Darren McAullay’s call of the 2017 Winterbottom Stakes, a race that the owner of prized mare Viddora, Nick Lovett, will never get tired of hearing. Nick was part of the Llyod Kennewell-prepared sprinter’s Victorian ownership and at Ascot that day to watch her claim the $1 million Group 1 Winterbottom… Read More »
Brent Thomson was a fresh-faced New Zealand-based 17-year-old apprentice when he made his first appearance on Australian soil at Moonee Valley. It was Cox Plate Day, 1975, and the weather was atrocious, so much so the meeting was abandoned after the running of Moonee Valley Cup, but not before Thomson… Read More »
Moonee Valley course curator Marty Synan is expecting a fair track across the board when the club hosts 18 races in 24 hours on the weekend. Friday night kicks off with an eight-race card, highlighted by the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup, while on Saturday a further 10 races will… Read More »
Chris Waller will give Via Sistina every chance to play her part in this Saturday’s $5 million Cox Plate, despite a trackwork mishap at Tuesday morning’s Breakfast With The Best session. The last-start Turnbull Stakes winner tossed rider James Mcdonald and then galloped multiple laps of the Moonee Valley circuit riderless after a… Read More »
Anode will be given another chance to prove himself at 1600 metres this Saturday, when the I Am Invincible colt lines up in the Callander-Presnell at Randwick. The $1 million Group 2 will be the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained three-year-old’s first start at the trip this campaign after two runs… Read More »
The Ciaron Maher stable will chase a first win in the Geelong Cup with Herman Hesse and Interpretation in line for honours. The Group 3 contest over 2400m on Wednesday is one of the few staying feature races run in Victoria that has eluded Maher who secured a second Caulfield Cup when Duke… Read More »
Legendary Irish trainer Willie Mullins is expected to travel to Melbourne to watch his two Melbourne Cup runners Absurde and Vauban prepare for the ‘Race That Stops The Nation’ at Flemington. Absurde and Vauban, who both ran in the Melbourne Cup last year, finish their quarantine period on Sunday, but are expected to… Read More »
Pride Of Jenni will not be there when the Moonee Valley Racing Club hosts its annual Breakfast With The Best session on Tuesday morning, but Ciaron Maher is confident she will be there on Saturday. The trainer of arguably Australia’s most popular horse reported on Monday morning that she had recovered… Read More »
Michael Hawkes is convinced a wide draw cost Swiftfalcon in the Gloaming Stakes but the trainer is confident the promising gelding is on song for his attempt to go one better in the Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick. Swiftfalcon is poised to get his first chance to chase a Group 1… Read More »
Melbourne Cup favourite Jan Brueghel arrived at Werribee safe and sound last Saturday night with no idea of the task ahead of him come the first Tuesday in November. Aidan O’Brien, head trainer of Ballydoyle Stables, may not have had a better chance to win his first Melbourne Cup, with Jan… Read More »
Circumstance did not work out for Broadsiding in the Caulfield Guineas, but Godolphin trainer James Cummings has not lost faith in the colt heading towards the Cox Plate. It is 40 years since Red Anchor completed the Caulfield Guineas – Cox Plate double while more recent three-year-old Cox Plate winners had been… Read More »
Billed as a showdown between bold frontrunner Pride Of Jenni and Sydney star Fangirl, the King Charles III Stakes has instead proven a happy hunting ground for rising star Ceolwulf. The last-start Epsom Handicap winner turned giant-killer at Randwick, doing what many horses before him have been unable to by mowing… Read More »
Ostraka has continued on his winning way in the Silver Eagle at Randwick and in the process has put forward a compelling case to be given his chance in the $10 million Golden Eagle in a couple of weeks. Jockey Blake Shinn was able to overcome the outside draw on Ostraka by… Read More »
The ever-increasing juggernaut that is the Ciaron Maher stable capped its biggest payday when Duke De Sessa scored a memorable win in the Caulfield Cup. An hour before Duke De Sessa claimed the Caulfield Cup, the Maher stable welcomed Bella Nipotina home victorious in the world’s richest race, The Everest at Randwick. They… Read More »
From a dramatic late scratching at the barriers to a heart-stopping finish, The Everest has produced another remarkable chapter with Bella Nipotina becoming the first mare to triumph in the $20 million spring showpiece. A rare athlete, the seven-year-old is peaking on the racetrack at an age when most are in… Read More »
Bjorn Baker’s disappointment in not securing an Everest slot with Overpass was eased when the proven fresh performer claimed a pretty decent consolation with a brilliant win in an eventful $2 million Sydney Stakes at Randwick. The trainer had aimed Overpass to resume on Saturday’s program and had been hoping that would… Read More »
It wasn’t the race Ciaron Maher and owners Kevin and Vicky Payne had their eyes on coming into the campaign, but Estriella returned to winning form on the day of the world’s richest sprint race. The classy mare put two unplaced runs in Group 1 races earlier in the campaign behind her… Read More »
What had been a frustrating start to the day for the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable turned full circle with the all the way victory of Too Darn Lizzie at Caulfield. Prior to the running of the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1600m) on Saturday, Waterhouse was bemoaning the frustration… Read More »
It has been a case of third time lucky for remarkable gelding Far Too Easy, who has capped his storied career with a stunning victory in the $2 million The Kosciuszko at Randwick. Having placed behind Front Page in the country feature for the past two years, Far Too Easy finally… Read More »
Trainer Dan O’Sullivan said he would let the dust settle and enjoy the win of Too Darn Discreet in the Group 3 Ethereal Stakes (2000m) before confirming further spring ambitions. O’Sullivan would like to press on to the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m) at Flemington on November 7 via the Group 2… Read More »
