Great Shot defies odds and rivals in Railway Stakes
Well performed five-year-old gelding Great Shot (Magnus) carrying 53.5 kilograms was sent out at 30/1 in last Saturday’s WATC Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Ascot, quickly took the lead and defied his star-studded rivals to run him down. Close to the finish near champion Black Heart Bart (Blackfriars) almost reached him but Great Shot... Read More
Steve speaks to British-born handlers Archie Alexander and Matt Cumani about life as young trainers in Ballarat
They’re a couple of thirty-something likely lads, from England, searching for gold in their adopted home Ballarat in Victoria which is about 17,000 kilometres from the country of their birth. Cambridge born Matt Cumani and London born Archie Alexander are not yet snapping at the heels of the state’s leading trainer Darren Weir, whose principal... Read More
Steve ponders the best horses to come out of Ballarat
In the lead-up to today’s Ballarat Cup, the bar talk turned to ‘who’s the best horse to come out of Ballarat’. The decision was, by no means, unanimous but consensus had it that the Noel Kelly-trained Citadel (Alcimedes) might well be entitled to the accolade. While there were other contenders, it was almost certain –... Read More
Lightly raced colts show their potential in fighting out Sandown Guineas
A pair of lightly raced colts Villermont (All Too Hard) and Peaceful State (Animal Kingdom) showed their potential for further Group success after fighting out a keenly contested Sandown Guineas (Gr 2, 1600m) on Saturday. Villermont, who was having only his fourth race start, came from last to score by a head from Peaceful State,... Read More
Sinjaree (AUS)
3 c O’Reilly – Hemem by Redoute’s Choice O: Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum T: Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes B: Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Waikato W: Moorookyle Park Maiden Plate, 1400m, Sandown Lakeside, 22 November Sinjaree followed his debut second in a Pakenham maiden on 7 November with a narrow but... Read More
European Season review – Part Two -Three-year-olds
O’Brien Guineas dominance continues Aidan O’Brien’s recent stranglehold on the 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) at Newmarket, the first two Classics of the European season, continued in May as Churchill (Galileo) and surprise package Winter (Galileo) gave their record-breaking trainer the perfect start to 2017. Churchill, always held in the highest esteem by... Read More