Chief Stipe

But why not put the rail out today instead of next week? A good trainer once said to me they should come from the outside in not the inside out!

Monaco and Trudy Thornton combine for another win at Ellerslie today, holding off Together (side-winkers), Jip Jip Rock (blinkers) and Nuclear Fusion. Stephen Ralph has an easy answer to the secret behind his iron horse Monaco, who added another win at Ellerslie today when lining up for the fourth consecutive weekend. “It’s all about recovery,” said the four-year-old’s trainer. “The fitness takes care of itself when they’re able to race as regularly as him, and so long we get the recovery right they can maintain their form.” Monaco, a younger brother to Ralph and owner-breeders’ Stuart and Cherie Hope’s Sistema Railway winner Santa Monica, began his purple form patch with a maiden victory at Matamata on February 3. Thirteen days later he repeated in Rating 65 grade at Ellerslie and since then there’s been no letting up in his busy schedule. A week later on February 23 he finished second at Matamata, he returned to Ellerslie the following weekend for third and he capped it all with a half-length win in today’s PGG Wrightson/Vetmed 1400. The chestnut’s four previous starts had been over 1200metres on tracks ranging from Good3 to Slow7. The step up to 1400 metres today combined with a downgraded Heavy 10 track might have found him out, but Monaco had other ideas. Regular rider Trudy Thornton let him stride to the lead halfway up the straight and although the challengers were coming fast over the final 50 metres, Monaco was still a half-length in front at the line from Together, who took second narrowly from Jip Jip Rock and the pacemaker Nuclear Fusion. Ralph elaborated on what he refers to as his “different” training methods, outlining Monaco’s weekly routine. “After two, maybe three, days off after racing on Saturday, he’ll go on the walker Tuesday or Wednesday, do a bit of trotting and if his weight says so, maybe have a bit of a gallop on Thursday morning. “The main thing though is the recovery – get that right and everything else falls into place.” The curtain came down on Santa Monica’s big season when she finished third in last Saturday’s Waikato Stud Plate, but as usual it will be the recovery period that will decide Monaco’s immediate future. “We’ll check him out over the next couple of days and then make up our minds,” added Ralph. “Stuart mentioned a stakes race somewhere that might be his next target, so we’ll just wait and see on that.” View the full article

Cameron Lammas is one participant not minding the inclement conditions prevailing at Ellerslie today, putting together an early double with wins in the first two races. After taking an on-pace victory on Spindle in the opening race, Lammas adopted quite different tactics on Sandrine in the next, the Royal Descent Stakes. Midway through the 1600-metre fillies and mares’ race Sandrine was equal last, but at the business end had completed her own carnival double after winning in Rating 72 grade last Saturday. Sandrine, a Savabeel mare from the Team Rogerson stable, claimed today’s race by half a length from Podravina, whose rider Johnathan Parkes opted for an inside run. By contrast Lammas took a wide passage, steadily working forward from the 600-metre mark to lodge a challenge 150 metres from home. Podravina wasn’t stopping, but Sandrine proved too strong, despite not being entirely happy on a track that had been downgraded further to Slow8 after the firsat race. “She didn’t really handle that ground, which is way wetter than what we had for the first race – it’s near enough to heavy now,” Lammas told www.theinformant.co.nz. “She’s very honest though and was never going to stop once I got her out wide in that slightly better ground.” The four-year-old’s owner-breeder Joan Egan summed up the tactics adopted by Lammas. “Cameron had it worked out, get her to relax and save her energy for the other end of the race,” she said. View the full article

Unwanted morning showers have forced a track downgrade and a number of late scratchings ahead of today’s Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup race meeting. First thing this morning the track was rated Dead5 after 19mm of rain in the previous 24 hours, and another 17mm since sent the track out to Slow7. The most notable late scratchings were Gr. 1 Sistema Stakes runners Equinox and Beauty Diva and Race 5 pre-post favourite Rhinestone Cowboy. The opening race, the White Cliffs Timber 1200, brought a change on fortune for Spindle, who was so unlucky when blocked for a run on the opening day of the carnival. This time rider Cameron Lammas had the Stephen McKee-trained mare travelling in the clear on the pace and she responded readily when it counted, shaking off her stablemate Breeze On over the final stages to score by a length and a half. Spindle, a five-year-old by in-form stallion Pins, is raced in partnership by breeders Waikato Stud and the Auckland Racing Club Winners Circle Syndicate, which is managed by ARC Director Brent Cooper. Past successes on the track for the Winners Circle Syndicate include two by Spindle and the 2009 Listed Soliloquy Stakes by another raced on lease from Waikato Stud, the No Excuse Needed filly Masquerade. Spindle covered the 1200 metres in 1:12.2 on a track described by Lammas as holding “quote a bit of moisture”. “They’re working quite hard in it,” he said. View the full article

Smooth Deal and Mark Purdon return after their easy Cardigan Bay Stakes win at Group 1 level. Photo: Trish Dunell The juvenile machine that is the All Stars stable of Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen continued on in force at Alexandra Park on Friday night, taking out both feature two-year-old classics. Smooth Deal, last year’s sale-topping yearling at Karaka, cemented himself as the standout colt of this crop with a dominant win in the Group 1 $90,000 Young Guns Cardigan Bay Stakes. A couple of races earlier, blueblood filly Sweet On Me made it three wins in a row to start her career with an equally authoritative win in the Group 2 $75,200 Delightful Lady Classic. Co-trainer Mark Purdon, fresh back from a summer stint in Australia, did the driving on the pair and was effusive in his plaudits for both horses. On Smooth Deal, he noted that the horse was “quite special” and had the world at his feet. “He’s pretty versatile. “As you saw tonight… when I asked him to go around them and lengthen out down the back, he just strode out like a real smart horse and then strode away at the top of the straight. “He’s a great stayer; he just ticks all the boxes. He’s a lovely horse.” It was the third race win in five years for Victorian owner Jean Feiss, who took it out last year with Jesse Duke and in 2015 with More The Better. Feiss is an aggressive bidder in the sale ring, and has an outstanding record with her purchases, no matter how expensive they are. “A lot of big money purchases don’t actually work out,” said Purdon. “But Jean has done well with her selections. “It’s always good when she goes in to that sale ring – she usually brings home what she wants.” Smooth Deal and Mark Purdon return after their easy Cardigan Bay Stakes win at Group 1 level. Photo: Trish Dunell Sweet On Me has had every advantage in life, being a daughter of champion mare Adore Me, by hype stallion Sweet Lou, being raised at Woodlands Stud and then consigned to the best stable bar-none. But she still has to do it, and that she has, comprehensively in all three runs now. “She’s quite a bit different to Adore Me,” said Purdon. “She’s got a little bit of ‘tartiness’ about her, but she’s a beautiful filly.” And it’s all ahead of her, just like her Mum, who didn’t even race as a juvenile. “This is a really, really smart filly but I think she is more of a three-year-old than she is a two-year-old.” The win completed a great seven days for her ownership group, the Roberts and Kenny families, who also won the Group 1 A$200,000 Ladyship Mile in Sydney last Saturday night with Dream About Me. View the full article

Trentham Race R1: 3 R2: R3: 1 R4: 2,6 R5: 6 R6: 5,8,10 R7: 2,7 TAB Meeting #4 with the first of 8 races starting at 12:55pm DBL: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7 TRB: 2-3-4, 5-6-7 QAD: 1-2-3-4, 4-5-6-7 Track conditions: Slow 7 Weather: Drizzling Rail: True Track: Left hand 2000m Length of straight: 450m Race 2: Best bet CISJURANE like so many from her stable she has […] 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

Trentham Race R1: 3 R2: R3: 1 R4: 2,6 R5: 6 R6: 5,8,10 R7: 2,7 TAB Meeting #4 with the first of 8 races starting at 12:55pm DBL: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7 TRB: 2-3-4, 5-6-7 QAD: 1-2-3-4, 4-5-6-7 Track conditions: Slow 7 Weather: Drizzling Rail: True Track: Left hand 2000m Length of straight: 450m Todays $50 Betting Strategy Race […] 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

The Kaik and Kimberly Butt combined for an easy win in the Jennian Homes ‘Team Teal’ Lady Drivers Challenge at the Westport meeting on Friday and they could easily repeat the dose at Reefton tomorrow. The five-year-old Bettor’s Delight gelding copped eight points at Westport but stayed within the up to 55 Rating for the events and lines up against pretty much the exact same field at Reefton, where he has drawn perfectly in barrier two. The Kaik has won three races this season for trainer John Bartlett and co-owner Butt and has been in particularly good form during the past month, with two wins and two placings in four races. “I think that’s mostly just a reflection of Kimberly figuring out how best to drive him,” said Bartlett. “You have to just flop out of the gate and do absolutely nothing with him early on. “I guess it was probably an advantage that Kimberly knew him so well when a lot of the other horses had new drivers.” The Kaik and Kim Butt have the measure of Ford Rule at the finish. Photo: Race Images The Kaik drew post four at Westport and drifted to the rear, but with plenty of action up front as the lady drivers looked to get handy on the turning circuit, the race set up for the swoopers. The Kaik had some lengths to make up on the turn as Ford Rule and Sam Ottley mastered Fortune Tiller, but they finished quickly and, in the end, won going away by a length-and-a-half. The lightly-raced Bettor’s Delight four-year-old Ford Rule was probably a certainty beaten after an early gallop cost him position and several lengths and it would be no surprise if he and The Kaik quinellaed the race at Reefton again. Bartlett has been training The Kaik since last winter after taking him over from Tim Butt and Jonny Cox, for whom he won at Westport at Christmas last season when driven by another co-owner in David White. Cran Dalgety had The Kaik at the start of his career and won with him as a three-year-old at Kaikoura before he was sold to his current large group of owners, which also includes Addington Raceway’s Richard Bromley, Auckland’s Graham Snookes and even some Australians. “It’s taken me a little while to figure out how best to train him as well,” said Bartlett. “He’s got very thin soles to his feet which bruise easily and that’s been his biggest problem over the years. “That’s why he came to me to work at the beach and why we keep him to the grass tracks as much as possible. “I’ve figured out the less work you do with him the better – he has more days off than me. “He goes to the beach every second or third day and my partner Virginia (Mackle) often rides him down there.” The Team Teal Lady Drivers Challenge competitors (from left) Kerryn Tomlinson, Hayley Clarke, Kendra Gill, Nicky Chilcott, Sam Ottley, Olivia Thornley, Mikayla Lewis, Ashleigh Stewart and Amanda Tomlinson. Absent: Debbie Flint, Sarah O’Reilly, Loren Lester. Photo Race Images. Bartlett and Butt also lined up Nui Ban Den in the Kawatiri Cup and he got home strongly for fourth after racing four-fence. The Gotta Go Cullect gelding also came from Tim Butt and Cox at the same stage last year and he won a double at the Westport and Reefton meetings over Christmas. He is owned by Bartlett and Steve King and was bought as a replacement for King Size, a winner at Reefton two years ago but lost when he broke a leg in a race at Westport at Christmas last season. Ironically, that race was won by The Kaik when he won for Butt and Cox. The Kaik and Nui Ban Den have won five races this season and Bartlett’s other winner this term, Articulight, has just recently been transferred to Matt Purvis, for whom he won first-up at the Amberley meeting a month ago. “He needed a change of scenery and Matt is going to start swimming him. “He’s got sore hocks and stifles and is an exceedingly funny horse – you never know what to expect from him from one day to another. “He doesn’t need a trainer – he needs a psychiatrist.” View the full article

Ellerslie Race Scratchings R1: 7 R2: R3: 11 R4: 9 R5: 10 R6: 8,16 R7: R8: R9: R10: 16,17 TAB Meeting #2 with the first of 10 races starting at 12:40pm Doubles: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 Trebles: 1-2-3, 4-5-6, 8-9-10 Quaddies: 2-3-4-5, 7-8-9-10 Pick 6: Starts on race 5 with a $30,000 Guaranteed Pool […] 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

Phil and Glenys Kennard share a light moment after Ultimate Sniper’s Derby win. Photo: Trish Dunell. They say a week is a long time in racing and Christchurch owners Phil and Glenys Kennard have well and truly given weight to that over the past seven days. Their brilliant three-year-old pacer, Ultimate Sniper, took out the $250,000 Woodlands Northern Derby at Alexandra Park on Friday night in a thrilling finish. It came six days after they won the calendar’s richest race, the A$1 Million Miracle Mile in Sydney with Spankem. But in the week between those wins, they had to call time on the career of their one-time budding superstar, and Ultimate Sniper’s older brother, Ultimate Machete. And they had to scratch second-stringer Another Masterpiece from the Derby due to illness. Regarding Ultimate Machete, who was the Three and Four-Year-Old of the Year the past two seasons, he reached the bottom of a slippery slope that started 15 months ago in Perth. He won two Group 1 four-year-old features over there, shortly after winning the New Zealand Free For All at Addington on Show Day of 2017. But he was injured soon after and didn’t race again until October. He was the favourite for the New Zealand Cup but had to be withdrawn just a week before the race. A further setback and then two final starts came and went, the last at Auckland last week. But a suspensory injury finally signaled the end for the sizeable entire and time was called on his career after just 32 starts. “It’s been incredibly frustrating with him, especially the last two months,” said Phil Kennard. “Having to scratch the favourite seven days out from the Trotting Cup, it wasn’t easy. “Luckily we had Thefixer to step in and do the job.” There was a point there where anyone you talked to would have declared Ultimate Machete as the heir apparent, the next superstar of the sport. And Kennard said he’d be lying if he didn’t think the same way. “The night we got the Group 1 double in Perth with him, and Lazarus winning the Inter Dominion. “It was a pretty special night for us all and we were all looking to the future with him.” Fast-forward and he’s now the subject of what Kennard calls “a bit of interest” from various studs. In fact, it could be his little brother that is the next king. He sprinted home in 54.9 for co-trainer Natalie Rasmussen to record his third feature win, and second Group 1, at just his eighth start, all this season. Kennard freely admits they are rather fortuitous to even own Ultimate Sniper as, at $85,000, he was pricier than they are usually comfortable paying in the sale ring. Ultimate Sniper holds off Jesse Duke and Supreme Dominator to win the Woodlands Northern Derby. Photo: Trish Dunell. “We’ve been a little bit lucky actually, owning this horse, because when you’ve got such a good horse already in Ultimate Machete, we ummed and ahhed a lot at the sales about whether we were going to back up and buy the brother. “But, fortunately, we did and everybody hoped on board and away we went. “We always set budgets, all the way along, between Mark (Purdon) and us, and we try to keep it realistic. But sometimes you have to be flexible, like then, and this year, where we had to change very quickly because we got a couple of bloody noses early on in Auckland. “Glenys and I sign for them, but we’re actually spending other people’s money and we have to remain mindful of that.” The group that race Ultimate Sniper includes Australian Kevin Riseley, Phil and Margaret Creighton from Dunedin, and Gavin Douglas, from Ashburton. They call themselves the ‘Major Mark Syndicate’ in honour of the former Two-Year-Old of the Year that was the first horse they bought together, a decade ago. “We’ve had Major Mark, Ultimate Machete, Follow The Stars, Fly Like An Eagle, Border Control and now Ultimate Sniper,” said Kennard. That’s six Group 1 winners, all purchased as yearlings – surely a testament to the expert judgements of those involved. But a pattern has developed in that those that raced extensively at two – Major Mark, Ultimate Machete and Follow The Stars – eventually trailed off or break down as older horses. So, patience is now a big part of their approach to ownership. “It takes a lot of patience with the horses, and it also requires good owners who are prepared to listen to what the trainers tell us. “We’ve got a nice two-year-old there, Flying Even Bettor, and Mark was tossing up whether to push on or turn him out. “Our view was, if you’ve got to think about it, then put him out. “Glenys and I often talk about Machete and whether we should have sent him to the paddock as a two-year-old. “But he was the second-best colt of his year and we raced him on, but we wonder whether that has hurt him in the long run more than we realised.” The win of Spankem was a complete surprise, given the horse was slated to be brought home at the end of January after a two-month long Victorian campaign. But the flights weren’t matching up and the horse was going to be there a while longer, and a cheeky bike ride change the course of racing history. “I went out for a ride on my bike and had a good think about it,” said Kennard. “And it struck me that there was no reason why the horse couldn’t target the Bohemia Crystal (Group 1, A$100,000) on Miracle Mile night. “So, Glenys rung Mark and put it to him and he agreed it was feasible. “To win the Miracle Mile lead-up, which was basically a race to get him fit for the next week, was a shock, but we took the opportunity to have a second runner with both hands.” Of course, as the record will show forever, Spankem would win the Miracle Mile in 1.47.7, ultimately thanks to Kennard’s bike ride. “To go and line-up with Spankem and Thefixer in the Miracle Mile and run the quinella, then win the Derby tonight, it’s been a real surprise. “If you’d told us that it would happen 21 days ago, I would have laughed at you. “It’s a surreal time. “And tonight, too, is extra special because it’s our wedding anniversary, and our daughter’s wedding anniversary. “It’s a big day in our house.” View the full article

You wouldn’t think it after more than 2600 training wins, but Barry Purdon can still find himself perplexed by the odd horse. New Zealand’s all-time winningest trainer admits to scratching his head a few times recently with stable star Jack’s Legend, who made it four wins in a row in the Gr. 2 $50,000 City Of Auckland Free For All at Alexandra Park on Friday night. It’s common knowledge just how good the horse can be – he was a Jewels winner at three and ran second in the New Zealand Cup at four. But when he lined up and won at Cambridge on January 24, it had been 15 months – and 18 starts – since his last victory. He was always thereabouts, mixing good placings with average efforts, and it was starting to wear on Purdon. “He sat in the one-one here before Christmas and went terrible. “He had a bit of a high temperature after that, so I excused it, and then I thought he went ok again in the Auckland Cup. “From a wide draw he used a bit of petrol early and then got held up on the turn. “But then we went to Cambridge for the Flying Mile and I was highly disappointed, to be honest. “It had me scratching my head.” Regular driver Zachary Butcher seemingly agreed and jumped off at his next start, also at Cambridge, in favour of stablemate On The Cards. Longtime Purdon stable worker, Scott Phelan, jumped in the cart and the new combination have been unstoppable since. Purdon modestly suggests it’s just “a confidence thing” with the horse that has seen his fortunes turn around. “That first win at Cambridge, we put the half-blinds on him and he won from the trail. “It gave him a bit of confidence and he hasn’t looked back since.” Purdon also notes that there has been a lack of horses co-trained by his brother, Mark, in any of the fields Jack’s Legend has recently beaten. “I think it’s fair to say they’ve been a touch easier than what he raced in the two Cups and in Spring. “But he still had to sit outside Star Galleria and beat him tonight, and that’s not something he’s done before.” It’s true – Jack’s Legend has proven himself to be lethal off a sit, but doing it hard is not his forte. Phelan said it was a case of ‘hope and pray’ tonight. “It’s something we thought we’d try but probably wouldn’t work. “But he’s so full of confidence and feeling brave that he dug deep and won. “He looks a million dollars too; he’s in a great place right now.” As for future plans, Purdon says a trip to Canterbury is the logical – and only realistic – option. “We’d be happy enough racing here at Auckland in $25,000 Free For Alls, but I there is a $50,000 race at Addington at the end of the month for four and five-year-olds that will suit him nicely. “Then there is the Easter Cup ($100,000) a week later and we might even look at the Rangiora Classic ($30,000) the week after that. “He’s racing so well, we’d be silly not to go down and have a crack, I think.” Stablemate On The Cards was close-up in second while Star Galleria battled on for third, narrowly ahead of Recco Lover, who had trailed. View the full article

A tough day finished on the best possible note for Invercargill trainer Aaron Swain, at Forbury Park on Thursday night. Swain’s mare, Ideal Gal, won the last race on the card for a loud and passionate group of owners, the Wyuna Wackers Syndicate. The win gave him a temporary reprieve from the emotional turmoil of losing his uncle, Makarewa trainer Brian Swain, earlier in the day. “That win was for my uncle,” said Swain. “He had an operation in October that went a bit pear-shaped, but he’d seemed pretty healthy the last few weeks and months. “So much so that he took his horse, Delight N Gold, back to train last week. “And then yesterday, he died suddenly without warning; it came as real shock to us all.” Brian Swain, who had been licensed since the early 1970s, recorded 61 wins and twice trained horses to win seven races in a single season – Hallmaster in 1974/75 and Silky Saila in 1992/93. His final winner came at the Gore meeting just after Christmas with Lily Ducket. Aaron Swain has found himself in the enviable position of having too many owners and too many horses. Because of his job as the local rep for feed merchants NRM and McMillan Equine, he can only do a handful of horses at a time. “I’ve got three in work, which is quite a good number to fit around my day job. “But I have 17 or 18 others to work through. “It was the worst time, horse-wise, to start a fulltime job, but they are a great company to work for and I’m really lucky to be in the role.“ The Wyuna Wackers boys are a bunch of old mates of Swain’s, and their interest has grown since a chance meeting eight years ago. “They’re just a bunch of good fellas that enjoy the races. This is the first horse they’ve owned. “They make every race an enjoyable one, that’s for sure. “No matter where you get, you’ll know they’re on course, I can tell you. “I met two of them, Chris Kenny and Tommo Smith, at the races about eight or so years ago. “They got more and more involved and eventually we bought this mare at the weanling sale in Auckland four years ago. “Chris, Tommo and myself have 25 percent each and the remaining quarter is shared by another group of six or seven guys. “It’s really taken off from there. “I did a count up the other day and I’ve got 38 individual first-time owners. “They’re all new to the game and are mostly all young guys in their 20s and 30s. “I’ve actually had to start turning people away because I don’t want any more horses; I’ve been putting them on to Kirk and Michelle Larsen’s new syndicate. “These people, a lot of them don’t have a lot to spend, but if you can get them involved for even $50 a month, it works. “Most of them don’t care how much they own, they just enjoy the thrill of having a horse at the races. “The Wyuna Wackers boys have a great philosophy. “They say that they don’t care if the stake is $1 or $1 Million, a win is a win and they get the same buzz. “They’re all hooked for life, now.” As for Ideal Gal, she’s likely to join her former stablemate Errol Finn racing in the North Island. “I think she could be up for a wee trip up to Auckland over winter. “She’s a handy mare and that think can win a couple more “She’s a poorish trackworker and I almost sacked her after she qualified. “One day soon after that I said this is your last chance. And she just turned up and has gotten better and better ever since.” View the full article

It's one of the burdens of running a forum. There are two different approaches one you ban and heavily moderate or you moderate the extreme stuff and let the community sort out the errant individuals. Bit like we do down at the local where if you dont pay attention to them the errant types play nice. They all want to belong! I personally like the community to work it out.

Top North American trotting sire Andover Hall recorded his first true New Zealand-bred winner, at Cambridge on Wednesday. Anditover, a three-year-old trained locally by Ross Paynter, cleared maidens in the hands of David Butcher to get his father off the mark. Andover Hall made waves early on in his siring career when leaving champion trotters Donato Hanover and Pampered Princess in his first two crops. He’s come back to the pack with age but has been well supported by New Zealand breeders with a good calibre of mare. He had 24 foals in that first crop and Paynter was thrilled to get his hands on one of them. “I think he’s one of the top sires of trotting millionaires worldwide. “He’s a top sire and it’s nice to have one in the barn by him.” Anditover got a ‘clayton’s win’ as a juvenile as the only starter in a Breeders Crown heat back in July and Wednesday’s tote win came at his second start on this, his sophomore campaign. Paynter is optimistic about the horse’s future, too. “I’ve always had quite a bit of time for him. “He’s promised to be quite a nice horse for a while, just a bit of a dummy that doesn’t know a lot. “The motor is there though and he’s quite nicely put together, as well.” Anditover descends from broodmare gem Chiola’s Lass, meaning his extended family includes performers the likes of Cabaletta, Allegro Agitato, Skyvalley, Gershwin and Everybody Knows. He was bred by Denis Lauren and Pip Gerard and raced by them along with some friends, including HRNZ Board member and Cambridge local, John Coulam. Paynter believes the horse could, in time, perhaps justify a trip south for the Harness Jewels later in the season if he continues to trend in the right direction. “We’ll let him find his feet and try and race him at Auckland a little bit. “He’s on the way up but has a bit to learn about racing. “I think we got ‘half points’ for that win so it shouldn’t hurt him too much. “We’ve just got to be careful where we place him.” Andover Hall’s first and only other New Zealand winner was the imported American mare, Luby Ann, in 2011, when trained by Mark Purdon and Grant Payne. Her first two foals were the Group 1 performing fillies, Luby Lou and Tickle Me Pink. Andover Hall’s sire sons include Creatine, The Pres, Monkey Bones and Quite Easy. View the full article

Four trainers argue their bans should be overturned because the stablehand at the centre of the “Aquanita eight” doping conspiracy rarely went through with administering the “top-ups”. Racing Victoria contends the four are still guilty of corrupt conduct by being party to a plan to cheat, but maintains the illegal raceday top-ups did in fact occur. Trainers Robert Smerdon (life ban), Stuart Webb (four years), Tony Vasil (three years) and Liam Birchley (one year) are fighting their disqualifications in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The argument over planned versus actual administration of top-ups of sodium bicarbonate and Tripart paste is key to whether the charges and penalties are upheld or dismissed. Barrister Jeff Gleeson QC today said RV’s position was that the proposed or planned administrations referred to in text messages were successfully carried out. But he said planned administration was enough to sustain the corrupt conduct charge. Float driver Greg Nelligan, who was banned for life, last year told VCAT the majority of times he only pretended to give horses top-ups because he feared getting caught. Gleeson said the idea that the majority or even a large proportion of planned top-ups were not implemented was inconsistent with the evidence. He pointed to the very incident that led to the seven-year top-up scheme being exposed, when Nelligan was caught inserting a syringe into the Smerdon-trained Lovani’s mouth on Turnbull Stakes day in October 2017. “What we know from that is that Greg Nelligan was willing to risk administering sodium bicarbonate to Lovani at Flemington on one of the most significant days on the racing calendar with a crowd of tens of thousands of people present,” Gleeson said. View the full article

Flags will fly at half-mast at Melbourne’s feature autumn race meeting at Flemington tomorrow as part of a tribute to renowned journalist, author and historian Les Carlyon, who has died aged 76. Carlyon had a passion for racing and was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame in 2016 for his contribution to broadcasting and documenting the history of racing. The Victoria Racing Club said the on-course flags would be altered to half-mast at Flemington during the race meeting featuring the Gr. 1 Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup and a tribute would be played on screens around the course. The VRC said Carlyon would also be recognised in the race book, and the club will consider a more permanent tribute. “Les was a cherished friend and Life Member of the VRC, indeed Flemington was his favourite racecourse,” VRC chairman Amanda Elliott said. “He will be greatly missed.” Racing Victoria has also paid tribute to Carlyon. “Racing has lost one of its greatest ever storytellers, a man whose ability to so eloquently portray the competition and theatre of thoroughbred racing by pen or word was admired and loved by generations of racing fans,” RV chief executive Giles Thompson said. “He was an avid and passionate fan of the racehorse who sits fittingly as a member of the Australian Racing Hall of Fame for his wonderful contribution to our sport.” A journalist and then editor of The Age at 33, Carlyon was a dual Walkley award winner and his book Gallipoli documented the disastrous armed forces campaign in the Dardanelles during World War l. His 2006 book, The Great War, is the story of Australian forces on the Western Front in France and Belgium also during World War I. Carlyon served on the Council of the Australian War Memorial for more than a decade and was an advocate for the manner in which those who served in the defence forces are commemorated. True Grit is a volume of stories about his beloved racing spanning four decades, while he also wrote The Master, a biography of the late Bart Cummings. View the full article

As expected, Hastings filly Mohaka made it look easy when she dropped back from her last-start appearance in the New Zealand 1000 Guineas for a deserved maiden win at Otaki today. Mohaka had gone into the Riccarton classic with placings, including a Listed third behind subsequent 2000 Guineas placegetter The Chosen One, from all four previous starts. However, she never got a look in and finished last, some 13 lengths behind the winner Media Sensation. Four months later she was back in the public eye looking a stronger version of the filly seen in the spring and at no stage of today’s Vets On Riverbank 1200 did she look in danger of defeat. Rider Robbie Hannam settled her in the trail and after travelling strongly, Mohaka took over with 300 metres to run and scored as she liked from Tennessee Rose and Hunter Villain. With her maiden win now in the bag, bigger plans are in place for the Nadeem filly. “She’s probably looking for a mile already, it was just her class that got her home,” said co-trainer Guy Lowry. “The Warstep Stakes down at Riccarton (over 2000m on April 13), that’s where we’re heading.” The start to the Otaki meeting was delayed for about 15 minutes while an ambulance made its way to the course. After morning showers the track was downgraded from Daed5 to Slow7, and the 1200 metres was cut out in 1:14.01 seconds. View the full article

Karaka trainer Lance Noble will take two strong Group One chances to Ellerslie tomorrow and he is hoping they can improve off their last-start runs at Matamata a fortnight ago. Stakes-winning filly Bavella will contest the Sistema Stakes in the colours of Cambridge Stud principals Brendan and Jo Lindsay, who previously owned race sponsors Sistema Plastics. The daughter of Snitzel was unbeaten heading into the Gr. 2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes last month and Noble cited a tardy beginning as the main factor to her unplaced finish. “Nothing went right for her,” he said. “She hadn’t had a run for three months, so she was a little bit fresh. “She caught the gates at the wrong time, half a stride slow, and as she jumped out the outside horse and the inside horse sort of wiped her out. We got further back than we intended and from there the race was really over the way it was run. “You are obviously disappointed when you are going in as favourite and you have been unbeaten, but when you weigh it all up, the run wasn’t as bad as it probably seemed.” Noble said Bavella has improved with the run and he is looking forward to lining her up for her first Group One assignment. “She has improved with the run fitness-wise, so I think we will see the real Bavella,” he said. “If she can recapture the form that she showed at Counties when she won, we have got to be in there somewhere.” While confident heading into the race, Noble said Bavella will have to overcome the best of her age group. “Now we are seeing the cream of the two-year-old crop together for the first time, both fillies and colts, so it’s interesting,” Noble said. “It’s definitely not going to be easy. “If she gets a flyer, like she usually jumps, hopefully we are able to get across and not get trapped three-wide, but that’s always the risk. “But that’s why we have Leith (Innes) riding. He is a big race rider, he knows her and he’ll give her the best run he can.” Stablemate Prince Jabeel has undergone a meteoric rise this season that will result in a tilt at the Gr. 1 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup tomorrow. The five-year-old son of Savabeel began the season in maiden company and has gone on to win the Gr. 3 City of Auckland Cup on New Year’s Day and place in the Gr. 3 Wellington Cup later in January. He went into the Listed Kaimai Stakes at Matamata last month in a fresh state and Noble said nothing went right on the way to his unplaced run. “He’d had a freshen-up and the track was soft, which he doesn’t like, he wants it very firm. “He played up in the starting gates, so he was slow away and because they rushed into that first corner he wasn’t quick enough to get to his usual position, so he got back in the field. “When they came around the bend he copped a check, he wasn’t going to be threatening the winner, but it looked like he was going to make some solid ground. “On paper it looked very disappointing, but watching it a few times afterwards I think he had a few excuses.” Noble is hoping Prince of Jabeel can recapture his earlier form and cap off what has been a stellar season for the gelding. “Back to Ellerslie, a firm track and two miles, I think he should go back to his form before Matamata and if he runs up to that then he should be in there somewhere. “He has come a long way since the beginning of the season where he was a maiden and to now be in the Auckland Cup. “It’s been a long season, but he looks great and he’s fit. He’s drawn wide again (14), he never seems to cop a decent draw in his life, but at least it gives us an option to roll forward if they slacken the speed. “Win, lose or draw he will be in the paddock, but hopefully he can go out on a high.” View the full article

Tempo will be the word on Sam Collett’s mind as she takes Glory Days around to the 3200-metre Ellerslie start point tomorrow afternoon. Glory Days is the $5 equal second favourite for the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup after adding last month’s Avondale Cup to her impressive lower North Island record. In that 2400-metre race – the Waverley mare’s first start at Ellerslie – she came from last at the 800-metre mark for a narrow win over longshot Blue Breeze. The challenge for Collett now is to decide whether she can get away with similar tactics in the Auckland Cup in the hope of a solid pace up front. The important point about the Avondale Cup is that Nymph Monte broke the field up when he pulled his way to a clear lead through the middle stages, and after being some 20 lengths behind at one point, Glory Days was able to mount a sustained run over the final 600 metres. “Tempo is the key,” Collett said as she discussed her assignment. “I doubt very much whether they’ll run this race at the same clip, so that means I’ll first have to decide how far back I should settle and just when to make my run. “That’s one of those decisions you have to make as things unfold and there isn’t a lot of room for error.” Collett has been recognised in recent years as one the most improved in domestic jockey ranks. For much longer the 29-year-old has been one of the busiest and she underlined her new-found confidence by winning the 2017-18 premiership with 132 wins. Confidence was evident in her first ride on Gory Days three weeks ago and was also the key factor in almost pulling off a boilover result in the Karaka Million 3Y0 Classic at Ellerslie in late January. In that $1 million race, Collett circled the field on $160 longshot The Real Beel when the pace buttoned off through the middle stages and it was only a desperate James McDonald ride on Victorian raider Long Leaf that denied the Tauranga filly of victory. Collett was still in nappies when her parents Jim Collett and Trudy Thornton fought out the finish of the 1991 Auckland on Star Harvest and Shugar. Her recall of that historic quinella has been via video replay, but it’s an incentive for her to emulate her father’s victory and go one up on her mother, who at 55 is still a racetrack rival and tomorrow has the Cup mount on $200 longshot The Rebel Knight. “Mum and I enjoy riding against each other – we’re just as competitive as we would be with any other jockey – and I still talk things through with Dad on a regular basis. “He and I are pretty much on the same page as far as how I should be riding, but it’s always good to get his view on things.” Collett’s other incentive on the eve of Auckland Cup day is addressing the missing statistic on her record. A career tally of 692 wins and 29 black-type races doesn’t include a Group One success. “That’s become my big goal, to win a Group One,” she says, “and I’d like to think Glory Days might get me there. “I’m also on Qiji Swordsman in the (Gr. 1) Sistema Stakes and while he’s not one of the favourites he has finished first and second in his only two starts, so he must be some chance.” View the full article

Australian horses are a significant step closer to competing at major meetings in Hong Kong after the two governments came to an interim agreement this week on quarantine restrictions. Horses have been banned from travelling directly between Hong Kong and Australia since October 2017. They have had to spend six months in a third country due to biosecurity concerns over the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s new training facility at Conghua on mainland China. The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources placed restrictions on travel because of the movement of horses between Hong Kong and Conghua. Former Hong Kong horse, the Grahame Begg-trained Beauty Way, entered Australia via New Zealand late last year, while the Chris Waller-trained Comin’ Through headed to Dubai after racing at the Hong Kong International meeting in December. As well as horses still racing, the ban has affected those retired from Hong Kong, with resettlement in Australia usually preceded by six months in New Zealand. “The implementation of the interim arrangement will allow Australian racehorses to compete in the Champions Day races at Sha Tin in April 2019,” the Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong said in a statement yesterday. “The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources completed an assessment of the arrangement today and the interim arrangement is effective from 12 March 2019.” The Anthony Freedman stable has indicated Santa Ana Lane, equal topweight in tomorrow’s Newmarket Handicap at Flemington, could be a contender for the Chairman’s Sprint Prize at Sha Tin on April 28, a race won by star Australian sprinter Chautauqua in 2016. View the full article

Rule Number(s): 638(1)(d)Following the running of Race 5, NZB South Island Sale 29 April Rating 65, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J M McLaughlin, against Licensed Jockey (Class A), Mr J R Lowry, alleging that Mr Lowry, as the rider of KHIMAR WAR in the race, “angled his mount outwards when not sufficiently ... (Feed generated with FetchRSS)View the full article

I agree.

We need some turnover figures. Come in Allen and Saundry.

More like a leg or three.

Harness had.them didn't know gallops did.