Month: September 2020

Gallop South calls for justice through constitutional change

AAP

The popular Easter race meeting at Riverton by Brian de LorePublished 1st September 2020 The growing discontent in the deep south is now echoing through the committee rooms of many New Zealand race clubs residing outside the metropolitan areas. And Gallop South has taken a determined step forward in seeking a significant change in the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) Constitution. Gallop South Incorporated, last week sent a memorandum to all race clubs and sector members with a proposal attached to amend the NZTR Constitution to give the stakeholders of…

Grading Update: Points allocation process is changing

Editor BOAY

GRV’s Racing Department recently conducted a review of the ranking points allocation process and, with the assistance of participant feedback, identified that the ranking points calculation as per the Grading Guidelines requires a minor update to ensure that the level of points used in the calculations is appropriate for the type of meeting. In the past, the race meeting schedule was quite consistent week to week, with the different meeting types held at each track on ‘set’ days. The Grading Guidelines therefore linked the day the meeting was held to…

Kiwi filly follows in footsteps of Sunline

Editor BOAY

When La Vernazza (NZ) (More Than Ready) steps out at Randwick she will be treading the same path as champion Sunline (NZ) (Desert Sun), who at her first Australian start broke the hearts of the best of Sydney’s fillies in the 1998 Furious Stakes. A recent acquisition for trainer Jamie Richards, La Vernazza, who raced as Vernazza in New Zealand, will be tackling Saturday’s 1200m feature at her fifth race appearance and comes to Sydney with a big reputation. Initially trained by Lance Noble, the Matamata Breeder’s Stakes winner ran…

Williams gives Surprise Baby tick of approval

Editor BOAY

Jockey Craig Williams is confident current Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) favourite Surprise Baby (NZ) (Shocking) will deliver a strong performance when he returns to raceday at Moonee Valley on Saturday. The son of Shocking is set to resume in the Gr.2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) and Williams travelled to Horsham on Tuesday to partner the six-year-old gelding in his final piece of fast work before the race. “I’m not too sure if anyone clocked him or not but to me his performance (in the Feehan) will take a lot of beating…

Northern mission for Wekaforce

Editor BOAY

Riccarton trainer Terri Rae is planning a trip to the North Island for her smart sprinter Wekaforce (NZ) (Showcasing). Rae has won three races with the mare since she transferred from Tony Pike’s stable in Cambridge as a two-time winner. The daughter of Showcasing headed back across the Cook Strait last March for a hit-and-run black-type mission which almost came off, with Wekaforce caught on the line by fellow Riccarton sprinter, dual Group One winner Enzo’s Lad (Testa Rossa), in the Listed Lightning Handicap (1200m) at Trentham. Wekaforce has enjoyed…

Hong Kong proving lucrative for Cameron

Editor BOAY

Hong Kong racing is the lifeblood for many New Zealand trainers, and Cambridge horsewoman Catherine Cameron is no exception. A large part of her business is educating and pre-training horses for the lucrative racing jurisdiction, primarily for bloodstock agent Willie Leung and his clients. While it’s usually one way traffic to Hong Kong for her stable members, Cameron’s strong link with Leung resulted in a former Hong Kong runner joining her barn last year. “My main client is Willie Leung and I normally have about half a dozen of his…

Eye-catching Australian debut for My Gold Bracelet

Editor BOAY

Kiwi mare My Gold Bracelet (NZ) (Pins) made a good start to her Australian career when finishing a close-up third in the Allan & Helen Angus Hcp (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday behind So You Swing (So You Think). Originally trained by Johno Benner and Hollie Wynyard, My Gold Bracelet won the Gr.2 Wellington Guineas (1400m) in March. Now in the care of Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, the four-year-old daughter of Pins is expected to get over further this campaign after being strong through the line and will…

Industry ‘leads’ the way…

Editor BOAY

In a unanimous decision, precipitated by unprecedented times, the 2019-20 Greyhound Racing Victoria Board Leadership Award recipient is the ‘whole industry’. “We have changed it up,” said GRV Chair, Ms Peita Duncan. “We had a Board meeting where we chose who that recipient would be, and to be honest, it was unanimous because of the year we’ve had.” Ms Duncan added: “It’s not just around the COVID pandemic at the moment, but getting through the bushfires and canine (corona)virus, which means we lost race meetings because we didn’t have enough…