OAKLEIGH PLATE 1100m, Caulfield, $500,000, Handicap HISTORY * First run in 1884 when won by Malua. Group One since 1980. Run over 1200m from 1884-1972. * Leading modern-day trainers are John Hawkes: Harpagus (1982) and Sports (2000), Brian Mayfield-Smith: Sudurka (2002) and Reactive (2004), Paul Perry: Dantelah (1999) and Fastnet… Read More »
CHIPPING NORTON STAKES 1600m, $600,000, weight-for-age HISTORY * First run in 1925 when won by Wallace Mortlake NOTABLE WINNERS * Phar Lap (1930), Bernborough (1946), Comic Court (1951), Delta (1952), Sky High (1962), Rain Lover (1969), Gay Icarus (1971), Emancipation (1984), Our Waverley Star (1987), Octagonal (1997), Lonhro (2003), Tuesday… Read More »
Trainer Trent Busuttin admits pitting Tavago against Winx at Randwick is not an ideal starting point to the gelding’s Sydney Cup campaign. But neither is racing on a firm track at Caulfield which Busuttin reasoned could place Tavago’s preparation in jeopardy. The New Zealander, who set up a stable at… Read More »
DAVID HAYES AIMS FOR SIXTH BLUE DIAMOND Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes, who now trains in partnership with his son Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig, has six runners in Saturday’s $1.5 million Group One Blue Diamond Stakes for two-year-olds at Caulfield. Hayes holds the training record in the Blue… Read More »
BLUE DIAMOND STAKES 1200m, Caulfield, $1,500,000, Two-year-olds HISTORY * First run in 1971 when won by Tolerance NOTABLE WINNERS * Manikato (1978); Rancher (1982); Bounding Away (1986); Midnight Fever (1987); Zeditave (1988); Redoute’s Choice (1999); Bel Esprit (2002); Alinghi (2004); Star Witness (2010); Sepoy (2011); Miracles Of Life (2013); Extreme… Read More »
Flamberge will be out to equal his own modern-day weight carrying record when he chases back-to-back Oakleigh Plate wins at Caulfield. The gelding lumped 58kg to win a year ago, the most weight carried to victory in the metric era. After a game fourth in the Group One weight-for-age Lightning… Read More »
An emotion-charged double has put Robert Heathcote back in the Brisbane trainers premiership race and he hopes to capitalise with a big day at Doomben. Heathcote had a double with Remembering Frank and Fortini at Eagle Farm on Wednesday to bring up his 40th winner of the season. Heathcote led… Read More »
Lindsay Park senior trainer David Hayes will feel like he’s taken up a new vocation as he waits for the start of the 2017 Blue Diamond Stakes. From his vantage point in the trainers’ stand at Caulfield on Saturday, Hayes will be keeping an eye on his six entrants in… Read More »
South Coast trainer Paul Murray has been found guilty of five cobalt offences relating to a stored sample taken from Alma’s Fury four years ago. Racing NSW stewards have rejected arguments by counsel for Murray that cobalt was not a prohibited substance at the time because there was no threshold… Read More »
First emergency Sheer Madness has gained a start in the Group One Blue Diamond Stakes after the scratching of the Clinton McDonald-trained Spoils. Spoils was withdrawn on Thursday morning. Sheer Madness is trained by John Salanitri who won the Blue Diamond 17 years ago with Road To Success. Sheer Madness… Read More »
Leading Melbourne apprentice Ben Allen has won his first Group Three race, steering the Darren Weir-trained Big Duke to victory in the Launceston Cup. The former English stayer was the $2.10 favourite and finished Wednesday’s 2400m-race a length in front of Count Da Vinci who had beaten him in the… Read More »
Australian John Size has become the third trainer to reach 1000 winners in Hong Kong, joining John Moore and Tony Cruz. Size went into Wednesday’s Happy Valley meeting on 999 and brought up the milestone with Game Of Fun in the third race and added another winner with D B… Read More »
As has become the norm, Winx will have a photo-shoot two days out from her next race start. Behind the scenes all the work has been done with her trainer Chris Waller confident both he and she are prepared for her defence of Saturday’s Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick. Australia’s… Read More »
When it comes to winning Group One races in Australia over the past 12 months, only champion Winx can boast a better record than Black Heart Bart. Since joining the Darren Weir stable from Western Australia a year ago, Black Heart Bart has had 10 starts in Group One races… Read More »
The Blue Diamond Stakes has been a long-range target for Jukebox and Ciaron Maher has carefully planned the colt’s assault on the $1.5 million race via a less orthodox path than most other trainers. The two-year-old has bypassed both traditional lead-up races – the Blue Diamond Preview and Preludes –… Read More »
After being looked on as a possible Blue Diamond Stakes contender, Eshtiraak has emerged as a leading hope for another two-year-old feature with victory at Sandown. The Lindsay Park operation was considering Eshtiraak for Saturday’s Blue Diamond following a win at Sandown earlier this month. But after pitting Eshtiraak and… Read More »
A Rosehill midweek meeting may have produced a couple of two-year-old autumn carnival contenders. The Gerald Ryan-trained Albumin won the colts and geldings division on Wednesday with Limbo Soul from the Tim Martin stable pulling off a concerted plunge with her win in the fillies 1100m-race. Limbo Soul was at… Read More »
Star of Night has shown a return to the form which once had her rated among Queensland’s most promising two-year-olds with a win at Eagle Farm. The now four-year-old scored her fifth win at the track on Wednesday but there seems little doubt she would be racing in better company… Read More »
After making the move to Melbourne last year, Trent Busuttin didn’t expect to be making a return to New Zealand so soon. Busuttin and partner Natalie Young are taking Rising Red home to contest the New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie on March 4. Rising Red earned his ticket to… Read More »
Pat Carey is looking to Michelle Payne to pull off another long shot Group One win when she rides Shakespearean Lass at Caulfield. Shakespearean Lass lines up in the Oakleigh Plate (1100m) on Saturday and is currently rated a $51 chance. Payne rode the Darren Weir-trained Prince Of Penzance to… Read More »
