Author: NZRacingDesk

Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) will return to Moonee Valley for a tilt at a second win in the Feehan Stakes. Lindsay Park has locked in the next start for Mr Brightsideon his path towards the Cox Plate.  The Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley on AFL Grand Final Eve, September 27, will be one of two races Mr Brightside has before the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) on October 26.  The Group 1 Might And Power Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield on October 12 will be Mr Brightside’s final assignment before Moonee Valley’s showpiece two weeks later.  The Ben, Will…

Te Akau Racing is putting another Group One-winning mare on the market with the auction of Romancing The Moon (NZ) (El Roca) on Gavelhouse Plus. Romancing The Moon was bought by David Ellis for $50,000 from Westbury Stud’s Book 1 draft at Karaka 2021, and she turned that into more than $370,000 in stakes from a high-class career. “She was an outstanding racehorse for Te Akau, particularly as a three-year-old filly,” Ellis said. “I knew from the moment I saw her during yearling inspections that she was going to be…

Kelvin Tyler will have two competitive lightweight hopes in Saturday’s Gr.3 Hunterville Vet Club Metric Mile (1600m), with talented pair Master Marko (NZ) (Contributer) and Lightning Jack (NZ) (Per Incanto) set for the Wanganui feature. Based in the deep south at Riverton, Tyler is a regular visitor in the North Island to campaign his horses, with Master Marko making his first journey since returning from Australia in June. A winner of four races in Queensland, Master Marko has been in sizzling form this campaign, winning three of his five starts,…

Ballarat trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy are hoping they are in for an exiting spring with promising three-year-old Rue De Royale (NZ) (Per Incanto), with the ultimate goal being to gain a slot in next year’s $3.5 million NZB Kiwi (1500m). Bred by Little Avondale Stud, Rue De Royale is by their resident stallion Per Incanto, and he was offered through Sledmere Stud’s 2023 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale draft where he was purchased by McEvoy Mitchell Racing Pty Ltd and Belmont Bloodstock Agency for A$180,000. Rue De Royale has proven…

Lance Noble is keen to test the versatility of his well-performed sprinter-miler Habana this preparation. Cambridge Stud’s private trainer has the son of Zoustar in good order to resume at Ellerslie in Saturday’s open 1400m handicap, appropriately named in the honour of farm resident Almanzor. Noble will be hoping the smart debut victory of Flash Effect on the synthetic track at Cambridge on Wednesday can be a forerunner to further success in the coming days. “The (outside) draw wasn’t ideal but she has always showed a bit of speed out…

Bill Thurlow is looking forward to kicking off the campaigns of several exciting horses on Saturday at Wanganui, including Group One winner No Compromise (NZ) (Pins) in the Gr.3 Hunterville Vet Club Metric Mile (1600m). “It’s really nice to have three or four good horses around us, it’s what you look forward to and every trainer’s ideal to have a nice horse heading into the spring,” Thurlow said. “We’re very lucky to have a couple of nice ones, so I’m really looking forward to it.” Now an eight-year-old, No Compromise…

Te Akau Racing were unstoppable at Cambridge Synthetic on Wednesday, with their quartet of winners including an exciting return of promising three-year-olds Legally Binding and Cantatrice. Before the younger contingent took the spotlight, synthetic specialist Stonybreck added a sixth victory on the course in the “All The News At Trackside.co.nz” (1500m), backing up his success on August 28. In the hands of rising apprentice Rihaan Goyaram, the son of Tavistock was slow away but travelled strongly throughout the running, and as he loomed around the corner, the win never looked…

Coolmore colt Public Attention (NZ) ( Written Tycoon) will be out to earn his place in the Caulfield Guineas on Saturday, when the grey son of Written Tycoon steps up to 1400 metres in the Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude. A debut winner at Caulfield late in his two-year-old season, the colt who is owned in partnership with the likes of the Huddy, Kepitis and Vella families, will need to turn the tables on the likes of Angel Capital and Sergeant Major, who beat him home first-up at The Valley.…

It’s been a month of firsts for Erin Leighton, with the former jockey completing her first shift on horseback as a presenter for Trackside at Hastings earlier this month before cheering home her first winner as an owner at Matamata last Friday.  Leighton recorded 41 wins in the saddle over seven seasons as a jockey, but said she felt nervous for the first time on race day when watching the Danica Guy-trained Cleat (NZ) (Rios) head out onto the track to contest the KR Bell Electrical (1200m) last week.  “I…

Well-bred filly Sister Cynane promises to continue Wexford Stables’ successful partnership with the three-year-old’s owner. Trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott have forged a Group-winning association with Eugene Chuang’s Asian-based operation Hermitage Thoroughbreds, with their latest representative to open her season at Taupo. A high-priced yearling, Sister Cynane finished runner-up in her only appearance as a juvenile and will bid to go one better when she resumes in Friday’s Press Statement At Novara Park Maiden (1200m). “Lance and (brother) Paul built the relationship and we’ve had a wonderful run of…