The jumps racing fraternity has been denied the chance of farewelling the Ellerslie Hill for a final time with next week’s Great Northern meeting transferred to Te Aroha. While there was the option of delaying the meeting by a week at Ellerslie, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, Auckland Thoroughbred Racing and the New Zealand Jumping Association decided the venue change was a more logical option. “It provides certainty for the connections of the horses and their preparation and from a wagering perspective,” NZTR said in a statement. “A further delay in…
Month: September 2021
Riodini on track for Epsom
Talented five-year-old Riodini (NZ) (Proisir) is on target for the A$1.5 million Gr.1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) on Saturday week. The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained son of Proisir has put his best foot forward in his past two runs, finishing second in the Gr.2 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) to Think It Over, before champion mare Verry Elleegant pulled out all stops to deny him in last Saturday’s Gr.1 George Main Stakes (1600m). “I thought he was excellent on the weekend,” Bott said. “His last two runs at weight-for-age have been very…
‘Allstar’ Rupee’s Adelaide challenge
Newly-crowned Sandown Park record-holder Aston Rupee is chasing a berth in the Group 1 Adelaide Cup final when he makes his interstate debut as hot favourite in Thursday night’s TAB Match Race Challenge (530m) at Angle Park. After smashing Sandown’s 515m record at his most recent start, clocking a sensational 28.79sec, Aston Rupee, trained by Glenn Rounds, is all the rage in TAB’s market on the Challenge, which comprises four ‘two-out’ match races. The superstar son of KC And All and Aston Miley, bred and raced by Ray Borda, dominates…
Traralgon track update
Due to COVID 19 restrictions both in the construction industry and in the Ballarat region – where track sand is sourced – the ability to deliver sand to Traralgon for its track surface is now delayed. Access to the track by engineers and other specialists to approve works has also been halted. It is anticipated that the current timeline will extend the final works at the track by only a few weeks, with the opening of the track now being scheduled for late November to early December. Further news including…
Bendigo’s Ready to Race Sales cancelled again
It is with great disappointment that for the second year in succession the annual Ready 2 Race (R2R) Sales at the Bendigo greyhounds has been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Bendigo Greyhound Racing Association is extremely proud of its R2R event and as such the decision to cancel the event again this year has not been an easy one and has taken months of consideration of various factors. “It’s unfortunate to have to make the decision to cancel yet again however weighing up the pros and cons of the…
Daily Mail: Avenger Lass to marvel in Grassroots
The culmination of the inaugural Grassroots Regional Championship series takes place tonight at Ballarat with the $10,000 finals for the sprinters (450m) and stayers (660m). The Watchdog has selected Avenger Lass (6 from 13 – 2 from 2 Box 8) to collect the $7,000 first prize in the Sprint Championship after winning the 450m Northern Region semi-final at Shepparton by over seven lengths. Bolt Out (2 of last 3) and Winlock Mungo (won last 2) are considered the biggest dangers after their semi-final victories at Geelong (Central) and Warrnambool (Western)…
Fannin looking forward to local meeting
Shaun Fannin is currently caught in a tussle with northern hoop Shaun Phelan for the lead in the jumps jockey premiership and he is hoping to gain an advantage at Wanganui on Thursday. The local jockey has a quality book of rides, headed by the Kevin Myers-trained Mandalay in the Pro Powder Coating Open Steeplechase (4100m). The nine-year-old mare has been in pleasing form of late, winning at Wanganui two starts back before finishing runner-up behind her star stablemate Tallyho Twinkletoe in the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) at Riccarton last…
Cambridge win generations in the making
Apprentice jockey Crystal Lindsay’s win aboard Tightlign in the Mongolian Khan 1300 at Cambridge on Wednesday made a dream come true for two generations. Lindsay’s mother Alecia Todd held aspirations of becoming a jockey herself and was on the verge of fulfilling that dream 20 years ago, however, the pull of motherhood proved stronger. “Mum was apprenticed to Gus Clutterbuck. She had one or two trial rides and then she got pregnant with me, so I am kind of fulfilling her dream now as well,” Lindsay said. “She is stoked…
Taplins begin northern raid
Isla Bank trainers Ian and Kerry Taplin will begin their northern assault at Awapuni on Saturday when they contest the Gr.3 Boehringer Ingelheim Metric Mile (1600m) with in-form gallopers Ritani (NZ) (Makfi) and Tappy’s One (NZ) (Proisir). Travelling is nothing new to the pair, having made plenty of trips to Riccarton from their southern base, and Ian Taplin said both horses have taken their latest trip in their stride. “They travelled up fine. They are horses that travel very well thankfully because they have been doing quite a bit of…
Cup trial victory a tonic for Parsons
John and Karen Parsons got a much-needed tonic after a tough week when El Gladiador (NZ) (Ghibellines) won the Martin Collins New Zealand Cup Trial (1800m) at Riccarton on Saturday. El Gladiador’s victory came after Karen Parsons required hospital treatment after requiring a lumbar puncture, which collects fluid from the spinal area to check for diseases in the central nervous system. “She was going to the doctor and she wasn’t keeping any food down, we took her into hospital on Monday last week,” John Parsons said. “She was in for…