave Singapore at the end of the season and return home to Melbourne. The Singapore season finishes on December 8, with Thompson set to fly out the following day. Thompson was granted a 12-month licence extension for next year. He has not given up… Read More »
Despite Hang Man’s recent Group Three placing in the Bendigo Cup, trainer Mike Moroney believes his performance indicated the gelding is better suited over a slightly shorter distance. With that in mind, Hang Man drops back from 2400m to 2000m in Saturday’s $500,000 Listed Ballarat Cup and is one of… Read More »
Australia’s longest flat race, the $300,000 Jericho Cup over 4600m, has attracted 32 nominations for its second edition at Warrnambool. The Jericho Cup was first run on the desert sands of Palestine in 1918, and the race was revived 100 years later by Victorian philanthropist and amateur war historian Bill… Read More »
Trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace are looking forward to their first foray at international jumps racing with Big Blue aimed at the Cheltenham Festival. Big Blue leaves for England on Wednesday and will be based at Lambourn under the watchful eye of Maher-Eustace stable employee Sarah Webster. The Cheltenham… Read More »
Testashadow may not be the best horse Gary Portelli has trained but he has earned his place near the top of the stable’s hierarchy. The eight-year-old has won more than $1.4 million for his owners Elite Thoroughbreds during a career that began almost six years ago. He has also earned… Read More »
