The mild–mannered and softly spoken Tal Nolen, the veteran horseman who commands respect from buyers and his peers alike, was last year going to give away educating and consigning breeze-up horses. Fed up with Victoria’s lockdowns due to the pandemic and grieving the loss of his wife Margaret, horses were the furthest thing from his... Read More

Choisir (Danehill Dancer) may be gone, but the grand stallion is still giving and it appears certain his influence will be felt for many years to come, both here and abroad. Coolmore’s former dual-hemisphere titan, who died last December aged 22, notched his 103rd stakes winner on Saturday when the Grahame Begg- trained Cardinal Gem... Read More

Vin Cox, managing director of Godolphin Australia, believes his operation’s head trainer James Cummings has a touch of the magic which saw his legendary grandfather (James) Bart Cummings train 246 Group 1 winners, including 12 Melbourne Cup victors.  “There’s no doubt at all he has something of his grandfather in him when it comes to... Read More

New winners Brave Smash – Aquis Farm’s first-season sire Brave Smash (Tosen Phantom) posted a breakthrough winner from his first runner when Brave Halo (2 c ex Danish Bingo by Sebring) won the Amelia Park Initial Plate (1000m) in the opening contest at Ascot on Saturday. Sent off as an $11 chance, the Sean and... Read More

Ben Cooper, the founder and owner of emerging boutique thoroughbred nursery Merricks Station, had two causes for celebration at Saturday’s Caulfield Guineas meeting. When Golden Mile (Astern) crossed the line in the three-year-old classic, the value of one of his broodmares, Calverite (Lonhro), skyrocketed. Less than six months ago, Cooper purchased her from Godolphin for... Read More