Jockey Andrew Mallyon will head to Caulfield for one ride, hoping to build on a near faultless record aboard Crystal Dreamer. Mallyon has ridden Crystal Dreamer in four of the Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra-trained gelding’s 11 starts for three wins and a second, including back-to-back victories this campaign at… Read More »
A soft track and a reunion with jockey Brad Pengelly are the factors trainer Tony Sears believes can bolster the chances of Pillar Of Creation at the Gold Coast. Pillar of Creation, who has been stakes-placed, was beaten nearly 12 lengths at his comeback run behind Straturbo in the Listed… Read More »
Promising filly Umawinner will need a double dose of luck to make the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic field. The David Vandyke-trained filly has been in the Magic Millions markets since winning a Sunshine Coast trial by four lengths on December 13. She was to have her first start in the… Read More »
Suspensions and unavailability have forced an overhaul of teams for the final round of the State of Origin jockeys series. Going into the third and final round at the Gold Coast on Saturday, NSW leads on 33 points from New Zealand (22), South Australia and Western Australia (17), Queensland (13)… Read More »
Victorian apprentice Mitch Aitken has been hit with two careless riding charges in addition to one he is appealing. Aitken rode a winner at Sandown on Wednesday but was found guilty of careless riding in two other races. On Thursday, he fronts the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board appealing a… Read More »
Expect to see a lot more of apprentice Boris Thornton in the Melbourne metropolitan area after a welcome win at Sandown. Victory aboard Lola Lu in Wednesday’s Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap was his first Melbourne city winner since guiding Crafty Cruiser to victory at Flemington in June 2015. Thornton was an… Read More »
Robert Smerdon has trained a Sandown double with two talented horses but is resigned to losing one to overseas interests. Let’s Go To Rio, winner of the Splashland Plate is likely to head to Asia while Yarramalong Racing Club Handicap winner Oak Door will remain in Smerdon’s care after connections… Read More »
Yasnat’s ability on firm ground will be put to the test when the mare tries to give Canberra trainer Matthew Dale another win a Highway Handicap in Sydney. Yasnat resumes in Saturday’s 1100m race at Warwick Farm and if she can win, Dale will join Matthew Dunn as the leading… Read More »
Eight-year-old gelding Irish Constabulary will finally get to contest a Magic Millions race after his solid win at the Sunshine Coast. Irish Constabulary ($2) ploughed through the mud on Wednesday to score his sixth win in the Benchmark 75 (1000m). The gelding had a belated start to his racing career… Read More »
Trainer Kate Goodrich will face the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board after being charged by Victorian stewards for not allowing them access to her stable for a race day inspection of a horse. Stewards issued a charge against Goodrich on Wednesday. The particulars are that Goodrich did not allow two… Read More »
Champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller has paid tribute to multiple Group One winner Shoot Out who has died aged 10. Raced by Graham and Lindy Huddy, Shoot Out started his career with trainer John Wallace who prepared the gelding until the end of his four-year-old season with the highlights his… Read More »
A better barrier draw than Alma’s Rossa had at Sandown for her last start has boosted trainer Matthew Williams’ hopes the three-year-old filly can snare a first city win at Caulfield. Alma’s Rossa won back-to-back races on her home track at Warrnambool earlier this campaign in lesser grade before heading… Read More »
Trainer Matt Dunn’s decision to take two juveniles to a country meeting looks likely to be rewarded with berths in the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic. Saxton Rock and Arrestar were in a group of horses on the cusp of a start in the $2 million race at the Gold Coast… Read More »
Making the leap from an apprentice rider to senior ranks has hit home for Michael Dee. The Melbourne-based former New Zealander outrode his claim last month and started life as a senior rider on December 24. Based with Caulfield trainer Mick Price during his apprenticeship, Dee was highly sought after… Read More »
Trainer Darren Bell hopes he can get a partial clearance to begin working some of his horses again as early as next week after a strangles outbreak in his stable. Bell’s premises were shut down last month after three of 23 horses returned positive results to strangles, a highly contagious… Read More »
The Group One Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai, won in recent years by Australian sprinters Ortensia and Buffering, will form part of the Global Sprint Challenge in 2017. The Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan on Dubai World Cup night in March was previously run over 1000m but has changed to… Read More »
Toowoomba trainer Ben Currie has been fined $9000 on a second charge of presenting a horse to race with a prohibited substance. Last month Queensland Racing Integrity Commission stewards found Currie guilty after Party Till Dawn returned a sample to the prohibited substance methamphetamine at Toowoomba on July 16. The… Read More »
Blake Shinn’s four-win haul at Kembla Grange has been soured by a suspension which rules him out of the rich Magic Millions day at the Gold Coast. Shinn’s four winners on Tuesday were all for the Peter and Paul Snowden training team for whom he rode last year’s Magic Millions… Read More »
Trainers Adrian and Harry Bull are already signalling a return to the Queensland winter carnival and a defence of the Brisbane Cup with New Zealand stayer Benzini. The seven-year-old is nearing the end of quarantine in Melbourne after a trip to Hong Kong where he finished a creditable sixth in… Read More »
Sense Of Occasion has a Doncaster Mile ballot exemption but a more immediate target is the Listed Gosford Gold Cup. The Kris Lees-trained gelding won the Group Two Villiers Stakes (1600m) last month at Randwick and is scheduled to have his next start in Friday week’s Gosford Gold Cup over… Read More »
