Gai Waterhouse is so much more than a Melbourne Cup-winning trainer – she’s become the “Cups queen”. Waterhouse, still basking in the lights of fame after her horse Fiorente won Australia’s richest race, awarded herself the royal title in the third person at Rosehill on Saturday. Her gelding Travolta, the… Read More »
Lady Echelon dispelled any queries about her fitness when she won the Travel Associates Classic at Doomben on Saturday. Having her first start since July, Lady Echelon ($11) saved ground close to the fence and held off Jacquetta ($15) to win by a head with Doubtfilly ($6.50) a half length… Read More »
Loot `n’ Run proved he was more than a wet-tracker when he led to win at Caulfield on Saturday. Trainer Jason Warren, who last year spelled the five-year-old gelding over the summer, tried a different tack this year to see how he could perform on dry tracks. Loot `n’ Run’s… Read More »
Runaway debut star Memorial confirmed she is a filly to remember when she kept Darley’s domination of Sydney two-year-old races rolling on Saturday. Two weeks ago at Rosehill, Memorial surged ahead by nearly 2-1/2 lengths to win in dazzling fashion at her first start but her return to the track… Read More »
It only took a matter of seconds for punters to lose their money on Poste Restante at Doomben on Saturday. The $2.50 favourite, Poste Restante knuckled over as the barriers opened, vaulting jockey Michael Cahill out of the saddle when her nose hit the ground. Stewards delayed correct weight to… Read More »
Exciting filly Girl In Flight is headed for the Australasian Oaks in Adelaide in May after a last-to-first Caulfield win on Saturday. The Robbie Griffith-trained three-year-old lived up to her pre-race hype following dominant wins at Sale and Pakenham to launch her career. Jockey Ryan Maloney was content to let… Read More »
A winning debut from two-year-old Nordic Empire at Caulfield has stamped him as a Magic Millions Classic contender. The Mick Price-trained colt attracted late support ahead of Saturday’s Flemington Equine Clinic Plate (1000m), firming from $6.50 to $5, and defied a wide run to power clear and win by 1-3/4… Read More »
Anthony Cummings couldn’t find any takers when he tried to sell shares in Forget Maybe and kept the colt for himself. The trainer had the last laugh at Rosehill on Saturday when Forget Maybe ($17) came from last to win the Blackwoods Benchmark 74 for three-year-olds. Cummings has always had… Read More »
The half-brother to champion mare Black Caviar is on the improve but still not out of the woods, according to BC3 Thoroughbreds spokesman Simon Marshall. The two-year-old colt developed the hoof disease laminitis after he was bitten by a spider. His life hung in the balance while he fought the… Read More »
One-time champion Melbourne apprentice Jason Maskiell has been suspended from riding in races for 18 months after testing positive to a banned substance. Maskiell fronted Racing Victoria stewards on Friday and pleaded guilty after providing a urine sample at Kyneton races on November 6 which contained a banned substance. The… Read More »
Hayden Haitana, one of the central figures in the notorious Fine Cotton ring-in scandal, has had his lifetime ban from racetracks lifted. The board of Racing Queensland on Friday agreed to a recommendation by stewards to lift the ban on Haitana, who has served 29 years. Haitana, 68, wrote to… Read More »
David Hayes will use the debut of $1.5 million colt Zulu Land to gauge whether to set the youngster for Melbourne’s premier juvenile race. Zulu Land steps out for the first time in Saturday’s Flemington Equine Clinic Plate (1000m) at Caulfield on the back of a barrier trial win at… Read More »
The Darley domination of Sydney’s early two-year-old races is expected to continue when Memorial steps out for her second start at Rosehill. She is one of three Peter Snowden-trained fillies, including Earthquake, to win over the past three weeks and is the $2 favourite to repeat her debut performance on… Read More »
Jacquinot Bay’s first-up record is flawless but his trainer Guy Walter is keeping a lid on his expectations heading to Rosehill. The six-year-old will be up against a strong field of sprinters in Saturday’s Starlight Stakes (1100m) including his stablemate Straight Albert who is returning from an injury-enforced break of… Read More »
Winning races hasn’t always been a focus for talented four-year-old Ninth Legion. But courtesy of a little human intervention, his appetite for competition has been reignited. A promising youngster, Ninth Legion raced well against Pierro, All Too Hard and Epaulette as a three-year-old, including a fourth in the 2012 Group… Read More »
Fillydelphia is in peak form and fitness for Saturday’s Tattersall’s Recognition Stakes at Doomben but six months ago it was a different story. The mare was having a simple pick of grass when a blade pierced her right eyelid which caused an ulcer and forced Heathcote to abandon winter carnival… Read More »
The Neil Dyer-trained mare Belle Ez has bounced back from a nine-week enforced break because of illness to be better than ever. Belle Ez posted her first city win at Moonee Valley this month and will be chasing back-to-back metropolitan victories in the Carpet Call Handicap at Caulfield on Saturday…. Read More »
Anthony Cummings’s Melbourne Cup carnival ended with two stakes wins, a Victoria Derby placing and one missed opportunity. From 12 runners over the four days at Flemington, Cummings prepared Fontelina for his second Yellowglen Stakes victory and Surge Ahead to win a VRC Oaks day support race. The Randwick trainer… Read More »
Chris Symons reunites with Multilateral at Caulfield intent on keeping their perfect record intact. Symons has ridden the Chris Waller-trained imported galloper in two Melbourne wins but hasn’t been aboard the five-year-old in a race since April. The gelding has had six starts since – five in NSW – and… Read More »
Three-year-old By The Grace, impressive in his only two outings with a win and a second place, is being groomed for a stakes mission in Adelaide next year. By The Grace will line up as the favourite in the CRV Hospital Helping Hand Plate at Caulfield on Saturday. The God’s… Read More »
