Wandering Eyes

“It's invisible,” says Rob Murphy. “And sometimes it moves. Sometimes it's an oval; sometimes an oblong with no corners.” On one level, then, there's nothing there at all. Yet those, for many years, were the parameters of his working life. As a relief pitcher for eight MLB teams between 1985 and 1995, all his focus was on that void behind the batter, and the elusive margins between strike and ball. Little wonder, then, if another great passion of Murphy's life is all about giving definition to something most of us consider hopelessly amorphous: namely, what makes some Thoroughbreds superior to others. “What if we typed into some AI platform, 'Who will win the Kentucky Derby?'” he suggests. “There's a correct answer. I can give it you right now. 'A 3-year-old Thoroughbred with four legs and a tail.' Right? Okay, so how many of those do we have? Twenty-thousand. So it's a question-and-answer, but it's not the right question. And what I've learned, as AI has started to permeate, is that you have to ask the right questions. But when I look at what I was doing in the 1980s? Well, those were the right questions.” He was ahead of the game in more ways than one; became an object curiosity, indeed, as the guy who hauled a computer into the bullpen itself, honing his analytics on batters. And that was an era when you almost needed the physique of a professional athlete for this kit to be in any sense “portable.” As a southpaw, in fact, he was always careful to use his right arm to carry his laptop, which came in at 30 pounds. He waves his phone and chuckles. “It was 9.4 hertz,” he says. “So a millionth of the processing power we now carry around in our pockets. A millionth!” It was three years before anyone else in baseball started using a computer. In the meantime, Murphy was also pioneering its use in another walk of sporting life. Murphy's maternal grandfather, Frank Ashley, called races for over 30 years at Arlington Park, Washington Park and Hawthorne; while his dad's stepfather Freddie Smith rode for Colonel Bradley, winning the 1940 Preakness and Belmont on Bimelech. Growing up in Miami, however, his most immediate Turf stimulus was a string of racehorses his father kept at Calder. It was at the lunch tables of the Turf Club there that Murphy began a 50-year quest to unravel an enigma. Simply as a handicapper, at first–but gradually all those grids, all those numbers and symbols, began to strike a deepening chord. For his, patently, is a mind with its own way of looking at things. When the word SLEW (for his equine paragon) reversed out of a printer, for instance, few of us would have clocked, as he did straightaway, the latent alternative: M375. Hence his racing program, M375 Thoroughbreds. Sure enough, even as an adolescent, Murphy discovered a peculiar aptitude for deciphering the data by which we interpret equine ability. He was just 17, in fact, when hitting a freak streak: the trifecta, six days running, with a three-horse box. Getty Images Closing day at Calder, they walked onto the Turf Club patio for the last–then the only trifecta race of the day. “So who do you have?” asked his dad. “Three, five and 10.” “What!?” The moderate favorite plus two longshots. After the race his mom sighed, “Well, nobody's got that.” He pulled out the ticket. “We do.” It paid $9,800. “I'm not even old enough to cash the tickets,” Murphy says. “My parents had sent me to a great Catholic high school, so when my dad returned from the windows I handed back five grand. 'That's for my school,' I said. 'And my car.'” Everything, then, still remained sheer instinct. Murphy wouldn't be introduced to computer science–the first class in the state–until his senior year of high school. “But you know what?” he remarks. “It was via numbers. It was the process, learning a system.” That said, the class opened immediate horizons. Asked to volunteer a practical application, for grading, Murphy persuaded his teacher to let him handicap the Derby. “The program outgrew the memory of the school's system,” he recalls. “The whole thing was still loaded on paper tape, an inch wide. But we ran the program and it said: Affirmed, Alydar, Believe It.” Grade A, then–albeit Murphy had to settle for the race call over the PA between innings at the baseball district championship. For his other, more physical prowess was meanwhile creating opportunities of its own. By 1981, his college career at the University of Florida made him a first-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds. Mind you, he didn't break out of minor leagues until 1985. If baseball didn't happen, he wanted a contingency plan. So patiently, painstakingly, he extrapolated his handicapping values into pedigrees. He pored over stallion registers and produce records. His first compendium totaled 12,000 pages; the second, 18,000. He read and annotated every entry. For most of us, data in such volume would tell you so much that it tells you nothing. “I know that good sires come in all different shapes and sizes,” Murphy accepts. “Good dams, the same: might be Grade I winners, might be unraced. But I'm a trends person. I see something, I make a model. Seattle Slew fits; then Northern Dancer fits too. So then it's, 'All right, how can I show a validated search-and-find process?' “So next I started going through yearling catalogues. Over 200,000 pages, inputting the data. Then I put these parameters together and, in the sale that produced Seattle Slew, he was one of just two that popped positive. Who cares what the other horse was? You picked that one, right? Then Spectacular Bid, a couple of years later, his dam fits the model–even though she got her black type in a $12,500 stakes at Bay Meadows. Amazingly enough, Flying Paster's dam won that race. So it doesn't have to be the Alabama winner every time. Leslie's Lady got her black type at Hoosier. Arrogate's dam won hers at Sam Houston.” The program Murphy constructed was isolating 1% of yearlings; of those, 20% proceeded to win stakes. Many multiples, in other words, of the industry average. Then a teammate, seeing Murphy buried in pedigree books on the bus, introduced him to a buddy who owned horses. The guy was intrigued, and they agreed to target a juvenile sale at Hialeah in 1984. Of 233 horses, Murphy's program approved only an Ack Ack colt. The physique checked out, and they bought him for $30,000. Artillerist won three of five juvenile starts; he ran second in stakes on the other two, and again when reappearing in a Grade II. Then a single horse sieved out of a Washington-breds sale became a stakes winner. “So the real-life application's working,” Murphy says. “And I'm tightening the screws all the time. But then, yes, baseball happened. Eleven years of it happened.” He was particularly talented at it; his ERA in 1986 was 0.72. In the history of Major League Baseball, no National League pitcher who has thrown more than 50 innings in a year has a lower one. Nonetheless he maintained and tweaked his database throughout. There was no internet, of course, and he was constantly on the road. But he could get the Daily Racing Form in cities, there was BRISnet, he even used an early telex machine, with fast-fading printouts on thermal paper. In August 1994, eight days after the Yankees plucked him from the Cardinals, and from last to first in the standings, the Major League Players' Association went on strike. The silver lining was that he could now go to the September Sale. With a couple of pals pitching in, Murphy shook two out of the catalogue: the colt won a graded stakes, the filly was stakes-placed before becoming a stakes producer. Entering the stretch with baseball, then, Murphy knew he had something to fall back on. Next, a couple of mares: one produced a millionaire in Japan; the other, claimed for $5,000, came up with Platinum Tiara (Cozzene). Carrying the silks of M375 Thoroughbreds, she won a stakes by 11 lengths and was beaten half-a-length in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. “And of course we've got the mother, the brother, the sister,” Murphy says. “So out of that five-grand mare, we sold millions of dollars of horses. Just from throwing the right dart.” Another bull's-eye was Grade II winner Golden Spikes (Seeking the Gold), at $250,000 his only pick at the 2006 September Sale. There was admittedly a period out of the game, to prioritize family, but Murphy has been regrouping since. In 2021, for instance, having missed the Saratoga Sale through illness, he saw that West Point had bought his top pick. He approached Terry Finley and was allowed into the City of Light colt we now know as graded stakes winner Battle of Normandy. Obviously there's no single, simple formula; nor, equally, can Murphy be expected to divulge much even of its complexities. Clearly, however, he has devised a colander that retains a disproportionate percentage of superior horses. “There's probably 75 or 80 data points,” he says. “The algorithm is 100-plus calculations. But it does say yes or no, there's no gray. Even with technology now, you can't just ask ChatGPT: 'Which horse should I pick out of this sale?' It's about how data is processed, how it's curated, whether it fits the pattern you're looking for.” His focus is increasingly on dams. “I've broken them down: stakes mares, winning mares, others,” he explains of his yearling sales research, dating back to 1975. “The numbers are the same across each group. And you wouldn't expect that. But it's finding a balance: mares with zero race record must be from better families, that kind of thing. There was an article recently saying how science has discovered that broodmares are best with their second through sixth foals. I knew that in 1984. Okay, Secretariat's dam was 19, so we're going to miss some. But that's something I always accepted, always been part of the model.” Murphy tested three Saratoga Select Sales, between 2019 and 2022 (omitting the Covid year). From 649 horses, an initial filter produced a longlist of 89. But that 14% produced half the elite horses graduating from these auctions. Expensive, some of them–but not as expensive as the many duds released through the colander. If mares widen the filter, compared with Murphy's original sire focus, they also widen opportunity: it's less about finding Nureyev at $1.3 million than his sister Fairy Bridge at $40,000. Remember that mares will gradually move from one column to another, with age, and Murphy incorporates a corresponding sliding scale. But what he has always done so laboriously, longhand, plainly has scope for exponential acceleration through AI. Murphy has accordingly begun talking to potential partners about turbo-charging the process. “As always, it's about relationships,” he says. “I've been putting in 10, 12 hours a day moving this forward: it's not labor, it's passion. Right now, I have parts of 25 horses. We still want to keep the quality high and the quantity low. But we're growing it back and looking forward to big things. I can't wait to see what the future brings.” Talking about that invisible box, Murphy had used an instructive expression. “I've got the ball, he's got the bat,” he says. “I'm in charge.” That's obviously not the case in racing, where so much is vested in those raising, training, riding your horse. “On the other hand, in baseball, second place is last!” Murphy says. “Second at the Breeders' Cup, they're going to write you a check. And you have black-type for the mother, brother, sister.” However rare the athletic attributes that brought Murphy fame, they are harnessed to no less exceptional mentality. “I was raised by the world's two greatest optimists,” he says gratefully. “If the word 'can't' ever came out of my mouth, as a kid, my dad would say, 'Do not say that.' So whether it's work harder, or read more, whatever it may be: I'm a 'can do' person.” The post Murphy Thinking Outside the Box appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jeff Novitsky, currently the senior vice president, anti-doping compliance, for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has been reappointed to the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Committee of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Prior to joining UFC in 2015, Novitsky was a federal agent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, leading investigations of companies suspected of illegally distributing performance-enhancing substances, including the case involving Lance Armstrong and the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team. Prior to that, Novitsky conducted Internal Revenue Service investigations into some of the highest-profile anti-doping cases in sports, including those involving the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) and Major League Baseball's Barry Bonds. “Jeff's extensive expertise will be a tremendous asset to the ADMC Standing Committee,” said Charles Scheeler, Chair of the ADMC Standing Committee and the HISA Board of Directors. “His leadership in anti-doping enforcement and commitment to the principles of fair competition will further strengthen our mandate to promote transparency, safety and integrity in horse racing.” HISA expressed its gratitude to Dr. Jerry Yon, who stepped down from the Committee on Dec. 31, 2024. “We deeply appreciate Dr. Yon's invaluable contributions to the ADMC Standing Committee,” said Lisa Lazarus, CEO of HISA. “His dedication and insight have played a pivotal role in shaping the foundation of the ADMC Program, leaving a lasting legacy that will continue to strengthen the integrity and welfare of our sport.” The full list of ADMC Standing Committee Members can be viewed here. The post Novitzky Rejoins HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Jonny Turner Wag Star fans can keep the faith ahead of the MLT Wyndham Cup on Saturday. The pacer was largely luckless through the spring when clashing New Zealand’s best pacers and little has changed in his two runs back from a spell. In the latest of those at Ascot Park, Wag Star was forced to sit parked when unable to cross to the lead with a horse on his inner racing fiercely. In testing conditions, the pacer fought on for fourth and his effort was enough to get a tick of approval from trainer Craig Ferguson. “When that horse was pulling hard inside him it wasn’t ideal and he was forced to sit parked, but he fought on pretty well,” the trainer said. “On a day where most horses that worked were struggling in the conditions, his run was pretty decent.” With a tough 3200m staying test just seven days after his Ascot Park outing, crucially, Wag Star has come through his last start well. “He has come through it really well, he hasn’t left any feed or anything like that,” Ferguson said. “We haven’t done a whole lot with him this week but he seems really well in himself.” Wag Star will step up to race over two miles for the first time in his hometown cup and Ferguson is confident the pacer can handle it. “He is a tough customer, so hopefully he should suit two miles.” Wag Star is one of three horses that will start from a 20m handicap in the MLT Wyndham Cup. Ferguson will also link up with the horse went toe to toe with in their last starts at Ascot Park in Always Ticking. After over-racing in the lead, the mare fought on to run a creditable 5th behind Wyndham Cup aspirant Betterthancash. Always Ticking steps back in distance when stepping out in Saturday’s Southern Belle Speed Series Heat. And Ferguson rates the mare a cheeky hope. “I thought she went fought on pretty well last week and she definitely wouldn’t be the worst chance if she got a bit of luck on Saturday.” Ferguson will be hoping to feel the same kind of electric speed Marketplace delivered in his sensational placing at Alexandra Park on Friday night. The brilliant three-year-old charged home from well off the speed to finish third behind Rubira, who ran a 26sec closing 400m in the lead. Marketplace was unofficially timed to run his last 400m in 25.3sec. View the full article

Verona Rose winning the Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic. Photo: Bradleyphotos.com.au Kerrin McEvoy has guided Verona Rose to a stunning victory in the Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic (1600m) on Friday, as the Gary Portelli-trained filly stormed home from near last to maintain her perfect career record. Despite facing the biggest test of her career, the daughter of Castelvecchio showed an incredible turn of foot to surge between runners late, nailing Inevitable Truth and Brigidine Gal in a thrilling finish at . The $2.30 bookmaker favourite Dominetta looked to have pinched the race after controlling the speed, but she was swamped late, finishing just outside the placings in fourth. Canny Queen was a big improver in fifth, while Sun ‘N’ Sand also ran well for sixth. Group 3 Kembla Grange Classic Replay – Verona Rose https://horsebetting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kembla-Grange-2025-Group-3-Kembla-Grange-Classic-14032025-Verona-Rose-Kerrin-McEvoy-Gary-Portelli.mp4 Trainer Gary Portelli was full of praise for his unbeaten filly, confirming that she would now head to the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on March 30 before a likely tilt at the Australian Oaks (2400m) at Randwick on April 12. “I’ve always thought she was an Oaks filly,” Portelli said. “She was in all sorts on the turn, but once she balanced up, she just kept finding.” “To win a race like this at just her third start, against more seasoned fillies, it’s a huge effort. If she comes through it well, I don’t see why we don’t go straight to the Vinery and then the Oaks.” Verona Rose has now won three races from as many starts, with pricing Verona Rose as a $15 hope to win the Viery Stud Stakes. Horse racing news View the full article

Strathalbyn trainer Kym Healy with former Darwin apprentice Emma Lines after they combined to secure victory with He’s Maverick on Alice Springs Cup Day at Pioneer Park last April. After two frustrating days at Kangaroo Island in February, Strathalbyn trainer Kym Healy is hoping for better fortune in Alice Springs with the Cup Carnival starting on Sunday. Healy, who has enjoyed plenty of success in the NT, has 12 runners on deck at Pioneer Park, and it was during the corresponding meeting last year that he landed a winning treble. Not surprising, as Healy’s horses usually impress first up in the Red Centre. During his career, Alice Springs has been Healy’s most successful venue, where he has picked up 30 of his 168 career wins. He’s Maverick, Mathematics, Noble Magnate, Cyclonite, Taipan Tommy, Starlite Rebel and Lotto Fight, who will feature on Day 1 of the Carnival, have saluted in Central Australia previously. Healy’s other runners are Pompeii Empire and Grinzinger Bishop, who have both won in Darwin, as well as NT debuts Figo The Great and Limited Risk, who both bring good form to town. Last year’s Darwin Guineas (1600m) winner He’s Maverick, who starred in the NT last year before producing poor form back in SA, and Figo The Great will line up in the $36,500 St Patrick’s Day Cup (1600m) at BM76 level on Sunday. The stablemates face Neil Dyer’s Hettinger, last year’s St Patrick’s Day Cup winner, Kerry Petrick’s Venting, last year’s Alice Springs Cup (2000m) winner, Dick Leech’s Write Your Name, who won the 2023 Alice Springs Cup, and Terry Gillett’s in-form Kangaroo Court. “He’s Maverick was good here last year – three runs for a first, second and third,” Healy said. “I think he’ll run a cheeky race. “He just seems to love the dirt tracks, so hopefully he can bounce back to form. “Figo The Great won his last two at Kangaroo Island. “Hopefully, he cops the track – he’s by Magnus and they normally like the dirt. “He’s heading towards the Cup.” The $110,000 Alice Springs Cup is scheduled for April 6, it will be preceded by the $100,000 Pioneer Sprint (1200m) on April 5. Having won the Cup in the past with Pretty Blonde, Healy was thrilled when he was able to quinella the Pioneer Sprint a year ago with Mathematics – once trained by Lisa Whittle in Alice Springs – and Noble Magnate. Healy, who will have 16 horses in Alice Springs during Carnival, is eyeing a good day on Sunday. “Noble Magnate, the Pioneer Sprint favourite, had a really good run here last year,” Healy said. “Taipan Tommy had a good Carnival and has got to be a chance – he just loves it here. “Pompeii Empire would be around the mark you’d think, it wouldn’t surprise me if Figo The Great or He’s Maverick won. “The same with Lotto Fight and Starlite Rebel, they’ve both won here before. “Limited Risk had really good form in SA before I got him. “Hopefully, there’s a few good chances there – I don’t want to jinx myself though.” Horse racing news View the full article

Australian jockey rates Ricky Yiu’s quality galloper hard to beat from barrier one in Saturday’s Class Two at Sha Tin.View the full article

Dennis Yip hoping to join forces with the Belgian jockey in the city’s most prestigious race.View the full article

Hugh Bowman has 45 wins for the 2024/25 season. Photo: HKJC Hugh Bowman is optimistic a drop in distance will pave the way for Sky Trust to push for victory in the first section of the Class 3 Cosmos Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Saturday when the gelding squares off with emerging talent Sky Jewellery. Twelfth in the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) behind Rubylot on 2 March after making a long, sustained gallop from the back straight, Sky Trust drops to 1400m – a trip which has yielded two wins and six minor placings for the So You Think gelding. “I thought his run, although well-beaten, was actually unbelievable last start,” Bowman said. “He jumped well and didn’t settle, so I let him gallop down the back straight but, even though three-wide, he got into a really sweet rhythm on the bend and it was no surprise to see him pick up into the straight but I was surprised at how long he sustained his gallop, having behaved the way he did in the early and middle stages. “So, back in trip is a huge advantage to him and the horse is in great form. He’s a big horse, so the weight (135lb), he’ll certainly be able to carry.” A reserve for the HK$26 million Hong Kong Derby (2000m) at Sha Tin on March 23, Caspar Fownes-trained Sky Trust faces 11 rivals this weekend including Sky Jewellery, whose two wins from only three starts have come under Bowman. “I did have the choice (of rides) and Sky Jewellery is a just a little bit light for me with 123 pounds – (a) very exciting young horse,” Bowman said of his decision to partner Sky Trust. “I think Sky Jewellery still has a bit of development to do. “Last start, he got a bit lost when he turned into the home straight and he dropped the bridle, but his class shone the last 100 metres. Up in class, he’ll have to improve but he’s certainly got the improvement in him.” Brenton Avdulla partners Sky Jewellery for John Size. Bowman has nine rides tomorrow including Ricky Yiu’s Sunlight Power who has drawn barrier one in the HK$3.12 million Class 2 The Kowloon Tong Club Trophy Handicap (1600m). “He does have a little bit of a tendency to lay in slightly under pressure, but he’s a very genuine horse and his form is very consistent. With a perfect draw this weekend, we should get a lovely run and make his presence felt,” Bowman said. Britney Wong hopes Youth Power can continue her recent strong form by contending in the Class 4 The Association Of Hong Kong Racing Journalists Challenge Cup Handicap (1800m) for David Hayes. With a double at Sha Tin last Sunday, Wong leads the Sha Tin All Weather standings with seven wins from Luke Ferraris (five) and Matthew Chadwick and the first-season apprentice hopes Youth Power can prevail at his first attempt over 1800m. “The horse can be a little tricky in that he can get keen early but as long as we’ve got cover, he will be fine,” Wong said. “He’s been running close, so hopefully Saturday’s the day. I think he’ll be fine stepping up to 1800m.” Keith Yeung also notched a double at Sha Tin last weekend and hopes Master Of All can handle a rise in grade when he tackles the second section of the Class 3 Cosmos Handicap (1400m). With four wins and five minor placings from his past 10 starts, Master Of All graduated to Class 3 with a desperate short-head success under Alexis Badel over 1400m at Sha Tin on 16 February. Allocated 118lb, Yeung reunites with Master Of All, intent on posing a fourth win on the Charm Spirit gelding. “He’s a lovely horse, anyone can ride him and still have a good performance. He’s so easy to handle and so honest. He’s got a big heart,” Yeung said. “I don’t think there’s too much speed in the race, he’s got good gate speed and with no weight on his back, I’m hoping he can get to the front easily. “He’s been racing consistently and going into Class 3 with no weight on his back, I’m hoping he will race well again.” Saturday’s 10-race card at Sha Tin starts with the Class 5 Snapdragon Handicap (1200m) at 1pm HKT. Horse racing news View the full article

Classic Cup winner Rubylot and Classic Mile hero My Wish headline field announced on Friday morning.View the full article

Stormland struck another winning blow for Cambridge Stud’s exciting young stallion Hello Youmzain. The two-year-old raced right up to trainer Ciaron Maher’s expectations with a tidy victory over 1000 metres on the Kensington track at Randwick on Thursday. Bred by Brendon and Jo Lindsay’s Cambridge Stud, Stormland was offered at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and was knocked down for A$325,000 to Darby Racing and Deburgh Equine. “He was a ripper of a yearling and Darby were keen on him so I’m rapt,” Maher said. “We’ve got options with him now he’s won and looked like he had a bit in hand. He was impressive and has always been quite a natural.” Stormland jumped well to sit in third spot away from the rail and answered every call in the run home from rider Jason Collett to score comfortably. Stormland chases down Invincible Phantom and breaks through at Randwick for @cmaherracing! pic.twitter.com/CLc6WPJMke — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 13, 2025 “He’s a big boy and still probably got a bit of furnishing to do, but he was able to travel and gave a really good kick,” he said. Stormland is the first winner for the More Than Ready mare Sienna Rose, a talented performer who won on five occasions up to 1400m, with her mother a half-sister to two-time Group One winner Merchant Navy and to the dam of Joliestar. Sienna Rose’s Sword Of State filly sold at Karaka this year to the TAB Racing Club for $180,000 and the mare has a Savabeel colt at foot. She is back in foal to Hello Youmzain, whose first Southern Hemisphere crop now includes four winners, headed by Stormland and Hello Romeo in Australia and Remala and Lucy In The Sky in New Zealand. – NZ Racing Desk View the full article

Trainer Ciaron Maher says he is excited to see former Horse of the Year Pride Of Jenni (Pride Of Dubai) back at the races. Pride Of Jenni makes her reappearance in the Gr.2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on Saturday, just over four months after suffering a bleeding attack. Retirement had been announced for Pride Of Jenni after she finished last in the Gr.1 Champions Mile (1600m) at Flemington in November which came at the end of a hectic spring. Pride Of Jenni won the Gr.2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley, went to Sydney to finish second in the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Randwick before backing up a week later, beating one home behind Via Sistina in the Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley. Now a seven-year-old, Pride Of Jenni is stepping into unchartered waters since joining the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace team stable at the start of her 2022 campaign. Pride Of Jenni has yet to win in eight first-up appearances, but in all those outings she has not raced beyond 1400m fresh, but Maher said all the signs have been positive as the mare embarks on her first try at 1800m when fresh. “She’s coming off a lighter prep than normal and she trialled as well as she has previously since she’s been in my care,” Maher said. “She’s never won before at 1400 (metres), so we’ve taken a different tact with her this time going to 1800 (metres). “It is probably a rung below what she has been competing against, so there is probably a bit of a trade-off there.” In her last two preparations fresh, Pride Of Jenni has finished second to Mr Brightside in the Gr.1 C F Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield last year and fifth to Pinstriped in the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield last August. Maher said as Pride Of Jenni has aged, she has got ‘kinder’ with her manners which he said will take her a long way on Saturday. “Every prep she has got a little bit kinder in her manners,” Maher said. “This prep has been no different and she was very kind in her trial. Her gallops have been pretty cruisy and it’s not like she was a couple of years ago. “It’s exciting to have her back. She’s a cool horse and she wears her heart on her sleeve.” Where Pride Of Jenni next heads will not be announced until after Pride Of Jenni run on Saturday. The Gr.1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 29 is a possibility as is an assault on the Sydney Autumn Carnival. “One step at a time,” Maher said. Pride Of Jenni is the $2.50 second elect in betting before the Godolphin mare Zardozi at $2.20. View the full article

El Vencedor’s golden run of form has been recognised on the world stage, with the Stephen Marsh-trained gelding rated the 10th joint best galloper in the world in the latest LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. The son of Shocking has been a dominant force in New Zealand, winning his last four races, including the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m), Gr.1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m) and Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m). His performances haven’t gone unnoticed by the international racing fraternity, with the six-year-old earning an invite from the Hong Kong Jockey Club to contest next month’s Gr.1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin. Owner-breeders Mark Freeman and David Price have been overawed by the sequence of events over the past month and are honoured to see their horse recognised amongst the world’s best. “We seem to be continually living in a state of disbelief with what is all going on around us at the moment,” Freeman said. “It is a massive thrill to see him recognised like that.” “It is pretty amazing,” Price echoed. “When you look who is at the top – number one (Forever Young) just won the Saudi Cup (US$20 million, 1800m), Romantic Warrior is two, and our very own Ka Ying Rising is a super horse up in Hong Kong winning all the sprints and is pretty untouchable. It’s very humbling to see that.” Freeman and Price are looking forward to heading up to Hong Kong next month to watch their pride and joy take on the world’s best at Sha Tin, where he will try and emulate the success of four of his siblings, including Hong Kong Derby (2000m) hero Sky Darci. “He is a once in a lifetime horse, so we might as well make it a once in a lifetime experience if we can,” Freeman said. “Hong Kong just does that for us, it’s a massive thrill to be able to go up there. “It will be great if we can get another win up there. We are under no illusions at all to the challenge that he will face, but we are hoping he goes up there and runs a good race.” Price said heading to Hong Kong with El Vencedor is poignant, with the gelding initially set to join his siblings there a few years ago after being identified as a younger horse, but those plans were curtailed after he failed a veterinary examination. “The horse has won $1.26 million between two of us in four weeks, and the irony is we would have sold him for $1 million (to Hong Kong) right at the very start but he failed the vet,” he said. “There have been a few half-brothers who have been up there and won before, so the mare has been a prolific producer. She has had eight to the races and seven of them have won.” One of those winners that didn’t compete in Hong Kong was Chocante, who won five races, including the Gr.2 Brisbane Cup (2200m) and Gr.3 Counties Cup (2100m), and placed in the Gr.1 Metropolitan (2400m). While they enjoyed the success of their past winners, Price said nothing compares to the current journey they are on with El Vencedor. “We had an amazing time with Chocante, going over to Australia twice and winning the Brisbane Cup, placing in the Metropolitan, and running third to Winx (in the Gr.2 Chelmsford Stakes, 1600m). He gave us an absolutely amazing ride, but the one currently is pretty hard to grapple with. It is ethereal.” Price and Freeman will be joined in Hong Kong by Highden Park’s Sam and Libby Bleakley, who oversee all of Price and Freeman’s bloodstock. “Sam and Libby are heading up and it will be great to have them there because they are very much part of our breeding journey,” Freeman said. The pair have enjoyed plenty of success together over the last decade and believe their success can be emulated by anyone with a broodmare and a dream. “Mark and I have had the family for a long time. You would have to say we have had good success,” Price said. “It just highlights that there are no certainties. When people ask us what the formula is, for us it has been simple – some science, some red wine, and some bloody good luck. “I think we would have paid $6,000 for our service to Shocking (with the mating resulting in El Vencedor). It’s very reachable for anyone.” The pair, who began their breeding journey with foundation broodmare Take Silk, are now onto breeding from the third generation of the family. “The next generation is about to begin because El Vencedor has got a full-sister (Milagro), who was a miracle baby,” Price said. “She went to Stephen (Marsh) to go into work last year and she was a bit sore and cranky and Stephen wasn’t happy so he go the vet in who scanned her, and she was fine. He worked her a few more days and the same thing happened. The vet said if she breaks down, she might not be able to carry a foal, so for us it was a no-brainer. “We sent her straight to (Cambridge Stud stallion) Hello Youmzain and she is due in September. She was only three, but Libby (Bleakley) said nature will tell you whether she is ready, and she was clearly ready.” While they are looking forward to the future with their breed, Price and Freeman’s attention is currently on their star gelding El Vencedor and his looming Hong Kong venture. “It will be a trip of a lifetime,” Price said. “Win, lose or draw, it is going to be an amazing experience for us.” View the full article

Our Time winning at Pukekohe on Friday. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Emerging stayer Our Time signed off his first season of racing on a winning note with a tough weight-carrying performance in the Trackside.co.nz (2100m) at Pukekohe on Friday. The well-related son of Time Test had to carry 60kg in the Rating 65 Benchmark event, but his form credentials still saw him jump as a $2.50 favourite in the hands of jockey Kelly Myers. The four-year-old had finished second in the $350,000 Sir Patrick Hogan Karapiro Classic (1600m) at Te Rapa two starts ago, edged out by a neck by the impressive Risque Ruler. In his only other appearance since then, Our Time finished fifth in a highly competitive $75,000 Rating 65 at Ellerslie, beaten by a short head, a short head, a head and a head. Drawn gate 11 among a 12-horse field on Friday, Our Time found himself caught three wide going into the first turn. Myers pressed forward and briefly took the lead turning into the back straight, then was happy to ease back into the trail when Ember Attack and No Plan Be swooped past from wide positions. No Plan Be had a strong kick turning for home and was going to take some catching, but Our Time knuckled down and surged past her at the 200m mark. The favourite pulled clear from there, going on to win by three-quarters of a length from a strong-finishing Gillian. Our Time has now had six starts for two wins, two seconds and $95,120 in stakes. Our Time is trained by Peter Lock for owner-breeders Peter Hart and Ian McDonald. That pair of trans-Tasman friends also bred and raced Our Time’s half-sister Faithful Feat, who Lock trained to win seven of her 17 starts including the Group 3 J Swap Sprint (1400m). She also finished second and fourth in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the Group 2 Westbury Classic (1400m). The dam of Our Time and Faithful Feat is the Snitzel mare On Yer Feet, whose half-brother Hiflyer placed in the Group 1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) and Tarzino Trophy (1400m) for Lock in 2018. Lock believes Our Time has the potential to follow in the black-type footsteps of those relatives, albeit over longer distances. “That was another great run today by a very progressive horse,” he said. “I’m very happy with him. He’s done all of this in only his first preparation, so he’s done a fantastic job. “He’s a half-brother to a very good mare that I had, Faithful Feat, and closely related to Hiflyer as well. So he’s got the breeding there, but he’s certainly a lot more stamina-oriented than those two. “I think he’s got much more ahead of him. He’s pulled up really well after this win today, so we’ll put him out now and give him a nice break while the weather is still good. “I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do a bit further down the track. I’d like to think he could win a nice Cup race, so those are the sorts of targets we’ll be setting him for next season.” Horse racing news View the full article

Orlov will contest Saturday’s Carpet Maintenance & Cleaning (2040m) at Wanganui. Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North) Orlov’s last visit to Wanganui produced a black-type placing behind a subsequent Group 1 performer, and the David Haworth-trained gelding has another assignment over that same course and distance in Saturday’s Carpet Maintenance & Cleaning (2040m). Orlov has had five starts at Wanganui for a win and two placings. The win came over that same 2040m trip in a Rating 90 handicap last April, and he returned there in November for a second placing in the Listed Wanganui Cup (2040m). He was beaten by a long neck in that race by Whangaehu, who has subsequently won the Group 3 Trentham Stakes (2100m) and finished third in the Group 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) and fourth in the Group 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m). In his three starts since then, Orlov has run eighth in the Group 3 Manawatu Cup (2300m), 10th in the Group 3 Phar Lap Trophy (1600m) and an encouraging last-start fourth over 1600m at New Plymouth last Saturday. “I thought he went really well at New Plymouth last time,” Haworth said. “It was short of his best distance and a bit of an on-pace dominated race too, so I was quite happy with his run. “It was a long way to go to give him a race that day, but we’d been trying to find something for about a month before then and hadn’t come up with anything suitable. So we didn’t really have much choice. “I came away from that race pretty happy, and the horse has done very well since then. He should be all good for Saturday, where I think getting back up to 2040m will suit him.” Haworth admits to a few headaches from planning Orlov’s campaign this season, and he is taking things one step at a time heading into the autumn. “We’ll just get through this race first and then take it from there,” the Foxton trainer said. “It’s been very hard to make a plan in our part of the country lately. You’ve had meetings scheduled in certain places, and then they’ve been moved around to different tracks. It’s been a hard season. “But if the horse runs well tomorrow, we’ll look to continue a bit further into the autumn.” New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing statistics credit Haworth with 493 winners in New Zealand, and he will saddle two runners at Wanganui on Saturday as he creeps closer to his milestone 500th. Haworth’s second runner is Cut Loose in the Wanganui Greyhound Racing Club Maiden (1340m). The Derryn gelding did a very good job to finish fourth on debut at Otaki on Boxing Day, having lost his footing leaving the starting gates before being caught three wide without cover throughout the race. In his only other start, Cut Loose was a last-start second placegetter over the very similar distance of 1360m at Wanganui on February 21. He was beaten by a short neck by Santarelli. “He’s run really well in both starts so far,” Haworth said. “He didn’t have much luck in his first run, then went pretty close at Wanganui last time. The horse has been working very well. Blinkers go on for the first time on Saturday and he’s drawn nicely (gate five). He should be a good chance.” Horse racing news View the full article

Odds Bookmakers News Field Past Winners Maurice McCarten Stakes Group Three Betting Guide Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025 Location: Rosehill Gardens – Sydney, New South Wales Prize Money: $250,000 Distance: 1100m The Maurice McCarten Stakes is a Group 3 sprint over 1100m, run under quality handicap conditions at Rosehill by the Australian Turf Club. First held in 1988, the Maurice McCarten Stakes was initially run over 1200m before shifting to its current distance in 2010. Originally a Listed race from 1993, the Maurice McCarten Stakes was upgraded to Group 3 status in 2014. Appoint remains the only dual winner (1998/1999), while Shelby Sixtysix’s remarkable 2022 campaign saw him win this race before claiming the Group 1 Galaxy (1100m). The 2024 Maurice McCarten Stakes, worth $250,000, was won by Red Card, defeating Libertad and Airman. Notable past winners include Euclase, Quick Flick, Snippetson, Atomic Force, Star Of The Seas, and Shelby Sixtysix. 2025 Maurice McCarten Stakes betting odds Red Card winning the 2024 Maurice McCarten Stakes. Photo: Bradleyphotos.com.au Odds for the Maurice McCarten Stakes as of March 12 – Courtesy of Neds Pisanello Win $3.60 Place $1.60 Time To Boogie Win $4.20 Place $1.70 Perspiration Win $6.50 Place $2.20 Insurrection Win $7.00 Place $2.35 Eagle Nest Win $11.00 Place $3.20 Felix Majestic Win $13.00 Place $3.60 Coal Crusher Win $14.00 Place $3.80 Mogo Magic Win $14.00 Place $3.80 Omni Man Win $17.00 Place $4.40 Quick Tempo Win $27.00 Place $6.00 The Face Win $81.00 Place $14.00 How to bet on the Maurice McCarten Stakes The Maurice McCarten Stakes isn’t a race that’s on the tip of every punters’ tongue, but Australian betting sites do have markets out in the weeks leading up to the event. 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Maurice McCarten Stakes News Rosehill free race-by-race tips & quaddie | Saturday, March 15 Horse Racing Tips 1 day ago Check out HorseBetting.com.au’s free race-by-race preview & quaddie tips for Coolmore Classic Day at Rosehill on Saturday, March 15, 2025 … Read More Red Card leads all the way in Maurice McCarten Stakes Australia horse racing news 12 months ago The ‘Blue Army’ of Godolphin have struck in the Group 3 Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) with the James Cummings-trained Red … Read More Rosehill full racing tips & best odds | Coolmore Classic Day 2024 Horse Racing Tips 12 months ago Group 1 racing returns to Rosehill Gardens on Saturday for Coolmore Classic Day. Check out HorseBetting’s race-by-race preview of the … Read More Cannonball blows them away in the Maurice McCarten Stakes Australia horse racing news 2 years ago Punters didn’t want to be with Cannonball in the Group 3 Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) as he drifted from $5 … Read More Rosehill racing tips, value bets & quaddie | March 11, 2023 Horse Racing Tips 2 years ago Nine races are set down for decision on Saturday at Rosehill for Coolmore Classic Day, and HorseBetting’s Nathan Keven presents … Read More The Shelby Sixtysix story continues at Rosehill Australia horse racing news 3 years ago The Danny Williams-trained Shelby Sixtysix has left the racing world stunned for a second week in a row and has … Read More 2025 Maurice McCarten Stakes Final Field No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 Coal Crusher Joseph Pride Chad Schofield 2 61kg 2 Insurrection Michael Freedman Tommy Berry 11 58.5kg 3 Felix Majestic Gary Nickson Joshua Parr 6 56.5kg 4 Eagle Nest Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou Rachel King 10 54.5kg 5 Omni Man Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Tim Clark 5 53kg 6 Time To Boogie Michael Freedman Regan Bayliss 1 53kg 7 Pisanello James Cummings Zac Lloyd 8 53kg 8 Quick Tempo Mark Minervini Molly Bourke 4 53kg 9 The Face Tony Ball James Innes Jnr 7 53kg 10 Mogo Magic Scott Collings Jay Ford 9 53kg 11 Perspiration Ciaron Maher Ashley Morgan 3 53kg Previous Maurice McCarten Stakes Fields 2024 Maurice McCarten Stakes field No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 Airman Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes James McDonald 2 59kg 2 Athelric James Cummings Tom Marquand 13 58kg 3 Brudenell Kris Lees Dylan Gibbons 11 55.5kg 4 Red Card James Cummings Adam Hyeronimus 1 55kg 5 Hard To Say Jason Deamer Tommy Berry 9 54.5kg 6 Sweet Ride Annabel Neasham Zac Lloyd 8 54.5kg 7 Omni Man Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Tim Clark 3 54kg 8 Quick Tempo Mark Minervini Jason Collett 10 54kg 9 Meritable Mark Minervini Tom Sherry 5 54kg 10 Dashing Legend Joseph Pride Michael Dee 4 53kg 11 Libertad Annabel Neasham Kerrin McEvoy 12 53kg 12 Rich Fortune Jerome Hunter Tyler Schiller 7 53kg 13 Rainbiel Joseph Pride N/A 6 53kg 2024 Maurice McCarten Stakes result https://horsebetting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Rosehill-2024-Group-3-Maurice-McCarten-Stakes-16032024-Red-Card-James-Cummings-Adam-Hyeronimus.mp4 1st – Red Card (+220) 2nd – Libertad (+390) 3rd – Airman (-200) Recent runnings of the Maurice McCarten Stakes: 2024: Red Card runs rivals ragged The ‘Blue Army’ of Godolphin struck in the 2024 Group 3 Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill, with the James Cummings-trained Red Card ($3.20) making every post a winner. The four-year-old mare was taken straight to the lead by Adam Hyeronimus from the inside draw, and was relatively uncontested throughout the 1100m journey, with only Hard To Say ($9.50) coming across to sit on her outside. Airman ($5.00) got a lovely run in transit just in behind the speed under James McDonald, while the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained Omni Man ($6.50) sat in the one-one for the duration. Once they turned for home, Red Card was the only horse punters would’ve wanted to be on as she extended the lead under Hyeronimus, with Libertad ($23.00) the only late challenger, producing an incredible runner-up effort after suffering Cardiac Arrythmia first-up. 2023: Cannonball fires to victory Punters didn’t want to be with Cannonball in the 2023 Group 3 Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) as he drifted from $5 at the open to start at double figures heading to post. But he defied the drift to lead them all the way and post a strong first-up win after a 161-day spell. Cannonball was able to pinch some slow sectionals early in the race before Brett Prebble popped the question turning for home, finishing off with a closing 600m sectional of 33.05s. He stormed clear to score a nice win as Athelric clung onto second placing, while Quick Tempo stole inside runs to find third position. Cannonball appreciated the tactics with the light weight and was able to produce a 1.3 length margin on the line, recording his third career win in stylish fashion. 2022: Shelby Sixtysix overhauls rivals Shelby Sixtysix proved too good for the race favourite Rule Of Law in the 2022 Group 3 Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens. The five-year-old gelding was given a terrific ride by jockey Tommy Berry, who put his mount in a great spot from barrier one. The son of Toronado started a $6 chance with online bookmakers and maintained a good strong run along the fence to defeat Rule Of Law and Gravina by 1.25 lengths. Previous winners of the Maurice McCarten Stakes Maurice McCarten Stakes Past Winners Year Horse Jockey Trainer 2024 Red Card Adam Hyeronimus James Cummings 2023 Cannonball Brett Prebble Peter & Paul Snowden 2022 Shelby Sixtysix Tommy Berry Danny Williams 2021 California Zimbol Kerrin McEvoy Peter & Paul Snowden 2020 Star Of The Seas James McDonald Chris Waller 2019 Easy Eddie Robbie Dolan Joseph Pride 2018 Dothraki Tye Angland Peter & Paul Snowden 2017 Artistry Sam Clipperton Peter & Paul Snowden 2016 Alberto Magic Jason Collett Allan Denham 2015 Target In Sight James McDonald Joseph Pride 2014 Kencella James McDonald John O’Shea 2013 See The World Jason Collett Joseph Pride 2012 Title Hugh Bowman Joseph Pride 2011 Atomic Force Tim Clark Darren Smith 2010 Welkom Gold Jim Cassidy Darren Smith 2009 Mount Verde Jon Grisedale John Wenman 2008 Hoystar Darren Beadman Peter Snowden 2007 Double Dare Damien Oliver Chris Waller 2006 Snippetson Glen Boss John O’Shea 2005 Britt’s Best Larry Cassidy Kris Lees 2004 Mustard Rod Quinn John McNair 2003 Sex Machine Bernadette Cooper Tony Karakatsanis 2002 Crete Corey Brown John Hawkes 2001 Knickerbocker Kid / Stanzaic Lenny Beasley / Brian York Gary Portelli / Robert Rosengreen 2000 Antiquity Brett Prebble Grahame Begg Maurice McCarten Stakes winners pre-2000 Maurice McCarten Stakes Past Winners Pre 2000 Year Horse 1999 Appoint 1998 Appoint 1997 Quick Flick 1996 Identikit 1995 Magic Of Money 1994 Brawny Spirit 1993 Friend’s Venture Recommended! Take It To The Neds Level Home of the Neds Toolbox Check Out Neds 18+ Gamble Responsibly Full terms Punters Prefer Blondes It’s a fact, Blondes have more fun Join BlondeBet 18+ Gamble Responsibly. THINK. IS THIS A BET YOU REALLY WANT TO PLACE?. Say Hey to the social bet! You Better Believe It Join Dabble 18+ Gamble Responsibly. THINK. IS THIS A BET YOU REALLY WANT TO PLACE?. Full terms. Next Gen Racing Betting Top 4 Betting. Extra Place. Every Race. Join Picklebet 18+ Gamble Responsibly. What are you really gambling with? It Pays To Play New online bookmaker Check Out PlayUp 18+ Gamble Responsibly View the full article

Waitak will contest the Group 2 apan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga on Saturday. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images) Every race Waitak has run in this season has either been a Group 1 or has been won by a Group 1 performer, but trainers Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott are lowering the bar slightly for Saturday’s Group 2 Japan Trophy (1600m) at Tauranga. Himself the winner of the Group 1 Railway (1200m) last year, Waitak has taken on elite opposition throughout a nine-race preparation this season that has produced a second, two thirds, two fourths and a fifth. The Proisir gelding kicked off with a close fourth behind Bonny Lass in the Group 2 Foxbridge Plate (1200m), followed by a fifth in the Group 1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) won by his stablemate Grail Seeker. Waitak chased home this season’s Railway placegetter Luberon when third in the Group 3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m) and Group 3 Counties Bowl (1100m), then ran second to the multiple Group 1 placegetter Babylon Berlin in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1200m). The third placegetter in the Concorde was Crocetti, who went on to win the Railway in January. After finishing ninth in the Group 1 Telegraph (1200m) and sixth in the Railway, Waitak stepped up in distance and produced strong finishes for fourth in the Group 1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) and sixth in the Group 1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m). “He’s been hitting the line hard in Group One company lately, and he ran the mile out strongly in that WFA Classic at Ellerslie last time,” Scott said. “Now we think it might be the right time to get him away from that top-league opposition that he’s been up against all season, hopefully to build up a little bit of confidence. “His work on Tuesday was as good as it’s ever been. Ryan Elliot is going to ride him on Saturday. We might try to get him into a slightly more prominent position. His problem has been that he’s got so far out of his ground and has just been leaving himself with too much to do.” Bookmakers rate Waitak a $5 favourite for the Japan Trophy. The others in single figures are Aegon ($5.50), Navigator ($7.50), Herbert ($8) and What You Wish For ($9.50). O’Sullivan and Scott have a second runner in Saturday’s race, the $27 chance Uderzo, who has won both of his two previous starts at Tauranga. A return to his favourite venue and step up in distance could bring improvement on his last-start sixth over 1400m at Taupo. Another Tauranga specialist representing Wexford Stables on Saturday is Grande Gallo in the Triton Pacific Owens Plate (1200m). Her three previous starts at this track have produced two wins and a placing, and she was a two-length winner over You Say D’Orsay and Mars in a three-year-old race on this day last year. Grande Gallo resumed with an outstanding win over 1200m on Boxing Day at Ellerslie, then battled home in eighth in a 1400m race at the same track on February 22. “She got a bit of a check in the straight that day, but there’s a possibility that the 1400m might have been a bit further than she wanted to run as well,” Scott said. “She drops back to 1200m on Saturday at a course where she’s raced very well in the past. “She possibly got away from us a little bit leading into that last-start run, but she’ll strip a much fitter mare for the race this weekend. She also steps up from Rating 75 into open class, which we think she’ll cope with, and it brings a bit of welcome weight relief. So there’s a few factors there that suggest she might be able to bounce back into some good form.” O’Sullivan and Scott have a total of nine entries across Saturday’s eight-race card. “As far as our other runners go, I think Tanganyika is going very well,” Scott said. “He’s a progressive horse who we don’t think is far away from putting his foot in the till again. Another one worth looking at is Texas Hold ‘Em, whose last start was in the Auckland Guineas (Group 2, 1400m). This is a decent step down from that level of competition.” Horse racing news View the full article

Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) is looking for a highly motivated and organised individual to take on the role of Education & Training Coordinator & HERO Manager for a 12-month maternity cover. This dual role involves supporting and educating young industry participants while also leading the HERO programme, which promotes life after racing for Standardbreds. To find out more click here View the full article

By Dave Di Somma, Harness News Desk A horse nicknamed “Boof” gave local trainer John Gommans a “wow” moment in last night’s Cartown Manawatu Cup Handicap Pace. Lord Delmar claimed the night’s feature thanks to a top drive from in-form junior Harrison Orange. Drawn five on the front line Orange made a quick start, getting the trail behind the pace-making Fredastaire. The combo then capitalized on the passing lane to make the lead and then fend off a challenge from Boudica, who had started off 20m and made a move around the field at the 600 metre mark. Lord Delmar won by three quarters of a length. “We were ecstatic,” says Gommans, “it’s your local Cup and it’s something I’ve looked at over the years.” “When we won it was just ‘wow’.” Gommans trains his small team on the track and races Lord Delmar with his son Mark, who was the main reason he got back into training after stepping away from it for about a decade. “I gave training away in 2004 and had no intention of coming back and I wouldn’t have come back but Mark wanted to get involved in horses and that’s what we have done.” Gommans has now trained 56 winners, his first being Pernod’s Image in 1990. Last night’s win was the horse’s fourth in 27 starts and his biggest yet. “The penny has dropped a bit with him,” says Gommans, “when we got him he was very boofy (hence the nickname).” “He’s a big fella and loves it when the pace is on like it was last night.” All going well Lord Delmar will be back at Manawatu for the $20,000 Festival Cup on Sunday, March 30. His was one of two wins on the night for Orange (along with Goorambat Art in the last) while premiership leader Michael House trained four winners, three of them driven by son Wilson. In a great night for the junior drivers, Crystal Hackett also had a double to keep up her strong winning record of late. View the full article

Eddie Woods has been a well-known fixture at the 2-year-old sales for more than 30 years, providing the early training for multiple graded stakes winners including Big Brown, Lady Eli, and Midnight Lute. View the full article

Race 5 THE MULTI ETHNIC – AUSTRALIA 1000m GRAPHIC (B Rogerson) – Trainer Mr. S Cole reported to Stewards, although satisfied with the post-race condition of the filly, on Monday 10 March GRAPHIC underwent a veterinarian examination including x-rays to both knees, with results showing no abnormalities. S Cole further advised the filly has now gone for a spell. Race 8 THE ROCK TRADIES DAY @ THE RACES, 24TH MAY 2025 1400m INSPIRED BY ART (H Grace) – Te Akau Racing Manager Mr. R Trumper reported to Stewards, the stable was satisfied with the post-race condition of INSPIRED BY ART, however, has now been retired. The post Taranaki Racing Inc @ New Plymouth Raceway, Saturday 8 March 2025 appeared first on RIB. View the full article

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Race 2 HAWKEN CONTRACTING MAIDEN 1200m SHE’S THE DREAM (C Grylls) – Trainer Mr. K Pertab reported to Stewards, the filly underwent a veterinarian examination on Monday 10 March with no abnormalities being detected. K Pertab further advised it is his intention to carry on with SHE’S THE DREAM’S current preparation. The post Waverley Racing Club at Waverley, Thursday 6 March 2025 appeared first on RIB. View the full article

A trip south to Ashburton on Thursday paid dividends for apprentice jockey Nichola Yuen, with the Hong Kong national scoring her first win in New Zealand aboard the Terri Rae-trained Spot On Time in the Agraforum Growing Innovation (1200m). Jumping well from barrier three, Yuen found an early trail behind pacemaker La Bella Nera where they enjoyed an economical passage before peeling off her back around the final turn. Spot On Time entered a duel down the straight with stablemate South Of Houston, but she showed her tenacity when rallying late to score a half neck victory. The Cambridge-based hoop trekked south for just two rides, both for Rae, and she was delighted to score straight off the bat, while she just missed out on doubling up when runner-up aboard Candycane in the Vernon & Vazey 0800 Truck Parts (1400m). “I am really happy and am thankful to Terri for the ride,” Yuen said. “It is really special because it was the first time riding at this track and the first time riding for Terri. I have been in New Zealand for a while and to finally get a winner was great.” Previously based in South Australia, Yuen made the move across the Tasman late last year and she was initially based at Byerley Park in South Auckland before moving south to New Zealand’s thoroughbred capital, Cambridge. “I was in South Australia for three years and I started my riding career over there,” the 24-year-old rider said. “I was with Richard and Chantelle Jolly and then I moved to Gary and Nichole Searle, and they all gave me a lot of support.” Indentured to former champion jockey, and New Zealand Equine Academy lead, Leith Innes, Yuen has elected not to align herself with one single stable in particular in New Zealand and is enjoying riding track work on a freelance basis. “There are a lot of trainers that I can ride track work for (in Cambridge) and I even go to Matamata a couple of days a week,” Yuen said. “I am freelancing, so I ride for everyone, and I take as many opportunities as I can. Leith is my agent and helps me with my rides.” Yuen has found it hard to break into New Zealand’s competitive riding ranks over summer, but is hoping to gain more opportunities over the autumn and into the winter months. “For apprentices, it is quite tough at this time of the year,” she said. “Hopefully I can give it a good go over winter.” View the full article

Promising filly Flash Roca has nearly earned back her purchase price without saluting the judge, and Kelvin Tyler is hoping that can change at Wingatui on Sunday. The daughter of El Roca was spotted at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales by Tyler and his sons, and at just $6,000 she was an inexpensive purchase for the Southland family. After underperforming on debut in September, Flash Roca has returned strongly in the new year, placing behind King Palm and more recently, last Sunday at Gore behind Pull The Pin. “It was probably a little bit short to what she’s looking for, but she’s a nice three-year-old filly that is strengthening up all the time,” Tyler said. “She was a nice enough horse, I race her with my two sons and they were at the sales with me, so she was a cheap one for us to have a go with. The half-brother sold in Book 1 this year for $100,000. “Being just a three-year-old, she’s obviously got a bit of growing to do but I think she’s going to be a nice one in the next year or two.” The filly will step up in distance in the Edinburgh Realty (1600m), with Canterbury apprentice Yogesh Atchamah taking two kilograms off her 56kg impost. “Up to a mile on a big, roomy track, with a bit of weight off her back as well should help her,” Tyler said. “She should get her chance on Sunday.” Later in the day, older stablemates King Of The Castle and Go Lotte will go head-to-head in the RMG Publicans Beaumont Cup (1500m). Returning from a successful career racing in Australia, King Of The Castle rejoined Tyler’s stable and his trainer had high expectations leading into the Listed Hazlett Stakes (1400m) where the gelding finished eighth. “To be honest, I was disappointed that day,” Tyler said. “His work coming into the race was very good, we thought he would be hard to beat, and he didn’t quicken up at all. “We were scratching our heads a bit after that, whether he’s looking for more ground or a softer track. Then, leading into the White Robe (Gr.3, 1600m), he slipped in a track gallop and rattled the old bones a wee bit. I had to back off him after that, but he seems good now. “His gallop on Tuesday morning was as good as I’ve seen from him this time. I’m still a bit nervously cautious, having been disappointed first-up, but on his work, he should take all sorts really. “It’s a big step back in grade to what he’s competed against, this will be a good guide to where we go from here with him.” Go Lotte was running on strongly last-start over 1200m, and with a featherlight weight under Abdul Najib, she comes right into contention in the feature. “She’s been screaming out for 1400m or a mile for a long time, but there just hasn’t been the right race for her,” Tyler said. “Her rating makes her stuck in the Open 1200’s really, so it’ll be good. “She’s very genuine and loves what she’s doing, I can’t fault her really. She’s going to come in well at the weights and she’ll go a good race.” View the full article

Though still weeks from being potentially enacted, the threatened 25% blanket tariff on all Canadian goods entering the U.S. is causing some Canadian-based owner-breeders to sound the alarm about the possible impacts to their businesses and to the country's broader industry. “For us, it could be the end of the industry. Period,” warned Yvonne Schwabe, the owner of Persley Den Farms in Acton, Ontario, and the breeder of 2013 Queen's Plate winner Midnight Aria. “That's the scary part.” As currently outlined, the tariffs are scheduled to go into effect on April 2. In response to the blanket tariffs, the Canadian government has threatened reciprocal tariffs against approximately $30 billion worth of imported goods into Canada. While the initial round of retaliatory tariffs did not apply to purebred breeding and racehorses, future ones may well mirror those imposed by the U.S., the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) has warned. “For me to have to ship my horses early down to Kentucky and pay board bills with your very strong U.S. dollar is, as you can well imagine, not a very good situation,” said Schwabe, who expects to send about nine of her 11 yearlings currently at her Ontario property down to Kentucky early, in anticipation of the tariffs. “I have my own farm. I have my own staff. I have my own employees. If I end up having to ship, for example, my yearlings earlier, before the April 2 deadline, how can I possibly afford to keep all my staff?” Schwabe added. Glenn Sikura, owner and operator of Hill 'n' Dale Farms in King City, Ontario, raised concerns over several ambiguities about the proposed tariffs, including a possible 30-day “Temporary Entry” permit. According to the CTHS, when a Canadian mare enters the U.S., the owners must front a bond equal to the tariff value. If the mare returns to Canada within 30 days, “the owner can request a refund of the bond from the U.S. government. However, proof of re-entry–such as a border services date stamp–will be required,” the CTHS wrote in an advisory Wednesday. Tom Rooney, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), said that his understanding of the situation was that if a horse resides in the United States for less than a year, then the tariff wouldn't apply, as per the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. Tom Rooney | NTRA Reached Thursday, Rooney said that he hadn't yet received any official clarification on the matter, but that his office is working closely with officials in Canada to rectify discrepancies quickly. “We need to get this right as soon as possible,” Rooney wrote. “There are no doubt millions of dollars at stake in stallion fees and boarding, transportation, vet fees. The list goes on.” Sikura's broodmare band totals 15. Nearly half are in the U.S already. He plans to send three Canadian mares (potentially facing tariffs due to their origin), currently due to foal at his farm in Ontario, to U.S. stallions this year. That amounts to $130,000 in stud fees. His U.S. stud fees total roughly $500,000 annually, he said. If indeed it is enacted, the 30-day cap would be an almost impossible window to navigate for Canadian breeders looking to send their mares to a U.S. stallion, given the vagaries of mares in heat, the time it takes to guarantee a pregnancy, and other bureaucratic obstacles, Sikura said. “How can we possibly go down there and be back within 30 days? It's not possible and it's poor husbandry. So, you forfeit whatever bond you have in place,” said Sikura, who sits on the CTHS, but stressed that his remarks are strictly his own. Furthermore, fronting the bond in the first place–even if it is returned–could also be a massive hurdle to some breeders, said Sikura. “I'm a working guy. I've done reasonably well for myself. But where do I come up with tens of thousands of dollars to post bonds at the border?” he said. The following details are included in the CTHS's Wednesday advisory to its members: Mares for Breeding If the mare was born (“originated”) in the U.S., the tariff does not apply. If the mare was born (“originated”) in another country, the tariff applies and must be paid upon entry into the U.S. A Temporary Entry permit is available for 30 days from the date of crossing. This requires cash to secure a bond equal to the tariff value, and the owner must provide proof of the mare's value. If the mare returns to Canada within 30 days, the owner can request a refund of the bond from the U.S. government. However, proof of re-entry–such as a border services date stamp–will be required. If the mare is accompanied by a foal born in Canada, the foal will also be subject to the 25% tariff or require a separate Temporary Entry permit if returning to the Canada within the 30 day period. Horses for Sale and Racing If the horse is intended to be sold in the U.S. at auction or by private sale and was born in the U.S. (“originated”) the tariff would not apply. If the horse was born (“originated”) in Canada, the tariff applies and must be paid upon entry into the U.S. A Temporary Entry permit is available for 30 days from the date of crossing. This requires cash to secure a bond equal to the tariff value, along with proof of the horse's value. If the horse is not sold and returns to Canada within 30 days, the owner can request a refund of the bond from the U.S. government. However, proof of re-entry–such as a border services date stamp–will be required. Dave Anderson, Canadian-based owner-breeder and CTHS president, said that, if the tariffs are indeed enacted come April 2, “it's fairly simple–the entire industry in Canada will be crippled.” Every year, Anderson breeds over 30 mares, all of which are covered by U.S. stallions. “If we can't cross the border, or if we're subject to a 25% tariff, those mares just won't come across the border. They'll remain in Canada,” said Anderson. “This will certainly benefit the Canadian stallions, and stallion owners. But we just don't have enough good stallions to support those mares,” he added. Curtailed cross-border trade would also impact U.S. industry stakeholders. Last year, 157 Canadian yearlings were entered into a U.S. auction house, bringing in more than $7.6 million in sales. According to the CTHS, 36% of the 2023 Canadian foal crop was sired by U.S.-based stallions, representing a nearly $9-million sum in stud fees. Then there's the potential impacts on cross-border traffic of runners. According to the CTHS, a 30-day “Temporary Entry” permit (similar for mares to be bred) is available, requiring a cash bond equal to the tariff value, returnable with proof of re-entry. But what if the horse, said Anderson, needs to stay in the U.S. for longer than those 30 days? And how, he added, will the value of an individual horse be calculated? “Just because a horse is by, say, Into Mischief, doesn't mean it's worth $500,000,” said Anderson. “It might have [osteochondritis dissecans] OCDs in both stifles and standing on three legs and it's worth $500. But how do you explain that to a border agent?” he added. Mark Casse | OBS Disrupted trade in runners would likely hit both ways. Mark Casse told TDN that if the tariffs go into effect, he'll likely send 40 to 50 horses to Woodbine this summer as opposed to his usual 75 or so. In a letter to the Canadian federal government Thursday, Woodbine president and CEO Michael Copeland warned of the impacts on racing and breeding from retaliatory tariffs–especially in light of existing tariffs on goods coming into Canada (like feed, medications and other essential goods) that put Canada's breeders, trainers and owners at a “competitive disadvantage” compared to the U.S., where such tariffs are not applied. “We are concerned about the potential for future tariffs on live horses, which would further destabilize the industry. The movement of horses across borders is essential for breeding, racing, and sales, and any additional trade barriers would have severe economic consequences,” Copeland wrote. “Woodbine Entertainment strongly believes that purebred Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Quarterhorse horses used for breeding and racing purposes should be exempted from the implementation of the proposed countermeasures in response to the new U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods,” he added. In Canada, there is currently a 21-day public comment period on the proposed countermeasures, with a deadline of March 25. “We strongly encourage all industry stakeholders to submit their input through this form and request an exemption to the Canadian tariffs for purebred breeding and racing animals,” the CTHS wrote. Likewise in the U.S., Rooney (who formerly represented Florida's 16th congressional district) recommended that anyone with strong thoughts or concerns about the tariffs should contact their local representatives. “If you get enough people calling saying 'the tariffs are really hurting,' then you start talking to your leadership. Then you start talking about that in committees. Then the people who are going over to the White House start talking to the people on the staff there, or even the president himself,” said Rooney. “That does have an effect,” said Rooney. “It works.” The post Threatened U.S.-Canada Tariffs Could ‘Cripple’ Canadian Breeding Industry appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article