Ridden forward as is Highland Reel’s usual style, Ryan Moore settled the well-travelled entire in second place before applying pressure to the leader Helene Charisma (Air Chief Marshal) 1600 metres from home. Taking a clear lead at the 800 metres, Highland Reel was then a target for his highly credentialed rivals as the field turned... Read More

Crowned the world’s best jockey last week, Bowman has spent the past two days on a reconnoitre mission in Dubai before returning to Japan where he will attempt to complete the Japan Cup – Arima Kinen double on Cheval Grand (Heart’s Cry). “I was invited to have a look around Dubai,” Bowman said. “I’ve not... Read More

Victorian-bred Mr Stunning (Exceed And Excel), the highest rated horse in Hong Kong, justified his favouritism by taking the Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) by a neck under Australian rider Nash Rawiller after being prepared to perfection by nine-time champion Hong Kong trainer John Size, a Queenslander who also sent out the fast-finishing runner-up,... Read More

Talismanic (Medaglia d’Oro) and Highland Reel (Galileo) are clearly the top two internationally rated runners in the Vase (Gr 1, 2400m) and while I certainly don’t think the international handicappers are infallible, I think they’ve got these two right. I prefer Talismanic, for the maestro Andre Fabre, given that he did beat Highland Reel on... Read More

2 c Spirit Of Boom – Hearts And Arrows by Kempinsky O: Mr D J Crich, Mr G J Mcpherson, Mr D C Crane, Mr T R Maddern T: David Atkins B: Wicklow Lodge S: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale Book 2 V: Fig Tree Thoroughbreds P: Doug Crich $45,000 W: Max Lees Classic,... Read More

The progressive Sunshine Coast-trained Monsieur Gustave (Al Maher) has not raced outside of Queensland in 17 starts but his effort in winning Saturday’s George Moore Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Doomben suggests he is well capable of being competitive in stronger Sydney or Melbourne stakes grades. Trained by Darryl Hansen and ridden by non-claiming apprentice... Read More