Hugh Bowman is not taking anything for granted ahead of Winx’s bid to equal Black Caviar’s winning streak of 25. Bowman says Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes will be the hardest race the champion mare has contested since her first Cox Plate win in 2015. Sydney’s premier jockey partnered Winx in… Read More »
Godolphin head trainer James Cummings is confident Alizee can add a second Group One to her record with a peak performance in the Coolmore Legacy Stakes at Randwick. The three-year-old filly returns to the fray after finding the 2000 metres of Group One Vinery Stud Stakes a touch too far… Read More »
Jockey Luke Currie’s main objective will be to get Bring Me Roses settled early in the Australian Oaks to give the filly every chance in the Group One Classic at Randwick. Bring Me Roses failed in the Group One Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill last start but has bounced… Read More »
Englishman Harry Herbert is in Australia with high expectations for Libran in the Sydney Cup as the syndicator continues to build the profile of Highclere Thoroughbreds in the southern hemisphere. Herbert, the chairman and managing director of Highclere, is confident there will be no repeat of last year in the… Read More »
Trainer Ken Keys will make a rare trip to Sydney in search of his first Group One success. Spanish Reef will try to extend her winning sequence to four this campaign when she runs in the Coolmore Legacy Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday. The mare was given a visitor’s… Read More »
Kathy O’Hara is looking to the positives as she prepares to ride Single Gaze for the final time in the Sydney Cup. O’Hara threw her arms up in mock exasperation after drawing the outside barrier for her favourite horse on Tuesday. Saturday’s Sydney Cup (3200m) will be the mare’s racing… Read More »
Champion Winx will have nine rivals when she lines up in the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes in a bid to extend her winning streak to 25. Doncaster Mile winner Happy Clapper is the second favourite for Saturday’s 2000m-Group One Queen Elizabeth Stakes with runner-up Comin’ Through also in the… Read More »
Pat Webster has given Happy Clapper the go-ahead to run in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes but will reassure himself with a second opinion. To the experienced trainer’s eye, the gelding has come through his win in Saturday’s Doncaster Mile as well as he could have hoped before he backs up… Read More »
Recent dry weather has prompted connections of Lord Fandango to press on with Sydney Cup plans and the stayer’s trainer Archie Alexander is adamant the horse is better than he showed in his most recent race. Lord Fandango finished seventh in the Manion Cup (2400m) at Rosehill on March 24… Read More »
Champion Winx and her jockey are fit and ready for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes but her main rival Happy Clapper will have a new rider in the $4 million race. Kerrin McEvoy will replace Blake Shinn who has won three Group One races on Happy Clapper but has a commitment… Read More »
Dual Group One placegetter Spieth is closing in on his first race appearance for his new stable, Lindsay Park. Spieth won five of 16 starts for trainer Bryce Heys and was runner-up in both the 2016 Group One Darley Classic and 2017 Group One Lightning Stakes at Flemington. After being… Read More »
Now that Happy Clapper has raced himself out of handicaps, trainer Pat Webster is keen to target a different sort of race, preferably a $13 million one. The popular gelding won Saturday’s Doncaster Mile after running second for the previous two years, this time carrying 57kg to record his third… Read More »
Winx might be the best horse in the country but there is no doubt she is being challenged in the popularity stakes by Happy Clapper, who has won the Doncaster Mile after running second twice. Saturday’s win is Happy Clapper’s third at Group One level this season but one that… Read More »
Luvaluva’s revised Group One Australian Oaks campaign has gained traction at Randwick with a dogged victory in the Adrian Knox Stakes. After the filly missed the Group One Vinery Stud Stakes, her preferred lead-up to next Saturday’s 2400m staying test, trainer John Sargent had to revert to a strategy he… Read More »
After downing Everest conqueror Redzel in the $2 million TJ Smith Stakes, there might only be one more mountain to climb for Trapeze Artist. The world’s richest race on turf in October was mentioned after the Gerald Ryan-trained colt upstaged Australia’s leading sprinter at Randwick, but life as a stallion… Read More »
Levendi has won a dramatic Australian Derby, claiming the race by a nose from Ace High and having it reinforced by stewards after a protest. Tye Angland fired in the objection against Mark Zahra, alleging the favourite Ace High ($5) had suffered when Levendi ($6) laid in during the final… Read More »
Owner-breeder Yvette Pearce ticked off a bucket-list item when buying a Zabeel mare and against expectations she has produced a Group One-winning two-year-old. A stunned Pearce was not in the minority at Randwick as El Dorado Dreaming unleashed a giant-killing burst down the outside to nail Golden Slipper runner-up Oohood… Read More »
New Zealand’s greatest jockey Lance O’Sullivan has made a triumphant return to Randwick with his first runner at the track as a trainer, winning the Group Two Chairman’s Quality (2600m). Sir Charles Road ($7) showed he was on target for the Sydney Cup on Saturday when he prevailed in a… Read More »
Talented filly Thrillster has held off a late lunge from stablemate Really Swish in a one-two finish for co-trainers Leon and Troy Corstens in the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush. The VOBIS Gold Rush (1000m) for two-year-olds was richest race on Saturday’s Bendigo program and was pinpointed by the Corstens stable… Read More »
An agonising wait has been worth every minute for Jenny Graham as the Port Macquarie trainer’s long-term plan for the Country Championships final reached fruition. Held in reserve since advancing to the $500,000 showpiece for country trainers at Randwick, Victorem shrugged off any rust in style to provide the highlight… Read More »
