Michael Rodd doesn’t doubt Villa Verde’s class but admits he does have a query over the filly at the Sires’ Produce Stakes distance. Villa Verde came to Sydney as a leading Golden Slipper contender but has been no match for Overreach in her two autumn starts. The filly finished seventh… Read More »
It probably doesn’t count as family support, but Black Caviar will have a couple of relatives on track at Randwick on Saturday. The great mare will have one of her cousins and an aunty competing in separate races on the Derby day card. Scandiva, a daughter of Black Caviar’s granddam… Read More »
Black Caviar is set to play a starring role at Randwick on Saturday and All Too Hard’s jockey Dwayne Dunn is confident the mare’s half-brother is heading the right way to follow suit in a fortnight. All Too Hard rounded out the Melbourne part of his preparations for the Group… Read More »
The Randwick 1200-metre track record could be in danger if Corey Brown has his way in Saturday’s TJ Smith Stakes. Far from being intimidated by the presence of Black Caviar, Brown plans to turn up the heat on the champion mare by making full use of Rain Affair’s high-cruising speed…. Read More »
The two best sprinters in the country will resume their rivalry in Saturday’s TJ Smith Stakes after Hay List confirmed his place in the field after a midweek training gallop. Hay List has been one of the few horses to have pushed the unbeaten Black Caviar, most memorably in the… Read More »
World champion sprinter Black Caviar has produced a gallop so fast her trainer has described it as “scary” as she prepares to stretch her unbeaten record to 25 on Saturday. “That’s almost as fast as she’s ever gone here at Caulfield,” said trainer Peter Moody after the mare worked on… Read More »
Overreach showed just why she has dominated Golden Slipper markets for weeks with a comprehensive display at Rosehill on Saturday to give Gai Waterhouse her fifth win in the world’s richest race for two-year-olds. While Waterhouse took it all in her stride, jockey Tommy Berry was overcome by emotion as… Read More »
The distinctive mark of Gai Waterhouse’s lipsticked kiss on his cheek said it all as Tommy Berry celebrated the biggest moment of his career at Rosehill on Saturday. The 22-year-old emerged from the high-pressure cauldron of the $3.5 million Golden Slipper triumphant, and a little tearful. Berry handled the occasion… Read More »
Glamour colt Pierro continued his march towards the Doncaster Mile by upstaging older horses for the second time this campaign in winning the $400,000 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill. Keeping an unbeaten record in Sydney, Pierro sat deep from the middle stages and came wide on the turn to overhaul… Read More »
The controversial defeat of glamour mare More Joyous has taken some of the gloss off the Queen of the Turf Stakes victory by bonny mare Appearance. Despite winning the Myer Classic in the spring and the Coolmore Classic last start, Appearance has continued to remain underrated. She was sent out… Read More »
Well-related filly Zellindi provided her trainer with a landmark victory and her mother with another offspring to be proud of with her win in Saturday’s DPOS Displays Handicap (1000m) at Moonee Valley. For Cranbourne handler Shea Eden, the win was his first with a two-year-old in town and came after… Read More »
The Victoria Derby winner Fiveandahalfstar has outstayed his older rivals to win the Group One BMW at Rosehill on Saturday. Making all the running under Hugh Bowman, Fiveandahalfstar defied a home-straight challenge from New Zealand stayers Silent Achiever and Sangster in the $2.25 million race. The only three-year-old in the… Read More »
Norzita has added a second Group One win to her record with a hard-fought victory in the $400,000 Vinery Stud Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday. Coming from seventh in running, the Bart Cummings-trained filly strode into the race on straightening and looked set for an easy win. But jockey Hugh… Read More »
An overseas sale that fell through and the breathtaking form of Australian Derby favourite It’s A Dundeel tempered the jubilation of Philippi’s connections following his Tulloch Stakes victory at Rosehill on Saturday. The Victorian colt was scratched from last weekend’s Rosehill Guineas because connections had all but brokered a deal… Read More »
A Schweppervescence Stakes win was the launching pad to Group One success for Skilled and trainer Peter Snowden hopes a repeat is in store with two-year-old Champollion. The Snowden-trained Skilled took out the Schweppervescence (1400m) on Golden Slipper day three years ago before finishing second in the Sires’ Produce Stakes… Read More »
Lights Of Heaven has given trainer Peter Moody a welcome change of luck in Sydney with victory in the Group Three Neville Sellwood Stakes, the first race on Saturday’s Golden Slipper program. The mare was the well supported $2.90 favourite on a Rosehill track rated in the slow range as… Read More »
Riding a well-supported horse trained by Gai Waterhouse in a race she has won four times could easily be a fast track to success but veteran jockey Jim Cassidy says luck will also play its role in the $3.5 million Golden Slipper on Saturday. The most experienced jockey in the… Read More »
Just as James Cummings is adamant a moment’s hesitation cost Norzita a last-start Group One win, he is almost as certain the filly can deliver at the same level on Saturday. Norzita ended up on the wrong end of a three-way finish in the Coolmore Classic but the agonising defeat… Read More »
A burst of acceleration Dwayne Dunn first doubted was there in the Ranvet Stakes has boosted the jockey’s confidence about Maluckyday in the Group One BMW. Maluckyday was at the tail of the field and Dunn feared he was going to run last approaching the turn in the Ranvet two… Read More »
Golden Slipper day was a memorable one for Gai Waterhouse in 2012 and it promises to be even better this time around. At the corresponding meeting 12 months ago, Waterhouse claimed the $3.5 million Golden Slipper with Pierro while More Joyous put the icing on the cake with back-to-back Queen… Read More »
