Month: July 2020

Three important barrier trials have been pushed back three days because of Sydney’s wet weather. Tuesday’s barrier trial session at Randwick will now be held on the Polytrack with 20 heats scheduled. But the three heats for Group horses that were set down for the Kensington track on Tuesday morning have been rescheduled to Friday. They feature a number of high profile horses among the entries. They include Group One winners Melody Belle, Probabeel, Con Te Partiro, Dreamforce, Kolding, Kings Will Dream and Fierce Impact. Meanwhile, Group One winner Mystic…

Kris Shailer has worked under Stephen Autridge for the best part of two decades and at the start of the new season he will get the opportunity to join his mentor in a training partnership at Valachi Downs. Shailer, who has spent the last two years as Autridge’s assistant, began his career as an apprentice jockey under Autridge’s guidance and the respected horseman has played a vital role in Shailer’s development in racing. “Kris started with me as an apprentice when he was 15-years-old,” Autridge said. “He’s been working with…

New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing have released the weight structure for the coming season, effective from August 1. Open Entry Races will retain an eight kilogram spread to reflect the range of horses that are accommodated in these events. However, the weight range will reduce one kilogram from 55kg-63kg to 54kg-62kg. If the spread of ratings is less than 16 points these races will be weighted from the bottom up, notwithstanding the standard regulations that apply. The weights for standard open and rating races, as well as maiden, set-weights and penalties…

Hastings trainer Paul Nelson is looking forward to lining up two of his top jumpers at his home meeting on Wednesday. Nelson, who trains in partnership with Corrina McDougall, will line-up a trio of runners in the Windsor Park Plate Raceday 3 October (2100m), including Wellington Hurdle (3400m) winner No Tip and Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase (4800m) winner Perry Mason (NZ) (Zed). Lightly raced eight-year-old No Tip (NZ) (Mettre de Jeu)has had just the five jumping starts for two wins and two placings and Nelson is hoping to improve that tally…

The Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young stable are hopeful Tavirun (NZ) (Tavistock) does not have any bad memories of his last trip to The Valley. Tavirun’s last outing at the track was almost 12 months ago and he came away from the race with a slab fracture to a knee. The mishap was after three successive Caulfield victories that led Busuttin and Young to believe Tavirun was a spring contender. “At the end of his last preparation when he ran third at The Valley he ended up hitting the rail…

Multiple Group One winner The Bostonian (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) is set to head to Sydney next month, but whether he will race under trainer Tony Pike’s name is still up in the air. The Cambridge trainer, who also heads the New Zealand Trainer’s Association, has been in discussions with an Australian immigration expert, however, there is still no clarity as to whether any of his staff members can gain an exemption to enter Australia. “At this stage there is no problems in getting the horses across, but with what has…

The New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association is calling for final entries for the NZB Insurance Pearl Series Early Bird Entries. Early bird entries close at the end of the current season, on Friday, July 31. For more information: https://pearlseries.nzthoroughbred.co.nz/page/nomination-form/

Dear Breeders, On behalf of New Zealand Bloodstock, I would like to give you a further update on the 2021 National Yearling Sales at Karaka.  We believe that a trans-Tasman bubble is very important to the success of the Sale, and given the current outbreaks of COVID-19 in Victoria, a January Sale is looking more and more unlikely. After consulting a number of major breeders over the past few weeks and to give everyone some clarity going forward, we will be deciding the date of the Sale on 31 August. If by…

Andrew Bensley speaks with Cambridge trainer Andrew Forsman, who trains in partnership with Murray Baker, after some of the stable’s star gallopers including The Chosen One and Quick Thinker trialled at Te Rapa on Tuesday.