Chris Waller has declared Coastwatch a Doncaster Mile contender next autumn but jockey James Mcdonald expects the Ming Dynasty winner to make his presence felt on the big stage much sooner. The three-year-old showed his first-up second to Tiger Of Malay was no fluke with a resounding victory in Saturday’s Group 3 Ming… Read More »
Luck can be crucial in racing and Royalzel got the best of it to kick off his preparation with a narrow win that not even jockey James Mcdonald thought he had scored. Taking on the older horses, Royalzel settled fourth and showed great determination to get the better of Either Oar before the… Read More »
Of all the races Chris Waller will win this season, few will give him more satisfaction than claiming the one dedicated to the late Nini Vascotto. Waller was moved to tears as he remembered the former Australian Turf Club employee and Winx’s No. 1 fan, who lost her long battle with… Read More »
Jockey Linda Meech has made a winning return to metropolitan racing guiding South Australian raider He’s A Balter to victory at Caulfield. Saturday’s victory aboard He’s A Balter in the Volvo Cars Brighton Handicap (1100m) was Meech’s first ride at Caulfield since winning aboard Guizot in March 2020. In the 18 months since that victory, Meech has given birth… Read More »
Brian Seimsen’s Black Soil Bloodstock colours were to the fore at Doomben on Saturday, as trainer Tony Gollan showcased stakes credentials for two more of the group’s horses. Miami Fleiss was back in the winning groove, while The Move further punctured his previous reputation as a bookies’ pin-up with a… Read More »
A number of jockey changes have been enforced following the suspension of four jockeys for breaching COVID protocols. In-form jockey Brett Prebble has picked up the ride on Behemoth, the favourite for the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday. Prebble was chosen to replace Jamie Kah following her suspension on Friday, along with Ben Melham and two other jockeys, for breaching Racing Victoria COVID protocols…. Read More »
Subterranean is such a relaxed character around the stable that getting him fit can be hard work. As a result, his fresh record is only average but he has a tendency to improve quickly with a run under his belt. That is the scenario the horse finds himself in when he… Read More »
Tralee Rose will start her campaign aimed at clinching a start in the Melbourne Cup when she lines-up in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes at Caulfield. Trainer Symon Wilde has picked at Saturday’s 1700m contest as a starting point, aware that it is well short of her best distance. But Wilde said it was a part of a plan… Read More »
If Jenabel reproduces her last win, trainer Natalie Burke is confident of success in the Peter Evans Memorial Handicap (1700m) at Carnarvon on Sunday. Jenabel toyed with her opposition three weeks ago and despite racing wide she proved too strong and had four lengths to spare on runner-up Marxian. After taking… Read More »
David Payne has never doubted the ability of Obvious Step, but her racing manners have been a constant source of frustration. She showed enough to be tested in black-type grade as a three-year-old and wasn’t disgraced when beaten two lengths by subsequent Group 1 winner Forbidden Love in last year’s Reginald Allen… Read More »
Trainer Chris Attard is hopeful a significant weight advantage will go a long way to giving him his first Northern Cups victory with Bering Sea in the Cairns Cup at Cannon Park on Saturday. Bering Sea went within a short neck of giving Attard his biggest victory of his short… Read More »
Jamie Kah, Ben Melham, Ethan Brown and Celine Gaudray have been suspended following a Racing Victoria stewardsââŹâ˘ inquiry. A remorseful Jamie Kah says she has let down all Victorians after being suspended for three months by stewards for a COVID breach. Last season’s leading rider and first to top the 100-win mark in… Read More »
Leading Victorian jockeys jockeys Jamie Kah, Ethan Brown and Ben Melham and apprentice jockey Celine Gaudray have been fined $5452 (each) for breaking lockdown laws. âPolice have issued penalty infringement notices to six people following a private gathering at a short term rental property in Mornington on Wednesday (25 August),â… Read More »
Anthony and Sam Freedman realise you cannot be giving away big starts if you want to be successful at the highest level. While Artorius was victorious at Group 1 level as a two-year-old, the Freedman stable has worked on getting the son of Flying Artie to be cleaner at the start. They hope that will be… Read More »
Bjorn Baker will use the Premier’s Cup as an important spring stepping stone for emerging stayer Harpo Marx, with the race set to provide the import with his most significant class test. The Darby Racing gelding struck form during the winter, posting victories over 2000m at Randwick in July and 2400m… Read More »
Trainer Mike Moroney is entering unchartered waters with multiple Group 1 winning mare Tofane ahead of her return run at Caulfield. Tofane is chasing a fourth Group 1 win when she lines up in the Memsie Stakes (1400m) on Saturday. The mare’s previous three Group 1 wins have all been over Saturday’s trip, but… Read More »
Tulloch Lodge has already struck an early-season blow in one of the three-year-old features and they will be out to continue that trend with unassuming colt In The Congo in the San Domenico Stakes. Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott produced Swift Witness to outmuscle her rivals in a rough-house renewal of last… Read More »
Leading Perth owner-breeder Bob Peters won’t be setting the bar too high with Inspirational Girl and is taking a cautious approach ahead of her interstate debut on Saturday. The six year-old mare gained a trip to Melbourne after last year’s breakout Ascot campaign that reached its peak with a Group… Read More »
Racing Victoria Stewards have this afternoon opened an inquiry into the conduct of licensed jockeys Jamie Kah, Ethan Brown and Ben Melham and apprentice jockey Celine Gaudray upon receipt of information of possible breaches of COVID-19 protocols. All four jockeys have been given a 14-day ban from race tracks and… Read More »
All wins in racing are special, but when Type Won gets up and scores in her races, it holds added sentimental attachment for trainer, Kieran McDonagh. Justifying warm favouritism Wednesday, Type Won, ridden by William Pike, skipped away in the straight to win her 1000m event by 1 ž lengths…. Read More »
