Trainer Ciaron Maher has been suspended for six months and fined $75,000 after conceding he should have known convicted conman Peter Foster owned five horses in his stable. The Caulfield Cup-winning trainer did not know about Foster’s involvement but admits he should have asked questions about the horses’ ownership bona… Read More »
Russian Revolution has already proven his effectiveness at Moonee Valley and the sprinter has continued preparations for his next Group One assignment with a solo work-out at the Melbourne track. The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained horse won the Group Two McEwen Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley at his first start… Read More »
Queensland filly Houtzen needs to stand up and be counted in the Scarborough Stakes at Moonee Valley to confirm plans for the $10 million Everest. Houtzen has long had a slot in next month’s The Everest (1200m) at Randwick which has been the focus of the filly’s spring campaign, but… Read More »
Trainer Ciaron Maher faces a penalty hearing after admitting he should have known more about the ownership bona fides of five horses in his stable including Group One winner Azkadellia. Azkadellia, Little Bubulu, Loveable Rogue, Hart and Mr Simples were raced in the name of Maher’s former racing manager Ben… Read More »
Gingernuts will have one more Group One start at home in New Zealand before being sent to Australia for a Cups campaign. The winner of the Rosehill Guineas in Sydney in the autumn, Gingernuts won Saturday’s Group One Windsor Park Horlicks Plate (1600m) at Hastings. Te Akau Racing principal David… Read More »
A tentative plan to run Golden Rose winner Trapeze Artist in the Epsom Handicap has been shelved but trainer Gerald Ryan still has Washington Heights and Red Excitement in the mix. Trapeze Artist was an upset winner of Saturday’s Group One Golden Rose (1400m) in which stablemate and favourite Menari… Read More »
Promising colt Rancho Montoya is on course to have his first interstate trip to the Melbourne spring carnival by racing well at the Sunshine Coast. Rancho Montoya will be having his first start on his home track in a Three-Year-Old Handicap (1600m) at the metropolitan meeting on Saturday. Trainer Stuart… Read More »
Russian Revolution will be one of the headline horses at a trackwork session at Moonee Valley in preparation for the Group One Moir Stakes. Friday’s Moonee Valley meeting, featuring the 2017 Moir Stakes, is the first night program of the season in Melbourne and a host of horses set to… Read More »
Ron Quinton couldn’t separate his two mares in the Golden Pendant before Daysee Doom scored a narrow win over Dixie Blossoms. The result ensured Quinton dominated the Group Two feature for fillies and mares at Rosehill and only one outcome could have been more satisfying. “It would have been better… Read More »
Gerald Ryan has trained his first Golden Rose winner, but not with the colt everyone expected. Trapeze Artist was specked from $91 to $41 with his stablemate Menari the $2.40 favourite to win Saturday’s $1 million Golden Rose Group One race at Rosehill. But it was Trapeze Artist who proved the… Read More »
Chris Meagher has enjoyed a long and fruitful career in racing happily nestled in the background behind his father John, a Melbourne Cup-winning trainer. On Saturday he stepped out from his father’s shadow when Savanna Amour won the Group Three Ladbrokes Odds Boost Stakes at Caulfield. Savanna Amour was just… Read More »
Imported stayer Harlem has stormed into Caulfield Cup calculations, booking a spot in the rich handicap with victory in the MRC Foundation Cup. Harlem was one of a host of horses vying for the Caulfield Cup ballot exemption which was on offer to the winner of Saturday’s Group Three 2000m… Read More »
David Payne thought Ace High had Group One potential when he picked him out at the Magic Millions yearling sales. And after a patient development, the talented High Chapparal colt is on the verge of fulfilling the Rosehill trainer’s prediction. Ace High’s bold win in the Group Three Gloaming Stakes… Read More »
Trips away on the float for wins at country meetings has led to a stakes race victory for Bons Away at Caulfield. Bons Away upstaged The Everest bound Brave Smash in Saturday’s Listed Testa Rossa Stakes. Providing Linda Meech with the second leg of a double, Bons Away ($11) defeated… Read More »
The temptation to run Washington Heights in the Epsom Handicap is strong after his qualifying win in the Shannon Stakes at Rosehill but connections will let the dust settle on his Group Two win. Trainer Gerald Ryan had to convince his owners to run over the 1500 metres of Saturday’s… Read More »
Group Two winner Sircconi has beaten older horses at Caulfield and has left trainer Peter Morgan pondering where to take the colt next. Morgan admitted he has been “playing catch-up” with last season’s VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes winner in the past couple of weeks and the colt missed a planned… Read More »
Chris Waller will urge the connections of Alward not to back up the gelding in The Metropolitan following his latest win at Rosehill. A one-time favourite for the Group One staying feature at Randwick after he scored on his Sydney debut last month, Waller is adamant Alward ($4) should not… Read More »
Godolphin colt Bandipur has overcome a wide barrier to win an incident-packed three-year-old race at Caulfield. Drawing the second widest gate in Saturday’s Fight Cancer Foundation Plate, Bandipur was kept out of trouble by jockey Damian Lane and proved too strong in final stages of the 1100m contest. Backed from… Read More »
Punters have thrown their weight behind Don’t Give A Damn and been rewarded with the four-year-old putting a space on his opposition in the Highway Handicap at Rosehill. Backed from $1.80 to $1.65 in Saturday’s 1500m-event, Don’t Give A Damn hit the front in the straight and strode clear for… Read More »
Zac Spain says he is loving his stint in Victoria and a victory aboard Anaheim at Caulfield has given the apprentice his first Melbourne Saturday city winner. Spain moved from South Australia to the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young stable at Cranbourne a couple of months ago on a three-month… Read More »
