Month: April 2023

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Just 15 days after scoring a maiden win at Cranbourne, talented New Zealand-bred filly Affaire A Suivre stepped into the black-type spotlight in Saturday’s Listed Port Adelaide Guineas (1800m) at Morphettville. The daughter of Astern is trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, who backed off her in the spring after she was unplaced in her first two starts. Affaire A Suivre has looked a different horse since returning to action in the autumn, finishing third at Pakenham before collecting her first win at Cranbourne on March 31. Maher and…

While he may not have been on-course to cheer home his pride and joy Times Ticking at Riccarton, trainer Alby MacGregor still made plenty of noise in his lounge at home in Opaki. MacGregor sent versatile galloper Times Ticking south with son Dean and the pair covered themselves in glory as the seven-year-old gelding produced a timely finish to take out the Listed Avon City Ford Easter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton. Times Ticking enjoyed a comfortable trip in transit for rider Jacob Lowry before angling into the clear at the…

Two weeks after his explosive arrival on the Group One stage, Militarize returned to Randwick on Saturday and went back-to-back – this time with a very different kind of performance in the Gr.1 Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes (1600m). Unplaced after striking severe interference in last month’s Gr.1 Golden Slipper (1200m), the New Zealand-bred colt stepped up to the big time with a powerhouse three-length win in the Gr.1 Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) on the opening day of Randwick’s The Championships on April 1. That performance earned him $2 favouritism…

Lightly raced filly Miss Layla produced a dogged performance to upstage the pre-post favourites when she claimed the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton at just her third lifetime start. The three-year-old daughter of Burgundy and former top racemare La Etoile had looked good winning in maiden company at Ashburton over 1400m earlier in the month but wasn’t expected to trouble some of the more fancied fillies in her first start in stakes company. Nobody told Miss Layla that as she dominated from in front, setting up a steady…

Less than a neck separated the first three home in Saturday’s Listed Power Farming Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m), with race favourite Fierce Flight getting in the deciding stride to take out the feature event on the day at Hastings. The Mark Walker-trained four-year-old brought impeccable form to the contest, having won two of his last five stars and came into the race off the back of a runner-up finish behind Ess Vee Are in the Listed New Zealand St Leger (2600m). Rider Michael McNab settled the son of Flying Artie…

New Plymouth trainer Janelle Millar and red-hot rider Kate Hercock combined with underrated mare Pure Incanto to take out the first feature on the card at Hastings, the Listed Power Turf Sprint (1200m). The six-year-old daughter of Per Incanto had finished fourth in a blanket finish to the Listed Lightning Handicap (1200m) at Trentham at her last start to narrowly miss adding some valuable black-type to her career record, but more than made amends on Saturday with a courageous performance. Hercock, who rode four winners at Woodville on Easter Monday,…

An easy win in Saturday’s Gr.3 Toyota Forklifts Frank Packer Plate (2000m) at Randwick has gone some way towards turning the autumn around for Osipenko, whose connections are still wondering what might have been in last month’s Gr.1 Randwick Guineas (1600m). The classy son of Pierro placed in the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) in the spring, and a superb win in the Gr.2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) in February hinted at even bigger and better things to come over the following few weeks. However, a cruelly timed temperature spike forced him…