Having successfully negotiated his first official morning back at trackwork, trainer Robbie Griffiths’ next challenge is getting back to the races. The Cranbourne-based Griffiths was given the all-clear to resume stable duties on Saturday after undergoing an operation for a brain aneurism three months ago. Griffiths had hoped to get… Read More »
New Zealand’s latest star Catalyst will remain with Clayton Chipperfield despite Australian trainers circling after his 2000 Guineas win. Catalyst scored his fifth win from six starts in Saturday’s Group One Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton and with an Australian autumn campaign next for the three-year-old, speculation was rampant he would… Read More »
Racing Queensland hopes to further boost its winter carnival by substantially lifting prize money for its three main two-year-old races. The $2.25 million Future Champions Series will be aimed directly at securing the best late season two-year-olds from around Australia. It will be a major part of a push to… Read More »
Melbourne Cup winning-jockey Craig Williams has continued his run of Group One success with victory aboard the Lee Freedman-trained Mr Clint in the Singapore Gold Cup. The victory was a second for Williams who claimed the race in 2016 on the Stephen Gray-trained Bahana. “Lee approached me for the ride… Read More »
The $5 million All-Star Mile in Melbourne features in the proposed autumn plans for star New Zealand mare Melody Belle. The five-year-old won her 10th Group One race, and first in Australia, in the Empire Rose Stakes at Flemington on the opening day of the Melbourne Cup carnival before backing… Read More »
Champion trainer Chris Waller is as delighted as anyone to see Vow And Declare win the Melbourne Cup and hopes it may lead to more locally bred winners. After victories by Viewed in 2008 and Shocking in 2009, internationally bred horses took the next nine Cups until Vow And Declare’s… Read More »
Co-trainer Trent Busuttin says he has learned a valuable lesson with imported horse Mirage Dancer following the Melbourne Cup. After Mirage Dancer finished 14th behind Vow And Declare in Tuesday’s Cup, Busuttin, who trains in partnership with Natalie Young, came to the conclusion the horse does not run out 3200m…. Read More »
Peter and Paul Snowden have thrown their support behind the inaugural $1 million The Hunter meeting at Newcastle with the stable likely to have two runners in the main race. Peter Snowden says the concept of stand-alone Saturday provincial meetings, held on the heels of the major carnivals in Sydney… Read More »
After a memorable Melbourne Cup carnival, trainer Danny O’Brien believes there is plenty to look forward to with his exciting squad of horses. O’Brien had 13 starters across the four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, registering four wins, three seconds and a third. Vow And Declare’s Melbourne Cup triumph… Read More »
Two Group One wins, including the Melbourne Cup, and an Oaks day treble have helped Craig Williams claim the title of leading jockey for the four-day Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington. Williams took out the award named for Hall of Fame jockey Ron Hutchinson which carried with it a $50,000… Read More »
The Brisbane Racing Club has bucked the national trend and stayed on budget with its Melbourne Cup week meetings. Crowds and betting turnover were reportedly down at many racetracks across Australia. BRC chairman Neville Bell was happy with the Melbourne Cup week crowds at the club’s tracks but believes the… Read More »
Brisbane apprentice Sheriden Tomlinson has been disqualified for three months after testing positive to prohibited drugs in a trackwork test conducted at Eagle Farm. He is the sixth jockey or trackwork rider in Queensland to be suspended or disqualified on drug charges in the past two months. Stewards opened an… Read More »
Racing Victoria stewards have adjourned an inquiry into an alleged incident between a jockey and a trainer at Flemington. Stewards took evidence from retiring jockey Stephen Baster, trainer Glenn Thornton and Victoria Racing Club security officer Simon Ogden. Baster rode for the final time at the Melbourne Cup carnival which… Read More »
A drop in crowd numbers at this year’s Melbourne Cup carnival has continued on the final day, with the Stakes Day attendance of 57,268 the lowest for 15 years. With occasional showers during Saturday’s Stakes day program, the crowd figure was 10,000 less than last year and the lowest since… Read More »
Premier trainer Tony Gollan admitted his filly Outback Barbie gave him one of the thrills of his career when she won the Listed Keith Noud Quality at Doomben. Outback Barbie ($2.30) lived up to a brilliant trial win on Monday when she charged home to beat Tambo’s Mate ($4.40) by… Read More »
Courageous and competitive until the end, grand campaigner Hartnell has signed off from racing with a gallant third in the $2 million Group One Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington. The Godolphin team announced in the lead-up to Saturday’s Mackinnon that the 2000m weight-for-age race would be the final start of the… Read More »
Dropping sharply in distance after contesting the Melbourne Cup, Irish mare Magic Wand has landed her first Group One win in the Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington. The win by the Aidan O’Brien-trained mare denied Godolphin a fairytale ending with Hartnell finishing in third place after taking the lead early in… Read More »
Peter and Paul Snowden have made a clean sweep of the feature races at Rosehill, coming away from the nine-race program with a perfect strike-rate. The father-and-son training partners saddled up horses in three races and won all of them, including the $1 million Golden Gift (1100m) with juvenile Dame… Read More »
Juvenile Dame Giselle has all but booked her spot in the Golden Slipper with an explosive performance in the $1 million Golden Gift at Rosehill under comeback jockey Andrew Adkins. One of four Golden Gift runners for Peter and Paul Snowden, Dame Giselle ($13) turned the stables on Kirkham Plate… Read More »
A crack at two Group One races in Perth await the Lindsey Smith-trained Reykjavik after his hard-fought victory in the Group Three Chatham Stakes at Flemington. Five-year-old Reykjavik ($11) enjoyed a box-seat run from the inside barrier in Saturday’s 1400m race and he hit the front just inside the 300m… Read More »
