Cody Morgan is hoping for a drying Sunshine Coast track for in-form galloper Ligulate (centre). Cody Morgan will be keeping a close watch on the skies as much as Ligulate’s opposition in Saturday’s Listed Tattersall’s Mile at the Sunshine Coast. Corbould Park was rated a heavy eight on Thursday after copping 41 millimetres of rain in a 24-hour period until 8am, taking the weekly total to 60 mls. Morgan is desperate for some drying weather because he is adamant Ligulate is an inferior performer on wet tracks. “As long as…
Month: February 2021
Away Game Passes Surround Fitness Test
Away Game has been cleared to line up in the Group One Surround Stakes after recovering from an injury scare. The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained filly slipped while she was being unloaded from a float midweek, sustaining an abrasion to her hip. She was examined by Racing NSW vet Toby Koenig on Thursday and he ruled her fit to race. Last year’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner, Away Game has not missed a place in three starts this preparation, the latest when third to Every Rose in the Light…
Grateful Heart wins DBS x Manulife Million Challenge
Grateful Heart is a four-time winner this season. Grateful Heart has been crowned DBS x Manulife Million Challenge champion, leaving Danny Shum to revel in a third victory in the lucrative Happy Valley series in six years. Joining Shum’s previous winners – Speedy Longwah (2016) and Charity Glory (2018) – Grateful Heart was clearly the best-performed runner in the series, which stretched from September to Wednesday night (24 February), with four wins, a second and a third at the city circuit. A constant force in sprint contests at the Valley,…
Pike Shooting To Win Australian Guineas
Top jockey William Pike will link with Perth raider Dom To Shoot in the Australian Guineas. Leading Perth trainer Sean Casey has had to venture to Melbourne to gain the services of his champion local jockey William Pike but he is thankful for the rare opportunity . Pike will ride Dom To Shoot for the Sean and Jake Casey stable in the Group One Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday. Casey said he had little hesitation in accepting the offer when Pike’s manager Dale Verhagen rang him and said…
Berry Keen To Get Into Group One Groove
Tommy Berry has a plum book of rides at Randwick including Master Of Wine in the feature race. The autumn in Sydney is all about Group One racing and jockey Tommy Berry is hoping to play a major role. But he isn’t taking his eye of the premiership prize. Berry set a goal at the start of the season to improve his consistency and in doing so, make a concerted bid for the Sydney jockeys’ title. With 65 metropolitan winners, five behind leader and defending champion James McDonald, the crown…
Stylish Memphis thriving on hectic schedule
Top young driver Jack Trainor and star mare Stylish Memphis are primed to add some serious Kiwi favour into Menangle’s Carnival of Miracles. Despite lining-up for her fourth feature race in as many weeks, Trainor says Stylish Memphis is thriving and in career-best form heading into the $200,000 Group 1 Ladyship Mile at Menangle. “I didn’t quite know how to feel last week. I came off the track thrilled with her run, but gutted with the result if you know what I mean,” Trainor said. “You don’t go any better…
The Price was right at yearling sales
Winton-based Price Bloodstock was the talk of the New Zealand National Standardbred yearling sale that wrapped up in Christchurch yesterday (Wednesday). The Southlanders not only had the sale topper but the top two lots, with Chicago Bear and Mandinka going for a combined $630,000. It was a big day for Katrina and John Price, and HRNZ Marketing talked to them and the two successful purchasers, trainer Cran Dalgety and bloodstock agent Peter Lagan about what’s next for the two sons of Bettor’s Delight.
‘Baby’ Genius!
Shima Classic is the baby of Saturday night’s $429,000 Group 1 TAB Australian Cup (525m) field. In fact, with just six wins from nine starts, she’s one of the least experienced qualifiers ever for the Group 1 feature since the race’s inception back in 1958. The 22-month-old daughter of Mepunga Blazer and Shima Song boasts royal bloodlines, being a half-sister to champion sprinter Shima Shine. And co-trainer Tom Dailly says Shima Classic, pictured above with handler Rickii Lee Church, will only get better. “She’s only young, but she can definitely…
Sky Field picks up lucrative bonus
Sky Field was back in winning form on Wednesday winning at Happy Valley in Hong Kong. The four-year-old gelding’s win delighted trainer Caspar Fownes as the son of Deep Field collected a HK$1,500,000 High Achievement Bonus for winning a Class 1 contest before reaching the age of five. Fownes predicts a bright future for Sky Field after he charged down the outside under Alexis Badel to deny Stronger by a head. “He’s still learning, but he’s a good horse. Once he starts to really chill with maturity, he’ll be a…
Germanicus wins star-studded trial
Group Three winner Germanicus showed he is in excellent order ahead of a return to racing, winning a 1000m trial at Pukekohe on Thursday that was restricted to stakes performers. The Danica Guy-trained five-year-old narrowly edged out the Lance Noble-trained Bavella, with the Jamie Richards pair of Prise De Fer and Entriviere running home nicely for third and fourth respectively. After a disappointing spring campaign which went pear shaped after an incident in the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m), Guy was pleased to present a happy horse at Pukekohe. “It was…