Akasaki was destined for the scrapheap until a hotelier took a punt on him and that faith could be rewarded at Rosehill when the horse lines up in the Group Three Maurice McCarten Stakes. Ian Campbell, who runs the Willow Tree Hotel at Scone, came across Akasaki after he failed… Read More »
COOLMORE CLASSIC Run at Rosehill over 1500m, $600,000, quality handicap, fillies & mares three-years-old and over HISTORY * First run in 1973 when won by Miss Personality * Registered race name T A D Kennedy Stakes. NOTABLE WINNERS * Emancipation (1984); Bounding Away (1987); Sunline (2000 & 2002); Tuesday Joy… Read More »
In-form Mishani Hustler looks set to prove his rating as a weights certainty in the $200,000 3YO Jewel at the Gold Coast. Mishani Hustler’s handicap rating has shot to 87.5 on the back of six wins and a second to star galloper Zousain in a Group Two race. His nearest… Read More »
Peter and Paul Snowden won’t hesitate to back-up any of their Pago Pago Stakes runners into the Golden Slipper if one or more of them can earn a last-ditch qualification for the juvenile showpiece. The training partners will saddle up a quintet of two-year-olds in Saturday’s Group Two Pago Pago… Read More »
A blistering final 600m sectional in his last-start win indicates top colt The Odyssey should have no trouble again handling 1200m in the $500,000 2YO Jewel at the Gold Coast. The Odyssey has had six starts for three wins and two minor placings with his other run resulting in a… Read More »
Altior has risen to his toughest challenge yet to extend his unbeaten record over jumps to 18 in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. The Nicky Henderson’-trained superstar gave his supporters some anxious moments when he was headed by Sceau Royal approaching the final fence after leading… Read More »
Mick Kent junior has started a new venture with Caulfield trainer Mick Price in the best possible way with Mystery Love winning at Sandown. Price and Kent joined forces on Monday in a training partnership that he hopes will be rubber-stamped by Racing Victoria in coming weeks. Kent is the… Read More »
New Zealand-trained horses will get their chance to qualify for this year’s $300,000 Jericho Cup, Australia’s longest flat race. The Jericho Cup, first run on the desert sands of Palestine in 1918, was revived last year and staged over 4600m at Warrnambool in Victoria, with the event commemorating Australia and… Read More »
Trainer Gemma Rielly received some extra satisfaction out of the win by La Belle Jude at Sandown. Not only was it Rielly’s maiden metropolitan victory, La Belle Jude was the first horse the Caulfield-based trainer purchased as a yearling. La Belle Jude, ridden by Joe Bowditch, defied the opposition in… Read More »
Melbourne jockey Luke Currie will make a flying visit to Sydney to ride Blue Diamond Stakes winner Lyre in a barrier trial as the filly continues her preparations towards the $3.5 million Golden Slipper. The Anthony Freedman-trained Lyre has arrived in Sydney from Victoria and will have a 1050m trial… Read More »
Lessons learned during Fierce Impact’s formative Australian campaign will be put to good use as the European import prepares to return for a Doncaster Mile assault. Fierce Impact will resume in the Group Two Ajax Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday, his first start since he captured the Summer Cup… Read More »
Eagle Farm trainer Chris Anderson entered a new stage of his association with the prestigious Think Big Stud when well-bred two-year-old Ballistic Boy won at Doomben. Ballistic Boy carried the colours of the southern NSW-based stud when he sat outside the pace and came away in the straight. Anderson has… Read More »
Promising filly Niedorp is on course to confirm early-season expectations she could win a black-type race when she tackles the Group Three Magic Night Stakes at Rosehill. Niedorp won a trial impressively in September, prompting predictions she would be a star performer in the two-year-old season. The filly started odds-on… Read More »
A forecast for rain in Sydney has trainer Kris Lees looking on the bright side despite his three Coolmore Classic runners drawing off the track for the Group One race. A capacity field of 20 plus four emergencies has accepted for the fillies and mares feature with Invincible Gem faring… Read More »
Melbourne Cup plans have been shelved for Schabau with the German import suffering a tendon injury. A winner of his only three starts on Australian soil, Schabau was to be spelled after his latest win at Flemington on March 2 before embarking on a 2019 Melbourne Cup campaign. Trainer Robert… Read More »
The presence of star colt The Autumn Sun in the Group One Rosehill Guineas has connections of Declarationofheart happy to be taking a different path with their Australian Derby hopeful. The Anthony Freedman-trained gelding ran on well at the end of 1600m for seventh in the Group One Australian Guineas… Read More »
Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock’s Darren Dance knows the thrill of racing a horse in the Melbourne Cup, having watched Heartbreak City go agonisingly close to winning. Dance hopes the ownership group of Mr Money Bags gets that same feeling when the gelding runs in the inaugural $5 million All-Star Mile at… Read More »
Champion eventer Sir Mark Todd is eyeing his eighth tilt at Olympic glory as Eminent’s new trainer prepares the international for Sydney’s autumn carnival. The 63-year-old refused to rule out an appearance at Tokyo 2020, telling reporters at Canterbury racecourse on Wednesday he wasn’t ready to transition to full-time training… Read More »
Six bets on thoroughbred racing totalling less than $50 has landed apprentice jockey Chris Caserta a four-week riding suspension. Caserta was charged by Racing Victoria stewards with placing, or having an interest in, six bets on thoroughbred racing between March and December last year, with an outlay of $49. The… Read More »
Track guru Mick Goodie is one of the resources Racing Queensland has committed to helping the Ipswich Turf Club overcome problems with its track. Ipswich lost its fifth meeting in recent months on Wednesday. A track inspection found two small patches past the winning post were not suitable for racing…. Read More »
