Joe Pride is hoping his team of Rosehill runners stretch out better than he has this week. The Warwick Farm trainer has been on restricted duties after undergoing a knee operation on Monday and is likely to be forced to watch his runners compete from his lounge room. “I was… Read More »
Deciding when to take time off is always a delicate balancing act for a jockey. A break from riding, no matter how short, can have a major impact if things go against a jockey while away from racing. Opportunities to ride the next star may be lost while trainers can… Read More »
Trainer David Hayes has made an important gear change for Queensland Oaks hopeful Star Fashion on the 30th anniversary of his father Colin Hayes’s biggest Queensland win. The late Colin Hayes is a Hall of Fame trainer but he was a rare visitor to Queensland with Look ALoft’s 1984 Queensland… Read More »
Racing NSW stewards have banned all nominations from Newcastle trainer Darren Smith after finding elevated cobalt chloride readings in samples taken from some of his horses. Cobalt is found naturally in horses but elevated levels of the substance can increase the production of red blood cells in a similar manner… Read More »
Belle Couture’s career is on hold again after Black Caviar’s half-sister tore her near hind hamstring when unplaced at her most recent start at Flemington. The three-year-old looked a filly of immense promise when she won first-up at Caulfield on Easter Monday but failed in her two subsequent starts at… Read More »
Chris Munce will test one of his favourite horses, Belltone, as a Stradbroke Handicap mount at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Munce, who has not ridden Belltone since they combined to win the BRC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben 12 months ago, will be back aboard for the Group Two QTC Cup… Read More »
Over the past few years, Chris Waller has risen through the ranks to become a leading Group One trainer and multiple Sydney premiership winner. It has taken a lot of hard work and while having glamour horses like Zoustar helps, it is the next tier of horses who have built… Read More »
Gold Coast trainer Noel Doyle hopes his lucky rider Ric McMahon can bring him a change of fortune with comeback horse Le Val at Eagle Farm. McMahon, who begins a suspension after Saturday’s racing, will replace Tim Bell aboard Le Val in Saturday’s Group Two Queensland Guineas (1400m). Bell has… Read More »
A lengthy journey could be the reward for Post D’France if he performs well early in a preparation that begins in Saturday’s Jim Conway Handicap at Sandown. Post D’France improved rapidly once he joined the Steven Brown stable at Flemington with the gelding winning five of nine starts after arriving… Read More »
A jockey shortage has paved the way for Christian Reith to extend his riding stint in Hong Kong until the end of their racing season. The top Sydney jockey had planned to ride at three meetings there from June 1 but on Thursday the Hong Kong Jockey Club granted Reith… Read More »
Lady Lakshmi has been brave in defeat in recent stakes races and trainer Stephen Theodore is convinced the filly’s fortunes will change when she drops in grade at Sandown on Saturday. Lady Lakshmi has been placed at her past three starts, twice at Listed level and once in Group Three… Read More »
Andrew Dillon needs rain to fall to give him an indication of how stable recruit Lady Melksham is travelling. Lady Melksham joined Dillon’s stable on the outskirts of Geelong after 13 starts for Flemington horseman John Sadler that yielded a win in the Group Three Cockram Stakes in 2012. The… Read More »
At a time of year when most trainers are taking their horses north, Queensland horseman Steele Ryan has headed in the opposite direction with juvenile Mega D’Oro. The youngster arrived in Sydney last week to prepare for Saturday’s TAB Early Quaddie Plate (1350m) with Ryan keen to bypass the stakes… Read More »
Three-time Brisbane premier jockey and riders’ safety pioneer Jim Standfield has died after a long illness, aged 85. At 29, Standfield lost his left leg after it was crushed against the running rail in a barrier trial incident at Doomben in October 1958. Standfield took on the then Brisbane Amateur… Read More »
Jumps jockey Paul Hamblin has been suspended for the rest of the jumps racing season for betting. Hamblin faced a Racing Appeals and Disciplinary (RAD) Board hearing in Melbourne on Thursday and pleaded guilty to placing bets on thoroughbred races during a three-day period last month. None of the bets… Read More »
There were many times during the past year when Con Karakatsanis wanted to walk away from the racing industry. Only the support of his closest family and friends convinced him otherwise. The horse trainer and his father Tony, who had been working for the stable, were banned for nine and… Read More »
She might be an outsider but Queensland Oaks contender Tornado Miss has boosted her connections’ confidence with a stirring track workout this week. Tornado Miss is at double figure odds to win the Group One race on Saturday but trainer Tony Gollan couldn’t be happier with her and is puzzled… Read More »
Victorian stayer Mr O’Ceirin gets a chance to take some of the winter carnival spotlight away from his boom stablemate Srikandi at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Mr O’Ceirin came to Queensland as the stable star for trainer Ciaron Maher but he has been pushed into the background by the efforts… Read More »
Tom Ryan is convinced the weight scale is the biggest impediment to his chances of a third straight win in the Australian Hurdle at Sandown. The Irish jockey will ride the Eric Musgrove-trained Thubiaan in Saturday’s jumps feature after claiming the previous two editions of the Australian Hurdle on Kirribilli… Read More »
Phillip Stokes is facing a dilemma over whether to run Hucklebuck in Saturday’s Queensland Guineas or save him for the Stradbroke Handicap. Hucklebuck has been paid up for the Group Two Queensland Guineas (1400m) but after the release of first acceptances for Saturday week’s Stradbroke on Wednesday, Hucklebuck is safely… Read More »
