The Melbourne Cup dream is once again alive for Shamrocker who will step out in a jump-out at Flemington on Friday. The 2011 Australian Derby winner was the early favourite for last year’s Cup but had a below-par spring and finished with the tail-enders in the big race. She hasn’t… Read More »
Frankel’s younger brother Noble Mission and the admirable mare Chachamaidee combined to give Sir Henry Cecil a Group race double on the opening afternoon of the Goodwood carnival. All that was missing was the master trainer himself, who has been susceptible to other illness due to his ongoing treatment for… Read More »
Big names Chris Waller and Gai Waterhouse have dominated the year’s racing in Sydney but on the final day of the 2011/12 season, honours went to the biggest name of all. A double to master trainer Bart Cummings with Dragonzone and Blazing Dragon gave him bragging rights at the Australian… Read More »
Globetrotting jockey Craig Williams has given the thumbs up to the rejuvenated Moonee Valley surface after testing the track in a gallop on Tuesday. Racing returns to the Valley for the first time in four months on Saturday – as does Williams. The jockey said the surface seemed “as good… Read More »
An element of timeliness and an air of superiority accompanied the first public appearance on Tuesday of a filly with a lot more going for her than most horses. On the day that a cloud descended over the racing future of champion mare Black Caviar, the unraced filly Commanding Jewel… Read More »
Nathan Tinkler’s Patinack Farm has claimed the last two-year-old event of the Australian season, giving trainer John Thompson the honour of winning the most juvenile races across the nation in 2011-2012. In a homebred result for Tinkler’s racing and breeding operation, Longport, a daughter of Casino Prince, held off the… Read More »
Craig Williams returns to Melbourne racing on Saturday for the first time since late April, but it is likely to be only a cameo appearance. As much he is looking forward to riding on his home tracks again, the much-travelled Williams is also preparing to take off for Dusseldorf to… Read More »
Said Com will start a campaign befitting his status as potentially the best horse entered for Canterbury when he returns to racing on Saturday. The Chris Waller-trained galloper is the only Group One placegetter among 119 nominations for the meeting as he starts a run towards the Epsom Handicap. But… Read More »
The Victoria Racing Club (VRC) is to embark on a rebuilding and refurbishment program it says is aimed at consolidating Flemington as the country’s pre-eminent racecourse. Along with annual prizemoney increases and upgrades in punting and information technology, the VRC has already begun a major refurbishment of its main public… Read More »
Black Caviar’s absence from this year’s spring carnival and beyond could provide star Queensland sprinter Buffering with his first chance to race overseas. While trainer Robert Heathcote said Melbourne plans for Buffering would be unaffected by Tuesday’s announcement about Black Caviar’s immediate future, the Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin… Read More »
The chances of Black Caviar racing again have diminished considerably following the announcement she is to miss the Melbourne spring carnival. While trainer Peter Moody declined to speculate on the world champion mare’s future beyond the end of this year, the odds are in favour of her being retired while… Read More »
Dermot Weld has continued his domination of the Galway festival with three winners on the first day as he bids to take training honours for the 26th time. Jane Mangan made history on one of Weld’s winners, Midnight Music, when she became the first female rider to win the 70,000… Read More »
Ongoing cancer treatment will keep Sir Henry Cecil at home when Frankel takes on just three rivals in the Sussex Stakes at at Goodwood on Wednesday. The world’s highest-rated horse will be defending his title in the Group One mile (1600m) as he bids to extend his unbeaten record to… Read More »
The 2011/12 racing season comes to a close on Tuesday. It has been a wonderful season of racing, with many highlights, as well as some lowpoints. We unearthed several superstars, while unfortunately we lost some as well. Here is my review of the 2011/12 racing season. The Highlight? Gee, where… Read More »
Injured apprentice Katelyn Mallyon has celebrated her Melbourne premiership win with the news she can return to trackwork in the near future. Mallyon’s season ended in May when she suffered serious injuries including a fractured cheekbone and lacerated spleen in a race fall and she had to watch on while… Read More »
Dual Group One-winning sprinter Atomic Force will be an early spring visitor to Melbourne after proving his fitness with a barrier trial win over Secret Admirer at Randwick on Monday. The winner of the 2011 Galaxy and the Railway Stakes in New Zealand on New Year’s Day, Atomic Force was… Read More »
John Sargent claimed a New Zealand training record as he saddled up four winners at the final meeting of the racing season. Sargent swept past the previous record set by Mark Walker in 2010 when Captain Cruising became his 109th winner for 2011-2012 at Oamaru. The Matamata-based trainer, who is… Read More »
The promise of a $100,000 victory bonus has attracted 24 nominations for Saturday’s Inglis sales-sponsored race at Canterbury, including bargain-buy Proper Madam who will make the trip from Victoria. A $35,000 yearling at Melbourne’s Premier Sale, Proper Madam has earned $150,000 so far and can almost double that if she… Read More »
Star filly Mosheen provided reassurance to her trainer and a warning to her rivals when she made her public reappearance at Monday’s Cranbourne trials. Mosheen wasn’t asked to do a lot by jockey Danny Nikolic to finish third in an 800m heat on a bog track, but it was enough… Read More »
The trainer who wins the most two-year-old events for the Australian racing season will hinge on the results of races at Geelong and Kembla Grange on Tuesday. Three trainers – John Thompson, Peter Snowden and Gai Waterhouse – are vying for the honour as the 2011-2012 season draws to a… Read More »
