Gai Waterhouse could have a challenger in Paul Beshara as the most confident trainer going into the Doncaster Mile on Saturday. Beshara saddles up Happy Trails, a $26 chance against the Waterhouse-trained favourite Pierro in the $2 million race, and won’t hear of his charge being beaten. It is the… Read More »
Champion jockey Glen Boss will need to call on all the tactical nous and skill that has won him five Doncasters if he’s to add to his record haul in Australian racing’s feature mile handicap race on Saturday. Boss knows as well as anyone what it takes to win the… Read More »
Ethiopia is an unusual horse. Unusually talented, unusually campaigned and, for a horse who has only one win to his name, he has earned an unusual amount of money. And his trainer Pat Carey is tipping he can add to that $1 million figure in the Group One Doncaster Mile… Read More »
Veteran galloper Centennial Park is chasing a milestone when he races on Doncaster Day for the fifth year in a row. Only this year there’s a difference. He’ll be racing in Melbourne. “We want him to break the million-dollar mark,” trainer David Payne said. “He’s less than fifty thousand dollars… Read More »
The retirement of Black Caviar leaves a gaping hole at the top of Australian racing which could deepen with the impending departure of those considered the next best. Pierro goes into Saturday’s Doncaster Mile as the favourite to maintain his unbeaten record in Sydney and the outcome of the race… Read More »
After Chad Schofield won on Whisper Downs at Caulfield in early January he suggested to his boss David Hayes that the horse needed a rest. Hayes went on to show why he’s won seven Victorian training premierships and it was Schofield who ended up having the rest. “Chad thought he’d… Read More »
New Zealand trainers’ premiership frontrunner Lisa Latta is taking no chances with the least known in a select team of Kiwi-trained horses at Randwick on Saturday. In what will be her first Sydney starter, Latta will saddle promising strike-rate three-year-old Platinum Kingdom in the $100,000 South Pacific Classic. And while… Read More »
A star New Zealand colt ruined trainer Mick Kent’s Derby hopes and he fears a Kiwi filly will do the same in Saturday’s Australian Oaks at Randwick. The Kent-trained Philippi was a well-beaten second in last week’s Australian Derby behind It’s A Dundeel who scored an effortless win. Kent saddles… Read More »
Bookmakers believe Habibi is the one to beat in the Australian Oaks and Dear Demi’s trainer Clarry Conners is certain she poses the only threat to his stable star. The winner of the New Zealand Derby, Habibi finished third in the Vinery Stud Stakes with Dear Demi fifth, another three… Read More »
Robert Heathcote will be heavily represented at Eagle Farm on Saturday but a wet track could force the leading trainer to reduce his numbers for the meeting. Despite fine weather since Thursday, the Eagle Farm track remains saturated after 71mm of rain in the past week, resulting in a heavy… Read More »
English Grand National hero Auroras Encore heads a field of 26 runners in the Scottish Grand National at Ayr on Saturday. Sue Smith’s 11-year-old recorded a shock 66-1 victory in the Aintree spectacular a fortnight ago and having gone up 11lb in the weights, he has to carry a huge… Read More »
Toronado has confirmed himself as the leading British hope to beat the Irish in next month’s 2000 Guineas with a comprehensive win in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket. Trainer Richard Hannon believes the unbeaten son of High Chaparral has such a potent blend of speed and stamina he can tackle… Read More »
Black Caviar’s half brother All Too Hard has been named on Vinery Stud’s 2013 stallion roster for a first season fee of $66,000. The triple Group One winner is scheduled to have his final Australian start in the All Aged Stakes on Saturday week which will determine whether he goes… Read More »
A horse from the stable of leading Victorian trainer Darren Weir has tested positive to a banned substance. Racing Victoria stewards have received confirmation that a post-race urine sample taken from Doing Our Best in a race at Ballarat in February contained the diuretic Frusemide, which is commonly marketed as… Read More »
Group One-winning jockey Nikita McLean has been suspended for five months for punching her sister, apprentice Jackie Beriman, at a race meeting. A long-running family dispute spilled over to the female jockeys’ room at the Hamilton race meeting last Sunday. McLean pleaded guilty to a charge of misconduct in that… Read More »
Two pleasing jumpouts from well-related Samarmeteors has trainer Mick Price expecting a competitive debut showing from the two-year-old at Caulfield on Saturday. Samarmeteors is a half-sister to last year’s Blue Diamond Stakes winner Samaready and steps out for the first time in the Visvanathan Memorial Plate (1000m). Price also trains… Read More »
A filly trainer Chris Waller tried unsuccessfully to buy five months ago looms as the biggest threat to his chances of claiming Saturday’s Australian Oaks. Waller will saddle up two runners in the 2400m classic at Randwick, Adrian Knox Stakes winner Royal Descent and outsider Wind Bender. But had fate… Read More »
Tabcorp punters placed $26 million worth of bets on Black Caviar during her unbeaten run, an analysis of TAB wagering patterns on her career has revealed. The amount, which includes the TAB’s pari-mutuel and fixed odds wagering platforms, confirms Black Caviar’s obvious appeal with Australian punters despite the restrictive nature… Read More »
It is hard to imagine a time when Chris Waller wasn’t regularly leading in winners. Sydney’s premier trainer for the past two seasons, Waller has hundreds of horses on his books, often multiple runners in a single race and recently set up a satellite operation in Melbourne. But it hasn’t… Read More »
Bjorn Baker is committed to running summer staying find Cantonese at Randwick on Saturday despite an unkind barrier. The Christmas Cup winner returns for a new campaign in the Cargo Bar Handicap (1400m) but his task won’t be an easy one from gate 18. He will also have 59.5kg to… Read More »
