If Zaaki has any chinks in his armour, Mark Newnham is hoping Spirit Ridge is the horse to expose them. Rival trainer Mark Newnham is not running scared of boom horse Zaaki, who he believes has two hurdles to overcome if he is to justify his odds-on quote in the $1.2… Read More »
Adelaide-based Stuart Gower has sent his promising middle-distance galloper Mongolian Marshal to Melbourne for a race at Sandown but is reluctant to follow suit. Gower fears he will be forced to undergo a 14-day quarantine when he returns home if he came to Melbourne to saddle Mongolian Marshal in the Ladbrokes Bet… Read More »
The Stradbroke Handicap means different things to different people. The race is filled with a big-name line-up with trainers like Chris Waller, the Snowdens, the Hawkes training partnership, Tony Gollan and other high-profile identities all being able to have another go at another Group 1 … and good on them… Read More »
Master jockey Craig Williams kept his eye in with a winning ride at the Sunshine Coast yesterday as he lines up yet another big day of feature race rides at Eagle Farm on Stradbroke Day. As usual, as is the case with any conversation with Williams, his opinions provide keen… Read More »
Jockey Jim Byrne is making good on his promise to get his weight down to 50.5kg in order to ride Red Chase for the Desleigh Forster stable in the Stradbroke Handicap. Apache Chase is actually set to carry 49.5kg, but connections have given the all clear for Apache Chase to… Read More »
Apprentice Holly Watson celebrated her first city win when How’s The Serenity scored in the opening race at Belmont on Wednesday. After she commenced riding last October, the 20-year-old made the most of her opportunity in town for host trainer Simon Miller. Sent out the odds on favourite ($1.90), Holly… Read More »
Ballarat meeting switched from turf to the synthetic. A forecast for more rain in the central districts of Victoria has forced the Ballarat meeting to be transferred from the turf to the synthetic track. The turf track for Thursday’s meeting was rated a heavy 10 with a further 15mm of… Read More »
Team Hawkes and Tommy Berry have combined for an early double, with two exciting maiden winners at Canterbury on Wednesday. Almighty Rising kicked off the day with a win in the Blue Point @ Darley Handicap, an 1100m maiden for two-year-olds. It was the son of Flying Artie’s second race… Read More »
Sharp Response has handled the soft track conditions at Sale to record a debut victory. Cranbourne-trained Sharp Response defied his starting price to record an impressive debut win at Sale. A two-year-old son of Maurice, Sharp Response took out the David Wilson/Tony Hart Two-Year-Old Maiden Plate (1108m) on Wednesday. Sharp Response… Read More »
Paige Kenney always believed Vane Tempest would get better with time. Although the Snippetson three-year-old has built an impressive strike rate in her short career, she showed signs of immaturity. But after coming back from a rare failure and scoring consecutive wins at Pinjarra, Paige Kenney believes there has been enough… Read More »
Mick Price says punters can expect to see a more professional version of Ayrton in Saturday’s Group 3 Gunsynd Classic, as the three-year-old continues to show signs of taking benefit from his first trip away. Stradbroke plans for Ayrton ended when he was downed by Apache Chase in the Fred… Read More »
Connections plan to use Converge’s better barrier to advantage in Saturday’s Group 1 J.J. Atkins, but also be mindful not to dull his brilliant turn of foot. Converge turned in one of the best ‘beaten’ runs of the Queensland carnival when he stormed from last to just miss – after… Read More »
Star jumper Ablaze kicks off his campaign at Sandown with the Ciaron Maher & David Eustace stable eyeing off the Grand National Steeplechase. Ablaze endured an 18-month campaign after arriving from New Zealand in 2019, going on to win eight of his 12 starts including the Jericho Cup, Grand Annual Steeplechase and Grand National… Read More »
The tubby Vega One who made his return back in April has transformed into a lean machine as trainer Tony Gollan tips him to peak in Saturday’s $1.5Million TAB Stradbroke at Eagle Farm. Vega One’s first three runs back from a spell dating back to last year’s Stradbroke all resulted in him… Read More »
Former Country Championships victor Noble Boy will have his first race start for new trainer Theresa Bateup in the Bob Charley AO Stakes at Randwick on Saturday. It will be the six-year-old’s first start since running 14th in the Group 3 Festival Stakes last November and has since made the… Read More »
The special bond that can exist between a racehorse and its trainer is well exemplified by the relationship Jenny Graham has with her warhorse Victorem. Graham gets emotional just talking about Victorem, as she did when asked about her Stradbroke Handicap contender at the big race barrier draw on Tuesday…. Read More »
So Si Bon will be Tom Dabernig’s final Group 1 runner before he departs Lindsay Park. Come the start of the new racing season, the Lindsay Park stable will be different to the one that was operating five years ago. David Hayes is now in Hong Kong, Tom Dabernig will be gone… Read More »
Should the Albury Racing Club be applauded or demonised for implementing a new, controversial and potentially paradigm shifting policy? They have allowed track work to take place in the afternoons. And, on face value, it looks like a fantastic idea and if approved full-time, will definitely entice more participants to… Read More »
There are occasions when an outstanding win by a horse can put a scare into its rivals and chase them away from a meeting with that runner when it next goes into action … but that has not proved to be the case with Zaaki after his runaway win in… Read More »
Black caviar’s daughter Invincible Caviar will not be seen again as a two-year-old after trainer Peter Moody made the decision to spell the regally bred filly following her third placed finish at Flemington on the weekend. “She did a good job on Saturday, bar winning,” Moody told Racing.com. “She’s out… Read More »
