Australia
Champion mare Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed) has been officially retired and will be served by a yet-to-be-confirmed northern hemisphere sire. The announcement was made by her ownership group on Thursday afternoon, pulling the curtain down on a glittering career which saw her claim 11 Group Ones. Her
Australia
The Gr.1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) has been the centre of Roch ‘N’ Horse’s (NZ) (Per Incanto) spring plans and trainer Michael Moroney is hoping an unfavourable draw won’t prove the mare’s undoing. The classy daughter of Per Incanto will be ridden by Patrick Moloney and was
Australia
Trainer Brad Widdup believes his mare Icebath (NZ) (Sacred Falls) is cherry ripe for Saturday’s A$2 million The Invitation (1400m) at Randwick. The Sacred Falls six-year-old won the race last year and while she hasn’t won a race since, Widdup is confident of a bold
Australia
Maximus Prime (NZ) (Echoes of Heaven) is a country boy at heart and, in that role, he will now be racing for a major pot of gold during the Melbourne spring carnival. The Echoes Of Heaven gelding’s first success on Australian soil from Archie Alexander’s Ballarat stable over
Australia
The lure of a Group One race in his adopted hometown has been enough to convince Bjorn Baker to back-up Renaissance Woman (NZ) (Reliable Man) in the Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on Saturday. The Reliable Man filly arrived back in Sydney earlier this week after landing a
Australia
Awapuni trainer Lucy Tanner will be rubbing shoulders with some of Australia’s most prominent racing identities on Saturday. She will be on course at Randwick to cheer on her Proisir mare Belle Plaisir, whose place in the A$2 million The Invitation (1400m) was confirmed on Tuesday. “It’s
Australia
Expat New Zealander Patrick Cleave is making his dream a reality across the Tasman as he begins to establish himself as a trainer in Newcastle. While he spent his youth on horseback on his family’s South Auckland farm, Cleave didn’t have any involvement in racing until he decided
Australia
Brothers Ben and JD Hayes are hoping to extend their family’s great record in the G.1 Cox Plate (2040m) when the pair line-up Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) in the A$5 million race at The Valley on Saturday. Their grandfather Colin Hayes won back-to-back Cox
Australia
Leading Sydney jockey James McDonald has committed to riding New Zealand raider La Crique in the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington later this month. “We have just had confirmation this afternoon that James McDonald will ride La Crique in the Empire Rose on the 29th,” said Katrina
Australia
Graeme Rogerson is setting Sharp ‘N’ Smart the task of joining an exclusive four-horse club. Since the inaugural Gr.1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) in 1978, only four horses have completed the Spring Champion Stakes-VRC Derby double: Stylish Century (1989), Nothin’ Leica Dane (1995), Monaco Consul (2009), and
Australia
Dean Holland has won the battle of the lightweight riders for the ride on She’s Licketysplit (NZ) (Turn Me Loose) in the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes. Trainer Andrew Forsman confirmed on Saturday that the three-year-old filly would take on the older mares in the 1600-metre
Australia
Trainer John O'Shea will redirect Lost And Running (NZ) (Per Incanto) towards the A$3 million Nature Strip Stakes on Golden Eagle day after his race morning scratching from The Everest. The gelding had been second favourite for the A$15 million sprint but developed a skin irritation