Month: April 2020

Jack Regan will have to take on Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare at Flemington. Co-trainer Trent Busuttin admits he did not expect Jack Regan to be taking on Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare when he was planning his assault on a staying race at Flemington. After Jack Regan won successive races at Sandown, Busuttin picked out Saturday’s William Newton VC Handicap (2600m) as a suitable assignment. But the presence of Vow And Declare, who will carry 61kg in the quality handicap, has put a different slant on the…

Tony Cruz is an iconic figure in Hong Kong. Tony Cruz was spotted moving around on foot not so long ago. In the grave reality of the world’s current state, seeing Hong Kong racing’s original ‘living legend’ walking between his stable and the Sha Tin trainers’ stand is light years removed from being the most unusual consequence but it is unusual nonetheless; Cruz without his bicycle at morning trackwork is just one miniscule sign in a million that the world is not as it should be. Bicycles are everywhere at…

Mask Of Time (no. 6) gets his chance at a Group Three win in the Hawkesbury Cup at Rosehill. Mask Of Time’s winning strike rate is not flash but the import’s record over the course and distance of the Hawkesbury Gold Cup suggests he will not be far away in the Group Three race. Trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, six-year-old Mask Of Time’s only win from 22 Australian starts has been a dead-heat with Best Of Days in the Group Three Coongy Cup (2000m) at Caulfield during the…

Trainer Matt Cumani will have two runners in the VRC St Leger, one of Australia’s oldest races. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, trainer Matt Cumani and his staff have had a subdued celebration after Khoekhoe gave the stable its biggest success. But they might let their hair down if either Sign Seal Deliver or Tarn’s Prince can follow Khoekhoe’s win in the $800,000 The Showdown at Caulfield last week by taking out the Listed VRC St Leger at Flemington (2800m) on Saturday. “For me to win a sharp 1200 metre two-year-old…

Talented sprinter All Too Royal is an acceptor in Sydney and Melbourne. Consistent sprinter All Too Royal is among the leading chances for the Listed Hawkesbury Gold Rush at Rosehill but his connections also have the option to run him in Melbourne. All Too Royal was scratched from last weekend’s Group Three Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) at Randwick from a wide draw with a view to Saturday’s Rosehill race over 1100m. The five-year-old has drawn barrier 10 in a field of 16 plus one emergency for the Gold Rush while…

Caulfield Guineas winner Super Seth has run his last race with the colt to stand at Waikato Stud. Caulfield Guineas winner Super Seth will be retired to stud rather than race on as a four-year-old with uncertainty surrounding the spring program. New Zealand’s famous Waikato Stud bought a majority share in the Anthony Freedman-trained colt after he won the Group One Caulfield Guineas in October. But stud principal Mark Chittick announced on Wednesday they had abandoned any plans to keep him racing because of the disruptions to programming caused by…

Trainer John Thompson believes Chat has conditions to suit in the Group Three Hawkesbury Guineas. After missing a Group Three race during The Championships, Chat is set to get a belated chance to prove himself at that level in the Hawkesbury Guineas. Chat is scheduled to run in Saturday’s Guineas, held this year at Rosehill, and trainer John Thompson believes the three-year-old looks like getting conditions to suit. The gelding was scheduled to run in the Group Three South Pacific Classic (1400m) for three-year-olds at Randwick on April 11, won…