Month: March 2021

Group One-winning mare Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park) is nearing a raceday return after a bout with illness. “She had a kidney infection,” trainer Michael Moroney told Racing.com. “She had to go to Werribee (Vet Hospital) for a while. It was lucky we picked it up. “She just got some sort of bug. She was just running a slight temperature, so we treated her for it and it came back down. “And it was just our vet walked past one day and said her urine smelt funny. So we thought we…

A tilt at one of the world’s most prestigious races, the Gr.1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400m) remains a possibility for New Zealand-bred mare Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed). The daughter of Zed has tasted Group One success in Australia over the distance in the Caulfield Cup, Tancred Stakes, and Australian Oaks, and now her ownership group are keen to test her further afield. Part-owner Brae Sokolski told Racing.com he would love to see his mare head to Europe in October, with plenty of her connections getting onboard with the…

Group One winner Travelling Light (NZ) (El Roca) will be on trial for an Australian assignment at Tauranga this weekend. The Ben Foote-trained mare will contest the Gr.2 Ultimate Mazda Japan Trophy (1600m) and her performance on Saturday will dictate whether she travels to Sydney to target the Gr.1 Coolmore Legacy Stakes (1600m). “She is nominated for the Coolmore Legacy, but we will see what happens on Saturday,” Foote said. “She will have to show us that she is up to it. She would have to do something spectacular to…

Group Two-winning filly Needle And Thread (Makfi) will undergo minor surgery later this week to remove a bone chip. The Stephen Autridge and Kris Shailer-trained filly was one of the favoured runners for last Saturday’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) but tailed the field home. “She got a very small chip on her near-front, which is going to be removed on Thursday,” Autridge said. “She will be having at least eight weeks confinement and then go to a water-walker.” While her three-year-old term has been cut short, Autridge said there…

The recent deluge of rain in Sydney has led Warwick Farm trainer Annabel Neasham to take a unique approach with Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) favourite Mo’unga (NZ) (Savabeel) this week. As a result of the Guineas being postponed a week due to inclement weather, Neasham elected to undertake a six-hour round trip on Monday to conduct Mo’unga’s final hit-out ahead of his weekend test. The son of Savabeel travelled to Queanbeyan, near Canberra, with stablemate Queen Of Wizardry, and Neasham was pleased with his efforts on the Heavy8 track. “We…

Trainer Stephen Nickalls is still coming down off the high of Llanacord’s (NZ) (Contributer) effort to run third in Saturday’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m). “It was a wonderful run, absolutely amazing,” he said of the filly he co-owns with his mother and stepfather, Dianne and Kevin Hopson. “She was magic. It was an unreal day and we had a great experience. You know you have done alright when your owner is in tears after the race. “Kevin’s dream was to have a horse run in the Oaks and we…

Pukekohe trainer Nigel Tiley will downsize his team at the end of May to concentrate on training just those horses he has an ownership interest in. The former topline jockey said the change in focus is coming largely so he and his wife Lee can spend their winters in Queensland. “We bought a house there a couple of years ago. It’s more for Lee’s health than anything, she’s had some circulation problems so it’s imperative she has a warm climate in winter,” Tiley said. “We tried to keep the stable…