Matamata training partners Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott will have just the two runners at Pukekohe on Saturday, headed by resuming speedster Princess Rihanna (NZ) (Showcasing). The daughter of Showcasing has four wins to her name and a Group Three placing in the Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) as a three-year-old and the short-course mare has had two trials in readiness for her resuming run in the Roger Gill Mitsubishi 1200. “She is going to be competitive. She has done very well and looks good,” O’Sullivan said. “The key is that…
Month: October 2020
Evergreen Sampson continues to please
Sampson (NZ) (Dubai Destination) may be 11-years-old but trainer Howie Mathews said he doesn’t know it. The son of Dubai Destination recorded his 12th career victory in the Egmont Cup at Hawera earlier this month and Mathews said he is on song ahead of the Listed Ricoh Feilding Gold Cup (2100m) at Awapuni on Saturday. Mathews was pleased with the win but admitted it came as a little bit of a surprise. “It was a great ride,” he said. “It is very hard to put it into the jockey’s head…
Oceanex in doubt for Cup
Oceanex (NZ) (Ocean Park) was the first horse to book her ticket to the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) after winning the ballot-exempt Listed The Andrew Ramsden (2800m) at Flemington in May, but the Kiwi-bred mare is now in doubt of taking her place in the great race. The daughter of Ocean Park underwent a veterinary examination by Racing Victoria’s chief vet Dr Grace Forbes at Caulfield on Thursday and she, along with co-trainer Mick Price and stable vet David Shepherd, were not happy with the horse’s action. “We had a…
Columbus County impresses in Hong Kong
Joao Moreira capped a four-timer at Happy Valley on Wednesday with a smart victory aboard Columbus County (NZ) (Redwood) in the Class 2 Time Warp Handicap (1800m) for trainer Caspar Fownes. “We know how hard it is to win one race in Hong Kong, when you go home with four in the bag it’s very pleasing and I’m thankful for all of the support I’ve been getting,” Moreira said. Columbus County, who raced as Sword in Stone in New Zealand, was the Brazilian’s wrap-up victory in the evening’s finale, the…
Benchester sets new benchmark with breathtaking run
Underrated sprinter Benchester put his name up in lights with a track record run over 385 metres at Shepparton last night. Benchester, pictured above with trainer Mark Morrissey, got out like a rocket and clocked a time of 21.42sec, lowering Italian Plastic’s track record by .02sec. “When he went straight to the lead out of the boxes I was pretty excited to see what time he would run,” Morrissey recalled. “He holds the split record (10.00sec) at Horsham over the 410m distance, and he has run quick time at a…
Methven poised for twilight sequel
The Methven Trotting Club makes no secret of what it’s twilight meeting at the Mt Harding racecourse is all about. “We have deliberately targeted the lower graded horses,” says Methven Trotting Club President Mark Lemon. At what’s just the club’s second twilight meeting, racing starts at 3pm on Friday with nine races over either the mile or 1700 metres. Big even fields look the order of the day with some of the province’s bigger stables opting for the two day Kaikoura meeting starting Sunday. For instance the powerful Hope and…
Selections Invercargill | Oct 29
Jason Broad and Justin Evans share their selections for Diamonds Day in Invercargill. Head to www.tab.co.nz to place your bet! Race JASON BROADSouthern Harness JUSTIN EVANSCommentator Race 12.48pm 5 Shindig9 Port Au Prince4 Stars N Bars7 Stamp Duty 9 Port Au Prince 4 Stars N Bars 5 Shindig 1 Oneliveonelife Race 23.23pm 9 Suzie Rocks3 Tac Mac1 Insarchatwist11 Maya Angelou 3 Tac Mac 1 Insarchatwist 9 Suzie Rocks 6 Zircon Lass Race 33.58pm 11 Tulsa Jaccka9 Mighty George4 Kagee VC7 Hampton 14 Vintage Rose 11 Tulsa Jaccka 6 Call Me Keith 1…
Diamonds Day feature races trainer/driver comments
We got the thoughts of a few trainers/drivers ahead of the feature races at Invercargill today for Diamonds Day. Click here
Rolling Stone’s ‘Shepparton swagger’
It took a few strides to ‘start him up’ but once Rolling Stone got into full ‘swagger’, he gave punters ‘satisfaction’ in a G3 Northern Districts Cup heat (450m) at Shepparton tonight. Rolling Stone ($1.40F), pictured above with trainer Karen Pitt, was last out from Box 1 but displayed amazing acceleration to thread his way through the field and lead entering the first turn. From that point, the result was never in doubt as he strolled to a 2.4L win over Kalter ($11.40), with rank outsider All In Deeds ($59.30)…
Adele’s Smart Northern Districts Cup call
Former NSW trainer Adele Powell will be chasing her biggest success since relocating to Victoria when promising sprinter Smart As Jack tackles the heats of the Group 3 Northern Districts Cup (450m) at Shepparton on Monday night. Powell was involved with Group-winning stayers Just Friends and Outrageous Angel when based in NSW and she rates Smart As Jack, which boasts 11 wins from his 19 starts, as good as anything she’s trained since venturing south four years ago. “He’s a great little dog,” said Powell, who trains a small team…