Adelaide trainer Will Clarken has achieved a milestone first Group One win with bargain-buy Bella Vella who has capped a stunning rise in the Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville. Bella Vella was bought online for $22,500 last year and she has won six of her 11 starts since joining Clarken’s… Read More »
Imported galloper Buffalo River has graduated to open company with a strong on-pace victory at Sandown. The Mike Moroney-trained four-year-old has now won five of his six starts in Australia following his win in the Ladbrokes Money Back Odds Handicap (1400m) on Saturday. Sent off the $1.90 favourite under Damien… Read More »
Hugh Bowman headed to Randwick with an unflattering opinion of the Kensington circuit but surely emerged with a fresh view following a brilliant five-winner haul. The top jockey was almost unstoppable, opening his account in the second race aboard Yonkers and followed with wins on Dirty Work, Rocha Clock, Hightail… Read More »
Chris Waller has pulled off another Group One training coup with Toffee Tongue breaking her maiden in style in the Australasian Oaks at Morphettville. The filly had been runner-up at her four starts leading into Saturday’s Adelaide feature, twice to Colette in the Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) and the Australian… Read More »
Final Man has overcome a slow start to complete a winning hat-trick in strong fashion at Sandown. After wins at Pakenham and Sandown at his past two starts, Final Man added Saturday’s Salute Frontline Workers Handicap (1200m) to his record. Final Man has now won four of his seven starts… Read More »
Injury-prone galloper Rising Red has made a return to the winner’s list with an emphatic win on testing ground at Sandown. Trained by Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, Rising Red on Saturday scored his first win in almost two years in taking out the Ladbrokes Switch Handicap (2100m). Ridden by… Read More »
After going close to winning a Group One in Sydney earlier this year, Xilong has again shown her quality to score a determined win in the Group Two Euclase Stakes at Morphettville. Only 40 minutes after her stablemate Shrouded In Mist led to win the Group Two Queen Of The… Read More »
Trainer Kelly Schweida admitted he might have to aim a little higher in the winter with his smart three-year-old The Odyssey after the gelding’s impressive win at Doomben. The Odyssey ($1.65) was left with only three rivals and gave apprentice Stephanie Thornton a treble for the day with an easy… Read More »
Shrouded In Mist has exceeded her trainer Tony McEvoy’s expectations with an upset front-running win in the Queen Of The South Stakes in Adelaide. McEvoy, who trains in partnership with his son Calvin, admits Shrouded In Mist’s owner had been the one who had been keen for the five-year-old to… Read More »
Trainer Greg Eurell has staying options in mind for Hezafox after the three-year-old landed a betting plunge when successful on a rain-sodden track at Sandown. The winner of only one race previously, a maiden on the synthetic track at Pakenham, Hezafox relished the heavy ground to win the Honouring Victoria… Read More »
A patient ride by Hugh Bowman has helped Rocha Clock land a brilliant come-from-behind win at Randwick and put herself back in the picture for a shot at the Inglis 3YO Guineas. The John O’Shea-trained filly disappointed first-up in stakes grade during the autumn carnival when she was ridden out… Read More »
Dirty Work may have earned his way back to stakes grade sooner rather than later after backing up a recent win on the Kensington track with a dominant performance at Randwick. In August last year, Dirty Work underlined his ability with a Group Three third behind star colt Bivouac while… Read More »
John Thompson was still crafting his skills as a horseman when he first crossed paths with Joe O’Neill. O’Neill was in the early stages of establishing syndication company Prime Thoroughbreds while Thompson had just taken on the role of foreman for trainer Bill Mitchell. More than two decades later Thompson,… Read More »
Apprentice Corey Bayliss’s snap decision to try new mid-race tactics on Magnufighter has helped the gelding earn a tilt at stakes races with an impressive win at Doomben. The four-horse race was being run at an even tempo when Bayliss whipped around the field to take the lead and was… Read More »
Hugh Bowman has stopped short of labelling Yonkers a Melbourne Cup horse but if the gelding’s Irish form is anything to go by, that may not be far off the mark. The four-year-old needed all of the 1800 metres of Saturday’s benchmark race to catch Gone Bye and win by… Read More »
Forever Free has capped an unbeaten season as a two-year-old with a first stakes victory in Adelaide. Trained in Melbourne by Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra, Forever Free made it three wins from as many starts with a 1-1/4-length success in Saturday’s Listed Queen Adelaide Stakes (1050m) for two-year-olds at… Read More »
Testing ground has helped Diala to bounce back into winning form with an all-the-way victory at Sandown. The Hawkes Racing-trained filly was successful at Caulfield on soft ground on April 11 before leading at Flemington last week when stepped up to 1400m, fading to finish tenth. Under Dwayne Dunn on… Read More »
Filly Macroura has continued an outstanding two-year-old season for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, outpointing a handy field to win the opening race at Randwick. The stable has enjoyed a heady season with its youngsters, winning the Magic Millions Classic with Away Game and stakes races with the likes… Read More »
A clever raceday gear change has put two-year-old Starosa on the road to the Group One JJ Atkins. Starosa ($1.30) made it two wins in a row when she led all the way for an easy win in the Lexus 2YO (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday. The filly did her… Read More »
Star apprentice Stephanie Thornton was on a mission to outride her metropolitan claim at Doomben and it didn’t take her long to achieve it. Thornton went into the meeting on Saturday with 79 city winners and made it 80 when Mount Beauty ($4.60) got up in the last stride to… Read More »
