Damien Oliver believes Sandown debut winner Draft Day has a bright future but is worried the spring may come up too soon. The Leon and Troy Corstens-trained son of Tivaci was successful in the Ladbroke It! Plate (1200m) on Wednesday after over-coming a wide draw. A little slow into stride, Oliver pushed Draft Day… Read More »
$1.9 million yearling Profondo has made a winning start to his career at Randwick-Kensington on Wednesday. Expensive colt Profondo has defied a betting drift to make a winning start to his career, taking out the 1st Crop Magna Grecia Foals Handicap (1400m). Profondo was the sale topping lot at the… Read More »
Stakes-placed last campaign, Flexible resuming on Wednesday to claim the IVE Print Handicap (1600m) under the guidance of Damien Oliver, providing the 11-time Scobie Breasley Medalist the second leg of a Sandown double. Specked in betting, Flexible ($9) scored by a head from the $3.30 favourite Ayahuasca with Kiss And Cry ($16) a nose away third. Flexible ran third on soft… Read More »
The Underwood Stakes is set to get greater exposure being transferred to AFL Grand Final Day. With Perth to host the AFL Grand Final with a later starting time in Melbourne, Racing Victoria has switched dates for the Underwood Stakes meeting. The meeting was scheduled to run on September 26 to avoid… Read More »
Simon Miller is prepared to forgive Son Of God’s last defeat and expects a positive rebound in the $100,000 Jolly Beggar Stakes (1000m) at Belmont Park on Saturday. Miller had high expectations for Son Of A God’s first up run in the Belmont Newmarket, but after pulling hard and racing… Read More »
South Australian trainer Michael Hickmott is using the Melbourne debut of Taunting to determine the spring path for the three-year-old. Taunting, the winner of two of his three starts, runs in the Inglis 2022 Yearling Sales Series Plate (1200m) at The Valley on Saturday in which he will be ridden by… Read More »
Irish import Dawn Patrol commences his spring campaign that owners Lloyd and Nick Williams hope will ultimately provide them another Melbourne Cup win. Dawn Patrol runs for the first time on Australian soil in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) at The Valley on Saturday having arrived in the country five weeks ago. A… Read More »
The thinning of the ranks of riders available in Melbourne has prompted jockey Blaike McDougall to move south from New South Wales to Victoria with a plan to try and seek out some Spring Carnival success. There is a very stringent Covid-19 protocol path that McDougall will have to follow… Read More »
A little over a year ago, on September 12, 2020, Rothfire won the Group 2 Run To The Rose at Rosehill. All was well in the Rothfire camp with both anticipation and exciting building as Rothfire lined up a shot at the $14 million The Everest. Just one more run… Read More »
The jockey merry go around at the Spring Carnival show in Melbourne is moving fast enough to make anybody’s head spin. Jockeys locked in, then locked out (Glen Boss). Jockeys booked then suspended, replaced and then the replacement suspended (Jamie Kah and Mark Zahra). It brings a whole new aspect… Read More »
Trainer Stephanie Bakranich believes Nerodio is ready to take the next step in his career and has mapped out an Ascot feature campaign for the gelding. The Playing God six-year-old has won nine races from 22 starts and reached a career peak when he won the Listed Beaufine Stakes (1000m)… Read More »
Star jockey Damian Lane has given a glowing endorsement of Railway Stakes (1600m) winner Inspirational Girl, following her first start in Victoria on Saturday. The WA mare finished fifth behind Behemoth in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) on Saturday afternoon finished off the race strongly. It was Lane’s first… Read More »
Ben Melham, Mark Zahra and Ethan Brown are all appealing the severity of their sentences following their involvement in the ‘AirBNB Gate’ party get together last week. At the time of writing, it is not known yet whether Jamie Kah and Celine Gaudray followed suit before the deadline to appeal… Read More »
Dual Group One-winner Montefilia will resume in the Group Two Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday. The daughter of Kermadec didn’t win a race during the autumn, but still put in great performances against the boys in the Rosehill Guineas and ATC Derby before finishing fifth in the ATC Oaks…. Read More »
The Kerry Parker-trained Think It Over has come through his first-up run in the Winx Stakes well and is all guns blazing heading into the Chelmsford Stakes this Saturday. Kerry Parker’s Group One winner Think It Over is on song heading into Saturday’s Group Two Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) at Randwick. The… Read More »
With movement of jockeys interstate almost at a complete standstill, a leading hoop from New Zealand is currently seriously weighing up his options with regard to carnival racing in Australia in the spring. The riding options available to big race connections in Victoria has been further complicated with the three… Read More »
The Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young stable will find out if they can add a bit more firepower to their three-year-old ranks when Riverplate runs at Sandown. After one start in New Zealand for the recently retired Andrew R Campbell Riverplate was whisked away to Australian shores after his debut run when second… Read More »
Dalasan needs a veterinary clearance before he can run in the Listed Chautauqua Stakes at The Valley. Co-trainer Leon Macdonald, who prepares the five-year-old in partnership with Andrew Gluyas, said Dalasan would be an acceptor for Saturday’s 1200m race, but would have a final inspection in Adelaide ahead of being transported to Melbourne on Thursday. Dalasan suffered cuts and abrasions when he… Read More »
The MVRC is proud to announce the inaugural running of the Listed Chautauqua Stakes this Saturday 4 September – in honour of the sprinting legend Chautauqua, trained by Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes. Chautauqua was a champion sprinter who won six Group 1 races whilst earning nearly $9 million in… Read More »
The five Victorian jockeys suspended for attending an ‘Airbnb’ in Mornington are set to front the Victorian Racing Tribunal. Jamie Kah, Mark Zahra, Ben Melham, Ethan Brown and apprentice Celine Gaudray were each suspended for three months by Racing Victoria stewards for breaching RV’s COVID Protocols. The suspensions follow their attendance at an ‘Airbnb’ in Mornington… Read More »
