Trainer Charlie Appleby admits Qewy faces a big task to overthrow Big Orange in the Goodwood Cup as he prepares the stayer for a return trip to Australia. Qewy won the Geelong Cup and the Sandown Cup last year either side of a creditable fourth in the Melbourne Cup. He… Read More »
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST TRAINER TO NOTCH UP A QUADRUPLE CENTURY WEIR’S YEAR * 449 wins (up from 348 last season) * 2686 starters (up from 2209) * prize money more than $24.6 million (up from $21.8m) * 31 Group races including eight Group Ones * He won in every state including… Read More »
After ending the 2016/17 season with a flurry of city winners, trainer Robert Smerdon will be relying on in-form Dulverton to start the new campaign on a positive note at Flemington. Smerdon has Dulverton nominated for a 1600m open handicap and a benchmark-84 for fillies and mares over 1700m at… Read More »
Jamie Kah has led the way for female riders this season, setting a new standard of 130 winners. Kah’s final winner for the season came at Gawler on Sunday and she was three clear of Linda Meech whose season ended early because of suspension. The strength of female riders in… Read More »
Trainer Darren Weir’s record-breaking season has fallen one win shy of an astonishing 450 wins after he landed a winning treble at the final meeting in Victoria at Mildura. Weir smashed his own Australian record of 348 winners set last season with his tally for 2016/17 including a record 137… Read More »
Group One winners Invader, Tycoon Tara and English will be among the horses taking advantage of the Canterbury course proper for gallops. The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Tycoon Tara and Invader will be joined by stablemate That’s A Good Idea on Tuesday morning while English is one of nine horses… Read More »
Dwayne Dunn will be back aboard in-form Ability in the rescheduled Bletchingly Stakes. Dunn filled in for a suspended Craig Williams on the Robert Smerdon-trained Ability last start, winning the Listed All Victorian Sprint Series Final at Flemington. Williams was to ride Ability in Saturday’s Group Three Bletchingly (1200m) but… Read More »
Gerald Ryan concedes the 1200 metres of the Missile Stakes will be too short for Australian Derby runner-up Harper’s Choice but the Group Two race will still give the trainer some idea where to head this spring. Although Harper’s Choice led for most of the 2400 metres of the Derby… Read More »
Brisbane owner-breeder Michael Dunne has developed an apparatus he believes can solve the long-term problem of horses that bite. Dunne was intrigued that there are few options for anyone wanting to cure horses who bite other animals and also humans. “I did wide search on the internet and while there… Read More »
An extra race has been added to each of the new season’s first two city meetings in Melbourne after the Bletchingly Stakes program was abandoned midway because of dangerous winds. The Group Three Bletchingly Stakes (1200m), one of the races lost on Saturday, has been added to Sunday’s program at… Read More »
Veteran Chris Johnson has claimed a second New Zealand jockeys’ premiership, more than 20 years after his first. The 53-year-old is based in the South Island while most of the major stables are in the North. Johnson, who won his first title in 1995/96 with 139 winners and notched his… Read More »
Veteran Murray Baker and his training partner Andrew Forsman have had a season to remember, culminating in a second New Zealand trainers’ premiership. The two won the title in 2014/15 but the following season were outgunned by Te Akau Racing’s Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards. The Baker-Forsman team notched 107… Read More »
Star galloper Hartnell is pleasing his new trainer ahead of his return to racing in Melbourne and will ramp up his preparations in a jump-out at Flemington. Hartnell has won twice at Group One level in Australia but has also had to play second fiddle to champion Winx in other… Read More »
Apprentice Jack Martin will be free to take rides at the first city meeting of the season in Melbourne after having a careless riding suspension reduced on appeal. Martin was banned for eight meetings after pleading guilty to careless riding at the 1100m mark of a 1600m race at Sandown… Read More »
Harness racing legend Courage Under Fire has died at the age of 21 at Yirribee Stud in NSW. The diminutive New Zealander, known as Mighty Mouse, was unbeaten at two and three, winning his first 24 starts and a record six Derbys. In all, he won 41 of his 56… Read More »
Popular stayer Big Orange will have up to 15 rivals in his bid for a record third Goodwood Cup. The two-mile (3200m) race on Tuesday will be run at Group One level for the first time. Big Orange, unplaced in the past two Melbourne Cups, goes to the race on… Read More »
While the major awards for the season have yet to be handed out, the Australian Turf Club has honoured the owners of some of those horses who might not make headlines. At Rosehill on Saturday, several awards were given to recognise the owners’ commitment with Godolphin taking the trophy for… Read More »
Despite claiming his seventh Sydney trainers’ premiership and topping the Australian Group One winner’s list for another season, Chris Waller is not about to rest on his laurels. As he prepares his team for the spring headlined by champion Winx, Waller is also searching for ways to improve on his… Read More »
Jockey Tegan Harrison quietly reached career milestone with her 500th race win at Doomben. Harrison claimed her 215th Queensland metropolitan winner when the Tony Sears-trained two-year-old Basara won on Saturday. She has ridden 284 country and provincial winners in Queensland and NSW and one metropolitan winner in Victoria. Harrison holds… Read More »
Epsom Handicap winner Hauraki will not defend the race and instead be rested until the autumn. Hauraki has been a mainstay of Godolphin’s Australian team for three seasons, racking up five Group One placings before his Epsom win last year. “Hauraki has been an outstanding performer for Team Godolphin over… Read More »
