Enable looks set to go off as favourite in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot with trainer John Gosden giving positive indications the dual Oaks winner will run. With the ground currently described as soft at Ascot and the forecast unsettled until Saturday, last year’s winner… Read More »
A winning double at Swan Hill won’t be enough for Linda Meech to be the leading female rider in Australia. Meech started a suspension, incurred at Bendigo on Sunday, following Monday’s Swan Hill meeting, ruling her out for the remainder of the season. Her season ends on 127, one win… Read More »
A set of unofficial jump-outs at Geelong will take on a little more interest with Black Caviar’s first foal Oscietra to make an appearance. Wednesday’s outing will be a prelude to another jump-out at Flemington after which the Lindsay Park stable will look for a suitable maiden race for the… Read More »
Slightly Sweet is most likely headed to the broodmare barn in the spring but will be given the chance to add Sydney’s final stakes race for the season to her record. The Jason Coyle-trained mare claimed her first win for more than two years in the Listed Winter Stakes at… Read More »
Robbie Laing says a fitter Lord Of The Sky will step out for his title defence of the Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield. Lord Of The Sky is one of 18 nominations for Saturday’s Group Three 1200m-sprint, 12 months after he defeated Fast ‘N’ Rocking and Mahuta. Lord Of The Sky… Read More »
Henry Plumptre has stepped down as managing director of Godolphin in Australia as an inquiry into the stable’s failure to report a case of strangles continues. Plumptre, who has spent 16 years with Godolphin, said the issue had impacted on the organisation’s reputation. “I have been away for a short… Read More »
Melbourne Cup hopeful St Michel will miss the Goodwood Cup with his trainer Sir Mark Prescott concentrating on the trip to Australia. St Michel ran second to Melbourne Cup favourite Red Cardinal in the Belmont Gold Cup (3219m) in New York in June. “St Michel is heading for the Melbourne… Read More »
Two feature jumps winners from Bendigo will meet in a Grand National Steeplechase lead-up at Sandown. New Zealander Sea King and Australian jumper Wells will renew acquaintances in the Crisp Steeplechase at Sandown on August 6, two weeks before the Grand National at Ballarat two weeks later. The two were… Read More »
Jockey Jim Byrne’s winter carnival form has him throwing out a late challenge to win the Queensland Jockey of the Year award. The annual Queensland Racing Awards voting begins soon and Jeff Lloyd is probably considered a shoo-in to win the riders’ award for a second time. But Byrne has… Read More »
Both Hugh Bowman and trainer Chris Waller have left Randwick upbeat with Winx’s third in a barrier trial without getting too carried away. After tagging along at the back of the field, Winx responded when Bowman asked her to shift up a gear and strode strongly to the line. The… Read More »
A set of unofficial jump-outs at Geelong will take on a little more interest with Black Caviar’s first foal Oscietra to make an appearance. Wednesday’s outing will be a prelude to another jump-out at Flemington after which the Lindsay Park stable will look for a suitable maiden race for the… Read More »
Premier Brisbane jockey Jeff Lloyd has copped his second careless riding suspension in two days while apprentice Stephanie Lacy has been outed for four weeks on a handling charge on a busy day for stewards at the Sunshine Coast. Lacy, who rode her first metropolitan winner at Doomben on Saturday,… Read More »
While the attention turns to champion Winx and her Cox Plate build-up, the mare isn’t the only horse in Sydney’s premier stable with lofty spring targets. Group One winner Foxplay will step out in the same barrier trial as Winx at Randwick on Monday. The two are housed in neighbouring… Read More »
Premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan is hoping Khalami’s owner Alan Bell decides to keep the mare racing for another season believing she can be a force in the summer stakes races. Jim Byrne sported Bell’s famous grey and red colours aboard the mare at Doomben on Saturday when she won… Read More »
The reappearance of former Australian Racehorse of the Year Lankan Rupee looms as one of the features of the final Group race of the local racing season. The Mick Price-trained multiple Group One winner is set to resume from a lengthy lay-off in Saturday’s Group Three Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) on… Read More »
WINX RETURNS TO THE PUBLIC EYE THIS WEEK WHY IS THIS HORSE SO REVERED? Where do we begin? * 17 races on the trot, including 12 at Group One level. * Only the third horse to be inducted into the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame while still racing. * Brings… Read More »
Well aware of the public interest in Winx, trainer Chris Waller has put a lid on what to expect when she steps out in a Randwick barrier trial. Although the mare has the best winning record of any horse in training, she has never won a barrier trial and her… Read More »
The world’s best horse Arrogate has looked anything but, running a distant fourth in the Group Two San Diego Stakes won by Accelerate at Del Mar. Jockey Mike Smith tried everything he could with Arrogate but nothing worked. “He just wasn’t trying,” Smith said. Accelerate beat Donworth by 8-1/2 lengths… Read More »
Leading Melbourne apprentice Beau Mertens fears the ‘a’ next to his name may hold him back from important rides ahead of the spring. Having recently outridden his claim, Mertens is ready to lodge paperwork he hopes will mean he can ride as a senior in the new season. Mertens, who… Read More »
Trainer Ben Currie has bounced back from the disappointment of losing a race because of a positive swab to post a treble at Toowoomba and increase his lead in the Queensland premiership. The Currie-trained Smooch was disqualified and Currie fined $3000 after returned a positive test to a marker of… Read More »
