Ruakaka trainer Michelle Bradley is hoping She’s No Saint (Prague) can continue her progression when she steps up to stakes company in Saturday’s Gr.3 Cambridge Stud Northland Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) on her home track.

The daughter of Prague has won both starts this preparation, breaking her maiden at Ellerslie in June before producing an emphatic three-length victory over 1100m at Ruakaka last start.

“It was a pretty satisfying win with her at Ruakaka last start,” Bradley said. “I was really impressed with the way she won.

“This weekend is another step up. You have a few horses we have been against before, and a few returning from a spell who will obviously be bigger and better than before.

“Danny Walker and Arron Tata's filly Shalabiya was very impressive on debut the other day as well, so it is shaping up to be a good field.”

Bradley said the barrier draw would be important, but she has been encouraged by the versatility and maturity She’s No Saint has displayed this preparation.

George Rooke is again booked to ride, having partnered the filly in a trial as a two-year-old and in her latest victory, and Bradley believes that familiarity will be beneficial on Saturday.

She’s No Saint was initially passed in at the sales, having caught Bradley’s eye on several occasions before she later inspected the filly at Highline Thoroughbreds.

“There was just something about her that really appealed to me,” Bradley said. “She was quite sassy and she had a lovely walk on her.”

The filly is raced by a syndicate of 18 local owners, ensuring she will have plenty of support at Ruakaka.

“They’re all locals, some previous clients, some friends of mine, some new faces, and my farrier as well,” Bradley said.

“They are all a great bunch of people. They are all having fun and enjoying the ride, which is what it's all about really. I’m picking there’s going to be a big crew there on Saturday.”

Bradley will also saddle five-year-old gelding Bourbon Proof (Justify) in the Rating 75 Benchmark 1600m.

The former Stephen Marsh-trained galloper has finished runner-up in both starts since joining Bradley’s stable and will be ridden by apprentice Jack Taplin.

“I have just freshened him up and he is thriving up here, which is good to see,” Bradley said. “We've had two starts with him for two seconds, so I’m determined to get a win out of him.

“We didn’t have a lot of luck with the barrier draw last start and he had to sit three-wide. We are hoping for a better draw this weekend.”

Meanwhile, unraced four-year-old Cisco (NZ) (Shocking) moved closer to a raceday debut when winning a 1000m heat at the Avondale trials on Tuesday.

“He’s a four-year-old now and we want to get him to the races, so it was great to see him trial well,” Bradley said.

“The owners have given him time, and he needed that time to mature physically and mentally. We will see how he pulls up and find a suitable race for him in the next few weeks.” - NZ Racing Desk

Williams set to call time on riding career

After three decades in the saddle, Kylie Williams is preparing to bring the curtain down on her riding career, with the veteran jockey set to have her final rides at Riccarton later this month.

The 46-year-old has five rides at Oamaru on Friday, where a race has been named in her honour, before she closes out her career at Riccarton on August 29.

“I have two more meetings planned. One at Oamaru on Friday and then I will finish up at the Riccarton meeting on August 29,” Williams said.

“I had my first ride at Riccarton on New Zealand Cup Day thirty years ago. So, I thought it would be fitting to have my last ride at Riccarton.”

Williams has ridden 1019 domestic winners during a career that began in the 1996-97 season and continued through the birth of her three children.

Her path into racing came almost by accident after she spotted an advertisement in The Press seeking prospective apprentice jockeys.

“I never really had a lot to do with horses,” Williams said.

“I wanted to leave school and Dad wouldn’t let me unless I had a job. There was an advertisement in The Press that said ‘are you over 16, under 50kg and want to become an apprentice jockey?’ I was too scared, so my friend rang up and applied for me.”

Williams subsequently completed a three-month course in Otaki before being assigned to trainer Tania Forde at Dunsandel.

She has recorded 32 Group or Listed victories and celebrated a significant milestone at her home track last September when Riviera Rebel carried her to her 1000th domestic victory in the North Canterbury Cup (2000m) at Riccarton.

With retirement on the horizon, Williams had one remaining item on her bucket list, to ride against her son, Logan Bates.

That wish was fulfilled during New Zealand Cup Week last November when Bates returned from Victoria to compete against his mother at Riccarton. Both rode winners on the opening day, with Bates posting a double that included a Listed victory.

The 24-year-old has continued his rapid rise, returning to New Zealand earlier this year to record his first Group One victory aboard Jigsaw in the Gr.1 Railway Stakes (1200m) at Ellerslie, while he was recently named the Victorian Jockeys’ Association Rising Star for the second time.

Having achieved her goal of riding against her son, Williams is now ready to step away from race riding on her own terms.

“I have been slowing down a bit, I haven’t been riding as much,” she said.

“It has come to the point now where it’s time to hang up the boots and look after the younger ones.”

Williams will remain closely involved in racing, taking over from Jason Laking as New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing’s South Island apprentice mentor, with Laking moving to the Waikato to begin training as a stipendiary steward.

Williams believes her own experiences as a young rider will serve her well as she moves into mentoring the next generation.

“I wasn’t a model student, so I know all the ins and outs. How to get away with things and how not to get away with things,” she said.

“I am looking forward to looking after them. I did a stint a while ago at the apprentice school and really enjoyed it.

“There are a nice bunch of apprentices out there at the moment. I am really looking forward to refining and polishing them, then turning them into the finished product.” - NZ Racing Desk

Where you might see Pride Of Jenni this spring

A third straight Feehan Stakes could be on the cards for popular Trelawney Stud bred mare Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai), who is back in work ahead of the Spring Carnival.

The Ciaron Maher-trained and Tony Ottobre-owned nine-year-old was last seen at the races in late May, where she produced a brave performance to finish second behind Birdman in the Gr.1 Doomben Cup.

Usually held at Moonee Valley, this year’s Gr.2 Feehan Stakes will be run at Caulfield on September 27.

“She will probably trial in about two weeks,” said Maher’s assistant trainer, Jack Turnbull.

“We’re really pleased with her. She’ll be ready to kick off in a race such as the Feehan, which we’ve won before first-up. We’ve got races like an Empire Rose, the Champions Mile, you could go back up to Sydney and run in the King Charles.

“With a horse like her of her quality, we’ve got a lot of options – we’ll be guided by how she performs and what Tony wants to do with her.”

Turnbull also confirmed classy galloper Jimmysstar (NZ) (Per Incanto) is bound for the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on August 29, following his eye-catching barrier trial last week at Warwick Farm.

“He’s had the one (trial), he’ll probably have another up there (in Sydney) and then come down for the end of the month,” Turnbull said.

“He’s good – the splits that he ran in that trial behind Tornado Valley were supreme. Hopefully, we just continue to have a smooth run and hit the ground running.”

Jimmysstar is the $5.50 second favourite for the Memsie Stakes with Sportsbet behind Sheza Alibi at $2.10. - Racing.com

Jimmy's brother goes bang at Ballarat

He stopped short of comparing him to his famous sibling, but Ethan Brown says he’ll be shocked if In’kantosstar (NZ) (Per Incanto) doesn’t progress to “at least” metro class after the full brother to Jimmysstar won in dominant fashion on Tuesday.

“He is a very nice horse,” Brown told Racing.com after the win.

“He is very green.

“He didn’t really get out of first gear, I don’t think, once he hit the front.

“He pricked his ears and waited.

“He has got a lot to learn, but has a lot of ability.”

Raced by a number of Jimmysstar’s connections, in the same silks, trained by Ciaron Maher and ridden by Brown, it was a familiar sight when the son of Per Incanto stormed down the middle of the track at Ballarat to score by almost three lengths over 1200 metres on Tuesday.

But it wasn’t without a bit of pre-race drama, with In’kantosstar throwing Brown from the saddle while being loaded into the gates.

But that was about as nervy as it got for those who jumped into the prohibitive odds of $1.24. - Racing.com

Lara Antipova set for Australian debut

She won’t have top billing at her first three-year-old race at Caulfield this Saturday, but the unbeaten New Zealand filly Lara Antipova (Russian Revolution) may soon demand the honour if she returns as is hoped in the Gr.3 Quezette Stakes (1100m).

Wearing the tangerine and white colours of Te Akau Racing and Fortuna Racing’s John Galvin, Lara Antipova cost $100,000 at the Gold Coast sales and has already earned nearly $500,000 from her four New Zealand starts to date. But it is not her prizemoney earnings that has owners in Australia fearful of her presence.

Lara Antipova is unbeaten in four runs and indeed has been untroubled in all her starts which have already netted her a Gr.1 and two Gr.2s.

She made her debut in an 1150-metre juvenile maiden in early December last year at Te Aroha on a good track and won by eight lengths at odds of $1.80.

Two weeks later, she stepped to Gr.2 company at Trentham over 1100 metres in slow conditions and gapped her rivals by 4.5 lengths at the quote of just $1.20. She was then afforded a short break before resuming in February at Gr.2 level over 1200 metres at Matamata where she again delivered a comprehensive performance to win by 3.3 lengths at $1.20.

The Gr.1 Sistema (1200m) was next in March and Lara Antipova was sent out at $1.10 and never looked threatened, ultimately winning by nearly two lengths.

Her trainer Mark Walker then announced she would spell and be given an Australian spring campaign. Her preparation has been tailored around the fillies’ sprinting stakes races this spring, but much depends on what she shows at her first three-year-old start.

A major concern for her Australian rivals is that genetic testing has Lara Antipova down as more a miler than a sprinter and so a race like the Gr.1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) might end up being her major spring aim.

Walker has combined many times with Te Akau Racing to win big races in Australia with the likes of super sprinting mare Imperatriz.

By Russian Revolution out of Myboycharlie mare Artistic Lass, Lara Antipova is named after a central character in the multi-award winning 1965 film Doctor Zhivago. - Racing.com

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