Joe Pride is banking on the cream rising to the top when dual Group winner Expat has her third start for the stable in the Dark Jewel Classic at Scone. The highest rated runner in the bumper field of 16 plus four reserves, Expat will concede five kilos to the majority… Read More »
The Freedman family enjoyed great success with triple Group 1 winner Shoals and this Saturday they will unleash her first foal in the $150,000 Parade Lounge Sprint that kicks off the Flemington card. Co-trainer Sam Freedman has been happy with what he has seen from Isthmus in preparation for the 1100-metre event… Read More »
Dan Morton believes he will get another key guide on the future prospects of his talented filly She’s Fit in the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville on Saturday. Dan Morton has a high opinion of his three-year-old, but a win at the elite level against career-best opposition… Read More »
For an off-season race restricted to two-year-old fillies, the Listed Woodlands Stakes has been an unlikely launch pad for the careers of some top brass horses and this year’s renewal could again uncover a gem. Libertini scored her first black-type win in the 2019 edition before going on to win… Read More »
Ken and Kasey Keys are looking at the bigger picture with their decision to take Scheelite to Flemington for his second race start. A debut winner at Sandown on April 29, Scheelite runs in the Parade Lounge Sprint (1200m) on Saturday as a prelude to potentially bigger targets during the spring. The… Read More »
Horse trainers are known for being a resilient bunch, but they don’t come much tougher than Tracey Bartley. Having already battled and overcome cancer several years ago, Bartley found himself facing another health battle in March when what started as a routine check-in on a couple of horses turned into… Read More »
Grahame Begg is confident he has made the right decision in giving Lunar Flare some extra time ahead of the Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington. It will be five weeks since Lunar Flare last raced when she lines up in the Listed 2800m race on Saturday which provides the winner a ballot exemption into the Melbourne… Read More »
Michelle Payne has been fined $5,000 after her horse Jukila tested positive for Dexamethasone during a pre-race urine sample taken at Bendigo last year. Dexamethasone is an anti-inflammatory agent used to treat a range of conditions. The presence of the substance was found before Jukila won a race on the… Read More »
Champion jockey Damien Oliver is keen to add to his Australian Group 1 tally of 123 winners. As part of his bid to claim the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville on Saturday, Oliver made the trip to Cranbourne on Tuesday morning to partner his Mick Price and Michael Kent… Read More »
Evergreen sprinter Eduardo won’t chase a second Doomben 10,000 crown with trainer Joe Pride deciding to wait for another day rather than start him from an outside gate in the high-pressure race. An on-speed runner, Eduardo came up with barrier 11 at Wednesday’s draw, directly outside the pacy Overpass while… Read More »
Banju has surprised trainer Lyle Chandler once this campaign and he is hoping the gelding can do it again by equalling a modern-day weight-carrying record in the Scone Cup. Chandler set his sights on his hometown feature after Banju’s fighting second to King Frankel in the Listed Parramatta Cup (1900m) in February, freshening… Read More »
Dan Morton did not get to enjoy the success he felt Harpoon was capable of, which has only added to the satisfaction he is deriving from the achievements of She’s Fit. The three-year-old daughter of Pride Of Dubai, who is favourite for this Saturday’s $500,000 Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at… Read More »
Dual Group One-winning sprinter Roch ‘N’ Horse has been retired from racing and is set to embark on the next chapter of her journey. The daughter of Per Incanto, who triumphed in the 2022 Newmarket Handicap and the Champions’ Sprint at Flemington, will now begin her breeding career at Little… Read More »
Jean Van Overmeire has celebrated his first Sydney metropolitan win since returning to Australia with a deft frontrunning display aboard Tulloch Lodge youngster Azula at the midweek Kensington card. Van Overmeire followed former Gold Coast trainer Michael Costa to Dubai last year but with racing there currently in it’s off… Read More »
Concerns about the wet track conditions for British Columbia have been dispelled with the gelding registering a strong win at Sandown. Now trainer Grahame Begg may look to something a little more prestigious with the gelding following his win in the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap (1400m) on Wednesday. The Winter Championship, with… Read More »
John Moloney may look to the spring with Hearcomesthestar after her Sandown debut victory. Trainer John Moloney is banking on a tough race day debut win at Sandown proving beneficial for Hearcomesthestar. The Cranbourne-trained two-year-old daughter of Zoustar took out the Ladbroke It! Plate (1000m) on Wednesday on a very heavy track. Sent out the $3.10 under Damien Oliver, Hearcomesthestar defeated Austmarr ($5) by a… Read More »
Whatever occurs between now and the end of the racing season in July, it’s been a successful 12-months in the saddle for Brad Parnham. Brad Parnham has ridden 52 city winners to date, easily surpassing last season’s career-best tally of 45 metropolitan victories. Although satisfied he broke new ground on… Read More »
Having recently farewelled stable star Icebath, Brad Widdup is heading to the two-day Scone carnival hopeful his next generation of horses can step up to the plate. A Group 1 winner with prizemoney earnings of more than $5 million, Icebath fetched $2.3 million at the recent Chairman’s Sale and will… Read More »
Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock had contemplated sending Aberfeldie Boy to Brisbane for a lead-up race to the Queensland Derby. But the logistics of getting the three-year-old north did not suit, so instead Aberfeldie Boy will head to Adelaide for the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville on Saturday. While Aberfeldie Boy… Read More »
Aside from the fact he can now call himself a Group One-winning trainer, Clayton Douglas says Giga Kick’s breakthrough All Aged Stakes success has also allowed him some subtle shifts in mindset. Having officially ticked the Group 1 box, Douglas can now take the horse to Saturday’s Doomben 10,000 (1200m)… Read More »
