THE INTERNATIONAL RAIDERS AND THE MELBOURNE CUP * 11 overseas-trained horses this year, all European * Record-equalling number with that in 2011 and 2015 IRELAND * Ireland’s champion National Hunt trainer Willie Mullins – the 2015 runner-up Max Dynamite, Wicklow Brave and Thomas Hobson * Champion Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien… Read More »
Marmelo, who punters believe will be the first of the record-equalling 11 European horses over the line in the Melbourne Cup, is not the only overseas raider who has been thriving since arriving in Australia. So too have the other international runners sharing his Werribee barn, Marmelo’s English trainer Hughie… Read More »
Well-bred gelding Ef Troop has lived up to a good trial to give first-season sire Spirit of Boom his first winner in record style at Doomben. Ef Troop won at trial at Doomben by 8-1/2 lengths on Tuesday and it wasn’t until Saturday morning that trainer Tony Gollan confirmed he… Read More »
As a syndicator of racehorses for 25 years Darren Dance has always considered the Melbourne Cup the Holy Grail. But the director of Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock didn’t consider it an immediate ambition until he had a heart attack in 2010. He was lucky to survive, having driven himself to Ballarat… Read More »
Officials hope predicted rain will take the fire out of the Doomben track for the Melbourne Cup day meeting. On Saturday, Doomben started out a good four but after the first race was upgraded and again after the third race to firm. The rating was reflected in race times with… Read More »
Jockey Kathy O’Hara says there is no horse she would rather ride in her first Melbourne Cup than Single Gaze. The pair will jump from barrier 11 at Flemington on Tuesday, just outside of O’Hara’s hopes for the inside 10, backing up a gutsy forward run in the Caulfield Cup… Read More »
The British Horseracing Authority says it is taking allegations by former jockey Gay Kelleway that she was assaulted and harassed “very seriously”. Now a successful trainer, Kelleway, 53, who broke new ground for female riders, said she encountered serious harassment during her riding years, including an incident at Leicester racecourse… Read More »
Almandin remains the favourite to defend his Melbourne Cup crown and give his owner Lloyd Williams a sixth win in the race he covets most. Williams has six runners in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday, three – Almandin, Bondi Beach and Gallante – trained by Robert Hickmott in… Read More »
Almandin will launch his bid for back-to-back Melbourne Cup wins from a double-digit barrier. One of six horses owner Lloyd Williams will have in Tuesday’s race, Almandin will start from gate 14 after winning from barrier 17 last year. Topweight Hartnell, third in 2018, has drawn barrier 12 while Gai… Read More »
Udyta Clarke was so worried about her beloved “little pony” Rich Charm she seriously considered ditching the race and taking him home. In fact she was still so concerned after winning Flemington’s Group Two TAB Multiplier Stakes she headed straight to the stalls. The 70-year-old Cranbourne trainer is known to… Read More »
Visiting French jockey Olivier Peslier is free to ride Tiberian in the Melbourne Cup despite a suspension on two careless riding charges at Flemington. The suspensions stem from separate incidents in the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes on Saturday in which he rode Godolphin galloper Malahat. He was suspended for… Read More »
Leviathan owner Lloyd Williams will have a quarter of the Melbourne Cup field with his six horses headed by defending champion Almandin. The others he either owns or has an interest in are Johannes Vermeer, Bondi Beach, US Army Ranger, Gallante and Rekindling. The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Cismontane… Read More »
Jockey Michael Heagney has been suspended for 10 meetings after pleading guilty to careless riding at Rosehill. Heagney was banned by Racing NSW stewards after allowing Neyla’s Girl to shift and collide with Undaoaf after they passed the post in the Highway Handicap. Apprentice Lee Magorrian fell from Undaoaf but… Read More »
Moments after thinking he’d blown the biggest win of his career, Sydney jockey Tye Angland has triumphed in the Victoria Derby. Angland eventually guided favourite Ace High to a dominant victory in the $1.5 million Flemington classic. It was his first winner in Victoria and ninth Group One success. Three… Read More »
David Payne’s Australian dream has come true with the former champion South African trainer realising his long-held ambition to win the Victoria Derby. Ace High, a horse Payne identified as a Derby player early in his career, delivered on the big stage at Flemington on Saturday with a superior staying… Read More »
Sydney apprentice Blaike McDougall has repaid the faith of trainer Les Bridge, guiding Slow Burn to her third career win at Rosehill. After saluting on the consistent four-year-old mare, McDougall admitted he never expected to be riding for Bridge in the Blacktown Workers Handicap (1100m). McDougall feared the worst once… Read More »
David Payne’s Australian dream has come true with the former champion South African trainer realising his long-held ambition to win the Victoria Derby. Ace High, a horse Payne identified as a Derby player early in his career, delivered on the big stage at Flemington on Saturday with a superior staying… Read More »
Peter and Paul Snowden have another promising colt to develop with debutant Neutrality claiming a Rosehill race with a history of unearthing a good horse. Before heading to Flemington, Paul Snowden had feared inexperience might undermine the Sebring two-year-old. Yet the raw talent was never threatened by five rivals en… Read More »
There were some anxious moments but Brisbane Racing Club board member David Dawson has claimed his first Saturday metropolitan class winner at Doomben after 30 years of trying. Dawson part owns Tarzan ($3.80) who was a clear leader with 100m to travel in Saturday’s Open Hcp (1050m) but lightweight Sweet… Read More »
A trip to Sydney to ride in a Group One race for Lloyd Williams has paved the way for jockey Michael Dee’s second success at the highest level. Dee was legged aboard Shillelagh, one of six Chris Waller-trained runners in Saturday’s Kennedy Mile at Flemington, giving the master trainer a… Read More »
