Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne is set to have her first runner as a trainer with New Zealand filly Queen Of Zealand an acceptor in a maiden race at Stawell. Payne will ride the filly in Tuesday’s 1300m-race as she begins a new phase of her career having recently been… Read More »
Premier Adelaide trainer Phillip Stokes is adding numbers to his spring satellite stable in Melbourne. Stokes will have up to five runners spread over two meetings in Melbourne this weekend. Debut Morphettville winner Cappadocia runs at Caulfield on Saturday in the Blue Star Group Plate while scratchings will determine whether… Read More »
Frankie Dettori will ride Gold Cup winner and former Melbourne Cup favourite Order Of St George in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly. Dettori, who is chasing a fifth win in Sunday’s European showpiece, had been provisionally booked by trainer Dermot Weld for the 2015 Champion Stakes winner… Read More »
As expected, Winx has been named Australia’s Horse of the Year for her stellar season which has included wins in the Cox Plate and Doncaster Mile. Unbeaten since the Australian Oaks in April of 2015, the Chris Waller-trained mare is on target to defend her Cox Plate following wins this… Read More »
Hartnell has wowed Sydney racegoers with two dominant weight-for-age wins recently and the gelding now gets the opportunity to do the same in Melbourne. The John O’Shea-trained Hartnell makes his first Melbourne appearance of this season in Sunday’s Group One Turnbull Stakes – a race he finished fifth in last… Read More »
The first shipment of international contenders for the spring carnival is due to arrive on the weekend. A total of 15 horses will arrive at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport in the early hours of Saturday morning. Five Godolphin horses from the Charlie Appleby yard will be among the first to arrive… Read More »
CHRIS WALLER PREVIEWS HIS GROUP ONE RUNNERS ON EPSOM DAY EPSOM HANDICAP Mackintosh (52kg) – “If you forget his Derby run in Queensland his form is just impeccable. I think people might be underestimating him a little bit.” McCreery (51.5kg) – “”He’s been racing over 2000 metres so he’s just… Read More »
David Brideoake has a healthy opinion of debut maiden winner Apiata but where he kicks off his spring campaign is all about scratchings. Apiata is an acceptor at Moonee Valley on Friday night and also at Caulfield on Saturday. Brideoake favours a start on Friday night in the Quest Moonee… Read More »
Chris Waller didn’t need to ask Hugh Bowman what shape Winx was in after her latest track gallop – the jockey’s beaming grin said it all. The champion mare worked in the Melbourne direction at Rosehill on Tuesday as her trainer continues tuning her up for her next start in… Read More »
THE METROPOLITAN HANDICAP Group One, $750,000, handicap HISTORY * First held at Randwick in 1866 as the Great Metropolitan Stakes over two miles (3200m). * Now a 2400m race worth $750,000. * Among the earliest winners was the Ettienne de Mestre-trained Tim Whiffler (1867) who would be the first horse… Read More »
$1 MILLION EPSOM HANDICAP HISTORY * Named after the famous racecourse in the south of England where the Epsom Derby has been run since 1780. * The Epsom was first run in 1865 when won by Dundee. NOTABLE WINNERS * Amounis (1926, 1928), Chatham (1932-33), Shannon (1945), Sky High (1961),… Read More »
MOIR STAKES $500,000, Group One, 1000m, weight-for-age at Moonee Valley HISTORY First run in 1976 over 1000 metres when it was won by Scamanda. Upgraded to Group One in 2013. From 2007 to 2014 run at 1200m before reverting to 1000m in 2015. The honour roll lists some of Australia’… Read More »
With Omei Sword scratched from the Flight Stakes, the remaining fillies are lining up for the ultimate redemption in a Group One race. In a field littered with hard-luck stories, Omei Sword contributed her own chapter after her spring ended on Thursday morning when she was found to be suffering… Read More »
The excitement of watching the first of his stable’s new season two-year-olds race at Doomben will keep premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan at home even though he has a Group One runner at Randwick. Doomben’s meeting on Saturday features Queensland’s first metropolitan races for juveniles this season, a few hours… Read More »
For Mel Sharpe looking after Buffering is anything but a chore. Sharpe has travelled with Buffering to Dubai and Hong Kong for trainer Robert Heathcote and has been the nine-year-old’s main companion for the past three years. Sharpe is on her third trip to Melbourne as the Queensland sprinter prepares… Read More »
A suggestion from Darren Weir’s stable foreman and an endorsement from Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne has led to a significant gear change for leading Epsom Handicap contender Palentino. And Weir believes the application of blinkers for Saturday’s $1 million race at Randwick will help the dual Group One-winning horse… Read More »
A field packed with runners from star stables will jump in the Roman Consul Stakes on Saturday but a gelding from the NSW south coast with “a hell of a lot of speed” could worry them. Flash Fibian will jump from barrier six in the 1200m race at Randwick and… Read More »
While lightweight up-and-comer Antonio Giuseppe is the clear Metropolitan Handicap favourite, Chris Waller believes stablemate Who Shot Thebarman is just as attractively weighted. Sydney’s premier trainer has six runners in the 13-horse field for the $750,000 Group One Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick on Saturday. And Waller is having a hard… Read More »
Brad Rawiller has declared his fitness to ride Lucky Hussler in the Moir Stakes less than a week after injuring his leg in a barrier incident he says could have been much worse. Rawiller suffered the injury at Caulfield before the opening race last Saturday when his mount played up… Read More »
A strong last-start win at Moonee Valley by Hey Doc has prompted trainer Tony McEvoy to step the three-year-old up in class to Group Two lelvel. McEvoy pinpointed Friday night’s Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m) for Hey Doc after the gelding raced to 1-1/4 length win on September 3 at the… Read More »
