Champion trainer Chris Waller says something would have to go terribly wrong for Via Sistina to not take her place in the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on Saturday. Via Sistina returned to The Valley on Thursday to wash away any mental scars she may have had following her mishap at ‘Breakfast… Read More »
The $2 million The Invitation has been earmarked as the main mission for Group One winner Magic Time this spring and trainer Grahame Begg is convinced he has her spot-on for the Randwick feature. The five-year-old finished third in the corresponding race 12 months ago but has since been successful twice at… Read More »
James Cummings has asked many tough questions of Broadsiding in his brief career, but non as stern as what he will put to him this Saturday at Moonee Valley. The son of Too Darn Hot will take on quality gallopers from all over the world in the $5 million Cox Plate (2040m)…. Read More »
Wide barriers have frustrated the start of Lindermann’s latest campaign, prompting connections to opt for Plan B at Randwick courtesy of the fact it comes with an inside draw. The 2023 Rosehill Guineas winner was slated to contest Saturday’s Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) but has already been scratched after drawing… Read More »
Tulloch Lodge duo Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott are keen to give The Three Hundred a return shot at stakes company after he strung together his second successive win at Warwick Farm. The trainers held the horse in high enough regard to run him in black-type company at two, and while he… Read More »
Yorkshire trainer Brian Ellison may have unearthed his best chance yet for the Melbourne Cup after Onesmoothoperator took out the Group 3 Geelong Cup. Betting firms took a shine to Onesmoothoperator’s victory in Wednesday’s 2400m handicap, slashing the stayer’s price from $51 to $10 and equal fourth favourite behind Jan Brueghel at… Read More »
At the start of the preparation, El Castello was hard-pressed to be competitive in a barrier trial. At Randwick on Saturday, the three-year-old will be sent around as one of the fancied runners for the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m). Few have taken more satisfaction in the horse’s journey than… Read More »
The inform Ciaron Maher stable has unearthed another potential Group 1 winner with the victory of Saint Emilion at Geelong. Maher collected the Group 1 double of The Everest and Caulfield Cup last weekend and after the success of Saint Emilion in the Listed Geelong Classic (2200m) on Wednesday, the Group 1… Read More »
Champion jockey Craig Williams did something at ‘Breakfast With The Best’ at Moonee Valley that he rarely does, ride Mr Brightside in a track gallop. Williams has been associated with Mr Brightside since the gelding’s third career start, riding him in 34 of his 38 starts and in 15 of his 17… Read More »
The QIBCO British Championships Series at Ascot drew the curtain on the 2024 Flat Season with the 29 year-old Oisin Murphy claiming his fourth Champion Flat Jockey title. “This is something I really tried to achieve this year,” Oisin said “as I have had great support from so many trainers… Read More »
It has taken a little longer than they initially hoped, but OTI will get a crack at the Cox Plate with a son of Mark Of Esteem mare Icky Woo when Docklands lines up in Saturday’s $5 million event. The Harry Eustace-trained son of Massaat will have his first Australian start… Read More »
Legendary Irish trainer Willie Mullins has made a hit-and-run visit to Werribee to check on his two Melbourne Cup aspirants Vauban and Absurde. The pair are currently undergoing their second week of quarantine, having arrived in Melbourne on October 19 ahead of the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November… Read More »
Now a Group 2 race, Gerald Ryan, who trains in partnership with Sterling Alexiou, believes Saturday’s The Invitation (1400m) at Randwick will be a good opportunity for consistent four-year-old mare Arctic Glamour to add some more black type to her resume. Arctic Glamour hasn’t won a race in just over a… Read More »
Vow And Declare, the 2019 Melbourne Cup winner, is poised to contest the $500,000 Geelong Cup (2400m) on Wednesday, with trainer Danny O’Brien aiming for a second victory in his hometown race. Despite an underwhelming seventh-place finish in the Caulfield Stakes, O’Brien remains optimistic, noting Vow And Declare’s strong recent… Read More »
Pride Of Jenni, trained by Ciaron Maher, is likely to take her place in Saturday’s prestigious Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, following her narrow defeat in the King Charles III Stakes. Maher has closely monitored her recovery, and all signs suggest the mare is in good condition to back up… Read More »
Godolphin’s rising star Broadsiding completed an impressive second gallop at Moonee Valley on Tuesday morning, solidifying his preparations for Saturday’s $5 million Cox Plate. Under the guidance of jockey Jamie Kah, Broadsiding stepped up his pace during the Breakfast With The Best session, following a slower-paced look at the track… Read More »
Trainer Luke Fernie is happy to press on deeper into the Melbourne Spring Carnival with Wild Belle and Ripcord, despite disappointing at their most recent outings. Ripcord finished at the tail of the field in Saturday’s Group 3 Moonga Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield, as did Wild Belle in the Group 3 Northwood… Read More »
Darren McAullay’s call of the 2017 Winterbottom Stakes, a race that the owner of prized mare Viddora, Nick Lovett, will never get tired of hearing. Nick was part of the Llyod Kennewell-prepared sprinter’s Victorian ownership and at Ascot that day to watch her claim the $1 million Group 1 Winterbottom… Read More »
Brent Thomson was a fresh-faced New Zealand-based 17-year-old apprentice when he made his first appearance on Australian soil at Moonee Valley. It was Cox Plate Day, 1975, and the weather was atrocious, so much so the meeting was abandoned after the running of Moonee Valley Cup, but not before Thomson… Read More »
Moonee Valley course curator Marty Synan is expecting a fair track across the board when the club hosts 18 races in 24 hours on the weekend. Friday night kicks off with an eight-race card, highlighted by the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup, while on Saturday a further 10 races will… Read More »
