Arabian Gold, a clear-cut favourite for The Roses at Doomben on Saturday, will confirm a rating as one of Australia’s most durable three-year-old fillies in recent seasons if she can win the lead-up to the Queensland Oaks. The David Vandyke-trained grey arrived in Brisbane on Thursday having raced successfully at… Read More »
Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome has a small blister in his throat but is reported to be fine as he prepares to run in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes. California Chrome coughed about four times on Thursday after galloping, according to Alexis Garske, spokeswoman for Sherman Racing. Trainer Art Sherman and his… Read More »
Derby dreams on either side of the English Channel remain alive for the first three horses home in the Dante Stakes at York in which The Grey Gatsby beat off Arod and True Story in a pulsating finish. The Grey Gatsby, trained by Kevin Ryan, stepped up to a mile-and-a-quarter… Read More »
Melbourne Cup winning jockey Scott Seamer has been banned for six months by stewards after an inquiry into the bona fides of the training of racehorses at Ballina. The penalty was handed down on Thursday after trainer William Pholi pleaded guilty to running two horses in races and barrier trials… Read More »
Tony McEvoy is convinced Tikitour will relish a distance rise in an off-season race at Caulfield on Saturday but the trainer’s spring stocks have received a blow with an injury to a stable star. McEvoy said dual Group-winning galloper Mouro had undergone surgery to remove a bone chip in a… Read More »
Gosford Race Club’s on-course facilities will be given a $4.3 million facelift in a redevelopment aimed at making the racetrack one of the NSW central coast’s biggest multi-purpose entertainment venues. The works, expected to be completed by mid-October, will be solely funded by the provincial racing club. “We are fortunate… Read More »
Chris Waller’s expertise with overseas horses could be expanded to include a new frontier before the Queensland winter carnival is over. Waller is without peer when it comes to winning races with ex-northern hemisphere horses but it seems his training methods work just as well with those returning to Australia… Read More »
The likelihood of a firmer surface has trainer Phillip Stokes upbeat about the prospects of Lucky Symbol bouncing back from a last-start defeat at Caulfield on Saturday. Stokes has opted for the Taralye Get Deaf Kids Talking Plate (1200m) in Melbourne instead of a Morphettville Parks race for Lucky Symbol… Read More »
Gai Waterhouse has questioned whether prize money for feature country and provincial races should be spread more evenly as she prepares a four-strong team for Saturday’s Inglis 3YO Guineas at Scone. A sales-restricted event, the Guineas (1400m) does not carry black-type status but it does offer $400,000 in stakes, almost… Read More »
Dual Group One winner Solzhenitsyn will have to create a weight-carrying record if he is to return to the winner’s circle in the Group Three BRC Sprint at Doomben on Saturday. Solzhenitsyn is on the comeback trail after a throat operation and ran an encouraging sixth to Temple Of Boom… Read More »
Tye Angland has quit Hong Kong racing knowing that no one deserves to win one of the world’s most sought-after jockeys’ premierships more than his countryman Zac Purton. Angland says he cut short a successful Hong Kong career for personal reasons and he will leave the Asian racing capital with… Read More »
Newcastle trainer Kris Lees is confident his long-range predictions of winter carnival success for new stable additions Hera and Slow Pace are on track. Slow Pace will tackle the Group One Doomben Cup (2000m) on Saturday while Hera is among the favourites for the Group Two The Roses over the… Read More »
David Vandyke insists enough can be taken out of Prince Cheri’s unfulfilled and injury-hit autumn to rate the imported galloper among the leading chances in the $200,000 Scone Cup. A back injury stopped Prince Cheri from turning spring potential into autumn results but Vandyke expects the ex-French horse can salvage… Read More »
Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome is the odds-on favourite at 3-5 for the Preakness Stakes after drawing barrier three in the 10-horse field. “Three is fine with me,” trainer Art Sherman said. “Most of the speed is on the outside of me. If they go, they go, I can tuck… Read More »
Kieren Fallon’s renaissance has continued at York with his victory on Madame Chiang in the Musidora Stakes, a key trial for the Oaks. David Simcock trains the unbeaten filly for Kirsten Rausing and while connections did not fully commit her to the next month’s Classic at Epsom, it is believed… Read More »
The Tapeta track at Dubai’s Meydan racecourse is to be replaced by dirt for the start of next season. The brainchild of former trainer Michael Dickinson, Tapeta has been the artificial surface in place since racing began at Meydan four years ago. Dirt was previously used at Dubai’s former flagship… Read More »
Trainer Chris Waller will rely on hardened stayers Junoob and Moriarty to win a record-equalling third Doomben Cup after deciding not to accept with three-year-old Vilanova. Waller is on target to join Tommy Smith and John Wheeler as trainers who have prepared three Doomben Cup winners. He won the race… Read More »
Dean Lawson admits he considered giving training away but he was happy to be back in the city winner’s stall at Sandown on Wednesday. Lawson had been training out of Flemington but has been based at Cranbourne since March where he leases three boxes. The man who prepared multiple Group… Read More »
A midweek race at Canterbury was over before it began for one Gai Waterhouse-trained runner, but for another it provided an important breakthrough victory. In a race which offered a mixed bag for the Randwick trainer, Waterhouse watched on in disappointment as Koizora played up in the starting stalls and… Read More »
An impressive debut win at Sandown to two-year-old Devil’s Harmony might have surprised some people associated with the filly, but not jockey Michael Walker. Devil’s Harmony stepped out in the Taralye Plate (1200m) and sprinted quickly in the straight after settling midfield to win by 2-1/4 lengths. Walker said he… Read More »
