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
$7.5 million in Vobis Gold vouchers to spur reinvestment in Victorian racing and breeding industry
At least 250 races to be conducted with $30,000 bonus on top for horses by Vobis Sires Victoria’s lucrative Vobis scheme will receive a $7.5 million upgrade, taking the bonus pool of money to $30 million to be won by eligible horses from next season, after the local industry’s governing body announced the implementation of... 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
17 for Churchill
New first season sire winners Churchill (pictured) – Churchill’s impressive start with his first northern hemisphere two-year-olds continued, recording his 16th and 17th individual winners. River Thames (2 c ex Where’s Sue by Dark Angel) got his career off to a winning start at Punchestown on Tuesday. Ridden by Wayne Lordan, the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt... Read More
Racing – The great equaliser
The sudden retirement of star mare Avantage (Fastnet Rock) shook the headlines late last week after it was discovered that she had heat in her off-fore. A subsequent X-ray found a hole in the tendon and Te Akau Racing immediately withdrew her from Saturday’s Tarzino Trophy (Gr 1, 1400m). Combining the huge demand for quality... Read More