Month: September 2023

Hall Of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse says she couldn’t be more excited by what highly rated stayer Goldman (NZ) (Verdi) has been showing her as he prepares to return for the spring. The raw talent has already booked his Melbourne Cup ticket with an autumn win in the Listed Roy Higgins and the champion trainer has her sights set on another Cup victory, a decade after she won it with Fiorente. “He really looks good, I’m really happy with the way he’s training,” she said. “He’s a lovely big loose…

The tangerine army has touched down in Melbourne and it’s fair to say that Te Akau Racing Principal David Ellis is impressed by the facilities that his horses will have available to them at their new Cranbourne base. “The facilities here are as good as I’ve seen anywhere in the world,” Ellis said. “It’s quite incredible and no wonder it’s such a popular training track because the facilities are just second to none.” Five-time Group 1 winner Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) will be Te Akau’s flagbearer this Spring Racing Carnival…

An eleventh-hour jockey change didn’t hinder the chances of Country Bumpkin (NZ) (St Reims) at Hawera on Sunday. Jack Power was booked to ride the 10-year-old, however, he was involved in a fall in the race prior and Portia Matthews was called upon to replace him on Country Bumpkin in the Garden Edge Steeplechase (3900m). Matthews took a confident approach aboard the son of St Reims and took him straight to the front, opening up several lengths on the field for the majority of the journey. The Kevin Myers-trained pair…

Wairarapa trainer Aaron Bidlake was in a buoyant mood at Hawera on Sunday after Invisible Spirit (NZ) (Charm Spirit) scored his maiden hurdle victory in the Taranaki/Whanganui Breeders’ Hurdle (3100m). The six-year-old gelding joined Bidlake’s care earlier this year to see if jumping would revive his career and his connections have been pleased with the outcome. The son of Charm Spirit had five previous hurdle outings, finishing runner-up in his last two, and was duly backed into a $3 favourite by punters for his Sunday assignment. Jockey Emily Farr was…

Te Akau Racing unveiled yet another exciting juvenile at Wanganui on Saturday, with Star Witness filly Bellatrix Star (Star Witness) taking out the opening two-year-old race of the season, the Whanganui Chronicle Maiden 2YO (800m). Trainers Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson wasted no time in showcasing their filly at the trials earlier this month, stepping her out over 650m at Te Rapa on August 1, where she showed signs of what was to come when winning her heat. Drawing the outside of the six-horse field on Saturday, jockey Michael McNab…

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