The inclusion of topweight Efficient in Saturday’s Group One Metropolitan Handicap was bad news for jockey Nash Rawiller but a blessing for rival rider Tommy Berry. Rawiller has been left without a mount in the 2400m Randwick feature because he was unable to make the weight for the Gai Waterhouse-trained… Read More »
Flemington trainer Russell Cameron is wary of pushing his luck with his filly Lady Of Harrods. Worried this Saturday’s Group Two Edward Manifold Stakes might stretch the three-year-old, he has decided not to run her at Flemington. Cameron is concerned that Lady Of Harrods might be flattened for her main… Read More »
Damien Oliver will start an 11-meeting riding ban at midnight on Monday with an appeal against the suspension to be heard on Wednesday. Oliver was suspended for 11 meetings after being found guilty of “excessively slowing, reducing or checking the speed of a race which causes either direct or indirect… Read More »
Australia’s leading trainer Peter Moody won his first Group One race of the season and staked a claim for another when Moment Of Change scored a stunning win in Sunday’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield. Moody took special satisfaction from Moment Of Change’s success, which came after the… Read More »
Trainer Peter Snowden almost apologised for Epaulette after his narrow win in Sunday’s Group Three Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m). He will probably be doing the same after the colt’s next start in the Group One Caulfield Guineas. The colt who announced himself with victory in the Group One Golden Rose… Read More »
For the second time in a week, Corey Brown found himself in the stewards’ room defending a feature race win but on Saturday at Rosehill the result was in his favour. Brown lost out last Saturday when Jim Cassidy successfully protested against him after the Tea Rose Stakes which went… Read More »
More Joyous has had a $150,000 exercise gallop at Rosehill to win her 20th stakes race ahead of more challenging assignments this spring. Sent into Saturday’s Group Three Golden Pendant (1400m) at $1.03, Sydney’s pin-up mare was never out of second gear, cruising to the line 2-1/2 lengths ahead of… Read More »
Sydney’s super colt Pierro confirmed his standing as the best of his age in Australia with a consummate victory in the Group Two Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley. And the ease and brilliance of his win suggested he would be back in a month to prove himself the best… Read More »
Queensland trainer Robert Heathcote brought a camera to Moonee Valley on Friday night with the sole purpose of taking a picture of his horse in the winner’s stall. And when Buffering won the Group Two Moir Stakes (1200m), Heathcote pushed his way to the front of the pack and started… Read More »
Trainer Clinton McDonald would doubtless have preferred Friday’s downpour to come a couple of days later for Second Effort, but he is confident the gelding remains a solid chance for Sunday’s feature race at Caulfield. The wet weather specialist, who has captured eight of his nine wins on rain-affected tracks,… Read More »
Cox Plate favourite Pierro will have his first look at Moonee Valley on Friday night when he makes his highly anticipated Victorian debut. The star colt will be one of eight runners in the Group Two Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m), ahead of his planned spring targets – the Caulfield Guineas… Read More »
Golden Rose runner-up Albrecht looks likely to have a little more opposition than first appeared in Saturday’s Stan Fox Stakes. The Group Two 1400m race for three-year-olds at Rosehill attracted just five entries on Monday but that number was threefold when extended nominations closed a day later. Albrecht’s stablemate Perdicaris,… Read More »
Trainer Pat Hyland has put aside his worst fears and replaced them with renewed optimism for the spring prospects of highly promising galloper Shanghai Warrior. After consecutive wins that put Shanghai Warrior among the most promising horses in training, he plummeted from the big-race calculations when he finished near the… Read More »
Trainer Gerald Ryan took classy filly Snitzerland to Moonee Valley on Monday morning to tune her up and to educate her. While his first aim was a necessity, the second turned out to be almost superfluous. “She came here for some experience on the track,” Ryan said. “But she’s trotting… Read More »
The Epsom Handicap looms large for Shoot Out after he overcame evergreen barn mate Rangirangdoo to claim the Group One George Main Stakes at Randwick. The Chris Waller-trained pair kicked clear of their rivals in the straight and after an epic battle, Shoot Out emerged a narrow winner. The 1600… Read More »
Lady Of Harrods produced a barnstorming sprint to squeeze out hot favourite Commanding Jewel in Saturday’s Group Three Thousand Guineas Prelude at Caulfield. Jockey Steve Arnold whittled back a handy lead in the home straight to edge past the unbeaten three-quarter sister to Atlantic Jewel and snatch a half head… Read More »
Ocean Park staked his claims for the Cox Plate with a dashing Underwood Stakes victory at Caulfield while favourite Manighar finished a disappointing sixth. Trained by Gary Hennessy in New Zealand, Ocean Park settled just behind the speed set by import Voila Ici. While it the the latter’s Peter Moody-trained… Read More »
Guy Walter is hoping next year’s autumn carnival is the time for Jacquinot Bay to shine after the up-and-coming galloper ended his first campaign on a winning note at Randwick on Saturday. Jacquinot Bay ($3.20) usually races back in the field but that plan went out the window early in… Read More »
Few trainers in Melbourne know their horses better than Tony Vasil. For that reason the trainer was mystified by the betting drift that preceded the Caulfield win of Veewap. “I couldn’t believe it, I was wondering what I must have missed,” Vasil said. He missed nothing. Aided by a patient… Read More »
Allan Denham made a welcome return to the city winner’s circle at Randwick on Saturday with Ichihara labelled the best sprinting filly in Sydney by her jockey Brenton Avdulla. A multiple Group One winning trainer, Denham has relocated from Rosehill to Wyong and downsized his stable. Ichihara is clearly the… Read More »
