W S COX PLATE – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW * Group One, $5 million, weight-for-age, 2040m, to be run at Moonee Valley on Saturday, October 27, 2017 HISTORY * First run in 1922 when the Moonee Valley Racing Club committee voted for a high-quality, weight-for-age race * British seven-year-old… Read More »
Trainer John Gosden believes Roaring Lion’s biggest concern in the Breeders’ Cup Classic could be kickback on the dirt surface at Churchill Downs rather than the opposition. Gosden admits the Breeders’ Cup meeting in Kentucky next week was not at the forefront of his mind earlier this season but the… Read More »
Trainer Matt Laurie has achieved an objective with five-year-old mare Moonlover who has raced to an all-the-way victory in a Listed race at Geelong. The half-neck win under jockey Mark Zahra in Wednesday’s Shojun Concrete Stakes (1200m) for fillies and mares was Moonlover’s ninth career victory from 34 starts. But… Read More »
Paying more than $1 million for a colt never guarantees premium racetrack success, as a syndicate of racing heavyweights found out with Warwick Farm winner Adana. That’s why they had to spend a few hundred dollars more to get their first worthwhile return from the blue blood on Wednesday. Adana,… Read More »
A horse foaled in the district has delivered a dream result for some of his connections in the Group Three Geelong Cup. Four-year-old Runaway, bred at Rosemont Stud about 20 minutes away from the Geelong racecourse, led home a stable quinella for co-trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in Wednesday’s… Read More »
Leading Brisbane trainer Robert Heathcote has hand-picked three horses to run at Randwick as his home town shuts up shop in a show of strength against the Queensland government’s decision not to give money back to racing from the Point of Consumption tax. There will be no TAB meetings in… Read More »
Sydney three-year-old Home Ground has confirmed Victoria Derby plans with a narrow win in the Listed Geelong Classic. Randwick trainer John Sargent selected Wednesday’s race as an ideal lead-up for the gelding to Saturday week’s Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington after his unplaced finish on a wet track in the… Read More »
Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien’s travelling foreman TJ Comerford says only a bad day can stop Winx from winning a historic fourth Cox Plate at Moonee Valley. O’Brien and Comerford know what’s required to win Australia’s premier weight-for-age race having won with Adelaide in 2014 and on Saturday tackle the great… Read More »
Trainer Saeed bin Suroor is hoping the third member of his Melbourne spring team can get on the board in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup. Benbatl got the ball rolling and was followed by Best Solution supplying bin Suroor with Group One feature wins in the Caulfield Stakes and Caulfield… Read More »
Ben Hayes is confident Mickey Blue Eyes has the quality and form to make his mark in the Group Two Vase at Moonee Valley. But the co-trainer is far less enthused about the barrier draw for the colt in Saturday’s Group Two race for three-year-olds over 2040m. “He’s drawn a… Read More »
Trainer Chris Waller has returned serve at English racing commentator Matt Chapman, saying he has shown a lack of respect for Winx and Australian racing in general. Chapman made the comments at Tuesday’s Cox Plate barrier draw function, claiming Winx’s opposition during her unbeaten streak over the past 3-1/2 years… Read More »
Kementari will be out to emulate last year’s Manikato Stakes winner when he drops back to a sprint trip in the $1 million weight-for-age race. The James Cummings-trained Kementari has been freshened for the Manikato (1200m) at Moonee Valley since finishing fourth in the Group One Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m)… Read More »
Hugh Bowman has reunited with Marmelo in a track gallop at Werribee as the international raider prepares for another Melbourne Cup start. Bowman rode Marmelo last spring when sixth in the Caulfield Cup before finishing ninth in the Melbourne Cup. Bowman sees a stronger version of Marmelo this year and… Read More »
New Zealand stayer Jon Snow will miss the Melbourne Cup for the second year in a row with the five-year-old on his way home. The 2017 Australian Derby winner finished last in the Caulfield Cup with trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman pulling the pin on his campaign, citing a… Read More »
Dual winner of The Everest, Redzel, headlines the 34 sprinters still in contention for the $1 million VRC Sprint Classic at Flemington. First acceptances were taken on Tuesday for the weight-for-age VRC Sprint Classic (1200m) as well as the Victoria Derby and VRC Oaks, three of the feature races during… Read More »
A pair of Queensland men have been charged with animal cruelty after allegedly castrating two thoroughbred colts without pain relief. The men, a 69-year-old licensed thoroughbred trainer from Rockhampton and a 72-year-old licensed thoroughbred stablehand from Kenilworth, were both charged by the Queensland Racing Crime Squad. The pair will face… Read More »
The Moonee Valley Racing Club committee has used its discretion to exclude Trap For Fools from the Cox Plate, saying his form does not warrant him starting in the $5 million race. The Jarrod McLean-trained Trap For Fools was among the final acceptors for Saturday’s weight-for-age championship race on Tuesday… Read More »
Tony McEvoy’s hopes that three-year-old filly Sunlight can upstage the older sprinters in the Group One Manikato Stakes have been boosted after the barrier draw for the $1 million race. The McEvoy-trained Sunlight worked sharply at Moonee Valley on Tuesday and will start from barrier three in a field of… Read More »
The two people closest to Winx are content with the preparation the champion has undergone towards a fourth straight Cox Plate victory. Trainer Chris Waller and jockey Hugh Bowman were at Moonee Valley on Tuesday where Winx went through her paces before a large crowd at Breakfast with the Best…. Read More »
Melbourne’s weather is set to play a role in the preparation of the Moonee Valley track ahead of the Cox Plate. The weather bureau says there is a 40 per cent chance of 0-3mm of rain falling on Saturday. Moonee Valley track manager Marty Synan said as Saturday’s Cox Plate… Read More »
