It’s never the intention of a journo or a photographer – or at least it shouldn’t be – to become the story, rather than just the one who is covering it. For popular racing photographer Sharon Chapman she inadvertently this week became part of a stewards inquiry in the Queensland outback at Birdsville ahead of... Read More

Win, lose or draw with first crop three-year-old son of Widden Stud’s Supido (Sebring) in  Buenos Noches in the San Domenico tomorrow, the colt’s trainer Matt Smith is confident that the horse – and his sire – have bright futures. Warwick Farm trainer Smith produced Buenos Noches to win his first start impressively at Canterbury... Read More

Dan Clarken is content. The South Australian Group 1-winning trainer is more than happy in the sanctuary of his 400-acre property, located just minutes from the Murray Bridge racecourse, after years of working in Adelaide racing’s epicentre of Morphettville. In recent seasons, Clarken and training partner Oopy MacGillivray have plied their trade from the provincial... Read More

The thoroughbred marketplace – the breeders, owners, agents and trainers – can often make brutal judgement calls on horses, particularly the merits of a stallion, based on a small sample size and in the absence of compelling evidence pointing to either their success or otherwise.  We see it at the weanling sales and, more so,... Read More

Nature Strip, simply wow. What more can you say? The horse has the talent, but trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald’s management of the sprinter has been superb.  He looked as well as he ever has in the mounting yard (watching from my loungeroom). Waller’s meticulousness is what sets him apart. Even with hundreds... Read More