David Payne isn’t going to Randwick expecting his Silver Shadow Stakes roughie Trafalgar Square to upstage Group One winner Manaal, but he does believe his filly can perform much better than her long odds suggest. At $71, Trafalgar Square is one of the outsiders in Saturday’s field, while ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes… Read More »
Jockey Beau Mertens has a special affinity with Attrition and will go anywhere to continue his association with the galloper. That association will take Mertens to Morphettville Parks on Saturday where Attrition lines up in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes (1400m) first-up on Saturday. Mertens was a successful apprentice who battled it… Read More »
Robbie Dolan is back in town and ready to move ahead with his return to race riding following his fall back on July 20. That was the fall that sparked what amounted to the jockey’s protest which led to not only the remaining races on the day being abandoned, but,… Read More »
Hall Of Fame trainer Les Bridge says a tilt at The Everest is almost certainly off the table for Celestial Legend, confirming the Golden Eagle as his stable star’s primary mission. Speaking on Queensland’s RadioTAB on Thursday, Bridge revealed the horse’s owner Bon Ho had never been overly keen on pursuing… Read More »
Lightly raced Raikoke has tested the patience of the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable, but they expect the gelding to reward them when he kicks off his campaign at Moonee Valley. The now four-year-old runs in the Dr Sheahan Plate (1200m) on Saturday, his first outing since finishing last in… Read More »
Just days after being officially confirmed as the new Chief Executive Officer by the Board of Racing Victoria, Aaron Morrison has addressed an issue that has plagued the national racing scene over several years. The relationship between Racing Victoria (RV) and Racing New South Wales, which at times has not… Read More »
A past Everest experiment that backfired is shaping Chris Waller’s early spring agenda for Group One winner Joliestar as he bids to ensure history doesn’t repeat. Twelve months ago, connections of stablemate Zougotcha considered the mare an Everest contender and Waller designed her program accordingly, training her as a sprinter and launching… Read More »
Reigning Victorian Horse of the Year and Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight has returned to light work under saddle, marking a significant milestone in his recovery from a tendon injury. Co-trainer Sam Freedman provided an encouraging update on the horse’s progress, noting that Without A Fight… Read More »
There was no ordinary run-of-the-mill race finish in the first race at the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday. Jockey Jake Bayliss might have made the mistake which resulted in the somewhat chaotic final 75m of the race … he has owned up to that … but his riding skills, once put… Read More »
David Payne has already won the Group One Flight Stakes twice and he has his sights on a third with brilliant Warwick Farm debut winner Shohisha. The filly had to overcome a chequered passage in the straight, bullocking off the fence to force her way between runners before surging through… Read More »
Trainer Mick Nolan and jockey Luke Nolen joked post-race who had the correct surname after they combined to land a winner at Sandown. Lightly raced Stylish Secret took out the Thoroughbred Club Of Australia Plate (1500m) on Wednesday to give trainer Nolan his second city success. Nolan was the longtime foreman for Mick… Read More »
Fresh from ending a 22-month drought from the winner’s list, Williamsburg will attempt to keep his momentum rolling in the Listed Rowley Mile at Hawkesbury. The five-year-old scored his first victory since the 2022 Dulcify Quality when he led throughout over 1500m at Rosehill earlier this month and co-trainer Sterling Alexiou… Read More »
Jockey Daniel Stackhouse thought he was OK to ride the favourite Athanatos at Sandown despite a heavy knock to the face as the horses paraded before the race. However, when Stackhouse arrived at the start for the Sportsbet Photo Finish Refund Plate (1300m) on Wednesday, blood was streaming from his mouth and… Read More »
He might be a challenging horse to train, but fortunately for the bold-running Pherarson, he is also talented. The dual Group 3 winner will kick off his latest campaign this week in either Saturday’s Show County Quality (1200m) at Randwick or the $200,000 Goulburn Cup (1400m) a day later. Either… Read More »
After a short settling in period result-wise, the Chris and Corey Munce training partnership has put two winners on the board in the last four days to get their first official season winner’s count underway. Team Munce’s first win came at Doomben on Saturday, courtesy of a supreme performance by… Read More »
The Mark Walker stable did not expect the transformation Sans Doute made during her initial campaign in Melbourne. Sans Doute raced her way from a handicap rating of 72 when she landed at Walker’s Cranbourne stable and six months later, after eight starts, Sans Doute had increased that to 98. That was… Read More »
Mark Du Plessis will be back at trackwork tomorrow morning where he will return to the saddle for the first time since a bizarre incident during the running of the second race at Eagle Farm on June 28 took him out of action. “It was my first ride of the… Read More »
Five months after suffering a life-threatening injury, Fangirl returns to spearhead Chris Waller’s squad for the first Group One race of the season at Randwick, and according to the champion trainer she is more robust than ever. The star mare looked set for an electric autumn when she resumed with a… Read More »
South Australian stayer The Map kicks off her Melbourne Cup campaign on Saturday in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes (1400m) at Morphettville. Trainer Oopy MacGillivray is optimistic about the six-year-old mare’s first run since her victory in the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m) at Flemington in May, which secured her a… Read More »
Trainer Nick Ryan has decided to bypass the Listed Carlyon Stakes at The Valley this Saturday with his sprinter Johnny Rocker, opting instead to focus on two Group 1 races at the same venue in the coming weeks. Johnny Rocker, who was nominated for the Carlyon Stakes (1000m), will now… Read More »
