A Group l fairytale was complete at Caulfield, Avilius bounced back to his brilliant best and a Melbourne Cup contender confirmed his status as a leading contender. All that and more in this weeks edition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’. KEY NEWS: Lock Up Your Mothers Warrnambool… Read More »
I Am Eloquent is likely to head straight to the Group One Thousand Guineas after taking a leap in grade to win at Caulfield. Success in Saturday’s Listed Jim Moloney Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield came after the filly had won a restricted race at Geelong at her previous start. But… Read More »
He didn’t win the major race on the program, but Chris Waller has taken out training honours on George Main Stakes day at Randwick with a quartet of winners. Three of those came in stakes races with Funstar a narrow winner of the Group Two Tea Rose Stakes (1400m), Kolding… Read More »
A horse racing in the colours made famous by Frankel and Enable is now the equal Melbourne Cup favourite following his Group Three win at Randwick. The Chris Waller-trained former French stayer Finche won Saturday’s Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) by a long neck from Stampede who led for most of… Read More »
Begood Toya Mother has delivered on a long-range plan in the Group One Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield in a dream result for young Warrnambool trainer Daniel Bowman. Saturday’s $500,000 handicap over 1400m had been Bowman’s target for several months with Begood Toya Mother and the exciting gelding did… Read More »
Trainer Brian Dais’ decision to stay in Brisbane with Looks Like Elvis paid off when the gelding won the Makers Mark Handicap at Eagle Farm. Dais had at various stages been looking at the Newcastle Cup or a race at Caulfield this week but was worried the gelding wouldn’t get… Read More »
Avilius has reaffirmed his status as one of the country’s premier weight-for-age stars and put himself back in the Cox Plate frame with a devastating win in the Group One George Main Stakes at Randwick. Godolphin head trainer James Cummings admitted it was a relief to see the horse return… Read More »
The Chris Waller-trained Brimham Rocks has earned a ticket into the Caulfield Cup with his first Australian victory in the MRC Foundation Cup. Saturday’s win in the Group Three race over 2000m erased last year’s spring disappointment where he notched six consecutive placings. Ridden by Michael Walker, Brimham Rocks ($21)… Read More »
International singing superstar Taylor Swift will no longer perform at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day following a change to her Asian Tour dates. The Victoria Racing Club announced on September 12 that Swift would perform two songs in the parade ring before the 2019 Melbourne Cup. Mushroom Events and the… Read More »
The wet Randwick track might have scared a few runners out of The Shorts but trainer Greg Hickman is more than happy he decided to run Pierata. The field for Saturday’s Group Two 1100m-sprint was reduced to five from 11 original acceptors including high profile horses Santa Ana Lane, Osborne… Read More »
Chris Waller believes there is a sense of timing surrounding Kolding this spring after the progressive gelding booked himself a spot in the Group One Epsom Handicap with a gallant win in the Bill Ritchie Handicap at Randwick. Fierce Impact ($10) looked to have the 1400-metre race in his keeping… Read More »
Group One-winning Sydney jockey Rachel King has delivered a feature race victory aboard Manicure in her first ride at Caulfield. King has competed in Melbourne at a couple of feature meetings at Flemington last season but was riding at Caulfield for the first time on Saturday and produced the goods… Read More »
Libertini has had her colours lowered for the first time as a three-year-old but has gone down fighting in a three-way finish to the Tea Rose Stakes with Funstar on top. Splitting the pair in Saturday’s Group Two race was New Zealand filly Probabeel. The margins were a nose and… Read More »
An association spanning more than 15 years continues to pay dividends for trainer Danny O’Brien. Fabric, winner of Saturday’s Fight Cancer Foundation Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield, is the latest O’Brien winner to wear the Waikato Stud colours. The association between O’Brien and Waikato Stud dates back to 2004 with Glamour… Read More »
John Thompson has continued his heady start to the season with Cuba landing an all-the-way win at Randwick to give the trainer his ninth metropolitan victory this term. Cuba ($6) came into the race with strong form lines, boasting a decision over subsequent Cameron Handicap winner Rock and Queensland Guineas… Read More »
Only weeks after arriving in the country, lightly raced Irish import Shared Ambition has made a winning start to his Australian career at Caulfield. A three-year-old to northern hemisphere time but racing as a four-year-old in Australia, Shared Ambition stepped out for his new trainer Chris Waller in Saturday’s Grassroots… Read More »
Trainer Robert Heathcote has been saying for months Guntantes could defy his breeding to prove a top 1600m-2000m horse and it was confirmed at Eagle Farm. The Dave Hickey 30 Handicap (1600m) drew together some of the most promising young horses in Queensland and the race proved a thriller. Guntantes… Read More »
Leading jockey Michael Cahill made the most of a late pick-up ride to help Ocean Addict break a frustrating run of minor placings at Eagle Farm. Ocean Addict had run three consecutive seconds for a apprentice Jackson Murphy but the Toby and Trent Edmonds training partnership elected to book senior… Read More »
If loss of form or misfortune strikes a slot runner in the lead-up to the $1.3 million Kosciuszko, the Matt Dunn stable believes it has an able replacement in La Scopa. La Scopa ($7) finished powerfully to beat Smug Satusfaction ($3) by a half neck with a neck to Jay… Read More »
Tim Clark has continued his excellent record in Newcastle’s feature spring races taking out his second Gold Cup aboard the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Hush Writer. The Newcastle Gold Cup (2300m) and Cameron Handicap (1500m) have been happy hunting grounds for Clark who teamed with Tulloch Lodge to win… Read More »
