A wait of almost 24 hours did not bother Bella Nipotina who collected her maiden Group 1 win at Moonee Valley. Held over from the abandoned meeting on Friday night to be the 11th race on a mammoth Cox Plate Day, the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) ended up being a walk in the park… Read More »
It only took one race for John O’Shea’s fortunes to take a turn for the better and the trainer was in celebration mode after Promise Of Success swooped down the outside to claim the $2 million The Invitation. O’Shea has ridden out a rough couple of weeks with Benaud unable to accept… Read More »
Lessons learned on the golf course helped Hugh Bowman back his judgement aboard Sharp ‘N’ Smart at Randwick, and while it didn’t land him a hole in one, it did win him a Spring Champion Stakes. Bowman found himself three-wide aboard the New Zealand raider but using the strong wind to advantage,… Read More »
The margin was narrow but the performance all class as Golden Mile dug deep to edge out Communist and win the inaugural running of the $1 million Callander-Presnell at Randwick. Winning jockey Hugh Bowman said he was always comfortable Golden Mile had the race in hand after he allowed the Godolphin colt to… Read More »
James Cummings and his trusted Melbourne lieutenant Sean Keogh leapt around the back parade ring away from prying eye after Anamoe scored a stirring win in the Cox Plate. The victory in the weight-for-age Group 1 contest at Moonee Valley on Saturday wiped away the disappointment of 12 months earlier when Anamoe was beaten into… Read More »
Francesco Guardi will not be winning the Melbourne Cup in 2022, but Chris Waller has already flagged his intention to target next year’s edition with Saturday’s dominant Moonee Valley Cup winner. The son of Frankel atoned for a luckless run in $750,000 The Bart Cummings, when he almost fell in the middle… Read More »
Berkeley Square has vindicated trainer Dan O’Sullivan’s faith in the three-year-old as a stayer with a fighting win at Moonee Valley. Victory in the Group 2 Drummond Golf Vase (2040m) on Saturday was a precursor to the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington on the opening day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival. Sent out… Read More »
As the hour’s countdown to the Cox Plate, the preparation Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr planned out for I’m Thunderstruck has gone like clockwork. Price wanted an exacting race program to have I’m Thunderstruck battled hardened for the 2040m Group 1 weight-for-age contest at Moonee Valley on Saturday. And that is precisely… Read More »
The curtain has closed on the racing career of star mare Verry Ellegant with her owners announcing the retirement of the prolific Group 1 winner. Connections of the 2021 Melbourne Cup heroine confirmed their decision on Thursday following the seven-year-old’s unsuccessful four-start European stint. She will remain in France to… Read More »
Lindsey Smith is thinking ahead with his talented galloper Tuvalu. The Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m) at Flemington on November 5 and it’s $1.8 million first prize money is firmly in the back of Smith’s mind. For that reason, the Warrnambool-based horseman is playing a waiting game to see whether Tuvalu runs in the… Read More »
James Cummings is adamant Anamoe doesn’t need a Cox Plate on his resume to appeal as a stud prospect. The four-year-old is already Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s equal most prolific Group 1 winner, with six, and was narrowly beaten both on track and in the stewards’ room in last year’s… Read More »
Sydney’s loss will be Melbourne’s gain with trainer Chris Waller confirming Nature Strip will have his next start in the Darley Champions Sprint on the final day of the Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington. Connections had also been weighing up whether to keep Nature Strip in Sydney for his namesake race, the… Read More »
Trainer Mike Moroney is hoping Emissary will gain enough of a rehandicap for the Melbourne Cup to force a start in the great race at Flemington. Emissary came from second-last in the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m) on Wednesday to put his hand up for a start in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup… Read More »
Trainer Jason Warren has his eyes on a bigger prize after Grand Pierro took out the Listed Geelong Classic on Wednesday. The Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday week now beckons for the three-year-old after he showed his staying prowess to claim victory in Wednesday’s 2200m contest. Ridden by… Read More »
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable is hoping the Cox Plate can turn into a war of attrition and their lone starter Gold Trip will prove the best stayer. Gold Trip is backing up into the Group 1 2040m showpiece at Moonee Valley on Saturday after finishing second to Durston in the Group 1… Read More »
Caulfield Cup winner Durston has been penalised 2kg for his win in Saturday’s staying feature. Racing Victoria head of handicapping David Hegan on Monday afternoon announced the penalty, which takes the Chris Waller-trained import’s Melbourne Cup weight to 53.5kg. The seven-year-old son of Sea The Stars carried 51.5kg to a short-neck… Read More »
Ciaron Maher pulled off the rare feat of winning the Manikato Stakes with a three-year-old filly in 2019 and Victoria’s leading trainer is looking to do it again this Friday night. Maher, who trains in partnership with David Eustace, has last-start Moir Stakes winner Coolangatta heading to the $2 million event at… Read More »
The scratching of Maximal from the Caulfield Cup has paved the way for Durston to become the first emergency runner to take out the spring feature. Left outside the cut-off of 18 when the final field was declared on Wednesday, the connections had to wait until Saturday morning to find out whether the gelding had gained a start…. Read More »
Young trainer Clayton Douglas has celebrated a life-changing moment, upstaging racing’s biggest names to win the richest race in the country with Giga Kick. Victorian three-year-old Giga Kick has claimed the scalps of Australia’s best sprinters to win the $15 million The Everest, prompting trainer Clayton Douglas to laud him as the… Read More »
Putting a tough 18-month period behind him, trainer David Pfieffer has engineered a major boilover on The Everest undercard, producing $61 outsider Rocketing By to snare the Group 3 Sydney Stakes. It was Rocketing By’s second significant win after he captured the $1 million Inglis Sprint in 2021 but his… Read More »
