WHO IS WINX? * A six-year-old bay mare, foaled September 14, 2011 by Street Cry out of Vegas Showgirl * Bought at the 2013 Magic Millions yearling sale for $230,000 * Owned by Magic Bloodstock Racing (Peter and Patty Tighe), Richard Treweeke and Debbie Kepitis * Trained by Chris Waller… Read More »
After escaping injury in a barrier mishap at Canterbury, Blake Shinn has put his abundant talent on show at Moonee Valley with a quartet of winners. Shinn had to forgo rides in later races at Canterbury on Friday night but he wasn’t going to miss being involved in Saturday’s Cox… Read More »
Jockey Jim Byrne made the most of a bias towards leaders and inside barriers at Doomben to get Hi I’m Back into the winner’s list for the first time in seven months. Hi I’m Back ($10) sat just behind a breakneck pace before beating Cantbuybetter ($9.50) by a long head… Read More »
Godolphin filly Banish has capped her spring preparation with a valuable Group Two win in the Fillies Classic at Moonee Valley. Banish had won two benchmark races at Cranbourne in her four starts leading into Saturday’s 1600m race, which trainer James Cummings considered a target for the three-year-old. After settling… Read More »
Improved barrier manners have helped Dia De Reyes live up to his potential in winning the Highway Handicap at Randwick. Notoriously fickle in the starting stalls, Dia De Reyes jumped on terms with the field to ease the anxieties of Murwillumbah trainer Matthew Dunn’s wife Keira. “Just to be in… Read More »
It’s hard to imagine there is a more popular horse in Chris Waller’s stable than Winx but Who Shot Thebarman is right up there. The nine-year-old has cemented a place in his fourth Melbourne Cup with victory in the Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) over his stablemate Libran who also heads… Read More »
Trainer Bjorn Baker will consider a Group One start for Lubiton after the mare produced a track record-breaking performance at Moonee Valley. The Sydney-trained mare was taken to the front by Blake Shinn in the Group Three Powerflo Solutions Stakes (1600m) on Saturday, comfortably holding her rivals at bay. Backed… Read More »
Tamworth trainer Sue Grylls plans to bring Fickle Folly back to town for the Listed Starlight Stakes after mare’s tenacious win at Randwick. Fickle Folly ($13) put her nose down on the line to claim the E-Group Security Stakes (1000m) by a short half-head after resisting the challenge of the… Read More »
Blondie has lived up to trainer Brendan McCarthy’s pre-race confidence to deliver a stakes win on Cox Plate day at Moonee Valley. The three-year-old was dropping back in distance in Saturday’s Listed Crockett Stakes (1200m) for fillies after weakening to finish last in the Edward Manifold Stakes at her most… Read More »
Trainer Barry Lockwood predicted Ric McMahon could break back into Brisbane’s top 10 jockeys after they combined to win with Adoradancer at Doomben. McMahon rode a perfect race to get Adoradancer ($7) home a short neck to Bold Xavi ($8.50) with a neck to Wudang Blade ($12). He was among… Read More »
Paul Vautin is well known as an ex-NRL player and long-time presenter of The Footy Show until his recent sacking. But he has still found a role in front of the camera as a shareholder in a Group Three winner at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day. An old friend… Read More »
Warranty is proving a sure thing for trainers Peter and Paul Snowden. The three-year-old filly made it two wins from three starts in taking out the Cellarbrations Handicap (1400m) at Randwick, earning a Melbourne Cup carnival start for her efforts. Warranty ($4.40) took up the running before holding on to… Read More »
Trainer Darren Weir’s pre-race fears were unfounded after Gun Case lumped his topweight to victory at Moonee Valley. A winner of 11 of his previous 27 starts, Gun Case took out Saturday’s Strathmore Community Bendigo Bank Handicap over the shortest trip at Moonee Valley of 955m. Ridden by Dean Yendall,… Read More »
Trainer John Zielke’s system of educating his early-season two-year-olds shows no sign of getting old. Rosa’s Charm ($21) charged home along the fence to beat her Zielke-trained stablemate Miracles Aplenty ($6.50) by a long head with three-quarters of a length to Aetherius ($13) third in a two-year-old fillies race at… Read More »
After a winning treble from as many runners on Caulfield Cup day, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable has started Cox Plate day on a bright note with Setsuna. Two-year-old filly Setsuna finished a close second on debut in the Listed Gimcrack Stakes at Randwick on September 30 before… Read More »
Luke Currie has had the joy of winning the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley on Hey Doc soured with a 10-meeting careless riding suspension. Currie was outed on Friday night for shifting in near the 900m mark leaving insufficient racing room for Vega Magic (Craig Williams) and runner-up In Her… Read More »
Hey Doc has survived a protest to win the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley with the well-supported Chautauqua a late scratching by the vet. The Tony McEvoy-trained four-year-old Hey Doc was a surprise leader in Friday night’s Group One sprint and held off a late challenge from In Her Time…. Read More »
The brother of suspended trainer Ciaron Maher has joined him on the sidelines after testing positive to a banned substance. A trainer in his own right, Declan Maher returned a positive test in a urine sample taken while he was riding trackwork at Caulfield on October 2. The positive test… Read More »
A crowd of more than 34,000 is expected at Moonee Valley to see Winx attempt a record-equalling third Cox Plate. Winx will join Kingston Town, successful in the 1980/81/82 Cox Plates, if she wins the 2040m $3 millionCox Plate on Saturday. Moonee Valley Racing Club chief executive Michael Browell says… Read More »
Stephen Jones admits appearances are deceiving when you evaluate Victory Red. “He looks like a sprinter to be honest with you, so we started him over a couple of sprint distances and he didn’t show a great deal,” Jones said. The Scone trainer eventually realised the three-year-old had staying qualities… Read More »
