Chief Stipe

Rule Number(s): 869(2)-Whip Regulation (b)Following the running of Race 5, the Reefton Coffin Co. Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Wallis against Licensed Junior Horsewoman, Miss H Clarke, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2) in that she used her whip on more occasions than permitted by Clause (b) of the Use of ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

Rule Number(s): 638(1)(d)Following the running of race 3, Trees Tavern1200, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (1)(d). The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Mr Lammas angled his mount MOERAKI in when not sufficiently clear of EARLY MORNING RISE which was checked near the 100 metres. Rule 638(1) (d) provides: A Rider ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

No matter his finishing position, Man Of His Word will land connections their biggest payday in the inaugural All-Star Mile at Flemington tomorrow. With prize money of A$5 million on offer, including a first prize of A$2.25 million, each runner is guaranteed a minimum of A$90,000. Even if he finishes last, Man Of His Word’s cheque will usurp the A$64,000 he collected at his latest win at Doomben in December 2016 and take his prize-money past the A$500,000 mark. Grand Syndications racing manager Sam Lyons said Man Of His Word has 20 owners, each with a five per cent share, and it’s a great thrill to have the horse running. “It’s our Melbourne Cup, it’s our Cox Plate, it’s a chance for a few of our guys who were never going to get into a race like this to be able to have a shot,” Lyons said. “We paid $10,000 for this horse so he’s going to get nine times his purchase price just for running around, so happy days. The $500 entry was well spent.” Man Of His Word, to be ridden by Damien Thornton, gained his start as the eighth highest vote-getter in the public poll that has provided 10 of tomorrow’s runners. Lyons said the syndication group was always confident of gaining a start, even enlisting the owner of a hamburger shop in Melbourne. “We set ourselves a goal and we spoke to each of our owners individually about how we wanted to go about it and to pull it off was something very satisfying,” Lyons said. “An ex-owner of ours, who’s not in this horse or any of our horses anymore but still supports Grand Syndicates, has a hamburger joint in Melbourne and he offered for few days a free cheeseburger for anyone who voted for Man Of His Word. “He might have given away 30 or 40 cheeseburgers, but more to the point it got people talking about the race.” Lyons expects 18 of the 20 owners to be at Flemington and have teamed with Hancox Racing, the owners of Urban Ruler, to book out a function area. View the full article

Glen Boss will chase a hat-trick of wins in the Coolmore Classic after answering a call to partner in-form Victorian mare Jamaican Rain. Boss, who is riding in Singapore, was sounded out by Richard Laming after the Victorian trainer was struggling to find a rider for the lightly raced six-year-old at 52.5kg. “I tried a few riders locally and a lot of them can’t make the weight,” Laming said. “I know Glen is a big-race rider, he can make the weight, he thrives on the big races and he’s ridden a lot of big-race winners at Rosehill. “He knows the track like the back of his hand so I rang him up, he said ‘let me have a look at her’ and then he rang me back and said ‘I’d love to come and ride her’.” Boss, who is seventh on the Singapore jockeys’ premiership, has won the Coolmore Classic twice on Typhoon Tracy in 2009 and Aloha two years later. He is making the trek to Sydney for one ride, while Jamaican Rain has already tackled the road trip from her Cranbourne base, arriving in Sydney yesterday. Laming is hoping the forecast rain is right. Jamaican Rain has been almost unbeatable on rain-affected tracks winning five of six starts on wet ground, including the Glasshouse Handicap at the Sunshine Coast in June. Laming said the mare had improved since her first-up win in the Mannerism Stakes at Caulfield last month and was ready for her first test at Group One level. “Although she has won on hard tracks she can really quicken on a heavy track which some horses can’t do, but she can,” he said. “If the rain comes it’s really going to help her chances. The mare is spot-on, she just keeps improving and she’s improved since her first-up win. “Her work has been absolutely A-1, she’s tightened right up and she’s right where we want her to be heading into a Group One.” At $8, Jamaican Rain is one of only two horses at single-figure odds for the Coolmore Classic, with the Chris Waller-trained I Am Serious a $5.50 favourite. Daysee Doom is $21 to defend her 2018 title and, along with stablemate Dixie Blossoms, will bid to give trainer Ron Quinton his fourth win in the race in the past eight years. Quinton, who won the race twice as a jockey, also celebrated wins with Ofcourseican (2012) and Peeping (2016). View the full article

The All-Star Mile could be boosted by the presence of two additional Group One winners in the inaugural running of the A$5 million race at Flemington. Inspections by Racing Victoria’s veterinary department today revealed Material Man, Foundry and Urban Ruler showing signs of lameness and will need to be pass another test before being allowed to start. Material Man has been fitted with a heart bar shoe on his left foot while X-rays on Urban Ruler could not identify the source of lameness. Foundry, himself a Group One winner and who hasn’t raced since November 2017, presented with lameness when examined by two RV vets after satisfactory results undertaken on the horse in the past week. Should the trio fail their inspections tomorrow, it will pave the way for Group One winners Le Romain and Trap For Fools to gain a start. If granted a start, Le Romain and Trap For Fools will join Happy Clapper, Hartnell, Grunt, Alizee and Mystic Journey in the field as winners at Group One level. RV vets passed a further 11 runners yesterday with the remaining four, Balf’s Choice, Hawkshot, Mystic Journey and third emergency Hellova Street, to be examined tomorrow once they arrive in Melbourne. View the full article

Well Brodie has a fair point. When the one team keeps winning we all get a bit pissed off. As I a crusader supporter I understand.

The Stephen Marsh-trained Ardrossan will trial before beginning his Australian campaign later this month. The Redoute’s Choice entire arrived in Sydney last week with a temperature, which resulted in his withdrawal from last Saturday’s Gr. 1 Canterbury Stakes at Randwick. Marsh said he has improved considerably since his arrival and will now be set to tackle the Gr. 3 Star Kingdom Stakes at Rosehill later this month. “He has improved a lot,” Marsh said. “He will trial on Monday at Rosehill and from there he will head back to Rosehill on the 30th of March and will run in a Group Three 1200-metre race.” Ardrossan was in outstanding form in New Zealand earlier this year, winning the Gr. 3 Concorde Handicap at Ellerslie in January before running third to Melody Belle in the Gr. 1 BCD Group Sprint at Te Rapa a fortnight later. View the full article

Former champion jockey Jim Cassidy is considering swapping the golf course for the racecourse for a return to race riding. Cassidy has been recovering in hospital with bleeding on the brain and bruising following a car crash. And after talking to longtime supporter John Singleton he has flagged a potential return to race riding. He had his last ride at Flemington on VRC Oaks day in 2015 and is one of only seven jockeys to have won the four big races of the Australian turf, the Melbourne Cup, the Caulfield Cup, the Cox Plate and Golden Slipper. “I was talking to Singo on Saturday and he said ‘Pump when are you going to get the gear back on, the red gloves back on and get back out there’,” Cassidy told RadioTAB. “I’m going on 56 and my kids are settled and Jeff Lloyd’s still punching them around riding plenty of winner in Queensland. “Who knows, there might be a chance the Pump could throw them back on, but at this stage the golf course is winning.” Cassidy said he was mentally fine and the body was in good order and that he was going to catch up with Singleton to talk about life and to see what’s next. He said the last time he rode a horse was a couple of years ago when he was aboard two of Richard Laming’s gallopers on the beach ahead of the Darwin Cup. “One thing I say is never. Where there’s a will there’s a way,” Cassidy said. “Who knows, it (the comeback) could be in the next six months or in the next couple of weeks.” View the full article

Forgotten Highway (left) is back in action and headed towards the Easter Cup. Photo: Race Images. Forgotten Highway is to be forgotten no more The New Zealand Cup contestant has been refreshed and recharged and has a new cup on his agenda. The Mitchell Kerr trained pacer returned after a short stint in the harness racing wilderness to win at Wednesday’s Rangiora trials. It was the first time the five-year-old had been sighted since competing in the Green Mile at Methven in December. Then, Kerr decided to give Forgotten Highway time out rather than take him on an Auckland Cup campaign. That decision looks to have paid off with the horse returning in premium condition. “We gave him a good let up and he has really filled out and did what we were hoping he was going to do,” Kerr said. “The main target is the Easter Cup, so we will try to get him cherry ripe for that.” Forgotten Highway paced 2600m from a 30m handicap in 3.20.2 on Wednesday. Kerr said the horse gave him a great feel. “He was really good, I was really happy with him.” Forgotten Highway was likely to stay close to home as he worked towards another tilt at this year’s New Zealand Cup. Kerr has ruled out any trips north for the horse. “I am more in to the staying races with him.” “The last time we went up to Auckland he got really sick, so I thought we would go for the Easter Cup. “There is the Superstars, as well, if we see fit.” “Obviously, we will have him ready for those early cup races coming up.” Forgotten Highway ran eight in last year’s New Zealand Cup behind Thefixer. Experiencing his first season on the open stage should set the horse up well as he comes back for his next tilt at New Zealand’s big race. “It was going season where he had to step up and mix it with the big boys and the following season it should pay dividends.” “The proof will be in the pudding, but so far, so good.” Promising four-year-old Smokin By took stable star honours at Kerr’s barn in Forgotten Highway’s recent absence. The pacer produced a shock failure in last weekend’s Northern Southland Cup, when dropping out to run last. Smokin By was found to have been suffering from colic after the race and has slowly been improving since. “It took about an hour-and -a-half to two-hours for his heart-rate to come down.” “We have treated him up, but hopefully it does not have too much on an affect on him.” “The initial few days after the race he was a bit dead in the paddock, but he seems to have picked up now.” The episode has put plans for the horse to compete in the Taylor Mile and New Zealand Messenger Championship up in the air. “I will just see how the week goes and make my mind up after that.” Monbet also stepped out at Wednesday’s Rangiora trials. The champion trotter won a 2600m heat from a 40m mark in 3.22.4. Forgotten Highway with trainer Mitchell Kerr. Photo: Race Images. View the full article

Taranaki trainer Janelle Millar has three chances to hit a new career high at Trentham on Saturday. Millar has saddled 89 winners in her 15 years of training, with more than 60 of those coming in the last seven years. That total includes two black-type successes – a Listed double in the Wanganui and Marton Cups by Just The Tip during the 2014-15 season. Millar will saddle three big-race runners on Saturday, with Tinkalicious and Ruby Love lining up in the Gr. 3 Wentwood Grange Cuddle Stakes while Jakkalbomb tackles the Gr. 1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks. “I’ve never had a runner in a Group One race before,” Millar told www.theinformant.co.nz. “Just The Tip ran in a Wellington Cup, but that had been downgraded by then (at that stage Group Two). “So it’s exciting to have a Group One runner on Saturday, and everything’s gone pretty smoothly in the build-up.” Jakkalbomb won a maiden race in November and has been a consistent placegetter ever since, including in the Gr. 3 Desert Gold Stakes (second to Secret Allure), the Listed Oaks Prelude (third to Elate and Clementina) and the Gr. 2 Lowland Stakes (fourth behind Queen Of Diamonds, Shezathinka and Imelda Mary). “She’s been really good in strong races in her last few starts,” Millar said. “The Lowland was her first time up over 2100 metres and she just came to the end of it in the last bit. If she’d had a bit of cover earlier in the race, she might have been even closer to them at the line. “She got home at about 1am after that race, and when I checked her feed bowl she’d licked it out. “Her work’s been good since then. We’ve done a bit of beach work and taken her for walks through the forest, just to change things up a bit. She’s coping with everything really well and she’s fit.” Millar has no stamina concerns around Jakkalbomb. Her sire Jakkalberry placed in a Melbourne Cup, while dam Explosive Girl is a full-sister to the dam of last year’s New Zealand Derby winner Vin De Dance. “The 2400 metres definitely shouldn’t be a problem for her,” Millar said. “She’s bred to run the trip, being closely related to Vin De Dance. “My only question mark was going to be a wet track (currently Dead6), but it looks like most of the rain might blow away now. We’re crossing our fingers anyway.” The TAB rates Jakkalbomb an $18 chance in a market headed by Queen Of Diamonds ($4), Pinmedown ($4.80) and Imelda Mary ($6.50). Meanwhile, last-start winner Tinkalicious is an $11 chance in the Cuddle Stakes with Ruby Love at $41. “They’ve both done really well leading into this race,” Millar said. “Like Jakkalbomb, we’ve tried a few different things with them to keep them happy and interested. They’re both fit enough. “They both found the line strongly in their last start. I actually can’t really choose between them, they’re pretty similar in a lot of ways.” View the full article

AWAPUNI Woodville entrant Likageesix and fellow maiden Lincoln Hanover turned on the speed during a wet session at Awapuni this morning. All fast work was on the plough (slushy), where Likageesix and Lincoln Hanover reeled off a very smart 800m in 48 even, the last 600m in 36.5. Trained by Leon Mudgway, Likageesix (by Guillotine) was a […] Want to read this content? For free user content sign up here Free Online Content View our subscription options and get behind The Informant paywall Already a member? Login here View the full article

AWAPUNI Woodville entrant Likageesix and fellow maiden Lincoln Hanover turned on the speed during a wet session at Awapuni this morning. All fast work was on the plough (slushy), where Likageesix and Lincoln Hanover reeled off a very smart 800m in 48 even, the last 600m in 36.5. Trained by Leon Mudgway, Likageesix (by Guillotine) was a […] Want to read this content? For free user content sign up here Free Online Content View our subscription options and get behind The Informant paywall Already a member? Login here View the full article

I wondered what had happened to all the harness posters. They were asleep.

Young gun trainer Frankie Lor is shooting for a first win in the Hong Kong Derby. Frankie Lor is the shooting star of Hong Kong’s training ranks and on Sunday he will saddle three leading contenders for the third, final and most coveted leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series – the HK$18 million BMW Hong Kong Derby. Lor has already bagged legs one and two. Furore stalked and sprinted to take the Hong Kong Classic Mile back in January, then Mission Tycoon led and kicked to a shock win in last month’s Hong Kong Classic Cup. Each time, the pair’s high-profile stablemate Dark Dream stayed on with pressing intent. Many of Hong Kong’s eager racing fans are hoping he can become the first “home-grown” trainer to win the Derby since Tony Cruz 11 years ago, and the first ethnically Chinese Hong Konger to take the great race since Brian Kan in 2001. “Last season I had no Derby runner and this season I have three,” Lor says. “I know those three horses have a good chance so now I need some luck!” Lor’s career already features Group One wins in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint and Hong Kong Cup, but luck has had no more than a bit-part role. The circuit’s great local hope is anything but a fast-track sensation. Hard work and observant patience have underpinned Lor’s way. A former jockey of the journeyman variety, he navigated the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s system for 36 years and was 51 before the club granted him a licence to train. His first two applications failed. “I’ve worked for the club for a long, long time. I’m 53 now!” he says with a warm laugh and familiar grin. “I joined the club in 1981 as an apprentice jockey and I rode in races until 1995. I didn’t have too much support, so I changed to become a trainer’s assistant.” Lor was raised within earshot of Happy Valley Racecourse, in the Jockey Club quarters on Blue Pool Road. His father was a mafoo – a groom – as is his older brother. But his early racing memories are not of going down the hill to peep over the racetrack wall as horses raced and the crowd yelled. “My father needed to work, so no one was there to take me down. Racing was always part of my life though,” he said. “On race day, they would turn on the TV and watch the racing. When I saw the jockeys wear the colours, I thought it was fantastic. I thought, ‘One day!’ because at that time I was just small and skinny, so I put in an application form to see if the Jockey Club would take me or not. They took me in 1981. “I liked the speed!” he says. But, after 27 wins and 14 years in the saddle, he called time. “There were too many jockeys in Hong Kong at that time – local jockeys, apprentices and foreign jockeys – so it was hard to get support.” So began phase two of Lor’s career in racing. He joined the John Moore stable for a two-season stint as a trainer’s assistant; then came promotion, to assistant trainer, spending one season apiece with Wylie Wong and Gary Ng before seven seasons in the same role with Manfred Man. He returned to the Moore yard as assistant trainer in 2007-08, a position he held for six terms. “When I got the assistant trainers’ licence I started to think about how later I could try to become a trainer, but it took a long time to get there,” he says. “I thought I wasn’t good enough, so I needed to learn more. After I was turned down the second time, I needed to change trainer from John Moore to John Size and I worked for him for four seasons.” He arrived at the stable of the man he still calls “the boss” in 2013. Lor absorbed all he could from the two men who rank in the highest echelon of Hong Kong’s all-time great trainers, but it is to Size’s method he leans. “Both are really good trainers,” he says. “I side a little bit towards Mr. Size’s approach. He takes things step-by-step with each horse, there’s no need to push too hard and then usually the horse is more consistent. I try to have that patience – I still use Mr. Size’s formula first. “But everyone wants to win big races and Mr. Moore has shown over the years that he prepares horses for the big races, he’s very good at that, so I need to think about how to match together the two approaches.” Lor considers Size a friend as much as a boss. There is clearly comradeship as well as respect between former pupil and master. “He’s a very good man and usually he will not get angry: If you make a mistake, he says ‘okay, you know for next time,’ so he’s very good for the staff,” Lor relates. “He always said you cannot push the horses too hard and if you do it makes things difficult. The horse, if he goes good, if he trials good and is healthy and happy, you can race him and he should run good. “He didn’t give any specific advice (when I started on my own) but he said ‘Frankie, if you have any question you can come to see me and ask me and I’ll tell you if I know’. Also, he said ‘if any owner moves horses to your stable, no problem.’” That is just as well. When Mr Stunning gave Lor his first Group One success in this season’s Hong Kong Sprint, it was 12 months on from the horse landing the same prize for Size. The gelding’s owners are not alone in wanting to support one of Hong Kong’s own, even if that means moving a horse from so esteemed a trainer as the 10-time champion. And that same dynamic, of a Hong Kong lad making good in a historically expatriate dominated sphere, has been a key factor in Lor arriving at the Derby threshold with a trio of serious contenders. The trainer has made remarkable strides in less than two seasons with a licence. His debut campaign brought second place in the premiership: his 65 wins set a new record for a step-out trainer, topping Size’s 58 set in 2002. Each summer, Hong Kong’s owners seek out the horse that could bring them once-in-a-lifetime-glory the following March in the BMW Hong Kong Derby, the race they covet most of all. That impressive 2017/18 season instilled confidence in owners to trust their bright hopes to Lor. When this campaign kicked off, his stable had two exciting new residents, the Queensland Derby winner Dark Dream and the Rosehill Guineas third placegetter Furore. “Furore and Dark Dream were bought by the owners and when they asked me to take the horses I was very happy. I had to start to plan step-by-step and look towards the Derby,” he says. The duo made fine strides into the Hong Kong Classic Mile, the first big four-year-old test. Dark Dream sluiced to a 2000m Class 2 win and Furore progressed through two runs like a horse on the ideal trajectory, as his Classic Mile success proved. Now, along with the surprise package Mission Tycoon, they roll into the Derby. “The 2000 metres should be better for Dark Dream,” Lor says, but Furore holds stable confidence. “He’s very good, Furore. I was happy with his run in the Classic Cup. The distance will be no problem for him. “When Mission Tycoon was second in the Classic Mile it was a little bit of a surprise to me. Last time was a big surprise! I was thinking the 1800 might be a little bit long for him. “I need to get them there in very good form and then, for me, it’s Furore,” he says. Size, though, has arrived at the big one with a formidable rival. Waikuku skipped the first two legs of the series as he clicked four straight wins, the latest being an impressive 1800 metres score. “I could see Waikuku in the last quarter: it looked like he could fly! He’s very strong,” he says. The smile and the nervous laugh so evident through much of his conversation are absent. He knows his “boss” may have unearthed a gem but his hope is undimmed. “Everyone knows that the Derby is important. If I can win I’ll be very happy; the whole stable will be happy. “If I can win the Derby it will be fantastic and amazing.” – David Morgan, hkjc.com View the full article

Alex ‘Snooky’ Cowan is claiming home-track advantage for Saturday’s Listed Gavelhouse.com Lightning Handicap at Trentham. The Ashburton trainer will saddle Signify in the sprint feature at the Wellington Racing Club meeting, some 542 kilometres away from his actual home base. But such is Signify’s record at Trentham, Cowan reckons it’s like playing a home game. “It’s like a home track for him. He loves the place and that’s the number one reason we’re here,” said Cowan, who trains Signify for his wife Tracey. In four races at Trentham, Signify has won the 2017 Gr. 1 Telegraph and the Lightning Handicap later that year before an unplaced Telegraph run last year and a gallant third in this year’s running. “He travelled to Wellington on Wednesday and settled in well,” Cowan said. “He’s been on the track and he seems well enough. He hasn’t raced for six weeks but he’s very well. He’s in top condition. “He’s got a bit of weight to carry, 60 kilograms is about the roof for him, and things have to go ideally with that weight. He’s certainly weighted up to his best.” Cowan has engaged newly-anointed Group One-winning rider Sam Collett, whose job will be to obtain the most economical run possible from barrier seven. “He’s got Ferrando drawn right beside us and hopefully he can take us across with him but I’ll be telling Sam not to use him too much early,” Cowan said. “He can go forward then dive for cover and get as cosy a trip as possible. I don’t want him used twice. Ideally we can get one shot at them at the end. On his work and the way he’s feeling, I suspect he’ll go pretty well.” TAB bookmakers have Signify on the fifth line of betting at $9.50 in a market headed by last-start Gr. 3 Waikato Stud Plate winner Princess Kereru at $4 and impressive Te Akau Racing newcomer Sasso Corbaro at $4.20. “All going well, he’ll stay on to race at Awapuni in two weeks (in the Listed Bramco Granite & Marble Flying Handicap, 1400m). He’ll stay with Mark Oulaghan and he can babysit him for me between races,” Cowan said. View the full article

Altior rose to his toughest challenge yet overnight, extending his unbeaten record over jumps to 18 in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. The Nicky Henderson-trained superstar gave his supporters some anxious moments when he was headed by Sceau Royal approaching the final fence after leading into the straight. But, as ever, Altior relished the Cheltenham hill, seeing off Sceau Royal first and then repelling the late challenge of Politologue to win at odds of 4-11. “What an absolute monster, and aren’t we lucky to be in an age where he’s here? We should just celebrate him. He’s a phenomenal athlete. He doesn’t know how to lose,” jockey Nico de Boinville said. The win was Altior’s fourth successive victory at the famous meeting, a feat equalled by Tiger Roll the Glenfarclas Chase on the same programme. His 22-length win was a welcome change of fortune for trainer Gordon Elliott, who had endured a luckless start to the festival. “Everyone knows it’s been a rough week. Horses haven’t been running up to par, a few of them haven’t been good enough and things haven’t been working,” he said. “This horse has won at four Cheltenham Festivals now and a Grand National. He’s our first winner of the week and I won’t forget him. “To win at four Cheltenham Festivals is class.” View the full article

Probably but not for the formaldehyde as there is no evidentiary proof.

No you are speculating and extrapolating on no evidence. "Dark" isn't exactly quantifiable nor evidentiary.

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