Month: April 2021

Kolding (NZ) (Ocean Park) has rounded out Chris Waller’s stellar autumn carnival with a gritty Gr.1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) triumph and in the process the five-year-old gelding has smashed through the A$6 million in stakes as he added a third career Group One. The gelding’s victory gave expat Kiwi Waller a Group One win for the fifth week in succession, also delivering the premier trainer’s 125th in an already decorated career. Kolding ($9) and Savatiano ($6) edged clear over the final 200m in a two-horse war and the Godolphin…

Trainer John O’Shea enjoyed a bumper day at Randwick on Saturday, sending out a treble. But while a Group Three win with All Hallows’ Eve (NZ) (Sacred Falls) and a handicap victory with Rocha Clock (Pierro) would have been satisfying, none of the winners on the Randwick card were more impressive than Lost And Running (NZ) (Per Incanto) taking out the Fujitsu General Sprint (1200m). Lumping equal topweight, the four-year-old gelding cruised to a four-length victory under a front-running James McDonald ride in 1:08.75. Lost And Running has now won…

The John O’Shea-trained All Hallows’ Eve (NZ) (Sacred Falls) has significantly boosted her future broodmare value with victory in the Gr.3 JHB Carr Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday. The daughter of Sacred Falls was bred by Waikato Stud and Rosemont Stud and they race the three-year-old filly in partnership. Visiting jockey Jamie Kah gave All Hallows’ Eve a perfect ride to steer her to her first black-type success and her third career win from seven starts. “I thought it was an omen when we were in the Carr Stakes…

Former New Zealand galloper Open Minded (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) continued his rich vein of form when successful at Caulfield on Saturday under a positive Damien Thornton ride. The Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained four-year-old notched his seventh win from 12 starts, including the past four in a row. Sent out a $9.50 chance, Open Minded had a Long Neck to spare from Superium with Defiant Dancer in third. “He’s done a really good job. He won his first three starts for us then he was a little bit in the wilderness…

Pukekohe trainer Nigel Tiley enjoyed a red-letter day at Ellerslie on Saturday, taking out two of the three feature races on offer with two-year-old Lady Maroal winning the Listed Staphanos by Deep Impact Champagne Stakes (1600m) before stable star Demonetization powered home to take out the Gr.2 Manco Easter Handicap (1600m). Tiley had a big team engaged on the day and was delighted to leave the course with a pair of stakes victories, including the Easter Handicap, a race that he had set Demonetization for after he had run second…

Andrew Bensley talks to trainer Stephen Nickalls about his plans for smart three-year-old filly Llanacord.

North Island raiders Beauden and Hypnos fought out a thrilling finish to the feature event at Riccarton on Saturday, the Gr.3 Coca Cola Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m). The team Rogerson-trained Beauden was sent out a hot favourite for the contest off the back of an effortless win in the Gr.2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2000m) earlier in the month. However, Cambridge visitor Hypnos wasn’t about to hand over the victory without a fight with last year’s Gr.2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile (1600m) winner tracking the favourite every step of the way. Regular…

Legendary former Ellerslie commentator Keith Haub savoured one of the highlights of his long career in racing when Hezashocka scored a stunning upset in Saturday’s Gr.2 Trelawney Stud Championship Stakes (2100m) at Ellerslie. An iconic voice of the Auckland track for more than two decades until his retirement in 2004, Haub has also celebrated a number of ownership successes along the way – most notably with six-time Group One winner McGinty. But he ranked Saturday’s Championship Stakes, in which Hezashocka defied a quote of $75 to score by a nose,…