The chances of another Cummings becoming the 3rd member of Australian racing’s elite Melbourne Cup family to actually train a Melbourne Cup winner, took a dramatic turn today. Cummings, Anthony that is, and not his sons James or Edward, was today announced the trainer of central European wonder horse NANCHO…. Read More »
Queensland star Alligator Blood and New Zealander Catalyst headline the field of eight for the Group One Australian Guineas at Flemington. Alligator Blood has drawn barrier two for Saturday’s $1 million race for three-year-olds over 1600m while Catalyst is set to jump from barrier four. The pair staged a stirring… Read More »
Dual Group One winner Fierce Impact heads the list of provisional emergency runners for the All-Star Mile at Caulfield and is also in line for a wild card. Last week the 10 most popular horses voted by the public were announced leaving five spots open. Streets Of Avalon cemented his… Read More »
Popular gelding Happy Clapper shares top weight with Godolphin’s Avilius for the Doncaster Mile with both given 58kg for the $3 million handicap. Happy Clapper won the race two years ago carrying 57kg and is unlikely to run in the race with the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) on April 11,… Read More »
A good recovery following a gallop at Flemington in preparation for the Australian Guineas is what trainer David Vandyke has been looking for from stable star Alligator Blood. The gallop on Tuesday showed Vandyke Alligator Blood had recovered from his fighting win over Catalyst in the C S Hayes Stakes… Read More »
David Brideoake is resigned to losing lightly raced stayer Shepard to his owner Peter Moody once the former champion trainer renews his licence. Moody has applied to train again after walking away in March 2016 when he was suspended for six months after Lidari returned a high cobalt reading following… Read More »
Nature Strip will join an elite group of gallopers if he wins the Newmarket Handicap after being given the top weight of 58kg. The Chris Waller-trained gelding will become only the fourth horse in the past 50 years to carry 58kg or more to win the Group One 1200m sprint… Read More »
Having captured the Cox Plate with Lys Gracieux, Japanese trainer Yoshito Yahagi is eyeing off Australia’s richest 1600m-handicap, the Doncaster Mile, with Mozu Ascot. The Yahagi-trained horse won Sunday’s Grade One February Stakes at Tokyo to confirm plans to bring him to Sydney for the $3 million Doncaster Mile on… Read More »
Top-line New Zealand sprinter The Bostonian has shown his readiness for his next Australian campaign with a gallop at Ellerslie. The Tony Pike-trained five-year-old won a trial earlier in this month and made use of perfect conditions at Ellerslie ahead of a two-start Sydney campaign. “He galloped over 1000 metres… Read More »
New Zealand trainer Clayton Chipperfield is confident Catalyst can turn the tables on Queensland star Alligator Blood in the Group One Australian Guineas. Alligator Blood prevailed over Catalyst by a short head when they fought out the C S Hayes Stakes (1400m) last Saturday week. They will clash again in… Read More »
Star Missile already has a spot in the All-Star Mile but there are four options for his lead-up to the $5 million race . The Greg Eurell-trained Star Missile, who has hundreds of part-owners in the Hancox Racing No.8 syndicate, finished fourth in public voting to secure his spot in… Read More »
Sydney’s first top tier weight-for-age race of the year will define the rest of dual Group One winner Fierce Impact’s campaign. The winner of the Toorak Handicap and Cantala Stakes in Melbourne in the spring, Fierce Impact made an impressive return when second in the C F Orr Stakes to… Read More »
Disqualified trainer Ben Currie is set to face a trial on fraud charges later this year. Currie, 28, was in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court for a hand-up committal hearing on Monday. He is facing charges of fraud dating from November 2016 to March last year alleging he used an unregulated… Read More »
Caulfield track manager Jason Kerr admits he was disappointed and surprised by the way the track played on Blue Diamond Stakes day. Kerr says he will not be reinventing the wheel when he prepares the surface for its next major meeting featuring the $5 million All-Star Mile in three weeks…. Read More »
Te Akau Shark has opened favourite for the Chipping Norton Stakes as he attempts to record his second Group One win in two summer starts. Runner-up in the Epsom Handicap and third in the Cox Plate, Te Akau Shark claimed a first Group One win in the BCD Sprint at… Read More »
The lure of set weights has swayed trainer Rex Lipp to start Gem Of Scotland at Doomben rather than Toowoomba. The winner of six of her nine races, Gem Of Scotland easily won a trial on her home track at Toowoomba last Tuesday. The filly’s immediate aim is the $300,000… Read More »
Multiple Group One-winning jockey Luke Currie is expected to be sidelined for months recovering from a spinal injury suffered in a fall. Currie came off Yulong June in an incident past the winning post in the final race at The Valley on Friday night, suffering two fractured ribs and a… Read More »
Brisbane sprinter Zoustyle is likely to have only one trial before heading south for a Sydney campaign. Zoustyle missed the Brisbane summer carnival after a disrupted southern states spring when he ran well without winning. After finishing less than five lengths last in a star-studded Concorde Stakes in Sydney, Zoustyle… Read More »
Trainer Shane Nichols is likely to tinker with the headgear on Futurity Stakes winner Streets Of Avalon ahead of the $5 million All-Star Mile. Streets Of Avalon was not nominated for the All-Star Mile but his upset win in Saturday’s Group One Futurity (1400m) at Caulfield guaranteed him a start… Read More »
Port Macquarie trainer Jenny Graham has the chance to win a second Country Championship with Magnalane winning his way into the final. Ridden by Sam Clenton, Magnalane had to overcome a wide gate and the challenge from Casino Mondial in the $150,000 qualifying heat at Taree on Sunday. Graham won… Read More »
