Month: November 2019

Fierce Impact gives Smith Group 1 spring double

AAP

Fierce Impact has completed a spring Group One double with his $2 million Cantala Stakes victory. Sydney trainer Matthew Smith will give Fierce Impact every opportunity to land a third spring feature after the entire’s win in the Cantala Stakes at Flemington. Fierce Impact has now won Melbourne’s two Group One mile handicaps having taken the Toorak Handicap at Caulfield last month ahead of Saturday’s success. Smith is now looking at stepping Fierce Impact up to weight-for-age and 2000m in next Saturday’s Mackinnon Stakes. “We’ll consider it alright, we have…

Final field declared for Melbourne Cup

AAP

The final field for the Melbourne Cup has been declared with 12 Australian trainers represented. Training partners David Hayes, Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig hold weight of numbers for the Australian brigade with three runners – favourite Constantinople, Rostropovich and Neufbosc. Champion trainer Chris Waller has secured Cup berths for Finche and Youngstar while Vow And Declare is also regarded as a strong chance for Danny O’Brien. Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien, who won the Cup two years ago with Rekindling, has four runners including Downdraft who secured his spot with…

The Shark – Best at Kaikoura on Sunday

NZHarnessNews

The Shark heads to the picturesque South Bay Racecourse in Kaikoura for the first day of their annual two day meeting. For more punting information head to The Punters Lounge  Race 1: 5 Rake: Going great guns at the moment and often in much stronger fields than this. Should take all sorts of stopping. 7 All Nuts N Bolts: Versatile customer who won’t shirk the challenge laid down to him here today. Can play a role. 3 2 El Capitan: Knocking around in stronger fields down the road at Addington recently…

Golden Eagle fancy Brutal can soar higher

Editor BOAY

Michael Hawkes insists lightly raced star Brutal (NZ) (O’Reilly) is yet to realise his potential and can soar higher in the $7.5 million Golden Eagle. The Hawkes Racing team turned down a slot in the $14 million Everest in favour of keeping the Doncaster Mile winner fresh for Saturday’s inaugural Rosehill showpiece over 1500m. Brutal will not have many more chances to prove himself, with next autumn shaping as his last hurrah after breeder Newgate Farm claimed a stake in the entire. Hawkes, who trains in partnership with father John…

Successful surgery for Mansour

Editor BOAY

Injured jockey Donavan Mansour is in good spirits after a successful operation on his broken pelvis at Waikato Hospital on Thursday. The popular hoop sustained the injury after his mount reared up and fell backwards on to him at Te Aroha on Wednesday. “The results were fantastic, the surgery went really well,” Mansour’s riding agent Tony Raklander said. “He looks a different person, he has all the colour back in his face. “The surgeon was really happy with the results. He said everything went to plan, so they don’t see…

Gore double for part-time trainer

Editor BOAY

Lisa Vaughan trained a double at Gore on Thursday. Photo: Wild Range Photography Shirley Maude (NZ) (Fully Fledged) and Morellmac (Excelebration) combined to deliver a perfect result at Gore on Thursday for Lisa Vaughan. The pair are the only two active racehorses in the Ascot Park trainer’s stable, and they captured the Henderson Livestock Open (1200m) and the Thomas Green and Howl at the Moon Rating 65 (2000m) respectively. “That was a great result, I was really happy with the way both horses performed,” Vaughan said. Training is very much…

Long Jack carries owner-breeder’s dream

Editor BOAY

Long Jack winning the Listed Geelong Classic (2200m). Photo: Bruno Cannatelli Already a Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) winning owner, Fergus Doyle has put his ultimate racing dream in the hands of New Zealand trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman. The champion Cambridge pair will saddle Doyle’s homebred three-year-old Long Jack (So You Think) in Saturday’s Gr.1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington. The last-start Listed Geelong Classic (2200m) winner will be ridden by Craig Williams and will jump from the outside gate. “It’s very exciting to have a Derby runner,” Doyle…

Yearning for elusive stakes win

Editor BOAY

Group Two performer Yearn. Photo: Trish Dunell Group Two performer Yearn (NZ) (Savabeel) will kick-off her six-year-old season in the Roger Gill Agriculture 1200 at Pukekohe on Saturday, beginning her mission to try and add an all-important stakes victory to her resume. The daughter of Savabeel has won six of her 31 starts and has been placed on three occasions at stakes level, including second in the Listed Legacy Lodge Sprint (1200m) and third in the Gr.2 Westbury Classic (1400m) and Gr.2 Easter Handicap (1600m). The Karen Fursdon-trained mare began…

Kameko powers to Trophy success

AAP

Kameko has raced into history with an impressive win in the Futurity Trophy at Newcastle, the first British Group One event run on a synthetic surface. Originally due to be the centrepiece of last Saturday’s rain-abandoned fixture at Doncaster, the Group One event was swiftly rescheduled to be run on the all-weather track at Gosforth Park. The original field featured the Andrew Balding-trained Kameko up against five from Aidan O’Brien’s stable but another five horses went to the post after acceptances were re-opened. The heavily-backed favourite was the Ralph Beckett-trained…