Trainer Desleigh Forster has registered her first win at Group 1 level with Apache Chase leading throughout to claim the Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm. Taken straight to the front by jockey Jim Byrne, Apache Chase ($12) held firm up the Eagle Farm straight to claim the 1300m race on Saturday… Read More »
Pinarello, trained by Roger James and Robert Wellwood, was having his first start in Australia after missing a key lead up run in the Group 3 Rough Habit Plate (2143m) at Eagle Farm two weeks ago. A mild temperature spike and heavy ground saw Pinarello go five weeks since winning… Read More »
Last season’s champion apprentice, Tom Sherry has made the perfect start to his senior riding career with a Randwick victory aboard the John O’Shea-trained Cotehele. It was the young jockey’s first Saturday meeting since coming out of his time as an apprentice during the week and he was thrilled to… Read More »
Trainer Gavin Bedggood was not surprised to see the turnaround in form from his mare No Effort at Caulfield on Saturday. Bedggood said there had been genuine excuses for No Effort’s failures at her two starts prior to landing the prize in the Neds Punters Toolbox Handicap (2000m). No Effort was a winter find… Read More »
Brad Widdup has been on the wrong side of close finishes more times than he would like to remember but his luck was finally in at Randwick. The talented trainer celebrated a race-to-race double with Moon Reader in the Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation Handicap (1200m) and Surreal Step in the Taylor Construction Handicap… Read More »
Star galloper Zaaki has suffered a shock defeat in his quest for back-to-back Doomben Cup titles after being upstaged by the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Huetor. The odds-on favourite appeared to have every chance after sitting outside leader Polly Grey and hitting the front in the straight, but he had no answer… Read More »
Trainer Danny O’Brien was bemused with the starting price of debut winner Atlantis Tycoon at Caulfield. The two-year-old son of Written Tycoon had been trialling well ahead of his debut in the Stow Storage Solutions Handicap (1200m) on Saturday. “He’s won nearly every trial he’s been in but sometimes the… Read More »
Warrnambool-trained sprinter Ashford Street has provided apprentice Teodore Nugent with a milestone victory at Caulfield. Victory in the Martin Collins Polytrack Plate (1000m) on Saturday was Nugent’s 80th metropolitan winner, meaning the jockey has finally outridden his city claim. And it was fitting that Nugent should outride his claim on the Ken Elford -trained galloper as… Read More »
Progressive two-year-old Owen County has booked his passage to Queensland for a shot at the Group 1 J J Atkins Stakes with a classy victory at Randwick. Trainer John Sargent pulled the right rein by keeping the youngster in Sydney for Saturday’s Precise Air Handicap (1400m) after he was made… Read More »
In the midst of resurgent season, Matthew Chadwick hopes the combination of potentially rain-affected ground and Douglas Whyte’s finesse will allow Savvy Nine to contend strongly in the HK$3.7 million G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (29 May). Chadwick has posted 44 wins this season… Read More »
Independent Road and Parure may still be a little ring rusty after extended breaks, but Lindsay Park is looking for good performances from the pair. Lindsay Park held high hopes for Independent Road on the eve of last year’s spring carnival only to have their dreams shattered by injury. Trainers Ben and… Read More »
Trainer Gavin Bedggood knows the odds are stacked against him as he tries to replicate the form of No Effort from 12 months ago. For one she is racing in tougher company courtesy of her first stakes win in the Listed Heatherlie Handicap (1700m) at Caulfield in August. After three runs back, two which… Read More »
Co trainer Ben Pearce has backed his gelding Dig Deep to run a bold race first up in Saturday’s G3 Furphy Belmont Sprint (1400m) at Belmont. The five-year-old has not raced since the Towton Cup (2200m) five months ago, but according to Ben Pearce he is primed to kick off his… Read More »
Chris Waller checked in with the Anthony and Sam Freedman stable to see how their preparation was progressing ahead of their trip to Royal Ascot. They will become fierce competitors come race day, but in the planning for a trip to Royal Ascot the two trainers involved are happy to… Read More »
Champion trainer Chris Waller said the highlight of the three-horse jump-out at Flemington featuring the Royal Ascot bound Nature Strip, Home Affairs and Artorius was how well Home Affairs settled. Nature Strip won the 900m jump-out down the Flemington straight on Friday morning, but Waller took a keen interest in how Home Affairs… Read More »
Nine months after Brenton Avdulla missed a Group 3 win aboard Private Eye when he suffered serious injuries in a race day fall, jockey and horse will be reunited to chase an even bigger goal. Avdulla had been booked to partner the Joe Pride-trained gelding in the Show County Quality… Read More »
If there is one thing David Payne has learned about horses during his long and decorated career, it is never to judge them on one run. For that reason, Payne is taking a cautious approach with two-year-old Montebello’s Charm, who steps up to Saturday grade in the Precise Air Handicap… Read More »
Sunday, 29 May features the 89th running of Japan’s most famous race, the G1 Tokyo Yushun (2400m) and, for the fourth straight week, Tokyo Racecourse is the scene of top-level action. The second race in Japan’s Triple Crown, the Japanese Derby of 2022 will be an all-male affair, with 22… Read More »
Racing Victoria has secured a large parcel of land on the urban fringe of Melbourne that it hopes will future proof the thoroughbred racing industry. The price and location are currently the subject of confidentiality provisions, however the land is more than three times the size of Flemington racecourse and only 10 minutes from… Read More »
What do you do when you’ve got a Group 2-winning mare by your own star stallion in one of the most competitive broodmare sales in the world but can’t bring yourself to say goodbye? You assemble a posse and buy her back for $2.4 million. That’s exactly what Widden Stud’s… Read More »
