Month: April 2021

The John O’Shea-trained Cotehele made a positive start to his career when winning on debut at Newcastle on Thursday. Getting back to last over 1300m, rider Brenton Avdulla appeared to have a handful of the Tavistock colt turning for home and once presented he powered up to win by three and a half lengths. After finishing second in both his trials, Cotehele started $2.45 equal favourite and delivered accordingly. Cotehele, a half-brother to Group One winner Ugo Foscolo, was purchased by his trainer out of Valachi Downs’ 2020 New Zealand…

The John Sargent-trained Favreau will head to Flemington on Sunday to take his place in the Listed St Leger (2800m). The Tavistock gelding finished sixth in the Gr.1 Australian Derby (2400m) at Randwick last start and Sargent has elected to press on for a Melbourne campaign following the way his charge pulled up after the three-year-old feature. “We didn’t get the rub of the green in the Derby,” Sargent told SENTrack. “He drew the outside (16) and got back. “We followed the winner and Tommy (Berry, jockey) thought he would…

Haunui Farm shuttle stallion Ribchester scored his first win as a sire when his daughter Ruthin won over 1100m at Keeneland on Thursday. Trained by Wesley Ward, Ruthin broke sharply and took an early lead, and despite running a little greenly, she won convincingly. The filly is one of 117 two-year-olds in Ribchester’s debut Northern Hemisphere crop. Ribchester had a stellar career on the track, winning four Group One races on his way to being crowned Champion European Miler as a three and four-year-old. Ribchester shuttles to Haunui Farm in New…

Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller will have a strong Kiwi contingent at Randwick on Saturday. New Zealand-bred five-year-old Kolding will be vying for his third elite-level victory when he contests the Gr.1 All Aged Stakes (1400m). The son of Ocean Park has been absent from the winner’s circle since the spring, where he won the Gr.1 George Main Stakes (1600m) and Gr.2 Hill Stakes (2000m), and Waller is hoping to rectify that this weekend. He has had four starts this preparation, finishing runner-up in the Gr.2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) and…

Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards will be looking to extend what can only be described as a dream season when he lines-up a couple of stakes favourites this weekend. The 31-year-old horseman sits atop the New Zealand Trainers’ Premiership with 147 wins, 35 of those at stakes level, surpassing Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman’s previous national record of 143 wins in a season. Richards has won 13 of the 21 Group One races offered in New Zealand this term, with another four stakes victories in Australia, two at Group One…

Kozzi Asano needs just one word to sum up Atishu (NZ) (Savabeel), his mount in Saturday’s Listed New Zealand Bloodstock Warstep Stakes (2000m) at Riccarton. “She’s fast,” Asano said. “It’s pretty simple really. She’s one of the fastest horses I’ve ever ridden. She ran home her last 600m in 31.94 seconds when she won at Riccarton last month and I’ve never had a horse do that before. “You look at the leaders out in front and think ‘am I giving them too much of a start?’ But then she just…