Australia Latest
Eight for Turffontein
First Accused (6 g ex Keep On Talking by Royal Academy) became the eighth individual stakes winner from 322 runners for his sire Turffontein (Johannesburg) when landing yesterday’s Newmarket Handicap (Listed, 1200m) at Launceston. Sent off a $8.50 chance under Codi Jordan, the Glenn Stevenson-trained six-year-old came home well inside the final 100 metres to deny Jaja Chaboogie (Your Song) by three-quarters of a length, going one better than his half-length second in the corresponding race 12 months ago. There was a further half-length back to Jaguar Stone (Spieth) in third. First Accused is the best of four winners from eight to race out of the stakes-placed winning Royal Academy (Nijinsky) mare Keep On Talking, who has a yearling brother to First Accused. Turffontein stands at Mandy Gunn’s Motree Thoroughbreds for $4,000 (inc GST).
Walnut Farm pick up Enquare
Enquare (Stratum), the dam of September’s Ming Dynasty Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) winner and Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) runner-up Encap (Capitalist), yesterday sold for $500,000 to Walnut Farm. The mare was offered on the Inglis Digital platform in foal to Capitalist (Written Tycoon), making the resultant foal a sibling to the Gary Portelli-trained Encap. Enquare became the 15th horse this year to realise $500,000 or more on Inglis Digital, who have opened entries for their December Online Sale, which will run from December 15-20. Entries can be made by clicking here.
Carbery happy with draw for My Bella Mae
Pat Carbery feels the draw in barrier five will be of no hindrance to the Dion Luciani-trained My Bella Mae (Deep Field) when she takes her chance in Saturday’s Winterbottom Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Ascot. Surrounded by speed in the barriers beside her, My Bella Mae will be ridden for a strong finish after being unsuited by an on-pace run when fifth in the Colonel Reeves Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) last time out, a race in which she was sent off the $3.25 favourite. “I think she ran a good race the other day [in the Colonel Reeves], but I was a little disappointed she didn’t quite finish off for the run she had,” the rider told The Races WA. “However, the track was really firm and I feel that she didn’t quite let down that well. She also raced a little handier than what suits her although she drew one and the pace wasn’t that solid. I feel with the race on Saturday there will be a lot more pressure at the top end which means with her barrier she’ll be able to be off the speed a bit. I feel that will suit her. She’s got away with winning races on the speed in lesser grades, but it’s different when getting up in the grade that she’s in now. She only has to produce what we know she can and she can be right in it.”
Zennzella to make long-awaited return
Having not been seen since an eighth-placed finish in the Clare Lindop Stakes (Listed, 1600m) on April 1, the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Zennzella (Snitzel) will return to the races in Saturday’s Summoned Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) at Caulfield. The four-year-old daughter of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) landed the Wakeful Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) as a three-year-old before then running fourth in the VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m). However, a pair of disappointing starts in the autumn of this year prompted connections to send the mare for a break. “Rick Jamieson bought her and I had a conversation with Rick and I thought there was still a fair bit left in her and he was keen to race her on,” Maher told Racing.com. “She’s had a really good grounding, she’s probably been ready for a couple of weeks, but we just thought this was the right race to kick her off in. She worked well, she’s bright and fit and has a good base on her.”
Rain to determine Danish Fortune’s path
Gawler-based trainer Darren McLeod has admitted that the weather will likely decide if last-start Happy Trails Final (1600m) winner Danish Fortune (Magnus) backs up in Saturday’s Eclipse Stakes (Gr 3, 1800m) at Caulfield. “We are considering it, but only if you get the rain over there that we’ve had over here [in South Australia],” McLeod told Racing.com. “He loves a chase. I think he’s actually better in these higher-grade races, where he’s got something to chase and be competitive with the whole way. Quite often he can find himself a length in front halfway down the straight and put the cue in the rack a little bit, just to get nabbed on the line. But whenever he’s had something to take him all the way to the line he seems to get up. It’s a toss-up between that [Eclipse Stakes], or we hold him over for either the Ballarat or Werribee Cups.”
Matrick chasing stakes win with Regimental Lass
Trainer Shawn Mathrick is hoping that Regimental Lass (National Defense) can deliver him a nostalgic victory when lining up in Saturday’s Merson Cooper Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Caulfield. The unraced filly is the first foal set to race out of Gig (Commands), a Darley-bred mare who Mathrick purchase for $61,000 at the end of her five-year-old season and prepared her to place four times at Group level, before eventually selling her for $300,000 at the 2015 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. Six years later Mathrick reclaimed Gig for just $40,000 at the 2021 Inglis Great Southern Broodmare Sale while carrying Regimental Lass, who has shown herself to be a potentially useful performer in a gallop alongside the yard’s recent Group 2 scorer Cause For Concern (Worthy Cause). “This girl can really gallop,” Mathrick said of the filly. “At home we’ve worked her with Cause For Concern and I said, ‘just sit a length off her and pick her up’, but he couldn’t pick her up. He’s not the best track worker in the world, but that’s still a fair thing for a two-year-old. I don’t normally race two-year-olds, so it is a bit exciting.”
Fox Fighter returns to favourite track
David Payne is hopeful that a return to Rosehill will see Fox Fighter (Foxwedge) get back in the winner’s enclosure. The five-year-old son of Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock) has made seven starts at the track for six top-three finishes, including a pair of wins, and will tackle the Starlight Stakes (Listed, 1100m) on Saturday. “A lot of people don’t do their homework, but he always runs well here, and he would have needed that first run because he’d had a good spell,” the trainer said. “I’m happy with him and he will run well.” Rosehill was rated a Soft 7 yesterday but with a forecast for fine conditions tomorrow and Saturday, Payne is expecting an improved surface. “He can handle a track like that, but I doubt it will be a Soft 7 come Saturday,” Payne said. “I don’t think it will be wet, I think it will be a good track.”
Jericho Cup for Leather Jacket Lew
Leather Jacket Lew (Poet’s Voice) will need to call on all of his toughness when he contests Australia’s longest flat race, the Jericho Cup (4600m), at Warrnambool on Sunday. The Louise White-trained six-year-old will be bidding to become the first interstate runner to win the 4600-metre contest, having landed a qualifier at Beaudesert over 3090 metres on November 4. “You can trace back his characteristics as humans have always been part of his life. He’s got the ignorant tough streak about him, which they have,” White told Racing.com. “He’s a genuine stayer and we were looking for longer races and we had the qualifier; so, it’s been on the radar and we aimed at it. He won it and we’re on our way to Victoria. Everything indicates he will run the distance out to us.”
Socks Nation impressive at Sandown-Lakeside
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Socks Nation (Sioux Nation) broke her maiden at the fourth attempt yesterday, impressively winning a 1500-metre event at Sandown-Lakeside. Jumping straight to the front under John Allen as the odds-on favourite, the three-year-old daughter of Coolmore’s former shuttler Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy) lengthened well to a five and three-quarter lengths success over Maxxi Bon (Bon Aurum), with a further head back to Everett (Winning Rupert) in third place. “It was just a breather,” assistant trainer Jack Turnbull said. “We wanted to stretch her out through the spring and into summer as we knew she was capable, and the races would fall away.” Turnbull said the fill was now likely to head to a VOBIS Silver Three-Year-Old Fillies event over 1500 metres at Moonee Valley next month. “Given that she’s won well today and if she draws well, it could be very suitable,” he said. “Today she showed good tactical speed and on paper there didn’t look to be a lot, so when she jumped clean, Johnny went forward. She did everything right. She’s very professional and has threatened to win a race like this, so it’s just great for the owners.”
South Of Houston appreciates grade drop
Having finished last of 11 runners in the Furphy Plate (Gr 3, 1100m) on her previous outing, South Of Houston (Deep Field) appreciated a drop back in grade at Sandown-Lakeside yesterday to register her third win from seven outings. The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained mare tackled a 1200-metre handicap and, having made all the running after jumping from barrier one, scored by one and a quarter lengths over Running By (Impending) with a further two lengths back to the third-placed Masterful (Deep Field). “I know it was a Group 3 [last time out], but she did go below her best,” Kent Jnr said. “We couldn’t work out why. We did all the tests, she seemed to be going great and Tahlee who rides her was delighted with her trackwork. She looks fantastic, and we applied a crossover noseband as she can be a little bit gassy. She’s a progressive mare. She’s a big strong girl that has a good pedigree and it’s good to get her back on track.”
Tommy ends on a high at Sandown
Progressive stayer Tommy (Telperion) ended his campaign on a high when scoring in a Benchmark 70 (2100m) event at Sandown-Lakeside yesterday. Having disappointed in a higher grade during Melbourne Cup week last time out, the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained five-year-old bounced right back to form to gamely defeat favourite Speranzoso (Siyouni) by a head in the four-runner contest. “I didn’t like watching it,” Calvin McEvoy told Racing.com. “Very tactically run race as we’d expect … leading to the turn I thought he had the race then Clayton’s [Douglas] horse really rallied and it was a bit of a ding-dong duel down the straight. I think our horse is still working it out, I think there’s a lot more there. I think he’s done a great job this prep, [he’s] been in quite a long time so we’ll just sit down and maybe back off him now and come back next time, but he’s a nice bright stayer for the future.”
Back-to-back wins for Nation State
Having finished a promising third on his debut at Sale in June, the John Moloney-trained Nation State (All Too Hard) made it back-to-back wins this campaign when scoring at Sandown-Lakeside yesterday. The three-year-old gelding made the running under Damian Lane in the 1200-metre Benchmark 64 contest and defeated Il Cubo (Rubick) by three-quarters of a length. “He jumped on the bunny and took it up, kept moving and striding and he was the winner at the finish,” Moloney told Racing.com. “I’ve had a lot of issues with his temperament, just management, he’s been in trouble sometimes kicking in the box or injuring himself in the paddock. He’ll come around, the more experience he gets the better he’ll handle it.”
Maiden success for Vomo Island
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Vomo Island (Dundeel) belatedly broke his maiden at the sixth attempt when scoring in a 1200-metre maiden at Wyong yesterday. Having placed in four of his five previous outings, the three-year-old son of Dundeel (High Chaparral), who is a half-brother to stakes-winning mare Wayupinthesky (Snitzel), defeated Mathkhoora (I Am Invincible) by one and a quarter lengths as the odds-on favourite. “He’s back as a gelding now so he’s a racehorse and that’s it,” stable representative Colum McCullagh said. “The stallion dream is over but hopefully we can knock over a few races for [owners] GPI. Great result for the team. It has been a long road with the horse but glad to get the job done.”
Detonator Jack locked in for Ingham
Last-start The Gong (1600m) winner Detonator Jack (Jakkalberry) will head for next month’s The Ingham (Gr 2, 1600m) instead of the Ballarat Cup (Listed, 2000m), with connections being swayed by the $2 million prize pot on offer in Saturday week’s Group 2 at Randwick. “The decision for his next run, whether to go to Ballarat for the Cup for half a million [dollars], or go to The Ingham for $2 million, it’s just a no contest,” managing owner Darren Dance of Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock told RadioTAB Australia. “New South Wales prize-money is unbelievable, that’s why he’s up there. Whoever wins that [The Ingham] race I think it’s ballot free for the Doncaster. If that’s true, you’d be thinking, do we roll the dice that way? We will sit down with Ciaron [Maher, co-trainer] after the Ingham and work out what’s best for the horse.”
Daqiansweet Junior to be prepared for third Cup bid
Phillip Stokes has revealed that Daqiansweet Junior (Sweet Orange) will be campaigned for a crack at the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) for a third successive season. The six-year-old gelding finished sixth in the race in 2022 and fifth this year, earning owners OTI Racing a cheque for $230,000. “He tends to fly under the radar with what he’s done in the Melbourne Cup. We were proud of his effort [this year], especially when you looked at the calibre of horses he was going past in the straight,” the trainer told Racing.com. “It was a harder race this year. He just gets to two miles and he excels. We’ll organise a preparation towards the Sydney Cup with three runs beforehand; we’re still mapping out a program. Then why not have another crack at a Melbourne Cup?”
Lofty Strike ruled out of autumn
Lofty Strike (Snitzel) may have run his final race after it was revealed yesterday that he would not partake in an autumn campaign next year. Lofty Thoroughbreds’ Paul Lofitis admitted that the four-year-old’s racing career could be in the hands of new connections if a deal was reached. “Due to his most recent scintigraphy and MRI report, that has ruled him out for most of the coming autumn carnival 2024,” he told Racing.com. Trained by Julius Sandhu, Lofty Strike, who is by Snitzel and out of the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m)-winning mare Overreach (Exceed And Excel), is yet to win a Group 1 but has placed second in both the Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m) and Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) and is a winner at Group 2 level.
Freedman hands Melbourne Cup to owner
Co-trainer Sam Freedman has returned home from a trip to Dubai where he handed the Melbourne Cup trophy to Without A Fight’s (Teofilo) owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. The 27-year-old, who trained the son of Teofilo (Galileo) to his victory in this year’s Flemington showpiece alongside his father Anthony, was joined on the visit by Cup-winning rider Mark Zahra. “I have been to Dubai to deliver the Cup to Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, who was thrilled by the enormity and the actual size of the Cup, that was probably what he was most impressed by, the weight of it,” Freedman told Racing.com. “The aftermath of the horse winning, I think he has quickly learnt how significant it really was. He had the foresight to send the horse out in the first place, so this race was on his mind 18 months ago. He is slowly starting to become a big player and I think for Australian racing it’s important to foster a relationship, so the trip this week was very important.”
McDougall suspended at Bendigo
Blaike McDougall has been suspended for eight meetings after being charged with careless riding aboard the John Moloney-trained Hollandia (So You Think) in the fourth race at Bendigo on Tuesday. The pair went on to win the 1500-metre event but McDougall was found to have caused interference by allowing his mount to shift badly to the right. McDougall’s ban will see him miss three metropolitan and five provincial meetings between December 8 and 15.