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Now you know the feeling.

Are you going on Saturday ? Don't let your advanced age deter you.

All the disrespect this horse is getting,  I think ill be cheering him home.

What a lot of fluffing around to run the Matamata Cup. Simple decision would have been to tun it at the Avondale meeting last week. Even with all the preceding rain the track was OK.

Jamie Richards looks to continue his strong start to the campaign with his aptly named La Forza in the Class Three Hok Yuen Handicap (1,200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. The 36-year-old endured a frustrating campaign last season but has quickly put that in the dust, racing to seven successes and unleashing some smart winners along the way. “We had a shocker last season, but I’m very pleased with how things have kicked off this time around. Long may it continue,” said Richards. A...View the full article

French jockey Corentin Berge had to wait longer than anticipated to partner Sicillian at the races, but he made that opportunity count at Arawa Park on Sunday, earning his first win on New Zealand soil. Berge arrived in New Zealand last month and had five raceday rides prior to the Arawa Park Hotel Rotorua (1400m), a take two aboard the Wexford-trained mare having been scheduled to ride her at Matamata last Saturday before the late abandonment. He retained the ride for the following weekend and had confidence that she could produce a winning result, having shown promise as a three-year-old and resuming in Rating 65 company. Sicillian only stepped fairly from the gates and Berge pressed on to find cover off the rail in midfield, while Beetlegeuse ensured a solid tempo up-front. That pace played into the hands of Sicillian, who ranged up at the top of the straight and comfortably ran down the favourite Sweetazme, kicking clear by 1 – ¼ lengths to Sneak Peek and Live On Air. “I was pretty confident in this filly, I’d ridden her at the trials two or three weeks ago and was supposed to ride her in the last meeting at Matamata before it was called off,” Berge said. “I thought she could be my first winner so it’s really nice to get that done. “I didn’t have any clear instructions, her trainers (Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott) gave me a free card, but she probably started a bit slower than I expected. In saying that, we didn’t end up too far from the leader and it all worked out well.” Originally from Toulouse, Berge rode 86 winners in his homeland before seeking further opportunities in Germany where he added another six wins to his tally, including success at Listed and Group Two level. Now plying his trade in Matamata, Berge is working for Te Akau Racing, having been in contact through a French association with Cambridge Stud. “I’m from Toulouse, I started my apprenticeship in the southwest of France before going to Chantilly, which is the main place for horse racing,” he said. “After I lost my claim, I moved to ride a bit in Germany for a couple of months, but it wasn’t all exactly as I’d expected, so I decided to come over to New Zealand. “I was looking for a country not only for racing, but also for a nice lifestyle and opportunity for international jockeys. I think New Zealand was a good fit for that and it’s going well so far. “There wasn’t a real connection between France and New Zealand, but I was lucky because a French trainer, Nicholas Clement, trained for Cambridge Stud a few years ago so he got in contact with them, which led me to Te Akau. “Te Akau have given me a few trial rides over the last few weeks and are really open to giving me the opportunity to ride for other stables in the mornings, so I try to ride for Wexford, Pam Gerard and Graham Richardson as well.” Berge is enjoying his new surroundings in the Waikato, while adjusting to a different pattern of racing than what he is accustomed to at home. “I arrived last month and it’s a nice country, I’ve ridden on four racecourses and the facilities are nice for the horses,” he said. “The races here are quite different. In a typical French race we start slow and the last 400m is very quick, but here, the races have a stronger pace throughout.” Berge is available to be booked for rides through his agent Ted McLachlan (021 147 7378). View the full article

After a couple of unlucky runs in big races this season, Antipodean (NZ) (Derryn) turned his fortunes around at Selangor on Sunday with a deserved victory in the RM300,000 NZB Ready to Run Sale Championship (1400m). Antipodean was bought for $23,000 by trainer Simon Dunderdale from Regal Farm’s draft at the 2022 Ready to Run Sale at Karaka. The star five-year-old has now had 20 starts for 12 wins and six placings, including a perfect six-from-six record over 1400 metres. Previously the winner of last year’s RM200,000 Selangor Gold Cup (1600m) and RM100,000 Supreme Challenge Cup (1400m), little had gone right for Antipodean in his recent runs. He had a tough wide run when third in the Selangor Mile (1600m), then was significantly hampered by a fallen horse on his way to a fourth placing when he tried to defend his Selangor Gold Cup title. But it was a different story on Sunday. Jockey Bernardo Pinheiro took up a handier position this time on Antipodean, settling fifth in the run. All eyes went towards the outside at the home turn as Antipodean and Duma (NZ) (Too Darn Hot) began to launch their runs. That pair swept to the front together and went clear to fight out the finish, with Antipodean winning by half a length. The third-placed Rocky Bhai (Microphone) finished four and a half lengths behind the first two with favourite Lucky Magic (NZ) (Mendelssohn) finishing just outside of the placings after enduring a wide passage throughout. “When the rain came, I had to change tact,” Pinheiro said. Winning connections of Antipodean following the Antipodean gets the better of Duma in the NZB Ready to Run Sale Championship Photo: supplied “He has been coming home strongly but not winning with 59 kilograms on his back. On the wet track, if I had held him back early, he would be charging home as usual but might be too late. Hence I decided to urge him on early and place him in a more handy position. “Once I placed him where I wanted to be, I got him to relax and waited for the straight to mount my challenge. This horse has got such a big heart.” Winning trainer Simon Dunderdale was delighted to see a change in Antipodean’s fortunes. “He was always drawn wide, and added to that he was either forced to race wide or was interfered with in the running,” he said. “Today he had the luck in the running and showed everyone what he is really capable of.” The expat Kiwi trainer enjoyed a successful day, having sent out Capetian (NZ) (US Navy Flag) to win the NZB Ready To Run Progressive (1200m), with graduates coming from last year’s edition of the sale. The three-year-old is out of Indomitable, making him a half-brother to multiple Group One winner and sire Turn Me Loose. He was purchased for $70,000 from the draft of Prima Park by Dunderdale and the late Joe Yorke. The 2025 edition of the Ready to Run Sale will take place at the Karaka Sales Centre from 10am (NZT) on Wednesday 12 & Thursday 13 November. Breeze Ups will be held at Te Rapa Racecourse on Monday 20 & Tuesday 21 October. View the full article

Plenty of drama has surrounded Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress) ahead of Saturday’s A$20 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick, but trainer David Hayes assures everything is fine with the Kiwi-bred sprinting sensation. “I got a call yesterday (Sunday) at lunchtime from JD, my son, and Gareth Hall (racing broadcaster) had rung him and said his twitter account had been hacked and sent out some false information, which basically had him scratched, lame in behind and not eating,” Hayes said. “That’s not the horse I have been training anyway. “The phone went into meltdown for about six hours, but to use a Donald Trumpism, it’s fake news.” Ka Ying Rising put any doubts to bed following his trackwork gallop at Canterbury on Monday, where he pleased Hayes with his hit-out. “We are really happy with him,” Hayes said. “He just went out on the beautiful Canterbury track this morning and ran home in 38 under a nice hold, and his recovery was excellent.” The son of Shamexpress finished third in his 1000m trial at Randwick last week and Hayes said he has benefited a lot from that run. “I think he has really improved from that trial. The idea of the trial was to bring him on, and I think it has,” he said. “I am sure if we trialled him today, he would be a nine out of 10. He has made the progression we thought he would and we are expecting a bold showing. I love the weather pattern as well, a nice, firm track will only help. “I think he is ready to rumble.” The all-important barrier draw will take place tomorrow night (Tuesday), with Hayes hoping to secure an inside marble. “As close to the rail as possible, that would be the best,” he said. “In Hong Kong, they jump and really go hard because they have only got 200m to the turn. In Sydney, they have got a nice 600-700m run. The tempo isn’t quite as hectic, so the barrier is not quite so important for him. “He has got incredible gate speed and he has got the ability to take a sit, so he is pretty foolproof.” Bred by Marton horseman Fraser Auret under his Grandmoral Lodge Racing banner, Ka Ying Rising has been an unstoppable force for trainer David Hayes in Hong Kong, winning 14 of his 16 starts in the competitive racing jurisdiction and amassed more than $HK68 million (NZ$15.2 million) in prizemoney. View the full article

Harness Racing legend Barry Purdon had a weekend to remember. On Friday he made a winning return to the sulky, following a six-year hiatus, when piloting Group One-performing trotter Higher Power to victory at Alexandra Park, and on Sunday, his famous silks were to the fore once again, but this time in the thoroughbred code, when his exciting galloper Yamato Satona scored on debut in the opening race at Arawa Park for trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott. Purdon was trackside in Rotorua with his wife Katrina, who shares in Yamato Satona’s ownership, along with good friend and stable client Dean Shannon. “It was a great thrill,” Barry Purdon said. “We went down there and we weren’t expecting to see what we saw, but it was great. “Lance and Andrew have always liked him, so that is always a good sign.” The 70-year-old horseman was also pleased to return to the driving ranks on Friday night, and he is looking forward to frequenting the track more often this season. “It was great, I really enjoyed it,” he said. “I had a pretty nice horse to drive and it was good to get out there again. “I have been driving quite a bit of track work lately since I had that bit of bad luck with my hip, and I feel good again.” The Purdon surname is synonymous with harness racing, with Purdon and his late father Roy dominating the New Zealand training ranks for several decades, winning every premiership bar one between 1976 and 1996. His brother Mark has dominated the sport in recent times, winning 14 trainers’ premierships since 2000, and he has also started to train a few thoroughbreds from his new Matamata base. In the nineties, harness racing royalty teamed up with thoroughbred racing royalty when Purdon raced several thoroughbreds with Paul and Dave O’Sullivan at Wexford Stables, and the association has continued for more than 30 years. “We had a horse with Paul and Dave O’Sullivan called Most Happy Fella in about 1995,” Purdon said. “There has been a bit of a lull, but we usually have had a horse with them.” Purdon also dabbled in training the odd thoroughbred himself and recorded his sole thoroughbred training success in the 2011/12 season. “I trained a couple (of thoroughbreds) for a little while,” he said. “We managed to get a winner at Pukekohe with a little horse called Maverick. It took a lot of time when you have the harness horses too.” Last year, Purdon was looking to purchase another thoroughbred to race and went to Karaka in search of his next horse, and Yamato Satona, a Satono Aladdin colt in Rich Hill Stud’s draft, caught his eye. “I first saw him on a video when I was looking at all of the yearlings, and I really liked him,” Purdon said. “When I saw him in the flesh, I really liked him as much, if not more. “He was a kind horse, a little bit timid, but he had a great attitude. He was in and out of the box because he was quite popular and I just liked his temperament. “The Satono Aladdins are pretty nice horses and he is out of a Commands mare, and he was a pretty good stallion himself.” Purdon was delighted to secure the colt with a final bid of $250,000, and subsequently placed him in the care of Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott at Wexford Stables in Matamata. “We paid a bit of money for this guy and I just wanted to make sure that everything was done right, and one of those was to make sure he went to Lance and Andrew because he would get every opportunity,” Purdon said. And his colt has been given just that, placing in three trials before winning his last trial over 1000m at Arawa Park last month, and he won on debut like a horse with a bright future, a view shared by co-trainer Andrew Scott. “We were really pleased, he settled in well, stayed the 1400m and for an inexperienced young horse to quicken in the manner he did, we couldn’t be happier,” he said. “He’s put in a performance that suggests he has good levels of ability and where we go to from here, we’ll let the dust settle over the next few days. “Hopefully he has a good summer ahead of him, as his experience levels increase, his confidence will come with it and once he gets out to a mile, he’s certainly going to have a successful season.” View the full article