Patrick Payne has added to his growing band of feature jumps race victories with Sir Lopez taking out the Australian Steeplechase at Sandown. Already this season Payne has won the Grand Annual, Great Eastern and Von Doussa Steeplechases courtesy of Zed Em who is currently in the spelling paddock. The… Read More »
Whether it is on the flat or over jumps, jockey John Allen is becoming a regular at winning feature races. A week after claiming the Doomben Cup aboard Kenedna, Allen was in the winner’s stall at Sandown on Sunday after riding Chequered Flag in the Australian Hurdle for trainers Ciaron… Read More »
Trainer Tony Gollan is debating whether to run BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes placegetter Garibaldi in the Group One J J Atkins Stakes. Garibaldi led for most of the race before finishing third to Strasbourg in the Sires at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Gollan believes while the run may have indicated… Read More »
There is no-one prouder than Leigh Jordon having watched the titanic battle for honours in the new-look The Andrew Ramsden. A nose separated Steel Prince and Surprise Baby at the end of Saturday’s race with the winner gaining a ballot exemption into November’s Melbourne Cup. The Victoria Racing Club altered… Read More »
A short break ahead of a spring campaign is on the cards for Eclair Breeze after the filly broke her maiden status at Sandown. Trainer Phillip Stokes hopes Eclair Breeze is up to the rich spring three-year-old fillies races after her win in the Ladbrokes Info Hub Handicap (1200m) on… Read More »
In-form New Zealand trainer Tony Pike knows all about Queensland’s fickle weather but he is hoping the state’s fine patch holds in the lead-up to the Group One Queensland Oaks at Doomben. Pike continued his great winter when The Bostonian completed the Doomben 10,000-Kingsford Smith double at Eagle Farm on… Read More »
Gary Portelli has experimented with a change of riding tactics on Spaceboy at the barrier trials and believes he might have found the key to unlocking the youngster’s abundant potential. The colt has shown natural speed at his three race starts, which have included minor placings behind one-time Golden Slipper… Read More »
The Queensland Racing Integrity Commission has boosted its depleted stewards ranks with some key appointments. The senior stewards ranks in Queensland have been tested in recent months with Ian Brown resigning, Allan Reardon retiring, a steward off ill and another senior steward on office duties. In a media release commissioner… Read More »
Lawyers for Ben Currie are likely to argue precedent cases indicate a fine would be within sentencing range for the trainer’s latest convictions. Currie is unlikely to be sentenced for at least a week after stewards found him guilty on 12 charges of race day treatments. Submissions on his sentence… Read More »
Phoenix Of Spain has upstaged old rivals Too Darn Hot and Magna Grecia to take the Irish 2000 Guineas in emphatic fashion at the Curragh. The Charlie Hills-trained colt had finished second to each of the market principals on his last two starts of 2018, and went to the Classic… Read More »
Jockey Jason Collett’s winning treble at Randwick has been tempered by a suspension which rules him out of Brisbane’s premier race day. Collett rode three winners for trainer Chris Waller on Saturday including the Queensland Derby favourite Nobu but was outed for his ride on odds-on favourite Reloaded who finished… Read More »
The connections of Steel Prince have celebrated the gelding’s victory in The Andrew Ramsden as if they had just won the Melbourne Cup. Steel Prince is a step closer to realising that dream for his owners by winning Saturday’s Listed race at Flemington, earning a ballot exemption into November’s Melbourne… Read More »
Peter Snowden will let the dust settle before committing to a Stradbroke Handicap start with Group Three Fred Best Classic winner Military Zone. Winning the Classic makes Military Zone exempt from a ballot for the Group One $1.5 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 8 but Snowden… Read More »
A failed mission to win the New Zealand Derby appears to have been the making of Nobu who will be given the chance to win the season’s last Classic in Queensland. The Chris Waller-trained gelding beat one horse home in the NZ Derby at Ellerslie at the beginning of March…. Read More »
New Zealand trainer Tony Pike’s last-minute decision to run The Bostonian in the Group One Kingsford Smith Cup proved a $420,000 bonus when the gelding scored an impressive win. The Bostonian ($10) completed the Cup-Doomben 10,000 double when he beat Princess Posh ($151) by three quarters of a length with… Read More »
A Class Five win at the Gold Coast one week, a win in the Group Three Premier’s Cup at Eagle Farm the next. That’s the dramatic transition The Candy Man completed in the space of seven days when he successfully rounded off his Brisbane Cup preparation at Eagle Farm on… Read More »
Prince Fawaz has shot to the top of markets for the J J Atkins Stakes with his win over former favourite Reloaded at Randwick during which he has had to cope with serious interference. The Anthony Cummings-trained Prince Fawaz was a decisive 1-1/4 length winner of Saturday’s 1400m-race for two-year-olds… Read More »
Well-bred colt Strasbourg will have a belated chance to win a Group One after his strong win in the Group Two BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes at Eagle Farm. Co-trainers Peter and Paul Snowden had originally hoped Strasbourg would be a genuine Group One Golden Slipper horse but he failed to… Read More »
A long campaign hasn’t dented the consistency of Spunlago who provided trainer Ron Stubbs with a long-awaited city victory at Flemington. Stubbs returned to training ranks two years ago after “retiring” around 20 years ago to work in the transport industry. During his previous stint Stubbs had a number of… Read More »
Trainer Brian Smith faces an an anxious couple of weeks hoping Lord Mayor’s Cup winner Order Again can gain a Stradbroke Handicap start. Order Again ($5.50) won the Group Three Lord Mayor’s Cup (1600m) by three quarters of a length to notch his fourth success at Eagle Farm, cementing his… Read More »
