Month: October 2023

Prowess returns to Australia with Crystal Mile victory

AAP

Prowess ridden by Mark Zahra returns to the mounting yard after winning the Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos) Roger James & Robert Wellwood didn’t get to see their star filly Prowess (+360) in the Cox Plate, but after Mark Zahra produced a brilliant ride on the winner, the stable will be very happy to take home the Group 2 Crystal Mile instead. A small field of six runners took part in the 1600m contest, with the race favourite Tuvalu (+160) and Just Folk (+2200) leading…

Impendabelle takes out dramatic Soliloquy

NZRacingDesk

Classy filly Impendabelle is now a Group Two winner at the ages of both two and three, surviving a protest to take out a chaotic running of the Jamieson Park Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) at Pukekohe on Saturday. The $175,000 fillies’ feature brought together the majority of the leading contenders for next month’s Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton and was expected to clear up the classic picture. Instead, the race created more questions than it answered. The first 1000m of the race were relatively uneventful, with the favourite…

Burn To Shine right in Guineas mix with feature win

NZRacingDesk

Cambridge visitor Burn To Shine threw his name into the mix of serious contenders for the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) next month with a determined effort to take out the Gr.3 War Decree Stakes (1600m) at Riccarton. The Stephen Marsh-trained three-year-old had finished third behind Saturday’s race-rival Lantern Way in the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) at his last start and turned the tables after enjoying a perfect run in transit for rider Johnathan Parkes. Parkes sat Burn To Shine one-out behind a muddling…

Prowess makes her mark in Melbourne

NZRacingDesk

High-class New Zealand mare Prowess put a frustrating early spring behind her in style with a bold Melbourne debut in Saturday’s Gr.2 McCafe Crystal Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley. The daughter of Proisir was a Group One winner on both sides of the Tasman last season, culminating in a three-length demolition of her rivals in the Gr.1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) in Sydney in late March. That performance prompted her connections to set their spring sights on Saturday’s Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m), but some cruelly timed minor setbacks disrupted her…

Methven’s races postponed till Wednesday

NZHarnessNews

Today’s Methven races today have been called off after a bitter wintry blast ripped through Mid Canterbury, and will be held next Wednesday instead. “We’ve had very heavy sleet and snow all morning,” says Methven Trotting Club President Michael Heenan, “and it’s a massive disappointment to have to make the call.” The decision was made in conjunction with the Racing Integrity Board just before 11am, though the forecast is for the weather to get better as the day goes. Race 1 was due to go at 1.25pm. “We had to…

Cleveland flies home to claim Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup

AAP

Cleveland ridden by James McDonald wins the Moonee Valley Gold Cup. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos) Cleveland (+550) may have already had his spot sewn up in the 2023 Melbourne Cup field, but after claiming the Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup, the Kris Lees-trained galloper may have found the form that he brought over to Australia earlier this year. The former European-trained stallion was yet to win on Australian soil since arriving in March this year, but after a strong performance in the St Leger at Randwick last start,…

Ain’tnodeeldun gets his head down to win Group 3 JRA Cup

AAP

Ain’tnodeeldun ridden by Billy Egan wins the JRA Cup at Moonee Valley. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos) Under the urgings of Billy Egan, Ain’tnodeeldun (+190) has claimed Red Sun Sensation (+600) in the final bound to take out the Group 3 JRA Cup at Moonee Valley. After opening as the favourite when fields came out on Wednesday, the Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained galloper remained the market elect all the way through betting until the field of seven jumped. Red Sun Sensation took up the lead going out the straight the…

Mustang Valley returns to mile at Moonee Valley

AAP

Mustang Valley will contest the Group 2 Crystal Mile (1600m) at The Valley on Saturday. Photo: Trish Dunell Andrew Forsman is stepping his stable star Mustang Valley back down in distance for her first Australian assignment of the season. Mustang Valley will contest Saturday’s A$300,000 Group 2 Crystal Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley, joining fellow Cambridge star Prowess to provide a strong New Zealand flavour among a six-horse field. Saturday’s Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) had emerged as a possible spring target for Mustang Valley after she secured her second…

It’s Business Time building towards black-type goal

AAP

It’s Business Time will contest the Coupland’s Bakeries Mile Trial (1400m) at Riccarton on Saturday. Photo: Race Images South In the lead-up to the Group 3 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile, the excitement is building around the mare known as It’s Business Time. Priced as the firm favourite at -117.65 for the Coupland’s Bakeries Mile Trial (1400m) at Riccarton this Saturday, It’s Business Time has certainly made a name for herself, winning five out of her eight starts to date. Racing under the colours of her breeder Windsor Park Stud, this daughter…