Day: 8 September 2024

Victoria’s highest-earning maiden is winless no longer, as Tony and Calvin McEvoy’s Rue De Royale (NZ) (Per Incanto) posted an impressive all-the-way victory over 1300 metres at Bendigo on Sunday. By Per Incanto, Rue De Royale cost $180,000 at last year’s Inglis Classic Sale, and made a great start to his career, fourth on debut and second in the $1 million Inglis Golden Gift next time out. After a spell, he returned with another lucrative runner-up cheque, this time in the $2 million Inglis Golden Gift, comfortably eclipsing his purchase…

Trainer Symon Wildes says the move of The Archer to this Saturday at Flemington, and the golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup for the winner, couldn’t have been timed better for Dashing Duchess (NZ) (Tavistock). “She’s in form and up and running. She deserves a shot in a race like this,” the Warrnambool trainer said. Dashing Duchess has won her past two starts in comfortable fashion at The Valley, with her last one in a Quality Handicap over 2500 metres. “She’s tracking the right way. She’s got a nice profile…

Top jumps jockey Shaun Fannin hasn’t ridden in many races this season, but when he does, the result is often similar to what panned out at Woodville on Sunday. A four-time winner of the Jumps Jockey of the Year title, Fannin has won over 160 races in the saddle but more recently, he has turned his focus to training in partnership with Hazel Schofer, with the pair recording 13 winners last term from their base at Awapuni. However, Fannin has maintained his formidable partnership with Mark Oulaghan’s champion steeplechaser West…

Capable flat galloper Billy Boy (So You Think) made the perfect start to his jumping career at Woodville on Sunday, putting on a polished display to claim the Pat & The Late John Shannon (3000m). The son of So You Think had previously recorded three wins on the flat and most recently in an amateur riders contest in June, with his customary front-running style particularly efficient in heavy track conditions. Aided by former top jumps jockey Jo Rathbone as his trainer, Billy Boy had been preparing for a career over…

A huge crowd befitting the last running of the S$300,000 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1800m) got the results they wanted after Singapore’s best galloper, Lim’s Kosciuszko (Kermadec), won the elite race at Kranji on Saturday. Trelawney Stud bred Lim’s Kosciuszko was sent out the heavy favourite in the elite 11-horse field, while Lim’s Saltoro (NZ) (Shamexpress) and Golden Monkey were the equal second favourites. On jumping, the two Lim’s horses were prominent early before the race panned out as expected with Mr Black Back crossing from his wide gate 11…

Jockey Michael Dee will partner Warmonger (NZ) (War Decree) when the four-year-old makes his reappearance in at Flemington this Saturday. The Queensland Derby winner is set to resume in the Gr.1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) having had a trial and jump-out at Cranbourne in recent weeks. Warmonger is being aimed at the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 19 and potentially the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 6, and trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr wanted to lock in a rider that could manage the gelding’s…

The Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival has been a happy hunting ground for Peter and Shaun McKay, who returned to Hastings on Saturday and pulled off a training masterstroke with the resuming Wolfgang (NZ) (Puccini) in the Livamol International Health Products Premier (1600m). The blue and gold colours of the Matamata stable have become a familiar sight at Hastings every spring, landing the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas (1400m) with Antonio Lombardo and Amarula, the Gr.3 Spring Sprint (1400m) with Antonio Lombardo, and numerous other bold performances by the likes of Sagunto,…

While top honours did not go the way of Savaglee (NZ) (Savabeel) in Saturday’s Listed El Roca – Sir Colin Meads Trophy (1200m), Pam Gerard took plenty of positives from the performance of her colt as he heads towards loftier targets. The impressive colt was a Group Three-winning juvenile and has flourished early in his three-year-old campaign, winning the 3YO Colts and Geldings contest at Taupo before a storming run into second behind Poetic Champion in the Hastings three-year-old feature.   In a leader-dominated contest, Poetic Champion controlled a steady…

Progressive sprinter Navigator (NZ) (El Roca) produced one of the standout performances of the meeting at Hastings on Saturday, continuing his formidable fresh-up record in the Vet Services Equine Hawke’s Bay Premier (1200m). Navigator has been carefully placed throughout his light racing career by trainer Cody Cole and his record is a reflection of this, with the five-year-old never finishing further back then fourth in nine previous starts. Cole targeted the final meeting at the Hawke’s Bay carnival last year with the five-year-old and was duly rewarded with a lucrative…

Locally trained three-year-old filly Simsala (NZ) (Almanzor) dominated proceedings in the first race on the card at Ruakaka as she captured her first career victory at just her third start.  Prepared by Ken Rae, the daughter of Cambridge Stud stallion Almanzor had indicated a victory was close at hand when she finished runner-up in Rating 60 company on the Cambridge Synthetic surface ten days earlier.  Slowly away in her first two races, Simsala flipped that script as she went straight to the front in the Northland Business Systems (1400m) on…