Warrnambool trainer Symon Wilde is enjoying a standout season and is hoping to add further success to the tally over the weekend when he has several runners aimed at Moonee Valley on Friday night and Flemington on Saturday. Heading his runners is the well-bred staying mare Tralee Rose (NZ) (Tavistock) who Wilde will aim at stakes races in the New Year. “She looks pretty promising, especially over the staying journeys, and she’s given us every indication that will be her go, so we’re looking forward to seeing what she can…
Month: December 2020
She’s Alight chasing further black-type
New Zealand-bred mare She’s Alight (NZ) (Tavistock) will attempt to complete a Western Australian feature treble. The Alan Mathews-trained five-year-old scored a surprise win in last Saturday’s Listed Jungle Dawn Classic (1400m) at Ascot when given a hands and heels ride by jockey Patrick Carbery. Carbery said the daughter of Tavistock resents being urged with a whip and must be coaxed to the winning post. “She just won’t go if the whip is applied,” he said. “I get the best out of her with hands and heels riding.” The Listed…
Generation looking for third Hong Kong Mile
The old firm of Zac Purton and New Zealand bred galloper Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock) will join forces once again in Sunday’s Gr.1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m). Hong Kong’s two-time Horse of The Year joined the David Hayes yard in the off-season following the departure of his previous handler John Moore from the Sha Tin training ranks and connections will be hoping for another bold showing in the race won by Beauty Generation in 2017 and 2018, while he also placed third last year. With COVID-19 restrictions in…
Dragon Leap back at Wexford
High-class galloper Dragon Leap (Pierro) has returned to Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott’s Matamata stable as he builds towards an autumn campaign. The lightly-raced son of Pierro suffered a set-back in Sydney in the spring which put a halt to a Gr.1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) campaign. A dual Group Two winner, the four-year-old has had six lifetime starts and finished eighth in the Gr.2 Tramway Stakes (1400m) in Sydney, just two lengths from the winner. “We have no real plans at this stage,” Scott said. “We will just take him…
Pinn appreciative of racing reprieve
A dose of the real world and some time to clear his mind has proved the catalyst for talented apprentice jockey Wiremu Pinn to make his way back to racing, and the 22-year-old is keen to grasp the opportunity with both hands. A once troubled South Auckland teen, Pinn’s first exposure to horses came via equine therapy as part of a process to deal with the death of a close friend. On the recommendation of a guidance councillor, the then 15-year-old with a feather-weight frame was put in touch with…
Stars return for Baker and Forsman
Cambridge trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman have welcomed back high-class trio The Chosen One (NZ) (Savabeel), Aegon (NZ) (Sacred Falls) and Quick Thinker (So You Think) after their respective breaks following spring campaigns. “All of them returned on Monday,” Forsman said. “It was great to have them all arrive at the same time. It gives you a bit of a boost heading into what is going to be a busy time of the year. They have all done well and are looking in great order.” Five-year-old entire The Chosen…
Lyell Creek : Where is he now?
By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk In 1999 and 2000 Lyell Creek won the race that now bears his name. Then it was known as the Challenge Stakes, as it had been since its inception in 1973. Now it’s the Lyell Creek Stakes, with the next installment of the Group 2 coming this Friday night at Alexandra Park, as Dominion Handicap winner Sundees Son tries to join the list of recent winners that includes Marcoola, Temporale, I Can Doosit and One Over Kenny. So to mark the occasion we…
Auckland Cup & National Trot nominations extended
Below are the current nominations for the Auckland Cup (Group 1) and National Trot (Group 1) to be run at Alexandra Park on December 31. The nominations have now been extended to this Friday 11 December at 5.00pm. Any additional nominations can be made via Karen Blanchard at Auckland Trotting Club 027 808 3150 Auckland Cup GambitCheck InTriple EightKangoBad to the BoneMach ShardOn The CardsThe FixerSouth Coast ArdenCopy ThatSelf AssuredSpankemAshley LocazAmazing DreamTommy Lincoln National Trot Bolt For BrillianceInvictusTemporaleKings LandingMajestic ManKay CeeTricky RicSertoriusSundees SonCredit Master
Self Assured’s campaign in doubt
By Michael Guerin Self Assured’s defence of the Auckland Trotting Cup hangs by a thread and even that could be cut today. Last month’s New Zealand Cup winner was the favourite to defend the Auckland Cup he won last December at Alexandra Park this New Year’s Eve but trainer Mark Purdon now fears he won’t get that chance. The five-year-old developed a corn on Saturday that means he will miss the Lincoln Farms Franklin Cup at Alexandra Park this Friday and Purdon will decide tomorrow whether Self Assured can resume…
Cassendra dreaming big at Ballarat
There can be absolutely no doubt that training novice Cassendra Jayakody enjoys a challenge. Just days after Sri Lankan-born Cassendra gained her training license, the excited 26-year-old will take her first starters to the track on Saturday night. And the rookie is shooting for the stars, throwing veteran trio Dyna Virion, Winlock Dyno and Winsome Fernando first-up into the Group 2 BFC Ballarat Cup heats. “I thought why not give them a shot? Go big or go home,” said Cassendra. “I’m a new owner/trainer. I only got my license last…