Import Unspoken hasn’t quite reached the heights he once promised, but he has been showing signs he is close to ending a two-year hiatus from the winner’s list. Unbeaten in four starts during the spring of 2023, highlighted by his $2 million Five Diamonds victory, his only placing in 10 subsequent… Read More »
Trainer Aaron Purcell will take the eight-year-old gelding Farag to Warrnambool on Sunday where the son of Sacred Falls will take on thirteen rivals in the 2025 edition of the Jericho Cup … a race in which Farag romped in last year by a staggering twenty length margin. Last year’s… Read More »
Nursing fractured ribs and recovering from a punctured lung, trainer Clinton Mcdonald is buoyant about the prospects of a couple of two-year-old fillies in his stable. Simply Steffi and Tears Of Happiness both make their debuts at Caulfield on Saturday in the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m). While McDonald is expecting the pair… Read More »
British racing has avoided a feared betting tax increase after UK chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled major gambling tax reforms that will impose hundreds of millions of pounds in extra costs on online wagering companies — but leave horseracing bets untouched. Reeves confirmed that remote gaming duty will jump from 21… Read More »
Consistent performer The Great Baby is set to make his racetrack return in a sprint contest at Morphettville Parks. A four-time winner from 25 starts with a further 10 placings, The Great Baby lines up in the Winning Presentations Handicap (1000m) on Saturday. The Wayne Francis and Glen Kent-trained galloper has not raced since finishing fifth… Read More »
Front Page will be looking to be the headline act in the Listed Starlight Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday. The Matthew Dale trained chestnut will be second-up after finishing sixth behind Clear Thinking when resuming in the 2025 edition of the $2 million Kosciuszko … a race with which Front… Read More »
It is a small miracle that Bellatrix Star is back racing in the first place. Anything beyond that is going to be a bonus. The Mark Walker trained mare has not raced for a year to the day … she was last in action on November 29, 2024 … but… Read More »
The Lindsay Park training team of Ben, Will and J D Hayes are hoping a step up in trip will see Alenquer break through for his maiden victory in Australia. French-bred Alenquer came to Australia at the end of 2022 to join the stable of Mike Moroney having been a Group 1 winner in Ireland…. Read More »
Racing Victoria Stewards have issued a charge against trainer John Leek Jnr following an investigation into an alleged race-day breach involving his horse, The Storyteller. Leek Jnr has been charged under Australian Rule 255(1)(c)(i), which prohibits any person from attempting to stomach-tube a horse on the day of a race,… Read More »
Kicking off the career of a stakes-class thoroughbred in provincial and midweek company is often a case of smart placement by a trainer. The more races a horse can win on their way through the grades, the less expenses incurred by their owners. However, in the case of Saturday’s Starlight… Read More »
The Team Hawkes trained Grand Larceny will be looking to claim back-to-back wins when he tackles the Listed Doveton Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday. The son of Zoustar takes an impressive enough race record of five wins from twelve starts into the Doveton Stakes with the latest of those wins… Read More »
One win at happy Valley last night was all it took for Hugh Bowman to clinch a prized place in the lucrative International Jockey’s Championship which will take place at Sha Tin on December 10 … but it was a really close call. Bowman trailed Luke Ferraris by one win… Read More »
Trainer Ken Keys has been around horses long enough to know a good one, especially a youngster. Not that many have gone through Keys’ hands, although he has high hopes for Alibaba who is set to make his debut in the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on Saturday for the Ken and Kasey Keys stable. Keys’… Read More »
Less than a month after Half Yours’ historic Melbourne Cup triumph, his sire St Jean has died. The son of Teofilo was euthanised on Tuesday morning owing to injuries sustained in a paddock accident. Brackley Park operator Grant Dwyer, who stood St Jean on behalf of a syndicate of owners… Read More »
Gerald Ryan is adamant Arctic Glamour’s first-up win was no fluke, although he admits an outside gate has added a layer of difficulty to her next task as she bids to back up the performance in the Festival Stakes at Rosehill. The mare started $41 when taking out the Hot… Read More »
David Vandyke has enjoyed racing Tuff Tu Mus through his grades, but the Sunshine Coast trainer realises the time has come to raise the bar with his winning machine. The five-year-old son of All Too Hard will chase an eighth-straight win in this Saturday’s $160,000 Listed Recognition Stakes at Doomben. The 1350-metre event… Read More »
Trainer Robbie Griffiths says his latest Group 1 contender Rey Magnerio has thrived on his first trip away from home. Rey Magnerio lines up in the Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) at Ascot on Saturday, bidding to give Griffiths a second Group 1 victory. Griffiths won the 2016 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington with The Quarterback and is… Read More »
Filly Tigroni is set to make her debut in the opening event at Rosehill, although co-trainer John O’Shea is quick to point out the race isn’t his first choice. Saturday’s Schweppes Handicap (1100m) was Plan B, O’Shea having been keen to run the youngster in a juvenile event at Wyong on… Read More »
It was this time last year that a lightly raced chestnut was placed online, up for grabs on an Inglis Digital sale with the heading “classy racing prospect.” The winner of two of his five starts at that stage, the four-year-old was promoted as “a progressive miler to middle distance… Read More »
New Zealand punters’ appetite for Australia’s major racing events continues to rise, with The Everest now comfortably overtaking the Cox Plate as the country’s second most-wagered-on race — although it still trails well behind the iconic Melbourne Cup. Entain, which now operates under a legislated monopoly in New Zealand, reported… Read More »
