Racing Victoria chief steward Terry Bailey will have the best seat in the house as Winx attempts a record-equalling third Cox Plate success. Bailey sits up high in the stewards’ tower at the point where the horses enter the track after doing their pre-parade behind the grandstand. He remembers his… Read More »
Negotiating an obstacle course for the first time is designed to put a spring in one-time Everest hopeful Takedown’s step. Gary Moore has turned to putting the Group One-winning sprinter over jumps to vary his training routine before Saturday’s Filante Stakes (1400m) at Randwick. Takedown was sent to Limitless Lodge… Read More »
Stoutly bred Aristocat has given trainer Stuart Kendrick some anxious moments after his win at Ipswich, escaping from the course into nearby streets. Aristocrat ($2.60) won a slogging duel with Princely Sum ($2.45) in a maiden (1550m) on Wednesday. He then escaped from the swabbing stalls and took off. He… Read More »
Godolphin travelling foreman Chris Connett is looking forward to English visitor Folkswood tackling Winx in the Cox Plate. Not that Connett thinks the Charlie Appleby-trained Folkswood can topple Winx at Moonee Valley on Saturday but he senses the theatre as the champion mare attempts a record-equalling third successive Cox Plate… Read More »
Queensland jockey Dale Evans has been suspended for two months on a handling charge arising from a ride at Rockhampton. Stewards charged Evans with failing to give Dam Wonderful the best possible chance to win or run a place in a 1050m-benchmark race on September 21. Dam Wonderful finished fifth… Read More »
Tony McEvoy knows the feeling of a Cox Plate win and wants to experience it again. But he knows a champion awaits on Saturday when he starts three-year-old Royal Symphony in the country’s premier weight-for-age race at Moonee Valley against dual winner and $1.15 favourite Winx. McEvoy won the 2003… Read More »
Victorian trainers are being investigated after each had a horse return illegal cobalt levels. Racing Victoria stewards are continuing their investigations into the high readings, both of which were above the allowable 100mcg/L. Steeplechaser Sir Walter Scott, trained by champion jumps jockey Steven Pateman who holds a dual licence, was… Read More »
Jason Coyle hopes Salsonic’s first trip interstate continues to have positive spin-offs when the gelding returns to racing at Randwick. The four-year-old’s one-off trip to Brisbane in June proved successful when Salsonic won the Group Two Queensland Guineas (1600m) at Doomben. Salsonic then spent two months spelling in Queensland before… Read More »
A return to familiar territory may be the spark for Grey Lion to break through on Australian shores. The Matt Cumani-trained imported French stayer returns to the scene of his Australian debut last year, the Geelong Cup, in which he finished second to Godolphin’s Qewy. That has been the six-year-old’s… Read More »
After contemplating a Cox Plate start for Sense Of Occasion, trainer Kris Lees has opted to wait a week with the Doomben Cup winner. Lees took Sense Of Occasion to Moonee Valley on Tuesday morning for a work-out in company with stablemate Sound Proposition who will run in Saturday’s Crystal… Read More »
Vega Magic is a clear favourite to win his third Group One race this year against high-quality opposition in the $1 million Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley. A field of 11 has been declared for Friday night’s feature sprint, including 2015 winner Chautauqua, in-form NSW mare In Her Time and… Read More »
It’s all systems go for Winx and her assault on a record-equalling third Cox Plate after an impressive work-out in front of an appreciative crowd at Moonee Valley. The champion mare brought a large crowd to Breakfast With The Best on Tuesday morning to see her go through her paces… Read More »
Jockey James McDonald has faced a Sydney court to again challenge an 18-month disqualification for betting on a horse he was riding. The former Godolphin jockey has lost two appeals against the severity of the ban after admitting he placed a $1000 bet on his mount Astern in December 2015…. Read More »
With Destiny’s Kiss taking a well-deserved rest after his latest stakes win at Randwick, trainer Joe Pride will look to some of his lesser performed stablemates to step up. The nine-year-old Destiny’s Kiss signed off a 10-race campaign in style on Saturday in the Listed City Tattersalls Club Cup and… Read More »
Promising three-year-old Saint Patricks Day will make a belated return to racing at Doomben but trainer Chris Munce has yet to decide whether to keep him to his own age group. Munce has entered Saint Patricks Day in a Class Six Plate over 1200 metres and a 1050m-race for three-year-olds… Read More »
Manikato Stakes favourite Vega Magic will jump from barrier three in the Group One sprint at Moonee Valley. Second favourite, Newcastle mare In Her Time, will start alongside him in two on Friday night while Chautauqua and Malaguerra come out of gates 10 and 11 respectively. Vega Magic finished second… Read More »
Champion Winx will start from barrier six of nine in her bid for a third consecutive Cox Plate at Moonee Valley. Epsom Handicap winner Happy Clapper will jump from the outside gate while Seaburge has the inside alley. There will be two internationally trained runners in Saturday’s race with the… Read More »
A relaxed Winx has had her final fast gallop before the Cox Plate in front of a large early morning crowd at Moonee Valley. Her trainer Chris Waller says everything is in order ahead of her attempt at a record-equalling third win in the weight-for-age championship. Waller was more than… Read More »
Hugh Bowman has put Cox Plate favourite Winx through her paces in a solo gallop in preparation for a history-making tilt at the weight-for-age race. Winx was first out onto the Moonee Valley course at Tuesday morning’s public trackwork session for her hit-out ahead of Saturday’s $3 million Cox Plate…. Read More »
Multiple Group One winner Alinghi has died at Arrowfield Stud while giving birth to a foal which also did not survive. The winner of the 2004 Blue Diamond stakes, the Lee Freedman-trained Alinghi was Australia’s champion three-year-old filly the following season for her wins in the Thousand Guineas, Robert Sangster… Read More »
