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    Even Marines Need a Hero

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    Belardo Moves To Bearstone Stud

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    Flightline on Top of the World

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    Olympiad Retired to Gainesway

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    • Andrea Atzeni is looking to continue the momentum of last week’s Wednesday treble when he teams up with the likes of hat-trick seeking Amazing Kid, Refusetobeenglish and I Can at Happy Valley seven days on. The Sardinian jockey surged up to 19 winners for the season after the Sha Tin dirt treble and a week later, he has another strong book ahead of him with his sights set on third in the jockeys’ premiership. “It was good to get a treble last week, I did have good rides but as we all know,...View the full article
    • By Adam Hamilton Champion horseman Luke McCarthy could hardly contain his excitement after New Zealand Cup winner Kingman drew perfectly in gate one for Saturday night’s $150,000 Group 1 Cranbourne Cup (2555m). It is a huge advantage when he clashes for the first time in the same race with both Leap To Fame and Swayzee. Leap To Fame, who led throughout to beat Kingman into fourth spot in last Saturday night’s Group 2 Ballarat Cup, will start from gate four. Swayzee, winner of two NZ Cups and the reigning Hunter Cup hero, fared worst with the outside draw (gate seven) in a field of just seven. “You beauty. That’s huge. The draws are just so important when you get these great horses together,” McCarthy said. The draw looks especially important to Kingman given it’s his fourth run in as many weeks and his only win in his past three starts came when he drew the pole and led throughout in the Shepparton Cup to beat Leap To Fame. Kingman sat one-one when a lacklustre third to Bulletproof Boy in the Bendigo Cup on January 10. You could cut him slack on that given a hectic travel schedule in extreme heat. But the five-year-old looked all at sea when he hung very badly at times after sitting outside Leap To Fame and tired late for fourth. “He just didn’t handle the tight bends at all at Ballarat,” McCarthy said. Cranbourne has a tricky home bend, but Kingman, like all pacers, will handle it much better against the marker pegs. He looks like a certain leader. What will be fascinating is how Swayzee is driven from the wide draw and whether that creates a rare opportunity for Grant Dixon to drive Leap To Fame with a trail. To have all three superstars in the same race is awesome for Cranbourne and rewards the club for boosting prize money by $50,000 and gaining Group 1 status for its Cup. Between them, the trio has won 110 races and earned almost $8.3 million in prize money. Although this is the first time they have clashed, Kingman holds a 3-1 lead over Leap To Fame in their meetings and Swayzee is 1-1 with Kingman so far. In contrast, Saturday night’s $75,000 Group 1 Cranbourne Trotters’ Cup looks like another easy win for the amazing Keayang Zahara. She should work to the front and post her 23rd win from 24 starts. Victory this week would mean she only has to add the $250,000 Group 1 Great Southern Star at Melton on February 14 to cement the new $500,000 bonus. View the full article
    • One of the Australia’s most talented juveniles, Warwoven (Sword Of State), won’t be racing for next month’s Gr.1 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield and remains in doubt for the autumn juvenile riches in Sydney. Trainer Bjorn Baker said on Tuesday that the colt had been sent for a short let-up after his sensational Magic Millions scratching earlier this month, but he was due to return to the stable at the end of the week with an eye to reviving his Golden Slipper prospects. The son of Sword Of State was most impressive in his first two wins over the summer, but he did not get the chance to race as the odds-on favourite for the A$3 million Magic Millions Classic (1200m) on the Gold Coast earlier this month after veterinary stewards ordered his withdrawal due to signs of lameness. He had held the position as the third favourite for the Blue Diamond Stakes on February 21 and was still marked on Tuesday as the co-favourite at $8 for the March 21 Golden Slipper Stakes. “We’ll try to get him to the Slipper, but we’ll just take it one step at a time,” Baker said on Tuesday. “We thought he was OK to run (in the Magic Millions) and they (veterinary stewards) didn’t, so that’s the way it goes.” “If we have any doubts with him, we’ll put him straight out.” Baker said he was disappointed not to have had his first Blue Diamond Stakes contender this year, but said he expected his stable could still impact in Melbourne this autumn. “Hopefully we will be down with Caballus in the Newmarket Handicap and we will also consider the (Black Caviar) Lightning Stakes with him,” Baker said. “Pericles will definitely go to the Futurity first-up. He trialed really well this morning at Randwick and I think he’s in for a good prep.” Baker said the last start Champions Mile runner-up was likely to stay on in Melbourne to tackle races like the G1 $2 million All-Star Mile at Flemington on March 7 and the G1 $2 million Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 28. View the full article
    • Robbie Patterson isn’t letting weight and pedigree queries dent his confidence with One Bold Cat (NZ) (The Bold Cat) ahead of Saturday’s Gr. 3 NZCIS Wellington Cup (3200m). The New Plymouth trainer reports that everything has gone to plan with One Bold Cat since running on the first two days of the Trentham carnival. Ridden by main stable jockey Craig Grylls, in the first of those races, One Bold Cat won the Listed Marton Cup (2200m), followed by a late-closing third in the Gr.3 Trentham Stakes (2100m). “I couldn’t be happier with him, he’s as good as he could be,” Patterson said. “Craig said just keep doing what I’ve been doing, so it’s all gone smoothly.” Patterson does concede that One Bold Cat will be obliged to carry clear topweight in Saturday’s staying test, while the gelding’s pedigree does raise stamina queries, but neither is a great concern. His anticipated handicap of 59kgs is some five kilograms more than the favourite Rosso, however Patterson makes a relevant point. “It’s not like the days of Great Sensation when he carried those massive weights, there was a much lower minimum back then and my horse has already managed big weights. “As far as pedigree goes, we won the (2024 Wellington) Cup with Mary Louise, who was also by The Bold One from a mare by a sprinting stallion and that didn’t stop her. “All I know is we’ve got a horse in the right form, we set him for the race a long time ago, and everything has gone to plan.” Patterson is also looking forward to lining up stable members Belles Fate (Rating 75 1600m), Sir Bruce (Rating 65 2100m) and Wild At Heart (MAAT 1699m) in support races on Saturday’s card. “Belles Fate won at Trentham last season and has gone well in her last two starts on the track over 1400. She’ll enjoy stepping up to 1600 on Saturday. “We entered Sir Bruce for Remutaka Classic but he needed to win another race to make the cut. He’s well placed in his own grade though after finishing fourth in a similar race there last week. “Wild At Heart won her first start on the home track at Christmas and that was a good effort for fifth in the MAAT race at Trentham last time, so she’s well worth another shot at a decent stake.” View the full article
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