Twenty years ago, trainer Dermot Weld changed the landscape of the Melbourne Cup forever when he won the country’s signature race with his international raider Vintage Crop who was ridden by fellow Irishman Mick Kinane. It was the first success of a European trained runner in the race and, while… Read More »
The David Vandyke stable is seldom without a good horse in its ranks and, while it is still relatively early days in the racing career of the lightly raced four-year-old Beast Mode, there will be plenty of people monitoring the progress of this son of Better Than Ready moving forward… Read More »
Ten Metropolitan Premierships in a row … the last when coming home 74.5 winners clear of his nearest rival, has already written Tony Gollan’s absolute, long-standing dominance of the Brisbane trainer ranks into the record books in a manner which is emphasized and rubber-stamped with each passing year. While his… Read More »
Star performer Hollie Doyle isn’t one to let the grass grow under her feet. When she eyes a Melbourne Cup ride opportunity, she goes for it and is absolutely proactive in trying to further her claims even if she recognizes it might be difficult to bring her plan to fruition…. Read More »
Superior horses, no matter in what stage of their preparation, can scare rivals off before they even face the starter. Black Caviar did it. In seventeen of the champion’s twenty-five starts the field size was less than ten runners. Winx did it. In her last twenty-four starts, Winx faced less… Read More »
Crunch time is approaching for the eight Everest slot-holders who have still to lock-in their starters for the $20 million The Everest, Racing NSW’s showpiece, which is now only five and a half weeks away. And while those slot-holders will be weighing up their options, the connections of the main… Read More »
Remember Samantha Miss? The Redoute’s Choice mare who raced for trainer Kris Lees in the orange colours with the black maltese cross and who won the Champagne Stakes (beating Sebring), the Flight Stakes (beating Portillo) and the Crown Oaks at Flemington (beating Miss Scarlatti) – all Group 1 wins –… Read More »
What a lift-off we will have for Group 1 Spring racing when the Memsie Stakes takes centre stage at Caulfield on Saturday. I Wish I Win and Mr Brightside, the two runners vying for favouritism, have come up with opposite ends of the barrier draw (I Wish I Win with… Read More »
Jockey Michael Dee has got the call-up to ride the impressive New Zealand visitor Imperatriz in next week’s Group 2 McEwen Stakes where the thirteen-time winner, from only nineteen starts, looks set to clash, amongst others, with the likes of Giga Kick, What You Need and Rothfire. Dee replaces Opie… Read More »
Where has Steady Ready been? That was the question that many asked when the once boom runner from the Tony and Maddysen Sears stable appeared at an official trial at Doomben this week, having last tasted race action back at the end of January … a race in which he… Read More »
Birdsville bound and a chance to mix with five thousand or so of your new best friends at the country’s greatest outback horse racing party … well, that’s a well-worn path for Gary and Kylie Geran, so much so that Kylie can’t tell you exactly how many times they have… Read More »
You have got to love Samantha Collett’s sense of humour. ‘Back in dad’s will for a bit longer,” she said after winning on the first-timer Red Sniper for her dad, Jim Collett, at Matamata over the weekend. Samantha Collett had only returned to her native New Zealand from Queensland, where… Read More »
While the Cairns Cup went the way of the John Manzelmann trained The Driller on Saturday, no one would dispute the fact that the overall day’s proceedings were dominated by Jason Taylor, who rode half of the ten-race card … from only eight rides. Taylor was understandably chuffed with his… Read More »
The Tony and Maddysen Sears trained stable star Yellow Brick won his trail at Doomben this morning. There were no fireworks, just a strong workmanlike session with the son of The Mission doing all he was asked to in a satisfactory fashion, … an effort which pleased his co-trainer Maddy… Read More »
Jockey Tommy Berry is almost back in business as he approaches the end of his seven-month disqualification period. The star hoop is free to ride in barrier trials from next week and can be expected to be in full stride soon … but, before that, he has been granted special… Read More »
Winning can sometimes provide a private pleasure to connections that is far more deep seated than any public fanfare can create. That would have been the case when the David Vandyke trained Orbisyn made it three wins on the trot at Doomben on Saturday … the last two of those… Read More »
Sidelined jockey Jim Byrne can’t wait for September. “September is when I go back and see the surgeon,” said Byrne who has not ridden for a little over three months since being left with no choice but to opt for knee surgery, instead of retirement, when the constant, horrendous pain… Read More »
Samantha Collett is heading back to New Zealand today, but it will only be a fleeting visit before she returns to the Sunshine State. “I’m going from August 21 until September 4 for a few weeks, just to catch up with my family and pack my house up and maybe… Read More »
“Master Jamie is an incredible horse. He has been a good horse for a long time.” While Rockhampton based trainer Graeme Green has every right to admire the race record of his stable star, Green also deserves full credit himself for his management of the now eighteen-time winner who is… Read More »
The term ‘old warhorse’ is often bandied around with a bit more regularly than it should be if the description is to remain accurate but, every now and again, a horse does come along where that description fits like a glove … and such a horse will be in action… Read More »
