It has been a spring of discontent for the Anthony Cummings stable and few horses have been as frustrating as Spy Decoder. Fast-tracked to Group One company in the Epsom Handicap, the four-year-old got back from a wide gate and used most of his energy fighting his rider. On Wednesday,… Read More »
Godolphin colt Nozomi has held off a late charge from favourite Preferment in the Listed Geelong Classic to put himself in the Victoria Derby picture. The Anthony Freedman-trained Nozomi, sporting the famous royal blue colours of Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation, has moved to $11 for the Derby at Flemington on… Read More »
MANIKATO STAKES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW HISTORY: * First known as Freeway Stakes. Renamed in 1984 after champion Manikato who won the race 1979 and 1982. Manikato is buried at Moonee Valley. Run over 1200m * Held first time in 1968 and won by Winfreux NOTABLE WINNERS: Vain (1969),… Read More »
Famous Seamus doesn’t have the profile of some of his Manikato Stakes rivals but jockey Tim Clark is confident the sprinter has the motor to challenge them. A Group One winner of the BTC Cup in Brisbane during winter, the Noel Mayfield-Smith-trained Famous Seamus takes on a quality field in… Read More »
Regally bred Sport of Kings took the first step towards fulfilling a long-range plan for his trainer Tony Sears on Wednesday. Sport of Kings ($7.50) scored his first win in five starts when he took out the Maiden Plate (2130m) at Ipswich. There would have been few better-bred horses racing… Read More »
Monton might be nearing veteran status but he will head to Rosehill on Saturday boasting arguably the best recent formlines of any other horse at the meeting. The eight-year-old’s past four runs have included a fourth to Group One Manikato Stakes favourite Terravista and a fifth to Caulfield Cup runner-up… Read More »
A lot of jockeys struggle with their weight but Dean Yendall is an exception. The natural lightweight started a diet on Tuesday morning to get down to ride Wandjina at 49.5kg in the Cox Plate. After cutting back on chocolate and potato crisps, Yendall said he had lost 1kg and… Read More »
COX PLATE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW HISTORY: * First run 1922 when Moonee Valley Racing Club committe voted for a high-quality, weight-for-age race for best horses * Named for William Samuel Cox, founder of Moonee Valley racecourse * Violoncello was inaugural winner NOTABLE WINNERS: * Phar Lap (1930-31), Ajax… Read More »
The well-travelled Side Glance is being overlooked in the Cox Plate but the person closest to him in Australia believes he is poised to run better than his odds suggest. The Andrew Balding-trained Side Glance finished sixth in last year’s Cox Plate in his introduction to Australian racing and backed… Read More »
Toowoomba trainer Steve Tregea hopes Love Rocks won’t be weighted out of Queensland racing if he wins first-up at Doomben. Love Rocks will be having his first start since winning the Listed Lough Neagh Stakes in December when he tackles the Caitlin Forrest Memorial Handicap (1110m) on Saturday. The gelding… Read More »
A number of all-weather and National Hunt races will be removed from the British racing program in a bid to address small fields. The British Horseracing Authority will scrap around 70 races on artificial surfaces which will be offset by nine additional all-weather twilight fixtures between September and October when… Read More »
Mourinho is likely to get his Group One chance in the Mackinnon Stakes after connections’ hopes of a Cox Plate start fell flat. The Moonee Valley Racing Club committee used its discretion to leave Mourinho out of Saturday’s Cox Plate when it decided the capacity 14-horse field after 16 acceptances… Read More »
Hugh Bowman is free to ride Irish visitor Mutual Regard in the Melbourne Cup after having a lengthy suspension reduced on appeal. Bowman was outed for 20 meetings after he was found guilty of an improper riding charge in Saturday’s Caulfield Classic. He accepted the improper riding charge but appealed… Read More »
Robert Heathcote is convinced the Manikato Stakes barrier draw has played out in favour of his defending champion Buffering. But the Queensland trainer still rates Lankan Rupee as the horse to beat and is surprised Sydney sprinter Terravista is the early favourite. Buffering returned to winning form with his first-up… Read More »
Family, friends, jockeys and punters will remember two fallen jockeys at their funerals this week. Queensland rider Carly-Mae Pye, 26, died last Tuesday from injuries she suffered in a trackwork fall in Rockhampton. South Australian apprentice Caitlin Forrest, 19, died in hospital last Thursday after a four-horse fall at Murray… Read More »
The horse that gave Lloyd Williams his first Caulfield Cup remains a solid favourite to break the prominent owner’s Cox Plate hoodoo. Fawkner has drawn perfectly in barrier four for Saturday’s $3 million weight-for-age feature at Moonee Valley to confirm his position as the horse to beat. Williams had never… Read More »
Chad Schofield played his part in a Cox Plate upset last year and the young jockey is convinced he can do it again. The Godolphin colt Sweynesse has been included at the club’s discretion in the capacity 14-horse field for Saturday’s $3 million weight-for-age race, paving the way for Schofield… Read More »
As Gai Waterhouse fine tunes her Cox Plate three-year-olds Almalad and Wandjina, an almost forgotten Tulloch Lodge star is ready to make a comeback after a throat surgery. Spurtonic, a winner on the Caulfield Cup undercard last year, has been cleared to start a spring and summer campaign at Rosehill… Read More »
French stayer Au Revoir will be out to cement a Melbourne Cup start when he runs at Moonee Valley on Saturday. The five-year-old Singspiel entire has been undergoing quarantine at Werribee since arriving in Melbourne on October 11 and will line up in the Moonee Valley Cup (2500m). Au Revoir,… Read More »
Trainer Ken Keys has been in the spotlight over the past month through the deeds of three-year-old Rich Enuff. Now he has dreams of a Melbourne Cup start with dour stayer Like A Carousel who lines up in the Geelong Cup on Wednesday. Victory in the Geelong Cup would take… Read More »
