Features
I should have been overjoyed, shouldn’t I? Steve asks
So there they were. OK, they weren’t all there but I was. The owners of the first five winners on the final day of the VRC Cup carnival. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum who runs a small horse operation called Godolphin. Terry Henderson’s OTI Racing was among... Read More
More from Maiden Of The Week
Prezado (AUS)
3 g Denman – Nerrin Twister by Elvstroem O: Mr A W Bruhn, Mr S W Bruhn, Escaka, Mr P L Cooper, Scar Racing, Mr P J Daenell, Mr J C Crawford, Mr R A Wilson, Mr P J Campbell, Maverick Racing, Mr C Sarantakos, Mr M J Chaston, Mr M J Mccraw, Mr M... 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
Steve looks at the dominance of the internationals in the Melbourne Cup
The Irish were celebrating, the English were left lamenting (yet again) and most Australians – bar prominent owner Lloyd Williams – were left wondering what the hell is going on after yesterday’s Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m). You all know the bare facts by now. Joseph O’Brien-trained the winner Rekindling (High Chaparral), upstaging his father... Read More
Merchant Navy takes Coolmore Stud Stakes with dramatic late finish
The Coolmore Stud Stakes (registered as Ascot Vale Stakes) (Gr 1, 1200m) is now recognised as one of Australia’s stallion making races. Originally for two-year-olds and named the Ascot Vale Stakes, it became a major sprint contest for three-year-olds in 1969 with that year’s winner, champion sire Vain (Wilkes), establishing a high standard at stud... Read More
Steve speaks to David Hayes about the Japan Cup
The Caulfield Cup winner and genuine Melbourne Cup contender and – good heavens – locally bred stayer Boom Time (Flying Spur) may yet contest the 26 November Japan Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) but there is a proviso according to the master trainer. “He’d have to finish in the first three in the Melbourne Cup. If... Read More