By Jonny Turner Brittany Willis added race-winning trainer to her list of equine skills when Money Honey scored a deserved win at Ascot Park on Wednesday. Willis had the five-year-old primed for an excellent performance and Money Honey delivered exactly that when proving too tough after parking out for a good part of race 1. The Branxholme trainer had gone close to tasting victory recently when her pacer produced top-five finishes in five of her previous six starts. On Wednesday, Money Honey broke through for victory and it took Willis’…
Month: November 2020
Sizeable offer snares Guineas runner-up
Leading Hong Kong trainer John Size will welcome talented three-year-old Bourbonaire (NZ) (Darci Brahma) to his stable after his purchase out of Stephen Marsh’s Cambridge barn. The son of Darci Brahma has had just five starts for a win and second placings in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m), Gr.2 Sarten Memorial Stakes (1400m), and Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m). Purchased out of Little Avondale Stud’s 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft for $120,000, Bourbonaire was raced by Marsh in partnership with an American-based group of…
Cromwell bringing summer vibes for Harris
Summer racing is upon us and Paul Harris couldn’t be more excited. The Rangiora trainer will take a strong team south to Cromwell’s two-day meeting this weekend and he said he is excited to experience the Central Otago township for the first time. “It’s always a good time of year where most of the bigger trainers, like ourselves, set our horses for Christmas and this is the start of it,” he said. “I am really excited, it’s the first time I will be down there. It is all a bit…
The Box Seat – 25 November
Aussie Update – November 26
By Adam Hamilton SUPERSTAR Chicago Bull is on the quick-back for the $50,000 RWWA Cup (2130m) at Gloucester Park on Friday. Trainer Gary Hall was so thrilled with how Chicago Bull came through last week’s stunning Group 1 Fremantle Cup win, he’s opted to run him this week as a “sandwich” race before the $450,000 Group 1 WA Pacing Cup a week later. “He couldn’t better and he did that so easily last week. He’s thriving on the racing,” Hall Sr said. Chicago Bull is a $1.15 favourite despite the…
Purdon on the move
By Michael Guerin Young gun trainer Nathan Purdon says he is looking forward to branching out on his own in what could ultimately be a multi state Australian career. The 25-year-old will leave his successful partnership with Chrissie Dalgety in late January to return to Australia, where he has tasted group one success before when training a very small team. But this time Purdon will be looking to establish himself rather than only have that small team or work for others. “I think the time is right and after discussing…
Maturity the key to So’s Unicorn
Chris So believes maturity was the key to Classic Unicorn’s (NZ) (Per Incanto) first-up success and he is hopeful that his talented speedster can repeat the dose in Wednesday’s Hong Kong feature, the Class 2 Chai Wan Kok Handicap (1000m) at Happy Valley. “The horse is more mature now as a five-year-old: across the summer break it seems like he has improved a lot, some horses in Hong Kong they just need time to develop, the body, everything – even now, he’s a big horse,” So said. So’s talented chestnut…
Samina Bibi ideal Oaks type
Cambridge trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray have a staying filly of the future on their hands with Samina Bibi (NZ), a daughter of in-vogue stallion Reliable Man, an impressive debut winner at Te Rapa. Ridden by apprentice Wiremu Pinn, Samina Bibi sat three-deep throughout but bounded away from her rivals in the BCD Group 3YO (1400m) to win by two-and-a-quarter lengths. “It was a big win,” Ritchie said. “To sit three-wide without cover and win like that was impressive. “She is a beautiful staying type and clearly looks an…
Australia beckons Explosive three-year-old
Talented three-year-old Explosively (NZ) (Sweynesse) lived up to his name when winning on debut at Te Rapa on Wednesday. The Stephen Ralph-trained gelding exploded out of the gates for apprentice jockey Tegan Newman to take an early lead in the Website Angels 1200. The pair didn’t relinquish their advantage and opened up in the home straight to win comfortably by three lengths over O’Jessica. Ralph was pleased with the win, but admitted he wasn’t surprised by the performance given his three strong outings at the trials, which included a four…
EXCLUSIVE: Every TAB Melbourne Cup finalist’s best and worst box revealed
Shima Shine is the main TAB Melbourne Cup contender with the most riding on tomorrow’s box draw, according to The Watchdog. Five superstar greyhounds dominate the market following last night’s heats, with the box draw to be conducted on Sunday morning on 7TWO’s popular greyhound racing show ‘Thrill of the Chase’. “I know Shima Shine is an absolute freak and can run ridiculous times but he’s the type of greyhound that needs room to move after boxrise, and there’s a lot of speed in this race,” The Watchdog warned punters…