On The Watch

Queenslander Monsieur Gustave capable of being effective in stronger southern states stakes races

The progressive Sunshine Coast-trained Monsieur Gustave (Al Maher) has not raced outside of Queensland in 17 starts but his effort in winning Saturday’s George Moore Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Doomben suggests he is well capable of being competitive in stronger Sydney or Melbourne stakes grades. Trained by Darryl Hansen and ridden by non-claiming apprentice... Read More

Black Heart Bart looks primed for Kingston Town Classic after bold first-up run

Multiple Group One winner Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars) now looks primed for tomorrow week’s Kingston Town Classic (Gr 1, 1800m) after his bold first up run in Saturday’s Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Ascot. Having his first start since finishing fifth in the Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) at Caulfield on 1 October, Black... Read More

Lightly raced colts show their potential in fighting out Sandown Guineas

A pair of lightly raced colts Villermont (All Too Hard) and Peaceful State (Animal Kingdom) showed their potential for further Group success after fighting out a keenly contested Sandown Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) on Saturday. Villermont, who was having only his fourth race start, came from last to score by a head from Peaceful State,... Read More

Kerrin McEvoy probably won the Darley Classic in the first 200 metres of the race

One of the highlights on the final day of the VRC’s Melbourne Cup Carnival was the Darley Classic (registered as VRC Stakes) (Gr 1, 1200m) – an event that jockey Kerrin McEvoy probably won in the first 200 metres of the race. With a field of high class sprinters, a quick pace throughout was expected... Read More

The 2017 Melbourne Cup goes the way of the Irish after a slow mid-race pace

In a Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) that resulted in a final time almost five seconds outside the race record, one has to wonder what has happened to Australia’s great race where the first 12 horses to cross the line were bred in Europe. The ambition to make our famous race an international event has... Read More

A very strongly run Cox Plate sees Winx better her own track record

A very strongly run Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) resulted in Winx (Street Cry) breaking the track record in a day of achievements for the champion mare at Moonee Valley on Saturday. The pace was set by the Darren Weir-trained Gailo Chop (Deportivo), a stablemate of the runner-up Humidor (Teofilo), the French-bred import running along... Read More