Australia-bound stayer Regal Monarch has signed off his British career with victory at Pontefract. The winner of four races from 2400 to 2600 metres for trainer Mark Johnston, Regal Monarch will join the Chris Waller stable in Sydney to be prepared for the 2016 Sydney and Melbourne carnivals. Regal Monarch… Read More »
New Zealand trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman have another Melbourne spring carnival contender with Saracino confirming an Australian mission. The colt booked his trans-Tasman trip for a tilt at the Caulfield Guineas with victory against older horses in Saturday’s Group Two Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa. Saracino is owned… Read More »
A Group One field will take on Winx in the Warwick Stakes as the mare makes her first racetrack appearance in the lead-up to her Cox Plate defence. Despite some controversy during the week when it was revealed Winx had had a bone chip removed in April, trainer Chris Waller… Read More »
Australian Derby winner Tavago is on target to kick off his spring campaign in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. Trained by Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, Tavago is scheduled to have a 1000m jump-out at Cranbourne on Monday. Tavago is one of a number of horses Busuttin and Young now… Read More »
Michelle Payne has even more incentive to get race-fit with the ride on Azkadellia at the Breeders’ Cup meeting in Santa Anita on the line. Payne made history when she won the Melbourne Cup on Prince Of Penzance but was upset last week when she was told she would not… Read More »
Sydney jockey Tim Clark has been booked to ride last-start Caulfield winner Derryn in his Sydney debut. Tom Dabernig, who trains in partnership with David and Ben Hayes, said the Lindsay Park stable intends starting Derryn in the Group Three Up And Coming Stakes at Randwick on Saturday. They will… Read More »
Trainer Liam Birchley will continue to aim O’Reilly Cyrus at the Group One Golden Rose despite her Eagle Farm defeat. O’Reilly Cyrus came from last in the middle stages to be a close up third in a 1200m-race on Saturday, one of four thirds Birchley had on the Eagle Farm… Read More »
John Thompson will take a step-by-step approach with Group One winner First Seal who is ready for a barrier trial ahead of her spring campaign as a five-year-old. The trainer said First Seal would run in a barrier trial at Randwick on Friday ahead of her first-up run in the… Read More »
Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne has been offered the ride on Group One winner Azkadellia when the mare competes at the Breeders’ Cup meeting in the United States. Azkadellia’s owner and trainer Ciaron Maher’s racing manager, Ben Connolly, said as long as Payne proved her fitness over the next few… Read More »
Jockey Larry Cassidy will step up his riding commitments after finishing third in his first race for more than a year. Cassidy was forced out of the saddle by recurring knee problems which required surgery. He had one ride at the Gold Coast on Saturday aboard the Les Kelly-trained Forbidden… Read More »
Cox Plate entrant The Gurkha has undergone surgery for an unspecified problem. Owner Coolmore said on Twitter the dual Group One winner and $13 equal second favourite for the Cox Plate had been taken to hospital on Friday night. “Classic-winning miler The Gurkha, last seen winning the Sussex (Stakes at… Read More »
Jockey Mark Zahra has had a mixed day at Caulfield, winning a stakes race before being handed a suspension. Zahra won the Vain Stakes on odds-on favourite Russian Revolution on Saturday. The ride came after he was replaced on winning ride Great Esteem in the Beveridge Williams Handicap because he… Read More »
Chris Parnham has been fined $300 for a celebratory gesture in winning a stakes race at Caulfield. Wins in the city have been lean for Parnham in recent months, and he was escatic to win the Listed Regal Roller Stakes aboard Voodoo Lad on Saturday. Parnham said he’d endured a… Read More »
The win of Miss Rose De Lago at Caulfield has been a shining light for Danny O’Brien after two weeks of intense pressure. The Flemington trainer has spent nine days of the past fortnight in the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal appealing against a four-year cobalt disqualification, with the hearing continuing… Read More »
Brenton Avdulla has shown the measure of his confidence by producing a beautiful ride to guide Allergic to victory at Rosehill. Avdulla has kicked off the season in sparkling form, with five winners and nine placings from 26 starts. He sat off the rail on Allergic in third before timing… Read More »
A dashing first-up win from His Majesty has trainer Kim Waugh planning to tackle the Group Three Cameron Handicap. Third in the $500,000 Provincial Championship at Randwick in April, His Majesty ($8) broke through for his first win on a Sydney track in the 1100m benchmark handicap at Rosehill on… Read More »
Trainers usually rue a wide draw, but it kept the nerves away for Shane Nichols before I Am A Star’s first-up win in a stakes race at Caulfield. I Am A Star drew the widest barrier – No.13 after three scratchings – in the Group Three Quezette Stakes on Saturday,… Read More »
Gary Portelli is always happy to win but Testashadow’s latest victory poses a few problems for the trainer. Portelli says he will now have to raise the bar for the five-year-old, whose benchmark rating will rise to the 90s after his win in the Spring Preview (1400m) at Rosehill on… Read More »
The revamped Eagle Farm circuit has worked wonders for consistent stallion Beckham, which has won a second race on the new surface. Beckham ($4) outslogged Toowoomba mare Angel Dancer ($6) to score by half a length, with Flamboyer ($4) in third place in the Chairman’s Club Handicap (1400m) on Saturday…. Read More »
Waiting for the result of a photo finish can be agonising for a trainer, but with the trifecta in the bag Chris Waller could afford to be calm. Race favourite Dubaiinstyle ($3.90) gave Sydney’s premier trainer the win in the Dooleys Handicap (2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday, with stablemates Firebird… Read More »
