Chief Stipe

Surely this post is libelous?

What I don't understand is that when the RIU did go to the JCA they didn't pass the threshold of evidence to suspend the accused licensee's. This was AFTER the police had gathered their evidence. As for "Michael House" posting on the other site - he hadn't posted ANYTHING since he joined in 2008. Why would that change now especially to engage with The Viaduct Venom?

Lolliprop maiden win at Alexandra Park. There was only a pixel in it, but there was no doubt in Mattias Hjalmarsson’s mind that Lollieprop had broken through for her first win on Friday night. The roan daughter of Monkey Bones made a late play up the passing lane to nab Minnie Bow Tique on the line at Alexandra Park, giving Hjalmarsson his first winner in a couple of years. “I was sure we had won, she had the momentum up,” said the Swedish horseman, who trains of Pukekohe. “Just as sure as I was that she was nosed out of second at Cambridge last week.” She may have paid better than $25 on the tote, but she started 6/10 in the betting, so someone had a wee nibble on her, and it might well have been her trainer. “I was quite surprised by what she was paying when I arrived on track. “I thought she probably deserved to be about a $10 shot.” His intuition was right and she duly delivered after a charmed run in the trail. As with most trotters, it’s been far from plain sailing with Lollieprop, but Hjalmarsson can see the light at the end of the tunnel. “She definitely has the ability there. “We’ve just had to go through quite a few workouts and trials, and then races, to teach her and educate her as much as we can. “That jump up to race day means their stress levels go up, so it’s been about managing that. “It’s taken her a while to get there, but I was very sure last night that if she did everything right, she was going to go very close.” The ‘we’ Hjalmarsson refers to is both himself and last night’s driver, Andre Poutama, who recorded three wins and took his lifetime tally to 200. “Andre is a good kid, who works hard and is just driving better and better. “He helps me out a lot, usually by doing a bit of fast work for me on his lunch break from Lincoln Farms.” Hjalmarsson is awaiting surgery on a chronic shoulder injury and is unable to drive fast work at present. “It puts too much of a strain on me so I’m basically gearing up, washing down and doing the joggers. “I had a freak accident a year ago and still need the operation down to fix my rotator cuff. “So, having Andre there to help me has been a huge bonus.” Lollieprop was bred, and is owned, by Maramarua’s Brent Crawford, who Hjalmarsson says has been a very loyal supporter of his. “I got offered to break her and Prop Rock in a couple of years ago and he was so happy with them that he kept giving them back to me. “Brent makes boat propellers and that’s why his horses have ‘prop’ in their names. “He’s been a very good owner to me, and we are actually going to breed a couple together this coming season.” Lollieprop will now have “at least one more start” according to her trainer, but a spell beckons. “I just want to see how she copes with the step up in grade. Looking at last night’s races, there wasn’t much of a difference. “But I think after that I will put her out for four or five weeks. “They have to do right by me before I given them any leeway and allow them a break. “I’m pretty stubborn in terms of wanting to get them doing things right. “But she’s there now and has earned a spell.” View the full article

Alan Gary Clarke (Clarkee). Alan Gary Clarke (Clarkee) was born on November 18, 1958 to Harold and Ngaire Clarke. Growing up on Racecourse Road in Riccarton was the start of a passion for horses and horse racing for Alan and younger brother Steve. Alan was a part of the start crew in Canterbury and was also interested in the ownership side of racing horses. Alan was invited to join the start crew by Jack Mulcay 20 years ago and even in his final days he could still recall the horses in the cup field from his first NZ Cup. The 1999 NZ Cup was won by Homin Hosed. A race Alan would never forget. Over the 20 years that Alan worked at the start he made a lot of great friends and worked on many different race tracks from Waikouaiti to Nelson including the West Coast races in Westport and Reefton. Westport and Reefton races were a highlight for Alan each year. For the Christmas races Alan and a group of family and friends would head to Reefton, set up tents and spend the week together, with him, working at the start during the week. It was always a great week and Alan enjoyed spending the time on the track with his racing mates during the Christmas holiday. Over the years Alan raced horses with Steve or in syndicates including the Weedons Racing Syndicate and the Organ Donations Save Lives Syndicate. His first win as an owner came from Glen Mist at Greymouth raceway on 6th March 1982, trained by Trevor Thomas. Another special win for Alan as an owner was Curly’s Pride, trained by Steve. Alan also helped out Jim Curtin on a Saturday morning for quite a few years. The Curtin family were always well regarded in the Clarke household and in his final days, a visit from Jimmy and Sandi truly brightened his day. At this time he had shares in Devilish Loie which Jimmy trained. The gelding won two races while he was in the ownership. In the last five years the syndicate horses have won approximately 15 races, headlined by the unbeaten Nemera Franco which is due to return to racing next season. Although racing was a big passion of Alan’s he also had a lot of interests and friends outside of the racing game. Alan was a strong competitor in indoor bowls, representing the South Island, winning numerous titles including a Gold Star. As a youngster he enjoyed playing rugby and cricket and more recently enjoyed the Weedons Golf Club 19th hole. Other significant places where he would meet up with mates were the Swamp where he worked for a few years and recently the Springston Hotel which he would visit most Tuesday nights. Clarkee has left a big gap in the Harness Racing Industry, bowling scene and amongst his beloved family and friends whom he had a lot of. You could always count on Clarkee to put a smile on your face. Alan was 60 years old and is survived by his wife Rayleen, daughters Danielle, Rebekah and Emma and granddaughter Ruby. A celebration of Clarkee’s life will be held at Westpark Chapel on Wairakei Road, Burnside on Thursday 11th July at 2pm. View the full article

2019 Junior Drivers Championship. Sarah O’Reilly surprised herself by scoring the biggest success of her career when winning the New Zealand Junior Drivers Championship at Rangiora on Sunday. The 19-year-old saved her best until last to score the maximum points she needed to take out the title by winning its last heat with Flamboyant. O’Reilly admitted she was far from thinking about winning the competition going in to the final heat. Her focus was instead on giving Flamboyant every possible chance to win. “It was a huge thrill and very unexpected,” O’Reilly said. O’Reilly is enjoying a breakout season in the sulky with 20 wins. Her success helped her qualify to represent the South Island in the championship. On Sunday she capped her rise by being crowned the New Zealand Junior Drivers Championship winner. Its an feat that sits alongside her previous biggest achievement in harness racing – winning the race named in honour of her late grandfather Patrick O’Reilly. “Apart from winning my granddad’s memorial with Ideal Invasion at Methven, this is the biggest thing that I have done,” O’Reilly said. “It has been my best season, by far.” O’Reilly will get the chance to take her career to even bigger heights when she competes in the Australasian Young Drivers Championship later this year. Her championship victory secured her the chance to compete alongside last year’s winner, Sheree Tomlinson, and a host of top junior drivers in the series. O’Reilly’s New Zealand Junior Drivers Championship quest did not get off to a winning start when she finished second last behind Dusky Eyre in heat 1. She then worked her way up the leader board with a second behind Invisible Girl in heat two and a sixth with rank outsider Eja Patron in heat three. Flamboyant gave O’Reilly what she considered her best chance of winning a heat and the Sue Blake not only delivered that, he would go on to help her clinch the title. “I knew Flamboyant would be a good chance because he is honest and steps so good,” O’Reilly said. Victory with Ideal Rule sent Kimberly Butt to the top of the leader board after the third heat of the competition. Butt had to settle for second placing after being left just one point short of O’Reilly after heat four. Her charge, JR Fulham, tired from the 400m and finished last with Butt only collecting minimum points. John Morrison, who led after heats one and two, finished third following his fifth placing with Trompeur and sixth placing with Bakari. Their top three finishes helped the South Island team score a convincing victory over the North Island in the teams’ competition. View the full article

Far From True at Rangiora. Husband and wife training duo David and Stacey White added to what has already been a huge year for them when scoring their first training success with Far From True at Rangiora on Sunday. The trotting victory, which came with David in the sulky, came less than four months after the couple were married. Far From True clinched the maiden win for the Whites’ training partnership by capping her consistent form with a gritty passing lane win. “It sure is a good thrill to get that first one out of the way, she has been close a couple of times,” David said. The victory was not only their first in partnership, but also the first for David and Stacey, individually. Though it was their maiden win as trainers, the couple could hardly be ranked as newbies to training or racetrack success. Stacey is well known through her current role as the sales, marketing and media manager at Woodlands Stud and her prior work at Harness Racing New Zealand. She has enjoyed prior success as an owner and David has been a regular in the winner’s circle as a driver since moving to Canterbury from Australia in 2015. David who also works as a farrier and a farm manager, paid tribute to his wife after Far From True’s win as she does most of the training with the horse. “Stacey does most of the work with this one – she is her little pet,” David said. “It is great that she can be rewarded with the horse going so well.” Both Whites juggle training their small team with their fulltime jobs. Those occupations mean the couple limit their team to small numbers. “We juggle it between us, we make it work pretty well,” David said. “We have got the horses at Spreydon Lodge now, it is just around the corner, so that is pretty handy for us.” Far From True came to the White stable through David’s best man, Matthew Peden. The Sydneysider purchased the trotter and sent it to the Whites for training. The trio were initially to race to horse together, but when another horse in the stable had to be put aside some of its owners came in on Far From True. “We had another little Bettor’s Delight filly and she hurt herself and got a bone chip after she was looking really promising.” That has lead to a bumper group of nine happy owners celebrating the grey filly’s maiden win at Rangiora. “Matthew was my best man at my wedding and we have been mates for ages and owned horses together for ten years, I suppose,” David said. “They are a great group of owners, they love going to the races and having a beer and it is really enjoyable having people like them in the ownership.” Far From True scored by a neck in a competitive finish over runner-up, Spy Da Moment, and third placed It Wasn’t Me. View the full article

Sitarist’s win at Ashburton took her trainers John and Karen Parsons’ prizemoney tally to $1 million for the season Write Article text here. View the full article

Classic Unicorn scorches past his rivals for his second win at Sha Tin Red-hot jockey Zac Purton had to settle for second in Sunday afternoon’s feature at Sha Tin as Classic Unicorn, a son of Little Avondale stallion Per Incanto, made it two from two in the Class 3 Members Cup Handicap (1000m). Purton, who was successful in six of the 10 races on the day, had been in the saddle for the three-year-old’s debut but handed the reins to Derek Leung when the Chris So-trained gelding was allotted a weight below Purton’s minimum. The chestnut sprinted home in 55.09s, a length and a quarter ahead of Purton on Seven Heavens. “He’s a nice horse,” So said. “He showed good pace again. I think he’ll be better after next season and in future I think he can go 1200 and 1400m but not yet, he’s still learning a lot. He doesn’t concentrate but when the pressure comes, he kicks. “A lot of people called me in the last two days because he had lost 40 pounds from his last run but his blood tests were good, he was eating well. You can’t take weight as a standard from his first run, he’s a baby, so for me, I thought he’d run well. “Before they sent him to Hong Kong, they told me he won by 12 lengths in a trial,” So said. “We knew the horse was impressive, I haven’t had a horse like this for a long time.” New Zealand-based bloodstock agent Phill Cataldo was instrumental in identifying the son of Per Incanto for his Hong Kong connections. Initially sold as a yearling by Little Avondale for $40,000 at the 2017 NZB Select Sale, Classic Unicorn was re-offered at the Ready To Run Sale but failed to meet his reserve. He then had two trials for Karen Fursdon for a runner-up finish at Cambridge and a dominant win at Avondale. “He trialled well when he ran second at Cambridge and when he went to Avondale, he won like an Open class sprinter,” Cataldo said. “He ran time. He’s a big athlete, a real machine to look at and he just looks like a top-class sprinter.” Per Incanto recorded a winning double in Hong Kong with the former Danny Walker-trained three-year-old Star Performance making a successful debut for Tony Cruz with victory in a Class 3 1400m contest. The Little Avondale Stud-based stallion also sired a winner on Sunday in Singapore with Per Inpower successful over 1400m. A son of Street Cry, Per Incanto has proved a reliable source of winners in all jurisdictions and is the sire of three Group One winners. His stock are performing particularly well in Hong Kong, with black-type gallopers Morethanlucky and Time To Celebrate joining the likes of Baba Mama, Flying Godspell, Glenealy Generals, Classic Unicorn and Star Performance as winners in the competitive nation. View the full article

El Disparo flies a fence on his way to victory at Te Aroha Former top hurdler Just Got Home made a welcome and well received return to the winner’s circle at Te Aroha on Sunday when he prevailed in a thrilling finish to the Frank & Annie Matijasevich Memorial Open Steeplechase (3500m). The rising twelve-year-old had won for the first time over the bigger fences at the same venue back in August last year after switching to steeplechasing following a richly successful hurdling career that saw him win on five occasions in that role, including a victory in the 2014 Wellington Hurdle (3400m). Trainer Rudy Liefting was keen on the chances of his charge before the race and that opinion was validated by Just Got Home who jumped superbly in or near the lead throughout. Tackled and headed by Magic Wonder with 1000m to run, Just Got Home forged his way back to the front on the point of the home turn before holding out the late challenge of Lacustre to register his 12th career victory and take his total earnings over the $300,000 mark. “I’m going to retire him after this year as he’s eleven now and he’s been such a good horse for us,” Liefting said. “He hasn’t got a Northern (Great Northern Steeplechase) in him or anything like that, but races like this are just nice for him. “He’s got plenty of speed and likes to bowl along a bit at a good clip and enjoys it here (Te Aroha). “There’s a $40,000 chase here at the end of the season so I think we will shoot for that.” Earlier in the day the Mark Brooks-trained El Disparo gave his rivals a jumping lesson as he dominated proceedings from the front to take out the feature hurdle event, the Victor & Frank Matijasevich Open Hurdle (3100m). The El Hermano seven-year-old looked a different horse to the one that had struggled home near the rear in the Hawke’s Bay Hurdles last month as he attacked his jumps throughout for rider Shaun Phelan before striding home a comprehensive four-length winner. “It was good display as I think he got too far back when they ran along last time,” Brooks said. “We forgot that run as he pulled up well, so we had another go today. “We might look at going down south (Grand National Hurdles, August 7) now.” Phelan was impressed with the fluency of El Disparo’s jumping as he rolled along in front of the quality field. “He sort of took his hook on me early so I let him roll and do his own thing,” Phelan said. “I didn’t realise how far in front I was but he jumped perfectly and did it easy. “He’s been going around in those good hurdle races and probably needed a confidence boost which he got today.” The victory was El Disparo’s second over hurdles and his fifth overall for his large group of owners that include his breeders, Frank and Faye Drummond. The win also provided Phelan with a feature race double as he was aboard Just Got Home after picking up the ride from his partner Emily Farr when she was stood down following a fall in an earlier hurdle event. View the full article

A potential campaign in Sydney awaits Group One winning mare Volpe Veloce this spring A potential spring campaign in Sydney awaits class mare Volpe Veloce as she eases her way back to racing trim for the new season. The 2018 Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) winner is currently in pre-training before returning to the stable of Matamata trainer Graham Richardson for her six-year-old season. Richardson, who is back to training on his own after his partnership with Gavin Parker ended on amicable terms, is looking forward to having his star pupil back in the fold as he prepares a mainly young team for 2019/20. “Volpe Veloce is doing well in pretraining at JK Farm at present and I’m expecting she will be back with me in a fortnight or so,” Richardson said. “We are currently looking at the options we have for her and at present we are leaning to taking her to Sydney for the spring. “There are so many options available to her over there, particularly in fillies and mares races, that I think that is where she will be best placed.” While Richardson is excited about the prospects for Volpe Veloce he also has a mix of established gallopers and raw material to work with over the coming months. “I have a really nice crop of rising two-year-olds that we will work with in the new season so that is something I’m really looking forward to,” he said. “In particular I have a beautiful Epaulette filly that is coming up well, so she is one to watch out for. “I’ve also got established gallopers like Tiptronic and La Mia Stella, who are just starting their spring preps, and I expect them to be firing in some of the better races later on.” Richardson is also excited to welcome well-known rider Rogan Norvall to the stable with an eye on a future training partnership if things work out. “Rogan started with me a couple of weeks ago and has settled in really well,” he said. “It’s great to have someone with his experience join us. “Rogan is currently learning the ropes on how we operate but the long-term prospect is to form a training partnership in a season or two if it all works out.” View the full article

Te Awamutu-based trainer Clayton Chipperfield A decision to place greater emphasis on the training side of the business appears to be paying dividends for former top jumps rider Clayton Chipperfield who produced a winning double on Saturday. Two-year-old Proisir filly London Bound made many sit up and take notice with a stunning seven length win on debut in the opening event at Te Rapa while progressive four-year-old Obsessive rounded out the day in fine style on a testing track at Awapuni with a win in the last race of the day. Chipperfield, who made the long drive from his Te Awamutu base to Awapuni with Obsessive, was delighted with how things played out on the day. “It was a great day and I thought both horses were very impressive,” he said. “London Bound is a very exciting filly with a big future ahead of her while Obsessive proved how tough he is with a win on what was as deep a track as you will probably get this winter. “When I was driving down (to Awapuni) in the rain on Friday I was thinking holy hell this is going to be tough for him but I knew he was very fit so I was hoping he would get through it.” Ridden confidently by Hazel Schofer, Obsessive came from well back in the field to forge clear in the closing stages of the 1550m contest, with Chipperfield full of praise for the ride by the young apprentice. “I though she rode him brilliantly as she didn’t panic when Plan A went out the window at the start,” Chipperfield said. “I told her to keep him handy throughout but he got a shuffle up and was back near last. “She did exactly what she needed to do to get back in the race and I was really impressed with how she kept calm and just did what was needed to get him home. “She has a big future if that is what she is already producing at this stage of her career.” Chipperfield is no stranger to success himself, having forged a very successful career riding over jumps in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Among his many highlights in the saddle was guiding Golden Flare to successive victories in the Great Northern Steeplechase (6400m) at Ellerslie in 2002 and 2003. “I enjoyed my riding career and those wins on Golden Flare were pretty special,” he said. “I sometimes look at the riding ranks now and think it might be good to be riding in those big races but reality sets in pretty quickly as I’m nearly 40 and have a mortgage and kids so that isn’t an option anymore.” Chipperfield ended his riding career in 2005 after returning from his second stint in America where the local scene there forced him to make changes to his body that weren’t compatible with racing back in New Zealand. “I rode for two years in the States and had a great time there but it also probably forced my retirement when I came home,” he said. “When I went up there, I was riding at 62-63kgs which was very light as even their maiden jumpers carried around 72kgs. “A lot of the horses were big and strong and pulled hard so I spent a fair bit of time bulking up in the gym so I could do justice to the mounts I was getting. “When I came home, I was overweight and had to waste hard which really took its toll so I decided to give riding away.” Chipperfield then began working as the foreman for local Te Awamutu trainer Robert Priscott which progressed to a successful training partnership for the pair for a number of years. “I really enjoyed my time with Robert, firstly as his foreman and then in a training partnership with him,” Chipperfield said. “We worked really well together but I also knew at some stage I would need to go out on my own which I did about six years ago. “I started off breaking and pre-training, predominantly for the Oaks Stud, but also with some outside clients that I have built up over time. “That has gone well and I have combined that with training the odd one for the Oaks and others along the way. “This year I talked it over with my wife and decided it might be time to give the training side of things more effort so we have been slowly building up a team which is gaining some momentum of late.” Amongst the clients that Chipperfield has done breaking and pre-training work for is Wellington businessman Martin Dalgleish, who now races London Bound and another promising two-year-old in Alexander Hamilton in Chipperfield’s stable under the Pharos Thoroughbreds banner. “Martin has supported me over the years and it is exciting to have some very nice young horses to train for him,” Chipperfield said. “London Bound has shown enormous promise and I think she could develop into a very nice three-year-old while Alexander Hamilton has the makings of a top-quality stayer. “With that in mind we have actually sent him to Australia last week as there just aren’t any suitable races for him here at the moment. “He has gone to Rachael Frost, who also trains one for Martin, and will most likely have two runs over there starting at Sandown over 1400m on Wednesday. “Safely through there he will then go over 1800m later this month before coming back for a spell at the Oaks Stud. “I think he is a real Derby type as he is already crying out for more ground after two nice runs here over 1200m. “If he keeps making the progress we think he can then we could be in for a very exciting season coming up.” View the full article

Herengawe (outside) defeats King Cougar at Awapuni on Saturday With a strong performance at Awapuni on Saturday, emerging wet-track performer Herengawe produced a bold audition for next month’s Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations 122nd Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton. A last-start Rating 72 winner, Herengawe was thrown in at the deep end on Saturday and tackled open class for the first time in the Grant Plumbing (1400m). With Lisa Allpress in the saddle, the four-year-old son of Zed sprinted superbly through the mud to go from last to first and beat the front-running King Cougar by a length and a quarter. “He’s quite an exciting horse, a good up-and-comer,” Waverley trainer Joanne Moss said. “He’s gone through the grades nicely this season, he’s just cruising along and seems to be a happy horse. “It was a really good win today. You take every win as it comes in this game, because they’re not easy to get. “We’ve nominated him for the Winter Cup next month, so we’ll see what happens. The plan was to run in this race first, and if he went well, have a go at the Opunake Cup (1400m) in a couple of weeks. Then we could carry on to the Winter Cup after that. But we’ll be watching the weather as well, so we’ll just see how we go.” Herengawe has now had 12 starts for five wins, three placings and $79,685 in stakes for his owner-breeder, champion jumps jockey Isaac Lupton. All of his five wins have come this season. “He’s got that natural maturity now, with this being his second full prep,” Lupton said. “He seems to really like the wet tracks, so we’ll just keep targeting those.” Four of Herengawe’s five wins have come on heavy tracks, with the only exception being a victory on a Dead5 at Hawera last October. Herengawe had been rated a $16 chance in the Winter Cup market prior to Saturday’s win, but now shares $8 second favouritism with Red Sierra. Rosewood heads the market at $6. Saturday’s runner-up King Cougar is now rated a $14 chance for the Winter Cup, while third-placed Dougie is not nominated. She’s Poppy and Comeback, who completed the five-horse field, are now at $14 and $18 respectively. View the full article

Miss Mandito in full flight on her way to winning at Flemington Miss Mandito, a four-year-old daughter of Valachi Downs sire Zacinto, has brought up a milestone for Charlotte Littlefield at Flemington, giving the trainer her first city winner in the Leilani Series Final. With Michael Walker aboard, Miss Mandito ($5.50) defeated favourite El Questro ($3.20) by a half neck in Saturday’s $125,000 race for mares over 1400m, with another length to Something Silver ($31) third. “I’m shaking I’m so happy,” Littlefield, who has been training for three years, said. “She was absolutely super. “This is what dreams are made of. I don’t think you can put into words what it means to me. It’s a whole team effort. “We were just desperate to get that city win. It became the elusive city win but now it’s finally there. “And to be at Flemington, that couldn’t be any better.” Miss Mandito was racing on a seven-day back-up after a city placing on a wet track at Caulfield last weekend and took her overall record to four wins from 15 starts, having registered three victories in country Victoria last preparation. “We chose her from the paddock; I broke her in. It’s just really satisfying to have done everything with her and to see her come through and win at Flemington,” Littlefield said. -AAP Charlotte Littlefield gives Miss Mandito a well-deserved pat following her win View the full article

Course specialist Sultan Of Swing maintains his perfect record at Te Rapa Te Rapa specialist Sultan Of Swing struck again at the Hamilton track on Saturday, providing a poignant result in the U S Navy Flag Foxbridge Plate 17 Aug (1600m). Winning jockey Taiki Yanagida wore a black armband over the blue, black and green colours of owner-breeder Dominic Li, whose long-time New Zealand racing manager and friend Maryanne Simon lost her father Jim Mead this week. “It’s a tough time for Maryanne, but I’m pleased the horse could deliver for everybody,” trainer Shaune Ritchie said. Sultan Of Swing has never been beaten at Te Rapa, winning the Gr.3 J Swap Contractors Sprint (1400m) last December in his first start at the track and scoring a last-start win over 1600 metres on June 8. On Saturday he delivered again. After dropping back to last in the early stages of the race, the six-year-old swooped around the outside to hit the lead with 250 metres to run. Andoyas chased hard and got within half a length, but Sultan Of Swing held on to complete the 10th win of his 34-start career. “He was detached early, but he got to the right part of the track and won well,” Ritchie said. “He’s turning into a bit of an iron horse. He’s been up for a long time, but we’re still waiting for him to hit the brick wall. “We keep spacing his races out, running every three or four weeks, which seems to help.” Sultan Of Swing is closing in on the $300,000 mark, with today’s win lifting his career earnings to $290,914. Yanagida admitted to some nerves when he saw the yellow and blue colours of his employers, Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, closing in down the home straight. “I galloped Andoyas the other day and he went quite well, so I was keeping an eye on him,” he said. “But luckily my horse was better this time. “He was sleeping in the first 400 metres, but I gave him a little squeeze after that and he turned the engine on. He ran home really well and concentrated nicely all the way.” Sultan Of Swing is one of five winners from five foals to race out of the High Chaparral mare Queen Cha Cha. He is a half-brother to the Li-bred Suavito, who won eight races including the Gr.1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) and Gr.1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m). – NZ Racing Desk. Te Rapa specialist Sultan Of Swing struck again at the Hamilton track on Saturday, providing a poignant result in the U S Navy Flag Foxbridge Plate 17 Aug (1600m). Winning jockey Taiki Yanagida wore a black armband over the blue, black and green colours of owner-breeder Dominic Li, whose long-time New Zealand racing manager and friend Maryanne Simon lost her father Jim Mead this week. “It’s a tough time for Maryanne, but I’m pleased the horse could deliver for everybody,” trainer Shaune Ritchie said. Sultan Of Swing has never been beaten at Te Rapa, winning the Gr.3 J Swap Contractors Sprint (1400m) last December in his first start at the track and scoring a last-start win over 1600 metres on June 8. On Saturday he delivered again. After dropping back to last in the early stages of the race, the six-year-old swooped around the outside to hit the lead with 250 metres to run. Andoyas chased hard and got within half a length, but Sultan Of Swing held on to complete the 10th win of his 34-start career. “He was detached early, but he got to the right part of the track and won well,” Ritchie said. “He’s turning into a bit of an iron horse. He’s been up for a long time, but we’re still waiting for him to hit the brick wall. “We keep spacing his races out, running every three or four weeks, which seems to help.” Sultan Of Swing is closing in on the $300,000 mark, with today’s win lifting his career earnings to $290,914. Yanagida admitted to some nerves when he saw the yellow and blue colours of his employers, Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, closing in down the home straight. “I galloped Andoyas the other day and he went quite well, so I was keeping an eye on him,” he said. “But luckily my horse was better this time. “He was sleeping in the first 400 metres, but I gave him a little squeeze after that and he turned the engine on. He ran home really well and concentrated nicely all the way.” Sultan Of Swing is one of five winners from five foals to race out of the High Chaparral mare Queen Cha Cha. He is a half-brother to the Li-bred Suavito, who won eight races including the Gr.1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) and Gr.1 CF Orr Stakes (1400m). View the full article

Classic Unicorn. Chris So’s exciting youngster Classic Unicorn will aim to build on his impressive debut win when he takes his place in the Class 3 Members Cup Handicap (1000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. The three-year-old showed immaturity first time out but his talent shone through as he cruised to a comfortable two and three-quarter length win. “He’s a young horse and even you can tell he’s just a baby, he still has to learn,” So said. “He still needs to learn and in his trial he seemed alright, but when he’s put under pressure he doesn’t know yet. For now, he won’t go for 1200m, the straight is easier for him, he has a lot of speed and he doesn’t need to worry about figuring out the turn.” Classic Unicorn arrival as an unraced New Zealand import with two barrier trials under his belt and So has been impressed since day one. “That’s why after the first trial here, I gave it to the champ (Zac Purton) to try,” So revealed. “We knew the horse even when he trialled in New Zealand, he won by 12 lengths, we saw the replay of the trial – we know he has a lot of speed.” Classic Unicorn was put through his paces in a trial on the dirt late last month, finishing off in an untested manner under Jack Wong. Derek Leung takes the race day reins from Zac Purton on Sunday, with the champion jockey – unable to ride at Classic Unicorn’s allotted 116lb – set to partner Seven Heavens (133lb). “I galloped him in the morning and he gave me a great feel,” Leung said. “He has a very good action and last time he won impressively in Class 4. Now, up to Class 3 with a light weight, the race looks good for him.” Leung expects the pace to be a testing one for the inexperienced Per Incanto gelding. “I can see quite a few horses will go forward, so it will be challenging for him early, for the new horses it is quite difficult when the horses next to him all challenge him,” the jockey said. So is wary of his former boss Caspar Fownes’s galloper Seven Heavens who drops back to Class 3 in search of his first Hong Kong win at start 17. “It’s tough, Caspar’s horse is also strong, mine is only three years old and he still needs the chance to develop,” So said. Purton, who steered Classic Unicorn to his debut victory, will reunite with Seven Heavens but spoke highly of So’s galloper. “Classic Unicorn’s got a lot of speed, he’s going to be forward, he’s got a light weight and he’s coming off a nice win, so he’s definitely the one to beat,” he said. “He went well (first up), he’s still very raw, he did a little bit wrong but he was still too good and he’s always shown in all his trials that there is something there. He’d take a bit of a confidence out of that and he should be hard to beat again,” he added. Purton’s mount Seven Heavens was luckless in defeat over this course and distance three starts ago when blocked for a run over the closing stages, and, following the demotion of the winner, he was promoted to third. “I mentioned to Caspar a long time ago that I thought the straight was probably going to be a nice track and distance for him and he’s probably run his best race at this track and distance,” Purton said. “He gets the drop in grade – the tempo of this distance suits him and he doesn’t have to think too much because he’s going in a straight line.” -HKJC View the full article

Easy Does It. Easy Does It had to win Friday’s S$50,000 Class 4 race over 1600m in Singapore to keep his Derby dreams alive – and he rose to the occasion in style. With talented apprentice jockey Simon Kok Wei Hoong in the irons, the son of Super Easy was in a striking position right from the start. Dropped into the box seat, he always had leader Cracking Tottie in his sights before popping up as the main threat when he was peeled off for his run at the corner. He did, however, glance past Shadow Speed twice in the process, but once he was on the straight and narrow, he responded to Kok’s urgings to peg Cracking Tottie back and sustain a powerful gallop to the line. On the line, Easy Does It had three-quarter length to spare from a very gallant Cracking Tottie with Yulong Sheng Long third another 1 ¾ lengths away. The winning time was 1min 36.18secs for the metric mile. With trainer Stephen Gray having jetted back to England to put in the finishing touches to Singapore sprinter Lim’s Cruiser’s prep towards a second tilt at a race there (either the Gr.1 Darley July (1200m) at Newmarket on July 13 or the Gr.2 Lennox Stakes (1400m) at Goodwood on July 30), it was his wife Bridget who deputised for the post-race debrief at Kranji. “He’s a nice horse. He should have won first-up (from an 18-month spell), but he got checked,” said Gray. “Steve has always thought well of him – since he was a three-year-old. He had to win tonight to make it for the Derby and he’s done it well. “It was his first time over the mile and on the way he finished off, he should be able to see out the 1800m as well.” The Singapore Derby (1800m) is the third and final Leg of the Singapore Four-Year-Old Challenge and will be run on July 21. Kok said getting thrown onto horses like Easy Does It makes his job easier, and that gelding certainly lived up to his name throughout the race. “He’s a horse who has good speed and can switch off and relax,” said the Ipoh-born rider. “There was a solid pace to the race and it suited him nicely. I just made sure I didn’t use too much petrol at the beginning and in the middle stage. “He hit the line strongly and I think the three-kilo claim helped him, too.” With that third success, Easy Does It has now taken his prizemoney past the S$110,000 mark for the Easy Does It Stable, a syndicate made up mostly of New Zealanders. -STC View the full article

Avantage. Avantage continued her strong juvenile form into her three-year-old season, winning two of her three starts, and her connections are hoping for her run of form to continue into the new season. The rising four-year-old daughter of Fastnet Rock won the Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Breeders’ Gold Trail Stakes (1200m) at Hastings in September, and had a successful autumn campaign in Sydney, winning the Gr.3 Birthday Card Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill in her Australian debut before finishing third in the Gr.2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint (1200m) at Randwick. Trainer Jamie Richards is pleased with the way she has returned after her spell at Te Akau Stud and is excited about her prospects in spring. “She’s coming up really well, she spelled well at Te Akau Stud after Sydney. She is not quite as forward as Melody Belle and Te Akau Shark, but she will trial at the end of July,” Richards said. “She will have a couple of trials and then we will work it out from there. Whether she has a run in New Zealand as a lead-in to going to Melbourne or Sydney, we’ll just see how she trials.” While there are plenty of options in Melbourne for Avantage, Richards admits the A$7.5 million prizemoney on offer for the Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill on November 2 is a big incentive to head to Sydney. “There are a lot of nice fillies and mares races for her in Melbourne and there is also a very big carrot in Sydney now with the Golden Eagle,” he said. “We’ll just leave it open at this stage, but there are a lot of nice races for a filly like her. I certainly believe she can be competitive in whatever she steps out in.” View the full article

John Moore. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has confirmed that next season will be trainer John Moore’s last, with the club’s retirement rule set to be enforced. Moore was granted a special extension at the usual retirement age of 65, four years ago, but Jockey Club executive director of racing Andrew Harding said there was a hard cap at 70. Moore is keen to train on beyond 70 and speculation has been rife in recent weeks that his late-season bid to claim this season’s trainers’ premiership could earn him another extension, but that now looks out of the question. “One thing that is very important is that everyone is treated fairly, the goalposts were set in 2013, they were clearly known, and they are consistently applied,” Harding told the South China Morning Post. Moore puts the polish on New Zealand-bred gelding Beauty Generation, who is rated the world’s best miler, while he also trains rising three-year-old Aethero, who has been dominant in his three starts at two. Having held a licence since 1971, Moore will depart Hong Kong next year as the record holder for all-time career prize money, having amassed almost HK$2 billion for connections in his career while training more winners (1,675) than anyone else in the territory. View the full article

Easy Habit. Opaki-based owner-trainer Kylie Little was over the moon when her gavelhouse.com debutant Easy Habit made light work of the Wanganui Jockey Club 1200m course yesterday. The son of Super Easy was purchased as a weanling by Little in July 2017 for $1,500 and the now three-year-old went into the race with two trials and five winning barrier trials under his belt as preparation. “Heading into the race we were pretty confident as his mum was a wet tracker,” offered Little. Easy Habit jumped well from a wide gate with Madan Singh in the saddle and went to the lead in the Heavy 11 conditions. “He jumped super, I was just hoping he would find the outside rail.” “He’s pulled up like he hasn’t had a run, he’s is a little superstar. You wouldn’t know he’d raced at all.” “We will see how he is over the next few weeks but there might be something for him at Rotorua over 1200m or 1400m if we don’t sell him in the meantime.” At the moment Little has four other horses in work with this the second win for the stable in the last fortnight, “We have a great team in work at the moment, they are an exciting bunch.” View the full article

View the full article

If it is then he is a fool engaging with Molloy on that site.

That isn't House posting.

Only quoting you. Goes to prove even you don't believe the crap you write.

Where did Magoo get 107% from?

No because curious was assessing "handicappers weight".