Cambridge trainer Shaune Ritchie is likely to have runners before the end of the season but his stable has yet to be represented at any of the four northern trials meetings since the COVID-19 hiatus. “I think we will have runners this season,” Ritchie said. “I just couldn’t get them ready in that amount of time to be honest. “I know some people have treadmills or their own home tracks and those are probably the people racing. From our perspective, we give them a month before we give them three-quarter…
Month: July 2020
Local trainer hoping for the rub of the Greene
Te Rapa’s sole resident trainer David Greene is looking forward to racing returning to his home track on Saturday. While the Hamilton venue has hosted a couple of recent trials, it has been nearly five months since a race meeting has taken place at the track. Greene will be represented by just the one runner on Saturday, stakes winner Flaunting (NZ) (Showcasing), who will contest the Super Seth @ Waikato Stud (1400m). It will be the second run this preparation for the daughter of Showcasing after finishing fourth over 1100m…
Victoria Star set for Winter Champ Final
Not by design, the Greg Eurell-trained Victoria Star (NZ) (Tavistock) goes into the Listed Winter Championship Series Final (1600m) at Flemington having not raced for five weeks. But Eurell is hopeful that proves and advantage rather than a hindrance to the lightly raced six-year-old gelding in Saturday’s mile race which has been a target for him. Victoria Star has been entered to race the past two Saturdays in Melbourne but has been left stranded as an emergency and not gained a start. It means he has not raced since finishing…
Wiles puts his faith in Warrior
Dean Wiles is making every post a winner from his new Cambridge base. The former Pukekohe trainer bought a property close to the Cambridge training track in January and has developed the bare land with paddocks and a new barn, and he’s seeing immediate results. “The horses have hit the ground running since I’ve been here. I’ve had eight horses to the trials in the last few weeks for five wins so it looks like it’s been a good move,” Wiles said. Wiles has sold his Waiuku property but has…
O’Dowd on the road to The Jericho and recovery
Neil O’Dowd has had a tough time of it of late and a win by Aigne in the Bonny Glen Landfill – Midwest Disposals 1550 at Awapuni on Saturday would be a tonic for the Waikato horseman. O’Dowd is currently in his final year of training and earlier this year he made the call to send Aigne and Senassy south to join Kevin Myers’ Wanganui stable. The 68-year-old had no intention of continuing to pursue training, however, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic he elected to start working the…
Apprentice jockey notches double on debut
It may have been a mid-winter’s day at Pukekohe Park on Saturday, but it will live long in the memory of apprentice jockey Callum Jones. The 17-year-old hoop got the sign-off earlier in the week to begin his raceday career, and employer Nigel Tiley wasted no time in utilising the talents of the young rider and his four kilogram claim. Tiley gave Jones five rides on Saturday and he rewarded his riding master’s faith with two victories and a runner-up performance. While Jones was over the moon to have his…
Exhibition adds to the Freedmans’ 2YO haul
Brothers Richard and Michael Freedman have continued an outstanding season with two-year-olds and iced a memorable week with Exhibition’s (Vancouver) gutsy win at Randwick. Having just his second start, the $6.50 chance was under stern urgings from jockey Andrew Adkins around the home turn but responded and lifted late to edge out favourite Angel Helena ($2.10) by a short half-head. Silhoutte ($2.90) was a long head away third. The colt’s victory in Saturday’s Magna Grecia New To Coolmore Hcp (1500m) gave the training partners their 10th two-year-old success this season.…
Ballet Master makes Sydney trip worthwhile
Victorian gelding Ballet Master (NZ) (Stravinsky) and jockey Jason Collett have denied Tommy Berry a five-win haul at Randwick with a determined victory in the Sky Racing Active Handicap. Ballet Master was a dual acceptor at both Flemington and Randwick on Saturday, with connections of the Chris Hyland-trained six-year-old making the right call the send him north to Sydney for the 1400m benchmark race. Collett positioned Ballet Master ($21) just in behind the speed and stayed close to the inside throughout on the heavy going, saving ground around the home turn. Berry, aiming for…
Winning run continues for Heptagon
Gallant six-year-old Heptagon (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) maintained his winning run of form when successful at Flemington in the Brian Beattie Handicap (1420m) under top-weight of 61.5kgs. The son of Jimmy Choux has now won three races in succession and took his career tally to 10 victories from 31 starts and A$533,190 in prizemoney. Prepared by Caulfield trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent (Jnr), the duo have been quick to deflect praise to their staff based at Warrnambool, with trainer Matthew Williams playing a crucial role in Heptagon’s rich vein of…
Partnering the TAB is the best way forward
by Brian de LorePublished 20th June 2020 Here is racing’s biggest ever certainty: That TAB NZ is not a sustainable business for the long-term benefit of New Zealand racing and finding an overseas betting operator with which it can enter into a partnering arrangement is an inevitability more for the immediate future than the long-term. Events of the past three months have underlined the urgent need for New Zealand racing to think globally rather than nationalistically about how it can manage this business sustainably as it enters the third decade…