Chief Stipe

Don't bite the hand the feeds your insatiable demand for attention.

May not be illegal however if what you are saying is correct then the TAB could have said "we will report $10k transactions as per the act but if you want to go lower than that then you need to legislate." As Brodie suggests the TAB saw an opportunity to clamp down on successful punters.

I get what you are saying. If you are a consistent winner through your online account they will restrict you. However up until now you could get around that by betting down at the local or oncourse.

So you laundered $2 whole dollars and won a $1000! It happens. Surely the focus should be on what was bet not the return! I'm starting to think that both the TAB and the DIA don't understand wagering.

Rule Number(s): 636(1)(d)Following the running of race 1, Gartshore 1600, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 636(1)(d). The Informant, Mr Jones, alleged that Ms Wenn failed to ride SHAHANA out to the end of the race when there was a reasonable chance of finishing in 3rd position. Ms Wenn acknowledged that she understood ...View the full article

Can you point us in the direction of where the DIA has notified this policy and where it is legislated?

I pity the first time punters oncourse who fluke a couple of good trifecta's by buying $6 Easy Bets! Surely it is HOW MUCH is bet not the size of the collect? I would also have thought that there were far less riskier and easier way to launder cash than through the TAB e.g. Pokies.

How do they manage money laundering through pokies? For example if you pop down to the nearest local that is close to a local gang presence you will see folk pumping thousands through the pokies. If a gang cleans 1 in 3 dollars through the pokies I'd imagine they would be happy. But where is the Pokie Pass?

The math in this article might be a bit beyond Thomaas!

Why fillies and mares don’t need a weight allowance at the highest level James Willoughby | MAY 18, 2017 | 1 Comment Treve winning the Arc in 2013: the three-pound weight allowance she received looks fairly irrelevant in this case Fillies and mares receive a weight allowance when taking on male horses around the world. This is supposed to equalise opportunity and make the best races open to either sex more competitive. Does it do the supposed job? Should we even consider removing it for the best races, so as to reward the best athlete, rather than merely rewarding the best runner considering its sex? Let's see what the statistics say. Table 1 contains the record of female horses in Group and Graded races across the world since January 1, 2011, when facing at least one male opponent, including geldings and ridglings: Table 1: female horses in 5 years of Group/Graded races Country W (wins) R (runs) SR IV Australia 284 2894 10 1.13 New Zealand 105 1400 8 0.95 Japan 71 1125 6 0.97 France 82 861 10 0.84 Britain 53 554 10 0.95 Ireland 43 336 13 0.89 Argentina 32 270 12 1.31 Germany 23 262 9 0.76 Chile 12 182 7 0.79 Brazil 12 142 8 0.78 Italy 15 126 12 1.07 South Africa 15 124 12 1.59 USA 17 121 14 1.27 Peru 12 105 11 1.06 UAE 12 95 13 1.51 Canada 5 34 15 1.29 Hong Kong 0 32 0 0 Sweden 0 12 0 0 Turkey 1 8 12 1.01 Singapore 0 7 0 0 Norway 1 7 14 1.47 Qatar 1 3 33 3.67 Denmark 1 3 33 4.00 Saudi Arabia 0 2 0 0 Let’s take a walk through the columns. ‘W’ is total winning horses; ‘R’ is total runners; ‘SR’ is Strike Rate (winners per 100 horses), and ‘IV’ is Impact Value (ratio of actual Strike Rate to expected Strike Rate considering size of the field). Two statistics are worthy of note: R – the number of runners – varies tremendously across the world. Relative to the number of Group and Graded races staged, it is relatively common to see the sexes in competition in Australia and, particularly, in New Zealand. But in the USA, the belief that females are hugely disfavoured on dirt, plus the number of races restricted to females, makes it rare to see the sexes in competition. IV – Impact Value – is a simple but useful metric in many situations. It measures the rate of winners for a category considering the proportion of runners representing that category. An IV of 1.00 is a win rate no more or less than the average in the size of fields encountered; for instance, a 10 percent strike rate in 10-runner fields. IV less than 1.00 is underperformance and IV greater than 1.00 overperformance; IV 2.00, for instance, represents a strike rate twice as high as random chance. In this setting, IV greater than 1.00 for females implies an IV less than 1.00 for males, for it should be obvious that sex is a binary value. So, you can quickly see how females have done in each country; it seems as if the general belief that females find it hard to beat males in the US is unjustified from these numbers. That last statement must be tempered, however, by an important caveat when dealing with statistics that are the result of observation and not experimentation. In the first case, samples of statistics are very likely to be biased. This means that females are not selected at random to take on males, but often because their connections believe they have a good chance of winning, or else why not just stick to their own sex? Proceeding with caution, then, let us lump all the statistics in Table 1 together, to examine how females fare around the world in the aggregate. Consider Table 2a and 2b. Table 2a: Category of sex and record, mixed Group/Graded races 2011- Category W (wins) R (runs) SR IV Colt 1074 9054 12 1.17 Horse 3447 31034 11 1.11 Filly 165 1648 10 1.08 Mare 632 7057 9 0.99 Ridgling 44 412 11 0.90 Gelding 2135 25550 8 0.85 Table 2b: Binary-valued sex and record, mixed Group/Graded races 2011- Sex W (wins) R (runs) SR IV Male 6700 66050 10 1.00 Female 797 8705 9 1.00 Tables 2a and 2b provide great support for the various schema of sex allowances (3lb to 5lb) around the world. Entire male horses have the highest IV, geldings and ridglings have the lowest IV and female horses are in the middle, with fillies (4yo and younger) doing better than mares (5yo+). All of this is no revelation. When we combine the different categories of sex which are conditioned for in Table 2a, a nice result is forthcoming, expressed in Table 2b. Remembering we are dealing only with races contested by both male and female horses, the IV of both is 1.00. In other words, sex allowances around the world seem to do a really good job. But, as thorough data scientists, we should not stop there. Instead, let’s take a step back and think about why female racehorses receive an allowance at all. Using our Group and Graded race data since January 1, 2011, let’s examine the distribution of the two sexes using Racing Post Ratings (RPR), a widely used benchmark of racing merit. Figure 3: the distribution of merit Figure 3 above shows the distribution of performances in Group races for male and female racehorses across the world, using the RPR scale. The horizontal axis is the scale of RPR and the vertical axis their relative frequency (expressed using the technical measure ‘probability density’). The green area represents the ‘mass’ of male racing talent and is transparent, allowing for the comparison with the pink area of females. That the green graph is shifted to the right is strong evidence that male horses are better than females, as presupposed. At least, on average. And it is this last word which turns out to be important. The mean of a population (which is the proper terms for the metric we loosely refer to as ‘the average’) is a measure of its central tendency, and if we say that male horses are better than female horses ‘on average’ then this is most likely to be true when we pick an ‘average’ male and compare him with an ‘average’ female. In the tails of the distribution – and specifically the right tail where horses with high RPR are to be found – it is much less likely that a given male will be better than a given female, because good horses of both sexes are rare. So, if we made every horse with RPR greater than 115 a ping-pong ball and had separate bags of females and males, there is no guarantee the male would be better, if we drew a ball from each bag at random. Yet, in a race featuring elite performers of both sexes in competitions, females always get a weight allowance, just as if an average female is being pitted against an average male. This is a dangerous assumption and, as we have established, could easily be violated in real-world encounters. Guess what? The statistical theory holds. Using the evidence of Table 2a and Table 2b, we previously found that males and females do equally well when matched in Group and Graded races. But a different picture emerges when we condition the results by the classification of the Group race, as Table 4 shows: Table 4: Category of female horses, mixed Group/Graded races 2011- Grade W (wins) R (runs) SR IV 1 263 2775 9.5 1.17 2 168 1864 9.0 0.99 3 366 4066 9.0 0.93 Here is an important result! As we make races for better horses, and eventually reach the best on the planet, IV shows that female horses have a better record than males. Again, this is undoubtedly a function of ‘selection bias’ - owners and trainers only ask the best females to take on males – but there is clearly an opportunity there to exploit. And the sample-size of 2775 female runners hardly suggests that much selectivity is involved. And, finally, in case you needed it confirmed, we are talking turf here, not dirt, as Table 5 confirms: Table 5: how the surfaces compare Surface W (wins) R (runs) SR IV Turf 760 8281 9 1.02 Dirt 33 382 9 0.88 Tapeta 4 25 16 2.00 Polytrack 0 14 0 0 Leaving the surface aside, however, one wonders at the sagacity of allowing females an allowance. It isn’t difficult to think of dominating victories in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, for instance, as five of the last six winners have been female. This is somewhat misleading, as the brilliant Treve accounts for two of them, but did she need an allowance? Did last year’s winner Found? As we have established, it isn’t possible to make a definitive case that the female weight allowance should be removed for Group 1 and Grade 1 races, but if you held a prior belief that this should be done for other, objective reasons, the data at least supports your view.

Noel Riordan aboard Il Tempo after winning the 1970 Wellington Cup. Noel Riordan, best remembered as the only jockey able to get the best out of champion stayer Il Tempo, died on Tuesday morning, aged 84. Riordan, a quietly spoken, humble man, maintained his interest in horse racing throughout his adult life and passed away at Country Lodge, Matamata. Riordan’s father died when he was four and he was one of 10 children brought up by their mother. At the age of 13 he and his brothers, Des (then 15) and John (11) left their New Plymouth home in 1948 to sign on as apprentice jockeys with Te Awamutu trainer, Jack McDonald, who later prepared the NZ Racing Hall of Fame inductee Mainbrace. Riordan kicked home his first winner, Bright Morn, on April 4, 1953 and, after completing his apprenticeship with McDonald, he left Te Awamutu and headed to Matamata, where he continued his riding career, both over fences and on the flat, and lived for the rest of his life. It was a time when rides were scarce for Riordan and he regularly spread the net for opportunities by driving to Te Awamutu, Cambridge and Te Rapa to also ride trackwork. He gained support from Te Rapa trainer Bill Winder and it was one morning when heading over to ride his budding star three-year-old Peterman in trackwork that Riordan was asked to climb aboard Il Tempo for the first time and, as helpful as usual, he duly obliged. “Il Tempo hadn’t shown much then and they were going to finish with him, but that morning Noel rode him he produced his best gallop,” Riordan’s brother, Des, said. “That was the start of a great association. Noel was the only rider to ever win on him. He wouldn’t go for anyone else.” Prepared by Bruce Priscott (father of prominent Te Awamutu trainer Robert Priscott), Il Tempo went on to become arguably the greatest two-miler (3200m) New Zealand has produced. The remarkable affinity between Riordan and Il Tempo saw the pair combine to win four times over two miles, landing Auckland Cups, a Wellington Cup and a Chalmers Handicap at Trentham. And Riordan was always adamant he should have won a further Auckland Cup and Wellington Cup. When registering his second Auckland Cup win in 1970, Il Tempo became the first horse to win the race in successive years since Cheval de Volce in 1938-39, then when completing the Auckland – Wellington Cup double a month later he shattered the two-mile world record. Il Tempo was taken to Australia for the 1970 Melbourne Cup and after an encouraging Australian debut he was installed favourite, but missed the feature through a tendon injury. Riordan always regretted that Il Tempo “never got to show the Aussies how good he was.” Riordan did, however, get to ride in a Melbourne Cup, heading over to ride the outsider Lucky Strike for Winder. “The horse had no chance and the owner wanted him in front with a round to go,” recalled his brother. “Noel had him in front and he had the photo to show him leading the Melbourne Cup field past the winning post.” Riordan also got the call-up to ride in Sydney and after riding a few winners he was asked to stay, but his everlasting devotion to his wife, Marlene, and young family saw him turn the offer down and return to Matamata. Riordan also enjoyed much success with Peterman, whose wins included the 1965 Gr.1 Great Northern Derby (2400m), the first running of the Gr.2 Wellington Derby in 1966, the 1966 Gr.3 King’s Plate (1600m) and Gr.3 Trentham Stakes (2400m). Riordan’s list of feature race winners also included Evenstead (Easter Handicap,1600m), Dandeinee and Fairfleet, top winters gallopers Captain Jest (Listed Cornwall Handicap (2000m) and Oakville Lad (Listed Founders Plate and Listed Winter Oats), as well as the Gr.3 Avondale Cup (2200m) on Tardini and 1970 Telegraph Handicap (1200m) on Grizzly, who were both trained by his brother, Des. “I’ll never forget the day he won the Wellington Cup on Il Tempo because he got the double that day with the Telegraph Handicap on Grizzly for me,” his brother said. “We had so many great times. We were more than brothers, John, Noel and I, we were the best of mates and we always kept in touch. I’ll miss him so much.” Riordan rode 357 winners in New Zealand and during a training stint he prepared 24 winners from a small team. His best performers were Cashmere Lass, who won four races and was third in the 1982 Gr.2 Great Northern Oaks (2400m) and Pop’s Girl (four wins). After his training and riding days were over, Riordan proved a valuable help for his close friend, Matamata trainer Bill Ford, and later for nine years he assisted top trainers Dave and Paul O’Sullivan. During his retirement, Riordan enjoyed his outdoor bowls and proved a valuable lead. Later when suffering hip problems and having to give up bowls, he always keenly followed his lifelong passion, horse racing. A funeral service will be held for Noel Riordan at the Holy Angels Catholic Church in Matamata on Wednesday, August 7 at 11am. The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the General Trust Fund for Injured Jockeys. SHARE:

View the full article

Did the female allowance help Black Caviar, Winx, Melody Belle?

But you are assuming that weight is the only factor. Fillies and mares don't race as often as males particularly gelded ones. Also a key point in this present discussion is why is there a difference between jurisdictions in female allowances? Is an English pound heavier than a New Zealand one?

Sir Mark Todd has announced his retirement from eventing. The thoroughbred industry has inherited the talents of Sir Mark Todd for the second time this century, with the legendary horseman returning to the training ranks in a full-time capacity after officially retiring from eventing on Monday. The dual Olympic gold medalist and FEI Rider of the 20th Century turned to racing after his initial retirement after the Sydney 2000 Olympics and he is hoping for a successful return after a fitting farewell from eventing. Todd bowed out of the sport on a high note on Monday after he won the Nations Cup as part of the New Zealand team at the Camphire International Horse Trials in Ireland. “I had planned to stop – win, lose or draw,” Todd said. “I think it was very fitting that it was with the New Zealand team and we won a Nations Cup. “It’s not the biggest competition in the world, but a win is a win. It was great to have teammates, and long-term friends, Tim and Jonelle Price on the team with me.” Todd returned to racehorse training earlier this year, in a temporary capacity, when he campaigned the Sir Peter Vela and Hubie de Burgh-owned Eminent in Australia. While he didn’t secure the Group One victory they were after, the son of Frankel finished runner-up in the Gr.1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) after a seven month layoff, and was the catalyst for Todd’s full-time return to the sport. “We had a brilliant time (campaigning Eminent in Australia),” Todd said. “I really enjoyed the racing scene over there. We had a high quality horse and he was a bit unlucky in his first run that we struck a wet track. “Then we had a few things not go quite to plan after that. He didn’t show his true worth, but it was a great experience. Hopefully we can have another one good enough to come back some other time.” After his Australian trip, Todd returned to eventing, but the wheels had already been set in motion for his retirement from the sport he has become synonymous with. “Since the beginning of the year, when I started with Eminent (I have been thinking about retiring from eventing),” Todd said. “A couple of months ago we bought five two-year-olds from the breeze-up sales, so suddenly I had a few more horses. “I was just finding combining the two was getting a bit difficult. My focus was centering more towards the racing, so I decided to pull the pin on the eventing sooner than I had originally planned.” With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just a year away, the call was strong for Todd to compete in his eighth Olympic games, but the veteran athlete decided an earlier exit was more pragmatic. “At the beginning of the year that (Olympics) was a focus and then I decided that I didn’t really want to go on to another Olympics,” he said. “I was going to finish at the end of the year, but things change and I decided it was better to finish it sooner. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but now that I have got these racehorses my focus has changed a bit. “I am looking forward to this next stage.” Todd experienced a successful stint as a trainer in New Zealand after his initial retirement from eventing, which included victories in the 2003 Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) with Bramble Rose and 2007 Gr.1 Wellington Cup (3200m) with Willy Smith. He is hoping to replicate that level of success in Europe and has already received support from well-known backers, including New Zealand Bloodstock’s Sir Peter Vela. “I trained for Sir Peter and his brother Philip when I was in New Zealand and they were huge supporters of mine when I got back into eventing,” Todd said. “Sir Peter has backed me again, taking shares in these two-year-olds. We have had a long and successful relationship, so hopefully it will continue. “Terry Henderson of OTI Racing, he has got a share in a couple. “I have got 10 horses and I have got one arriving today from Henrietta Tavistock, The (Dowager) Duchess of Bedford. “I trained for her in New Zealand as well, it’s good to have another horse for her.” It has been a long held ambition for Todd to try his hand at training in Europe and he is looking forward to competing across the continent from his Wiltshire property in England. “I have always wanted to have a crack at racing in Europe and I have got the opportunity now,” Todd said. “It would be nice to have horses good enough to compete in Group One races and go to Royal Ascot or have a horse to run in the Arc (Gr.1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, 2400m). “We’ll set our standards high at the start and see how we get on.” View the full article

Write photo caption here by replacing this text. Te Akau’s Singapore trainer Mark Walker notched his 50th win for the season when Sacred Sea was victorious over 1700m in Class 4 company at Kranji racecourse on Friday night. In a season running the calendar year in Singapore, Walker has a 13 win buffer over Michael Clements and could be on target to set a new record. “We had 87 wins when winning the premiership in 2017 but may struggle to reach that with quite a few of our winners now up in grade,” Walker said. “Last season we won S$4.7m in prizemoney for the owners and we will probably top that. “We’ve had some nice wins, but I’m a bit disappointed it rained last week for the (Singapore) Derby (2000m). By race nine the track was severely rain-affected and the two we had in couldn’t get through it.” The winner of five training premierships in New Zealand, Walker was crowned Singapore Champion Trainer in 2015 and 2017 while also finishing second and third since moving to Singapore in 2010. Te Akau’s New Zealand trainer Jamie Richards has experienced a standout first season as a solo trainer. Trish Dunell Meanwhile, on the home front, Te Akau trainer Jamie Richards has saddled his last horse for the season and is preparing for the new term. Te Akau New Zealand has recorded 98 wins this season, including 18 stakes victories, and nearly $4 million in prizemoney. “It’s been a phenomenal season for Jamie to get nearly 100 wins and all those stakes winners, an incredible effort,” Walker said. “They’ve got such a good team of people, not only at the farm but also at the stables. “Jamie is always the first to say you’re only as good as the people around you and he’s certainly got very good people around him.” Walker has a long association with Te Akau and its principal David Ellis and is pleased with how the business is thriving in both racing jurisdictions. “For Dave and Karyn (Fenton-Ellis) to syndicate as many horses as they do is an incredible achievement and I don’t think you’d find anyone else in Australasia syndicating that many. “The business has grown so much and Singapore has been a big part of that. “It’s enabled us to make improvements on the farm and the stables and attract better quality staff. So, we’ve got to be happy with the way everything is going.” Richards has been delighted with his first season training in a solo capacity where stable star Melody Belle went on to win five Group One races. “It’s been a great first season as solo trainer,” he said. “Right from the very start, our first winner was Melody Belle in the Foxbridge Plate (Gr.2, 1200m) and thankfully the horses have continued to perform well all year. “We managed to keep the strike-rate right, had a good bit of success in Australia, and the young horses coming through have raced well.” Richards was pleased with the level of success his racing team achieved this past season and he is looking forward to the opportunities ahead with an exciting stable of horses behind him. “To win seven Group Ones was testament to both the horses in the stable and the staff, and the systems and procedures that we’ve got in place,” he said. “Obviously, everything was put in place from when Dave and Mark set-up Te Akau. It’s been an incredibly exciting season and hopefully we can continue to build on it. “I’d like to extend a big thank you to all our owners, who without we wouldn’t be in this position, and also to all the staff that have done such a great job. “Going forwards, we’ve got a lovely bunch of horses, both older horses and younger horses coming through. “We’ve always lacked a bit of depth in our older horses, but I think we have some there that have spelled well and have come back in good order and can hopefully continue to get through the grades.” View the full article

Sam Spratt winning the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) aboard Hasahalo. Sam Spratt is not one for setting goals, but she is making an exception in the new season and also has a realistic opportunity to achieve a very notable milestone within another few seasons. The vibrant Pukekohe jockey is pleased with her results for the 2018-19 season. Going into the last racemeeting of the term at Tauranga on Wednesday, she has won 59 races (including three black type events) to be back in the top 10 on the New Zealand Jockeys’ Premiership and once again she has comfortably broken the $1 million barrier in prizemoney. She has topped $1 million in all but two seasons for the last 12 years and in 2008-09 she beat Lance O’Sullivan’s 1989-90 New Zealand record of $3.26 million when her prizemoney haul was $3.4 million, while in 2013-14 when she reached $939,000 she spent five months in England and in 2016-17 she won just under $900,000. “I’ve got to be happy with my results this season,” she said. “I just try and be pretty consistent each season and it’s been another solid one, even though I didn’t win a Group One race this season. “I’m the type of person who takes everything as it comes. I’m not huge on setting goals, but I’d love to win a race for my grandmother’s 100th birthday. She turns 100 on January 7 and my brother, Neil, and his family are coming over from England for it. It’ll be a great family get-together and it would be pretty special if I could win at that time.” Spratt’s grandmother, Jessie Spratt, resides in a nursing home in Pukekohe and has always been one of her granddaughter’s biggest fans. “She still watches all my rides and she gets a thrill when I win one, especially a big one,” Spratt said. Spratt is also gradually closing in on 1000 wins in New Zealand, sitting on 864 wins after the weekend, and she has kicked home 82 black type winners in New Zealand. “I suppose I’ll have to make 1000 wins a goal later on,” she said. “I’ve got no thoughts of retirement, even though I say to Mike (her agent Mike Brown) every year that this could be it. Mike has been my agent for about 12 years and it’s become a standing joke between us. “I’m still fit and I can’t see why I can’t carry on as long as I’m still getting some good horses to ride and my health is good. I really enjoy it and can’t see myself doing anything else for now.” It’s a far cry from what Spratt faced back in January 2003 at Trentham after her mount, Dragon Tiger, crashed through the running rail and the seriousness of her head injuries left her riding career in doubt with specialists telling her she would never ride again. Spratt (34) resumed the following season, but after seven wins she decided to call it quits in November 2003 then made her comeback in the 2006-07 season when linking up with Brown as her agent. “In hindsight it’s quite a good thing I took all that time off,” she said. “Really I came back riding before I should have after the fall and I wasn’t right. I haven’t looked back since then.” Spratt rode 41 winners in her first season back and that April she also kicked home her first Group One winner, Captivate, in the New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Te Aroha for trainer Stephen McKee. Spratt has forged a highly successful association with McKee over the years and has recorded several milestones with the Ardmore trainer. At last count the pair have combined to win almost 200 races with their joint highlight being two-time New Zealand Horse of the Year Mufhasha. Spratt was successful in her first ride on Mufhasa as a three-year-old at Te Aroha and went on to win 12 more races on him, including the last of his 20 wins in the Gr.3 Manawatu Challenge Stakes (1400m) at Awapuni in December 2012. She was aboard Mufhasa in eight of his 10 Group One wins and one of the most poignant was in January 2009 at Trentham when he notched his first Group One win in the Telegraph (1200m). When Mufhasa and Spratt won the first of their two Gr.1 Telegraph Handicap – Gr.1 Waikato Draught Sprint (1400m) doubles in 2009, that term Spratt recorded her most ever wins for a season (112) to finish second to James McDonald on the New Zealand Jockeys’ Premiership. Though McDonald beat her by 13 wins, Spratt did head him off on stakes wins with 13 (including five Group One wins) and her record prizemoney tally of $3.4 million was almost $839,000 more than the premiership winner. ‘‘Mufhasa stands out of all the horses I’ve ridden,” Spratt said. “He came along at the right time and I was lucky enough to get on him. “That first Telegraph win on him was special and that same season I won two Group Ones for Richard (Yuill), on Gallions Reach in the Zabeel Classic (2000m) and Prince Kaapstad in the Easter Handicap (1600m). Richard was so good to me.” Spratt became the first female apprentice signed up by Colin Jillings, who was then in the twilight of his training career and was in partnership with Yuill. Spratt’s international experience includes stints in Australia with Mufhasa where among her placings were a a couple of thirds in the Gr.1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill, while in 2014 during her five months in England she rode out for Richard Hannon junior and recorded a few placings from limited opportunities on raceday. On her return from the UK, she was straight back enjoying Group Three success in the Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings on the McKee-trained O’Marilyn, on whom she had won the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) before her departure to England. Over the past couple of years Spratt has won the 2017 Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) on Hasahalo and the 2018 Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) on Stolen Dance and in the 2018-19 season she has won the Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) at Riccarton for the second consecutive year, following up Gobstopper’s 2017 win with victory on Bizzwinkle. View the full article

Seaway winning the Listed Winter Challenge (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday. Seaway’s victory in the Listed Winter Challenge (1500m) at Rosehill on Saturday was a big result for Trevor Luke. The Christchurch businessman bred Seaway in partnership with Waikato Stud, and he was delighted to see the Ocean Park gelding defy all challengers on Saturday to record his first black-type victory. Luke has enjoyed major success as an owner, notably with the multiple Group One winner Alamosa, but the horses he has co-bred from Seaway’s dam Miss Purrfection are allowing him to win black-type spoils from another angle. “That result on Saturday was a great thrill, it was really good to see,” he said. “I’ve had plenty of good ones as an owner, but I’d say that this horse and his half-sister Kiwi Karma have probably been the best I’ve been involved with from a breeding point of view.” Kiwi Karma, by Fast ‘n’ Famous, won eight races in Singapore including three at stakes level – the Golden Horseshoe (1200m), the Prestige Classic (1400m) and the Singapore 3YO Sprint (1200m). For Luke, the story begins with the purchase of Miss Purrfection as a yearling at Karaka in 2008. He paid $65,000 for the daughter of One Cool Cat and the Luskin Star mare Splash of Beauty. “I bought her and then leased her out to a group of clients of the Peter Williams stable,” Luke recalled. “She showed a fair bit of ability for them.” Miss Purrfection raced 12 times in the South Island for the Common Interest Syndicate, winning four and placing in another five. “Then, when the time came to retire her, I was looking for somewhere and I ended up going into a partnership with Mark Chittick at Waikato,” Luke said. Kiwi Karma was the first foal, born in 2011. Seaway is the mare’s second foal to race, and he sold for $210,000 as a yearling at Karaka in 2016. “The $210,000 was a good price for him at Karaka,” Luke said. “Kiwi Karma had started performing well in Singapore by that stage, so it worked out nicely.” Next came a half-brother by O’Reilly, Tax Free, who has been a winner in Singapore, making Miss Purrfection the dam of three winners from three foals to race. All subsequent matings have been to Waikato Stud’s young stallion Sacred Falls. “We’ve got two half-sisters by Sacred Falls, one turning three this week and one that’ll be a yearling,” Luke said. “So that’s something to look forward to as well.” It was also a landmark weekend for Waikato Stud. In addition to sharing the breeding honours in Seaway’s win, which also marked a third individual stakes winner for their high-flying stallion Ocean Park, they also bred the Listed Ryder Stakes (1200m) winner Sai Fah and Macau Derby (1800m) winner Sacred Capital. View the full article

Te Akau Shark winning his 900m heat at Te Rapa on Monday. It was a busy day for Jamie Richards and his Matamata-based team at Te Rapa on Monday, with the Te Akau Racing trainer lining up 48 triallists at the Hamilton track. “We had quite a few horses at Te Rapa getting ready to kick-off in the new season,” Richards said. “Some have trialled once before and there were quite a few having their first quiet day back out.” One of those horses having their second hit-out was exciting galloper Te Akau Shark, who took out his 900m heat effortlessly by half a length. “He lengthened well and he is coming up nicely, we are pretty pleased with him,” Richards said. “He and Melody Belle will both more than likely go to the Foxbridge (Gr.2, 1200m), that’s where they will kick-off their campaigns.” Melody Belle finished fifth in her 900m heat and while Richards did expect a better performance from the multiple Group One winner, he is not concerned heading into her first assignment next month. “I thought her trial was okay,” he said. “She just got stuck down in the worst of the ground with not really a lot of room. “I thought she might have trialled just a little better, but I am not concerned. She is a racehorse and she will know it’s business on the 17th (of August) when she gets the blinkers back on.” Meanwhile, in the first heat of the day, Group One winners Sword of Osman and Avantage, along with Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) winner Probabeel, had their first hit-out in their respective preparations. Richards was pleased with their efforts and said all three would trial again before making their raceday returns. “Sword of Osman trialled particularly well. He is a free-going type of horse, he got up on the speed and kept up a gallop (to finish fourth). “Probabeel and Avantage, they got back off bad barriers and just stayed in behind them and weren’t asked to do too much today. All three of them are coming up nicely. “They will all trial again at Avondale in a couple of weeks and then we will map out a programme for them. Hopefully Probabeel and Avantage could both be seen in Australia at some stage.” View the full article

Endless Drama winning the Gr.2 Easter Handicap (1600m). Group One performer Endless Drama is being set to tackle some early black-type targets in the new season after impressing with his effortless 900m trial win at Te Rapa on Monday. The rising seven-year-old entire resumed after a pleasing last start third-placing in the Gr.1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm last month and trainer Tony Pike is looking forward to the season ahead with his charge. “He galloped really impressively today,” he said. “He ran good time and did it really easily, so I am pretty happy with him going into the Foxbridge and Tarzino.” The Gr.2 U S Navy Flag Foxbridge Plate (1200m) will be Endless Drama’s first assignment for the season on August 17 at Te Rapa before he heads to the first day of the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival at Hastings on August 31 to contest the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m). Pike has been pleased with the son of Lope De Vega’s consistent form since transferring to his stable from Chris Waller’s Sydney barn earlier this year. Since then he has finished runner-up in the Listed NZB Finance Sprint (1200m) at Hastings in April and was victorious in the Gr.2 Easter Handicap at Ellerslie later that month. He subsequently ran sixth behind stablemate The Bostonian in the Gr.2 Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) before his Group One placing in the Stradbroke. “He has been really consistent and has been enjoying the change of environment,” Pike said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way he has been going. He has come back from Brisbane in great shape and it looks like he has got another good preparation ahead of him.” Endless Drama shortly before his trial heat win at Te Rapa on Monday Trish Dunell With Endless Drama being an older stallion, Pike elected to only give the seven-year-old a short freshen-up before his spring preparation. “He had a couple of weeks off after the Stradbroke, a week off in Brisbane and then a week off when he got back home,” he said. “Being an old stallion we didn’t want to leave him out for too long and he has been ticking away since. “He carries plenty of residual fitness and probably only needs to run up to that form (in Australia) to be competitive in the races here. “Today’s trial will tidy him up nicely and he should be spot on for the Foxbridge.” While Pike has mapped out his early season targets, Australia could still be on the cards for Endless Drama in the spring if he performs well in New Zealand. “We will just get through the first two days at Hawke’s Bay and if he races extremely well there’s a possibility he could head back over to Australia,” Pike said. The Cambridge conditioner was also pleased with the performance of former Hong Kong galloper Prince Hareem who ran home well to finish third in his 900m heat at Te Rapa. “Prince Hareem trialled really nicely,” Pike said. “I am very pleased with him. I think this preparation he will be even better. He shouldn’t be too far away from winning a rating 72.” View the full article

Rebecca Scott was all smiles after winning the Taumarunui Gold Cup (2200m) aboard Verry Flash on Saturday. Rebecca Scott’s husband may not be a keen racing follower, but he knows what his wife’s win on Verry Flash in Saturday’s Taumarunui Gold Cup (2200m) at Rotorua means to them both. Scott, an Auckland apprentice jockey, registered the biggest win of her riding career aboard the Nick Bishara-trained Verry Flash (a brother to dual Group One winner Verry Elleegant) and for the 25-year-old and husband, Jason Barry, her winning share of the stakemoney will be well spent. “We got married on March 21 this year and we’re saving to buy our first home,” Scott said. “The win has come at a good time for us and hopefully I can roll on a bit from it.”’ Scott is older than the majority of apprentice jockeys and because she has been indentured to smaller stables she hasn’t got the raceday opportunities that several other apprentices get. However, within 10 days she has doubled her winning tally for the season after picking up her first double at Pukekohe when triumphant on Verry Flash’s stablemate Nulli Secundus and Deluxe Edition, and last month she was again successful on Nulli Secundus. Scott’s previous biggest win came last October on hardy galloper He’s Cavalier, her most regular mount, in the Te Awamutu Cup (2000m) at Te Rapa. She has ridden He’s Cavalier for Pukekohe owner-trainer James Hatton on 27 occasions for three wins and 10 placings and has had black type opportunities on the son of Castledale . However, the trainer who has provided her with not only the most wins but also a few milestones is Bishara. Her four wins for Bishara include her very first win, which was aboard Betterbegood at Te Awamutu exactly three years to the day before Saturday’s memorable victory on Verry Flash. “It’s come full circle with Nick,” Scott said. “I’m so grateful for him giving me the rides, especially on Verry Flash last Saturday. It all came about a while ago when I filled in for Nick riding his horses in trackwork when his track rider was away. After that he gave me some raceday rides.” Scott’s introduction to racing came when she answered an advertisement to ride some horses on the Muriwai Beach for owner-trainer George Merkulov. “My family is not horsey, but I got into ponies and show jumping and I didn’t get into racing until I was 18 years old,” she said. “I went to work for George and never got back to University. I loved working the horses at Muriwai and George signed me on as an apprentice.” Unfortunately, being out at Muriwai Beach, Scott was virtually unknown to most of the racing fraternity so she later transferred her apprenticeship to Cydne Evans at Byerley Park and that enabled her to get a bit more exposure and pick up more opportunities. But then Evans got down to only a few horses in work so Scott transferred to Jenna Mahoney (also at Byerley Park) last February and she completes her apprenticeship in January. “It’s working out all right for me,” Scott said. “I travel around a bit riding trackwork and I’m getting more rides. They mightn’t be favourites, but they’re rides and every time I get a win on an outsider it’s a big thrill.” The biggest longshot thrill for Scott came 11 months ago when she notched the first of her six wins for the season on 31/1 outsider Pushka for her original employer at Pukekohe. “That was my first win for George and it was really special,” she said. “I’d broken Pushka in and done all the early work on him when I was working for George.” Though Scott has been licensed since 2016-17, she has had an interrupted career through a series of injuries. “I had a race fall at Ruakaka a few years back and had surgery on my wrist so was off for quite a while,” she said. Scott has ridden 14 winners and, following her Taumarunui Cup win, she is hoping more trainers will take advantage of her 3kg apprentice allowance in the new season. View the full article

Oaks winning filly Princess Jenni has thrived during her winter spell in the sun in Queensland and has began shedding the kilograms in the prelude to her spring campaign. Trainer David Brideoake said the Group One-winning New Zealand-bred filly returned to his stable at Mornington last week in magnificent order. Princess Jenni won the Australasian Oaks at Morphettville in early May while at her most recent outing she finished sixth to Winning Ways in the Queensland Oaks on June 1. Brideoake said her spring campaign was being mapped around the Group One Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on the opening day of the Melbourne Cup carnival. “She came to me last week after being in pre-training in Queensland,” Brideoake said. “She came back in very, very good shape. “She’s got a really good coat on her and was about 22 kilos heavier than her racing weight so we’ve got a lot to work with. “She’ll have a couple of runs culminating in the Empire Rose at Flemington. “We’ve probably look at kicking her off in a seven furlong (1400m) race and see where we get to.” Princess Jenni was scratched moments before the Adrian Knox Stakes at Randwick on April 6 when stewards could not be satisfied she had not received an illegal race day treatment. After facing two Racing NSW stewards charges relating to race day treatment, Brideoake was cleared at a subsequent hearing, maintaining his clean record. View the full article

Madison County provided one of the season highlights for trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman when he scored in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas. Cambridge trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman have taken out their third straight National Trainers Premiership title and their fourth in the past five years as the current racing season comes to its conclusion. The duo sits on 112 wins with just one raceday left in the season, 14 victories clear of their nearest rival, Matamata’s Jamie Richards. Whilst their latest tally is well shy of the record 142 wins they put on the board in 2017/18, amongst this season’s achievements is a record 25 wins at black-type level. It is that figure that senior partner Murray Baker is most proud of. “We have had a good year but those 25 stakes wins is pretty hard to beat as our season highlight,” Baker said. “We probably didn’t fire as well as we might have liked in Australia, but on the home front we managed to take out plenty of good races with both the younger members of the team as well as some of those older horses that have served us so well.” Baker nominates the success of hardy mare Nicoletta in the Gr.1 New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) at Te Aroha and the dual Group One wins of talented three-year-old Madison County as his most memorable performances of the season. “Nicoletta getting her Group One at Te Aroha was very very satisfying as she has been such an honest mare and thoroughly deserved to get a win at the highest level,” he said. “She had run third in the race the year before so to come back and win was a brilliant result. “Madison County was also pretty special as he only had nine starts as a three-year-old and won over $1million. “He got two Group Ones but was very unlucky in several of his races so his record could have been even better.” Not one to dwell on past glory, Baker is already looking ahead to the new season where a major aim is to improve on the 21 Group One wins he has registered in Australia. “We have had good success in Australia over the years although we didn’t really fire there last season,” he said. “I think we have some really nice young horses coming through and with some luck we might just be able to improve our record over there again.” With co-trainer Andrew Forsman enjoying a family holiday in Sweden at present, Baker will be front and centre at Monday’s Te Rapa trials where the stable will produce several of their leading spring candidates for the first time in their current preparations. Amongst them will be Gr.1 VRC Derby (2500m) prospect Quick Thinker who took out the Listed Champagne Stakes (1600m) at his last start before a short break in the spelling paddock. “Quick Thinker is a rising three-year-old that we think has plenty of untapped potential,” Baker said. “He appeals as a real staying type so we are looking at setting him for the VRC Derby if he comes up like we think he can. “He will have a nice quiet hit-out over 900m at Te Rapa for his first outing this time in. “Cutadeel, who is nominated for some of the Hastings Spring Carnival features and The Chosen One are another pair who we think can step up in grade this season, that will be at Te Rapa on Monday. “The Chosen One and Madison County are both progressing nicely and are being targeted at some of the Melbourne features. They will most likely go straight to Australia without having a lead-up run over here.” Baker also nominated rising three-year-old Holy Mongolemperor as one to watch from the stable as he is set for the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton in November while exciting filly Birdsong has the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at the same carnival as her major assignment. View the full article

Charles Road (pictured) has arrived safely in Sydney as he prepares for an Australian spring campaign. Class stayer (Sir) Charles Road flew to Sydney over the weekend as he prepares to kick off a spring campaign that will hopefully culminate in a tilt at the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) in November. Prepared by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, the rising six-year-old will forego the nominations he held for the Gr.1 Windsor Park Plate (1600m) and Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) during the Hastings Spring Carnival in favour of his Australian mission that will commence over 1400m at Randwick on August 17. Owner David Archer is delighted with the condition of his Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m) placegetter as he prepares for his first-up run. “Lance and Andrew have him looking magnificent and I’m thrilled with his condition as he gets ready for his new campaign,” Archer said. “All his bloods and the like are spot on and he travelled over to Sydney really well. “He is a great traveller and he has gone with his own permanent groom, Leanne Jackson, who will be looking after him while he is over there and she reported he has settled in nicely.” A combination of unsuitable lead-up races and the fickle nature of the New Zealand spring tracks has been the catalyst for Charles Road heading straight to Sydney without any preparatory runs in New Zealand beforehand. “We had a good look at the programmes here and where we wanted to take him in Australia and we just couldn’t make it work,” Archer said. “You also just don’t know what kind of track you are going to strike here so it just made sense to head straight to Australia. “All going well he will have four runs in Sydney, culminating in the Metropolitan Handicap (Gr.1, 2400m) in October. “If he is still going well, we would have a look at the Caufield Cup (Gr.1, 2400m) and then the Melbourne Cup from there. “That’s all a big if at this stage, so we will take it race by race. “He had no luck last year so to go as well as he did in finishing seventh off a very limited preparation in the Melbourne Cup gives me plenty of hope he can make it to the race again this year.” View the full article

Sacred Capital scores handsomely in Saturday’s Macau Derby. A stunning victory in Saturday’s Macau Derby (1800m) by kiwi-bred galloper Sacred Capital continued a run of success in the race for well-known Raffles Farm owner Dato Yap Kin San. Dato Yap, who purchased the Cambridge-based breeding and racing operation in 2008, has dominated the Macau feature in recent times having won the race in conjunction with his Macau racing partner Chen Ching Lung three times in the past five years. The Alfonso in 2015 and Sacred Man in 2017 provided victories for the partnership but neither were more impressive than Sacred Capital, who overcame an outside barrier to dominate his rivals in the closing stages of this year’s contest, winning under a hold by a length and three-quarters from fellow New Zealand bred runner Éclair Lightning. Bred by Waikato Stud, Sacred Capital was a $580,000 purchase from their 2016 Ready To Run Sale draft by a triumvirate comprising Ciaron Maher Bloodstock, Bruce Perry Bloodstock and Michael Wallace’s Waterford Bloodstock. Raffles Farm Manager Bruce Sherwin Trish Dunell Raffles Farm manager Bruce Sherwin was one of the underbidders on the showy colt and was keen to be involved with the horse if the opportunity arose. “He was one that we had earmarked in that sale but the final price was too rich for our blood,” Sherwin said. “The opportunity arose to take a shareholding in him and we jumped at the chance. “He did his initial racing in Australia under the name Rellson, where he won once from six starts, without really setting the world alight. “We had identified him as the ideal type for Macau so Dato’s son Kyan made an offer to buy out the other partners in the horse, which was accepted and he was sent to Joe Lau’s stable where he has absolutely thrived.” Sherwin was quick to acknowledge the work of Lau in preparing Sacred Capital, who has now won five of his seven starts under his care. “Joe has done a wonderful job with our horses over a number of years and has come up trumps once again,” he said. “The horse looked a picture and raced accordingly.” The victory capped off a successful end to the current season for the Raffles Racing team who have horses competing internationally in Australia, Singapore, Macau and Malaysia as well as at home here in New Zealand. “We’ve had a great couple of weeks with this win putting the icing on the cake,” Sherwin said. “Sacred Day took out the Grafton Cup (Listed, 2350m) in Australia earlier in the month while Sacred Croix went a great race in the Singapore Derby last weekend on a wet track that didn’t suit him, so all in all we have finished off pretty strongly this year. “We’ve got some very nice young horses coming through for the new season so we are excited about seeing them on the track in the coming months as well.” One of those youngsters is impressive two-year-old winner Kali who is being set for the three-year-old spring classics by trainer Tony Pike. “Kali was very impressive when she won on debut, in a race that has been won by horses of the calibre of Bonneval and Madison County,” he said. “She is coming along nicely and getting ready to trial so if she can keep improving then we will be in for some fireworks during the spring.” View the full article