Features

Classique Legend ready to scale Everest again
As veteran trainer Les Bridge led his grey sprinter through pitch black darkness up the hill to Sir Dapper Lodge after track work at Randwick last Tuesday morning, it dawned on him that he might be able to get the horse to climb Everest again. “I had galloped him and I could hardly hear him... Read More
More from Maiden Of The Week

Kapalua Sunset (NZ)
Kapalua Sunset (NZ) 3 f Tavistock – Full of Spirit by Flying Spur O: Mr D T O’Brien, Mrs J O’Brien, Balmerino Racing Partnership, Mr P J Prendergast, Mr C D Mathieson, Mr J R Gunston, Mr L M Breust, Mr J J Roughead, Mr L Shiels B: Haunui Bloodstock / GSA Bloodstock T: Danny... Read More

Lightsaber
As the name would suggest, Lightsaber is a flashy thoroughbred who stands out – in more ways than one. For a start there’s the tail – the eyecatching streak of silver trailing the bay, who underlined his Caulfield Guineas credentials and further pushed those of his sire Zoustar with his second stakes win from eight... Read More

Ugly duckling earns champion status while her sire is regarded as a one-hit wonder
A wayward, plain, angular looking mare by a little known stallion in New Zealand called Zed (Zabeel), there wasn’t too much hoo ha when Verry Elleegant first arrived on the Australian racing scene back in the spring of 2018. She hardly boasted a glittering racetrack resume having won a rating 65 race at Matamata before... Read More

Would Victorian racing be poorer for the loss of Sandown racecourse?
This Saturday’s much anticipated meeting at Sandown cannot and must not be a wake. Group 1 racing returns to the track for the first time since 1996 and the eyes of the racing nation will be on this magnificent racecourse as Australia’s best horse Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux) is expected to run in the Underwood Stakes. Sandown... Read More

Broader implications as the HKJC buys American again
The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s (HKJC) purchase of a Medaglia D’Oro (El Prado) colt at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale late last week ended a nine-year absence from the North American market and signalled a tweak to its buying strategy that has implications beyond the immediate concern of its quirky Hong Kong International Sale (HKIS). The... Read More