The best track Sydney has to offer is fast becoming one of the more concerning issues for racing in NSW. Randwick sits alone as the best track in Sydney when right, but Chelmsford Stakes Day on Saturday confirmed what a few smart judges have been saying for months, even over… Read More »
The last 10 or so years, Australian racing has been blessed. Firstly with So You Think, then Black Caviar, followed of course by Winx. Three all time greats. But when it comes to popularity, they need to make room for a stayer from England. When you think of longevity and… Read More »
I’ve been mulling over the ‘Airbnb Party’ at Mornington the past few days and what to make of it all. So I’ve put my thoughts into a Q&A format. Three Months Ban: Fair Enough? It had to be three months, minimum. What has alleged to have happened I won’t delve… Read More »
Not happy Jan! That’s some of the feedback that is being received on the back of the changes to the eligibility criteria for the Melbourne Cup Carnival Country Series … changes which significantly reshape the dynamics and the profile of the series. From the launch of the series in 2017… Read More »
The Australian racing industry post the 2018 Spring, as a collective, cried out to give locally trained gallopers a better chance of getting ballot exemption for the Melbourne Cup. So the VRC made the Andrew Ramsden, a 2800m race in May, a golden ticket to the Melbourne Cup for the… Read More »
The figures are impressive and the envy of every other state … and, quite rightly, it is the rollout of the value of the increased prize-money levels announced by Racing New South Wales … and exactly where the additional benefits have been placed and to whose advantage … that has… Read More »
The opening heat of Racing Victoria’s Country Mile Race Series was run and won at Colac today with the first three finishers Jazz Star, Fiorente Lass and Rewarding Ruby all qualifying for the final at Moonee Valley on 13 March. Racing Victoria have amended the conditions for whip use during… Read More »
When the dust settles on the Gr 1 CF Orr Stakes over 1400m this Saturday, former Irish star SIR DRAGONET (Camelot-Sparrow) will be talked about as the best horse in the land. And this just after three starts in…this land. But, before we go further, the horse’s name is Sir… Read More »
Go on, ask yourself the question. “What just happened?” “Did that thing just show us that the upcoming Gr 1 Golden Slipper could be won by an as yet raced juvenile?” Couldn’t be. No 2YO wins the Slipper having not started by late January. That’s not how the system works…. Read More »
Punters held their breath and many screamed when the jock of the $2.15 favourite for the $2million 3YO Magic Millions, fell off her with 300m to travel. It was simply amazing footage. ISOTOPE was bursting through along the inside of her arch rival AWAY GAME (Snitzel-Elusive Wonder)) when she just… Read More »
The horror story that is the Eagle Farm track has once again reared its ugly head and has yet again put a big question mark against racing’s immediate future at the metropolitan venue. It hasn’t taken long for the latest round of agitation from trainers to reach an official point… Read More »
Favourite punters who crunched Sayumi in race 7 at Moonee Valley, (Australia) last night would be one part in disbelief, 2 parts in utter sadness and three parts furiously irate, after Terry Bailey, known infamously for going the ‘early crow’ and getting it horribly wrong produced; arguably one of the… Read More »
What is really driving Racing Victoria’s (RV) agenda to fast forward so called ‘whip reform’ and explore options on their own … a move which currently flies directly in the face of the rest of the country who are playing along with the bigger picture and waiting for the pending… Read More »
Probably the most prestigious award in English sport is the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. And the incredible, phenomenal, astonishing achievements of jockey Hollie Doyle have her on the coveted list to win the 2020 version this year. That is a fantastic achievement and deserves massive recognition. I truly… Read More »
What started out a great day for star rider Brenton Avdulla at Rosehill yesterday, descended into chaos – and none of it appears to be his doing. Firstly, his 10 out of 10 ride in race 1 on ROBODIRA (Husson-Don’t Blink) a first starter who carried blinkers and sat on… Read More »
Connections of the US-bred import ANTILLES (War Front-Wonder Of Wonders) have had to put a 4kg claimer on this afternoon at Canberra because he was allotted 65kg. And, in the Open grade Federal, that’s an awful lot. Made more surprising when you consider Antilles is only a Class 1 horse!… Read More »
It really is quite amazing that a horse that last ran nearly a month ago and who will not race again for at least the next four to six months is garnering headlines on a daily basis. Of course, the drama involved in trainer David Vandyke dismissing Alligator Blood from… Read More »
In a report in the Courier-Mail on August 13, 2017 the then racing Minister Grace Grace was quoted as saying in Parliament that, ‘I reckon I am probably one of the best Racing Ministers they (the racing industry) have ever seen in recent times. Let me tell you, we are… Read More »
Flouting the whip rule to try and win a multi-million dollar race is nothing new … but, by any standards, Kerrin McEvoy’s use of the whip on the runner-up Tiger Moth in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup arguably did both the rider and the industry a disservice. Make no mistake, McEvoy is… Read More »
We all know the exploits of the great Irishman Aidan O’Brien. Not only is he seemingly without peer as a trainer of race horses, he has raised a family of champion thoroughbred people too. His son, Joseph, as we know just won the Melbourne Cup for the second time. But… Read More »
