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Jockey Club suffers a loss at the Hong Kong International Sale as Pakistan Star’s owner buys top lot
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Exultant can stake claim for Horse of the Year with victory in the Champions & Chater Cup: Zac Purton
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What can punters expect from the first two-year-old filly to race in Hong Kong for 16 years?
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Derby winner Francis Lui can’t find staff required for Conghua expansion: ‘nobody wants to go’
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Caspar Fownes says he is ‘up for the challenge’ of reviving career of gun sprinter Aethero
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Dennis Yip determined to send retiring Ben So out on a high as thanks for title-winning triumph
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Chad Schofield sheds pounds to ride light at Sha Tin: ‘I’m training pretty hard at the moment’
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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Ka Ying Rising will trial at Randwick on Tuesday morning, with the HK champion pictured winning the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup in February Photo: HKJC. Champion Hong Kong sprinter Ka Ying Rising and The Everest favourite will have a barrier trial at Randwick on Tuesday morning. Ka Ying Rising is looming as the unbackable favourite for the AUD $20million feature at $1.70 with bookmakers, and the trial is likely to be his only hit-out ahead of the October 18 slot race. Reigning Hong Kong Jockey of the Year Zac Purton will fly into Sydney for the trial, with Australian trainer David Hayes, who now trains out of Hong Kong set to also be at the course proper. Ka Ying Rising’s trial will feature several other key horses with big Spring’s on the agenda, with Chris Waller’s trio Angel Capital, Fangirl and Joliestar all set to partake, while Ben, Will and JD Hayes will take on their famous father’s horse with Mr Brightside. Fan Girl and Mr Brightside are two of the favourites for the King Charles III Stakes , which will also be run at Randwick on October 18, with Pride of Jenni the bookie’s elect at $3.50. The Australian Turf Club has announced that all media and spectators on course will be treated to a free breakfast, following Ka Ying Rising’s trial, while Hayes and Purton are also expected to speak. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Quintessa pictured after winning the Group 1 Proisir Plate. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Adverse weather has forced multiple Group One winner Quintessa to take an unorthodox route to next Saturday’s Group 1 Livamol Classic (2040m), with the mare appearing at the Awapuni trials on Monday afternoon. Prepared by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson at Matamata, Quintessa got her preparation off to a flying start winning the Group 1 Proisir Plate (1400m), but she was scratched from the second leg of the triple crown (Group 1 Howden Insurance Mile, 1600m) at Te Rapa, avoiding the heavy surface. With a task of getting her to the Livamol three weeks later, Bergerson nominated the mare for the Group 3 Taranaki Breeders’ Stakes (1400m), but withdrew before acceptances, opting to head across to Awapuni for a hit-out over 1300m. In the hands of stable rider Opie Bosson, Quintessa settled at the tail of the field through the running, while stablemate Midnight Blue strode to the top for Samantha Collett. Bosson asked her for an effort turning for home and she responded well, striding up to finish second behind Sailor Jack. Bergerson was pleased with what he saw from the daughter of Shamus Award, who didn’t trial in her usual blinkers. “It’s been a pretty tough time of it with the weather lately, so it was a good opportunity to get on a reasonable surface,” Bergerson said. “Opie was really happy with her trial, she’s pretty lazy without the blinkers on but we wanted to keep them up our sleeve for raceday. I was pleased with how she hit the line and she went past the post a bit as well, so that should bring her on nicely. “The trip away will do her the world of good, it’s a fine line getting her fit but keeping the speed in her legs and soundness as well, she takes a bit of managing. “Hopefully that will catch us up a bit fitness-wise, I’m looking forward to Saturday-week with her.” In an ideal world, Bergerson would like to give her another gallop on better ground before heading to Ellerslie but recognises that may not be a reality. Quintessa has shorted from $18 into $8 with betting sites in recent weeks to win the Livamol Classic, with the Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained Waitak the bookie’s elect at $3.50. “I’d be happy if the weather picked up and I could get some nice work into her on good tracks at home, but unfortunately it’s just that time of year and it’s tough for everyone,” he said. “She’ll have another nice hit-out next week.” It was similar circumstances for Midnight Blue, who was set to resume in the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) but will look elsewhere to kick off his campaign. “He was meant to be in the Matamata Cup on Saturday, but with the rain, we wanted him to have a nice hit-out on a decent surface as well,” Bergerson said. “A trip away is good for the old boy to get him thinking and that’ll bring him on a bit too. “It would’ve been nice to kick him off on his home track, but he can potentially kick off at Ellerslie in a few weeks’ time in an Open race, then there are some nice races over Christmas if he comes up well.” A nine-year-old by So You Think, Midnight Blue joined the Te Akau Racing stable in late 2023 and placed in the Group 3 Taranaki Cup (1800m) and Taupo Cup (2000m) last term. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Bulb General was heavily backed and won impressively at Sha Tin on Saturday. Photo: HKRW Bulb General continued his electric form in Hong Kong racing to bring loftier targets into play for the son of Embellish. Trained by Jamie Richards, he completed a hat-trick of victories when he put away his Class 3 rivals with ease over 1200 metres at Sha Tin in the hands of Zac Purton. The four-year-old is taking winning strides toward the lucrative Four-Year-Old Classic Series – the Hong Kong Classic Mile, Hong Kong Classic Cup and Hong Kong Derby. Bulb General was paying $1.40 to win with betting sites on Saturday and Richards said the relaxed nature of the horse had him confident leading in. “We’ve got some nice targets for him if he keeps progressing. He doesn’t overtax himself, and I think most of the better ones are a little bit like that, so we’ve got plenty to look forward to,” Richards said. “The plan would be to step him up (in trip) at some stage. The Classic Series would be the plan; we’ve got a long way to go but he’s progressing well and he’s winning with a bit of authority, so hopefully he can keep cracking on.” Bulb General also had to overcome a wide barrier to continue his winning run of form. “He had a pretty poor gate (12), I was hoping to get into a nice spot, and he moved into it and did the job nicely,” Purton said. “It didn’t feel like he was getting away from them the way that he did, so that was good sign. “He goes up in grade again and hopefully he can continue the path that he’s on.” Bulb General was bought out of Cambridge Stud’s Book 1 draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale for $175,000 by Richards and Andrew Williams Bloodstock and was a juvenile trial winner at Te Rapa before relocating to Hong Kong. Richards prepared Bulb General’s sire Embellish to win the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) in his previous role as head trainer for the powerful Te Akau operation in his native New Zealand. Standing at Cambridge Stud, Embellish has had four runners in Hong Kong for three winners, including Fortune Whiskey and Chateau le Peche, while Ocean Impact looks a winner in waiting. Bulb General is the first winner for the Fastnet Rock mare Stylish Achiever who has since produced another son, Bellish Boy, and is back in foal to the son of Savabeel. Stylish Achiever is out of the Group 3 Irwin Stakes (1100m) winner and Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) third Flying Object. Bulb General’s rise through the grades has also elevated Richards to fifth on the trainers’ premiership after eight meetings with six winners and five placegetters from 32 starters. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Darren Danis returned successfully from injury aboard Muscovado recently. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images). Darren Danis is developing a knack for making a comeback from career-threatening injuries, but he is hoping his run of serious injuries is now at an end. In 2017, Danis broke his back in a race fall, but made a relatively quick recovery, returning to raceday riding just eight months later, while last November, he was met by a similar fate when involved in an incident at the Waipa trials where he sustained a fractured C4 and C5 vertebrae, leading to a lengthy time on the sidelines. It has been a slow and steady road to recovery, and for a time Danis wasn’t sure if he would make a return to the saddle, but the determined rider did just that at Matamata last month, and was rewarded with his first win aboard the John Bell-trained Muscovado at the Waikato venue on Saturday. “When we got close to the line, he gave me his all and we both really wanted it,” Danis said. “When we got across the line in first it was just a relief. “It’s a lot of weight off my shoulders. All of that hard work, perseverance and grit finally paid off. “It’s been good to be back and it’s just good to be out there with the rest of the jockeys.” While pleased to be out competing once again on raceday, Danis said his return took a little longer than anticipated. “I was meant to come back in August but unfortunately my neck was still giving me quite a bit of problems,” he said. “I wasn’t getting much flexion and I couldn’t really turn my neck a certain degree. “I was progressing from a riding perspective with jumpouts and track work, but being in the aerodynamic position of a jockey and trying to look upwards, I couldn’t really do that at the start. “The bones were just too jarred up and stiff, so we had to go back to the drawing board and find a better plan for the next couple of months to get it moving right again and to come back as soon as possible. “I have worked with the people at Matamata physio, Recharge therapy in Cambridge and my chiropractor. They are all good at what they do and each of them helped the progress of getting my flexion back. I had to do it religiously and they were really good and helped a lot. “I am still seeing them. It has to be an ongoing thing.” Danis said while recuperating from his physical injuries was tough, the mental side of his recovery was even harder, with the Matamata hoop battling with thoughts of retirement throughout his rehabilitation. “After breaking my neck, I was contemplating whether I should come back, but it is just the love for the game,” he said. “I don’t blame the horses for anything, it is all just part of the journey.” His partner, promising apprentice jockey Hayley Hassman, has played a big part in his recovery, and Danis said they have supported each other, with Hassman having also been sidelined with injury earlier this year. “We have helped each other out through that period where we both needed the support,” he said. Danis is hoping to continue his winning momentum, and he is excited for the challenge of trying to re-establish himself among the competitive northern riding ranks. “I want to find my own rhythm and spark again,” he said. “I will keep riding and keep my head up, work hard and see what the season brings.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
War Machine has shot up in many peoples the Everest calculations after winning the Gilgai Stakes on Saturday. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos) Buyers passed over War Machine as a younger horse and his Masterton breeders and part-owners continue to count their blessings that he returned home after two tours of the Karaka sale ring. The New Zealand-bred son of Harry’s Angel was offered by Ardsley Stud at both New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale and Ready to Run Sale and failed to attract the expected interest. “We always liked the horse and put what we thought was a realistic value ($100,000) on him,” Ardsley’s Jim Wallace said. “Everybody thought he was too small, but I think he’s big enough.” War Machine has since grown in stature, firstly from the stable of the late Michael Moroney, and now with Ben, Will and JD Hayes, with his victory in Saturday’s Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m) earning him a crack at the A$20 million The Everest (1200m). He will run in the Coolmore slot and joins fellow Wairarapa-bred Jimmysstar, part-owned by breeder Little Avondale Stud, in the Randwick feature on October 18. Bred by MDJ Bloodstock, War Machine has now won seven of his 14 starts and banked more than $2.6 million. The five-year-old was purchased by clients of Moroney’s stable after a trial win at Foxton with Wallace and son David remaining in the ownership group. “MDJ is David and his late wife Madelaine and myself and my wife Mary,” Wallace said. “He showed us an awful lot as a young horse, and he was very impressive when he won his trial. “Steven Pinfold, who is a long, long-time family friend, was there and he put the deal together very quickly and is still involved and more or less manages the horse for us. “He’s a genuine racehorse with class, I might be persuaded to go over now (for The Everest).” War Machine is out of the Hussonet mare Caserta, a A$40,000 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale buy whose five foals to race have all been successful. She also has an unraced Darci Brahma three-year-old gelding named Vanvitelli. “We sold him earlier in the year to the Hayes stable, he’s had a couple of trials and is out spelling. He’s a lovely horse,” Wallace said. “There’s a two-year-old by Satono Aladdin, who we have just sold the majority of to MyRacehorse. They bought 60 percent of him and David and I have still got a bit of him.” Ardsley will also offer a daughter of In The Congo, a Group One-winning son of Snitzel, and Caserta at Karaka. “She’s a lovely filly too, and the mare is on the point of foaling any day now to Per Incanto and she will be going back to him,” Wallace said. Impressive Hong Kong horse Ka Ying Rising is the $1.70 favourite for the Everest with Neds Australia, with War Machine into $11 with betting sites, after being as long as $40 prior to the Gilgai Stakes. View the full article
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