New Cup date, new races and a third carnival at Bendigo

Bendigo Greyhound Racing Association (BGRA) is excited to announce several changes to its feature race calendar for the upcoming racing year including a date change for the Group 2 Bendigo Cup. In 2014 the BGRA made the decision to take the Bendigo Cup away from its Easter timeslot in a bid to open up opportunities to attract the best greyhounds in racing to the flagship event and placed the Cup in July. The move was an instant success with several Easter Egg finalists making their way to Bendigo’s July Cup…

Media Award scores Australasian Oaks upset

Media Award has upstaged her more fancied rivals in the Group 1 Australasian Oaks (SA Oaks) at Morphetville. (Pat Scala/Racing Photos) The Chris Calthorpe-trained Media Award absolutely floored punters when taking out the Group 1 Australasian Oaks at Morphettville on Saturday afternoon paying as much as +8000 fixed odds starting price. Having been friendless in the market prior to the jump, the lightly raced filly fended off all her rivals to claim Group 1 success at just her sixth start. She was thrown into the deep end on Saturday, having…

Instant Celebrity Claims Robert Sangster Stakes

Instant Celebrity brings her spring form to win the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes. (Brett Holburt/Racing Photos) On Friday morning, Instant Celebrity was given next to no chance by trainer Phillip Stokes heading into the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes. Come Saturday afternoon, the filly was a Group 1 winner following an impressive win in the Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville. It had been just over 24 hours from when Phillip Stokes was asked if Instant Celebrity was going as good as she was when near unbeatable during the spring,…

It’s May and that means one thing …. The ‘Bool is back!

Ablaze won the 2020 Grand Annual Steeplechase in front of empty grandstands. Photo: Pat Scala/Racing Photos The three day Warrnambool carnival is a bucket-list item for all racing fans, and headlines the midweek racing around the country. The carnival kicks off on Tuesday with the Brierly Steeplechase the featured event on the first day of the carnival with 10 races on the card. The 2020 Warrnambool carnival was run and won with no crowds present, and in a boost for the local area, the 2021 carnival is set to be…

Victoria introduces exciting racing initiatives

Victorian greyhound racing’s ability to continue throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has been a credit to many, and none more so than our sport’s participants. As the end of financial year approaches, GRV is showing its appreciation by offering up a number of prize money initiatives totalling approximately $1.3M. Some of these initiatives are temporary, including a handful that will run throughout the May/June period. GRV’s General Manager Racing, Greg Kerr said the new initiatives being programmed into the racing calendar through to the end of the racing season would ensure…

Cats & Fastnet at ‘full mast’?

Cats’ fans could be ‘sailing away’ with tomorrow night’s AFL/Greys offer from TAB. The betting giant’s $4.00 proposition is Geelong to defeat the Sydney Swans at the SCG and rising star Aston Fastnet to be at ‘full mast’ at The Meadows. The Cats – who gave the Eagles a 97pts licking last week – are 4th on the AFL ladder with four wins from six games, while the Swans – who were eclipsed by 40pts to the Suns – are 5th, also with four wins. Meanwhile, the Jason Thompson-trained Aston…

Top Kiwi mares ready for Queensland challenge

Class gallopers Jennifer Eccles (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle) and Two Illicit (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) furthered their preparations for upcoming Queensland Winter Carnival assignments with separate exhibition gallops during the Te Rapa racemeeting on Saturday. Last season’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) winner Jennifer Eccles was having her first serious hit-out off the back of a decent summer break following a disappointing spring campaign that saw her below her best in two of her three runs. Trainer Shaune Ritchie, who prepares the mare in partnership with Colm Murray, was thrilled with…

Puntura books trip to Brisbane with Te Rapa victory

Promising three-year-old Puntura (NZ) (Vespa) confirmed his place in a squad bound for Brisbane later this month when he stormed home from near last at Te Rapa on Saturday to record his fourth successive victory. The Robbie Patterson-trained son of Group One winning two-year-old Vespa will join stablemates Coventina Bay (NZ) (Shamexpress) and an unnamed Shamexpress two-year-old on the plane to Australia on May 24, with Patterson keen on seeing him perform at a higher level. “He’s a big, raw horse who has just got better and better each time…

Singh back to winning form after tough twelve months

The whip flourish and excited salute said it all as popular Central Districts jockey Madan Singh registered his first win in the saddle since resuming from a lengthy stint on the sidelines courtesy of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Singh guided the Fraser Auret-trained Uareastar (NZ) (Jakkalberry) to victory in the last race at Hastings on Saturday for his first winning ride since resuming in early February. Singh had been off the riding scene for the best part of a year after being caught out by the nationwide lockdown instituted in…